Mid Week News

Fourth grade teacher Felicia Collins is diligently working on her Masters with an Ed Administration specialization this spring; I believe she finishes in December and I'm always glad when teachers continue their own learning.  She is gearing up for her intern hours on campus starting next year, so in anticipation of her semester long research project, I met with her this week to discuss her ideas so that the work she does has actual application to our campus - and her chosen topic certainly will be very meaningful.  Much food for thought, with Ms. Collins

choosing the topic of "direct teaching of executive function skills to increase on-task behaviors for positive student achievement".  Reads like a mouthful, but basically she will be looking at some of our average learners and their possible executive functioning skill needs (think organization, attention, resilience, etcetera) in order to "get off the dime" and be all they can be.  It was a great conversation in that the more we chatted, the more questions we had related to the average learner, their needs, how do we push, what is developmentally appropriate, and more.  She has agreed to share out her research (done with a few chosen HP students) next semester and I know it will spark much conversation among our teachers.  Love it!  We explored the book Smart, But Scattered a few years back, so it's a good time to revisit and see if we are doing all we can do for every child.  Thanks Ms. Collins for the conversation!

George Ayres, Maria Satterwhite, and Brion Briones hosted Kinder students for their annual Kinder Spanish performance Tuesday evening.  Held before our general PTA meeting, the students sang three songs in Spanish, complete with some cool movements.  They followed that up with a special birthday song for Mrs. Ayres.  Nice touch and always good to see our Kinders perform.

Be on the lookout for news in our FPS program next school year.  Our longtime and much loved sponsor Cathy McHorse is taking a well deserved break from the program at HP.  Jeannine Ripp and Alison Guckenburger are stepping up to the plate for next year and will be meeting with Cathy to learn about the program, get in gear for any training needs, thinking about scheduling, and more.  I met with Jeannine and Alison recently and they have some great ideas to keep the program going strong, as well as re-visit some other related components for everything advanced academics.  Thanks ladies, none more so than Cathy.  We will miss you!

Two special events are happening on campus next week.  First up, I hope you encourage your child to participate in Poem in Your Pocket Day on Thursday, April 18.  Mrs. Mullins initiated this fun event on campus for the first time last year and as a way to honor National Poetry Month.  Students have been given the template with instructions (template on the back!), we encourage you, if you are on campus that day, to also write a poem, put it in your pocket, and share a favorite poem with other Scotties.   Should be a fun day for all of us.

We will also celebrate all things Earth Week beginning Monday.  The campus Green Team has devised a week long schedule of events, they are all doable, and the daily activities will give students the opportunity to contribute to the care of our world, in big and small ways.  Thanks for keeping it green!

MONDAY (4/15) – Marker Monday: everyone at school will receive bookmarks with all the below events.
TUESDAY (4/16) - Trashy / recycle Tuesday:  kids pick up trash around the school and their neighborhoods and recycle anything they can instead of just trash it.
WEDNESDAY (4/17) -  Water Wednesday:  students save water at home AND bring spare change from home and donate to protect water (donation container will be in 4th grade hall near the office)
THURSDAY (4/18) - No Throw-Away Thursday: bring in items for Specialty recycle bins outside the office for items that can't be recycled at home.
FRIDAY (4/19) - Walk over on Friday (WOOF): everyone should walk, bike or carpool to try to use as little fossil fuel energy as possible to get to school.  This is also the FINAL DAY to bring in styrofoam for recycling!
SATURDAY (4/20) - Simple Saturday:  turn off appliances at home and unplug them (plugged in many are still using energy)...Save electricity and spend time outside enjoying nature.
SUNDAY (4/21) - Service Project Sunday:  come work on the nature trail at Perry Park, 10-12pm.
MONDAY (4/22) -  EARTH DAY: wear green, bring no waste lunches/snacks to school and bring reusable water bottles.

I think I'll end today with how our week started.  Namely, last Saturday.  I was fortunate enough to tag along to the Council of Exceptional Children conference with some other AISD folks and though I only attended for the one day, I did come away with some interesting information.  Always good to think about our children who have special needs, be it through special education programming or gifted and talented programming.  My sessions ranged the gamut from tools to give our most vulnerable children when it comes to personal safety, to playground interactions and the TRACKS system for students on the spectrum, to a fascinating overview of the top ranked school system in Finland.  And their national system level of supports they build into all schools.  Fascinating.  My last session was on an art camp held at the Dallas Museum of Art, targeted specifically for children on the autism spectrum.  These day-long/week-long camp offerings seemed unique in that the behavioral specialist worked alongside the art providers (with Jr. League volunteers helping as well) to give kids the opportunity to enjoy the museum, create art, showcase their art, while working on social and language skills at the same time.  Think it's an idea I'll be sharing.

Finally, Saturday night's Spring Fling fundraiser was fun!  It was a successful event as always, but the costumes celebrating our 60th school anniversary were the true highlight.  The Pink Ladies, aka several parents, did it up right, along with their cool cat escorts, and it was a hoot seeing them hit the dance floor.  Good vibes, good times, much appreciated support for our school.  Thanks Fling co-chairs Bitsy Norwood and Kylie Calvert for a very nice evening.