Goodbye, 2018!

Wow!  I cannot believe this is the last week of school before 2019! 
Anyone else feeling as if the kids are a little...squirrel-y?

Gatherings
I really enjoyed the two times we were able to gather this week!  Thank you for your attendance and attention at Thursday's 7:30am staff meeting.  If you were not on the Emergency Contact list in the new red folder, please do go on there now and submit your information.  

Thank you to the Milios Family for hosting and the Staff Engagement Committee for coordinating the wonderful staff holiday party.  I have been close to tears only a few times in this gig.  I must say, I felt one well up as I left the party.  I am filled with gratitude for the amazing people I get to work with.  Thank you for all you do!  You are impactful!

Emojoke 
Did you know that iPhones and non-iPhones don't exactly speak the same emoji language?  This new insight could have saved some awkward feelings this week when the innocent laughing and smiling emoji became a symbol and creepy faced emoji.  Glad this was clarified. 😌

If you have 9 min., I highly recommend you spend them on this sweet short film about kindness and perseverance. 

Evaluations this week
Hauer, Herberger

Coming up..

Wednesday, December 19th
~2:00-3:30pm Reasor at Threat Assessment Training (FRC)
~5:00-5:30pm Kindergarten Snowflake Extravaganza in Gym
~5:30-6:30pm PTO Craft Night

Thursday, December 20th
~8:00am Staff Mtg (I know.  I loved it so much, I want more time to gather. You don't want to miss this brief meeting.  I have a gift for you.)
~Holiday Luncheon   

• Kinder: Eat: 11:15-11:40; Play: 11:40-12:00
• First: Eat: 11:35-11:55; Play: 11:55-12:15
• Second & Third: Eat: 12:05-12:25; Play: 12:25-12:45
• Fourth & Fifth: Eat: 12:35-12:55; Play: 12:55-1:15

Friday, December 21st
Let the Mustangs run free!!! Plan ahead if you can and enjoy an early out.  Have a wonderful, well-deserved break!  Thank you for making 2018 incredible for me!  I cannot wait to see what 2019 brings!  The Staff Engagement Committee would love to showcase one of your New Year's Resolutions (personal or professional).  Please share it here. 

Together, we rise!  Thank you Mr. McAllister for stepping up BIG TIME!  The kids had a blast.

Please acknowledge you have read this post.   

Hello December!

Grading Information, from Heather Overton

Hey everyone! It's your friendly, neighborhood Grade Book Coordinator! 

Here are some important Grade Book dates and deadlines for Quarter 2:

• Thursday, December 13th - Early Release for Standards Report Preparation
• Friday, December 14th - Final Day for Specials Teachers to report grades
  • They have until 3:30pm
• Friday, December 21st - Last Day of Quarter 2
  • Attendance rolls over by 12pm
  • Teachers can print Standards Reports prior to leaving for Winter Break (if desired) 
  • Do not send them home yet for district consistency
• Friday, January 11th 
  • Standards Reports go home
  • It is not recommended to wait until this day to print
    • Quarter 2 Grade Book and Report Card closes at 5:00pm
      
    • All changes after this day will need to be formally submitted to Lynette Hammitt at the District Office.

Let Heather know how she can help you and if you have any questions!

A Fisk 301 Opportunity (sign up in TNL)
Do you want to take students on a field trip across the world, to outer space or back in time? Are you looking for interactive tools to lead lessons & deliver content in all subject areas? Google Expeditions & Nearpod are apps that allow just this! These apps are easy to use and provide prepared lessons that allow teachers to guide their class to new, exciting places right from the classroom. Nearpod is a tool that can also be used to deliver content and engaging lessons beyond "field-trips". There are thousands of lessons to brows through and easy to use features to create your own lessons. Nearpod allows for lesson delivery with features including, formative assessments, discussion protocols, assignments & more! Nearpod is a great tool to allow all students a "front-row" & opportunity for active participation. 
To check Nearpod out got to : https://nearpod.com/ 
**Please bring your charged teacher iPad and charged teacher Laptop
Training here at Marshall Tues, 3:45-5:45pm.


Holiday Luncheon
Dec 20th
Don't forget, the first annual (?) Holiday luncheon has been scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 20th.  Please be attentive to our somewhat modified schedule in order to accommodate our many guests, especially at the primary lunches. We will create a flyer to go home this week.  Feel free to include in your newsletters/blog as well.

• Kinder: Eat: 11:15-11:40; Play: 11:40-12:00
• First: Eat: 11:35-11:55; Play: 11:55-12:15
• Second & Third: Eat: 12:05-12:25; Play: 12:25-12:45
• Fourth & Fifth: Eat: 12:35-12:55; Play: 12:55-1:15

United Way Results


My message to Sylvia Johnson:
"Well we didn't reach our goal but we have improved participation from 1 (to my knowledge) in the past, to 30 donors!!!! Our goals was not monetary. It was a campaign to educated staff what United Way does in our community and the several ways we can assist to make that difference. Out of our 62 (certified and classified) staff members, we had 30 participate!! We didn't reach our ambitious 80% participation goal but we will take just shy of 50% (we have recorded, not sure if others went online)! My records indicate $1,017.00 was raised by Marshall staff alone. We are so proud of this! We almost reached the 2017 Total Leader $ of $1,100.00. Remarkable! I hope other schools were as successful! Have a great weekend." -JR
In 2017, 29 FUSD employees participated. We are 30 strong!!!!  

Don't forget about our TAX CREDIT CAMPAIGN (See post from Dec. 2nd for all info) 

Evaluation Week
Ryan, Coates

Coming up...

Monday, December 10th
~2:00-3:00pm Penca/Reasor (my eval)
~3:30-5:30pm Reasor at Discipline Matrix
~3/12 Days of Christmas Grinch Day 

Tuesday, December 11th
~3:45-5:45pm Technology 301 with Fisk
~5:30pm Governing Board Mtg
~4/12 Days of Christmas Frosty the      
           Snowman Day

Wednesday, December 12th
~5:00-6:00pm SEI Family Craft Night
~5/12 Days of Christmas Rocking 
          Around...socks

Thursday, December 13th
~7:30am Staff Mtg in Library PBIS and ER plan review
~11:50am Cake Decorating Parting in the gym
~12:25 Early Release
~4:00-7:00pm  Marshall's Holiday Party at Casa de Milios
~6/12 Days of Christmas Ugly Sweater Day (contest at Casa de Milios)

Friday, December 14th
~7/12 Days of Christmas Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Mindfulness is all over the news recently.  Are you practicing some of the techniques we learned in our yoga/mindfulness training?  

 Please acknowledge you have read this post.   

Was it a November to remember?

2018 is coming to an end
Where did you go, November 2018?  I don't know about the rest of you but I am stuck in a serious time warp!  I cannot seem to "snap out of it".  Time just continues to speed up!  

Hello December!
I hope you enjoyed your snow day. Please remember, we will now have school on April 23, 2019.  




Canned Food Drive
Our annual canned food drive collection will happen this Friday,  December 7th at 9am.  The cans collected at this year's drive will, once again, go to support Marshall families through our in-house Parenting Arizona office as well as St. Mary's Food Bank.  Thanks for encouraging your students to donate.  The winning  class wins a pizza party (thank you PTO)!

Tax Credit Campaign Why do I care so much about tax credit?  Because of the great, almost immeasurable value we place on every single tax credit dollar we receive.  Because of the amazing opportunities we are able to provide to you and your students with every tax credit dollar we expend.  Because of the huge benefit we are able to return to you and your classroom with every tax credit dollar we encumber for field-trips, materials, special one-of-a-kind extracurricular programs, residencies, curriculum, and even, on occasion, capital items.

I have learned through the years that almost every tax credit dollar that comes into the school comes after a direct personal appeal, a personal reminder, a personal plea that comes from one of us to the parents of our students, community stakeholders, close friends, and family members. Our community needs to be reminded and often retaught about the tax advantages that come from making a donation to our school.  And we've learned that this appeal is best heard and understood when it comes from you, from a member of our faculty and staff who understands the benefits our students derive from every single tax credit donation made to Marshall School.

I hope you'll make the effort to reach out to your students' parents, your friends, and your family members in the next few weeks to remind them about our need of their tax credit donations.

Below are a few items that many of us have found useful when making our annual appeals for tax credit donations.

This letter has been used with great success as a first step in making your direct appeals.  Please feel free to download it and revise it to suit your needs.

This flyer  was sent home earlier this week and will be sent home again and again between now and the mid-April tax filing deadline.  Feel free to download it to include with the letter you sent to your friends and family members.

This page on the Marshall School Blog provides some helpful additional information about what Arizona's public school tax credit program is and its advantages for tax payers.

Remember: tax credit works for anyone and everyone who pays taxes in the state of Arizona.  We must all work to secure these funds.  Thank you for your part in getting this information in the hands of our stakeholders.

Innovation Grants are here!!!!

The Flagstaff Unified School District Foundation (FUSDF) Teacher Innovation Fund supports teacher-designed programs aimed to improve student outcomes by unleashing the creativity, ingenuity, and expertise of staff across the Flagstaff Unified School District. FUSDF encourages and supports excellence in teaching by awarding grants, typically between $500 to $2,000, to FUSD staff for special and innovative projects that are not provided for in school budgets.

Here is the Teacher Innovation Fund Grant Application.  The deadline for submitting completed applications is on or before Tuesday, January 8, 2019.  Questions can be directed to Paul Kulpinski, Chair of the Flagstaff Unified School District Foundation, at FUSDFoundation@gmail.com

The Foundation will offer a Grant Writing Workshop on Wednesday, December 12 at 4:00 p.m. in the Board Room at the FUSD Administrative Center.  Any staff interested in learning strategies for planning innovative projects and successfully requesting funds from grantors are invited to attend.    

Let's go get some grants!  Let Alysa Greenberg know if you are writing one.  We can help! 

Evaluation Week
Overton, Macias and Thompson

Coming Up...
Monday, December 3rd
~1-4pm Reasor at Admin Council

Wednesday, December 5th
~3-5pm Hanno and Reasor at LAUNCH
~4:30-5:30 PTO in Library

Thursday, December 6th
~8:00am-3:00pm Reasor & Krause @ Tech. Bond Advisory

Friday, December 7th
~9:00am Canned Food Drive
~12:45-1:45 PBIS Committee Meeting in Science Lab

 Please acknowledge you have read this post.   

Thankfulness

What are you thankful for?  Here is what some of you had to say...

I feel much less stressed out this year! I am enjoying my classes and looking forward to coming to school, almost every day. This is huge.

For my fellow educators at Marshall! Thanks as always for all the help!

Thankful for my family and all the blessings they bring me!

I am thankful for this baby boy in my belly & that I have so much support from friends and family.

I am thankful for the friendships I have made and continue to build here at Marshall that makes coming to work fun!

A wonderful new staff I get to work with.

My snugly Lucie and Sam:-)

My Family

Always, first is my son! He is amazing and I am lucky to be blessed with such a great kid. Second is my first graders, they are such an amazing, happy, loving bunch this year and they make me smile every day!

I am thankful for my family and friends and health. I am thankful for a job that I love and get to come to everyday.

Attentive, Effective PTO

I am thankful for so much, but Marshall School is at the top of the list.

Vote for Mr. Billy - EVERYDAY! Vote HERE

SWIVL
Wish to take your teaching to the next level?  Research shows that when teachers film themselves in the classroom, it helps them reflect on and improve their teaching practice.  We have a new state of the art SWIVL in FUSD.  It is not being used all the time.  Just email Renda Fisk to reserve it for your growth.  View this great video explaining the SWIVL and how it can be utilized for recording lessons.  This is so cool!

 
Evaluations next week:
Foubert, McCauslin, Joe

Coming Up...

Wednesday, November 28th
~5th grade visitations
~9:30-11:30am Reasor at ELETeam (Elem. Admin)

Thursday, November 29th
~9-10am Reasor, Hanno, Kasch at Data Warehouse training 

Friday, November 30th
~8:55am Fire drill
~9:15-10:00am Native American Dancers in the gym K-5
~United Way campaign ends.
~Voting for Mr. Billy ends.  

 Please acknowledge you have read this post. 

Attitude of gratitude!

We have much to be thankful for as we head into our final days before a well deserved break.  What are you thankful for?  Please fill out this simple form so I can share with all on Tuesday! 

America's Favorite Crossing Guard!  

This is BIG!!  Mr. Billy is an official nominee!  Now it is up to us to get the word out!  It is up to popular vote and all are allowed AND ENCOURAGED to vote each day until Nov. 30th!  I would love to see Mr. Billy honored with this title!  While he is one of the most decorated veterans and already honored by the Flagstaff community, becoming America's Favorite Crossing Guard just might be one of his greatest honors of all! It will just take seconds out of your day for two weeks to help us get there.  Added bonus: if he wins, we win $$$$$$, and lots of it!  Voting starts MONDAY!!! Vote here and bookmark it for 2-weeks! I have three emails, I will use them all! ;) Please help spread the word to as many as you can!

United Way-Underway

To date, we are eight!  Eight of us (out of 62) have chosen to participate in Marshall's United Way campaign. We are at 13% of our 80% school-wide goal.  I chose Community Impact Fund and $ out of my paychecks. There are many ways to participate.  Flat $5 works too!  Forms are up front.  If you participate online, let us know so we can accurately report our participation %.  Also a Nov. 30th deadline. 

Congratulations Ms. Tiffany Coates!  She is certifiably official!  Her valid teaching certificate has replaced her substitute cert. making us one step closer to being fully staffed!  Now if we can just land two more highly qualified paraprofessionals to join our amazing team...

THE HUB continues to be updated!  Please note the evaluation calendar as well as the new safety plan documents. 

Evaluations next week:
Hobson, McAllister, Beck

Coming up...  Monday, Nov. 19th
~Just a typical, marvelous Magnet Monday!

Tuesday, Nov. 20th 
~8:30-11:30 Native American Craft Walk-thru!  Sign up in the workroom.

Thanksgiving Break :)

 Please acknowledge you have read this post.

Thankfully plowing through November

There is much to be thankful for as we plow through this November to remember. I hope you enjoyed the "You Matter" sessions you attended.  I sure did!  I am so proud of the work being done here at Marshall.  Our students are  fortunate to have YOU on the front lines.  Do you have a moment, a quote, an experience you wish to share?  Please email me.  I would love to put the lessons/experiences all together to share out.  If you wish to be anonymous, I can do that too. 

Approved:
2019-2020 FUSD Schedule

Gallop Success!!!!!  Wow $15,000!!! 

DART

Mary Walton, Mary Knight, and Robert Hagstrom would like to extend an invitation to join DART, Digital Assessment & Reporting Taskforce.  They are looking for at least one interested person from each site to represent each site's interests and bring information back to the site and share.   Below is the Mission of DART that states its purpose and goals.  This is a new committee with specific intent to guide assessment administration practices and how we report and use data.  

The mission of the DART is to collaborate and optimize digital assessment administration and the reporting of data and grades to all stakeholders as well as communicate the information back to school sites.  Specifically, work together to:

• Evaluate current and upcoming plans and procedures for digital assessment administration
• Discuss solutions for known issues with devices, connectivity, & administration platform
• Discuss solutions for known issues with Synergy Gradebook practices and format
• Communicate plans back to school sites in a consistent and timely fashion

The first meeting will take place on Nov. 14 from 4:00 – 5:00 pm in the A/B Conference room in the Admin Building.  All future DART meetings will take place in the same location and time on the 2^nd Wednesday of each month (Except May, it will be on the 15^th).  Please direct any questions to Dr. Hagstrom and copy myself, Mary Knight and Mary Walton. 

United Way is Underway! 
November 30th deadline.

Our Marshall goal is 80% participation by all certified and classified staff members at Marshall.  All forms are available at the front office.  There are many ways to participate.  Please consider your part in this important endeavor.


Evaluations this week: 
Fisher, Arnold, Schreiber 

Evaluations next week:
Hobson, McAllister 

Coming Up...
Monday, November 12th
~No School, Veterans Day observed.
 
Tuesday, November 13th 
~5:30-7:30pm Governing Board Meeting
Agenda for Tues. Gov. Board Meeting
www.fusd1.org/agenda
Wednesday, November 14th
~5:30-7:30pm 5th grd parent night @ SMS
~6:00-7:00pm Kindergarten Turkey Craft Night

Thursday, November 15th
~Picture Retake Day
~8am-1pm Reasor & Overton at AdvancED workshop @ FRC 

Beat the November Blues....

Please acknowledge you have read this post.

A November to Remember

TimeClock Plus
If you use TimeClock Plus, lucky you :)!  Please be sure to have all of your hours approved on a consistent basis (daily, really).  Any issues should be written on the coveted yellow pad in the front office.  Please be sure to be all caught up before you leave each Friday.  Thank you for working through this new system.  It is getting better. 

Mindfulness for little ones
I have received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback for our Yoga/Mindfulness PD.  This is rare.  I am so glad it was well received by many of you.  We are formulating a plan to add this to our school-wide PBIS and weekly practice.  For now, check out these apps for our students.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/story/id1333722487 .

Many of us continue to use the Calm app for ourselves.  Mrs. Ogg recommends the free Daily Yoga app.  It takes 13-17 min/day.

Speaking of mindfulness,  
PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF OUR PAPER USE!  We have been going through a VERY high amount of copy paper this year.  Not only was our supply budget cut from $16,000.00 down to $10,000.00 this year (yes, ouch already), but we have gone through 2 pallets so far this year in the first quarter.  Historically, we go through 2 the first semester!  This is a problem.  Please help where you can!  We only have $5,000.00 left to get us through the year!

 

Thanksgiving Luncheon
Unfortunately, we were notified late Wednesday, Oct. 31st  afternoon that Food Services schedule our Thanksgiving Luncheon for Monday, Nov. 5.  Knowing this last minute notice would make it difficult for many of our families to plan ahead, I chose to move our Thanksgiving Luncheon to Thursday, Dec. 20th.  Marshall's new Holiday Luncheon. We just might make this a new tradition if you end up preferring this later date. 
 
Your voice.  Your ideas.  Your Representatives.  
If you have issues or ideas, whether you are a problem finder, problem solver, or both, please know there are those at Marshall who can share your thoughts with district level personnel.  Please take your thoughts to Sarah Flores, Andrea Shaw 
and/or Danielle Grimmett.   

Evaluations this week: 
Gustafson and Grimmett (rescheduled), Krause.
Here comes the bus.

Here Comes The Bus

Starting this week. FUSD  has a new bus monitoring system called HERE COMES THE BUS.  This system is designed to monitor students getting on and off the bus and to track the bus while in transit.  For parents, there is an app they can download and create an account to monitor their student. The app is HERE COMES THE BUS,   they will need a five digit school code 83662 and their child’s 16 digit identification number which is located on the back of their FUSD bus identification card.  All of Marshall's ID's start with E00402.  The front of the card has the child’s name and grade and should be used daily to get on the bus at their stop and then to go home in the afternoon. We will be rolling this out starting this week for all grades.  Thanks for your patience as we work through the kinks. I look forward to using this system on campus.  Please send a list to Erin of those students who do not have their cards.  She will take care of it for you. If you have question please let me know. https://herecomesthebus.com/getting-started/  

United Way is Underway! 

Thank you for your attention and feedback on Friday.  All forms are available at the front office.  There are many ways to participate.  Please consider your part in this important endeavor.  Our Marshall goal is not financial, it is participation in giving.  We hope to have 80% of our staff (certified and classified) donating.  Thank you for your consideration.  Should we have the most participation....

Prizes will include:

·         Breakfast for one of the winning sites (with the Superintendent and other guest administrators flipping the pancakes)

and for the other winning site . . .

·         “Superintendent’s Swarm” . . .  Superintendent Penca and a group of district administrators will swarm the winning site to provide whatever “Others Duties As Assigned” the winning site determines.  Substituting?  Reading/tutoring? Guest speaker?  Bus or lunch duty?      

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

·         FUSD’s goal for the United Way of Northern Arizona Campaign this year is simply to dramatically increase the number of employees giving or pledging this year.  FUSD in the fifth largest employer in our community.  We hope to involve as many people as possible . . .  so encourage giving in any amount—large or small.

·         Payroll deduction is a great way to go.  Donors can pledge any amount they choose.  Deductions will begin with the first payday in January 2019 and run through December.  A pledge of just $5 per 26 paydays will result in a total donation of $130 . . . which goes a long way toward supporting a KinderCamp student, meals at the Flagstaff Family Food Center, books for preschoolers, free tax preparation for families, and much more!

·         The FUSD Campaign is now officially OPEN!  The Campaign should end by November 30^th.

·         We will submit all paperwork—pledge forms, checks or cash to me no later than Monday, December 3^rd.  That will give Payroll plenty of time to enter payroll deduction information before January. 

·         Online giving is encouraged!  See the “Electronic Pledging” page in your informational booklet.  This method also works for those wishing to use Payroll Deduction!  Your site will be given “credit” for any staff member pledging online. Just let us know if you do this, please.

Coming Up...
Monday, November 5th
~1:00-4:00pm Reasor at Admin Council
 
Tuesday, November 6th 
~Election Day!  No more TV adds, no more flyers.  

Wednesday, November 7th
~4:30-5:30pm PTO in Library

Friday, November 9th
~No School (for students).  "You Matter" mandatory PD at SMS for all certified and classified staff.

Monday, November
~No School Veterans Day observed

Please acknowledge you have read this post.