Monday, February 27, 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Oh, what a busy day it will be.  Great News!  Cheryl Frazier will be coming back 1/2 days in the am beginning Wednesday, March 7th until March 9th.  She will then start back full time the following Monday.  We miss her and are thrilled she is coming back. That being said, Mr. Gale has done an outstanding job in her absence.  He has a great sense of humor and has bonded with some of the children. He has been a great asset to our team.  He has a new grandaughter to be born in April and he can't wait to get that baby in his hands as she is already in his heart! We surely appreciate everything he has done for us.

Gloria and I will be attending a mandatory district meeting in Greensboro tomorrow morning from 9-12.  There will be a SIT meeting in the afternoon at 3:15.  Cassandra will fill in for me. You will have a chance to look at the results from our star 3 data meeting, as well as other items on the agenda.  I know we will have some rich conversation about how we are moving along as a staff.  Don't forget that the Hispanic Arts Initiative Performance for grades 3-5 will be from 1:15-2:15 on Wednesday afternoon. Students may sit on the floor.

Found this in my travels and I thought it would give you a chuckle:)  Have a great day.


1923 Elementary School Teacher Requirements
1. Teacher is not to get married. This contract becomes null and void if teacher marries.
2. Teacher is not to keep the company of men.
3. Teacher must be home between the hours of 8 P.M. and 6 A.M. unless in attendance at a school function.
4. Teacher may not loiter downtown in ice cream parlors.
5. Teacher may not leave town at any time without permission of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
6. Teacher is not to smoke cigarettes or drink wine, beer or whiskey.
7. Teacher may not ride in a carriage with any man except her brother or father.
8. Teacher is not to dress in bright colors.
9. Teacher may not dye her hair.
10. Teacher will not wear dresses more than two inches above the ankle.
11. Teacher is to wear at least two petticoats.
12. Teacher is to bring a bucket to school to clean and scrub the building every week.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Monday, February 27, 2012

Here is some important information from our State Board;


Severe Weather Awareness Week - Severe Weather Awareness Week is scheduled for March 4-10. The statewide Tornado Drill will take place on Wednesday, March 7, at 9:30 a.m. At that time the National Weather Service will issue a Required Weekly Test over the NOAA weather radio system. This will serve as a signal for school administrators to begin their tornado drill. The drill will conclude when participants complete their drill activities. No all-clear message will be issued. If this time is not convenient for your school’s instructional program, you may schedule your school’s drill on another day close to March 7.
  
Mark Your Calendars for the 2012 Teacher Working Conditions Survey - The 2012 Teacher Working Conditions Survey is set for March 26-April 20. In 2010, over 105,000 licensed educators completed the NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey! Districts and schools can use the data collected through the survey for continuous school improvement and professional development planning. All school-based licensed educators and administrators are strongly encouraged to complete the survey. Anonymous access codes will be distributed via the same process as in previous years to the NCAE association representative in each school. The survey also may be accessed online at www.ncteachingconditions.org. The Help Desk will be available to answer all your questions via phone, IM or email during that week. If you have lost or have not received an access code, the help desk will be available to assist. We will publish the help desk number prior to the survey release date. For more information, please contact Lynne Johnson at lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov or Eliz Colbert at eliz.colbert@dpi.nc.gov.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Happy Friday! We do have quite a few subs in the building so please assist when needed:)  We will have the Awards Assembly this afternoon at 1:15. Please have students wear their lanyards.  We will be adding new medals to their lanyards today.  The shed in the back of the school is no longer with us.   It has found a new home, thanks to Ms. Beaver.  It will get a makeover.  Thank you all so much for all you do to make Diggs-Latham a very special place for students to learn and teachers to bond. I appreciate your dedication.  Tonite is the All County Chorus Production.  I am so proud of Mrs. Farthing and her 3 students.  They will be awesome. Have a wonderful weekend.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Good Morning Faculty and Staff, Happy Thursday.  Today we will have a presentation for our kindergarten students at 10:15.  They will be treated to "Fun with Fiddles".  Ms. Studevent and Mrs. Binkley will accompany our school's 5th grade Humanitarian Award winner to the banquet at Embassy Suites this evening.  Tomorrow night will be the district's All County Chorus production at West Forsyth HS.  Ms. Farthing and her students have worked very hard to get ready.  Mrs. Faqih will host the "Power of K" conference here on Saturday.  We are expecting over 30 teachers from around the state for this event.  Don't forget that we will have our Awards Assembly tomorrow afternoon as well.  Oh, what a very busy week.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Wednesday, February 21, 2012

Mrs. Gordon would like for you to remember that the Arts Council Funds Campaign is still going on.  As you all know the Arts are so important to us all.  We have gifted Arts teachers and students.  Let's support the Arts.  Please see Amanda if you have questions about the on-line donation system. 

Thank you everyone for getting your Awards Day recipients lists in.  Please remember to have students wear their lanyards from the last Awards Day if they earned them. We will be adding medals!

Read Across America Day is fast approaching.  We will have readers in the morning as the Black History Celebration is in the afternoon.  I know this has not typically been done but we will make it work due to our day.  I appreciate your flexibility:)  Hopitality will also do lunch that day.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Good Morning!  Welcome Back.  I hope that everyone had a terrific training yesterday. We will have a Star 3 Meeting this afternoon. Remember to keep alert to any strangers in or around the building.  Reminder that Mrs. Uhrig should have your Awards Day recipients by now.  Also, have all students who won an award for Honor Roll or Principal's List to bring their lanyards to Friday's Celebration. If they earned another medal, we will clip it on to their lanyard.  Thanks for all you do! 

Saturday, February 18, 2012

February 18, 2012

Happy Saturday!  Our Saturday Academy students and teachers are busily working away as I write this. I wanted to give you some information from Bud Harrelson concerning Monday's training.  I hope that everyone has an enjoyable and productive day.

Day 3 of CCES professional development is fast approaching. Again, here is some information that will make everyone's experience more positive.
Unless we have discussed it, teachers should attend the same session they participated in on October 31 & January 23 . This is imperative due to our space constraints.

Encourage Car-pooling
Most of our training locations will have 450 participants. While we have chosen locations with large parking lots to accommodate this number of people, participants may want to consider car-pooling in order to reduce the amount of traffic.

Lunch
We have a plan to stagger dismissal for lunch so that 450 people are not leaving for lunch at once. However, with the amount of traffic that will be created and only an hour allotted for the lunch break, participants may want to consider bringing their own lunch. Just a suggestion.

Start and End Times
While most sessions begin at 8:30, not all of them do. Please refer to the professional development spreadsheet for the correct start times. The March professional development offerings spreadsheet is attached.

PRTS
Unfortunately we are still not able to accommodate your requests to send PRTs to the CCES RC day training. Please do not send them. The elementary ELA sessions are over capacity already.

Principals, APs and CCs
Principals, APs, and CCs are welcomed to attend the CCES sessions on the RC days. The ELA and math sessions are beyond capacity. If you choose to attend an RC day session, please consider attending science and social studies (we have lots of flexibility here).

Pre-Kindergarten Teachers
Pre-Kindergarten teachers will meet at the Special Services Center again.

Locations
Elementary Reading / Language Arts - Clemmons Middle
Elementary Math - Meadowlark Middle
Elementary Science - Sherwood Forest Elementary
Elementary Social Studies - Kimmel Farm Elementary
Pre-Kindergarten - Special Services Center (aka: Old Diggs)
Secondary English / Language Arts - Reagan High
Secondary Math - North High
Secondary Science - Mt. Tabor High
Secondary Social Studies - Parkland High
All Health/PE - Mineral Springs Middle
All CTE - Atkins High
All Foreign / World Language - Education Building
All ESL - East Forstyh Middle
All Visual and Performing Arts - Reynolds High
All Information and Technology - Morgan Elementary
All Media Assistants - Education Building

Registration
Please ensure that your faculty has registered for the appropriate session by 4:30 on Friday, February 17. Remember that some of the sessions in the professional development applied to all three days and some require participants to register for each day separately.

Sessions for teachers that do not fit into the categories outlined in the CCES deployment plan
Teachers who will not be attending CCES sessions on the February 20 RC day because they do not fit into the categories outlined in the CCES deployment plan may choose from the following sessions.
1) Academic Interventions for Struggling Students Part 2- Glenn High Media Center (This session will have different content covered from the October 31 and January 23 RC Days, so if a teacher wanted to learn more about interventions they may want to attend this session)
2) Content Area Literacy Strategies - Middle Fork Media Center
3) Differentiating the Classroom for Success - Philo Media Center
4) CCES:Culturally Responsive Pedagogy K-12 - Administrative Center, Room 384
5) CCES: Information/Technology-K12 - Morgan Elementary

If you have questions, please email me.

Regards,

Bud
Bud Harrelson
Program Manager
School Improvement

Friday, February 17, 2012

Friday, February 17, 2012

This is an afternoon memo instead of a morning memo due to my very busy morning. Diggs-Latham was very well represented at today's WSFCS Spelling Bee.  Darian did a fantastic job and made it to the 7th round. His mom and I were very proud of him.  The competition was stiff!  Thank you so much to the Hospitality Committee for putting on such a fabulous lunch for everyone.  They all worked extremely hard.  I hope everyone had a chance to partake in the scrumptious lunch.  The building will be open tomorrow for Saturday Academy.  I will get here by 8:30 and the building will be open til 11:30 if any of you want to be here.  I hope you all have a restful weekend.  Remember that Monday is a Teacher Workday/Common Core Training.  I have a training on Monday morning at 8:00 but should only be gone for an hour or so. Have a wonderful weekend.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Good Morning!  I will be off campus today for a Principal's Meeting followed by an ESL Meeting followed by a Principal's PLC at Morgan Elementary. Reminder that there will be an email conversion training courtesy of our multi-talented Jacqueline today at 3:00. Cassandra is off campus as well at her weekly cohort training. Mr. Gale will be happy to provide you with any help you might need.  Weather forecasters are calling for showers throughout the day. I hope that you have a great day.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

Good Morning Everyone!  Today is Day 5.  The dinner last night at Home Church was wonderful.  The children and their families who attended were treated to Chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, salad and  cupcakes.  The church also set up arts and crafts at their tables.  There is an extra pan of Macaroni and Cheese in the lounge fridge so help yourself to a plate.  There is also leftover cake and snacks.
Our faculty meeting was chocked full of what I hope is useful information to you. looking at our CWT Data was very teliing in all the great things we do and then in the areas of needed improvement.  Please fill out your grade level's action plan and return them to me by next Wednesday.

E-MAIL-Friday at 5pm the system will shut down until Tuesday the 21st.  When we power back up we will be working in a using our new system. Remember that Jackie has scheduled a training for you to learn about the ins and outs of the new mail system. 

Remember that the budget is posted in the lounge if you have any questions, please ask.
Remember that Monday the 20th is a Common Core Training Day.
Don't forget to get a baby pic to Cassandra by Friday.

If you want to be part of Spring Secret Pals, please sign up in lounge by Friday.  This will start the first of March.

Remember that Hospitality will be presenting a "Soul Food" Lunch this Friday.

Good Morning!  Below is some good information from Pam Hensdale in our HR Department about SubFinder.

While we seemed to notice a slight decrease in absences just before the holiday break, we are seeing a greater percentage of unfilled or failed to fill jobs as we move through the month. We've seen several instances of the following, and are hoping that with these reminders we can help to avert spikes in unfilled absences.

* LATE ABSENCE ENTRIES: At approximately 6pm last evening, there were a total of 2 open jobs. This morning by 9:30am, there were 23 unfilled jobs. Of the 23 jobs, only 3 were entered by the employee yesterday, and of those 3, 2 were entered at 11:50 pm - at least 2 hours after the evening callout period had concluded. The other 20 jobs were entered this morning, roughly between 1am and 9am. While those jobs entered between 10pm and 5:30 am were included in the entire morning callout period; they missed the critical evening call out period for last evening. Please urge your staff to input absences as early as possible in order to optimize the call out opportunities. The evening call out period begins at 4:30 pm and runs through 9:30 pm or so. Absences input during this time have the benefit of being called tonight as well as tomorrow. Absences entered after 5:30 am tomorrow will be improperly queued and may not receive the priority they would have, had the absences been entered earlier. We certainly understand that children (and adults) do not fall ill conveniently according to our schedules - but the more notice given through the system, the better the chance a sub will see the job and pick it up.


* AM/PM:We are still seeing start or end times with incorrect time designators. Remember - 12 AM is MIDNIGHT, 12 PM is NOON. We also sometimes see 11:30 pm listed as the end time for morning half-day jobs and etc. Please ask your staff members to double check their time and date entries so that "typo's" don't impact their otherwise good intentions. Also, ask your onsite substitute coordinators to check their open absences for such errors and make corrections so as to avoid a failed call out.


* SUB REQUESTED VS PRE-ARRANGED: Please encourage prearrangement of subs whenever possible. The "Sub Requested" function limits the calls to the 1 sub whose name was requested by the staff member. Multiple calls are made to the requested sub until that person acknowledges the call with either an acceptance or a rejection. With "Sub Requested", the system does not attempt to call other subs until the morning of the absence, unless the requested sub has made a decision to accept or reject. If the sub has indicated that s/he does not wish to be called, the system will not phone the sub...nor will it phone another sub until the morning of the job Similarly, if the system does phone the sub and reaches an answering machine, there is no way for the system to leave a message....and so very often a "Requested sub" does not know s/he is being asked to accept a position. The Sub Office has begun attempting to phone the requested subs directly and advising them of the job opportunities. We often have mixed results - sometimes learning that the sub has schedule conflicts; and sometimes getting an acceptance. At least by reaching out, the sub knows someone has requested him and can accept or decline the job and allow the system to search for other subs if necessary. Prearranging a sub is a much better method to use in ensuring your preferred substitute is onboard and ready to work. Reach out to the sub, verbally confirm the sub's availability, and then input the absence as a prearrangement including the sub's information.


* ABSENCE CREATED BY ADMINISTRATOR: We also noticed that a good portion of Failed to Fill absences are input by the site's Sub Coordinator rather than the employee. That said, it then follows that a considerable amount of a morning's call out period was a missed opportunity. Please remind your employees as to how to input absences so that the call outs can begin as soon as possible.
Thank you again for your time and support. We hope that these observations when shared will be useful and will ultimately result in your absences being filled in an efficient and timely manner. 

Pamela S. Hensdale, SPHR
Manager, Human Resources

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Tuesday, February 14th Happy Valentine's Day!

Good Morning!  I hope that everyone has a wonderful day. Reminder...We have a faculty meeting this afternoon, our first in many months, due to Common Core Training. Rebecca Payne from Star 3 will be here to talk to us about PEPs and Smart Goals.  There will be treats for you.  The incredibly generous Home Moravian Church is hosting a dinner tonite for the students and their families in Mrs. Friel's (Mrs. Crookshank's) class. Remember as you go through today, that you are indeed a valentine to our students who look up to you, gain knowledge from you, and see you as a role model.  You truly do make a difference in each child's life. Thank you!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Quick Reminder For Monday!

Please remember to give Cassandra a baby picture of yourself for her board.  Also, I will be going to Home Moravian tomorrow night so if you have thank yous for gift cards, I would be happy to deliver them.  The Men of the Church just sent us a check for $500.00 to purchase some solar science equipment.  We are blessed!  Last reminder, Judy Uhrig should have your 2nd quarter Award recipients lists asap so she can work on slides.  This takes a long time. Also, the Y should have your grades as well.  THANK YOU and Happy Monday!!!!!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Monday, February 13, 2012

Happy Monday!!  I will be attending a meeting this morning concerning the 360 Degree Survey you all completed on me.  Reminder that we will be having a faculty meeting on Tuesday.  There will be treats. Thanks to Coach McCutcheon and everyone who assisted in the Jump Rope For Heart Celebration.  What a great cause.  Amanda will kick off the Arts Council Campaign this week.  The Fire Drill that was originally scheduled for the 15th has been cancelled due to the "Surprise" drill we had last week.  Your Faculty Meeting Agendas have been sent to you electronically so check your email.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Happy Friday! I hope that you all will find time to rest and rejuvenate this weekend.  Some quick reminders:
  • Peer Evaluations should be finished up today.  If you need help, let me know.
  • Gloria is at a CC Meeting all day.
  • Next week are Zone Visitations
  • Faculty Meeting next Tuesday
  • Be sure to turn Gift Card Receipts in, put them in your original envelope.  There is a brown envelope on my door to return them when you exhaust your gift card.
  • Please continue to monitor bathrooms

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Thursday, February 9th

Happy Thursday!  Just wanted to let you all know that our Data Meeting was very well received yesterday.  The district representatives, including our Asst. Superintendent said they were impressed with the presentation and format we used.  They were excited that you all participated in reading and adding to the Action Steps.  We will continue to take next steps to improve our plan and to work on bolstering our science instruction and assessment. I thank you all for your participation in making our school look good.  You all are the best.  Judy worked her magic on the powerpoint to make it visually stimulating.  She added movie clips and showcased the Animota and a Glogster. Do you know what a Glogster is?  Ask and you shall find out.

You all are a big part of budget planning here at DL.  In another effort to keep you informed, we have posted our school's monthly budget in the lounge.  Peruse it and if you have any questions, please ask.

We are to the very top of our copy paper budget and our toilet tissue budget and paper towel budget, so please remind the students to use it sparingly and not to waste it.  Be aware of what you are copying and see if you might find another way, if possible to disseminate the information.  We thank you so much for being frugal along with us.

Our walk-through objectives have changed.  I will go over those new "look-fors" at the faculty meeting next week and we will look at schoolwide CWT data to this point. We will provide Valentines Goodies for you that afternoon. 

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Good Morning!  Today is the big day.  We will share our SIP with the Distict's Star 3 Team this morning at 7:30.  I am so proud of how you all worked together to analyze data and make our plan a workable one. What great team work!

We love you Ms. Studevent!!  You are the best and we appreciate all you do for our school. The American School Counseling Association has designated February 6-10 as National School Counseling Week in recognition of the contributions of school counselors across the country. School counselors make strong contributions towards the successful educational outcomes for the more than 52,000 students in our district.  From the Class of 2024 who began kindergarten this year, to the Class of 2012 who graduate in just a few months, counselors work diligently to accomplish the standards established at the national, state, and local level of Academic, Personal/Social, and Career Development.  Next week, the Board will approve a proclamation in recognition of school counselors.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Tuesday, February 7th

Good Morning Everyone!  I will be at a Joint Principals Meeting this morning.  I will see you this afternoon.  Below, you will find some useful information.

Feb. 6-10 National School Counseling Week
State Superintendent June Atkinson has proclaimed Feb. 6-10 as National School Counseling Week in recognition of school counselors’ efforts to help:
- students explore their abilities, strengths, interests and talents;
- teachers and other educators to help students explore their potential and set realistic goals for themselves; and
- parents focus on ways to further the educational, personal and social growth of their children.

Feb. 13-17 is School Bus Driver Appreciation Week

Gov. Bev Perdue has proclaimed Feb. 13-17 as School Bus Driver Appreciation Week (SBDAW) in North Carolina. The proclamation is available online at www.ncbussafety.org . This is a change from the traditional SBDAW the first week in May to coincide with the national LOVE THE BUS campaign. LEAs and schools can register their LOVE THE BUS events at www.ncbussafety.org/LovethebusNC/index.html .

2012 Teacher Working Conditions Survey
- In 2010, 105,688 licensed educators completed the NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey! Districts and schools can use the data collected through the survey for continuous school improvement and professional development planning. The Teacher Working Conditions website (www.ncteachingconditions.org) is rich with school data, resources and tools for school teams.
The 2012 Teacher Working Conditions Survey is set for March 26-April 20. Anonymous access codes will be distributed via the same process as in previous years to the NCAE association representative in each school. The survey also may be accessed online at www.ncteachingconditions.org. The Help Desk will be available to answer all your questions via phone, IM or email during that week. If you have lost or have not received an access code, the help desk will be available to assist. We will publish the help desk number prior to the survey release date. For more information, please contact Lynne Johnson at lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov or Eliz Colbert at eliz.colbert@dpi.nc.gov.
 
Heads up that we will have a very important Faculty Meeting next week on February 14th.  It is our scheduled February meeting day. We will provide yummy snacks and drinks.  We have a lot to cover since we have not had a meeting in months due to common core training, so be in your seats and ready to go by 3:15.
Have a great day!

 

Monday, February 6th

Good Morning.  Thank you to all grade levels for attending Data Meetings. They were very helpful.   If you have not added something to the Action Steps Charts in Room 200,  please do so today.  Remember to turn your grade sheet rosters into the Y Program and your Awards sheets to Mrs. Uhrig so she has time to process them.
Have a great Day!