Friday Focus - May 25, 2012

• Report cards are due to Team Leaders on Tuesday and to Administration on Thursday.  
• 3rd and 4th Grade will have their Honor Roll assemblies next Thursday: 3rd Grade at 8:15 and 4th Grade at 9:00. 
• Our Math Superstars will receive a popsicle party next Thursday at 1:15.
• June and July's Birthday Table is next Friday.
  

 Quote of the Week -  "Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are." - Bernice Johnson Reagon

Friday Focus - May 18, 2012

• We will have a Faculty Meeting this Monday, May 21.
• 4th Quarter Honor Roll names are due to Ms. Tusa and Terrific Kids' names are due to me next Tuesday.
• We have an assembly scheduled for next Wednesday at 1:00 in the cafeteria.  This is for 3rd - 5th grades.  One of our parents who is disabled will be here to speak about overcoming obstacles and a bike race that he is participating in.  
• Next Thursday is Storybook Character Dress-up Day and our Field of Readers. 5th Grade is going to JA Biz Town this day as well. 
• Planning Day is next Friday.  PLCs are scheduled.

Quote of the Week - Not a quote, but a message from my son, Jagger, for all of your help with our JDRF fundraiser. 

Oh, and one more thing: thank you for being awesome!

 

Friday Focus - May 11, 2012

• PLC appraisals need to be completed by 3:00 today.  Mrs. Barclay sent an email reminder about this two weeks ago.  
• We will be visited by BB International Pre-School next Tuesday.  About 60 students prospective students will be here.
• 5th Grade is going to Lion Country Safari next Wednesday.
• McDonald's Family Night is next Wednesday.  Please come and help make this a fun night. 
• Our Spring Concert for K-2 is on Thursday and for 3-5 is on Friday. 
• Kindergarten is having their "Mommy, Daddy and Me" event next Friday.  
• 1st Grade is going on a field trip to Flamingo Gardens next Friday. 

Quote of the Week - I thought everyone would like to see an email that I received from a prospective parent last week following one of our Kindergarten tours:

"Dear Keith,
I just wanted to let you know that we've toured almost every private school in the area and received a thank you note for touring their school from only one aside from you.  I had actually written off my son attending a public elementary school until touring yours.  After touring your school I feel that he would receive the same level of education if not a higher level than what some of the private schools are offering.  You should be very proud  of what you and your staff are providing and the community you're forming.  P.S. I phoned the admissions committee at Pine Crest to find out what their feelings were on the level of education that the students from Floranada receive and their response for your school was better than most of the private schools in the immediate area.  Keep up the fantastic work and we hope to be accepted by reassignment so that we can become a part of your family in the fall! "

Friday Focus - May 4, 2012

• We are participating in a fundraiser for the JDRF from May 7 - 18.  There will be two assemblies on Monday afternoon - K-2 at 12:50 and 3-5 at 1:25.  This is a fundraiser for those with Juvenile Diabetes.  Funds raised go to prevent, better treat, and ultimately cure type 1 diabetes.  10% of the profits from our fundraiser come back to the school.
  
• Interim Reports go home next Tuesday.
• PLCs are scheduled for next Thursday.  
• We have noticed that laptops in our laptop carts are not being put back in the proper manner.  As I have stated in the past, please make sure that only staff members are putting the laptops back into the carts.  Students should never be responsible for this.  Please also monitor students as they use the laptops as we have noticed that a number of them are dirty. 
  
• Next week is Staff Appreciation Week.  PTA's luncheon for the staff will be on Friday.  We would like to invite all staff members to an ice cream social in room 135 next Tuesday afternoon at 2:15.
  

Quote of the Week - “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” - Robert Brault



Also this,

The Mayonnaise Jar and Two Cups of Coffee

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee. 

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”
“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car.
The sand is everything else. The small stuff.”
“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.
Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked.
It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."