October 7, 2019
A Communication Tool for the Seven Hills Staff
Thursday's Professional Learning...Focusing on the Wildly Important
With the end of the grading period comes a new WIG cycle. We will spend time reflecting on each of the 4 disciplines as they relate to student goal setting, first grading period student WIGs, and how to make the 2nd grading period WIGs WINNABLE AND WORTHY!
Please bring the following with you to our meeting on Thursday:
- Your notes about 4Dx. Many of you take notes in one common location. Many of you have notes about specific topics in different locations. Wherever your notes are about 4Dx and WIGs...bring them...you will be adding to your notes.
- 3 student WIG charts. You may just choose to grab 3 random Leadership Notebooks. you may choose to bring specific WIG charts for priority students. You might choose a high, average, and struggling learner's WIG chart.
- Something to write with.
- A collaborative and reflective mindset.
Staff EBA Action Team...October Fun!
Don't Forget to start your "Boo-ing" if you haven't already done so!
Here are the guidelines:
- Boo-ing will start the first week in October.
- $20 limit
- You can give little gifts throughout the month of October or you can buy one big gift. It's your choice.
- On your last Boo, you will reveal yourself in some way. (In person or by a note)
- The gifts do not always have to cost money. Get creative! A written note of appreciation is always a nice gift!
Please let Kelly Bryan know if you have any questions! Happy Boo-ing!
First Lighthouse Leader Awards are October 18:
Friday, October 18 is our first Lighthouse Leader Awards Assembly of the year. I wanted to take a moment to remind returning staff and inform new staff of our campus practices for the student celebrations each grading period. I have done my best to capture everything below. If I missed something or something is still unclear, please let me know.
·
· Leadership Assembly and Lighthouse Leader Awards:
- Each homeroom will give out TWO Lighthouse Leader Awards recognizing two students who have exemplified the qualities of a leader for the grading period. Remember we moved to 2 per grading period because of the change to 9 week grading cycles.
- Parents of the students receiving the awards, will be sent a formal invitation in the mail and personal phone call inviting them to the awards ceremony. Paper invitations and envelopes in mailboxes Tuesday morning. These need to be turned in to the office no later than Friday, October 11 so they can be sent in the mail.
- Complete the Lighthouse Leader award using the link below so that the award certificate can be created for each student before Friday’s assembly.
- We will have an adjusted schedule for specials on this day:
Lighthouse Leader Awards Schedule:
- K-2 8:00 - 8:30
- 3-5 8:30 - 9:00
Lighthouse Leader Google Form Due Monday, October 14:
Habit Huddle Classroom Awards:
- Each homeroom has established a classroom culture and family over the last 9 weeks. Celebrations are an important part of continuing to foster this family and culture, while also filling emotional bank accounts. To honor the work and success from the grading period, each homeroom will have classroom celebrations during Habit Huddle on Lighthouse Leader Assembly days.
- The traditional awards (A honor roll, A/B honor roll, perfect attendance, etc.) will be recognized during this time.
- Each grade level team must be consistent in what awards are given during class Habit Huddle awards assemblies.
- The following Spirit Sticks are available for awards and can be found in the “drawer box” behind the front desk:
- Perfect Attendance
- A Honor Roll
- A-B Honor Roll
- Citizenship/Leadership:
- There are tags for specific habits that could be used for citizenship as well.
- Each student will need a ring to get started with. We will place rings in baggies and place them in teacher mailboxes next week.
- There are “brag tags” left over too. These are available on a first come first served basis. We will not reorder these.
- Should the drawer for a specific Spirit Stick be empty. There is not need to panic or be angry. Or be frustrated. Simply ask, and we will refill. If you take the last Spirit Stick, you might pay it forward and let someone know so that we can get the drawer refilled before causing anyone any undue stress.
- Please only take what you need. We will reorder if we run out.
More Details to Come About Staff Lighthouse Leaders!
The following will be sent to parents in a S'more. We will post this on the campus FB page and website as well. Please share with your parents so that they are informed:
"In order to honor the greatness in our Seven Hills Leaders, we offer classroom and grade level Lighthouse Leader Awards Assemblies. We honor students for attendance, honor roll, citizenship, and other grade level or classroom recognitions each grading period. These celebrations will happen in the classroom during Habit Huddle on designated grading period Lighthouse Leader Assembly days. Students will receive "Spirit Sticks" awards for their individual accomplishments. Following Habit Huddle, we will host grade level Leadership Assemblies, one for K-2 grades and another for 3 -5 grades. During these assemblies, two students from each homeroom class will be awarded the distinction of Lighthouse Leader. This award recognizes students who consistently demonstrate leadership qualities and use the 7 Habits to be a Star Leader. Parents of these students will be notified in advance so that they can make plans to attend the assembly. At the end of the year, we will have an awards assembly to honor students for the year of hard work, perseverance, and leadership. This assembly will include recognition of honor roll, attendance, etc. for the entire school year. Students and staff are encouraged to wear college colors (either a college t-shirt or the colors of their favorite colleges) to Leadership Assemblies, because we are beginning with the end in mind (Habit 2). We set goals for future success and see these celebrations as recognition of hard work to achieve our goals. We are excited about these opportunities to recognize the greatness in our Star Leaders!"
Parent Conference Expectations:
Student led and BOY conferences should serve as an opportunity to inform parents of their child’s goals for the semester/year based on BOY data, communicate actions we are taking to support the student in reaching their goals, share any specific concerns you have for a student, and provide an opportunity to empower students to take ownership of their learning. Conferences should align with our mission statement…”together we WiLL accomplish GREATNESS.”…as this should create a partnership between home and school .Honestly, in my opinion, they should also be fun and bring joy. I hope everyone who has engaged in conferences already has had a fabulous experience. If you have not started conferences yet, please make sure you are as prepared as you possibly can be. Let us know how we can help you.
Student-Led Parent Conference Resources in Team Drive:
- · Student Led Conference Sheet: This form is to help students and teachers be the most prepared for the conference and should be shared in addition to Leadership Notebooks
- K-2 Student Led Conference Google Slide Deck: This slide deck was created to help guide younger students through the conference process
- Parent Form: This tool was created to help parents fully participate in the conference. Remember, this is new for many of our parents and last year was our first “rodeo” – many parents need guidance in questioning their students in a meaningful way.
- Student Post Conference Reflection N(written feedback and Google Form both available): It is important for us to capture student reflections about this conference. We will have mini student led conferences in the spring with Open House. By gathering feedback now, that helps students and parents see growth and improvement in the spring. It also helps us plan better.
What an exciting time! Parent conferences are an opportunity to set everyone up for future success, and this year at Seven Hills, we continue to promote student ownership of learning and accountability through student led conferences. All K-5 students will participate in student-led conferences. In order to help everyone be the most prepared they can be for conferences, I have a outlined information below. Leadership Teams will review details in their meeting tomorrow, and share any updates as needed.
- Parent conferences are a district expectation and part of the FLEX hour professional learning plan. The campus calendar says 3:45 - 6:45. I received information after the calendar was printed that conferences can begin at 3:30.
- Student - Led Conferences are a component of a Lighthouse School.
- Student - Led Conference Resources are housed in the 18-19 Seven Hills Google Team Drive.
- If you are confused about what students should share, etc. please start with your ILT representative. They are an excellent resource. If you still need clarification, let me know.
- Let students lead their part. :) Set them up for success with this conference by making sure all Leadership Notebooks are ready to share, data has been updated, etc. Leadership Notebooks and WIGs should be a point of pride for students! They should look like a point of pride at all times, especially when showcasing them. If you need a reminder about what a Leadership Notebook should look like, please reference the Aligning Academics Leader in Me PD book from last year. Also, PRACTICE with your students...let them practice with a peer and/or you before their conference.
- I know some people are missing items for the Leadership Notebooks. If you need something else, please let me know as soon as possible.
- Specials teachers, SPED and specialists are expected to attend/hold/participate in a minimum of 12 conferences. Because of the change in format this year, we asked that you schedule a time with the parent either right before or right after the student-led parent conference. Please do not take their time to shine.
- All teachers must turn in a conference log after all conferences are held as part of the FLEX agreement requirement.
- It is best practice for teachers to keep a record of the conference notes and details. What topics were discussed, ideas generated, next steps, people in attendance, date and time of conference are minimum expectations when documenting a conference. We do have example conference forms you can use, if you would like examples, please let us know. Teachers have autonomy in the documentation system they feel best meets their needs.
Enjoy this process! This is a time for your students to SHINE and for you to establish partnerships with parents. Think about it...once students have practiced sharing with their parents, they should have confidence sharing with anyone!
Ethics Training on October 14:
Star Leaders,
We have been assigned to group B, the afternoon group for Ethics training. We will spend the morning on campus engaging in Classroom Library PD, break for lunch, then end the day at Eaton HS with Ethics training. Please register for the Ethics Training here: Sign up in Edugence HERE!
TTESS Goals in Edugence and BOY Conferences:
Goals: New and returning staff...2 goals and any revisions must be entered in Edugence by the end of the week...October 11...
SLOs: SLOs from last year wer not able to be viewed in Edugence as of last week. They were working on this. My view is different from your view. It may have been fixed. Some of you mentioned that you needed to see the SLO from last year to create your rubrics for this year. Yes, teams can have common SLOs. I strongly encourage you NOT to simply copy last year's SLO and keep it as this year's.
- Look at your BOY data. In 3-5, what are low performing TEKS that have common skills that might lead to a strong SLO?
- Consider our campus WIG and our Instructional Focus
- What skills would be high leverage for achievement and growth? If we focus on THIS it will have a significant impact?
- SLO Slide Deck: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UWO2euwaa4xhp-bkyQDmvizjVD_YvGvr3yyLRYQzZ10/edit?usp=sharing
SLO Due Dates...Mark these in Your Calendars
· SLO and rubrics due in Edugence: Extension being given! ALL DUE OCTOBER 11. This is a hard deadline.
·
The SLO must be reviewed 3 times throughout the year for progress monitoring. The dates for these reviews are:
o October 31: Most of you will likely have this finished by October 11, as you will probably use BOY assessment data or unit pre-assessment data that you currently have
o February 15: This will likely capture MOY data for teams
April 17: This is a hard deadline based on end of year TTESS goals and summative conferences
Tanya and I have to have everything approved in Edugence by October 18.
Teams Need to Sign Up For Thursday Meeting Snacks!
From the CIT:
Assessments this week:
Kinder
October 9-11
KMath.1.Module 1-3
1st Grade
October 10-11
1Math.1.Module 1-3
2nd Grade
October 9-11
2Math.1.Module 1-3
3rd Grade
October 8-9
3Science.1.Matter
October 10-15
3Math.1.Modules 1-3
4th Grade
October 7-11
4.ELA.1.CBA Heart of the Story--due in Edugence by October 15
October 7-11
4Science.1.Matter
5th Grade
October 7-11
5.ELA.2.CBA Paige Takes the Plunge
and Where's Alfie--due in Edugence by October 15
October 9-11
5Science.2.Matter
Upcoming Assessments:
1st Grade
October 11-16
1Math.1.Module 1-3
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
October 10-15
3Math.1.Modules 1-3
4th Grade
October 17-21
4Math.1.Modules 1-3
5th Grade
From the Interventionists:
Please take our quiz to help spread awareness and better understand dyslexia. Be an advocate for struggling students to get the support and services they need to thrive in school.
If you are needing a translator for our Fall Parent Teacher Conferences, please use the link below to sign up! Mrs. Mari and Ms. Idalia will be available to translate either on October 3, October 8, or October 15. If you are needing a translator for a different day, reach out to Mrs. Bryan.
Sign up here for a translator:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0948ABAB22A3FA7-translator2
From the Librarian:
Character Pumpkin Patch information:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SYFIRsghBZVpU-LNYDmWyfbbS55m_XOO/view?usp=sharing
Please share the Pumpkin Patch info on your social media and Dojo.
Library Schedule for this week. Please look over the schedule, there have been changes made.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mRuN4DbX58tLVZpUnQgfoEtuQXvDY-wR_4UJuTCMuE8/edit?usp=sharing
Campus Reminders and Updates:
Quality Tools Posters: We are working to have these printed and laminated for you.
Digital Citizenship Lessons: The Digital Citizenship Courses are available in Moodle for you to begin using with your students. Jeremy will be sending out details on how to make sure you register for the courses so that you get credit for completing them. All lessons must be completed by the end of the first grading period. This is a campus expectation. https://moodle.nisdtx.org/course/search.php?search=digital+citizenship
Hall Preparation and Displays: Please make sure we are getting all hall displays completed. Also, please take time to review campus expectations with your students. We are leaders at Seven Hills Elementary. We take pride in our school. We do not tear things off the wall. We do not write on the walls, etc. ALL HALLS CLASSROOMS NEED TO BE "SPRUCED" UP BY THE END OF THE DAY ON TUESDAY IN PREPARATION FOR OUR FIRST SITE VISIT.
Annual Required Trainings DUE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11 :
Certain trainings for staff members are an annual requirement. In an effort to have employees well informed and to have them have the ability to access staff development at their own pace, the district has provided Annual Required Training eCourses in Moodle.
Please note that employees new to our district must complete the Child Abuse and Sexual Abuse and the Suicide Prevention Plan Review trainings BEFORE the first day of school. All other employees will need to complete the trainings by October 11.
A few helpful tips to make your training go smoothly:
1. Be sure you are logged into your NISD google account while in Moodle.
2. Read the directions in this link carefully, especially the steps on enrolling in the course.
A visual of the steps to enroll in your training can be seen in the image below.
Habit Huddle Connection:
Habit 6 is to Synergize. To live in a highly effective paradigm and develop ideas and solutions that are better than any one individual can come up with, we must value differences. "Valuing differences is the foundation of creating synergy. We are effective when we value and embrace the differences of others rather than rejecting or merely tolerating them. We see others' differences as strengths, not weaknesses." - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Think about it..
- Do you know the unique strengths of the people you work with? The students in your class? Your family?
- In what relationships do you merely tolerate differences rather than value them?
- Are there differences that have become a source of conflict in any of your relationships...with peers, students, your family members?
To help you move into a highly effective paradigm and embrace a willingness to recognize and value differences, try this:
- Identify someone you disagree with or have low trust with. Make a list of that person's strengths. Use these strengths to help you shift your perspective. This will help build trust and support action in the following trust behaviors: Right Wrongs, Demonstrate Respect, Listen First and Get Better.
- When someone disagrees with you, say, "Great! You see things differently. I need to listen to you." Not only with this promote synergy, but it will also help you develop the Listen First Trust Behavior.
"Insecure people have a high need to clone others, to mold them over into their own thinking. They don't realize that the very strength of the relationship is having another point of view. Sameness is uncreative - and boring! The essence of synergy is to value differences - to respect them, to build on strengths, to compensate for weakness."
- 7 Habits Book-
Save the Date:
Jean-Tober Continues! Woot Woot!
Monday, October 7:
- Fire Safety Program - all students to the gym at arrival
- LHT MEeting; 3:30 Location Sammons' Room
- Kim and Tanya off campus at training (Kim training at Admin; Tanya training out of
- Scoreboards due
Tuesday, October 8:
- Grade Level PLCs (email coming to ILT from Kim...due to ARDs and planning with Kelli, some have to be rescheduled)
- Parent Conferences; 3:30 - 6:30
Wednesday, October 9:
- FIRST LIM Site Visit (more details coming)
- Kindergarten Writing Toolkit Prep Day
- PTA Teacher Luncheon hosted by K and 5th parents
- Accountability Team Meeting, 3:15 - 3:45
- Wear Anchored in Leadership shirt and professional pants/skirt
- Eaton HS Homecoming Parade
Thursday, October 10:
- Sharpen the Saw Clubs
- Professional Learning Meeting, 3:20 - 4:30 (see above for what to bring to be prepared)
- Jean-Tober Day due to 50's Day on Friday
Friday, October 11:
- TCRWP 3-5 Lab Site with Jonathan
- 50's Day in Specials - staff and students encouraged to participate
- Digital Citizenship Lessons DUE
- NISD Required Training DUE
- Eaton HS HoCo
- End of 1st Grading Period
- Lighthouse Leader Invitations must be turned in to the office to mail home & phone calls to parents must be made
Happy Birthday to You:
Dee Collinsworth 10/8
Please Add This to Your Parent Communication:
PTA Reflections:
Entries are Due October 4:
21 Day Fitness Challenge:
Encourage your elementary student to snack healthy for 21 days. The 21-Day Challenge starts October 7th. Click on the link below and sign up today! You can also find healthy snack recipes created by schools from across North Texas, including our very own Byron Bistro. Every child who completes the 21-Day Challenge will receive a reward from Medical City Children's Hospital.
https://kids-teaching-kids.com/sign-up/
YouTube Link