B.T. Bullock: Week 29 (9 1/2 more weeks this year): April 6th-10th

Spring Break high: I hope that you all are on a Spring Break high as you "sharpened the saw" with your families and friends and celebrated the Easter holiday. I am certainly excited to see you all again.

Jump Rope for Heart kick-off: April 6th in the Depot from 1:00-1:20 for K-2 and 1:30-1:50 for 3-5.
SIT meeting: Monday, April 6th in Platform 9 3/4.
K-2 RtI meeting: Tuesday, April 7th.
Science Fair: Turn-in projects no later than Wednesday, April 8th
School-wide PLCs: Wednesday, April 8th.
Habit 4 Training: Tuesday, April 7th or Thursday, April 9th. This session is for all staff members who are new to Bullock or any staff members who would like a refresher on "Think Win-Win."
Safety videos due: April 10th (only 2 this time)
School-wide habit quiz: Friday, April 10th. We were at 67% for students in December.
Teacher of the Year celebration: April 10th at 3:00pm.
Staff meeting: April 13th at 3:00 at Platform 9 3/4.
3-5 RtI meeting: Tuesday, April 14th.
East Lee Band visit (5th grade only): 1:15 in the Depot on April 14th.
Habit 5 Training: Tuesday, April 14th or Thursday, April 16th. This session is for all staff members who are new to Bullock or any staff members who would like a refresher on "Seek first to understand and then to be understood."
Secretary's day: Wednesday, April 15th.
PTO meeting: Thursday, April 16th at 5:00pm in the front conference room.
Bus driver banquet (bus drivers and admin): Thursday, April 16th at 6:30pm.

AdvancED visit: The AdvancED observation will take place on Tuesday, April 21st. I know this is going to feel like a lot over the next few weeks. We will knock their socks off and make Lee County proud.

Please remember two things as we embark on this process: (1) you are a phenomenal staff who tirelessly serve children every day....it's time to show off, (2) the practices that we are focusing on are best for kids and we should ALWAYS do what is best for kids. If it's the right thing to do on April 21st, it's the right thing to do always.
Please carefully review the Prezi and observation tool that has been shared with you for further details. Mrs. Perrell and I will be using that tool for informal walk-throughs the next few weeks to help provide feedback.
Observers will be questioning teachers and students about their practices. Remember to be clear about learning goals and engage students in meaningful reflections about their learning.

In order to distill down the information that has been provided, I have created an AdvancED Essential Question for each standard. Please reflect upon these questions in context of your classroom environment and instruction. These would also be good dicussion points in your PLC meeting. I will be resending these question each day over the next few days as to not overwhlem. I wanted to frontload the information as we begin with the end in mind:

Equitable learning environment: How are you providing differentiated learning opportunities for your students?
High expectations: Where have you incorporated higher-order thinking and rigorous coursework in your instructional day?
Supportive learning environment: How do you ensure that your learning environment is positive and safe for students to take academic risks?
Active learning environment: How will an outside observer be able to see that ALL students in your class are actively engaged?
Progress monitoring and feedback environment: What process or systems are used to provide ongoing feedback about student learning in all subjects?
Well-managed learning environment: What classroom routines are implemented to protect instructional time and set behavioral expectations?
Digital learning environment: How are you using digital tools to research, solve problems, communicate, collaborate, and create original student work?

Teacher of the Year: We will be announcing our 2015-16 teacher of the year and enjoying some refreshment this Friday at 3:oopm at Platform 9 3/4. What a wonderful way to end the week!

Instructional time reminder: We have 7 weeks before EOGs and 3 weeks before the EOY for mClass.

NC READY: Please make sure that you are using the NC READY books for math. Students need to be exposed the rigor of that resource.

Staff member of the month: Don't forget to celebrate your colleagues by submitting nominations for staff member of the month.
Parent contact info for CO: Please remember to enter your parent contact information for Central Office by April 10th. I know requests such as this spread your schedule thin. I appreciate your time in completing this request so our county can better communicate with our stakeholders.

Discipline: Teacher and TAs must notify a parent/guardian before submitting a discipline referral. Mrs. Perrell and I will not process referrals if the parent has not been contacted in advance. Parents want to know details of incidents that we are unable to provide. It is important that we work with our parents to help keep out students on TRACK and avoid surprises. Thanks for you help with this.

Modeling: Please remember that we should have quiet hallways. Please make sure to keep you voice quiet in the halls as well. Loudly redirecting student behavior in our common areas can be more distruptive than the undesired behavior itself.

Leaders on TRACK: Please continue to be consistent and excited about the Leaders on TRACK competition. We are seeing a decrease in the overall referrals. That is amazing! Decreased referrals = Increased instructional time (not to mention your sanity). That is most certainly a WIN-WIN. Please do not send individual students to the celebration it should be earned as a class. Remember that we pull the names of the classes who earned the reward at 3:00pm on Thursday. If your train is not moved at that time, the class will not be able to participate in the celebration.

Safety reminder: A tornado "watch" means that conditions are favorable for a tornado to form. Classes in the cabooses should enter the main building during a "watch." All students should remain in the building and continue normal activity. A tornado "warning" means that a tornado has been spotted. All staff and students should move to their designated safe spot inside the and assume "tuck and duck" position.

B.T. Bullock