Monday May 1st, 2017

Duties for the week: 
     
     AM Bus: Kelly
                 Alexander
                 Sharp
     PM Bus: Hammond
                 Warner
                 Wolden
     Staff Room: 4th Grade
 
 
  Meetings/Reminders for the week:  

   May 1st, 2017- Monday- May school store all week with student leaders

   May 1st, 2017- Monday- Eval Team

   May 2nd, 2017- Tuesday- Intervention Meeting

   May 3rd, 2017- Wednesday- Kindergarten Open House 5:00-6:30

   May 5th, 2017- Friday- Friday fun- Crazy Hair Day


Habit of the week/Classroom leading morning announcements:
 
  Alexander- Habit 3: Put first things first
      next week for May 8th: Thomason- Habit 4- Think win-win


ISAT/SBAC Schedule:

Tuesday: All 5th completing ELA CAT Test- AM

Wednesday: All 4th completing Math Performance Task Test- AM

Thursday: All 5th completing ELA Performance Task Test- AM



This Week is Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week. Here are the food themes:

Monday: Popcorn Bar

Tuesday: Coffee and Breakfast

Wednesday: Soup Lunch

Thursday: Cookies and Snack

Friday: Fiesta Fun, Nacho Bar


The pictures from this last week include two of our school board members visiting, April leaders of the month, chickens, students preparing for Staff/Teacher appreciation week, and the annual Robotics Expo. What I love about the robotics pictures, is our kids. They don't have the matching team shirts or outfits, or fancy resources. They do have the biggest smiles. They represent the real world diversity and they are so happy. Super proud of them! Our kids are such great representatives of our school and the local community:

Pictures This Week

We are really lucky to have the PRC/ERC classroom at Harrison. The staff who lead in that classroom have a great idea for next year. They saw a need and matched it to our school goals, like leadership. We will have more opportunities for students to lead activities with students who receive special education services. This article fits very well:

Pushing Beyond the Classroom for Students with Autism 


This is a great resource:

Energy and Calm: Brain Breaks and Focused Attention Practices


As this title reminds, this is what we know is true:

High Expectations, All Students, No Exceptions



Great to remember as we start the last month of school:

Friday April 28th, 2017

Next week we kick off Teacher/Staff Appreciation week. Be prepared for really yummy food every day during the week. We have had families dropping off items this week. You are very much loved and appreciated.

I had to smile when I read this post. We have a young lady in second grade who is on our student lighthouse team. She is adamant about our school carnival being like Disneyland. She has found her voice and I've encouraged her to make it happen. She will happily be wearing a Disney outfit for the carnival, and any student is welcome to do the same. This article is a great reflection piece, from school improvement to excellence, customer service, staff matching the needs of our student, a common team working towards the same goals, second chances, including all kids, safe to make mistakes, everybody is loved, and more:

Your Guide to Running a School like Disney World


Yes:

Thursday April 27th, 2017

We have third grade students finishing their math ISAT test this afternoon. Thank you for helping to keep that hallway and bathroom quiet. Fifth grade starts their testing next week.

Please help remind students about the last school sale next week with student leaders.

I was at a museum two years ago, while visiting my brother, and I still remember it. It was an immigration museum. There was a section that had walls full of photographs, either a person or something that represented that person. Each person was an immigrant or refugee. There was a biography or narrative included with each photo. Though limited in language skills, as the museum exhibit explained, each photograph and story was inspiring. Photos are universal in every language:

Literacy Through Photography for English Language Learners


This is a great reminder that matches what we learned about at the staff meeting on Wednesday. Just like adults, stopping to pause and breathe is good for kids. Wednesday afternoon included several opportunities in the office for kids to practice, to calm themselves and be able to discuss situations. Mindfulness:

Wednesday 26th, 2017

We have a staff meeting after school in the library, and we will start at about 3:25.

Today is Secretary's Day! We are super lucky at Harrison to have a great secretary.

This is a great post with a few tips that would be great for all learners as they learn about engineering and STEM topics, especially second language learners. Every student has a strength, and synergy and collaboration can create impressive results:

Five Tips for Teaching Engineering to English Learners

From the same website above, Engineering is Elementary, here is a great resource:

Free Curriculum for 3rd-5th


Be the positive person:

Tuesday April 25th, 2017

It was like a family reunion on Monday. Thank you for helping to let families know about Kindergarten registration. Almost all of our kids on Monday were siblings and preschool students.

We have 4th grade completing the first part of their Math ISAT in the morning, and 3rd completing the first part of their Math ISAT in the afternoon. Thank you for helping to keep the hallways quiet.

We're either crying or laughing at Harrison. Experiences and moments are the best things to collect:

Monday April 24th, 2017

Duties for the week: 
     
     AM Bus: Anderson
                 Moore
                 Thomason
     PM Bus: Rodriguez
                 Lancaster
                 Schroeder
     Staff Room: 3rd Grade
 
 
  Meetings/Reminders for the week:  

   April 24th, 2017- Monday- Kindergarten Registration Starts

   April 24th, 2017- Monday- Eval Team

   April 25th, 2017- Tuesday- Intervention Meeting

   April 26th, 2017- Wednesday- Staff Meeting

   April 27th, 2017- Thursday- Robotics Expo- PM

   April 28th, 2017- Friday- Principal's lunch with April Student Leaders


Habit of the week/Classroom leading morning announcements:
 
  Moore- Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind
      next week for May 1st: Alexander- Habit 3- Put first things first

ISAT/SBAC Schedule:


Tuesday: All 4th completing Math CAT Test- AM
Tuesday: All 3rd completing Math CAT Test- PM

Thursday: All 3rd completing Math Performance Task Test- AM


This week is going to be busy with Kindergarten registration. If you see families in the hallways and lobby, please welcome them. If you walk into the office and the phone is ringing, please pick it up, If you see a student by the office waiting for assistance, please assist them.

The staff meeting this week will have Ms. Kober and Mrs. Rice teaching about mindfulness. Mrs. Rice will also be sharing what stood out to her at the recent Prevention Conference.

It doesn't matter what school students attend. Affluent or high poverty, high school or elementary- homework is always a hot topic. Here are a few thoughts:

Rethinking Homework for Student Success


This is a great post about student voice and advocating:

Through the Eyes of a Child


This is an interview with a school leader, and the topic relates very well to our school. A quote from the interview:

You don’t get to better-performing schools by arresting, suspending and expelling students, but instead you have to create environments that are supportive and nurturing for young people. You have to think about the social and emotional aspects of the work, which involves more than just applying consequences for behavior.

Schools Focus on Being More Trauma Aware


Just a few pictures this week. We had measurement, school board members who visited, and Earth Day:

Pictures This Week


This website has great daily writing prompts, like the following image below that I think we can all relate to, and these would be great for morning meetings:

Daily Writing Prompts

Prompt from the website above, and also a great thought for starting the week that would also be great to share with students:

Friday April 21st, 2017

We have a garden meeting before school starts, and anybody interested is invited. We'll start about 7:40 in room 17.

This is a great video as we end the week:

Grandma Who is Deaf Signing with Baby


You never know what a student might ask you: