Anchor Weekly
A newsletter for Alta Vista Staff~Week of January 20, 2020
Don't Forget! Next Week's Calendar
- MLK (No School) on Monday, January 20
- Start Achieve3000 Level Set (Gr 3-5) on Tuesday, January 21 (Due 1/31)
- After-School Tutoring starts on Tuesday, January 21
- Leave all laptops/desktops ON and AT SCHOOL on Tuesday, January 21 (REQUIRED)
- OPTIONAL Google Classroom ADVANCED Training on Wednesday, January 22 at 3:30 pm in Library
- 5th Grade Field Trip to Planetarium on Friday, January 24
- Tentative Dates for Unit Assessments (Gr 1-5 Math/Reading) due to Helton on Friday, January 24
- Region 12 ELAR Full Day Coaching (Gr 4) on Monday, January 27
- Nurse Leathers out for CPR Training on Monday, January 27
- K-5 ELAR Curriculum Support on Tuesday, January 28 at 4 pm at North Waco Elementary
- Transformation Waco Board Meeting on Tuesday, January 28 at 5:30 pm at Transformation Zone office
- Faculty Meeting with Region 12/Judy York on Wednesday, January 29 **Bring laptop because we will be working on PBLs**
- Coaching Classroom Management Training on Wednesday, January 29 (Helton, Malcom, Rawles, Haskett, Gray)
- Foundations Day 4 Leadership Team Training on Thursday, January 30 (Helton, Orchard, Malcom, 1 Behavior Aide)
- Career Day on Thursday, January 30
- Reading PLC on Thursday, January 30
- K-5 ELAR Curriculum Support on Thursday, January 30 at 4 pm at North Waco Elementary
- BAS and Achieve Level Set due on Friday, January 31
- Region 12 Digital Innovation Team Meeting Hosted at Alta Vista on Friday, January 31 at 1-4 pm in Library
- Waco ISD UIL Meet on Saturday, February 1 at UHS
- CTCTM Spring Math Conference on Saturday, February 1 at Midway Middle School
Coming Up Soon: Student-Led Conferences during Week of 2/3/2020
Captain's Log
I appreciate everyone's hard work as we dive back into instruction. I saw some really great teaching this week in classrooms! Aides are doing a great job of positive reinforcement in the cafeteria-several classes have already earned 10 tepees and a class treat!
I know you all will continue to be amazing while I'm off campus most of the week (as will Ms. Orchard for TTESS). The rest of our leadership team will be here to assist you, and I'm always a text message away.
Please make sure you are preparing students for their student-led conferences. See below for more information. In the coming weeks, we will also be sharing more information electronically with parents about the importance of these conferences.
Mrs. Helton's Week At A Glance
- Monday-Sleeping :)
- Tuesday-LPAC Training off campus (morning); ARDs (afternoon)
- Wednesday-Action Coaching Training (all day) off campus
- Thursday-Action Coaching Training (all day) off campus
- Friday-
Teacher To-Do List
- Send Helton dates for tentative unit assessments (rest of year) for grades 1-5 ELAR/Math (1/24)
- BAS Testing (1/31)
- Practice with your UIL Teams (2/1)
- Schedule and have students prepare for student-led conferences (2/3)
- Complete intent to apply for Education Foundation grant (2/3)
- Record next lesson, share with friend, write reflection (2/21)
Conscious Discipline & CHAMPS
Please make sure you are working to recognize ALL homeroom students with an Anchored in Excellence. One great strategy is to pre-write each person's name on a note, hang on your door, and you (or a student) can pull it off and write the reason when it occurs!
January/February Morning Meeting Suggestions for Growth Mindset
PLCs
Make sure you check the PLC Notes Template to review "To-Do" items prior to PLCs each week. Bring your laptop, planning calendar and materials, assessment data, and student work samples each week.
1/23: Reading PLC with Achieve/Smarty Ants Training
1/30: Reading PLC
Resources:
Student-Led Conferences during Week of February 3
Week of 2/3/2020 (Late Night on 2/4/2020 until 7:30 pm)
- Form Letter
- Schedule-you will need to turn this in to Mr. Ward to document who you met with and attempts to schedule meetings with parents that don't attend
EXPECTATIONS: Students should be leading the data meetings. That means they need to be graphing their own data and practicing what they are going to say. It is highly recommended that each grade level develops a short script that coaches students on how to describe their goals and progress towards meeting them. Here's a great clip of a kindergarten student leading a conference.
Tribe Buddy Day: Valentine's Day Party
Education Foundation Grants-APPLY NOW!!
The 2019-2020 cycle funded 26 grants at 16 Waco ISD campuses, totaling nearly $114,000, and we look forward to another great year of exciting and innovative project proposals! A list of projects funded for this current school year can be found here.
The Foundation's funding focuses on the 4 areas of: early childhood development, extended education for staff, enhanced programming for advanced students, and emphasis on student performance, with additional interest in projects that focus on the fine arts, STEM, literacy, and enrichment. Grant readers and scorers are looking for creative projects that fall outside of what would normally be funded with standard campus or department budgets.
If you have any questions along the way, please don't hesitate to ask Lara Roberson, Jo Spark, or Lindsey Helton. They would all love to help you earn a grant for an innovative classroom project or idea!
Spring Break Academy Applications
As a selected Spring Break Academy teacher, you would have the opportunity to:
* Share your passion for math
* Drive meaningful student growth
* Share with and learn from other great educators in a highly-collaborative environment
* Help those who need you
AND earn $3,000.00 in compensation!
Please apply at: https://forms.gle/7kdUqfqha4wchRidA
Self-Care for You!
BREATHING…
We do it naturally, but we don’t breathe deep. A deep breathing exercise involves purposeful action to engage the entire body in mindfulness breathing.
Let’s practice this together…
Count to three as you breathe deeply all the way into your stomach…
Count to three as you hold that breath…
And finally exhale for three counts…
And REPEAT!
Notice anything?
This technique can be visualized in the shape of a triangle. Many people find it soothing to breathe while focusing on a triangle. As you inhale allow your eyes to travel from one corner to the next, as you hold the breath, scan your eyes to the next corner and as you let the air out your eyes will take you back to where you started.
It would be best to do this for five minutes a day, twice a day. HOWEVER, any moment you can take to breathe deeply, is not a moment wasted.
Lastly, this is something we can practice with our students and offer as a coping strategy!
Consider this your reminder to BREATHE!
Staff of the Week
Congratulations to Ms. Hill for being our STAFF OF THE WEEK. She is here on time every morning to supervise in the cafeteria, and she graciously helps out in the PK3 class when needed.
Vertical Planning & Coaching Days
- Math Planning Dates (Grades K-5): February 18
- Science Planning Date (Grades K-5): February 19
- ELAR Coaching Days: anuary 27 (4th Grade); March 23 (3rd Grade)
- ELAR Planning Dates: February 11 (3rd-5th Grade Full Day); April 22 (3rd-5th Grade Full Day)
For math and science, planning will be 1/2 day each from 12-4 pm. You will need to create a 1/2 day school business absence in TEAMS for the afternoon if you plan that specific subject (1 per grade level).
For reading in grades 3-5, planning will be a full day; you will need to create a full day school business in TEAMS for that day if you plan reading in grades 3-5. Please work with Ms. Bonnie to secure subs for these days (grades 3-5 only). Grades K-2 will use the aides assigned to their grade level.