Thankful

Admittedly, being an educator can be a thankless job at times. We are constantly under the microscope. As we near the Thanksgiving holiday, please know that our school community is thankful for our teachers. Our students are blessed to be at Powdersville Elementary because of you. On a personal note, Mrs. Tollison and I appreciate each and every one of you. We know we have experienced change, at times difficult, but everyone has pushed forward for the benefit of our students. Those long hours of planning, grading papers, attending professional development, etc. make your job more difficult than anyone could imagine. We are thankful for you and your commitment to our students and our school. 

Thanks:

Because we are so thankful for YOU, please wear blue jeans on Tuesday, November 24th. Additionally, Mrs. Lee, Mrs. Tollison and Mr. Moore will cover  lunch duty in the cafeteria on Tuesday, November 24th. We invite all teachers to eat in the PD Room during your scheduled lunch period. Perhaps your grade level will work something out and bring food items to share. It's totally up to you. It's not much, but it is indeed the least we can do. 

96.2%: 

We were reminded this week of just how impactful our job truly can be. PVHS's graduation rate of 96.2% for the class of 2015 is an indication of the strong instructional programs present within our school system, the many interventions in place to assist students in need, and the innate ability of our teachers to adapt to the changing conditions present in today's educational climate. In a world that changes more and more each day and in a school like ours where our student population continues to change, our challenge is simply to do what it takes to continue and build on our successes.

Dr. Ferguson presents cookie cake to PVES

Hallway Behavior and Cafeteria Clean Up:
A quick word about our hallway behavior. Many of us have noticed that the hallway behavior of our students is not quite where we want it to be. Let's put extra emphasis on walking in the third block and remaining quiet regardless of where we are in the building. This is usually a point of pride for our school!

Also, a huge thank you to those classrooms and teachers who have made cleaning up after themselves a priority in the cafeteria after lunch. Mrs. Garrett's class has been setting the example for us all by cleaning up at the end of each day. Mrs. Kallin's class was spotted cleaning up their area after lunch and leaving it very nice for the next group to come in the cafeteria. Thanks for your help with this!

PVES Art Show:
Don't forget that our PVES Art Show will be held on Thursday, November 19th from 5-7 P.M. in the MP Room. Please remind your parents and students as well. Feel free to show this interview in class to remind your students! This is always a fun evening and a great way to support our art program and our students.

Canned Food Drive:
We will again hold our annual canned food drive to support the Piedmont Emergency Relief Center (PERC).  Mrs. Lee will be sending information home about this next week. Click here for information about food donation suggestions for the canned food drive event. Tables will be placed in the atrium outside my office on which students and staff can place canned food items. Thanks for putting this information in your email blasts and newsletters. Please see the schedule for our food drive below:

November 30th-December 4th: Grade Level Competition
December 7th-December 11th: Teacher vs. Students Competition

Fundraiser Fun:
Thanks to all for your time and attention in today's fundraiser kickoff. Please get the word out to parents that we need their help and participation to make this a worthwhile fundraiser. More importantly, get your students pumped up to sell items and support our school. Orders are due to the school on December 2nd. If parents ask, all orders will arrive prior to Christmas Break. Remember that any students who have a "coupon" showing they sold enough items should be sent to the atrium each morning between 8:00-8:10 A.M. to retrieve their prize. Thanks for your support!

Captain Kirk

Let's now cover some pure awesomeness happening in our building...

5th grade teachers had a busy week. 5th grade math teachers enjoyed Jet Toy Car training with Pat Bobbitt on Wednesday morning. They are super excited about this unit! Last week, 5th grade teachers honored their best readers in the "Battle of the Badges" ceremony in the cafeteria. This was a great way to get students excited about reading. And to top things off, the 5th grade team was our very first team to have every member sign up for Relay for Life and receive a free blue jean day. Great job 5th grade!

Badges

5th grade readers

Pat Bobbitt - always the teacher

4th grade ELA teachers were recognized by our instructional technologist, Mrs. Preisig, in her latest blog entitled Transforming Teaching and Learning. As she walked our hallways, she noticed that each 4th grade ELA teacher was working with a small group of students while the other students were engaged in fun and meaningful activities (often involving technology). Great job, ladies!

Mrs. Moore meets with a guided reading group

Ms. Jordan's students use technology to TRANSFORM learning

Thanks to everyone for your time and attention in this week's faculty meeting. The AdvancED process continues, and I have been impressed with the conversations and collaboration in each committee session. Don't forget that you need to familiarize yourself with the information we discussed via our shared google slides presentation that was used in our meeting this week. We will send out additional AdvancED information soon. 

A true collaborative effort

Moore's Musings:

• This week, take a moment to tell someone at school that you are thankful for them. I know it would mean a lot to those individuals. 

Mark Your Calendar (MYC):

• Tuesday, November 24th - Blue Jean Day and Lunch in the PD Room
• Wednesday, November 25th - Friday, November 27th - Thanksgiving Break
• Tuesday, December 1st - Technology PD with Preisig during planning (PD Room)
• Wednesday, December 2nd - Fall Fundraiser orders are due!
• Thursday, December 3rd - 4th Grade ELA Teachers 1/2 day PD from 8:00-11:30 A.M. in PD Room (lunch provided).
• Thursday, December 3rd - 5th Grade ELA Teachers 1/2 day PD from 11:30-2:30 P.M. in PD Room (lunch provided). 
• Friday, December 4th - 3rd Grade 1/2 day PD from 8:00-11:30 A.M. in PD Room (lunch provided). 
• 11/30-12/4 - Food Drive (grade level competition)
• 12/7-12/11 - Food Drive (teacher vs. student competition)

Video of the Week

4 Questions

This week, our district hosted the Digital Transformation Conference at Palmetto High School. Educators from around the state and other areas attended to hear about ASD1's commitment to digital transformation via our one-to-one iPad initiative. After a break-out session, visitors were taken by bus to other schools on that side of the district to visit classrooms and observe. I was happy to attend and enjoyed the keynote presented by Dr. Philip Lanoue, the national superintendent of the year. He has driven school transformation and reform in Clarke County Georgia (Athens). In his keynote, he offered four (4) questions that drive conversations, planning, and improvement in his district. I wanted to share these questions with you (below) in hopes that you would have some serious conversations with your partner teacher and grade level peers so that we might continue our efforts to improve as a school. See below.

AdvancED:
Speaking of continuous improvement, I am thankful for our entire faculty and staff for their participation in our AdvancED process. This week and last, the faculty and staff met as a part of various committees to discuss our strengths and weaknesses in various areas. I think we can all agree we do a lot well and certainly have room for improvement in many areas as well. During our discussions, I appreciate the "real" conversation and focus on improvement that took place within each group. While I know it is difficult to be pulled out from class for reasons like AdvancED, it is truly amazing to watch our faculty work together. It's what makes you special. A very special "thank you" to our committee chairs who have taken on a leadership role and added responsibility throughout this process!

Fall Fundraiser:
Simply put, our PTSO could use some more money to support our classrooms. While Boosterthon is on the calendar again for March, our PTSO board feels like a fall fundraiser is needed. I certainly agree with this and know the money raised will be spent to support our teachers and students. Therefore, we will hold a quick fall fundraiser and sell items that would make great Christmas gifts for family and friends. You and your students will learn more at our kickoff event scheduled for Wednesday, November 18th. A schedule for the kickoff event, which will be held in the MP Room, is posted below. Orders can be placed through December 2nd and will be delivered on December 16th meaning all items ordered will arrive in time for Christmas! After our kickoff event, it would be helpful for you to talk this fundraiser up with your parents and students using a variety of communication (newsletter, email, text messaging, etc.). I even agreed to be SLIMED by the top 9 sellers at the end of the fundraiser. Thanks for your support!

Fall Fundraiser Kickoff Schedule:

3rd Grade, Tate/Jordan, Wilkie/Hughes - 1:30 - 1:50 P.M. in MP Room
5th Grade, Fulbright/Moore, Barnhill/Thompson - 2:00 - 2:20 P.M. in MP Room*
*Please have your classes packed up so they will be ready for dismissal when you return to your rooms.


As usual, we've spotted some wonderful "goings-on" at PVES:

Congrats to our very own reading coach, Kelle Martin, for getting her Donors Choose project funded. She will now be able to order almost $600 worth of leveled reading materials. We have several additional Donors Choose projects still waiting to be funded. Keep up the good work!

Mrs. Leftwich took our 4th grade Launch students to the Greenville Zoo on Monday. Parents and students braved rain and cold to learn a lot and enjoy their time at the zoo. Thanks to Mrs. Leftwich for organizing this field trip and making learning fun for her students!

Third graders enjoyed visiting the Rock Bus this week. Mrs. Clary was there to make sure everything ran smoothly. Speaking of science, I continue to be thrilled with the ownership and creative approach many of our "new" teachers of science have taken with the content. Students enjoyed the Chemical Change Cafe in science this week. The end result looks quite delicious.

Mrs. Tollison and I visited Mrs. Thomas's room this week to observe guided reading and practice using a guided reading observation form. You can view the form here. Mrs. Thomas was, of course, meticulously organized and things ran very smoothly! Mrs. Tollison and I will be visiting your room soon in an effort to practice using the form linked above and provide feedback for our teachers of reading. Please do not forget to use Mrs. Martin as a resource. She will help you structure and plan your guided reading groups, select appropriate leveled materials, etc.

Moore's Musings:

• Mrs. Tollison and I were reflecting on the small number of discipline referrals submitted thus far. This is excellent because it shows our teachers have classroom routines and procedures established and fair and consistent rules in place. Way to go! 
• Our PVES Art Show is next Thursday, November 19th. We have various performances scheduled for December. I hope that our faculty and staff will consider attending these events and supporting both our teachers and students. It means a great deal when parents and students look out in the audience and see a strong representation of our faculty and staff present at these events. 
• Have you joined our Relay for Life team? Get on board today and start raising money. You can join our PVES team by clicking here. 

Mark Your Calendar (MYC):

• Read Your Way to the Big Game Tailgate Party - 11/12. Email was sent by Kelle Martin with details. Wear your blue jeans and favorite team shirt. 
• 5th Grade "Battle of the Badges" - 11/13 at 1:40 P.M. in the cafeteria. 
• Fire Drill (re-scheduled from rain-out on 10/29) - 11/16 at 10:30 A.M.
• Faculty Meeting (topic: AdvancED update and more) - 11/17 at 3:10 P.M. in the PD Room. 
• 5th Grade Jet Toy Car Training - 11/18 from 8:00-11:30 A.M. in the room 104. 
• Fall Fundraiser Kickoff - 11/18. See above for schedule. 
• PVES Art Show - 11/19 in MP Room/Cafeteria beginning at 5:00 P.M. 

Video of the Week:

Reflection

I am intentionally providing much less content in our blog this week. Why? Well, simply put, here at the beginning of our second nine week period is a logical time for reflection. I am a firm believer that reflection is both a key element for teachers who are focused on continuous improvement and often times ignored due to time constraints and busy schedules. Reflection is important. After reading through this short blog, I would encourage you to reflect on the year. What has been difficult? What has gone well? What are your challenges? What are your success stories? What do you need to do differently? What students need more of your time and attention? I would also challenge you to consider who/what your positive influences are and acknowledge who/what drains you of your positive energy. To quote a football coach in the area "the only disability in life is a bad attitude."

AdvancED:
Thanks to committees 1 and 5 for their time and attention in Wednesday's meetings. We are framing our school's direction and goals for the present and future. This process is important! Committees 2, 3 and 4 will meet on Wednesday, November 11th next week. Mrs. Tollison and I will send out a schedule for this day a soon as possible. If a sub is needed, we will make sure you are covered. Please note: We will have a faculty meeting on Tuesday, November 17th. This meeting will focus on the AdvancED process so it is important that you make every effort to be present. We had originally scheduled this day for another Digital Playground session, but AdvancED will take precedence. Thanks again to our committee chairs and to all of you for taking this process seriously and giving of your time and effort to get things accomplished.

Moore's Musings:

• I appreciate our teachers who worked so hard to have SLOs ready to turn in last week. I can tell you spent a great deal of time on these documents. One of the positives of this process is the reflection you had to engage in throughout. You have some pretty specific goals for students and have identified a target for them to reach. I look forward to our mid-course conferences in December and January. 
• Speaking of evaluation, Mrs. Tollison and I are in the midst of our own evaluations. I will present to our district office staff this Friday morning as part of my yearly evaluation. Mrs. Tollison will submit her evaluation information to me very soon. We are certainly all in this together!
• Please take time to at least mention Veteran's Day on Wednesday the 11th of November. We will work on hosting an actual Veteran's Day ceremony next year. In the mean time, our students need to hear about the meaning behind the day. We have many brave men and women connected to our school and community who have proudly served our country. Thanks!

Mark Your Calendar (MYC): 

• Anderson County Rotary to deliver dictionaries to grade 3 (schedule already sent to teachers) on Thursday, November 5th. 
• 5th Grade "Battle of the Badges" (tentative) in cafeteria on Friday, November 6th at 1:40 P.M.
• 3rd Grade Rock Bus - Monday, November 9th. 
• 4th Grade Launch to Greenville Zoo - Monday, November 9th.
• Veteran's Day - November 11th 
• If you are reading carefully, Friday is a blue jean day. 
• Committees 2, 3 and 4 to meet (schedule to come) - Wednesday, November 11th 
• Read Your Way to the Big Game Tailgate Celebration (see calendar for times) - Thursday, November 12th. 
• Faculty Meeting - Tuesday, November 17th at 3:10 P.M. in PD Room. 
• PVES Art Show - Thursday, November 19th from 5:00-7:00 P.M. 
• Thanksgiving Break - Wednesday, November 25th - Friday, November 27th. 

Video of the Week - Teacher Reflection and Continuous Improvement