WHS 9th Grade Center News 2021-22
Week of November 8th - 12th
Mustang 9 News
The Mustang 9 Newsletter will be used to guide staff for the week. In this weekly update the campus instructional priorities, important dates, and highlights will be highlighted. The newsletter will serve as one of the main tools we use for communication on campus. Please continue to check your emails twice a day for important information, but make it a point to review the Mustang 9 Newsletter weekly. If you have any news or important events that you would like to have highlighted in the newsletter please send that information to Ms. Malveaux at rmalveau@springisd by 4 p.m. each Thursday.
Monitoring During Independent Practice
Ms. Hampton was caught in action monitoring students during independent practice. Oftentimes when teachers release students for independent practice they may go to their seats and grade papers or catch up on paperwork. It's important that while students are working, teachers are walking around the classroom checking to see student progress, aggressively monitoring for specific things, and collecting data. Great job Ms. Hampton.
EPLT - Marzano Part 2
During Marzano Part 2, Ms. Grant had teachers engaged in a good old fashioned game of Taboo. Everyone was engaged and their competitive side came out. Fun was had by all.
Ms. Rose Joining in on the Fun!
Ms. Rose joined the dance class and showed the girls a few of her fancy moves! Sometimes it's important to join in with the kids and show them you know how to have a good time too!
Technology Tuesday: Tech in 10!
Ms. Grant will begin Technology Tuesday's by offering Tech in 10! These sessions will be opportunities for teachers to learn about apps that can be used in your classroom to assist with engagement and make sure we are taking advantage of what technology has to offer. Some sessions will be virtual and others will be face-to-face. Please take advantage of these opportunities to enhance both teaching and learning in your classroom. Look out for further information regarding our calendar for Tech n 10!
SpringWay Systems and Routines
Everyone has had the opportunity to be trained on the SpringWay Systems and Routines that we are expected to implement daily in our classrooms. This week administrators will begin walking classrooms to observe the implementation of those systems and routines. Threshold, Strong Start, Do Now, Cold Call, Exit Tickets, and Board Configurations.
- Threshold - Greeting students and welcoming them into your classroom, providing positive feedback to scholars that are on task, and directing scholars that are in the hallway.
- Strong Start - Establishing a routine for scholars once they enter the classroom to ensure that instructional time is maximized.
- Do Now - 5-7 minute activity reviewing previously taught information. Scholars should be able to complete this on their own. Within the 5-7 minutes the teacher should review the Do Now with students.
- Cold Call - Teachers cold call on students to ensure 100% engagement in lessons. Students are called on randomly. This isn't used as a tool to "catch" students who aren't paying attention, but as a tool to ensure all students are engaged in the learning.
- Exit Tickets - A quick measure of the learning objective at the end of class. This is a piece of data that the teacher collects to determine if scholars are mastering the content or if re-teaching needs to happen.
- Board Configurations - A teaching tool that can be used by students to know what they should expect to learn during class and helpful to help keep the teacher on track during his/her lesson delivery. Teachers should practice "closing to open" to ensure their board configurations are up to date. "Closing to open" is when the teacher updates his/her board configuration at the end of each day in preparation for the next day.
Second 9 Weeks Instructional Focus: T-TESS Instruction Dimension 2.1 - 2.5
During EPLT we have focused on Talk Read, Talk Write and Marzano's Six Step Vocabulary. The aforementioned are 2 of the 3 district literacy priorities. As we have previously discussed during EPLT everyone is a literacy teacher. Students should have the opportunity to read about content, talk about content, and write about content. Also, in EVERY content area there is specific academic vocabulary that scholars must know in order to be successful. EPLT is a time in which we get to come together and dig a bit deeper into strong instructional practices and routines that we can implement with fidelity in our classrooms.
Remember:
- Utilize documents such as the Lead4ward Field Guides, textbooks, district Scope & Sequences and Unit Guides to help identify the academic vocabulary students must know in order to be successful in the unit.
- Students should have multiple opportunities to engage with vocabulary.
- Students need to have the opportunity to discuss content not only with the teacher, but with other classmates in order to hear other points of view.
- Provide students with the opportunity to read about content. When allowing students to read about the content, be sure to set a purpose for their reading. Pose a probing question or ask students to annotate for specific information. Don't solely allow for students to depend on PowerPoints to get information regarding your course.
Important Dates This Week
This week we have a lot going on so please be sure to check the dates so you don't miss out on any important events!
- October 18th - The window opens for Extended Grade Repair. Please see the email from Ms. Malveaux regarding expectations for student enrollment.
- November 8th - Progress reports distributed during 1st period.
- November 10th/11th - EPLT this week will be Wednesday/Thursday on the main campus in the Teaching Theater. This week will be the conclusion of Marzano Six Step Vocabulary. Mrs. Living will facilitate a "make and take" session. Please check your email for materials needed for this session.
- November 10th - Lifetouch picture re-take
- November 11th - Varsity playoff game
- November 17th - Faculty Thanksgiving luncheon
- November 17th - Extended Grade Repair window closes.
- Lesson plan submissions - Remember lesson plans are to be submitted each week on Thursday to the lesson plan folder via Google Drive.
Strive
Use the link to Strive to enroll in eSuccess Academies and any other professional development you may be interested in. Remember, all teachers are required to obtain 50 professional development hours each year. https://spring.schoolobjects.com/strive/available-courses
Aggressive Monitoring
Get Better Faster Clip 18
Learning Passport
During professional development prior to the beginning of the school year the Learning Passport was shared with all staff. This is a reminder to make sure that you are meeting all district requirements for professional development. Please review the required courses and make sure that you are keeping track.
Teacher Checklist
Please check the Teacher Checklist on a regular basis to ensure you are up to date on all submissions and any other important information.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sEFMyJMUErWvNBTMx2HAGObNtBu0jC3aqTkr9nbQbxo/edit#gid=0
Equal Opportunity Schools
Staff Survey:
- Staff should use their email address to login to complete their surveys.
- The lists of staff programmed to do the survey can be downloaded on the Portal under the “Surveys” icon, by clicking the dropdown below “Staff Survey Progress” and then clicking on the download CSV button.
- Staff survey link: https://eos.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_djzKVojXBkNbF1Y
Survey Resources
Here is the link to the Fall Survey Guide. This guide contains:
- Sample emails and scripts to communicate with students, staff, and parents about the survey
- Sample Survey flyers
- Sample lesson plans with videos for students in English and Spanish
- For a guide to monitoring survey progress and downloading lists of students/staff who have not yet responded, you can watch this short video. The lists of students and staff who are programmed to take the survey or provide recommendations can be downloaded on the Portal under the “Surveys” icon. Click on the hyperlinks associated with the student survey or staff recommendations, and then the download CSV button next to the school’s name.
We are here to help!
We know that information can come at you left and right and at times it can be overwhelming. We are here to help you. If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to reach out to any of us.
Mrs. Parker
9th Grade Center Principal
Mrs. Robinson
Mrs. Parker's Administrative Assistant
Mr. Hobbs
(A-K)
Darla Fuente
Mr. Hobbs' & Ms. Rose Administrative Assistant
Kimberly Rose
Counselor (A-K)
Ms. Malveaux
(L-K)
Ricci Scurlock
Ms. Malveaux's & Mrs. Francis Administrative Assistant
Brandy Francis
Counselor (L-Z)