Goals

Successful people have a variety of traits and practices that they share in common. Setting goals is one such practice. Goals are defined as the result or achievement toward which effort is directed. Notice there are two parts to this definition. The end result, the goal itself, is one part. The effort to achieve the end result being the other. As educators, we are tasked with goal setting on a daily basis. From MAP /SC-READY scores, to GBEs and from SLOs to IEPs, we are held accountable by results. Right or wrong, we are entrusted with responsibility of creating a classroom environment in which students can learn and experience success. When we meet our goals that means our students are achieving at high levels.  Furthermore, we must teach our students to set goals. We need to give them the tools and knowledge they need to assist them in reaching those goals. We need to cheer them on and offer support as they learn how to provide the effort necessary to achieve the end result. Our school will be better and experience more successes when we work as a team to accomplish tasks that lead to our goals being achieved. Here are some goals our school is intentional about achieving: 

• Creating a positive classroom and school culture designed around positive relationships, support and teamwork.
• Using differentiated learning opportunities to reach all learners. 
• Providing support, both academic and non-academic, to strategically equip our students to be successful.  

Let's check out some of the action  from this past week at PVES...

Ella Grace Payne was born on the evening of October 2nd. She was 8 pounds, 5 ounces at birth and 21 inches long. Mom and baby are doing well. We are thrilled for Blake and Sarah. The first goal after a baby is born is to safely get home and begin a new life together. I am happy to report their first goal has been achieved! 

Speaking of goals, we told everyone in our first Live PD session that we would install a Pineapple Chart in the main office across from the teacher boxes. I am pleased to report that the first part of our goal has been completed. Doesn't it look great?  The next steps are the most important, however. We need you, the teachers, to share the great things happening in your classrooms each week by filling out the pineapple chart. Write your name, content of the lesson, and time frame in the correct location on the chart. As you walk by, notice the great lessons being taught and make plans to visit and observe. There are no forms and no pressure. This is professional development in its purest form. Just show up and watch great teaching in action. 

Thanks to everyone for participating in our LivePD session on Wednesday. We kicked off our OLWEUS Bullying Prevention training with a Mexican theme. Thanks to Mrs. Tollison, Mrs. Golden, and Mrs. Heath for helping make this a huge success. We learned about what bullying is and what it is not. We know how important having a safe environment that is conducive to learning is to our students and their success. Our goal is to kick this program off in November and fully implement this year. 

This picture was taken during our Goals-Based Evaluation (GBE) training. We appreciate the lemon pie, Mrs. Fowler. Whether you are completing a GBE evaluation, SLO, SAFE-T...or any other acronym...you  know the importance if working hard to achieve your goals. The evaluation instruments we use do focus on student achievement and that is very much in line with our goals at PVES. 

5th grade students were challenged to think about how to reduce waste in our school during their PBL kick-off event on Friday. 5th grade teachers have worked, and planned, very hard to make this PBL a huge success. I cannot wait to see it in action! Don't forget a few huge components to a successful PBL:

• A kick-off event that grabs the attention of the students and motivates them to want to help solve a problem or develop a solution to some sort of question that is posed to them. 
• A focus on high-impact content that integrates "big" standards in such a way as to create meaningful experiences for students that target high impact takeaways. 
• An opportunity for students to share their findings in an authentic way with a real audience. 

Live PD:

Our next LivePD session is scheduled for Wednesday, October 11th at 3:15 in the media center. We will continue our training on the OLWEUS Bullying Prevention program. Check out our Live PD Session Description for more information! 

*As a side note, don't forget our quick meeting in the media center scheduled for Monday, October 9th involving iPads - scheduled by Mr. Havird. 

ROAR Committee:

Please don't forget to join the ROAR Committee (formally known as Hospitality). You can make a check payable to PVES for $35. Mrs. Kallin has worked diligently to set up guidelines for this committee. Please take time to read them. I think you will be excited to know that one of our goals is to have a Faculty/Staff event each nine week period designed to allow us to get to know one another and enjoy our PVES family! 

Progress Report Folders:

Progress report folders should be sent home with students on Wednesday, October 11th. Before Wednesday, you should receive two letters to place in folders for parents. One letter is about ALiCE and our upcoming drill scheduled for October 18th. The second is a letter about our School Improvement Council (SIC). 

Grade Level Meetings:

Thanks to all grade levels for your time and attention during our grade level meetings last week. We discussed some important information concerning PRIDE Time and upcoming Conference Day. Please review our agenda from the meeting and let us know if you have any questions. Third grade teachers, don't forget we are meeting with you for about 5-10 minutes during your planning in Monday to go over additional Read2Succeed information. 

Moore's Musings:

Don't forget to be working on your SLO for the 17-18 school year. Additionally, you are reminded to have your "homework" completed soon. Your goal should be to know your students better than ever and tie your knowledge of your students strengths and weaknesses into your evaluation. This means we are laser-like focused on individual student needs. Our instruction in the classroom, including PRIDE Time, should reflect the needs of our students. This is challenging, but also highly rewarding. I have the utmost faith in your PVES faculty and staff to work together as a team to reach our goals!

Mark Your Calendar (MYC):

Make sure you are checking our shared calendar for updates.

• Make-up pictures in Strings Room - October 9th
• Faculty meeting in Media Center - October 9th 
• Papa Johns "Dollars for Dough" - October 10th and 11th 
• Progress Report Folders Go Home - October 11th
• Live PD - 3:15 PM on October 11th 
• Student Service Council - 2:45 P.M. on October 12th (Hughes's Room) 
• Blue Jean Day - October 13th (to combat Friday 13th evil forces). 

Videos of the Week: We Were Designed to Set Goals and Reach Them!