"B" week schedule this week!

Lesson Plans and Weekly Newsletters

In order to help streamline where to put your lesson plans and newsletters, I have created folders in the shared 2023-2024 Teacher Resources drive within the STEM folder.  Once you open the STEM folder, you will see grade level folders, or grade level & content folders (example:  Kindergarten, 6th-8th grade Math, etc).  Click on the folder of the grade level you teach, and upon doing so, you will see a folder titled "August".  Within the August folder, submit your weekly August lesson plans here.  Please title them as instructed during PD with the title for the week within the month folder (example: "Week of August 14").  You will need to create the folder for each month (please do not submit all your lesson plans for the year in the August folder, meaning create September, October, November...etc folders).

For your weekly newsletters, please also put them in the same STEM folder, but within the "Newsletter" folder.  When you open that specific folder, you will find your grade level folders, where you can input them by month there.  

Please make sure newsletters are placed within that folder by Friday mornings, and lesson plans are submitted no later than each Sunday afternoon.  If you need help with newsletters or lesson plans, let me know!

Class Procedures

Please make sure to be mindful of Specials times and Lunch times.  It is the expectation that you take your class to the restroom BEFORE going to Specials classes, as scholars should only need to use the restroom during specials times only in an emergency.  The lunch times are listed below.  Please arrive ON TIME and pick up your scholars ON TIME.  Even being a few minutes early or late disrupts the flow of the lunch distribution and clean-up.  The specials team teaches at 1:15pm each day, and if grade levels are early to lunch or late picking up, it pushes back all the other lunches, causing the afternoon specials time to be affected.  Thank you for your help!

Monday - Thursday Grade Level Lunch Times: Lunch in the cafeteria

Pre-K: 10:30-11:00

Kinder:  10:45-11:15

1: 11:15-11:45

2-3: 11:45-12:15

4-5: 12:15-12:45

6-8: 12:45-1:15

Friday Grade Level Lunch Times: *Pre-K will eat in the cafeteria. All other grade levels to eat in classrooms.

*Pre-K: 10:30-11:00

K: 11:10-11:40

1st: 11:20-11:50

2nd: 11:30-12:00

3rd: 11:40-12:10

4th: 12:00-12:30

5th: 12:15-12:45

6-8: 12:20-12:50

**All scholars should be wearing their green lanyard with their lunch code at ALL TIMES!  If you have a scholar who needs a lanyard, please email me so I can get one for them.

Birthday Thursday

Our first Birthday Thursday will be on Thursday, August 31.  As a staff, we will celebrate our staff June, July & August birthdays with some fun treats!

For those new to the team, Birthday Thursdays occur once a month, the last Thursday of each month.  This is the only time of the month where scholars can bring in birthday treats to share if it is their birthday month.  If a scholar brings in treats that day, or treats are sent in for them to pass out, the treats are not allowed to be consumed until the LAST 30 MINUTES of the school day.  For the classroom, treats also have to be individually packaged (for example, if they bring in one big bag of chips, they will not be allowed to pass that out).  Trays of cupcakes or cake will not be allowed, as they are not individually packaged. Examples of treats were provided in the parent STEM Connect newsletter.  Please reiterate these points in your class newsletters as well.  

If the treats are consumed at another time other than 30 minutes before the end of the school day, your class will not be allowed to participate in the next month's Birthday Thursday.  If you have any questions, let me know!  

Badges

Your badge will allow you access into our building from 6:00am until 6:00pm each weekday.  If you need to come to campus on a weekend, please let me know the times and day you are wanting access so that I can request it for you.  If you are on campus, please make sure to only use the front entrance (door 5) as we do during the weekday and make sure the door closes properly behind you.  

As a reminder, during the school day, scholars should only be going in and out of door 2 for recess with you, or for arrival and dismissal (where an adult will be located).  Classes are NOT to come in through door 5 (the front door).  Please also look at the map to see where the nearest door is for your fire drill exiting location (updated map in your red safety binder). 

Safety Drills, CR Charts, Red Bags, Walkies, Raptor (all things safety!)

Please make sure you are practicing each safety drill with your students (lock down, what a lock out means, fire drill, severe weather drill).  We will be completing drills in the near future (you will not know the day or time).  The fire drill noise is extremely loud, so practice with your students quietness and quickness in an orderly fashion!  Make sure you know where to go, your students know where to go, and all of that is indicated within your sub lesson plans. 

• Make sure you are carrying your CR Charts and red bags with your red binder with you AT ALL TIMES!  You should have your bandaid pouch in your red binder, so when you are out at recess and a scholar needs a bandaid, you already have one!  

• Your walkie should be on you and on channel 3 at ALL TIMES.  Check to make sure your walkie is working each morning when you pick it up.  Sign it out in the binder in the morning when you pick it up and sign it back in each afternoon before you leave, placing it on a charger so it can be fully charged for the next day.  There is a new sign-out and sign-in sheet now, and your walkie will now be labeled with your room number (not grade level or name), so please take the correct walkie each day.  

Let me know if you have any questions about the above information.  Safety is our #1 priority and something that should always be on the forefront of our minds.  Thank you for helping to keep each other and our scholars safe!

Staff Favorites!

If you have not done so already, please turn in your "Staff Favorites" sheet to me on Monday.  Thank you for taking the time to share a little bit about yourself!

Staff Shout-Outs!

See a staff member doing something amazing?  Why yes, everyday!  Let's start celebrating each other with "shouting" each other out with the great things we are doing!  In the staff lounge is a bulletin board titled "Staff Shout-Outs".  

How it works:

• Spread some positivity by giving a shout-out to a member of our school.

• Grab a shout-out slip (located by the bulletin board) and jot down what you appreciate about someone.  You can sign your name or leave it anonymous.

• Then, tape it up and voila!  You've just made someone's day! ❣️

Uniforms

Continue to reinforce the uniform policy with students.  There will not be "dress down Friday's for $1.00" until all students are wearing uniforms (plan is to have the first dress down day the first week in September).  Send out communication to parents via Dojo and put it in your newsletter.  The rooms that are cold, jackets/coats are fine to wear in the building as long as they are in our school uniform colors (solid navy or gray--No tie dye/colorful sweatshirts).  If parents have questions you are unsure of, please have them reach out to me for clarification.  If a scholar is not in a solid navy or solid gray shirt since their ordered uniform has not arrived, please contact the parents to let them know they MUST come in a solid navy or solid gray shirt the following day.  Jeans are also not permitted, so please contact families regarding this as well.  There is zero reason why a scholar should not be in uniform this week, as all have had time to order uniforms and if still waiting on them, have had the opportunity to purchase solid color polo shirts from the store. 

Rooms in the Afternoon

Please ask scholars to stack their chairs at the end of each school day and clear off desk tops so that the evening cleaning crew can clean the floors and wipe off each desk top.  Chairs can be stacked in groups of 4 or 5 around the perimeter of the classroom.  Make this a part of your classroom afternoon routine and have scholars gathering their chair for their morning routine!   

Family Fun Event!

Our first Family Fun Event for the 2023-2024 school year will be Thursday, August 24th from 4:00pm-5:30pm.  The goal of these events are to get to know our families a bit better in an informal "fun" gathering.  The gym will be open for families/staff to play basketball or other games, the cafeteria will be open with crafts/coloring pages to create, a classroom will be open with books being read/stories read on the mimeo board, and STEM activities will be played in a few classrooms.  The PTO will also be selling nachos & snacks, so remind your families via Dojo to bring money for the goodies!  

I am needing at least five staff members to help, so please sign up on this form if you are able to help assist during that time.  More than 5 signing up is great! 😁The expectation is that you come to at least 4 Family Fun Events throughout the year.  Thank you for your help and the time you take to make our campus a fun place for our scholars and families!

Manara Academy Website

Don't forget we have a great new website that can help answer a lot of district questions you may have!  The Manara Academy Website is where you can find your compliance courses, information about Red Rover, where to put in a ticket for IT help, PowerSchool information, and much more!  New things will be added to this site throughout the year, so it is one of your first "go-to" places if you have questions about anything here at Manara!

Weather and Heat Index

As a reminder, if the heat index ("feels like") temperature is above 100 degrees, you are not permitted to take scholars outside.  What this means is that for the next few weeks at least, no classes should be outside after 11am.  Please practice outside drills before this time as well.  Also, make sure your scholars are bringing water bottles to school and drinking water throughout the day.  Dehydration can come on quickly, so add water breaks throughout your day with your scholars!  This is good for you, too!  😀

Wellness Friday

This Friday, August 25, is our first Wellness Friday.  After ALL scholars go home on Friday, you can, too!  We all want to go home early on this day, so all hands-on-deck will help get everyone home swiftly and safely!  Please make sure to include a Dojo message to families on Friday morning reminding them of the 1:00pm Friday dismissal!

To-Do Items

Things to do this week:

• Sign up for at least one committee (forms in my office) 

  • Door check committee

  • Family Fun Event planners

  • Sunshine Committee

• Turn in your "favorites" sheet to Mrs. Vinten

• Place your lesson plans & newsletters in the correct google drive folder 

• Check your email for calendar invites to meet with Mrs. Vinten 

• Find a staff member to write a "shout-out" to

• Practice all safety drills with your classes

• Pass out Maverick Bucks to scholars who are modeling "BLUE" behaviors

• Find at least two scholars this week in your class who deserve Positive Office Referrals!  Before sending them down for their positive phone call home, please call Ms. Smith (Ext 300) to make sure I'm available to make the call. 

• Continue to build relationships with your scholars.  The more you get to know them, the more they will get to know you!  Truly knowing them will help to create a positive learning and social-emotional environment for all!

• And if you got this far with reading the newsletter....you can wear JEANS again on Friday, August 25!  😁

Aug 24 Family Fun Event from 4pm-5:30pm

Aug 25 Newsletters due for week of Aug 28 (shared STEM folder)

Aug 27 Lesson Plans due for week of Aug 28 (shared STEM folder) 

Aug 31 Region 10 Compliance Courses Due

Aug 31 Birthday Thursday for June, July & August birthdays

Sept 4 No school for staff & scholars (Labor Day)

Sept 5 PD - location tbd (no school for scholars)

Sept 6 - Oct 6 Pre-k through 6th grade BOY Circle/mCLASS assessment window open

Sept 11 Fall Photos (Lifetouch)

Sept 11-15 Scholastic Book Fair (more information to come)