The Roar
January 19, 2016
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Chatham's Chattering
First Things First: Updates
The building will be open Saturday, January 23, for your convenience.
Taking care of the building:
Breakfast Trash reminder: trash should be bagged and placed outside the classroom door by 8:30 so that the custodians can quickly take care of that for you. Amy will place a week's worth of trashbags in homeroom teacher's boxes each Friday.
Make sure you are stacking your chairs everyday so that the custodians can vacuum. Make sure any trash cans with food are by your door.
Hallways displays need to be updated. We encourage you to display evidence of student learning. Our students are doing great things! Remember, we will have visitors coming soon!
We will have STEM professional learning with Jonathon Wetherington and Bonnie Brush this Tuesday in the professional learning room. Remember that we switched Tuesday and Thursday meetings. On Thursday, Chris will be available during planning to support with your technology efforts.
Don't forget:
Please take this survey regarding our guest speaker, Rick Wormeli. The entire cluster is participating in this survey. Your feedback matters.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HARBINSAHS
Rather than a message this week, I offer you a video, created by me. Please take a moment to enjoy. Click the link below.
It’s GREAT to be a Harbins Tiger!
Jennifer
Strategic Initiatives 2016 - 2020 Information
Who Is Making IT Happen
- Our counselors. . . who not only support our students, but who also support our staff. You make it happen each and every day!
- Tammy Lee - your feedback to students on meeting behavior expectations is clear, concise, and meaningful.
- Curriculum Coaches - thank you for the extra time you spend to learn new strategies and implement best practice in your classrooms
"It Happens" At Harbins (a note from a fellow educator)
I wanted to let you know that I find your school's landing page AMAZING!
I am featuring several of your school's widgets in my presentation for Lead Innovators this month.
My three favorite widgets include, your newsletter using SMORE, your master schedule using Google Sheets, and your Lab sign up using Google Sheets.
Pretty awesome for teachers!
Becky Mathews
100th Day of School Activity- January 22nd
Special Education Bachelor's Degree Program information Session
Georgia Gwinnett College and GCPS have teamed up to offer an evening/weekend program that will allow GCPS paraprofessionals and school based employees (not including substitutes) to complete a bachelor’s degree and become certified in Special Education while continuing to work. The program is designed for candidates who have completed an associate’s degree or a minimum of 60 semester/90 quarter hours from a regionally accredited college, university or technical school. Additional information on the program, program requirements and admission criteria can be obtained during a Informational Session scheduled with representatives from Georgia Gwinnett College and GCPS.
When: Monday, February 15, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Where: Instructional Support Center Building #200 Grayson Room
437 Old Peachtree Road
Suwanee, GA 30024
Please contact Patrice Pendergast at 678-301-6076 with any questions.
MEDIA SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION
Media Services is holding an information session for teachers interested in becoming a Media Specialist on Wednesday, January 28, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. in the HR Conference Training Room, Building 100 at the J. Alvin Wilbanks Instructional Support Center.
Working as a media specialist is a rewarding experience but pursuing certification is a big commitment of time and money. A master’s degree is required and consists of 8 –10 courses. Even if a teacher holds a master’s degree, 6-8 additional courses are required for certification. Passing the GACE alone does not allow a teacher to obtain certification to be a media specialist.
The information session will include details about media specialist job expectations, based on the GCPS Media Specialist Evaluation Standards. A panel of experienced media specialists will be on hand to offer advice and answer questions about running an effective media program. Information about how to obtain certification and programs available through various Georgia universities will also be presented.
Being a media specialist is a profession, not just a position. While instruction remains a strong focus of any media program, the perspective of a media program is different from that of a classroom. A media specialist has many additional roles, including program manager, teacher leader, and supervisor. This information session is designed to make teachers fully aware of all aspects of being a media specialist before enrolling in a program.
Gwinnett Digital Learning Conference 2016—Call for Proposals
This is an open request for proposals to present at the Gwinnett Digital Learning Conference on June 14, 2016 at the Instructional Support Center. The proposal form will be available beginning Monday, January 11, 2016. We hope that you will consider sharing your knowledge and expertise with your peers.Please note that choice session presentations will last approximately one hour. The deadline to submit presentation proposals is February 19, 2016.
We invite Teachers, Administrators, LSTCs, Media Specialists and Central Office Leaders to submit Digital Learning presentation proposals in any of the following areas:
Instructional Strategies
Communication and Collaboration
Digital Tools
Creativity and Innovation
Project-Based Learning
STEM or STEAM
The proposal form is located in the employee portal. Below are directions to access the proposal form:
Log into the employee portal using your employee ID and portal password.
Go to the Tools tab and click on GDLC Proposals in the Media section.
ESOL Endorsement Cohorts Starting March 1, 2016
EL Programs is opening up two one year cohorts of the ESOL Endorsement starting with the Culture course on March 1, 2016. Participants will continue with Linguistics in the fall, then Methods and Materials with an embedded practicum the following spring. Teachers who are enrolled in the program may apply to the GaPSC for the non-renewable ESOL credential and may provide ESOL support to EL students while they are completing the program.
What: 2016-2017 ESOL Endorsement
When: Dates and times vary
Where: ISC
Teachers must hold a clear renewable teaching certificate in order to apply.
Please identify teachers you wish to recommend for participation. Applications are due to the EL Programs Office no later than Friday, February 5. Principal recommendation is required as part of the application.
EL Director: Elizabeth Webb Phone: 678-301-7077
STEMCampATL - Spring 2016
GCPS is proud to host the 2nd STEMCampATL for metro-Atlanta STEM educators. STEMCampATL is designed to provide access to high quality, personalized professional learning for K-12 educators. Embracing the belief that fellow STEM educators can provde some of the most valuable professional development resources for their colleagues. This unconference learning will be driven by teachers for teachers. Come prepared to share and learn about innovative practices in STEM education.
What: STEMCampATL
When: Saturday March 12, 2016 8:00 - 12:00
Where: Peachtree Ridge HS
Registration will open on January 5th @ http://stemcampatl.weebly.com/
RFL Cupcake Challenge
ACCESS Testing
ACCESS testing for ELL's begins January 19th. This year students will participate in online testing.
A complete ACCESS Testing schedule will be provided to all teachers with participating students.
1.10.16 Technology Updates
· DA Grade conversion charts can be found in S://Staff//Schoolnet, in eClass under Content--> Assessment, and in SchoolNet by searching in Instructional Materials
· KidTalk data is due on 1/22. Please attach your spreadsheet in an email to Chris Rogers and adhere to these guidelines when completing your data
· Technology professional learning is on Thursday, January 14th in the Professional Development room. We will be focusing on BYOD support and technology integration strategies for the BYOD visitation day and beyond
· New gradebooks have been created for Semester 2 classes. Please use these to input new grades - you can click the "X" to hide your other gradebooks and help clear up your workspace. Please update the Grading Weights for your new gradebooks if you made any changes to the default county template.
· SAFARI Montage is a great new content resource for all GCPS teachers and students. You will notice a new button on the portal under "Instructional Resources" and in eCLASS when building/editing content. We will provide training on this resource during the next round of common planning
Cyber Learning Days Option - Preparation
As we move into the time period for potential school closings due to inclement weather, we should prepare for the possibility that a 4th or subsequent day of school closure may be declared a Cyber Learning Day, with school and learning continuing that day through our digital resources.
Attached are guidelines to inform our preparations for a potential Cyber Learning Day. In addition, a "Cyber Learning Day Information" course page has been launched in eCLASS C&I and is now available for all teachers and administrators (anyone who currently has access to the C&I Communication Centers, such as the MOCC).
Link to Cyber Learning Day Information course page:
Dates That Lunch Monitors Are Not Available and Teachers Will Need to Eat in Cafe With Their Class
January 26th
February 5th & 22nd
March 4th & 21st
April 18th & 28th
May 12th, 23rd, 24th & 25th
Technology Reminders
- Don't forget to turn off your projectors and lock your doors when leaving your classroom!
- The 3rd 9 Weeks Lab Schedule is now open for editing - please remember to "Add to My Drive" and to delete any old lab schedules that may cause confusion - you will also get an email notification on Monday morning that it was shared with you
- The 4th 9 Weeks Lab Schedule is also open for editing, but the lab sheets are locked. You can still sign up for other rooms through the end of the year.
Classroom Spirit Award
ABCD Awards
Please send your nominations to Chatham by January 21, 2015, for recognition of staff members who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that teaching and learning at Harbins are at the highest levels.
Roar Deadline
If you want to add something to the Roar, it must be sent to Montine by noon on Thursday of each week. If not turned in by Thursday at noon, it will have to be entered into the following week’s Roar. Thanks for your help!
Leaders in Learning
A Chrome file has been shared with each teacher, please go in to list your Leader in Learning each month when Montine sends out the notification email.