Week 33

April 28 - Club Day

May 2 - DAR Business Awards @ 1:30
May 2 - Honors Reception @ 6:00 (Westwood Baptist Church)
May 3 - Kids on Broadway - Practice run 6A @ 7:40
May 3 - Kids on Broadway - Practice run 6B @ 8:30
May 3 - MAP Boot Camp (4th grade)
May 4 - MAP Boot Camp (5th grade)
May 4 - Kids on Broadway
May 5 - MAP Boot Camp (6th grade)

May 8 - Begin MAP testing
May 8 - Kids on Broadway - Practice run 5A @ 9:35
May 8 - Kids on Broadway - Practice run 5B @ 10:30
May 9 - Insurance Meeting (informational) @ 3:00
May 9 - EOY Retirement Dinner @ 5:30
May 11 - Faculty Meeting
May 11-12 - Insurance sign-ups (by appointment)

May 15 - SINGS to Springfield
May 16 - O'Neal 3rd grade tour @ 9:00
May 18 - Lake Road & Eugene Field 3rd grade tour @ 9:00
May 18 - Boxtop movie
May 18 - School Board Meeting @ 7:00
May 19 - Oak Grove 3rd grade tour @ 9:00
May 19 - SINGS to Arkansas

May 22 - 7-up Splash @ The Elk's Lodge
May 24 - Wings Party @ Skate City
May 24 - Yearbook Signing @ 9:30
May 25 - Awards Assembly@ 7:30
May 26 - Last Day


The Long March

It is that time of year that I like to refer to as the long march to the end. There are about 4 weeks of school left and we are tired. The kids are tired. You all are tired. We are tired.

The problem when people get tired is that they fall into a reactive mode. We react to kid behavior and kids react to our behavior. This cycle usually ends in office referrals and people planning an early retirement or at the very least a mental health day.

How do we break the cycle? If I had a good answer to that, I would have already done it and we would be cruising into the end of school without a care in the world. However, I am not as smart as all that (despite what I tell my children).

I do feel that we need to be as proactive as we can. I know it's almost May, but keep reviewing your expectations and social contracts. We have to keep telling kids what we want from them. When I drive my car, I know that there is a stop sign at the end of my street and that I need to stop. It is a constant reminder. If that stop sign were removed, I probably wouldn't stop. It wouldn't be fair for the policeman to say, "We gave you the rules at the beginning of the year, just because we took the sign down doesn't mean you can do what you want."

Get up and around your classroom. Use proximity to squash behaviors before they get out of hand. I'm sure you have heard the saying, "A teacher on their feet is worth 10 in the seat". That goes for being in the hall during transitions as well. By being visible and close to students, behaviors can be curtailed.

With that being said, I have challenged the Angies and myself to get out of our offices and be visible as well. We are going to make a conscious effort to be out during transitions and popping into classrooms. We may not be able to hit all rooms and there is always the possibility of an emergency preventing us from getting there, but that is our goal.

MAP Boot Camp

A little more info on MAP Boot Camp.

We are planning to be at the park and utilize the old practice football field.

We will begin at 7:45 with a brief assembly and introduction on the field. (I am hoping we can get our portable PA down there). We will then spend 18 minutes at each station with a 2 minute rotation time.

At 11:20, we will break for lunch. This will be sack lunches provided by the cafeteria. We will work out a schedule to give everyone a break.

We will start back at 12:00 and continue rotating every 20 minutes until 2:00. At that time, we will gather together for closing remarks.

We are going to have the bathrooms open, but I am not sure of their status at this time. So, we are looking at possibly having some port a potties available for when we are down there. If a teacher needs to take a break, we can cover their class so they can walk up to the building if need be:)