Friday Focus - October 9, 2020

 

Great Things I Noticed this Week:

• Sharing a finished product of a project, while having students refer to the proficiency criteria rubric to share what they saw in the project and where they thought it would be scored on the rubric. What a great way to have students understand the levels of proficiency!
• Teamwork in SO many places...help to cover classes, help to offer bathroom breaks, communicating with a student's next hour teacher to let them know about an issue going on to help support the student, and of course Mrs. Landaal's amazing sub rescue for Wednesday lunch!
• A discussion with students concerned about the possibility of COVID requiring all to switch to virtual...because they know they learn better from their teachers in person and they want to be here with structure and a schedule. Because YOU make the difference for them!
• Despite a teacher absence, teacher recorded lessons were ready in schoology for a student to airplay for the class to continue learning. Kids knew the routine, knew what to do and moved on with class without a hitch!
• More and more students are starting to sound like YOU. When one student was complaining, "I am SO sick of this COVID stuff, I just want it all back to normal," one of his peers replied, "Do you really think anybody likes this? No one does, we just have to move on with what we have and be glad we're here."
• Even though spectators to athletic evens are limited to 2 per athlete, our athletes showed a great deal of sportsmanship and school pride!

Upcoming Events:

Workout Wednesday

Wednesday - 3:05 HS Faculty Meeting in Bluejeans

Picture Retake Day is scheduled for October 21

"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:

*If you have something interesting happening in your classroom and I don't get to see it in action, PLEASE take a picture and send it to me. I have been trying to send out a weekly parent newsletter for each building level on Sundays and love being able to include pictures. 

*SOS...seriously, if you're in need of a bathroom break (or even to pretend you're using the bathroom) send Marcia or I an email with the subject line SOS with some details. We're both nutso busy, but surely one of us will see it to help. Better yet...include Laura/Linda and they can radios us. 

Hope Together with Mrs. Breselow:

 Here is a repeat of the wonderful information Mrs. Breselow shared out this week to support you:

 Healthy Minds at Work : Both Dr.Thompson and I sent out  previous emails inviting staff to complete an assessment.  If you haven’t completed it yet, please remember to set aside 10 minutes to take the Healthy Minds @Work well-being assessment. The assessment report will offer insights into your well-being and help guide you on the path to training your mind.  On Monday, October 12th, you will receive an invitation to join the Healthy Minds @Work 30 Day Challenge with instructions to access your app. Please do not download the app until Monday, 10/12, to ensure you are correctly enrolled in the program. The Challenge will officially launch on Wednesday, 10/14. Click here to take the assessment  As a reminder, there may be some sensitive questions and we want you to know that admin or other staff won’t have access to your personal information. All user data will be confidential.

The second resource is the return of Steeping Wellness.  Built by former teachers, Kalise and Pam.  Steeping Wellness is a company that helps school district employees improve their well-being by providing opportunities to slowly infuse wellness into their lives.  You will be seeing monthly newsletters with encouragement for your personal use and to bring into the classroom, fun wellness challenges, live guided meditations and monthly virtual Self-Care Academies from Steeping Wellness.  Watch for a welcome email from Kalise at Steeping Wellness to highlight what's to come.  Click Here  to watch a brief(3:58) video from Pam and Kalise.

Tech Tip of the Week from Ms. Lee:

Get timely information at a glance with widgets on your iPad. When swiping from the left on your iPad home screen, view quick information such as weather, calendar, reminders, and battery life of Bluetooth connected devices such as Apple Pencil! Here is a video of how to access and personalize your widgets. Find more detailed information here, on the Apple website. 

Blogs, Quotes & Tweets:

For the Teachers Who are Not Ok Right Now