Dec 1st

  

I hope you all had a great and restful Thanksgiving Break. I hope you all got the much needed rest you needed as we push toward the end of the semester.  Knowing that, let's lock in and make these next three weeks count. Coming off Thanksgiving, remember: the oar is your daily effort, the boat is your classroom, and the compass is your purpose—shaping lives. Life happens for you, not to you, and this is your opportunity to thrive, not just survive.

Challenges may arise, but they’re not roadblocks—they’re fuel for growth. Show up with energy, passion, and an unstoppable mindset. This isn’t just about getting to the next break; it’s about rowing with purpose, inspiring your students, and moving everyone forward.

Stay present, focus on what you can control, and trust the process. You are the rockstar your students need, and your consistent effort will guide them to success. Lean into the momentum, ignite your fire, and row with determination. Together, you’ll reach the shore stronger than ever. Let’s go— I can’t wait to see the success we have as a building over the upcoming weeks. 

Good things

Elementary Turkey Trot as Middle School cheers (Safe Community) 

Dr. Gegg, Mr. Kleiner, Mr. McClure and Mrs. McGinnis were troopers as they participated in the STUCO fundraiser to help send a veteran on the Honor Flight. (Safe Community)

Last week we celebrated the honor roll, attendance, and student of the month. (Safe Community, Global Society, High levels of Learning)

7th Grade Science participates in an engaging activity learning the role DNA plays in development. (High Levels of Learning)

Mrs. Barron opens up the Elementary PRIDE ticket drop box. (Global Society and Safe Community)

NJHS students tutors elementary students. (Global Society) 

During Mrs. Parrish’s Counselor time, students created a script and acted out their production while teaching the class what they learned about bullying. (High Levels of Learning)

Pershing Staff participates in learning during staff meeting. (High Levels of Learning)


Instructional 

Kick-Off 2024 Slide Deck

Sample lesson from Mr. Wells (LINK HERE)

November Staff: LINK 

Professional Learning Teams (PLT’s) 

This week schedule will look like the following

Elementary: Learning Walks  

Middle School: Back on regular PLT schedule. Mr. Wells will be meeting with individual teacher teams around data and specific actions steps. 

December  Staff Meeting 

December 10th: 7:30-8:30 am 

Whole Staff in the library

Grading Expectations Reminder

Pershing Grading expectations is at least 2 grades per week entered into Canvas 

Lesson Plans/Focus Boards

Focus Board Expectation

• Permanently placed in the room and clearly visible to the back of the room.
• Teacher reference Focus Board throughout the lesson

Lesson Plans Expectation

• Lessons are turned into the hub Thursday by end of day
• Lessons reflect the implantation of district curriculum and anticipation/differentiation to meet the needs of your students.

Mid Quarter Dates 

09-20-24

11-15-24

02-07-25

04-25-25

 

December Instructional Model Focus
Providing and Communicating Clear Learning Goals
Providing Scales and Rubrics	Learning Targets Communicated multiple times including closure   Students can communicate learning targets and understand how what they are doing ties to the learning target.	Resources: HERE
Tracking Student Progress	Student and Teacher has evidence of student learning	Resources: HERE
Celebrating Success	Verbal and Written feedback on progress toward mastery	Resources: HERE
Processing Content
Organizing students to interact over the learning Planned structure	Students have multiple opportunity to (verbally and non-verbally) to process information every 4-6 minutes	Resources:  HERE  Kagan Structures: Essential 5
Implementation of PBIS
Teaching/Re-Teaching Expectation	Using Our Punch Card system to reward students for doing what is expected with INTEGRITY	Using 4 to 1 positive to negative word interactions

December Testing Schedules

Middle School DCA Testing Schedule: Megan Lannholm 

Below is a screen shot and link to the December Quarter 2 DCA schedule.  Please follow this schedule for your DCA testing so that accommodations for testing can be made for both IEP and 504 students.  I have purposefully not scheduled any DCA’s  for Tuesday’s due to WINGS attendance.  Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about this schedule. 

 

Q2 DCA Schedule

 

 

Operational 

Important Date

AMI Days 

This year SPS will utilize AMI days this school year for inclement weather. Please see the following graphics. 

AMI Teacher Expectations 

Elementary Newsletter: https://secure.smore.com/n/jwyzm 

December Important Dates 

Nov. 25-29 Thanksgiving Break (students out) 

Dec. 4- Alice Training 4:30-5:30pm

Dec. 10- Staff Meeting 7:30-8:30 am

Dec. 17- Winter Orchestra Concert-  7 pm. 

Dec. 19- Winter Band Concert - 6 pm 

Dec. 23-Jan. 3 - Winter Break (students out)

December Birthdays 

1- Jodi Swanner 

2- Jordan Boyce 

5- Tim Knopf 

9- Elizabeth Hailey

18- Kathy Null

25- Jennifer Teal 

29- Jeremy Cook 

January 

1- Tom Cunningham

3- Stephanie Routh 

4- Constance Bonner 

5- April Barron 

10- Julie McClure 

17- Leanne Newman 

25- Ashley McCord 

31- Corbyn Bartels 

Nov. 17th

 

Chapter 4 of *Row the Boat* by P.J. Fleck focuses on using adversity as a springboard for growth, offering lessons that resonate deeply with educators striving for student achievement. Fleck shares how he fostered resilience and perseverance within his teams by embracing challenges as opportunities to improve. For example, during a difficult season, he introduced the “row the boat” philosophy to encourage his players to stay focused on daily effort and support one another through shared struggles. This commitment to teamwork helped them build momentum and trust, eventually leading to success.

For us as educators, these lessons are a powerful reminder to approach challenges with a growth mindset. When facing obstacles—whether it’s helping a struggling student or tackling a tough day—it’s an opportunity to reflect, adapt, and keep moving forward. Celebrating small victories, like a student mastering a concept after consistent effort, can reignite your passion and purpose. Building a supportive classroom community ensures that you and your students are rowing in the same direction, turning setbacks into stepping stones. This approach reminds us that success doesn’t happen overnight but through daily perseverance, collaboration, and a belief that each small step matters.

I know we will have a wonderful week. 

Good things

Mrs. Pohlman and STUCO leads Pershing in observing Veterans day with appreciations and fundraiser to help send a veterans on the Honor Flight. 

Mrs. Fleetwood’s class uses Processing  as an anticipatory set/preview before the lesson is taught. Groups sorted numbers based on whatever knowledge they have and then communicated to other groups how and why they chose to sort numbers. 

Mrs. Ferguson class the strategy of Rally Robin to connect previous class learning over parts of a story. 

Mrs. Cox and the Library celebrates November and Dinosaur Month with an interesting new dinosaur. 

Mrs. Nasby uses pictures to help students understand key vocabulary that they will see in their story. (High levels of Learning) 

Mr. Cunningham class reenact parts of the revolutionary war.

Instructional 

Kick-Off 2024 Slide Deck

Sample lesson from Mr. Wells (LINK HERE)

November Staff: LINK 

Professional Learning Teams (PLT’s) 

This week schedule will look like the following

Elementary: Rise and Shine 

Middle School: Back on regular PLT schedule. Mr. Wells will be meeting with individual teacher teams around data and specific actions steps. 

November  Staff Meeting 

November 19th: 7:30-8:30 pm 

Whole Staff in the library

Grading Expectations Reminder

Pershing Grading expectations is at least 2 grades per week entered into Canvas 

Lesson Plans/Focus Boards

Focus Board Expectation

• Permanently placed in the room and clearly visible to the back of the room.
• Teacher reference Focus Board throughout the lesson

Lesson Plans Expectation

• Lessons are turned into the hub Thursday by end of day
• Lessons reflect the implantation of district curriculum and anticipation/differentiation to meet the needs of your students.

Mid Quarter Dates 

09-20-24

11-15-24

02-07-25

04-25-25

 

Progress Reports 

Mid-Quarter progress reports will be given out on Wednesday, Nov. 20th during Seminar. 

Operational 

Important Date

AMI Days 

This year SPS will utilize AMI days this school year for inclement weather. Please see the following graphics. 

AMI Teacher Expectations 

Elementary Newsletter: https://secure.smore.com/n/jwyzm 

Nov. 

4- Trade out day for P/T Conference (No Students) 

5- Teach Forward 8-11am (No Students) work in rooms the rest of the day. 

15- Mid Quarter 

19- Staff Meeting 7:30-8:30 am 

25-29-  Thanksgiving Break 

November Birthdays

1- Megan Ebert

6- Aaron Salley

8- Melody Thweatt

18- Kevin Kleiner

28- Lindsey Mitchell

30- Jessica Dancey

Nov. 4th

 

Chapter 3 of P.J. Fleck's Row the Boat is about embracing life’s challenges with a relentless spirit and an unwavering belief in the power of teamwork and resilience. This chapter reminds you that the journey ahead won’t always be calm waters, but it’s in those moments of adversity that your true strength is revealed. Keep rowing, no matter how fierce the storm. Trust in your purpose, lean on your crew, and believe that every stroke moves you forward. Remember, success is not in reaching the destination but in how passionately you row through every chapter of life.

Let’s have a wonderful week! 

Good things

Instructional 

Kick-Off 2024 Slide Deck

Sample lesson from Mr. Wells (LINK HERE)

Professional Learning Teams (PLT’s) 

This week schedule will look like the following

Elementary: Wilder Collaboration  

Middle School: 

Nov. 6-8 We will not meet as a formal PLT, however this week we will have Learning Walks if you do not have the processing guide please go by the PLT room it up. 

Expectations 

1. Visit at least 2 classrooms for 15 minutes 

2. Complete processing document for each visited classroom 

3. Leave a celebration for visited classroom 

4. Bring back processing document to Monday Nov. 11 PLT and be prepared to share. 

November  Staff Meeting 

November 19th: 7:30-8:30 pm 

Grading Expectations Reminder

Pershing Grading expectations is at least 2 grades per week entered into Canvas 

Lesson Plans/Focus Boards

Focus Board Expectation

• Permanently placed in the room and clearly visible to the back of the room.
• Teacher reference Focus Board throughout the lesson

Lesson Plans Expectation

• Lessons are turned into the hub Thursday by end of day
• Lessons reflect the implantation of district curriculum and anticipation/differentiation to meet the needs of your students.

Mid Quarter Dates 

09-20-24

11-15-24

02-07-25

04-25-25

 

Reminder: November 5th is Teach Forward Day

You should now be able to see the location of your session on November 5 in Kickup.  In addition, you can check the Teach Forward November Catalog for details. Plan to arrive at your session for an 8AM start. With sessions spread out across the district to accommodate enrollments, plan to bring your own drink(s) and snacks. Thanks in advance for your understanding!

For those that were unregistered as of 10/17, they were auto-enrolled in a session. Locations for each session will be updated in Kickup and on the Teach Forward November Catalog.

I hope the information helps as you plan for Teach Forward. 

Operational 

SPED Make Up Training - Crystal Magers

The SPED Make Up Training will be offered on Monday, November 11th from 4:00-6:00 p.m. and Tuesday, November 19th from 7 a.m.-9:00 a.m. You can sign up through KickUp.

Veterans Day 

Important Date

AMI Days 

This year SPS will utilize AMI days this school year for inclement weather. Please see the following graphics. 

AMI Teacher Expectations 

Elementary Newsletter: https://secure.smore.com/n/jwyzm 

Nov. 

4- Trade out day for P/T Conference (No Students) 

5- Teach Forward 8-11am (No Students) work in rooms the rest of the day. 

15- Mid Quarter 

19- Staff Meeting 7:30-8:30 am 

25-29-  Thanksgiving Break 

November Birthdays

1- Megan Ebert

6- Aaron Salley

8- Melody Thweatt

18- Kevin Kleiner

28- Lindsey Mitchell

30- Jessica Dancey