Where will our children be in 2027?
LTN354 Weekly Memo 1.11.16
ONE LOVE SY15-16
Welcome back to our first full week of the new year! This week will test our professional stamina after such a short instructional week. However, your strong effort and intentional planning for our students will be rewarded with a three day weekend!
Last week, we spent time talking to students about the importance of focusing their efforts and attention on the work taking place in your classrooms as we prepare for this year’s Georgia Milestones Assessment in April. Please reiterate the importance of our 3-5 Georgia Milestones countdown effort. We are 56 days away from conquering the GAMS!- Thanks Mrs. Rencher!
We also spent time looking into the future! We planted seeds of inspiration and hope for our students by sharing with them their college graduation date. As teachers were hosting conferences with their students to frame the new year, one student shared that he was most excited about his graduation in the year 2027! This was probably the first time our students had ever been told such specific information about their future. Please continue to fan the flames of hope and endurance during your conversations with your students. My hope is that these conversations will be ongoing and made relevant to the instructional tasks being completed in your rooms. We will continue to increase our awareness efforts for our students and parents moving forward.
Last week, I mentioned that students would be taking home a card that read, “I,__________________ ,will be graduating from college in the year __________.” Unfortunately, due to the volume of information printed last week, those cards were not able to be printed and distributed for all grades. This week we will circle back to this task and get it completed. We will let you know when those documents are ready for distribution to our families. Below is the information that will also be posted in our hallways for our students to see.
My Future Begins Today:
What year will I graduate from college?
PK- 2033
Kindergarten- 2032
First- 2031
Second- 2030
Third- 2029
Fourth- 2028
Fifth- 2027
Walkthroughs and Formative observations/conferences:
Those of you who have only had one walkthrough will have your second walkthrough conducted and those with both walkthroughs will have your formative observation and conference conducted. Many of you have already received your formative date. You have also selected the 30 minute timeframe of your choosing. Mrs. Freeman and I will be observing all 10 TKES standards. However,
You will be responsible for uploading artifacts of evidence for the following standards within 24 hours of your observation:
Standard 5- Assessment Of and For learning
Standard 6- Assessment Uses
Standard 10- Communication
If you are uncertain about what to upload, please reach out to your grade level chair or Ms. Bussey.
Please note: You will not be given an extension nor will you be receiving a reminder email. If your evidence is not uploaded onto the TKES platform within the 24 hours, you will receive a 1 in that area.
This message is intended to set each of you up for success. We look forward to observing your instructional practices. Early congratulations and best wishes!
Winter Packets at LTN354:- Before we left for the break, winter work packets were sent to families and students in an effort to reduce instructional loss over the extended winter break. Below are the percentages of student returns (completed) by grade level, K-5:
K- 45/ 115 students = 39% (Ms. Adams had the highest return percentage)
1st- 42/ 116 students = 36% (Mrs. Webb and Ms. Wells had the highest return percentage)
2nd – 39/126 students = 31% (Ms. Claiborne had the highest return percentage)
3rd- 29/ 112 students = 26% (Ms. Bush and Ms. Cooper had the highest return percentage)
4th- 37/ 135 students = 27%
5th- 64/ 113 students = 57% !!!! (Mrs. Coleman had the highest return percentage) Congratulations to the Fab Five on such a high rate of return. Nicely done!!!
There are a few critical items to keep in mind this week.
Monday, January 11th – RACE writing tasks with rubric-based feedback are expected to be posted outside of classrooms by COB tomorrow. A variety of scores (1s and 2s) should be reflected and at least 10 student examples should be posted.
Admin. Meeting from 3-4:30pm.
Monday, January 11th- School Governance Council Meeting: Council members will meet at 6pm in the library for our first meeting of the new year.
Tuesday, January 12th- Collaborative Planning (GLT) meetings will focus on professional readings on Close Reading strategies in elementary schools. The article is included. GLCs will receive an email tonight with the protocol for Tuesday’s meetings.
Close Reading PD: Tuesday’s faculty meeting will be replaced by a professional development session on Close Reading with Ms. Cannon and Sonya Carter in the cafeteria at 2:45pm. This particular PD will only impact ELA teachers 3-5, SEC, EIP, and Power Hour teachers of levels Q-Z (Literature Circle). The Close Reading training for all other teachers (K-2, Power Hour teachers A-P) will take place next week.
Wednesday, January 13th- Admin. Meeting with SLC HR and Executive team from 3-5 pm.
Thursday, January 14th- Pizza and practice session # 1 from 5:30-7pm. Special thanks to those of you who have volunteered your time and expertise to support and lead this initiative with our parents. We are very excited about the opportunity to increase the capacity of our parents and family members.
Friday, January 15th- All SEC and General Ed. Report cards go home.
Submit the names of students who met the criteria for each award category by COB 3:30 pm. Please utilize the capture sheet provided by Mrs. May. Be on the lookout for this document. Grade Level Chairs may want to spend time with their teams on Thursday during GLT completing the capture sheet.
Monday, January 18th- MLK Jr. Day- Schools Closed.