“Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” -Voltaire

Life is NOT a shipwreck, but it definitely presents challenges. Sometimes, when it is too hard to concentrate, when the students aren’t as focused as you’d like them to be, when a lesson doesn’t go as planned, or when the work piles up and time slips away, it can be difficult to find our singing voice. When we have “these days” it is important that we take time to celebrate the successes in our school. It doesn’t mean we ignore the problems, but we can certainly use “the positives” to energize our efforts to address the challenges.

Challenge for this Week: Pick at least 1 positive thing that has happened in your classroom or at school and email it to a colleague or two. Encourage them to add to the list and pass it along. Like a chain-letter (without the associated misfortune) it will be good to hear the singing…even if we aren’t in lifeboats!

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, September 29th
Happy Birthday Stefanie Widmaier 🙂
***Are the MUGS still making their way around?

Tuesday, September 30th

Wednesday, October 1st
Happy Birthday Sarah Sicher 🙂
1st Grade Field Trip to Safety Town
*Common Plan Time

Thursday, October 2nd
Multiage Field Trip to Safety Town
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm

Friday, October 3rd
Fall Picture Day (*Donna will email schedule in Kennedy conference)
5 by Friday! 🙂

(10/04) Project Heart Well – Sign up at the link below! There is still time to register. Check-in is at 8:00am & the run/walk begins at 9:00am. The event starts & finishes at Kennedy School. We look forward to seeing you there, as it is a great opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to community involvement. Please sign up to participate or volunteer. Please join us as we show our children that working together, we can all make a difference!   www.projectheartwell.com
(10/04) Happy Birthday Patricia Shastri 🙂

(10/05) Happy Birthday Barbara Brzozowska 🙂

**To the Teachers Already Tired

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, September 22nd
*If you were ‘mugged’ on Friday, don’t forget to fill your mug with more goodies & pass it along to surprise another colleague*

Tuesday, September 23rd
PreK & PATS Field Trip to Brookfield Zoo
Faculty Meeting @ 2:50pm
Happy Birthday Amanda Peterson 🙂

Wednesday, September 24th
Happy Birthday Brittney Taylor 🙂
Happy Birthday Lorena Esqueda 🙂

Thursday, September 25th
Happy Birthday Marta Ocon 🙂 

Friday, September 26th
Spirit Assembly @ 9:00am
(Wear your Kubbie spirit wear or blue/white)

Articles Worth Checking Out:
Google Forms Now Customizable
Halloween Read-Alouds

While there are a number of practices that work together to create a strong classroom management foundation, there are a few fundamental basics. Teacher preparation and organization, engaging lessons, building relationships, well-established routines and procedures for the students, and brain breaks or other related movement instructional strategies.

According to Robert Marzano, classroom organization is 1 of the 11 factors that influence student achievement. By being organized and prepared, teachers maximize instructional time, minimize the frequency of behavior problems and chaos, and create a safe and positive classroom environment.

*See some organization tips I found on Pinterest & wanted to pass along…..

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, September 15th
Cycle 1 Assessments

Tuesday, September 16th
Happy Birthday Jody 🙂  (Orange Bus)

Wednesday, September 17th
Technology Common Plan
Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00pm

Thursday, September 18th
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm

Friday, September 19th
5 by Friday 🙂
Happy Birthday Roger 🙂 
Reading Room Plan Day

(09/20) Happy Birthday Michelle McMorrow 🙂
(09/21) Happy Birthday Bridget Elliott 🙂

*Reminder to Non-Tenured Teachers: Please schedule your 1st Observation, if you haven’t done so already! 

Articles Worth Reading
Supporting Readers During Workshops: The First Few Weeks

Looking In the Mirror

Freezing Bars/Rows in Google Spreadsheets

Google Doc Tip: Find the Revision History

Just like Krissy Venosdale recently said, “Our schools should be places where greatness is discovered, uncovered, sought after & celebrated. Every child should find their greatness during their time with us. It’s far beyond any score & far more meaningful than a grade. It’s the kind of thing that changes the world.”

Uncover greatness this week! 

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, September 8th
Scholastic Book Fair (all week through Thursday night)
Interventions Begin (Morning & During the Day Interventions)
New Teacher Meeting @ 2:45pm
BPAC Ice Cream Social @ 3:15pm-4:30pm

Tuesday, September 9th
Faculty Meeting (*Agenda will be emailed)

Wednesday, September 10th
1/2 Day of School (AM PreK dismisses at 10:30am, K-3 dismisses at 10:55am)
*Agenda for 1/2 day In-Service will be emailed

Thursday, September 11th
Curriculum Night 6:00pm-7:30pm
Happy Birthday Beatriz Diaz 🙂

Friday, September 12th
5 by Friday!

*Check out our Kennedy School Curriculum Night Pinterest Board & pin your ideas to the shared board.

“Schools are not buildings, curriculums, and machines. Schools are relationships and interactions among people.”

I hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing and enjoyable weekend with friends and family. Here’s our 4-day week at a glance:

Monday, September 1st NO SCHOOL: Labor Day Happy Birthday Rosa Andreuccetti 🙂 Tuesday, September 2nd Wednesday, September 3rd Thursday, September 4th SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm Friday, September 5th 5 by Friday! The start of the school year is the best time to begin building positive relationships with our families, too! I encourage you to meet our goal of 5 positive contacts by Friday over the next few weeks (phone calls, post cards, notes home, etc). Let’s remember our goal for the 2014-2015 school year….to make sure that 100% of our parents experience communication/contact with their child’s teacher prior to the November conferences (Below are the results from the November 2013 parent/teacher conferences)

“What makes a good school has very little to do with how rich or poor the students are, or the type of curriculum that’s taught. It has very little to do with the special programs, expansive playing fields, snappy uniforms, or whether the school is wired to the Internet. What makes a good school, whether it’s public or private, religious or nonreligious, charter or non-charter, is a feeling. A feeling shared by the entire staff that their particular school is special. The feeling that their school really belongs to them.” (Manna, 1999).

At Kennedy School, each member of our team has a distinctive character that cares deeply about each and every one of our Kennedy Kubbies. Your unique attributes and talents contribute to the feeling people get when they enter this building. As a result, our children will remember you long after they leave Kennedy.

Have a great week!