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!

April Comes To An End And May Begins April 28-May 2nd

Happy Spring!

This weekend was just beautiful and I hope that you and your families had an opportunity to spend some quality time together.  As you know the next 7 weeks of school will be extremely busy and attention to detail, and prioritizing will be key for all of us in getting all of our key school assignments completed.  Please remember the virtues of patience and staying calm under fire. This is a busy time and it is very easy to get rattled.  Just breathe and enjoy the last weeks you have with these amazing children.  

Dr. Frazier returns on Monday for 8 half days and then all full days til the end of the year. Our wonderful Mrs. Grace will work the 8 half days so we are covered:)

Security Cameras will be installed anytime now:)

Home Moravian Youth Group in Full Swing with Book Drive!

The youth groups of Home Moravian have made it their mission to collect a book for each student in our school.  They are working very hard.  They would like to deliver the books on May 22nd. Here is a picture of their kids sorting through their first donations!  We are so blessed.

Mr. Walt Schorer chosen as Judy Mountjoy Volunteer of the Year 2014

He and his family will be honored at the District PTA Council Dinner on May 5th, 2014.  The Kindergarten Team surprised him at their Literacy Night last week with cards and pictures.  Home Moravian volunteers served pizza and drinks to the families who came to learn about promoting early literacy. The kindergarten teachers did an excellent job!

Our Honors Dance Club will be performing at the PTA Dinner in front of several hundred people! They will perform a number from the Lion King under the direction of Miss Stevenson.  How wonderful for the students to have this great exposure. They were invited to perform by the District Council PTA President!  Congratulations. They are also performing at MT. Tabor HS Showcase of dancers! WOW!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAY BABIES!!!!!       

• May 1-Dr. Frazier
• May 7-Alisha Taylor
• May 14-Abadesa Ochoa
• May 20-Julissa Knight
• May 23-Roberto Thimann
• May 24-Jennifer Kennedy

TEACHER APPRECIATION!!!!

We truly appreciate all of you and want to do something special so we will be providing a "Cook-Out" for you on Friday, May 9th. Mr. Cannon will bring and fire up the grill and we will serve Hamburgers and Hot Dogs, Chips, Pasta Salad, Pickles, Cole Slaw and a dessert.  We will be ready to go during your lunches!  Thank you so much for believing in our students, our school and our vision!  You all are so important to the children in this building. 

My Schedule....

I will be in full swing verifying EVAAS Rosters this week and getting ready for our allotment conference on May 1.  I will be conducting third evaluations and working on summative evaluations.  At the time of your third post conference, you should be prepared to submit all evidence of your PDP. EVERYONE should have their PDP documentation completed in the next two weeks.  All observations should be completed by the end of May.  So you see, now is the time to get that evidence in and documented. After I review EVAAS Roster verification, I will be sending them to instructional teachers to verify information and then they will come back to me again. Do not wait until the last minute, as you recall, last year, there were some glitches. We want to catch them early. We might be able to work in some time for you to work on these a little bit in LTMs.  We will also be working to complete our CNA and SIT Plan.
Every SIT Member needs to be at SIT this Tuesday with all CNA information so we can finalize and get it ready for a vote at our next faculty meeting. John Brasfield and Janet Somers will speak at our next faculty meeting. Everyone should be in attendance.   DO NOT PLAN ANY APPOINTMENTS/IEPS, etc for SIT-April 29th and May 27th or Faculty Meeting on the 13th of April.  I still do not have every teacher's possible retention list. Remember, you were to turn it in and mark no retentions if that applied to you. Get those in asap please. Make sure you let Mrs. Kennedy know if you had students who made honor roll/principal's list and need medals for 3rd quarter. She will get them to you.

Celebrations        

We know we need to celebrate our students and teacher's accomplishments more. I would love to hear your suggestions on things we could do that would be minimal to classroom interruption. We want to infuse this positive vibe throughout the school.  We want and need your feedback. Please send your suggestions to Dr. Frazier.

ART COMES ALIVE IN OUR BUILDING!                                  

Mr. Powelson came back from a Magnet School Regional Meeting where he was able to go into an A+ school in the Western part of our state that he said, "JUST SCREAMED THE ARTS!"  We thought we could do this too. Mrs. Gordon has been working with our students on paper and canvas to create several incredible works of art which will be hung soon. The project continues. These will surely beautify our school and everyone who enters will know what our theme is!  Thank you Mrs. Gordon and student artists!!!!  If anyone else has any great ideas on how we can even take this a step farther, let me know.

CLEAN AND GREEN- 

Ms. Wynn's has been working hard to get all the documentation in order for this week's judging. Thank you Ms. Wynns and to your whole committee.

Week At A Glance!

4/28-Dr. Frazier returns/FTCC Dental Hygiene

4/29-SIT Mtg.

5/1-Cannon to Alotment Mtg. w/ Mr. Oates

5/1- Ready Schools Teacher Meeting

5/1 -Cannon to UNC Chapel Hill at 3:00 for Sarah Huddleston's Internship Celebration. Sarah will be my Administrative Intern next year. She will work with us on Fridays, we believe. We are so fortunate!

5/2-Miss Taylor Graduates! Congratulations. We are proud of you!

5/2-Volunteer Breakfast- 8:30-9:45. We are asking for all staff members to pitch in and help us by donating a breakfast food item for the breakfast. Our volunteers are treasures and they help all of us so much everyday. Please contact Dr. Madison and his committee to let them know what you will bring.  I will most likely be bringing my Cinnamon Coffee Cake:) I thank you in advance for your generosity.

5/5-PTA Council Dinner-Honoring Mr. Schorer and our Honors Dance Team to Perform!

5/5 VOTING MACHINES DELIVERED

5/6 ELECTION DAY in the Toyota Literacy Room. The public should not be using bathrooms.  Keep your eyes opened that day:) Cannon to Jt. Principal's Meeting

5/8-Family Fitness Night-This is a PTA Family Night. See Ross for your assignments. He has been working hard on this and I know it will be a great success.  The other family nights this year have been spectacular. Remember each grade level needs to have a family curriculum night of some kind besides the ones planned for whole school which were literacy and math.  Many grade levels have exceeded their requird numbers. Way to go!  These nights have been wonderful and well attended for the most part:)

5/9-Teacher Appreciation Cook-out for Lunch

5/13 Faulty Meeting-If you need to be on agenda, let me know asap

5/15-Elem. Principal's Mtg.

5/20 and 5/21 Kindergarten Screening 8.15-12

5/22-Grades 3/4/5 Concert 6:30

5/26-No School

5/27 SIT Mtg.

Oh, What a Beautiful Week....April 14-17th

This will be a very busy week!  Report Cards will be sent home on Tuesday.  We are administering the ITBS Tests this week.  We will have a faculty meeting on Tuesday.  If you need to be on the agenda, please let me know on Monday by noon.

Please keep Mrs. Snider's mom in your thoughts and prayers as she has just gone through a very serious procedure.  The preliminary results have revealed that her lymph nodes were clear.  The family will get all results in a week.  Debora can use lots of smiles and support this week.  Thank you D-L family.

Welcome Back! April 7-11th, 2014

Baby and Faculty Updates:  

Holland Jane is doing well as is Katie:)  Holland is adorable. Kate is out of her sling but her arm is still healing. Mrs. Lewis and Ms. Farthing and Ms. Faqih are also over the moon with their new grandbabies, who are just precious!   Congratulations to all.  Dr.Frazier is healing slowly but surely.  Her staples are out and she is using a cane instead of a walker.  Keep the prayers coming.  Shakila will be back on Monday. She looks great and is ready to return. Miss Hartman will stay one more day to help us transition .  Thank you Miss Hartman and Mrs. Lewis for all your hard work.

 

Congratulations to Vicky Beaver and Maeretha Hopson

Both Vicky and Maeretha were nominated for Classified Employee of the Year!  They will be honored at a reception honoring all the nominees from the Winston-Salem Forsyth County School System. The reception will be held at the Education Building in April.  Of course, we are very proud of all our classified employees.  You all work so very hard for our students and our school.  We appreciate you.  

This Week at a Glance...

• 4/7 Eric Jenson Presentation-Amanda Stevenson will represent staff
• Ms. Faqih returns on Monday
• 4/9 Mr. Powelson to Magnet School Meeting
• 4/9 District ELA professional development 3:30-5:30 in the gym
• 4/10 Report Cards due to administrators (k-2Cannon and 3-5Frazier/Grace)
• 4/10 3rd Grade Parent Night/Miss Guevara Parent Night/Mrs. Ochoa Parent Night
• 4/12 Saturday-District Pre-K Screening to be held here 8-5
• 4/14 STAY Banquet-Promise Awards
• 4/15 3rd grade Field Trip/Faculty Meeting and report cards go home
• 4/16 Spring Pictures
• 4/17 Elementary Principal's meeting and Spring LEP Parent Night
• 4/18 Holiday
• 4/21 Snow Make-up day
• 4/23 Secretary's Day-Let kids know in case they want to make cards at home:)
• 4/24-4th Grade Raleigh Trip
• 4/29 SIT Meeting

Our next IC Meeting will be a different format.  A team from Central Office made up of Steve Oates, Ken Simington, program managers, etc. will visit classrooms during the day.  This visit is scheduled for the 22nd of April but I have a conflict because of NISL Training so I will keep you posted. 

More to come......

Elements of 21st Century Learning

As we begin a new quarter, I wanted to remind you that 21st Century Skills for students can include many topics.  Some 21st century themes would include:

1. Global Awareness
2. Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy
3. Civic Literacy
4. Health Literacy
5. Environmental Literacy

This Evaluation Standard really has to do with your ability to bring the outside world into your classroom. You all have done this so creatively by incorporating it into the standards you already teach.  Teaching children to be organized, problem-solvers,visionaries and creative risk takers are all part of teaching 21st century skills.

Writing-A Core Skill

There is a great article in this month's Educational Leadership magazine entitled: What Writing Is & Isn't by Jeff Anderson.  Here is a synopsis:

Writing Is:

• A transaction between writers and readers
• A skill that can be learned
• An Igniter of Passion and Freedom
• Writing is connecting to an audience

Writing Isn't:

• In a kit or program
• Test Preparation
• Memorizing parts of speech
• Separate from Reading

Let me know if this interests you and I will make sure you get a copy of the article. It is interesting.  Writing is a joy to kids when they discover their voice:)

Classroom Management Tips...

As we head into the 4th quarter, it becomes harder and harder to keep students focused and on task.  You have to be creative.  Here are some classroom management techniques you might find helpful.

1. Set clearly defined standards
2. Remind students of expectations periodically
3. Use private signals for reminders
4. Employ teacher proximity
5. Include positive reinforcement and incentives
6. Assign a safe visible place for "cooling down" if a student becomes frustrated
7. Use signals for transitions in advance
8. Develop a behavior contract/improvement plan
9. Use calming down or relaxation techniques
10. Monitor students closely during transitions

Have A Wonderful Week!

It's Almost Spring Break! March 24th-April 7th

Happy Birthday to our "April Babies"!

• Kim Bersch and JoAnn Lewis-April 1
• Barbie Brown-April 4th
• Debora Snider-April 10th
• Lynsey Greenlee-April 14th
• Katie McGregor-April 15th
• D'Lisa Smoot-April 17th

EOQ this week...

EOQs will be administered this week. Monday will be Math, Tuesday will be Reading and Wednesday will be 5th grade EOQ Science.  Thursday is the End of Quarter.  Thank you to all of you for administering these tests in such a professional manner.

Thank You Miss Hartman!

Miss Hartman's last day will be this Friday as Ms. Faqih will return after spring break. This is a photograph of a quilt that the class made. They are so proud!  Thank you Mary Katherine for all your hard work.  We will miss you!

Congratulations Heroes in Education!

Congratulations to Gloria Pubantz, Linda Studevent, Mrs. Hopson, Mrs. Gilliam, Mrs. Smoot, Mr. Stover, Mrs. Bullin, Mr. Friel and Ms. Frazier.  All were honored at the Piedmont Club on Friday Night as Heroes in Education.  Vivian Burke, Mayor pro-tem read a proclamation from the Mayor and special guests included Senator Earline Parmon.  We are certainly very proud of our very own Heroes!!!!!!

March 10th-14th

Happy Birthday March Babies!

• 3/2 Diana Adkins
• 3/14 Lynsey Greenlee and Donna Cannon
• 3/24 Mary Winterhalder

Family Affairs-I have spoken to Cheryl and she is at home and recovering.  She was able to come home on Friday.  She sends her regards to everyone and will begin her physical therapy this week. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. I hope that everyone has power in their homes and fared well during our sleet storm.  My family was without power for about 30 hours. I was very happy when it came back on!  

WSSU - Spring 2014 Early Field Placements (10 total hours)

The following teachers will have WSSU students in their rooms for observation as part of their field experience. I believe that they can pitch in and assist as needed. They have requested specific grade placements.  If you have questions, please see me.

Lisa O'Brien-Jasmyne Boyd

Brooke Hough-Kara Clarkson

Skye Dorsett-Shannon Lee

Melissa Baccari-Lindsey McDonald

Ann Farthing-Kevin Gary

CWT objectives will remain the same (Objectives 2 and 4) due to lost school days. We will continue until March 28th.  We will then send out reports and Action Plan Questions.

Congratulations to Beth Sapp who will be representing our school as a Promise Award Nominee. We are very proud of her!  The winners will be announced at the STAY Banquet on April 14th.

Important Notes and Updates:

If you need to be on the Agenda for Tuesday's faculty meeting, shoot me an email.  Please make sure that I have your tentative Retention list and that you have set up a conference to discuss student progress with parent.  This is key.  By putting a student on the list at this time, you are stating that this child is a possibility for retention based on performance as of this time in the year, it certainly does not mean they will be retained.

• 3/11-Faculty Meeting at 3:10-We will work in Data Groups for CNA
• 3/18-All CNA Data due

Please make sure your newsletters have been turned in, and your PEPs are up to date.

Another Wonderful Week Begins with Some Sleet:) March 3-7

 A Little Cold Weather Won't Stop our Read Across America Celebration!!!!!

A Very big thank you to Mrs. Batten and our whole entire Literacy Committee for such a wonderful day.The kids had a wonderful time and so did the adults. The Office Staff and I enjoyed being "Fancy Nancy"!  Thank you to everyone who dressed as their favorite book character. You looked awesome! We took a group photo that I am sure will get sent to me for publishing on the blog! I appreciate all of your efforts to decorate doors and read to students. I also appreciate our community support. We are blessed.  The spirit of the whole day was sensational.  Reading is important and so are you!  

Welcome Deborah Grace; Interim Assistant Principal

We welcome Deborah to Diggs-Latham. Deborah is a retired Assistant Principal from Kernersville Elementary where she did a phenomenal job. She is  experienced, kind and capable and we are fortunate to have her.  I know you all will make her feel at home. Cheryl's surgery is Wednesday so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We will surely miss her:)

Spencer receives his Eagle Scout Status

I represented Diggs-Latham Sunday afternoon in Lewisville at Spencer's Eagle Scout Ceremony.  We are all very proud of the  Diggs-Latham beautification project and all of his efforts.  He made it to the prestigious title of Eagle scout at age 13. I am so happy that we were the beneficiaries of all of his hard work.  Way to go Spencer.

Elena Guevara, John Powelson and Leslie Batten All Win Clinard Grants!

Congratulations are in order to Elena, John and Leslie.  All three have been chosen as Clinard Eucational Grant Winners.  I am thrilled for them and can't wait to see their projects in action.  I am thankful to Mr. Clinard for agreeing to let DL be one of the pilot schools.  Way to go.

Tornado Drill

We will have a district wide tornado drill on  Wednesday at 9:30.  Please practice with your students between now and Wednesday morning.

Teacher Working Conditions Survey

We will have a very brief meeting at 7:30 this Wednesday morning in order for our NCAE Rep. to give you information on completing the Teacher Working Conditions Survey.  We will meet in the Media Center.  

STAR 3 Teacher Leaders Rock!!!

Congratulations to all of our Star 3 Teacher Leaders and Connie Rogers for an outstanding job last week representing our school. I couldn't be prouder!  Thank you SIDONNA, AMANDA G., JENNIFER, ANDREA, ALISHA, and  SUZANNE.  You made Diggs-Latham shine! 

Black History Celebration is a HUGE SUCCESS!

I would like to thank the entire Black History Committee and its Chair, Amanda Gordon for an absolutely incredible two week celebration.  The culminating ceremony was beautiful.  Thank you Amanda, Alisha, Ann, Susan, D'Lisa, Marilyn, Maeretha, Krystal, Gary, Linda, Vicky, Amanda S., Ross, Leslie and John!  Thank you all teachers as well as you were very supportive. The students also had great behavior!  

American Heart Association Thank You

Thanks Ross for all of your efforts in supporting Jump Rope For Heart and the American Heart Association. We all truly support all of your efforts in helping our students and staff to Get Fit! We appreciate you. I have shared this with some of you, I have been selected as one of the six Go Red For Women of the Triad for 2014 so you may see me in the media or even on a billboard. I will represent  Go Red for Women in spreading the word about Heart Disease, and its prevention. I have had several heart surgeries and will be able to share my story. I will be broadcasting with Kathryn Mobley from WFDD radio on Wednesday afternoon.  It is very exciting to be able to help my community in this way:)

Defusing Behavior

I read an Article recently by Robert Marzano that I thought might be interesting and helpful. Jennifer will place it in your mailboxes on Tuesday.  It helps you create a plan to deescalate behavior incidents. Hope it is useful.