Week of October 29-November 2

Monday: Diversity Committee/3:00 pm in Conference Room

Tuesday:PACK Leadership/3:00 pm in Conference Room

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Diversity Committee: The conversation for the building Diversity Committee this Monday includes the developing of a Carson philosophy to help determine how we will address cultural celebrations/holidays/events at our school. The idea is to come together and make a quick determination.

P.A.C.K. Leadership: The meeting will include talking about ELO's. Miles and I have covered almost all the grade levels. Topics of discussion will include: distribution of funds building wide, targeting of students, service delivery, and scheduling. The best way to bring the information from your team is to complete the grade application form.

Halloween: Speaking of cultural celebrations...a friendly reminder that this Wednesday is a regular school day for us. We shouldn't be trying to provide a replacement or modified activity to replace or placate those individuals who are still struggling with not having a Halloween event during the school day. If you get a student or two who do come in a costume, please do not make them take it off or highlight (most will take care of that themselves when they see that it isn't part of the school day). Please take the time to weave into your day on Monday and Tuesday in a positive manner to help avoid student assumptions for Wednesday. If you have questions about the best approach to do this or concerns please chat with Miles or Arturo.

Xchange Folder: The Xchange folder under the My Computer heading on your laptops is intended to be shared site for the building. You are always welcome to make copies to your own computer's desktop of the information that is stored there, but please do not delete or remove documents/information as it will be deleted for everyone.

Absence Request Forms-The Planned Absence Request Form has the teacher check off if the absence will have 'an adverse effect' on the student's achievement. Although it may not have an adverse effect, an extended absence will have an effect on them. If you feel that they are going to be affected, please check the 'yes' category. This does not mean that they will not be approved. However, it lets the parent know that their child is being impacted.

Anne Hogenson: for those of you who haven't heard, Anne was with us only for a short time until all the official closures occurred at Riverside. She is now working with Student Learning at ESC with Gaye Lantz. Good luck Anne!

Behavior Expectations on right hand column: Please take a look at the behavior expectations posted on the right side of the blog for your ongoing reference. Some hard copies have been circulated, but it seems not all were picked up from the teacher workroom (feel free to copy)

Reporting Facility Problems: I believe that our overall heat problem is working much better than before. However, if you are still having temperature problems in rooms report them to Karen to submit a work order. The contractor comes in at 5:00 am and does different work order tasks before teachers arrive. This means that work is getting done, or they may think that it is corrected. The only true way to determine an ongoing problem is from your feedback.

Pumpkin Chucking: Third grade has extended their learning to include a pumpkin chucking event this Wednesday out on the field. Every great event appreciates a few spectators. If you're interested, join the event for a bit outside or even through a grandstand view if your classroom faces the playground. No, this is not a Halloween thing :).

Forza Coffee Friday: We're starting a bit of a regular morning drop in on Friday at Forzas by the Super Walmart. Drop by to visit or just to pick up a cup of coffee around 7:15 am.

Miles & Arturo Gone: We will be at a training all day Thursday and Friday. Lynne Rosellini has shared that she will be providing a substitute administrator. We don't know who yet. However, we are planning on making some of the Forza Coffee Friday.

Subs on High Demand: This last Friday 24 district classrooms went without substitutes. It appears that there is a real shortage even on non-Fridays. Miles and Arturo have been covering in different grade levels the last three weeks. If you are sure that you're going to be gone, please make that sub request call as soon as you have decided. Even some calls made the night before have gone unfilled. The calls for subs go out until 10:00 pm the night before and start up again the next morning at 4:30 am.

Q & A: Can you have buddy readers, i.e. cross-age classrooms? Yes you can and they are encouraged. However, please keep in mind that this activity should be occurring outside of both classrooms' Reading block. This is similar to SSR in that it can occur, but it should not be counted as part of the instructional reading block.

Can we only request interpreters during conferences? No, you are able to request an interpreter any time that you have a conference scheduled. This can be on Wednesdays, or before and after school. It is the same as if you would be having follow up conferences with an English speaking parent. The key is to make the request early enough to accommodate finding an interpreter.

Carson's identical twins....Kristin & Crystal, or is it Crystal and Kristin??