This week finally ended. The death of Cleveland teacher Jim Schettenhelm last Wednesday has left an indelible mark on the students he loved and who loved him, and the staff members he befriended, helped, and made lives easier. It was Jim's niche to make lives feel easier, more important than without his touch.
Baruti Kafele, author of Closing the Attitude Gap: How to Fire Up Your Students to Strive for Success, writes that we need to be very aware what our students hear, see, and feel when they are in our school and classrooms. We control the climate in all we say, do and how we promote the learning feel. Jim was so good at making kids feel at home, feel like they mattered, that they could succeed at the assignments he gave. When we hear students talk about him, they say he loved them and they knew it. That is Jim's legacy. Our students who were so distraught Friday morning, talked with us about how he made them feel, what they saw, and what they heard when they were with Jim.
Our legacy with our students is no different. They will remember what they felt, heard, and saw. When you come back to Cooper on Tuesday, refreshed from a much needed long weekend, look around your room. Listen, look, and imagine how you would feel in your classroom. As the day progresses, keep those things in mind as your students experience our school.
What would you like them to say about their day? What can you do to make sure it happens in the best ways for them?
Schedule for the week:
Monday 20th: No School MLK Day
Tuesday 21: Sarah OSS meeting 1:30-4:00
Wednesday 22: Breakfast with Randy, 7:30, Terry
Whalers 9:15-11:45
Admin Eval Mtg., 9:30, Terry @ CO
Sarah QAR meeting time ?
Thursday 23: LAST DAY OF MARKING PERIOD
Career Day sub planning
8:00 Staff Meeting
EPM meeting 12:00 (CCSS book study)
Friday 24: TEACHER WORKDAY--BUILDING OPTIONAL
8:00 Administrator Evaluation Presentation CO
LEADS Board mtg immediately following
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