Week 14

 

Dear Team...I hope you all have a good weekend.  You definitely deserve it after the hustle of this past week.  

We are in to the "count down" days these two weeks.  I know that you are tired and ready for your well deserved break; however, I'm asking that you stay vigilant with behaviors and structured with instruction (scope/sequence and pacing) as the kids tend to make poor choices if you don't.  Just a reminder, for some students the upcoming break brings stress, uncertainty and disappointment.  Let's try to be cognizant of that.

Christmas Door Decorating Contest Date Extended!

We are extending the completion date of our annual Christmas Door Decorating contest to Wednesday, December 11.  We really hope that this inspires more classrooms to participate in this fun event.  

Judging will take place during the week of December 18th for prizes for the top 3.

Grades

Just a reminder, all student work and assessments need to be corrected and put in the gradebook before 8:00 am on Monday mornings.  Parents have been told that updated grades are available for them to view by 8:00 am on Monday mornings.

GLTs/03's

These resume next week.  

Gum Chewing

Gum chewing is not allowed by students.  We are noticing an increase in the number of students who are chewing gum.  Staff, we need you to be mindful of this and help us to stop this behavior by the students.

Fall Tutoring

Tutoring resumes this week on Monday and Tuesday, December 9 - 10.

Student Water Bottles

I am noticing students having water bottles, drink bottles, etc. on their desks.  As I stated at the beginning of the year, this is not an acceptable practice at Laurus.  Students are able to keep their water bottles in their cubbies. If they have lockers, they need to keep their water bottles in their lockers.  Please make sure you address this immediately.  

Weekly SchoolConnect Positive Parent Contact

Please remember to make sure that you are completing at least one weekly Positive Parent Contact through SchoolConnect.  You will want to use the #nhamoments in the body of the post to get in the contest drawing.

Dean Days

On the following dates, the Deans will be out attending Dean Day Trainings:

• Wednesday, December 11 - Wheeler and Rowden Out
• Thursday, December 12 - Schofield and Rogers Out

Hallway Decor

If you have fall and/or Thanksgiving decor posted on your hallway bulletin board, doors, etc., please take them down and replace them with more appropriate seasonal decor.

INTERIM #2 PREPARATION

Interim 2 is quickly approaching.  Interim 2 testing begins Monday, January 20th.  That means we have instructional 4 weeks until the test occurs.  As such, we need to be working diligently to prepare our students with the necessary content (see Interim 2 Blueprints) and test taking strategies so that our Proficient students remain proficient and our 2.5 and 2.0 students attain proficiency.  

Plan to strategize during our GLTs beginning next week.

IAT (CHILD STUDY) 

If you are planning to send a student through the process due to academic or behavior concerns, please contact Ms. Schofield and complete the appropriate paperwork.

Staff Shout Outs

🎉Shout Out to Ms. Avant and Ms. Glass for utilizing a Student Reflection Sheet for their Student Lead Conferences.  Parents were impressed with how the students used them while leading the conferences!  Well Done!

🎉Shout out to Ms. Scott, Mr. Amanze and Ms. Hepner, Ms. Archibald, Ms. Zbib, Ms. Wilson, Ms. E Williams, Ms. Darling, Ms. Johnson, and the K-2 teachers for their sustained support of student Progress Monitoring.

🎉Shout out to Ms. Todd, Mr. Burns, Ms. Armstrong, and Ms. Polk for consistently walking around and instructing.  As you know, circulation is one of the most effective strategies for monitoring student engagement and checking for understanding.  

🎉 Shout out to Ms. Campbell, Ms. Glass, Ms. Ragin, Ms. Winter, Ms. Avant and Ms. Todd for consistently being at their doors during Arrival and Dismissal.  The Admin team notices! 

Upcoming Events:

***Send me an email after you read this....💗

Monday, December 9 - Staff Meeting, 3:35 pm

Monday, December 9 - AIMSWeb MOY Benchmarking Begins

Wednesday, December 11 - K-3 Music Concert 4:30 pm

Thursday, December 12 - 4-8 Music Concert 5:30 pm

Friday, December 13 - Staff Holiday party; BR/NJHS Apps Due; IAT Day

Monday - Friday, December 16 - 20 - Holiday Spirit Week $ 6.00/wk or $ 2.00/day

• Monday - Grade Level Pick Day
• Tuesday - Red & Green Day
• Wednesday - Ugly Sweater Day
• Thursday - Holiday Character or White/Gold Day
• Friday - Pajama (Appropriate for School) Day

Tuesday, December 17 - Ebling Cohort Principal Visit Day

Friday, December 20 - Half Day; December Birthday Celebrations; Holiday Parties; Progress Reports; Last Day of School 

December 21, 2024 - January 5, 2025 - Winter Holiday Break

Monday, January 6, 2025 - School Resumes