Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope all of you are enjoying your break so far and getting the chance to see family and friends!  I wanted to get my blog out early during this week in order to spend the last part of the break truly taking the time to be with my family in East Texas.  Please take time for yourself during this break and also take the time to be thankful for everyone and the blessings you have in your life.  I am so blessed to work with each of you day in and day out and so thankful to call you family. . .Much love and go make some memories! Happy Thanksgiving! 


Week of:  Nov. 27th-Dec. 1st , 2017

Monday- RTI Meetings - Kelly's Room C Hall

Tuesday - Angie Out (AM)
STEM Planning Day - Specials Team - Kristan's Room
DEIC - for District Team Members

Wednesday - Shelter Drill (practice) - AM
TCE Cultural Celebration Committee (those people who signed up or anyone else interested in joining our group)- Library 3:15PM

Thursday -  RTI Meetings - Kelly's Room C Hall
Classroom Management Framework Training (for those wanting to attend) - Library 3:15

Friday - Texan Town
North Middle School Performance - Gym - 9:50-10:45AM (K-5) - for those who have specials during this time, our specials teachers will help with sitting with kiddos or you are welcome to stay and watch as well!

Important Reminders
Cultural Plunge
Keep in the back of your mind some ideas you may have for your cultural plunge this year.  You can go back and look at the past blog post or discuss with other TCE members to think about what you might choose to do!

Book Study
As we continue growing together as a campus through our professional learning community, we will start reading about how we can also work on growing and connecting with other educators around the world.  Our book this year, What Connected Educators Do Differently, will help us in our learning journey of establishing, guiding, building and sustaining a professional learning network.
If you could please read the areas in the book called Connectors 1, 2, and 3 by December 6th.  That should take you through the intro all the way to page 44. Then we will begin some face to face discussion/online discussion as a campus.

Padlet - Curriculum Connection
Don't forget to complete the following assignment by Dec. 1st!
As we go into our Thanksgiving holiday, think about those relationships you have formed this year with your learners and ways you might strengthen those even more going into the end of this fall semester.  Is there one of your learners who you haven't connected with on a deep level?  Is there a learner you don't know their story/background?  How can you get to know those learners and how can we work together as a campus in building even stronger relationships with all of our learners?  

Here is a great article with a video connection showcasing how one middle school is trying to truly get to know their kids as they work intentionally toward their goal of success in learning for all.  

Click here to read article and watch video connection!

Please post on the following padlet (by Dec. 1st) two things:  

1.  A way in which you have formed a stronger connection to your learners this year.  This could be a specific example or strategies utilized. 


2.  Link an article, video connection or individual/group on Twitter that you follow focusing on building stronger relationships with learners.  


Click here to add info to our padlet!


"Who made you happy this week?"
Shout Out Your Happiness!
Sherri & Laura - Thank you for being so willing to share with me when I'm not feeling well. Appreciate you for taking care of us! –Marly

Casey - I am SO sorry that I so frequently accidentally Airplay to your classroom. I am sure that it must be super annoying! I promise I try to click on the right one. :) Thank you for being patient & understanding. –Marly

Angie, Annelise, Kelly, Laura, Sherri, Sue and Miss Star, Martha and our cafeteria crew--Thank you, thank you, thank you for filling our lounge with the most wonderful lunch and yummy desserts! We are so thankful for each of you! ---Tina

Erin--Thank you so much for all that you do for our campus library! We are so lucky to have you at TCE this year and I'm so grateful for all you do to "hold down the fort" when I have to attend meetings off campus. I appreciate you more than you could ever know! ---Tina

Thank you guys, Heather and Tracy, for taking care of things when I was out in Friday! Y’all are the best!

Belated shout out..Kristan thank you so much for coming to model some guided reading groups for me! I loved having you in my room- come see me more often! Logan

Thank you, teachers, for helping to build up excitement for the canned food drive! We appreciate you all! -Second Grade Team

Tracy, Thank you for bringing your class to help my little learners with Get Epic!!! Your class was precious. I loved how kind and patient they were!!!

Logan, Erin, Erica, and Beth- Thanks for all of your help with the food drive! Y’all were rockstars when things came up last minute, and I think the learners had a great experience! –Katie

Annelise, FOURTEEN (I think that's right) 504s we've been through together this month! Love you and all you do for our families! You rock! Love, Mary

4th grade, LOVED seeing your data folders! There's so much greatness there! Love, Mary

Thank you so much, Schuyler!  I appreciate you getting together sub plans for me when I was under the weather last week!  I am so very thankful for you!  
Love, Dianne

Thank you Casey Wagner, Rachel Lim and Kasey Kemp!  Last week was a crazy week and I appreciate you guys being there for me by providing support (carrying the load to be honest) for our shared friends!  I am so very thankful!  
Love yall,
Dianne

Thank you to the 4th grade and Kinder teams!  You guys have been so amazing to work with!  What a load of friends we have!!!  WE appreciate you guys more than words can express!  
 Love yall- Dianne & Schuyler!  

Renee, Rachel, Kasey, and Casey- Thank you so much for taking care of everything while I was gone! I appreciate it!! Love, Meredith 

Megan, Heather, Catherine and Tracy! 
Thank you for all the amazing writing you did for the poetry slam!! The parents had the best time and poems were wonderful!
Love, Ashlin

Beth, Thank you for letting us borrow your stage for our poetry slam! Ashlin, Megan, Heather, Catherine & Tracy

Tina,
Thank you for helping with the third grade poetry slam! We’re so thankful for all you did. The parents loved hearing all third grade has been up to in writing. You make us HAPPY!
Ashlin, Megan, Heather, Catherine & Tracy

Patrick, he is so nice and kind and always asks how he can help!  A great team player.  Julie F.

Beth D.-  a great collaborator and an awesome teammate!  Julie F.

Angie, Annelise, Kelly, Laura, Sherri and Sue, and Star and our cafeteria ladies, Thank you our feast!!! Everything was delicious!!!! It is very sweet of y’all to feed us and we appreciate you!!!! Love , Kinder

Thank you to Kathy Carter, Elliott Pitchford, Dianne Johnston, Anne Lawler, Schuyler Dix, Nicole Jones, and all of our other members who have helped in supporting our learners through the ARD process so far this year!  We know how much paperwork can be involved in the process and procedures in ensuring everything is ready to go for the meeting and afterwards.  Thank you for all you do!!  - Angie


Morgan and 5th grade- thank you SO much for bringing your class and/or sending some learners in from recess to hear the 3rd grade poets during our first Poetry Slam. Our sweet kiddos loved sharing their original poems with them- Heather J.

Tina- thanks for all of your support in making our first Poetry Slam a success- Heather and Megan

Lori, Marie, and Kelly - I love y’all!!! No matter what each day brings, we manage to laugh!!!!  It’s fun working with people who constantly find the “good”!!!!!   I’m very thankful for y’all!!!! Love , Julie

Thank you to my fabulous third grade team for getting me JMac’s ready after surgery and for taking care of my sweet learners why I was out! 
To of the amazing ladies in the front office and cafeteria, thank you SO much for the delicious thanksgiving feast!  What a happy way to kick off thanksgiving break! We are so thankful for all of you!! <3 first grade 

The Thanksgiving Feast was amazing!  Thank you Angie, Annelise, office staff and cafeteria staff for a delicious lunch! 


November Birthdays
Katie Tonemah – 3rd
Marie Sork – 7th 
Marina Chicas – 8th 
Beth Dilley – 11th
Annelise Ford – 14th
Laura Fairchild – 24th
Kristan Hruby – 24th
Renee Foroodi – 25th

Final Quotes
A little humor for this week as we head into Thanksgiving Day. . .



Saturday, November 11, 2017

Ready for some Yummy Goodness?

I cannot begin to thank all of you for making this week such a success while I was out learning more about strengthening our Professional Learning Community as a campus and a district!  Annelise, you truly are amazing and I am so happy to know that I can be gone for these days and that you have everything under control at TCE!  I appreciate your leadership, dedication and efficiency in all that you do!  You are truly wonderful!!  For everyone who participated and helped to make the Veteran’s Day a success, THANK YOU!!  I saw pics and videos and could not have been more proud of our educators, learners and performers hard work!!  I love how everyone came together to make such a successful celebration for our veterans!!  So, happy to be back this next week with our TCE family!    

And. . .hope all of you are ready for some yummy goodness as we will have our TCE Family Thanksgiving Feast this Friday!  As you know, we won't be doing the traditional feast (more of an Angie Lee's chicken spaghetti and yummy sides from the office/cafeteria staff), but couldn't help but putting the pic below as we get ready for Turkey day during our break!  Be ready to break out your stretchy pants and then you can run some off at the Turkey Trot as we celebrate together as a TCE family!



Week of:  November 13th-17th, 2017

Food drive this Week
Monday-  Coaches/Admin. Meeting - 8:00 - Kristan's room
Team Leader Meeting - 3:15 - Kristan' room

Tuesday - Classroom Management Framework Training - Library - check Eduphoria for more details if wanting to attend

Wednesday - Jeans Day - any shirt
TLC Meeting - focus on Imagine Learning system training (all K-5, specialists, coaches, interventionists in library, all PE, Art, and Music meet in Kristan's room)

Thursday -  Angie Out All Day (District Meeting - Arlington)
Annelise Out (AM) (AP Meeting)

Friday - Sweats/Jeans Day 
Texan Town
Therapy Dogs
Thanksgiving Feast - Lounge (provided by office/cafeteria staff)
Turkey Trot - During Specials
Final Food Drive Wrap Up
Angie Out district meeting - Admin. (2:45pm)
Everyone feel free to head out when kids are gone end of day!  

Important Reminders
Bias video and Padlet
Still have a few more people who have not posted on the bias padlet. Make sure you post your thoughts on the video connection as I will email out separately this week for anyone who hasn't completed. 
 This is one we had from last year, but I would like for all new people to TCE and anyone who hasn't watched and posted to do so!
Click here to view video!
Click here for the Padlet!

Cultural Plunge
Keep in the back of your mind some ideas you may have for your cultural plunge this year.  You can go back and look at the past blog post or discuss with other TCE members to think about what you might choose to do!

Book Study
As we continue growing together as a campus through our professional learning community, we will start reading about how we can also work on growing and connecting with other educators around the world.  Our book this year, What Connected Educators Do Differently, will help us in our learning journey of establishing, guiding, building and sustaining a professional learning network.  
If you could please read the areas in the book called Connectors 1, 2, and 3 by December 6th.  That should take you through the intro all the way to page 44. Then we will begin some face to face discussion/online discussion as a campus.


"Who made you happy this week?"
Shout Out Your Happiness!
Kristan, Candace, & Tina, THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH for helping us get the Breakout EDU Monster Mash experience set up for our learners. You helped to inspire us to try something you new, you spent time after school helping us prepare, and you facilitated the activity with us. We absolutely couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for being such awesome Coaches! -Marly & Morgan

Tina- Thank you so much for your help with setting up "Assignments" for Discovery Science. You have made the process very easy for our First Graders. Thank you for always willing to help us out! You are the best! Lorri B.

Lisa- Thank you very much for sharing all your Magnet stuff!! Our First Graders loved investigating with all the cool stuff you had!! Thank you! Lorri B.

Sherri, Thank you for covering my class so that I could observe Mary's class! I appreciate it.

Annelise, thank you for giving me the opportunity to observe Mary's class. I never would have thought to ask if I could go, so thankful for leading me and guiding me towards an opportunity to grow!

Mary, thank you so much for being okay with me coming into your classroom to observe. You are superwoman! I learned so much about what you do in your program and how the kids are learning about letters and sounds. It is evident that you are passionate about your program, and you're a stellar teacher. I loved getting to see our kids in their element... they love your class! –Marly

Rachel, Thank you for the yummy breakfast this week! Casey

Rachel, You are the epitome of all things good. You are patient, loving, and always considerate! You are wise beyond your years and make SUCH an impact every single day!

Lisa, Thank you for teaching us about Ellevation! We appreciate you!

Meredith, Thank you for letting me go through your trinket dish so I could find money for a Diet Coke!!! Casey

Candace, thank you so much for coming into to teach Hands on Equations to my classes this week!

Laura--Thank you so much for all your encouraging words and support as I navigate Munis this year! I appreciate you being so kind and helping walk me through the system each time I have questions! Tina

Mary Kennington--Thank you for being the best team lead! We are all so thankful for your reminders, cards, and texts that keep our team moving forward!
Ashlin-Loved teaming up together to set up the simple machines STEM for our 3rd grade learners. As the essential question guided our learners this week working together does make work easier!! Thanks friend -it was fun!!

Kristan & Candace, thanks bunches for helping our third grade learners out these past few days learning simple machines. You rocked the lever station!! Couldn’t have done it without ya!! –Tracy

Heather & Megan, thank you for all the extra time and effort you have put into getting the poetry slam ready. The folders, walls and little extras don’t go unnoticed! –Tracy

Thanks Kelly! For everything that you do for me! I am beyond thankful for your support! Love, Schuyler

Heather Bass! WOW! I love seeing you in action! You're amazing in countless ways, but your classroom management is top notch. You are incredible at your craft!

Annelise, The words you spoke at the Veteran's Day Ceremony were perfect--succinct yet powerful. Thank you!

Huge shout out to Annelise for holding down the fort at TCE this week! Starting off the week with hardly a voice and showing leadership with a smile at the 3rd grade performances and the Veterans Day assembly. You rock and we are so lucky to have you at TCE! :)

Big thanks to the 3rd grade team and Beth Dilley for all your help and support with the 3rd grade performance this week. The 3rd grade teachers were so kind and flexible and put me at ease with my first after school performance at TCE. Beth, your art work addition to the program was incredible! I love that we can show students the music/art connection so effortlessly! –Patrick

Big thanks to Laura Fairchild for always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone here at TCE. Helping me order shirts for the Tonal Texans was so kind of you and your spreadsheet skills are impressive! ;) You are the glue here at TCE and we thank you for that! –Patrick

Shout out to Dr. Applegate for putting an emphasis on growing and developing the teachers/staff here at TCE. The support with professional development and conferences as a new teacher is extremely appreciated. Not only do you allow us to grow, but you attend conferences and set the example yourself. We are lucky to have your leadership here at TCE. :)

First grade - Thank you for the wonderful pictures of veterans. The veterans loved them.

Annelise - Thank you for your calm leadership and high expectations. The Veteran's Day celebration was a testimony of that. Kristan
Annelise and Kelly - If ever you quit your day jobs, you can become teacher's lounge decorators. Kristan

Beth and Mike - Thank you for your patience as we worked on SLO goals. Kristan

Patrick - I loved watching you interact with kindergarteners. You are great with them. Kristan

Lisa Hansen - You are great at crowd control and thinking on your feet. Kristan

Tracy and Catherine- THANK YOU for helping my kiddos with the surveys when my iPads decided not to cooperate! Love ya'll- Heather J.

Tina- thanks for talking me off the ledge when all things technology failed!! -Heather J.

Tracy- thank you for feeding me this week! Yum Yum! Love ya!- Heather J.

Julie McCullough - Thank you for the delicious, warm Snickerdoodle. Yummy in my tummy! Kristan

All classroom teachers and your awesome learners - Thank you for the respect and politeness you showed at our Veteran's Day celebration. Our guests were so impressed. Kristan

Kate and Heather - Thank you for letting me participate in your BreakoutEDU! Kristan

Special thanks to Beth for our awesome Red Ribbon race poster and for Erin for the great penmanship. It looks terrific! Julie

Thank you to everyone. You all pitched in for a fantastic Veterans Day. Special thank you to Kelly and Kristin for all of their work with StuCo! Annelise

Thank you to Mary for her hard work in getting all of our learners tested quickly and explaining all of the testing to parents. Annelise

Mary thank you for opening your classroom to ELAR teachers for observations! Annelise

Sherri thank you for covering all the classes for teachers. We've kept you busy! Annelise

Laura, thank you for clearing out the Safety Patrol closet and getting all the coats and vests set up with me on the amazing racks you ordered! Annelise

Patrick, the kids sang beautifully at both performances this week. You truly made the Veterans Day assembly special. Great job with our kids and Tonal Texans! Annelise

Lisa, thank you for all your fast acting and quick thinking on Friday morning! You were amazing and so so helpful!!!! Thank you! Annelise

Kacey, Marly, Tina, Mary and Mike. Only one of you gets a thank you for 'Let Me My Throat'. The four of you that are not Mike know what you did. Thank you Mike for knowing! Annelise

Candace and Kate, Thank you so much for representing TCE at the CAST conference this week!  I am so proud of both of you for stepping out there to be presenters and for sharing your journey of robotics so far at TCE!  Angie 

Thank you Lisa for all of your help as well with our robotics team this year!  I know it is extra time and dedication on your part and so glad you are part of the TCE team!  Angie

Laura, Sherri, Kelly and Sue, Thank you for all your help in the front office this week!  I know being one admin down can be challenging and I appreciate all your efforts in helping Annelise and the campus!!  Love y’all , Angie
  

November Birthdays
Katie Tonemah – 3rd
Marie Sork – 7th 
Marina Chicas – 8th 
Beth Dilley – 11th
Annelise Ford – 14th
Laura Fairchild – 24th
Kristan Hruby – 24th
Renee Foroodi – 25th


Curriculum Connection: Responsive Teaching - Relationships
As we go into our Thanksgiving holiday, think about those relationships you have formed this year with your learners and ways you might strengthen those even more going into the end of this fall semester.  Is there one of your learners who you haven't connected with on a deep level?  Is there a learner you don't know their story/background?  How can you get to know those learners and how can we work together as a campus in building even stronger relationships with all of our learners?  

Here is a great article with a video connection showcasing how one middle school is trying to truly get to know their kids as they work intentionally toward their goal of success in learning for all.  

Click here to read article and watch video connection!

Please post on the following padlet (by Dec. 1st) two things:  

1.  A way in which you have formed a stronger connection to your learners this year.  This could be a specific example or strategies utilized. 


2.  Link an article, video connection or individual/group on Twitter that you follow focusing on building stronger relationships with learners.  


Click here to add info to our padlet!

Final Quotes
As we head into Thanksgiving break, here are a few quotes to reflect on about thankfulness in life. . .and I know many of you have activities you have started or planned for your kiddos in which they have been or will be reflecting on being thankful.  Thank you for guiding them in ways they can appreciate one another and the things they have in their lives.