Heads Up
Here's some things to be aware of in the coming weeks.
- Mr. Poore is planning his annual "fill the office" food drive for February 2nd through 13th. The goal is to fill his office with snack pack items to the point where he's working on the roof of the admin building on February 16th. Items will support Samaritan House snack pack programs at schools. Samaritan House has stepped up to fill the shortfall created when Arkansas Rice Depot stopped supporting the program January 1st. This is an opportunity for us to partner with an exemplary organization to support students and families in our district. I'll send out something for Tuesday folders and post to social media next week. Our goal is to support sustainable food initiatives, spread food collections out during the school year, and support programs that directly benefit our students. Samaritan began distributing snack packs to 275 middle, junior, and high school students this month.
- Tuesday, January 27, is the next board recognized night. It will be at Old High and begins at 6:00 pm. Vicki will get information to you.
- One District, One Book kicks off next week.
- I have Crystal Bridges January/February calendars - FREE - if you want some let me know.
- Are you, a PLC, or a group looking for a fun, creative, team building activity that supports a good cause. See attached flyer or http://www.cwjcnwar.org/getouttabedrace/
Wednesday Walkabouts
Last Wednesday, I started the day tagging along on a field trip to Samaritan House with Marisa Shofner and Ruth Barker student council members to pack snack packs. I honestly had no idea of the depth and breadth of their programs to support the NWA community.
Next, I previewed GoNoodle videos created by students in Rissa Webber and Tiffany Snodgrass' classes at R. E. Baker. The kids were so excited to show off their hard work to the visitors assembled. GoNoodle is free to classroom teachers thanks to support from Mercy (Health), Arkansas Children's Hospital, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Then I went to Mary Mae Jones and visited with ESL teachers and watched an amazing transition take place. All the first graders left their rooms, gathered in a designated spot with a teacher, and headed off for intervention and enrichment activities. Unbelievable.
Finally, I stopped in Carrie Beach's classroom at Washington to talk about bats. She and Amy Van Pelt at Old High have got some pretty big ideas about how students can educate the community on the benefits of these oft-maligned creatures of the night.
Grants and Professional Development
Encourage teachers to apply for KNWA' brightest classroom awards. Each winner receives $500 for classroom supplies. Donor's Choose has also worked well for some teachers. Blake Matthews at Washington just had a project funded in a day. Here are the current projects from Bentonville Teachers http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/search.html?state=AR&community=15771:2 I started checking this site to promote teacher requests on district social media. In my opinion, fifty $500 donations that directly impact kids is worth more than one $25,000 grant in many respects.
Video of the Week
Enjoy your day.
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