PALS Meeting/Classes Journal

6/16/14 Planning Meeting

Overall, meeting went well, stuck to the agenda. Teacher turnout much lower than expected,
but we will still be able to staff three rooms. Decision was made to go ahead and open the third room.
This will enable us to accept all students currently on the wait list. Teachers are going to be co-teaching
all summer, with an identified lead in each room. They are each teamed with other MAT students
who will share teaching responsibilities. There is a new format this year, 30min reading followed by two
15min rotations; 30min math, followed by two 15min rotations. Schedule will be altered as needed for
special activities. Admin meeting followed full meeting, need to create a permission slip for Pirates
Ahoy, need some sort of driving waiver for Pirates Ahoy, and a game plan for Pirates Ahoy. Kris shared
her concerns with her targeted MAT students. We will be gaining two admins, Rachel and Shanda.
Duties to be assigned as needed. Class day duties: all admins help with sign in/out, and food. Brandon
mentor to 45, Allison mentor 23, Nick mentor K1. Teams who still need to plan can continue on
Wednesday.
*One admin took their team to plan over lunch at Broad Axe. After talking to Kris it was decided
that since the admin bought, said it was a one-time thing, and no alcohol was served, that they would
not be counseled.
6/18 Planning Continued
I worked with my planning team. They are in a good place for their first class. Kris and I
discussed the logistics of signing in/out 50+ students. We assigned rooms based on current enrollment.
Kris created google drive planning folders that she has shared within the planning teams. I will post
class lists, and pertinent information into the folders as well.
6/23 Day One (Hawaii)
There was a great turnout, though not many parents stayed for the orientation that was led by
Kris and I. There were several that said they had not received the welcome email the previous week
with information about the meeting and were unhappy that we were not serving breakfast on day one.
Field trip form will be uploaded into a new google drive folder and will be discussed next time. Need a
new plan for sign in/out, and lunch. It was far too chaotic. Bathrooms had issues as students are not tall
enough to use the sink or reach the soap dispensers. Planning for next week followed student dismissal.
*The Broad Axe admin suggested their group plan over lunch at the Gourmet Goat and
would go dutch. This will be dealt with via an email to the admin team. Sign in/out will be
split up by grade level on different tables and staffed by a teacher from each room, unless
they are shorthanded. Lunch will be separated into three lunch shifts spaced 10min apart.
We will start with the K1s at 11:30 and go from there. Times will be confirmed to the class
teachers once the food has arrived. I will get step stools and soap dispensers for the
restrooms.

6/30 Day Two (Hawaii)

Sign in/out was less chaotic with the additional space. Breakfast still needs work. Once
students were done eating they were running around and getting into trouble. Though they were
technically signed in, many of their parents were still there and did not appreciate staff trying to contain
the students. We need a plan. Permission slips for Pirates Ahoy were handed out at sign in and out.
They will be handed out and collected up to the day of the trip. There was more teaching time today
without the need to do day one stuff, there are some concerns that the 4-5, and 2-3 rooms are
struggling. There are some staff issues in two of the classrooms. PD to follow on lesson plans.
*Breakfast plan will be that once students have finished eating they will head inside. This
means that they will be in their classrooms early. Kris will put together a box of
books/activities that are age appropriate for students to use until classes are starting, and
again once dismissal starts. Lesson plan PD should help one struggling teacher, it is being
conducted by his mentor. I will talk with the 2-3 team about professional interactions. We
had new applications submitted and accepted this morning.
6/30 (Pirates)
Breakfast went much better with the new plan. The interactions in the 2-3 teams are no longer
an issue as a staff member has left due to family concerns. Since that person is a new MAT student, this
will remain on Kris radar for the fall. Kris concerns with one MAT are alleviated as they have shown a
lot of improvement. This student is now in good shape and on a solid path. The other one continues to
struggle (see alternate document), a demo teacher has been added to the staff and will be doing some
modeling in that room. In a separate conversation, it was learned that the mentor in that room has not
been giving sound advice. That mentor will be out next week and will be reassigned upon their return.
*Need to revise the driving waiver, and create a device waiver. Also need to remind
parents about permission slips and the field trip.
7/2 (Pirates)
Things went well today. The demo teacher did a great job and the struggling MAT teacher
understands the next steps. We continued to push permission slips and received several slips/not
goings. Planning was only for Monday of next week as Wednesday is the field trip. Staff was asked to
decide if they were acting as chaperones and taking the bus, or traveling on their own.
*Get the driving waiver out to parents. Need to make sure the feeding program delivers
two days worth of food next Monday. Need to check the google folder for MAT
assignment.
7/7 (Pirates)
The pirate craft packs arrived just in time to make them for Wednesday. Lessons are looking
better with each delivery. Food services delivered food for today and Wednesday. They said that if we

refroze the icepacks they should be good long enough for our trip. The ice packs and food are stored in
the fridge in the main building. Part of planning today was splitting the students from each team into
two groups for the field trip. Each teacher/chaperone will be responsible for approx. six students. I
explained that they were welcome to team up with their co-teacher, but as individuals they were solely
responsible for those six children. Everyone indicated that they understood the plan
*Pick up a container of animal crackers, and a case of water. Crackers in case someone
gets bus sick, and water to supplement the milk at lunch as there will be lots of exercise.
Arrive at USMH by 6:30am, breakfast starts at 7, we depart at 7:30
7/9 (Pirates Ahoy! On Main campus)
The students had a fabulous time! All of the students were on their best behavior and exceeded
the expectations of the admin team. The same cannot be said of the adults. There was one teacher
who had serious issues (see alternate document) and had to be reprimanded several times. We also had
a parent who was causing difficulties for the staff. From a student standpoint we only had two hiccups.
The first was a student whos chaperone left her behind twice, and the other was a student who was
dropped off in Hagerstown but had not turned in a permission slip for the trip. After a good bit of effort
we were able to receive parental consent via text message for the student and he was put on the bus.
As for the student that was left behind, that is detailed in a separate document (Interactions with a
Struggling Teacher). We also had an ipod go missing prior to departing Hagerstown. Despite
questioning several students, and even turning out pockets, no trace of the ipod was found.
*Struggling MAT student will be removed from the PALS Program effective 7/15. The
MAT program coordinator will be apprised of the situation and further action may be
taken.
7/15 (Space)
The plan to remove the struggling teacher was hijacked by a well-meaning third party.
Thankfully the students remained blissfully unaware of the brewing situation. There are more details in
the other document. Some of the milk they delivered last week had expired; we were short on white
milk for breakfast and ended up using some chocolate. We need to conduct a fire drill, Kris and I went
over the exit plan from last year and concluded we needed a new plan. I devised a new plan and
presented it to the staff that afternoon. The struggling MATs mentor had to be appraised of the
situation. They felt that they had let the student down. I pointed out that the last straw was not
something any of us could have anticipated and that ultimately it was the MATs poor decision making
that led to his removal. Everything else went well, students are engaged and enjoying their time with
us. The teaching staff is feeling more confident are and really starting to shine. Students/parents have
all been extended an invitation to participate in Books on the Beach on Wednesday. Dr. X expressed
concern that the students were playing in the alley as they were leaving. I shared that the students had
already been signed out by their Mother and in fact that was her playing in the alley with them. He felt
we should have said something. Having already dealt with that mother on other occasions I disagreed.

7/17 (Space)
Things went well. The fire drill is planned for Monday. Most students stayed for Books on the
Beach sponsored by the FSEA. A reporter joined us and I was nominated to do an on camera interview.
I think it went well, but I felt like an idiot. The FSEA president got suckered into an interview as well.
We also got rid of a bunch of our sharing table food to some local kids who were playing in the
courtyard while Books on the Beach was going.
7/21&23 I went on vacation. The fire drill went well. I am grateful to have an admin team that can be
trusted.
7/28 (Carnival)
The 4-5 team is creating carnival games that will be played by everyone on Wednesday.
Everyone is having a great time and they are sad that this is the last week. Several of us came up with
some prize ideas to be raffled off at the end of the day on Wednesday. Students have to be present in
order to win. Dr. Sally will be joining us for the final celebration and adding her musical talents.
*Make cupcakes for the staff.
7/30 (Carnival)
Our last day was a smashing success. We asked parents to complete an exit survey and I was
pleased with their responses. The students all enjoyed playing the games the 4-5 team created, and the
4-5 team was excited that everyone liked what they had done. While parents were signing out students
we invited them to take information on the fall tutoring sessions that are offered for free as an
extension of the PALS program. They were encouraged to register quickly as there is limited space. A
few parents turned in forms on the spot.
*Debrief and create suggestions for next year
8/11 (Meeting)
Kris and I met to have lunch and go over my thoughts for next year. She was pleasantly
surprised at the depth and scope of some of the suggestions. I think she will seriously consider some of
them. We also met with a potential Principal for next summer. I already knew him and had shared that
Kris should be very clear and direct with her expectations because he is a very literal person. The three
of us met for an hour to go over the basics, then he and I continued to chat for an additional hour and a
half about all the stuff I had done and what the job really involved. He left very excited about the
program and I feel that he will do a good job. I also work with his wife and she shared that once he told
her all about it that she wanted to get involved too. This makes me feel much better as I wanted Kris to
have another strong admin team for her 2015 camp. I offered my assistance to the incoming crew and I
know they will reach out if they need help. I also hope that Kris will reach out if I can be of assistance.