Friday Flash: May 11, 2012

Celebrations Everywhere

I could hardly get through All School Meeting today as my heart was so full that I was fighting tears. Then again, at the conclusion of 3rd grade Portfolio Presentations, my emotions were running high. Just when I thought I had it under control, I attended the evening band/orchestra/choir concert and had the opportunity to recognize Cheryl in front of the audience and found my body shaking, tears in my eyes...I was a mess. There is just so much positive energy in our building right now! What tremendous energy is being created and sustained as we draw to the end of the year. What a powerful way to end the year! There are so many events that we are celebrating and I am bursting with appreciation, pride and gratitude. And there are more to come!

We arrived at school this week to see doors decorated everywhere as a demonstration of the appreciation of our school community for all of you! I made a blunder during All School Meeting when I asked our community to take a minute and give you all a round of applause...I said 'teachers'...and I hope you all knew that when I used that word, I meant every single member of our staff. We are all teachers. We all play a unique and special role in providing those meaningful learning experiences for students. Every one of us play a role in supporting the learning process: building knowledge, accepting responsibility, building social skills, learning about the world, communicating, and growing. It is so true...'children grow into the life around them'. Doesn't it feel so rewarding to know we deliver on our mission?
So, 'teacher appreciation' is a celebration of our entire staff. We are Crew.

This week, observing the demonstrations of student learning and character, I am over-flowing with joy and pride. Wow...what incredible kids! I am so proud of the environment and learning experiences that are created here for our kids. The results are astounding! I know that each of you are rewarded in the most meaningful way - by what you see and do every day and see the difference you make. You see it, you feel it, you know it. How wonderful to be recognized for it!

Calendar

Week of May 14 -18:

Book Fair Week

Monday 14th
* 2nd grade field work: Fox News

Tuesday 15th:
*RTI meeting 7:15 a.m.

Wednesday 16th:
* 2nd grade hike

* Page to Stage 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Thursday 17th:
* 6th grade Portfolio Review 5:30 p.m.

Week of May 21 -25:

Monday 21st:

* Fire Drill 2 p.m.

Wednesday 23rd:

* Kindergarten Voyage

Thursday 24th:

* Kindergarten Voyage

* 6th grade Portfolio Showcase Presentation 5:30 p.m.

Tointon Institute

The Tointon Institute, held in Vail (nice digs), on June 14th -17th is a go. The 17th is Father's Day, which came as a surprise to some people who signed up. The Institute is over at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, the 17th so you would have time to get home to honor the special men in your life.

Here is who I have who has committed to coming:
Deborah
Noreene
Mary Beth
Brittany
Lauren
Mary Sue
Elisha
Pam

We have two open slots which I have to cancel this Friday (May 12th) unless you let me know immediately that you want to come. You must let me know this Friday morning. This opportunity is not limited to classroom teachers. It would be wonderful to have an educational assistant attend!

Guest Features:

Renaissance Birds

by Sydney Stegman (5th grader)

(she wrote this in 5 minutes!)

Very exciting news! As you may know for awhile the 5th grade crews have been researching bluebirds as our service learning project. This project includes building wood bird boxes with the help of Home Depot employees, putting them in locations here in Castle Rock, and we monitor the ones at our school. The boxes here at REMS are the work of last years 5th graders, the boxes we made are in other places in Colorado now.
2 very nice ladies from the Town Of Castle Rock taught us about the different types of species of Bluebirds and how to identify them. They also told us why we are helping the bluebirds, which is because they were almost endangered. They were losing habitats due to us cutting down their homes and predators like cats were attacking them. 4th graders will be happy to know that Bluebirds often return to the place they were born! Thanks to the Colorado Bluebird Project, the bluebirds are now being helped. We have been monitoring lately and noticed in box #1 (by the bike racks) has a rare occurrence. We have experienced mountain bluebirds both male and female perching on our fifth grade windows.
In box #1 we have 6 white eggs which is rare because mountain bluebirds usually hatch blueish greenish eggs. My teacher Ms. Rebecca emailed one of the Bluebird ladies to make sure it was safe to have those eggs. She replied that is was totally awesome, and she wanted to come and verify the species and take pictures. She did recently and is very interested in recording this appearance! Mr. Bills box #4 which is close to the Early Childhood Center Playground has 4 bluebird eggs and is also great news! We hope these boxes turn out to be as exciting as it seems!

Creating an Intentional Culture

Linda Cunningham, your Itinerant Spanish Teacher

As a traveling teacher, I have had the pleasure of working in several different educational environments. However, I have never experienced a culture as welcoming as Renaissance. I have worked in some nice schools that are pleasant and supportive, but it is the intentionality that all of the staff put behind the message, as well as the overt displays on the walls that make Renaissance stand out. I became even more observant and aware after taking the District’s “Cultural Diversity” course in February. We had to do a “culture of my school” inventory. Many staff members in the class became aware of how they needed to make improvements to their classrooms or school environments. When it came to Renaissance, I kept listing one positive after another. Here are a few of the pieces of “cultural evidence” I have experienced:

On my way in I pass beautiful student artwork.

There are inspirational sayings everywhere.

The building is clean and inviting.

My hands are full and my 25 pound portable Spanish class is about to drop. Julie buzzes me in.

Andrea and Julie greet me with a smile.

The school’s mission statement is made clear by the postings in the halls and on the main entrance.

Teachers greet me at the carnival and introduce me to parents.

Impressive shots of students atop a snowy mountain in snow shoes or headed into a mine shaft are evidence of the value placed on exploring the world.

Love and Logic class is supportive, inviting, and full of laughter.

The folks on the playground appreciate my small contribution to recess duty.

Pedro greets me in Spanish.

Noreene visits my classes, sings along, and offers support.

Wendy and Diana jump in and run the crosswalk for me so I am not late to class after school.

Deborah comes into class and tries her Spanish.

Mary Sue, Mary, and Lonnie let me pepper their classrooms with Spanish posters and signs.

Josie compliments my clothes.

Deb and Noreene loan me their books and CD’s.

The playground is constantly renewed.

Peek Into the Life of Our School:

A week of Celebrations

Third Grade Portfolio Presentations

6th grade students supported 3rd grade students preparing for their Portfolio Presentations

Check out the video posted on youtube by Lisa

http://youtu.be/b7qVtRWtRLQ

Watching 6th graders guide and mentor 3rd graders is a beautiful thing. This practice session really benefited both groups of kids. The 3rd graders had a chance to run through their presentations in front of "big kids" - who they are invested in impressing. The 6th graders had an opportunity to put themselves in the shoes of their audience (panel members) - and to start thinking about what they might say during their own presentations