On Our Way to the Holidays!

We have made it all the way to the last week before the holidays!  Looking forward to an amazing fun filled, busy week and then a nice long break to get us all rejuvenated!    

Week of:  December 12th-16th, 2016

**Wear jeans/sweats all week as a special treat!

Monday- RTI/PST Meetings - Kristan's room
Renee's Wedding Shower - 3:15 - Library

Tuesday - RTI/PST Meetings - Kristan's room
5th Grade Program - 8:30am and 6:00pm

Wednesday - Holiday from the Heart - 3rd grade switch with 4th for specials
Brief staff meeting after school - Library - 3:15-3:45

Thursday -  Winter Parties 1:00pm - (3rd grade) 2:00pm - (K, 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th)

Friday -  TCE Sing Along 
Early Release Schedule - 12:50

Important Reminders

Book Study - Innovator's Mindset

Scroll down to previous blog post to see the reminder about using padlet to record your ideas/resources by December 14th.  Also, remember to have the last part of the book read by the following:  Read pages 122-229 by our January TLC meeting - January 25th.

Early Release Schedule

Secret Santa

Don't forget about your secret santa gifts if you signed up to participate for this week!  

From the Desk of BS…

From the Desk of BS…Volume 14

Know Their Stories, Be a Trajectory Changer

Last Saturday, Ardra, Reagan, and I were enjoying a lazy afternoon of college football, half watching, half napping. The sound of water suddenly pierced the quietness of the room. “I hear running water, do you?” she asked.  I kicked down my recliner, to the feeling of wet socks as they hit the floor.  I rushed to the garage, and as suspected, our hot water heater had ruptured and water was running down the wall, under the base boards and into various parts of our home. Monday, 48 hours later, we realized we were going to have a total loss of our floors, Reagan’s first real Christmas celebration was ruined.  Ardra spent the next three hours, Monday night, taking down the tree and all decorations, in tears.  Now, hopefully no more than the next month or so, we have to live unstructured, maybe in a hotel for a couple of days here and there, because of construction.  

I’m not retelling this story for you to feel sorry for us at all.  This is just an example of a single story of someone you know that an unexpected event has had an impact on their personal life.  Earlier this week, I retweeted a fellow educator that said, “Over the next two weeks be intentional w/5 students who you know the holidays are challenging.  Take notice, speak hope! #edchat #kidsdeserveit.”  They do deserve it.  All of them. 

Our convocation speaker George Couros also tweeted this week, “The best teachers are trajectory changers.  You will never see the impact of your work, as it will last a lifetime #thankyou.”  And Coppell ISD tweeted this week, “@Coppellisd has the BEST teachers.  To prove it, CISD is ranked 3^rd in the state for the Best Teachers.”  

Thank you TCE educators for truly being the best of the best.  You may never see the impact you have on your learners. Think about those stories in your classroom this week and take notice, be intentional with your kindness.  

My story doesn’t even compare to some of the learners we work with, it is merely an example of the events that happen to our lives that we have to deal with.  The first thing that I thought about was how this would impact Reagan Grace.  How can we continue to provide structure and stability for her with all of her world turned upside down (even though I hardly believe she will even notice).  Think about the impact you have with your classroom full of stories, enjoy every minute of it for the next five days. Then we rest. 

Thank goodness, like a good neighbor, State Farm was there, 

BS 

Shout Outs!

TCE staff, it's such a blessing to come to work each day and enjoy working with such incredible people. I always tell all of my friends how wonderful it is to share my day with such loving and talented coworkers. Thanks, Sherri

Lisa Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to set up my Notability ! You are the best! Casey

Candace, Thank you so much creating extensions for my GTi learners during our STEM planning day! Casey

Kristan, Thank you for always going above and beyond to help me with writing. I could not do it without all of your help and ideas. Casey

Marly, thanks for giving me a ride to school today and for always cheering me up and making me laugh!

Thank you to everyone who graciously invited me into their room to do Hour of Code activities with their learners! I loved being in the classrooms. Thank you!

Angie and Brett thank you for our special and fun Merry Christmas gifts in our boxes. I appreciate the thoughtfulness put in the planning.

Ashley, Thank you so much for being so thoughtful and thinking of my kiddo! You are the best!  Katy

Lorri, Thank you so much for helping put all of the materials together and cutting out all of the lamination for our class projects! You are so helpful! Katy

Specials Team - Thank you for throwing a wonderful retirement party. You made me feel very special.

Town Center Staff - Thank you for your support over the last 2 and 1/2 years. TCE is a wonderful place to work and I am a better person because of my time here.

Shout to all of TCE!  Sometimes life happens and you have your hot water heater burst and you have to replace all of your floors. Thank you for all of your advice, help, and concerns! I have come to the conclusion that this is a passage into full time home ownership because it seems as though the most common thing I heard this week when sharing my disaster was, "well when that happened to us...." Just a tidbit of advice if it hasn't happened to you yet, it's nice to have your old college baseball teammate as your insurance adjuster! Thank you!

GYEP members, Thank you for sharing your great lessons and giving feedback to others! It's great to read and great to see all of the continuous learning and support going on with our young educators!   Brett

Beth - thank you again for taking my Kindergarten classes so I could have rehearsals for the 5th grade Christmas program. You're an amazing team member! Love – Becky

Ashley - thank you for giving up your entire morning to run sound for the 5th grade rehearsal. You're the best! And, you are so sweet! Love – Becky

5th grade teachers - Again, thank you for your flexibility in allowing me rehearsal time with your learners. I know you've been encouraging the fifth graders to work hard and to be well behaved in rehearsals. Thank you for all of your help! – Becky

Lisa, Thank you for holding the door for me! I love you so much!  Kate

Lisa! You are the BEST!! You do so much!! LOVE YOU!! –court

Logan! You are the best!! So proud of you!!

Kate and Candace, Thank you so much for leading our 1^st Lego League robotics team in the competition on Saturday!  Your dedication to learning, challenging our kiddos and providing many lengthy hours to get ready for the competition do not go unnoticed!  Thank you for all you have done for TCE and getting this team together!  - Angie

Kristan,  Thank you so much for hosting our TCE Christmas party!  We truly appreciate you opening up your home (again and again) for our family and friends to come together and celebrate the holidays! - Angie 

Click here to give a shout out!

December Birthdays

Marly Natherson - 26th

Candace Coffee - 28th

Curriculum Ideas

I have seen several people already implementing a few of the strategies modeled for our class meetings.  This is a great week to take some time to breathe, work on your structure of your class meetings and give your kids some time to share their thoughts!

Final Quotes for the Week