Eagle Express
LHS Staff Newsletter--Year 18, Vol. 36, 05/20/19
SOL Testing Begins
We begin our high-stakes SOL testing today with the VA/US History test. Please remember that for the next two weeks, our focus and our students' focus must be on these tests. A student's graduation status may be on the line. We must all pull together to ensure our students have the tools and resources they need to succeed on their SOL tests. A PA announcement will be made to begin and end the SOL testing period. Please do not release any students until you hear this PA announcement. Thank you in advance for everything you do to make sure these tests go smoothly!
Maintaining High Quality Instruction
As we proceed to the close of the 2018-19 school year, please remember that the division's expectation is that high quality instruction based on the VBCPS Teaching and Learning Framework continues in every classroom. As the school year draws to a close and many instructional units have been completed, teachers are encouraged to utilize instructional time to engage students in inquiry-based learning experiences that integrate content and foster the 5 Cs. Teachers may wish to utilize the many curricular embedded suggestions and resources for performance tasks and Problem Based Learning. Promoting student agency through the Teach disposition will ensure an environment highly conducive to student learning.
In the past, parent calls to central administration have expressed concern that students “watch videos” or “just play” the days after testing is completed. These final school days should be productive learning days for students. Do not hesitate to contact the departments of Teaching and Learning or School Leadership should you need any recommendations for teachers and/or students.
Use of Instructional Media
Regulations regarding instructional media and copyright laws can be found in School Board Regulation 6-63.4. Best practices call for the integrated, interactive use of visual media.
Films, regardless of format, are copyright protected by Federal Law—Title 17, United States Code, Public Law 94-553 Stat. 2541, as are other original works.
Showing motion media in a classroom IS a public performance. A Fair Use Exemption applies ONLY when all five of the following AV guidelines are met:
1. Nonprofit educational
2. Classroom or similar place
3. Instructors and pupils
4. Legally acquired copy
5. Face-to-face teaching activities. The motion media must be integral to the specific objective of that day for the students in that class.
There is rarely a reason for an entire class period to be used to view film. The showing of full-length feature films in their entirety is NOT an appropriate instructional practice. Segments from these films can support and enrich student knowledge. The practice of pausing the video at appropriate points strengthens learning and renews focus. Never show media in the classroom that you have not previewed for appropriateness and instructional value.
Expedited SOL Testing Information
Thank you all so much for the time and effort you have poured into preparing your students for the SOL this year. While the vast majority of them will pass the first time, there will inevitably be some students who are eligible for expedited testing.
As a PLC, you will need to develop a plan for expedited review that focuses on each individual student’s weaknesses.
What can you do now?
- Consider ways to reach all students by offering multiple opportunities for them to receive help (e.g. during class, after school, and lunch) and think about incentives for participation.
- Pull resources that will present content/allow students to practice content in new/meaningful ways.
- Determine how best to structure uninterrupted class time with these students. For instance, will one member of the PLC take all of the expediting students from all students and the other teachers do something different?
- We also have some sub days available. If you would like to work one-on-one/in small groups with your expediting students, we can probably provide a sub to cover your remaining students. Please have one person from your PLC email Mrs. Pickett your plan/request for subs ASAP and complete/submit the attached professional leave form.
- If you need any support from your AP or other specialists, please send them an Outlook invitation for the time that you plan to meet to discuss the plan.
Once those students scoring in the expedited range are identified, please do the following:
- Take the time to review the SDBQ reports for each individual student. Please remember that a scaled score of 30 or more in any given reporting category indicates mastery.
- Print the SDBQ reports for each of the students scoring in the expedited range and highlight the reporting categories under 30.
- Make a copy of the SDBQs, so you can give one to the student and keep one for yourself/your team to reference.
- Once you know the dates/times for tutoring, please call the parents of the students you are focusing on, and ask them to encourage their child to participate.
Please let your AP know how we can best support each of you/your students.
Closing Down Schoolnet
The division will be closing out Schoolnet at the end of this school year. As a part of the closeout process, Schoolnet is extracting all tests (classroom, common and district assessments) from the 2018-2019 school year that were scheduled prior to May 1. The Division Schoology team has been working closely with Certica and Schoology over the past few months to create a partnership so VBCPS can continue to utilize Certica test items embedded within many teacher and division-created assessments located in Schoolnet. Plans are moving forward to have the Certica item bank available within the Assessment Management Platform (AMP) in Schoology for fall 2019. Because of this new partnership, Certica has permitted Schoolnet to extract Certica items as part of the closeout process. If a teacher desires a PDF or Word copy of any assessment, it can be printed from Schoolnet prior to June 30.
Senior Final Assessments
EARLY FINAL ASSESSMENTS FOR SENIORS ONLY
WILL BE GIVEN ON
MONDAY, JUNE 3 DURING BLOCKS 1B AND 2B CLASS TIME
TUESDAY, JUNE 4 DURING BLOCKS 1A AND 2A CLASS TIME
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5 DURING BLOCKS 3B AND 4B CLASS TIME
AND THURSDAY, JUNE 6 DURING BLOCKS 3A AND 4A CLASS TIME
Guidelines:
- ·Seniors in “mixed” classes who are required to take a final assessment will report directly to the SCHOLA at the beginning of the block. These students will take their assessment in the Schola. Teachers must provide copies of their final assessment to Mrs. Muench by Tuesday, May 28. Please make sure you give Mrs. Muench everything your students will need to complete the final assessment (scantrons, calculators, passwords, etc.).
- Teachers must also submit the form listing senior students who will be reporting to the Schola on June 3 through 6. This form must be given to Mrs. Muench by Tuesday, May 28.
- Seniors who are in “pure” (senior only) courses such as English 12 and Government will complete their final assessment during the appropriate block in the classroom with the teacher.
- Once the senior has completed the final assessment for a particular class, they are excused from that class (i.e. after Monday, June 3, seniors will not report to Block 1B and 2B, etc.).
- Grades for seniors should be entered by 3 p.m. on the day following the assessment. All senior grades must be entered by 8 a.m. on Monday, June 10.
Senior Grades
Teachers will submit senior failure notices to the school counseling office each day of senior exams. Senior grades are due in Synergy by 8:00 am on Monday, June 10th. Once all senior grades are submitted on Monday, June 10th, we will begin the process of calculating the rankings for Valedictorian, Salutatorian and Honor Graduates. NO grade changes can be made to senior grades in Synergy after this point. If you identify an error in your grade calculations, you must notify Margaret Burgess and Beth Pickett immediately.
Awards Assembly
On Friday, June 7, we will celebrate our seniors with our annual awards assembly. If you would like to bring your Block 2B class to this assembly, please complete this Google form by Friday, May 31. A seating chart will be distributed confirming your reservation.
News from the Library: It is time to refresh and restock all SSR boxes for distribution next school year. Please drop off your SSR box in the library before May 31st. All library books checked out by students are due May 31st. All library materials checked out by teachers are due by June 14th.
Prom Chaperones Needed: Don't forget that Prom is Saturday, June 1 at the Westin. All staff who help out by chaperoning will earn flex hours that can be applied to the June 17 staff work day.
Items Needed for Graduation: We are in need of men's ties, dress shoes, and pants for our students for graduation. We could also use ladies flat shoes. These items can be used or new. If you are willing to donate, you can drop items off in Room 136 or in Dave Siock's office.
Planning Ahead: Don't forget that we will again be using Mondays for various meetings in the 2019-2020 school year. Reserve Mondays for these meetings and do not make appointments and other commitments for Mondays during the school year. Monday meetings will begin at 2:20 and last no longer than one hour.
"N" Grades
When reporting grades, teachers are reminded that THE SEMESTER GRADE IS THE ONLY GRADE TO REFLECT THE DENIAL OF CREDIT, WITH AN “N” (FOR STUDENTS WITH A PASSING ACADEMIC AVERAGE) OR AN “E” (FOR STUDENTS WITH A FAILING ACADEMIC AVERAGE.) Each nine weeks grade should reflect the actual grade earned due to academic progress in the class. Absences recorded on the report card should reflect only those absences that would apply to the Virginia Beach City Public Schools Attendance Policy.
Attendance Waivers
Senior attendance waivers are available today and are located in the attendance office, the main office, and the counseling office. Although attendance waivers will be available through June 20th, seniors should submit their waivers by Friday June 7th. Please encourage your seniors to submit their waivers as soon as possible. Parents were notified on May 17th that attendance waivers for seniors are now available, and the list of seniors who need attendance waivers will be shared with teachers in a separate email. Please remind your seniors that waivers can only be turned in to Mrs. Everhart. Seniors will receive a purple receipt from Mrs. Everhart when they submit their waivers. Attendance waivers for underclassmen will be made available on Monday, June 3rd.
The First Annual Great LHS Bake-Off!
Kudos
Congratulations to the members of the Shared Leadership Model ILT for the 2019-2020 school year: T'na Bell, Katie Bennett, Tim Blum, Kelli Bradshaw, Melissa Calaman, Heidi Calma, Melody Cariello, Caroline Clark, Jae Clark, Steph Currence, Kasi Daniel, Tanya Espinoza, Danielle Gish, Kay Gramling, Jennifer Groves, Sheryl Grumney, Dave Hart, Angela Henry, Marcus Johnson-Williams, Shaylee Laton, Erik Moore, Jennifer Morris, Dwight Robinson, Krissy Sanderlin, Bruce Sundberg, Ty Swartz, Hiliary Thompson, Stacey White, and Dana Zumbrum.
Congratulations to Angela Henry for being "Tagged by the Superintendent" recently!
Kudos to Jenny Hechtkopf for the success of the ACCESS college day recently. LHS had 112 students in attendance at the event.
Congratulations to Millie Hernandez and our custodial team for earning the Gold Award. This is the 10th year in a row that LHS has earned this award!
Congratulations to Mark Alberda, Wendy Barcroft, Heidi Calma, Erik Moore, and Krissy Sanderlin whose proposals have been chosen for presentation at the VBCPS Digital Learning Summer Summit 2019.
Kudos and thanks to Ro for her work with AP testing. This was her first year working with AP and she had help from Allison Haley to teach her the ropes.
Congratulations to Jada Cumberland who earned her Microsoft Office Specialist Master Certification. Which means she is now certified in Microsoft 2016 Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, Word Expert and Excel Expert. To date, the Computer Information Systems and ADV. CIS students have earned 91 Microsoft Office 2016 Specialist Certifications. Also, our I.T. Fundamental students have earned over 50 IC3 Certifications (Internet and Computing Core) in Key Applications, Computing Fundamentals, and Living Online. Kudos to their teacher, Christy Murchison, for leading this important work.
June 17 Flexible Work Day
All teachers and teacher assistants may work a flex schedule for the staff day on June 17, 2019. Teachers and TAs must keep a log of the time worked by indicating the extra time worked on your Wise Time Sheet. Teacher assistants, ISS coordinators, and library assistants may not work more than 40 hours in any one week. The time sheets will provide documentation to support the hours reported in WISE. We are also offering hours towards the June 17 work day to eligible employees who help chaperone prom on June 1 and to those who attend graduation on June 15. There will be a sign-in sheet for prom. Attendance will be taken at graduation and folks will earn three hours for this event.
The flex day applies only to the following group of employees:
- All teachers whose schedule ends on June 17
- Teacher assistants, ISS coordinators, and library media assistants
Security assistants are not eligible because of security needs of the building. Eligible employees who do not choose to make use of the flex day and do not wish to report on June 17, 2019, may choose to take personal reasons leave with approval of the building principal.
Monday, 5/20 (A Day)
VA/US History SOL
Baseball vs Tallwood, 5:00
Softball @ FC, 5:00
Soccer vs Cox, 5:15
Tuesday, 5/21 (B Day)
English 11 SOL
Softball @ Tallwood, 5:00
Baseball @ Tallwood, 5:00
Wednesday, 5/22 (A Day)
Geometry SOL
Thursday, 5/23 (B Day)
Algebra I & II SOL
Friday, 5/24 (A Day)
Biology SOL
Region Track Meet, 4:30
Saturday, 5/25
Region Track Meet
I Make a Difference
From Tim Blum
For this week’s I Make A Difference Award, I want to take the opportunity to recognize someone who has given the past 30 years to making a difference in the lives of so many students and teachers. This week I would like to recognize Mike Wilder. From the very beginning of my time here at Landstown, Mike has constantly sacrificed his own time to make himself available to me. Whether it is a simple question or a major favor, Mike is always willing to help his co-workers. Mike not only makes a difference in the lives of the people he works with, but more importantly, he genuinely cares about the success of his students. His honest, yet welcoming and caring presence, prepares students on what to expect from future employers or professors. It has been a true joy sharing these past four years with Mike Wilder. The void left behind from Mike’s retirement will surely be felt, but the memories made will go on for many years. Thank you Mike for the past 30 years you have given to VBCPS and to making a difference in the lives of so many people.
May 22: Carrie Jarvis, FACS
May 25: Steph Currence, English
Advisors' Conference
Calling all coaches, club and class sponsors and those who want to get more involved in student activities at LHS. The VBCPS Activity Advisers Conference is scheduled for Monday, July 15 at Virginia Wesleyan University. If you are interested in attending, all you have to do is complete this registration form. The conference is promised to be full of useful and engaging sessions. 8 PL points will be offered for those who attend. If you have any questions about the conference, please feel free to email Dave Siock..
How to Get Your Annual Points Report in Frontline
Site-Based PL Pathways for 2019-2020
You may recall that at our March 4 staff meeting we asked you for input on potential topics for professional learning for the upcoming school year. Based on your responses, we have developed six PL pathways. Use this Google Form to indicate your top three choices for your site-based pathway for next year. Please complete the form by Friday, May 24.
Chromebook Collection & Inventory
As the school year comes to a close, please note the following information related to Chromebooks:
- Any damage to Chromebooks such as broken screens, missing keys, etc. should be repaired prior to SOL testing. Have students take any damaged equipment to the TST (Mr. McCollum) so it can be replaced.
- The school store sells replacement chargers for $20.00
- We will collect Chromebooks from seniors from Tuesday, May 28 through Thursday, May 30 in room 233.
- Students in Grades 9, 10 & 11 will keep their Chromebooks over the summer. They will be checked by their English teachers with a check sheet provided to them. They will ensure students have their correct Chromebook and make sure it remains in good condition.
- During the summer, any damaged devices can be brought to the TST for repair.
2019-2020 Professional Learning Program Information
Start Preparing for Next School Year with Schoology PL On Your Own Time and At Your Own Pace
Are you ready to start using Schoology with all of your classes next school year? While many of you have already made the leap from Google Classroom to Schoology this school year, as a school and a division, we will all be making that leap beginning in the 2019-2020 school year.
To help prepare you for this transition, Krissy and Erik have created Schoology Learning Boards full of tutorials and resources on a plethora of features that you will likely use within Schoology. They have created three boards that align with the categories established by the VBCPS Navigational Markers: Toes in the Water, Waist-High, and All In, terms used to depict comfort levels with Schoology.
Between now and May 31, you should review all three learning boards, beginning with the Toes in the Water board. When you feel comfortable with all of the features on this learning board, you should complete the required exit ticket reflection to earn 2 PL points and also gain access to the next learning board. Then, repeat that process, working through the next level boards completing each required exit ticket when you are comfortable with the features. You can earn up to 6 PL points, 2 per learning board. Please be honest about your abilities and in your reflection, as this will help us to create more effective Schoology training that meets everyone where they are and provide the support needed to make this transition.If you have any questions, get in touch with Krissy, Erik or one of our stellar Schoology Champions.
Fourth Quarter Grading Info
April 1: 4th quarter begins
May 10: Progress reports issued
June 14: 4th quarter ends
June 21: Report cards mailed
TalentEd Info
Principal's Advisory Committee
The Principal's Advisory Committee serves in an advisory capacity to address employee concerns as they relate to site conditions that negatively impact on high student achievement and high employee morale. The PAC is committed to resolving issues professionally and in a timely manner. The following staff members have been elected to serve on this year's PAC: Katie Bennett, Caroline Clark, Jae Clark, Terri Gayer, Woody Gehlert, Kay Gramling, Kathy Holbert, Suzette Johnson, Connie Martinez, Michael Robinson, Kelly Singer and Anne Marie Sprague. Use this form to submit concerns to the PAC.
Our Guiding Questions
- How do students determine and engage with their learning targets?
- What is the evidence that students are exercising their voice and choice throughout the learning process?
- What evidence is there that the teacher has planned opportunities for students to choose from a variety of tools/structures during their learning?
- How are teachers using assessment tools as part of their assessment strategy?
- What evidence exists that supports student collaboration, exploration, and creation efforts?
Landstown High School
Email: cheryl.askew@vbschools.com
Website: http://www.landstownhs.vbschools.com/
Location: 2001 Concert Drive, Virginia Beach, VA, USA
Phone: 757-648-5500
Twitter: @LandstownEagles