TO-KNOW

• Congratulations on the 16-17 AIR Results! Thank you to each of you for what you have done to make a positive impact on the lives of our students.

• There will be a “Springmyer 17-18 Theme- Brainstorming Session” on 7/19/2017 from 11 to 1:30. Lunch will be provided for participants. Please RSVP if you plan to attend.

• When you are at school you will notice some construction in the back field. We are expanding our parking to include about 22 additional parking spaces. Hopefully this will have a positive impact on our parking situation.

• The district is working on the PD Schedule for the year. Here is what the first three days look like right now:

• August 10th- Building Time (morning)/District Time (Afternoon)

• August 11th- District TIme (Morning)/ Teacher Time (Afternoon)

• August 14th- Building Time (Morning)/Teacher Time (Afternoon)

• Vinyard Church has offered to have volunteers come to the school on Saturday August 12th to assist teachers in set-up for the upcoming year. They are willing to help you with anything you may need. Please let me know if you would be interested in coming in on a Saturday and having a volunteer help you in your classroom. If you are interested I will make contact with them and set-up the day. I have created a Spreadsheet to sign-up for this assistance (Link)

• We have put together a Document with important dates on it. All of these dates are on the Staff Calendar but we thought it would be nice to have them in one place for your reference. Please take a look and let us know if we missed anything (Link).

Planning Calendar

TO-DO

• About 31 days left before the first PD day. Keep enjoying Summer but allow yourself to start thinking about Springmyer once or twice each week.

• IMPORTANT: If you have any technology in your classroom that is not currently functioning properly, please let me know prior to July 14th. I will be completing a request for VARtek on that day.

• RSVP for the Theme Brainstorming Session (email [email protected])

• A Tentative copy of the Master Schedule has been developed for the 2017-2018 Academic Year (Link). When you have the opportunity please take a look and give me feedback. Obviously some of this is not complete or accurate because we need to be together with kids before things are finalized. The things that are fairly set are Specials, Lunch-Recess, and Duties. Aide schedules may change as we get a better feel for the year.

• You should have received an email from Public School Works (Jason Nash) on July First. The email outlines the online trainings that you will need to complete this year (prior to 10/31/2017). Don’t wait till the last moment to get this done.  Set a goal to finish one each week so you aren’t busting them out in late October. If you have questions about Public School Works or need help just let me know.

• Talk with your Grade-Level Team, or Department Team, and nominate a representative to serve on the Building’s Advisory Committee. Please have these recommendations to me by August 1st.

• Let me know if you are interested in having a volunteer from Vineyard Church work with you on August 12th (Saturday) to help you set-up your room. (Link)

TO-READ

If you are inspired, perplexed, or irritated by the weekly reading I’d love to hear about it! Send me an email or grab me in the hallway. Learning never ends!

• Here is an article from EdWeek about Student’s Sense of Belonging.

• Questions to Consider

• Do you think students need to feel “a part of school” to succeed academically?

• Do we have an inclusive culture?

• Do any of the following impact our students’ “sense of belonging” in a negative way?

• Respectful relationships with other students in their class.

• Teacher’s ability to help students feel positively about their identity.

• Fair discipline practices.

• Author recommendation: “ Researchers recommend a range of practices, including encouraging teachers to be "warm demanders" who call out the strengths of individual students, actively challenging stereotypes that students may internalize, strengthening connections between a school and its surrounding community, and taking students on college visits at early ages to help them visualize themselves there.”