Week of September 28

Hard to believe we're looking at the first of October, which means Fall Break is fast approaching. I hope it's a safe and happy week off for everyone.

September 2015 was a very inspirational month for me. I participated in three days of professional learning that I was able to implement immediately. I'm taking advantage of all the free tools Google provides educators; and will also be looking at free "apps, extensions, and add-ons" for home use.

And through tragedy arose triumph. We saw neighborhoods and towns in northern California lose their fight with wildfires, yet our own Lake community placed their needs in front of others and donated a wide variety of items for those displaced by the fires.

Last but not least, PTO continues to emulate the meaning of volunteerism by adding more color to the blacktop. Thanks to all the parents who work behind the scenes to make it all come together. Your hard work and dedication to the school does not go unnoticed! Thanks for all you've done and cheers to all you still plan to do.

Monday, September 28
8:15 am - SELPA meeting - Orland
10:30 am - Sup meeting - Orland
3:00 pm - SST meeting

Tuesday, September 29
3:00 pm - IEP meeting

Wednesday, September 30
3:00 pm - Teacher meeting

Thursday, October 1
Minimum Day - dismissal at 12:50 p.m.
Parent Teacher Conferences for students in grades 4-8

Friday, October 2
Minimum Day - dismissal at 12:50 p.m.
8:45 am - Monthly assembly
Parent Teacher Conferences for students in grades 4-8

Week of September 21

As I sit down to write this week's "Week at a Glance", my brain is on information overload. I just spent the last two days attending a Google Summit for Educators, along with Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Mason, and Mr. Rutledge. (For more info on these summits, click on the link - not only will you get a description of these events, but a world map of locations in which these summits are held - they are WORLDWIDE events, and not for the weak!) And to top it off, we're going to - along with nearly every educator in Glenn County - Common 2 the Core tomorrow at Willows High School. And as tired as I am right now, there's so much to learn about this little thing called education that I truly can't wait to wake up tomorrow and attack another day of learning. Which brings me to a "change" in my life I'm going to make at this moment. No longer am I going to call what educators do "professional development", but professional learning. We were "developed" while attending teacher education courses, now that we're practicing educators, we are learning about everything education. And now that technology has added another dimension to our work, so must we add another dimension to our learning. So a quick shout-out to the high-quality educators I work with on a daily basis - I so appreciate your commitment to learning and the dedication you have to not only your students, but to your professional growth as well. Learn on!

Monday, September 21
No school for students - professional learning day for staff

Tuesday, September 22
No speech services today as Ms. Toney is off-campus attending a professional learning event
2:30 - SST
5:30 - Title I meeting - cafeteria

Wednesday, September 23
Minimum day - dismissal at 12:50
8:00 - IEP
11:00 - Workability on campus in Learning Center
1:00 - Teacher meeting regarding progress reports, followed by time to implement professional learning for Google Summit and/or C2tC

Thursday, September 24
7:45 - IEP

Friday, September 25
Somebody on staff is having a birthday...who could it be?
Lake Panthers vs. Capay Colts in flag football and volleyball at Capay

Saturday and Sunday
PTO will be on campus adding more color to the blacktop - if you have a few hours to spare either day, drop on by. Sign-up sheet is on the window going into the cafeteria.

Week of September 14

Last Friday is an example of how great it is to be a Lake Panther. Members of PTO and the Lake Staff came together to make Grandparents Day a huge success. Over 200 meals were served to our special guests, in addition to the 175 students who attend every day. We got lucky with the weather as cloud cover kept the predicted heat at bay for a few more hours than expected. Thanks to everyone who made this special day so great. Now let's look ahead to this week.


Monday, September 14
CELDT Testing begins - I'll be helping Sarah and Nora throughout the day
7th & 8th Graders to Lucero Oil in Corning for an Industry Tour

Tuesday, September 15
CELDT Testing continues
3:00 - School Board Meeting

Wednesday, September 16
CELDT Testing continues
Alison off-campus for CPM PD - Ms. Osburn is her sub
3:00 - Teacher Meeting

Thursday, September 17
1:00 - 4th & 5th Grade Assembly - location TBD
1:45 - 6th, 7th, 8th Grade Assembly - 7th grade classroom
3:00 - SST Meeting

Friday, September 18
12:45 - Lake vs. Plaza, games at Lake

Saturday & Sunday; and Monday, too
Many of us will be at Chico Country Day attending the Google Summit - exciting stuff as Google Summits are internationally known. Having a Google Summit in our backyard is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, at last count I think we have 9 staff members going. Lake Panthers rock! And don't forget, we'll follow this with an in-service on Monday at Willows High that will end a 3-day professional development for many of us. Click here for more info regarding the Google Summit and here for the GCOE C2tCore professional development in Willows.

Week of September 7

Labor Day weekend has come and gone and we're off to another exciting week at Lake Elementary. A heads up for those who eat lunch in the staff building...I will be meeting with a CSBA (California School Board Association) trainer Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday updating our board policies. You will need to eat lunch at another location those three days. (It should be a fairly relaxed atmosphere, so come in and copy as needed.) It's going to be a busy week for me with that going on, here's what else is on my calendar:


Tuesday, September 8
9:00 - Meet with Shannon and Rawe Tree Service regarding trees
12:30 - IEP meeting, Learning Center
1:30 - 2nd & 3rd grade to Orland Library
4:00 - Board Agenda Development meeting - office
7:00 - Lake 4-H meeting

Wednesday, September 9
All day - CSBA Training - Board Policies Update - Staff Building
Minimum Day - 12:50 dismissal

Teacher meeting to review/compare the following:
Note to teachers: You'll be meeting without me; decide where and when you want to meet, I'll have the materials ready for you. 

• 2014-15 iReady Diagnostic (Window 3 - final one of year)
• 2014-15 STAR Reading report
• Preview Progress Reports in School Wise

6:00 - PTO meeting at Round Table

Thursday, September 10

All day - CSBA Training - Board Policies Update - Staff Building

Friday, September 11

Patriot Day and Grandparents Day

8:40 - All-school Pledge of Allegiance, Moment of Silence for Patriot Day

9:00-ish - Christine taking a group of students to Walnut Avenue Ranch - walking

10:00 - Grandparents begin signing in

10:30 - Grandparent activities in classrooms

11:30 - Lunch

12:45 - Volleyball and Flag Football vs. Vina

Have a great week! Nikol

Week of August 31

Even the teachers are excited about the new play structure. The new
playground equipment will be open for business on Monday!

Seems like we just started school and here we are looking at the beginning of September. It was an exciting time last week as new playground equipment was installed. Students watched the installation team from behind the safety fence. It was fun watching the transformation take place. Monday, when students can access the new structures, will be an exciting day for everyone! Thanks to both board members and PTO for making this happen.




Monday, August 31
12:00 Staffing Meeting - Learning Center

Tuesday, September 1
9:00 - QCC Training - Office
3:15 - SSC Meeting - 7th grade classroom

Wednesday, September 2
Picture Day!
3:00 - Teacher Meeting - 7th grade classroom

Thursday, September 3
Happy Thursday

Friday, September 4
No bus service
8:45 - Assembly - blacktop
1:00 - Flag Football & Volleyball vs. Plaza at Lake

Week of August 24

Settling into the third week of school, second full week, and things are off to a great start. The activity I'm looking most forward to this week is the installation of new playground equipment. More swings and a playweb will be great additions to our existing structures. While not checking out the progress on the playground, this is what I'll be doing this week:




Monday, August 24
8:15 a.m. - SELPA meeting in Willows, followed by Superintendent meeting

Tuesday, August 25
Happy Birthday, Cheri!
3:00 p.m. - SST meeting

Wednesday, August 26
Minimum Day - dismissal at 12:50
Lunch provided to all staff compliments of Golden Apple Insurance
1:00 p.m. - DonorsChoose workshop - location TBD
2:00 p.m. - Classified Staff meeting - location TBD

Thursday, August 27
No meetings scheduled yet

Friday, August 28
Happy Friday!

Week of August 17

It’s that time of year for the blog to be back up and current. The purpose of this blog is to keep all Lake Elementary stakeholders up-to-date with happenings at the school as seen through my lens. I hope everyone got started off with a great week. Here’s what the second week of school looks like for me:

Monday, August 17

Quiet start to the week for me. Will be trying to stay ahead of state reports and surveys as well as learning names of kindergarten students. When not in the office, I cruise the campus to check out the amazing learning that is taking place.

3:10    Teacher Meeting

Tuesday, August 18

5:30    Board Meeting – the first 30 minutes of this board meeting will be spent training the board on Agenda Online, a new service from CSBA (California School Boards Association), that will allow us to automatize some of the preparation, distribution, and implementation of board meetings.  Items on the agenda will begin at 6:00 p.m.  School Board agendas are always posted on the window of the main office as well as online on the school’s website.

Wednesday, August 19

3:10    Teacher Meeting – every Wednesday we hold teacher meetings that cover various topics. This week’s meeting will most likely be a check-in to see how the first week is going, answer any technology questions/requests, etc.

Thursday, August 20

SST Meeting

Friday, August 21

See Monday. J