Huggins Herald
Staff Newsletter
March 5, 2023
A message from Bethany...
Howdy Huggins Staff!
I hope you have had some time to take advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend! Sure feels like spring break is headed our way! You've got one week until a break...YOU CAN DO THIS! :)
This week, we will be starting after school tutorials for selected students in third, fourth, and fifth grade. If you have a student that is staying for tutoring, please have them go to the library for dismissal. Ms. J will be there to ovsersee the students. Tutors will pick up from the library by 3:15pm, as tutoring is scheduled from 3:15-4:00pm. A tutoring module will be created in Canvas, and the tutoring roster will be uploaded on MOnday by the coaches. Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade Teachers...please be sure to review the tutoring roster prior to dismissal each day so that you know who is supposed to stay. I want to again say a huge thank you to those that have taken a tutoring group. It certainly takes a village, and I so appreciate the willingness to support our kids! If it is your day to tutor, you have received a jeans pass to wear on your designated days. We know it's not much, but anything to make the day just a bit easier for you for your extra efforts!
On Friday evening, I received our staffing allocations for the 23-24 school year. These allocations only include general education. We have not been provided staffing information for our special education allocations or units at this time. For the 23-24 school year, we are allocated the following teaching units in each grade: Pre-K - 3, Kinder - 8, First - 6, Second - 6, Third - 7, Fourth - 8, Fifth - 6. It's hard to believe but we have officially entered hiring season! Please help spread the word as we will want to interview and hire as quickly as possible. The intradistrict transfer window is set to open at the end of March. If your plans have changed from what you have put on your purple faculty planning guides, it is really important to let me know so that we can plan accordingly. I know there was some concern about secondary school start times and those of you have have personal kiddos at that level. We have been told that they are working on a plan to ensure our secondary kids will still get bus service to their secondary campuses, regardless of start time.
This week, we celebrate School Diagnostican's Week! We want to send a special shout out to LeeAnn Esteves, our school diagnostician, as well as Shannen Garrett and Savanah Dixon, our ARD Facilitators, for their hard work supporting our special education population.
Finally, I want to thank everyone that comtributed to the Rayburn staff fund that we collected. Through your generous giving, we were able to provide the Rayburn family with a Visa Gift Card over $200 from the Huggins Staff to help cover various expenses they are facing. Please continue to keep this family in your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.
Here is to a breautiful week...you sure do deserve it.
Love,
BC
Upcoming Events
School Diagnostician Week
Monday, March 6th: Camo with jeans (if paid into Sunshine), 3rd Grade to Long Acres Ranch, Sunshine Committee Meeting
Tuesday, March 7th: Professional Dress, Hold Drill
Wednesday, March 8th: Professional Dress, 2nd and 5th Switch Specials, TELPAS Testing, Team Leader Meeting CANCELLED
Thursday, March 9th: Charger Thursday with jeans, Fifth Grade Wax Museum (please note that the gym will be set up in the morning for the wax museum. Grade level lines may need to adjust where they sit to account for the tables during morning arrival)., Jucker Baby Shower
Friday, March 10th: Huggins Spirit Day
Monday, March 13th - Friday, March 17th - Spring Break!
Monday, March 27th - Kid Chats
Kinder Request
Kindergarten is in need of printer paper box LIDS for a science project after Spring Break. We need as many as we can get! THANK YOU!!!
Watch DOGS This Week!
Watch D.O.G.S on Duty:
Mr. Little will send a seperate email.
Please take a look at the Watch D.O.G.S. schedule, so you are prepared for a day at Huggins with Watch D.O.G.S. Part of their day will be spent in the front office supporting job level requests. Please utilize these dads while they are on campus to support you even if they don't have a child in your grade level. Feel free to send copies you need made, information about when they can come do a read aloud, support in the science lab, helping in the library, or anything else you can think of! They are here to help, so let's put them to work.
Special Education - IMPORTANT - repeat
Failure ARDS - Please note that we will begin implementing failure ARDS for our special education students that make below a 70% in any content area. For students with IEPs, we have a legal obligation to ensure they are successful on their plan. When students fail on their report card, that is demonstrating lack of success and we need to consider what adjustments need to be made to their IEP to change that.
We will be working to develop a monitoring plan for the third grading period. It is essential that our general education teachers and case managers are keeping the lines of communication open when our special education students are struggling in class so that we can intervene BEFORE report cards.
I want to also reinerate the obligation we have to adhere to our student's IEPs. This includes the schedule of services that are outlined in their plan. Laura has worked tirelessly (while the team is short-staffed), to consistently make adjustments to the sped schedule to ensure our students are still receiving their minutes...even when there is a change in schedule. When our special education team members push into classrooms, it is essential that they are working directly with students. At no time should a teacher tell the staff member that they do not need the support for that day/time. Additionally, if you are a general education teacher and you are not receiving your support based on the support schedule (or modified version when Laura sends one), you must let me know so that I can intervene. These are legal documents that we must adhere to. If you have questions/concerns, please email me so that we can schedule a time to talk.
Campus Walkthrough Focus - Repeat
As we move into the new year, we will be refining our walkthrough feedback to best meet the needs of our teachers. We are shifting from one specific dimension for the campus, to differentiated dimensions for each teacher to best support individual growth. You will notice that the dimensions we provide feedback on will be directly related to observation feedback/goals, your TTESS goals, or other areas of targeted growth. If there is a specific dimension that you are wanting feedback on, please let Kyle and I know so that we can best support you. Our goal is to ensure ALL teachers feel supported in our quest for continuous improvement.
Please remember that learning objectives should be displayed in student-friendly language on your board. This includes the ELPS and should be reviewed directly with your students at the start of your lessons. Remember, we want students to be able to orally express what they are learning.
Important Reminders - repeated!
- Tuesdays and Thursdays during planning are sacred days devoted to team collaboration. This is a time for teams to meet and collaborate, so nothing else should be scheduled.
- All plans should be finalized and inputted into the lesson documents before meeting on Thursday as a team. This allows your teammates to review and ask questions if needed.
- All materials needed for the following week should be provided on Thursday when teams meet departmentally.
- Minors and majors should be in SharePoint so they are easily accessible. Please be sure you are copying these assignments and placing them into the SPED folder under the proper grade/subject areas. Not coplying with this expectation create a barrier for many.
- TEKS must be included on all minors and majors (if more than 2 TEKS are covered, the TEK must be listed directly beside each question).
- For conferences- if a student is failing a subject, that teacher must be present. Conferences are a collaborative effort- work with your partner to plan accordingly so parents have as much information as possible and aren’t blindsided if failing grades are coming home.
Lauren Fisbeck: Yennifer- Wow! What can I say besides THANK YOU! You came in and stepped up and are teaching these kids some amazing things! Thanks for being there for me...and the kids. This zone rotation has been a dream with you! We're all blessed by you!! Alyssa- thank you for keeping all of our sugar levels high with all the tasty treats! 🤣 We appreciate you! Can't wait to celebrate you and sweet Princess K this week! 4th grade team- thank you for always coming together to brainstorm, monitor and adjust and most of all- for being so collaborative! Love you all so much!!
Amanda R.- thank you for always being willing to help a girl out! From a listening ear to guidance on how to do things in my class to lending us books for our read aloud- you're always there for me!
LJ & Sarah S.- thank you for stepping in to help during Cranium and HT! You ladies are amazing and always there when needed. I appreciate you both!!! Angela- thank you for always saving the day (whether it be glue, pipe cleaners, mod podge, etc.). What you've done in these Huggins hallways does not go unnoticed. It looks beautiful and I love watching the kids beam with pride seeing their artwork hanging up. Reminder- The Jucker's baby shower/HH at Fisbeck's house this Thursday (after school)!
Sarah Milliman - Emily Conner- you are INCREDIBLE and we so appreciate everything you do for our kiddos! We are so blessed to have you <3
Alyssa Jucker - Thank you Marleny, Ashley, Amanda, and Josh for everything last weekend at Science Olympiad. The kids did amazing and everything went smoothly because of all of you!
Isabelle Fohner - Thank you, Rochelle, for closing Pegasus on Tuesday! Thank you, Emily Conner, for helping me through my medicine side effects earlier this week lol
Bethany Cunningham - Thank you Laura Johnston, Jennifer Brewer, Sarah Solano, Laura Young, and Sarah Milliman for giving up for Saturday for Job Fair! Thank you Ale Terry for facilitating ALL.THE.THINGS. Thank you Sarah Geno for setting up RTI meetings based on our dyslexia screeners.