May 5, 2015

Welcome to the Speas Global Elementary Blog!

All staff members, let's make sure we are teaching, reteaching, and teaching again the procedures in the common areas (Hallway, Cafeteria, Bathrooms, Playground, Bus).  We should be giving out lots of Bee's for students demonstrating the basic expectations.  It is a good idea to review the procedures before you leave one area to travel to another area.  

Our Mission: It is the mission of Speas Elementary School to provide its students with the tools necessary to successfully meet the challenges they will face in a diverse world.

Goals:

To increase English Language Arts achievement by 10%
To increase Mathematics achievement by 10%
To increase Science Achievement by 10%

Check out this graphic about global education.  The things above water are just the tip of the iceberg.   Try to go deeper in your instruction and touch some of the issues below the surface.

ISS
Specialists will begin holding ISS in their respective areas on their assigned days.  The schedule is below.  Teachers, specialists may be contacting you for work for students assigned to ISS.  Please get them work as soon as possible.   

Day	Teacher	Location
A	Arora	Room 213
B	Bowen	Music
C	King	Art
D	Childers/McMasters	Media/CL
E	Lindquist	Gym

Teachers: Having Trouble with Defiant Students?  Have you tried these strategies?

http://www.interventioncentral.org/behavioral-interventions/challenging-students/school-wide-strategies-managing-defiance-non-complianc

Our jobs may get hectic as we try to close out the year strong.   Here are some things to remember about what we may call disrespect or defiant behavior:

cont.

A child who comes from a stressful home environment tends to channel that stress into disruptive behavior at school and be less able to develop a healthy social and academic life.  Impulsivity, for example, is a common disruptive classroom behavior among low-SES students.  But it’s actually an exaggerated response to stress that serves as a survival mechanism: in conditions of poverty, those most likely to survive are those who have an exxagerated stress response. Each risk factor in a student’s life increases impulsivity and diminishes his or her capacity to defer gratification.

Girls exposed to abuse tend to experience mood swings in school.

Boys exposed to abuse experience impairments in curiosity, learning and memory.

Transience also impairs students’ ability to succeed in school and engage in positive social interactions.

Students who have to worry over safety concerns also tend to underperform academically.  Exposure to community violence contributes to lower academic performance.

Recognize the signs.  Behavior that comes off as apathetic of rude may actually indicate feelings of hopelessness or despair.  It is crucial for teachers to recognize the signs of chronic stress in students. Students who are at risk for stress-related disorder tend to…

Announcements:

Lunch today provided by PDQ for our most excellent staff.
Ash out AM.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Most people will never understand what you do.  

***For all technology issues, please follow these steps in order to submit a SchoolDude ticket. Mr. McMasters will receive this ticket and be able to work on resolving the issue as quickly as possible. Tickets take priority so please enter a ticket for the technology issue that you have. If you have any questions on how to do this, please see Mr. McMasters. Thank you!

To submit a ticket…on either the WSFCS homepage or the Speas homepage, click on “User Options” in the top right of the screen --> “SCHOOL DUDE requests --> Click “IT request” tab --> fill out request and click submit. ***

We have a Speas Symbaloo page.

http://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/13eOcMEZPT#

email: djjohnson@wsfcs.k12.nc.us
pass: speasbees2014

Please email us with your favorite educator sites so we can create a huge selection of online resources.  

All staff members, let's make sure we are teaching, reteaching, and teaching again the procedures in the common areas (Hallway, Cafeteria, Bathrooms, Playground, Bus).  We should be giving out lots of Bee's for students demonstrating the basic expectations.  It is a good idea to review the procedures before you leave one area to travel to another area.  

SMOD Tickets (dress code violations) are located in the workroom.  Please keep the bottom portion for your own records as a way to keep track of the number of violations.  The continuum is as follows:

1st offense: verbal warning, and letter will be sent home to be signed.  Parent or guardian notified of violation
2nd offense: Teacher notifies parent or guardian and student is removed from class until proper SMOD is delivered.

(Teachers, we all should be enforcing this, it will only work if we all enforce it).

Calendar

5.5	6	B	X		Ash out AM
5.6	1	C	X
5.7	2	D	X
5.8	3	E	X		GSN Module 4 due; PEP checks begin; Dollar Dress Down
5.11	4	A	X
5.12	5	B	X
5.13	6	C	Y
5.14	1	D	Y		Ash out AM; Papa Murphy’s Spirit Night
5.15	2	E	Y		Dollar Dress Down
5.18	3	A	Y
5.19	4	B	Y
5.20	5	C	Y		Johnson out AM
5.21	6	D	X
5.22	1	E	X		1st Grade NC  Zoo 8:00-2:00 PM; Yoforia Movie Night; Ready EOG window opens; TRC window closes
5.25	2	A	X
5.26	3	B	X
5.27					EOG ELA
5.28					EOG Math
5.29					EOG Makeups
6.1					EOG Sci 5
6.2					EOG Sci 5
6.3					EOG Makeups
6.4					RTA/EOG Makeups
6.5
6.8
6.9
6.10
6.11
6.12

Holidays Around the World

Tuesday	May 5	Freedom Day	Ethiopia
Tuesday	May 5	Children's Day	Japan
Tuesday	May 5	Children's Day	South Korea
Tuesday	May 5	Cinco de Mayo	Mexico
Tuesday	May 5	Liberation Day	Netherlands
Tuesday	May 5	Coronation Day	Thailand
Tuesday	May 5	Primary Election Day Indiana	United States

Today in World History

May 5

1494		Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Jamaica, which he names Santa Gloria.
1814		British attack the American forces at Ft. Ontario, Oswego, New York.
1821		Napoleon Bonaparte dies in exile on the island of St. Helena.
1834		The first mainland railway line opens in Belgium.
1862		Union and Confederate forces clash at the Battle of Williamsburg, part of the Peninsula Campaign.Eyewitness to War
1862		Mexican forces loyal to Benito Juarez defeat troops sent by Napoleon III in the Battle of Puebla.
1865		The 13th Amendment is ratified, abolishing slavery.
1886		A bomb explodes on the fourth day of a workers' strike in Chicago.
1912		Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda begins publishing.
1916		U.S. Marines invade the Dominican Republic.
1917		Eugene Jacques Bullard becomes the first African-American aviator when he earns a flying certificate with the French Air Service.
1920		Anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Visetti are arrested for murder.
1935		American Jesse Owens sets the long jump record.
1942		General Joseph Stilwell learns that the Japanese have cut his railway out of China and is forced to lead his troops into India.
1945		Holland and Denmark are liberated from Nazi control.
1961		Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space.
1968		U.S. Air Force planes hit Nhi Ha, South Vietnam in support of attacking infantrymen.
Born on May 5
1813		Soren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher.
1818		Karl Marx, German philosopher (The Communist Manifesto, Das Kapital).
1830		John B. Stetson, American hat maker.
1861		Peter Cooper Hewitt, electrical engineer, inventor of the mercury-vapor lamp.
1883		Charles Albert "Chief" Bender, baseball player.
1890		Christopher Morley, writer (Kitty Foyle).
1899		Freeman F. Gosden, radio comedy writer and performer (Amos 'n' Andy).
1909		Carlos Baker, biographer.
1943		Michael Palin, actor and screenwriter (Monty Python's Flying Circus).