I hope you've had a great week - it's so great to have students and staff back in the building!
Paraprofessional & EA Week:
A huge shout out to our awesome paraprofessional and educational assistant team! This team works hard to support every learner, every day.
We could not do our work without each of you!
Thank you to Kara, Bernie, Stacy, Sonya, Grace (Distance Learning), Natalie, Tarah, Jennifer, Val, Denise, & Katie! We appreciate you! 
Valentine's Day:
Please consider how your class will celebrate Valentine’s Day and work with your teams to send a consistent message to parents. Use the following bullet points from me and tweak them to fit your grade level.
Valentine’s Day can be celebrated on Friday, Feb. 12th
Due to COVID, if students want to bring a treat to share with their classmates, they should bring an unopened bag of individually wrapped treats by Tuesday, February 9.
If you have students do cards, please treat it as the treat - they need to be brought in by Tuesday, February 9 (they need to sit and decontaminate).
Please know that Valentine treats are completely optional. We know this can be a financial issue for families and we want to be respectful of this.
Supporting Behaviors & Stamina:
Just a reminder - in many ways, we are starting the school year over. We need to remember to revisit expectations and support students' needs - particularly with stamina. This has been a hard time for students (and staff) - and we are rebuilding routines. I'm asking you to think through expectations and supports with students who are showing need. I am NOT saying to lower your expectations or not send students down. I'm just asking us to think about what the student is communicating and if they need to be retaught any skills (particularly since we have returned from distance learning). If you are struggling with a student, please let me know and I'd be glad to brainstorm and assist.
First-Person Language:
Karen Thurnau shared a video that her daughter made to share about person-first language (thanks Karen and Annie!). We've worked hard to remember when we put the person first in our language, we can see their identity as a person and not a label. Specifically, about services received. For example, you would say a student who receives EL services. This is also true when we talk about where a student is at in their learning. Instead of saying, this is a "low student," try saying, this is a "student that is working on ____". When we talk about kids as kids first, that is going to affect our belief in them, which will affect our expectations for them, which affects what they will achieve. Let's continue to hold each other accountable for shaping this language.
Building Weekly Newsletter:
Have a great weekend!
-Justin
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