PKMS Update 11.4.19
A Close Look At How We Did & Will Do Our Work
Good Day, PKMS Family.
We appreciate your dedication, planning, collaboration, assessment of students, focus, hard work, and family outreach. Thank you for another great week of instruction and student learning.
This week’s quote speaks to our Social Emotional Learning Theme of Gratitude & Kindness:: We Can't Help Everyone but Everyone Can Help Someone," - Ronald Reagan, 40th President of USA
As has become a part of the PKMS culture, please allow these words to inspire you as you design and redesign lessons, tasks, and questions, and reflect on practice.
Remember, to SMILE (Show My Infectious Lovable Energy) as it is the first thing students, families, and colleagues see.
Let's Keep These Thoughts in Mind:
- Laugh a little. Laugh a little more.
- Gladden the heart of a child.
- Always operate from a honest place.
- Give a soft answer
PKMS HALLOWEEN DANCE - 8TH Grade Style!!
Turning Up The Heat!
Halloween Dance - Thank you to Jonathan Harrison for organizing the dance and to our students who volunteered before, during, and after the dance - such great school spirit - Thank you Steven Gonzalez, Ana Aguero, Amelia Silverman, Anthony Scala, Katie Frattarola, Yvette Bivians, Ann Hoskins, Cami Basso, Ms. Simon, Tim, Manny, Billy, Kristen, Chemay, Shawna, and Tash - Thank you to DJ Esco for dropping the beats!
Thank you to our staff for embracing Google Classroom and maintaining Gradebook and Family Communication and Outreach
MBK Tie-Tying Ceremony - Thank you to Ms. Simon for leading the way - Thank you to our Mentors and Mentees as well as to Mr. Arthur for hosting us - Thank you to Mr. Callahan for being the MC and Dr. Mauricio for delivering inspiring words
Thank you to Ms. Cruz for leading the way for the Grade Six NYC Museum trip - Thank you to Ms. Di Lorenzo for stepping in - Thank you to Ms. Simon for shaping the experience
Thank you everyone for welcoming Ms. Hinton so well - Thank you to Ms. Hinton for her leadership and jumping right in!
Thank you to Patty, Rebecca, Maria, and Ana for their work with Dia de Los Muertos
Thank you to Ms. Roldan (and her students) for weekly updates lobby board
Thank you to our department leaders for helping to design our Interim Assessments and ELA Simulation- Thank you to the staff who administered our students' accommodations
Thank you to Debbie, Lurana, and Nancy for their work
Thank you to our security: Chemay, Nigel, Merriweather, Billy, and David for their work
Thank you to Tim, Mike, Mark, Kristen, Billy, Keith, and Manny for their work
Thank you to Parketha Evans and her Food Services Team
Thank you to our Clinical Team for continuing to support students, families, and staff
Thank you to staff for parent and family outreach and meetings conducted this week
A Humanities Lens
Students executing a relay writing technique - accessing prior knowledge by learning of the Hessians (mercenaries for the British army) by discussing Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - discussing character traits and how the character is changing based upon the conflict in the novel - discussing who Otzi was and what he has taught us about Neolithic Life - exploring plausible and implausible conclusions - understanding what life was like in New Spain and how slavery began (through text dependent questions) and understanding why the outnumbered conquistadors were able to defeat the Aztecs and the Incas - describing how the growth of industry and big business changed the nation (evidence and evaluate four major entrepreneurs of the 19th Century) - learning new vocabulary words and identifying body parts of a skeleton - reading, writing, listening, speaking about the useful expressions in a restaurant and using the irregular verbs "estar" and "ser" and reflexive verbs in Spanish - analyzing the relationships in Flowers and Freckle Cream by text coding for deposits and withdrawals and which has larger impact -
The Arts Live Here
A Health-Conscious Mind & Body
Students engaging in a full body resistance training workout - practicing aquatic skills - identifying the proper cues to performing a football pass and catch - completing tobacco free campaign poster, presenting their alcohol abuse projects - presenting their projects on more detailed substance abuse
We Got STEM!
Students discussing living versus non-living things (characteristics) - exploring states of matter - analyzing and interpreting data via topographical maps - Investigating mathematical rules for division to enhance division fluency - constructing a function to model a linear relationship between two quantities - determining the rate of change and initial value of the function from a description of a relationship or from two values - writing and solving two-step inequalities - analyzing basic parts of technological system to make improvements to a design solution - developing fundamental drafting and design skills using a computer aided design software program - using different types of loops to simplify programs - creating programs with conditional statements
Town Hall - Student-Building Work
- This week’s quote speaks to our Social Emotional Learning Theme of Gratitude & Kindness:: We Can't Help Everyone but Everyone Can Help Someone," - Ronald Reagan, 40th President of USA
- Please refer to the counselors' email on the Town Hall's New Format/Structure - See them for any questions for additional details
- Tuesday - Friday (Work Completion Days – Please structure it so that students can complete homework, work on projects, and get work from other teachers - Fun Days - Students who have met behavioral expectations will enjoy recess or whatever classroom activity designed)
Collaborative & Department Work
- Full Department Meetings from 3-3:40PM: 11/18, 12/9, 1/20, 2/10, 3/9, 4/20, 5/11, 6/8
- November 5th - Superintendent's Conference Day - working on Interim Assessment #1 Data Analysis (focusing on subsets)
- November 12th - Meet as a Full Department
- November 19th - Dept Members present latest assessment data analysis using District Data Analysis Form with Action Plan - Please focus your analysis on a population subset - ELLs, Spec Ed, African American, etc. - Boys, Girls, etc
- November 26th - Dept Members present latest assessment data analysis using District Data Analysis Form with Action Plan - Please focus your analysis on a population subset - ELLs, Spec Ed, African American, etc. - Boys, Girls, etc
Grade-Level Work
- For the months of November & December, - RtI Meetings where applicable - Leslie Detres will communicate specifics
- November 6 & 13 - Administration and Clinical - How's it Going and RtI Conversation - Closer look at The Struggling Student
- November 20 & 27 - Reintroducing the Data Driven Instruction Model & Examining NYS ELA & Math Level I Reporting (What do the indicators tell us)
GOT DATA???
We thank everyone who has administered and who will administer our assessments - We appreciate the instructional adjustments you will design to further enhance learning - #datadriveninstruction
Must ask: Are Our Students Learning
What do my students need to learn? Why?
What have my students learned? How do I know?
What are my next steps? Why?
Task Predicts Performance
Questioning - are we posing low-level questions that address the standard or are we challenging students to think critically while addressing the same standard
LEVEL OF MASTERY THAT WILL BE REACHED IS DETERMINED BY WHAT SORT OF QUESTIONS STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO ANSWER
Next Generation Learning Standards & NYS ELA & MATH Exams Timeline
THANKSGIVING DRIVE
November 12 - May 7th - Tuesdays & Thursdays - More Information to Come
Work Dates
- November 4th – Faculty Meeting @3PM in Cafeteria - Review work for Superintendent's Conference Day
- November 5th - Superintendent's Conference Day (NO STUDENTS) - Interim Assessment Data Analysis & Other Topics
- November 7th - Data Team Meeting @7:45AM
- November 8th - BERT Training @12PM - 2PM with Altaris
- November 11th - Veteran's Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
- November 13th - Picture Retakes
- November 14th - Author Thanna Lai Workshop - 10:00 am - 12:00 pm (Grade 8)
- November 14th - PKMS Parent-Teacher Conference Night - 6:30-8:30PM
- November 15th - Department Leader Meeting @7:45AM
- November 19th - SLT Meeting @7:545AM
- November 21st - New Staff Meeting @7:45AM
- November 28th & 29th - Thanksgiving Recess - SCHOOL CLOSED
Work Reminders
- Data Driven Instruction Model
- Always Ask: Have They Learned? How Do You Know?
- Training One Another
- Discussing Student Performance Information
- Designing Tiered Instruction
- Reflecting on Daily Practice
- Reviewing Assessments from All Content Areas (Formative, Summative, Interim)
- Discussing Progress Monitoring Efforts
- Pacing through Rubicon Atlas
- Lesson Plans Should Be Designed with the following in Mind
- Questions Posed - What is the level
- Tiered Instruction
- Guided Instruction
- Driven By Data
- Clear and Articulated Assessment Throughout (assessments must contain spiraling back questions)
- Groupings (Fluid)
- Take attendance for each of your instructional periods
- Please ensure 504 and IEP Plans are being supported
- Ensure grade content colleague planning reflecting Rubicon Atlas
- Ensure Gradebook and Teacher Webpage/Google Classroom reflect current information and assignments
- Communicate with families and maintain that communication in PLP