TO-KNOW

1. I will be out during the middle of the day on Wednesday, September 28, attending an annual luncheon for the Hamilton County Council of PTAs. I will be available by phone and will return to the building if needed.
2. This Thursday and Friday is Dads and Donuts, from 7:15 – 8:00 in the gym. Students will be released at 8:00 from the gym. Please be sure you are in your classroom and ready for a larger number of students than average to arrive right at 8:00. Also, if you arrive on the early side, it would be great if you could park on Springmyer Drive to allow for more spaces for our parents.
   1. The PTA is looking for volunteers to help set up on Wednesday and Thursday after school and to help replenish/serve donuts each morning. If you are able to help, please sign up here. If you volunteer to help serve, it will be fine if you have to leave a bit early.
3.  A reminder that students’ Walk-a-Thon envelopes are due on Tuesday. We will send out a text reminder to all families but if you also have regular communication methods you use, please feel free to also send home a reminder.

TO-DO

1. This is the last week for reaching September reading goals! Please check your students’ progress in AR and have individual check-ins with students who might need a little extra support or motivation to get to their goals. We will be printing off AR reports at the end of the day on Friday and will have brag tags to you by early next week along with a list of names highlighted of those students who met their goals.

TO-READ

Open Your Door: Why We Need to See Each Other Teach

Thanks to all of you for your active engagement in Friday’s professional day. I was inspired by the many ideas shared among teachers at the Writers’ Workshop sessions I was able to attend. It was incredible to see the many ideas and supports that teachers are able to offer each other, even while we are learners with a new curriculum this year. Nobody is an expert but who can better understand the unique challenges of our classrooms and schools but our peers?!

This blog post is from a teacher who describes her experiences opening her classroom to other teachers and learning through classroom visits to other teachers. As she notes, peer observation can be such a powerful learning tool, both for the person observing and the person whose classroom is observed! It is one way to continue Friday’s powerful conversations about teaching and learning between professional days. I encourage you to think about one person’s classroom who you would like to see (even if just for a 15 minute drop in!)…perhaps at Springmyer or perhaps at another building. I will be happy to figure out the coverage and help to make arrangements if you’d like. Just let me know!