Lost/Broken/Milk iPads
Please institute a check system to monitor your student iPad status. Students are given an insurance of one free break a year. Maybe not something to advertise, but it's the policy. I would highly suggest that any student with a broken screen does not take the iPad home going forward. Maybe if you tell them that policy now, they might take better care of them. Like I mentioned in my email on Wednesday, you are free to modify your class's procedures for taking iPads home. As long as you have a plan in place to get paperwork or the iPad home in the event of a long term absence, you are covered.
Let me know if you have students who aren't bringing their devices to school. I will lock the device so it's not usable and include a friendly reminder to return it to school.
Library Checkout
We are returning to a "normal" checkout next week. Regular times and a 30 minute slot. Fingers crossed that we can keep it place for the rest of the year. It would be great if students in grades 2-5 can continue to bring their devices to utilize Destiny and check out items in Sora and Flipster.
Student Announcements
We are transitioning to student-led announcements starting next week. It'll be a slow process so we can try to get it right, but eventually students will handle Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I thought it'd be good to have a rundown of what announcements will be like for next week:
Monday - Mrs. Epperson
Tuesday - Students in Ms. Hickcox's class
Wednesday - Me
Thursday - Mrs. Epperson
Friday - Mrs. Epperson
You should have received an outlook invite for Tuesday's announcements. I'm using the same link as Wednesday, but I thought it'd be easiest if you had a calendar event for each day. So eventually you'll receive invites for Monday and Thursday as well. Hope that makes things as clear as possible.
February Media Center Promotions:
We have a lot going on next month...
Black History Month
Our read alouds in February will all feature African American authors, characters, and/or history. We will have a display on the semi circle shelves. Our collection has a ton of great books so we hope to get the students to experience them.
"These books need some loving"
Starting on Monday, the Media Center will be featuring "books that need some loving". We are in the process of pulling all our books that have never been checked out. They'll be displayed on all the stands, end caps, and book board for the month of February. We are going to encourage students to check them out. There are a lot of really great reads so feel free to check some out yourself.
Media Center Wordle
Look for our media center Wordle next week. Each class will be able to enter a guess during your library visit. It will be displayed so everyone can see the progress. Winning guesses will earn your class 153 Villasana Points. Correct letters will receive 22 Villasana Points. Good luck!
Chickens
I'm in the process of evaluating our flock of chickens and their place at Cedar Ridge. I don't feel like I have done a good job of sharing ways for you to utilize them. We had a great outpouring of classes in the fall to help with food, water, and egg collection. I decided to have one class take care of them during the winter to keep it simple. As the year has progressed, I've realized that our coop will need to be overhauled. Before I commit to that process, I need to know that we want them here long term. I also want to know that our staff is on board. We can't only have one person invested in their care in the event that one person were to leave. So I'll be working on coming up with some integration resources for you to use with your students. I'll also be sending out a survey next week to get your overall feedback on the flock.
Have a Great Weekend!
