Pennoyer Staff Newsletter - 2/9/24

                                             Hawk Thoughts & Happenings

Team Pennoyer,

Ok, I can't start out our weekly newsletter without stating the obvious...what's gonna be the highlight of the Super Bowl on Sunday?  Whether you're a football fan or not, I know there's a lot of us wondering.  Is it gonna be the actual game?  Is it gonna be the commercials that cost millions of dollars for a 30 second slot?  Is it gonna be the halftime show with Usher?  Is it gonna be the pre-game show and hype?  Is it gonna be Taylor Swift and the wedding proposal that I've heard is flooding social media?  Or is it gonna be something we can't even imagine but has nothing to do with the actual sport of football?  I certainly don't know, but I know it's a reason to eat unhealthy food and try and get my work done early this Sunday!

Whatever your plans are for the Super Bowl or not watching any of it at all, I wish everyone good luck in Emerson's playoff pool this weekend.  I know most of us are out of the running thanks to Detroit...thanks Lions!  I'll leave you with some pics that certainly made me smile this week.  They're all from Pennoyer and witnessing the incredible things our staff and students are doing each and every day.  I did have to throw in one of my son Lennon though.  He came back this week after not being able to do any sports or physical activity due to a pretty bad concussion.  I got to see him play on his intramural basketball team at Stevenson, and I know he was loving being back to himself.

That's Lennon going up to tap in a shot!

Our youngest grade band celebrating the 100th day of school in style...OLD PEOPLE STYLE!

Middle Schoolers collaborating on such a cool geometric figures art activity for math!

Kindergartners using mindfulness and relaxation for a restful few minutes to help get them through the day successfully.

Travel Club has become so incredibly popular with our students with almost 30 kids!  This week they traveled to Mexico!!!

Porter dancing to Never Gonna Give You Up and just excited cause it was another day I was actually able to make it out in the car line during arrival time to greet our students and families.  He doesn't like when I have morning meetings...lol.

Finally...a shout out from me to Diana Dylag this week!

Diana, you've been such a trooper coming back this week and continuing to deal with what you had to endure.  You've kept positive and been there for your students in every way possible.  You even showed up at a meeting last week over Google Meets when you were at home just trying to feel better.  I really appreciate you.

Hawk Action Items 

• Next Friday, February 16th is a Half Day.  This day is dedicated to "Invite ONLY" conferences by teachers and teams.  Remember, if you're not full with conferences, this is a great time to do CLI work, curriculum revisions, assessment/rubric writing, and collaborating between grade level of content area teachers for upcoming planning and lessons.  Please reach out to me if you would like me to support at any of your conferences next Friday.  I will also be available if you have any questions about preparing yourself or your students for IAR testing coming up in a couple of weeks.  Here is the schedule for the school day below...

        6th period: 11:40-12:20 8:20-9:00

        7th period: 12:20-1:00 9:00-9:40

        8th period: 1:00-1:40 9:40-10:20

        9th period: 1:40-2:20 10:20-11:00

        10th period: 2:20-3:00 11:00-11:30

• Interested in helping out at our 1st Annual 3 on 3 Pennoyer March Madness Basketball Tournament after school on Friday, March 15th...Check out this flyer and sign up to be a court monitor HERE.  More than one person can sign up for a grade level to help supervise.  Please reach out to me with any questions you might have.  I'll make sure everyone who volunteers is ready and prepared to support our students at this event in March...I'm super excited!

• As we prepare our students for IAR testing that will start for 3rd-8th grade the week of March 4th, don't forget about these IAR supports/resources you can utilize during ELA/Math blocks and/or Enrichment time.  Reach out to Adam with any questions or support if needed.

• If you're interested in signing up to supervise and facilitate any Behavior Academies after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, feel free to sign up on the  spreadsheet.  Here's a reminder about the protocol for our Behavior Academies if you're interested.  Thanks to everyone who has been supporting these. 

• Just another friendly reminder to make sure food is out of the classrooms each day and nothing is left open.  We have found some mice in our building, and we're doing our best to deal with this situation.  As homeroom teachers, if you didn't get a to have students clean out their lockers to make sure there is no food, old work they don't need, etc. before Winter Break, please take some time that works best (could be homeroom, Enrichment, etc.) to have students do this before Friday, February 16th.  If you need garbage cans or recycling bins by classrooms, please let our maintenance crew know and put in a work order...thanks!

• I hope all is going well with instituting our universal expectations each day of the week for EVERY CLASS PERIOD they teach a new group of students to support behavior, expectations, and build connections.  3 to Succeed! 

                  1. Greet students every morning.

2. Display School PBIS expectations OR PBIS Expectations (BLANK) in the

classroom and review everyday. Example: What are 2 ways we are

responsible in the classroom? In school? (This doesn't have to take long each

day and each class period)

3. Anytime your kids are in the hallway (arrival, dismissal, transitions,) you are

in the hallway with them. Middle school - transitions between classes.

• Wanna make somebody's day at Pennoyer...don't forget about our staff shout outs we'd like to get started up again this year!  It's real easy; if one staff member wants to give another staff member at Pennoyer a positive shout out for something that week, just send a quick email blurb to Adam, and he'll feature it in our weekly Hawk Happenings!

• Great job with all the social media posts shared for the month of January! Keep it up in February. Here's the Google Form for teachers to complete.  Thanks!!!

Weekly Hawk Playlist/Lyric

"You got a fast car.  I want a ticket to anywhere.  Maybe we make a deal.  Maybe together we can get somewhere."

                                                                            - Fast Car by Tracy Chapman

Hawk Celebrations

This week I'm so excited to celebrate our Choir Concert from last Thursday that certainly kicked off the month of February the right way!  Miss Bieda did an amazing job getting these students ready for the show, but more importantly, she has done something that hasn't been at Pennoyer for a long time.  Miss 

Bieda has cultivated such a love for music and singing with our students, and through that, she leads a Choir this year of over 30 students from across grade levels.  It's pretty remarkable, and it shows her true thoughtfulness and dedication as an educator of music.  It's obviously about these incredible students as well!  They really shined up on the stage last Thursday night.  I couldn't stop smiling as they sang one of my favorite songs of all time...It's Alright.  Our Choir showcased their talents in ensemble groups, as well as taking some solo and smaller group parts to show off their range.  In the end, many of our Choir participants received special recognition from Miss Bieda, but they all certainly have so much to celebrate and be proud of.  #PennoyerPride for sure!!!

February Birthdays! 🎂

Nina Torossi - 2/11