Flourish

The time has come for our school to flourish. To flourish means to be at the height of excellence; thrive. I do not use the term loosely or flippantly. The next three months offer us our prime opportunities to be at our best. Testing looms in the background coming in May so we must be at the height of excellence during this time period for our students. As the quote above suggests, we must feed those practices we expect to flourish and neglect those practices we want to fade away. We must feed our PLCs; engaging in rich collaboration with our colleagues related to how we can ensure that students who do not get it are able to master the material we deem essential as well as what to do with students who can be pushed to learn even more. We must feed our ability to make use of every teachable moment. Time is precious and with every passing day, we lose the opportunity to engage our students and teach this critical content. We must feed our ability to love. We must love what we do, love our co-workers, and most importantly, love our students. This should be evident on a daily basis. Finally, we must feed our willingness to do whatever it takes. Many of you heard that we recently discovered that our report card rating was 3rd in the state! This type of success can only be maintained and even improved upon if we are willing to do whatever it takes to be on a mission for our students. The next few months will offer many moments for us to set ourselves apart from other schools. Our culture is strong. It is our time to flourish. 

Mr. Binnicker visited with our School Improvement Council last week to discuss the upcoming referendum that would fund numerous facility upgrades and improvements to schools across ASD1. For PVES, it would mean an 8-room addition that is sorely needed. Mr. Binnicker will be speaking to our faculty and staff in the next few months to provide more details of his vision for ASD1 that will allow us the opportunity to flourish. 

We appreciate Thomas McAuliff meeting with teachers on Friday to provide Tech PD related to Newsela. Newsela will be a wonderful took for all of us to use and we look forward to receiving feedback from everyone who is able to use Newsela in the classroom. Doing whatever it takes sometimes means giving up a planning period to increase our knowledge and ability to use tools to positively impact our students; allowing them to flourish. 

We are so appreciative of Mrs. Martin for planning and organizing yet another successful Real Men Read event. I told the men who visited our school on Friday that we needed successful men placed in front of our students as much as possible - it's that important. Our students need to see men who are flourishing as adults because they used their education to improve and took advantage of the opportunities provided to them. 

 

What does it look like, the reality of it all, when we see our school flourishing. I offer the snapshots above as exhibit A. Flourishing is celebrating our House system by rewarding students in a special way. Flourishing is your school resource officer handling the trash duties on a crazy Friday when all three custodians are out of the building. It is putting on a chef's hat and celebrating the kickoff of your fractions unit the only way we know how. And finally, it is spending a Saturday immersed in learning and engaging colleagues from across the upstate in an effort to be our best. 

OLWEUS:

This is your friendly reminder that OLWEUS class meetings should take place on Monday during PRIDE Time. Use our shared folder for ideas and make this time impactful; valuable. I have heard teachers discuss concerns and issues related to recess behaviors, not getting along during a collaborative activity, etc. Use these real world examples to engage and challenge your students!

***On Monday, do not be surprised to see visitors from Chesnee Elementary in our hallways and in a few classrooms from 8:30-10:00 A.M. We are thrilled to show off our teachers and our school to visitors who have heard great things about your success! 

3rd Grade Essential Standards and L.C. Planning Day:

On Thursday, February 7th, all 3rd grade teachers will meet in the media center from 8:00-11:30 A.M. to engage in essential standards planning. After 11:30, teachers responsible for ELA planning will continue to meet and plan Lucy Calkins units. Thanks for using this time wisely! 

Friday Spirit Day:

Friday, February 8th is Spirit Day at PVES. Teachers are free to wear blue jeans. Everyone is asked to wear your House shirts/colors. Our PTSO is selling CFA biscuits in the morning car line and we will end our week with House meetings around 1:50ish. I will send our House meeting agendas to House leaders later in the week. As always, we want this day to truly be a display of our #pvespride and school spirit. 

Moore's Musings:

This week we are celebrating National School Counselor's Week. I know you will all join me in showing our appreciation for Ms. Tammy Lee. Her hard work and willingness to do what it takes is on full display each and everyday. She loves our students. She cares about their well-being and engages in a tireless, and often thankless, process of making sure their needs are met so they can flourish in the classroom. Thank you, Ms. Lee for being you. Your energy, spirit, enthusiasm and attitude make our school a better place to work and learn! 

Mark Your Calendar (MYC):

• 2/4 - OLWEUS Class Meetings during PRIDE Time
• 2/4 - Chesnee Elementary School Visit from 8:15-10:00 AM
• 2/7 - PVES Spirit Night at Pizza House of Powdersville from 5 PM - close. 
• 2/7 - Last Day for Current PVES Patrol Team 
• 2/7 - 3rd Grade Essential Standards and LC Planning in Media Center 
• 2/8 - CFA Biscuits in Morning Car Line
• 2/8 - House meetings around 1:50ish PM
• 2/8 - Wear blue jeans and House shirt

Video of the Week: Ron Clark Academy Super Bowl Video