You are Appreciated!!

Happy Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week!

Thank you to all of our teachers for the dedication and commitment to our students every day!  You make a difference by inspiring our students to be life-long learners and fostering success through high expectations and positive relationships.  Although you may never know how you impacted the life of a child, you have to know the power you have to change lives and to prepare them to "Thrive in an ever-changing world"!  There is no more important profession!  Check out this short video to remember your why and celebrate you all!

If you are interested in a little history, I found some information on how Teacher Appreciation Week Originated?  Check out this LSI Blog that describes how it all began.


Without our GIPS Employees, we could not accomplish the vision and goals that we have for our students!  Thank you to our school support teams, secretaries, nutrition services, buildings and grounds crews, district office teams, paraprofessionals, mentors, coaches, and specialists! Although some members of our team do not directly impact students,  resources, space and opportunities for access to a high quality educational environment! Our "why" is in the pictures!  What we do every day influences, inspires and ignites!

Every Student, Every Day, A Success! In educating students we teacher hearts as well as minds!

 

"Student prepared to make positive contributions and thrive in an ever changing world."

...because of you!

Thank you to our Nurses!

Please join me in celebrating our School Nurses this week along with our teachers and staff!  Along with tending to illnesses of physical nature, they also tend to the social-emotional needs of our students.  They inspire, innovate their care and positively influence our students so they can engage in school! Our children are safer, loved, and cared for in such kind and professional ways.  Our nurses MAKE a DIFFERENCE!

Thank You Administrative Professionals!

It is so hard to describe the value of our Administrative Professionals across the district.  They are the first in line to all with all of our stakeholders!  I'm so thankful for you!  Please know that you Make a Difference!  

Our District Resource Management System-Your Diligence Equals Student Benefit! How you can help!

It's year 2 of implementation of Resource Manager (RM) barcoding of textbooks and resources.  This process is making a difference and providing opportunities for more dollars to be allocated to purchase additional resources and/or professional learning/growth opportunities for our educators.  

What is it?

An online Pk-12 resource management inventory process that ensures we only buy what we need, share what we have and repurpose what remains.  The Resource manager makes it easy to track and manage our school and district resources with an overview of our investments.

Benefits of Resource Management System:

• Effectively and efficiently manage resources
• Efficiently assign and deploy resources to teachers
• Have a more accurate assessment of the value of our assets
• Reduce losses to our district
• Make informed decisions from the data
• Books/resources can be transferred from one school to the other so we are not ordering new.  (accountability and availability)

Example of Impact prior to adopting the Resource Management System in 2016-17:

• L4L spent $300,000.00 for more resources for Reading Wonders K-5.  

Example of Impact after adopting the Resource Management System in June 2017

• L4L has only spent $10,000.00 on new resources for Reading Wonders.

That’s a HUGE savings!!

The money saved is now available to support the following: (Examples)

• Academy curriculum resources
• Professional learning to support curriculum resource adoptions
• Replenish Materials/supplies for Science/Math
• ACT prep
• Book Studies
• Empower hour materials
• Task force work
• Pilots
• Other requests to support district priorities and curriculum implementation
• Respond to an increase in enrollment

We need your help to maximize the benefits!

How do we improve the process?

• Tech Assistants have been very diligent in barcoding and checking books out to teachers and transferring books as needed.
• Once a book is checked out to a teacher, that book or resources should be accounted for by teachers at the end of the year inventory.
• Teachers return resources no longer utilized to the tech assistants at any time throughout the year. Tech Assistants will send discarded barcoded curriculum to the warehouse using the “Warehouse Return Form”  It is important to clearly label boxes.
• At GISH, there are 5 scanners in the building for department heads/Academy Lead Teachers to use to check out books to teachers.  

END of the Year Reminders:

• All resources will need to be checked in, transferred and/or accounted for by June 3rd.  
• Barb will need to have principals ensure a completed inventory of books and resources are updated by the end of this school year.

If you have any questions, please contact L4L's Barb Hardwick or enter question through "Let's Talk-gips helpdesk"! She is an amazing resource!

National Assistant Principal's Week

April 8th-12th is National Assistant Principal's Week!  The role of our assistant principals is critical to our school community. They are truly valued members of our administrative teams. The Wallace Foundation has identified five key practices of school leadership: "shaping the vision of academic success for All students, creating a positive and healthy school climate, cultivating leadership in others, improving instruction, and managing people, data, processes".  The job is demanding, yet rewarding!  Please meet and help me celebrate our GIPS admin team that are in the trenches making a difference, every day!

Middle School Assistant Principals

Melissa Beberniss-Barr MS

Melanie Smith-Barr MS

Calvin Hubbard-Walnut MS

Selena Wardyn-Walnut MS

Kayla Wichman-Westridge MS

Shelli Pfeifer-Westridge MS

   

 Grand Island Senior High Team

Greg Morrow-Assistant Principal-Student Services

Dan Phillips-Academy of Technical Sciences

Dr. Maggie Mintken-Freshman Academy of Exploration

Fawn Gernstein-Academy of Business and Communication

Greg Schlegel-Academy of Medical Sciences

Matt Wichman-Academy of Engineering and Tech

Ron Hester-Academy of Ed, Law, and Pubic Safety

Cindy Wells-Activities Director

Academy Partner Liason

Elementary Assistant Principals

Teri Ruybalid-Engleman

Angie Eberle-Dodge 

Thank you team for "Being Grand" so our students can "Thrive in an Ever-Changing World"!

How to Survive Assessment Season

Tis the season, "Assessment Season"! You have been preparing students by focusing on what they need to know and be able to do all year.  Now, it's time for our students to be "Grand".  Although the NSCAS (3-8) and ACT for students in the 3rd yr cohort in high school are important summative assessments to determine how well our students are mastering standards that will prepare them for future success, the reality is that for some, this time of the year is stressful and elevates levels of anxiety and other social-emotional responses which can have an impact on performance. 

So how do we best support students (and each other) through this time of the year?  From my search for some answers, I came across some good advice from BoysTown that I thought was worth sharing:  8 Tips for Surviving Testing and Supporting Students.  Courtney Dealy offers a few strategies and suggestions to consider implementing as students prepare for and take summative assessments.   It's important to remember what we say and how we say it to avoid adding undue pressure but hope and encouragement instead. I shared some insight about this in a previous blog and it's worth revisiting.  The quote to the left from Dr. Haim Ginott not only relates to teachers but to all that interact with children during the school day. It's a good reminder of the powerful impact we can have on others.

Aside from what I have shared, I know you all have additional ideas and resources that are making a difference and ask that you share so we can continue to grow as educators and positively impact our students.

Just in case you are not familiar with the Nebraska Department of Education State Assessment Website, I have linked it and encourage you to take some time to view the descriptions and links to resources.  There is good information that can inform assessment prep and planning in PLC's.

In conclusion, I have to say that I feel blessed to be in public education and although we experience seasons in education, just like the weather, we persevere and strive to ensure "Every Student, Every Day, a Success!"  I thank all of you for being here every day, on the front lines, making a difference.  Our students are our future and we are preparing them to THRIVE!

Check out these tweets on Twitter--Just a few examples of how teachers/campuses are supporting and encouraging through goal setting, additional study, and motivational experiences:

Jefferson All-Stars video

Jefferson All-Stars video

Spring Break Reading?

It's here and I'm sure welcomed by everyone!  Spring break is a great time to relax, rejuvenate, and reflect in preparation for assessment season and a strong finish to the end of the school year.  There are still a lot of instructional minutes left and daily opportunities to continue to make a difference for our students and prepare them for an ever-changing world!   I'm so thankful and proud of our GIPS staff and how hard everyone is working to impact our most precious asset, our students!

I recently came across a blog article from Mindsteps about expectations and I thought I would share it with you, maybe for some light reading while you are relaxing over the break. :) The title captured my interest, "Do High Standards Equal High Expectations?".  So, in thinking about the break and reflecting on my own goals, I thought it was worth the read.  During walks and visiting with teachers and other educators, I hear the language "high standards", "high expectations" and never really thought about the difference.  This blog caused me to reflect on how I use these words and how I think about students and possible biases I might have that impact my own expectations. 

Just an opportunity for me to continue to grow in my own practice and leadership. I hope you take the time to read and engage in conversations with others about the content. 

Wishing you all a happy, safe, and relaxing break!