Hoot Hoot Herald
January 2 - January 5
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. – Howard Thurman
HOOT NEWS
Thank you to the social committee for putting on a great winter party! And thank you to Patti for your hospitality and for opening your home to us! It was so nice to spend time with each other outside of school.
Thank you to the Doss PTA for a wonderful Staff Appreciation Luncheon! It is such a treat for us to be able to sit together and enjoy such a delicious catered lunch. THANK YOU!
Before we begin our focus on the 2018 spring semester, let’s reflect on some of the work we did and what we accomplished this past fall semester.
This year we started with our “WHY”; we thoughtfully developed our social contract with a commitment to being positive and to being problems solvers; we have explored maker space activities with Bonnie in the library; we learned about design thinking and did an exercise on IDEATION; the admin team met with every teacher to discuss your professional plans and the PPfT process in our PPfT pre-conferences; we explored our “norms” for each subject area at Doss Elementary; teachers conducted parent / teacher conferences and completed BOY assessments; we brought KINDNESS to the forefront of our SEL practices and supported kids being kind to one another; we had an amazing Veterans Day ceremony; we have examined our benchmark data and are providing interventions to students; we conducted daily interventions for struggling learners in the computer lab and through our FORMATIVE LOOP program; we made it through the first round of the new GT testing protocol (and learned a lot about how we want to do things moving forward); we did grade level programs, had our annual our 5th grade camp out, took lots of field trips and refilled the Capital Area Food Bank; we have had visitors from Round Rock ISD, Eanes ISD, Alief ISD and Zilker Elementary; we practiced MINDFULNESS; we passed a bond and we’ve learned that we will be moving off campus for two years; we built a wall of strengths that we will rely upon to make this move successful and smooth for all. And, through it all, we put kids first. WOW - that's a lot!
I continued to be impressed with you as a staff and as individuals. You each bring different talents to the table and together, we can do anything!!
So, let’s look forward to this spring semester:
#1 Let’s keep kids at the forefront. After all, it’s why we are in this business.
*As a campus, let’s continue our data based interventions (and increase them this semester); let’s continue to work through the CST process when students are not responding to our interventions; let’s differentiate for our struggling learners and our gifted students. When we put kids first, we plan and look for each student to improve.
#2 Let’s keep our instructional focus through all of the distractions that will come our way this semester.
*Kim Sutton Creative Mathematics
Utilizing the Creative Mathematics strategies daily will significantly improve our students’ math fluency skills and thus improve their ability to solve more complex, multi-step problems.
*District Reading Initiative
This includes having students pick high interest books to read; having students read for a sustained period of time daily; active reading strategies; and frequent teacher feedback.
*SEL activities
It’s important to continue our SEL classroom activities so that we can address the needs of the whole child and improve our Doss Owls’ self-regulation and problem solving skills.
*Student led learning opportunities
Utilizing design thinking, maker space activities, and problem based learning provides higher level learning opportunities for our students. As Alan November said, ‘when students take charge of their own learning, kids are inspired, self-motivated and work at higher learning levels’.
*Integrated Technology Experiences
Let’s continue to explore how innovative technology experiences can support our best practices at the elementary level.
#3 Let’s take care of ourselves this semester.
Don’t put off that doctor appointment. Take time when you need it. Spend time with friends. It’s important. We must keep in mind what the stewardesses/stewards tell us when we fly, “put the oxygen mask on yourself first”.
#4 Let’s work together as a team to effectively plan and implement this move.
There will be moments of stress. There will be times when things don’t go the way we think they should or the way that we expect them to go. There will be times that we do not have all of the information that wish we had. How will we handle this? Remember at the beginning of the year we did an exercise on handling unexpected challenges? Well, here we go! So, let’s communicate our needs, move on when we need to, be problem solvers, and never forget, we are all in this boat paddling together. And, like I said, together we can do anything!! I truly believe that we can successfully make it through this move and the two years at Lucy Read if we keep our positive attitudes and our can do spirit!! Let’s do this!
Sincerely, thank you for your positive attitudes and consistent hard work. Your positive attitude is infectious and may motivate someone else more than you realize!! So keep up the gold stars and positive emails to others. You make a difference when you point out the positive and help someone else move through a challenging time.
Thanks to all of the teachers who participated in the Positive Parent Communication Challenge! You did a great job! And, parents have been coming out of the woodwork to tell me how much they have appreciated randomly hearing from you. If you completed the challenge and documented it in CST prior to the break, please be sure to cash in on our half day sub from me.
I hope you have enjoyed your time off! It’s so important to disconnect from work so that we can come back refreshed and ready to go, go go!
I will be sending a separate email with all of the details about our Professional Development.
JANUARY BENCHMARK TESTING:
1/16, Tues. - 5th Science
1/18, Thurs. - 3rd and 4th Math
1/19, Fri.- 3rd and 4th Reading
JANUARY 2ND/3RD PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
January 2nd CLI training at Davis Elementary:
8:00 - 11:00 CLI Training (no breakfast provided)
11:30-1:00 Lunch on your own
1:00 - planning and prep
( I have asked if the leadership team can walk the Lucy Read campus in the afternoon; I have not heard back yet).
January 3rd at Anderson High School:
8:00-8:30 Breakfast at Anderson High School Cafeteria
8:30-9:00 Opening Session
9:00-11:00 Table Sessions
11:00-12:30 Lunch on your own
12:30-1:45 Department or grade level meetings at Anderson High School
break/transition
1:55- 3:00 Vertical Planning at Anderson High School
DOSS CULTURAL HERITAGE - MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Cultural Heritage Week is February 26-March 2, with the exciting Cultural Heritage Festival Night set for Thursday, March 1, 6:00-8:00PM. We will ask for parent volunteers and communicate more details after the break.
For now, please note we will continue this rich tradition where students and parents get to share their cultures with each other in fun ways:
parent readers for your class
flag template to be colored by your students
cultural performances
exhibits, demos
desserts
If you have ideas/suggestions, please share them with Anne Jansson ajansson512@gmail.com or Sandra Ely garzaely@swbell.net.
UPDATED DRILL DATES
1/11 - Fire Drill
1/23 - Lockdown Drill
2/6 - Fire Drill
3/8 - Fire Drill
4/17 - Fire Drill
5/23 - Fire Drill
STAFF MEETINGS
JANUARY 22 - Design Team presents to Doss Staff
FEBRUARY 5
FEBRUARY 26
MARCH 5
APRIL 2
APRIL 16
APRIL 30
MAY 14
LIBRARY NEWS
NOOK CARTS:
Please use this link: http://bit.ly/2wDrLXx to sign up for Nook carts. There will be 5 Nooks per cart and there will be a total of 9 carts. I am tweaking the checkout system, but wanted you to have access right away. Please remember that devices must be returned at the end of each day. Please let me know if you have any questions about these tablets. There are meant to supplement what you have in your classroom.
COUNSELOR CORNER
BENCHMARK DATES:
1/16, Tues. - 5th Science
1/18, Thurs. - 3rd and 4th Math
1/19, Fri.- 3rd and 4th Reading
SPRING GT SELECTIONS:
- Nominations for K-2nd only
- Window for nominations Jan. 23 - Feb. 2
5TH GRADE TRANSITION TO MIDDLE SCHOOL DATES:
- 1/17, Wed. - 9:00 - 11:00 - 5th graders travel down hill for MMS Showcase.
- 2/2, Fri. - 12:30 - 1:30 in library - MMS Choice Sheet meeting with 5th graders
- 2/6, Tues. - 6:30 - 7:30 Choice Sheet night for students and parents at MMS.
ASSESSMENT PLANNING - DESIGNATED SUPPORT
STAAR INFO:
Below is a link to the various Features and Supports that are allowable for STAAR this year. Refer to the Student Form for clarification on what committees determine the eligibility and if it is allowed for certain students.
1. Accessibility Features: These are procedures and materials that are allowed for any student who needs them. You do not have to document these. The student should be comfortable using these features, but they cannot be “required” to use them during a test administration.
2. Designated Supports: These are locally-approved supports for students who meet eligibility criteria.
· Braille
· Content and Language Supports
· Content and Language Supports Guidelines
· Individualized Structured Reminders
3. Designated Supports Requiring TEA Approval: These supports require the submission and approval of a TEA Accommodation Request Form.
· Other
JANNA'S WEEKLY CALENDAR
7:30-11:30 Davis Elementary School
1:30 -2:00 Staffing for NS
2:15 - 2:45 Staffing for LD
Wednesday January 3rd
7:30-3:30 Anderson High School PD
Thursday January 4th
11:30 - 1:00 Meet with Admin Team
1:00 -2:00 Phone Conference
Friday January 5th
7:30-7:45 Assembly
7:45-9:00 Parent Principal Coffee
9:00-10:00 Meeting with the PTA President
WHOOOO HAS A BIRTHDAY?
January 13 - Jennifer Benner
January 18 - Sue Raup
January 24 - Theresa Wedekind
January 25 - Farah Abdulazeez
Computer Lab Schedule
Thursday
8:00 Hodges
8:45 Stone
9:30 Raup
10:15 Barrick
11:00 Warner
11:45 Hall
2:00 Collins
Friday
8:00 Smith
8:45 Cheung
9:30 Hayes/Baehr
10:15 Eddleton
11:15 Singerman
12:00 5th Grade
12:50 5th Grade
1:40 5th Grade
Calendar
Thursday, January 4
Welcome back students!
Friday, January 5
First Friday Teacher Treats, Lounges
Parent Principal Coffee, 8:00-9:00, Library
Monday, January 8
Tuesday, January 9
Happy Birthday Mrs. Means!
Science Fair Help Session, 3:00-4:00, Library
Wednesday, January 10
Walking, Wheeling, Wellness Wednesday
Science Fair Help Session, 3:15-4:15, Room 310
Thursday, January 11
FIRE DRILL
PTA General Meeting, 12:00-1:00, Library
CAC Meeting, 3:15-4:30, Library
Friday, January 12
Library Schedule
Thursday, Jan. 4 (B)
9:00 Hyvl 3
10:40 Johnson 3
1:30 Barrick
12:20-12:50 Bones 3
Friday, Jan. 5
All Bluebonnet paperwork due!