Excellence

It's well-documented now. Powdersville Elementary School  earned an "excellent" rating on the newest school report card and an overall rating of 81. There are a variety of factors involved in the rating: test scores, student improvement, ESOL, etc. This excellent rating is to be celebrated as it is the culmination of a great deal of hard work and effort by all that make up our school community. And while we certainly want to recognize this accomplishment and celebrate, I would challenge us to approach it with a different mindset. Excellence is defined as the fact or state of excelling. In other words, it's not a singular event. We didn't just show up and become excellent. Excellence is a state of mind; an ongoing commitment to never accepting the status quo. I can promise you there is a target on our collective backs. Other schools see our success and want to replicate what we do. I hear about it and feel it in meetings at the district office or at professional development within the district. And this brings me to my final point. Let's not get caught up in the score or the report card rating itself. Let's be excellent in what we do day in and day out. Let's be excellent in our approach - true PLCs centered on the four questions, added rigor to our instruction, and improved assessment. As one football coach put it; do the common things in an uncommon way. Do not settle for "same old" and the aforementioned status quo. Excellence is indeed a mindset and we must carry this mindset with us each day as we strive for that next level.

We had enjoyed an excellent week at PVES...

As I mentioned during our Live PD session, I had the opportunity to visit Concrete and observe reading instruction in first and second grade classrooms. It was an awesome experience for me. I was highly impressed with the LC mini-lessons I observed and witnessed excellent reading instruction taking place. In many ways, I observed a schedule and practices that mirror what we expect at PVES. Coming up in July - an opportunity for third and second grade teachers to engage in peer observations and collaborate? Stay tuned. 

OLWEUS class meetings were excellent this week. Some students committed to lifting others up while other participated in some role play situations. OLWEUS is only as excellent as we set it up to be. Thanks for taking this time seriously each Monday morning and impacting, in a positive way, our culture at PVES. 

 

3rd grade students became surgeons; operating on division problems and non-fiction passages. I am convinced that our excellence is due, in part, to the way we make learning a fun experience. We challenge the norm and shift the paradigm to find new and exciting ways to engage our students. 

I put this picture in the blog to illustrate a simple, yet profound point. It doesn't matter our title or our situation. At PVES, we don't operate in a world of "your kids vs. my kids" or "that's not my job". Our excellent is obtained when we embrace all students as our own and live out #pvespride in all that we do! 

OLWEUS:

We will continue with OLWEUS class meetings on Monday, December 3rd during PRIDE Time. Please refer to our OLWEUS Lessons Folder for ideas and helpful information. As we highlighted above, it is important to truly engage students in activities, role playing, and dialogue focused on our school rules against bullying. Mrs. Tollison and I have been so impressed as we have observed in many rooms during this time. Keep up the excellent work!

Tomorrow for Olweus, the literacy committee would like for you to do something with the students that relates to How the Grinch Stole Christmas. You can teach any lesson on being kind to others and making everyone feel a part of the class. 

 "In How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, the Grinch discovers the true meaning of Christmas. He does a good deed by returning all of the gifts to the Whos in Who-ville—which makes his heart grow 3 sizes! "
Then there are heart cut outs in your box, one for each student. Please have each student to fill out an act of kindness that they are going to do or have done here at our school. Then before Thursday please have your students tape their hearts up on your grade level Grinch in the cafeteria. We are going to use this for decorations for Literacy Night.

Live PD: 

Our final Live PD event before the break is scheduled for Wednesday, December 5th, 2018. Please refer to our Live PD agenda for more information. This session is crucial to the success of our PLCs moving forward. Please be prepared to stay focused and engage your team during this time.

Literacy Night:

We are thrilled about our upcoming Literacy Night this Thursday, December 6th from 6:00-7:15. I would ask that everyone try to park in the bus circle lot and enter through the back doors there at the bus circle. This is a wonderful opportunity to engage our community and we expect a huge crowd. If you have not already, please sign up to assist us. We will also need assistance each afternoon this week to get final touches completed in preparation for this event. This will take a total team effort!


Spirit Day This Friday:
This Friday, December 7th is PVES Spirit Day. Students are encouraged to wear their House shirts and/or colors. Staff can wear blue jeans provided they wear their House shirts. As you are making plans for this week, set aside some time on Friday afternoon for our next House meetings. I think this would be a great way to end the week! Don't forget we will be selling Chic-Fil-A biscuits in the morning car line on Friday and two lucky students who wear their House shirts will be chosen to win a prize.


Moore's Musings:
These next 13 days are sure to be wild and hectic. We have events after school in the form of Literacy Night, Chorus, 3rd grade performances, and Strings. However, let's approach these days with the goal of getting every bit of teaching and learning in that we possibly can. Do not let your guard down. Ensure student safety by being at duty on time, supervise students closely at all times, and help us keep our collective focus on getting better. Excellence happens this way.


Mark Your Calendar (MYC):

• You can expect our November fire drill to take place this week. We made every attempt last week, but things were crazy in the office. Thanks for your patience.
• Chorus rehearsal after school at PVHS - Tuesday, December 4th 
• Progress Report Folders Sent Home - Wednesday, December 5th 
• Live PD - Wednesday, December 5th at 3:15 PM
• PVES Literacy Night - Thursday, December 6th from 6-7:15 P.M. 
• PVES Spirit Day - Friday, December 7th

Video of the Week: Excellence