Perspective

I am guilty as charged. Many of you have heard me count down the days until the end of the year. It's hard not to be excited about it. I don't blame you if you are counting down as well. Still, as I reflected on my ongoing countdown, I was challenged with a simple (but powerful) thought: What if we approached these last few weeks with a different perspective? What if we considered that these last few weeks are our last opportunities to make a difference in the lives of our special students? Maybe we wouldn't wish our lives away. Maybe we wouldn't be in a hurry to get things accomplished on our "to do" lists. Maybe, instead, we would slow down and focus on those remaining precious moments we have with our students. Our challenge is to do just that. Let's be patient with our students and with one another. Let's make a difference while others are simply making excuses. Perspective is a powerful tool in the hands of a caring and willing educator.

Next Wednesday, April 27th is Administrative Professional's Day. We are BLESSED with two wonderful administrative professionals in our front office. Patty Ellison has been at PVES since day one. Her ability to work through the financial/budget issues that arise each week has saved us on many an occasion. She handles report cards, a myriad of reports and many more tasks that are too numerous to list. Lisa Booth is the first face many of our visitors see when they walk through the front doors of PVES. She greets everyone with a smile and creates a favorable first impression of our school. They both answer hundreds of phone calls each week; some of a serious nature and some that are very entertaining. Simply put, these ladies make sure this school runs smoothly and can experience success. I am truly indebted to them for their hard work and dedication. We love you both!

Congratulations to our 5th grade olympians for their wonderful showing at the ASD1 Olympic Games held at Spearman Elementary School last week. Our students brought home 6 gold medals and 2 silver medals. I know Coach Thompson is proud of his kids. We certainly are too, Coach!

It's been awesome to see the creative and fun ways in which our students have been preparing for testing. 4th grade students were working hard to "Crack the Code" while 3rd and 5th grade students enjoyed some review time. Let's remember to find additional creative ways to keep our students engaged throughout the last nine weeks of school! Great job, everyone!

Testing Update:
I have been thoroughly impressed by our fifth grade teachers and students who began online testing this week. Testing has gone smoothly and it is obvious our students were well prepared. Thanks to Tammy Lee for fighting through a serious sinus infection to get testing materials organized and ready for all of you. Please look over your TAM and testing materials provided to you during training this week. Also, please make sure you have reviewed the related arts schedule as there has been some confusion/questions related to this schedule. Do not hesitate to let us know if you have any questions or concerns going forward. It is better to be safe than sorry. We will have peppermints for each classroom. Take advantage of our final few days to engage your students in well planned and engaging review.

IEP Meetings:
It's IEP season! A huge "thank you" to Ms. Marino, Mrs. Redmon, Mrs. Merritt and Mrs. Freeman for the MANY hours they spend developing IEPs and then holding meetings. Teachers, please remember that you are an important member of the IEP team. Listen carefully to classroom and testing accommodations for your student(s). Be an active and valuable member of the team to help develop the most impactful IEP possible for those students. Please make sure you are on time for these meetings. Thanks!

Supervision:
I have stressed supervision lately and for good reason. This is typically the time of year where schedules are different incidents can occur if we are not careful. Please make sure you stress the following of classroom and school rules with your students. Please make sure you can lay eyes on your students at all times. This includes hallway travel, recess time, and lunch. Be proactive in handling issues before they get out of hand. We simply cannot let our collective guard down this time of year.


Moore's Musings:

• Awards Day thoughts. It is my humble opinion that our Awards Day programs are in need of some change. Simply put, I would like to suggest that we focus on fewer awards during the ceremony in the MP Room. Then, after the ceremony we dismiss parents back to the rooms for a small, more intimate classroom ceremony before parents have the ability to sign their student out from the classroom. Perhaps we recognize all our A/B honor roll students in the classroom while recognizing the "All As, All Year" students in the actual ceremony. There are several other awards that we could give out in the classroom as well to help with this. Obviously, we would want grade levels to be consistent. Please feel free to share thoughts, ideas, and comments with me at your earliest convenience. 
• Take a glance at the calendar for May. Things get busy. Thank you in advance for your patience and willingness to be flexible. 
• Finally, 5th grade already has a field trip planned and on the calendar for next year. Thanks, ladies! 3rd and 4th grade teams, please have some ideas in mind for next year. We do not need to wait until the school year gets started before making some decisions about field trips. Please let me know if you want to discuss options! 

Mark Your Calendars (MYC):

• Annie Kids Performance - Thursday, April 21st at 6:30 P.M.
• Yellow student placement cards are due to the office by 4:00 P.M. on Friday, April 22nd. Please make sure you followed the directions provided. Thanks!
• You can wear blue jeans on Friday, April 22nd.
• Contracts are due signed to the office by Monday, April 25th.
• SC READY ELA Day 1 - Tuesday, April 26th
• Administrative Professionals Day on Wednesday, April 27th.
• SC READY ELA Day 2 - Wednesday, April 27th.
• SC READY Math - Thursday, April 28th.
• Book Fair Begins - Friday, April 29th.
• 4th/5th grade PASS Training - Monday, May 2nd in PD Room. 
• Technology PD During Planning with Preisig - Tuesday, May 3rd in PD Room.

Video of the Week: