Update, Week of April 19, 2010

Monday- I hope everyone is having a great Monday! I'm sure our students are enjoying a day off from school on this beautiful day. With the students not in session today our teachers have been busy participating in professional development activities. We started things off this morning with a special breakfast for our teachers. This was followed by some very nice words from our teachers that are retiring this year. They all did a nice job reflecting on their long and successful careers. Thanks to TJ Croco, Donna Smith, Sue Anthony, and Linda Potter for sharing their stories this AM.

After the morning festivities our middle school teachers had a little bit of time to work in their classrooms updating their instructional planners and updating grades. We will be mailing home Trimester 3 Mid-Term grades later this week.

Following lunch our middle school teachers had small group sessions with DJ Corson. DJ is working with our staff on their lesson designs and strategies that they use within their classrooms. This is the second time our teachers have had the opportunity to work with DJ.

Tuesday- The kids came back to school today from the 3 day weekend both focused and ready to learn. I always worry about the focus during the spring when the weather is already in the 70s and we haven't hit May 1st yet. Please continue to stress to your children how important it is to maintain their focus right through the end of the school year. I tell kids that this is the 4th quarter of our game and we need to finish strong to win!!

Our teachers had the opportunity to learn today from Stacy Behmer of Grant Wood AEA. Stacy is a technology specialist that comes out once a month to work with our staff on new technology tools. We always learn and appreciate our time with Stacy!

The boy's track team is off to Williamsburg tonight for their meet. I will give you an update on their performance tomorrow. We also have many students after school tonight practicing with our Show Choir.

I'm pretty sure I have significantly brainwashed my 3 year old. Most days he calls me at least once to ask if we can go golfing when I get home. Last week one night when I got home he said, and I quote, "Dad can we play the front nine tonight, I'm tired of the back nine."

Wednesday- Today was a special day in our school because it was Administrative Assistant Day. This gave our students and staff the chance to honor our building secretary, Lauri Tow. Lauri does a great job managing our office. She is calm, friendly, and overall great to work with. It was good to give Lauri some of the special attention that she deserves. On behalf of everyone in our school Lauri, THANKS for the work you do!!

Our teachers had time today during professional development to continue their work on instructional planners and to update grades in Power School. Trimester 3 mid-term grades will be mailed home this weekend. This is a significant point in our school year as it means we have about 30 school days remaining in our school year. PLEASE stress to your child that we MUST finish the year strong. Getting the most out of the last 30 days of school is very important.

Thursday- Today I spent the day with Ms. Newton (7th reading), Mrs. Harken (7th science), and Mrs. Hockenberry (7th math) at Grant Wood Area Education Agency learning about formative assessment strategies. This was a great day of team learning time. We had some very valuable conversations about assessment and we will be sharing with the other teachers soon. I also plan on writing a separate article about formative assessment soon.

This is a strange time of the school year. We are working hard to close out this school year yet we are also busy planning for next year. I will be sharing our plans for next year over the next month or so.

Take care,
Brad

Events This Week...

• Tuesday, April 20- small group of 8th grade students to the Soup Kitchen in Iowa City
• Tuesday, April 20- boy's track @ Williamsburg, 3:00 release
• Wednesday, April 21- early release
  
• Wednesday, April 21- school board meeting, 7 PM, high school library

Events Next Week...

• Monday, April 26- boy's track @ Regina, 3:05 release
• Tuesday, April 27- girl's track @ Regina, 3:05 release
• Wednesday, April 28- early release
• Thursday, April 29- girl's track @ Williamsburg, 3:00 release
• Friday, April 30- CCAMS Dance, 7-10 PM

BIG Events Down the Road...

• Monday, May 3- CCA Girl's Track Invitational, 4:15 PM
• Tuesday, May 4- CCA Boy's Track Invitational, 4:15 PM
• Thursday, May 27- 7th Grade End of Year Trip, Iowa Cubs Baseball Game, Des Moines
• Friday, May 28- 6th Grade End of Year Trip, Adventureland, Altoona
• Tuesday, June 1- 8th Grade End of Year Trip, Lake McBride, Solon