Last weeks of school

 

8 days left.  Instruction, for the most part, is done.  

Assessments are wrapping up.  Now what?

Here are 4 ways to enjoy the last few days, with my permission and blessing!

1.  Bring kids outside  

Try something to embrace the beautiful weather!

• reading
• writing about nature
• measuring how far students can run, skip, or jump
• a messy science experiment

2.  Veer off the lesson plan

In these last few days, you have more freedom and creativity in your lessons! What can you teach that's different?

• an art lesson
• cooking
• let the students teach 
• play games the students enjoy and/or sing songs they enjoy
• have all students write one positive thing about all classmates and put together a list for each student
• invite former students in to share about the next grade

3.  Create

Allow students time to be creative and make things with their hands...

• painting pictures, rocks, or whatever you can think of
• STEM projects
• Build a class memory book - on paper, google slides, etc.
• drawings - www.artforkidshub.com is a fantastic website that has kid friendly videos of how to draw!

4.  Play

• kickball
• board games, Chess, games of strategy
• Go Noodle
• Dance Parties
• Silent Ball

It is important to keep your day as normal as possible, to help with behavior - but adding a few fun thing into the mix can allow you and your students to really enjoy the last few days of school.  

Enjoy your last days with this group - be sure to have fun!!

Sue

It takes a village...

 

As I was walking out of the auditorium on Friday after the Young Author's Day finale, a parent stopped me to share her praise for the day.  And I paraphrase...

I don't know if you realize what a great staff you have here (I said I do!), but the level of involvement and engagement for the sake of kids is unbelieveable.  The skits topped off an incredible Young Author's Day of learning and community celebration.  To see the staff putting themselves out there, especially Mrs. Dobberstein as a mouse, was great for kids and parents to see.  I can't say enough good things about Willow.  I'm so grateful that my child is here.

This parent was genuinely (and emotionally) so proud of Willow, and so appreciative for the many things each of you do every day (not just on big events, which is great, too!).  

I wanted to share this to echo my amazement of my first official YAD.  What a great day, in so many ways!! I know there is a great deal of work that goes into this event behind the scenes, and flexibility by all of the staff, but I think it is a day that students will remember for a long time.  Thank you, to everyone, for the time, effort, creativity, and flexibility that made Friday so memorable for students, families, and staff.

Thanks for all you do -

Sue

Hang in there!

(this one's for Vanessa!)

That's it.  That's all I got.  Hang in there!

Happy YAD Week =)

 

The Whole Child

We had an interesting topic come up this week in our Leadership Meeting, regarding PLC data and the whole child.  Based on ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), here are the components of the whole child:

While we are all aware of math, reading, writing, and all of the other academic standards, the Leadership team's question was about aligning PLC work to SEL standards.  And do we have those?  The answer is yes!  The district is finalizing SEL competencies, which we know are built into the 7 Mindsets curriculum.  Here is a document that outlines our SEL vision:

I'm including this document this week, as a reminder of our focus for these last few weeks.  While we need to continue to keep routines and maintain academic goals, we also need to consider the social and emotional state of our students.  We know that if our students aren't in a good place for learning, they aren't going ot learn (especially in these last few weeks!).  So while I'm not saying that learning is done for the year, I am giving you permission to also focus on the things you know are important for our students.

Enjoy these last few weeks, with their craziness, fun, and the sentimental tug at our hearts as we watch our students getting ready to move on. 

Have a great week!
Sue

Staff Appreciation

 

This month's 7 Mindset is The Time is Now.  The message for this month is that all of your power exists in the moment.  You cannot change the past, and the future hasn't happened, so the only thing to do is to take purposeful action in the present to create the ultimate life of your dreams.

So THE TIME IS NOW for me to take purposeful action and compliment the Willow River Staff on the hard work you do every single day!  When people ask me how my first year at Willow is going, my response is "they make it pretty easy for me".  The entire staff knows their jobs well, and are dedicated to doing their work without complaint.  Days are hard, but you all show up and do what you do for kids.  I have learned so much from YOU, and I am extremely grateful.

Please join the district elementary staff for a happy hour to celebrate YOU!

Enjoy the week dedicated to YOU - your work is appreciated!!

Sue