HAWK HAPPENINGS
The official newsletter of Hillcrest Elementary Staff
Every single student, every single day, in every single way.
May 19, 2019
Calendar image not loading today for some reason --click on calendar link below
MUST READ
ARE YOU A ROWER, A PASSENGER, OR A DRILLER?????
FINISHING STRONG
SCIENCE ASSESSMENT
Reminder: DTSDE Survey
By now you should have received an email with a link to the annual INSIGHTS survey which is commonly referred to as the DTSDE survey. This is the survey Caroline references in her email to you regarding the behavior at Hillcrest. Please be sure to complete the survey as honestly and as thoroughly as you can. Although we can't see who filled it out, we can see that so far 28 people from Hillcrest have filled it out (of about 60-70 who received the link). We have also sent a link out to parents to encourage them to complete the online version of the parent survey, but we will also have paper copies available here in the office and lobby for parents who do not have internet access. A letter has been backpacked home about the survey as well.
STUDENTS:
Below is the link for the student version of the survey, which you will have to post within your google classroom for students to complete. Until we receive the Chromebooks back, it may require classes to sign out the computer lab, or to create a rotational station in your classroom for students to participate. The link to the survey is: https://survey.k12insight.com/p/Peekskill18-19ElementaryStudents
The login is the student's firstname.lastname just like their network username.
May June Family Newsletter
Here is a link to the March/April if you would like to see what you did last time.
DARE trips for Grade 5
LESSON PLANS
Reminder: MOTHER'S DAY/FATHER'S DAY
It's also important to think about gifts and cards for Mothers and Fathers. I know this is often a classroom tradition, but given our diverse demographics, we may not know a student's background, or what these holidays may trigger for them. Merely saying "We are doing this activity for Father's Day, but you can give it to a grandfather, uncle, or some other important person in your life" doesn't prevent a child from feeling sad, angry, frustrated, lonely, etc. It serves as another public reminder of the loss of void in their life, which a peer may or may not understand or be empathetic towards. On the other hand, school is sometimes the only place where students can have access to materials to make a card or gift.
You might have some clever ways around this already. Some ways to try to support students who wish to make cards or gifts is to plan some craft or activity that yields a product which students may choose to give to a relative for an upcoming holiday, though not specifically described as a "Mother's Day" or "Father's Day" activity. You can also provide students with some free time and some art materials the Thursday or Friday before the holiday, and some students will take the initiative to make cards or letters. You likely have other ways, too, to set students up to honor the important people in their lives, without conjuring up sad or angry feelings or causing a child to feel "singled out."
I'm sure you are already aware of this, and likely have such plans in place, but I just wanted to remind you. Thank you for all that you do to remain sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of our students and their families.
PROGRESS REPORTS
STUDENT PORTFOLIOS
As we continue to refine our student portfolio system, please plan to have samples of student writing from each of the units this year (if you haven't given them away already for previous units). Plan to have drafts, published piece, and rubric to be part of the student's portfolio for each unit, as well as the final F&P. We should also plan to send some end-of-unit Math Module Assessments, and maybe the Interim Assessment.
CLASS PLACEMENT 2019-2020
ACCELERATED MATH/SCIENCE AT PEEKSKILL MIDDLE SCHOOL
END-OF-YEAR ASSESSMENT CALENDAR
May 20th- Dual Language begins to F & P
May 28th- All other teachers begin to F &P
Jun 7th- Report card window opens
June 10th- Begin Aimsweb
June 14th- All F & P's must be complete/Aimsweb must be complete/Data needs to be entered into IC and Google
June 17th- Report card window closes
The reading teachers will take care of the SLO info as they have in the past with the Aimsweb data.
REMINDER re: QUICK WINS: Actions Required
We will be moving ahead with the Quick Wins recommended by the State. I wanted to provide the links for the articles I provided previously. See the post below from the previous Hawk Happenings:
Thank you to everyone who responded to the surveys regarding the QUICK WINS from the state visit. We look forward to incorporating your feedback into the implementation of the quick wins. As briefly discussed at the voluntary debrief meeting after the state's visit, each of the quick wins comes directly from feedback and observation from the stakeholder groups. They are meant to be easy-to-implement changes that feed into and build momentum towards the recommended Short Term and Long Term Priorities. To better understand how the quick wins are connected to best practices in education, I've compiled a few short articles that can help illustrate why these were chosen.
1) Provide Differentiated Professional Development: Read about Why Don't We Differentiate Professional Development? or How We Can Fix Professional Development
2) Provide Student Choice on Reading Response Homework:
Read this article on Differentiating by Providing Choices or 10 Ways to Give Students More Control Over Their Education
3) Create a school-wide system for sending at least 2 pieces of student work home to parents each week. Read about how Weekly Folders Deliver News from School to Home
Stay tuned for more information on how we will roll out the above-mentioned quick wins!
HILLCREST CONCERT TUESDAY May 21
Family Math Night
MATH HAPPENINGS
- DR. ARDITO will NOT be here this week; he will be back after Memorial Day