It's the final countdown (at least for 2018)!

There's nothing else to share but this...

Enjoy and See Everyone Tomorrow!!!

Week of Monday, December 17- Thursday, December 20

Beginning Teacher Observations will occur on Monday and Tuesday only.  If I do not see you before end of day Tuesday, you'll see me in the new year.  All experienced staff will definitely see me beginning 1/8/2019!

Monday, December 17

• One the 4th day before Winter Break Admin gave to me... a gift to feed my hunger. Look for something special in your box in the afternoon!!!
• Middle School Spirit Day- Wear the colors of the season! (only MS students and staff can participate in this day)
• 5th Grade Planning 10-11
• Lunch Duty covered by Hill (and anyone else wanting to have some fun since Thomas will be out)
• Planning for Middle Grades ELA/Humanities (Motsinger, Fiore, and Connors) 2-3
• Planning for Middle Grades Math (Ezell and Clough) 2-3
• Middle School Movie at 3:15-5:00 (Please walk the students to Mrs. Hill in the Cafe at dismissal time) A list of who has paid to attend will be shared tonight via email and any updates will be sent to you by noon.
• TCEA Board Mtg at 5:15 PM in Mrs. Scriven's Studio
• 4th Grade to Library at 9 AM and 1:15 PM
• Mr. Thomas Out

Tuesday, December 18

• On the 3rd day before Winter Break Admin gave to me...a chance to bring the UGLY! (there will be an Ugly Sweater Contest and the winner will be announced at the Staff Dinner; a ballot will be emailed out Tuesday)
• Middle School Spirit Day- Dress Like a Tree
• 3rd Grade Math Cluster 5 Pre-Assessment
• Instructional PLC 8:30-9:30
• MTSS PLCs (facilitated by Mrs. Samuelson)
• 5th Grade: 10-11 AM
• 4th Grade: 12-1 PM
• Lunch Duty covered by Admin
• 3rd Grade Planning 12-1
• No Arts Integration Team Mtg.
• Planning for Middle Grades Science (Ezell and Hughes) 2-3

Wednesday, December 19

• On the 2nd day before Winter Break Admin gave to me... a staff holiday party!!!! Don't forget Chris's Steakhouse at 6 PM!
• Jolly Bingo ends at NOON!
• Middle School Spirit Day- Ugly Sweater (Winner will be voted on by staff and will be announced on Thursday)
• 1st Grade ELA Unit 3: Nonfiction Post Assessment
• 4th Grade ELA Unit 3: Traditional Literature Post Assessment
• MTSS PLC (Facilitated by Ms. Pond, Mrs. Samuelson, and Mr. Falls)
• K: 8-9 (Pond)
• 2nd: 9-10 (Pond)
• 1st: 10-11 (Pond)
• 3rd : 12-1 (Samuelson)
• Middle Grades: 2-3 PM
• Arts PLC 1-2
• Admin Cover Lunch Duty
• MTSS Team Monthly Meeting 1-3 PM
• Beginning Teacher Mtg 3:30-4:30
• Staff Party at 6 PM

Thursday, December 19

• On the day before Winter Break Admin gave to me...a chance to rep TCEA!  These gifts will be delivered to you by Santa's Helpers.
• Middle School Spirit Day- Dress like Santa's Helper Day!
• 2nd Grade ELA Unit 4: Oral Lit Post Assessment
• Kindergarten Planning 8-9
• Second Grade Planning 9-10
• Admin Cover Lunch Duty
• 4th Grade Planning 12-1
• Lock In for 8th Grade 8 PM-7 AM

🦎👏 Chameleon Clap🦎👏

From Mr. Kline:

Mrs Miller for helping me with our friends in your class.

My team for always being amazing.

Admin for all the wonderful gifts and joy you bring.  

From Mrs. Hill

Thanks to admin team for making all the things happen these 12 days.

Thanks to Ms. Akers for your popping expertise

Thanks to Ms. Covington, Mr. Kline and Ms. Norris for helping with lunch duty on Friday!

Thanks to my team (Mr. Kline, Mr. Falls and Mr. Haslem) for doing carpool duty and parking lot duty in the AM in the COLD with a smile! Y'all rock!!!⛄

And a final BIG THANK YOU to all of the TCEA staff for giving your best to our kids these final school days of 2018!!

Crossroads

I wish I could claim this as my own idea but I received this in an email and thought it was a cool idea for adults and our students to do moving in to 2019. Take a look!

From Susan Riley at EducationCloset:

One of the best things about this final month of the year is the crossroads of the whole thing. Looking back and looking forward.  

But reflection and planning can be tricky. If we don't have a purpose surrounding the process, we can end up spending our time reminiscing and romanticizing the past and overextending our future.

Over the years, I've used an exercise with students (and myself) that gives a better framework for reflection.  It goes like this: 

I used to be afraid of ___________.  What I've learned is ________________.

It's a powerful way to figure out what is holding us back and how we can move forward. 

When I work through this exercise, I typically have a long list of fears.  In the past, my list has looked like this:

I used to be afraid of...

1. Judgment from others
2. Not being good enough
3. Unannounced observations
4. Not making enough

But when I completed the second part of the exercise, I immediately saw the benefit of working through those fears:

What I've learned is...

1. What others think is not my business
2. My value doesn't lie in others' expectations
3. Good teaching is always good teaching - no matter when someone observes me
4. ​​​There is always more where that came from.

As you stand in this crossroads month, I hope this short exercise brings you both peace and growth for the year ahead.


Let me know if you do this activity with your students or for yourself. We can compare notes.  Hope everyone is staying warm and I'll see you tomorrow.     - Angela

Week of Monday, December 10- Friday, December 14

Unannounced observations continue for beginning teachers at TCEA.

Monday, December 10: On the 9th Day Before Winter Break, Admin Gave To Me... A surprise gift that will can meet all you needs!!!

• Hill is Ms. T. Brown for Birthday Coverage
• 5th Grade Planning 10-11 AM
• Planning for Middle Grades Math (Ezell and Clough) 2-3 PM
• Planning for Middle Grades ELA/Humanities (Motsinger, Fiore, and Connors) 2-3 PM
• School Improvement Meeting 3:30-4:30 PM in Mrs. Majka's Room

Tuesday, December 11: On the 8th Day Before Winter Break, Admin Gave To Me... a chance to show some TCEA love.  Use the paper ornament found in your box to write down the gift TCEA has given you, the community, or your students and post on our paper tree.

• Admin Mtg 9-10 AM
• Data PLCs (Facilitated by Ms. Covington)
• Kindergarten: 8-9 AM
• Second Grade: 9-10 AM
• Fifth Grade: 10-11 AM
• Fourth Grade: 12-1 PM
• MS Humanities: 2-3 PM
• Third Grade Planning: 12-1 PM
• Arts Integration Team Meeting in Ms. Ward's Studio 1-2 PM
• Scriven covered by Samuelson
• Bigler covered by R. Brown
• Planning for Middle Grades Science (Ezell and Hughes) 2-3 PM
• Hill leaves at 2 PM

Wednesday, December 12: On the 7th Day Before Winter Break, Admin Gave to Me...a PJ day to keep you warm and toasty! This dress down day is for staff only!

• Data PLCs (Facilitated by Ms. Covington)
• Third Grade: 12-1 PM
• MS Science & Math: 2-3 PM
• 1st Grade Presentation (in theatre) 8-9 AM
• Fourth Grade ELA (Ms. McLaughlin) to the library at 9 AM and 1:15 PM

Thursday, December 13: On the 6th Day Before Winter Break, Admin Gave to Me...a salty and sweet treat to eat (Popcorn Bar)!

• Kindergarten Presentation (in theatre) 8-9 AM
• Data PLCs (Facilitated by Ms. Covington)
• First Grade: 10-11 AM
• 2nd Grade Presentation (in Theatre) 9-10 AM
• 5th Grade Math Cluster 3 Post Assessment
• Hill Out 9:45-11:15 AM
• Fourth Grade Planning 12-1 PM
• Arts Integration Team Meeting in Ms. Ward's Studio 1-2 PM
• Motsinger- Falls
• Fiore- Hill
• Conners- Thomas
• Hughes- Lanham
• Ezell- Covington
• Mandatory Faculty Meeting 3:30-3:45 followed by presentation from FSU about continuing education opportunities for staff members (this portion is optional but I suggest you hang around if interested in graduate school or license classes)
• Winter Spectacular Concert 6:00-7:30

Friday, December 14: On the 5th Day Before Winter Break, Admin Gave to Me... duty free lunch from now until January. No lunch duty beginning today- December 20.

• 3rd Grade ELA Unit 3 Theme Post Assessment 
• Kindergarten Planning: 8-9 AM
• First Grade Planning: 10-11 AM
• Middle School Awards 2-3 PM
• Winter Dance K-2 (Sponsored by K) 5-6:15 PM
• Winter Dance (3rd-5th) Sponsored by K 6:30-8:00 PM

🦎👏Chameleon Clap🦎👏

From Ms. Akers: Thanks teachers for improved lunch counts on Wednesday!

From Mrs. Hill:

• Thank you to Mr. Kline for helping our PD guest get situated this past Thursday.
• Thank you to all staff for coming out and helping with our Barnes and Noble Book fair and to Mrs. Trojan for putting it all together.

                        

Please remember that you will need to turn in conference sign in sheet as well as a copy of the ISP (homeroom teachers) you gave to each parent before you leave for Winter Break on Thursday, December 20.  It is the expectation that you meet with each family. If you are having problems getting in touch with a parent please contact Ms. Lanham to help you out!

Keep the Main Thing The Main Thing

This past week, I attended an appreciation dinner at our church.  Usually these events focus on giving gratitude to the volunteers that help our two campus church successfully complete 4 services each Sunday by setting up and breaking down our mobile location, greeting visitors, supporting the pastor team, leading services with children, parking, and all the "stuff".

This dinner was a bit different though because with all of the thank yous came a presentation on Customer Service and Leadership.  The speaker was Dave Anthony, former Director of Retail and Customer Care AT&T Mobility.  He shared a lot of nuggets but one the best stories he shared was the story of the pregnant deer.

Check it out here...

How do you think this relates to what we do at TCEA? I can see a lot of parallels, but would love to hear your reflections, so please feel free to comment at the bottom of this blog post if you wish! Thanks for all you do for TCEA and I'll see everyone tomorrow!!!      - Angela

Week of Monday, December 3- Friday, December 7

*EVAAS Meetings Begin This Week; Please contact me with available days to meet if you taught ELA/Math/Science at TCEA last year and have not scheduled a meeting with me yet*

Unannounced observations second round begins this week; BTs will be the first to have observations and hope to have all BT observations done by 12/19.

Monday, December 3

• Grades due at 8 AM
• 4th Grade to Library at 9 AM and 1:15 PM
• 5th Grade Planning at 10 AM
• Mr. Thomas Out 12-3 PM
• Planning for Middle Grades Math (Ezell and Clough) 2-3 PM
• Planning for Middle Grades ELA/Humanities (Motsinger, Fiore, and Connors) 2-3 PM

Tuesday, December 4

• Instructional PLC 8:30-9:30 AM
• Lanham Out
• Sub Orientation Session 11-12 AM
• 3rd Grade Planning 12-1 PM
• Arts Integration 1-2 PM
• 4th Grade
• Majka- Riffle
• McLaughlin- Akers
• Hill Leaves at 2 PM
• Planning for Middle Grades Science (Ezell and Hughes) 2-3 PM
• No PLCs this week

Wednesday, December 5

• TSI-AT Letter Goes Home (please check your box when you arrive to school on Thursday)
• 12th Day Before Christmas Break: Don't Be Blue- You can wear jeans each day until Christmas Break 👖
• OPTIONAL: 4th Grade Trimester 1 ELA Check In
• No PLCs this week
• Middle School Department Mtg 2-2:30

Thursday, December 6

• Parent Teacher Conferences (Hours are 10 AM - 6 PM); all TCEA staff (instructional, admin, EC, support staff, arts) will need to be in attendance from 10 AM- 6PM
• Homeroom Teachers: Please make sure that you have a conference scheduled for each student in your homeroom; Documentation of all conferences being completed as well as a sample ISP (individual student plan) must be turned in to my box by 3:30 on 12/20
• 11th Day Before Christmas Break: Y'all Are A SOUPER Staff- 🍜Soup, Chili, and Sides Lunch/Dinner will be provided and an email will go out with feed time ASAP
• Literacy Training for Staff that signed up 8 AM- 2 PM in Theater
• Hill at 

  Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy 8 AM- 10 AM for EVAAS Work

• Uniform Swap 11 AM- 5 PM

Friday, December 7

•  Parent Teacher Conferences (Hours are 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM); all TCEA staff (instructional, admin, EC, support staff, arts) will need to be in attendance from 7:30 AM -3:30 PM
• Homeroom Teachers: Please make sure that you have a conference scheduled for each student in your homeroom; Documentation of all conferences being completed as well as a sample ISP (individual student plan) must be turned in to my box by 3:30 on 12/20
• 10th Day Before Christmas Break: We Love You To Pizzas- 🍕Pizza Lunch will be served in lounge at 12:00 PM (gluten free and vegetarian options will be available)
• Barnes and Noble Book Fair Night 4-8 PM.  
• The people below signed up to volunteer during that time.  Please make sure you complete this form to let us know when we can expect you.  You only have to serve for 1 hour BUT you'll find the time flies and you'll end up wanting to stay and shop longer.

Angela Hill

R. Brown

Connors

T.Johnson

Strimel

Majka

S. Person

Y. Williams

Haslem

Trojan

T. Brown

Acosta

Samuelson

Pond

Falls

Lanham

Clough

Fiore

Weir

🦎👏Chameleon Clap🦎👏

Thank you to Ms. Pond, Mr. Falls, and Ms. Lanham for their work on Student Development Day. I truly appreciate your vision and execution and I know that many parents were very pleased to hear about that day.

Thank you to Ms. Akers for helping to get the FEO group off the ground again.

And the winner is...

The winner of the PLC Team Poster Competition is....

First Grade!!!

They were all awesome but this was the pick of a friend who's a E-Learning Developer based off of criteria.  Leading this PLC was the highlight of last week for me.

First Grade,
Please send me an email by close of week of what you wish for your prize.  Give me at least three options so I can try and make one work.

And one last thing....

Please check behind me to see if I missed you. I need to know by Wednesday if I did and where to search for the information.

Arts: Plan and execute an Arts Integration Lesson in Math and share out to staff in an email or social media post. Must include pictures and a piece for student work and if using on social media use the hashtag #tceaarts

Mission Completed: Earns a Mission Accomplished Stamp on your Mission File and a Jeans Pass.

Mission Accomplished By:

• Ms. Ward

Academic: Complete and document at least one of the strategies shared by Ms. Covington. Please follow the directions in the memo to share.

Mission Completed: Earns a Mission Accomplished Stamp on your Mission File and a visit from the Hoot! Hoot! Cart

Mission Accomplished By:

• None

Culture: Using the padlet write your own personal mission statement regarding the culture in your room/studio/space and post outside of your room. Take a picture of it and email to Mrs. Hill by 11/16. 

Mission Completed: Earns a Mission Accomplished Stamp on your Mission File and a room service

Mission Accomplished By:

• Ms. Bigler
• Ms. Acosta
• Ms. Covington

Personal: Think of someone at TCEA that deserves gratitude from you and send a Chameleon Clap to Mrs. Hill for the Sunday Blog.

Mission Completed: Earns a Mission Accomplished Stamp on your Mission File and a Coffee/Tea Delivery to your room/office.

Mission Accomplished By:

• Ms. Taylor Brown
• Mr. Kline
• Ms. Covington
• Ms. Motsinger
• Ms. Akers
• Ms. Johnson
• Mr. Thomas

Your mission rewards will be given after Wednesday to ensure I don't miss anyone.

Your Next Mission???

Please look for the December Bingo Board in the Lounge after 12/5.  Complete a row of activities and win BINGO and Complete Your Mission.