April Newsletter
April 2023
In this edition of AIG All Day Everyday
- Bishop's Broadcast
- AIG program updates
- AIG Referral Process
- AIG Settings
- Parents' Corner
- AIG Advisory Board Updates
- NC Governor's School Information
- Scripps National Spelling Bee
- Websites and Digital Resources
- Upcoming Events
π Bishop's Broadcast π
I hope each of you enjoyed your spring break. I know it was so needed! I am so grateful I was able to unplug for a few days and relax. It is hard to believe that we are in the home stretch of this school year. However, we still have so many great things happening in the AIG Program win Granville County Public Schools.
The word of the month for April is Trustworthy. See Dr. McLean and GCPS BOE member Dr. Helen Linsey talk about being trustworthy below. Checkout all the monthly videos from this school year here.
We are gearing up for Regional Battle of the Books competitions for our middle and elementary school district champs! Butner-Stem Middle will compete in Durham this Saturday, April 22, 2023. Mount Energy Elementary will compete in Raleigh on Saturday, April 29, 2023. I are so proud of each of you! I know each team will represent GCPS well. Way to go Granville County Public Schools!
βοΈπβοΈπβοΈ
We had a successful transition to online testing with second-graders. We had 466 students take the Cognitive Abilities Test over the last 3 weeks. AIG team is working hard to review student data at the school level and we are identifying students for AIG services. Currently we have identified 58 students district-wide and plan to finish the reviewing data this week.
β GCPS AIG Program Updates β
CogAT Update:
The Spring cogAT assessment is complete. We are working hard to review our data and get our second-graders identified so they can begin receiving their interventions. We still have about 95 students' scores to review by we did identify 58 second-graders at our most recent data meeting.
Please note that since we will be adding identified second-graders to our pull-out schedule, AIG specialists will not be pushing in for whole group talent development lessons for the remainder of the school year.
AIG Best Practice - As a best practice students who are pulled out to receive advanced interventions with our AIG Specialist should be exempt from classwork in the regular ed classroom. If they miss an assignment that is graded or will directly impact their grade it can be completed when given an appropriate grace period to ensure they have what they need to complete the task.
We strive to follow the βAIG is not more work, it is appropriately challenging workβ approach for our students.
π Our Busy Classroomsπ
There are so many great things happen in our elementary and middle school AIG classrooms.
Several groups of third through fifth grade AIG students are reading Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Other groups are reading On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. Students are also engaged while utilizing the 4Cs using BreakoutEDU!
Middle School AIG students are doing their final recordings and edits to submit their Podcasts to the NPR Podcast Challenge! Listen to some of these amazing topic!
- Teen Mental Health
- Student Athletes
- Racial Justice and Microaggression
- Day in the life of a Hawley Middle Schooler
- Peer Pressure
- Kids of the Future
- Skool and Order: Problems with the Psych
π GCPS AIG Referral Process π
We are continuing to talk about the referral process. Many thanks to teachers, admin, parents, and counselors who have taken the time to refer students already this year.
As part of the Board-approved AIG Program Plan, student referrals can happen any time of the year and at any grade level within GCPS.
The process begins when the GCPS AIG Referral Form is completed. It can be found on the AIG website. This form should be completed by someone who has first-hand knowledge of the student's abilities.
Once the form is complete the appropriate AIG Specialist will complete a parent/guardian consent form, that allows us to gather the student's data to determine eligibility, will go home with the student. Once the form is returned to the AIG specialist, the student's teacher and the AIG Specialist will begin data collection.
The AIG Team will determine the eligibility for AIG identification and services based on the data presented to the team. The AIG specialist will schedule a face-to-face or virtual conference with the parents/guardians to discuss the decisions made by the AIG team.
Eligibility meetings will take place most months. Dates are posted on the AIG webpage, along with additional resources.
Students must be referred by the 15th of each month to ensure time for parent/guardian consent for review and the appropriate data to be collected prior to our monthly data meeting that will take place on the first Monday of each month. Students who are not referred by the 15th of each will have their review take place the following month once parental/guardian consent is provided. AIG specialists will share the teamβs eligibility decision will all stakeholders after the monthly meeting.
πͺAIG Settings πͺ
Elementary Pull-out Model - Specialists are teaching and supporting our Elem AIG students weekly. Students are getting a minimum of 60 per week, in the areas of Math and Reading. Elem students are participating in Paideia Seminar, Shared Inquiry, BreakoutEDU, advanced math activities, and SEL activities.
Middle School Immersion Model - AIG Specialists are supporting our MS AIG students across the district. Students spend an entire day with their Specialists outside of electives, lunch, and patio time. AIG students in grades 6, 7, and 8 are participating in Paideia Seminars, BreakoutEDU, advanced math activities, and SEL activities.
Talent Development - Specialists will push into specific classrooms weekly to ensure exposure to advanced and critical thinking opportunities in ELA, Math, and STEM. - This will resume in the fall.
π Parents' Corner π
Here you will find items that are specific to parents of AIG students in GCPS.
This is a new section in our newsletter to ensure that parents/guardians are aware of all that is happening in the AIG program, as well, as be an active participant as we continue to grow our program.
Please consider being a part of our AIG Advisory Board. We meeting almost every month. The majority of meetings are virtual and take place after school or in the evenings. Our final meeting of this school year is Thursday, May 25, 2023. This will be an in person meeting from 5:30 - 7:30 PM. We will meet at The Mary Potter Center for Education. Attendees will participate in a Paideia Seminar on our GCPS Spring Headcount data.
Resources for Parents
Wonderful partnership opportunities for our student through North Carolina School of Science and Math
ποΈ AIG ADVISORY BOARD ποΈ
Our last meeting was held on Thursday, March 23, 2023. We discussed the survey data that had been collected at that time.
We will NOT be having our AIG Board meeting this month. We will not have official Headcount data until May. Our final meeting of the year will be Thursday, May 25, 2023, from 5:30 - 7:30 pm at The Mary Potter Center for Education. We will participate in a Paideia Seminar on our Spring Headcount data. I will send out an agenda and calendar invite soon!
In lue of our monthly meeting I would like to encourage you to attend the Arts in Bloom event at the Museum in Downtown Oxford sponsored by the Granville Ed Foundation from 10:00 am - 8:00 pm (floating). There is also an ESL family night taking place at Butner-Stem MS from 5:30 - 7:00 pm.
πΆπ πGovernor's School Information ππ§ͺπ
BOLO - Be On The Lookout
Official press release coming soon!
π SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE π
Our girl Gabriela represented us well in Charlotte last month at the Regional Bee! We are so very proud of her! Congratulations!!
π» Websites & Digital Resources π»
ποΈ Upcoming Events ποΈ
- April 20th - GCPS Night of Kindness - NGMS Auditorium 6:30 pm
- April 25th & April 27th - GEF Arts in Bloom Gala - 10:00 am - 8:00 pm (Museum in Oxford)
- April 25th (JF Webb) & April 27th (BSMS) - ESL Family Night - 5:30 - 7:00 pm
- May 1st - GCPS Board of Education Meeting - The Mary Potter Center for Education; 6:00 PM
- May 13TH - EOG/EOC Boot Camp
- May 19th - Early College Graduation
- May 25th - AIG Advisory Board Meeting - The Mary Potter Center for Education; 5:30 - 7:30 pm. Refreshments provided.