Week 22: 01/29/18 – 02/02/18

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Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 29th
Reading Room Plan with 3rd Grade

Tuesday, January 30th
100th Day of SchooL!
**FACULTY MEETING** @ 2:45pm in Presentation Space

Wednesday, January 31st
2nd Grade/LMS Buddies Activity
1/2 Day of School  (Agenda will be emailed)
*Technology Team Meeting @ 2:30pm

Thursday, February 1st
World Read Aloud Day!
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Friday, February 2nd
5 Positive Connections by Friday!

(02/04) Happy Birthday Anne Weinthaler 🙂

Blog Posts Worth Reading:

10 Steps to Slowing Down the Gossip Train by Jimmy Casas

Adobe Spark FREE For Students of All Ages via Class Tech Tips

How to Create a Morning Routine That Gets You Energized to Teach via Angela Watson

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Week 21: 01/22/18 – 01/26/18

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Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 22nd
Happy Birthday Michelle Morgan 🙂
ACCESS Testing Continues
Student Yearbook Committee in Project Space (2:30pm-4:00pm)
Reading Room Plan with Kindergarten (2:35pm)

Tuesday, January 23rd

Wednesday, January 24th
Dr. Taylor Visits D81
Happy Birthday Ofelia Golden 🙂

Thursday, January 25th
Dr. Seuss SIP Committee Meeting @ 2:45pm (Room 110)

Friday, January 26th
Spirit Assembly @ 8:45am
Kindergarten Field Trip to Disney On Ice

The annual Stars on Stage Talent Show will be on Thursday, March 15th. We are still looking for helpers to facilitate the rehearsals leading up to the main event! Helpers will be compensated for their time.

Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 5.25.53 PMREMINDER: All MAP meetings & non-tenured 3rd round observations must be scheduled/completed by February 2nd !

Blog Posts Worth Reading:
The Troublemakers

Top 10 Health and Physical Education Tech Tools

Sister Sings “You Are My Sunshine” to Brother with Down Syndrome

Why Every Class Needs Read Alouds

Week 20: 01/15/18 – 01/19/18

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Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 15th
Happy Birthday Ami Freeman 🙂
NO SCHOOL – MLK

Tuesday, January 16th
**Did everyone add their one word? If not — please fill out the Google Form here
ACCESS TESTING BEGINS! Click here for the schedule & here for the informational letter/email
Mentor Program Meeting

Wednesday, January 17th
Happy Birthday Cheri Grimaldi 🙂
Board Meeting @ 7pm (LMS)

Thursday, January 18th
Kennedy Singers
Combined SLT Meeting @ 2:45pm (Upstairs PD Space)

Friday, January 19th
Winter Birthday Snacks in Faculty Lounge
PreK Parent/Student Workshops
Spirit SIP Committee Meeting (2:35pm)
5 by Friday! Make 5 Positive Connections by Friday! 🙂

Blog Posts Worth Reading:

The Power of Setting Goals With Students by Sanee Bell

Relationships Are the Foundation of Great Schools (But They Aren’t Enough) by George Couros

7 Ways to Prioritize Teaching Tasks When Everything Seems Urgent by Angela Watson

Is Your School Extraordinary? by David Geurin

New Books Worth Checking Out:
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Week 19: 01/08/18 – 01/12/18

Happy New Year and Welcome Back! I hope you enjoyed a restful, relaxing break–time to disconnect from work thoughts, time to enjoy family and friends and to just enjoy time to relax. It is amazing how refreshing the holiday break can be to come back to start an amazing 2018! I know our students will be SO EXCITED to see you all on Monday morning!
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If you’re feeling any trepidation about getting up early for the first day in 15 days, I completely understand! It’s hard for adults and kids to get back into the swing of things after such a long break. This is a great time to re-connect with students and let them do so with their classmates by giving them time to talk about what they did over break! Keep in mind, it’s a great time to review classroom management basics as we embark upon a new calendar year at Kennedy, where our students are blessed to receive quality instruction on a  daily basis in safe and orderly classrooms. Here is an article from Responsive Classroom that might be helpful to revisit this week, as behavior expectations and classroom routines are revisited. I appreciate your efforts with reinforcing behavior expectations. Here’s a great post from Pernille Ripp on this topic: Ideas for Working with the January Slump.

Have you heard about Jon Gordon’s “One Word” that gives meaning & focus to your life?Jon suggests coming up with one word instead of list of resolutions.

“A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be a ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can be sharp or biting or rich and soft and slow. A single word can be a catalyst for enriching your life!”

I challenge you to choose one word this January–a word to focus on, reflect upon as one goes about daily life. Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself in 2018? It can be something tangible or intangible…it could be a thought or a feeling or an emotion. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. Donna, Stephanie and I look forward to re-connecting with you all, hearing all about your Winter Breaks, and reflecting at our faculty meeting on Tuesday afternoon! Be prepared with your “ONE WORD”.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 8th
School Resumes! Welcome Back!
*Welcome Back to Amanda (Peterson) Quinlan, Annie Weinthaler and Michelle Sosa, who return from maternity leave!
*Please give a warm Kennedy welcome to Anne Planek, who will be taking over in Michelle Howlett’s 2nd grade classroom! We wish Michelle the best of luck as she transitions over as the Principal of Washington School for Tiffany Leiva’s maternity leave. Michelle will begin her transition towards the end of this week.

*Brittany Biedermann will be taking over as the SPED resource teacher, and Michelle Morgan will be returning to the Reading Room!
*If you haven’t met Maureen Doran yet, please be sure to say hello! She will be the Music Teacher, while Kaitlin Teater is on maternity leave! 

Reading Room Plan with 1st Grade @ 2:35pm

Tuesday, January 9th
Faculty Meeting @ 2:50pm (Presentation Space)

Wednesday, January 10th
Common Plan Time

Thursday, January 11th

Friday, January 12th
PreK Screening
5 by Friday! Keep those positive connections with families going!

(01/14) Happy Birthday Jen Fullone 🙂

Blog Posts Worth Reading:
The Risks in What We Don’t Do by George Couros

6 EdTech Tools to Try in 2018 by Cult of Pedagogy

Are you up for a Teacher Bucket List Challenge? Click here for the PDF:
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or perhaps use this Happiness Calendar that offers daily suggested actions to help you be happier and bring more happiness to others!

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