Curriculum Courier
for the week of August 20, 2014
Curriculum: Marilyn Denison
“Whatever you do in life, remember: Think higher and feel deeper. It cannot be bad if you do that.”
– Elie Wiesel
Assessment: Debbie Youngs
SSI LETTERS FOR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL (GRADES K-8)
· Grades K-4, 6-7:
Please communicate the letter about BOY assessments to parents the first day of school. Click on the link at the bottom of this section and download the document using the download icon at the top of the screen (it looks like an arrow pointing down to a line). The letter may be sent home by way of the learner or transmitted through a green alternative. The information will be posted on our website, as well.
· Grades 5 and 8: The state is mailing out a 5th and 8th grade brochure for parents about SSI. When we receive them we will let you know.
AWARE TRAINING
Two AWARE trainings are being offered.
· September 16 – Basic AWARE Training
· September 23 – Advanced AWARE Training
Those to invite: new to CISD, new to AWARE, those who want to monitor a group of learners and have never done so before (such as SpED, literacy, MLI, etc.). Please have staff members register in Eduphoria.
MAP TRAINING
All MAP testing coordinators have been sent an email regarding campus MAP training. I have created a S’More for the campus training, which has two parts.
· Part One – offers a basic understanding of MAP, along with instructions for preparing and administering the assessments.
· Part Two – explains the types of reports and how to integrate them with the Des Cartes Continuum
The expectation is for the MAP Testing Coordinator to train/retrain the staff using Part 1 prior to the opening of the testing window on September 10th. Please send me the date and time of your training, once they have been determined by your campus. Thank you.
STAAR/STAAR EOC TRAINING
Region 10 is having their new Campus Testing Coordinator training on October 6th from 9:00-4:00. Those new to this role will need to attend this training. Thank you.
SYSTEM SAFEGUARDS
If your campus missed a state safeguard (less than 55%) or a federal safeguard (less than 79%), the missed areas for both state and federal must be addressed in your CIP. Please send Debbie a copy of your CIP with the areas highlighted that address the missed System Safeguards. Thank you!
UPCOMING ASSESSMENT DATES FOR AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
BOY MAP: 9/10-10/8
BOY Literacy Assessments: 8/26-9/19
Deadline for Parent Nomination for G/T Assessment (Learners new to CISD in grades 1, 2, 4, 6-12 AND Learners not tested with the CogAT in the last calendar/school year): 9/3
CBE Grade Level Acceleration for Newly Enrolled Learners: 9/4-9/5
CBE Math Acceleration for Newly Enrolled Learners: 9/5
G/T Assessment: 9/13
Deadline to Upload All BOY Data: 9/24
Professional Learning: Laurie O'Neill
Science: Linda Cook
The new and greatly improved FOSS kits will be delivered to elementary campuses on August 26th and 27th. Teachers will receive a follow up email with instructions as to how to log in to the digital Teacher Guides (there are no longer paper TEs or student books within the kits). We will be offering after school FOSS trainings throughout Sept. and October. Each FOSS Overview training will model specific FOSS lessons within all kits for that grade level and will include information about navigating the digital resources, ordering live animals, inventory, inquiry based learning, and more.
Upcoming trainings for Science:
Sept. 9th - FOSS Kit Overview Training for Kindergarten Teachers from 4:00 – 5:30 pm at the Service Center Training Room.
Sept. 11th – Elementary Science Content Specialists Meeting from 4:00 – 5:00 pm at the Service Center Training Room. In addition to setting our learning goals for the year, content specialists will receive sets of nonfiction readers for each science classroom at each campus.
Sept. 16th – FOSS Kit Overview Training for First Grade Teachers from 4:00 – 5:30 pm at the Service Center Training Room.
Sept. 18th – Secondary Science Department Chair Meeting from 4:15 – 5:15 pm at the Service Center Training Room. In addition to setting our learning goals for the year, department chairs will receive resources to share with teachers at their campuses.
Sept. 23rd – FOSS Kit Overview Training for Second Grade Teachers from 4:00 – 5:30 pm at the Service Center Training Room.
Sept. 30th – FOSS Kit Overview Training for Third Grade Teachers from 4:00 – 5:30 pm at the Service Center Training Room.
Oct. 4th – Project Wild and Project Wild Aquatic Training at the Biodiversity Education Center at the Coppell Nature Park from 8:00 am – 3:00 pm. Open to all K-12 science educators. Register through Eduphoria.
Oct. 7th – FOSS Kit Overview Training for Fourth Grade Teachers from 4:00 – 5:30 pm at the Service Center Training Room.
Oct. 9th – Elementary Content Specialists Meeting from 4:00 – 5:00 pm. Location TBD.
Oct. 14th – FOSS Kit Overview Training for Fifth Grade Teachers from 4:00 – 5:30 pm at the Service Center Training Room.
Oct. 16th – Secondary Science Department Chair Meeting from 4:15 – 5:15 pm at CMSN in Dean Boykin’s room
Language and Literacy
@HeatherCato
Secondary Vocabulary Program - Membean
· The team that met last week to talk about Membean came up with several points of interest about Membean as well as some general district recommendations for use. MEMBEAN OVERVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS Campuses and teams are encouraged to have further conversation about these recommendations. Another meeting about Membean will be convened later in the semester to discuss implementation.
· High School – Time will be spent during the district day for Membean training. PLC teams are also encouraged to work with Deana Harrell for further support and training.
· Middle School – PRINCIPALS – please work with Deana Harrell to schedule a time for her come train with your educators. (preferably in the first half of September).
Literacy Assessments / RtI Universal Screeners
· The district assessment plans and targets have been updated on the Language & Literacy Google Site.
· At this time, iStation has been funded by the state for 3rd – 8th grade for the 2014-2015 school year. Any returning or new students in grades 3-8 may use iStation as of August 25, 2014.
Last year's licenses are in effect; therefore, grades K-2, returning students may use iStation through September 30, 2014 on their current license. All new students in grades K-2, may NOT use iStation until after September 30, 2014. Any K-2 student using iStation, returning or new, will require a new license to be purchased after September 30, 2014.
ELEMENTARY
· The elementary literacy coaches worked this summer to add more information and resources about each assessment on the Google Site as well. The goal was to equip educators with the information they need to successfully administer the assessments.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
· We just received word that iStation would be funded for the 2014-2015 school year. WAHOO! As previously discussed, we will use iStation as the RtI universal screener in lieu of maze, fluency, and spelling. Educators will still administer the MAP assessment as well as a writing assessment. They will use the WFBB rubric to score.
· Please also note, that the iStation assessment may be administered in place of the Texas Middle School Fluency Assessment.
· Please share with educators that they still will be required to enter assessment data for each learner into Aware. The literacy coaches will be able to provide further support and information on how to do that if necessary.
HIGH SCHOOL
· As the identified screeners, learners will take MAP and complete a writing assessment. In addition to these screeners, educators have been asked to monitor and support learners who are new to the district to determine if further support is needed.
Mathematics: Mary Kemper
Revised (2012) Mathematics TEKS - All grade levels (Kindergarten through Pre-Cal) in CISD will implement the Revised (2012) Math TEKS this fall. The state requirement for High School TEKS implementation is not until 2015-2016. Though, we are proactively implementing one year ahead to be in the position to work through any concerns this school year. All math educators will review, discuss, and design with these new TEKS during Back to School training this week.
Coming Soon! Stop, Collaborate and Listen! After school professional learning sessions – featuring ideas for elementary mathematics in kindergarten to grade 5 before each 9 weeks! More information coming soon! Math, Math Baby!
Speaker Proposals for CAMT 2015 due September 1 (http://camtonline.org/speaker-proposals-for-2015/). Conference for the Advancement of Mathematics Teaching 2015 will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, July 24-26, 2015. Please encourage educators to reach out to Mary Kemper or any of the Math Coaches for support in proposal submission.
Weekly Smile
Social Studies and CTE: Jon Eric Ziaer
@zlearnmore
Social Studies
“Celebrate Freedom Week”
will be the week of Sept 15th . Grades 3-12 will be expected to participate in this program. I will be helping to coordinate these activities with the elementary and secondary campuses during this week’s Professional Learning (August 18-22)
Career and Technical Education (CTE)
Coppell I.S.D. has been invited to participate in a partnership with the Metroplex Technology Business Council. CISD joins a very small group of area school districts that have been extended this opportunity. These business leaders from the technology industry in the D-FW area look to actively support schools with opportunities directly linked to real-world, on-the-job training and experience.
It’s not how far you fall, it’s how HIGH you bounce