Sunday, May 4, 2014

A Week of Celebration...May 5th-May 9th

Election Day on Tuesday, May 6th

The Voting Machines will be delivered on Monday afternoon to the Toyota Literacy Room in Building B. Election Day is Tuesday. Voters will be entering through the side door of building B and will only be in that room. We will add cones to the hallway to make sure that  voters do not utilize any other part of the school. The Election Workers will be using staff bathrooms if necessary, voters will not. Please keep your eyes open and be vigilant if you see someone in a part of the building in which they do not belong. Alert the office immediately. As always, Look for badges. Talk to your students about the election. What a great real-world lesson.  FYI... We are in the process of having our security cameras installed. You might have noticed electricians working last week.


We will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo on Monday with a traveling celebration!!!  Thanks to Mrs. Ochoa and her team for organizing and implementing this great event! Our respect and recognition for all of our cultures is so important!



Teacher  and Staff Appreciation Cook-Out on Friday!

This week we will recognize you  for all your hard work and dedication.  Our teachers and all faculty members plus our cafeteria workers are the best! Mr. Cannon will be bringing the grill to cook hamburgers and hot dogs this Friday during your lunchtime.  Cheryl and I will serve you.  Hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, chips, cake and more!  This is just a small token of the appreciation that we feel for all you do to make our school so special.  If you need a veggie burger, please let me know.




 "Honors Dance" to Perform Monday Night at PTA District Spring Council Dinner!

Our Honors Dance Students stole the show this weekend at the HS Showcase of Dance at Mt. Tabor.  They will also be dancing in front of at least 400 people Monday Night in Clemmons. Congratulations to Miss Stevenson and the girls.  They have been working so hard and deserve this recognition. They will be dancing to a selection from the Lion King. Please let them all know how proud we are of them.  This is also the event that Mr. Schorer and Home Moravian will be honored for their volunteerism.



This Week is also School Nutrition Employee Week (May 5-9)
Please have the children make pictures or cards if you have time and encourage them to thank our wonderful School Nutrition Workers. They are AWESOME and really care about our students! I will ask them to join us for our cookout on Friday:)  We appreciate their efforts everyday!



Buy One, Get One Book Fair This Week!

Ms. Batten has worked very hard to get the Book Fair set up and ready to go.  This takes a lot of time and effort. The Book Fair will be located in the room to the left of Room 200. Please give her your encouragement and cooperation as the Book Fair Kicks-Off.  I appreciate your understanding and professionalism as her schedule changes this week. We are a team!


Star 3 Leadership Positions for Next Year

As we fine tune our Comprehensive Needs Assessment, and work on our School Improvement Plan, it is time to start thinking about the Star 3 Leadership Positions for next year. With a focus on Early Literacy, Parental Involvement, Education and Engagement, Teacher Leadership, Operations and Math, there are a myriad of Leadership Positions that could be created.  I will ask Connie to send out the information on applying for a position for next year. Be Creative and target our school's needs. 


Field Day is fast approaching!  The date is May 23rd.  If you would like to plan your class picnics for this day, you certainly may.  Please be sure that if you will not be eating in the cafeteria for any reason between now and the end of school, you will need to let our Cafeteria Manager, Mrs. Hubbard know well in advance.  This includes not eating lunch because of Field Trips.  Ross will inform you of details for Field Day.

Family Fitness Night is Thursday, May 8th!

Family Fitness Night is this Thursday. It is sure to be a spectacular event. Ross has been working very hard to plan this evening. He has lots of community support and fabulous give-aways. Can't wait to see you all there and helping!  6:00-7:30



Instrument "Petting Zoo" A Big Success!

Our students were treated to a special event last Friday afternoon as volunteers taught them about all kinds of instruments.  Planned by our Music Corp Intern, Alaina, this was a huge success. The children were engaged and excited.  Just another great event at DLE.

OK, if you read all the way to here, I have a question for you that I would like you to answer in the comments section. Please respond to this question.....How can we continue to sustain our school's ability to have a shared vision?  A couple of sentences in response will do:)  Thank you!



20 comments:

  1. I believe that working as a team, strengthening our communication and participating in all aspects of our school improvement will help us on the upward trajectory of student achievement. As Teacher Leadership grows, so will our shared vision. We have a strong staff and have the capability to learn from one another. We know our students and our data!

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  2. I think that we all have the same goals when we come to work each day. As long as we continue to follow through with those goals and work with one another, we can sustain our shared vision of giving our all to the kids. We all want our students to succeed and if we, as a school, share our goals and expectations, we can continue to build upon that shared vision.

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  3. I think that part of a shared vision is bonding as a team. I would love to see a time maybe once a month from 3:-3:30 or 3:30-4:00 where we have permission to "play" and have fun together. Examples would be group walk, playing uno or cards in the library, or maybe even something larger like team building maybe even plan a trip together...optional of course....playing together...I would rather it not be centered around food because it should not have to cost anything or require lugging things to work with cords....unless of course we are having a spa social???? Just my way of strengthening communication and understanding...I know it is probably not what you thought you would read......

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    1. I think "play time" would be great! Getting together for something other than school-related things would be a wonderful way to strengthen us as a school-wide team.

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  4. Switch students above grade level to upper grades for reading block. This worked at Archdale. Create school wide reading 20 minutes or 100minutes a week by using calendars throughout the year, this worked at Hopewell. Have weekly tv news broadcast by fifth graders (we had daily live). American girls club for fifth grade girls to take dolls home on weekends and have tea and other special rewards for reading the American girls books (American history girls that lived from colonial times and different cultures).

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  5. I agree with Greenlee about all of us working together. I would love to see time set aside to collaborate with the teachers one grade below and one grade above the grade currently taught to discuss skills and concepts taught - how they were taught the previous year and what expectations the next grade has. I know I can look at the unpacking docs but I think conversations with the teachers are much more effective.

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  6. I also agree with Greenlee and Melissa it is all about us working together and sharing and collaborating with one other. I think that we all have great things to share that will help each other out. I like the idea of collaborating with other grade levels as well. I love Mrs. Hart's idea of having a time where we can just have "fun" and play together. I know most of the time I feel like I barely see people on my hall much less in other areas of the school. It would be nice to touch base with everyone.

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  7. I think each grade level/team should set a common goal that they find meaningful, and work together to achieve this goal next year.

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  8. I agree with Janice. I believe that students should be switched during reading based on academics rather than age/grade level.

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  9. I think having team building exercises and "play time" together would improve our communication which would lead to success overall. We need time together as a staff having fun and doing activities that we actually learn about one another.

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  10. I think we share a vision, but we all have different ideas of what it will take to accomplish the vision. I think we should be brave enough as a school to scrap things that don't work for our kids and our particular school culture, and embrace the ideas that our awesome team comes up with. Legally speaking, I realize there is little we can do about certain things, but the things we can change and do differently, we should. Just because it worked in another school doesn't mean it will work here. We need to find the DLES way to do it and that will help the vision actually come to fruition. A vision without a viable plan is just a dream and will never be anything more. We are intelligent, passionate, creative, and above all we want our kids to be successful! Let's make the most of the dynamic staff we have!

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  11. What is our vision? Do we have a vision statement? I'm going to take a risk and admit that, if we have one, I don't know what it is or where to find it. If I'm the only one in this predicament, I hope no one asks me to pack my things and leave. If others are here with me, then this is where we should start. We need to collaborate to simply and succinctly form a vision statement. It should not be something fancy, flowery, or long--no educational jargon or cliches. It needs to be short, clear, and family-friendly. Every stakeholder--students, families, volunteers, as well as faculty and staff--should know our vision statement. We should display it all over the school, run it on the ticker on the TV monitors in the hallways, perhaps even consider saying it in the morning instead of (or in addition to?) the school pledge. Once we are all aligned on where we're headed, then we can plot a course to achieving it.

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    1. I agree with Mrs. Washburn! So, obviously you are not alone in this! Communication always seems to be the key to success....

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  12. Team work is extremely important for the end of year. If you see a fellow teacher struggling with a student offer encouragement or a helping hand. We need to pull together as we conquer the last weeks.

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  13. I think as the year comes to an end, it is important for each teacher individually and together as a grade level sit down to discuss the strengths and struggles of their particular grade. This information can be passed on to the upcoming grade level teachers to help them prepare better for next year. Even things as simple as what kind of lesson plans worked? What didn't? Are they hands on learners? This will also help the teachers recall things that they can use next year to help achieve the highest academic level possible. It is crucial to share not only your successes but also things that didn't quite go according to plan. It is also important to share general parental concerns with others in the school.
    The most important part of any mission and vision statement is collaboration. Collaboration between teachers, students, administration and parents. If everyone is communicating and share a common goal, anything can be achieved!

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  14. I agree with several of the responses that we all need to know what our vision is, it should be visible and something that we are constantly working toward. Maybe at a staff meeting each quarter we can discuss our vision and some of things we are doing to work toward it. We can come togther as a staff and discuss what's working and what is not working in order to stay on track.

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  15. I think that the students need to be celebrated as much as possible. We also need to think about grouping our students academically and developmentally, not just by grade level. Perhaps if they felt more empowered and positive in their own abilities the behavior issues might lessen.

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  16. A shared vision would probably come very naturally with shared consistency in procedures. Everything from same language use/cues in the hallway to how classrooms K-5 greet their students each morning. A lot of our students have very rocky home lives, we all know this. If this is the place they feel the most loved, we should try to make it the place where there is the most consistency each day.

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  17. I agree with Greenlee that we all have the same goals when we come to work each day (giving our all to the kids). By working together,sharing and collaborating with one other we can achieve almost any goals we set! I would also like to see some time set aside for the staff to interact on a social level.

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  18. I agree with many of the comments that were stated. I especially agree with Mrs. Washburn that our school vision statement should be something that is attainable yet short and to the point so it is easily understood by faculty, students, and parents. I believe as educators we all share the same goals to do our very best everyday to make a difference in the lives of our students. I believe as a team we all do this very well and need to continue to collaborate and learn from one another to grow as individuals.

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