Week of February 22

Thank you for a busy week of learning!  Thank you for posting your team SMART goals in the conference room, your house goals in your studios, and your personal goals on Today's Meet or Twitter.  Thank you for being prepared for our visitors today and next week.

OUR GUIDING PURPOSE: We empower learners to positively impact the world by designing learning experiences that promote relationships, risk taking, and collaboration in a flexible environment.

What YOU are doing to do to LIVE out this VISION at Lee?  

DID YOU KNOW?

• that we ordered $16,500 in robotics and coding materials this week with extra Title I Funds we were given?
• that digital probes to measure temperature and pH in the Ecopond and garden are ordered too?
• five triple beam balances are on their way to Lee?  

SHOE DRIVE
Monday is the last day for Red House Shoe and Sock Drive.  Please send a note home in your weekly email about this event.


FED EX

Enjoy your one hour on Wednesday where you learn about a topic of YOUR choice related to YOUR goals, and earn flex credit for it.  This is a time for learning.  Please post to this Today's Meet after 4:30, but before 5:00, on Wednesday.  Please share what you learned during your time to get credit for your hour.  Those who post will automatically be enrolled through Eduphoria.

Gizmo will be hosting a session where participants will leave with knowing how to manage an account, add students, locate resources, and identify Gizmos related to your TEKS.  The simulations are for 3rd through 5th grades.

FUN RUN

Make sure you saw both attachments regarding the Fun Run that was in Monday's email from me.  We are one week out from starting our Fun Run, so we will have a "Teacher Huddle" in the media flex space on Wednesday (right before Fed Ex).  This is a GREAT time to ask questions!

MUSIC DRESS REHEARSAL

Please join us Thursday morning for our Blue House performance of The Day the Crayons Quit.   

SCIENCE LEARNING WALKS

I will be walking the building with Linda Cook on Friday.  We will be looking at Science experiences our learners are getting at Lee.  

CISD LEARNING FRAMEWORK REVIEW: ENVIRONMENT

This week we will spend our final week reviewing environment.  Let's review community learning environment.  According to our CISD Educator Evaluation System: the educator establishes positive relationships with ALL stakeholders through a variety of ways of communication within and beyond the school day while respecting and embracing the cultural differences.

• initiates actions that embrace diversity (think about our multicultural goal in our CIP)
• maintains virtual communication tools to establish positive reciprocal relationships with parents (think about your weekly email communication, timely response to parents, and engagement with parents every time they are in our building)
• the educator provides a variety of ways for families and/or community members to participate in the learning environment (think about the opportunities that you have for parents to be involved in your classroom and our school)

How could you increase parent involvement in your spaces?  This is an area for school-wide improvement.  Could parents help during math/reading stations?  Could they conference with learners on their writing?  Could you send work home (laminating to cut, etc.)  for parents to help with? 

FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH
Please share this link with your parents.  A family can qualify ANY TIME they have fallen on hard times during the school year.  This is how we are identified for Title I Funds and is private and confidential.


SELF ANALYSIS
Please complete this survey for the district by next Friday.


"LEE"DERSHIP QUALITY OF THE WEEK
Risk taking- exposure to possible loss or injury

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"If you shoot for the moon and miss, at least you'll be one of the stars." Les Brown

LESSON IN "LEE"DERSHIP

Live so that you will never have regrets.  If there is something you want to do, DO IT!

DATES TO REMEMBER:
Feb 23:  Red House Field Trip

              Green House Field Trip

Feb 24:  House T-shirt w/ Jeans
              Walk at School Wednesday
              K-2 Literacy Academy
              New Learner Luncheon w/ Angela
              IBM Visits 5th Grade
              Fun Run Teacher Huddle (3:15-3:30 Media Center)
              Fed Ex (3:30-4:30)
Feb 25:  3-5 Literacy Academy
              Blue Music Performance (8:15 and 6:30)
              Learning Walks @ Lee (8:15)
              Dr. Turner Tour (9:00-12:00)
              Garland Tours (9:15 and 2:15)
Feb 26:  Sammy the Shark w/ Kinder
              Science Walkthroughs w/ Linda Cook (10:30-1:00)

Week of February 15

Happy Valentine's Day at Lee.  It is going to be a wonderful day of love, candy, and parties.  Please enjoy your lunch from ChickFila.  Filling your tummies is one way for us to show you how much you mean to us and the children!

OUR GUIDING PURPOSE: We empower learners to positively impact the world by designing learning experiences that promote relationships, risk taking, and collaboration in a flexible environment.

What YOU are doing to do to LIVE out this VISION at Lee?  

DID YOU KNOW?

• we will be participating in the APEX Fun Run in March?  Be looking for info to be coming your way on Monday.
• we will be moving to the state evaluation system next year?  Don't panic, it is very similar to what we have used the last two years in CISD.  Training will occur during Back to School.
• that PTO read every thank you card you submitted to them last month?  THANK YOU for taking the time to show your appreciation for all they do!
• some folks are entering the school from the kitchen over the weekend and in the mornings?  Please do not do this.  If it is dark, or the back doors are locked, please park up front.  THANK YOU!
• we need someone to design next year's staff shirt ALREADY?!  If you have a passion for taking this on, please email Chantel. 

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

We will start Monday at CHS with Michael Wesch.  Todd and I had the privilege of hearing him speak at the Visioning Conference last summer, where he shared about the authentic learning experiences he and his learners experienced.  You are expected to be at the CHS auditorium by 8:00 and his lecture begins at 8:15.  Please wear jeans and your RJL shirt that we gave you at the beginning of this year.  Wesch will conclude at 9:15 and we will continue the rest of our learning day at 10:00 in our cafeteria.  We will have lunch on your own and wrap-up by 4:00.

SHOE DRIVE

Red House learners will be starting their shoe drive on Tuesday.  Please communicate to parents that learners will be asking for new or gently used shoes.  Red House will collect them, graph them, and bring them on their CBL field trip to the Mission Arlington the following Tuesday.  Please help them with this SERVICE to the community.   

ESL COURSE DUE

Don't forget to complete your ESL Schoology Course by Tuesday.  The course access code is: MCCFC-ZSGCC. You will receive 1 hour of flex credit if you post a question or feedback on the course.

DIGITAL LEARNING DAY

Wednesday is Digital Learning Day.  Check out this website for information and ideas.  If you participate, please tweet out with the hashtag #DLDay and #rjlyear2.

SCIENCE IS MESSY

If you choose to attend one of the sessions at Town Center, after school on Thursday, please feel free to wear jeans.  

BWW

Join us at Buffalo Wild Wings Night.  Maybe Todd will buy someone's meal again?! Remember to show your card for your discount and to send money back to our school.

VISITORS THIS WEEK

Apple will be on campus on Thursday.  On Friday, we will have two sets of visitors.  First, we will have a LARGE group of Superintendents on campus all day.  They will be in the Book Fair room and large conference room.  In addition, I will have two of my accountability partners from my Principal's Institute here.  I have no doubt you are putting into practice this month's ENVIRONMENT exemplars so that our campus is represented well.  

SOCIAL SPURS LUNCHEON

CISD LEARNING FRAMEWORK REVIEW: ENVIRONMENT

This week we will review the social/emotional learning environment.  According to our CISD Educator Evaluation System: the educator collaborates with learners to create a safe, non-threatening environment building positive relationships through respect and high expectations. 

• the educator fosters academic and social growth
• collaboration is the norm in various learning environments
• the educator interacts in a positive way with learners and all members of the school community across all environments
• learners reflect on misbehavior and plan for what to do differently in the future
• the educator models how to build appropriate positive relationships

DLC CHALLENGE

Each module will focus on a different chapter of the Learning Framework; Environment, Design, and Assessment.  You can earn up to 3 Schoology badges, each resulting in one hour of flex credit. This is a virtual challenge starting on Feb. 1, 2016 and ending on Mar. 25, 2016.  You are free to join the challenge at any time.  If you have already joined the DLC PL course, simply complete the modules in the DIY Designer’s Challenge folder.  If you have not yet joined the DLC PL course (72Q87-RDGM5), use the course code to join the course and complete the DIY Designer’s Challenge!  If you have any questions, reach out to Alli!

SPECIAL EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
If you are seeking learning opportunities for accommodations.  Check out this website.

"LEE"DERSHIP QUALITY OF THE WEEK
Generosity- freely giving of time or resources

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"We make a living by what we get and a live by what we give!" Winston Churchill

LESSON IN "LEE"DERSHIP

Surprise others by performing random acts of kindness. Go out of your way to do something surprisingly kind and generous for someone at least once a month.

DATES TO REMEMBER:
Feb 15:  NO SCHOOL (for learners)
              Bethany's Birthday
Feb 16:  Red House Shoe Drive Begins 
              ESL Schoology Course Deadline

Feb 17:  Progress Report Grades Due
              FOSS Kits Due on Stage
              Chpt. 7 in Learning By Doing Due  
              Digital Learning Day
              House T-shirt w/ Jeans
              Walk at School Wednesday
              Staff Mtg. (3:30-5:00)  
Feb 18:  Spurs Savings (7:30-7:50 a.m.)
              LEEdership Council (8:00 Media Center)
              Campus Tours (9:00 and 1:00)
              Science is Messy (4:00-5:00 TCE)
              Buffalo Wild Wings Night
Feb 19:  Progress Reports sent home
              NTRC Superintendents at Lee all day
              Kamille's Birthday
              Social Spurs Luncheon
              MOY Assessment Data due in AWARE
              Six Flags Read to Succeed Due