Monday April 3rd, 2017

Duties for the week: 
     
     AM Bus: Schroeder
                 Ardito/Kober/Kenyon
                 Pauley
     PM Bus: Kelly
                 Alexander
                 Sharp
     Staff Room: Kindergarten
 
 
  Meetings/Reminders for the week:  

   April 3rd, 2017- Monday- Eval Team

    April 3rd, 217- Monday- Spring Concert at Roper- 6:30 pm

   April 4th, 2017- Tuesday- Intervention Meeting

   April 5th, 2017- Wednesday- 5th Grade to CR to view RS Shrek Play- AM

   April 7th, 2017- Friday- Student leaders selling caramel suckers for .50 cents each

   April 7th, 2017- Friday- Friday Fun- Dress Fancy Day


Habit of the week/Classroom leading morning announcements:
 
  Warner- Habit 7: Sharpen the saw


The pictures from this last week were great examples of enrichment. It might have been raining outside, but we even had learning outside. You can click on the pictures to see them larger, and then share with students to show the opportunities available to them. Service, leadership, math, synergy, and more:

Pictures This Week


This article was intended for Principals, but is it really for all educators. This has Harrison's name all over it. Technology, innovation, trial and error, collaborating and sharing, and more. We also have flex rooms that are perfect for innovation and available to all staff members:

Tech Integration

This picture is a fun activity from the social activity. We have a large staff. They divided the list of names into three groups. When the fun containers come to you: take what you would like, add items, even add a nice note/positive thought, and then pass on to the next person. This is a great way to spread kindness, and to learn who all the staff members are in our building. A big thank you to the social committee! Random acts of kindness:

This post is a great reminder of the importance for every student to have a positive adult in their life. Our students can't even sit in the hall or in front of the office without an adult stopping to talk or sit with them. All of our students are everybody's students. We love our kids:

Life and Death- Do you care enough to save a life?


A great thought to start the week:

Friday March 31st, 2017

Please remember to nominate people for March staff Oscars by the end of the day.

This post fit very well with our recent staff meeting on Wednesday, and it references restorative practices and seeking first to understand. Everybody, every student and every adult, wants to feel accepted:

Community Walks Create Bonds of Understanding


Have a great Friday. One of our successes is definitely our welcoming and inclusive environment:

Thursday March 30th, 2017

It is almost April. That means Teacher/Staff appreciation week is only one month away. Exciting! We have an awesome mom leading and planning a great Super Hero week, with families helping to celebrate you. You are all very much appreciated.

Please help remind students and families about our upcoming Spring Concert. It is Monday night at Roper. The best part is that every student has a part.

This is a great thought for the day:

Wednesday March 29th, 2017

We have a staff meeting after school today. We'll start about 3:25 in the library.

Please let building leadership team/staff lighthouse team members know if you would like anything added to the agenda for Thursday.


Here are two great Leader in Me new stories, and one has a video:

Anti-Bullying and Leader in Me

Leader in Me- School Transformation


This is a great reminder. I can't imagine not having any of our kids. Every kid matters:

Tuesday March 28th, 2017

Choir students will be gone this afternoon. They will be singing at different care centers in town.

We have an awesome group of North Idaho College students assisting with the after school program this week, from homework to enrichment. They are completing an alternative service break for their Spring Break this week, and a big focus is working with students who are refugees. Please thank them when you see them. They were doing a great job on Monday helping with homework and reading books.

Vocabulary is so important with instruction. This link has a few ideas and one might catch your eye:

Vocabulary Ideas


Thought for today:

Monday March 27th, 2017

Duties for the week: 
     
     AM Bus: Enders
                 Rodriguez
                 Bender
     PM Bus: Anderson
                 Pauley
                 Thomason
     Staff Room: Rice
 
 
  Meetings/Reminders for the week:  

   March 27th, 2017- Monday- Eval Team

   March 28th, 2017- Tuesday- Intervention Meeting

   March 28th, 2017- Tuesday- Choir singing at care centers- Afternoon

   March 29th, 2017- Wednesday- Staff Meeting

   March 30th, 2017- Thursday- Staff Lighthouse/Building Leadership Team: 3:25 in room 16

   March 31st, 2017- Friday- Principal's lunch with March student leaders


Habit of the week/Classroom leading morning announcements:
 
  Pauley- Habit 6: Synergize



The staff meeting this week will be led by those that attended the Refugee Conference in Boise. They will be sharing what stood out to them.

It was a short week, so just a few pictures from this past week. The pictures are great examples of opportunities that our students receive at Harrison:

Pictures This Week


Every classroom has students who struggle with managing emotions. Every student, and every adult, has moments that could benefit from a kind person. Everybody needs somebody that is a positive support for them. This article reminds about being creative when situations arise, instead of traditional discipline, and often it starts with having a positive rapport with students:

A Toolkit for Students in Crisis


This article is a great reminder of the importance for STEM. The careers for our students in twenty years may not be known, but all students will need STEM skills regardless of the job. All students need to have critical thinking skills, the ability to problem solve, the ability to add creativity and design to any presentation, speaking skills, and more. This article also mentions the importance of exposing girls to STEM, but think of exposing all students. This could be any students under represented, like students with disabilities, second language learners, or even living in poverty. The article talks about high school students, which happens to be the high school I attended, but STEM exposure really starts with elementary students like our kids:

STEM and Blended Learning


Our school wide goal, WIG, is increasing reading with students. Reading is a lifelong skill. These two articles may focus on boys and girls, but look deeper. We need to find that which gets the attention of students, thinking differently, the hook, to get students interested in reading. This isn't just traditional books, but any type of text. This could be online like with blogs or online books, could be cookbooks or graphic novels, or even magazines:

Books N Bros Reading Club

Nerdy Girls Book Club


This image reminds of three important parts to include with a positive school culture and climate, which includes places like classrooms, hallways, the lunchroom, and the playground:

Wednesday March 15th, 2017

We will have the pizza dinner for staff starting at 4:30. Thin crust, regular crust, fruit, chocolate, frosted cookies, diet pop, regular pop- we have something for everybody.

Please help remind students and families that there is no school on Thursday and Friday, and all next week. The weather is starting to look nice. Encourage students to read, go outside and play, spread kindness, and sharpen the saw with their families. 

Isn't this comment so true. This is why we do classroom/community circles, or just give a kid a couple minutes to check in with them, smile at someone in the hall, recognize the new shoes or glasses, or even greet a student in the morning with a simple hello. We get the great opportunity to change someone's entire day. You might be the one. You all matter and we have so many kids that love you, even when their behavior doesn't show it:

Tuesday March 14th, 2017

We have the recorder concert at 2:10 this afternoon, in the lunchroom.

Please remember that today is an opportunity to vote. That is a special privilege that not everybody in the world has.

We had several new students on Monday. A big help was from four awesome U of I students giving service during their Spring Break. There were additional college students at RS and CR. They are all providing service this week in Twin Falls. I took them all out to dinner Monday night, and they were very appreciative of the opportunity to serve this week. It was an eye opening day at all school levels, especially for those who haven't been in an elementary school for several years. Very few are education majors. The students that were at our school were in awe of your patience, being so welcoming, exposing them to common core standards with a positive experience, the technology that students get to use, and more. Here is more information about the great work they are doing this week:

Alternative Service Break

A great thought for the day:

Monday March 13th, 2017

Duties for the week: 
     
     AM Bus: Vandenbosch
                 Sweet
                 Terrell
     PM Bus: Sorensen
                 Music/PE/STEM
                 Rice
     Staff Room: Terrell
 
 
  Meetings/Reminders for the week:  

   March 13th-16th, 2017- Monday-Thursday- Student Led Conferences

   March 13th, 2017- Monday- Eval Team

   March 14th, 2017- Tuesday- Intervention Meeting

   March 14th, 2017- Tuesday- Recorder Concert 2:10-3:00 in Lunchroom

   March 15th, 2017- Wednesday- Teacher Pizza Dinner
 
   March 16th, 2017- Thursday- No school for Kindergarten

   March 17th, 2017- Friday- No school for K-5


Habit of the week/Classroom leading morning announcements:
 
  Bender- Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood


This is a great article about creating behavior plans. Involving students is important:

Helping Defiant Students Make a Plan for Better Behavior


This is a great reminder of the importance for teaching and integrating social and emotional skills. Notice, name, and interpret are what we want students to be able to do with emotional literacy:

Teaching Students to Describe Emotions


We are always striving to integrate the arts in all content areas. This includes designing, creating, presentations and presenting, writing, and more:

Arts with STEM


Here is a post with pictures from this last week. There are several from sharpen the paw, great examples of leadership and learning, and family involvement:

Pictures This Week


We can all think of students as we read this thought for the day. It's a great reminder as we start the week:

Friday March 10th, 2017

School is dismissed at 1:15 today.

We have a classified staff meeting, for the third quarter, in the library at 1:30 today. We have more classified and support staff than certified staff, and this is a great opportunity to receive the same professional development training that certified staff have received during the third quarter. Anybody who is not a certified teacher is welcome to attend.

A big thank you to everybody who led and assisted with Sharpen the Paw. It was a great afternoon on Thursday.

We had three fifth grade students who did a great job welcoming Mrs. Ybarra. They gave a tour of our school in the middle of Sharpen the Paw. They did an awesome job representing our school, sharing positives, and even putting in a plug for YouTube videos they had created. I was super proud of them! Here is a picture and a news link. These would both be great to share with students:

School Tour


Great thought for today:

Thursday March 9th, 2017

A big thank you to the teachers who shared at the staff meeting. It was a great reminder of how Leader in Me can completely change a school, staff, students, and families. We have seen and experienced that.

A big thank you to those that helped plan, assist, feed, encourage, and attend the first monthly Breakfast with Books. It was really well attended by families. School hadn't even started, and we had students checking out books right in the lunchroom and reading with their families. It was really fun to watch and check in with all the special adults students brought to breakfast. The student lighthouse team also did an awesome job greeting and assisting, as well as the kitchen staff preparing extra food.

Today is Sharpen the Paw. We rotate morning and afternoon every quarter so both sessions of Kindergarten can participate. With it being in the afternoon this quarter, students are going to be extra excited all day as they wait. Remember the positives as you persevere through the morning.

Please remind students and families that there is no Kindergarten on Friday, and school will be dismissed at 1:15.

We talk about this often. It can be hard to see where our efforts, and effort of students, is headed. It may seem at times that the hill is steep. There is growth always. We are all planting seeds:

Wednesday March 8th, 2017

We have a staff meeting after school in the library.

Many of our students have challenging situations in their background, or that they are currently experiencing. Regardless, we support and have high expectations for all of our students. The following link has strategies and a great list of ideas for assisting students:

10 Strategies and Practices that can help all Students Overcome Barriers


Kindness can change a person's entire day:

Tuesday March 7th, 2017

We have grade level teaming today.

We have Wednesday planned as a day to wear college shirts. Please help remind students.

This short post reiterates three pieces that we have frequently discussed as proactive measures to counter bullying. Relationships, social emotional skills with restorative practices, and modeling :

A Bully Free Culture- 3 Actions

School culture affects everything, and we have much to celebrate due to great kids and staff:

Monday March 6th, 2017

Duties for the week: 
     
     AM Bus: Alexander
                 Wolden
                 Lancaster
     PM Bus: Kelly
                 Warner
                 Sharp
     Staff Room: Ardito
 
 
  Meetings/Reminders for the week:  
 
   March 6th, 2017- Monday- Eval Team

   March 7th, 2017- Tuesday- Intervention Meeting

   March 7th, 2017- Tuesday- 1st-5th Grade Level Teaming with ESL, Title 1, and Resource

   March 8th, 2017- Wednesday- Wear College Shirts Day

   March 8th, 2017- Wednesday- Breakfast with Books, with Public Library

   March 8th, 2017- Wednesday- Student Lighthouse Team- Before School

   March 8th, 2017- Wednesday- Staff Meeting

   March 9th, 2017- Thursday- Kindergarten Teaming with ESL, Title 1, and Resource

   March 9th, 2017- Thursday- Sharpen the Paw for the 3rd Quarter, 1:00-3:00

   March 10th, 2017- Friday- Early Dismissal, No Kindergarten, and End of the 3rd Quarter

   March 10th, 2017- Friday- 3rd Quarter Classified Staff Meetings

   March 10th, 2017- Friday- RS Visits with 5th Grade students
                                       

Habit of the week/Classroom leading morning announcements:
 
  Enders- Habit 4: Think win win


The staff meeting on Wednesday will have the team that attended the Leader in Me symposium in Las Vegas presenting. They will be sharing what stood out to them, best practices, and other ideas.


The line up for Sharpen the Paw is excellent:

Sharpen the Paw


A big thank you to everybody who assisted with Family Night, and for taking pictures. We use the pictures for our federal audit binder, but also for sharing the great family involvement activities on our school website. Everybody is part of PR, and we have much to celebrate in regards to family involvement:

Title 1 Spring Family Night


The pictures from this last week might be some of our best this year. These would be great to share with students. We recognize the whole child. There is an awesome picture from Super Hero Day, makerspaces, the Science Fair judging, cooking, integrating devices with learning, learning with diverse groups, and more:

Pictures This Week


Here is a picture to share with families about our new monthly Breakfast with Books:

This post is a great reminder about what students remember. Not just teachers, but all staff- you matter:

What Students Remember


This post from Leader in Me reiterates the importance of leadership notebooks and goals:

Aligning Academics With Goals


A great thought to start the week:

Friday March 3rd, 2017

A big thank you to everybody who assisted with Family Night, and for encouraging families to attend. The pictures show lots of smiling faces. 

Today is Idaho Day, Super Hero Day, and student leaders selling pencil erasers. 

Have a great weekend, and remember to sharpen the saw:

                                                                            source: filme.metropotam.ro

Thursday March 2nd, 2017

Tonight is our Title 1 Family Night. Please help remind students and families.

Please remind students about Friday being a Friday Fun day. The theme is to dress like a super hero. Please also remind about the eraser sale with school store leaders.


This is a great article with tips for loving your hardest students:

Fresh Starts for Hard to Like Students


It's going to be a long day, but remember the positives being created with families: