Principal Impressions for the week of May 6-10, 2013

Principal Impressions for the week of May 6-10, 2013

A 5K walk through the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, Teacher Appreciation and an Above the Line gathering sprinkled with class field trips made up some of the many highlights to this past week. It must be May at school!

Each year grades Kindergarten through 8^th visit one of our local treasures, the KVR, and participate with a 5K walk. The weather was wonderful, the finish line greeted the students, staff and families with clapping and medals and T-shirts from Big Brother/Big Sister to the fastest students from each class.  (This year Big Brother/Big Sister is partnering with LaFarge to establish a school based program to provide mentoring opportunities for any students/families that are interested.)  The 3^rd grade class all wore t-shirts they had decorated to honor the Boston Marathon participants.  All participants enjoyed the company of friends, neighbors and the joy of noticing the awakening of spring all around us. 

Also, during the week the 1^st grade class paired up with an agriculture class from high school to plant potatoes in our school garden.  Our school garden is really shaping up this year and the Wellness Committee is working diligently to organize the garden and diversify the plantings. The 3^rd grade class went to visit Eagle Cave and came back with stories and general happiness that they could get so dirty climbing through caves on a school trip! The class for students with disabilities traveled to Boscobel to participate with active games and meet students from other schools in our area.

The middle of the week brought cake in the teachers’ lounges and a wonderful poster in the hallway to celebrate Teacher Appreciation week. It is a wonderful feeling to work closely with parents and our community as we celebrate the growth and achievement of all our students!

On Friday, grades 4K through 5 gathered in the lunchroom to celebrate our yearlong focus on Respect, Responsibility and Safety with an Above the Line Party. I did use this opportunity to award two students with “Excellent Attendance” this year. Connor Hatfield and Hayden Fowell both received those certificates. The 3^rd graders came up with the idea for this party and were very energetic in creating posters, welcoming all students with wristbands and passing out ‘paw tickets’ to students demonstrating respect, responsibility or safety during the party .  The 4^th grade provided commercial break messages about our guiding character traits. The 5^th grade manned ‘game’ stations for students to play games and we also had 3^rd graders as DJ’s who played music during the whole party.  Our goal was to have fun and choose to be Above the Line because we can; I think they achieved that!

I hope I have enough energy for this upcoming week!

Warmly submitted,

Dene Muller

Principal Impressions for the week of April 22-26, 2013

A true sign of spring in the elementary is when I hear “short sleeves” being echoed through the hallway as students prepare for recess. The students were thrilled to be able to go out for recess without spending time donning coats, hats and boots!

Monday was Earth Day and two students from the 1^st grade stopped in to share what they found on the playground while cleaning up. They told me “Goin’ green, Mrs. Muller!” 

 

The students are busy in their classrooms learning new concepts, material and progressing so quickly compared to the beginning of the school year. Many are compiling books and samples of writing projects for the upcoming Young Author’s Fair on May 20^th.  Projects are being finalized and presentations for the Heritage Fair will be occurring in the 4^th grade classroom this coming week. The first large group practice for the Spring Music Concert (Tuesday the 30^th), was held on Friday.  School seems to be such a busy place!

My desk seems to be overflowing with paperwork! I am entering my end of year assessment phase. I am reviewing state and district data, mainly in the areas of Reading and Math. I am trying to arrange schedules for next year that will allow teachers maximum time with their students for working with Math and Reading material, concepts and experiences.  Also, planning for Summer School which will start the Monday after school is finished this year (June 10^th)!

I look forward to another fast paced and busy week….and really nice spring weather!

Warmly Submitted,

Dene Muller

Principal Impressions for the week of April 8-12, 2013

We are all patiently waiting for spring to arrive! The students have been wonderful handling the change in plans from day to day about recess. I am afraid that when the nice weather finally does arrive we will only have a few weeks of school left!

Since we have entered our final quarter of school, it is time for us to look back as well as forward. Students feel very ready for their next grade. Teachers need to assess growth and achievement of the students as well. It is important that we document and track the student achievement individually as well as by classes. I am always impressed how teachers and staff here in La Farge meet each student where they are and help them move forward in all the aspects of school. It is truly amazing to me that when I walk down the hall in the elementary; I see samples of student writing from kindergartners!  From ducks and fish in the Promise Center, pen pals, planting seeds, a spelling bee, heritage projects that require research and interviews with staff around the school as well as weekly announcements over the public address system; Teachers work hard providing motivation and guidance for students to improve their skills with writing, reading and speaking.

As I work with students in classrooms with Above the Line concepts, we continue with the themes of respect, responsibility and safety. Helping students learn from their mistakes, and practicing how to get help when they need it are important.  Several students and parents have brought issues to the attention of me, a teacher or other staff members. I am pleased that we are able to work together to make our school a safe place to learn and grow.

Warmly submitted,

Dene Muller

Principal Impressions April 1-5, 2013

Principal Impressions April 1-5, 2013

It was fun to welcome students back to school after this spring break! We continue to try to keep the playground from becoming a mud bog. Recess time has been limited to the blacktop area around the grass; sure hope we can get back using the full playground this coming week. Ahhh…spring!

We are entering our final quarter of school days for students. I hope you all have time to access the Spring Newsletter either on the school website (www.lafarge.k12.wi.us) or there are some copies in the office and a few places around town, in order to keep up with all the spring activities and plans! This is also the time when each classroom is looking forward to the next school year. I ask students if they are ready for the next grade; and they resoundingly say ‘yes’! It is important that the students feel ready to move ahead in school. Teachers are also proud and happy to review the progress and achievement of each of the students.

New to students when they came back to school was seeing blankets hung around the top of the lunchroom walls. These heavy moving blankets were purchased with donations from the Lions Club Kindergarten allocation from the Giving Back program. We are hoping for these blankets to absorb sound and noise during lunch time.

The school Spelling Bee as well as Jump Rope for Heart was held this week! It is wonderful to see students and staff supporting each other, cheering each other on and working so hard!

Improving academic achievement, experiencing competition and leadership with your peers, and raising money for heart health by doing healthy activity is all part of the well rounded approach LaFarge students and staff work with each day!  We could not do all this without the families, volunteers and community members who tirelessly support our school.

Warmly submitted,

Dene Muller

Principal Impressions for the week of March 19-22, 2013

Principal Impressions for the week of March 19-22, 2013

My office is right next to the doors that go outside to the playground in the elementary. It is at the very end of the hallway and seems very far from the school front entrance. However, it is one of the best places to be in our school!  Each day, I usually get visits from one or more students who stop in to tell me something important. The other day, I had a student tell me that he really liked how I had so much color in my office.

This week Kristin Lang (P.E. teacher) and I attended training in Wausau. It was sponsored by The Alliance for a Healthier Generation.  This organization was created in 2005 to inspire young people to develop lifelong healthy habits.  Ms. Lang and I were able to learn new information and access resources to support one of our school’s goals that have a focus on wellness.  LaFarge schools have been chosen as a bronze or silver level recipient for the Wisconsin School Health Award since 2008. The goal of this annual award is to motivate and empower Wisconsin schools as they create and maintain healthy school environments.

We pay close attention to how our students are progressing in school with classroom (report cards will be coming out soon!), district and state assessments. These are all important to our communities and the state of Wisconsin as the results are published on our School Report cards.

We smile at stories like those I share in my reflections; however I believe recess, time with friends, play and sharing what is important in our lives are key factors in creating an environment for active and long lasting learning.  I look forward to working with Ms. Lang and the Wellness committee to insure accountability for student success includes aspects of health and healthy social interaction as well as academics.

Warmly submitted,

Dene Muller

 

 

Principal Impressions for the week of March 11-15th, 2013

Principal Impressions for the week of March 11-15^th, 2013

Sheltered Reality, a percussion group that focuses on character development and eliminating bullying was here on March 12^th from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in the gym. Their message for grades 3 through 12 that day was: Take a chance, never give up, give it your best and be 'legit'! By the end of the assembly the group had teachers and students dancing! I heard many positive comments from students afterwards.

Writing or drawing about Above the Line behavior with neat handwriting, correct punctuation and grammar will earn students a place on our spotlight wall each week from now until the end of the school year.  I feel it is important for students to identify these important character traits in themselves as well as others. We are just getting started with this process and the 2^nd grade was the first class I introduced it to this week.  Nolan wrote about a classmate; Maddy and Chloe wrote about themselves. 

“Gavin Goss helped Mrs. Muller rip out paper in her book. He was being responsible.”; “I cleaned the hallway and didn’t get a Wildcat coin!!! I cleaned the hallway to be nice to people!!!”; “I cleaned up the hallway! It was respectful!”

On Friday, staff had an in-service day. A speaker from CESA 4 shared many practical and time saving activities as well as processes for teachers to insure all students are learning to their potential.  From graphic organizers used in understanding language, to choices in activities in order to demonstrate learning were discussed. It was good to see so many avenues that are available that honor all ways in which students learn. These techniques are important for student success in school and beyond.

Respect for self, respect for others and respect for learning styles are a theme I have seen in our school this past week!

Warmly submitted,

 Dene Muller

Principal Impressions for the week of March 4-8, 2013

Above the Line lessons brought me into each classroom this week. We spoke of ‘courage’ and what that means and how it is related to being Above the Line. It takes courage to tell the truth, stand up for yourself and stand up for others. The students were all adept and identifying how and when we can and need to use courage each day.  I also see/hear each day when students let me know what they see as being unfair or mean; especially when my office door is so close to the playground doors.  It is my habit now to thank each one for telling me and I then follow through with conversations with the students who have had trouble. This takes a few extra minutes, but is always worth it.  Students are also taking the time to let me know about Above the Line behaviors they see such as picking up trash on the playground, helping another student who fell down, finding lost items and turning them in to me. Each day, I am grateful for the wonderful students we have in our school!

As we spoke about courage in the classroom, I reflected on interactions that are important for improving school culture and practices. Parents and students let me know about concerns they have about actions/happenings at school they hear from friends, family and/or community members. I always appreciate the chance to have a frank discussion about concerns, feedback and suggestions. I encourage these discussions, so we will be working together to make things better; I always come away feeling that I have learned something important!

Speaking of courage, I followed through with the Read Across America challenge from last week, on Friday. It was a lot of fun to serve lunch, ride the cleaning machine and sing to the elementary students.  It was PRICELESS to see the look on the faces of the students as they came down the hall to eat lunch and saw me serving lunch! I am so fortunate to work with a staff and a community that cares deeply for students and goes over and above to support our students and help them have a great time while learning!

 

 

 

 Warmly submitted, Dene Muller