Monday January 6th, 2020

Meetings/Reminders for the week:

   January 6th, 2019- Monday- eval team

   January 7th, 2019- Tuesday- Intervention Meeting/MTSS

   January 10th, 2019- Friday- Second grade fire dept visit- 2 pm


Next week:

  January 15th- Breakfast with books and readers of the month

  January 17th- Friday fun is to wear your favorite sports team items

  January 17th- Student leaders selling glow in the dark bookmarks for .50 cents each


Habit of the week/Classroom leading morning announcements:

   Lancaster- Habit 1: Be proactive

Next week: Johns- Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind


The pictures this week definitely include staff bingo pictures. That was such a fun activity. You were nervous to walk anywhere without your card, for fear of missing numbers. It was the Friday before the holiday break, but kids were often very quiet so they could help their teacher listen for the numbers. The tv by the office was a popular place so staff could see the numbers that had been called, just as much fun as watching the departure screen at the airport. Then there were staff members running and dancing down to the office when they had a bingo. Such a fun community building activity.

We also have pictures from classroom parties, leaders of the month, sharpen the paw, and a very generous donation of food items from Pillar Falls for our school pantry:

Pictures This Week



Thought for today:

Friday December 20th, 2019

We have Christmas parties, yummy treats, fun games, learning blended in, early out at 12:45 pm, and staff bingo all day long. It's going to be an awesome day. Please let the office know if you need anything.


Thought for today:

Thursday December 19th, 2019

Please help remind students and families that school is out at 12:45 tomorrow.

Almost all of our classroom teachers have some type of communication tool that is electronic. This is a great article to share with parents, guardians, and us as adults when working with students:

5 Life Lessons


Thank you for helping to create a happy and positive holiday season for our students. I've seen many behind the scenes items that are so kind, from activities, to food boxes, gifts, warm clothes, and more. Thought for today:

Wednesday December 18th, 2019

The big event today is Christmas lunch. Thank you for patience with the lunch line.

Kindergarten is having their holiday parties today, all day long. If you are looking for a positive and happy place, that is the place to visit. Christmas with little ones is the best.

We have a staff meeting after school and we continue with certified staff sharing. We will learn from: 1st, 4th, 5th, preschool, counselor, PE, ESL, and Title 1.

Today is the last day of the food drive.


A new year is coming. Thought for today:

Tuesday December 17th, 2019

We have a fun day today.

We start the day with our monthly leadership assembly and then we have sharpen the paw.



Thought for today:

Monday December 16th, 2019

Meetings/Reminders for the week:

   December 16th, 2019- Monday- eval team

   December 17th, 2019- Tuesday- Intervention Meeting/MTSS

   December 17th, 2019- Tuesday- leadership assembly

   December 17th, 2019- Tuesday- Second quarter sharpen the paw- AM

   December 17th, 2019- Tuesday- Staff lighthouse/Building leadership team- 3:10 in library

   December 18th, 2019- Wednesday- last day food drive

   December 18th, 2019- Wednesday- Christmas lunch

   December 18th, 2019- Wednesday- Staff meeting

   December 19th, 2019- Thursday- Principal lunch with December student leaders

   December 19th-20th, 2019- Thursday and Friday- Holiday parties

   December 20th, 2019- Friday- No school for kinders, end of the 2nd quarter, and
                                                       early release for 1st-5th at 12:45 pm


Next week:

  January 6th, 2020- School resumes


Habit of the week/Classroom leading morning announcements:

   McCollum- Habit 8: Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs

Next week: Lancaster- Habit 1: Be proactive



We have fun dress up days next week:

   Monday: pajama day
   Tuesday: Christmas character
   Wednesday: Wear red/green
   Thursday: Christmas hat/headband


Here is the list of activities for Sharpen the Paw:

  Second Quarter Sharpen the Paw


Here is the list of classroom parties:

   Classroom party dates and times


Pictures this week include Breakfast with Books and the Christmas concert. There are also pictures of students assisting with decorating Christmas trees. Not all of our kids go home to a fully decorated holiday tree, but they get to experience the holiday season at school. We also have pictures of kinders during their weekly STEAM class as they prepared for Santa's arrival.

We have great pictures of student and staff lighthouse action teams planning together and painting quotes for the hallways. We also have pictures of students delivering thank you posters that students signed for community businesses that donated to our Christmas dinner. We also have a great picture of Mrs. Barron receiving the grant she applied for, so our students can have access to new books:

   Pictures This Week


Thought for today:

Friday December 13th, 2019

We've been referring to this week as the triple whammy: full moon, Friday the 13th, and the yucky weather. Add in kids falling apart as they are realizing that we will be absent from school for the holiday break. They really will miss you, though they may not be showing it in the most loving or respectful way at the moment. Thank you for maintaining expectations of appropriate behaviors and taking deep breathes.


Enjoy your weekend. Thought for today:

Thursday December 12th, 2019

What a great Christmas concert! A big thank you to Mrs. Terry for leading. I loved watching all of our staff work together to assist children with lining up. We had a great turn out for both students and staff.


Thought for today:

Wednesday December 11th, 2019

We start the morning with our monthly breakfast with books in the lunchroom. We will also be recognizing our readers of the month. We have definitely had great growth with reading skills.

Tonight is our annual all school Christmas concert at Roper.

We have a staff meeting after school. I love the staff meetings in December. We have certified staff sharing something from domains 1 or 4, their evaluation form. This is a great time for them to shine and share; while we get to learn great ideas. Sharing today: K, 2nd, 3rd, special education K-5, music, ESL, and the Instructional Coach.

This is a nice positive video that has several possible conversation starters: diversity, sharpen the saw, finding something we are passionate about, being outside enjoying nature, etc...

Outdoors


Thought for today:

Tuesday December 10th, 2019

Please help remind students and families about the Christmas Concert on Wednesday. It starts at 6:30 pm, at Roper.

Please help remind students to dress warmly for the Winter weather.


This is a nice overview of questions to consider when understanding who our second language students are:

Five Questions



Thought for today:

Monday December 9th, 2019

Meetings/Reminders for the week:

   December 9th, 2019- Monday- eval team

   December 9th, 2019- Monday- Hour of Code all week

   December 10th, 2019- Tuesday- Intervention Meeting/MTSS

   December 11th, 2019- Wednesday- Breakfast with books and readers of the month

   December 11th, 2019- Wednesday- Staff meeting

   December 11th, 2019- Wednesday- Christmas Concert- Roper- 6:30 pm


Next week:

  December 17th- Leadership assembly

  December 17th- Second quarter sharpen the paw- AM

  December 18th- Last day of food drive

  December 18th- Christmas lunch

  December 20th, 2019- Friday- Early release at 12:45 pm


Habit of the week/Classroom leading morning announcements:

   Yarbrough- Habit 7: Sharpen the saw

Next week: McCollum- Habit 8: Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs


We definitely do STEM/STEAM at our school all year long. Monday starts the annual Hour of Code. We definitely participate and all of our kids are engaged with coding throughout the school year. This video is short and recognizes the importance of creativity. I like that the video also has people speaking in other languages; which is good for kids to hear:

Hour of Code Video


The holiday season can be hard, especially if you have had loved ones pass away. You might have had a special pet pass away. Holidays are just not the same when special people/pets are gone. Loss could even be missing your home place, like our students who were born in foreign countries. All of my family lives out of state or out of country. If students aren't able to travel, the holiday season can be hard. This is a great website that has resources and personal stories that can be helpful so you know that you are not alone:

Loss


If you are striving to have a calmer holiday, more experiences than stuff, this is a nice check in:

A Calmer Holiday


The following links are like a la carte. You can pick the articles that interest you.


Expressing Emotions



This article matches perfectly with our literacy training this year:

Emergent Readers



Metacognitive skills


While this article is focused on second language classes at the secondary level, the ideas and resources listed would be great for any grade level and content area:

Google Resources/Language Resources



The pictures from this last week might be a bit of an overload. We go all out for the holiday season. Our kids need the positive experiences, the warm and fuzzy holiday music and decorations, the community and inclusive activities, and the great memories that they will definitely remember.

We have a picture of our November leaders of the month. The weather was yucky on Monday, but Domino's delivers. We also received a very kind donation of food and hygiene items from Sawtooth. We are working hard to collect our own food drive items as well.

Students were busy preparing for our annual Christmas dinner and we had several kind donations from area businesses such as Great Harvest Bread, Swensen's, Idaho Joe's, Ridley's, Chobani, Jaker's, Shari's, and Falls Brand. We had an awesome turn out for the dinner.

The last pictures include first grade students and fourth grade students synergizing together as they get ready for the holiday season.

Pictures This Week


Thought for today:

Friday December 6th, 2019

We have the candy cane sale today.

What a dinner on Thursday. We had a line from the lunchroom down to kindergarten and people just kept coming. We had to have served around 400 people. It was such a great turn out and family event. A big thank you to Nicole in the kitchen, all the community businesses and adults that donated food, Mari for planning, and all the staff members, families, and students that assisted. When I walked out of the school, I was wondering where everybody parked. It was a great turn out.


Have a great Friday and weekend. Thought for today:

Thursday December 5th, 2019

Please help remind students about the candy cane sale tomorrow.

The big event today is the Christmas dinner. The community donations have been very generous. Please help remind students and families. This is going to be an awesome event and we have students excited to sing, assist with different roles, greet, and more.


Thought for today:

Wednesday December 4th, 2019

This is fun article all about food. I spend a lot of time in the lunch room and one of my favorite experiences when traveling is trying new foods. Eating is universal and often the ingredients are the same or similar.  Food brings people together and is usually an easy in with inclusivity activities :

The Language of Lunch



This thought for today is so true. Who you are is very much dependent upon those you meet and interact with:

Tuesday December 3rd, 2019

Please help remind students and families about the Christmas dinner on Thursday. We have yummy food and students singing. This starts at 5:30 and is a great way to start the holiday season. We also have family portraits being taken.


Thought for today: