Celebrations
Staff Connection: Star Davis:
I am a native of WV and earned my bachelor's degree in Elementary Ed with a Minor in Mathematics from Marshall University. I soon moved to NC with my hubby Joe and began working in the private setting. I later quit work to have my two beautiful daughters and returned full time in 2004 to Underwood bringing my youngest with me.
Joe and I have been married 31 years, our Sarah is 26 and followed me into education. She teaches high school Spanish at Lee Early College and is married to Jesse. Our youngest is 23 and just moved out (again). She is working full time for TechSystems in Wake Forest with her Communications degree.
I earned National Board certification in Early Childhood in 2014. I am currently working on a long-awaited Masters in Library and Information Sciences. We shall see what that holds for me later on.
I am also currently navigating being in the sandwich generation. Not my favorite place to be but I hope to be able to keep up and support my aging parents.
I love kindergarten because it sets the stage for success in school. I love the amount of growth we see in a year's time. I love their curiosity and energy. They keep me on my toes. I also love this school family.
- Each year we keep an ongoing document of awards received on behalf of Underwood, Underwood students or Underwood staff. Please notify Ashley if you have anything to share!
- Underwood’s Fuel Up to Play 60 grant was approved for $4,000, half to be spent on farm to school activities and the other to be
- spent on a recess refresh with work on the playground. Way to go Wellness Team!
- Come join us for Taco Tuesday on Tuesday, 1/15 at 4:30 at Lola’s Beach Bar for a fun staff outing supported by the Sunshine Squad!
- Theater Production and Behind the Scenes’ production A Kid’s Life was wonderful! Great job Dawn Spiggle, Kellie Harris, Lauren Mann and Rachel Frasier!
- Andrea and Elizabeth organized Friday’s Budha Bowl Lunch!
- Ashley kicking off the magnet application period for incoming Underwood students!
- Staff staying positive and modeling appropriate responses to unexpected or frustrating events.
- Holly for registering incoming Kindergarten Families and fielding the many questions that come from these eager parents.
- Ellen for helping with submitting grant paperwork.
Staff Connection: Star Davis:
I am a native of WV and earned my bachelor's degree in Elementary Ed with a Minor in Mathematics from Marshall University. I soon moved to NC with my hubby Joe and began working in the private setting. I later quit work to have my two beautiful daughters and returned full time in 2004 to Underwood bringing my youngest with me.
Joe and I have been married 31 years, our Sarah is 26 and followed me into education. She teaches high school Spanish at Lee Early College and is married to Jesse. Our youngest is 23 and just moved out (again). She is working full time for TechSystems in Wake Forest with her Communications degree.
I earned National Board certification in Early Childhood in 2014. I am currently working on a long-awaited Masters in Library and Information Sciences. We shall see what that holds for me later on.
I am also currently navigating being in the sandwich generation. Not my favorite place to be but I hope to be able to keep up and support my aging parents.
I love kindergarten because it sets the stage for success in school. I love the amount of growth we see in a year's time. I love their curiosity and energy. They keep me on my toes. I also love this school family.
- Each year we keep an ongoing document of awards received on behalf of Underwood, Underwood students or Underwood staff. Please notify Ashley if you have anything to share!
- Underwood’s Fuel Up to Play 60 grant was approved for $4,000, half to be spent on farm to school activities and the other to be
- spent on a recess refresh with work on the playground. Way to go Wellness Team!
- Come join us for Taco Tuesday on Tuesday, 1/15 at 4:30 at Lola’s Beach Bar for a fun staff outing supported by the Sunshine Squad!
- Theater Production and Behind the Scenes’ production A Kid’s Life was wonderful! Great job Dawn Spiggle, Kellie Harris, Lauren Mann and Rachel Frasier!
- Andrea and Elizabeth organized Friday’s Budha Bowl Lunch!
- Ashley kicking off the magnet application period for incoming Underwood students!
- Staff staying positive and modeling appropriate responses to unexpected or frustrating events.
- Holly for registering incoming Kindergarten Families and fielding the many questions that come from these eager parents.
- Ellen for helping with submitting grant paperwork.
Wish Well
- Mallory (out on medical leave until at least Thursday)
- Amanda and Maggie- You all are doing great!
Communication:
Commitments --- It is important that we do our best to be on time for meetings, especially business and staff meetings. At our last PLT, we had less than 30% of our staff in the media center. This impacts our ability to share clear information, gather feedback and use our time effectively. I know it is hard sometime having multiple 7:45 meetings, but it is part our responsibility be on time for these meetings.
Wrapping up Q2 Electives- Elective will be down for two weeks and then resume on Monday, January 28th. Elective slips will go home with students on January 22nd. Elective report card comments are due on January 29th. The comments should be specific to the objectives of the elective. For any student receiving a 2 in any area on the elective report, an explanation should be provided.
Q3 Electives-The spreadsheet for what you are teaching Q3/Q4 can be found here. If you want to utilize the Magnet laptops during Q3, see Andrea. Complete your elective sign here by January 31st. Upload your elective letter to the website (directions here) by January 31st.
Check the shared Underwood google team drive, folder-Daily absences and info for the preferred sub list.
Resource for parents to include in your newsletters:
Just a reminder that our Homework Resources for Parents page is growing! We now have ELA resources for Grade 3 through 5 in both English and Spanish! This is a great way to engage families in how to have the conversations with their child around their learning. You can find it by going to Parents, then Homework Resources in the dropdown, on either the district site or on your school's homepage.
Professional Development Opportunities
DEN (Discovery Education NetworK) Ambassador Program- 2 opportunities are available (check here for more information)
Dig In- The 9th annual Dig In! Is being held on March 9th. We have had many Underwood Staff members attend this in year’s past. If this is something you are interested in attending, please email Alexandria Judge-Lenkeit. (check here for more information)
NCTIES- Interested in digging deeper into Diversity and Cultural Competency? The North Carolina Technology in Education Society (NCTIES) conference is March 7 -8; the theme is "Why are you Here?" Apply for #NCTIES19 - http://bit.ly/2D5a2uu
Helping Hands
Commitments --- It is important that we do our best to be on time for meetings, especially business and staff meetings. At our last PLT, we had less than 30% of our staff in the media center. This impacts our ability to share clear information, gather feedback and use our time effectively. I know it is hard sometime having multiple 7:45 meetings, but it is part our responsibility be on time for these meetings.
Wrapping up Q2 Electives- Elective will be down for two weeks and then resume on Monday, January 28th. Elective slips will go home with students on January 22nd. Elective report card comments are due on January 29th. The comments should be specific to the objectives of the elective. For any student receiving a 2 in any area on the elective report, an explanation should be provided.
Q3 Electives-The spreadsheet for what you are teaching Q3/Q4 can be found here. If you want to utilize the Magnet laptops during Q3, see Andrea. Complete your elective sign here by January 31st. Upload your elective letter to the website (directions here) by January 31st.
Check the shared Underwood google team drive, folder-Daily absences and info for the preferred sub list.
Resource for parents to include in your newsletters:
Just a reminder that our Homework Resources for Parents page is growing! We now have ELA resources for Grade 3 through 5 in both English and Spanish! This is a great way to engage families in how to have the conversations with their child around their learning. You can find it by going to Parents, then Homework Resources in the dropdown, on either the district site or on your school's homepage.
Professional Development Opportunities
DEN (Discovery Education NetworK) Ambassador Program- 2 opportunities are available (check here for more information)
Dig In- The 9th annual Dig In! Is being held on March 9th. We have had many Underwood Staff members attend this in year’s past. If this is something you are interested in attending, please email Alexandria Judge-Lenkeit. (check here for more information)
NCTIES- Interested in digging deeper into Diversity and Cultural Competency? The North Carolina Technology in Education Society (NCTIES) conference is March 7 -8; the theme is "Why are you Here?" Apply for #NCTIES19 - http://bit.ly/2D5a2uu
Helping Hands
We are excited to have the Helping Hands program return to Underwood! The program will be an afterschool program to mentor some of our males in grades 3-5. Due to the weather the program will start Monday January 14th. Amy and Mallory are contacting families to see which student will participate on Mondays.
Keeping Organized-
NC Check-Ins- January 25th (PM)- 3rd, January 29 (PM)- 5th, January 30th (PM)- 4th
Quarterly Planning Days- January 22 (4th/K), January 23 (5th/1st), January 24 (3rd/2nd)
Together we are better! Feel free to share feedback/celebrations anytime here
Creativity
CAM Docent Program-The CAM Docent program is starting on February 6th. This is an incredible experience for 5th grade students to work directly with an artist, learn about their work, then showcase their knowledge to the public during First Friday Raleigh Events. We need staff to attend the training sessions to help the CAM staff. Sign up here if you are willing to help!
Let’s learn more about YOU!! In the celebrations section of this blog, we have been featuring our new staff members in an effort to learn more about them. Now it’s your turn! We would like to showcase all staff members throughout the course of the year. (These will also be archived in the Team Drive). If you are willing, send Ashley 2-3 paragraphs as well as emailing me a picture of you! Things you might want to mention:
- Family, Hobbies, Role at Underwood, What you love about being an educator, Past experiences
Critical Thinking
Summer Camp -
We are looking forward to an amazing summer at your hosting schools. Even though it is super cold and hard to think about, summer is right around the corner for us. We have begun hiring awesome camp staff. I would love it if you could pass along these job opportunities to your staff and anyone else you may think is interested. It is a fun and engaging job that requires NO night a weekends.
Here are the links to the summer positions that I directly hire for:
Youth Programs Camp Counselor Job Posting
Youth Programs Camp Director Job Posting
Regional Coordinator Job Posting
CDAT Survey and efforts-As mentioned, one of the action steps of our SIP relates to class commitments. Please complete this short survey found here by Wednesday, January 16th. Then CDAT will analyze the results and determine our next steps. Again, I'm linking all the efforts that the CDAT team is responsible for this year....see here. Please review...we always welcome any feedback/ideas for future too….send along thoughts to Ashley.
Science Books- This past Friday, I provided all Leadership chairs in Kindergarten, First, Second and Third grades a set of books. These books directly align to your science standards. You can each have a book box or combine the books and use them to teach all small group. Please let Alexandria know if you have any questions.
June 2019 License Renewal- If you are up for renewal in June, I have emailed you personally and told you how you are with your credits. On April 15th, you will need to go to the online state licensure site and apply for your license. You cannot do this prior to that date, or it will all be returned. Please let Alexandria know how to support you with this process!
NKT- The window for mid-year NKT opens up on January 28th. You only have to assess the students that were in the red and yellow at the BOY. In this link you will find the grade level list of these students on each tab.
Collaboration
Wake Up and Read!
Please add to your blogs and/or parent notes about our collaborative efforts with the county’s Wake Up and Read! Program. You can include the following blurb:
Parents, please check your child’s bookshelf for any books they may have outgrown! Wake County has kicked off it’s annual “Wake-Up and Read” campaign. This annual collection supports students at 13 schools and various daycares around the county. The goal is to provide ten books to each child! Join Underwood by bringing in at least one gently used book (it can be new) that would be suitable for a child/children from birth to age 12. The book drop-off is at the front of the office.
Campaign will end on February 15th!
Grants (including Donor’s Choose) - Thank you to Ellen Nightingale and Mallory Mbalia for being our Grant Contacts. Ellen is willing to provide support in writing grants that would also include Donors Choose. If you are intending to apply for a grant be sure to meet with one of them as grants are approved by these two leaders.
Media/Tech Collaboration
I'm looking forward to meeting with grade levels during 2nd semester planning days. Be thinking of ways the media/tech program can support and magnify your teaching and learning. Some recent examples.....
- Mrs. Peaden's class is using quality resources, both books and online, to research. They are also getting into the habit of citing sources.
- Using social studies content, Mrs. Mozingo's and Ms. Gary's classes are practicing speaking and listening using Flipgrid.
- Kindergarten students are learning to log into WakeID, which gives them access to age-appropriate resources and tools.
- Mrs. Vinson's elective is exploring electrical engineering using Makey Makey and Snap Circuits.
Media Center- So, in support of MTAC's focus:
MTAC will meet next on Thursday, January 24. MTAC's focus this year is Equity and Cultural Competency. To learn more, please join us and/or check out the Library Media Program Portfolio (this is a work in progress.) Also, we ask that all staff members consider the following:
- How often do my students have access to the library? How often do my students have access to technology to support their learning? How can I help to improve my students' access to resources? How can the library media program help to improve my students' access?
- We will be beginning a diversity audit of our collection in January. Do you know of parents/community members who would be interested in assisting with this task?
Questions? Contact Andrea.
Conscious Discipline Corner
Quote of the week: Making a commitment increases the chance of following through while also increasing self-regulation and confidence.
Resource of the week: With one of our SIP Action Items being CD Commitments, print out this Commitment Check up poster. Commitments made in the morning should then be reviewed each afternoon.
Important Dates Document- Please double check this against the school calendar.
January 15th-Staff outing: Lola’s Beach Bar-4:30pm
January 16th-Complete commitment survey
January 17th -CDAT Team meeting; 7:45am
- Quarter Ends
January 18th - Makeup Day
January 21st - Holiday
January 25th-Spelling Bee
January 28th-Quarter 3 Electives begin
January 29th-Quarter 2 elective reports cards/K Specialist grades due
January 29th - SIP Meeting
January 31st-Q3 elective signs to be completed & elective letters to be uploaded
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