WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE? I cannot believe that this year is almost over. We
have some big changes next school year including: New teacher websites, a
new safe and secure entry (which will include new drop off and pick up
procedures), new staff members (Mrs. Dalton, Mrs. Robinson, and Mrs. Barrett
are all retiring), and new kiddos to meet. While this time of year is
stressful due to building class lists, EOY assessments and review of growth,
and trying to close out the school year, it is also a time to get excited. I
am excited for summer (my summer starts 6/12)! I will be sleeping in
(somewhat- my son will wake me by 8:30) and doing all the house projects that
I needed to be doing all year. I will be gardening (or in my case watering
weeds), swimming, watching TV shows that I have been recording all year and
spending time with Ryan. But I will also be preparing for the upcoming
year. It all starts for me in mid July (when I come back)! I get so excited
I have difficulty sleeping. I am renewed by all of my free time that I
actually clean my office, sharpen my pencils, and get ready for teachers to
arrive. From there, it goes fast- we finalize class lists, train staff, do
team building work, and prepare for the kiddos. Whew! I am already
exhausted thinking about it. :) Working in education is the most bizzare
schedule anyone could ever imagine. 9 month! 9 months to grow students to
their fullest potential. Then we say goodbye to one group and say hello to
another. And in education, we always have something new going on. I
personally think that I have the best job in the world and that I am at the
best campus in the world. Have a great, healthy, safe, and productive summer
everyone!
Jennifer
It is almost time to start building class lists. You received info on the
process and a form to fill out in Tuesday folders. It can also be accessed
on our website. Please know that we take class lists very seriously and we
spend hours trying to find the perfect fit for each and every student.
Once we receive the parent input forms and I have a chance to type in all of
the info, we schedule 2-3 hours with each team to begin our process. The way
it works is: we meet with grade level teachers, interventionists, TAG
teachers, SpEd teachers, and Mrs. O'Brien. We use the parent forms and
teacher forms as well as info from all stakeholders.
We then do another meeting with all in August. So if you hear through
whatever type of vine that your little one has Mr. or Mrs. ____ before Back
to School Night, please know that it can change.
Spring has Sprung! I hope everyone is well rested and ready for this busy 9
week period. This last 9 weeks might be long but we have a lot of things to
do before we wrap up the school year. There are spring conferences to be
had, state testing to be done, Camp Write Along for 4th grade, field trips
for Kinder and 1st, and music and fine arts night for all. We will begin the
class placement process in April (more to come) and we will having goodbye
parties for some staff members who are retiring and end of year parties for
all grade levels. Not to mention the standards our teachers have to teach!
Whew!
Safety-
Some of you have been asking about our safety plan and our district's safety
plan. Our district requires us to have at least one fire drill per month,
plus 2 severe weather drills and 2 lockdown drills per year. We do at least
that many and have added in an additional lockdown drill to our schedule.
Safety is the MOST important part of our jobs and we take it very seriously.
That is why we demand that all visitors sign in through raptor- not only is
it a quick check, but it tells us who is in our building. Safety is also the
reason that we require all visitors to enter through the front doors after
7:45 and we refuse to allow anyone in the hallways during arrival and
dismissal. Our district is working on getting every campus a safe and secure
entry way- like the newer schools have (where visitors are forced into the
office before being allowed to enter the building). We do not have a date on
when FBE will be retrofitted for this type of entrance but we are
anticipating a new entrance by next school year.
We are officially back into the swing of things. Teachers have been busy
getting ready for this semester. Over the next few weeks, teachers will
complete their middle of year testing including universal screenings. Many
teachers will then tailor the school wide intervention time to accommodate
thier students and the needs of the class. If student data shows that more
intervention is needed, students will be pulled out with one of our
interventionists for 30 minutes per day for 4 days a week. The goal is to
provide short term intervention to those students (6-9 weeks) so they can
close the gaps they have and return to the classroom. If you have any
questions on interventions or intervention time, feel free to email me.
Jennifer Mercer
