April Thoughts/Reflections

Hard to imagine that April Showers have brought...more showers.  Shouldn't that be May flowers?  My wife and and I have struggled with our typical gardening/weeding this spring due to the inconsistent weather as well.  This weather has confused many students too!  I believe the weather is starting to become "normal" now.  In no time at all summer will be upon us and we will have forgotten April.  With that said, April has been an enjoyable month.  We've started to take our customary Spring field trips!  Just the other week I joined the G3 students as they traveled to Cave of the Mounds.  What a great experience!  Our students wandered the cave (with a tour guide), learned how the cave was formed, and even ran through a dormant sink hole.  Our lunch included a stop at a county park for some food and fun.  Mr. Damp and I played soccer with the students while others played football, played on the play structure or simply relaxed in the grass.  My goal is to attend more field trips with the students to engage with them on a new level. 

I've also been hard at work "planting the seeds" for next year.  Budget, scheduling and student placements are three critical components of my April and May.  I want to thank all those around me for the support, encouragement and suggestions as these tasks get completed. 

Make it a great May!!

March Thoughts/Reflections

March Madness!  It's just not for basketball either!  There are lots of things going on at CES that lead up to the end of Qtr 3 and Spring Break.  Whether your child had a music concert, involved with Art Club or Little Ladies Running Club, involved with a youth sport or club, involved in a church group, or involved in the many other great activities for kids in our community, it simply can be called March Madness!  I wish you and your family a very restful and peaceful Spring Break.  For those of you who are traveling, be safe and we look forward to your return.  For those who are staying in the area, enjoy the peace and quiet that Spring Break can offer.

And don't forget...Go Badgers!

February Thoughts/Reflections

100 days.  Students and staff celebrated 100 days of school this month.  Classroom celebrations varied across the building.  In the younger age classrooms, students count and brought 100 items (mainly food items) to school to help in their celebrations.  In our 5th grade classrooms, a 1000 day celebration was planned.  Hard to imagine that these students have been in school 1000 days...but they have.  No matter what the celebration, students were engaged on their 100 or 1000 day of school.  This is the engagement I wish to have each and every day of the school year.  Why not have a 101 day celebration?  How about a 50 day celebration or a 22 day celebration?  Each and every day is precious...let's celebrate them all!

January Thoughts/Reflections

January is a great month.  It's a month of new beginnings, new hopes and dreams, and snow!  With such a warm winter to this point, January is living up to our typical winter.  Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for outdoor recess.  As long as we are talking about recess, it's always important to review safety expectations with students during January--especially the snow expectations.  Here at CES, we have similar expectations to many schools in our area.  Our simply expectations for playing in the snow are as follows:

*If you want to play in the snow, you have to have the clothing (hat, gloves, coat, snow pants, and boots).  If you don't have the appropriate clothing, the blacktop areas are a great place to play with friends.

*No snow throwing (including snow balls, snow chunks, etc.).

*We encourage students to use our sleds and enjoy our east sledding hill.  Students should sit upright, go down the hill facing forward, walk the sled up the hill and give the next student a turn.  We've had great fun so far and the kids have been great!

I wish all of you a great January and I look forward to seeing you at CES soon!

December Thoughts/Reflections

What a month!  December has 31 days but only 15 of them are school days.  That's a lot of learning in such a few short days.  However, our staff did a great job of balancing the fun of the season with the needs of education.  Sure there were classroom celebrations but there were also great learning opportunities that come from this.  What a great time to include learning about different cultures and how different cultures celebrate the holidays.  Our staff weaved these discussions into reading and writing activites so students could expand their minds and develop a better understanding of others.  In fact, one such example of embracing other cultures was in the Winter music concert of the 3rd grade students.  They sang songs from all over the world.  I was proud of the selections that Miss Erickson picked and the students did a great job learning and performing them.

Yes it was a month of celebrations but it also was a month of excitement and learning.  I would like to thank all those who wished me a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or even dropped off a treat or gift.  Your thoughtfulness is much appreciated!

November Thoughts/Reflections

As I key this month's reflections, on Thanksgiving Day, I need to stop and thank all the students, staff and families that have welcomed me to CES this year.  This Thanksgiving I am very thankful indeed.  I work in a community that cares about it's people.  Whether it is a family in need when disaster strikes or whether it's a family who gives their time to help volunteer at the Food Pantry or Market Day pickup, people help out when needed.

This November I am very thankful for the efforts of our students and staff.  We had a busy month!  Here are a few "hi-lites" of our busy month...

*Our students in Grades 3-5 have completed the WKCE state testing.  This "high-stakes test" measures our students and school.  The results come back in the Spring.  Our school has consistently scored well on these tests and we anticipate this again. 

*Our students and staff have been preparing for the end of the quarter as well.  With this comes preparation for parent-teacher conferences.  We had great participation at conferences this year.  I spoke to many families over the course of two days and I heard a common theme--my child enjoys school and enjoys his/her teacher. 

*Our staff participated in the first-ever online staff meeting.  Using Moodle, our staff learned about Classroom Walkthroughs and PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports).  Many of us have taken online classes in the past and many will continue to do so in the future.  This online staff meeting was a great tool for us to use and it increases our capacity as a learning community as well.  We now can meet anytime, anywhere!  In addition to the online staff meeting, several staff participated in a webinar on a new math screener.  This was a first for several staff too!  Way to go staff!  I'm proud of you! 

*CES hosted it's annual Child Development Day on T Nov 22.  This day allowed parents with young children to come to school to learn more about child development from our staff as well as connect with agencies around the area that support families.  It was a great day for families and we thank all of you who participated.

*Our staff participated in an RtI (Response to Intervention) workshop on W Nov 23.  Our Grades 3-5 teachers worked hard on the morning of W Nov 23 to create Essential Outcomes for English/Language Arts and Math.  These are the things students in each of the grade levels MUST know.  In the afternoon (while the students were home and playing) all of our staff received training on RtI through a case study presented by Kelly Schwegels, a CESA2 RtI expert.

Whew!!!!  What a month!  Our students and staff are much deserving of this "Turkey Break."  They have worked extremely hard and for that...I am very thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

October Thoughts/Reflections

As I sit on my couch at home and reflect upon October I can't help but feel proud and excited about the first two months of school.  Students and parents are back in the school routine now (I know my family is) and time simply feels as if it is going faster!  I'm not sure if there is actually scientific proof that time accelerates when you have children and they are in school...but there should be!  Families in October were sending extra clothes along for our swimming unit in physical education.  Families were picking their children late to allow them to run!  Yes, run!  Our Little Ladies Running Club have been running throughout October to prepare for the annual Turkey Trot coming up on November 6.  Families were picking up their children late to allow them to participate in Art Club, Environmental Club and Blue Jay Choir.  Wow!  We have a lot of activities for kids!  Not to mention CAP activities like the Blue Fins Swim Team, karate and the list goes on!  We truly have a great thing here at CES and in Cambridge! 

Please, take time to "slow down" as a family.  Spend an afternoon in a park.  Spend time reading on a rainy weekend day.  Take your children to a muesum.  Use the upcoming October 27-28 days off as a way to reconnect with family.  Before you know it we'll be in November and we'll be talking about Thanksgiving and we will all wonder what happened to November.

I hope you and your family have a great end to October! 

September Thoughts/Reflections

As I sit here and think/reflect on the first few weeks of school I smile and think to myself, "I have the best job in the world!"  Why do I say that?  Where else can you have over 450 people (students and adults) come each morning smiling and excited about their day?  The month of September is a transition month.  A transition from summer to school.  A transition from home to school.  A transition from grade to grade.  One such transition was a change for students in the cafeteria with our new expectations and procedures.  Students are encouraged to use words like please, thank you and may I.  Students are encouraged to help clean their table area.  In fact, we use the phrase, "Leave the place cleaner than you found it."  We now dismiss a table at a time to throw away their trash.  Students now leave the cafeteria for recess by exiting from the music room.  This cuts down on all the hallway noise during the lunchtime as students walked down halls to get to the recess areas.  It's going well!

I am out and about more than ever!  I'm in the circle greeting students as they get dropped off.  I'm in the classrooms, the hallways, the lunchroom, and on the playground during recesses.  Being visible is important to the students, staff and myself.  It keeps me connected with the building.  I look forward continuing this visibility throughout the year!

Finally, I'm proud to enhance the level of communication with the use of the website!  What a great tool to share information.  Please continue to visit our website as more information will be posted as the school year goes on.

I hope you and your family have a great end to September!