Birdneck Briefing
Week of Sept. 24, 2018
A2: Week of Sept 24-28
Week A2 45 minute Language Arts Colaboration meetings
Friday, September 21: 5th Grade Airshow Fieldtrip to Oceana
Saturday, September 22: Gardening at Birdneck. 8:30 am in our courtyard
Monday, September 24 - Smarty Ants training grades K-3
Tuesday, September 25 - PBIS team meeting 3:00
Tuesday, September 25 - Ident-A-Kid
Wednesday, September 26 - 2:45-3:30 Relay for Life meeting.
Wednesday, September 26 - Fall PTA LTI
Thursday, September 27 - Staff Meeting
Upcoming dates:
Tuesday, October 2 - Literacy Night and Volunteer Recruitment Night
Wednesday October 3 - IPT test for 4th grade (make up days on the 4th and 5th)
Monday, October 8 - Professional learning day and virtual learning day - no school for students
Tuesday, October 9 - Progress reports issued
Friday, October 12 - Pizza Bingo
Wednesday, October 24, Grades 4 and 5 TLLT training
Thursday, October 25- Grades 2 and 3 TLLT training
Friday, October 26- Grades K and 1 TLLT training
Tuesday, November 6- Staff Day, and Virtual Learning Day Schools closed to students
Wednesday, November 21- Adjusted Dismissal
Thursday and Friday, November 22 and 23- Thanksgiving Holidays Schools closed
This is your Captain Speaking!
Hello Birdneck Family,
Thanks to all of you for an amazing Back to School Night. As I said in my email you have done a fabulous job of setting the tone for your students and the climate of our school has a special energy this year. Keep up the great work.
We are approaching the end of our first full week of school and routines and procedures are beginning to set in. Last year our focus was on student agency and particularly student goal setting. This is a great time to start having goal setting conversations with your students and teach them the importance of setting goals. I suggest you take time in your family meetings next week to introduce the concept and the talk about why we set goals.
My challenge for you this week is to review your own professional goals that you shared during inservice week and look for ways you will reach your goals. If you need any support or resources please let me or Ally know. In keeping a growth mindset, we must always be looking to improve our craft.
Captain out,
RV Yoshida
BIRDNECK MISSION
Mission: We build relationships to encourage, inspire and empower students and each other to meet the challenges of today and to foster the love of learning.
BIRDNECK VISION
Vision: We are dedicated to nurturing an inclusive environment to ensure engaging, student-centered learning resulting in confident independent learners.
Shout Outs!
If you would like to give a SHOUT OUT to a colleague, it is as simple as sending an email to RV to be added to our Shout Outs each week!
Congrats to the Mesing's on the birth of their newest family member, Finnley Russell.
I wanted to let y’all know how awesome Ms.Stafford was in helping my deescalate a behavior in my room today. It got to the point I was alone and needed another adult and she came in immediately and helped calm the student down. When our students are that elevated, I believe they need a level headed, consistent approach to bring them back and I truly believe that her attitude helped a lot.
Shout out to our inclusion general education teachers for going above and beyond for our students with special needs. J
I would like to give a Shout Out to Lyanne Firmono for being so helpful in the copier room, she really helps me out with trouble shooting when I’m unable to do so!! She is AWESOME and always does it with a smile on her face!!
Anne Stauch and our entire special education team are TOTALLY AWESOME!!!
Thank you to GRACE Bible Church and to Mr. Bratcher and daughter, Mr. Leidy, Mrs. White & Seth, Mrs. Campbell, and Mr. Dzendzel for helping out on Garden Day to beautify our school. The front of the school looks amazing!
Virtual Learning Days
Daily Schedules
October: Disability History and Awareness Month
During the 2009 legislative session, there was a joint resolution made by both the Virginia Senate and the House of Delegates to designate October 2009, and October in each succeeding year, as Disability History and Awareness Month in Virginia. In support of this designation, Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS), in partnership with the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC), is encouraging schools to provide activities during the month of October, that will help students and staff increase their awareness and understanding of individuals with disabilities.
A variety of resources can be found on the Office of Programs for Exceptional Children webpage on the Intranet under the Disability History and Awareness Month link on the left side of the page. Some of these resources may be familiar to you. Of particular note is a compilation of children’s literature and suggested morning announcements to share with your school community on the contributions of individuals with disabilities. A wealth of additional resources can also be found on The Special Olympics of Virginia’s website at the following URL addresses: http://specialolympicsva.org/programs/school-based-programs/ and https://getintoit.specialolympics.org/.
Thank you for your efforts in support of this endeavor. Please forward any pictures of your school’s Disability History and Awareness Month activities with captions to your assigned special education coordinator, so that we can assist in supporting this state resolution and partnership with VBCPS and SEAC. Should you have questions or suggestions pertaining to October as Disability History and Awareness Month, please contact Carol Blackwell, parent liaison at the Parent Support and Information Center, at 263-2066 or via email at Carol.Blackwell@vbschools.com.
Open Enrollment is Oct. 1 through Oct. 24 at 5 p.m.
Open Enrollment is Oct. 1 through Oct. 24 at 5 p.m. This is the annual opportunity for staff to review and make changes to benefits and covered dependents. It is required that staff elect or re-elect the following benefits through the BENEFITFOCUS platform during Open Enrollment to have coverage in 2019: health, dental, legal, identity theft protection, health savings account, health care and dependent care flexible spending accounts. (Please note: any other benefit plans do not require re-election.)
The Consolidated Benefits Office (CBO) is available to assist staff in enrolling and understanding their 2019 benefits at the following events:
The VBO is offering two Vendor Fairs. These will be fun and informative with a chance to win an iPad with an Apple Pencil, gift cards and more. CBO staff will be available at the vendor fairs that speak Spanish and Tagalog for those who need translation services.
- Thursday, Sept. 20 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) Building 19
- Saturday, Sept. 22 (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) Plaza Annex•
- Extended Office Hours: Oct. 1 – 23 (8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday-Friday) Consolidated Benefits Office at Plaza Annex (641 Carriage Hill Road, 23452)
- Enrollment Assistance Events: Oct. 3 (7-11 a.m.) Public Utilities (Dam Neck) Oct. 10 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) Building 19
For more information on Open Enrollment visit the Consolidated Benefits Office intranet site or review the Open Enrollment Guide, which is being mailed to staff this month. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Linda Matkins in the Consolidated Benefits Office (263-6917). Thank you. ec: Aaron C. Spence, Ed.D., Superintendent
Marc A
Annual Mandatory Employee Traning: AMET
Training is now open and the deadline for training will be February 15, 2019.
Check your email for the attachment of information on how to use and access the VBCPS Annual Mandatory Employee Training Program. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Steve LePock in the Office of Risk Management (263-2460). Thank you.
Join our PTA
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Join the PTA! Our goal is to have 100% Staff participation!!!!!!!!!
Support Birdneck Elementary students by joining the PTA. Don't miss out on the benefits from joining the PTA. Receive over $300 in savings... all for just $5 for a membership. Check out the PTA website at http://birdneckpta.weebly.com/
SUBJECT: 2019-2020 ELEMENTARY LANGUAGE ARTS VIRGINIA BEACH OBJECTIVES’ FEEDBACK
The purpose of this memorandum is to share an opportunity for administrators, literacy leaders and teachers to provide feedback on the draft of Elementary Language Arts Virginia Beach Objectives, which will be implemented during the 2019-2020 school year due to the adoption of the 2017 English Language Arts Standards by the Virginia Department of Education.
Feedback will be gathered through a Schoology self-paced course for grades K-5. The access code to the course is 9GCV5-N89QP. Teams may work together to provide feedback, however each form must be submitted individually. Please encourage literacy leaders and teachers to submit feedback by Tuesday, Nov. 6.
If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Padilla, instructional specialist, at Kelly.Padilla@vbschools.com or263-1144. Thank you for your continued attention to this matter.
Vision and Hearing Screening will be on October 10th. Grades K and 3.
Sick Leave Bank
Beach Employee Wellness (BEWell) support services
To ensure all staff are knowledgeable of available Beach Employee Wellness (BEWell) support services, the Office of Consolidated Benefits requests education on Critical Incident Response services and Employee Assistance Program and Work-Life services.
Critical Incident Response (CIR) services are a highly specialized individual and group session services designed to minimize the negative emotional and psychological impact of traumatic events. A CIR can begin as soon as two hours after the initial request and are available to all school sites with approval by appropriate CIR contact list personnel. The goal of the CIR is to enhance participants’ ability to transcend workplace trauma and resume focused and productive work activities. Utilizing CIR services make an immense difference to employees’ recovery process in the face of a crisis. Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Work-Life Services (WL) through Humana, are available to provide FREE and CONFIDENTIAL support to ALL School employees (full-time, part-time and temporary). Services are available, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Employees are happier and more productive when personal needs are being met, and when work and personal lives are in balance.
-EAP offers short-term in-person and telephonic-based counseling with a licensed counselor. Up to five in-person sessions per concern per year. Referrals are issued for longer-term concerns and additional benefits as appropriate.-WL offers services and resources that help with everyday needs. Humana assess the employee’s needs and then researches to provide referrals and resources that meet budget and requests.
Senior Staff, All Principals/Assistant Principals, All Executive Directors
-Supervisor Referral – In addition to offering assistance to employees and members oftheir households, Humana offer services and resources that are specifically designed toaid directors, supervisors, and human resource professionals with employee-related andpersonal concerns. Please note: In the case of a referral, Humana will only report backto the referring supervisor that the employee attended the session(s). Please seeattachment for more information.
-Humana professionals are bound by confidentiality laws and professional ethics. They donot report to BEWell and/or Virginia Beach City Public Schools on individual cases.Personal information about employee and household members remains confidentialaccording to all applicable state and federal laws.
If further information and/or clarification is needed, please contact, Matt Herman, consolidated benefits office, BEWell program, 757-263-6918 or matthew.herman@vbschools.com. Many thanks for your assistance.
BIRDNECK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
BIRDNECK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Twitter@BNESeagles
BIRDNECK MISSION
Mission: We build relationships to encourage, inspire and empower others to meet the challenges of today and to foster the love of learning.
BIRDNECK VISION
Vision: We are dedicated to nurturing an inclusive environment to ensure engaging, student-centered learning resulting in confident independent learners.
BIRDNECK BELIEFS
We believe in a collaborative community in which teachers, administrators, students, and parents work together for student success.
We believe in creating a safe, nurturing, and positive environment in which all students can strive for excellence and achieve their individual potential.
We believe we will prepare our students for success by providing 21st century learning and developing within our students critical thinking, effective communications and problem solving skills.
Website: http://www.birdneckes.vbschools.com/
Location: 957 South Birdneck Road, Virginia Beach, VA, United States
Phone: 757-648-2120