Happy New Year…That is…Chinese New Year!

On January 31^st, the building looked quite different.  Hallway lights were off and lanterns (red bags with battery powered candles) were along every wall.  In addition to the hallway decorations, we celebrated the Chinese New Year by wearing red, having student volunteers read about the holiday, and creating paper lanterns with our Reed Families.  This was excellent opportunity to learn and celebrate a tradition that many of our students celebrate.

What Is Your Dream?

Over the past two weeks teachers and students have engaged in a variety of activities to celebrate Dr. King’s accomplishments.   We have read books, had in depth discussions, wrote poems, and much more. 

As a school we celebrated Dr. King by having a special Reed TV broadcast that aired part of his “I Have a Dream Speech” and highlighted his major accomplishments.  All students participated in creating a graffiti wall.  Students formulated and posted their individual dreams for themselves, Reed, and the community.  The graffiti wall is located in our main hallway next to the gym.  We also supported Old Bonhomme’s sock drive that they do every year to give back to the community.    

It’s Official….Reed Named MO Exemplary PLC School!!!

You may remember reading a post in my October Principal Dispatch explaining that we were named a 2014 MO Exemplary Professional Learning Communities School.  This Monday and Tuesday, several teachers and I went to Tan Tar A to accept the award and to share our journey with other schools around the state.  Go to my October post and visit http://www.moplc.org/exemplary-schools.html to learn more about what it means to be an Exemplary PLC School. 

We began this journey with students in mind.  Although receiving an award was not our goal, it was very much an uplifting experience to be accepting an award in front of 1300 other educators across the state, including numerous representatives from MO Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.          

All of us at Reed know that accomplishments like the Exemplary Award would not be possible without the support of our parents.  Hence the title PLC, it takes all of us to be a community.  There are many great things about Reed, however, one of the best is how staff and parents partner to ensure the success of our students.  Thank you for all your support.

During the February 18^th, RSA General Meeting, Debbie Donnelly (Reading Specialist) and I will be sharing an overview of what it means to be an Exemplary School. 

Hungry? (new procedures for students who want an additional entrée)

Starting December 2^nd, students who want an additional entrée, must let their teachers know first thing in the morning (when teachers take lunch count information). 

In addition, we will be limiting students to one extra side, which must be picked up at the beginning of their lunch period, but does NOT need to be ordered first thing in the morning.

The reason for this new procedure is to encourage students to eat a balanced lunch, to avoid running out of sides at later lunch periods, and to be more consistent with other schools.  At this time, we are the only school allowing students to have extra sides.

As always, students will need to have written permission from their parents (either a note or email to the teacher), allowing the student(s) to be able to purchase an extra entrée and/or side.  This note or email will be good for one full school year.