Shout-Outs & Celebrations
(Consider sharing your shout-out!)
- Shout out to Angi Wolfgang for her Unicorn Cave! She has found a great way to balance the need for regaining composure with the need to participate in class! (Katie W)
- Kathy Constantino. Wow. Thanks for making the re-imaging process about as painless and unobtrusive as it could possible be!
- WE WON A $3000 Grant For WILEY! This process began with Chris and I writing a grant proposal back in December for our vision of a Wiley Global Learning Lab, our proposal was then chosen along with 3 other WCPSS schools for us to present in a 5 minute Shark Tank like presentation to the WakeEd board, in front of over 150 people all representing different local businesses and WCPSS global/STEM schools. Many of you have congratulated me on winning the grant, however it truly does take a village to do great things! Chris and I could not have done this without the help of many of you. Thank you to Leslie, Katie W., Lynn and Kristin who contributed to our vision, endless collaboration and editing. Thank you to Catherine and Katie D. for staying late (past 6pm) on the Friday Early Release (December, Winter Thanks Day) after you saw us both working diligently and providing us your feedback to help us meet the deadline of turning the grant in that evening. Thank you to EVERYONE who helped Chris and I prepare for the World Cafe Idea Crucible Presentation. The video we presented showed students in Matt’s and Katie D.’s class and was sung by Margaret’s 5th Grade class. We couldn’t have done this without your willingness to help us on such short notice, we had less than a week to put the video together once returning from Winter Break. There were some great ideas being presented by the other schools, but I can honestly say that our 2 students that helped us present Miana and Bassil stole the show with their poise and presentation skills! They out-presented all the middle school students that presented for the other 3 schools. They both worked hard to prepare and be ready to present in a room full of professionals. (I am pretty sure I was more nervous than they were, as evident in the video!) In all the feedback sheets that we got, one of the top things mentioned by those watching was how well prepared our students were. Here is the video that Ms. Taylor took of our presentation (minus the Q&A part) for those of you that wanted me to share! (Eman)
- This week, I’d like to send out a shout-out to the entire Wiley community (Leslie) …
- TAs - you’re called upon to cover, and you’re wonderful troopers about it … Kellie Saludo even masterfully covered on a field trip!
- Classroom Teachers … you’re rolling!! Our data is encouraging, and the happy faces in your classrooms (especially on Global Day of Play!) show that you’re bringing the fun and joy to learning! Thank you!
- Mr. Reggie … those shiny windows look great! And, thanks for being the “rock” for many students in times of need
- Electives Teachers … you embraced a delay in our quarterly switch, and you’ve welcomed your 3rd quarter students with open arms. It has appeared smooth & seamless thanks to your expertise!
- Language Teachers … I never hear English in your classrooms! Way to balance the rigor of learning a foreign language with the releases of control that scaffold learning for your students.
- Special Education Team (including Missy, Mary, Louise!) … your diligence and organization ALWAYS keeps us meeting our deadlines and continues to gain district recognition! Organizing the schedules of seven hundred people for a meeting isn’t an easy task!
- Office Staff … good grief, what don’t these superstars do? Did you know that Ann went out of her way to get a 3rd grader to his field trip when he arrived late? Carol is serving as personal bookkeeper for Science Olympiad, and Leila has helped us get our enrollment numbers down to 460 (even though she begs me not to send students to our overflow school due to their compelling stories).
- AIG, ESL, Kristin, Lynn … you’re like ninjas, scooting here & there to get it done!
- Thelma, Judy, Jackie … your coordinated efforts to handle so many “situations” this week have been incredible!! We sure have had some interesting ones!
- Katie Ware … the best wingman I could ask for! She, quite literally, does it all.
Thank you Wiley Team! You are loved & adored!
General Updates
~ When you have time, check out this article from Intervention Central regarding tips to calm an agitated student. These are great reminders!
~We are collecting items for bus and cab driver appreciation gift baskets. Please turn in collected items to Mrs. Ware by Thursday afternoon. Additionally, we are hosting a bus and cab driver breakfast in the Media Center on Friday, 2/18. Please sign up to contribute to the breakfast here.
~ Single Subject Acceleration - Parent information sessions are upon us, starting February 13. Please make sure to let parents know that the nomination window for parents to nominate their child to be tested is April 6-26. I recommend they go to a session to learn more about it. Also, please share this flyer with parents on your next newsletter or using member hub. It will also be going home in Monday folders.
IRT/Literacy Updates
- ACCESS TESTING: Next week begins ACCESS testing for Wiley ELL students. Mr. Roche has set up a schedule for the assessment and it can be found HERE. Teachers, please take note of when students are testing as they may be late returning from electives. If you have any questions, please email Mike Roche. Thank you!
- PLTs on the 15th: I am looking forward to spending time with your teams to discuss your SIOP successes! I’ll attend the even grade levels during the first part of your PLT and I’ll come to the odd grade levels during your second part. Thanks for your flexibility!!
Magnet Updates
- UN Global Goals - Please as part of your next planning meeting, let me know which global goal you focused on for Q1, Q2 and possibly the one that you might use for Q3 and what you did or taught while raising awareness of that goal. My next bulletin board will hopefully reflect how we as a school are addressing the Global Goals. Just send me one email per team. THANK YOU!
- MONTHLY GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES:
- WORLD READ ALOUD DAY (is on February 16)
Media & Technology
- eWise Professional Development: Are you trying to incorporate more voice & choice into your lessons? Do you want students who not only can find information, but also evaluate it? Did the video from the staff meeting inspire you to include more creativity into your daily structure? If so, then eWISE is a perfect tool for adding all of these things into your classroom. Lynn is going to be talking about eWISE at several different sessions throughout the month of February if you are interested in learning more. Click here to access the registration page: eWISE PD Registration Form If you want to book Lynn for your grade level planning time, then contact Lynn directly.
Important Dates
Happy Birthday - Katie Ware (2/11), Abby Wierman (2/14), Eman Ziada Brandt (2/15)
This Week:
*ACCESS testing continues for our ESL students
Monday, 2/13:
Tuesday, 2/14: Valentines Day … don’t forget to support PBIS’s plan to get a personalized heart on each student’s desk!
Wednesday, 2/15: Intervention Team Mtg
Thursday, 2/16: Global Read Aloud Day; SIP Quarterly Review
Friday, 2/17: BT mtg in Challie’s classroom; Cohort Learning reflection sheets due
Upcoming Dates:
- February 20th ~ MAKE-UP DAY