BESTeam Tidbits
March 25, 2018
Celebrations!
Congratulations to Megan Harris for being recognized as the 2018 Teacher of the Year!!!!
Congratulations to Sarah Drummond for being recognized as the 2018 Para of the Year!
Thank you Hannah for spotlighting our talented artists at the GCISD Art Show this week! This wonderful event featured Texans from kinder through fifth grade!
Congratulations to Jenna on her engagement!!!!
Thank you to Wendy, Denise R., Chris, Alecia, Corrie, Al, Jeanette, Jan, Sandy, Abbey, Susan A., Raschel, April, and Jennifer for attending Spring Creek Spirit Night! Our Texan families loved seeing each of you there!
HUGE shoutout to all who donated items and experiences for the pARTy!
The new GCISD website! Check it out: www.gcisd.net! Thank you Shelly for the countless hours spent making the BES site amazing!
Congratulations to Nurse Rebecca for earning BES the Project Adam Heart Safe School Designation-Cook’s Children’s.
Big Rocks
Accountability Update: The attachment, ESSA Appendix A, shows the most recently proposed Academic targets for Domain 3 (Long Term and Interim Goals for ESSA Federal Accountability). Please note that they are based on students meeting grade level or higher on STAAR (not approaches). These new targets were created after looking at baseline state-level results by demographic group and TEA is awaiting approval from US Department of Education.
https://tea.texas.gov/About_TEA/Laws_and_Rules/ESSA/Every_Student_Succeeds_Act/
Final rules are currently expected in March.
Safety First: As we enter the fourth nine weeks, please take a few minutes to review BES safety procedures. Also, please see the bullets bellow.
Do your doors lock? If not, please let Denise and Jamie know ASAP. Having a locked door that works, saves people. Thank you for putting the magnets in place with your doors locked.
Is there anything that needs to be fixed in our building? Let Denise and Jamie know.
Do people have badges on? If there is an adult in the building without a badge, GCISD badge or visitor badge, ask them how you can help them. It is the job of all of us to ask them how we can help. If they don't have a badge, send them to the office to check in.
Do not let people in the building through any doors but the front. When people ring the front bell, ask them how you may help them. If you don't feel comfortable letting the visitor in, please let Jamie or Tonya know.
Thank you all you do to keep our students and staff safe!
Arts Resources
- Arts integration and the water cycle. Check out this video.
- Check out mid-way through this article for ideas on virtual field trips and online studio experiences: https://educationcloset.com/2018/03/01/44-ways-create-arts-based-experiences/
Small Rocks
Grant Opportunity: VOYA is offering teacher grants for projects that are innovative creative and positively influence students. Each year, 100 finalists receive a $2,000 grant and three are selected for additional grants. Click here for more information.
Retirement: Save the date for the 2017-1018 Retiree Dinner on Thursday, May 3, 2018. If you are considering retirement, make some time to visit with Jamie or Tonya.
Watch D.O.G.S.: This is the live link for our awesome Watch D.O.G.S.
Instructional Technology Updates
- Blogs you may have missed
- Classroom Screen: https://goo.gl/ZRTJrC
- Discovery Education: https://goo.gl/PaaFVr
- Using the app list for Meraki: https://goo.gl/fTBGNk
- Prodigy Online Math: https://goo.gl/8sMAUU
- DyKnow: https://goo.gl/y3Jx8u
- E-Portfolio
- When we get back from Spring Break, the 3rd artifact will need to be collected.
- Math Slides apps are back!
Prodigy Math Madness Spring Tournament
- Win just for participating: Dedicate some time in class or encourage your students to play Prodigy at home between March 5th and April 13th
and you will automatically be entered to win 3-month memberships for your entire class! - Win for being the ultimate Prodigy playing class and school: Have your students play Prodigy everyday in school or at home in order to answer the most questions and win a Prodigy trophy, lots of great swag, 3-month memberships AND 3 laptops for your class.
- Have fun!
What is a Pineapple Chart?
The energy in the building Monday was electric! It is always exciting to see the amazing things our colleagues do and learn from the experts! Wouldn't it be great if we could do that everyday? With a Pineapple Chart we can!
On the bulletin board in Cathy's office there is a chart that represents one week of school. The columns are labeled Monday-Friday. The rows are an entire school day (7:30-3:00) divided into 30 minute segments. On this chart, teachers can "advertise" the interesting things going on in their classrooms that others may want to observe. They can be as simple as a read aloud or circle up, or as complex as a science experiment or Breakout Edu! Just jot down the teacher name, the timeframe, and a brief title of the activity on a post it and place it on the chart at the start time.
Check the chart regularly to find something you may be interested is observing. Go to that classroom at the designated time. Sit down in an out of the way spot and watch. It's that simple! You can stay for as long as time allows, or just pop in for a few minutes. This is an informal, but powerful way to learn new techniques and ideas! Maybe you need new ideas for seamless transitions, or you might want to see what the learning environment is like in another grade level. There may be a new tech tool you'd like to try, but want to see someone else using it first. The possibilities are endless when we learn from observing one another!
So think of what you would like to share with the staff and a time you have to visit another classroom. Post your observable moments. Find something you'd like to see, and go for it!
The Pineapple Chart
What to Put on Your Post it
Post It and Visit
Week at a Glance
What's going on around BES this week?
Monday
Transfer Lottery Applications on GCISD Website March 26-April 20
Girls On The Run 2:55-4:25pm
LifeStage Theater 3:00-4:00 pm
Choir 3-4:00pm
Tuesday
Staff Meeting (click for the agenda) for Instructional Staff ~ 3:15-4:30pm
LifeStage Theater 3:00-4:00 pm
Wednesday
Jamie at principal meeting a.m.
Tonya at a.p. meeting p.m.
GCISD Special Olympics Track Meet
Fitness Force 2:55-3:45pm
LifeStage Theater 3:00-4:00 pm
Thursday
Jeans and BES Shirts
Lauren out
Jamie at Restorative Practices
Pep Rally 7:40am
Pre-K Lottery held
Schroeder Orthodontics visiting during Specials
Library Ambassadors 3-4:00pm
5th grade “Beauty & The Beast” practice 3-4:30pm
Friday
- Staff and student holiday
Be Proactive: A look ahead!
- April 19: Beauty and the Beast 6:30 p.m.
- April 21: Rachel's Challenge Rally and 5K Students and Staff can run FREE!
- Spirit Events
- Snuffer's Spirit Night April 10th 5-8:00pm
- McAlister's Deli Spirit Night April 24th 5-10:00pm
- Menchies Spirit Night May 3rd 3-5:00pm
- El Pollo Loco Spirit Night May 8th 4-8:00pm 9009 N. Tarrant Pkwy. N. Richland Hills
March 27: Instructional staff
April 3: L.I.F.E. Time
April 10: No meeting, STAAR Testing Week
April 17: All staff
2018-2019 Planning & Information
- Calendar 2018-2019
- Master Schedule: We have started the conversation about master schedule for 2018-2019. Our final schedule will be ready in May. Stay tuned for updates. Our goals are to think differently and create a schedule that allows us to:
- meet students' varying needs
- continue our journey from teaching to learning platform
- delve deeply into arts integration
- design and facilitate engaging work for our Texans
- have collaboration time with peers throughout the building
- maximizes time for students and staff
BES Forms
- Field Trip Request Form
- PTA Grant Request: All PTA grant requests are due the Wednesday before the executive board meets.
Jamie Halliburton
Email: jamie.halliburton@gcisd.net
Phone: 806-441-6518
Twitter: @BESHalliburton