Announcements December 8th

I feel this challenge daily.  Do you?  I often compare myself to some unrealistic perfect image I have of what I "should" be. The narrative in my mind often goes like this, "I should have gotten more done at work," "I should have spent more time listening to Jack tell about his game," "I should have been a better listener." "I shouldn't have eaten those chips,"  "I should have worked out." 

My mom would say, "Don't should all over yourself."   She was right.  The truth is that thinking those 'shoulds' doesn't help me.  I don't get extra points for feeling guilty or berating myself.  They just bring me down and often send me into a spiral where I make choices that I feel even more guilty about later.  I can, however, choose thoughts that benefit me and will get me closer to the high expectations I have for myself.  I have been doing this by choosing a daily affirmation.  

My daily affirmation for Tuesday, December 8th is, "Today I am choosing progress over perfection."  When I catch myself telling myself, "I should have done the one call last night" or "I should have worked out" (Even though I was spending time with people I loved when they needed me) I am going to stop those thoughts in their tracks and say, "Today I am choosing progress over perfection."  

Let me know if you can relate and you have tools you use!  I am going to update this post with all the things I wanted to tell you in the staff meeting and ran out of time doing yesterday.  :) So check it out again at the end of the day.  There's nothing that is time-sensitive that can't wait for a bit because today I am choosing progress over perfection.   

The "Real" Info

I fixed the link for something I can give up.  Please add something you will purposely take off your plate in the first column and if you think of something I can take off to help you, please add that in the second column.  If I can take it off, I will.  If you do that by Thursday, I will add my feedback and send it Friday.  

I AM doing a one call and Facebook post later today.  The main message is going to be something like this:  

Because interactive distance learning has been the bulk of our instruction this year and could be for the foreseeable future, as a school we are prioritizing interacting with students.  Here are the agreements we need to share as partners in that.  

Parents should expect:

More requirements for meets more often -- perhaps a change in schedule happened this week

Teachers will be on time and will start on time

Teachers will share expectations for the meeting. 

Teachers will share when it is necessary for parents to step away so that the children can work on independence as learners.  

Official PLE Teacher Evening office hours are Tuesdays from 4-6 and Thursdays from 5-7.  If you call or text at other times, the teachers have been asked to wait until the following day to respond. 

Next week, schedules may be a little different because of holiday activities and teacher meetings.  

We need help with:

Parents setting children up for success -- Students out of bed, sitting up, not eating

Developing students' independence as learners -- walk away if your child keeps looking to you 

Vaccines

Last week we heard from the Governor and Mr. Stull that school personnel will be 4th in line in terms of priority of having the opportunity to receive the Co-Vid vaccine. Of course, we are not qualified to give any medical advice, so we encourage you to do your own research and make an informed decision based on what you feel is best.  The Governor asked us to get a ballpark figure of who would be interested in receiving the vaccine so when the state asks we will be ready to provide it.  

• Vaccines will not be required or mandated by the state. 
• The vaccines may not even be available to us until summer. 
• By making a choice now, you are not locking yourself into any decision. 
• You can change your mind

Please sign up here to let me know if you would be interested in receiving the vaccine if given the opportunity. 

Interactive Distance Learning Schedule Update

Lisa is working with teachers and IA to come up with a new schedule to get people some support.  Until it comes out I need IAs to come to me if they have free time (please take the initiative) and teachers come to me with specific things you need help.  I can send IAs home with material prep and packets to grade.  

Arrival Time - between 7:45 and 8:00.  I originally said 7:45, but I personally know with my own children at home I sometimes have to take care of them before I come.  (and they are TEENAGERS) :) So maybe having this 15-minute window will help.  It helps me.  It takes me 30 minutes to get here.  I start trying to leave each day at 7:00.  Somedays I have to wait until the pup gets back in, reset our wifi, make sure the kids have food, take Jack to his pod, etc and I don't leave until almost 7:30--so I get it.  

Leave Time - 7 hours after you get here OR Yes, you can go back to leaving early 2 days if you have nighttime hours.

The Time In Between and All that BLURS - 

Scheduling Meets at Night: I trust you to flex out your time.  It's okay to schedule an evening meet and leave an hour early. Just let me know. :) One teacher will shoot me a text that says something like, "I am teaching tonight at 7:30.  Would it be okay to leave early?"

Answering Texts and Calls at Night:  Remind your parents (I am doing this in one-call also) that evening office hours for answering their questions are Tuesdays 4-6 and Thursdays 5-7 unless a prior arrangement has been made.  Tell them that you have been told by the administration to protect your family time and not to answer.  Use the feature on Remind that allows you to send out of office messages.   

Staff Fun - Christmas Challenge Bingo!

Starts Wednesday, December 9th

After the stories I heard last week, I tried my best to put myself in your shoes and thought what is the best give I could give people for Christmas?  I remember feeling so overwhelmed as a teacher--even in normal times.  I think the best gift I could give you is time....I know you are working hard to meet with kids.  I am now giving you permission the week before Christmas to take time off an hour here and there at certain scheduled times.  I feel confident and justified that this is the right thing to do because an investment in staff morale and mental health will pay off for kids in the long run.  We have activities planned that you are welcome to take part in, but if you don't want to, you still get to take the time off and do whatever you want with the time. If it would help you to have extra planning during those times, take it...if you need to run a Christmas errand, do it...if you want to snuggle with your baby, go for it.  

We also planned a couple of activities in the evening to give you plenty options for breaks and/or fun.

We put bingo cards in everyone's boxes today.  This is on the honor system. When you participate in an activity, mark a box.  When you get bingo, text me a pic of your bingo card and I'll put your name in a drawing for a free personal day! I think most activities on the bingo card are self-explanatory, but here is information on the ones that need explanation and will show you how you can take time off.  These are the activities that were developed by the Sunshine Committee:  

• Virtual Game Night - Monday December 14th at 7:30 -  You will get on a google meet, you will be given a snack and all you have to do is have fun!  More info coming soon!
  
  
• TIME OFF Hot Chocolate Break - Tuesday, December 15th at 2:00 You are allowed to cancel your Google Meets if you had one scheduled at 2:00, give your student(s) something fun to do (Christmas related if you like), and join the staff for a virtual google meet where we can sip hot chocolate and chit chat! (If Tuesday is an early day for you, feel free to cancel a later Google Meet)
  
  
• TIME OFF Staff Lunch - Wednesday, December 16th from 12:00-1:30 This will be provided by Lisa and Liz and then we will have a Co-vid safe way to do the tacky ornament exchange.
  
  
• Virtual Watch Party - Thursday, December 17th at 8:00 More information coming soon!
  
  
• TIME OFF - Make Your Own Ornament Break - Friday, December 18th at 2:00 You are finished "being on" for work for 2020 at 2:00 on Friday.  Enjoy a day of fun, winter-themed activities you can incorporate into your meets at your discretion.  Maybe you want to host your own watch-party with your class and have a virtual party! Then at 2:00 you can be done completely or join us for a virtual party where we make our own ornaments!