Principal Memo
Empowering Every Student Everyday
August 30, 2020
Weekly Focus
It's time to continue with pre-assessing your students and introducing new concepts as well as reviewing previous grade-level concepts. Start developing activities that will build their skills and allow you to identify students for your Remote Wednesday sessions. This week everyone should target students for connection sessions on Wednesdays. When we focus on growth by designing instruction with an intentional focus on a student's skill gap, we make progress.
Remote Wednesdays are designed for small group sessions of no more than 8-10 students with a focus on a particular standard or skill gap. These sessions are also a good opportunity to target students who could benefit from a SEL session with you in a smaller setting.
Focus on excellence in all you do!
Administrator Grade-Level Assignments
Here are the 2020-2021 administrator assignments for grade-level support:
Grade 7- Mrs. Sherria Grubbs
Grade 8- Mrs. Ashley Lloyd
Attendance Procedures for Remote Learning
- For students who are non-digital and receiving work packets, attendance must be a two-way form of communication (i.e. phone calls, text messages, Remind messaging). This is to occur daily. Update PowerTeacher with code of 1R after making contact. These students must be "E1" as well when you make initial contact.
Students who are present remotely need to have a code of 1R entered each day.
All students will have an attendance code entered each day whether it be a 1R (Remote Present) or appropriate absence code.
Below are the codes available for teachers to use:
1A….Illness or Injury
1B….Medical/Dental Appt
1C….Death in Family
1E….Court/Admin Proc
1F….Religious Observance
1G…Educational Opportunity…must have prior approval
1L….Excused Tardy
2A….Unexcused Absence
2L…..Unexcused Tardy
3…….Suspension
1R…..Present Off Site(Remote Learning)
Remote Wednesday
- Students should have the Question of the Day completed by 1pm and you should be able to have your attendance in PowerTeacher by 3pm. I increased this by 1 hour to grant you more time to complete this requirement.
- Remote Wednesdays are designed for interventions and small group sessions with your students. This is a designated time to identify students who need extra support academically, SEL support, and enrichment. Send invitation link to these identified students. Coordinate with your team so everyone knows which students are attending sessions on Wednesday. Asynchronous (independent work) should be planned for your students. Attendance still needs to be taken for every student.
- Use a Question of the Day to confirm attendance on Remote Wednesday. It's a quick verification for you to use. Use one multiple-choice question. Please stick to this guideline and not make your attendance question an open-ended question.
- Digital students must be informed of this ahead of time so they know to visit your Google Classroom to check-in.
- Non-digital (paper packet students receive two-way communication)
- For students who submit late…there is a 1L code(Excused tardy) and a 2L code (Unexcused tardy) that can be used.
- The student is still considered present…just late.
Lesson Plans
- Lesson plans are due every Sunday by EVERY teacher by 5pm. Share with Administrators. Put you name as the title area, followed by which quarter. (Example: Williamson Qtr 1 Lesson Plans 20-21). This makes it easier to identify. An excellent example of this is one submitted by Ms. Goods. Others did this as well so kudos!
- Put the week of your lesson plans in the "Week of".
- Include the Knights Charge in your core 1. This is sort of like your homeroom block and sets the tone for each day: As Knights, we stand proud and tall. We are U-Knighted for excellence and achievement for all.
Staff Guidance-Reporting to Work
Non-Mandatory staff will be assigned to either cohort A or cohort B for reporting to work/school on August 17-September 11. Cohort A will report to school Monday-Wednesday and Cohort B will report onThursday and Friday the week of August 17.
The week of August 24, Cohort A report to school Thursday and Friday and Cohort B report on Monday-Wednesday.
The week of August 31, Cohort A report to work Monday-Wednesday and Cohort B report on Thursday and Friday.
The week of September 7, Cohort A report to school Thursday and Friday and Cohort B report on Monday-Wednesday.
Non-mandatory staff follow this staggered entry for two additional weeks. If you are a non-mandatory staff and desire to work additional days or everyday during the first two weeks, that is fine.
On days non-mandatory staff are not reporting to school, you will work from home and complete a teleworking log. Teachers, instructional specialists, counselors, media coordinators, social workers, assistant principals, and principals are considered non-mandatory staff. This means this group may be eligible to telework with supervisor approval.
Mandatory staff are not eligible to telework (custodians, receptionists, child nutrition, bus drivers, teacher assistants, data managers, bookkeepers, and other school-based clerical).
Employees are allowed to bring their own school-aged children to work until September 11, 2020. That's the four week marker when the superintendent will reassess our metrics. The presence of children must not prevent staff from performing their duties while at work. Children remain with parent in their room at all times.
Adhere to your cohort assignment. You are welcome to come daily if you prefer. I will create a google document to have documentation of who is in the building the next two weeks.
Certified Staff Cohort Assignments
Teleworking Log
Substitute Teacher/Out of Work Guidelines
When possible schools are pairing teachers together. When a teacher is absent they are responsible for sending a message to parents/students via LMS with the meeting links for their paired teachers. Teacher Assistants can be assigned to assist with moderating larger virtual classrooms. This works better in elementary schools.
Schools/Teachers may prepare asynchronous activities that can be utilized in cases of teacher absences. This may include videos and/or review activities.
When a teacher is absent they are responsible for sending a message to parents/students.
Other instructional staff without student supervision responsibilities (e.g., instructional coaches, ISS, tutors, etc.) may be assigned to facilitate instruction in case of routine absences.
School Arrival Guideline
School Arrival Time is 8:00AM. If you are late or absent for any reason, please contact Dr. Williamson and Ms. Yarboro. If you have been provided an exception, this does not apply.
If you leave the building anytime during the day, you MUST enter through the front of the school and be screened again. This includes temperature check and health questions. The campus is still considered a "closed" campus, therefore you must inform a school administrator if you need to leave the building.
Park in the front of the school or the parking lot near the auditorium. Park in any unreserved area. Your temperature will be checked every time you return to campus if you leave plus you must answer the health questions. No exceptions. This is per state guidelines.
If you bring your child (children) to school, this applies to them as well. Every school has received infrared thermometers for accomplishing this task. You must wear your mask and practice social distancing when you are on school grounds.
Be sure to notify me if you plan to bring your child to school prior to their first day. The district documentation must be signed by you. You can ONLY bring your children and they must remain in your classroom at all times.
Article of the Week- Repurposing Homework in the New Normal
Parent Technology Night
Teachers, please share the link to this event with your students via student email or post in Google Classroom. I can send this to all students in a mass email as well. Parents have been informed that their child will receive the meeting link in their email. We are hoping to avoid any unexpected disruptions if we share it only with students. I will send the link to a parent if they ask for it. This is to hopefully avoid any disruptors.
Here is the Zoom Meeting Information:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://gcs-k12-nc.zoom.us/j/84497167282?pwd=dmpPUFd6d2dHZmYwckRIdjhsWngzdz09
Meeting ID: 844 9716 7282
Passcode: 043161
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,84497167282#,,,,,,0#,,043161# US (Chicago)
+19292056099,,84497167282#,,,,,,0#,,043161# US (New York)
Thank you for promoting this parent engagement event!
Mark Your Calendars
- NCEES Initial PDP due by Sept 1(Mentor must sign all BT PDPs prior to meeting with Principal)
- School Leadership Meeting-September 2 @3:30pm
- MS ELA PLC- Sept 9th @3pm
- Parent Technology Night (Virtual)- September 3 @5:30-6:30
- Principal Lunch & Chat (8 select students - 6th Grade)- September 9 @12pm
- Muffins For Mom Drive-Through- September 15 @8:30-9:30
- District PD-No School for Students- September 17
Final Thoughts
We can do this!
U-Knighted For Excellence!