2.16

Hi All, 

I hope that you all are enjoying all this snow. If it's not your favorite, how can you find a moment of joy in it? I stood outside last night just as the snow started to fall and I was reminded of the quiet magic that happens in a snowstorm. Keep up the giving of the paws and recognition of positive behaviors! We are seeing the effects pay off! Let's make it a fantastic week before break. 

Shoutouts

Please see the list of all of the Staff Community Bobcat's from this week. On Monday I will have a student pull a name for a prize :) Don't forget to celebrate the good that your colleagues do! We'll pull another winner on Friday. 

Becky	Positive letter in support of a student
Lori Renaud	Thank you for assisting me with a technology issue! It didn't turn out as we hoped but the help was appreciated.
Wendy from CC	Going above and beyond for the CC preK kids to make sure they are safe, respectful and ready for the day!
Lori Renaud	For handling the traffic and craziness of the morning in the office with grace and patience
Brittany LeClair	Your consistent attempts to bring spirit and positivity to Berlin (Staff and Students)
Lori Renaud	Keeping extra water available right next to the Keurig. Reliable and helpful gesture!
Chuck	Chuck fixed a bookshelf in my room for me that was very special. He took the time to fix it up and restain it. It was really kind and thoughtful.
Danny Velez	Thank you for being flexible when I was pulled to do other jobs this week.
Lisa Audet	You are always positive and uplifting to the students
Becky P. and Mary Beth	Thank you ladies for jumping right in with me to help spread joy
Lynn Wagner	Thank you for being flexible when I was pulled to other jobs this week

News and Announcements 

• Community Respite---Student OB 4th Grade, Hello! I wanted to reach out and see if you could ask your staff if anyone would be interested in doing some respite/community skills with OB. His mom is up in Burlington and we'd love to have some connections for them to utilize to give mom a break or to help when she needs it. Is there anyone you could think of? 
• Whole School Meeting: 2:45-3:15 on Tuesday we will utilize the WSM/Special Celebration schedule here. Lori's signing group will grace us with their voices and we will participate in the Slime Challenge!
• Thursday is looking like a wonderful day for our Winter Wellness Celebration. Here is the schedule: Winter Wellness Schedule. 
• If you haven't had a chance please make sure that you respond to the 25-26 Schedule Feedback. 

What's Happening at Berlin?

Monday
Tuesday	Whole School Meeting 2:45-3:15 BINGO Night 5:30-6:30
Wednesday	Staff Meeting
Thursday
Friday	Data Meetings: 2, 5/6, 4

Where is Celia?

Monday
Tuesday	WCLT **Celia Out until 1:45 Student Meeting 3:45
Wednesday	Meeting with Steven at CO **Celia Out 1:00-2:00
Thursday
Friday	Student Meeting 2:00-3:00

2.3

Hi All, 

I hope that you are warm and cozy wherever you are! January certainly has gone out with a bang in terms of germs and the cabin fever feeling! This weekend marks the start of Black History Month and while I firmly believe that this work should be integrated into every month and all of our work it's an important reminder to focus our lens this month. I've linked a handful of resources below. I will continue to do so in the coming weeks as well. I would strongly recommend this quick read: A Message on Teaching Black History written by the Educational Justice Coalition of Vermont as a place to start. 

Staff Shoutouts 

• Too many to count this past week! 
• Sarah Rogers and the K team---way to get the K kiddos on MyPath! 
• Lori thank you for always finding a way to make coverage work--you're a wizard!
• I'd like to give a shoutout to the Behavior Support Team who are working overtime to support a kiddo in crisis. 
• Josh, Lucia and Chuck thanks for paying extra attention to our door handles, surfaces and door jams this week. We'll take anything to keep the germs away! 

News and Announcements 

• Please take a moment to check out Jen's monthly Curriculum Newsletter.
• As you think about your curriculum work for the upcoming months please utilize this template WCUUSD unit design template to find entry points for all of your learners.
• Curriculum Tools from Clemmons Family Farm
• Choosing Books with Diverse Characters
• Color Brave vs. Color Blind PDF
• 10 Tips for Reading Picture Books through a Race-Conscious Lens
• On February 12 we will join Curriculum Associates for a day of PD at U-32. Here is the schedule below: 

• 8:15-10:15 - K-3 pacing

• 10:30-11:30 - Instructional leadership session (all grade level principals)

• 12:00-2:00 - Grades 4-6 pacing

• 2:15-3:15 - Grades 7-10 - focused on leveraging i-Ready data.

• 2:15-3:15 - Grade 4-6 (Optional) data analysis facilitated by Ellen and/or Jen

• 3:30-4:30 (Optional) elementary focused on leveraging i-Ready data.

Lori is lining up subs to make this all happen, I'm looking forward to this day and am excited for what it means for the teaching and learning in our building.

• Take a peek at the this last week's myPath usage. For the first time we have minutes at all grade levels! Woohoo. We are looking for 80% passage of lessons and  30 mins of usage total a week. 

What's Happening at Berlin?

Monday
Tuesday	*Tyler out at 2:15
Wednesday	Staff Meeting     - Community Building     - PBIS Check-In      - Community Bobcat   Board Meeting
Thursday	Coffee and Conversations with Steven 8:00--9:00 PTNA Meeting 6:30
Friday	Data Meetings: 2, 5/6, 4

Where is Celia?

Monday	Meeting 9:00 Student Meeting 9:15  Meeting with Lori 10:00 Meeting with Julia 2:45
Tuesday	WCLT---Celia Out until 1:45
Wednesday	Meeting at U-32 8:30-9:30. Celia in at 9:45   Meeting with Ellen 1:00
Thursday	Student Meeting 11:00-11:30  Steven at School 11:15-1:15  District Safety Meeting 3:00-4:00**Celia out at 2:40
Friday	Student Meeting 8:00  Data Meetings at Berlin

1.26

 

Hi All, 

I hope that you're out enjoying the sunshine and warmer temps today! Rowan and I had a great morning at Cochrans and I found myself feeling extra thankful for the place we live. This weekend I have been reflecting on the language that we use with each other and the language that we use with students. I'm sharing the graphic above as a thought provoking piece to think about how we connect with students on a regular basis. 

What's one phrase you can commit to utilizing this week? 

Shoutout

• Lisa Wilson for her support in ODR's in 1st grade 
• Addie Wheeler for offering to sub for P.E. 
• Megan Keys thank you for your positive attitude and honesty. 
• Robin Gannon thank you for continuing to find ways to support all learners. Your expertise and collaboration are noticed and appreciated. 
• Becky Sue and Amber B for staying with the late U2 riders
• Rick thanks for stopping by and sharing your "Witness to the good" moment of the week on Friday.   

**Don't forget to shoutout your colleagues!*** Drop me a note 

News and Announcements

• If you have a moment take a peek back at this document Supporting Students document from Joelle. It's got a wealth of simple resources to think about how to support students who are experiencing anxiety. As we think about the screening last week the anxiety that students may be dealing with could very well be beyond their control.   
  
• Similarly to the graphic above I wanted to share this other graphic with you all from Center for Creative Leadership about engaging in more challenging conversations with colleagues. We are bound to have challenging topics come up and we need to treat each other with the same curiosity and calm that we do with students. We always assume best intentions and get curious about someone else's persepctive.    
• Staff Meeting this week
• 20-30 Minutes with Union Representation 
• Act 139 Information Sharing/Group Data Work 
• PBIS---If we have time 

• Options Based Drill will happen Thursday---we will determine time on Wednesday.

• Options Based Drill #2: Lockdown Drill (year 2)

  Vermont schools are required to practice our Options-Based Response procedures once per semester.  Our second drill will occur on January and this protocol was developed after reviewing feedback from each building about Drill #1. We will let everybody know the exact day and approximate time with at least two days notice.  Please see below for the details about this drill.  We believe that the next natural step for students is still a lockdown drill, but with less discussion at the time of the drill.

  
  

  Drill Outline and procedure:

  • An administrator will make an announcement to school, 

  • “Hello, this is _______.  Earlier this year we discussed what to do if you hear the word “Lockdown” over the intercom. Practicing this helps us all stay safe if something unexpected is happening at the school. We are going to practice that again now. In a moment you will hear the lockdown command and then you will practice doing it. Then, I will get on the intercom to let everybody know that the practice is over, using the words, “This is (admin name), ALL CLEAR”. 

  • This letter will be sent home to families prior to the drill (the law requires notice at least one day in advance, but schools may choose to send it earlier): Parent Letter: Options Based Drill #2 year 2.

  • After the practice, a feedback document will be shared with staff.

  • The District Safety Team is working on a protocol for the remaining drills and will share in advance.

  
  

  Thank you for your participation in this important practice. Please contact your principal or a member of your local safety team with any questions / concerns.

  	Teacher Talking Points:
  PreK-6	“Remember, our first job is to get quiet and keep voices off” (voice level zero) “The second part of your job is to look at me and listen carefully for my directions.” “Remember, sometimes we will go to a special place in the classroom, shut the door and turn off the lights” “Other times, I might tell you that we are leaving the classroom.” Now we will practice going to our indoor location and staying there with our voices off for a few minutes, until we hear _______ tell us that the practice is over by saying, ALL CLEAR”
  7-12	“Remember, when we hear “Lockdown” our first job is to get and stay quiet including making sure that all cell phones are off or silenced. In an emergency, a ringing cellphone could put us all at risk.” “The second part of your job is to listen carefully and follow my directions.” “Who can remind us what your next step is when we hear “Lockdown”? - answer should include moving quickly and quietly to a space in the classroom that is less visible from the hallway door. “There may be a time where I might tell you that we are leaving the classroom/space.  If that happens, we need to do it quickly and quietly.  You would also leave everything behind so that you are not slowed down by carrying anything.” Teacher should then lead a short discussion on how they would leave the classroom/space/building in the fastest/shortest way.  This is just a discussion and does not need to include going to see that route. Group should be able to identify at least 1 way to get out of the building WITHOUT going through the atrium.  Our next drills will include more discussion and graduated practice regarding how to ‘run’, go to a rally point (similar to our fire drill locations), and how to ‘reunify’ with your TA once out of the building. “For today, when we hear the “Lockdown” call over the PA, we will practice making sure that cellphones are silenced, quickly and quietly finding a less visible space in the room and staying there silently for a few minutes, until we hear Becca tell us that the practice is over by saying, ALL CLEAR”

What's Happening at Berlin?

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday	Staff Meeting
Thursday	January Safety Drill
Friday	Data Meetings: K, 1, 3

Where is Celia?

Monday	Student Meeting 9:15  Celia leaves at 2:45---CO Meeting  Curriculum Council 4:00-5:30
Tuesday	WCLT---Celia Out until 1:45
Wednesday	Meeting 9:15  Meeting 10:15  Staff Meeting 3:10-4:45
Thursday	Student Meeting 11:00-11:30  Steven at School 11:15-1:15  District Safety Meeting 3:00-4:00**Celia out at 2:40
Friday	Data Meetings at Berlin 12:00-3:00

1.20

Hi All,

I hope that this blogpost finds you warm and cozy. These temperatures are no fun! I'm looking forward to our morning work tomorrow at U-32. I will see you all starting promptly at 8:00am. Here are the materials for your day tomorrow. 

Inservice: 

Graphic Organizer

Slides

Room Assignments

Lori graciously offered to make us all lunch again. We changed from pizza to macaroni and cheese, please see Lori's email for other details. Unfortunately, the stomach bug hit Rowan early this morning. I will be at U-32 to facilitate and then will switch with Christian mid-day, he has a staff meeting that he has to go to tomorrow. That means that I won't be back at school in the afternoon but will have my phone on and will try to answer emails as I can. 

Shoutouts 

• Lori and Lucia thank you for the great idea of the Food Drive! What a wonderful way to bring our community out to support each other. 
• Colby and Christine thank you for the support in meeting coverage in 5/6
• Betsy thanks for pitching in with a particular kiddo 
• Teachers--thanks for finding creative ways to get Acadience done and for coming to the table to have good conversations that are focused on data, teaching and student progress

News and Announcements

• Classroom Teachers---please respond to this survey about the Intervention Presentation. The options are during our team meetings or 8:15-8:45 on Friday 1/31.
• Please remember to fill out ODR's for students when their are behaviors. Tyler is working hard to keep up on the data input. It also allows us to be clear about what's happening and where so we can respond appropriately. 
• Report Card info
• 1/2 grading day will be on the 21st of January 
• Report cards are due by the 28th so that I can review them and have them ready to send home on the 31st 
• Special Educators will be including progress reports to be added to the RC envelope 
• Interventionist will be sending classroom teacher electronic progress notes to be added to the corresponding section of the child's Report Card. There will be a hard copy in your mailbox for your records. The shift to adding this to the digital report card is to ensure that each child that has gotten intervention has a record of it. Interventionists will have their comments to you by the 22nd of January.
• Intervention--Start of Quarter 3 
• Quarter 3 for Intervention will start the week of the 27th. 
• Services for intervention will stop on the 17th. 
• Interventionists will meet with Ellen Dorsey to review data, make plans about intensified interventions and re-think groupings to support Q3 work. 
• There will be no intervention services the 22, 23 or 24th of January. 
• Staff Meeting Agenda
• Behavioral Data Review 
• PBIS Check-In

What's Happening at Berlin?

Monday	No School
Tuesday	U-32 Inservice Day
Wednesday	Staff Meeting
Thursday
Friday

Where is Celia?

Monday	Celia Off
Tuesday	12:30-1:30 Principal's Meeting
Wednesday	Student Meeting 8:00  Berlin IIW 8:45-10:45 Staff Meeting 3:10-4:45 Board Meeting 6:15-???
Thursday	Student Meeting 8:00-9:00 Meeting 1:40-2:10
Friday