Tiger Tales
SHS Faculty and Staff Weekly News and Information Bulletin
Quote of the Week
Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves. ~Dale Carnegie
Video Cast & Credits
Thank you to our Southside singers and dancers who have so graciously helped make both of the videos included in this edition of Tiger Tales!
Videos:
- "HAPPY" Happy Birthday
- Southside "Celebrates"
Please enjoy the videos, but please don't post them! This is for our faculty & staff pleasure only!
March 23, 2015 ................Edition #30
Included in this weekly bulletin is a comprehensive listing of events, meetings and FYI’s. If anyone needs to disseminate information to the entire faculty, please send your information to Ms. Dean by 12:00 p.m. Friday.
This publication, in total, is for faculty and staff member’s use only. Please read carefully and govern yourselves accordingly. All information in the bulletin is deemed important and faculty and staff members should be cognizant of deadlines, meetings and events.
Have a "Happy" Happy Birthday!
April Birthdays:
Apr 3 .....................................Kathleen Hodge (AFJROTC Instructor)
Apr 4 .....................................Anna Kelly (Music Teacher)
Apr 8 .....................................James Brookie (Social Studies Teacher)
Apr 9 .....................................Bradley Griffith (Assistant Principal)
Apr 15 .................................. Michael Dunlap (Building Custodian)
Apr 16 .................................. Nyema Williams (English Teacher)
Apr 21 .................................. Tiffany Lanier (Social Studies Teacher)
Apr 24 .................................. Mary Ford (Social Studies Teacher)
This is for you! Please enjoy the video, but please don't post it!
Trouble viewing the Videos?
You may have difficulty viewing these videos if your computer is in safe mode.
If you have trouble viewing the videos you may also view them from my website:
Two Weeks in Advance:
Monday, March 23:
............................Algebra 1 Benchmark Testing
12:00 pm ...........US History EOC Team Meeting
2:01 pm .............Alg EOC Team Meeting
Tuesday, March 24:......3rd Quarter Ends
............................Algebra 1 Benchmark Testing
............................English 1Benchmark Testing
10:30 am ...........English EOC Team Meeting
3:00 pm .............Biology EOC Team Meeting
4:00 pm .............Faculty Council Meeting
4:00 pm .............Triple A and GE Tutoring
Wednesday, March 25:
............................English 1Benchmark Testing
4:00 pm .............AP/IB Meeting (OR)
Thursday, March 26:
............................US History Benchmark Testing
4:00 pm .............Triple A and GE Tutoring
Friday, March 27: ....Grades Due
9:00 am .............3rd Q Grades & Scoresheet Reports due to Kathy Stables
............................US History Benchmark Testing
4:00 pm ............Contact Logs & Grade Distributions Due
<<<March 30 - April 3 ..... Spring Break>>>
Monday, April 6:
12:00 pm ...........US History EOC Team Meeting
2:01 pm .............Alg EOC Team Meeting
Tuesday, April 7:
............................Biology Benchmark Testing
10:30 am ...........English EOC Team Meeting
3:00 pm .............Biology EOC Team Meeting
4:00 pm .............Faculty Council Meeting
4:00 pm .............Triple A and GE Tutoring
Wednesday, April 8:
............................Biology Benchmark Testing
3:55 pm .............Freshmen Academy Meeting
Thursday, April 9:
TBA.............................Blood Drive
4:00 pm .............Triple A and GE Tutoring
Friday, April 10:
In the near future:
March and April Highlights:
Mar 24 ...................END of 3rd Quarter
Mar 27 ...................Grades & Scoresheet Report deadline
March 30-April 3...Spring Break
Apr 14 ....................Technology Tuesday
Apr 22 ....................Spring Breakfast
TBD ....................ACT Test Dry Run
Apr 28 ....................ACT Testing
Apr 29 ....................Workkeys Testing
Apr 29 ....................4th Q Progress Grades & Scoresheet Reports Due
For all Regularly Scheduled Meetings & P.D. refer to the 2014-15 P.D. Brochure
March Star Teacher of the Month!
Congratulations to Ms. Copeland for being the March Star Teacher of the Month!
“Mrs. Copeland is great with all students. The students’ level, programming, or background is not a factor as Mrs. Copeland sets high expectations for all students. She is positive and always willing to provide feedback, attend meetings, or accept 1 more student. Mrs. Copeland embodies the spirit of a teacher who cares. Southside is lucky to have such an example in the classroom.”
From the desk of
Carlos Brooks, Principal
Spring Break Faculty and Staff members are reminded that a doctor’s note is required for all absences before and after major holidays (Spring Break) unless prior approval has been obtained.
Class Changes All teachers are asked to stand at your door during class changes to assist with student transitions each period.
American Red Cross Blood Drive The Spring Blood Drive will take place on Thursday, April 9. Teachers and students are encouraged to sign up at lunch.
2015 Employee of the Year Awards (Deadline to Submit Nominations is Wednesday, April 8) - We are seeking outstanding employees to be nominated for the 2015 Employee of the Year Awards sponsored by Greenville Federal Credit Union. Employees of the Year receive a crystal award and $500 while their school/location receives $500 to share the honor with staff. Click HERE for entry form, guidelines, and additional information. Note – Nomination forms must be signed by the employee’s supervisor. The seven nomination categories include: School Administrator, Assistant School Administrator, School Support Employee, Operations Employee, District Professional Employee, District Support Employee, and Emerging Teacher (two levels). Audience: Location Supervisors and All Employees. Contact: Sandra Welch, Communications Department, 355-3888.
Makeup Days – April 6 and June 5 become student attendance days. A decision about the fourth missed day (and any additional days if needed) will be made later this year. Please note that legislation in previous years forgave missed days beyond the three required by law. Please communicate the makeup day schedule to parents, students and staff.
Teachers are reminded to inform your students that BYOD personal devices are not to be used when the teacher is absent; Personal devices will be confiscated: if they use it, they could lose it!
Brad Griffith, Assistant Principal
Attendance Report
This is a reminder to review the attendance report each afternoon. Corrections can be made any time before midnight. Our average error rate still remains close to 20 per day.
Calendars
Please send any calendar items to Mr. Griffith to place on the school calendar
Faculty Calendar Faculty and staff ONLY. To check the Faculty Calendar you must enter the password: tigerpride11
Tracy Hall, Assistant Principal
Will Jones, Assistant Principal
Students assigned to ISS: Administrators will contact teachers via email when students are assigned ISS. Please submit the assignment(s) for that day to Mr. Simmons.
Justin Ludley, Assistant Principal
Regene' Ransome, Assistant Principal
Book Scanning March 23rd HAS BEEN POSTPONED
Teachers It is very important that you leave detailed lesson plans for your substitute. If you know of an absence in advance, the lesson plans should be left in the Green Substitute Folder. If you become ill during the night, e-mail your lesson plans to Ms. Ransome or fax (355-8798) your lesson plans to Ms. Mills by 7:30 A.M.
In instances where there are no current student rosters, emergency plans, or lesson plans for the day, substitutes have expressed concerns about the lack of planning. A substitute should not have to look for the green sub folder or the red emergency folder as those items should be left visible on your desk. Your planning or the lack thereof will often determine whether a substitute wants to return to our building or not. Also, have conversations with your students about the behavior you expect them to exhibit toward a substitute during your absence.
ALL FIELD TRIPS INCLUDING COLLEGE VISITS MUST BE TAKEN BY APRIL 10, 2015.
Bookeeping
- We no longer accept checks for payment.
- Teachers need to turn student debt in to Christie Seear
IEP Season
1. It is required by law that a general education teacher be present at every meeting. The general education teacher is part of the IEP team as it is related to developing and reviewing a student’s IEP.
2. Case managers will send event invites via email through the outlook calendar. Please make note of the date and time of your meeting. Please arrive on time. Calling around to locate teachers results in delayed start times. Beginning a meeting anywhere from 5-10 minutes or more, slows the process. This puts us in danger of being unable to complete the meeting in a timely meeting. Teachers will be invited during planning period times. Extenuating circumstances may require us to pull a teacher from a class, but coverage will be provided. The plan is to get you back prior to your next period class. However we do not plan for a meeting to run over, but we do want to address the parent’s concerns regarding their child’s academic progress. If a meeting runs over, we will make provisions for you to be dismissed.
3. Some teachers will be asked to come to more meetings than others. This is due to several factors. We must work around the student’s and parents’ schedule, other meeting times, and fellow team members. We will have approximately 100 meetings to hold in a short period of time.
4. Please come to the meeting prepared to speak about the student's progress and performance in your class. Bring all related and necessary materials. Speak briefly about these items. If you have other outstanding issues, please arrange another meeting with the parent.
5. The general education teacher should plan to stay for the entire meeting unless needing to go back to a class with no coverage.
6. If you are aware of a future absence when there is also an IEP meeting scheduled or if you have an emergency absence to come up, please communicate this with the special education teacher in a timely manner, so that a replacement general education teacher can be found. It would be helpful if you could find a teacher to cover for you in circumstances as such.
7. If all else fails, communication is the key. Please contact me.
There will be several meetings conducted throughout this process and your cooperation is needful for us to be successful and in compliance with district, state, and legal regulations.
Freshman Academy Updates
Upcoming Academy Events!
March
25 - Tiger of the Month Field trip to Greenview CDC (9:50 – 11:22)
27 - No Zero Incentives Day
April
8 - Character Education Session – Respect
8 - Freshman Academy Teacher Meeting (3:55)
9 - Tiger of the Month Luncheon
Triple A Tutoring:
Triple A tutoring will continue every Tuesday and Thursday beginning at 4 p.m. Please let your students know they may attend tutoring each Tuesday and Thursday (bus transportation and snacks are provided).
Tuesdays: Math, English, and Social Studies/Science help will be offered
Thursdays: Math, English, and Assessment Make-up/Retake help will be offered
Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, Grade Reporting
Kathleen Stables, CRT
3rd Quarter Ends Tuesday, March 24th
Be sure to let students know that 3rd QUARTER ENDS Tuesday, March 24th and all assignments and make-up tests/quizzes/projects should be turned in prior to that date.
Grade Reporting deadline: 9:00 am Friday, March 27th (3rd Quarter grades)
Please have your grades finalized and scoresheet reports printed, reviewed for accuracy, signed and submitted by 9:00 AM on Friday, March 27th.
Reminders:
- No Quarter grades above 100 (floor manually)
- teachers with SEMESTER-ONLY Classes: the 9th grade floor of 61 applies to the 3rd Quarter
- teachers with YEAR-LONG Classes: all students receive a floor of 50 for the remainder of the year
Grades & Scoresheet Report Deadlines for the 2014-15 school year printable pdf
Grade Reporting Grade Reporting Website & Calendar
Tech Tuesdays Professional Development To prepare for the arrival of the new Chromebooks, teachers should attend the CHROMEBOOKS Workshop on Tuesday, April 14th from 4:00-5:00 pm with Jennifer Bowning in the Media Center O.R. and bring your laptops!
Southside Celebrates
Our School Portfolio has been updated. A draft is available on the staff drive - 2014-15 folder - School Portfolio folder.
We have a lot to CELEBRATE!
Here are just a few of our 2013-14 Student Achievement successes:
Report Card–Absolute & Growth Ratings: Average
ESEA Rating– B
2014 Palmetto Gold Winner
On-time grad rate 69.3% to 73.6%
5-Yr grad rate 60.1% to 72.3%
EOC Algebra 1 pass rate 63.5% to 82.7%
EOC Biology 1 pass rate 60.6% to 63%
EOC U.S. History pass rate 56.2% to 57.6%
EOCEP all combined pass rate 59% to 62.3%
EOC Algebra 1 Mean Scores 74.7 to 78.9
EOC English 1 Mean Scores 70.4 to 70.9
EOC Biology Mean Scores 75 to 77.2
EOC US History Mean Scores 72.9 to 74.4
The School Portfolio also recognizes other student successes in sports, forensics, AFJROTC, band, Academic Team and more.
The 5-year action plan for 2013-2018, included in the School Portfolio, details each goal, the projected and actual yearly results, and the strategies that we are using to meet our goals. Please take time to review the document.
Finally, THANK YOU ALL for your help in making 2013-14 a year to celebrate! And for making a difference in the lives of our students!
Please enjoy the video, but please don't post it!
NEWSELA
Teachers can get free access to the NEWSELA website for subject-related news articles!
Did you know that you or your students can:
- print or read informational text (interesting news articles) on-line at various Lexile reading levels.
- take a quiz on-line & get immediate results or print the quiz and answer key
- sign up for a daily email from NEWSELA
Our students need exposure to reading a variety of text on a variety of topics. In preparation for the ACT test, students will benefit from experience reading text (about 350 words) and answering 10-15 multiple choice questions in a 9 minute tome period.
Using NEWSELA articles is one way to access student appropriate material at their Lexile reading level.
If you would like more information or assistance, please contact Kathy Stables or go to: https://www.newsela.com
Cedric Miller, Guidance Chair
Lavetta Collins, IB Coordinator
There will be a AP/IB Teacher meeting on March 25, 2015 beginning at 4:00 PM in the OR.
Jennifer Browning, Media Specialist
Faculty Facts
Breakfast!
April 22nd Faculty and Staff are invited to the Spring Breakfast. This year we will have a omelet bar so that you can chose just what you want in your omelet. The Tiger Ambassador are very excited about the semi annual breakfast. The breakfast will begin at 8:00 am in the media center.
SHARE WITH STUDENTS
BYOD Reminder Please remind your students that BYOD personal devices are not to be used when the teacher is absent; Personal devices will be confiscated: if they use it, they could lose it!
Seat Time Recovery Remind students that they are allowed to miss five (5) days in semester courses and ten (10) days in year-long courses. Any absences over these allowances must be medically excused. In order for students to be eligible to attend Seat Time Recovery, they must have passing grades. If students do not make up time for the unexcused absences, they will receive an FA (failure due to absence) instead of passing grades.