FINAL Thursday Thriller
June 18, 2020

CONGRATULATIONS, ARMIDA!!! Staff Achievement Award recipient :D  So deserving!  We are proud of you!

NUTS-n-BOLTS

1.     Carina and I will be communicating with the GC team and then staff when we know more regarding PD in August and the start of the school year.

2.    There are not enough words to share our gratitude with you!  It has been TOUGH this past spring but you handled it well, with grace and professionalism.   Carina and I are proud to say we are part of the Garrison Staff!  THANK YOU for ALL you have done!  This has been a united effort and one that could not have been done without many hands, minds and grit.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

3.  Big Wave tomorrow!  ASB gave us a list of songs that are 'clean.'  Roger will set up speakers and we will be ready to go.  We will line Chase street and wave to students as they drive by.  If you want to make a sign, go for it or you can just wave.  If you plan to participate, we MUST wear masks.

4.   I'll be checking classrooms this next week.  Let me know if you have questions or concerns regarding furniture, etc.

5.  We want to wish Lance, Stacy J and Lisa well!!  Your work here at Garrison has left it's mark.  Best of luck on your new adventures!!

6.  THANK YOU to the staff who helped with the tech turn in -Mary, Terri, Ashley, Armida, Lynette, Sherry, Rachelle, Maria and Michelle! 

7.   Golfing was fun yesterday!  Thanks to Chad and Charlie.  They had a HUGE amount of patience with Carina and me. :0  I guess you're not suppose to clap when someone hits a good shot?  LOL  And the covers on the golf clubs are not 'warmers' who would have known. 😜 Thanks, Charlie, for organizing this event.

8.  Grades due tomorrow

9.  Carina and I will be taking some vacation days next week.  We are taking time now vs extended time in July due to planning purposes.  You can always text us.  We are really trying to practice unplugging, relaxing so that we can be 100% when we're at work.

10.  Beth and Conor -good times with your students' Virtual Business Plans Convention!  It was so cool to listen to students and their plans!  Would love this for all 8th grade students.

SOMETHING to PONDER
Enjoy your summer!  Reflect on what good you accomplished this school year, what you learned and what you will repeat for next year (don't think about the bad and negative...let that s@$# go! )

Little Humor
I can't get enough of the Office.  Hope your plans are little better than theirs. 😆

Thursday, Thriller June 11, 2020

Thursday Thriller
June 11, 2020

NUTS-n-BOLTS

1.  Please take a few minutes to answer these questions on the Health Center survey.  Your input and feedback helps the HC improve services for our students.  Thank you!
ttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJ-bZdxXpvaLer9OeDH0hLMWx4-Ao8zLlQIpM_V8ssCPbyLg/viewform?usp=sf_link

2.  Tonight a notification will be sent out to incoming 6th grade students.  A welcome from me and a virtual tour of the building.  Just wanted to keep you in the loop. :D

3.  Wednesday, June 17th at 12:00 will be our final staff meeting for both certs and classified.  Wear some Garrison Swag and bring your favorite memory.

4.  Golfing!  Wednesday at 4:00!  See Charlie for details.  Apparently, Charlie and Chad H.are defending their title. Nobody must have played last year, then right?  Charlie and Chad also BEGGED Carina and I to be on their team so that we could help them win.  Bring in the big guns, I guess!  LOL

5.  I do want to give CARINA a HUGE SHOUT OUT!  She has been using her spreadsheet, data, and tech skills to hand place students in classes; really making sure the right students are being placed in the right classes with the right people.  She sat in on every sped transition meeting, worked with Nate, Nate, Rob and Libby to design sped classes to meet the varying degrees, has dug into the the data to to help clarify WHY we are placing students in classes; we are able to thoroughly explain AND show parents who may question related to a placement. Her care, thought and organization will pay hugely for these students.  THANK YOU!!!!!

6. One last plug for the 8th grade slideshow.  If you have not had the opportunity to go in and make comments, the 8th graders would greatly appreciate it.

7.  THANK YOU, BRENT and MARK for working tirelessly and relentlessly on the cafeteria floor.  Scraping on your hands and knees, waxing it, day in and day out!  Your work is appreciated!

8.  If you need boxes to discard District materials, please ask Mark and Brent.  They will deliver boxes to your classroom along with red dots.  Also, if you are moving classrooms within the building, Mark and Brent will deliver boxes with GREEN DOTS.  Those moving classrooms,  this will happen on June 22nd so please be prepared.

SOMETHING to PONDER

Confronting Inequity/The Trauma We Don't See

Being in discussions about what the school could/would look like in the fall whether it is online, a hybrid model or full inclusion makes me think, of course, about the students.  Which students did well online?  Which students did not and why?  The phone calls and emails from families of students who we THINK would have no problems due to the family support really, really struggled.  This article caught my attention.  It is more to think about, take in and reflect upon.  Our biases of who is succeeding, not succeeding and the 'whys' are truly biases. It just makes me think how important relationships are so we truly know our kids.  Also, for me not to 'assume' they, the students, should be doing well just because of their family.  

Something to ponder... :D  Here is a summary of the article "Confronting Inequity/The Trauma We Don't See"

How Over achievement Can Mask Childhood Trauma

(Originally titled “The Trauma We Don’t See”)

In this Educational Leadership article, educator/activist Deena Simmons remembers that when she was in third grade, she was so terrified by gunshots exploding close to the windows of her family’s one-bedroom apartment that she threw up every night. Through a lot of hard work in school, Simmons graduated with honors and has excelled professionally, “but underneath it all,” she says, “I am still on my healing journey, still putting myself back together. Through self-work and support, I have learned that my trauma manifests in my overachievement – and the resulting lack of sleep – because overworking is something I can control.” 

With many children, toxic stress produces anxiety, depression, health problems, acting out, dropping out, drug abuse, and more. The fact that some do well despite horrific conditions is puzzling, and Simmons wonders how many students are repressing trauma and need more support. “Too often,” she says, “the trauma of high achievers, especially those of color, goes unrecognized because their achievements are sometimes mistaken for resilience. While some of us may be excelling thanks to having a caring adult and other supports in our lives, the scars of our past remain, and we are still in need of care, love, and healing.” 

Educators need to connect with all students, she concludes, and not assume that the shining stars are invulnerable. And of course schools need to be run in ways that don’t add to trauma. 

“The Trauma We Don’t See” by Dena Simmons in Educational Leadership May 2020 (Vol. 77, #8, pp. 88-89)

Little Humor

I know I've said a few of things :D

Thursday Thriller June 4, 2020

Thursday Thriller
June 4, 2020

NUTS-n-BOLTS

1.   Here is the agenda from today's staff meeting.

2.  Get reading!!  Carina and I would LOVE to have pies thrown in our faces if it meant that we won and our students and staff did a ton of reading!

3.  If you need help with closing up your classroom, please let me know ASAP.  Paras are working next week and need things to do and they WANT to HELP.

4.   If you are packing up items that are STAYING in the DISTRICT, we MUST use the HOME DEPOT boxes.  You get these boxes by asking/emailing Brent and/or Mark.  They also have RED and GREEN dots.  You don't want to have to do this twice.  We have the boxes; just email and ask the guys for them.  They will deliver them to your classroom. :D

SOMETHING to PONDER

Something light to ponder.  It is true. :D