Friday Focus
Winterpock Elementary 2023
March 8, 2024
Hello Winterpock,
Believe it or not, it’s time to change those clocks and spring forward one hour! Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 10th. While your phone and smart watches will update, make sure your clocks are changed in your classroom, office, car, on your stove/microwave or on any wall clocks you have in your home. This is also a perfect time to check the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in your home.
Jennifer and I are seeing an increase in request for admin support in the classrooms. A few students are choosing to disrupt your instruction. We know ignoring some behaviors is hard and some behaviors should not be ignored. New teachers—and experienced ones too—can find ideas here on how to stop disruptive behavior before it begins - Eight Proactive Classroom Management Techniques.
Help us encourage each other with a shout out for all the awesome things that go on in our school. Tell a staff member how fabulous they are, use this Google Form to let us know! Our wolfpack team does something fabulous everyday.
Have a safe weekend!
Tylea & Jennifer
Congratulations to our Game Changers - Mrs. Redd & Mr. Smalls
A Super School Filled with Super Heroes
National Oreo Cookie Day
Open Court Teacher Survey
As a part of the Literacy Evaluation this year, a survey about teacher perceptions of OCR materials will be sent to teachers on Monday, 3/4/24 through Apptegy. The Office of Research and Evaluation will send the survey directly to K-5 teachers responsible for delivering/supporting Tier 1 reading instruction, including ESL and SPED teachers who are connected with a Language Arts course in Synergy. This will not include resource teachers or literacy specialists. The survey window is March 4 through 18, 2024.
Teachers will need to enter their CCPS employee ID, however, the survey is confidential. Please use this link to access the survey.
CCPS Arts Fest
Ms. Nixon and Mrs. Duarte will be hosting a Winterpock Art Night on Wednesday, March 27th from 5:30-7:00 pm at Central Library. We hope to see you there!
Central Library
7501 Lucy Corr Blvd.
Chesterfield, VA 23832
Library Hours:
9 am—8 pm Monday—Thursday
9 am - 5 pm—Fridays and Saturdays
Winterpock students' art will be on display from March 1st through April 8th, 2024
World Down Syndrome Day - March 21, 2022
Join us in celebrating World Down Syndrome Day by Rocking Your Socks - wear colorful mismatched socks!!
Books
You Are Enough, (https://bit.ly/3smNgXo) by Margaret O’Hair
This inclusive and empowering picture book from Sofia Sanchez reminds readers how important it is to embrace your differences, to be confident, and to be proud of who you are. Imagine all of the wonderful things you can do if you don't let anyone stop you! You are enough just as you are.
Different, A Great Thing to Be!, (https://amzn.to/32ZjFus) by Heather Avis Macy is a girl who’s a lot like you and me, but she's also quite different, which is a great thing to be. With kindness, grace, and
bravery, Macy finds her place in the world, bringing beauty and laughter wherever she goes and leading others to find delight in the unique design of every person.
Videos
Down Syndrome Answers (https://bit.ly/3rs6f3t)
The best people to answer questions about Down syndrome are people with Down syndrome. We found the most-asked questions on Google and asked 10 Canadians with Down syndrome to give their answers. This can be used interactively within a classroom by asking the question and then playing the answers. There are 35 Questions and each Answer ranges from 15 seconds to 1 minute.
What is Down Syndrome – Be a Good Friend (https://bit.ly/3oqJVFA)
Cartoon for younger grade levels. 1 minute 9 seconds
More Alike Than Different - March 21 World Down Syndrome Day (https://bit.ly/3ouYw2P)
Interviewing children with and without Down syndrome. 2 minutes 37 seconds
Just Like You (https://bit.ly/3Gp80mh)
Elyssa, Rachel, and Sam share personal stories to help viewers better understand their condition and why they wish to be treated just like you. 13 minutes 37 seconds
Chesterfield Education Foundation Grant
Chesterfield Education Foundation is proud to announce that the application portal for 2024 Innovation Grants is now open! If you're unaware, CEF's Innovation Grants provide up to $5,000 to fund special projects in CCPS schools. Any CCPS employee can apply: teachers, aides, bus drivers, even you! So, if you have been dying to bring a program to your school but lack funding, this is for you! The deadline to apply is April 12, 2024 at 11:59pm. Click on the flyer to take you to the application portal, navigate to https://cefva.org/supporting-schools/, or click here. All applications require principal approval.
Grants outside of CCPS
All request for a grant must receive principal approval. After receiving principal approval for a grant outside CCPS, you will need to work with the CCPS Grants Specialist to make sure you go through the proper approval channels.
Once you have identified your funding source, please contact the Grants Specialist (Deana
Haggerty) to make sure you are targeting a viable funder. If the opportunity is approved, you
will create a draft of your application responses and send them to the Grants Specialist for
review. If no changes are required, the Grants Specialist will pass the application draft along to Legal for review. Since all grants are considered contracts, all must be reviewed by Legal. Legal requires 20 business days for review. If you find a grant with only a week turn-around time, you will not be permitted to apply, as there will not be enough time to complete the application process. Thank you for considering this when you are looking at funding opportunities.
Once you receive an award, please contact the Grants Specialist so she can have the Terms and Conditions reviewed and the award accepted by the School Board. The School Board must accept all awards prior to you spending your funds. Following the acceptance of the funds, an account will be established so you may proceed with your project.
Substitutes
For The Love of Reading
For the month of February, we have planned a Lexia challenge! Each grade level will be competing to see which class can complete the most Lexia units for the month. The winning classes will earn 15 minutes of extra recess. Weekly updates will be announced on Monday mornings. Good luck!
Instruction - UPDATED 3/8
From Your Reading Specialist
Classroom teachers just a reminder please turn in the following items on Monday, March 25th to Bethany & Janean:
* Scored Benchmark Writing
* ORF (Oral Reading Fluency)
* Q3 Scoring Sheets (For Grades K-3 Only)
Elementary CD&S Assessment Inventory/Guidance 2023-24:
One stop shop document to reference regarding Elementary Assessment Inventory. The documents are linked in the Curriculum Portal as well. Please ensure students are being assessed using the provided CCPS documents.
Social Studies
Science
Math
Literacy
OC Update
On the unit assessments, 2nd-5th grade teachers can provide a range of page numbers students can go to find the answers to questions for the comprehension section. Please do not only give the page number that the answer is on. The point of this is to scaffold their learning so they are not looking on every page for the answer.
Math Workshop
Each staff member with a Math Workshop book can now access the videos and reproducibles listed in the book at https://heinemann.com. Create a Heinemann.com account to access and then add Math Workshop to your resources. Please contact administration if you need a book.
Elementary Division Curriculum Updates 2023-24
These curriculum updates were shared during the county-wide professional learning day on August 16, 2023.
Below are Professional Learning opportunities throughout the 2023-24 School Year
Literacy: Professional Learning Opportunities
- Social Studies: Professional Learning Opportunities
Science Professional Learning Opportunities
Four new Science focused professional learning opportunities from VDOE have been added to the CCPS science Professional Development Document for staff.
Deeper Learning: Supporting Effective Science Instruction (additional resources for EL learners)
- Discourse in the Science Classroom
- Literacy and Science Instruction
- Using Formative Assessment to Inform Science Instruction
- Using 5E Model with Science Instruction
To register for one of the courses, go to https://forms.office.com/g/Bxf3rVPW3q.
Diverse Books
As we review classroom libraries, it is really essential that we fill our classroom libraries with books featuring characters that look like our students. Here are three important reasons why:
1. It helps to inspire and create an impact.
2. It provides a mirror to identity.
3. It allows for connections to be built.
Filling our students' classroom libraries with books that act as mirrors and windows allows for a deeper and more well-rounded reading experience for them. Help your students find titles where they see themselves, and beyond. Identify books and choose some for your classroom wish list. Here are some book lists to assist you in your search:
- A Very Hairy Book List — Help your kids celebrate the hair on their heads with this fun collection of books.
- 11 Great Book Characters Who Wear Glasses
- Books That Celebrate Diversity
- Books That Celebrate Black History Month — books for your toddler all the way up to young adults.
- 6 Books to Celebrate Native American History
- Top 8 Books to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage
- Asian American Stories
- Multicultural Books for Kids: Ages 6-10
In addition, the following books are available through the library for every classroom:
All Our Welcome by Suzanne Kaufman
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
Where Are You From? by Jaime Kim
Speak Up by Miranda Paul
Open Court
Open Court Access to Digital Resources for Staff- Directions on Redeeming Content
All staff members who need multiple grade-level access have been provided the McGraw Hill app in the backpack. Here, you will find the directions for redeeming the K-5 content. Once you have performed these steps, you will not have to do it again.
Videos to support instruction: Monday Mornings with Marisa (k-3) and Carol's Classroom (4-5)
Demo Login
Here is the OC Demo Login information:
Log in here: https://my.mheducation.com/login
Username: OCRVirginia
Password: OCRVirginia1
Q&A about OC
PDF Version of the OC Teacher Manuals
Superintendent Citizenship Award
Students who receive the Superintendent's Citizenship Award are respectful of others, volunteer time to others, are helpful, honest and trustworthy.
Game Changer
Game Changers are members of the faculty and staff who step up to meet the needs of our students; offer support and access to resources that assist their colleagues; provide an extra layer of support for families outside of the classroom; and who generally make a positive and sometimes life-changing difference in the lives of students, families and colleagues. Complete the nomination form here.
Housekeeping (UPDATED 2/16)
Sick Leave - CCPS requires that after 3 days of missed employment due to illness, the sick employee must contact Benefits on the 4th day of absences. This includes the flu, sinus infection and stomach bug. You can contact Benefits at benefits@ccpsnet.net
Bus Duty - Please make sure you are in the K hallway by 3:50pm on the days that you have bus duty. Six of our nine buses are always here by then. It causes us to have to hold dismissal when the teachers on duty are not there by 3:50. Also, please bring a walkie talkie when you come for bus duty each day.
Star of the Week - For those of you offering parents the opportunity to have lunch with their students for Star of the Week, please encourage parents to sign up online (Lunch Sign Up). There have been a few instances where it appears parents think they are signing up by telling the teacher when they plan to come, but they are not actually on our lunch visitor list. This causes some complications if the visitor table is full for the day. We appreciate you helping to make the process run as smoothly as possible for them and their STAR!!!
- Early dismissal - please keep students in your classroom until the office calls the student for early dismissal. We want them to participate in instruction versus sitting in the office waiting.
- The Transportation Change Spreadsheet must be reviewed everyday before dismissal to ensure students get home accordingly. Teachers must note the transportation changes prior to sending the note to the office.
- Missed Bus - When a student misses the bus, the classroom teacher is responsible for bringing the student to the office and waiting with the student until the parent arrives.
- Lunch numbers and attendance must be complete by every teacher by 10am.
Save The Date
Check the following link for the most up-to-date staff events
Winterpock Elementary School Staff Google Calendar
March 11 - Spring Individual & Class Photos
March 12 - PTA Meeting, 6:45
March 15 - Battle of the Books (BOB)
March 15 - PTA Dance
March 19 - 1st grade and 4th grade Field Trips
March 21 - World Down Syndrome Day
March 21 - 5th Grade Music Performance, 6pm
March 22 - 3 hour Early Release
March 22 - Lunch from Woodlake, Staff Huddle
March 25 - Kindergarten Field Trip
March 26 - Field Day (K/1 AM)
March 27 - Field Day (2/3 AM and 4/5 PM)