Sunday Night Memo, 10/28/18

October 28, 2018

Superintendent’s Team Visit

Dr. Simpson and his team will be visiting Hixson on Tuesday, October 30^th.  Folks will be moving in and out of classrooms, observing and sharing conversations.  The visit should begin around 9:45am and last about an hour or so.

Halloween

Just a reminder that costumes are permitted but students can’t wear masks or bring toy weapons even if they are a prop to the costume.  Our theme is literary characters and looking forward to seeing everyone’s creativity!

Lion’s Choice Fundraiser

Our monthly Lion’s Choice (Rockhill) fundraiser is Thursday, November 1^st.  Stop by on your way home and pick up some dinner from 4-8pm.  Just let the folks know you are supporting Hixson and they will give 20% back to our school. 

Rock and Roll Bingo

It’s almost here and not too late to grab a table!  Talk with Gail and join everyone for an evening of music and fun.

PD Day

Our next PD day will be on November 6^th.  Our schedule will be as follows:

8:30-9am,  Attorney road show in the Auditorium

9-12:30pm, Safety and Security:  please wear comfortable shoes

12:30-1:30pm, Lunch on your own

1:30-3:30pm, Dept/CLT Time

St. Louis Blues-Hockey Scholar School Event

On November 7^th, the St Louis Blues Street Hockey Team will be co-teaching with the PE Department.  We will also get a visit from a couple of Blues players who will teach a 7^th grade math class.  Please see the attached press release for more information.  Thank you to Sherri Rachal and Ashley Porter for making this possible.  We will also dress in blue to support the Blues and have a spirit day.

Crock Pot Days

Social Courtesy will be hosting a series of crock pot events.  Our first crock pot day will be on Wednesday, November 7^th.  Bring your favorite crock pot dip to share and set it up in our faculty lounge!  More details will be coming from Social Courtesy.

Have a great week!

With gratitude,
Grace

Sunday Night Memo, 10/21/18

October 21, 2018

I hope you everyone found some time to take a break and enjoy the three day weekend.  We talk about self-care often and a team of teachers even developed Self Care Mondays to emphasize taking care of one self.  However, sometimes, we still don’t do what we need to in order to care for ourselves.  There is a lot going on in people’s lives outside of school in our building.  It’s important as you care for others and take care of all the many people in your lives to not forget about yourself.  Be kind to yourself and make sure you do something just for you!

Thank You

Thank you for another great Fall conference.  The nights are long but the parents are very appreciative of making a face to face connection with each of you.  Please don’t forget to reach out to parents of students who are struggling in your class, if they weren’t able to make it to conferences.  Before this quarter ends, students with D’s or F’s need to have a parent contact made via phone or email so parents aren’t surprised.  More often, we are finding that with the move to electronic report cards, some parents are not looking at grades in the portal.  An email or phone call will alert them to pay attention.

Listening Series

As we reach the end of the 1^st quarter, I’d like to share conversations with folks about how they are feeling about all the changes made to this year and in general overall sentiment.  While a survey is also an option, I would love to share a face to face conversation about how things are going.  These conversations will shape how we lead our building and also provide me with feedback to grow.  The conversations are completely voluntary and just require 15-20 minutes of your time.  If you are interested, please do the following:

1.)     Contact Kathy to set up a time that works for you on my calendar

2.)    Think about the following questions:

·       What’s going well?

·       What needs to change?

·       What would you like to see more of?

If you don’t have time to chat or would prefer a survey option, please click on the following link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Lee_Staff_2018-2019

Character Committee Meeting

The Character Committee will be meeting Monday at 3:30pm in the Library.  If you are interested in being a part of this committee, please join! 

OUTS This Week

10/23:  Sarah, MaryBeth and Grace out for LACE

10/25:  CO has asked administrators in the district to attend one of Dr. Simpson’s Community Forums for

              Space and Enrollment.  Aimee will attend the forum from 7:30am-9:30am and Mike and Grace will

              attend the forum from 11:30-1:30pm

10/26:  Aimee, Mike and Grace our for New Administrators mtg at CO from 9am-10:30am

Have a great week!

With gratitude,
Grace

Sunday Night Memo, 10/14/18

October 14, 2018

October Funk

I’ve been whining for years that we need a fall break in October to anyone who will indulge me.  The stretch of school from September to November is the longest in the school calendar without a sustained break.  For me, it’s the month that feels like it’s dragging.  I’m a little more tired, a bit grumpy and moving with a little less patience than normal.  It’s easy for me to get wrapped up in my own feelings and sometimes forget that what we do every day for kids needs to continue to happen at the same level as the start of the school year. 

Last Wednesday night, Mike and I got news that one of our kids at our old school died by suicide.  It’s still something we are processing.  Our kid was that kid that everyone knew whether she was in your class or in your grade-you knew her or about her in some capacity.  She had a head full of red hair and the sass and attitude to match it.  She could send an adult straight over the edge with her smart mouth but also make you catch your breath with a profoundness in her words that wasn’t typical for her age.  As Mike and I reminisced about all the antics that came with our kid, he reminded me about a phrase we heard from a local speaker years ago.  John O’Leary is a local guy who at the age of 9 sustained burns over his entire body, 100%, after he set his garage on fire while experimenting with gasoline.  He was not expected to survive but he did and now speaks about relationships and impact.  One of the statements he likes to use is to tell folks “I love you and there is nothing you can do about it”.  Mike reminded me that our kid was definitely that kid we had to say that to over and over again and show it by showing up every day for her.  In the end, we hope she knew that her school family loved her and the grownups didn’t give up.

Her passing was a kick in the heart reminder that yes, what we do every day for kids is hard work, the hardest of any profession because we hold kids in our hands. We don’t always know what is happening inside their heads and what they are struggling with outside of school.  What I do know though is that how we receive them and hold them is important.  Relationships matter.  For some kids, from the toughest ones that leave us completely drained to the quieter ones we wonder about, we need to tell them “I love you and there is nothing you can do about it”.   So, I’m going to stop whining about a Fall break that’s not going to show up anytime soon and just practice better self-care and be grateful for the big and small moments in my life.  I hope you are all taking care and being good to yourselves too.

SLT Meeting

SLT (School Leadership Team) will be meeting tomorrow at 3:35pm in the library.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Our PT Conferences begin on Tuesday.  Meals will be provided each day.  Beverages and dessert will also be provided by our awesome Social Courtesy team.  On Tuesday and Thursday, meals will be ready to go right at 3:30pm so head on down once the building is cleared.  On Wednesday, lunch will be ready to go at 12pm.

Tuesday is pizza and salad, Wednesday is a baked potato bar and Thursday is a taco bar.

No School

October 19^th is our comp day for conferences.  Enjoy your day off recuperating from the long PT nights.

Ivory Crockett Run

Come join the fun at the annual Ivory Crockett Run on Saturday, October 20^th.  It’s not too late to sign up and join the run fun.   All the money raised goes to support our grants awarded by the Foundation.

Halloween Trunk or Treat

On October 27^th, the Gathering Church will be hosting a trunk or treat in the Elm Lot from 5-7pm.  They have extended an invitation to Hixson folks to come out with kids and join the festivities.  If you can’t make it but would like to donate candy for the kids, please drop it off in the main office and we will get it to them.

Marigold Sunday

You never know what adventure the book fair will bring...this is a shout out to Gail Tumminello for always rocking the book fair! When I walked in the other day I was reminded of a fashion design kit Gail recommended from the book fair for my daughter. Now, a few years later my daughter is still using that kit to design images of outfits and she and my Mom are planning to find a pattern and make one of her designs...ALL because of the inspiration of the book fair!!! Thank you Gail, I know this is a lot of work for you and your crew!

Sarah Bodi

Outs This Week

Aimee, Mike and I are out on Thursday from 8-12ish for a DLT meeting at CO

Have a great week.

With gratitude,
Grace

Sunday Night Memo, 10/7/18

October 7, 2018

PTO Gift

We are very fortunate to have a PTO that cares so much about us.  If you would like to send a thank you note for the gift, you can leave them in my mailbox and I’ll deliver them at the next meeting.

Faculty Meeting

Our faculty meeting tomorrow will begin at 3:30pm in the cafeteria and we will finish our mission statement with our PLC consultants.  Our character committee leaders will also share the character lesson planned for later this month. 

Alan Gratz Author Visit

Just a reminder that Alan Gratz will be visiting on Wednesday and talking with the entire 7^th grade.  Thank you for your flexibility with the disruption to the schedule.

Door Decorations

It’s been awesome seeing all the door decorations and a nice reminder of the school year kickoff.  As we enter into the Fall, it’s time to take down the decorations.  Thank you for your school spirit!

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent teacher conferences are just around the corner and we have meals planned for each day.  Our social courtesy will provide dessert and drinks and dinner will be the following:

Tuesday-Pizza and Salad

Wednesday-Baked Potato Bar

Thursday-Taco Bar (provided by our PTO)

Welcome

We have some new faces in the building.  Please give a warm welcome to:

·       Mayra Alvarez who is joining our custodial team

·       Trevon Wicks who is joining our custodial team

·       Jodie Hintze who is our building substitute

·       Jamie Young who is our long term sub for Leslie Creath

Marigold Sunday

I was standing at bus duty with Omar Akins (he is always the first one to the door) last week when he excited pulled out a cloth zippered pouch that he made in facs.  He was so PROUD of that little bag that had his name embroidered on it he showed me how it opened and closed but was most excited his name!  I just wanted Christy and Jill to know how impactful those projects really are to our students!

Submitted by Gail T.

Have a great week!

With gratitude,

Grace