Week 35: May 18-22 (16 1/2 days of school)

•               A week for duty
  ·         Habit of the week: Sharpen the Saw
  ·         Upcoming meetings and events for May 18-22 and May 25-29
  §  EVAAS meeting (for those teachers that received an invite):  May 18th after buses roll
  §  Committee Meetings: May 18th from 3:00-4:00.
  §  Parent Night for West Lee:  Monday, May 18th from 6:00-7:00pm. 
  §  1-2 Quarterly assessments:  
  §  Tuesday, May 19th - Reading
  §  Wednesday, May 20th - Math
  §  Thursday, May 21st - Grammar
  §  Public Works visit K-2:  May 19th from 12:00-2:00
  §  K-2 RtI: May 19th in Mrs. Stone's room
  §  Shower for Ms. Hewitt:  May 19th in the Platform at 3:00pm.
  §  MNN Meeting for 1st and 2nd grade:  Tuesday, May 19th from 6:00-7:00pm.  
  §  Scholar's Day: 7:00pm at Southern Lee
  §  2nd grade assembly:  
  §  School-wide PLCs: Wednesday, May 20th from 3:00-4:15 in the Platform.
  §  EC/ESL EVAAS session: Wednesday, May 20th at 3:00.
  §  Volunteer appreciation lunch:  Thursday, May 21st (Please invite parents and community members to attend).  An invitation with an RSVP will be provided this week.  
  §  IMPORTANT EVAAS verification due:  May 22nd (see below for link)
                     ________________________________________________
  • No school/Memorial Day: May 25th
  • Lighthouse Meeting:  Tuesday, May 26th at 3:00pm
  • 3-5 RtI: Tuesday, May 26th at 3:00pm
  • School-wide PLCs: Wednesday, May 20th from 3:00-4:15 in the Platform
  • EOGs: 
  • May 28th-Science (5th only).  Computers will not be accessible K-4 on this day.  
  • June 2nd-Reading (3-5)
  • June 3rd-Math (3-5)
  • June 4th-June 10th - Make-ups
  • Read to Achieve:  June 8th (3rd grade only)
  ________________________________________________
  ·         Beginning with the end in mind
  §  Awards(in the Depot):
  §  June 5th from 8:30-9:15 - 3rd grade
  §  June 5th from 9:30-10:15 -  1st grade
  §  June 5th from 10:30-11:15 -  2nd grade
  §  June 5th from 11:30-12:15 -  Kindergarten
  §  June 8th from 11:45-12:30 - 4th grade
  §  June 9th from 10:30-11:30 - Graduation for 5th grade
  §  Bengalicious Bee:  June 5th starting at 1:15 in the Depot
  §  Survivor (5th only): June 8th in the Depot from 8:45-11
  §  4th grade awards: June 8th from 11:45-12:30 in the Depot
  §  Staff meeting:  June 8th from 3:00-4:15 in the Platform
  §  5th grade graduation: June 9th from 10:30-11:30 in the Depot
  §  SIT Team meeting: June 9th at 3:00
  §  Last day of school:  June 10th at 12:00
  §  Work days:  Required June 11th/optional June 12th
  ·         Awards and events:  Please remember to find leadership opportunities for your upcoming awards.  Think outside the box.  Allow students voice and choice.  An award event, with parents present, is a perfect place to showcase student talent and the impact the Leader in Me is having on our school culture.  The less the adults are "in charge" the better.  
  o    Some ideas:
  §  Greeters/escort
  §  Parent sign-in leader
  §  Introduction to the event by students (this is possible at all grade levels down to kindergarten)
  §  Student's reading pieces they have written reflecting on the year 
  §  Student's singing
  §  Student made invitation to awards
  ·         Testing this week:  Please see Mrs. Perrell's testing plan for grades 1-2 this week.
  ·         Mr. Martin:  Please thank Mr. Martin for letting the whole school community "take-over" his space for awards and other special events.  He is always so cheerful and flexible.  Thank you Mr. Martin.  
  ·         Go bag:  Please let me know if you need a new "go bag" (the bag itself, not the contents) by Wednesday, May 20th end of day by checking the box on the shared form located at https://goo.gl/uDUlzM.
  ·         Emergency water bottles:  Please take inventory of your emergency water bottles in your room and entre the information on the form noted above (https://goo.gl/uDUlzM).  
  ·         Master calendar:  PTO and Bullock staff has prepared a master calendar for the 2015-16 school year.  I will scan and send so the staff has a sneak peak of what's to come.  We streamlined and spread-out fundraisers, planned around three "big rock" events, and consolidated/eliminated events that are not as successful as we would like.  Please make us aware of events we might not know about such as high school games; we cross-checked every calendar we could think of in preparing the calendar.  We have an exciting year ahead.   I would like to avoid extemporaneous additions as much as possible so the calendar and work-load stays balanced and predictable. We are staying proactive and beginning with the end in the mind. 
  ·         EVAAS verification time:  The EVAAS verification window is open for teachers.  EVAAS is located at https://ncdpi.sas.com. Please verify and submit your rosters as soon as you are able.  The due date Friday, May 22nd.  If you received a Google invite, I need to meet with you on Monday, May 18th after buses roll to rectify some conflicts in the system.  Please bring your computer.  We'll meet in the Depot. 
  ·         Volunteers:  Please invite all volunteers to a special luncheon in their honor on Thursday, May 21st from 11:30-1:30 in the Depot.  
  ·         Painting this summer:  We are so fortunate that the county will be painting our classrooms this summer.  Our school will shine from top to bottom.  In order to prepare, please complete the following:
  o    Remove all items taped to the walls.
  o    Remove all adhesive materials from walls.
  o    Clear off all storage above the cubbies.
  o    Move all furniture and items to the center of the room.
  o    Please store all computers left in the classroom in safe location (they cannot be left out).
  ·         Behavior Junction:  Last week I sent a reminder about the Behavior Junction/reflection process.  Please remember the ultimate goal is to keep students in class learning.  We cannot afford for students to be in Behavior Junction for prolonged periods of time.  Students should not be sent to Behavior Junction without (1) reflecting in class and (2) reflecting in a buddy room.  Behavior Junction should be reserved for extreme disruptions or safety concerns.  If a child has visited Behavior Junction, more than 10 times this year it's time to try something new.  What we are doing is clearly not working at that point.
  ·         New supply system:  Gail or I will be sending out a request for supplies for the upcoming year.  We will be using that information to buy supplies for the entire 2015-15 school year. We will no longer buy supplies and hand-out everything at the start of the year. Throughout the year, you can fill-out a supply request form and our wonderful office staff will fill your request within 48 hours.  :) This system should help ensure that you have the materials you need to serve students all year long.  
  ·         Library schedule:  
  o    Last check-out week was last week.
  o    All books are due May 18-22nd
  o    Library is closed from June 1st until the EOY
  o    Laptops will be collected on June 8th and 9th
  ·         Food in trash cans:   Please do not put food items in the classroom trash can. This is creating unpleasant odors and rodents/insects entering the rooms. Food items need to be placed in the designated trash cans that are placed in the hallway and dining hall. 
  ·         Recycling: Paper that can be recycled should be placed in the recycle bags. If you need a bag please contact Mrs. Rockwell or extra bags are placed outside the back lobby in the large size blue bin. 
  ·          Leader on TRACK:  The Leader on TRACK reward this week will be ice pops and 10 minutes of extra recess (you can decide the time).  Next week, we will bring in a dunk tank.  You do not have to participate, but classes who are Leaders on TRACK can earn the right to dunk their teacher.  
  ·         iReady diagnostic window:  All students will need to complete an iReady diagnostic.  I have already assigned the K diagnostic.  Grades 1-2 will be from May 21st to June 9th.  The 3-5 window will be from June 4th-June 9th (after EOGs).  I know the timing it tight. We will need to work around the county and state testing schedule.  Thanks for being flexible.  
  ·         Year end checklist:  You can find the year end checklist at https://goo.gl/PjNVRL.  Please complete the year end checklist before leaving for the summer.  Please make sure an administrator checks your room before you head-out for the summer.  We also want to make sure we say goodbye to folks.  
  ·         Class rosters:  Thank you all grade levels that handed in their rosters for next year.  I am missing a couple grade levels.  Please have those in to me by Monday, May 18th.  
  o    You can access the roster template at http://goo.gl/P8NdEo.  
  o    Please remember we while cluster students in grades K, 4th and 5th. Please distribute ESL students evenly in grades 1st, 2nd and 3rd.  We will have self-contained AIG classrooms in 4th and 5th for the upcoming year. 
  ·         Instruction:

  o    Continue to hit academic vocabulary hard (A great resource is located at http://goo.gl/9G9Sgt). 

  
  

  o    The summary of your test taking strategies can be found at http://goo.gl/EcX0ZD.  Thanks for the great ideas.  Take time to teach these test taking skills to your students.