Buzz-tastic Reminders
Greetings Parents and Community Members! What a week we’ve had since we last spoke! While we continue to see amazing work and student-centered learning in every class, I’m amazed by the awesome activities that we’ve been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time! Several of our teachers were out last week finishing up their Focus on Phonics workshop and have returned with a wealth of knowledge not only in teaching how to read, but also in filling in the gaps for students who may have missed key concepts in K-2 and are now in the upper grades. Our teachers are learning how to “break the code” when it comes to reading, with an emphasis on using a multisensory approach to learning and full implementation of guided reading. We are continuing to make strides in teaching our teachers how to teach phonemic awareness at all grades, and that starts with meaningful professional development paid for by your generous donations to our Foundation. This would not be possible without YOU!
Last Friday was also an AMAZING day at Brandon. We celebrated our students during our first quarter Hive Rallies (Go Yellow!) and recognized our students who consistently demonstrate our Social and Emotional competencies and IB attributes (reflective and communicator), and those who do it every day by coming to school with 1st quarter perfect attendance! We had a fantastic first coffee talk with APS’s Office of Safety and Security (including a special appearance from Chief Applin), and continued the busy day at our PC as our Kindergarten students, hosted by Ms. Halliday and Ms. Estrada’s DLI classes, conducted their Hispanic Heritage performance. It was so great to see our students on stage showcasing the amazing Spanish they’ve already learned in just the first three months of school. Lastly, our weekend was brought to a close by the most amazing school-wide function I have ever been to – our Jamboree!
I have to say, this community, our students and our teachers amaze me more and more with the commitment they have for our students and school. For those who are wondering – YES, I was in the dunk tank and went under no less than 15 times 🙂 I have to give a HUGE shout out to our organizers who did an amazing job of putting all of this together. Without our parents and community, none of this would be possible!
As we continue to roll into second quarter, our focus on reading and writing will continue. Our students will be taking end-of-module assessments in both Math (Eureka) and Wit and Wisdom (ELA). Our 3rd-5th graders will be assessing the standards they’ve learned in Social Studies and Science as well in the form of district benchmarks. As we continue on this journey of education together, please continue to reach out to me or a member of my admin team with any questions or concerns. Be sure to follow me at my school account on Facebook and on twitter @jbland100.
Until next time,
j