Orchard Ranch Weekly Blog 3.6.23

 

(* Indicates the number of weeks it’s been in newsletter.

INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS:

PLC Wednesday: In your classrooms.

Custodial Schedule: 

 

Fire/Evacuation Drill: March TBD

Library: Track B

Staff Meeting: March 7th @ 2:25

TOSA Corner:

It has been awhile since I’ve had the chance to put something in our blog. I was at a leadership conference for UTK the last 2 days and one of the slides was about teachers taking care of themselves. It’s a great reminder of the things we should be doing to make sure that we are always bringing our best selves to school each day. One of my takeaways from the training is this: We don’t need kids to be ready for school , but we (all staff) need to be ready for them and meet them where they are each day. That being said, here are a few self-cares tips from Secondary Trauma & NAEYC:

1. Be kind to yourself

2. Get good at the balancing game

3. Practice time management

4. Assert yourself appropriately

5. Cultivate mindfulness

6. Contemplate nature

7. Embrace gratitude

8. Do something that will make you feel good about yourself

9. Put your thoughts down. Try journaling

10. Lobby for a hobby

11. Think positive. Reframe your thoughts

12. Create or join a peer group

13. Request reflective supervision

14. Seek support when you need it

15. Take action. Make a self-care plan

Chromebooks: Chromebooks are being purchased for grades k-2 for next year. We will be going 1:1 for the 23/24 school year. 

ELPAC Testing: ELPAC testing starts next week on Wednesday, 3/8 and goes through Friday, 3/17. A reminder email will be sent on Tuesday as well. Please remember for the following for testing: 

Who: ALL EL students @ OR  

When/ Where:

•  Wednesday, 3/8-Friday, 3/17
• Library (library is closed for students/classes the next 2 weeks) 
• Testing Schedule (VERY flexible-this is a general guideline and mostly likely will change)

What to Bring: 

• K-2: Nothing to bring 
• 3-5: Fully charged chromebooks and a pair of headphones 

Please reach out to Emma or Megan if you have any questions!

**Report Cards: 

• 3/7: All grades done by 3 pm
• 3/8: Preview shared 
• 3/9: Any changes need to be made by 8am.  Final will be shared by Noon
• 3/10: Report Cards emailed to parents from the DO (you are more than welcome to print and send them home as well but we will email for everyone)

*Essential Standard Pacing Guides: As mentioned Wednesday, please continually go over these guides during PLC. They are the foundation for what we are working on and towards. We've included a tab at the top of the BLOG for quick access. Please also link to the top of your PLC Agendas. 

• Trimester 2 & 3 should be completed by March 8th.
• April PD We will be starting Trimester 1 to be prepared for the start of the next school year. 

Sparkler Updates:

Next Happy Hour (4/5): Thank you to those that came out for the March HH! That was the best turn out yet! Come to Kitchen 747 on Wednesday, April 5th at 2:26pm. RSVP on the google calendar invite. We hope to see you there! :)

PTC Updates:

The next PTC meeting is on March 21st @4:30pm. Thank you Mary and Brooke for signing up to attend. Click here to sign up!

Skate Night(3/20): Our next skate night is March 20th. This event is open to all students and costs $10 per skater. PTC will cover the cost for any teacher who wants to attend. Please add your name to the date you will be attending so they know you're coming! 

$100 Teacher Reimbursement: PTC has approved a $100 reimbursement for items purchased for your classroom. Teachers can fill out a paper copy and turn it into the PTC box or email a digital copy to Duane at orchardranchptc@gmail.com.

Book Fair Recap: Total sales of the week were just over $24,000, with about $9,000 staying in our library. Sierra is able to purchase books from Scholastic and other publishers to add to the library collection. PTC also purchased 93 books that were distributed between classes! 

Finances: All tables have now been delivered. Umbrellas will come once the weather is a bit nicer. PTC has purchased a new projector to go into the barn as well as Glowforge maintenance. Those should be here in the coming months. PTC is also still covering bussing for field trips! 

Events: Check out upcoming events and our year at a glance HERE.

**Please remember to check the LIVE Google Calendar as dates/times are subject to change.