Bam! And there you have it. February is done and dusted. I cannot believe how this year has both flown by and felt quite long at the same time. In a couple weeks, we will hit the one year mark since that fateful day when we sent the kids home with their things and had no idea what the future would bring. Well, now we know what the world had in store for us and I don't think we would have predicted any of it. Simply nuts. Take a minute and give yourself some props. Props for all of the obstacles you have faced and tackled head on, for all of the 180 degree turns you have made and kept going, for all of the planning you have thrown out the window only to plan again. You are incredible and all I can say is 'Thank you!' 

This week we have our data meetings. I look forward to meeting with your PLC's. 

Read A Thon: I am still working out the details of our Read A Thon. My goal is for it to be both fun and make a little money! I hope to have it worked out by the end of this week. 

Character Trait: The trait we recognized last week was Creativity. 

Next week we will be recognizing students who demonstrate Perseverance. 

Spirit Day: Friday will be another awesome spirit day and this one is going to be fun! 

This Friday, wear your best Zoom Attire. That means you look great on top and wear whatever you want on the bottom! 

Sunday, February 21

 

Another historical event that our students have witnessed. Amazing! I love that the rover was named 'Perseverance' because if ever there was an example of perseverance it is this Mission to Mars. So many trials and so many failures that ultimately led to success. I am a fan of Bobby Bones and he wrote a book called 'Fail Until You Don't.' Such a great reminder that it is ok to fail, just keep trying! 

It is conference week! The parents are so excited to meet with you. I am sure they will share concerns due to distance learning. Just focus on the growth the students are making since being back in the classroom. 

Conference Week Schedule

I am working to get our meal duties here to help with the earlier recess. I am hoping that between whoever is available and myself, we will be able to cover your recess. 

Data Discussions: I will be sending each PLC an invite to our data discussion time. It will be for about 30 minutes and we will look at the DATA WALL. We will brainstorm both progress and room for progress and how we can address it. 

Read A Thon: I am working on a Read A Thon. Stay tuned for more information but I am planning to make it a really big, fun event! 

Have a great week meeting with parents! 

Sunday, February 14

 

Happy Valentine's Day Stoneridge! I hope you have a special day with your family. Enjoy your bonus day off on Monday! 

Conference Week is Coming, Feb. 22-26! Here is the daily schedule. 

Conferences are coming, so that means Report Cards are too! 

Timelines: Please have your report cards entered by Wednesday, 2/17. Review and make changes by Friday, 2/19. Report cards will be emailed to parents Sunday, 2/21. 

Please see this document for a 'how to' ~ Report Cards

Exciting News! Two of our 5th graders were top spellers in the district Spelling Bee. They are Rakhshan Rafiq in Mrs. Reidt's class and Gavin Cabriga in Mrs. Holm's class. A huge congratulations to both of them!! Way to go!

Unfortunately, they have canceled the next rounds, so that will be it this year. If anything changes, I will let you know. 

PTC: Just so all of you know, I have dissolved the PTC for the remainder of the year. You will still get your allocations. I think that it is important for us to regroup and get things set up for success next year. If you have questions regarding money, or PTC, please ask me. 

Brooks Out: It looks like I will likely be out Tuesday and Wednesday. As always, reach out with questions!

Staff Meeting-IMPORTANT: We are scheduled to have a staff meeting this Wednesday, but seeing as how it is the day report cards need to be entered and we have had two Mondays off, I am going to cancel the meeting and give you the time to work on report cards. 

Character Trait of the Week: Looking for students who show Bravery both in and out of the classroom- It may be presenting in class, asking a question or standing up for what is right. 

Spirit Day: This Friday will be Crazy Sock Day! 

If you have ideas for upcoming Spirit Days, let me know. I am going to try to do one every Friday.

Have a great day off tomorrow! Fill it with some Self-Care💖

Sunday, February 7

 

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!! If nothing else, take the time to relax, eat too much and have some fun! Enjoy some self care and find joy in the fact there is no school tomorrow. 

Hey, have you heard? As soon as we adapt to a new guideline, it changes? Ready for the latest?

As a result of the new California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Guidance document (1/14/21), there have been many questions regarding interpreting the distance between classroom chairs.  CDPH Safe Schools 4 All, Technical Assistance Team now recommends measuring the distance of chairs in the classroom from the center of the back of a chair to the center back of the next chair.  Please see the example pictures below. 

So, what has changed is they are now measuring from mid chair to mid chair. I strongly urge you to leave your rooms as they are according to the 4ft guidelines. It gives you some wiggle room in case kids were to move a bit. Let me know if you have questions. 

GATE Testing:

2021-2022 GATE Identification

Testing for GATE identification typically occurs in January, however, this year (20/21 school year) the district will not be conducting GATE testing.  If there are any changes in this decision, the website will be updated to reflect the testing dates.

Contact Laurie Milton at 771-1600, extension 50129 with questions

Class on Quarantine: There is a slight change to the way we have been doing things when your class is out on quarantine. You need to be in a Zoom with all of your students every day of quarantine. I had been giving you a transition day to get everything ready, but you do need to have some sort of Zoom on that first day. That being said, it can be as simple as a 5 minute check in with those students that are able to log on. 

Parent Communication: See below for what is included in communication from the district. Please include this is your parent communication. It is essential to keep our students here on campus. 

1) If a student is not feeling well or has COVID-19 symptoms, the must immediately quarantine and contact their school so our nurse can follow up with additional information.

2) As a cautionary measure, if a family member is awaiting a COVID-19 test, awaiting results, or potentially exposed to a positive case, we ask you to self-quarantine your children until results are in. 

Coming Up This Week:

Character Trait this week- Cooperation (Remember to grab 4 things from the basket in my office. 

Wednesday- Leadership Meeting at 3:15pm

Friday- Sprit Day: Wear Red or Stoneridge Gear

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and tomorrow! 

 

Happy Sunday and Hello February!! This is a great time to check in on the goals you set for yourself in 2021. Are you still sticking to them? If not, that is ok. It doesn't mean you have to give up on that goal, it means that you simply have to get back on track and keep moving forward. In life, things are going to get in our way, what matters in how we handle it and whether or not we get back on track. Are you on track? 

I am going to accept Jamey Schrey's February challenge. I would love for all of us to do it. I am going to hang her message in my office as a reminder. See below for her 'challenge':

As a #workinprogress, I will try to acknowledge 14 people, not necessarily my closest friends, but others that lift me up that I do not recognize enough with the intention of letting them know that they matter to me. That what they do, who they are, is something that I do not take for granted. Want to join me? On February 1, send someone or tape to their door a heart with a small message that finishes one of these stem starters:

You lift me up when you…

You need to know…

I value you because…

I have meant to thank you for…

Valentines: Please have students bring in their Valentine's on Tuesday and Wednesday (2/9 and 2/10) Each student should have a bag for their Valentine's. (I am guessing you will decorate them in class.) On Friday, you can have students put the Valentines in the bags. Please do this one student at a time and have the bags lined up along the back counter or outside. Let me know if you have questions. Also, you will be providing all of the communication regarding this with your parents/students. I will not be communicating anything. 

4 Foot Spacing Questions Answered...to the best of my ability via email:

Small group work cannot be any more than 3 students at a kidney table. If you would like to work with more than 3 students, you will need to use some of the creative ideas that were discussed. 

There has to be 4 ft between students while they are seated. That is from edge of chair to edge of chair. Back of head to front of head. Back to back. Front to front. Whatever is relevant to your seating. I will be coming around to measure after school tomorrow. 

3 ft 'Fire Lane': Not entirely relevant. As long as there is a pathway for students to have access to exit the room, you are fine. Not an issue to get caught up on. 

6 ft Teacher Guideline: This guideline has not changed. When OSHA comes in, they will not be looking for this- They will be looking at the students. The guideline has always been 6 ft or Plexiglass shield. Use your large plexiglass shield, as needed. 

Not related to 4ft but another question:

Please provide supplemental work during conference week that does not require a Chromebook. You can tell them to complete the PE and Music lessons. They can read for 20-30 minutes and keep a reading log. They can respond to a writing prompt. Or they can draw a picture and write about it. 

These are just suggestions. Make it as easy on yourself as possible, but make sure it is clearly mapped out on Otus. 

Coming Up:

Character Trait of the Week: Leadership

Monday, 2/1: PLC is for report card prep because we have the next two Mondays off. The district is also providing report card PD, if you need it. 

Monday, 2/1: Dine out at Chipotle

Friday, 2/5: Spirit Day- Wear your sports gear!

Monday, 2/8: No School

Monday, 2/15: No School

Sunday, January 24th

Happy Sunday! Looks like rain is headed our way this week. I put in a request that it only happen before and after school, but we know how that goes! 

Jamey Schrey's blog post this week really hit home for me. She talked about how we are all 'Work In Progress.' Meaning we are always growing, changing and learning. But more importantly, we need to remember that we have the ability to constantly grow, change and learn in ways we may not consider possible. I am 100% guilty of thinking that I am at capacity, if you will, in one way or another. It is not until I challenge myself and push outside my comfort zone that I can say, 'Wow, I am stronger than I thought.' I have one of my favorite quotes in my office, and at home, right where I can't not see it. It is "It if doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you.' Try saying that to yourself every time you are being challenged. You will find yourself changed in a positive way on the other side. 

Why all of this talk about change and challenge?? Because 4 FEET!! Ha! We had things rocking then, 4 feet. We had things rocking then, COVID. We had things rocking then, Zoom. The list goes on and on, but here we are: Stronger, smarter, more flexible than we ever knew we were. We will get through this next challenge and be stronger for it. We've got this!

If you have not filled out this form, please do: Furniture Request I will be figuring things out and keeping each of you in the loop along the way. 

iReady: This year, there is a little more flexibility within the iReady window, but that being said, I would like everyone finished with the diagnostic by Friday, Feb. 12. That way you will have the data available for the end of the trimester and for our PLC discussions on March 1-3. 

Character Trait: This week, we are looking for students that show Kindness Always. 

Coming Up This Week:

Monday, 1/25: 100th Day of School. AKA~ Wear your 'favorite' outfit to school😂

Wednesday, 1/27: Staff Meeting at 2:30pm

Friday, 1/29: College Gear Day

January 17, 2021

 

Happy Sunday! And what a lovely Sunday it is! Any Sunday before a Monday holiday is lovely💖

A quick check in, how are all of you doing on your 2021 goals? I would love to hear. I have to say, I have been really consistent about my changes and am very proud of myself. I am the queen of starting with great intentions and then quickly falling off! Let's keep going and checking in with one another for accountability! 

Valentines: We will be able to do Valentines. The district is not making any mandates about how it is done other than that students cannot walk around the room putting them in bags. My idea would be to have the bags on your back counter, or even along the wall outside your classroom, and then have one student at a time put their Valentines in each bag. As always, no baked goods from home. Candy is ok. I will be explaining this more at our PLC leadership meeting. 

Report Cards Distribution Date: Please discuss these options in your PLC's. PLC Leads, you can share your preference at our meeting. 

Option 1

Report Cards sent before conferences

Preview 2/17 at noon

Report run by teacher, uploaded to Drive by end of the day on the 17th

Teachers fix any updates by 2/19 7am

Secretaries run reports again by teacher and also grade level span K-2, 3-5 on 2/19, email goes out by the end of the day

Option 2 

Teachers show grades in Otus but not the report card

Report Cards run on 2/26

Option 3 

Run reports on the same timeline as Option 1, but email does not go home until 2/26.  Teachers still have access to the actual report card but it doesn't go home until after conferences.

Conference Week Guidelines: Please see this document regarding conference week. You will need to provide independent work for students to cover the 45-55 minutes mandated by SB98. Conference Week 

PLC Data Meetings: I have March 1-3 from 1:30-3pm blocked out for PLC data discussion meetings. Start thinking about what your PLC time preference might be. We will plan on a 30 min meeting. 

Safety Drills: I will be scheduling Safety Drills including fire, earthquake and shelter in place. Dates will be share soon! 

I loved Crazy Hair Day! The kids really got into it! We will be having more spirit days. I will also be doing another read aloud. I am thinking the 29th for the read aloud. 

Coming Up This Week:

Character Trait of the Week- Looking for students that Choose Safety. See you Tuesday morning! 

IMPORTANT: Wednesday, 1/20, @3:30pm- I would like to have a PLC Leadership meeting. I have an IEP until 3:30, so we cannot do the earlier time. Please let me know if this will not work for PLC Leaders. 

Monday, 1/25: 100th Day of School. Dig through your closets for that favorite outfit! Ha! 

Monday, 2/1: Dine out at Chipotle.