May 26 and June 3

May 26 and June 3

I always look forward to Memorial Day weekend. We start off our weekend on Saturday to watch Fiesta Days parade in Vacaville and remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces. For the past 10 years we have a party with at least 60 of our close friends and family at our home that evening. I enjoy catching up with everyone since our life is HECTIC!!  As many of you know I LOVE dinner parties!!

This weekend my niece is graduating from San Francisco with her B.A in Business/Marketing at 21. I remember the day she was born and I can’t believe she is entering the working world!! For 7 years of her life she was the only niece in the family. She has 3 Aunts that spent a lot of time with her. Sometimes I laugh at some of the things we thought were ‘okay’ to do with her since we didn’t have kids.  I just heard the song “It Wasn’t Me” by Shaggy this morning and every time I hear that song I think of her. I remember singing the song in our truck on the farm with her (she was 4) and she knew every word because I taught her. BEST AUNT EVER!! 

We will be hosting her graduation party at our home on Sunday night- this may be the theme song- It Wasn't Me. I look forward to letting her know how proud we are of her and how much she is loved by all of us!! 

I would like to take some time to introduce two new teachers to our site!! Brandon Klein will be teaching 8th grade and Alla Litvinchuk will be teaching 6th/7th grade. Here is a little about each of them: 

From Brandon: I'm a military brat--was born in the Philippines, froze in Iceland, survived Stockton and then 'grew up' in Virginia. I've spent the last 15 years teaching people how to live through their worst days as a Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape (SERE) Specialist for the USAF. To get the adrenaline going, I jump out of 'perfectly good airplanes' as a Test Parachutist as well. I live on coffee and candy. I love the outdoors--all my camping is in tents. I think the Duckbilled Platypus is the bees knees, I only talk in movie quotes and all life's problems can be solved with rock-paper-scissors...and cupcakes.

Hello Suisun Valley Elementary Staff,

My name is Alla Litvinchuk and I am a brand new teacher this year. I have just graduated from the University of UC Davis where I received a multiple subject teaching credential. Prior to UC Davis, I attended Sacramento State University where I majored in Liberal Studies. Teaching has always been a passion of mine and I am excited to finally begin my career.

A little about myself: I was born in Belarus, but have lived in America since I was 4. Growing up in a Ukrainian family, in the heart of Sacramento, I have learned to value culture and greatly appreciate diversity. I love the outdoors and spend a large portion of my free time exploring our golden state. Traveling, cooking, and reading are a few of my other hobbies. Out of all the subjects in school, science has always been a favorite, so I am thrilled to be at a school with an Agriculture and Science focus.

I have heard great things about Suisun Valley Elementary, and I cannot wait to meet the staff and begin my first year of teaching.

Sincerely,

Alla Litvinchuk

Ending the Year on a Positive Note

The Responsive Classroom had a couple of great ideas that gets our students to those higher levels of thinking and requires a performance task. (Think Common Core!) Here are a couple of great ideas….which you can revise and use with your class!

A few years ago I decided to make sure my class would have time for saying goodbye on the last day of school. To help them prepare, the night before I gave them “thinking homework,” asking them to reflect on what they remembered about the school year and to be ready to share their memories with the class.

Near the end of the next day, I shut the door and posted a "Do Not Disturb" sign on it so we wouldn’t be interrupted. People knew what we were doing must be important—it was the first time during the whole year that I’d closed the classroom door!

For about thirty minutes, we shared our "I remembers,” and I jotted down what the children said, everything from “learning to read” to “singing on stage at the holiday concert.” We hugged, laughed, and cried. Before the children left for the day I gave them copies of everyone’s “I remember” to take home. I have done this every year since. It has become a cherished way to end the year on a positive note.

--Arlene Flye, preK and kindergarten teacher,

May 31-, 3:05 Retirement celebration for Caroline and Laura; Report cards due to me

June 1- AR Party in the afternoon; Gold Ribbon event in Sacramento

June 2- 8th grade Trip

June 3 - 8th grade promotion 10:00am, report cards go home; minimum day  

SAVE THE DATES:

August 11: Buy Back Professional development here at SV Ag Lifelab/NGSS standards; wear comfortable shoes, sunscreen, and a hat if you need. We will be going out to the garden

8:30-12:00

12:00-12:30 Lunch

12:30-3:30

August 15: Welcome back. Staff meeting 8:30-12:00 in staff room

August 17: First day of school

August 19: Staff social at our home in Vacaville at 5:00pm. Please bring your family :)

Set up check out appointments through google docs that Kristin will send out

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you Deanna and Sarah for attending the 7th and 8th grade dance. Thank you Carole, Robin, Kristin, and Sarah for serving ice cream at Cold Stone yesterday. Thank you Mrs. Lanza and Mr. Redgrave for another successful field day event!! Thank you Mrs. Merodio for helping out during field day!

Play: Make the last week of school FUN and ENGAGING!!

Choose your attitude: 

To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?" NO EXCUSES!!

Make Their Day:  Write a positive note to each student before they leave.

 

May 19

It is that time of year when I am closing out a school year and planning for the next school year. This is a busy time in our household since my husband is a teacher as well. We BOTH are super BUSY!! I just keep telling him - I will see him in June :) Tonight is our school dance and our parents have done an AMAZING job transforming our MPR room into a beach. The kids are going to have so much fun tonight. If you are around tonight you should stop by. I love this event every year!! 

Some ideas on getting feedback from your students. Have them answer the following questions:

1. My favorite activity this year and why:

2. I had the most fun when:

3. The hardest part was:

4. What I liked best about my class and teacher:

5. What I’ll miss the most and why:

6. I made the most growth in this area: 

7. Advice to students for next year: 

So before your count-down is up, take a moment to consider these ways to finish the school year with a smile.

1.    Divide, destroy and donate

The end of the year is the best time to clean for the summer. So divide your classroom into sections and choose a different section to clean every day, that way the task doesn’t feel so overwhelming. In those sections, make a choice of what needs to be destroyed (papers with names and personal information, tests, etc.) and what could potentially be donated to a student, another teacher, or another school. (Did you really use that stack of Anne of Green Gables books this year? No. You didn’t.) This also is a great time to decide if there is anything to give to a student—perhaps a book inscribed by you, or a project that was never returned. You’ll feel great leaving your classroom ready for next year.

2.    Host your own Paper Plate Awards

The end of the year is a great time to give out class awards. But rather than paying a premium for cheesy certificates you find at the big box stores, simply pick up a pack of paper plates and pass them out—one for each student in your class. Assign each student a classmate, ensuring that each student gets an award, and let them go to town with crayons and markers. The honors will be more creative and hilarious than you could have ever come up with on your own: ”Most likely to succeed,” “Best in Fractions,” “Gold Medal in lending out paper”—the possibilities are endless. And it’s a great time to reminisce about the year gone by.

3.    Get outside and make it count

Students of all ages love to team up against the teachers. So whether you organize a student vs. teachers kickball, frisbee, or basketball game—make it count. Let one student and one teacher MC the event, and make sure the teachers dress up to add a little fun to the game (matching sweatbands seem to do the trick). It’s sure to be an event everyone will remember.

4.    Send home a thank you note to parents

Teachers have a tough job, that’s for sure. But parents have a lot on their shoulders too. And while teachers deserve lots of thank-yous all year round, this is a great time of year to return the favor to the parents who’ve helped your students with homework all year long. Hand-written notes go a long way to smooth over any rough edges created during the year. But if you have more than 20 students, don’t be afraid to write one letter to families, thanking them for their support.

5.    Deliver simple gifts to your teammates

As any teacher knows, this job would be much more difficult without the teammates on your hall. Whether it’s the teacher who always took that trouble kid under his wing, or the one who never fails to bring baked goods to the team meeting—the end of the year is a great time to thank your colleagues for making the job that much better. Some ideas? Flowers, a potted plant, or even a bag of their favorite coffee or tea can go a long way.

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you Christina, Sarah, and Patty for a wonderful Parent Tea. You did a great job of creating a beautiful event for our parents!!

Play: Come to the dance tonight and get your groove on!

Choose your attitude: 

To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?" NO EXCUSES!!

Make Their Day:  Mr. Luna' class visited SCC today.Way to get our students on college campuses!!

May 13

Student Behavior/Adult Responsibilities

As we enter or last 13 days of school (who is counting?), it is absolutely critical that we consistently reinforce our expectations, routines/procedures. We are seeing spikes in incidents of student behavior. As the adults on campus, it is imperative that we are supervising all students at all times as we escort students to/from class and reinforce our expectations about lining up, etc. Please make sure that adults are at their assigned duty areas, not congregating. We are required as professionals to monitor and supervise our students' safety on the playground and we gather in groups as adults when we are supposed to be supervising, we are putting the school and the employee in potential liability.. Additionally, it is also the adults responsibility to monitor students at all times during PE activities.

What I Wish I Had Known Before . . ..

I wish I had know that my student’s behavior was a language- that their actions and words were telling me something what they were feeling or thinking. I wish I’d remembered that they did not get up in the morning plotting to do things to frustrate me.

I wish I’d known that meltdowns and explosions usually meant my students were tired, or hungry, or bored or frustrated themselves. I wish I’d known that they needed an adult to help them find the words to express what was troubling them. But they sure didn’t need a frustrated adult.

I wish I’d known more about child development, brain development and behavior. I wish I’d known that growing up is a slow process. I wish I’d known how each development stage has its own way of seeing the world. I wish I’d known that most times they saw things differently from me.

I wish I’d listened more to what was true about their hearts and spirits and personalities.

Great idea for homework:

Have you heard of TeacherLists.com?  It is a free resource that makes creating and distributing back-to-school supply lists easier for schools, teachers and parents.

it is also interactive in the sense that it can be updated from any computer at any time, which is very helpful as our needs change during the year.  Also a link can be embedded in our school website to help parents find the lists.  Thanks Carole for sharing!

If you are interested, a list can be found at:   http://www.teacherlists.com/schools/2001080-tolenas-elementary/47606-classroom-wish-list/ms-nack/wish-list

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you Fern for making sure SBAC make ups are being done in a timely manner!! Thank you Kristin for dying our t-shirts. Thank you Sunchine committee for getting gifts made for parent tea.

Play: Thank you to all staff members that are taking a HUGE risk and practicing dance moves so we can perform a staff dance. The KIDS love seeing us take a risk!! Here is our video: Click HERE

Choose your attitude: the school year is NOT over - continue to be positive!!

To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?" NO EXCUSES!!

Make Their Day:  Thank you for everything you DO to make sure our students are successful every day!! You are amazing!!

May 6

Happy Day of the Teacher!

We have been celebrating Staff Appreciation ALL Week this week! Please watch this video...LOVE IT!! If you’re a teacher, you know that these last days of the school year can be some of the most hectic days of all: report cards are due, cumulative folders need sorting, and kids are stir-crazy, watching the windows with envy. So before your count-down is up, take a moment to smile about the growth your students have made this year.

I brought this up at our staff meeting on Tuesday. I know we are STRUGGLING with getting away from worksheets on our campus (HINT HINT) please check out these EASY ideas HERE for turning a worksheet into a collaborative, critical thinking activity including "Cut Apart", "Everybody Knows", "Lines of Communication", "My Mistake", and "Pair Rotation". It's a very SIMPLE way to get AWAY from the boring, simple worksheets!

GET YOUR STUDENTS EXCITED ABOUT CAINE'S ARCADE- SO COOL!! ALL students can participate. A student makes their own game and brings it in on field day. On field day it becomes part of our Caine's Arcade station. What a great way to show off some creative skills and students at their own school get to play them!! Check out this website for ideas: http://cainesarcade.com/

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY :)

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you for being active during yard duty. Thank you Fern for making sure SBAC make ups are being done in a timely manner!!

Play: Thank you to all staff members that are taking a HUGE risk and practicing dance moves so we can perform a staff dance. The KIDS love seeing us take a risk!!

Choose your attitude: 

To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?" NO EXCUSES!!

Make Their Day:  Thank you for everything you DO to make sure our students are successful every day!! You are amazing!!