Wilson's Weekly

Core Beliefs

We believe all students can learn:

• Learning must have a clear purpose.
• All learners deserve a safe, respectful, and structured environment.
• Learners grow with mutual support, responsibility, and compassion.
• All learners have the ability to grow.

Vision
Shaping the future one child at a time

Mission

Blytheville Primary School fosters a safe and positive learning community. We educate students to be innovative thinkers today and productive leaders of tomorrow.

Behavior Expectations

We are...

• responsible.
• respectful.
• safe.
• positive.
• motivated.
  

Strategic Plan

Our school plan can be found here.

NOTE:
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, my home base will be my primary office. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my home base will my kindergarten office.

This WEEK

• Monday - Istation Testing; Kindergarten PLC, School Board Meeting; Jerry Vaughn here
  
• Tuesday - Istation Testing; 2nd grade PLC, Garris out
• Wednesday - Istation Testing; Chili Potluck (Link to sign up HERE); Building Leadership Team Meeting 3:30
  
• Thursday - Istation Testing; 1st grade PLC
• Friday - Istation Testing; PBIS Store; 2nd grade Field Trip

Next WEEK

• Monday -
  
• Tuesday - ADE Meeting (Wilson, Hepler out for afternoon)
  
• Wednesday - BLI (Wilson out until 1:30); Building Leadership Team Meeting
  
• Thursday -
  
• Friday -
  

Upcoming Events

The school calendar can be found HERE.

MUST TAKE SURVEY for CERTIFIED STAFF

PURPOSE: The SAI helps you assess if our learning communities, professional learning leadership, use of data, learning designs, and other key indicators reach the highest levels of impact. The SAI measures alignment of our professional learning with the Standards for Professional Learning and assesses the impact of professional learning in our system.

Click this link: Standards Assessment Inventory

If you have NEVER taken this survey before (new teachers):
Click: Register
Enter TOKEN: FHICD
Enter Email Address
Create Password
Click: Continue
Take the survey: BLYTHEVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL: Arkansas DOE Fall 2017

If you took the survey last year (RETURNING teachers):
Click: Login
Enter Username (school email address) and Password (if you forgot password, click: reset your password)
Click: Login
Enter TOKEN: FHICD
Click on the link: BLYTHEVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL: Arkansas DOE Fall 2017
Take survey

Due: Friday, September 29 4:00 pm

AFTER you completed the survey, print the "THANK YOU" page (see below). Sign your name on the page and turn the page into my box in either office.

1. Food Drive Contest - Blytheville School District is holding a food drive for the Blytheville Food Pantry that will end this week. As a final drive to the finish, our school is having a contest. The classroom from each grade level that brings the most nonperishable items will receive an extra 30 minute recess. I will be watching the students during the recess, so the teacher gets that time to work on whatever she needs. At the end of each day starting on Tuesday, I will come by to collect food items from each class, so I can keep track.

2. I am excited for our first Staff Potluck of the year! We will have it on September 27 during each of the lunches. The theme for our first potluck is Chili Cookoff, hosted by 2nd grade. The potluck will be on the stage in the multi-purpose building. You can keep cold items in the refrigerators in either teacher lounge. Hot items can be kept in your room until close to your lunch time. There will be plug ins available on the stage. We will vote on the best chili recipe. The winning recipe will be entered into the Main Street Blytheville Chili Cookoff on October 14 to represent our school. Link to sign up HERE. I would love to see a few more people sign up for chili.

3. CONGRATULATIONS to Mrs. Pugh!!! She took the challenge last week, emailed me a brain break, and won the drawing. She will receive a $10 Sonic gift card and a jeans pass.

4. PBIS Behavior Matrix Focus: ASSEMBLIES

• Monday - Safe
• Tuesday - Responsible
• Wednesday - Respectful
• Thursday - Motivated and Positive
• Friday - ALL

5. FanTABulous Contest - Our goal is to save more than last year's total of 168 pounds. Turn your tabs into Mrs. Moriarty with your class name. The class in each grade level with the most tabs wins a prize.

• Kindergarten - Newsom (2 lbs.)
• 1st grade - Jaques (5 oz. lead over Jones)
• 2nd grade - Murphy (5 lbs. 12 oz - Poole close behind with 3 lbs. 1 oz.)
• Special - Galbratih (13 oz.)
  

6. Box Tops for Education - We are collecting box tops to help pay for our PBIS store. Please turn them into Ms. Newsom in kindergarten or put them in the box in the office.

Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima

This heartwarming and adorable debut picture book tells the story of a young unicorn who was born under the sea to a family of narwhals.

Growing up in the ocean, Kelp has always assumed that he was a narwhal like the rest of his family. Sure, he’s always been a little bit different—his tusk isn’t as long, he’s not as good of a swimmer, and he really doesn’t enjoy the cuisine. Then one night, an extra strong current sweeps Kelp to the surface, where he spots a mysterious creature that looks just like him! Kelp discovers that he and the creature are actually unicorns. The revelation leaves him torn: is he a land narwhal or a sea unicorn? But perhaps, if Kelp is clever, he may find a way to have the best of both worlds.

Told with heartwarming illustrations and spare, sweet text, Jessie Sima’s debut picture book is about fitting in, standing out, and the all-encompassing love of family.

Resources for the book

• Quiz - Are you a Narwhal or Unicorn?
• Host your own authorless event
• Learn more about narwhals
• Above is the book trailer from YouTube
• Below is a read aloud of the book from YouTube
  

From Teaching in the Fast Lane, "We've all had them in our class. That kid that isn't really a trouble maker, but they just can't seem to do anything by themselves. Instead they want the attention of their peers, you, and anyone else that walks into the room. They are very sweet, but you worry about their independence because they never seem to be doing it themselves. I strongly believe that students who are attention seeking need meaningful connections with those around them. Without that they will continue to act in "needy" ways that will annoy you, and get in their way in the future. Over my years in the classroom I have come across ten ways to give positive attention to these attention seeking students without increasing my own workload at all. These are simple, but meaningful ways of building interaction between the student, their peers, and you."

"The Gift of Contagious Positivity" by Sam Glenn

Years ago, I met a local business owner whom I only knew as the “Vitamin Store Lady.” She had told me her name (perhaps a few times), but I forgot it. I will admit that I am one of those people who struggle with remembering people’s names, though I have tried to get better at it. The Vitamin Store Lady, on the other hand, was skillful at remembering me every time I walked into her shop: “Well, hello there, Mr. Sam Glenn! You look an inch taller!” Once a month, I would stop by her vitamin and nutrition store to grab a box of protein bars, extra-strength fiber, and a bottle of Flintstones Chewable Vitamins.

When I first met the Vitamin Store Lady and encountered her positivity, I wasn’t sure if it was real or whether she just had eaten way too many happy vitamins. But with each visit to her store, I discovered she was the real deal. She walked the talk, and her attitude led the way. I got to know her a little better with each visit. She reminded me of a loving grandma who enjoyed looking out for her grandkids. I think her best marketing strategy was her attitude. I was so impressed with her service, kindness, and personality that I told everyone I knew to go there. She didn’t ask me to spread the word, and I didn’t receive anything in return for referring people to go there. I was simply a happy customer, and happy customers like to spread the good word. The reason I told everyone was because when you have an experience that makes your day, you want others to have a similar experience, especially people you care about. I knew that anyone I told would be treated right and, as an added bonus, would leave the vitamin store feeling good about themselves and life.

When I left the Vitamin Lady’s store, I always had a little more pep in my step, like my attitude had gotten a surge of positive energy. She just had that way of being so encouraging, making you smile, and making you feel good about life.

Considering what I do, speaking to organizations about the gift of an optimistic and confident attitude as it relates to achieving success in life and at work, I began to pay closer attention to the Vitamin Store Lady. I wanted to make sure her attitude wasn’t just for show. I wanted to find out her motivation for treating people so well. She stood out from the crowd with her gift of creating positive experiences for others. If I had to rate her attitude, I would have put it in the Rock Star Attitude Hall of Fame! I might speak about and write on the subject of attitude for a living, but the learning never ends. This was a classroom opportunity for me, and I was going to seize it.

On one of my routine visits to her shop, I thought it would be nice to give her a few copies of my latest book, A Kick in the Attitude. She was so thrilled, you would have thought that her name had just been announced on The Price Is Right: “COME ON DOWN! You’re the next contestant on The Price Is Right!” We engaged in a conversation about attitude for nearly an hour. I mostly listened. This was her time to shine, and she dazzled me with her remarkable stories. She shared about her family and all the rough times they had gone through and how they survived and became closer. She talked about why she started her business and how growing a new business can be challenging on a limited budget. Everything she communicated somehow found a tie back to having a helpful attitude. And as if her attitude wasn’t enough, she had an infectious laugh that didn’t quite sound musical, but it was hilarious. Before I left her store, she had me sign the books I gave her and reached up to give me a monster momma-bear hug. And as I was walking out the door, a friend I told about the shop was walking in. How cool is that?

As I walked to my car with the biggest smile on my face, I felt recharged. I thought, Wow, that made my day! I feel like Tony the Tiger. I feel great, and it didn’t even involve Frosted Flakes. When I give my speeches, I want others to know this feeling and experience.

One day during the fall, when I was traveling frequently, I had to be at the airport by 2:30 p.m. to catch a flight to Texas, so my plan was to leave the house a little early and pop into the vitamin store to get some vitamin C. By this time, whenever I went to the vitamin store, I was smiling before I even walked in the door. I knew the Vitamin Store Lady would be there to help me feel better with some vitamins and her contagious attitude. The bell rang as I walked through the store door and, as I was trying to stomp off some of the snow on the doormat, something didn’t seem the same. When I looked up from making sure the snow was off my shoes, I saw a white-haired elderly man working behind the counter. I had never seen him before. Was he new? I scanned the entire store quickly. The Vitamin Store Lady wasn’t there. It must have been her day off, or maybe she’d run out for lunch. I grabbed a bottle of vitamin C and placed it on the counter to pay. “How’s your day going?” I asked with a smile to the man working the counter. He only nodded and didn’t look at me.

“It’s fine, I suppose.” The man seemed lost, dazed, and relatively out of it. Plus, his short responses seemed cold. I thought, If the vitamin store lady knew this guy was so gloomy serving customers, she would not be pleased.

So I asked him if the owner would be back anytime soon. The man’s head just dropped, and it was all he could do to hold it together. Now I was confused. I asked, “Are you okay, man? Do you need something?”

He slowly lifted his head, and instantly, I could see pain in his eyes as the tears welled in them, and he summoned what looked to be part of a smile but not quite. And in a soft, gentle tone that was barely above a whisper, he asked, “Are you by chance the motivational speaker guy?”

“Uhhh…yes, I am.”

“I recognize you from the picture on your book. My wife, who owns this shop, talked about you all the time. She shared your book with me also.”

“Oh, so you’re her husband. It is so good to finally meet you! Your wife mentioned you in a few of her stories…but all good stuff though.”

He half smiled and said, “Yeah, she has some good stories, and we will sure miss her.”

“Huh? What happened?”

And then he said, “My wife started to get sick a few weeks ago, and we found out she had advanced leukemia. We started treatment, but it was too late. She passed away four days ago. I am here trying to keep her store running. She always looked forward to when you would stop in. She talked about your book and how you would make her day by making her laugh.”

My stomach just dropped. I got that sick feeling, and I’m sure there was a look of pure shock on my face. I stayed for as long as I could to offer some comfort and support. Before I left the shop, I told him, “Your wife was always so nice to me and had such an amazing attitude. She always made my day, and her attitude was such a gift.”

He let out a little breath and had a look of remembrance, as if he could see his wife right in front of him. “Yes, sir, she was a gift to us all.”

I feel bad that I did not remember her name, but I know one thing for sure: I will never forget her attitude. She used her attitude to grow her business. She used it to get through rough times with her family. She used it to be a great wife and to raise her kids. She used it to make a customer’s day. She used it to be a friend. She used it up until the end, but the legacy of her attitude will live on. That, my friend, is an example of how you can use your attitude as a gift.

This is the list (with links) of all of the newsletters for the year.

August - Back to School, One, Two, Three
September - Four, Five, Six, Seven
October -
November -
December -
January -
February -
March -
April -
May -

I am proud to be entering my second year as the principal at Blytheville Primary School. I love what I do and the community I work in. I enjoy spending time with my family, reading books, and going to the zoo, especially the Memphis Zoo.

Email: jwilson@blythevilleschools.net
Website: http://www.blythevilleschools.com/o/bps
Location: 1103 Byrum Road, Blytheville, AR, United States
Phone: 870-763-6916
Facebook: facebook.com/cimeronejana
Twitter: @cimeronejana