I know that the second week of school can feel pretty chaotic, and then you add the additional pressure needing to "get started" on content learning, and the stress can be quite high. I imagine that most everyone is feeling this way to one degree or another right now. So take a deep breath, and remember it will settle down soon.

Roger Ashlock, our sub counselor, and Lupe have been working diligently to reduce your class sizes (or increase the class size if needed), as well as get you the TAs you need. As of 7 am this morning, their work is not yet done, but measurable progress has been made. Thanks again for your patience as we shift things around to bring balance to the master schedule.

Monday is our Back to School night! It is a mandatory event for staff, and it runs from 6:30 until 8:00 pm. Here is the Agenda google doc. The night will begin with a meeting and introductions in the CyberCafe, and then parents will spend time in each of their students' classrooms. We will have parent volunteers collecting Family Giving donations, and James Brown suggested that we return to a past practice from several years ago. He suggested that we have New Tech staff make a public show of support for Family Giving by putting a donation in an envelop and having staff make their donations. Our goal is for 100% participation, so no amount is too small. I am hoping that those of you who have participated in this in the past can share your ideas about how best to orchestrate this. I want everyone to feel comfortable! Leave your comments right here in the blog. Thanks.

Next time you are in the Admin Office or in the Student Services Office, please notice how tidy and clean it looks. We had a giant cleaning and organizing session Thursday afternoon. Our offices look fantastic, and I will be proud to have parents see them on Monday night. I appreciated Stephen's email yesterday about cleaning up the kitchen, especially the skinky lemon cooler. I know that the kitchen area creates challenges to keep clean. However, it is the responsibility of those who use the kitchen to either clean up after themselves immediately or create systems to ensure that clean up happens immediately. I do not expect Jeanette or Rosanna our night custodian to do dishes or dispose of expired food. I expect the users of the kitchen to work out a system on their own.

Save the date~ La Strada, our biggest fundraiser of the year, is coming up on Saturday October 13th. La Strada is sponsored by our Penguin Parent Club, but for the event to be successful and raise money, it needs your support. Thank you in advance to those staff members who are involved in La Strada planning, or who are creating student assignments / work that can be sold or auctioned at La Strada. Start now building positive enthusiasm for the event, so that our students have a purpose and a desire to attend and to invite others from the community to attend!

Thanks Pam and Tom for organizing our first fun Wednesday. Bowling was a blast! Congratulations to Kennereth Jory for being the "highest score" after three turns, and congrats to Stephen for being our overall High Score! Thanks to everyone who came out a played a little on such a busy week. :)

Next Wednesday is our mandatory staff meeting. I would like you to try to read Chapter 2 from the DuFour text before that meeting. If you don't yet have the DuFour text, see me! Have a restful weekend.

Sincerely, Michelle