https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=2970
Hi All,
It’s hard to believe it, but we’ll actually have a five-day week for three weeks in a row beginning this Monday. I looked back at this year’s calendar and realized we haven’t had three full weeks in a row at all this year and the last time we had two weeks in a row was back in October. It’s been a crazy calendar this year!
Nine items of note this week:
• Design Team Update – The team did not meet last week and is now meeting about twice a month, but we did get word from downtown that the coat closets will be located inside the classrooms. Your staff reps put up a valiant fight to get them out, but the district has made the decision that this is the direction they want.
On a more fun note, last week I got a copy of the 3D models (building exterior and classroom pods) that were shown to us at the last meeting. I had to put them into a ZIP file because WordPress wouldn’t allow me to upload .skp files. I used Google SketchUp to view them, which is a free download.
• School Choice Visitation Week – This week is School Choice Visitation Week #2. We have a few families already signed up for tours (mostly from the younger grades again), so don’t be surprised if you see me walking visitors around the building this week.
• Fire Drill, Monday at 8:30 – I’ve been waiting for a day the last few weeks without rain in the forecast and Monday looks like it may be the only day without any rain predicted before the end of the month, so we’ll do our February fire drill at 8:30. If it does end up raining, I’ll look for a clear moment this same day and we’ll quickly do the drill.
• Dance Africa Assembly, Friday at 9:00 – This Friday, Feb. 28th is the Dance Africa Assembly. It will be from 9:00-9:40. See the attached assembly map for logistical details.
• Color Printing to the Office Copier (not the printer) – A quick reminder to print your color copies to the office copier and not the office printer. It costs about 20¢ a copy to print to the color printer, so it’s much cheaper if staff will print to the copier instead. See last weeks announcements for how to set up your computer to print to the copier, but feel free to ask me for help.
• Books for Julia Due Monday – Another quick reminder that if you’d like to donate to the books for Alicia’s baby girl, Julia, Monday is the due date to put a book in the basket in the mailroom and to sign the card.
• Literacy Night Dinner Orders – And the last reminder of this week’s announcements, if you are working on Literacy Night this Thursday, be sure to review the dinner menu options and get your dinner order to Lori by 2:30 on Monday! If your order is tardy, you will be forced to eat inexpensive pizza with students.
• Effective Use of Open-Ended Questions in Elementary Classrooms – In this helpful article in The Reading Teacher, Barbara Wasik and Annemarie Hindman (Temple University) say teachers sometimes ask questions that students can answer with a single word – for example, “Did you like the book?” elicits a simple “Yes.” Better for teachers to ask open-ended questions that invite elaborated responses.
• Schedule of Events for the Week – See the Google Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for this week:
February 24 (M)
EasyCBM Reading Progress Monitoring 9
Book Fair Begins
School Choice Visitation Week
8:30, Fire Drill (weather pending)
2:00-5:30, Book Fair
2:30-3:30, Parent Laptop Training (Room 6)
2:30-3:30, Allan to Title 1 Coordinator and Principal’s Meeting
4:00-6:00, Allan to North Region Principal’s MeetingFebruary 25 (T)
9:30-10:30, School Choice Tours
2:30-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Room 4)
2:30-3:30, Site Council Meeting (Staff Room)
2:00-5:30, Book FairFebruary 26 (W)
9:00-10:00, School Choice Tours
1:30-3:30, CLC EA Interviews (Office)
11:00-5:00, Book FairFebruary 27 (H)
11:00-12:30, Birthday Lunches with the Principal (Room 2)
2:00-7:45, Book Fair
2:30-4:30, Design Team Meeting (Classroom)
4:30-5:15, Allan to River Road Park District Coordination re: New School
5:00-5:30, Staff Dinner
5:30-7:30, Literacy Night5:30-6:00: Free pizza (cafeteria)
6:00-6:30: Visit classrooms
5:30-7:30: Scholastic Book Fair (Library)February 28 (F)
9:00-9:40, Dance Africa Assembly (Gym)
11:40-12:40, OBOB Party at 4/5 Lunch (Library or Room 2)
Let’s hope for an indoor recess free week!
Allan
