What do you do?

One of the questions that I often get asked is: "Do you have the summer off too?" When I say that I don't and explain that I have an allocation of vacation days (many of which I use in the summer) I'm asked the follow-up question - "So, what do you do all summer?"

I wanted to add a blog post for you with information about some of the changes that I'm working on.  hopefully this will give you a good idea of what I've been working on and what will be different at Sioux Trail in the fall of 2011. 

My first item won't be change, especially for all that know Mr. Glende!  The building is spotless and getting cleaner every day.  We have had some additional custodians assigned to our crew for a short period of time because of construction at the Burnsville High School.  This crew (nicknamed "Glende's Gang") is making quick work of many projects.  They have done impressive work cleaning all of our classrooms, moving classrooms and doing a wide variety of other projects.

Sioux Trail is hosting one of the summer school programs again and those students started arriving on July 6.  The program is called ESY or Extended School Year and provides summer service to students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) who need support through our DCD (Developmental Cognitive Delay) classrooms, speech therapy and other related programs.  We have also been hosting a cheerleader camp for Burnsville High School.  The first day the cheerleaders arrived was a big surprise as the gym was filled with carpets that were being cleaned and none of us had any idea were were hosting summer cheer camp.

With the generous support and partnership of the Sioux Trail PTO we were able to order nine SMART Boards for classrooms and those have arrived and will be installed soon.  I used the donation from the PTO along with building funds to purchase this interactive instructional technology and I'm very excited to add these tools to our classrooms.  This means that when we start the 2011-12 school year we will have a SMART Board in the classroom of each teacher who has requested one.  I believe that by adding the technology when teachers are ready for it there is a higher likelihood that the tool will be used on a frequent basis and will have a positive impact on students achievement.

The 2010-11 school year was the final year that room 109 and room 110 were to be used as classrooms.  We affectionately refer to these two classrooms as "the portables" even though they stopped being portable over twenty years ago. During the 2010-11 school the portables were home to Mrs. Mosher, Mrs. Horwart and lots of wonderful first grade students.  The buildings were added as temporary solution for increasing enrollment many many years ago and when the school board did a recent study of attendance boundaries and building capacities the decision was made to remove these buildings.  The buildings have not been adequately maintained in recent years and a decision had to be made regarding updating the spaces and doing some maintenance or removing the classrooms.   The ISD 191 school board made the decision to remove the portable classrooms at most of the elementary buildings where they are located.  Glende's Gang has removed everything from the portables at Sioux Trail that can be re-used and we waiting for demolition crew to arrive and remove the physical buildings.  If you see some heavy equipment outside of Sioux Trail it may be time to say good-bye to these classrooms.  These two classrooms have been a great addition to Sioux Trail and losing them will mean that the remaining space at Sioux Trail will be used very efficiently. 

I've been making good use of the summer to do some professional growth and I've been able to attend conferences on several professional topics including Response to Intervention and the work of Professional Learning Communities. I'm increasingly excited to work with teachers and students!

Please feel free to call or email with question, concerns or just to say hello!  I plan for another summer blog post very soon detailing teacher assignments (who is teaching which grade / subject).  Stay tuned!

Lost & Found - again!

The week before Sioux Trail got out for the summer we did a thorough overhaul of the lost and found.  After having seven tables worth of unclaimed items out for two weeks Sioux Trail made a large charitable donation of clothing.  Less than a week later we're back to having a large amount of unclaimed items.  To help Sioux Trail families know what we have I have created a short video highlighting the inventory of the lost and found.  Please watch the video and then come to school (or send your child) and claim these items.  The unclaimed items will be donated after a couple weeks.

Sioux Trail in the News!

Minnesota Local News - minnlocal.com Burnsville News Weeding out at a Burnsville elementary school

Weeding out at a Burnsville elementary school

BY Matthew hankey - SUn NEwspaperS

Published: Wednesday, June 1, 2011 2:15 PM CDT

In a time when school budgets are increasingly shrinking, any contributions to help out are welcome. It's even better when students and faculty can pitch in and get their hands dirty.

This spring, Sioux Trail Elementary School students and staff have done their part to beautify the school's exterior by weeding and picking up trash.

"First impressions can last a long time," said Principal Taber Akin. "We want to have the outside of the school reflect the good things that are going on in the inside of the school."

School custodian Mark Glende mows the lawn, while students and teachers maintain the flower and plant beds in front of the school, Akin said. Each week this spring, two grade levels have been responsible for cleaning up the grounds. Teachers determine when their classrooms can contribute to the clean-up effort, whether it's at recess or during class.

Christine Peterson's kindergarten class and Saloua Thompson's LINK kindergarten class joined Dewy Barton's sixth graders May 24 to weed for an hour in the afternoon. Each sixth grader supervised one to two kindergarteners and made sure weeds - not flowers - were being pulled.

"We're cleaning up the earth and making everything healthier," said sixth grader Britney Hauser, hands full of dandelions and other weeds.

When Peterson informed her students about the weeding project, they understood the importance of their contribution, saying things like, "'This for the community' and 'helping.' Things like that," she said.

For some students, this project is their first exposure to working in a garden, Peterson said.

The building and grounds department for School District 191 had previously mowed all the grounds at Sioux Trail, but Glende offered to cut the front and side grass this year. He wanted to lessen the burden for the crew, who provide mowing for the other nine elementary schools, three junior high schools, and one high school in the district.

Glende spends 20 minutes a day cutting the grass with a standard walk-behind mower, cutting a section of grass each day during the week.

"It's nice, because it always has that fresh mowed appearance," Glende said. "It always looks like something was just mowed."

Glende said says the school district shies away from fertilizing the grass and flowerbed areas. That's where the weed pickers come in. The project has helped to bring the school closer by instilling a sense of pride in how it appears, Akin said.

"I think it really builds a sense of ownership, which the already staff has, but the students also have and they can say, 'This is our place,'" Akin said.

Students are currently taking mandatory state tests, and getting outside to clean up has been a welcome test break, Akin said. This project has shown that work and play can go hand in hand.

"Students get the exercise, but the school also benefits," Akin said.

He hopes the landscaping effort continues through the summer. Planning to get students, teachers, and school community members together is about to get underway, Akin said.

Glende considers the school to belong to the surrounding neighborhood, and can tell their work has paid off this spring. In the past, he's heard complaints if the school got behind on their landscaping. This year, the school has received more compliments for their efforts.

"If we can go that little extra step and show our neighbors that we're doing our part, it shows that we're united in the community," Glende said.

Lost & Found

We have seven tables full of lost and found items at Sioux Trail.  I'm hoping that by posting the video families will see and claim their items.  The goal is to have an empty lost and found on Friday, May 27, 2011.  Please check out the video, ask your child to check lost and found and claim these items!  Thank you.

New partnership will address mental health needs of students, families

For several years, District 191 has collaborated with 360 Communities to have their employees, family support workers, in our schools assisting families so that students can be more successful.

Recently, the school district was notified recently by 360 Communities that the district's contribution for the Family Support Worker (FSW) program would increase by 30 percent for the 2011-12 school year.

When faced with the option of increasing budget allocations for the FSW program or accepting a lower level of service, district administrators and building principals took the opportunity to evaluate other options to address current mental health needs of students and their families.

What has developed is a potential partnership with the Storefront Group, a local non-profit mental health care provider, which would result in having half-time licensed mental health counselors in each of the district's 10 elementary schools. A partnership with Storefront Group is also being discussed for the secondary schools.

The counselors would become part of each school community, respond to pressing mental health needs, proactively support student success, and be readily available in case of a crisis.

Storefront Group, with its licensed professional health care providers, has the ability to bill third parties (private health insurance and medical assistance). This makes the proposed level of services possible while also lowering the cost to the district.

The collaboration with 360 Communities and its Family Support Worker program has provided many benefits. However, by providing licensed mental health care professionals at reduced costs to the district, this new partnership with the Storefront Group will better address the current needs of students, families and schools.

More on bullying

I saw this graphic and I wanted to share it.  I think it is a good thing that Minnesota isn't called out on the map, but bullying is still a problem that we work with.  Bulling is something we work hard to prevent at Sioux Trail and all partners play part in eliminating bullying. 

Click here to see the full-sized image.

The Bully Project

This movie was a part of the Tribeca Film Festival and I recently learned of it from a fellow blogger.  Bullying is something educators work hard to prevent and then deal with if preventative efforts fail. This is a very difficult issue and the video (at least the trailer) seems to capture this.

The trailer of the movie is very moving and I look forward to seeing the entire movie.  There is more information at: http://www.thebullyproject.com/index.html . If you have concerns about bullying at Sioux Trail Elementary School please contact me directly.