February 27th, 2015

Change brings new opportunities

I had a full blog post written and ready to go last night, and then changed my mind. That blog post was about Student Led Conferences and wondering if we had a fixed or growth mindset when it comes to our approach with them? Are we stuck in old ways of thinking and doing? 

But this notion of growth mindset really has me examining everything in my world. It's that time of year again to complete the budget and staffing sheets. It's time to reflect - and with this comes the opportunity to look at doing things in fresh and new ways. I've visited with all of you who have expressed an interest in a personal or professional change. No firm decisions have been nailed down...but the process is under way. There is a lot of positive energy along with it! There is also some fear, anxiety and lots of challenge by choice! How cool is that! The desire for increased collaboration is driving the changes and that speaks volumes to our growth as a school. 

I would ask that we avoid the traps of human nature to let our thoughts go to the negative. To catch ourselves when we start to wonder why, or what happened, who wasn't doing a good job, who was not a good team member that caused people to shift around. That is NOT what this is about. We have evolved as a staff to a new level of collaboration and growth and we are not going to drag that line of thinking with us! I know that we hear things going on in other schools - they sound bad sometimes and fear nags at us. Come visit with me if you are worried or wondering...

When the chess pieces stop moving on the board, I'll share the exciting news. Together, we will 'raise em' up' and celebrate the new opportunities and the creative energy! There has never been a time when we haven't been Crew, but it just gets better and better!

Go Debbie!
What fun! Teaching kids to take the PARCC!

Mandatory State Assessments

New information from the State Board of Education

On Wednesday, February 18, the State Board of Education voted to hold schools and districts harmless (in terms of accreditation and accountability) for parent refusals of state-mandated assessments.  While this is a shift in the state board's stance on refusals, we are still obligated to administer the assessments in accordance with the law. We need to have a record of all parent refusals to present to the state if our school would drop below the federally required 95-percent participation rate.
If you decide you do not want your child to take an assessment, we must collect evidence of your refusal. Documentation of a parent refusal may include:
* An email from parent
* A signed parent refusal form

* A phone call from the parent that we note on a refusal form

The State had said that any student present had to be tested. They are now saying it is up to the school whether kids who opt out can be in school or not during testing. I am going to continue to require that students who opt out stay home - we just don't have the capacity to manage an alternate plan for kids who opt out. We are using all our man power just to facilitate the requirements for administering the assessments.

* Please note though that kids can come to school during the window between the morning and afternoon testing sessions.

Here is the link to the blog post I sent out to parents today:

http://renaissanceprincipal.blogspot.com/

Cheyenne is so proud of her poster.
When I asked her what the most important thing I should notice was, she said with earnest,
"Notice that it is all about systems."
And then, with a twinkle in her eye, she whispered,
"and they help you poop!"

Peer feedback for Cheyenne's Health Fair Poster

Calendar:

The Next Three Weeks before Spring Break
(yes, it really will come)

March 2 -6:
Monday:
* WorkDay Training 7 - 8:30 a.m.
Debbie out in afternoon

Tuesday:
RTI meeting 7:30 a.m.

Wednesday:
The Beat

Thursday:
Deborah out- admin. meeting





March 9-13:
* PARCC Assessments Begin - scheduling implications
* Library Closed due to testing

Wednesday:
Life Is Art: Artist's Edition 4:00- 7:00

Thursday:
Deborah out - Elementary Admin. meeting
WorkDay training session 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Saturday:
Life Is Art Fundraiser 6:00- 10:00 p.m.




March 16- 20:

*Week of Student -Led Conferences (if it is the right fit for your Crew)
(If you are not doing conferences this week, that needs to be communicated to families so that we don't have confusion.)

* Please remind parents that we DO have students in school on Friday, March 20th and do NOT have students on Monday, April 6th.

* PARCC make up sessions

Tuesday:
RTI Meeting 7:30 a.m.

Wednesday:


The Beat

Learning so much from each other...

 - feels like I could say that every day. Just this week, Tyler shared an analogy with me about the job being like a waterfall. Just never stops roaring. Sometimes, he has to step out of the waterfall and sit quietly on the banks and just rest from the energy, noise and motion of the waterfall. To take time to reflect and rejuvenate - not completely away, but not standing in it either. Wow! That really spoke to me and I've been thinking about it all week. Sometimes, the only 'balance' we can find, is in our thoughts. We can still be fully present - living in the moment - but with less intensity?

Have a great weekend!

Deborah