August 11, 2017

Great Beginnings

     "The variable that distinguishes truly great schools from merely good schools, is of course, the people working within those schools."

Too funny...

A dapper young man -
quite the picture of sophistication
on the first day of fourth grade!
Is that Tyler's hat?

I worked hard bartering with the building engineers of the Renaissance Secondary School to get this 'mountain' moved onto our playground. It's ours for good!
I knew the kids would love it.
However...I think we have a bit of problem solving to do.

n

Thank you Sara!
It was wonderful to have treats served on the first day!

You got this Janelle!

Lots of 'love notes' tucked in lunch boxes!

Leadership Team

These are the members of our team this year:

Kathy Carter, Jill Fisch, Jenny Henry, Lisa Johnson, Amanda Deegan, Karen McMurray, Deborah Lemmer.

* Please visit with any of these folks about your needs, ideas, vision for our school success and improvement. 

School Accountability Committee

Mr. 'G' has kindly consented to be the teacher representative on our SAC  this year! Thanks Ed!

My plans for the next few weeks....

Look for me to be in and out of classrooms and joining your Morning Meetings. I'm working on learning names of new students and making those important connections. I'm trying to do some of that in the lunch room too, where I can chat with kids without causing a disruption to your classroom!
I'll also be connecting with you to set up a day during your plan time where we can connect on how things are going, your plans for the semester, and what you've been learning about your kids. Maybe we can even talk about your personal goal for this year...

'Tweak' to our Professional Development Plans

Wednesday, August 16th is devoted to norming and scoring our All School Writing assessments. This will be done in grade level teams. We will begin our work together and then split off.

Wednesday, August 23rd was going to be our first professional development session devoted to strengthening our understandings and practices of Learning Expeditions. Lisa is leading the charge on this and she will be in the field that week on her Fall Voyage. So....

you will now have this Wednesday for personal/team planning time.  We will combine two of the upcoming sessions to be able to cover all the facets of a Learning Expedition.

Generosity

Several years ago Jenny Henry was recognized as 'World Class Educator' in our school district. Some funds for innovating her classroom came with that recognition. Late last spring, Jenny worked with district personnel to see about getting her cool stuff relocated to Renaissance from her prior building. 

Rather than installing it in her classroom, she wanted us to use it all over the building. You'll see some of her cool glass and tack boards around the building. You'll see the SMART projector in the library. Amanda, Teresa and Martha are using her 'flip tables'. Amanda's room also has her Panto chairs!  Thank you Jenny - it's like Christmas around here!

Share Table

Leave what you can't eat,

Take if you're still hungry.

Calendar

August 14 - 18th:

3rd Grade Voyage to Camp Elim - Aug. 15-17th, Day of Rest on 18th.

Wednesday, 16th:

The Beat: Our first one!

PD: Norming and Scoring School-wide Writing Assessments

Thursday, 17th:

* Staff lunch provided by REMAX and partnering local businesses

August 21st - 25th:

Lisa's Voyage - leaves Sunday, August 20th - 24th, Day of rest on 25th.

Billie's Voyage - leaves Monday, August 21st - 24th, Day of rest on 25th.

Monday, 21st:

First Day of School for Renaissance Secondary School

Solar Eclipse 10:30 - 1:30

Tuesday:

* 7:30 MTSS meeting

Wednesday:

Professional Development: Personal/ Team planning

* Note: It is appreciated if staff will park along the fence that is furthest from the building in the front parking lot. (The fence on the far west side.)

Have a restful weekend!

Try to remember - it is still summer!

Warmly,

Deborah

Can you believe just a week ago....

July 28, 2017

Remember when...

This is me...in kindergarten! The days of summer couldn't pass fast enough for that first wonderful day when school would begin. The anticipation of the glorious first day of school was almost too much! The preparation of picking out a 'back to school outfit' and stepping into the unknown of a new world. I was finally going to be in school! I had longed to begin this wonderful experience of being a student in a school!

I still remember the dress I was wearing on that most important day. I still remember in detail the kindergarten classroom - the smell of it, the furniture, the desk that was 'mine', the pencils, the paint, the play kitchen and the smell when you opened the books.

I remember my teacher. She smiled at me. She laughed. She was so glad we were there. I'm not sure why, but I regarded her as different from the rest of the adult population. She was of a different variety - something more special - she belonged to me in some way.


So here we are. At the beginning of another glorious school year. I wonder, does it feel different for kids than for us?

I only ask one thing of you right now - to just take a minute to roll back time and think about yourself at the age of the students you teach. Can you find a picture of you at that age? What memories are elicited when you look at the picture? 

Who were your friends? What did you do? What did you like to wear, eat, sing? Where did you like to be? What games did you play? 

What were you feeling then? What did you need? What mattered to you? What made you nervous or scared? What opened you up and made you feel safe? 

Would you have wanted the 'grown up you', for a teacher? Why?
(and we're ALL teachers!)

Just take a minute to walk a mile in the shoes of those students you are about to meet for the first time. They'll be remembering you for a life time.

Calendar

Week of August 1 - 4th:

*If you have not completed the mandatory trainings, please check this off your list before our time together. There are some additional trainings that have been added to the mandatory trainings required in the past.

Wednesday, August 2nd: 

New teachers to Renaissance in library at 9:00 a.m.

Thursday, August 3rd:

Professional Development at Stone Canyon:

• Focus for the day: Adventure Education at Renaissance

Agenda

• Morning: (“student hat”) immersion into building crew and beginning of the year team building
• Afternoon: (“teacher hat”)  roots and philosophy, unpacking facilitation, Renaissance Ad Ed curriculum, resources, planning
• We want you to leave with:
• A sense of belonging
• A shared vision
• Tools to use with your crew for the beginning of the year and to prepare for first voyage
• Logistics: Bathroom, break, lunch, ?

Time: 8:30am start time - 4:00pm

Location: Stone Canyon Outdoor EdVentures (28 minutes from Renaissance)

https://www.stonecanyonedge.org/

12163 S Perry Park Rd, Larkspur, CO

If you want to ride one of our Renaissance buses and meet at school please be ready to leave the parking lot at 7:45 a.m.

Bring

-Camp chair

-Sack Lunch

-Snacks

-Water bottle

-Sunscreen

-Comfortable/outdoor clothing

-"Journey Toward the Caring Classroom" book, if you have one (see below for picture of this book) 

-Highlighter and pencil

This is the book to make it easier for you to identify it on your shelf!
I have ordered more for those of you who don't have them and hope they'll arrive in time!

 Everyone - PLEASE email Lisa, Kathy and myself to RSVP for this important day so we have an accurate count. Please also indicate whether you will be driving yourself or riding on the bus.
We need you to RSVP by Tuesday, August 1st.
Obviously teachers will be in attendance, but we sincerely hope that most of our classified Crew will be able to join us. We need everyone to RSVP.

Friday, August 4th:

Professional Development at Renaissance

AM: Whole staff including Instructional Assistants

* Mission and Vision- 'Why are we here'

* Clarification on operational items

* Nuts and Bolts of beginning the school year

* If there are some things you need information about, questions, concerns, etc. please email those to me so I can be sure to include them. There will be time when we are together for you to ask in the moment, as well.

PM: Time to work in your classroom

3:30 - Whole staff Closing Circle in the library

Week of August 7 - 11th:

Monday, August 7th:

Listening Conferences

Classified meeting 1:00 p.m in conference room

Tuesday, August 8th:

Listening Conferences

Wednesday, August 9th:

First Day of School

PM: 1:30 Professional Development in library

Thursday, August 10th:

Friday, August 11th:

Back to School Picnic 4:00

And because I strive to provide you with resources to make the challenges lighter, I am sharing these:

Okay...I was trying to be funny. The last one is actually quite good! Here's the link if you are interested.

Summer Fun!

(It's never too late to send me pictures!)

Jenny trying to push her daughter, Hayden, off the raft!

Lauren and Andy at their 'Gender Reveal' Party.
Pink and Blue!
Congratulations!

Excited to see you all soon!

Warmly,

Deborah