January Classroom Refresh!

Welcome Back!  I hope the time off was delightful, filled with rest, relaxing, and fun with family and friends.  By December 20th, it was very clear that we all needed a little break!!

As we begin the new year, it's a great time to review and refresh things in the classroom.  This might include a classroom routine reminder, a PBIS Booster, or a revisit of classroom instruction.

To continue to support the high impact of guided reading, the district will be providing additional training with Carolyn Gwinn on the dates below:

January 22

K - am (8-11:30)

3rd - pm (12:30 - 4)

January 28

1st  - am  (8-11:30)

4th - pm  (12:30 - 4)

January 30

2nd - am  (8-11:30)

5th - pm  (12:30 - 4)

All training will be at River Crest. 

In addition, a reminder that Lori is ready to support your continued work in Guided Reading, for anyone that teaches reading.  To support the action step  for our SMART Goal (implementation of Jan Richardson guided reading), Lori is available to plan, co-teach, observe, and reflect on guided reading delivery in your classroom.  She is here on Mondays and Fridays, and doesn't need to partner with you on the same group or part of the lesson plan each time.  Think about the parts of the lesson plan and new resources where you'd like to collaborate - our goal is to have everyone participate in coaching before Carolyn returns for her training.

Here's to a great new year!!
Sue

Thanks, Team!

Thank you to everyone who participated in The Contest last week!  It was fun to see new connections, people coming out of their shells, and staff leading their teams.  I hope that it allowed you to have a little bit of fun during a stressful time of the year!  Thank you for being good sports, and for bringing laughter and fun to the week!  Don't forget - 10 minute massages for all on Wednesday! Massage Sign up: Wednesday, December 18.

A reminder to keep a special eye on some of our students this week - heading into a break isn't something all students look forward to.  Keep them in your hearts!

Enjoy this week - and thanks for being awesome!
Sue

Behavior is Communication

Patience and Understanding...
As we approach these last two weeks before break, patience and understanding are essential!  Students are excited, tired from extra family events, or out of sorts from changes in routines.  This may lead to spikes in behavior from all of our students. It's especially important (and helpful) to remember that student behavior is a form of communication, that they are trying to tell us something.  Sometimes it's that they're exhausted, or it might be that they just need some attention.

This is a video we are using as part of our 4K Family Outreach, and I found it to be fascinating:  Still Face Experiment (2:48).  Although the child in the video is only a year old, I think the message is important to remember for all children - most of the time, all they want is our attention, response, and support!

Here's wishing you the patience and understanding that you will need for the next 10 days.  Hang in there!

December Reminders

December Reminders

This can be a favorite time of year, but it can also be one of the most stressful!  Between planning the holiday treats and dinners, shopping for the perfect gift for loved ones and then trying to get the home into the festive spirit, time disappears. We often have to remind ourselves to slow down and enjoy the moments!. 

Each of our students have different home experiences that determine how this time of year will feel for them. A variety of backgrounds, beliefs, demographics and family situations can impact how our students will react during these next few weeks. Consistency will assist these students with success.  Keeping our schedules and learning expectations consistent will help students feel grounded, even if their lives outside of school are not. I know each of you see your students practically like your own, and your commitment is felt by all within your classroom. And I know you will support your students, however they need it, through these next few weeks.

REMINDERS 

The holiday season can be tricky when acknowledging the various religious and secular holiday traditions celebrated during this time of year, while also balancing the need for sustained quality teaching and learning. The following guidelines can help:

● Public schools must never appear to endorse religion over non-religion or one particular religious faith over another. 

● Public schools must be careful not to cross the line between teaching about religious holidays (which is permitted) and celebrating religious holidays (which is not). 

● Religious music, literature, art or other religious activities should not dominate school activities. School events, assemblies, concerts and programs must be designed to further a secular and objective program of education and must not focus on any one religion or religious observance. 

● Religious symbols are not appropriate seasonal decorations in public schools. At the same time, students should not be restricted from choosing to express their religious views in course assignments (e.g., artwork, personal narrative). 

● High quality standards-based instruction and student learning is the expectation in December as it is throughout the school year. Holiday activities, parties and showing of videos should be a minimal part of the school day. Based on district policy, the showing of videos is limited to those shown with direct alignment to current curriculum and require prior approval. 

● The goal for our schools is that we provide an inclusive learning environment for all students. Every student should feel welcome and represented at a public school and should be able to participate in every activity we have.

May the upcoming weeks allow you time to enjoy the spirit of the holidays,

both at school and at home!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gratitude

So much to be grateful for!

While I know that we are grateful throughout the whole year, it seems we are more aware of it as we approach Thanksgiving.  I want to extend my gratitude and thanks for the work that you do, with a warm smile and heart, every day at Houlton.  Your connections, instruction, communication, high expectations, schoolwide contributions, and hard work are appreciated, and are the foundation on which our school success is built.

Thank you for taking the time last week to have your students write thank you notes.  I think this is a essential life skill (and a lost art, according to my mother...).  It is one of those things that has such great benefits not only for the recipient, but also for the giver.  Thanks for fitting this in!

I created blank thank you cards for you to use to share what you used your classroom money/gift for. I'll leave a stack in the work room this week, and an envelope to collect them, so they can be delivered to the family.  They are very excited to see how their gift impaced your work!

With continued thanks -
Sue

What is Employee Rounding?

Rounding

A few weeks ago, Dr. Ouellette talked a little bit about Employee Rounding, a strategy used to increase staff engagement, retention, and overall satisfaction.  As this strategy begins to be utilized, I wanted to provide a little more information to define its purpose.  The goals of rounding are to create approachable leaders, strengthen relationshiops, find improvement opportunities, and show appreciation for employees. And the end result, to create a work environment that both staff and students/families want to be a part of.

1.  Increase staff engagement
Employee rounding increases staff engagement by building relationships through direct interaction between staff and leaders.  Creating purposeful work and environments keeps employees engaged in their tasks and responsibilities.

2.  Increase staff satisfaction
This process allows leaders to spend time talking to staff about concerns and praise.  When clear comminication is in place, ideas and improvements are easily implemented and positive change is made. Recognizing things that are going well, employee concerns - AND noting others that are strong contributors - is important in creating a happy and productive workplace.

3.  Increase staff retention
Staff turnover is difficult for everyone.  Employee rounding allows leaders to listen to staff ideas and address concerns, which will create an enthusiastic environment that staff will not want to leave.

4.  Increase "client" satisfaction
The bottom line - when employees (our staff) are satisfied, then clients (our students and families) receive better attention and service.  And this is what our work is all about

I have started these conversatons with some, and am keeping track of the concerns/suggestions that are made.  Some of them are things that can be "fixed" immediately, some over time, and some (for a variety of reasons) aren't able to be addressed at this time. The communication of this information will be called a Stop Light Report (linked in Blog on Essential Documents tab) and will look like this:

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Have a great week -

Sue