The Academy Weekly Memo: December 18-22, 2023

 Together: "Anyone who does anything to help a child is a hero to me."-Fred Rogers

I. Praise and Thanks: 

A. My deepest of gratitude goes to everyone on the Academy team for your compassionate efforts to make the Spirit and Mini-Staff Appreciation Week such a special experience for our mini-Mountaineers and each other! You are all to be commended for being such positive examples of the Portrait for our mini-Mountaineers! 

B. Special Recognition!

Check out the award we received from the NC Department of Public Instruction!  We received the Academic Growth Award for our efforts in growing our student on the schoolwide level for the 2022-23 school year! This is a major achievement and I am so grateful for ALL of the strengths and gifts of our team at the Academy! 

II. Upcoming Dates

• December 18-20: These are teacher workdays. All faculty/staff (except for Substitute Teachers) may opt to work from home during this time. If not, then you may take leave if you have it accrued. The building will be open from 6:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on those days. It is highly suggested that if you are opting to work from home on these days, then it is a good idea for grade span teams to connect and plan via Zoom. 

• January 2: This is a required faculty/staff workday. All faculty and staff members are to return on this day. There will be an opportunity to work in classrooms and we will also have an extended faculty meeting. Workday hours for this date are 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

• January 5: This will be a regular day of instruction due to the short week. There will be no Enrichment Friday activities or clubs on this day. 

• January 12: Safety Fest on Enrichment Friday-This event will be an opportunity for our mini-Mountaineers to learn about safety from App State Police and other first responders. More details to come. Teachers will be in PLTs and co-planning. We are also hopeful that the ESS subs will be able to begin on this day. The contract has been signed and we are making plans to orient them to the Academy. Stay tuned for more details on the ESS subs. 

III. Updates and Reminders: 

A. Master Schedule Revision and Schoolwide Recess Update:

• From feedback from the Solutions Summit and the most recent Curriculum Coaches meeting, some changes are being made to our master schedule. Please read the following carefully for these updates. We will go over everything when we meet on January 2. 

• 1. We are changing Schoolwide Recess to the last block of the day beginning January 4. 
• 2. Learning Lab will now take place 1:05-1:40 p.m. effective January 4.
• 3. Schoolwide Recess will now take place 1:40-2:10 p.m. effective January 4.
• 4. The 4-5 Grade Span Team will move their Specials time back by 10 minutes to accommodate lunch schedules. The new Specials for 4/5 will be 12:25-1:10 p.m. 4/5 will arrive later to recess and stay a little longer to assist younger students with returning to classrooms. 
• 5. Schoolwide Recess will move to the next level in terms of providing more opportunities for students. Effective January 4, students will have more choices to go to the various recess zones. Students will now be able to interact with other students across grade spans during schoolwide recess. We are also re-assigning supervision spots for faculty/staff at schoolwide recess. This will be reviewed during our extended faculty meeting on January 2. 
• 6. Grade Level Assemblies: I will host grade level assemblies during Specials on January 3. During these assemblies, I will review Schoolwide Recess Expectations with students. These assemblies will take place in the gym. More details to come. 

B. Student-Led Conferences:

• Student-Led Conferences will take place on January 25-26. These days are teacher workdays and certified faculty will be required to work at the Academy on both of these days. Teachers Assistants and Academic Tutors may opt to take leave, work from home, or work at school during these days. 
• Each conference will last 15 minutes with students sharing their best work to both parents/guardians and teachers. 
• Teachers are responsible for creating a sign-up genius to share with parents/guardians and schedule conferences. 

C. Instant PD: 

• I am looking for teachers and staff to share an classroom idea/practice with other colleagues. 
• Instant PD is an afterschool, optional, 15-minute PD session. It is designed for teachers and staff to learn about classroom practice or solution that can be applied the next day. 
• If you are interested in sharing and presenting an idea for Instant PD, then please let me know. I have some available slots to schedule in January. I would love to see folks share their genius!

D. Mid-Year Faculty/Staff Pulse Check: 

• We're extending the deadline for our Mid-Year Pulse Check Survey! 
• You now have until Wednesday, December 20, to complete those survey responses and let your voices shine through! We've tweaked it so you can share your thoughts anonymously—because your feedback matters big time! Thanks so much for your input, insights, and ideas! 
• Click here to access the survey link. 

E. Faculty Meeting on January 2nd:

• We will meet for an extended period of time to review some important procedures, discuss new Schoolwide Recess plan, and review the new microgoal of student achievement in response to the Board of Governor's Lab School Report. 
• The purpose of the meeting to ensure we are all on the same page for some important items as one faculty/staff. We will follow the norms that we established at our last faculty meeting. It will be exciting to gather together for the first time in 2024!
• We will meet in the new and improved Learning Lab! It will be fully furnished and flipped by December 27! Yay! 🙌
• I will share an updated agenda for this upcoming meeting in a separate email. In the meantime, here's a rough outline for the workflow on January 2nd:

• 8:00-10:00 a.m.-Work in classrooms on your own and/or co-planning with teams
• 10:15 a.m.-12:00 p.m. -Recap Student Behavior Matrix, Office-Managed vs. Classroom-Managed, New Schoolwide Recess Procedures
• 12:00-1:00 p.m.-Lunch on your own
• 1:15-2:30 p.m.-New Microgoal: Reading Workshop
• 2:30-2:45 p.m.-Instructional Framework
• 2:45-3:00 p.m.-Recap EC Procedures
• 3:00-3:30 p.m.-Suicide Risk Assessment Presentation
• 3:30-3:45 p.m.-Recap Care Team
• 3:45-4:00 p.m.-Recap of Meetings, Dates, & Supervision Duties

G. For Your Toolbox: One Word for the New Year

• Instead of making a New Year's Resolution, I use One Word. It's a way to aspire to one small move throughout the year. It can be a goal or quality for which one can aspire throughout the year. 
• Creating a One Word could be a morning meeting activity or serve as a writing prompt. 
• Click the link to learn more. 
• If you are interested, then I am happy to visit classes to do a read aloud of One Word for Kids. I own a copy of the book and I would love to do a read aloud for your class. 

Dear Academy Friends! 

I hope you enjoy the well-deserved Winter Break! You are all working so hard for our mini-Mountaineers and you are appreciated. I am grateful to be in this noble work with you. All of my best holiday wishes to you and yours! 

Your grateful principal, 

Sean