Monday Morning Motivation
Central Elementary Staff News----January 25-January 29
The Power of a Mentor
Dear Staff,
Although Diana W. will not like this attention, it is the only way to share the excellent work she has been doing leading our Study Buddy program and our Poverty Book Study here at school. Ultimately, the program is a team effort between the teachers, the volunteers and the coordinator of the schedule. So this message is to celebrate team here at school, who work together on this program.
Through the Study Buddy Program many children receive one-on-one attention with an adult committed to helping students academically. However, the program is so much more than that. It really is a life-changing, mentoring program.
On Friday, I noticed a student who does not have strong parent support home, beaming from the attention of his study buddy. He was openly talking and smiling with his buddy, and it was so good to see. When I was relaying this observation with Diana, she shared that another Study Buddy talked with her about one of our students, who just talks and talks with her when they meet. We were both so surprised because this is not a side of him we have seen. The mentor speaks so highly of this young man, who can be a challenge in the classroom at times. Knowing that we are about educating the whole child, it makes me glad to have this program in our school. Thank you Diana for working so hard to make this happen!
According to the book, Teaching with Poverty in Mind, "Teachers who are sensitive to their students and who openly share their enthusiasm for learning and their belief in their students' abilities can help buffer low-SES kids from the many risks and stressors they experience in their lives (Zhang & Carrasquillo, 1995). Disadvantaged elementary students who felt connected with their teachers showed improvements in their reading and vocabulary abilities"(Pianta & Stuhlman, 2004).
Mentors serve all kinds of roles in the lives of students. They can demonstrate a passion and enthusiasm for learning, offer academic help, listen, point students in the right direction, and direct students to services needed.
Diana has many success stories from this program. Last week she sent the following email to the Study Buddy volunteers. One volunteer was so inspired by the work she was doing that she asked for a copy of the book we are reading.
From Diana
We do value the service that you bring to our students I’ve recently been leading a book study here at school, of an interesting book, “Teaching with Poverty in Mind,” by Eric Jensen. Here is a quote from that book: “…mentored students
- Were more optimistic about their academics
- Were less likely to miss or skip school
- Engaged in fewer antisocial activities
- Were less likely to initiate drug or alcohol use
- Earned higher GPAs
- Were less likely to hit someone
- Were less likely to lie to a parent
- Experienced better peer relationships
- Were more likely to give emotional support to classmates and friends.”
Have I told you lately how proud I am to be the principal of Central Elementary School?
Have a great week!
Julie
A Week at a Glance
Central Calendar
MONDAY, January 25
- STAR 360 Benchmark testing begins
- PTO meeting 7:00 p.m. Cafeteria
TUESDAY, January 26
- Poverty Book Study 7:45 a.m.
- WIDA testing begins
- Battle of the Books
- Smekens Professional Development 3:50-4:50 at Clarks Creek.
WEDNESDAY, January 27
- Title One Data due to Karen
- WIDA testing
- Battle of the Books
- Building Discussion Meeting
THURSDAY, January 28
- WIDA Testing
- Battle of the Books
FRIDAY, January 29
- Battle of the Books Final Round! Go Central!
Announcements and Reminders
Assuming things continue to go well, we will begin taking students outside for recess starting January 25 if weather and temperatures permit. Students will be carefully monitored at recess and kept inside should any safety concerns arise.
Please remember to have your lesson plans out on your desk.
Please return your data to Karen by Wednesday, January 27, so we can get this to Pat T. asap
Benchmark and Cogat Schedule is out! Testing begins January 25th.
If you are interested in using the display cases next to the gym, please let Karen or Margaret know as we are looking for student works displays.
Orientation for 5th graders will be held at the Middle School on February 4th at 9:00 a.m. Thanks for your flexibility 5th grade teachers!
Mouthpiece testing for 5th grade students is Thursday, February 11th
1:40-2:05 p.m
2:05-2:30 p.m.
2:30-2:55 p.m.
2:55-3:20 p.m.
February 16th and 18th there will be a parent band meeting at the Middle School.
Valentine's Parties
- The parties will run for 30 minutes and include 1 game, a snack, and rest of the time for the students to look at Valentine cards.
- In an effort to control the number of people in our building due to a heightened sense of security, we are staggering the parties. We have tried to put them as close to the end of the day as we could, but not too close so people won't leave with their children.
- Party TImes
- 1:10--1:40 4nd and 5th Grade (This cuts into 5 minutes of 5th grade recess. We will coordinate Cogat so students will not miss parties.)
1:55--2:25 2nd and 3rd Grade (This cuts into 10 minutes of 3rd grade team time)
2:30-3:00 Kindergarten and 1st Grade
See me if there are major concerns
The PTO will ask parents who want to volunteer to work through you to make sure they have a background check and you can control the numbers.
Jen Nanny and Rene Hauck will put the game together
Curriculum and Instruction
STAR 360 Report
Sometime this week the RTI committee representative from your grade level is going to show you how to access this report. You are welcome to try on your own.
Student Growth Percentile (SGP)
What is it?
A Student Growth Percentile, or SGP, compares a student’s growth to that of his or her academic peers nationwide. Academic peers are students in the same grade with similar achievement history on STAR assessments. SGP is reported on a 1–99 scale, with lower numbers indicating lower relative growth and higher numbers indicating higher relative growth. For example, if a student has an SGP of 90, it means the student has shown more growth than 90 percent of academic peers.
What is the difference between Percentile Rank (PR) and SGP?
Percentile Rank and Student Growth Percentile are very different metrics. Percentile Rank is an achievement score that describes a single point in time. Student Growth Percentile is a growth measure that describes student growth between points in time. Both measures are norm-referenced, but they have different norming groups. The norming group for Percentile Rank is all students in a particular grade level. The norming group for Student Growth Percentile is each student’s own “academic peer” group. See chart in the email.
When looking at the report, here's what you need to know regarding student scores:
High Growth 65 and above
Typical Growth 35-65
Low Below 35
Spring Assessments!
- WIDA English Language Learner Assessment January 25-29 (only for ELL students)
- Cogat High Ability Assessment February (all students in kindergarten and second grade and those students new to the district)
- STAR 360 Math and Reading February (all students grades k-5)
- ISTEP Part 1 Window February 29- March 11, 2016
- I-Read-3 Window March 14 - March 18, 2016 (all third grade students)
- ISTEP Part 2 Window April 18-May 6, 2016 (all students grades 3-5)
Very Important ISTEP Information/Resources Grades 3-5
Please take some time to review the updated resources on the DOE. Additionally, I will sent an email with all the information, including a PowerPoint. At the end of last week, I put printed materials in your mailbox. Students should be exposed to ISTEP sample problems once a day!
Look at the grade-level pdf resource guides.
http://www.doe.in.gov/standards/mathematics
http://www.doe.in.gov/standards/englishlanguage-arts
http://www.doe.in.gov/assessment/istep-grades-3-8
The IDOE is pleased to announce the ISTEP+ “Experience” opportunity is now available through Pearson. Experience is presented via the Pearson online platform (TestNav 8) that will be used for ISTEP+ online testing, as well as IREAD-3 online testing. The purpose of Experience is for students, educators, parents, and community members to see how test items similar to those on the ISTEP+ Part 2 assessment are presented in the online system. Experience makes a great classroom-based activity!
http://www.doe.in.gov/assessment/experience-online
Overview: Experience (ePATs)
Pearson provides Electronic Practice Assessment Tests (referred to as “ePATs”) for Indiana’s Experience opportunity. ePATs make it possible for students, educators, parents, and community members to experience various technology-enhanced item types that will appear on the ISTEP+ Part 2 assessment as often as they like from home, at school, or on mobile devices. ePATs use the same TestNav 8 tools, navigation, interface, and infrastructure as the online ISTEP+ assessments, providing students with a more authentic, low-stakes way to practice and become familiar with online testing and technology-enhanced items. Practice opportunities such as these enable students to become comfortable with the technology used for online testing before they take ISTEP+, allowing them to better demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have gained in the classroom.
Accessing Experience
To access the Experience TestNav 8 forms, Pearson recommends that students only use officially supported devices, browsers, and operating systems. Other devices and hardware/software combinations could result in students experiencing incorrect formatting, functionality, or other unanticipated issues. For a list of currently supported platforms, please refer to the TestNav 8 System Requirements page at support.assessment.pearson.com/display/TN/TestNav.
Guidance Regarding English/Language Arts and Math Experience Online Items
· English/Language Arts Experience Online Guidance Video (link is external)
Professional Development!
Handouts for the PD this week will be in your mailbox. More information about where you will be going to follow in an email.
- Please mark your calendars for the following district-wide professional development:
- January 26th for Literacy Stations #1: Using the Classroom Library to Build Stamina (K-5)
- February 9 for Literacy Stations #2: Implementing Literacy Stations for Fluency (K-5)
- February 23 for Literacy Stations #3: Implementing Literacy Stations for Word Work (K-5)
- March 8 for Literacy Stations #4 and #5) Implementing Listening and Reading (K-5)
Celebrate Staff
- Attendance for the week was up to 98.02 percent! We are Back to our regular numbers! :)
- Our poverty book study and school mentor programs.
- Thank you to Karen and Margaret for working hard to update our bulletin board each month.
- Thanks to Kindergarten and 1st grade teachers for working so hard on the 100th day of School Activities! They were so fun to watch. I especially liked all the creative clothing, counting activities and exercise stations.
- We appreciate you incorporating the local library in Literacy Day!! The rotations between classrooms provided variety and high interest activities. Students especially like following recipes.
- A very successful fire drill!