HAWK HAPPENINGS
The official newsletter of Hillcrest Elementary Staff
Every single student, every single day, in every single way.
February 10, 2019
MUST READ
Weekly Announcements
Teachers: when it is your class' turn, please send your 2-3 volunteers to the office right away so they can begin announcements at 8:30.
COMPILING WORK FOR SUSPENDED STUDENTS
Hillcrest joins Hudson Valley Financial to support
Hudson River Financial FCU will be collecting a variety of items to donate to the Putnam/Northern Westchester Women's Resource Center, which provides resources and counseling to families affected by domestic violence. We hope you join us in contributing to this worthy cause. Items of need include:
- New Household Items (toiletries, home supplies)
- New Bedding/Bath Items (towels, sheets, etc.)
- New School Supplies
- Baby/Toddler Supplies (Diapers, wipes)
Collection date ends February 15th.
What Teachers Can Do To Be More Inclusive Of LGBTQ Students
READING ROCKSTAR MINUTES
Reminder: FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER
PLEASE send the link to the electronic version of the newsletter in any class email correspondence or in your Remind! or Class Dojo blasts to families in order to maximize readership. You can copy and paste the link from here:
Reminder: WIN SUSPENDED FOR ASSESSMENTS FEB. 6 - 15
BULLETIN BOARD WARS!!
If we have to postpone Bulletin Board Wars again, we will try to make it up Wednesday, February 13. This way bulletin boards will still be ready for our guests at the end of the month.
Some hints to meet expectations and boost your chances of winning:
- Be creative!
- Work should represent grade level standards and represent most/all of your class.
- Include a description of the TASK.
- Include a copy of the RUBRIC.
- Include a glow and a grow on student work (preferable either on an individual student rubric copy or on post-it notes -- do not write on student work)
- Reference the standards addressed.
ELA HAPPENINGS (All are reminders from last week)
- Student Reading Growth Goals: We are striving for students in red and yellow to make two F&P levels before the next assessment. Students who are in green and blue should make 1.
- Miscue Analysis follow-up
Please begin to update the Reading Tracker during your technology time with the information from your miscue analysis on your F&P assessments
To do this, please use the code at the top of your sheet which says: KEY for this section: + means consistently, -- means sometimes, 0 means rarely. So, in the case of M (Meaning), S (Syntax), and V (Visuals), you place a "+" if they use that cueing system consistently, a "-" if they do sometimes, and a "0" if they rarely use it.
The question was raised as to whether or not teachers should wait and use the new F&P data for this, or to go back to the November F&P data. The information we are looking to share on the Tracker for your use (and your WIN teacher's use) is not likely to change much at all from one administration of the assessment to another. The cueing system student rely most on is likely a constant, and unless they receive explicit instruction in the one they use least, they will likely continue to use it the least. The sooner we get the information entered, the sooner people can start using it to guide instruction. If you wait until the new F&P assessments are all completed, the data may not be used until after the state ELA assessment, as we will begin using data from last week's interim assessments for WIN groups after the February break.
MATH HAPPENINGS
Dr. Ardito is scheduled to be here on Tuesday and Thursday this week. Check your inbox for an email with the schedule from Crystal coming soon.
REMEMBER THE "WHY?"
UPDATE on the IIT (formerly DTDSE Team) TO VISIT HILLCREST FEB. 26-28
The presentation from the faculty meeting reminding you about our SCEP work which was shared at the meeting can be found HERE, and the information about the CSI school reviews, in general, can be found at THIS LINK.
Remember the key items that we are working on:
Content/Language Objectives
Content: What do the students need to learn?
Language: How are they using language to learn it?
The “Why?” of Instruction- How does this content relate to the students’ everyday lives. This can be a question that is asked at the beginning of each lesson, or as an exit ticket.
Meaningful student discussions prompted by higher order questions/teaching students to ask higher order questions
Data Driven Instruction
Randy and Crystal will be watching a webinar from 10am-12pm on Monday with respect to this process. We will share any information we gather.
ROCK THE MOCK -- FOLLOW-UP and INSTRUCTIONAL IMPLICATIONS
Classroom teachers should be finalizing the item analysis for the ELA and Math Interim Assessments. We will use this information to create new WIN groups that will start in March.
Reminder: STUDENT ATTENDANCE
Reminder: BLACK HISTORY MONTH
http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/bhm-curriculum-resources-gradesK-5.html
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collections/teaching-content/black-history-month/
https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/black-history-month/
https://www.weareteachers.com/7-fresh-ideas-for-black-history-month/
https://www.weteachnyc.org/resources/collection/black-history-month-resources-teachers/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/2014/02/black-history-month-teaching-resources/
How will your class commemorate Black History Month? Let us know so we can spread the good word! Enter your info IN THIS CHART.
Our Integrated Intervention Team Visit is at the end of the month, so creative, rigorous projects on Black History would look good in our classrooms and bulletin boards so they can see the skill and creativity of our staff and students!
THIS WEEK'S HAWK HEROES!!
Hawk Heroes:
Dan Calabro for accompanying a student to the emergency room, and Marisa Anzovino for picking Dan up at the hospital.
Ana Bueno, Christina Del Pilar, Al Ferony, and Marlix Hernandez for attending the Hillcrest presentation at the board meeting last week.
Taylor Coleman for helping curate an amazing art show!
Ana and Christina for attending the Parent Center Grand Re-opening!
Ali Kramer for taking our chorus members on a special field trip!
Reminder: THREE THINGS TO FOCUS ON IN 2019
1). Authentic, caring relationships with every student
2) Differentiated, data-informed instruction
3) Common, standards-based assessment with timely, actionable feedback
If we are successful with these three priorities, we will truly positively impact every student, every day, in every way.
SHOULD READ
Seven Principles for Effective Verbal Intervention
TEACHER To-Do LIST
- Enter miscue data into Reading Tracker doc if you haven't yet
- Enter what your class is doing for Black History Month in the shared doc (see above)
- Forward the newsletter link with any and all parent correspondence this week