TO-KNOW

1. We are officially in our first month of Ready, Set, Read! Please be sure that you have communicated with students about their September reading goals and continue to encourage them throughout the month. Let’s celebrate reading!
   1. Some other news to celebrate about Ready, Set, Read!: We won a $3,000 grant from Dollar General to help cover the costs of Accelerated Reader! Woohoo! This is especially welcome news as the cost of Accelerated Reader has increased this year (yet again!).
2. I have meetings for District Office soon after school on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week so will be leaving earlier than I typically do. Let me know if you need to catch me to discuss something and we will make it happen.
3. This Thursday, September 8 is AIMSWeb day! Here is the schedule that Andrea recently sent out.
4. Right at School is no longer offering before school care at Springmyer due to a lack of interest. We had just one student participating and no new enrollees in the first weeks of school. They will revive the program if there is increased interest. Meanwhile, the after school program is growing and the reviews from students have been very positive. Right at School will also be offering full-day care on professional days. The full-day program will be offered at Delshire but open to all OHLSD families.
5. I have added a link to the office discipline referral form to SPGStaff under the “Office” tab. I know that some of you expressed interest in having a similar form for your own classroom (or grade level’s) use. I mentioned this to Christian Long and he said that it is definitely possible but would take some work. Please let me know by the end of the week if you would like to find time to meet with Christian and have him help you get set up with a similar system. 

TO-DO

1. Please mark your calendar for some adjusted faculty meeting dates! Thank you for your flexibility.
   1. A reminder that our September faculty meeting is next Tuesday, September 13, beginning promptly at 3:20 in the Library. Police Chief Bart West will be leading us through a theoretical safety drill. All staff members are invited to attend.
   2. Due to request from District, we will be moving our October faculty meeting a week earlier. Please plan to meet on Tuesday, September 27 at 3:20pm in the Library.
2. Grandparents Night is on October 4 (earlier than in past years) and we need your help with some photos! As grandparents arrive (traditionally VERY early!), we would like to have a slideshow running that shows each homeroom and some candids. Can you please take a picture of your class and email it to Cyndi by Friday, September 16? If you would prefer that we take the picture or that you are in the picture, please email Cyndi to arrange a time. Non-classroom teachers: You are also welcome and encouraged to send pictures of your students (e.g., Encore, strings/band, art class, gym, extracurriculars).
3. Math and ELA teachers: A friendly reminder to please send me a calendar invite to meet following your common assessment. In general, it seems that the sooner we meet the better; the goal is to meet within three days of administering the assessment. A District team is still in the process of developing the agendas and resources for these meetings but, for now, they provide a great opportunity to learn about GradeCam together and for me to hear your input about what is (and isn’t!) valuable.

TO-READ

Relationships First: Choosing to Be Positive

I found this article from the September issue of Educational Leadership to be affirming of many of our approaches and practices to addressing student behavioral concerns. In it, the authors describe h0w building positive relationships at schools has a long-lasting impact on students’ academic outcomes and their social-emotional growth. The article also includes some specific strategies for preventing negative behaviors and addressing them when they do occur.

Note: The article is password protected so I have clipped it to Evernote as a workaround. Some of the formatting did not 100% translate. If you would prefer to see a hard copy, just let me know!