Thanksgiving

With seven more school days until Thanksgiving Break, it is important to pause for a few moments and remember all for which we are so thankful. A little Thanksgiving Day fun fact for you: Did you know that the first celebration of Thanksgiving in 1621 lasted three days? My reflection, therefore, is that we should not take for granted anything in our lives; big or small. Ironically, our theme this year has been to "embrace the challenge" of a new school year. In my opinion, it is impossible to truly embrace those many challenges, unless you do so with a positive attitude and a sense of gratitude and thankfulness. Mrs. Tollison and I remain so appreciative of our incredible faculty and staff, precious students, and supportive school community. During these next few days, pause to consider for what or for whom you are thankful.  Speak this out-loud; ensure that what is on your heart is spoken. Live Thanksgiving in all that you do and say. And walk out of school next Tuesday with a full heart and the ability to enjoy the time off with friends and family.

Let's take a look back at last week...

 PVES hosted Lindsay Reyes and ASD1 5th grade teachers on Monday. The opportunity to see Lindsay in action, both in teaching reading mini-lessons and conferring, was invaluable. I am thankful for a district that provides such opportunities for teachers.

I am thankful for veterans who served our country. We enjoy many freedoms and none of them are free. PVES celebrated Veteran's Day on Monday in several ways; each with its own meaning and importance.

Thanks to Mrs. Redmon for presenting to us at Wednesday's faculty meeting. I am thankful for her knowledge and willingness to always be available to support our teachers and students. And thanks to everyone for your support in preparing for our Literacy Night. Wednesday was a display of #pvespride in its truest form. When we work together toward a common goal, the magic happens.

The Art Show was a huge success on Thursday evening. We sold more framed artwork than ever and enjoyed seeing so many teachers and staff there to support our students. I am thankful for Mrs. Nix sharing her many talents with us.

Math? On the windows? At PVES, why not? I am thankful for many creative teachers who take the time to make learning hands-on and fun for our students!

OLWEUS Continues:

After viewing the ROAR Report Monday morning, all classes should hold OLWEUS class meetings. At this point in the year, your meetings can address nearly any topic needed to serve the needs in your classroom. You can always refer to our shared folder for lesson ideas. Be creative, allow students to collaborate, and hit crucial areas head on so that can you refer to this time and this learning throughout the week. Additionally, don't forget our expectation is that all students are quiet and focused on announcements each morning. Thanks for your help with this.

Cafeteria/Lunch Reminders:
We continue to host a lot of parents for lunch in the cafeteria. Please encourage parents to use the parent tables for lunch. Students can invite one (1) friends to eat at the parent table with them. We have seen cases in which multiple students are eating lunch at the parent table and space is already at a premium. Please relay this to parents as needed. Please remind your students about our expectations during lunch. When the music plays, they should eat and not talk. Finally, please ensure that your students clean up their area before they line up and assign students to wipe down tables when you line up your class.

Tuesday and Wednesday Info:
Mr. Moore and Mrs. Tollison will be out of the building on Tuesday at a district-mandated professional development session. Tammy Lee will be at school to serve any needs, but please remember that she will be quite busy covering for us. Mrs. Tollison will be in Columbia on Wednesday and Mr. Moore will be at Daniel High School Wednesday for a portion of the day. Again, Tammy will be present to assist as needed. Mrs. Tollison and Mr. Moore are also in the midst of completing formal observations for evaluation. Thanks for being patient as we work through a very busy schedule.

Friday Emergency Drills:
We are required to complete district-mandated emergency drills on Friday, November 22nd . We want  to knock this out early so please see our schedule below with linked information:

1.) Earthquake Drill - Immediately following announcements. We will make an announcement with information and the drill will begin when the bell rings. We use the "drop, cover and hold on" technique for earthquakes.
2.) Severe Weather/Tornado Drill - This will take place immediately after the earthquake drill. Students should come out to the hallway and drop and cover (see picture provided in link). Again, we will announce when we should start.
3.) Fire Drill - Our monthly fire drill will take place at some point on Friday; weather permitting. Follow our normal procedures.

Please ensure that all student stake these drills seriously.

Moore's Musings:
In regard to our collaborative planning time, continue to stay the course. I would again remind us all that having deep data conversations is not easy. Using the data to identify students who need intervention and developing a plan of action to serve those students is even more difficult. When you discuss  CFAs based on essential standards and determine that some students didn't master the content or already have it mastered, you should develop this plan of action as part of our data discussions. However, we should not review too much in class just for the sake of students being "test prepped" so much that they perform well on the CFA and our data "looks good". Let the data say what it may and then have rich discussion that helps you walk out of your PLC with a true plan of action for success.

Mark Your Calendar (MYC):

• Last day for Book Fair - 11/18
• PVES Ambassadors Meet - 11/18 After School in STEM Lab
• RTI Team Meet - 11/18 After School in Keel's Room 
• Guiding Coalition to PLC PD at CTC - 11/19
• Robotics Club - 11/21 After School in STEM Lab
• Conferring Book Study - 11/21 After School in Media Center 
• Skate Night (Wear House Colors) - 11/21 6-8 P.M. (Any teacher attending can wear blue jeans and leave early on 11/22, 11/25, 11/26)
• SIC Meeting - 11/22 at 7:20 A.M. in media center
• Earthquake, Severe Weather and Fire Drills - 11/22
• 5th Grade Immigration Day - 11/26 morning in cafeteria 
• Thanksgiving Break (No School) - 11/27-11/29

Video of the Week: 25 Reasons to Be Thankful 

Remember Your Purpose

The P in PRIDE stands for Be Purposeful. According to disctionary.com, purposeful is an adjective that means having a purpose; determined; resolute. Of all the descriptors that make up our P.R.I.D.E. acronym, I am convinced our success is most closely tied to our purpose. And in these busy days ahead, bracketed by Fall Break and Christmas Break, we must remain ever-focused and diligent to our purpose: our students. When we meet as collaborative teams and have challenging conversations that make us better educators, we acknowledge our purpose. When we spend those extra moments caring for and establishing a relationship with a student who has long since zapped our energy, we embrace our purpose. And when we celebrate those occasions of growth and build upon those teachable moments, we are confident in our purpose. The next level, our best at PVES, is yet to come. Together, each person clinging to the purpose for which you were intended, we are destined to make a difference.

Our school participated in a One School, One Book using the book Wishtree by Katherine Applegate. All classes read the book which is about acceptance of others. In the book, the community placed their wishes on a tree and called it the Wishtree. Our students made wishes for the school year and placed the wishes on the trees in the front of the building. If you have not taken the time to read some of these wishes, may I suggest you walk outside and do so. And be reminded of your purpose. 

We celebrated our student writers with our Writing "Wall of Fame" breakfast. These are always fun events and enable us to celebrate growth in the area of writing. The young man in the picture above, sitting alongside his mentor, reminds me that our purpose as educators is much more than grades or test scores. We are a community of learners; bound to make a difference in the lives of 660 very special young people. 

Our first nine weeks Pride Practice ceremonies were a huge success. Again, we celebrated students who embody the character traits that will make them successful adults who contribute to our society. As each teacher reads her heartfelt message, it becomes crystal clear what her purpose is as an educator. Special times indeed. 

The newly formed Robotics Team at Powdersville Elementary is excited about using VEX IQ Robotics to build and program robots.  They will travel to Columbia in the spring to compete against other schools.  To prepare for middle and high school robotics classes, Powdersville Elementary plans to have all fifth grade STEM students participate in VEX robotics beginning next year. We should always be reminded that our students need direction as to their purpose and that it certainly stretches farther and wider than "just" standards. 

Veteran's Day/OLWEUS:
Just a reminder that we celebrate Veteran's Day on Monday, November 11th. With Lindsay Reyes and many visitors in our building, we are scaling down our celebration, but we still want to ensure our students are exposed to this special day. Remember that we will mention Veteran's Day briefly on our morning announcements. After announcements, please open your classroom doors. We have a member of the PVHS band who will be performing TAPS for each hallway. Then, we would like each home room to spend the first 10-15 minutes in recognition of Veteran's Day. I will be sharing a read aloud later today that you are free to use. After your Veteran's Day recognition/discussions, you are free to engage in OLWEUS class meetings (3rd and 4th only). Mrs. McGaha has been kind enough to set up the "missing man" table in our cafeteria. Thanks to everyone for allowing us to spend a few moments in solemn recognition and gratefulness for those who have and are currently serving our country. 

Lindsay Reyes PD:
As mentioned above, we will host Lindsay Reyes and 5th grade teachers from across the district on Monday. We will have groups meeting in the media center and Strings room throughout the day as well as visiting several 5th grade classrooms. Please make every effort to be at school as there will be no subs available. Obviously, 5th grade home room will have a sub so be on the lookout for how you can step in and serve those subs or assist in any way possible. We appreciate your flexibility and willingness to allow us to pull of such an event. The schedule for the day is linked here. 

Art Show and Book Fair This Week:
We have a busy week as our Fall Book Fair continues until Monday, November 18th. We are excited about hosting our Art Show on Thursday evening from 5-7 PM. If you are interested in wearing blue jeans on Friday this week, simply show up and support Mrs. Nix on Thursday evening. Obviously, we want all teachers to get the word out via SeeSaw about these events and support Mrs. Fowler and Mrs. Nix. Mrs. Fowler uses money from the Book Fair to update titles in the media center. Mrs. Nix uses money from the Art Show to help fund our wonderful I Heart the Arts day in the Spring. 

Faculty Meeting Wednesday:
We will have a faculty meeting on Wednesday after school in the media center. We will have some general announcements before working together to prepare for our upcoming Literacy Night on Thursday, December 5th. Please bring any questions or concerns you have for the group. 

Hospitality:
Last, but certainly not least, we want to officially notify everyone that we are ready for faculty and staff to join hospitality. The cost is $30.00 and while not "required", it is certainly reasonable to expect that our faculty joins. Our hospitality team works to support teachers in a variety of ways including, but not limited to: recognition of staff (i.e. Custodian Appreciation Day), hosting showers for soon-to-be mothers or for those getting married, and providing cards/gift cards for those experiencing death in the family. This year, we have a portion of our hospitality team that is planning several social events for our faculty and staff. These ROAR (Reach Others, Achieving Relationships) events are designed to foster a sense of friendship and belonging among our faculty and staff. You can pay via cash or check (made payable to PVES). Thanks! 


Moore's Musings:
The theme of our blog is obviously remembering our purpose and embracing that purpose in a profession that is both hectic and demanding. My advice for anyone experiencing the stress that impacts us all this time of year is to simply slow down. Carefully think through your next steps. Consider your words and actions. Don't be passive or afraid to be wrong. Rather, collaborate with others and be confident knowing you are working hard and doing your best. Communicate well and often. Make that positive phone call home that you have been putting off or attempt that new strategy or idea that you think will make a difference. Willingly accept feedback, praise your colleagues and build upon our culture in such a way that there is no doubt what purpose you serve. 


Mark Your Calendar:

• Veteran's Day - November 11
• Lindsay Reyes PD for 5th Grade - November 11th 
• Book Fair Open - All Week
• Papa John's Dollars for Dough" - November 12th and 13th
• Fall Make-Up Pictures - AM on November 12th
• Conferring Book Study - 3:15 P.M. on November 12th 
• Progress Report Folders - November 13th
• Faculty Meeting - 3:10 P.M. on November 13th 
• Art Show - 5-7 P.M. on November 14th 
• United Way Contributions Due - November 15th (please consider giving - this goes toward or summer reading camp)

Video of the Week: Know Your Why 

(We have shown this before and it is an excellent illustration!)