Week of August 19, 2024

WOW! You did it! You've successfully navigated the first two days of school. We've truly enjoyed visiting your classes. Office visits have begun for some of us, and we are eagerly looking forward to spending more time with you and your classes. The time spent in the café this week has allowed me to get acquainted with some of our new and returning friends, and I want to commend everyone for the excellent practices you are implementing. WELL DONE! We have such INCREDIBLE learners and designers here. Start your weekend as soon as you can on Friday, after dismissal. You’ve earned it! 

DID YOU KNOW:

• our Lee Staff Handbook acknowledgement is due on Friday, August 16 (tomorrow)?  Please screenshot and upload the signature page into the Schoology media album.  
• it would help Sam plan if you had time to fill out her interest survey about the pond?  Please take time to give her feedback here.
• IF a learner must be checked out from school, it should occur before 2:45?  After 2:45, we will request parents wait in the car loop to ensure learners get dismissed safely.  Learners should only leave early if there is a doctor's appointment.  (PLEASE ADD TO YOUR NEWSLETTERS) 
• we do not accept drop offs at school?  Please let parents know that they should not bring leaner's iPad, lunch, jacket, water bottle, or school project to school after they have dropped their child off at school. We also only want people at our door who have an appointment or a need to be on campus. Safety is a PRIORITY here!
• weekly communication should be sent to your parents through Parent Square every Friday?  Parent Square translates what you send home.  Rosters should now be uploaded.  If not... please use eSchool one more week.  Include pictures of the learning/learners each week so parents see what learning looks like at Lee.  Need a S'more license?  See Chantel.
• Social Spurs has stared collecting money for this year?  $30 for professional staff and $20 for paraprofessionals.  Donations can be venmoed to @Linda-Hoffmann-9.  Thank you, Social Spurs, for stocking the fridge with drinks for the first day!

ATTENDANCE

Please make sure you are turning in your attendance between 10:01 and 10:05 AM.  Thank you to those who are getting attendance in and have alarms set so you don't forget.  We got this!

ID BADGES
You are required, by the district, to wear your ID Badge at school. If you see visitors or adults in our building without a badge, you must ask to see their badge.  If they do not have one, then please escort them to the office. 

RESPECT AGREEMENTS

Please create and post respect agreements with your classes for the 1st 9 weeks by the end of next week.  Remember there should be FOUR quadrants: Learner to Learner, Learner to Designer, Designer to Learner, and Learner to School.  All four quadrants should have 3 to 4 bullets with short phrases (ex: be honest, hands to self, feet off furniture, etc.) avoid negative words like don't and never.  Please share a copy with our APs so they can add it to our office binder.  We use these when we handle discipline.

DIGITAL LITERACY
As part of a district initiative regarding digital citizenship and safety, all learners in grades PreK-12 are expected to take part in an overview of digital citizenship.  This is the time of year to cover this topic.  I have asked for information and direction on resources for this initiative.  I believe this is on the agenda for Learning Coaches, tomorrow.  Please stay tuned for info from CISD.  I will share with you when information / resources come in.  SORRY!

FLEX LEARNING

We will host our first Flex Learning on Wednesday and hope you can join us.  “Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” - Fitzhugh Dodson (American Psychologist)

On August 21st, we have time set aside for you to work on your team goals. The tasks are as follows:

• Complete your team goals in this document.
• Create a bulb page in your portfolio that documents your team goal. Here is a template. 
• Enter all the information in PowerSchool Perform in the section titled Goal 2 and this time save and submit. If you need the steps, here is the link to the presentation. Slides 8-13 walk you through the steps.

Please submit for flex credit through Power School with the Title BOY Goal Setting Preparation.

HAPPY PHONE CALL HOME

Please, by Sept 2, pick up the phone and call EVERY family. Tell them/leave a message sharing something special about their child.  It will pay huge dividends to take the time to do this!  Parents are used to only getting phone calls when there is something wrong.  Let's change their perception!  It is also a TTESS Domain 4 descriptor.  Specials Designers and and Specialists, please pick 25 learners to call.

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
We will practice emergency drills soon.  Be READY!  If you do not know where to go ASK Admin, so we can give you directions.  All spaces should have a map posted at your door and a Standard Response Protocol poster posted near the door.  Please make sure you have downloaded the Raptor app to your iPad or mobile device. 

ATTENDANCE REMINDER FOR PARENTS

As you make vacation plans this year, remember that missing school can impact your child's learning and success, and it also affects attendance laws. Please schedule trips following the holidays on the CISD calendar to ensure compliance and support your child's education. https://www.coppellisd.com/o/cisd/page/calendar

FROM OUR PTO

Please consider signing up to be the Room Parent for our class! This role can be tailored to what works for you and our class; I’m hoping to have at least one parent or more to partner with throughout the year. Find out more, and sign up here! bit.ly/RJLRoomParent

The Scholastic Book fair is coming to RJL Library soon, and the volunteer sign up is live. Act fast to get a slot that works best for you! This is one of the first onsite volunteer opportunities of the year and a great way to get involved and foster young readers! bit.ly/RJLBookFair Reminder, if you plan to volunteer for these or any other future events, complete your yearly required CISD Background Check asap here.

Our annual house fund donations are open now through September 10th. House funds are what we as a PTO use to support all the celebrations we host throughout the year. Please see below for additional details. Your support is greatly appreciated!  bit.ly/RJLHouseFund

CISD EDUCATION FOUNDATION 

We are excited to announce that the CISD Education Foundation’s annual Give for Grants initiative is now open for teacher grant applications through September 14th! Now more than ever, with the budget challenges we are facing, CEF aims for our grants process to encourage, facilitate, recognize, and reward effective, innovative, and creative, instructional approaches that directly impact CISD students while transforming classroom learning.  You can get all the info you need simply by visiting the CEF website.  Don't forget to purchase your Ed Foundation shirt if you want to support them and wear with your jeans on Tuesdays!

AFTER SCHOOL OPPORTUNITY

LEARNING COACH:

Our MAP and mClass assessment window opens on August 19th and closes on September 20th. I will meet with each house on Monday, August 26th during your house meeting time to help set up MAP sessions and answer any questions. This meeting will take the place of your regular house meeting on Thursday. I promise not to take your whole time. Please make plans to follow this MAP schedule. Thank you for your flexibility. I want to make sure everyone is set up for success. 

YEARBOOK: 

Please add pictures from the 1st Day of School

ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

Many of our emergent bilingual students come with unique and sometimes difficult to pronounce names.  Here are some great books to celebrate names and identities as we start learning our learners’ names (and learning to say them correctly- check out this helpful tip resource linked to My Name, My Identity.)    

We have the books checked out and would love to share them with you in these next couple of weeks. Send us an email and we can leave it in your mailbox, or we can schedule a time to drop in for a read aloud with your class, as we continue getting to know our Lee designers and learners.

Did you know that half of our LEE Learners are EBs?  Please share these valuable ESL Resources with our parents.

LEE LIFE PRINCIPLE:

Respect- showing consideration for others

LESSON IN LEADERSHIP:

We will often have visitors in our school. When a visitor arrives, look them in the eyes, shake hands, tell them who you are, and welcome the person to our school.

LEE QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“Consideration for others is the basis of a good life, a good society” -Confucius

DATES TO REMEMBER:

BOY GOAL SETTING WINDOW

MOY MAP/MCLASS WINDOW

August 18- CISD Compliance Courses Due

August 21-  Amber's Birthday

     Flex Learning (3:15-4:15)

August 23- First Round of Team Time Begins on Day 1