Sky Ranch Here We Come!

Heading to Sky Ranch this morning to get to spend some wonderful time with our fifth graders who will be camping for three days! This is always a highlight of the year for me - & the weather is BEAUTIFUL! Here's hoping our fifth graders will have the time of their lives!

Thanks for My Birthday Surprises!

I want to thank everyone who surprised me for my birthday today!
(I had quite a few nice surprises from students & teachers, so thank you very much!)

The students in 5C had a little party for me with waffles & strawberries & they had all prepared home-made birthday cards which were very neat. Other grade levels made me a cake, one brought me lunch, one played a trick on me, one gave me flowers & a really BIG card, so I had a really fun day filled with all kinds of goodies. Thank you, thank you for your thoughtfulness!
You reminded me how much fun birthdays are supposed to be!

We had a great turn-out at our school social last week & it was good to see all of the visiting going on among our families.

This week all the principals in CISD came to Denton Creek for a meeting & several of our sagacious students had an opportunity to show off their vocabulary skills which was very impressive. KUDOS to Max, Almira, Michael, Paige, Mihir, Maddy, Shane, Dylan, Seth, & Nathan for being such great ambassadors & sesquipedalians! You guys rock & truly impressed our visitors. You always make me very proud...thanks!

Next week is our annual Grandparent's Tea on Friday, October 1st, & we are looking forward to having your grandparents & special friends join us for our big event.

I am going to start posing some questions on my blog that I hope will generate some dialogue so that this is more interactive & not just me writing to myself!

I would like to know what your favorite things are about Denton Creek.

What are the best things about our school? Please write & let me know.

Also, I hope you will remember to check out our bookfair next week.

Thanks again for making my birthday such a special one! I am one lucky principal!

-Mr. Mac

September is Flying By!

I can hardly believe we are half way through September already!

Time just flies by at Denton Creek because we are having fun! (And staying busy!)

I want to thank our students & teachers for a very smooth beginning to the year. It's great to see our students so excited about learning & so engaged in learning!

I hope our parents will check out the cool blogs, websites, & animoto videos that our teachers have created. They are quite impressive. I can see very positive implications for teachers to use instructionally.

Blogging is new to me and I will soon be posting some questions for our Trailblazers to ponder and answer, so please check back with me! I am anxious to see the dialogue from this!

If you will take the time to respond to my blogs, that will reinforce me to continue!

We are looking forward to seeing our families Friday night, September 17th for our Back-to-School Social from 6-8PM.

See you soon!

Tim Tyson's Teachings

I hope you've enjoyed Tim Tyson today!

What are you willing/committed to put into practice?

Mr. Mac's Memo #1

It’s great to welcome you back today to what promises to be a memorable year! Sheri & I are blessed to work with the most outstanding staff in the district, & we are excited about the work that lies ahead. You are such an integral part of what we do at Denton Creek & I hope you are ready for an exciting year. Although our summer break is never long enough, we hope you are returning revitalized & energized about the celebrations & the challenges that await us.

We want to welcome once again our new staff members. They are in a great place & will add so much to our faculty. We are fortunate to have them, so welcome aboard to Miguel Rivas, Debbie Lukert, Lindsey McCartney, Lisa Stokes, Tessa Knickerbocker, Jennifer Coates, & Allison Pryor. You will love Denton Creek & I know we will enjoy having YOU!

Here’s a reminder of our schedule for this week:

I’m excited to welcome Tim Tyson back to Denton Creek to kick off our year! Tim has a lot of great information to share with us. Here’s what today will look like:

7:30 – 8:00 – Coffee & Connection Time – PTO is providing breakfast for us!
8:15 – 9:30 – Teachers as 21st Century Instructional Leaders (Overview)
9:45 – 10:45 – Teachers as 21st Century Instructional Leaders (Demo)
11:00 – 11:30 – Hands on with Animoto (Lab workshop for teachers who want to put together a video intro of themselves for their blogs.) Space will be limited on this one.

12:30 – 1:15 – Blogging 101 in the Lab for teachers with no blogging experience
1:15 – 2:00 – Intermediate Blogging for teachers with some blogging experience
2:00 – 2:45 – K-2 teachers – Personal Learning networks & other resources
2:45 – 3:30 – 3-5 teachers – Personal Learning networks & other resources

Please choose a blogging session to attend in the afternoon in the computer lab.Barbara’s specials team will attend with K-2 teachers at 2PM & Glenda’s team will attend with 3-5 teachers at 2:45.

Tuesday – District Convocation – Irving Bible Church – 8:00 – Coffee & our Celebration begins at 9:00. Michelle King has worked hard to put together a great event for us!
Please be there by 8:30 so Denton Creek can sit together – you may dress up for the NASCAR theme or wear your DC t-shirts which you will receive today. Please pay Sheri $13.00 for your t-shirt.

Lunch on your own immediately following convocation. Please be back & ready to start by 1:15 to hear Steve Knagg whose humorous talk will center on balance in our lives…don’t we all need more of that?! His talk is titled, “Sane Living in an Insane World” & I’m confident you will enjoy him – a lot!

Wednesday – District Day – We will have schedules printed so you will know where to go.
As you may have heard we are not posting class lists this year, so Wednesday is student registration/teacher assignment pick up from 8:00 AM – 7PM in the cafeteria. We will see how the new system goes!

Thursday – District Day – Meet the Teacher Night – 5:30 – 6:30 PM

Friday – Happy New Year Party!!/Faculty meeting, Cafeteria – Light breakfast 8:00 – 8:15

Team-building, Nuts & Bolts –We’ll do our best to have you out by 11:15 – possibly sooner!

We are planning on having your class lists to you late Tuesday afternoon – but not before!
Please don’t ask Donna to see them ahead of time.

We are excited to be getting new library furniture sometime this week. We will not be able to meet as a group in the library any this week until all of the furniture has been delivered, so our meetings today, tomorrow afternoon, & Friday morning will be held in the cafeteria.

Early dismissal for students in K-2 is scheduled for week after next (Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday) for assessment as we’ve done in the past. Sheri is working on a schedule that you will receive soon.

We will continue our school-wide D.E.A.R. program & ask that you have it in place no later than the second week of school. Please respect the integrity of the program by ensuring that you are reading/modeling with your kids the entire time. (8:10 – 8:30.)
I think you know how important this is to me!

Courtney Jennings will be our RTI specialist this year. Congratulations to her on her new position!

Your PTO teacher reps this year are Martha Brown, Kathy Flatt, & Barbara Larsen.

The following teachers will serve as content specialists this year:
Janet Dickerson – Social Studies
Kerry Webb – Math
Cynthia Alaniz – ELAR
Kathy Flatt – Science

We will provide you with 6 hours of flex hours opportunities this year & you will be responsible for getting 6 hours, & we’re asking that you obtain at least six hours of technology training this year. Please remember that approval for flex hours must be given ahead of time! See me if you’re not sure about this so there won’t be any confusion as to what’s allowed for flex hours, etc.
Your team leaders have lots of information to share with you regarding things you need to know for the new school year. If they haven’t already met with you, they will!

One of the neat new things this year is our access to AWARE – a new assessment data system that will put student data in your hands much sooner. Aware is an online computer adaptive assessment system (for grades 2-9) that identifies individual students’ instructional level. It will provide data instantaneously, give us diagnostic information, information on sub groups of students, etc. so it will be a valuable tool for us. Sheri will be our trainer!

Our Most Important School Goals For This Year Include:

· Delving deeper into 21st Century learning – both as educators & learners.
· Improving our Commended scores & continuing to focus on rigorous instruction with special emphasis given to Math & Science & a greater focus on our subgroups.
· We will embrace our Dual Language program wholeheartedly & make sure we do everything we can to support the program & ensure its’ success.
· We will strive to create a sense of belonging for ALL students & will work to reduce & prevent bullying – our new R-time program will help us with this initiative.

Although next Monday will be my 23rd “Opening Day”, I never lose the nervous edge I felt on my very first day of school when I began my career as a fifth grade teacher in Amarillo.
As we begin a new school year, I hope you share my sense of excitement, rejuvenation, & anticipation of what will be a tremendous year of growth for our students & staff.

Although our success as professional educators will depend to a great extent on our specific skills & the breadth of our knowledge base, I firmly believe that our character & our human relations skills are even more vital to the ultimate success we experience with our students & our entire school community.

We will follow the same NORMS/EXPECTATIONS that we had last year which are:

· We will treat all students with dignity & respect.
· We will ensure success for all students.
· We will grow professionally both individually & collectively as a staff.
· We will communicate consistently, positively, & professionally with parents.
· We will work together to promote a team-oriented environment conducive to learning.
· We will listen to & respect the opinions of others & be willing to compromise.
· We will base decisions on fact rather than supposition & support decisions that are made.
· We will tell the truth; admit mistakes; take responsibility; keep confidentiality.
· We will be perceptive to the needs of others & be willing to help; remember, we are part of a team.
· We will have FUN!

If we can all adhere to these norms we will be in great shape!

Upcoming Important Dates:

Meet the Teacher Night – Thursday, August 19th from 5:30 – 6:30
Curriculum Night – September 7th – K, 1, & 2 – 5-6PM & 3, 4, & 5 from 6:15 – 7:15PM
Grandparent’s Tea – October 1st

We know this is one of the busiest times of the year as there are many last minute things to do to prepare for your students, & we truly appreciate the effort you have already put into your classroom preparation, lesson plans, etc. so that you are ready for kids on Monday!

NOTEABLE QUOTABLES:

Coming together is a beginning;
Keeping together is progress;
Working together is success!
-Henry Ford

Today we decide how tomorrow will look.

CELEBRATE:

· Coppell ISD being an EXEMPLARY school district for the first time in 10 years!

· Denton Creek’s EXEMPLARY status as well! We will strive to take our school to even greater heights this year!

· Our new staff members – Miguel, Debbie, Lindsey, Lisa, Tessa, Jennifer, & Alli!

· The beginning of a new year with new students, new colleagues, new learning, & new excitement!

WELCOME BACK EVERYONE!!!

-Bryan

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #1

What have you enjoyed most about school so far this year?

I am looking forward to hearing your responses!

What are you liking most about school?

-Mr. McLain

Denton Creek's VISION

I'm excited to be learning about blogging & want to invite our students & staff at Denton Creek to join me in this endeavor as we embark on a fun school year together.

Many of our DC students are WAY AHEAD of me when it comes to technology, but I am learning, & I hope you will help me learn! Our teachers have committed to making technology an even bigger focus this year which is very exciting.

I'm going to share my vision for our school in this blog, & then I'd like to start a weekly question that you may answer. I hope you will jump right in on the discussion!

It is well known that all leaders have a vision - a place in their mind or a dream about how things can be better. The vision provides the motivation & energy that helps you to accomplish your goals & bring about productive change. I want to share my vision with you.

In my vision I SEE a safe place...free from prejudice not only toward color but toward indifference in learning. I see all children - wise & unwise, social & unsocial, eager & reticent, privileged, & lacking, learning capable & learning challenged, THRIVING...in this safe place.

In my vision I HEAR excitement...Children's voices & grown up voices motivated by the need to know & the need to share what is known. I hear kindness & courtesy & encouragement. There is no room for sarcasm or criticism or the need to control through fear...in this EXCITING place!

In my vision I TOUCH...Hand upon hand & heart upon heart & encourage others to do the same. We have to touch kids' hearts before we can engage their minds! The touch heals the spirit & feeds the children who are lacking...in this safe place.

In my vision I SMELL...reams of paper & endless books, musty rooms & dusty, warm bodies - all signs of life & synergy in an otherwise lifeless building...now made into a safe place.

In my vision I TASTE...the sweet taste of tentative, fragile success - hoping that living out the vision will make a difference for kids - in this safe place!

My vision is simple, straightforward, & attainable!

Some of the goals that we have as a staff include:

1. To build relationships rooted in trust rather than judgment,
2. To create a climate of respect in which those who participate in the day-to-day activities have ownership of the process,
3. To continue traditions & ceremonies that celebrate success,
4. To replace rules with mutual respect,
5. To replace competition with cooperation.

The Denton Creek staff is committed to:

1. Maximizing instructional time,
2. Teaching the TEKS & Tackling the TAKS,
3. Promoting higher levels of cognitive learning by asking higher level questions & ensuring that we're working on the "3 R's" with our students: RELEVANCE, RIGOR, & RELATIONSHIPS!
4. Instilling in our students an even greater desire to achieve excellence.
5. Integrating more technology into all areas of our classrooms including multimedia presentations, blogging, use of the smart interactive board, creating pod-casts, etc.
6. Researching the process of becoming an "IB" school - or what's known as the "Primary Years Program."
7. Ensuring success for all students & having fun while doing so!

I hope you will embrace our vision as we work to provide your children with the best educational experience possible!
-Mr. McLain