January 2019

Faculty Meeting
A professional development meeting was held on Tuesday, January 22. Shenekia Weeks from EdPlus presented Trauma Informed Primer, Part 2. It was a great session on a subject that is unfortunately needed, for not only our faculty, but the students we are sending out to be in their own classroom.
Tuesday's Professional Development meeting  was very moving for me as a teacher leader and human being.
Many students in schools today have experienced serious trauma and our educators must be sensitive and aware that the trauma impacts students' ability to learn. DESE has a Trauma-Informed Schools Initiative. Click to read more information about the initiative  Missouri's Trauma-Informed Schools Initiative.
Some of the statements Shanekia made that resonated with me were, "Teachers need to outdose students'  experiences at home with the love and support we give them at school."
"We aren't going to save kids, we need to empower kids." "We need to infuse mindfulness in the curriculum."
I have asked the full-time faculty who were in attendance to consider where Trauma-Informed practices should be implemented in our curriculum. If you have any thoughts, please send to Tammy Cox.
Our verse for the year, Love one another as I have loved you, John 15:12 could not be more fitting for this topic of meeting the needs of our most vulnerable students.

CD Titles in the Library
Rebekah McKinney, Acting Director of Library Services is requesting our help. Please look at the following list of CD's and let her know if you would like the library to retain the title.

Tool Wall
I found this Tool Wall on Twitter and would like to encourage you to use at least one of these cool apps/websites that you have never used before.

Incompletes
I need you all to limit the number of incompletes you assign to students. These should be used very sparingly - only in extenuating circumstances beyond a student's control. Some students have gotten into very bad habits because we allow them. Hold firm to your due dates and assign the grade the student deserves. You can always go back and change a grade at any time, if you feel a change needs to be made.

Upcoming Meetings
January 29: Directors' Meeting at 10:15 a.m. in FLD 115
February 12: School of Education Faculty Meeting at 10:15 a.m. in FLD 115
February 26: School of Education PD Meeting at 10:15 a.m. in FLD 115

Missouri Baptist University School of Education

Closing Thoughts
Don't hate me, but our family was cheering for the New England Patriots on Saturday night. My oldest son, Roman, has been a Patriots fan since he was a little boy. A few of his friends came over and we all enjoyed the very close game that ended up tilting to the Patriots, maybe with the help of a few calls from the referees. My husband brought out his inner Cake Boss and made these cakes.

Brian is very creative and I think he had as much fun making the cakes as everyone else did eating the cakes. This reminded me that God gives each of us talents that we should share. When we share our gifts and talents with others, all our blessed. Over the next few weeks consider how you can share your gifts and talents with your students and even your family and friends. God wired you the way He did for a purpose. Share your gift - don't hide it!