Thursday Thriller
February 25, 2021
Amy and Sara have done an amazing job tracking down, checking off, making phone calls and talking with students about their Attestation forms! THANK YOU!!!!
Nuts-n-Bolts
1. Hope you are all doing well! Thank you for your visibility in the hallways, by the bathrooms, entry and exit doors. It sure makes a difference and is very much appreciated!
2. I am going to be gone on Monday and Tuesday. My dad is having hip surgery and my mom is not so stable on her feet. While I really dislike being gone, you all won't miss me, Cesar will be here and it's one of those moments in life that I would 100% tell you, "You need to go and be with family." I'm going to take my own advice this time. :D
3. Good news! When Wade and I toured the building last week, we noticed that some classroom window/doors were covered which either limited or completely block visibility into the classroom. The good news they can be removed. It's actually safer to have visibility. :D Therefore, if you have window coverings that limit visibility into your classroom, please remove them.
4. Lynette has decided to take leave for the remainder of the year to care for her husband who has had some health issues. With that being said, Armida, Ashley and Jen will be dividing up Lynette's duties. They will then create a list of what their main jobs are so that you know who to contact for what.
5. Each Wednesday morning, I meet with Ron Higgins, Mindy Meyer, Carina, Rob Ahrens and Pam Jacobson to discuss everything Skyward as well as looking at systems for secondary. Our goal has been to align our procedures. Because both Pioneer and WA HI are on semester grading, Garrison will move to this system beginning in the fall of 2021; no more quarter grades just semester grades.
6. I'm staying clear of spending extended time in classrooms right now. I don't want to raise your anxiety or that of students with another adult in the classroom.
7. Per our COVID safety plans (https://www.wwps.org/safely-
8. If you are a classroom teacher with tables and chairs, could you please stack the chairs to one side of the classroom or on top of the tables at the end of the day? By doing so, this allows the night custodians to vacuum which then gives them more time to clean.
9. Just a reminder that the District has hired a night crew that goes around to each school misting spaces where children/students were each night. It's an additional cleaning and safety measure.
10. Dress code - I'll go over this on GNN. Basically, pants need to be pulled up no sagging, hoodies down, no alcohol, marijuana pictures, for girls no mid-drift showing, headphones are put away along with phones. Many students have been able to hide behind a screen for a year. Now, for some, being back in school is difficult and they want to hide behind the hair in their face. Again, gently asking them to push their hair to the side so you are able to see their eyes and engage with them is a reasonable request. I'll talk more about it on GNN. Please talk with the student. If it is something that is super inappropriate, then by all means call and someone -Angie, Steve, Cesar, Gary, Alex, Katie or I can most definitely address it with the student.
Something to Ponder
What was your best year of teaching? Why was it the best year? What made it so great? I remember one of my best years was when I taught side-by-side with Diane Mires. We exchange ideas, planned activities, shared students, and we were in sync with each other. Great energy that we shared back and forth.
Now that we are back to in-person, operating within a schedule that is quite different and probably never experienced before we may be thinking a couple of different thoughts: 1) When we go back to 'normal' we really need to keep or think about...... or 2) When we go back to normal, we really need to get rid of or change...... (Normal being a full day).
Are there things you can draw upon from your best year of teaching to apply right now? Are those things that you are applying or want to apply, things we should consider for next year?
QUOTE
“A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.” — Author Unknown
Little Humor
