There’s a great deal of information this week, so we’ll go full bullet-points.
HIGHLIGHTS:
-I did a double-take when I thought I saw Ms. Mills doing Tai-Chi with her students. But they weren’t really doing Kung Fu in slow-motion; it was actually a game of “Simon Says obtuse/acute/right/ x degree Angle”. I can’t think of a single test prep question or lesson that would be more effective at helping 4th grade students visualize and recognize angles come May. Simon says pat yourself on the back.
-Friday night after everyone has long gone in anticipation of freezing temperature and wind, I see Mr. McManus return with the girl’s basketball team from an away game. Who cares about the score; our girls won in life by having the opportunity to be coached by Mr. Mac.
And Ms Devito and Mr. Bianculli: you both are stars in your own rights and we can’t wait to see what happens at our first FFF Night. The best PE team in Queens, and it’s not even close.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Make Deadlines.
We know you are all incredibly competent so we’ll never micro-manage how you should tackle your heavy workloads. But deadlines must be met. They exist because someone somewhere need your work to do theirs. Care for others; Make deadlines.
PTC 3/16: Social committee is doing lunch, I’ll get coffee, and the coaches will be hosting mini-workshops on reading with their children as well as using online programs at home as test-practice. You should strategically direct parents to the workshops after you meet with them.
Should you encounter an upset parents, please direct them to an AP or myself ASAP. Again, it’s not your job to be yelled at, it’s ours.
102KNOW: Thank you to Ms. Babakitis and Ms. Khatibi for writing amazing pieces for our latest 102KNOW family newsletter. Let me know if you’re interested in providing content and/or ideas for upcoming issues.
POSTING HALLWAY MATERIALS: We love seeing staff taking the initiative to make our shared spaces more beautiful and/or more informative, and a memo will be distributed Monday regarding guidance on posting materials in hallways and other shared spaces. In short: get it approved first, aesthetics matter, and always have an end date.
BRING YOUR CHILD TO WORK DAY 4/27
A letter will be backpacked home this week explaining to families that students will be excused should they go to work with their parent(s) instead of attending school on the 27th.
If you are interested in bringing your child to 102, please make sure to submit a request form that will be made available to all staff at the end of the week.
MONDAY PL: A few of you have asked for more self-directed learning time, and this Monday you should use the afternoon time as you see fit. Marking period 2 grades will be due close of business Tuesday, and you are free to use this time to prepare submitting grades (Mulé will send a reminder one-pager Monday).
Suggestion: If you have not been communicating with your students’ other teachers (RtI, AiS, ENL, SPED, speech, etc.) this is a great time to do so before meeting with parents Thursday.
mrkobot.com 