JWL Weekly Update
Volume 7 * Issue 26 * week of January 28, 2019
Instruction Focus
1. Effective instruction
2. Classroom management with student engagement
I would like to celebrate our leadership team members for hosting our faculty meeting this past week and sharing different ways they incorporate the practices of "Read. Write. Discuss." Many great ideas and examples were delivered. I am looking forward to seeing how each of you adapt and use these ideas into your own instructional delivery.
Remember to add these practices into your lesson plans. As Mrs. Espinoza has shared, your I will statement (student products) are to indicate how students are reading, writing, or speaking about their learning daily. *Don't forget the click the SEs and ELPS in Forethought as you plan.
Speaking of lesson plans, I have sent private messages to those I've personally noticed not having posted, but as a friendly reminder to us all, please be sure your lesson plans are updated and ready prior to the start of the day Monday of each week. Your plans are actually due each Friday afternoon before you leave; I understand you may add some tweaks here and there over the weekend. This will allow you to have a more "free" weekend without dreading Sunday night's planning frenzy, or worse, not planning at all.
Thanks to all those that have had their lesson plans posted on time and completely! The quality of student work is positively impacted and thus student achievement increases.
Classroom Management
Attendance
Goal: 98%+ Attendance
Here are our attendance rates from last week. Thank you so much for encouraging your students to be here on a daily basis.
K: 96.02% **What a great increase! I am so proud of you all!
1: 97.38% ***Congrats on earning your GOLD attendance belt!
2: 95.25%
3: 95.53%
4: 96.57%
5: 96.46%
JWL: 96.16%
Belt status:
White:
First grade: Week of August 20
Fifth grade: Week of August 27
Third grade: Week of September 17
Second grade: Week of December 3
Fourth grade: Week of December 17
Yellow:
Fifth grade: Week of September 3
Third grade: Week of October 1
First grade: Week of November 5
Second grade: Week of December 10
Fourth grade: Week of January 14
Gold:
Fifth grade: Week of September 10
Third grade: Week of October 15
First Grade: Week of January 21
Orange:
Fifth grade: Week of October 8
Third grade: Week of October 22
Green:
Third grade: Week of October 29
Fifth grade: Week of November 12
Blue:
Third grade: Week of January 7
Purple:
Brown:
Red:
Black:
What's Your Mindset?
Heads Up
MAP Updates
Thanks for your following the schedule. (Here is the schedule as shared last week.)
Looks like we are making good progress in getting tests completed.
If you haven't noticed yet, the MAP fluency test data has links to the Florida Center tasks to assist in growing needed/specific skills.
Yes, we will continue to need the support and assistance of Lopez, Crow and Anderson to help with signing students into the testing session. Lopez please assist in the lab; Crow please assist those using the COWs in their classrooms. Anderson, you're on call should they need additional support or either are unavailable.
REPEATED from last week---Dr. Trimble also shared this info:
The "Projection or Summary" report does show "projected growth" as long as you change the radio button on Report Options to "Winter 2019 - Spring 2019 Growth Projection Report". Using the Learning Continuum Report is the key to planning for personalized learning groups with differentiated activities. Teachers, use the Learning Continuum data to "map" (pun intended) out intervention over the course of this semester focusing on growing students in the skills identified. Our goal is that 70% of students meet the "projected growth" in MAP Reading and Math by the EOY. Teamwork makes the dream work. Thank you all for doing your part!
Here is the link to the proctor manual if you need a visual reminder.
Breakfast in the Classroom
Thanks for having a positive attitude about this change. It's going to be a great opportunity for our students and you to be able to pull them and support them.
Just a reminder here is the revised duty schedule. *be sure you look at the correct tab
Need Your Input: Tutorials
Upon my last look at the results, many teachers either are not tutoring as expected, or not getting credit for it as there is little to no record of students being tutored this month. (Remember the quote: If you didn't write it down, it didn't happen.)
I understand that this system may not be working for everyone, so please brainstorm as grade levels to determine how you can track and submit tutorial data needed for our campus reports.
Info needed weekly (and then totaled monthly):
- Teacher tutoring
- Date and Time of tutorial(s)
- Who attended (each date)
- Content area tutored
Kinder . First . Second . Third . Fourth . Fifth
Please submit your ideas to your grade level/department leader. Leaders, we have a SALT meeting already scheduled for Tuesday, if you have responses by then, please bring them.
Project ETELL (Empowering Teachers of English Learners)
Project Empowering Teachers of English Language Learners (ETELL) is a professional development project to help certify and prepare bilingual and English as a Second Language teachers for Texas classrooms. All teachers in the project will receive free Bilingual and BTLPT, or ESL online preparation courses, with opportunities for reimbursement of their exam fees upon passing and will earn TEA approved professional development hours. The project aims to investigate the effectiveness of virtual observations, and instructional coaching and mentoring. Some teachers will be randomly selected for coaching and mentoring, while others will
only participate in the online test preparation.
Project ETELL (Empowering Teachers of English Learners) registration for Spring 2019 is now open. Please visit the website for registration information. https://crdlla.tamu.edu/project Through Project ETELL, teachers at Terrell ISD can enroll in our online preparation courses to guide them in obtaining their ESL/Bilingual certification at no charge. Project ETELL provides free online professional development (60 hours per course) and instructional materials for in-service teachers of English Language Learners to pass the certification exam(s) in Bilingual Education and/or English as a Second Language. The project also reimburses the exam(s) fees and provides stipends to participant teachers who pass the exam(s).
Below you will find registration and additional information regarding Project ETELL.
For more information about registration, please access https://crdlla.tamu.edu/project-etell/project-etell-registration.
For more information about Project ETELL, please visit https://crdlla.tamu.edu/project-etell/project-etell-course-dates-spring-2019
Please feel free to share this information with teachers and instructional coaches who may be interested in participating in this project. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Yoheily Widdison (yoheilyc@tamu.edu) who assists us with recruitment and registration.
Flyer and brochure are linked below.
Spring Benchmarks
Spring BM Updates
Feb. 19-Spring BM/4th Writing/5th Math (Mock STAAR) (moved from end of January)
Feb. 20-Spring BM-5th reading (Mock STAAR) (moved from end of January)
March 5-Spring Benchmark-3rd/4th math (Mock STAAR) - (no change)
March 6-Spring Benchmark-3rd/4th reading/5th science (Mock STAAR) (no change)
Lexia
This past week was just over 70%. Our highest weekly usage percentage was 85%. Let's make a goal to beat that!
Dreambox Usage
Congrats to the following class for averaging 10 or more lessons last week:
Carter 11.4
Holloway 11.4
Golden Tickets
Grade levels, you distributed the Golden Tickets to your Tier 3 students to use as passes for their morning computer time from 7:30 - 8:10am. This time, as you will recall, is for students to utilize Lexia and Dreambox as additional support time. The Golden Ticket is like a "fast pass" for the breakfast line and a hall pass to go to the computer labs/library.
Those on duty in these areas: please be sure students are signing in with the Google Form. (see below)
K - 2: Pardoe in Lopez's computer lab
3 - 5: Harvey in Harvey's computer lab
Teachers: If you see that your students are not attending, please ask them why. Let's verify if there are valid concerns (ie, transportation issues) or if they are "skipping".
Parent Communication
Keep up the communication with families!
Remember, each user (homeroom, special interest group, etc.) is to send at minimum one message each week to parents informing them of weekly ongoings, curriculum topics of focus, and/or special projects. Please stay connected with families; they are our partners in educating their kiddos.
This Week's Ongoings:
Monday
- ARDs
- SSTs
- MAP testing
Tuesday
- PLCs
- MAP testing
- SSTs
- SALT, 4:15pm
Wednesday
- No worksheet Wednesday
- SSTs
- MAP testing
- Faculty Fun BUNCO! 4:15pm (Please RSVP to Anita by Tuesday at 3:00pm)
Thursday
- SSTs
- PLCs
Friday
- SSTs
- 5th Grade Math Tests
Staff Shout Outs!
Did a great job showcasing how they have their students discuss and collaborate based on content.
Yuen & Lilley
Thank you for sharing about Seesaw and encouraging us help students embrace technology to create products and not just for Lexia and Dreambox.
Stevenson
Thank you for focusing on how writing is a necessity in every classroom!
Virgel & Bosak
Great practice in dissecting an article to process and best understand the gist. Quick and collaborative.
Bass
Thank you for all your help getting the kinders through their MAP testing this week! You rock!
Lopez, Crow, Pardoe and Harvey
WOW! Y'all are all over the place and always willing to help and assist.
Here is the web address if you can copy and paste in your browser bar:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1RMNzcckPl8qcXo6nSbxIPTYHhivLcMv9dUruyDymW88/edit
Sorry for the inconvenience.