Home of the Brave

Happy Veteran's Day.  Veteran's Day originated as Armistice Day on Nov. 11, 1919, one year after the end of WWI.  On this day, veterans are thanked for their service to the United States.  Tomorrow we will have the opportunity as a school to do just that.  Please remember to leave on time so that the ceremony can begin promptly at 8:05.  

This will be a busy week and then it's Thanksgiving Break!  We have a faculty meeting Monday and there are some field trips.  Please remember to sign up for a pre-conference with me if you are being observed by me.  I will be out on Friday at a meeting at Tampa Catholic.  

If you went to Angels this past weekend you know what an amazing job Nicki and Christina Burden did in transforming the gym into an elegant venue.  Thank you to Derrick for providing the entertainment and thank you to all who supported this event.  Our final ask was VERY successful and my hope is that K-4 will have at least 5 new iPads for each classroom to be used in centers and for group work.  I truly was amazed at the generosity of everyone and how many raised a paddle to support this.   

Have a wonderful week! 

Ready Freddy?

I couldn't think of a title for my post this week so I wrote the only thing on my mind at the moment.  Wanted to get this done early as I anxiously await 3:30 p.m. - tickets to Bohemian Rhapsody! 

Here are some things I learned on Friday at my administrators' meeting:

• Draft for next year has been completed and the proposed first day of school for students is Aug. 12.  Teachers will need to be back on July 29 to pick up keys, materials, check classrooms, etc.  There is quite a bit of PD and other activities planned beginning Aug. 1 and it is important that your room is ready prior to then.  July 29 is required and being present everyday beginning Aug. 1 will be required.  There is flexibility on days/times July 29-31.  These three days allow us to make sure everything you need is completed in your classroom and also allows us to target training for any new curriculums we may have that may not be for everyone.  I am giving plenty of notice, so please plan accordingly.  (Please remember that the calendar is tentative at the moment so do not share our start date yet.)  

• I share the DOSP weekly update with everyone.  For the past two weeks it has talked about the survey for Catechetical Formation being available.  This is mandatory for ALL new employees and optional for others if you want to see where you are in your faith.  Here is what has been posted in the Weekly Update (it says for Principals, but it's for everyone.  Links below may not work but they work in the weekly update.):
• New Employee Diocesan Faith Inventory for Catechist Formation Plan Now Available
  Third Time
  The online NCEA-IFG inventory for new Catholic school employees is now available. Please see the attached document that contains our diocesan code and instructions for taking the inventory. The entire catechist formation process is available at https://www.dosp.org/schools/teacher-resources/catechist-formation-plan-for-all-catholic-school-employees/ 

• The Diocese is planning a safety training in January for principals and one other key site person (most likely the Facilities Manager or Parish Manager.  As I learn more I will share with everyone.

Some reminders...

1. Grades are due first thing in the morning
2. All Unit Plans MUST be complete prior to teaching the unit. Unit plans must include assessments.  
3. All classes are required to have 4 summative assessments and each of those must have 4 formatives. If you are struggling with this, please ask for help with ideas.
4. Students MAY NOT grade their own or a classmate's paper.  They may correct their paper along with you as long as you are not taking it for a grade. 
5. Grades must be posted within 2 days after giving the assessment.
6. All conferences must be documented.  If on paper, be sure a copy is put in the student's folder in the office at the end of the year. (More directions on that will come in May for new teachers.)
7. ALL textbooks that students put in their desks, lockers, or take home MUST be covered.  This is not a new policy so returning teachers should know this.  Please be sure that books are covered by next week.  I will be checking.  When you ask parents to send in book socks, please do not say... "Mrs. Umoh said..." because this is not new and it's in the handbook.  Feel free to say Mrs. Umoh reminded you...   FOSS science books should also have a cover if they are distributed.  The cover can then be transferred to the next book.  
8. Report cards will be made available to parents on Thursday.
9. Next Friday is Conference Day.  Please be sure to send your schedule to Gina for that day or any days you are having conferences.  Friday is also the Harvest Festival, Fall shirt and jean day, and noon dismissal.  
10. Next Saturday is Angels Among Us.  

Enjoy your week! 

Oh When The Saints...

 I'm so happy to be back home after living out of a suitcase for a week.  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.  My visit home was sad and yet joy-filled.  It was wonderful seeing friends and family and being able to share memories of my mom as we said our final goodbye.  Dad has been waiting 15 years for her to join him and it was nice knowing they could be together again.  I was also able to sneak in a trip to my favorite deli and pastry shop and also visited the church in the Bronx where I received my first three sacraments - Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.  

      

After returning from NY, I joined Katie and Jennifer in Orlando at the Middle School Conference.  We all learned a lot and feel reinvigorated about teaching.  I came away feeling there are things we can do to reinvent middle school and I'm excited to start these conversations for next year.  My favorite workshop was "34 things you can do before referring a student to the office."  I came away thinking there's really only two things you need... "The Look" and "Withitness."  I'll be sharing more about that and other things I learned.  Here are some pictures from our conference...

        

   Oh yes, and this.  We really were working! 

Happenings for this week:

Faculty meeting in room 9 - This is a change because report cards are coming up and I want to review what you should be looking at. 

Wednesday is a Jean Day and Thursday is All Saints.  Mass is on Thursday this week.  I will be at the Bethany Center on Friday and Friday is the last day of the Trimester.  

Please send me your pictures from Saturday by 2 p.m. on Monday and one lucky winner will get a ticket to Angels.  It was great seeing so many of you at the Faith Fest.  The entertainment was great and it was awesome being with so many faith-filled people.  That and Jeremy Camp was pretty amazing.  

Have an awesome week!!  

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings.....

That's what this week is turning out to be...  a bunch of meetings.  For this week, and into next,  we have:

Faculty Meeting - Monday 

7th Grade Nature's Classroom Parent Meeting - Monday

PTCO Meeting Live from Carline - Tuesday (just know it's happening)

Diocesan Meeting for Linda - Thursday

Parish Staff Meeting for Gina - Thursday at 11 a.m.

Diocesan Meeting for Gina - Friday

Diocesan Meeting for all teachers - Monday, Oct. 22

And don't forget Reconciliation on Wednesday.  I have gone through the school and faculty calendar and updated and clarified to keep everyone up to date.  If you see something missing, please let either Karen or I know. 

Monday's faculty meeting will be full of information regarding upcoming events.  It's important that teachers attend.  Please remind students that school is closed next Monday, Oct. 22.  

I forgot to give Fr. Dermot the Holy Cards last week for Mass this weekend.  I was able to get them to the church for the 7:30 a.m. Mass Sunday.  However, students who went to 4:30 on Saturday did not receive a card.  Fr. Tim told them to use the honor system.  I will come around Monday and give a card to those who went to Mass on Saturday for their collection.  So if a student does not have a card and is in free dress, ask them what Mass they went to.  They should say Saturday with Fr. Tim. 

We need to hire people to work in our Extended Day program.  If you know anyone who might be a good candidate, please talk to Gina.  

Enjoy your week.  Cool weather is coming..... I hope!

Happy Columbus Day

Or is it Happy Indigenous People's Day?  Was Columbus a hero?  Was he a brutal colonizer?  I'm not sure it matters.  Columbus Day was not necessarily set aside to honor an individual but to recognize an event that began over 500 years of immigration to America by people seeking a better life.  Changing the name or ignoring Columbus does not change our history.  It's always important to recognize the good and the bad in history so that we may learn from it.  Here's what I learned on Friday... All our Grand people had an awesome time.  One thing they liked most was sitting with the students at Mass.  It all went well, some broke the rules, but everyone was happy.  Hats off to Gina for making a plan that worked!!  I also heard we did amazing in our book sales!

I believe this week is pretty quiet.  As we discussed on Friday, start making plans for conferences.  8th grade will have their first Bible Study with Fr. Tim on Thursday during lunch in the art room.  Friday is Movie Night and be sure to remind students that next weekend is Uniform Weekend at Mass.  

Enjoy the week.  

Spirit Week 2018

   

 

Who's In?

We're In!

We're In. 

We're In. 

             Yes, yes All In!

It's Spirit Week AND.... It's Book Fair Week AND... Friday is Grandparents day!  Who's In?  You will need to be in order to survive the week.  Keep in mind that somewhere in between we still need to keep teaching.  Speaking of teaching, here are some things you need to be thinking about.  We have 5 weeks left to the trimester.  You are required to have 4 summatives for each class.  That means you should have two already and one more in the near future.  If you do not, you need to be thinking about how you are going to meet that requirement.  The other thing to think about is you are required to post grades within two days after the assignment/assessment is turned in.  You should also be posting one ATL a week.  Are you keeping up with these requirements?  If not, you are not giving your students a fair assessment of their abilities and mastery of the content.  Also, if you are not posting grades in a timely manner you are not giving appropriate feedback.  Don't wait until Oct. 26 and then panic and give 5 assessments in one week.  That's not fair either.  Planning is necessary.

Here are some reminders for the week:

Bookfair creatures - I'm not sure what you supposed to do with them.  There was mixed communication.  Someone may come to get them and if not just leave them hanging by your classroom.  I will say this... This was SUPER AWESOME bookfair decorating.  Everyone in the main building was ALL IN!!  Angel's Wing promises to catch up and I know theirs will be awesome too.  And how about that castle and dragon?!!  And oh my goodness the ENTS!!  I didn't know Ms. Carol and Maria could be soooo scary!  I love ALL the decorations.  A special kudos to the volunteers who decorated outside rooms 4 and 6.  And great work Charles for coming up with a great master plan for how the book fair would be set up this year.  

Mass - No Mass on Wednesday.  Instead, we will have Mass on Friday.  Please refer to Gina's prior email for how that will work and just be flexible and patient on that day.  

Friday we will have PD.  Carmen and Kelly will be with Gina getting trained on Wit and Wisdom.  All other teachers (K-8, Encore, Jamie, and Alton) will be with me in the media center starting at 1 p.m. to learn more about BrainPop.  If there are assistants who normally work on Friday until 3, please check with Gina and Karen Biase to see if we need help with anything if you want to work the full day.  I know we still have a cabinet full of Iowa's that need shredding.

Here's what was in Tidbits as an additional reminder for this week.  I added some notes:

Monday October 1st- Mustang Monday

- Students will dress in mustang colors and show their Mustang pride

- Free dress rules apply (That means NO face paint, makeup, etc. - I'm ok if they have big school color things in their hair.)

Tuesday October 2nd - Tacky Tuesday

- Students will wear a "tacky" themed outfit

- Free dress rules apply (They may break the rules here and wear tacky jewelry and accessories)
- Doughnuts with dad for initials A-L in the east hallway from 7:00-8:00 am (For those of you who are new, this is just a guideline so that everyone doesn't show up on the same day.  When necessary, dads may come on the day that works best.) 

Wednesday October 3rd- Whimsical Wednesday

- Dress as your Favorite Fairy Tale Character

- Free dress rules apply (Again, rules can be broken and appropriate accessories are ok.)
- Doughnuts with dad for initials M-Z in the east hallway from 7:00-8:00 am

Thursday October 4th- Team Thursday

- College gameday, staff and students will come representing their favorite college team

- Free dress rules apply
- This will also be family night in the media center (will last from 3:00-5:30 p.m.) and NJHS will be hosting this event with games and activities

Friday October 5th- Faithful Friday/ Grandparents Day

- Today is a day to appreciate our grandparents and go to Mass

- School uniform for everyone to show our respect to God and His faithfulness to us
- Will be a half-day
1. Grandparents can come to school and check in between 7:45-8:15 and go to their grandchild's classroom. They can check in at two locations: the front entrance by the office or in the breezeway by the Angel's Wing.
2. Grandparents who come late can go directly to mass and check in after mass on the way back to the school then proceed to their grandchild's classroom. We will have a table set up as they enter the breezeway from the church.
3. Grades 5-8 with grandparents who wish to visit the bookfair will proceed directly to the bookfair after mass and stop to pick up siblings along the way. We are hoping they will be finished and back to the Angel's Wing by 10:00 AM and will then have their breakfast.
4. All other classes will go to their classrooms for their breakfast after mass. We suggest giving them time to eat and socialize then having the students ready to perform a song or a poem or something for the grandparents until about 10 AM

 HAVE A GREAT WEEK!  GO MUSTANGS.  GO MUSTANGS.  GO, GO, GO MUSTANGS! 

CareFest 2018

This is the week we give to our community.  Julianne has communicated everything we need.  Please be sure to encourage your students to give.  Also happening this week is Marvelous Mustang on Friday and Friday is a jean day.  Please be sure to go over the jean day rules and remind those who have continued to be out of uniform that they may not participate. 

Tomorrow (Monday), Alton and I will be at the Bethany Center all day learning about the impact of mental on school safety.  As you know, most school violence is not random and there are things to look for that may help us be better prepared.  I'm hoping we come back with good information to share. 

Monday PLC groups will be busy.  Gina already sent the email out for the ELA group.  The Math in Focus webinar will take place in the office conference room at 2:15 pm.  We need to start early as our presenter must be done by 4.  Here's the plan:

• We will have classroom pickup.  Melissa, please be sure the flag is out
• Amy has a prep.  Julianne, please take 6th grade back to homeroom and supervise pack-up and dismissal
• Melissa, please cover 4th grade science, pack-up, and dismissal.  Arrive in 4th grade by 2:10
• Karen Bambach will take 2B math for Galy starting at 2:10 and then stay for pack-up and dismissal (Coverage for Elaine is not needed)
• Jamie will take 1A science for Maria and then stay for pack-up and dismissal.  Please arrive by 2:10 pm
• Sammee is with KA in technology and will bring them back and stay with them for pack-up and dismissal.
• Susana will go to the MIF webinar and Sue will go to the ELA meeting.  Please share info with each other.

The Family Faith Festival is coming soon.  Almost a month away.  Here's my offer.  Check out the schedule for the festival then pick a time and place to meet with your class.  Tell them to wear their All In t-shirts.  Have someone take a picture of you with your students.  The teacher who has the picture with the greatest percentage of her students in the photo with their t-shirts on will win a free ticket to Angels Among us and the class will win a pizza party.  It's a win for everyone!  I know that not all teachers will have the opportunity to participate as you don't have a homeroom, but get creative.  Work with another teacher, take the free ticket and split the cost of another ticket.  Jennifer and Katie will need help as they are in Orlando at a conference with me Saturday morning and we'll be zooming back to Tampa that day.  They may need a stand-in for the photo.  

Be sure you have all signed up for tickets.  Everyone is expected to be there.  I'm looking forward to seeing Jeremy Camp!   https://familyfaithfest.org/

 One of today’s biggest and most popular contemporary Christian artists is coming to Tampa to headline a free, faith concert event at Tampa’s Al Lopez Park.  Jeremy Camp will perform at the Diocese of St. Petersburg’s Family Faith Fest at 2 pm