The week ahead…
Happy Sunday! What’s new and good with you? This is the message that resinated with me in the Choice Literacy article below. In our daily jobs and lives it is easy to get sucked into what’s going wrong. As educators, many of us are pleasers. We want to please parents and of course we want to please our students. We can often get sucked into the mentality of what we are not doing, when in reality we all are doing a lot of wonderful things! I see so much learning and goodness going on daily in our classrooms. When we focus on the positive, good things tend to happen. Try it this week, and see where it leads you. By simply asking someone what’s new and good with you makes them stop and think for a minute about what is going well in their lives. As the author states, pondering the good things in one’s life is a mood lifter. This can also be a great way to start off a parent conference. Making sure you share the positive things that are happening as well as the areas you are working on can make all the difference to a parent! This week be a positive force to be reckoned with and watch all the goodness that comes from it! Have a wonderful week!
What’s New and Good?
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
A friend I see once or twice a month always says the same words to greet me: “So what’s new and good?” She asks the question with gusto and a smile, and it energizes our conversation right from the start. It’s one of the things I like most about her.
Greetings are one of the most ingrained habits we have, and for almost all of us, meeting someone provokes a perfunctory Hello or How are you? If you want to change the dynamic, try “What’s new and good?” on for size. When teaching is a bit of a slog through winter and testing, “What’s new and good?” reminds students that there is always something to be excited and thankful about – we just need to pause and remember. Launching a professional development session with “What’s new and good?” is an opening for colleagues to take stock of all the smart moves their students are making, and to acknowledge the small and big kindnesses in any day.
So what’s new and good with you? I bet just pondering this question for a moment lifts your mood. It always does for me.
Founder, Choice Literacy
The Week at a Glance
Monday, February 1st:
Tuesday, February 2nd:
8:30 – Parent Advisory at HS
Wednesday, February 3rd:
Hoover Teacher Leader
3:30 – Staff Meeting by School
K-5 Passion Projects
6-7 Common Planning Time
Thursday, February 4th:
3rd Grade to Charlotte Museum of History
Friday, February 5th:
4th Grade Performance Jack Tales (in MS Black Box)
K-7 Report Cards due to Admin
February 9 – K7 Teacher Appreciation Dessert Tray!!!
February 10 – 1st Grade Performances
February 11-12 – TEACHER WORKDAYS & 6th Grade SLC’s
February 15 – PRESIDENT’S DAY HOLIDAY – NO SCHOOL
February 18 – Kindergarten Gallery Crawl
February 18-19 – MS (6/7/8) Dance Performances
February 22 – CSD Lottery at HS Black Box
March 2 – Butterfly Project – 6th Grade
March 3 – 2nd Grade Children’s Theater Field Trip
March 4 – 2nd Grade Art Gallery
March 4 – 7th Grade Field Trip to Bodyworks at Discovery Place
March 7 – 4th Grade to JA Biztown
March 7 – Parent Advisory – 7:30 at HS
March 9 – Proof of Concept – 5th Grade
March 10 & 11 – 3rd Grade Wax Museum
March 11 – 5th Grade Opera Load In
March 14-18 – 5th Grade Opera
March 17-19 – MS Musical – The Lion King
March 17 – 3rd Grade Walking Tour of Charlotte
March 18 – 7th Grade Asia Day
March 21-24 – 5th Grade Opera
March 25-April 3 – SPRING BREAK
April 4 – Classes resume
Report Cards are due to admin by Friday, February 5th for review. Let us know if you have any questions or need any help.
VALENTINES: Please check in with students individually to make sure they have a plan for completion as we know this can be stressful and overwhelming for some families. Let us know if you have any situations that require additional help. Additionally, please gently encourage families to focus on the actual Valentine rather than the “presentation” or a “gift” that may come with it. Thanks for all of your help!
Book Fair – Thank you to Kathy McCoy for relocating her SSR classes to the flex rooms so we can use the Media Center for the Book Fair during the week of February 2nd! Please keep this in mind as you plan lessons for that week.
Teaching Tips by Marianne:
Love and Logic ® Teacher-isms
Teachers who smile and greet kids at their door….each and every morning…have students who give them more to smile about…each and every evening.
Great teachers save lives every day!
Wise teachers know that they way they act is far more important than what they say.
Superbrain Yoga® is a simple and effective technique to energize and recharge the brain. It is based on the principles of subtle energy and ear acupuncture. This powerful technique is explained in Master Choa Kok Sui’s latest book Superbrain Yoga®.