Cat Tracks
Spring Shadows Elementary Wildcats Staff Newsletter
October 22-28, 2018
2nd Grade Racing Team!
4th Grade Texans Team!
Wellness Team Hit it out of the park!
Our Vision
Our Mission
Core Beliefs
- Each student has unique intellectual, emotional, social, and physical qualities.
- We embrace a child’s individual values, interests, and personalities.
- Parents are confident in their child’s social and intellectual educational growth.
- Educators lead their craft by preparing learners in our fast changing world
Principal's Message
Dear Wildcats,
Wow! What a great week we had! We were the busiest wildcats ever! We ended the week with a bang! Thank you for coming out to support our children and their families as we continue to build community and a sense of belonging!
One of the top priorities we have for the next couple of weeks is to reiterate your classroom norms, as well as our campus norms. One of the biggest game changers you will find is a great technique from Get Better Faster book. The authors emphasize that you must define what "practice" looks like. Our students are asked to practice- however, "Contenders practice until they get it right. Champions practice until they cannot get it wrong (pg. 46)." In other words, follow these basic principles:
- Define "perfect"- determine what ideal practice looks like.
- Plan before you practice- build an effective script before you take it live.
- Practice- take it live.
- Follow up and repeat- observe implementation to make sure the action is performed as flawlessly for students as it is behind the scenes.
Let's practice until we are perfect on the following areas:
- Walking in line in the breezeways or hallways during all transitions (door to door).
- Exemplar and Aggressive Monitoring (in the classroom & all areas). That means we are always walking around and aggressively looking to give feedback to your students in the now. What it looks like: Teachers walking around the room, checking on student work, giving feedback, correcting misconceptions. What it does not look like: teacher sitting and teaching from his/her desk or guided table.
As a community- we have declared our goal to improve on state accountability standards by one letter grade from 70 to 80.
Looking ahead into the work we will do for this week:
- Assessing our Students for PSA 1; Rdg, Math, Sci, & Writing: PSA1 2nd-5th are scheduled for the week of October 16th-25th.
Fun Activities:
- Red Ribbon Week: We celebrate on 22-26th! Look at the calendars for fun daily student and staff activities.
Wildcat Love and respect,
Rachel Martinez
Calendar
Celebrate Red Ribbon Week!
4th Grade Extended Planning
Group 5
- 8:00-10:00 ILT Meeting
- 12:00- 5th Grade Reading Planning with Cathy Roth
- 4th Grade Writing Data Conference during Extended Day Time
- 2:45-3:30- Virtual Team Leader Huddle: Any communication through email.
- Library Meeting - Ann off campus
Tuesday, October 23, 2018: Team Up Against Drugs: Wear your favorite sports shirt.
5th Grade Extended Planning
Group 1
- Math PSA 1 (Grades 2-5)
- Rachel, Elizabeth, Maria, Laura, & Noe @ ReDesign Mtg.
- Cindy Off Campus 8:00-12:00
- After-School 3-4
Wednesday, October 24, 2018: It's Smart to be Drug Free: Wear College Shirts and Caps.
Kindergarten Extended Planning
Group 2
- Reading PSA 1 (Grades 3-5)
- Rachel, Elizabeth, Maria, Laura, & Noe @ ReDesign Mtg.
- 10:45 3rd Grade Reading Planning with Cathy Roth
- 3:00-4:00 Faculty Committees/Personalized Learning PLC's
Thursday, October 25, 2018: Follow your Dreams: Wear your favorite pajamas.
PLC Thursday
Group 3
- Science PSA 1 (Grades 2-5)
- Vivian Pratts visits with K & 1 for OWDL Support
Friday, October 26, 2018: It's crazy to do drugs: Dress Crazy- Mismatched Clothes, socks, hair, etc.
1st Grade Extended Planning
Group 4
- Spiral Day
- Snapshot Day
- 1:30-2:00 ILT Planning Huddle
Library News
First - I will be out all day on Monday for a meeting. Please do not send student alone to the library.
Next - I will have a sub Wednesday - Friday. It is Ms Stutsman a wonderful retired librarian so you are in good hands.
Grades 3-5 I realize you have testing during many of your library times. Try to have the children get some new books during testing. Call and see about exchanging at some other time. This week library time will be exchanging books, recording minutes and quiet reading.
The SSE Readers continue to soar as classes are getting their reading logs recorded. SSE Readers now have 69,389 minutes!! WOW!!
There are more minutes coming in some classes!
5th Grade Readers' Minutes
Dr Keyim (13,009), Ms Parada (6,177), Ms Denson (3,841), Ms Calkins (1,189)
4th Grade Readers'' Minutes
Ms Perez (6,030),Ms Hill (4,946), Ms Mendoza (4,329), Ms Dortch (2,719) Ms Shankar (1,535) Ms Vargas (200)
3rd Grade Readers' Minutes
Ms Salazar ((6,496), Ms Klauer (2,035), Ms Lee (614)
2nd Grade Readers' Minutes
Ms. Urrutia (6,758), Ms. Alvarez (4,602), Ms Zetino (2,450)
1st Grader Readers' Minutes
Mr Espejo (2,701) Ms Garcia (245)
Let's Get Every Student Reading!! A Daily Reading habit will make them soar in life! Don't let your class get behind... let's get their reading minutes accounted for! Younger grader teachers just send their reading log and I will get the minutes recorded.
Think about... when would you like to have your students create a class book. If you have some writing assignments that are getting edited which would make a great writing piece for a book, let's plan!
Thanks again for your support!
Ann : )
Shout Outs
- SSE Systems of Care Team! Jakerian for organizing final details, and Maria L. for rovering and final details for Fall Carnival!
- Resource, Instructional Support, Specials, for making sure everything was ready for the carnival!
- Front office for managing all the funds and the tickets!
- Karen for organizing the health fair!
- CNS for making all the concession food! Coordination of concessions was flawless!
- Custodians for working late to clean our school!
Carnival Fun!
DJ Spidey in the House!
Leveling up with a Smile!
Face Painting!
Kids threw us in Jail!
Team SSE ready to color some hair!
Remember to Sign Up for Sunshine and PTA!
Join Sunshine & PTA for $30 (certified staff) & $25 (non-certified staff). You can pay cash or check to Mrs. Berryman or Mrs. Gentry. Checks can be made out to Spring Shadows Elementary.
We are trying to get 100% participation in Sunshine & PTA!
When you join, you get an SSE Unstoppable T-Shirt, 5 Jeans Passes, 4 Late Arrival Passes, and 4 Leave Early Passes.
Please review the PDF attachment to see our SSE Sunshine Bylaws that the team revised and agreed upon at our last meeting. This will give you more information about Sunshine and what your dues are used for.
Sunshine SEMESTER JEANS PASS for $30
The one caveat is that your jeans are to be worn with a nice shirt and shoes (not a t-shirt).
See Mrs. Berryman or Mrs. Gentry to pay for your pass!
Sunshine Sponsored Events
SSE Social Event @ Yard House - October 26th (More information coming soon!)
SSE Sunshine Coffee Cart - October Date TBD
Spring Shadows Elementary
Email: rachel.martinez@springbranchisd.com
Website: https://cms.springbranchisd.com/sse2/
Location: 9725 Kempwood Drive, Houston, TX, United States
Phone: (713) 251-7100
Twitter: @twitter_rachelmartinez4