Week of January 30, 2023

Happy Thursday, sweet ladies.  What a GREAT week spreading and celebrating kindness throughout our lives.  I am reminded, daily, what a blessing it is to be at Lee Elementary with each of YOU!  Hearing you champion each other and your learners, as well as support and love one another communicates what a special group we have.  THANK YOU for being YOU! 

Looking forward to taking your banners over to West in the morning.  Please send them with your LEEders at their designated time.

DID YOU KNOW:

• we are going to start collecting the money for our school-wide field trip to Kid Zania in March?  We will be collecting $20 per child to attend the field trip.  Blue House goes on 3/21, Purple and Yellow Houses go on 3/22 and Green and Red Houses go on 3/24.  Please keep track of who turns in money or checks to you and  Abeer will be sending out the link to School Pay. 
• that we will be hosting our CISD Job Fair on April 1?  If you are interested in helping recruit and interview for Lee Elementary, please email CK to share your interest.  There will be brief confidentiality and interview training required.

100th DAY OF SCHOOL

Can you believe we have already been in school 100 days?  We are more than halfway through the year!  Feel free to participate on Tuesday.

WORLD READ ALOUD DAY

WRAD is Wednesday February 1st, and we can’t wait to celebrate at Lee! Librarians have created a district-wide WRAD spreadsheet where volunteers such as admin, board members, CHS Red Jackets, etc. can sign up to volunteer to read. If some of our RJL 5th graders would like to sign up to volunteer to read, a designer can sign the learner up on the left-hand side of this spreadsheet as well. Note that you will highlight the times they are available in yellow. 

Teachers who would like to have a reader in their classroom may sign up on this same spreadsheet.

CISD WRAD Spreadsheet

Holly will also be showing some live WRAD Author Videoconferences in the Flex Space on this day. Sign up here to come listen to a read aloud from an author!

WRAD Author Videoconferences in the RJL Library

FLEX LEARNING

Here is the direct link to the folder!  

FABULOUS FRIDAYS IN FEBRARY

Your Admin Team wants to communicate how loved you are! We are hosting Fabulous Fridays the whole month of February to show you and can't wait for everyone to join in. 

SAVE THE DATE- BOOK FAIR COMING SOON

Many designers created their own eWallets during the Fall Book Fair and were able to use funds donated by parents to grow their classroom libraries! I would like to be sure that every designer has an eWallet for this fair, and I will create a booklet of QR codes so that parents at the fair can scan and donate. You can also share the link to your eWallet via your newsletter, etc. 

Step 1: Create your eWallet here. (Or reactivate your previous eWallet.) Save the link. 

Step 2: Fill out this Google Form to share your link with Holly.

Step 3: Share your link with parents so they can help grow your classroom library! 

We need parent volunteers for our upcoming Book Fair! No experience necessary! Volunteers must have completed a CISD background check. Sign up to volunteer at the Book Fair here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4aafa92da2f9c16-book#/

COACH'S CORNER

Let’s collaborate! Sign up so we can work together.

ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

Collaborate with Colleagues. Collaborating with our colleagues helps our students. We need each other. Our colleagues know things that we don’t know and we can learn from one another. As an ESL Co-Teacher and later an Language Acquisition Specialist, I had the honor of going into classrooms and working alongside numerous teachers on my campus/district. That was the best professional learning. Our peers are our greatest teachers!

DATES TO REMEMBER:

BLACK HISTORY MONTH
NATIONAL DENTAL HEALTH MONTH

CTE APPRECIATION MONTH

January 30- Mariam's Birthday

January 31- 100th Day of School

     Lee Design Day (Red House AM / Green House PM)

February 1- iStation ISIP administered- set goals and review data with learners

     Lee Design Day (Blue House AM / Yellow House PM)

     World Read Aloud Day

     Flex Learning (3:15)

February 2- Groundhog Day

     Lee Design Day (Purple House PM)   

February 3- Go Red Day

Week of January 23, 2023

Thank you for an awesome week.  We can't wait to kick off The Great Kindness Challenge on Monday.  It is the perfect time to recognize and celebrate the kindness all around us because at Lee Elementary kindness is PLENTIFUL!  

DID YOU KNOW:

• the PTO grant process is still open?   If you would like to submit a grant, they are due on January 28 and so far only one grant is submitted.  Here is the form.  Grant winners will be announced in early February.
• it is already time to start thinking about school supplies for next year?  Here is last year's list. Please review, as a grade level, and make any adjustments.  Once your adjustments are made, change the date on your tab to "Your Grade 2023-2024" so we know you are done.  The total should be as close to $55 - $57 as you can get it.  The price range is higher due to inflation.  Please have this done by Friday, Feb 24 so I can get it to PTO.  I'm sorry, but this task should be done outside of Team Time since it does not align with our 4 questions.
• Dr. Hunt approved jeans for Feb 13-17?  Lee staff can wear warm ups this week, but I request that you wear jeans to the Professional Learning Day on the 17th.  ENJOY!
• you are invited to participate in an ESL Book Study?  The deadline to sign up is January 20.  Here is the info from Alex:

GREAT KINDNESS CHALLENGE
It's here!  Join us for the kick off parade Monday morning after morning broadcast.  Can't wait to see your banners and then have them hung around the school.  We will have the CHS drumline here to help us celebrate.  Remember you have a class banner for Monday the 23rd and a house banner for CMSW for Friday the 27th.

PTO SPIRIT NIGHT

Mark your calendars for Wednesday.  Lee PTO will be sponsoring a fundraiser at Torchys.  The fundraiser is ALL day, so if you want to order in lunch- GO FOR IT!

SAVE THE DATE

Get your granny and grandpa gear ready!  The 100th day of school is approaching.  

COACH'S CORNER

Let’s collaborate! Sign up so we can work together.

ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

Offer Visual Word Walls. Imagine moving to a new country and not speaking the language yet. Look at the word wall. It’s only words on index cards. No visuals to help you understand. You can read them, but you have no clue what they mean. Frustrating right?! Visual word walls are accessible to more learners in our classrooms. We can even add words in our EBs’ primary language(s) or add realia.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

GREAT KINDNESS CHALLENGE WEEK

HOLOCAUST REMEMBERANCE WEEK

SUPER TEACHER NOMINATIONS OPEN

Jan 23- Angela's Birthday

     Great Kindness Challenge Kick Off Parade (8:00)

     Reading Academy Cohort A

Jan 24- Education Foundation t-shirt 

     Reading Academy Cohort A

Jan 25- Reading Academy Cohort B

     Torchy's PTO Spirit Night

     Staff Meeting (3:15)

Jan 26- Reading Academy Cohort B

Jan 27- PTO Grants Due

Week of January 16, 2022

PLEASE take care of yourself this long weekend.  I hope that you take time, rest, and do something you love.  Live out your ONE WORD!

DID YOU KNOW:

• the PTO grant process is open for two more weeks?  If you would like to submit a grant, they are due on January 28.  Here is the form.  Grant winners will be announced in early February.
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YEARBOOK:

• Samira will be picking pictures from Twitter to add to the yearbook. It would help tremendously if you avoid pic collages (for the pictures you might want in the yearbook). I am also creating a folder where you can add pictures if you want. Feel free to create a folder to organize or not. Here is the link to the folder: 22-23 | Yearbook
• I am also going to place your portrait pages in your mailboxes. Please check to make sure all kids are there and check their spellings.  This includes your learners in Practical Academics and Active Learning!
• I am planning to add a little message from designers to the yearbook. Anyone is welcome to type a message, including specials and specialists. But classroom designers y’all have a dedicated space under the class portraits.

GREAT KINDNESS CHALLENGE
THANK YOU, Angela and Jessica, for leading the charge with our Great Kindness Challenge planning for 2023!  Here is a sneak peek of what is to come.  Plan to have your class create a class banner to be ready for our kickoff parade on January 23.  PUT YOUR BANNER SOMEWHERE SAFE SO CUSTODIANS DO NOT THINK IT IS TRASH.  Please tweet out kindness activities to @KidsforPeace and #GreatKindnessChallenge to showcase how you incorporate KINDNESS into your lessons.

MOY GOAL SETTING
If you are a paraprofessional, instructional aide, or office support staff,  I would like to set up a middle of the year goal setting appointment with you.  Please have Younis schedule you on my calendar for 15 minutes.  This is time for us to check in and see how I can support you and your professional goals this year.  For all others that are evaluated under TTESS, Leigh Ann, Angel, and I should have scheduled your formal TTESS Observation by now. If any of you under TTESS want a middle of the year check-in, please email your evaluator.  We are happy to have one on one time with you.  

SAVE THE DATE

Mark your calendars for next Wednesday.  Lee PTO will be sponsoring a spirit night at Torchys.  It is ALL day so if you want to order in lunch- GO FOR IT!

DLC UPDATE

💡bulb Update

Over the weekend, bulb got a shiny new facelift! Many of the features are still there, but there are new ways to access them. There are more font colors, fonts, and accessibility features that will hopefully make the app and web version easier to use. More information will be coming but check out this video to learn more! Reach out to Alli with questions!

COACH'S CORNER

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ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

Create Warm & Welcoming Spaces. Classroom environments that capture kids' hearts will no doubt build their minds and allow language to flourish. The goal is for English learners and their families to feel safe to take risks and feel that they belong and are valued in our campuses and our classrooms.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

MOY MAP WINDOW THROUGH FEBRUARY 17

MCLASS WINDOW THROUGH FEBRUARY 17

NOMINATIONS FOR SUPER TEACHER OPEN

January 16- NO SCHOOL

January 17- Onboarding (3:15 Yellow House)

January 18- Leadership Meeting (3:15 Yellow House)

January 19- MTSS Meeting Day

Week of January 9, 2023

WOW!  This has been a fast and furious first short week back!   THANK YOU for the experiences you designed for our children.  It has been wonderful seeing your learners set goals, review resolutions, and vision for the new year.  THANK YOU for being a true inspiration to them and me!  Your one word ideas with your Scrabble pieces are incredible.  If you didn't get to make yours on Wednesday, come see us, we have leftovers!  Thanks for displaying yours as a memento and reminder of your "one word" for the year. YOU GOT THIS!

DID YOU KNOW:

• the PTO grant process is open?  If you would like to submit a grant they are due on January 28.  Here is the form.  Grant winners will be announced in early February.
• there is an article titled, "A Powerful Model for Understanding Good Tech Integration" that is a great reminder about the difference between Substitution and Redefinition when using technology?

MIDDLE OF THE YEAR ASSESSMENTS:

The window for the MOY district assessments opens next week. The dates are as follows:

• mClass for Kindergarten & 2nd Grade: January 9^th – February 17^th, 2023
• mClass for 1st Grade: January 9^th -31^st, 2023
• MAP (K-5): January 9^th – February 17^th, 2023

Samira will upload all the mClass documents in our Campus Schoology Course.

YEARBOOK:

• Samira will be picking pictures from Twitter to add to the yearbook. It would help tremendously if you avoid pic collages (for the pictures you might want in the yearbook). I am also creating a folder where you can add pictures if you want. Feel free to create a folder to organize or not. Here is the link to the folder: 22-23 | Yearbook
• I am also going to place your portrait pages in your mailboxes. Please check to make sure all kids are there and check their spellings.  This includes your learners in Practical Academics and Active Learning!
• I am planning to add a little message from designers to the yearbook. Anyone is welcome to type a message, including specials and specialists. But classroom designers y’all have a dedicated space under the class portraits.

LAW ENFORCEMENT APPRECIATION DAY
Monday, Jan. 9, is Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Law Enforcement Officers of every rank and file have chosen a profession that puts their life on the line every day for their communities. Thank you to Officer Sneed and Officer Sale for taking such good care of us at Lee Elementary.

PTO MEETING

I will send an email to parents through Parent Square with a Zoom Link on Tuesday morning.  Please advertise in your weekly newsletter.

FLEX LEARNING
Enjoy your one hour, on Wednesday, where you learn about a topic and earn one hour of Flex credit for it.  Please complete your Power School request at the conclusion of your learning.  Remember you can see how many flex hours you have by going here.  Fulfilled your flex credit?  Take care of you.  Want to learn more...attend.

Leigh Ann will also host a session for anyone that wants to learn more about Common Sense Media.

GREAT KINDNESS CHALLENGE
We will be participating in the Great Kindness Challenge again this year.  This is our sixth year to take part in this wonderful event. Be thinking about how you can incorporate KINDNESS into your lesson design the last week of January.  Here is the Great Kindness Challenge Checklist to share with your learners.  You will want to create a banner for your classes for our Kindness Kickoff Parade.  This will take place first thing Monday morning, January 23.  

SAVE THE DATE

SAVE THE DATE

COACH'S CORNER

Let’s collaborate! Sign up so we can work together.

ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

Provide Small Group Instruction. Gathering students in small groups helps to lower the student-teacher ratio allowing for more intimate instruction. A small group can be one-to-one like a conference between the student and the teacher or a group of 3-5. It’s important that small groups be fluid and heterogeneous to avoid stigmatizing learners. Multilinguals benefit from small group instruction because it can lower the affective filter and provide time for direct and explicit instruction with the careful guidance of the teacher.

 

DATES TO REMEMBER:

MOY MAP WINDOW THROUGH FEBRUARY 17

MCLASS WINDOW THROUGH FEBRUARY 17

January 9-  Rikki's Birthday  

     Priscilla's Birthday

     National Law Enforcement Day

January 10- National Clean Off Your Desk Day

     Education Foundation T-shirt and jeans     

     PTO Meeting (6:00 PM Virtual)

January 11- Ruby's Birthday

     Flex Learning (3:15-4:15)

January 12- Aparna's Birthday

January 14- Kaitlin's Birthday

January 16- NO SCHOOL