Week 1 Recap

Greetings Brandon Families and Community members!!

WOW!! We did it, we made it through our first week TOGETHER! It was amazing taking it all in, watching our children come off the buses, out of cars, walking to school and most importantly seeing their friends and teachers again! We are back in full swing and ready to learn and grow. We have been busy, setting expectations, establishing routines, building our learning communities and making new friends! I’ve seen teachers conducting all sorts of ice breakers with their classes, giving building tours, implementing Social Emotional Learning day 1, and using morning circles to prepare our students for the day. Here’s a quick snapshot:

• Our new teachers have totally rocked it. You would have thought they’ve been here forever! We have new teachers in nearly every grade and all have started the year great, focusing early on  instruction and management.
• Our DLI teachers got a surprise visit from district leaders who were extremely impressed with the instruction, classroom “mirroring,” and cohesiveness of the program. I give a lot of credit to Dwight Hutson, who has taken this program under his wing and provided our teachers with the guidance, support and supplies needed to make it a success.
• Specials have been a hit! While I know the schedule could use some improvement, I loved seeing the awesome opening activities in Art, Music, French, and PE at both campuses. Pair that with technology, language lab and our awesome Media Specialists, and our kids are sure to be well-rounded global citizens. Heads up, we’ve worked out a way to give our students a little more time in these classes. More info to come soon.
• You may or may not have noticed it, but we have a full-time officer for the first month of school. I’ve set aside some money to have the officer here (shared between both campuses) in order to help me learn the processes and procedures that can make our school more safe. The officer is walking the campus, checking doors, building relationships with our students and helping with safety drills. This is something I would love to have in place ALL NEXT YEAR.
• Our instruction is also gearing up. Eureka Math is in full effect, our STEMSCOPES Science program is beginning in collaboration with our science labs, Social Studies Weekly is being used and ELA collaboration in PLC’s will be starting soon.  I’m excited to announce that we are pairing with Dr. Ann Farrell, an expert on Professional Learning Communities and former Principal who is going to help us launch our new collaborative learning program and help guide our work throughout the year across all subject areas.

I am encouraged and excited about the start of school, but we have a long way to go! The future is bright (and has always been bright) for Brandon elementary and I am excited to be here with not only the best teachers on the planet, but also the best support staff, admin team and parents around. We are all moving in the same direction and that’s not always easy. There are still some growing pains, however. Please remember that transportation is tough. I will continue to ask for parents to follow the drop-off and pick-up rules at both campuses. Please remember to drive SLOWLY at both campuses, always watching out for our kids. There should never be any cell phones in hand (per state law), and please continue to be patient with our buses. We are in constant contact with transportation and please know that we are here to support you!

Until next time!

j