Birdneck Briefing
Week April 29
Upcoming info and dates
April 29 - May 10 2nd Grade Swim Program ( Seatack Rec Center)
May 1 - SOL Parent information night
May 6 - 11 Staff Appreciation Week
May 8 - Munchkins with Moms 7:15 am in Cafeteria
May 8 - Kindergarten Fieldtrip to Norfolk Zoo
May 10 - Progress Reports issued
May 16 - Spring music concert/ General PTA meeting
May 16 - School Planning Council and PTA Board Meeting
May 18 - PTA Yard Sale Fundraiser
May 27 - School Closed Memorial Day Holiday
June 6 - Robotics Competition at Convention Center
June 13 - Grade 5 Promotion Ceremony 9:00 am
June 14 - Last Day of School
June 21 - Report Cards Mailed
This is your Captain Speaking!
Hello Birdneck Family,
This is the time of year when motivation for our kids and ourselves is really tough. You can be the single most influence on a students success just by your encouragement and high expectations. Your students need to be pushed and know that you believe they can do it. Motivation and support go further than anyone can believe.
I heard a story recently of a class of 15 students with learning disabilities who were preparing for a standardized writing test. None of the students had passed a single standardized test in their academic career. The teacher told these students every day that they were amazing writers and let them know that they will reach their goal if they put in the effort. She had personal conversations with each student to ensure they knew she cared. The 15 students were taught and re-taught skills and practiced nearly 30 writing prompts. By the teacher having high expectations and letting her students know that she believed in them they were willing to put in the effort and do more work than they thought they could possibly do. Theses were students who had difficulty turning in math homework that would have only taken a few minutes, but they were motivated to complete writing assignments that took hours. Why? Their teacher let them know she believed in them and they in turn came to believe in themselves. Students work for us when they feel we know they can do it. My challenge to you this week is to find any and every way to motivate your students to do their best and to believe in themselves.
The video this week is amazing. Take time to watch and think of how this will apply in your classroms.
We are Birdneck and we are family!
Captain Out,
RV
BIRDNECK MISSION
Mission: We build relationships to encourage, inspire and empower students and each other to meet the challenges of today and to foster the love of learning.
BIRDNECK VISION
Vision: We are dedicated to nurturing an inclusive environment to ensure engaging, student-centered learning resulting in confident independent learners.
Shout Outs!
If you would like to give a SHOUT OUT to a colleague, it is as simple as sending an email to RV to be added to our Shout Outs each week!
Thank you to everyone for all your generosity and concern. Thank you so much to everyone that donated leave days to me. It was very much appreciated by me and my family. It really touched my heart at how kind and caring you are. Thank you to those that came to visit me, sent food, cards, gift cards, phone calls and texts. This is a tough road and I appreciate all the encouragement. Thank you for showing me love and caring! You all mean the world to me.
Love you all,
Kim Scott
Keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
Keep Kim Scott in your prayers as she recovers from surgery.
We've also had multiple Birdneck students and staff who have lost loved ones or their loved ones are having health concerns. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers to be strong.
SOL Testing Schedule
May 14 - Grade 5 Reading Day 1
May 15 - Grade 5 Reading Day 2
May 16- Grade 4 Reading Day 1
May 17 - Grade 4 Reading Day 2
May 20 - Grade 3 Reading Day 1
May 21 - Grade 3 Reading Day 2
May 22 - Grade 5 Math Day 1
May 23 - Grade 5 Math Day 2
May 24 - Expedited/Make up Testing
May 28 - Grade 4 Math Day 1
May 29 - Grade 4 Math Day 2
May 30 - Grade 3 Math Day 1
May 31 - Grade 3 Math Day 2
June 3 - Expedited/Make up Testing
June 4 - Grade 5 Science
June 5 - Grade 5 Virginia Studies
June 6/7 - Expedited/Make up Testing
YouTube Restriction Program
When you click on the link below, please add the document to your Google Drive as a reference sheet where your ITS can place updates as necessary. You click File>Add To My Drive.
Make sure you are signed in under your school account to view and add to your drive.
Laying the Foundation Summer Training
The Department of Teaching and Learning is pleased to announce the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) will once again host its Laying the Foundation Summer Training Conference in Virginia Beach. Delivered by expert educators, NMSI’s Laying the Foundation provides an opportunity for teachers in grades 3-12 to build and maintain subject matter expertise, enhance abilities to lead diverse classrooms, use new technologies and prepare students to be confident and creative problem solvers.
This event will take place at Landstown High School Tuesday, June 25 through Thursday, June 27 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday, June 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The cost of the training is $800 per week per teacher. The first 150 teachers to register in Frontline will receive a code to register with NMSI and participate free of charge. Participants must cancel within 30 days of the event to avoid incurring charges.
Sessions are organized by the number of years participating in the program. Year 1 is for participants who have never attended NMSI training, Year 2 is for teachers who have participated in modules 1-4 and Year 3 is for teachers who have participated in modules 1-8 previously. A list of courses may be found below.
Elementary School
Grades 3-5: ELA/SS Math/Science
Please contact Monica Robinson, Ed.D, K-12 academic support programs coordinator at Monica.Robinson@VBSchools.com with any questions. Thank you.
Survey about ESL program coming soon
We want to inform you of upcoming data collection efforts for the evaluation of the school division’s English as a Second Language (ESL) program. As a reminder, the School Board approved the 2018-2019 Program Evaluation Schedule, which included a recommendation to evaluate the ESL program. The evaluation for this year will focus on the implementation of the program across schools and stakeholders’ perceptions.
As part of the evaluation this year, perception data will also be collected by surveying principals, assistant principals, classroom teachers and ESL teachers. The staff surveys will be administered online. The Office of Research and Evaluation will send survey invitations directly to the VBCPS email address of principals, assistant principals, classroom teachers and ESL teachers Monday, April 22. The administration of the staff survey will remain open through Friday, May 3.
VB Education Foundation Grants 2019-20 and Amazon Smile
For the 2019 – 2020 school year, $150,000 will be awarded to Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) in Virginia Beach Education Foundation grants. VBCPS staff members are encouraged to apply for these grants if they have ideas for innovative projects they wish to implement to engage students in hands-on learning activities not already funded by the school division.
The Innovative Learning Grant (up to $2,000) and Schoolwide Grant ($2,001 to $5,000) applications are available on vbcps.com under Hot Topics—Education Foundation and are due May 10, 2019, by 4 p.m.
In order to fund these projects, the Education Foundation board raises money to include a percentage of sales for Amazon.com purchases made through AmazonSmile. An email was sent to you with brief instructions to share with staff how Amazon purchases benefit the Education Foundation and ultimately our teachers and students.
Thank you for sharing these opportunities available through the Virginia Beach Education Foundation. For more information, contact Debbie Griffey at Debbie.Griffey@vbschools.com
Special Education Endorsement Initiative
Due to the tremendous success of this initiative, another cohort is planned for the upcoming school year. Depending on the availability of funds, it is anticipated that the new cohort will begin in August. Teacher assistants and general educators interested in this training opportunity can learn more about the endorsement program by attending one of the meetings at the Virginia Beach Higher Education Center, Room 247, Tuesday, April 23, or Wednesday, May 1, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Parking will be permissible in Lot 3. Attendees will be provided specific information about the program requirements and staff from ODU will be available to answer questions. Additionally, teachers from the current T.R.Y.I.T. cohort will be present to share information about their experiences.
I highly encourage teacher assistants and general educators to consider T.R.Y.I.T. as an opportunity for professional growth and enrichment. If there are questions regarding this memorandum, please contact Dr. Roni Myers-Daub at 263-2400 or via email at roni.myers-daub@vbschools. Thank you. /na
Media and Stories for Our School!
Join our PTA
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Join the PTA! Our goal is to have 100% Staff participation!!!!!!!!!
Support Birdneck Elementary students by joining the PTA. Don't miss out on the benefits from joining the PTA. Receive over $300 in savings... all for just $5 for a membership. Check out the PTA website at http://birdneckpta.weebly.com/
Beach Employee Wellness (BEWell) support services
To ensure all staff are knowledgeable of available Beach Employee Wellness (BEWell) support services, the Office of Consolidated Benefits requests education on Critical Incident Response services and Employee Assistance Program and Work-Life services.
Critical Incident Response (CIR) services are a highly specialized individual and group session services designed to minimize the negative emotional and psychological impact of traumatic events. A CIR can begin as soon as two hours after the initial request and are available to all school sites with approval by appropriate CIR contact list personnel. The goal of the CIR is to enhance participants’ ability to transcend workplace trauma and resume focused and productive work activities. Utilizing CIR services make an immense difference to employees’ recovery process in the face of a crisis. Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Work-Life Services (WL) through Humana, are available to provide FREE and CONFIDENTIAL support to ALL School employees (full-time, part-time and temporary). Services are available, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Employees are happier and more productive when personal needs are being met, and when work and personal lives are in balance.
-EAP offers short-term in-person and telephonic-based counseling with a licensed counselor. Up to five in-person sessions per concern per year. Referrals are issued for longer-term concerns and additional benefits as appropriate.-WL offers services and resources that help with everyday needs. Humana assess the employee’s needs and then researches to provide referrals and resources that meet budget and requests.
Senior Staff, All Principals/Assistant Principals, All Executive Directors
-Supervisor Referral – In addition to offering assistance to employees and members oftheir households, Humana offer services and resources that are specifically designed toaid directors, supervisors, and human resource professionals with employee-related andpersonal concerns. Please note: In the case of a referral, Humana will only report backto the referring supervisor that the employee attended the session(s). Please seeattachment for more information.
-Humana professionals are bound by confidentiality laws and professional ethics. They donot report to BEWell and/or Virginia Beach City Public Schools on individual cases.Personal information about employee and household members remains confidentialaccording to all applicable state and federal laws.
If further information and/or clarification is needed, please contact, Matt Herman, consolidated benefits office, BEWell program, 757-263-6918 or matthew.herman@vbschools.com. Many thanks for your assistance.
BIRDNECK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
BIRDNECK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Twitter@BNESeagles
BIRDNECK MISSION
Mission: We build relationships to encourage, inspire and empower others to meet the challenges of today and to foster the love of learning.
BIRDNECK VISION
Vision: We are dedicated to nurturing an inclusive environment to ensure engaging, student-centered learning resulting in confident independent learners.
BIRDNECK BELIEFS
We believe in a collaborative community in which teachers, administrators, students, and parents work together for student success.
We believe in creating a safe, nurturing, and positive environment in which all students can strive for excellence and achieve their individual potential.
We believe we will prepare our students for success by providing 21st century learning and developing within our students critical thinking, effective communications and problem solving skills.
Website: http://www.birdneckes.vbschools.com/
Location: 957 South Birdneck Road, Virginia Beach, VA, United States
Phone: 757-648-2120