The Academy Weekly Memo: October 9-13

 

Together: "In teaching, it's the little things we do together that make a big difference." - Unknown

I. In Memoriam: 

• In case you missed Chancellor Everts' important e-mail on Friday, App State mourns the sudden loss of Chancellor Kenneth Peacock. He served as a chancellor of the university from 2004 to 2014. His legacy for App State is too large to contain in this blog, but I am grateful we are connected to it in the work we do everyday for our mini-Mountaineers at the Academy. 

II. Praise & Thanks:

• A very special Praise & Thanks to Liliana Martinez! She received a "Clinical Educator Shout Out" from Shuler Stemper. It is a well-deserved shoutout for Liliana. Both Liliana and Shuler exemplify the teamwork aspect of our Portrait of a Lab School Educator. I am grateful for their collaboration. Here's what Shuler shared about Liliana: 

• "Ms. Martinez is truthfully the best for me to be working with. I learn everyday from her patience with our first graders, working with our K-1 grade span, and her commitment to her classroom. She is so full of knowledge and is sharing the wealth with me so gracefully. She has truly opened her heart and her classroom to me, making it a place where I feel welcome and pushed to flourish. Thank you, Ms. Martinez!"

• We are the 2023 Top School for Mountaineer Readers! Let me say that again... 🎉🥳📚📚

• We are the 2023 Top School for Mountaineer Readers! That basically means we are the top school out of 37 that participated across our region!!! 
• A very special thanks to Carla Clayton for her sincere efforts on this for our mini-Mountaineers! Another special thanks to Kaitlyn Marshall for her class being named one of the Top Two Classes for Mountaineer Reeders! 
• Thanks to Suzanne Smith and Heather Wham for facilitating the first Lab School Meetups! I appreciate their leadership in helping to teachers from both lab schools to connect, network, and learn together. 
• Thanks to Coach Phelps for leadership and engagement in facilitating the first Solutions Summit last week! What a wonderful opportunity to build solutions at The Academy! 

III. Portrait of a Lab School Team Member/Educator:

• Remember that our Portrait of a Lab School Team Member is our daily commitment to our mini-Mountaineers. Please continue to live out these expectations at the Academy. 
• As you see your colleagues live out an example of The Portrait, please let me know and I will highlight here in the blog. 

IV. This Week's Events:

Monday, October 9

• 8:15 a.m.-AMF Leadership Team Planning Meeting

Tuesday, October 10

• 8:30-8:45 a.m.-Tornado/Shelter Exercise Drill
• CANCELLED: Faculty Meeting

Wednesday, October 11

• 9:30 a.m.-Care Team Meeting
• 3:00 p.m.-Beginning Teacher Monthly Check-In
• 3:00 p.m.-Curriculum Coaches' Meeting

Thursday, October 12

• 8:00 a.m.Schoolwide Morning Meeting via Zoom
• 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.-Grades 2-3 Field Trip to Tanglewood
• 3:00-4:00 p.m.-Check-In Test Training

Friday, October 13-Enrichment Friday

• Featured Enrichment Friday Visitors: 
• 9:00 a.m.-Minglewood Farm: 4th Grade
• 9:00 a.m.-Walkertown Fire Department

• 8:30-9:45 a.m.-4th-5th PLT
• 9:30-10:15 a.m.-Specialists PLT
• 9:45-11:00 a.m.-K-1st PLT
• 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.-2nd-3rd PLT

V. Reminders and Updates

A. AIM Conference This Week:

• This week, I will be in attendance in Raleigh for the AIM Conference. I will return to the Academy on Wednesday for the first half of the day. Then, I have to depart again to participate as a panelist for a webinar. Barbara Lewis will be the lead administrator on campus for this Monday, Tuesday, and the second half of the day on Wednesday. 

B. Safety Drills:

• Please be sure to see Darron Daniels' email on safety drills. We are having a Tornado Drill this week. In that email, Darron provided a copy of safety procedures in that email. Be sure to review those if you have not done so already. 

C. Security Awareness Training:

• As I have previously shared, all App State Employees must complete the Security Awareness Training by October 27, 2023. 
• This is a mandatory task for all employees at the Academy at Middle Fork. 
• Please see previous communication on this or refer to the email sent to all employees from the university. 

D. Mental Health Training:

• Remember to complete the required online Mental Health Trainings. 
• Previous communication has sent to all faculty/staff on this. 
• There is one online session that is due by the end of November. 
• See the link for more details. This was previously sent.

E. Attendance:

• Please remember to complete the leave request form well in advance if you know you will be absent from school. This also goes for when you have an unexpected absence as well. 
• It is also imperative that sincere efforts are made to schedule appointment either before or after the school day. 
• Refer to the Staff Handbook for more details on App State's employee attendance policy. (Pages 9-11)
• As supervisor, I am required to monitor and uphold the employee attendance policy. The university is also monitoring Academy employee attendance as well. 
• Let's do our best to be at work on time and as consistently as possible for our mini-Mountaineers. 

F. October 30 & 31 Teacher Workdays

• There are no required meetings or events scheduled for the October 30-31 workdays. 
• Teachers may opt to take a leave day provided that report cards and grades have been completed either prior to or by October 30. Teacher Assistants, Academic Tutors, Part-Time Tutors are to follow regular leave day procedures as done in the past. 
• Please notify Melanie Hicks-Lane of your intentions for those days. 
• The October workdays are great opportunities to catch up on lesson plans, finalize grades with the new Mastery Connect platform, and do any classroom setup. Working from home is not option for these days if you choose to work. 
• IMPORTANT: Due to October 30-31 being teacher workdays, we will NOT have Enrichment Friday on November 3. That Friday will be a regular day of instruction. 

G. 100 Hallway Workroom Makeover:

• Nichole Rose, the director of the Middle Fork Pre-K, and I are looking to spruce up the 100 Hallway Workroom. 
• We envision it as being a true space for faculty/staff to relax and have a peaceful moment. 
• If you interested in collaborating with others on this, then please let me know as soon as possible. 

H. Music in the Cafeteria/Dismissal

• We are bringing music back in the cafeteria. I shared this last week via email with faculty/staff and at Thursday's Morning Meeting. 
• Please see that previous communication. 

I. For Your Toolbox:

• Here are some interesting blog posts from two inspiring educators: 
• Maximizing Time with AI: Crafting Real-Time Resources for Learner Success by Lauren Kaufman
  
• Model the Good by Meghan Lawson

• You may have seen me carry around a copy of John Hattie's recent book, Visible Learning: The Sequel-A Synthesis of Over 2,100 Meta-Analyses Relating to Student Achievement. Here's a link to his research on the things that have the most impact in the classroom. It's a good summary for a quick glance.