Thursday Thriller

 Thursday Thriller

April 29, 2021

So many fun bulletin boards!

Our own Ashley is the WWPS Fair Supt for the Education Building!!   Whoop Whoop!!

Nuts-n-Bolts

1.    Thank you for your patience yesterday with picture day.  Chad, Mike, Sean and Amber have been super flexible with the gym and PE classes outside.  THANK YOU!!!!

2.    Friday is Tie Day Spirit Day!

3.    In addition to the 7th grade doors down by Stephanie and Michelle's room and the double doors by Stacey's room,  we will open the cafeteria doors and keep the breeze way open so more students are not crowding to enter the building after lunch.  We will also get equipment out for students at lunch time.  Students have done a nice job with walking the track.  PLEASE offer suggestions for how lunch can run smoother.  Maybe you have witnessed it, heard from students or talked with colleagues.  We are open to suggestions.

4.    If you open your windows, please remember to shut AND lock them.  Thank you!

5.    Carina and I would like to meet with PLC teams to hear what went well this year, what do we need to know for next year and what are your suggestions for next year.  Please work with Armida to schedule time.  This can be on Wednesdays, before school, after school whatever works with everyone's schedules. 

6.    EOY Evaluations-Both certificated and classified please schedule a 15 min time with Armida so we can go over your eval. May 3rd-May 31st.  Thank you

7.  We hired a Math/LAP Teacher.  Many of you may know her  -Mrs. Nancy Anhorn!!! She is currently teaching 5th grade at Edison.  She comes with 30 years of classroom and Learning Specialist experience.  Her background is math.  She is super excited to be able to come back to MS and Math!

Something to Ponder

Having all students back has been wonderful yet difficult all at the same time!  I think we have felt, even when students were half time, that their ability to interact with anyone, let alone their peers has been a barrier.  Students, not all, are re-learning how to engage.  I had the false hope or false impression that when students returned that they would be thrilled to see their peers and NOT be able to stop talking and interacting.  I am seeing glimpses of this at lunch when students are able to take off their masks.  The smiles and laughter are priceless and so good to see and hear.

This article was a good read because it once again highlighted the social/emotional side of students and what they may be experiencing now that we are back in school full time.  As someone who is not particularly good at relationships because I am a 'gold' personality driven by tasks and outcomes, stopping, taking a deep breath, asking how people are is what is most important right now; building back those relationships.  

Couple of highlights from this article:

I'll take care of you better so you can take care of your students. :)

Hope you find a gold nugget in this article. 

Quote

Little Humor

Hopefully this weekend you will get some rest.  You have started school 3 times this year!!! You have and continue to have a DANG HEAVY LIFT!!!  Find some respite and relaxation.  This is my granddaughter, Isella, laying on our oldest daughter, Madi, with an avocado face mask on.  Kindergarten full days is hard work you know. LOL

What will be your "avocado face mask" be this weekend? :D

Bullet Points from TT

Friday, April 30th                     Spirit Day Tie Dye Day

May 3-7                                      Teacher Appreciation Week
                                                    Sports and in person Drama club begins this week.  Coaches will meet with students on the 4th and the first practice will be on the 6th.  There will be NO SPORTS on WEDNESDAYS; only MTTHFs
                                    

Tuesday, May 4th                      Grading for Equity Team meeting at 7:30AM  ZOOM LINK

Wednesday, May 5th                First Wednesday of the Month Staff Meeting .  Let's begin at 3:00.  Zoom Link

Tuesday, May 18th                    Grading for equity Team Meeting @ 7:30  Zoom Link

Tuesday, May 25th                   Grading for Equity Team Meeting @ 7:30AM  Zoom Link

By end of May                            PLC teams meet with Carina and Kim-schedule with Armida
                                                     EOY Eval with Kim both classified and certified-schedule w/Armida

 Thursday Thriller

April 22, 2021

Way to go NJHS!!  UB recognition!

Food Drive

Little science and social studies.  I enjoy learning while visiting your classrooms.  I don't do it often enough but when I do I have to snap a few pics. :D

                                                             Super excited she is back! 

Nuts-n-Bolts

1.  Thank everyone for participating and creating the most beautiful bouquets of flowers for our AWESOME secretarial staff!!! You made their day.  Thank you!

2.    Students who arrive early on Monday will come into the building, sit on a chair and wait until 8:35.  We may have those covering the morning, walk the track with these students so they are just sitting.  We are allowing early entrance when parents communicate with either Carina or myself.  There are extenuating circumstances in which we want to be helpful.

3.  Carina and I will be tag teaming the elementary to middle school resource room transition meeting all day tomorrow. 

4.   Picture day Wednesday the 28th during Social Studies.  Ashley is creating the schedule.

5.    School spirit day Friday the 30th Tie Dye!

6.    Certificated staff, you will begin receiving eval notifications.  I am 'batching' and putting it all together for you to sign.  Just wanted to give you a heads up.  You don't need to do anything with the notifications.

7.  Encourage students to bring food for the food drive.  6th grade has been a little dismal :D

8.  Today at 4:30 (6th), 5:00 (7th) and 5:30 (8th) Carina and I are holding grade level Q &A sessions regarding the start of full days on Monday the 26th via Zoom.  You are more than welcome to join. 

9. This is a video regarding lunch procedures.  It will be a link in the GMS Family Newsletter, sent to students via email and part of GNN on Monday.  If students bring their own lunch, they head right outside.  There will be staff on hand to help direct students. 

10.  Enjoying your EOY Reflections.  If you haven't completed it yet, please do so and then sign for your hours.

11.  Summer Sol-If you are interested in making a litter extra cash, we would love to have you!  There are two four week sessions.  June 21-July 16th and July 19-Aug 13th -8:15-11:00 (10:30-11:00 is planning for the teacher)  is for the academic part.  If you are interested, please let me know.  The focus is ELA and Math for the academic piece.  ELA and Math departments have been working to identify students that would be  strongly encouraged to attend.  The goal is to reengage students and fill some core holes.  Students who are not attending the morning session can come from 10:30-5:00 or part of that.  There are going to be some fun activities for students to participate in.  Let me know if you need more information or are interested.  

Click here to see who has already signed up.

12.   The library will be closed during fourth period beginning on Monday the 26th.  As things settle into full days, we may be able to open it up. Stay tuned.

13.    Shout out to Zoe!!! She is now a permanent teacher at Garrison!!  Her contract was temporary this past year.  Whoop!!  Whoop!!!  Also, Amy Kasenga was offered a position working with the district Equity and Access Department.  We hate to see Amy go.  However, she will be working with teachers and students at Garrison just in a different capacity.  Her position will be posted soon.  CONGRATULATIONS, AMY!

Tracy Gerbino is a fifth grade teacher from Edison with an ESL background and a passion for social studies!  She will be our new social studies teacher.  Welcome, Tracy!

We still have our Math/LAP Position open.  We will be hiring soon. 

Something to Ponder

Have you ever thought of doing something else?  I'm sure I could but I have never had the courage to try.  Maybe because I love the work I do even though, like you, it's tiring, frustrating, exhausting but lots and lots of times joyful!

Dave Stuart, Jr. hit home with really making me think about why I'm here.  I want YOU to THINK of WHY YOU ARE HERE.  YOU ARE IMPORTANT!

The work to come is not going to be easy.  It will be another transition, with more students and probably even more social and emotional needs.  Ponder these last few paragraphs from the article "Here's the Thing:  We Could Do Something Else".  Hope you find a gold nugget.

But I also want you to know — to be told by a person who respects you — that there are other things you could do. Things that'd be profoundly important because you are important and because we all are.

I think you need to sit with that for a bit, take some walks with it, work through it with a trusted friend or two.

And then? Decide.

Because for the work to come, we all need to be here because we've chosen to be. Because teaching, fundamentally, is always that: a choice. That's what it was in my classroom today, and that's what it was in yours.

So let's make it willfully.

Quote

This was a great book!

“I'm not perfect; no, I step in shit all the time and recognize it when I do. I've just learned how to scrape it off my boots and carry on.”
― Matthew McConaughey, Greenlights

Little Humor

In the words of Kevin Costner in Bull Durham, "We're dealing with a lot of sh*t."  Teamwork makes things better. :D Hope you can laugh a little.

 Thursday Thriller
April 15, 2021

This was from the State of Innovation Awards Ceremony!  Mike Bertram, Will Hammond, Hanen, Mia and Miriam!  Great job!!!

Teen Health App

Nuts-n-Bolts

1.  Please fill in the document if you haven't already. GMS Classroom Set Up

2. We will be having a picture day on Wednesday, April 28th.  Pictures will be during Social Studies classes.  Information will go home on the 21st.

3.    Para schedules will be adjusted.  Carina, Angie and I will be looking over where support is needed, making adjustments and communicating out that information.  First priority is to cover ELA and Math classes.  However, if you feel that you have high needs and need a para, please email both Carina, Angie and me. 

4.    I'd like to have a Spirit day either the 30 of April of May 7th.  I think it might be 'tie dye' day since that was one that students and staff voted for.  I know the 30th is the first Friday back with everyone, it might be crazy so we could add to the craziness.  Email me if you have strong feelings one way or the other.

5.  Special day on Wednesday the 21st.  Wink, Wink...look for the email from Angie.

6.  I forgot to introduce Ruben Garanzuay or maybe I did.  Anyway, I'm introducing him again. LOL.  He is a long term para sub in the RISE room. Welcome, Ruben!

7.    Terri and Jacob (Gear Up) have moved into the library.  The SSR room will now be used when students need time away from class.

8.      Carina and I will send out 'stuff' to look at in regards to discipline.  With all students returning, we may have a behavior or two.  We will send out steps to follow, what the process looks like and who takes care of what such as phone calls, discipline, etc. As always, whether in a pandemic or not, classroom expectations MUST be taught, modeled, retaught, etc.  Don't assume because we are back full time students remember all the expectations in your classroom.  Secondly, parents want to hear from the classroom teacher.  Even though it might be discipline that Carina and/or I handle, most times parents want to hear first hand what happened.  Forms and communication coming next week. 

9.  The GMS Grading for Equity team is meeting next Tuesday after school.  There is still time if you would like to be a part of digging in and examining current practices. Ask if you have questions.  The team  is going to collectively work and make changes for the Fall of 2021.  Small changes at a time.  Again, we don't all have to be 100% in agreement but we have to be 100% aligned.

10.   Food Drive!!! April 19-30th.  See Jami's NJHS Food Drive email

11.  Chad H will be sending out information regarding sports.  

Track-6-8, Tennis 7-8, Softball (girls) 7-8, Baseball (boys) 7-8.  Then Millennials Soccer 6-8.  Sports will begin week of May 3rd. 

Something to Ponder

As we prepare for another change, you  probably are having mixed emotions.  Change is easy it's the transition into the change that's hard.  This is a quick article from an AP from Seattle PS.  Finding joy each day among the change, loss, and chaos.  What wins can we take from each day?  Hope you find a gold nugget.  

QUOTE

“There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make, makes you.” ~ John Wooden 

Little Humor

 Thursday Thriller
April 1, 2021

SHOUT OUT to Mike Bertram, Will, Beth and some AWESOME students!!!

Congratulations to Garrison students Hanen Mohamed, Mia Roughton and Miriam Hutchens, whose project was selected as a State of Innovation Challenge honoree.  The team designed and built a prototype smartphone app designed to address teen mental health.  Out of nearly 90 projects received from over 200 students statewide, their project was one of only eight projects selected and was commended for its creativity, detail, and effort.

 

The project began when the girls volunteered to participate in the State of Innovation Challenge, sponsored by the State of Washington, designed to engage youth in creating solutions to the real world problems facing our state. This year’s Challenge’s subject was COVID-19 and the team selected from three distinct challenge cases:The Food Chain, Responding to COVID-19, and After COVID-19. Throughout their learning journey, the students interacted with, and received guidance from local non-profits, as well as graduate students from the University of Washington.

 

The team was coached and led by Mike Bertram, STEM Teacher, and Will Hammond, 21st CLCC Program Director. Mr. Bertram said, “It was challenging at first, collaborating with the kids through zoom meetings, but they became an awesome team and performed brilliantly. We couldn’t be more proud of their hard work and achievement. Well done!”

More details are available at https://www.innovationwa.org/

L-R

Miriam Hutchens (8th Grade), Hanen Mohamed (7th Grade), Mia Roughton (8th Grade)

Four students in Mrs. Clearman's 8th grade Social Studies class (Bryce Hollopeter, Macy Eggart, Carly Newton and Piper Fredrickson) recently auditioned to be judges for the upcoming season of the popular podcast Smashboom Best which takes a lighthearted approach to debating. Previous year's topics include tacos versus pizza, sugar versus salt and mermaids versus bigfoot, among others.

 

Carly Newton and Macy Eggert were selected to judge two episodes in the upcoming season four, which will be recorded at a studio in Walla Walla, in May. Newton will be judging a debate on Fairies versus Giants and Eggart, Honey versus Pickles. These episodes will be coming out sometime between August 5 and September 23. You can check out the podcasts on their website at https://www.smashboom.org/.

Congratulations to all four students!

NUTS-n-BOLTS

1.    ENJOY your spring break!!!  YOU deserve it!  Rest, relax and rejuvenate!

2.   Tomorrow is end of the quarter.  Please have your grades completed/uploaded by April 13th.  

3.  I'm going to be working with Carina, Rob and Kris tomorrow afternoon at the District office.  Cesar will be here in case you need anything. 

4. Click here for the Summary of yesterday's staff meeting. 

    

Something to Ponder

Whether you are a March Madness fan or not, these are some fun facts!  Holy Cow! the revenue? Geez!  Fun to reminisce on the notable players.  For me, March Madness brings up memories of my dad and brother watching the games together.  My brother still watches the final game with dad (Keith is 48 and dad is 83).  Maybe it's not all about basketball. :D

Hope you find a gold nugget and smile in the fun facts. 

Quote

Change is inevitable.  Growth is optional. -John Maxwell

Little Humor

Vacation is a time to live a little!  I was thinking of getting a tattoo but not sure what to get.  Here were some ideas.😆