Friday, February 13, 2015

Principal's Update- Friday, February 13, 2015

Happy Friday the 13th! 
Another great week of learning at McKinley STEM!

Here's our updates for this week, as well as looking into the future:

Kindergarten Intervention:
In the School Board news this week, it was stated that we hired a Reading Intervention Teacher.  I should clarify this... we did hire Jo Frisbie (retired kindergarten teacher) to join our Kindergarten Team.  She works for 2 hours in the morning providing interventions to kindergarten students.  This team had no intervention support and has some needs. 

If you see Jo, welcome her to the building!

Staff Meeting- Monday:
We have a staff meeting Monday.  At this meeting, we are going to stop and take some time to reflect.  I know each of you do this on a daily basis.  However, I'd like to take our reflection to a building-level by examining where we have been, where we are going, and what we need to do to get there.  All I ask is you bring an open, but critical mind to the meeting.

Sub-outs:
Classroom Teacher Sub-outs are next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  During this time, you may see staff in and out of your classrooms.  Remember, this is a time for self reflection and alignment of programming.  Teachers will be looking at four things: questioning, rigor, structure, and engagement.  Thank you for opening your door to colleagues.  And, a huge thank you to Jayne for organizing this!

K-Kamp:
Some of you have probably heard already- but I wanted to make sure everyone is aware.  Last year, Wilson piloted a K-Kamp model where incoming kindergarteners attended a "K readiness camp".  These students were identified during the May interviews.  I'm excited to say that McKinley will be offering a K-Kamp this summer.  This will take some extensive planning, but we're excited to offer this opportunity to ensure our kindergarteners are prepared and ready in September.  Woo hoo!  And, a huge thank you to the kindergarten team for agreeing to co-teach this.  I thought I'd have to bribe them with a vacation or something- nope!  They jumped on board right away!  Thank you!

Random items:
  • Speakers in library- we now have 3 sets of speakers in the library for check-out.  These speakers connect to your computer and can be used when you are showing a small group something and need to hear it (right, Kathy Feltes?) :)
  • Timecards due today!  Please get them in.

Valet Parking of the Week:
Our "Valet Parking" goes to Jayne for all the work she does around the building.  Whether she's collaborating with you as a classroom teacher, providing professional development, or filling in on a discipline issue, she's around and present.  Thank you for all you do for McKinley, Jayne! 

Snapshot of Learning:


Sami Nelson's first graders using a pan balance to understand what greater than, less than, and equal to mean. 



Paige Gilligan's fourth graders using multiplication, area, perimeter, and 3D models to build "vacation resorts".  Can you tell where Paige's mind is- vacation resort?
 
The finished product- how cool!  Thank you to everyone involved in the construction of our "new library".  And, thanks to all the milk drinkers out there!  Additionally, we were in the paper today.  Click here to read the article!
 


3rd Grade Lunch Book Club- what a great, relaxed place to eat and enjoy a deep conversation about text! 
 

Have a great weekend, everyone!  Happy Valentine's Day!
-Justin

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