The First Week of
School
The first week of school brings
many emotions for all of our students, staff, and families. On the first day,
we had a few tears of sadness, a few tears of fear, and a few tears of
happiness. On the second day, students were running into school because they
were so excited to come back- it was amazing! On the third day we had one
little boy tell his parents he needed to hurry, because the police were waiting
on him. J
(He loved the high fives.) We still have
a few with some nervousness, but as a whole, you have done an amazing job
starting the school year off right! We are
creating a culture where kids are excited to be at school. Take a moment to
look at your “One Word” that we wrote in May. Is this still the word that you
are using to focus your energy? Is it still your why? Our culture will be set
by what we focus on; if our “One Word” is positive and student centered…we will
be successful!
I have gotten to read to every
class, which is my favorite, and I am hoping to do more of that this week.
Everyone enjoys a good story, even the 5th graders. If there is a
particular story you would like me to read to your students, please let me
know. Literacy is something that I am personally passionate about and I love to
show the students how literacy is all around us. One of the ways I do this is
to read to them; another way I like to do this is to have them read to me! If I
am not on your reward list, please add me! Any student that wants to celebrate
by reading to me….I am all in! Whether they pay tickets or grow a reading
level- let me know!
We will be starting walkthroughs
next week (September). We will be giving the team leaders our look fors this
week at team leader meeting. Please do not think we are evaluating you, these
walkthoughs are for a few specific reasons:
-
To help teachers grow in their craft
-
To help the leadership of the building gage what
professional development is needed
-
To celebrate the amazing happenings going on
around the building
-
To help our leadership team see how we are doing
on our Problem of Practice
You will get feedback
from the person that walks your room, and we will use the data to help make
decisions for the campus and to give suggestions on topics for PLCs. We look
for campus trends and make plans on how to coach our campus to be better. New
teachers will start walkthroughs at the end of September; they will be looking
for specific strategies to help them grow as teachers. Please do not get
nervous when someone comes into your room, it is a positive experience! (I know
easier said than done.) I have already been very impressed on the instruction I
have gotten to see so far, and this was just the first week.
Monday
starts week two, and I know it is going to be just as amazing as week one. I am
truly humbled to work with such an amazing staff; you are all talented,
passionate, and enthusiastic. It is a pleasure to come to work each day to such
energy. Thank you for making Lance great!
