Weekly Update- Friday, January 20, 2017

Happy International Fun Day at Work!  The actual day is next Friday, but we have no school that day.  So, we are celebrating today!   I'm excited to see all the 80's outfits today!


Construction Update
If you haven't been by the work at our new site (Willow Creek), you should swing by this week.  The walls are going up for the Kindergarten and 1st grade addition... pretty exciting!  Bob Olson has been updating our admin team on the project... things are moving along!  Next Wednesday, a team from McKinley (and the middle school) will travel to various schools to see furniture.  There is a certain amount of money allocated to furniture (not the entire building), so this team will help research what is out there and what we want at our new McKinley School.  The team is Kayla Davis, Amanda Gislason, Jen Koziolek, Mark Langlois, Justin Lang, and myself. 

I am going to schedule a meeting with paras and EAs to update you, see blueprints, and talk through the boundary change process.  Watch for this!

Conferences
Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences are next Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  As we mentioned at our Staff Power Hour, keep a few things in mind as you meet with families:
*Stay positive and focused on goals and growth (growth mindset)
*Not all parents had a positive schooling experience - warm and welcoming
*Be honest with parents on the strengths, as well as areas of growth
*Plan for every student/family to leave knowing where their child is at and where they need to go.

As I mentioned at our meeting, we do this already.  This building has a "gift" on partnering with families.

PBIS Team Meeting- January
The PBIS Team met this week for our January meeting.  Some of the big rocks to come from this meeting: 
*Don't forget positive recognition!  If you have a "Good News Call of the Day", please let me know the student and why.
*Don't forget we are not here to "catch kids" or force compliance.  We are here to teach behaviors to students. 
*Do we add students to the PBIS Assemblies?
*The building is calm and positive.

Click here to access the notes

The Future is Now:
I saw this article in a magazine I subscribe to - "The Future is Now".  The article addresses our "current realities" in public education.  Each of these "realities" made me think.  I thought it was interesting- hope you do, too! 

Click here to access the article.

Building Weekly Newsletter
Click here to access the building weekly newsletter

Valet Parking for the Week:
The Valet Parking for the Week goes to Tier 2 Interventionist, Michelle Meiners!  Michelle is one of the most flexible people I know.  Michelle knows her purpose is to support learning- she will do anything to make that happen.  One of the things I appreciate the most about Michelle is how much she researches - she will look for hours to find resources and approaches to help our students.  Michelle is a great colleague and educator!  Thank you for all you do, Michelle! 


Enjoy "International Fun Day at Work"!  Have a great week!
-Justin