Wednesday July 31st, 2013

We have left over Chobani yogurt tubes that were donated to Harrison. There are also sherbert tubs. They are in the two freezers in the staff room. There isn't enough for every kid, so first come first served if you want to take some for your classroom. The yogurt tubes will probably need to thaw a little because they are frozen hard.

Tuesday July 30th, 2013

Please remember to let the teacher next door know that you are going to lunch. I won't be there to help. You might check to see that all the teachers from your grade level have gone, and that somebody from the next grade level has started. The hard spots are room 8 letting room 20 know, and also room 24 or 25 letting room 12 know.

                                         

Monday July 29th, 2013

I'll be at school most of Monday. I'm at the administrator's conference in Boise on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I'll be back at school on Friday. Just email or send me a text if you need anything. You can call, but my phone may be on silent if I'm in a class.

For Tuesday: Martha is available if you need anything. Lila is next in line if Martha is tied up with something. If you start with Julie in the office, she'll know who to go to.

For Wednesday and Thursday: Jolene will be at the school if you need anything. Martha is next in line if Jolene is tied up with something.

I'll have bottled water in the two refrigerators in the staff room available for you, as well as diet coke and a few other types of pop. That should help to keep everybody happy while I am gone. :)

Attendance tickets this week are green. Feel free to come to the office and take what you need. They are already cut for you.

I have added a revised report card under documents. If you already started with the other version that is fine. Mary updated the report to make it easier for parents to understand. We were using what had always been used, but I think the newer version is more clear. I like that it includes the Fall or Spring, depending on grade, reading expectation as well. When you click on the document just go to file, then download. It will open in Excel, and there are tabs at the bottom for each grade level.

Please remind students about not taking lunch food outside. We do have garbage cans outside, but unfortunately food wrappers usually end up on the ground. 

Thank you for your help during Friday Fun. It felt like the time went by quickly. 

Friday July 26th, 2013

The bus ride home has been much better, enrollment passed 300, and it's Friday!

Martha and Erica have been working with about 62 students for ESL instruction. Thank you for being flexible with your schedule so those students could be served.

Just a few quick reminders for Friday:

  1. Staff Social with treats during morning recess in the staff room.
  2. K/1st Attendance Prizes 11 am in room #1. Older students during lunch in the lunchroom.
  3. Friday Fun 1:15-2:15.
  4. You can leave on Friday like you normally do during the school year, but after all the buses leave.

                                        

Thursday July 25th, 2013

We have another bus that needs to be fixed. Rocky bus is now Lucky bus. Rocky could be back. Please let students know that ride that bus that it could have either of those names.

A big thank you to Mary and the paras that helped with all the pre testing and collecting of data. The majority is finished! Just a few students are left.

Thank you to Michele for coordinating the Friday social activity for staff. You can talk with her if you have questions. There will be treats in the staff room during morning recess.

We have extra helpers this year: a student teacher from WGU, a student completing her senior project from Twin Falls HS, a student completing her senior project from Canyon Ridge HS, and a foster grandma. Please introduce yourselves if you haven't already, and help them feel welcomed. Their help is greatly appreciated.

For Friday Fun on Friday, please remember that your help outside is only about 10-15 minutes. It is from 1:15-2:15. The rest of the time is for you to plan and get ready for next week. Please talk with your grade level about who will go out when, taking turns. There is sunscreen in the office for adults if you need it. Please talk with students about items they might want to bring on Friday: hat/visor, sunscreen, water bottle, ect... I've seen several kids with water bottles already, which is great.

For students in kindergarten and first grade, the Friday attendance lunch prizes will start at 11 am. We will meet in Room #1. It works better with the little ones to have them sit on the floor. The rest of the students will be fine inside the lunchroom when they are eating. Thank you to Kambra for helping with that.

                                           

Wednesday July 24th, 2013

The bus ride home was much better. Thank you for your help. I saw kids once again with stickers, paper plates, notes taped to backpacks and clothing, and other notes being held that clearly indicated where their final destination was. You might want to do that for a few more days.

The Aladdin route is a long route. It serves students primarily from Harrison, Lincoln, and Perrine. It includes stops by the Walgreens on Pole Line, all the way to outlying areas in Lincoln's boundaries. It will continue to get students to school a little late in the morning. The bus company offered to redo the times for the stops. I said that wouldn't be pretty. I talked with the kitchen. They will continue to serve breakfast until those students arrive. Please check with students in the morning who rode Aladdin, to ensure that they have had breakfast. We're really appreciative of the bus company for redoing the routes so we could serve more students, particularly in the outer areas.

The toner for the printer in the workroom is running out. That is the Dell that has a 1. You can also print to the Dell that has a 2. That printer is in the 2nd and 3rd grade hall.

Thank you to everybody that has asked Julie for help with the copy machines. That really helps avoid calling the company to come fix them.

Friday Fun will be from 1:15-2:15. We'll be having popsicles, sidewalk chalk, and the usual playground equipment outside. Kids have loved the sand toys. It may be pea gravel and dirt, but just as fun to dig in.

Please remember to have students fill out the daily attendance tickets for the prizes during Friday lunch.

Tuesday July 23rd, 2013

Thank you to everybody for your patience and willingness to help without being asked.

The bus ride home on Tuesday will hopefully be much better. We had one bus that was broken and the change of name on the new bus confused some parents. Then we had a second bus break down right after school in the back of the school, and that just caused a ripple effect of late kids getting home. Add in kids that were on the wrong buses, kids that got off at the wrong stops, and having to call police to find one student- the last kid was safely home at 5pm. I hope we still have some bus drivers on Tuesday.

First day enrollment was in the 240's. A big thank you to Jolene for helping to call students that weren't at school. We should be higher tomorrow. Let the office or Terry know if you need more desks or chairs.

We had requests for coffee. I bought some and Mary will have it made in the mornings for you. It will be in the staff room.

You have to love the different names students tell you as we are trying to figure out who they are. Kambra had one that gets the prize.  She was testing a kindergarten student and asked him what his name was. He said his name was Elvis.

Moday July 22nd, 2013

First day of summer school! It will be a tad bit on the crazy side on the first day, but we're all excited to start. Patience, smiling faces, and welcoming families and students is important on the first day. Remember that we are striving to close gaps while also providing educational summer experiences that students might not have. Thank you for giving of your summer to help students.

I finished attendance sheets for each classroom. If you didn't get yours let me know. Julie made attendance slips for you. You can keep the attendance sheets and just send the small slips to the office. The small slips should help considerably instead of trying to decipher the attendance sheets. Please put on the attendance slip who is absent, hot lunch count, and a total present number.

Attendance tickets for Friday prizes are orange this week. They are all cut out for you and you can pick them up as you need them in the office. The smaller kids have larger tickets because they need more space to write their name, so please notice that when you pick up tickets. Completed tickets go in the containers on the office counter either by you or students; whichever is easiest for you.

Let Terry know if your room is too hot or too cold. We don't have central air, but almost. We can put boxed fans in your room if you need them. The classrooms on the end by the doors that students go in and out for recess tend to be the hotter rooms due to doors opening so frequently. 

Let me know if you are still needing school supplies for your room.

Let us know in the office if you need help figuring out how a student gets home. For some students it can take all day trying to find that information, especially if they brought a friend on the bus with them that wasn't even on the list. I also have stickers in the office if you would like to make tags for each student stating their name, destination, and bus. We also have paper plates and yarn if you want necklaces instead of using stickers. Just let us know in the office if you need help with that.

                                       

Thursday July 18th, 2013

We have three bus routes finalized!

Last year we had two routes. Buses were crowded, behaviors were sometimes a concern when students were too close to each other, and the routes really only addressed the inner city area. Hopefully we will have great attendance, and better behavior on the buses, with three bus routes this year.

We also had a concern with kindergarten students having too far to walk to a stop; which then caused some not to attend. I took out student names and phone numbers because I wanted to post the routes online for you. The original copies are in the office, and kindergarten students are listed for each stop if they requested a bus on their registration form. If you have an older sibling in your classroom, this will help to know which bus and stop a student needs.

Here are the links, and I also posted them under schedules so you can access at anytime:

Bus #1, Aladdin

Bus #2, Shoshone

Bus #3, Rocky

Wednesday July 17th, 2013

Please remember that we will be meeting on Friday July 19th at 8:30 am, in the library at Harrison. Bring paper to take notes. We also have wireless if you prefer taking notes on your phone or tablet. You will get 3.5 hours for the day.

After the short staff meeting you will have the rest of the morning to meet with your grade level team, plan, and get your classroom ready. I will have breakfast snacks as well.

I will be at Harrison Thursday July 18th by 1 pm, as long as my flight is on time. The school will be open and you can come see me if you need anything, as well as work in your room if you would like. Many have emailed me and texted throughout the summer, so it feels like we have been getting ready for awhile. :-)

Monday July 8th, 2013

Attached is a rough draft of the staff meeting agenda for July 19th. I may add additional items, but this is a start. I prefer staff meetings to be mostly professional development, and the staff blog for any updates. However, we have staff from all seven elementary schools. We need to briefly go over a few housekeeping items. After we meet you will then have the rest of the morning to meet and plan with your grade level team, as well as getting your classroom ready.

Staff Meeting July 19th