Two Weeks and Counting!

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are enjoying these last few days of summer vacation!  As you start thinking about getting prepared for the kids' arrival on Sept. 3rd, I encourage you to sit down and sketch out a schedule for yourself for the next two weeks.  For your reference, I will email a draft of the agenda for Aug 28-30.  This will give you an idea of how much time you will be able to spend in the classroom over those 3 days.

Also, to help you in your planning, remember that the building is open at 6:00 a.m. daily.  For the remainder of this week, plan to be out of the building by 5:00 p.m. at the absolute latest.  The building will also be open from 8:00-12:00 Saturday morning (Aug 24).

The week of Aug. 26th the building will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.  Make plans now to ensure you are ready and to minimize anxiety around the first day of school.

The building will not be open Aug. 31-Sept. 2.

Remember to seek help as you move tables and other furniture around.  I've seen first hand the incredible amount of work Jorge and Rainbow have accomplished this summer, let's preserve these clean shiny floors for as long as possible.

I look forward to seeing you all again, and for the excitement and buzz to return to the school building.

Take care,
Josh

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are enjoying these nice cool days, though I'm sure you're thoughts are increasingly returning the school year. I do want to provide some brief updates for you.

• I'm happy to announce that Emma Brennan will be returning to Nuestro Mundo next year as a half-time CC Teacher!  Emma will be splitting time between NM and Midvale.  She'll be with us in the mornings Mon-Fri.
• I'm also happy to announce that Nuestro Mundo has been selected to participate in a couple of different grants: 
• The Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program, wherein we will be provided a daily snack consisting of fresh fruits or vegetables.  Please be sure to consider this as you develop daily schedules.  
• PLC Grant--this 5-year grant through the Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction will provide funding and professional development for the creation of professional learning communities specific to students with disabilities.  The grant proposal was written to focus on literacy skills for students with disabilities at the intermediate level.
• Ready, Set, Goal Conferences were approved in this year's budget.  You can get started with these as soon as you are ready, remember to keep record of conferences held outside of contract hours so that you can receive compensation.  This will be discussed in more detail on the morning of Aug 28th.
• I will send out an agenda for Aug 28-30 at some point next week via this blog.
• A new multi-functional copier has been purchased and should arrive before the school year begins.  There is currently no working copier on the premises.  
• 30 iPads have been ordered to begin our journey toward becoming a one-to-one school.  These will be housed in Sara Niesen's room and will be available for check-out.  More details to come about this, but remember technology is only as useful as the teacher's ability to utilize it to reach learning goals.  I encourage all of you to seek out opportunities to learn more about this exciting tool.
• There is a "Meet your Teacher" event scheduled from 2-4 on Friday, Aug 30th, followed by a back to school picnic at Dream Park from 4-6:30.  As you get together with your grade level team, please develop a short presentation about the goals for the year at your grade level.

Finally, I'm extremely excited to get the school year up and running.  I look forward to seeing you all again, and for this building to be filled with life.  Great things are in store for Nuestro Mundo Community School.  I was inspired by this video recently and hope the same excitement is generated for you. 

http://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion.html