August 28, 2015

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Happy Friday! I hope everyone had an excellent first day. It never ceases to amaze me how fast we can get back into to “normal flow” of things. Be patient with students as we get going, they may not get back into the flow as fast as we would like. Schedules will be changing so please, if a student it on your attendance is is not there, mark him/her absent. Mr. Utesch will then track the student down and figure out what is going on.


Just a reminder to get your rotary nomination forms turned in today if you haven’t already and please get me a copy of your welcome letter/syllabus as soon as you can.


I have been approached by several staff members regarding late work. I will let you use your judgment if you have students come before or after school. The main purpose of having a common practice is have consistency in the building. We had several different late work policies that make it hard for students and parents to keep track.


Tier 2 plans are due September 4. We haven’t finalized our PD for this year, but it will look very similar to last year. Mr. Martin wrote a Tier 2 plan that will work with our building PD, please see him if you are interested in that route. Otherwise, you can write your Tier 2 plan to work on something that you would like to improve on this year. It may be questioning techniques, inferencing strategies, or almost anything else that will make you a better teacher. If you choose this route, please don’t forget about our instructional coaches, this would be an excellent way to work with them.


Have a great weekend and see you all on Monday. (No Mr. Smalley, you can’t leave now, you must stay until 3:45.)
Librarian Corner:  
Communication, as we all know, is key to success. School email is one way to keep in touch with students. That’s how library fines and notices for holds are issued. It is also how students will vote for royalty this year. In addition, students will need to use their school email to log in for Google drive. Many students have not used these over the summer, so they may need to reset their passwords.  Please urge them to try logging in first before sending them down to reset, especially on Friday as I will be in the middle school for most of the day. Mrs. Dalton does know how to reset, but keep in mind, students may be coming in from English classes as well to check out books.


FYI - The library will be closed to study hall until next Wednesday, September 5. The labs are available as long as a teacher is with the students. In addition, there is a study hall this year in the library 5th hour
Instructional Coaches Corner
I came across this interesting way to allow people to share files with you. The file is placed directly in your google drive and the interesting thing about it is the other person doesn’t need to have a gmail account. http://www.thegooru.com/allow-anyone-to-upload-files-directly-to-your-drive/
If you are interested in technology being a part of your Tier 2 plan, I would be happy to help you with that.


If there is any technology PD class that you would like to see offered, let me know and I will see what I can do about it.
Lastly, remember that there will be another $150,000 Technology Grant opportunity in the spring. Be thinking about ways you could incorporate technology into your classroom. If you have any questions or would like some assistance give me a call!
Tracy
Upcoming Events
Friday, August 28 7:00 pm Varsity Football @ MOC
Monday, August 31 5:00 pm Frosh/JV Football @ Central Lyon
Tuesday, September 1 4:30 pm Varsity Volleyball Tournament @ MOC
4:30 pm JV Volleyball Tournament @ MOC
5:00 pm Girls JV/Varsity Cross Country @ Spirit Lake
Thursday, September 3 4:30 pm Freshmen Volleyball @ Western Christian
Friday, September 4 7:00 pm Varsity Football vs Western Christian
Tuesday, September 8 5:00 pm Varsity/JV Cross Country  @ Prairie Rose Golf
Course, Brunsville
5:00 pm 9th/JV Football @ Western Christian
7:00 pm State Orchestra Meeting
Thursday, September 10 5:30 pm 9th/JV Volleyball vs. Sioux City East
6:50 pm Varsity Volleyball vs. Sioux City East
Articles Worth Reading
Modeling Math - Dan Meyer
Videos Worth Watching
Be Extraordinary,
Mark

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