June 10, 2013

By Allan  

Hi All,

If you’re like me, even though we have students on Monday, last Thursday really felt like the last day of school. If it weren’t inappropriate for me to do so, I’d start a pool as to how many students will actually show up on Monday. My guess is about 65% will show, but in any case it should be a nice quiet day.

Nine items of note for this week:

• “Grab & Go” Sack Lunch Schedule – A repeat from last week, but for lunch on Monday, students will enter the cafeteria through the doors closest to the office. They will put together their own sack lunch, assembly line style. As students pass through the line, they should form a new line at the doors exiting to the breezeway. Once all the students have gotten their lunches, the class can leave the cafeteria. This process should take 5-8 minutes. If staff not supervising students are available to help during this time, that would be terrific!

10:00 1st grade
10:15 2nd grade
10:30 3rd grade
10:45 4th grade

• Councelor FTE Restored! – Lee will be at Howard next year at 0.5 FTE! HR was given a very small amount of FTE to offset the most significant bumping scenarios, which ended up benefitting Howard. Should any staffing be restored to our building, this fix-it FTE will go away and the additional funding will take it’s place.

• Staff End-of-Year Root Beer Float Celebration – Monday @11:30 – I just wanted to make sure everyone knows our end-of-year celebration will be this Monday at 11:30 in the cafeteria. I’ll have root beer float fixings and this will be a nice low-key way to close out the year and also say our goodbyes to staff members moving on next year. See you all there!

• Student Writing Portfolios – Classroom teachers, remember to give your current student writing portfolios to the next year teacher, along with the placement cards.

• Year End Checklist – Remember Initials – Remember to obtain an initial next to each section on the Year End Checklist, indicating completion, prior to your check out appointment with me. The checkout sign-up sheet is posted in the mailroom. And once you have completed your checkout with me, whether it’s Monday or Tuesday, you are free start your summer!

• Summer Computer Check-Out – Related to the above, if you are planning to checkout any laptops, iPads or other technology over the summer, be sure to complete the district Technology Equipment Checkout Contract and return it to Lori.

• Summer Professional Development Opportunities – In addition to the Emerald Empire Reading Council PD I shared last week, Jill Schwimmer will be offering a series of courses focusing on the theory (why), methodology (what), and practical application (how) used in assessment and intervention for struggling readers. Both of these course offer graduate credits.

• Staff Summer Book Picks! – At the bottom of this blog post is a list of books a few Howard staff members are planning to read summer (or books they have already read and are recommending). One book on my geek-centric list includes a book written by a 4J employee under a pseudonym. See if you can figure out the employee by reading the author biography. Thank you to those who participated!

• Schedule of Events for the Rest of the Year – See the Google Calendar for future events (including a draft of next year’s calendar), but here are the events of note for this week:

June 10 (M)
Last day of school
Last day for classified staff

“Grab & Go” Sack Lunch (see times below)

10:00 1st grade
10:15 2nd grade
10:30 3rd grade
10:45 4th grade

If staff, not supervising students, are available to help during this time, that would be terrific!.

11:05, Dismissal
11:30-12:00 Staff End-of-Year Root Beer Float Celebration (Cafeteria)
12:00-4:00, Staff Checkouts with Allan

June 11 (T)
Last Day for Teachers
Grading and Conference Day – No Students

7:30-4:00, Staff Checkouts with Allan

June 18 (T)
9:30-3:30, Caring for Kids Training for Teachers (Ed Center)

June 21 (F)
Lori and Allan’s last day

And with only one student day left, we really are on “The Final Countdown.” See the video below for this week’s anthem. :)

Have a fabulous and very well deserved summer, everyone!

Allan

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw[/youtube]

 

 

2013 Staff Summer Book Picks!

Suzy

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
The Thread by Victoria Hislop
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

 

Linda

Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander (a doctor’s scientific proof of heaven after a near death experience of his own)
The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell (murder mystery)
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hildebrand (an Olympic runner survives as a Japanese POW)
The Great Mahjong Book by Jelte Rep (history and how to play the game of Mahjong)

Robin V.
Miracle of Education: The Principles and Practices of Teaching and Learning in Finnish Schools by Hannele Niemi (Editor), Auli Toom (Editor), Arto Kallioniemi (Editor)
How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough

 

Lupe
The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account Of The Death Penalty In The United States by Helen Prejean

Allan
Ready Player One by Ernst Cline (a sci-fi must read for children of the 80s)
The Twelve-Fingered Boy by John Hornor Jacobs (interesting sounding YA novel)
Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines (superheroes vs. zombies)
A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One by George R.R. Martin (need to read the books before I watch the TV series)
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Started it last summer, but it didn’t grab me like the first two books. However, I want to finish out the series)
Wonder by R. J. Palacio (another interesting sounding YA novel)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (any fantasy by Gaiman is worth reading)
The Hot Rock by Donald E Westlake (first in an old crime novel series I’ve been wanting to read)
John Dies at the End by David Wong (more oddball horror/sci-fi I’ve been wanting to read)
The Twelve (Book Two of The Passage Trilogy) by Justin Cronin (post-apocalyptic vampire novel)
Big Head by Aegan Peter (sci-fi written by a 4J employee in 1992 under a pseudonym)
The Dead (An Enemy Novel) by Charlie Higson (book two of a YA zombie survival series)