Faculty Notes

I hope you have enjoyed your weekend. Just think, only two more weeks until Spring Break!

Please remember to be consistent with respect to our discipline plan, the posting of grades, and communication with parents. As we enter the spring, it is more important than ever that we follow procedures and present a united front when dealing with our students. Taking care of business on our end will make things run more smoothly for all involved.

Those of you who have lunch duty, please help each day by clearing the Willett Hall lobby and the restrooms when we begin our announcements. We have some students who are hanging out in those places until the bell rings, and they need to hear any announcements that Coach Ragsdale or I may have.

I hope you find the following tips helpful as we enter a new week. See you in the morning!

10 Resolutions for a Great School Year

Resolution No. 1: I will learn a new technology to enhance my teaching. Resolution No. 2: I will not teach my lessons the same way I did last year. Resolution No. 3: I will only take papers or lesson planning home with me on designated weeknights. I will leave some nights and weekends just to enjoy my personal life free from schoolwork. Resolution No. 4: I will collaborate more with colleagues in my school and in other schools around the world. Resolution No. 5: I will not eat my lunch alone in my room every day. Resolution No. 6: I will give every student a clean slate, regardless of what other students, parents, or school staff have told me. Resolution No. 7: I will be a positive light—even if I'm surrounded in negativity. Resolution No. 8: I will try to improve my school, not just my class. Resolution No. 9: I will do my best to provide for my students. Resolution No. 10: I will learn at least one new skill this year outside my comfort zone.

Faculty Notes

Hello, All!

I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weekend we just had!

Please remember that we have an important professional development opportunity tomorrow regarding the integration of technology into the curriculum. As a part of the training, I will show you how I made the DC videos that were so popular with our parents. In fact, here is the latest:

Please also remember to keep Edline updated, and make sure that you sign up for tests on the board in the teacher workroom.

See you tomorrow!

Happy Long Weekend

Due to the long weekend, we will deal with announcements, etc, when we return to school next Tuesday. For now, enjoy the snow and get some rest!

See you all next week!

DC Bound!

Well, some of us are headed to Washington, D. C. tomorrow morning, so keep us in your prayers. We're looking forward to a great trip!

I encourage you to check out my parent blog at www.tpsmiddle.blogspot.com where you will find a daily YouTube video of our adventures. It should look much like the one below which features our civics field trip to state government buildings back in the fall.

Enjoy, and I'll see you next week!

Faculty Notes

I hope everyone has enjoyed a relaxing weekend!

Here is a photo of our administrative team in San Francisco earlier this week. We had the opportunity to visit the corporate headquarters of Apple Computers. Two days of briefings were designed especially for our school's unique needs. I came away from the conference more excited than ever before to be in the field of education, especially here at Trinity.

As we enter a new week, please make sure you have updated grades on Edline. Our parents are expecting this every other Monday, and we want to do our part to keep the lines of communication open.

Thanks for encouraging our students to support the relief effort in Haiti. As of Friday afternoon, we have raised right around $3,000.

Please welcome Connie Cantey to our staff. She will serve as our 7th grade English teacher for the remainder of the year. Becky Faulkner will take over Connie's tutoring duties.

See you tomorrow!

Faculty Notes

Happy Friday!

Thanks for another great week here at Trinity! It is wonderful to walk the halls and see and hear the great instruction going on in the classroom each day. We seem to be back into a routine now that the second semester has started, and you are doing a fabulous job.

Here are a few important reminders as we head into the weekend:

1. Please remember to sign up for test days on the sheets in the teacher workroom. This information is posted to my parent blog each Friday and our parents rely on it to help their children prepare for the week ahead. We should have no more than two tests per day in any grade, and there should be no test surprises.

2. I will be in San Fransisco through Thursday of next week attending an executive briefing at the Apple corporate headquarters. We have been invited to the west coast to see the latest in Apple educational products as well as those in development. We will also have the opportunity to advise Apple officials as to what we would like to see in the classroom. I am hoping to come back with some great information. Randy Ragsdale will be acting middle school principal in my absence.

3. Please remember to keep Edline updated regularly. Our commitment to parents is that grades will be posted the second and fourth Monday of each month. It is most important that we maintain this schedule.

4. Parental contact is very important. Be sure to let parents know of any concerns you have regarding their students. But also remember to send a quick email or make a phone call when students are caught doing something well. Many times our parents only hear of the bad things their kids do, when there is plenty of good also. As I said in faculty meeting Monday, let's love these kids and show them that love each day.

5. We are going back to uniform attire for outer wear beginning next week. I will remind students at lunch today in addition to announcing it in the parent blog. Be on the lookout for non-uniform jackets next week.

Thank you for everything you do to make Trinity such a special place. We are truly blessed to have each of you here!

Have a great weekend!

Faculty Notes

I hope this blog post finds you enjoying a great weekend!

Thanks for making our first week back a tremendous success. We began the week with an outstanding presentation on organization by Dr. Frank Buck, and we ended with a late morning just in time for those of us who stayed up late to watch the BCS National Championship. (Someone told me they saw Kathy Pirtle cruising up and down the Atlanta Highway Thursday night yelling ROLL TIDE! - do you really think she'd do that??)

Anyway, not much to report here - I'll save everything for the faculty meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon. Don't complain - remember, we're the only division that didn't have one Monday!

Have a great weekend!