We Appreciate You!

Wow! What an amazing Teacher Appreciation Week!  We have such an incredible PTA and they pulled out all the stops to honor all of you.  You deserve to be honored.  This is a tough job and many would say it's not a job; it's a calling.  We are builders. We build relationships, friendships, and community. We inspire children to be better students, better sons and daughters, better people.  We are gamechangers.  We change lifes everyday!

I cringe every time someone says that they wouldn't want their own child to join the teaching profession.  I know we have been beaten down.  We have to defend our profession in a way we never had to before.  We have growing class sizes, growing diversity of student needs, increasing standardized tests and accountability, and social media that is changing school culture.  Yet, if I had to do it all again, I would still become a teacher.  It's been a fulfilling career so far and I can't imagine standing at the end of my career and saying I would have done something different.  I wouldn't ever deny my children the opportunity to have a job that makes a difference everyday.  To be that one person who changed a child's life.  To be the one who taught a child to love reading.  To be the one that provided a safe sanctuary in a child's unstable world.

The other day I had one of our infamous 6th grade hoody wearing students in my office.  He had been kicked out of class by the sub again.  We were talking about his behavior and his Emerson transition. He suddenly asked, "Mrs. Aherne, how many days are left of school?"  I said, "I don't know.  Let's count."  After several seconds, I responded, "23 and a ½ days.  Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"  He responded, "Bad."  "Bad? Why bad?"  I asked.  He looked up at me and said, "Bad because I was actually starting to like this school."

See?!? My heart was singing!  "The children who need love the most ask for it in the most unforgiving ways."  We've all heard that and it's so true.  There are some students who we are not going to see traditional success in grades or behavior in two years at our school. Yet, I firmly believe that showing love and kindness will always be remembered and does make a difference.  What if for that one student that belief that we instill in them that they are worth it, they are important, they are leaders carries them through bad years, difficult home situations, and worse.  I wouldn't change those moments for anything.

Here's to all of you!  For making passion your life's work.  For changing the world.  For making a difference in the lives of students everyday.

I've shown this before but it is my favorite.  This sums up everything I believe to be true.

And another great video just for fun.

Big Rocks:
Variety Show is this week!  A big thank you to Bill Lietz for all of his hard work and dedication.  We've been blessed to have not one but TWO Variety Shows this year.  The students are so excited to show off their acts.  See the calendar below for times

M-Step begins this week for 6th grade.  Please see Terry to get your tickets.  You will have help available in all labs.  No cell phones are allowed by students in the labs.  Please collect all tickets and scrap paper when finished because it must be shredded.

Teachers please make sure you are walking your class all the way to the buses and then taking out your bus card.  We are having lots of issues with not having all of the students down to the buses or cards being pulled and then having stragglers.  It is making the bus duty jobs and our bus drivers jobs more difficult.

There has already been some questions about signing out on the last day of school.  Terry and I will put up a sign up sheet closer to June 12.  Teachers can sign up to check out on Thursday, June 11 but must still come in on Friday, June 12.  Last year, teachers were allowed to go on Thursday if they were ready and had beeen checked out.  That was a special accomodation that was made to Phase 1 Bond schools.  Since teachers came in on Saturdays and stayed many nights, they were granted special permission to leave Thursday.  If you have any questions, please see an administrator.

Calendar for the Week of May 11, 2015:
Monday: Variety Show 9:00-10:30 5th grade, 1:45-3:00 6th grade
                M-Step Begins
Tuesday: 4th Grade Transition Visits from Grant and Hayes AM
                Variety Show 6-9 PM
Wednesday: QAR meeting at CO 9:30-11:00 (Sarah)
                   Planning/Lighthouse Meeting 3:45-5:00
                  District School Improvement Team meeting (Sarah) 5:15-6:15
Thursday: Staff meeting 8:00
                 School Improvement meeting 9:00-1:00 (Sarah and Robin)
Friday:  Last Young Adult Book Club 8:00 Paperboy
              4th Grade Transition Visits from Roosevelt and Cleveland AM
             Principal's Meeting at CO 1:00-4:30 (Sarah and Terry)