Week of November 30, 2020

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am reflecting about they many blessings at our school.  Every one of you are a blessing to me in your own unique ways.  You are not taken for granted and are appreciated beyond measure.  Each of you choose to come to Lee and work so hard, daily, to bring our school building to life for our learners.  Your passion for learning, your flexibility and your heart shines in all you do.  This year, more than ever, I have learned how to grow and lead with grace and patience. I see that demonstrated in so many of you, too!  Please REST over the break.  DO NOT WORK OR THINK ABOUT SCHOOL!!  Take time for yourself and reflect on how incredible you are.  Leigh Ann and I cannot wait to show you how much we care during December to Remember.  When you return it will be here!  Get READY!

DID YOU KNOW:

• we want you to take care of your self and also help meet our campus SEL goal? Why not wear warm ups tomorrow and "trot the track" during your break? We can call this our Lee Turkey Trot! Please only wear warm ups if you plan to take part in this self-care activity (and hey- document it for your Bulb. If you don't document it, it didn't happen!!!).
• today is Substitute Appreciation Day? Please be intentional in thanking any subs in our building today!
• we will have a LEEdership Council "Lunch and Learn" on Tuesday, December 1, at 12:00? Please let your LEEder know that they are expected to join me on Tuesday using this link . Please do NOT tweet the link out.
• we will clean the lounge fridge out at 2:00, tomorrow. Please take your personal items and food home.
• commitment forms for face-to-face instruction for the 3rd 9 weeks will be sent home  to parents on November 30.  These will be due on December 9.
• you still need to let me know if you feel COVID symptoms or test COVID positive over the Thanksgiving Break? Please be mindful to social distance and wear your masks this week. This school momma wants you SAFE!
• the district will Go Red for staff wellness the month of February? For a link to order your Go Red t-shirt (credit card only) and show your support during the Month of Thursdays in February - American Heart Month - text DHCCOPPELL to 41444. 

(those of you that ate school lunch today heard about how much I LOVE gravy) 😀

WEDNESDAY IS COLLEGE SHIRT DAY

SPECIAL EDUCATION DAY

Wednesday is National Special Education Day.  In addition to our general education special education learners and staff, we are blessed to have two specialized special education programs here at Lee: Active Learning and Practical Academics.  Please take time to celebrate the accomplishments of our special needs learners, teachers, paraprofessionals and parents for the incredible jobs they do!!!  If you want to learn more about special education, our two programs, or your class would benefit from a lesson on inclusivity and learners in these programs at Lee, our teachers are awesome resources!

NOTE FOR FACE TO FACE PARENTS

Parents, please remember to follow social distancing during the Thanksgiving Holiday.  If your child tests positive over the break, or you are made aware that they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, please email Mrs. Kastrounis at ckastrounis@coppellisd.com.  If your child is having any COVID-like symptoms, please do not send them back to school on Monday, November 30. 

COVID-like symptoms:

• Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100 degrees Fahrenheit
• Loss of taste or smell
• Cough
• Difficulty breathing
• Shortness of breath
• Headache
• Chills
• Sore throat
• Shaking or exaggerated shivering
• Significant muscle pain or ache
• Diarrhea

GEMS

Know an employee who goes "above and beyond the call of duty" and should be among CISD's Great Employees Matter (GEM)?  This internal employee recognition program, GEM, seeks to recognize outstanding employees who serve the mission and core values of Coppell ISD in a manner that exceeds job and salary expectations. Please nominate individuals at go.coppellisd.com/Recognitions.  Nominations are due November 30.

UPDATED GARDEN PROJECT FLYER

Here is updated communication from Keiko.  Please share with your learners and their parents.  We would love to have both virtual and in person participation.  Check out Keiko's latest tweet.

DONATIONS FOR COPPELL LIONS CLUB

Thank you to those of you who have donated.  Let's pump this up when we return from the break! 

(the donation box is inside our front doors)

MACY'S BELIEVE LETTERS TO SANTA

Want an authentic writing experience for your learners?  For every letter to Santa receives through Christmas Eve, Macy's will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to $1 million. Need inspiration for your letter to Santa? Let Violet's video explain how your letters make a difference.  If you'd like to participate, please have your kids bring their finished letters in the mailbox in the office by 3:05 Friday, December 11th. You can also have learners send letters digitally by clicking here.  Feel free to use the hashtag #MacysBelieve to promote this event.

COACH'S CORNER

If you have come to realize anything about me so far, it is that I enjoy a good TED Talk. I know it is time to unwind and relax and disconnect from school for a week. I want to applaud all the educators who are working so hard, especially this year. You are so creative in your lesson design and craft. To keep learning fun and engaging virtually is a daunting task and you all deserve a crown for that. There are two reasons why I like this particular TED Talk: it is funny (especially because the speaker has an English accent) and it affirms what we do at our school. I was talking to my husband about how other educators in Texas do not have the same teaching expectations that we do at our school and how blessed we are for how we teach at Lee. I want you to know it is because of educators like YOU that I am grateful that my child spent five years here. I would trust all of you to be his educator. Enjoy this video for the laughs, the affirmations, and the realization that we do things so much better here than in other schools.  Creativity by Sir Ken Robinson

[CONTEXT CLUES]

ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

To continue supporting the linguistic development of English Learners, check out these 5 steps to teach vocabulary through context clues! Click here to learn more.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Nov 23- Peg's Birthday

Nov 23-27- THANKSGIVING BREAK

Nov 30- Dec4- National Handwashing Awareness Week

Nov 30- GEM Nominations Due

Dec 1- Ed Foundation Shirt and Jeans

     PTO Meeting (Virtual 6:00)

Dec 2- College Shirt Day

     Special Education Day

     Library Curbside Pick Up (11:00-1:00)

     Flex Learning (3:15-4:15)

Dec 3-  5th Grade Spelling Bee

Week of November 16, 2020

YOU MADE IT!  One more week and Thanksgiving break is ALL YOURS!  Thank you for your flexibility on picture day and making it work in house to support the HB3 training days so other schools could utilize subs in the district.  Your Admin Team acknowledges the many blessings of being at Lee Elementary, and one of our most important blessings is EACH OF YOU!!  We hope you liked today's surprise message about the Sonic ice machine.  Enjoy this week with our children and each other.  

DID YOU KNOW:

• tomorrow is World Kindness Day?  Don't forget to wear your Kind shirts.  We can't wait to see what you have in store for the children.
• you need to update your computer password by November 16?  Please follow the directions that were sent out in the Stay In The Know Employee Newsletter.  
• Panorama data will be visible for your learners on next Friday now? AWESOME EFFORT getting our learner and staff surveys done.  Now let's pump up our parents to participate!

REMINDERS

Remember to walk kids all the way to car and bus and trade them over to another adult during afternoon dismissal.  Our Leadership Team discussed that with duty changes, we need to remember to be consistent and help kids stay six feet apart.   Thank you for your help with this.

Also, please remember to disinfect areas that children have worked, both inside and outside your spaces.  We must be vigilant to keep everyone safe.  This includes the furniture on the learning pavillion.

Lastly, remember to follow these district guidelines when posting pictures of learners.  We have to make sure that even when masked people photographed are six feet apart.  We appreciate your cooperation. 

 

PTO BREAKFAST

Thank you to our fabulous PTO for providing breakfast, on Thursday, after morning arrival.  We will make an announcement on the intercom when it is ready for you to come and pick your treat up from the teacher's lounge.  ENJOY!

SUBSTITUTE APPRECIATION DAY
Please take time to thank any subs in the building on Friday.  Friday is Substitute Appreciation Day!

GARDEN DESIGN PROJECT

Keiko, our wonderful garden volunteer, has designed a project to engage our learners and their families with our garden.  Please share this communication and encourage your learners to participate.  We have not had any submissions, so if your face to face learners need something to do...

PLEASE ALSO SHARE THESE WITH PARENTS

(the donation box is inside our front doors)

COACH'S CORNER

[VOCABULARY LEARNING]

ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

Simply reading or hearing the definition of a word can leave ELs puzzled and limits their chances to accessing content knowledge.  What's a better way?  You guessed it! Define the word in your own words, draw a picture, and discuss examples.  The Frayer model is a great way to do just that!

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Nov 13- Progress Report Grades Due (4th/5th)

Nov 16- School Psychology Awareness Week

Nov 17- Josephine's Birthday

     Chantel's Birthday

     Ed Foundation Shirt w/ Jeans

     Send Progress Reports Home

Nov 18-  Library Curbside Pick Up (11:00-1:00)

     Staff Mtg. (3:15-4:45 Virtual)

Nov 19- Thankful Thursday Breakfast from PTO

     National Parent Involvement Day

Nov 20- Substitute Appreciation Day

Nov 23-27- THANKSGIVING BREAK

Nov 23- Peg's Birthday

Week of November 9, 2020

 We hope you enjoyed your Thirsty Thursday Sonic drinks this afternoon.  Thank you so much for your attendance at our Story Book parade.  I know that it was way longer than we ever expected it to be, so THANK YOU for all of your time and enthusiasm.   It truly mattered to the children and our famiLEEs.  We also thank you for pumping up Write a Check.  I cannot wait for a final update from PTO.  You are two weeks away from a week-long vacation!  We've got this, team! 

DID YOU KNOW:

• Hour of Code is coming up?  Please sign up to participate and mark your calendars for the week of December 7-13.  I'm sure our DLCs would love to design with you! 
• we have a new baby Spur to add to our famiLEE?  Guess who is having a baby?! Click here to find out.

WRITE A CHECK

Tomorrow is the last day for our Write a Check campaign.  Please send this graphic, one last time, and retweet the reminder on our Lee Twitter, please.   

TOY

FINAL REMIDER!!!  NOMINATIONS DUE TODAY!!!  Please take time to nominate someone in our building for this incredible honor.   If you need admin to cover your class so you can observe your nominee, to help you better answer the questions, please arrange that with us.  We are happy to help.  Nominations are due November 6th, and the nomination form can be found here.

In order to be nominated for Teacher of the Year, the teacher must:

• Be certified to teach in Texas public schools
• Have been employed in Coppell schools for a minimum of three years (that means he/she must have completed three years in CISD)
• Be a classroom teacher (including PE, art, music, special education, literacy, etc.)
• Plan to continue teaching in Coppell ISD through the 2020-2021 school year

VETERANS DAY

Please showcase any creative ways you are recognizing Veterans, on Wednesday, on Twitter.  We want to make sure that even though we don't have a Veteran's Day program this year that, we value the service these individuals have provided our country.  We will pause for a moment of silence as a school at 8:00, on Wednesday.  There will be an announcement over the intercom when we begin.

PICTURE DAY

We will start school pictures immediately following arrival, on Wednesday.  We hope to have our F2F learners done before 9:45 so our virtual learners can use their appointed times.  Thank you for your flexibility on this day and for excusing the interruption of your teaching. 

WORLD KINDNESS DAY

Friday is World Kindness Day.  We can't wait to see how our learners spread kindness.  If you have a KIND shirt, join in on wearing it on Friday.

PANORAMA SURVEY

Thank you to all of you for completing your staff survey and to the 3-5 Designers for helping learners get their surveys completed.  We have 256/359 learners that have completed their surveys, still.  

GARDEN DESIGN PROJECT

Keiko, our wonderful garden volunteer, has designed a project to engage our learners and their families with our garden.  Please share this communication and encourage your learners to participate.  

CIP

The 2020-2021 Campus Improvement Plan can be found here. Each quarter this document should be reviewed and updated.  Leadership, please download the PDF into Noteability, review it, and annotate it with your grade.  Please forward your annotated copy to Leigh Ann by November 13.

PLEASE SHARE WITH PARENTS

(the donation box is inside our front doors)

COACH'S CORNER

It is imperative that we celebrate and understand diversity in our classrooms, school and district. We have to be culturally responsive now more than ever. We need to think outside the walls of our classroom and country to become more global. The easiest way is to incorporate culturally diverse literature in your classrooms and read alouds. You could incorporate scientists, mathematicians, explorers from different parts of the world. Children need to see themselves in the content they are learning. 

I love that May Voltz got a group of her fifth grade girls to work with the women at IBM to learn more about cybersecurity including tips for staying safe online, the importance of securing the internet of things, a glimpse at career opportunities, and an introduction to cryptography. The sessions were led mostly by women. Such a great way for girls to see themselves in successful women. Diversity is not just about culture; it can also be grounded in gender, ethnicity, and/or age as well. 

I recently watched a TED talk on the Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It is 19 minutes long but I feel like I connected with what she was saying. I hope you enjoy it if you choose to watch it.

[CELEBRATE DIVERSITY]

ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

Are you looking for a list of books that target diversity and racial equality while supporting listening, speaking, reading, and writing? Log in to MackinVia here and here for a list of books that do just that, or visit our library!  A big thank you to Ms. Wade for helping us put this together.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Nov 10- Cohort A HB3 Training

     Ed Foundation t-shirt and jeans

     Onboarding (3:15-4:15)

Nov 11- Picture Day

     Veteran's Day (Moment of Silence 8:00)

     Cohort A HB3 Training

     Curbside Pick Up (11:00-1:00)

     Leadership Mtg. (3:15-4:15)
Nov 12-  Meghan W's Birthday

     Cohort B HB3 Training
Nov 13- Samira's Birthday

     Cohort B HB3 Training
     Panorama Data Live 

     World Kindness Day

     Progress Report Grades Due (3-5)
Nov 14- Diwali

Week of November 2, 2020

Thank you for talking up our fun and memorable Book Character Parade! Each year we are impressed with the number of participants and the genius costume ideas that emerge. What an amazing week on Twitter for Lee Elementary.  You all do such a fabulous job of telling our story to all and making Red Ribbon week so much FUN.  Thank you to those of you that can make the parade at 5:00 tonight.  Your kids will LOVE seeing you!  Have a fabulous fall weekend and enjoy things that make you happy!

DID YOU KNOW:

• our PTO meeting will be on MONDAY night instead of TUESDAY night due to Election Day?  Please remember not to share our meeting information on social media.  I will send an email to forward to parents on Monday morning.
• that free breakfast and lunch for face to face learners will go through the last day of school, now?  Please encourage your face to face learners to get a meal.
• some pictures on Twitter are showing learner first and last names?  Please be careful to cover those before posting.  I have accidentally done it, too, but we have to maintain learner safety.
• your Vivatek boards do not turn off on their own? Please power these off before leaving each day. 
• that CISD has opened up some self-paced learning opportunities focusing on designing in Schoology and our district provided resources?  Check out the October Professional Learning Folder, if you are interested.  Flex credit will be provided.

STORYBOOK PARADE

Please share this map with your FamiLEEs one more time.  We changed "Halloween" to Story Book Character for those that do not celebrate Halloween.  At 9:00, please line your learners up on a dot downstairs.  We will walk around the outside of the media center when the music starts, until it ends.  For the evening parade, please be lined up along the front drive (six feet apart) by 4:45.

COLLEGE SHIRT DAY

Can't wait to see everyone sporting their college gear on Wednesday!

WRITE A CHECK

OOPS- THIS WEEK is our final week for our Write a Check campaign.  Good luck, and thank you for pumping this up with your learners!  We are heading towards our goal of $10,000 with your help.  

PANORAMA SURVEY FOR THIRD -> FIFTH GRADE

3-5 Designers, please add in your plans 30 mins to walk ALL of your learners through the Panorama survey this week.  I will be asking this take place during one of your SEL ZOOMs, not a content zoom.  I have to turn in a Google doc to Angie that you and your learners have completed your surveys, so please email me once you have hosted this meeting with your class, led them through each question of the survey, and posted your recording.  We will give you time at Wednesday's staff meeting to complete the educator survey.  Learners will log in here and must enter their student ID number.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR

We have SO MUCH TALENT on campus.  Please take time to nominate someone in our building for this incredible honor.   If you need admin to cover your class so you can observe your nominee, to help you better answer the questions, please arrange that with us.  We are happy to help.  Nominations are due by November 6th, and the nomination form can be found here.

In order to be nominated for Teacher of the Year, the teacher must:

• Be certified to teach in Texas public schools
• Have been employed in Coppell schools for a minimum of three years (that means he/she must have completed three years in CISD)
• Be a classroom teacher (including PE, art, music, special education, literacy, etc.)
• Plan to continue teaching in Coppell ISD through the 2020-2021 school year

CIP
The 2020-2021 Campus Improvement Plan can be found here. Each quarter this document should be reviewed and updated.  Leadership, please download the PDF into Noteability, review it, and annotate it with your grade.  Please forward your annotated copy to Leigh Ann by November 13.

COACH'S CORNER

There’s so much going on in a face to face classroom right now. Mrs. Kastrounis mentioned utilizing Apple Classroom and that is such a great use of the app. You might have explored it and realized that you cannot cluster your learners. Follow these steps and you should be able to customize your Apple Classroom. Let me know if you need support.  

Here are some tips for virtual teaching:

1. Virtual teaching takes time and preparation

2. Familiarize yourself with the virtual content

3. Do not try to recreate your typical classroom curriculum

4. Communicate 

5. Easy navigation is a must

6. Assignments will take longer

7. Build a strong online community

8. Always answer questions

9. Live teaching with care

10. Ask for feedback

[TIPS FOR VIRTUAL LEARNING]

ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

Here are 5 tips for a positive virtual learning experience.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Week of November 2 - November 9- Panorama Window Open

Week of November 2 - November 6- Last Week for WAC

Nov 1- Daylight Savings Time

Nov 2- PTO Meeting (6:00 Virtual) On Monday due to Election Day Tuesday

Nov 3- Ed Foundation t-shirt with Jeans

     Election Day

     Father of Texas Day

Nov 4- College Shirt Day

     Curbside Pick Up (11:00-1:00)

     Staff Meeting (3:15-4:45)

Nov 6- Teacher of the Year Nominations Due

     Have your learner Panorama Surveys done

Week of October 26, 2020

YOU DID IT!  YOU CRUSHED IT AGAIN THIS WEEK!  We are so incredibly in awe of what you do and how you do it being a pandemic educator.  I sincerely thank those of you that stepped up in big ways this week to attend or support our first round of HB3 training for Kinder and First grades.  I also thank you for being learners and learning through play on the new Vivitek boards.  Lastly, thank you for loving on and lifting our staff members who are going through so much outside of school.  Your kindness and sensitivity are evidence of our school living out CISD's Core Values.  I'm one lucky principal to lead with you all!

DID YOU KNOW:

• our PTO wants to make sure you have a lunch you enjoy during December to Remember? Please complete this form and share your preference by 10/23.  If you have any dietary restrictions, please send them to leeptocoppell@gmail.com,
• we had a safety audit and only 90% of our staff had their badges on?  Please remember that the expectation in CISD is to wear your badges everyday.  This is an easy area for us to improve in.  KUDOs for the great job of having all of the doors closed and asking about strangers in the building.
• Apple Classroom is a super way to monitor what your in-person learners are doing on their devices during the day?  If you need help putting this into practice, or need to refresh, reach out to Leigh Ann our a DLC.  Let's put this into practice F2F Designers!
• there is a new, single, sign on for SmartFind?  When you log into SmartFind, click the word "Microsoft" next to the icon at the bottom of the page and you should be automatically signed in.  

CIP
The 2020-2021 Campus Improvement Plan can be found here. Each quarter this document should be reviewed and updated.  Leadership, please download the PDF into Noteability, review it, and annotate it with your grade.  Please forward your annotated copy to Leigh Ann by November 13.

WRITE A CHECK

It is our final week for our Write a Check campaign.  Good luck, and thank you for pumping this up with your learners! 

RED RIBBON WEEK

Red Ribbon week is here!  Please encourage your FamiLEEs to participate and support being Drug Free!  We look forward to your participation, too.  Please share virtual and face to face photos on Twitter.

  

BOOK CHARACTER PARADE

Our Book Character parade is on Friday.  We can't wait to see our FamiLEEs driving through and our learners showing us their costumes and books.  Please share the attached invitation and parade route with your parents.   

 

OCTOBER IS DYSLEXIA AWARENESS MONTH

For kids with dyslexia, reading can be challenging. Spelling and writing can be challenging too. What classroom accommodations help level the playing field for students with dyslexia? Here’s a look at some of the supports teachers can use to help students who struggle with reading, spelling, and writing. Don’t forget, your learner with dyslexia has a service plan already in place with accommodations that are found to be helpful for them. Please review this service plan to ensure you are familiar with their specific accommodations. If you have questions or concerns, reach out to LA or Melissa.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR

It's time to nominate a new Lee Teacher of the Year.  Sorry, Sam!!  Please take time to nominate one of the MANY talented people in our building for this honor.  Nominations are due by November 6th, and the nomination form can be found here.

In order to be nominated for Teacher of the Year, the teacher must:

• Be certified to teach in Texas public schools
• Have been employed in Coppell schools for a minimum of three years (that means he/she must have completed three years in CISD)
• Be a classroom teacher (including PE, art, music, special education, literacy, etc.)
• Plan to continue teaching in Coppell ISD through the 2020-2021 school year

TTESS:
We have scheduled formal TTESS pre-conferences for half of our staff.  If you did not get a calendar invite yet, you will.  We have only scheduled with those currently teaching face to face.  We KNOW these observations are going to look and feel differently this year, so PLEASE place your worries aside.  Grace WILL be provided!

[PROVIDE VISUAL SUPPORTS]

COACH'S CORNER

When you are trying to learn something new, do you prefer a video or text? A majority will learn better with the first option. Visuals appeal more to curious and intuitive minds. Here are six advantages of visual aids:

1. They help store information longer.

2. They make communication quicker and simpler. 

3. They aid with better comprehension.

4. They act as stimulators for emotions. 

5. They drive motivation.

6. Suitable Visuals equal happy learners.

[WHAT ARE ELPs?]

ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

The English Language Proficiency Standards outline the PLDs and expectations for ELs. Click here to learn more.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Week of October 26- Red Ribbon Week

Oct 26- Wear red and sunglasses

Oct 27- Ed Foundation t-shirt w/exercise clothes or your favorite jersey

Oct 28- House t-shirt w/Jeans or pajamas

     Curbside Pick Up (11:00-1:00)

Oct 29- Wear a hat

     Elementary iPad Exchange (1:00 Media Center- look at calendar notes to see if it applies to your K-2 learner)

Oct 30- Wear clothes backwards or your StoryBook costume

     Jessica's Birthday

     Story Book Parade (5:00)