Grace

I came across the picture and quote above one day on Twitter. The words are powerful and humbling. So much so that it took me a moment to reread and reflect on its meaning.  (I immediately thought of my own children at home as I read this and recently dealt with a meltdown from my oldest.) As I reflected on the quote, the word that came to my mind personally as I read this was "grace." Grace is an interesting word because we all want and need grace as adults. There are times when we fail to complete a task, need an email resent, have a bad morning.. day or even week. We need someone to be patient with us and understand we are human. The same is true for each student that walks in our building every day. Some days they are ready to learn and behave as the model student. Other times they need grace and compassion. It does not mean we lower our expectations but that we take a moment to listen and understand. It means we remember that they too are human and have moments of imperfection. During this busy time of year with holidays quickly approaching let us all remember to extend grace to our students, one another, and even our own family members. 

We have great things happening at PVES every single day because of the amazing people on staff. Here's a look at a few of those...

Thank you to Mrs. Lindsay Nix for organizing another successful Art Show for our very talented and creative students. It is always a joy to see students' faces light up as they find their framed art work and share it with teachers and parents. My favorite comment of the night was from a fourth grader who told his mother they had to hurry and get there before someone else bought his artwork. Thank you to so many teachers and staff members who came up to support Mrs. Nix and our students. 

Mrs. Marino's class enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving feast the Tuesday before the break. Students and their parents enjoyed a meal prepared by our teachers and assistants (and Skeeter Evans). Students created their own name place cards. We are so thankful and blessed to have each one of these special students in our building. 

This is one of my favorite moments from the week. Evan and Dehemiah stopped by to share some awesome news with Mr. Moore and myself. Evan celebrated his ninth birthday this week. Dehemiah received the trophy this week from the Boys of Virtue program. If you have not had a chance to hear or see our Boys of Virtue program it is worth stopping by the PD Room on a Tuesday or Thursday. Mr. Spearman and Mr. Beck are working with some of our males on how to be models and leaders. We are thankful for their time they invest in our students. Thank you Ms. Lee for continuing to find ways to reach our students and advocate for them. 

It is truly the most wonderful time of year. The office staff worked Tuesday to get our tree up and decorated for the Christmas season. We hope you all enjoy this time and remember all the blessing we have at PVES. 

School Christmas Card and Tech the Halls

We will be sending out a digital Christmas card again this year. Please take a picture or quick video with your class, or team of teachers and send these to Mrs. Tollison by next Wednesday. We will compile all of these in an Animoto video. Here is our card from last year. 

Thank you to teachers who have started Teching the Halls. Mrs. Preisig sent out information about this earlier. We would love for teachers to participate. Here is a glimpse at last year's displays. 

Read Men Read

Last year we had a great turn out for our Real Men Read event in the spring. This year we are planning to do one in the winter and one in the spring. Mrs. Martin and the Literacy Committee have worked very hard to invite males to come in and read to our students. Information was emailed out about the event that will take place on Friday, December 2nd during our PRIDE Time block. Please make our guest feel welcome. Mrs. Martin has asked for SSC representatives to greet our guests and escort them to the assigned classroom. Here is the presentation shared in her email. Thank you to all the folks who have worked to make this possible. We look forward to seeing many pictures! 

December Happenings at PVES

December is a busy month in the life of a school. Please take a moment to read the Smore Mr. Moore shared with parents about upcoming events. This week we will have our fifth grade string performance on Thursday, December 1st at 6:30. Next week is our third grade musical performances on Monday or Tuesday depending on the homeroom. Thank you for supporting our teachers and students during these events. It always means so much to students and parents to see you present. 

December Skate Night

This month's skate night will be on Thursday, December 8th. The theme for the event is tacky Christmas. Teachers we ask that you wear tacky Christmas attire with your blue jeans on this day to promote the event. We've had great turn outs at our last few events. We want this one to be the best one yet.

Tollison's Tidings

• Thank you to all of our teachers who attended the reading professional development this week for your attentiveness and professionalism. 
• Guided math professional development will take place in the PD Room on December 8th. I hope you have a chance to visit another classroom prior to this session. Thank you to those of you who have complete this and provided feedback. 
• Our faculty Christmas party is scheduled for Wednesday, December 14th. We will begin at Breakout at 6:00. Please complete the electronic wavier Mr. Moore emailed out. Following the Breakout we will meet at Chicora Alley for dinner around 7:15. We look forward to celebrating and enjoying fellowship. 
• Remember to follow up with families of students being recognized for our EAFK ceremony next week. Mrs. Melissa Thomas emailed out a few reminders about connecting with families of our ESL students who may be recognized at the ceremony as well. 

Mark Your Calendar

Please be sure to check out our shared calendar for important events and dates. Below are some upcoming items for next week. 

• Monday, December 5th- Final Good News Club before the Christmas break
• Monday, December 5th- Third Grade Music Program @ 6:30
• Tuesday, December 6th- Faculty Meeting @ 3:10
• Tuesday, December 6th- Third Grade Music Program @ 6:30
• Thursday, December 8th- Guided Math PD (during planning period)
• Thursday, December 8th- Skate Night (tacky Christmas, blue jean day)
• Friday, December 9th- Tar Wars (5th grade)
• Friday, December 9th- EAFK Second Nine Weeks Ceremony- compassion and tolerance

Video of the Week:

One word, one action, one person can make a difference.