Third-Year Review is Here!

  Yes, the two-person team is coming.  Mary Camp and Brenda Budd will arrive at 8:30 am.  After a brief meeting, they will review evidence and visit classrooms until noon.  After their working lunch, they will present their findings to Mary and me.  This is when they tell us how wonderful we are.  Below is a screenshot of the slide Mary Camp shared during the last Zoom meeting.  It shows exactly what they will be looking for as they walk through the school.

These are the four benchmarks noted.

Wednesday will be a Communion Service, which means we will have Liturgy of the Word followed by Communion.  Deacon said there will also be music.  Since it will not take as long as a Mass, please remain seated at the end.  Once most of the parishioners have cleared out, we will do a lockdown.  I will review the procedures with the students before we begin.  Pre-K can participate.  We will not be able to check on you, but your phone will alert you when the drill is over.  

Friday is the KickOff for the Mustang Strong Fundraiser.  Please be sure the students are in the FLC and seated by 2:15.  Parents are invited to attend, but all students will return to class for classroom pickup after the rally.  I will confirm if PK is expected to come over.  I will be at a principal meeting on Friday, so I will miss all the fun.  Be sure I'm not signed up for anything crazy.  

Now for something else I would love to share.  I am reading a book called The Meaning of Your Life along with all the other principals.  At first, I thought the book was talking to a younger generation that is lost in the world of technology, but then I read one particular page, and so many things became clear.  He talked about the left and right brain, math vs. art.  But it's not.  It's really practical vs. spiritual and mysterious.  The right side says, why am I alive?  The left side says, how can I get food to stay alive?  We all have the capacity for both.  There is so much in between that is discussed, including technology, boredom, addiction, complicated vs. complex, Tolstoy, The Matrix, and it all led to Emerson.  The author believes Emerson would be appalled at the education uniformity, technological distraction, and immediate gratification that keep our most ambitious young people anesthetized and unable to find their life's meaning.  The author said life's boredom has led to a reliance on being entertained by technology, which prevents the right brain from functioning (my very brief synopsis).  He asked, Did you ever notice that you tend to solve difficult problems and come up with good ideas in the shower?  YES!!!  I thought it was only me.  Why?  Because your phone is not in there with you.  

My point?  THIS is why PBL is important.  With tests and rote memorization, we are only activating the left side of the brain.  We need to help students fire up the right side through creativity and deep thinking.  He also talked about AI, which could take away our creativity.  He sees AI as a tool we can use to help us move through our mundane tasks faster so there is more time to ponder life's mysteries.  I agree, and I am so happy I have finally solved the mystery of shower enlightenment.

Have a great week!

If only I could remember everything....

 I actually think I remember most things, but making the connection between one event and another doesn't always happen.  An example is that I remembered Mary was not going to be here for Grandparents Day (you missed our best ever, btw), but I didn't put it together that she would also be absent for our CIPA review.  Thank you, Mary, for working hard ahead of time so that our meeting went smoothly.  My point is, something else happened...  I knew Ken was out on Friday.  But I didn't put it together with the fact that there was no one to clean up AW after the Dunkin Donuts party you had out there.  Faith Formation graciously threw out some of the trash, but they may not have gotten everything.  Ken is also out on Monday.  I will come in the morning with a big rolling trash can to get whatever you may still have, then have the kids dump Monday's trash at the end of the day.  I will then bring it into the main building for the Cleaning Crew Monday night.  Thanks for helping with this.  

Thank you to everyone who made our Grandparents Day a success.  I loved all the performances, and I know the grandparents did too.  

Last week, I joined the last CIPA Zoom meeting.  One of the things Mary Camp said was to be sure our school looked its best, and the teachers are showing their best game.  I think our teachers are always doing that, but maybe remind the students to be respectful and greet the visitors (they like that).  Mary Camp and Brenda Budd will both be here at 8:30 and will spend time in the classrooms in the morning.  This all happens on Oct. 8.  Please take some time this week to tidy up your classrooms.  

Have a spectacular week!

Fall into a Good Book

It will officially be Fall Tuesday night.  The mornings around 7 am, make me feel like it just might be true.  In today's homily, Fr. Tamil told a great story about a teacher who asked his students, If you had two houses, would you give one to someone poor?  Yes!  If you had $2 million or two cars?  Always yes!  What if you had....  I'm not sure what he said, but it could have been: 2 coats, 2 toys, 2 dogs, etc.  The students hesitated.  Why? Because they did have two of those things. It's easier to be generous with what we don't have than what we have.  

Interesting to think about. How many have said, "If I win the lottery, I will pay off the church loan?" I have, and I've heard others say it. But would we? I'm not sure, but I like to think so.  

This week is the Fall Book Fair.  The schedule will be (may have been) shared with you.  Monday is a preview day.  Shopping is Tues-Thurs with a make-up day on Friday.  Tuesday and Wednesday morning will be crazy with Donuts with Grownups.  Please do not take attendance until 8 am.  Give everyone time to get to class from the Book Fair.  

Teachers will have received an email from me earlier regarding ATL grades.  Please review the email and attachment.  We will meet on Tuesday altogether in Heather's room for about 5-10 minutes, and after that there will be a Math PLC.  The hot topic will be spiral review.  

Friday is a half day.  The morning will be filled with Grandparent/friend fun.  Followed by presentations from each CIPA Domain at 1 pm in the Media Center.  Please be sure to refer to all of Mary's emails regarding Grandparents' Day logistics.  

Thank you all, and have a great week!

AI - Is it really a good thing?

 I keep telling everyone I've seen The Terminator.  I know how this ends.  Here is what I've heard over the past week.  First, I heard that a delegation of US cardinals went to CA to talk to AI developers and essentially ask them to stop, out of concern for the dignity of the human worker.  After the meeting, the cardinals warned that there is the potential for millions to lose their jobs in the next 20 years.  I then went to a principal's meeting where I was told we have to graduate students who are AI-ready in order to compete in the future job market.  Today I am reading that the House Speaker is insisting that developers are responsible for product safety.  I should hope so.  It leaves us sitting here wondering: how do we embrace this when some schools are throwing laptops out the window?  Time will tell.

This was Holy Card Weekend, and the card to look for is St. Michael the Archangel.  No other card should be accepted unless there was an error in the distribution, which does sometimes happen.  

Here is what's happening this week:

• Tuesday evening is the first PTCO General meeting.  Thank you to those who signed up.  
• High school reps will be here Thursday to entice our 8th graders to apply to their school.  
• Friday is our first Marvelous Mustang.  Please be sure you have informed the parents if you chose their child (homeroom AND encore teachers).  

Other than that, it's a quiet week.  Enjoy!

Ralph said yes!

 That was the word on the street last week when the priest secretary to the Bishop and Director of the Office of Episcopal Ceremonies (aka master of ceremonies), Fr. Ralph, agreed to lead our retreat.  Monsignor could not make it, and when I explained my topic at a parish meeting, the resounding response was, "Ask Fr. Ralph!"  Fr. Ralph has a degree in political science from USF; then he entered the Seminary where he earned a master's in Philosophy.  He then continued his education from 2015-2020 at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned degrees in Sacred and Moral Theology.  I think he is ready to tackle my topic!  My topic connects our school theme, the charism of St. Stephen, and Catholic Intellectual Tradition.  It will be great!

To learn more about Fr. Ralph and what a priest secretary does, watch this brief YouTube video of Fr. Ralph and Bishop Parkes  https://youtu.be/ZeWxm5UG-YM?si=kBvmANzY6sNmMRsM  (may have to copy/paste).  

Not much happening this week.  Teachers, if you have not submitted your field trip requests yet, I suggest you get them in soon.  The younger grades are draining the account (yay for them!), but actually it's because we want to get the buses scheduled asap.  Also, all CIPA work must be completed by Sept. 25, when it will be presented to the faculty.  Some of you still have work to do in the ARCA.  Thank you for a productive day on Friday afternoon.

Have a great week!

You can call me Al.....

 His name is Al E. Gator, but, in the words of Paul Simon, we will call our new friend Al.  Today, a prospective new middle school student checked out the Angel's Wing.  I don't think he was impressed, and he slithered back to his home in the pond across the street.  Should he decide to come back, please let someone know ASAP (preferably not me, just kidding), and we will contact the SNAP hotline, or if someone is in imminent danger, just call 911, then me.  I don't think he will be back.  I will put Rudy on Gator patrol too. 

There isn't much more to say after that.  If you didn't read Tidbits, please be sure you do regarding the measures in place to ease traffic during carline.  Also, remember to stop by the Talking Pint on Wednesday, Aug. 26 for Spirit Night, and your first drink is on me if you come between 4-6:30 pm.  Ask either a PTCO representative or me for a ticket (they will be there before me).  

Teachers, I will be reviewing the PBLs you sent me between today and tomorrow morning and will give feedback.  Please be prepared to share your unit at our Tuesday meeting, and Friday's PD is centered on CIPA and unit planning sharing (particularly as it pertains to CIPA).  That means, be sure you have unit plans up to date, and they include CIT.  

Back-To-School Night

 Good evening.  I hope everyone enjoyed the sunshine this weekend after so much rain. It's week two, and students should be settling into their routines.  Thank you all for a truly great first week of school.  I come to school with a smile every day, but this week, I also left with a smile.  I've had some great collaborative conversations regarding PBL ideas, and I appreciate the enthusiasm in bringing these experiences to the students.

Tuesday will be busy with pictures, an after-school faculty meeting, and then back-to-school night.  For our faculty meeting, we will be participating in a Zoom meeting with Mary Camp to discuss our 3rd-Year Review visit in October.  It starts promptly at 3:30 pm, so please try to come to Heather's room right after carline.  

I was reading a blog about back-to-school night tips, and one I thought was very cool is having a piece of student work from week one on their desk (for gr. K-5).  The teacher who wrote it is a 1st grade teacher, and she copied a paper that said, "Let me tell you about 1st grade."  Not necessarily a math quiz, but just their thoughts about their new grade.  Gives something for parents to look at while waiting for others to arrive.   

Other than that, it will be a quiet week.  I will be out on Friday at a principals' meeting.  Have a great week!