tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30268833323042416642024-02-08T02:40:07.953-08:00SES Staff Bits 'n PiecesBecca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-18469059405223291182012-05-15T19:30:00.000-07:002012-05-15T19:30:31.560-07:00Schools Out (almost)!!<span id="internal-source-marker_0.5813895317989948" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh my gosh – another year has flown by!!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For me, this has been one humdinger of a year! This has been a much bigger job change than I was anticipating, but that’s great, I was ready for ‘different’ and there’s no doubt that I got ‘different’! (Lesson: Be careful what you ask for!) I am so appreciative of the K-6 staff, what a wonderful group of people to start on this adventure into administration – I really mean that, you are awesome! I have appreciated your patience as I 'learn the ropes' and settle into this new role. Although we have huge challenges ahead of us, I’m excited because I am confident that pushing through those challenges is going to bring us closer together as a team and we’ll grow and improve as a school. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’m looking forward to the retirement reception tomorrow evening. I have especially enjoyed spending time visiting with Jane and Marcia about their careers and listening to their stories. It’s also been fun to talk to their colleagues and past administrators to gain more perspective on their careers. These ladies have had great careers that have made wonderful impressions on the lives of lots of children. They will certainly be missed by both staff and students!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I hope you have a great summer ahead of you. I hope you’ll keep in touch over the summer; email me or give me a call or stop by my house if you’re ever out for a drive in the country. I love company! This sprint to the end of year has me very excited to just spend some time relaxing with friends and family. We managed to get Adam graduated and celebrated last weekend. Morgan will have regional track on Friday and Jared (my 22 yr old K-Stater) will be off to Dayton, Ohio on Sunday to spend the summer doing an internship. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ll probably post a few blogs over the summer. If you want to be notified when they are posted you need to become a follower of the blog and you’ll get notification when I post something. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">MTSS Team -- Just a reminder that we are meeting from 1:00 - 3:00 on Wednesday afternoon.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Becca</span>Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-22509782147544458432012-05-07T05:20:00.003-07:002012-05-07T05:20:53.218-07:00Welcome to the last full week of the school year…….<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">Good morning, I hope your weekend was refreshing. This has the potential to be a long blog, take some breaks, hang
in there with me…….</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; text-transform: uppercase;">First of all – this is what the week holds for us:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">TUES, May 8<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The K-6 Awards Assembly is at 2:30.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will put a copy of the agenda in your box.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Teacher of the Year Reception at 4:00 to honor Judy Hampel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">WED, May 9<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Administrative Council at 4:00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As far as I know, we will be meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be sure and get agenda items to your
grade level reps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">THUR, May 10<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Kindergarten Graduation/Music Program at 2:45.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Just
FYI, as soon as I am done shaking tiny hands I will be heading to the track meet
at Fairfield.)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">FRI, May 11<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Play Day at 12:30.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
weather.com has any integrity at all it’s going to be a beautiful, partly
cloudy, 80-degree day with a 10 mph breeze! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Skyline Carnival at 3:45.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What a fun way to bring closure to a fun day and a great school
year!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">SUN, May 13<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">High School Graduation at 4:00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This isn’t necessarily a K-6 event, but I want to mention it
because it has a lot to do with the great work of K-12 teachers!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to slip on my “mom” hat for just
a few sentences and tell you how serious I am about that statement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam will graduate on Sunday and of
course I am very proud of him, but I am also so impressed and appreciative of
all the Skyline teachers and staff who have invested in him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is a lucky young man to have had the
opportunity to grow up, from birth to high school graduate, as a member of the
Skyline family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It truly takes a
village to raise a child; you’ve been an awesome village for him!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So whether you taught him in your
classroom, went to at a football game, laughed at his jokes or smiled at him in
the hallway – thanks! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; text-transform: uppercase;">Teacher Re-Assignment / Changes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Harmony will be moving from her middle school math/social studies
position to join the 5<sup>th</sup>/6<sup>th</sup> grade PBL team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will be interviewing and hiring
someone in the near future for the opening this created in the middle school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Dani will be leaving Skyline to take a position at Liberty Middle
School.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have appreciated all that
Dani has done for our students and wish her the best in her new position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are also in the process of
interviewing candidates for this position.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; text-transform: uppercase;">RELOCATIONS HAPPENING OVER THE summer…..<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">We have a lot of people who are moving classrooms over the summer,
this is the plan:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The 5<sup>th</sup> and 6<sup>th</sup> Grade teachers will be moving
into Denise’s, Carrie’s, Bjorn’s and Karen’s classrooms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Denise will continue to work out of
that classroom, but will be sharing it with Michael.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carrie will be moving to where Kris is currently, Bjorn to
where Shari is and Karen to where Hannah is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason for this move is to keep the four PBL classrooms
in close proximity to each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We were highly advised to keep these classrooms together and have seen
the benefits to students when they are together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">ESL is moving downstairs to the small room next to Marla’s
classroom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The virtual school will be located in what is now the ESL
classroom upstairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next year we
will have a full-time director for the virtual school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The purpose of this is to expand the
virtual school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Expanding the
virtual school has the potential to meet the needs of more students and to bring
revenue to the district.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Patsy will be setting up shop in my old office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will give the K-8 resource room
much needed additional space and will provide a more isolated place for speech
/ language services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; text-transform: uppercase;">Next Year’s Calendar<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I had originally intended to talk about the K-Graduation plan in
this week’s blog, I guess I’ll go ahead even though it’s old news by now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Conversations about ending students’
Kindergarten experience with graduation began (actually resurfaced) in the
2010-11 school year, those conversations included administration, teachers and
parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am convinced that dismissing
Kindergarten two and one-half days before the 1<sup>st</sup> through 11<sup>th</sup>
graders will NOT have a negative impact on student learning and will align the
schedule with what graduation symbolizes. The number of days for our
kindergarteners will still exceeds the number required by KSDE by a very large
margin. This change will give K teachers an opportunity to bring in potential
Kindergarteners for the next year for further evaluation and if time permits it
could possibly provide them with time to sort and organize student data to
prepare for the next year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Kindergarteners will be coming to school on the day following their
graduation to participate in Play Day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The only possible “con” I see is that child care for families for those
two days might be an issue, if we find that’s a problem, we’ll consider that as
we plan the 2013/14 school year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">CHECK OUT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I have dug deep into the “old files” and the most recent check out
sheet I can find is one from 1999!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ll work on coming up with that, but in the mean time I do know that
before you leave for the summer I will need:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .4in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .35in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A list of summer school students.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .4in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .35in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Your supply order.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .4in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .35in; text-indent: -.15in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Class splits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I know there are also some formalities that we need to take care
of like classroom inventories, key check in/out, equipment check-in with Sue
and computer check in/out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll
ask for some help from Herb and get more checkout information to you later in
the week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">MTSS Team<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The MTSS Team will be meeting/training on Wednesday, May 16 in the
afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The implementation
process will involve learning more and coming up with a plan that will work in
our setting with our staff and our students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amy Wagoner and Marci Sheardon from ESSDACK will be guiding
us through this process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amy is a
KSDE trained MTSS facilitator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They will be facilitating the meeting on the 16<sup>th</sup> to start
the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have not
signed up to be on the team, but would like to, you still can, just let me
know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">ASSESSMENT
SCORES<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I have complete packets of the 3-8 Math and Reading Assessment
Results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These can be checked out
from me if you would like to review that data beyond your grade level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I warned you from the get-go that this was going to be long and it
is, thanks for sticking with it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
know that last week was not been an easy one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are working extra hard, students are acting like they
are certainly ready to start summer and you’re trying hard to finish up the
school year, you’re preparing for special events and organizing field
trips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though it’s a tough
time of year and things can get tense, keep in mind that you are a terrific
staff, a great team and that Skyline is a pretty special place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Have a great week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Becca<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-21018917028315025152012-04-30T07:04:00.002-07:002012-04-30T07:04:57.771-07:00Overview of the week......<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Good Morning, I hope you had a good weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m just going to quickly go over what
our week looks like….</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Monday, April 30</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3<sup>rd</sup> and 4<sup>th</sup> grade
Principal’s Club is rescheduled for today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll meet those students at lunch.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Tuesday, May 1</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
OWLS site clean-up after school from 3:45 –
5:00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Students who attend must be
sponsored by a parent or other adult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Wednesday, May 2</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The 3<sup>rd</sup> graders will be having
their annual book sale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year
they will be setting up shop in the extra classroom in North hallway and they
will be donating the proceeds to the Pratt County Humane Society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Staff Meeting – I’m going to spend most of the staff meeting
going over what I see as our vision over the next couple of years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really want to end the year with the
entire staff having a common understanding of where we headed and what it’s
going to involve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The PDC meeting
will follow the staff meeting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Thursday, May 3</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Yo Yo Assembly will be from
8:30-9:15.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not sure which gym
we will be in; I’ll get that info to you between now and the assembly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are required to sell Yo Yo’s in the
front office for one week, but we’ll try to make this as painless as possible
for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next week is when end of the year things will get revved up
with K graduation, the awards assembly, play day and the carnival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have a great week!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Becca</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-59919022372203922992012-04-20T09:25:00.000-07:002012-04-20T09:29:41.891-07:00Things are moving fast!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
BOO - it’s me, the principal!! Seriously, I hope I haven’t been completely invisible, but I
sure don’t feel like I’ve been quite where I need to be the last couple of
weeks and have lost some of the pulse that I would like to have on K-6. I’ve also missed getting a blog posted
the last two Mondays, so here we go, better late than never! For the last
couple of weeks I’ve been a little distracted with the prom, the testing audit
(that got cancelled once we were all ready), the needs assessment and then the
National Honor Society banquet came immediately after all that was over and now
pre-enrollment for high school has got to get revved up and rolling in order to
have a master schedule done in 19 school days – and oh yea, there’s a few
graduations to squeeze in! Regardless
of all that clutter on my schedule -- <b><span style="text-transform: uppercase;">my highest priority and defintely my biggest
joy of this new job is to support you in your roll with your students</span></b>,
so be sure and let me know what you need.
As I’ve told you before, when things get crazy I could miss the
blatantly obvious, so be sure and communicate with me – spell it out, you won’t
offend me by doing so, and we’ll get on the same page a lot quicker. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think my favorite part of the last couple of weeks has
been the needs assessment that ESSDACK came and did with our staff and students. Specifically, I loved taking them
around to the classrooms and watching you and your students teaching and
learning. As I went from room to
room I was honestly just so proud of what was going on in the classrooms and
the entire school, it was a great feeling. I’m going to email you their report; I think it will be a good
“road map” as we work toward school improvement. When you have a chance to look at it I would certainly
welcome any comments that you have about it. We will take a closer look at it at the May faculty meeting. Another thing to be thinking about for
the May faculty meeting is the OWLS area.
We need to consider how that fits into our vision and what needs to be
done in order to it to accomplish it’s purpose. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think K-6 is DONE with state assessments – YEA! And here’s how things are stacking up
for next week: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<br />
<ul>
<li>3</li>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><sup>rd</sup> Grade is off to the Cosmosphere on Monday.</span></ul>
<ul>
<li>Tuesday is the health screening.</li>
Thanks to Karen for getting that organized for us. I’ll probably get my name on the list
and get stuck, but I already know the report will say something like “hey
sister - you really should eat your veggies and exercise!” …. sounds like a
good summer resolution!</ul>
<ul>
<li>Tuesday is also the PBL Dinner Theatre that they have been
working so hard on.</li>
They will be
providing a meal and entertainment to over 200 people!</ul>
<ul>
<li>Brenda, DeGaye and Karen have worked hard to put the Science
Fair together for next Thursday and Friday.</li>
That’s a great event for our students!</ul>
<ul>
<li>I’ll be hosting K-2 principal’s club on Thursday and 3</li>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><sup>rd</sup>
and 4<sup>th</sup> on Friday of next week. </span></ul>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Morgan and I are headed to Manhattan (or as she says,
“Manhappiness”) for KSU Open House this afternoon. I hope you have an awesome weekend! <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You
are a great staff</b> and I am truly thankful for all of you and the awesome
team you form and most of all for the great things you do for our kids! Thanks!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Becca</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-76333027800277992132012-04-02T19:05:00.000-07:002012-04-02T19:05:50.365-07:00There is HOPE in the future!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>217</o:Words> <o:Characters>1237</o:Characters> <o:Company>USD 438</o:Company> <o:Lines>10</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>1519</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Today I got the opportunity to listen to some really good speakers at a conference in Salina.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first thing I learned was that many of our challenges are challenges all over the state, there’s just something comforting about sharing the pain!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My favorite speaker was Diane DeBacker, our Commissioner of Education.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always appreciate reading and listening to her thoughts, she adds a lot of common sense to the equation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She explained the waiver proposal that KSDE submitted to the US Department of Education.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that plan looks very promising and if it’s approved will provide a framework that empowers educators to do great things for students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The greatest difference I see is that with QPA, state assessments are at least 50% of what determines our accreditation, with the new plan common assessments would account for 20% of our accreditation at most!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll explain more at the faculty meeting on Wednesday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">We do have the Yo-Yo assembly scheduled for May 3 from 8:30 – 9:15.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looks like it will be a fun assembly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can see more about what to expect at this website.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.yoyoempire.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=4">http://www.yoyoempire.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=4</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We have 4<sup>th</sup>, 5<sup>th</sup> and 6<sup>th</sup> graders taking state assessments this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it looks like K and 1<sup>st</sup> grade will be having some Easter Egg hunts, and then we will all enjoy a 4-DAY WEEKEND! See you at the faculty meeting, I promise to have multiple forms of chocolate!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Becca</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><i>"The 12-step chocoholics program: Never be more than 12 steps away from chocolate!"</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;">Terry Moore</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(I have no idea who Terry is or if he really knows anything -- but I like his philosophy!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 1.2em;"><i><br />
</i></div><br />
<!--EndFragment-->Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-83515593304813417342012-03-26T05:21:00.000-07:002012-03-26T05:21:39.392-07:00Welcome to the Home Stretch!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>243</o:Words> <o:Characters>1390</o:Characters> <o:Company>USD 438</o:Company> <o:Lines>11</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>1707</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">I’m not sure what kind of Spring Break gets an educator really revved up for the final seven weeks of the school year; but I sure hope you had that kind of break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the exception of a couple of shopping trips to Wichita, we spent this Spring Break at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have managed to get ready for prom and graduation, garden a little, tile a bathroom, plumb a lot, trim trees and haul off about thirty-seven trillion loads of limbs (OK, that’s an exaggeration, but my body thinks its hauled off that many loads!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">It’ll be great to have Marcia back with us this week. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sixth grade will be getting their social studies assessments taken care of this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The week will wind down with a bang with Jump Rope for Heart after school on Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After this week time is going to pick up and fly!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next two weeks will be four-day weeks that will include a lot of Kansas Assessments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we will be busy with programs, awards assemblies, science fair, Kindergarten graduation, end-of-the-year field trips, play day and the carnival in addition to planning for next year!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like I mentioned earlier, I really hope your spring break managed to get you revved up!!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Just an FYI regarding my time… Drew and I are sponsors for the Junior class, so with that comes….. the Prom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As that time approaches I will probably be pulled in several directions and will take a personal day the Friday before the Prom to work with the students on decorating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, Morgan is a trackster, I will also be leaving early several days to attend her track meets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though I will be busy, I am still very committed to supporting your role in your classrooms, don’t be afraid to let me know what you need!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">Thanks for all you do!! Have a great week.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Becca</div><!--EndFragment-->Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-69348252669273069322012-03-11T19:15:00.000-07:002012-03-11T19:15:34.262-07:00Begin the 5-Day Count Down!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>250</o:Words> <o:Characters>1427</o:Characters> <o:Company>USD 438</o:Company> <o:Lines>11</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>1752</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">I hope you had a great weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also hope you got some rest and relaxation since this week starts off with a bang with two twelve hour days!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope your conferences go well and provide you with a useful opportunity to partner with parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll try to keep my cell phone close during those evenings, if you need something please don’t hesitate to text or call me; whether your need is a cup of coffee or another person to sit in on a conference I would be glad to help you out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">Please keep Beth W’s mother in your thoughts and prayers this week as she suffered a stroke on Saturday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth will be gone most of the week to be with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll be talking to Beth on Monday and will update you with her mom’s condition.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Thank you so much for your hard work at the faculty meeting last week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You continue to amaze me how you dig into that data and work together to come out with terrific information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really do see us doing a lot more of this type of work in the future and I can promise you that the end result will be seen in student achievement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That type of collaboration where people trust each other enough to be willing to look at strengths and weakness, then collaborate to come up with innovative ways to help all students learn is of great value. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The PDC committee is initiating the use of Professional Learning Communities across the district; this will help us begin to create that type of culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of our efforts, whether it’s MTSS or transitioning to the Common Core will be so much more successful in that environment. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Principal’s club for the K-2 students will be Thursday, 3<sup>rd</sup> and 4<sup>th</sup> grade principal’s club will be on Friday.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Hang in there; you’re in the home stretch!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Becca</div><!--EndFragment-->Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-14728578050298836322012-03-05T06:24:00.000-08:002012-03-05T06:24:55.671-08:00March 5, 2012<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Author>crandall</o:Author> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Created>2011-12-29T20:03:00Z</o:Created> <o:LastSaved>2011-12-29T20:03:00Z</o:LastSaved> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>388</o:Words> <o:Characters>2213</o:Characters> <o:Company>USD 438</o:Company> <o:Lines>18</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>4</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>2717</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Good Morning! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">As I look at the week ahead it looks a little on the calm side, that almost scares me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This evening will be the 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> grade music program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(It might not look like calm week to those teachers and Jane until 8:30 this evening!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will be gone most of the afternoon attending a meeting at PCC.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Wednesday we have a staff meeting, we will be developing the goals for our school improvement plan at that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have a preference whether you want to work on the math, reading or school operations goals please let me know; otherwise I will assign you to a team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Just FYI, the school operations goal will be focused on implementing MTSS.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will use our staff meeting time to divide into teams to write the goals and explore strategies that we will employ to meet those goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The goals we write must be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SMART GOALS</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SMART GOAL</i> is a buzzword in the world of school improvement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>SMART is an acronym that stands for:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">S=Specific<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">M=Measurable<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A=Actionable and Attainable<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">R=Focused on the learning results, rather than the teaching.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">T=Measured and monitored over time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ll have some handouts that will provide you with examples of SMART goals and a template for creating them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I am very happy that we have a team of teachers going to the Cognitively Guided Instruction workshop at ESSDACK this summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have several of you who have indicated you want to attend Common Core workshops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The CGI team is full, but there is plenty of room for others who want to learn more about Common Core.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Speaking of learning….. I would encourage all of you to find a blog or RSS feed to follow that will give you little shots of information on topics you are interested in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are new to this type of thing, ESSDACK would be a great place to start, to check out their RSS feeds and blogs go to <a href="http://essdack.org/?q=RSSFeeds">http://essdack.org/?q=RSSFeeds</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This is a neat article that was pulled off of an ESSDACK RSS feed by a staff member -- <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://jeffhurtblog.com/2012/01/31/10-brainbased-learning-laws-that-trump-traditional-education/?utm_source=Coming+Attractions+February+9%2C+2012&utm_campaign=ESSDACK%3A+Newsletter+Feb+9th&utm_medium=email">http://jeffhurtblog.com/2012/01/31/10-brainbased-learning-laws-that-trump-traditional-education/?utm_source=Coming+Attractions+February+9%2C+2012&utm_campaign=ESSDACK%3A+Newsletter+Feb+9th&utm_medium=email</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By all means, as you come across neat stuff, feel free to share it with us.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Have a great week and THANKS for all you do for our students!!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 10pt;">The Skyline Elementary/Junior High Middle School will</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 10pt;">provide a safe and caring community to develop engaged,</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 10pt;">passionate learners and successful 21</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 10pt;">st</span></sup></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 10pt;"> Century citizens.</span></i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #185205; font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><!--EndFragment-->Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-44399545712758055852012-02-27T08:11:00.000-08:002012-02-27T08:11:11.135-08:00Happy Monday!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Author>crandall</o:Author> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Created>2011-12-29T20:03:00Z</o:Created> <o:LastSaved>2011-12-29T20:03:00Z</o:LastSaved> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>225</o:Words> <o:Characters>1284</o:Characters> <o:Company>USD 438</o:Company> <o:Lines>10</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>1576</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I hope you all had a great weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a little late in getting my blog out to you so I’ll send you a little now and a little more later in the week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I am at PCC all day today at Academic Olympics with about 25 high school students. Thanks for your great work in getting them ready for this competition!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">First of all the not-so-great news – I just found out that Cristy Harts is going to be starting a new part time job next week and this is going to cause a change in her schedule at Skyline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I appreciate so much what Cristy does for us at Skyline, in addition to being a very skilled educator, she has a big heart for kids and makes a huge difference for lots of them. She will continue to be at school in the afternoons on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and all day on Tuesday and Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later this week we will need to revise her entire schedule so that we are utilizing her in the places where the needs are greatest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The good news is that Cristy is still going to be able to spend time with our students, just not as much time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;">The 3rd graders will be kicking off state assessments on Tuesday.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Wednesday afternoon the interview team for the Title I position will be meeting with three candidates. If you are on that team you can be expecting to get the interview questions early on Tuesday morning.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Friday the 2<sup>nd</sup> graders will be off to Dr. Seuss day at the public library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Next week at our faculty meeting we will be working on coming up with goals and strategies for our school improvement plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll be sending another blog post that explains that process and get some input from you.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Have a great week!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Becca<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Bradley Hand ITC TT-Bold';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">“The more that you read, the more things you will know. </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Bradley Hand ITC TT-Bold';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Bradley Hand ITC TT-Bold';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Dr. Seuss</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: 'Bradley Hand ITC TT-Bold';"><i><br />
</i></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-19878780288365452602012-02-20T05:41:00.000-08:002012-02-20T05:41:51.652-08:00K Round-Up was Great!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>354</o:Words> <o:Characters>2019</o:Characters> <o:Company>USD 438</o:Company> <o:Lines>16</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>4</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>2479</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Kindergarten Round-Up was a great day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a full day of visiting with future T-Birds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure what our final count was, but I think it was right around 34.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A huge “thanks” to Jeanette, Karen, Tonie and Joyce for taking care of the planning and all of the people who helped out in that adventure!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think I have sent out a blog since Karen Wilcox came on board as our new nurse – welcome Karen, we are glad to have you at Skyline!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m looking forward to the Jump Rope for Heart Kick-Off Assembly on Wednesday afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always enjoy seeing how enthused our students get about Jump Rope for Heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know they learn a lot about fitness and have fun, but I also know they appreciate the opportunity to help with such a worthwhile cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m looking forward to dining with K-2 students on Thursday and 3-4 grade students on Friday for principal’s club.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">I completed several evaluations last week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the last few weeks, most of my classroom visits were connected to the formal evaluation process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do hope to get back in the routine this week of getting around to your classrooms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been so impressed by what goes on in our classrooms!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have bragged a lot about the great things I’ve seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really wish you had more time to visit each others classrooms, I think would be a valuable, uplifting experience for everyone. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Making progress in the selection process for the Title I Math and Reading specialist is a high priority for me this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you volunteered to be involved in interviews, I’ll be in touch with you on Monday about finding a day to meet after school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">As we look to next year, MTSS is on my mind in a big way……. OK, in an overwhelming sort of way!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more I hear, the more convinced I am that we need to be seriously considering making the leap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used to see “MTSS” as a bad word, now I see it as a hopeful strategy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lori Meyers, our school Psych, gave us the name of a consultant who might be able to help us gather info about MTSS and what it would look like at Skyline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may see if we could have her come to our March faculty meeting; I would appreciate your feedback about what you think of having her come to visit with us and answer questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This link will take you to a brochure about MTSS: <a href="http://www.kansasmtss.org/all/MTSS%20Brochure.pdf">www.kansasmtss.org/all/MTSS%20Brochure.pdf</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Well it’s time to start the week, I do hope you have a great week!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Becca</div><!--EndFragment-->Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-11010124767808013332012-02-09T12:13:00.000-08:002012-02-09T12:13:20.809-08:00Looking Ahead.....<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>568</o:Words> <o:Characters>3239</o:Characters> <o:Company>USD 438</o:Company> <o:Lines>26</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>6</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>3977</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">First of all – THANKS to all of you for your positive attitude and hard work on Monday at our inservice.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">I feel like we are ready to come up with some goals.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">We can spend time at a faculty meeting working on that.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">The first five items below were discussed at Admin Council this week; the last couple are just things that I thought you would want to be aware of. If you have concerns and questions about any of these topics I would encourage you to talk to me and your colleagues who are directly involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever does become reality, I hope that it will be a 'big picture plan' that all of us can embrace and support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">5<sup>th</sup> and 6<sup>th</sup> GRADE PROJECT BASED LEARNING<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Due to the number of students who will be in the 5<sup>th</sup> and 6<sup>th</sup> grade next year (70), a new teacher will be added to the PBL staff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michael Nelson will be leaving his technology coordinator position and taking the PBL teaching position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He will still take care of the some of the ‘tech stuff’, but his primary job will be teaching math to 5<sup>th</sup> and 6<sup>th</sup> graders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">3<sup>rd</sup> and 4<sup>th</sup> GRADES<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Michelle, Carrie and Bjorn are doing some research and forming their opinions on the idea of Michelle and Kristi looping to 4<sup>th</sup> grade with these students and Carrie and Bjorn teaching 3<sup>rd</sup> grade next year, and looping on to 4<sup>th</sup> grade with those students the following year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that point we would look at data to determine what kind of impact looping had on student learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it’s a positive impact on how much our students are learning, we may consider doing it again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Daily Start/End Times<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There is concern about the earliness / lateness of some of the bus routes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are discussions about starting school 15 minutes later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that were to happen there are lots of unknowns; would we go 15 minutes later in the day, would we add days to the school year, etc….<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rumors<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Just be aware, there are lots of rumors circulating among our patrons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think the best thing we can do is to just be positive and supportive of our school district and explain that lots of decisions will be made over the next couple of months. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">$$$$$$<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The amount of money in our Capital Outlay fund (in real-life, I would call this a savings account) has decreased dramatically over the last few years in order for us to keep up with budget cuts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means that there will be less of this ‘savings’ to cover building repairs and maintenance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the money to take care of our building may have to start coming from the general budget (instruction) if we can’t figure out a way to build those funds back up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are, no doubt, tough times in education.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BUT you know the great thing about being old is that I know that we can make it through tough times, we’ve done it before and we’ll do it again!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will take sacrifices, but it will happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no reason to think that those sacrifices will diminish the quality of instruction at Skyline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.masteryconnect.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">www.masteryconnect.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Most of you are aware of this website that we were getting excited about on Monday afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we purchase this web-based software it will provide us with a system that will allow us to keep track of each student's progress towards the common core standards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The system will get its information from assessments that are provided within the software, or teachers can import their own assessments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we go with this you won’t need to develop a checklist; this will provide the checklists, plus a lot more!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sorry if you have already spent time working on your checklist, I didn’t realize this type of product was available yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">TITLE I, MATH & READING SPECIALIST<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">We will be hiring a full-time Title I coordinator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have received applications from several candidates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The following people have volunteered to be on the selection committee:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ruth Ann, Beth, Sue, Carrie, Denise, Joyce and Judy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will meet next week to set a date for interviews.<o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-62090227630954232382012-02-05T12:44:00.000-08:002012-02-05T12:44:24.386-08:00Thanks for being a TERRIFIC staff!!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>801</o:Words> <o:Characters>4567</o:Characters> <o:Company>USD 438</o:Company> <o:Lines>38</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>9</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>5608</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Friday was quite the day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is long blog post – but just that day alone was packed to the brim!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At about 12:45 a.m. I was finally on my way home and as I had a chance to think and reflect on the day I realized that in spite of how busy, chaotic and at times, stressful, the day I been, I was HAPPY!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I don’t mean happy because the week was over, I mean I just felt really content and even kind of excited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that point I realized that I was either very insane or that I genuinely had a lot to be thankful for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, some people would argue for insanity, but that happiness really came from a thankful heart. I’ll share with you just a small sample of what I had to be thankful for…..</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The graduates who came back for the career fair; that is so awesome and inspiring to hear their stories and see their willingness to give of themselves by coming back and sharing those stories with this generation of students.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The teachers just sort of jumped in and managed students, helped presenters get what they needed, helped clean up, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there was a base I forgot to cover, they just covered it and went on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So many people just pitched in and made it work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michelle’s creativity and hostess skills turned ordinary into extravagant when it came time for meals and gifts for the presenters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michael remained calm and committed as he got us all hooked up with technology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rooms were rearranged; tables and chairs set up; the sound was hooked up - lots of efforts by lots of people! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">I felt like the students were great participants at the career fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You must have instilled some great manners and respect in them when they were in elementary school!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could have heard a pin drop as the high school kids listened to Willie give the keynote in the morning, the rest of the day continued like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then came the homecoming dance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t always put <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fun</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">high school dance</i> in the same sentence; but the high school students made this dance fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish you could have seen them; they had black lights, all sorts of glow jewelry and clothing and even glow balloons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone appeared to be included and involved, it was probably the most fun dance I’ve sponsored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And then there’s the BIGGIE of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This thankfulness resulted from a huge blunder I made when I went into Dillons early Friday morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not take my phone into the store with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You just have to realize; I sort of have a love-hate relationship with my cell phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I took over as principal I have really tried to make a conscious effort to try to be attached to it 24/7, as opposed to losing it several times a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really have been having it right beside me at night so that if you call and need a sub, it’s there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wake up at 6:00 a.m. so that if you call, I’ll be coherent enough to answer and communicate. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So anyway, back to the story….</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Because I set my phone down and failed to check my messages, I didn’t know that Joyce had a sick little guy at home and she wouldn’t be able to come to school on Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was mingling with the career fair presenters in the library, breaking the news that we didn’t have Internet and some rooms didn’t have electricity, when someone came in and said – do you realize that there isn’t an adult in one of the kindergarten rooms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>YIKES (the actual expression that sounded off in my head was not really “yikes”, but lets just go with “yikes”.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So at this point no Internet and no electricity became rather insignificant!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stress just mounted as we found out that Joyce had in fact called in for a sub, I had ignored the phone call and every sub in the county was already busy that day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only was it a bad situation, but also it was obvious that it was my fault, I couldn’t even soothe the wound by blaming anyone else!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But you know within minutes, at least four of you had stepped up and said “hey I’m available, I can help out” and eventually Susan and Hannah left their ‘normal’ jobs and subbed in kindergarten that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so thankful for all of you who were willing help out!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">So I’ve been practicing the death grip on my cell phone this weekend!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact when I went to Dillons on Saturday, I had forgot my purse so I had no way to pay for my groceries, but I was just happy that I had my phone!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All I could do was laugh and go home and start over again!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal">Oh yea, and I told you last week that I thought I would have a few exciting things to tell you by the time I blogged again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One was that Vernon and I would only own one house by the next blog post, and YES, we closed on our ‘city’ house on Friday during the homecoming assembly!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another item of good news that I was expecting to share was that Marcia would be feeling better by now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had her surgery on Monday and from what I hear she is encouraged by the results, I’ll try to know more about how she is doing on Monday to share with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also told you that I thought the Skyline family would be one bigger by this week, I was off a week – give me another week on that one!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal">I know this post does not include an ounce of information you need for your role as an educator this week!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m looking forward to working with you on Monday, I think we are doing some important work and preparing the way for some exciting times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll be in the library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will start the day with a meeting just to get us all on the same page, ready for the day and ready for this final stretch of the school year!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My biggest point of this post is…..</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">THANKS</span></b><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal">so much to all of you, you are very special people!!</div><!--EndFragment-->Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-16410570080330362772012-01-29T21:00:00.000-08:002012-01-29T21:04:27.477-08:00Homecoming Week<div class="MsoNormal">I’ve had a bittersweet weekend. One of my aunts who has been very involved in my life, especially when I was a child and young adult, passed away this week. I’ve spent a lot of time this weekend at her and my uncle’s beautiful ranch in the Flint Hills. It’s been great to be at the ranch and spend time with family. I will be going back to Eldorado as soon as school is out on Monday and be gone on Tuesday to attend the funeral. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On Monday Sue and I will attend the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pratt County Spelling Bee</b> along with all of the finalist from Skyline. Please have the students meet me in the lobby at 8:40 so they can check in with me and get on the bus. On Monday we will be welcoming Harmony Harts, our new middle school teacher. She will be here to take care of paper work and get acquainted and will start teaching very soon after. Also on Monday, keep Marcia in your thoughts and prayers, as she will be undergoing back surgery. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Wednesday, all of K-6 will start the day with the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Chinese Acrobats</b>. This should be a very fun and captivating assembly. We will load the busses at 8:20 and hope to be back at school about 10:00. Most of you will end the day with the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">faculty meeting</b>, but the lucky few will have a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">PDC meeting</b> following that. The faculty meeting might look a little different that it has in the past. We are going to watch a video and spend some time talking about it and we’ll be hearing what Bjorn and Carrie learned about the Common Core at recent workshops. If you have things that you would like to have addressed at the faculty meeting please let me know by the end of the day on Monday. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On Thursday be sure and tell Denise "Happy Ground Hog Day", if I remember right it's one of her favorite special days!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Friday is the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Career Fair</b> for students in grades 7 – 12 and the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Winter Homecoming Assembly</b>. You will probably see lots of extra activity and people around the building throughout the day. I love having our graduates back, it amazes me how fast the time has flown by between the days when they were little people sitting in the chairs in your classrooms to now when they are doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m already excited to write next week’s blog post, by then I bet we will have had an addition to the Skyline family, Marcia will be on the mend and I’ll only own one home, there’s so much to look forward to!</div>Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-83381349455377720662012-01-22T19:39:00.000-08:002012-01-22T19:39:47.048-08:00Happy Birthday Kansas!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>189</o:Words> <o:Characters>1078</o:Characters> <o:Company>USD 438</o:Company> <o:Lines>8</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>1323</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">I hope all of you had a good weekend!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We kept it pretty simple this weekend at our house between Skyline (<i>and Attica</i>) boys basketball, trudging along with our remodeling project and of course there was a lot of NFL in my living room on Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In case you haven’t heard – the Skyline boys’ basketball team won the 54 Classic!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal">I enjoyed the Spelling Bee this year more than I ever have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few days before I had been in a classroom where students were learning the “ch” sound and another room where they were learning some of the rules for changing singular to plural.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Spelling Bee was a neat opportunity to see some older students put all that sort of information together and do some amazing spelling!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It looks like the calendar events for this week for K-6 will be Kansas Day Activities on Friday and Ruth Ann’s class having their read-a-thon on Thursday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your class has any activities going on Friday for Kansas Day would you please post it here so we will know what each other is doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would also allow me to possibly stop by and see any special activities your class has going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m sorry I had to miss the K-2 Principal’s Club lunch last week; I would like to schedule that for this Wednesday unless that creates a conflict with something else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you see a conflict let me know, otherwise we’re on. On Friday at the 3/4 Principal's club we had great entertainment watching Mr. Neifert and Mr. Nation shoot baskets from half-court with their backs to the basket! And the crowd roared when Mr. Neifert made it! Not quite the Globetrotters, but it was sure exciting!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I do hope you have a great week, I know your students will! I just started reading a new book, <u>Leaders of Learning</u>. The authors begin the book by pointing out that no generation of educators in the history of the United States has ever been asked to do so much for so many. I know that you are feeling that challenge everyday in your classrooms. The more time I get to spend in our classrooms and in conversations with you, the more blessed I feel that we have a really, really awesome staff that is committed to the challenge for the sake of kids. I have been so encouraged by some dramatic changes in students lives because you hung in there, determined that they could succeed. THANKS for all you do!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Becca </span></div><!--EndFragment-->Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-1182506133887709072012-01-16T18:42:00.001-08:002012-01-16T18:46:02.661-08:00The Start of a New Semester!<div class="MsoNormal">First of all, I’m sorry this blog post is a little late. Starting a new semester has always been a little overwhelming; starting a new semester with my new responsibilities seems a bit more O-V-E-R-W-H-E-L-M-I-N-G. Just hang in there with me; I’ll get the time management part of this figured out. I do want to make it clear that my highest priority is to support you and what goes on in your classrooms. When I get busy I sometimes don’t catch the obvious – so please be sure and communicate with me so that I know what kind of support will help you the most.</div><div class="MsoNormal">One thing that a lot of you have mentioned over the last several weeks is teacher aids. I did get that finished up this afternoon; I’ll be emailing you individually to let you know the who & when of your student aid situation. Please keep in mind that the high school kids have until the end of the day on Thursday to change their schedules, so there could be changes to student aids until then. So if your aid is working well for you and still showing up on Friday; do the happy dance! (I’ll let you know of any changes.)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">As far as what is going on this week….</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Spelling Bee</b> on Wednesday @ 8:30 in the multipurpose area. Huge thanks and appreciation to Sue for organizing that event for us! </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Principal’s Club</b> for K-2 on Thursday and 3-4 on Friday. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I am going to start doing this on two days again since I’ll be covering both age groups. I realize this is rather late notice of that change, if it causes a problem with your schedule please let me know and we’ll do something different.</i> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pooh Day at the Library</b> on Friday for the Kindergarteners. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Thanks for the thoughts you posted about the mission statement last week. If you still have some thoughts you would like to add about that please feel free to do so. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Have a great week!</div>Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-58629612288415129722012-01-07T20:35:00.000-08:002012-01-07T20:52:34.368-08:00It's the Week to Wrap up the First Semester!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">Gosh that first week back at school went by fast!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">Lots of you have welcomed me to my new office and new role, thanks so much, your support means the world to me.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">Other than the Lady T-Bird's close win on Friday and some progress on our bathroom remodeling project, our big event of the weekend was that Adam came home on Saturday afternoon with a sweet dog from the humane society. (He’s quite a believer in the philosophy of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><i>sometimes forgiveness is easier to get than permission</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">; and once again it worked out for him, we all just laughed and loved on the new dog!)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;">I hope you had also had a good weekend!</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Just a quick FYI regarding the mission statement that we came up with prior to Christmas break….<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A question has came up as to "<i>why did we do that when the PDC committee had just recently devoted lots of time and energy to coming up with a new mission statement?"</i> That’s a great question that deserves some attention. The main reason is that the mission statement drafted by the PDC committee is for our district. For the sake of coming up with a school improvement plan that is specific to K-8, we really needed to draft a separate mission statement. The district mission statement still defines the direction for the district and we are certainly a part of that. I believe that K-8 really needed to work together as a collaborative group to draft a statement that defines what’s most important to us and where we are headed so that we are certain that we are all headed to the same place for the same purpose. (Besides for the fact that it’s just a good practice for us to share a common vision, KSDE was requiring us to do it since they see K-8 and the high school as two schools.) <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> The mission statement that we left that meeting with was…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Skyline Elementary/Junior High community will </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">provide a safe and caring environment of engaged, passionate learners </span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and successful 21st Century citizens. </span></div><div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One staff member suggested the following rewrite of the statement since the first draft really does not describe the impact of our work on students. The change in wording is very slight, but the word 'develop' describing our role as educators and the unity implied by the word 'community' are both pretty significant. Her suggested rewrite is: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Skyline Elementary/Junior High School will <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">provide a safe and caring COMMUNITY TO DEVELOP engaged, passionate learners <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and successful 21st Century citizens.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Would you please think about that change in wording and if you are able to see the blog, comment back here with any suggestions you have. (Or if you can't blog, email me, and I'll post it.) If coming to a consensus will require more than a blogging conversation then we will finish up this process at the next faculty meeting, otherwise we’ll be done and ready to move on before then. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lets move on to a few things we have going on this week…….<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="color: #185205; font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the shifts that I hope we will make, at least within the grade school, is for all of us to become more aware of and involved in what is going on across the different classrooms and grade levels. One of the things that research backs up is that when we all put our heads together to reach ALL kids that student performance will skyrocket. OK, that might be a little dramatic – but it will go up! So I will be telling you a few things going on that may not seem relevant to you at first, but it’s all important when you look at the ‘big picture’.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Monday </b>– 5<sup>th</sup> & 6<sup>th</sup> grade teachers along with Marcia, Dani, Denise, Brenda & DeGaye will meet to go over the students’ Aimsweb math test scores. We hope to look at the data from that test and then collaborate to come up with plans that will result in students learning even more. Gathering meaningful data and then collaborating to improve student performance is something that we will be putting more emphasis on across all grades. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Tuesday</b> – At the beginning of the year we formed a <b>P</b>rofessional <b>L</b>earning <b>C</b>ommunity for the 5<sup>th</sup>/6<sup>th</sup> grade Project Based Learning program. On Tuesday they will be meeting to work together in a team approach to support those teachers, encourage student learning and ensure the success of that program. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Wednesday</b> – Administrative Council meets after school. So be sure and let your reps (I believe that is Michelle and Ruth Ann for K-6) know of questions/concerns that you would like to see addressed by that group. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And <b>Friday </b>we will wrap up another semester. According to the calendar it looks like you will have Friday afternoon and Monday to take care of some of the work you to do close one semester and begin another. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I plan to start spending more time in your classrooms. My goal is to sit down and observe in at least three classrooms a week. Being in your rooms helps me get to know you better as a teacher, helps me know the students better and just gives me a better picture of our learning environment as a whole. As I mentioned earlier in the year, when I’m in your classroom feel free to ignore me or put me to work, whatever works best with what you have going on at the moment. I am finding that watching you teach and students learn tends to really provide me with a huge emotional boost, thanks for being that kind of staff! I am amazed and encouraged over and over again at the energy and engagement I see the classrooms. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you ever doubt for a second how important your work is, just keep in mind one of my favorite quotes…<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Teaching creates all other professions.”</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> </span> <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks for all you do and have a great week!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Becca</span><span style="color: #240000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div>Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3026883332304241664.post-48482601698440307112012-01-03T13:47:00.000-08:002012-01-03T13:47:17.078-08:00This is a HAPPY day for me!I just want to tell all of you that I am truly excited about being the K-6 principal at Skyline! As I look back on the sequence of events over the last couple of years it just makes me feel very blessed to be at this point. If you're interested I'll tell you a little about that sequence of events, if you aren't interested, just skip to the next paragraph. I had been checking about taking classes to get my license to be an administrator for several years, I just hadn't found a program that caught my eye and motivated me to actually do it. At the end of the 09/10 school year I realized that the time had come and I really needed to challenge myself with something a little different if I was going to stay content in my career. So Adam and I headed to KSU, he went to football camp and I went to talk to an advisor in the College of Education. I learned what classes I would take if I went down that path at KSU, by the time I left I was enthused about starting their Ed Leadership program. I remember telling the advisor I met with that "I really don't know what I want to do, I want to get into administration, but I don't really want to leave my school -- I love my school, it's a very unique and awesome place!" I'll always remember she said "it sounds like you just need to reinvent yourself", and I nodded and thought to myself "what the heck does that mean?!?" Well now, almost two years later, I think I understand what she meant. After 18 hours of classes, lots of reading, lots of writing, lots of trips to Manhattan and lots of tuition - I really do have fresh enthusiasm and knowledge for being a leader in education -- I think this is what <i>reinvention</i> must feel like, and I must say - I like it! <br />
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It's great to have this opportunity with what I consider to be an awesome staff! I am very lucky lady! I consider this to be a very different role for me, we'll talk more about that later. I'm going to use this blog to try to maintain some communication with the K-6 staff. I hope it will be easy for you to access this and keep up with what I am thinking and give you a chance to respond. This certainly doesn't need to replace good 'ole face to face communication that we also need to have, please don't hesitate to come and see me if you have questions/concerns/etc. My plan is to post at least once a week with plans for the week and as things come up. Becca Flowershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16860812502102134330noreply@blogger.com2