Wonderful staff!

Summer is coming to a close and our new school year is beginning. I don't know about you, but I definitely miss the lazy summer days as my task list and email inbox stack up again. I hope that you all enjoyed your time off as much as I did. It has been fun chatting with everyone who was in and out of the building last week working on rooms. I always love the excitement of a fresh new year.

What Is Expected of Me This Week?

UPDATE: DON'T FORGET TO BE AT SAVANNAH AT 7:30 on WEDNESDAY JULY, 31ST:

Our first day back to work begins with the Braswell Zone Convocation. Convocation is a tradition where all Braswell Zone schools gather for a Pep Assembly and speaker to kick off the new year. We will not have much time at Savannah before heading to Braswell. 

Here are tips:

• Bring $15 cash to pick up your t-shirt. We will have the t-shirts in the library sorted by size for easy peasy distribution. The shirts turned out really cool. 

• Grab some spirit gear for the assembly. We have pom poms, cowbells, clappers, banners, and a bubble bazooka. These items will also be in the library. 

• Grab a bagel and coffee if you want. Breakfast will be grab and go, nothing fancy.

• We will carpool to Braswell from Savannah at 8:00. We will have shoe polish on hand to decorate the cars we plan to take. 

• Team leads--reach out to your team members by Tuesday to make sure everyone has read this Gator News. I don't want anyone left out. 

Upcoming Events:

NEW TO DENTON TEACHER TRAINING JULY 29th and 30th -- Details here.

CLASSROOM ACCESS July 29th and 30th:

We will allow teachers in the building again on Monday and Tuesday to work on classrooms if you choose. This is completely voluntary. IMPORTANT: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD FURNITURE BE SLID/DRUG ACROSS OUR NEWLY WAXED FLOORS. Use dollies, carts, or the flatbed. It is absolutely obvious if you are guilty of dragging furniture, because THERE IS A TRAIL FROM YOUR ROOM. 

July 31st -- First Official Day for Teachers and Staff (If you havent already, you may pick up your keys from Eston on this day during any PD breaks.)

August 1st and 2nd -- District PD Days. See PD Plan. 

August 2nd -- Midnight Madness to work in classrooms from 5:00 pm-12:00 am. (This is voluntary. There will be AC!)

August 5th -- Meet the Teacher (See slide below)

August 7th -- First Day of School 

Still Important from Last Week...

JOIN BAND:

Join our ‘SES Staff 24-25’ group on the BAND app. Get updates and stay connected! https://band.us/n/a4ab08W8X319i

READ THE CURRENT PD PLAN:

This is a working document, but it is important to see the proposed schedule so you can plan accordingly. 

Here is the current plan. We have updated many items on this sheet so read carefully.  

READ HOLT'S EMAIL REGARDING YOUR INFO ON THE SCHOOL WEBSITE:

This email went out on July 17th.

TAKE THIS FREE ENNEAGRAM TEST (IF YOU DON'T ALREADY KNOW YOUR ENNEAGRAM NUMBER)

We will use this info on our first day back. 

FILL OUT A SLIDE FOR YOUR DOOR SIGN. Thank you to the 14 people who have completed this already! 

FAQs ON CLASSROOM PREP

Can I paint my classroom? 

We have allowed this is in the past, however we are not allowing this going forward. We have given permission on a limited basis for a few teachers to paint classrooms BACK to a more neutral color, but not to paint a bold, committed color. See Hawkins for questions on this. 

What about furniture I don't want or furniture that I need?

Please fill out this Google form that we sent last week. Please us the "July 2024" tab. If you inputted on another tab, please transfer your submission to the July tab. Maketia will organize furniture removal and disbursement as feasible. There are some district rules about furniture removal that limits our ability to take anything and everything out of your classroom.

Will I get money for my classroom?

Every teacher that joins PTA (for $12) qualifies for a PTA reimbursement up to $150 for classroom needs. New membership opens on August 1st, so do not join before this date. We will provide a link to you as soon as the window opens. Eston and I will also look at the budget and determine what if the campus can provide beyond this amount based on our other needs. 

Will we have Midnight Madness?

Yes! We will have midnight madness on Friday, August 2nd. The school will be open until midnight for classroom prep. This is a Savannah tradition and is totally voluntary.