Anchor Weekly
Week of August 31 2020
Upcoming Events
- Saturday, August 29: School Open 10am-5pm (don't forget your card swipe!)
- Every Day until September 5: PD & Planning Schedule
- Wednesday, September 2: Meet the Teacher
- Monday, September 7: Labor Day ~ No School
- Tuesday, September 8: First Day of School!!
Captain's Log
I really loved these words from a recent email from Jon Gordon (they are always timely and just what I need to hear):
"Fear believes in a negative future. Faith believes in a positive future...You have everything you need inside you to be successful. You weren’t meant to be average. You have a desire to be great because you were created and born to do great things. You have a purpose. There’s a plan for your life. You may be going through a hard time now but the best is yet to come."
I want to recognize everyone's active participation in training and school preparations this week. Awesome job!!
For the first two days of school, please plan to be in your classroom and ready to great students at 7:30 am. This will require you to report early and I apologize for that. In return, you may leave at 3:45 pm on that Friday and the following Friday.
To-Do List
- Select your WISD T-Shirt Size (8/31)
- Record your grade level introduction video (9/1)
- Send Peter Holmstrom your bitmoji
- Complete SafeSchools Training (New Course Added!)
- Complete lesson plan template for 1st two weeks using this template and dropping into your grade level PLC folder
- Complete NWEA MAP Training
- Complete Reading Academy Training (Select Teachers Only)
Attendance Procedures
The Frontline Platform has been updated to provide an efficient way for teachers to take attendance for both in-person and remote asynchronous Learning. Guidance for teachers is outlined in the Google Doc linked.
First day attendance will be completed with class rosters. All students on campus at the official attendance time, 10:30 a.m., should be accounted for. If there are students in holding areas for screening or scheduling, an accurate roster should be provided to the attendance clerk. All students in Remote Asynchronous Instruction who have engaged during the day prior to 2 p.m. will be marked as present (this will only be done on the first day of instruction).
- Attendance Clerks will No-Show students starting with the In-Person students after official attendance time and the Remote Asynchronous students after 2 p.m. (Instructions will be provided regarding Remote Asynchronous students who engage on the first day of instruction, but not until after 2 p.m. to remove the No-Show line)
We will be moving to online attendance on the second day of instruction. Class Rosters will be run as backup during the first week. Continue to account for any students that are on campus at official attendance time. All teachers will mark attendance at the official attendance time, with In-Person students being marked P (Present) and all others marked A/R (Absent/Remote). Teachers will then have 3 instructional days to adjust the Reason Code for the A/R marks. A student who engages in Remote Asynchronous instructions on the instructional day between midnight - 11:59 pm, will be marked RAL. Any attendance corrections to be made after the 3 instructional days will require documentation from the teacher (Absence Change Form).
YMCA After-School Program
You can find out more information HERE.
Back to School Professional Development
Alta Vista Lesson Planning Resources
- Alta Vista Dashboard (links to lots of campus information, websites, and Google docs)
- Proposed Master Schedule
- Safety Net Standards
- Virtual Lesson Plan Template
- 6 Week Assessments (still in editing)
- Know-Show Documents (click on grade level folder and subject)
- TEKS Resource System
- TEKS Guides (ELAR)
Meet the Teacher
School Reopening Resources & Requirements
Here are important resources you may need regarding our reopening plan.
- REVISED Instructional School Calendar
- Additional HR Resources
- TENTATIVE Campus Reopening Plan
- Waco ISD Instructional Framework for Online Learning
- Waco ISD COVID-19 Health Protocols
Please follow these guidelines as you return on Wednesday:
- All staff must wear masks.
- Follow social distancing guidelines.
- Self-screen prior to entering the building using the Screen & Go app and have your temperature checked in the office (before you go anywhere else in the building).
- Visitors are not allowed on campus. If you need assistance with heavy furniture, please see Ms Lessli Garcia, our new head custodian.
Classroom Furniture, Technology, and Resources
- To have furniture removed, put a "REMOVE" sign on the furniture and email Mrs. Helton. She will coordinate with the custodial crew on it's removal.
- To have technology components removed, put a "REMOVE" sign on the equipment and email Mrs. Alvarado. You may not remove the desktop computers from your room.
- If you have things you would like to giveaway, send an email to the Alta Vista School House with the items you have and put them in a box labeled FREE in your classroom (or give other specific instructions in your email).
- If you have a resource that you are not sure what do to with, email Mrs. Orchard for assistance.
- If you have furniture that needs to be assembled, emails Bonnie Berryhill for a work order.
Please have patience with the removal process. We are having to move lots of items already in storage to make room for the extra items you want out of your classroom.
NWEA MAP
Because we are now 1:1, you will be giving these assessments in your classroom under your direct supervision. Remember that TIA (teacher incentive allotment) and performance measures are tied to this student performance measure so it's important that we take this assessment seriously. Nancy Alvarado will be assisting with technical issues, but teachers will be responsible for setting up the proctoring.
You may hear the district talk about a screener called Renaissance 360. We are doing NWEA MAP (NOT Renaissance) per our Transformation Waco contract. However, students will have access to the Renaissance product suite (training coming soon).
NEW Required Training being Added to Safeschools
Texas Cybersecurity Awareness for Employees Program Training has been added to SafeSchools. It is required under House Bill 3834 for all state and local employees. Please make sure you complete it!
Instructional Technology Applications
These are the online programs we will have access to this year. All programs will be able to accessed through Clever.
- iRead- This is part of HMH and will replace Smarty Ants as the program for early literacy practice; iRead Online Support
- MYon and Freckle (programs through Renaissance; training on 8/31)
- Imagine Math
- HMH-online ELAR textbook
- Envision Math-online Math textbooks
- Stemscopes-online Science curriclum
- Zoom-see support HERE
- Itematica (online version of Mentoring Minds workbook); specific for just Alta Vista; coming soon!