Anchor Weekly
A newsletter for Alta Vista Staff~Week of April 1, 2019
Don't Forget! Next Week's Calendar
- Student Leadership Meeting on Wednesday, April 3 in the Inspiracion Room
- Faculty Meeting on Wednesday, April 3 **STAAR Security Training. ALL available staff must attend.**
- Behavior PLC on Thursday, April 4
- Region 12 Walkthrough on Thursday, April 4 focused on Visible Thinking strategies
- Grades due on Friday, April 5
Coming Up: STAAR Testing on April 9-10; House Buddy Day on Friday, April 12
Behavior PLCs
From Your Captain
No one achieves success alone. We all need a team to accomplish great things. Teams make movies, create songs, win championships, launch rockets into space, write software, design hardware, bring new products to market and turn around under-performing companies.
The truth is we are better together and together we become a powerful team. (Jon Gordon)
Please send Mrs. Helton one shopping cart PER GRADE from Lakeshore with your "prizes" from our games last Monday. The sooner these are turned in, the sooner they will be ordered.
All Things Summer School
Summer school will be at KENDRICK ELEMENTARY due to campus construction. The dates are: Monday-Thursday, June 4-27 from 8:00 am - 1:30 pm.
If you anticipate a student needs to go to summer school, the student needs to be added to the following tentative list by Monday, April 1: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dEqLaK5qnMrbjtsffdLGH-OqY7Epl0zcML37aVe6cuk/edit?usp=sharing
You need to meet with the parents of any student that is in danger of failing. Parents will also need to fill out the Summer School Application here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nbKAhabo0u1R0HiFDWdLiU3_L3lqLI1m/view?usp=sharing
Return completed summer school applications to Mrs. Maynard.
Here is the parent letters that you can share with the application:
ENGLISH: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17nzkzOSGll5B_B1sXXmcVUcb0azijA7H/view?usp=sharing
SPANISH: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DRq-YJUIeU-Oiy2dIzErVDqjUQCN0GVH/view?usp=sharing
If you are interested in working summer school, the application is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-zeUa12KCTs0LwjKmk8P9K1AUdZBjH2W/view?usp=sharing
The paraprofessional application for summer school is here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dL0lpuIZ0ca05LTJ0qttWQ_d4v5wmtZo/view?usp=sharing
The deadline for applying to work summer school is March 29.
Language Acquisition Summer School
n order to meet the 120-hour requirement of direct instruction for Language Acquisition Summer School, Waco ISD’s Language Acquisition Summer School will run during the following dates, days, and times:
Dates (with students): June 4th-July 2nd
Days: Monday- Thursday
Times: 8:00-3:35
Location: Bells Hill & Dean Highland
All current PK and Kindergarten LEP students will be invited. Applications and letters will be provided to parents in English and Spanish. The Bilingual Department will deliver the letters with students’ names and applicable information to campuses during the week of April 8. The letters will need to be sent home with students on April 11 per the Summer School Timeline.
Conscious Discipline
Please reinforce our MOST IMPORTANT SCHOOL AGREEMENT: Be Safe! My job it to keep you safe and your job is to keep the school safe.
Check out April Morning Meeting plans HERE. We will start our "Say Something" challenge on Friday to earn House Points. Email Mrs. Helton each Friday with the number of "Say Something" notes from your class to earn House Points.
April Behavior Incentives
Please record your weekly incentive plan here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1038TIJCYsmkCrSghch0wWEVmS70yFobe653Pz_Q0pvE/edit?usp=sharing
House Buddy Day
We would also like grades PK-2 to have a STAAR vocabulary parade in the afternoon.
Please get with your buddy class and start planning now! Let Mrs. Helton know ASAP what supplies you will need.
April Makerspace
We will continue the March Makerspace into April.
You can view the lesson HERE.
Staff Members of the Week!
Congratulations to Coach Williams for being our TEACHER OF THE WEEK for making sure our students learn the fundamentals, as well as learn to take care of themselves.
CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT
Classroom Communication
Ms. Williams had her students pair-share at least 3 times during a 15-minute observation. She monitored their conversations and asked probing questions to get students to extend their answers. She choose specific students to report out instead of calling on volunteers in order to hear from a variety of students and maintain a high degree of student accountability. It is clear that her students are very familiar with this process.
Ms. Rawles had students working in small groups (3-4) to discuss challenges plants face and find the matching adaptation. She also had them pair-share responses when she noticed she wasn't receiving quality responses from oral questioning. After students pair-shared their responses, participation and the quality of their answers went up significantly.
RESOURCE OF THE WEEK
Test Review Strategies
"Fixer Upper" from Lead4ward is my FAVORITE test review strategy for when you want students to review their mistakes on a test. It involves error analysis, justification, and collaboration. Check it out and let me know what you think!
Growth Mindset Game
Summer Professional Development
transformED conference
ESL Summer Academy
The English Learners Department will be offering a Summer ESL Academy for all Waco ISD teachers that are interested in ESL certification. This important workshop is highly recommended for emergency certified ESL Teachers and teachers on ESL waivers.
Please note: Teachers who received ESL Waivers during the 2018-2019 school-year will not be eligible for a waiver in 2019-2020. Thus, it is important that they attend this academy as it will help to prepare them for the ESL Certification exam. Please refer to the attached flyer for more information or contact the English Learners Department at 254-755-9512 if you have any questions.
PK & Kindergarten Summer Training
The following Early Childhood trainings will be offered at no cost through Region 12 this summer.
Please note: PK and Kindergarten teachers will be required to complete 15 hours of professional development in the area of Early Childhood during the 2019-2020 school year. The courses below will count towards the 15 hour requirement for the 2019-2020 school year.
PK Teachers:
• Early Childhood Conference, June 17th, Region 12, FREE, #148429
• Social Emotional Storytime, July 16th, Region 12, FREE, #167269
• I Can See This Number In How Many Ways, July 16th, Region 12, FREE, #168557
Kindergarten Teachers:
• Early Childhood Conference, June 17th, Region 12, FREE, #148429
• Social Emotional Storytime, July 16th, Region 12, FREE, #167269
• I Can See This Number In How Many Ways, July 16th, Region 12, FREE, #168557
How to register for the TransformED Early Childhood Conference:
- Register in Eduphoria
- See 'notes' section for PO#
- Register with Region 12 with PO# from Eduphoria
- Everyone will need to register in Eduphoria first and not just Region 12; this will help PD dept keep track of how many are registered so that they are only processing one PO and not multiple PO's
District Summer Professional Development
The district is working to finalize summer offerings for summer professional development to release next Friday, March 29th. All offerings will be available for registration in Eduphoria. For a preview, you can access the summer calendar at this link.
Similar to last year, Waco ISD will also cover costs to courses provided through Region 12 that are not covered in the Enhanced Curriculum Co-op contract.