RM Bacon Weekly

Saturday, December 17, 2016

December 19 - 23, 2016

Bears,

What a week! From concerts to celebrations, a lot of great things were happening here at RM Bacon.

Congrats to Mrs. Gandy (left) and Mrs. Rohaly (right)

First up - congratulations to Beth Rohaly (music) on being Bacon's teacher of the year, and congrats to Amy Gandy (1st grade aide) on being Bacon's educational specialist of the year. Both of these ladies go above-and-beyond to provide our Bears with a safe and fun learning environment. They work hard every day, do more than what's expected, connect with the students, and do their part to make Bacon an amazing school. Ladies - everyone here notices the time and effort you put into what you do. Your accomplishment is well deserved. You make Bacon better!

Holiday Concert

Speaking of Mrs. Rohaly -- the Bacon chorus and concert bands put on a wonderful performance this past week. It is clear that the students worked hard to prepare for the show, and the audience comprised of friends, family, and Bacon staff enjoyed the playing and singing that ensued. Well done, students. Keep practicing, keep working hard, keep playing, keep reaching, and keep being great. Also, a big thanks to Mrs. Peck and her team of merry helpers (aka Bacon students and staff) who helped decorate the gym and transform it into a winter wonderland. Also, a shout out goes to Ms. Anton and Mrs. Banker's kindergarten class for drawing the snowflakes on the side displays. They looked great!

Trim-A-Tree

This week, Bacon also hosted a trim-the-tree event where students and their parents could come to Bacon, decorate ornaments (and take them home), drink hot chocolate, eat snacks, and spend some quality time with loved ones. All who came had a great time. Though freezing outside, the air inside was warm and filled with music, cheer, and the sounds of people having fun. A huge thanks to Barbara Lore and Amanda DeVita for pulling it together, and another big thanks to the Bacon family who took their vision and provided the people-power to make it a reality. Great job, Bears!!

Everyone have a safe and fun week. Keep working hard, keep having fun, and keep making a difference. Remember...Together, we can. Together, we will.

Announcements

Here we are - the final week before the holiday break!

On 12/22, we'll be having our ugly/cute sweater day. So, if you have a nice sweater or not-so-nice sweater that you'd like to show off, here's your chance.

On 12/23, we'll be having our pajama and movie day here at Bacon. We'll be gathering in the gym to sing a few seasonal numbers, and then the classes will have the option of staying in the gym to watch a movie or returning to class to do something fun on their own.

On Friday (12/23), dismissal will be at 1:45. There is no latch key or Club 21 that day. All after school activities are cancelled.

Holiday Concert

Trim-A-Tree Event

Pictures from around the School

I'd say he's ready

Final practice before the show

Eating sweet-and-sour chicken with chopsticks

Trying the chopsticks a different way

Clarence Blake, 3rd grade, reading to Mrs. Lore's kindergarten class

He did a great job

Friends having a great day

Mrs. Munzenmayer's kindergarten class mapping out what they like to do in the frosty air

And then turning that work into the completed project - looks great!

The new jackets are in! Millville pride!

Mrs. Rohaly finding out she won teacher of the year

Holding up the special tooth case for the one that fell out

Mrs. Gandy was caught by surprise

Silly sock day. These are certainly...silly.

A lot of silliness...

...and the students got into silly sock day as well

A surprise visit from Mrs. Levari and her son!

Birthday Selfies!

He wanted us to have the serious look

Weekly overview (be sure to check the official school calendar)

Monday (12/19): C day - lesson plans due

Tuesday (12/20): D day - progress reports sent home

Wednesday (12/21): E day - Dare to be Fit (8 am in the gym), Workout Wednesday, Parents As Leaders meeting (6 pm at Bacon)

Thursday (12/22): A day - Staff breakfast (8 am in the library), MSHS present delivery (1 pm), PBIS Pep Rally (2:10 - 3:10 in the gym), ugly OR nice OR not-so-nice OR plain sweater day!

Friday (12/23): B day - Pajama day, movie in the gym (am), early dismissal (1:45 pm). All after-school activities are cancelled. No Club 21, no latch key.

Sunday, December 11, 2016

December 12 - 16, 2016

Bears,

Congrats on another great week. We covered it all - technology, history, instruction and curriculum planning, holiday concert preparations - even a staff night out.

Hour of Code - the students were engaged and having fun

We did our "Hour of Code" on Wednesday. All 3rd - 5th grade students were able to bring Chromebooks to the gym and participate in a fun activity that enabled them to learn concepts of computer programing through coding and sequencing. The students had a great time and found the activity to be challenging. Thanks to Alicia Discepola and Lauren Daigle for putting it together, and thanks to Dr. Pamm Moore and JoAnne Colacurcio for coming and showing their support.

Learning about Pearl Harbor in Mr. Drewnowski's class

Also on Wednesday, some of our classes took time from their regular learning to research and analyze the events of December 7, 1941. Teachers, thank you for recognizing with your classes this important date in American history. Students, great job in being respectful of the content and doing your part to learn about one of our nation's important events.

One of the final practices before the big show

Plans and preparations were wrapping up this week for our annual Holiday Concert. Mrs. Rohaly and her students sound - and look - ready. I can tell you from personal experience that everyone has been working hard. From my office, I can hear the singers singing and the players playing, and it's wonderful. To all involved - your hard work will be showcased on Monday night, and your investment of time and energy will make you, the staff, and our whole school proud. Parents and community members, we look forward to seeing you at this festive tradition.

Check out more pictures below to see what we've been up to. Be great, do great work, and have a great week!
Mike
"Together, we can. Together, we will."

Pictures from around the School

Someone is cheesin' pretty hard (the taller one on the left)

Mrs. Gandy showing Mrs. DeVita how to make rocks. Yes, that really is what's happening.

Always something good happening in Mrs. Rowland's media center

A beautiful Bacon sunset

A fun night out with the Bacon staff and families

Guided Reading in Mrs. Lore's room

A learning center with T.O. in Mrs. Lore's room

Working hard in Mrs. Munzenmayer's room

Some smiles from Mrs. Klaudi, Mrs. Polof, and Mrs. DeVita

Hour of Code

Birthday Selfies!

Mr. Lokey celebrating his birthday in style with Mrs. Bingham's class

Weekly overview (be sure to check the official school calendar)

Monday (12/12): C day - lesson plans due, PBIS Tier 2 meeting (10:44 in the conference room), Holiday Concert (7 pm at Bacon)

Tuesday (12/13): D day - Leadership Team Meeting (2 pm at Culver)

Wednesday (12/14): E day - Dare to be Fit (8 am in the gym), Workout Wednesday

Thursday (12/15): A day - Staff meeting (8 am in the library), I&RS meeting

Friday (12/16): B day - Wear Bacon gear, Silly Sock Day

Sunday, December 4, 2016

December 5 - 9, 2016

Bears,

PBIS dance party!

Congratulations to all the students who received PAWS UPs in the month of November. As a school, we passed out over 100 of them. Students - great job being awesome. Staff - nice job in keeping your eyes and ears open for great behavior.

Everyone who received a PAWS UP in November was able to participate in a dance party at our PBIS Pep Rally. Let's keep it up in December! Can we make it a record-setting month? That would be...great. And speaking of great...

This week, we revisited something we started the year with - the idea of choosing to be great. We stressed it early in September at our whole-school assembly with the students, and we kept it going here and there. Even now, a student will correct me if I say to them, "Have a good day." Many times, they'll say, "No, I'm going to have a great day." Using my own words against me - I love it. They remember better than I do, and I'm thankful they keep me on my toes.

So this week, we took some time to refocus on that idea, and the staff approached it from what we can do as educators and leaders (and if you work with kids, you are a leader - period) to instill greatness first in ourselves and then our students. At Thursday's staff meeting, we looked at what separates good educators from great educators (we used Todd Whitaker's What Great Teachers Do Differently as our resource - I highly recomment this book to all who are interested in being great in education). We all can be good, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that. Good educators get good results. But what about great educators?

The Bacon staff discussing what separates good from great

Greatness abounds in each of us. It's already there, but it's missing a few ingredients to be fully realized. Michelangelo (not the ninja turtle, although he's pretty great, too) said the statue was already in the block of stone, but it was up to the artist to discover it. But think about it - even though the beautiful art was already there, it took discipline, practice, patience, persistence, and work to refine the skills needed to chip away at the stone and find it. Something external to the stone was necessary for the stone to give up its internal beauty. The gifted artist still needed to practice and work hard.

The same is true for educators. Sometimes (ok, all the time), it's a matter of putting in the time and effort to cultivate and then release the greatness we already have. We all can be great. Do we want to be? Are we willing (key word) to do whatever it takes to be great?

Let's think big, let's think great, and then let's do great work. I think we are already on our way, so let's keep it going.

Pictures from around the School