Friday Focus - August 31, 2012

• Data chats will begin next Thursday.  There is a schedule posted in the Floranada CAB Conference entitled "Data Chats" which tells which day you will meet.  Basically if you are scheduled for Day 1, you will meet on Thursday; Day 2 on Friday; Day 3 the following Monday; and Day 4 the following Tuesday.  Individual teachers will meet during their specials' times.  Remember that my expectation was that you identified at-risk students by last Friday.  Please be prepared to discuss these and all of your students. 
  
• Team Leader Day is next Wednesday.  We are also hosting a small group of Principals and our Director for a meeting on the same day.  That group will be visiting some classrooms.  If you have a lesson or something that you would like for visitors to see, please let me know.  I would really like to promote the good things at Floranada - and there are a ton of good things!
  
• SAC and PTA meetings are next Thursday.
• Super Citizens' names are due to Mrs. Chelton next Friday.
• Remember that one of our goals is to see an increase in feedback in the classrooms.  Here is a thought on feedback - Feedback
  

Quote of the Week - Not a quote this week but a link to a cool book - Bear Despair, a story without words.  Existential and heart-warming.

"Oh the Places We'll Go"

High Expectations, Achievement, Excellence

Friday Focus - August 24, 2012

• PLCs will take place next Thursday, August 30 at 2:15.  Dr. Lewis is preparing information for you that she will send out beforehand. 
• Principal's Coffee and Volunteer Orientation are next Friday, August 31 at 8:15 AM.
• This is cool - Classroom Portraits - Portraits of classrooms around the world.
• Teachers, please remember to send me your schedules by the end of the day today if you have not done so already.  
• I hope that everyone has had a wonderful first week.  Did you establish relationships with your students?  Have you set the tone for learning for the year?  Are students aware of classroom rules and procedures? 
• There is a possibility that we will have to prepare for the impending storm.  If so, I will ask that you unplug your computers and make sure that all windows are shuttered.  
• Thank you to Ms. Shon for inviting me to read to her class this week.  What a great experience talking to the students and answering their questions.  I would love to participate in each of your classes in some manner this school year.  Send me an invite!

Quote of the Week - "Without stillness, life is a blur." - Russell Simmons.  Please remember to breathe and smile before acting in any situation.  You will always make the right decision. 

Friday Focus - August 17, 2012

• How exciting!  The first day of school is Monday and our children will be arriving with their new backpacks, lunch boxes and school clothes.  Imagine how thrilled they are to meet their new teachers and to begin the journey we will take this school year.  Let's make this school year their best year ever!
• What do you wish to accomplish in the first five days?  I hope that it includes building relationships with your students.  Please remember that we want our students to do well, be safe and feel love.  It really is that simple.  
• Please remember that my expectation is that by next Friday every teacher must know each student's name, something unique about them, and their reading level.  We should know who our at-risk students are by the end of next week.
• Here's a short article with a few tips on classroom management - Simple Management Tips
• 1st day count - we will be coming before 9:00 to get a head count for the District.  You will still need to complete your attendance in Pinnacle.
•  Please review our school Safety Plan which is located in the CAB Conference.  We will be conducting a fire drill next Wednesday, August 22.  A tornado drill will immediately follow that drill.  A second fire drill will take place on Wednesday, August 29.
• As always, I want to thank all of you for making Floranada a wonderful place to learn.  I could not be happier than to work with such an amazing group of people. 

Quote of the Week -  “The chief beauty about time is that you cannot waste it in advance.  The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you, as perfect, as unspoiled, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your life.  You can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose.” - Arnold Bennett. 
We have been granted a year of each of our student's lives.  Let's not waste a moment.