February 3rd-7th is National School Counselor's Week. I want to take a moment and thank Ms. Lee and Ms. Ernst for all that they do to assist our students. They are our first line of defense when students come to school not quite ready to learn. Whatever the social-emotional need, they are there to step right in and be an advocate for our students. This, in turn, directly supports the classroom teacher. Thank you both for loving, leading and believing in our students. I hope many of you will stop by and personally thank Tammy and Heather and also encourage your students to write letters of appreciation to these ladies.
It was a great week at PVES...
Thanks to Mrs. Redmon for always leaving treats for us in the work room. These treats act as a friendly reminder that our students have many needs and that we must work collaboratively to serve those needs. Mrs. Redmon believes in the process and believes that her students can grow and reach goals through the right amount of support!
Our Live PD sessions were a success once again. Teachers learned interventions for will and skill deficits, practiced some strategies that help them stay calm, focused and positive, and also shared ways to best serve individual needs during Pride Time. Thanks to those who presented and all who actively participated. We are always learning and growing as educators because we believe the best if yet to come!
Mrs. Tollison and I met with our ESOL friends to encourage them before ACCESS testing that begins this week. Thanks to those of you who wrote these students a positive message prior to testing. In each note that I signed, I made sure to let them know that I believed in them. Good luck to Mrs. Thomas as she begins this process of getting all of her ESOL students tested.
Mrs. Tollison and I presented to our School Improvement Council last week. Our focus: Professional Learning Communities at PVES. My statement to the SIC was that I believed PLCs were the missing piece to the achievement puzzle at our school.
Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Tollison and Mr. Moore will continue to visit classrooms to observe mini-lessons as part of ELA block. We look forward to sharing feedback with our teachers. We will also be using some planning and Live PD time to discuss our observations and continue to support our teachers with implementation. I believe that the mini-lesson that includes teacher modeling/think aloud and time for students to practice what they just learned is invaluable when talking about preparing students to be successful in the classroom and as lifelong readers.
Construction continues to move right along at PVES. I am excited about what this addition means for our school and believe it comes at just the right time. We will talk a lot about this transition to this new wing and its impacts later. Thanks for being flexible this year as evidenced last week when one classroom had to pick up and head elsewhere because of, let's say, an environment not conducive to learning.
The Talent Show was a wonderful displayed of #pvespride. This event always renews my belief in our students and our school. We have sweet and smart kids who are destined for great things. I am honored to lead them. And our teachers always step up (and the kids love it). Enjoy the teacher dance by clicking here!
OLWEUS Class Meetings:
Thanks to our OLWEUS committee for preparing this lesson to be shared with classes on Monday during class meeting time. February is Black History Month and we will also be sharing an introduction to famous black Americans during some of our morning announcements throughout the month. As always, we encourage you to make OLWEUS time focused on improving your classroom climate.
Greenville Drive Reading All Stars:
We will be participating in the Greenville Drive Reading All Stars program again this year. We use this program as a way to encourage students to keep reading! Our expectation is 100% participation (i.e. every student). Between Monday, February 3rd and Friday, March 6th, students will read five (5) books and record this on the reading log provided to you by Mrs. Fowler. Mrs. Fowler will be keeping track of this for us and will send you an email when she is ready for you to submit your reading logs. Additionally, our teachers have done an excellent job of keeping track of this in the classroom by simply displaying names outside the classroom of students who have reached the goal. Please share this video on Monday after The Roar Report and get students hyped up about this program. You can also share the following with students:
- Participating students receive a free ticket to the celebration game on Sunday, May 3rd where they will get a chance to walk on the field before the game.
- Participating students also receive a free t-shirt and a free book at the game.
House Meetings:
We will have House meetings on Monday afternoon. Wear your House shirts! We will make an "all call" around 1:50ish for everyone to transition. Remember that Isibindi will now use the courtyard area. I will be sending our agenda to House leaders. Mr. Moore will be making his way to those meetings who have a home room teacher whose class earned the right to pie Mr. Moore in the face! Remember, we want these meetings to re-focus our students on our Pride Practices, celebrate the many positive things taking place in our building, and build a sense of House and school pride!
ACCESS Testing:
ESOL students will be ACCESS testing this week in the Strings room with Mrs. Melissa Thomas. Strings will take place in the cafeteria. Additionally, we would ask all classes to be considerate of students testing by making sure hallway behavior is appropriate as they pass by this area. Good luck to these students and thanks to everyone for supporting this effort!
Live PD:
We have our next Live PD scheduled for Wednesday, February 5th after school. Home room teachers will meet in the media center. All other certified teachers (and Ms. Durham) will report to the Art Room. We will be discussing classroom management, behavior expectations and other means of making sure our students remain focused and learning during this very crucial time of year. Plan to bring your laptop or iPad. The sessions will take place from 3:15 - 4:00 P.M. And as a "thank you for your dedication and attendance, you are free to wear blue jeans all week as well as leave early on Thursday and Friday after your responsibilities have been handled.
Moore's Musings:
I wanted to pass along a quick message in regard to communication. We pride ourselves on communicating in a positive, consistent and effective manner. This is our expectation. Obviously, we use SeeSaw for the bulk of our communications. If you notice a concern; perhaps a decline in behavior or academic progress, be proactive and get in touch with the parent. Positive phone calls home often make such a difference as well. I was on the phone with several parents last week and it was obvious that the teachers of those students had done an incredible job of communicating throughout the year. Many of you have posted pictures of you attending a basketball or other sporting event in support of your students. This is a wonderful way to build relationships. It gets busy this time of year, but we should not let this stop us from communicating often.
Mark Your Calendar (MYC):
- National School Counselor's Week - All Week
- ACCESS Testing in Strings Room - All Week
- Kick Off Greenville Drive Reading All Stars Program - 2/3 after announcements
- OLWEUS/Black History lesson - 2/3 during Pride Time
- House Meetings - 2/3 at 1:50 P.M.
- Dandy Lions - 2/4 at 2:35 P.M.
- Progress Report Folders - 2/5
- Common Planning - 2/5 from 2:35-3:15 P.M.
- Live PD - 2/5 at 3:15 P.M.
- Guiding Coalition - 2/7 at 7:20 A.M. in Mrs. Thomas's Room
Video of the Week: Believe In Yourself
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