Bay Lane Staff Bulletin - 11/16/17
Every student learning, growing, succeeding.
Staff Commitments
I believe all students are capable of achieving proficiency.
I am capable of fostering proficient readers.
I will use results to drive my work.
News and Updates
Update from the Security Office
Please remember to notify the security office, a minimum of one day in advance, when having parents/volunteers/chaperones come into school. We can have badges ready which will alleviate congestion when multiple classrooms have events taking place.
Also, when ordering food for lunch, please let the security office know you placed an order and if a tip was added to the total. It helps to keep the delivery people happy and on their way!
Office Referrals
Please remember it is critical to reach out to families the same of any incident that results in an office referral. Thank you!
December STAR Assessment
The STAR window for testing will be from Friday, Dec. 1 thru Thursday, Dec 7. We will be completing benchmarking between Dec. 4 -19 in order to prepare for the USM right after break. If students are absent, please do your best to have them take the test the day they return. If students have extended absences, let Stacey know so she can complete the assessments. If you have any questions, please let us know! Kristin and Kim
Preventing Phone Calls into Classrooms
Based on feedback, we are going to try a new approach to limit the number of phone calls into the classroom during instruction time. All students have a Chromebook and district email. When students are expecting items to be dropped off at school, they may simply check their email for the arrival notification of their items.
***When parents drop off items for students after the start of school, security office staff will email students directly on their district email accounts letting them know the item is here and placed on the table outside of the security office. Students are to pick up items during passing time.
When cold lunches are dropped off, the same system applies. If lunches have not been picked up by lunch time, security office staff will notify lunch aides and they will physically take lunches to lunchroom and search out students.
High Leverage Practices
As a district, our focus over the next three years is on the following high leverage practices. We would like to share some of the look fors related to these practices so that you can use them during PLC, co-teaching, and peer observations to support one another in growth. The following are look fors related to each strategy:
Close Reading
Students read with a purpose
Students annotate text
Students talk about what they’re reading
Students write, citing evidence from the text
Academic Conversations
Students engaged in dialogue focused on a topic
Students build on and challenge each other's ideas
Students elaborate on ideas & clarify their understanding through questioning
Students support ideas/ claims with evidence
Students paraphrase & synthesize ideas
Students are talking and listening to each other in discussions where they are agreeing, disagreeing, or debating, elaborating, connecting, etc.
Students create a dialogue about the topic
Students ask each other questions
Students synthesize and build on each other’s ideas
Students refer to text, connect to experiences, & think inferentially
Students incorporate academic language
Interactive Note Taking
Students practice structured note-taking
Students capture main ideas, key vocabulary, evidence, etc.
Students write questions
Students summarize
Students revisit notes with purpose
Questioning
Students ask each other questions to promote thinking
Students challenge each other’s thinking
Students answer higher level questions
Students can justify their responses or defend their thinking
Student effectively use question frames
Student-Led Goal Setting
Students understand their learning style
Students analyze academic/behavioral data
Students develop an action plan
Students monitor their goals
Students evaluate and revise their action plan
Student Voice and Choice
Students have authentic choices in instructional experiences
Students have opportunities to share their perspective
Students take ownership of their progress
Students are able to demonstrate their learning in different ways
Highly Functioning PLCs
Report: High-Functioning Professional Learning Communities Support Student Achievement
- By Leila Meyer 10/24/16
Participation in high functioning professional learning communities (PLCs) improves teacher morale, and higher levels of teacher morale are "significantly correlated with practices that drive student achievement," according to a new report from a Learning Sciences International(LSI) research team.
The report, "Did You Know? Your School's PLCs Have a Major Impact," examines the relationships between PLC effectiveness, teacher morale and student achievement. The team of researchers, led by Lindsey Devers Basileo, a senior research analyst for LSI, surveyed 2,854 educators from 60 schools in six United States school districts. More than half of respondents worked at high schools, 78 percent were classroom teachers and 92 percent said they attend PLC meetings.
The researchers asked survey participants how much time their PLCs spend discussing various practices and how those discussions affected their morale as teachers. More than two-thirds (68 percent) of respondents said participation in their PLC results in a high level of teacher morale. The researchers then correlated the PLC practices with teacher morale.
PLC practices that had a positive correlation with a high level of teacher morale include:
- Examining student work;
- Analyzing student achievement data;
- Developing standards-based lessons;
- Developing common standards-based scales; and
- Creating common assessments.
PLC practices that had a negative correlation with high levels of teacher morale include:
- Discussing building issues;
- Addressing student behavior; and
- Organizing grade-level or subject area events.
The report references a 2011 study from the University of Pittsburgh, which found "a significant correlation between student learning growth and school environments where positive teacher collaborations flourished."
Based on LSI's findings about PLCs and teacher morale, the report concluded that "higher levels of teacher morale significantly correlated with practices that drive student achievement," and it recommends that administrators "give teachers the tools and support they need to ensure that they are focused on the right work: work that will both boost morale and create the highest levels of social and human capital in their school environments."
PBIS
Feedback from a Student
A student was recently in the office and had an interesting reflection on why some of his classes are not going well. This is what he wrote down, "I wish my teachers were more strict. Some of them give me tons and tons of warnings so I keep messing around because I know I can. I need strict teachers I guess. I don't know why they keep giving me so many warnings."
Tip of the Month from your PBIS Team
Use humor when redirecting. Have a little laugh and get back on task! For example, if a student is getting out of his/her seat during instructional time or having a side conversation, you could say something like “Hey (insert name here)! Can you please wait on (insert behavior here) because you are WAY more popular than I am, and I don’t want everyone giving you their attention instead of me right now.” Or, if a student is making an unwanted noise (ex. Tapping a pencil or opening a snack), say, “Hey little drummer boy! Save your little pa-rump-a-pump-pump for band!” or “Hey crunchy! Hold on til I’m done!”
Behavior Data for October
See the link
Team to Focus on Gender and Behavior Referrals
After analyzing our school wide office discipline referral data, we noticed that our school has a large discrepency when disaggregating our data by gender. So far this year, boys are almost 8 times as likely to receive a referral as girls. Based on this disparity, we decided the best plan of action would be to do some research on the differences between boys and girls. This has led to the initiative of the book study that 27 of our staff members have volunteered to be part of! Thank you for taking time to help us to close the gap between genders.
Increasing College Going Culture at Bay Lane
Academic and Career Planning in the district (or ACP) is now officially called PHP (Post High School Planning).
Updates:
- Career Cafe Sign-up Genius is out in the community and sent to parents to sign up for speakers/presenters. Cafe dates and topics will be announced following Thanksgiving Break.
- In conjunction with Student Council, a College and Career week will begin the last week of November with week-long activities and challenges for students and staff. Stay tuned for an update from Student Council!
- Our first homeroom challenge for College Wear Wednesdays will be held during College and Career Week (November 29th).
Engaging Parents
This is the second year of our parent engagement team at Bay Lane. This year, the team is specifically working to grow in the area of "I regularly receive feedback from school staff on how well my child is learning." A huge thank you to all who helped us take steps to improve this score by including specific comments for students with D's and F's on report cards. This specific information helps families have a clear understanding of how to support their child. We (& parents) appreciate the extra time it took!
In addition to student specific report card comments, we are asking all staff to help us communicate with families. We are asking that by Tuesday, November 21st every staff member send home 3-5 postcards home to parents about a specific academic accomplishment a student has made in your class. For example:
- Just wanted to let you know that John scored a 3 on his latest assessment for angles and triangles. All his hard work and extra time he spent studying really helped!
- Abby's retention of her Spanish vocabulary is really strong. She shared with me she's been using flashcards and quizlet. Keep up the great work!
We know these cards make a huge impact on students and their families, and appreciate you taking the time to reach out and strengthen our connection with parents. Thank you!
Student Agency at Bay Lane
Important Dates Ahead
- Kelly Ann's Birthday - All Day!
- Art Around the World Class to Field Trip 9:00-1:15 pm
Tuesday, November 21
- Who will be the Turkey for the day?
- 8:45 am-noon - Grade 5 to Wonder field trip
- 12:30-3:05 pm - Quarter 1 celebration based on each grade level's decisions
Wednesday-Sunday, November 22-26 No Students; No School
Thursday, November 23
- Happy Thanksgiving!
- Liz Einwalter's Birthday!
Monday, November 27, 3:15 pm - EOTG team meeting, PPS conference room
Tuesday, November 28, 2:30 pm - Grade 7 & 8 MNS Choral Festival
Wednesday, November 29
- Barb Izzo's & Lisa Reedy's Birthday
- 2:00-7:00 pm Magazine Fundraiser delivery - help support - sign up in the BL calendar
Friday, December 1, 7:00 pm - Teen Center
December 1-7 STAR Assessment; see message above
Saturday, December 2 - Jeremy Bergum's Birthday
Thursday, December 7, 9:00 am-2:30 pm Gr 7 Field Trip to Christmas Carol
Tuesday, December 12 - New teachers STAR training
Thursday, December 14, 9:00 am-2:30 pm Gr 8 Field Trip to Christmas Carol
Important Links
Help Desk - Technology or Custodial
District Assessment CalendarPositive Contact Log- Core Teachers
Positive Contact Log- Encore Teachers/PPS/Administration
Student Team Bobcat Nomination Form
Staff Member Team Bobcat Nomination Form
*Please email Dawn or Rachel if you'd like us to add an Important Link.