Monday Memo Musings

Slow Down Please Have you ever been driving along at 110kms per hour and slammed on your breaks because a deer jumped in front of you? I have. When you do that all the crap inside your vehicle goes flying, your purse, your phone, the stuff you bought. Your dog speaks for the first time and says," What the hell!" You get mad, ( bad deer) thankful and scared all at once.  Well, if you don't slow down in the next 8 days, stopping at the end of the school year will be like an almost deer hit. Going from 110 to zero can be painful.  Everything will go flying because you will lose your sh*t over something little, or you will totally zone out for days or you will feel really,really sad or what's worse you will get sick.( this always happened to me when teaching in the classroom)  Whatever it looks like for you, slowdown now... slow to 90 km. Take a drive to look at the lights. Slow to 70 km, do something for you, like actually sitting down and sipping a beverage while not lo...

  You need a rest. You deserve a rest. There is hope that you will get one. In four quick weeks you will get to put your feet up and enjoy the season. In five weeks, we will have the longest day of the year then all days after that, will add minutes of light to our days. Other countries have bleak gloomy winters, not us. Our winters are bright with new fallen snow. All of us watch the snow fall in the glow of the street lights or yard light.  We know what fresh is, not fresh as in produce, but fresh as in standing at the freezing  door and letting your sluggish dog out. Fresh as in walking to work and tracking each breath. Fresh as in shovelling for an hour and having ice form on your hair (or beard for Alex). This time of year is such a hopeful one. We are excited to bring joy to others. We bought the perfect cheap gift for River. It's a bath balm rainbow. He drops it in the water and there a rainbow that forms, how cool is that!! We bring joy through giving, it is just ...

Q: What was the dogs favorite type of homework to do?  A: A lab report In the staff survey only 75% of people say they are recognized for what they do. Those are sad numbers.  What exactly is it that you do: You make the quiet kid talk. You made a hard concept seem easy. You solve problems with students. You become a CSI agent tracking kids down.  You let a student know that they have skills they never knew they had. You give hope to those who had none. You are the first person that kid has talked to today. You recognize when your collegues need help, you just know. You give trouble when you need to. You are calm and cool. You are open minded. You don't laugh out loud when you see wonky things, you wait to laugh.  You give our courses integrity. You love being an educator, it shows.  You seek out the ones who want to hide under a rock.  You are patient and wait for kids. You matter, you are kind, you are smart, you are important to us.  We notice what ...

It is one thing to say we have high expectations for kids...but another to say I will be here to help you...no matter your struggles! -Salome Thomas-EL Jimmy Casas presented at our school two years ago. He speaks of being merchants of hope. It's in the small moments with students and collegues that we really see each other and slow down enough to take it in. It is in the poauses that we become merchants of hope. When I think about you and your family or dog/s on a Saturday, that's when we connect. When you rememebr that your collegue loves homemade jam, when you moved a table before she even asked, when you stocked the fridge with diet pepsi, when you sent a message to a collegue when they were out sick, when you asked about family, you were a merchant of hope.  It's in the small moments , the pauses, that we become merchants of hope. You know to be a merchant of hope.  No population in a school needs to be fed hope more than our students. In each community these students c...

             A speech pathologist noted that it does no good to teach content to kids if they can't verbalize it. They need to be able to put what they are learning into words. Her frustration is, we teach huge concepts, yet are not requiring students to put their learning into words. Her example is:  parents of two year olds teaching the alphabet and numbers before the kid can say I am thirsty, I see a dog, my leg is hurting. How does this affect Learning Store students? We need them to talk more... I know it is hard to do with some students but speaking it, solidifies their learning. Often asking the question why, elicits lots of conversation.  Thank yous * Huge thanks to those who cover when we are out. We know being out can cause distruptions and we appreciate all you do for our students while we are out.  * Thanks to Chad for leading the marking conversations amongst staff at the La Crete Learning Store. You made it a positive expe...

We survived September 2020 and we did it with Grace! There were times we didn't know what we we're doing, being honest here. Yet we have our kids, they have their materials and are learning each day. Yeah! We survived September 2020.  We can predict several things happening in the months to come: Students will shift from on line back to schools and perhaps to us. We welcome them. Some students will not be able to do what we give them, we will need to be creative in programming for these kids. Many more kids have IPP's this year.  Students are going to complete assignments quickly and your marking is going to increase. There will be more involvement with families with our new population. Some parents will be more demanding. Find the people who work best with those parents and make them their contact.  Student communication log is vital with some many students we must keep track of each and everyone. We all can learn from the notes we put in our student communication log....

  ► 2:35 The Social Dilemma is the name of a documentary on Netflix. The data shared concerning teens and technology is important for educators. Technology experts share their thoughts about social platforms and the addictions we have to these platforms. These are platforms they created and they are worried. They share the dangerous human impact of social networking. Let me know what you think. Sure got me THINKING... Put the phone down people.   Staffing Annelise is back on Tuesday. She has been missed and we are so happy to have her back on Tuesday.  Anne is out Wed, Thurs, Fri, Mon. I am still redoing my schedule and will have it out soon. Chad is principaling for these four days.  Thanks you to all who have been coming into work healthy. No bugs are getting through those hands that are washed 900 hundred times a day. Atrieve is used for absences. Please be sure to book all your absences through that.   What We Need to Know This Week: * We are ...