Westwood Weekly
Staff Newsletter - Week of February 10-17, 2020
Shout-Outs!
- Kudos to Jill for holding down the fort, and managing two jobs at the same time!
- Thanks to everyone who stepped out of their comfort zone to participate in Global School Play Day! I have enjoyed seeing the pictures and hearing your stories!
- Thanks to Virginia for coordinating the Spelling Bee, and to Melinda and Jeanie for stepping up as judges!
Highlights this Week!
This Week:
Monday
-Teacher In-Service (8:00-3:30; breakfast at 7:30) - agenda
Tuesday -
-Triennial IEP Meeting for Juan EJ (2:30, B2)
-Family Valentine's Dance (5:00-6:30)
Wednesday -
-JCL Tutoring (E4)
-Care Team Meeting (10:30-12:00, Office)
-Jill at Office Manager's Meeting (12:30-3:30)
-Principal Discretionary Day - Staff Meeting (1:55-3:25)
Thursday -
-Annual/Triennial IEP Meeting for Rocky - Part 2 (2:30, B1)
-Annual IEP Meeting for Levar W (2:30, A3)
Friday - Valentine's Day / NO SCHOOL
Upcoming Events:
2/17 - NO SCHOOL
2/18 - Data & Assessment Committee Meeting (3:30-5); Staff Budget Solutions Input Meetings (4:00, YVHS; 5:30, YVHS)
2/19 -STEAM Day Event / STEM Fair (6-7)
2/20 - Staff Budget Solutions Input Meetings (4:00, Riverview; 4:00 PHMS; 5:30 PHMS); Community & Staff Budget Solutions Input Meeting (5:30, Riverview MS; 7:00, YVHS)
2/21 - Reading Challenge Ends; ELAC Meeting (2:30)
2/22 - Marathon Symposium (see below)
2/24 - School Site Council Meeting (3:00)
2/24-3/2 - Read Across America Spirit Week
3/3 - Family Reading Night and Dr. Suess' Birthday Bash
3/6 - 2nd Trimester Awards Assemblies
3/9 - Spring Pictures
3/11 - Soul Shoppe Workshops
3/16 - Teacher In-Service
3/17 - Art Gala & Auction
This Week in AVID
Students are much more engaged when we give them time for discussion that is productive and rigorous instead of doing all the talking ourselves. Of course, there is accountability built in to these structured conversations. There are many ideas for generating classroom conversations around content in the AVID Google Classroom Page. HERE is the direct link to a collection of AVID strategies that get kids talking.
For more resources and support, contact our AVID TOSA:
Jeanne Johnson - AVID Instructional Coach
Google Classroom Add Code: 7uwcLg or eavk628
PBIS Information
Life Skill of the Month - Trust - Check out related lessons and activities in our Cool Tools for Schools resource.
Focus Area of the Week - Cafeteria - While reviewing the lesson plan this week, please remind students of the expectations going to/from the cafeteria during breakfast and lunch (when eating on the playground) - see separate email sent last week.
All teachers are expected to teach the Soul Shoppe: "I've Got Your Back" follow-up lesson.
California School Staff Survey (CSSS)
The purpose of this survey is to obtain staff perceptions of student behavior and attitudes, school programs and policies, and the overall school climate as they relate to student well-being and learning. Your participation is voluntary. It is also very important. The information you provide will help guide district and school efforts to promote safety, enhance learning supports, improve student achievement, and reduce health risks that stand as barriers to learning.
Click here to access the staff survey.
California Healthy Kids Survey - Parent Survey Information
The CHKS links will be available for parents, and our 5th grade students starting tomorrow, 1/27. The information below will be shared with our families. Please encourage your students' parents/guardians to participate (one per household) - maybe offer an incentive upon completion. Our goal is to reach a >80% participate rate.
Dear Parent or Guardian,
Some students will be taking the California Healthy Kids Survey soon. We want to hear from you as well. We would appreciate your participation in the a CA School Parent Survey (CSPS). Your survey responses are anonymous. This is an opportunity for parents to confidentially communicate their perceptions and concerns about the school and its environment.
MDUSD values the survey data for addressing the needs of students, improving the learning and teaching conditions, and addressing LCAP requirements. Each family is invited to participate in the CA School Parent Survey (CSPS) however, there should only be one survey participant per student.
Parents can access surveys in the following languages online or on paper: English, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Hindi, Korean, and Vietnamese. Your student’s school will put a link on their web page or you will be able to go to the district web page www.mdusd.org to access the surveys online.
Parents can access surveys in the following languages on paper: Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Farsi, Hebrew, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Tagalog, and Thai. Please let your school office staff know if you would like a paper copy of the survey in one of these languages.
If you have any questions about this survey or your rights contact Linda Pete; MDUSD Administrator, Student Services at 925-682-8000, Ext 4061.
*UPDATED* STEM Fair Information
Our STEM Fair is scheduled for Wednesday, February 19, from 6-7 pm (this may be extended to 7:30). Be sure to include this information in your classroom newsletters/communications.
Packets should have been sent home before the break. Projects are due in the classroom on Tuesday, February 18th. This will allow time for projects to be presented and graded before being transported to the MUR on Wednesday afternoon.
All students, Kindergarten through Fifth grade are invited to participate in the Westwood STEM fair but it is mandatory for every 4th and 5th grader. Students in grades 3-5 must use either the scientific process or engineering design process in creating their project. An explanation of both the Scientific Process and the Engineering design process is included in this packet. Models, collections, reports, and demonstrations are not acceptable types of projects for grade 3 through 5. Grades 3-5: Please choose eight projects from your class that you feel are the best and submit the names to me by 2:30pm on Tuesday, February 18th.
Students may work on a project with another child or in a small group with a maximum of three. Fourth and fifth grade classrooms will receive a packet for each child while grades K through three will receive a few. Please let us know if you need additional copies. Also, the package is available online and a Google Drive folder labeled "STEM Fair". There is a Spanish version available online also.
Grades K-2 will submit a class science or engineering design project to have on display. The district is encouraging classrooms to display their EIE units on STEM Fair night, highlighted with a project board in a sampling of student projects. One EIE unit per school site may be displayed at the district showcase on March 21st.
As usual, the top two finishers and an alternate will be chosen from grades 3, 4, and 5. These winners will be announced that are Westwood STEM fair on the evening of Wednesday, February 19th. These top finishers will be invited to participate in the annual District STEM Showcase being held on Saturday March 21, 2020.
Please contact Kelly or Melinda if you have any questions.
ELPAC
Dear Teachers,
The Summative ELPAC (English Language Proficiency Assessments for California) will be switching to a mostly Computer-Based ELPAC assessment. The administration window is from February 3 - May 31, 2020. Although we hope to be done by mid-March. As the time get closer, I will let you know when we will be testing at Westwood.
English Learners should use the online Computer-Based Practice questions to become familiar with the format and types of questions on the ELPAC.
TK, Kinder, 1st grade students are tested one-on-one on all 4 domains.
The Listening, Speaking, and Reading domain are administered by a district examiner individually using a computer. The Writing domain is administered individually by a district examiner using paper and pencil.
2nd Grade students are tested one-on-one on 3 domains, and in a group for writing only.
The Listening,Speaking, and Reading domains are administered by a district examiner individually using computer. The Writing domain is administered by a classroom teacher in a group setting using paper and pencil.
3rd - 5th Grade students are tested one-on-one for Speaking only.
The Speaking domain is administered by a district examiner individually using a computer. Students take the Listening, Reading, and Writing domains on a computer, administered by classroom teachers, in a group setting.
Both Computer-Based and Paper-Based ELPAC Practice Tests can be accessed online. The Computer-Based Practice Test has DFA (Directions for Administration) that should be used as a companion document to the online Practice Test. The DFA includes scripts and example test questions for giving the practice test to students.
Follow this link to access the DFA's for the computer based practice tests: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HY6OFfFI1VGBiGsl9GcDJUE3Ol5kZNst (The script is only really necessary for the Speaking domain.)
Here is the link for students & teachers to access the Computer-Based online Practice Tests: Practice and Training Tests: https://www.elpac.org/resources/online-practice-and-training-test/
If you would like to print out paper practice tests in order to focus on the task types, they can be accessed here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AYQBGW5KEU4SuSRwKPu5jNUZy8u9dkkR
I am happy to go through this with you in person after school. I am also available to come to your class and do a lesson with your students. Just let me know!
Thank you for supporting English Learners!
Marathon Symposium - FREE PD!
MARATHON SYMPOSIUM --- FEBRUARY 22, 2020 --- REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!: The 2020 Marathon Symposium registration is now open. This one-day, "Bring Your Own Device" event will be held on February 22 at Valley View Middle School in Pleasant Hill. A $25 deposit, collected at registration, will be refunded when you check in to the event on that day. The link for registration and information can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/77653693287
This one day event was designed with several purposes:
- To build collaboration and communication between staff members in MDUSD and its neighboring schools/school districts in the areas of innovative, student-centered learning, including a focus on integrating STEAM into all curricular areas.
- To introduce and share resources from and between educators and other professionals who are using them now.
- To provide professional development that is fun and engaging, with hands-on and integrated activities that apply to various grade levels and areas of curriculum.
Megan Gerdts
Instructional Coach - Ed Tech K-12