March 26, 2018
A Communication Tool for the Seven Hills Staff
2 weeks until 4th and 5th STAAR. 7 Weeks until 3-5 STAAR and EOY assessment windows. Plenty of time to persevere and accomplish GREATNESS!
Seven Hills is Managing the Whirlwind and Focusing on the Wildly Important!
Lexia Campus Update:
Usage:
Remember that student completion of target minutes is used to project student achievement rates, and that this is calculated on the first of each month. We noticed tremendous gains for some students between February and March. This was due to the rate of usage. If you look at the first graph below, you will notice the campus trend for completion of target minutes for the last 4 weeks (we will not be able to see last week's data until Monday morning).
- You will notice that we do not have 100% of our students logging in. 485 out of 515 was the highest number of students logging in.
- It also shows that in weeks when school was in session, of the 485 students that logged in 76% was the highest percentage of students completing target minutes.
Progress:
The second and third graphs provide a look at progress with units gained and movement of students into on or above grade level material.
- You will notice that the line is moving in a positive direction with regard to students working on or above grade level material.
- In September, 379 students were working below grade level. As of today, 267 students are working below grade level.
- Only 5 students were working above grade level in September. As of today, 48 students are working above grade level.
Lexia is proving to close achievement gaps and skill deficit gaps, but this can only happen if students are logging in, reaching target minutes, and gaining units.
As you prepare for the week ahead, ask yourself:
- Are ALL students logging in each week?
- What can you do to have greater than 76% of students complete their weekly target minutes? Remember to use proactive language when talking to students about completing weekly targets. Reactive language will send a message that Lexia is punitive, which will not engage the students. Lexia should not be a consequence or seen as a punishment.
- Are all students that are currently reading below grade level or received approaches and/or did not meet on the benchmark in the “met usage” group each week?
- Of the students in the “met” category, how many units have they gained? Remember, students should be able to complete a unit in about 10 minutes.
- Which category are your “You + 2” students in?
- Are students being given the skill builders after they level up?
- Are you logging in every week to see what direct teach lessons have be assigned to students? How are you delivering these lessons? (93% of our staff have logged in within the last 30 days)
Thank you for your focus on the WILDLY IMPORTANT!
Spring Math Learning Cycle:
What GREAT discussion we started in our PD last week! I know so many of the groups were engaged in discussing where each example should be placed on the continuum. Just when the discussion was getting rich, time ran out. We will most definitely pick up where we left off with these discussions, and I HOPE you will continue to think about the continuum when reflecting on your own student writing in math. I have shared some of the key slides from our work on Thursday, the wonderings we have had for this math learning cycle, and the reflection at the end of our PD on Thursday. ILT members will be sharing your team's overall reflections and wonderings with us. If you have not completed the reflection yet, this is your friendly reminder to do so.
Wonderings:
- Is problem solving block continuing to be implemented with fidelity?
- Are students being given critical writing opportunities on a consistent basis?
- Are students able to transfer writing skills to math?
- Are students able to explain their thinking? Are they able to move to justification in 3-5?
- Are students using multiple strategies to solve problems, or are they only using the strategy modeled by the teacher?
Generalization
Notice how short or brief this can be. It is very clear and concise, and makes one simple generalization about one step/part/strategy.
Conjecture
Importance of Critical Writing Opportunities
A Campus Commitment to Write Across the Content Areas:
Note: ILT will discuss how this commitment is going on Monday, April 2.
December ILT Discussion:
- In December each grade level team completed a random review of reader’s and writer’s notebooks looking at number of entries, number of completed entries/published pieces, and teacher/peer feedback.
- As an ILT, we reviewed the data collected and developed a list of noticings and wonderings. After reviewing this list we determined some of the priority needs for the campus:
- Consistency in frequency of opportunity to write.
- Frequency of completed/published pieces of writing.
- Fidelity in occurrence of skills block.
- Common expectations for holding students accountable to/for conventions across all content areas.
- These common expectations will support transfer of grammar conventions across all content areas and in all opportunities to write.
- We developed a list of ideas to consider further developing to support the identified needs.
February Commitments:
- Provide conventions to secure rubrics for all content area teachers, including Art and Music. We recommend that students put the rubric with student friendly language in their math, SS, science, art, music, etc notebooks. All teachers will be provided posters/anchor charts of the grade level conventions to secure to have as a reference tool for students in their classrooms. (the rubric is attached to today's email)
- Continue implementation of skills block with intentional focus on making sure it isn’t what is sacrificed when schedules change, etc.
- Weekly “Grammar Mystery Shopper” in all content areas:
- In an effort to communicate to students that EVERY time they engage in writing for ANY purpose, they should be writing as if they are publishing THAT piece. They need to use their best handwriting. They need to be attentive to conventions, such as spelling, capitalization, and punctuation in every piece – regardless of the purpose of the piece.
- This discussion can EASILY be connected to the 7 Habits!
- Be Proactive: have pride in your work. Your work is a reflection of you.
- Begin With the End in Mind: have a plan for your writing -regardless of the purpose; make a plan; implement the plan
- Other connections?
- Each week, teachers will “shop” student notebooks and pull 1-3 pieces of writing to review for conventions. We would like to see this completed weekly during weeks that we have 5 full days of instruction. It is feasible that by the 5th day of the week, students should have something in their notebooks for the mystery shopper to pull from.
- Writing pieces can include, but are not limited to:
- Math justifications
- Science CERs
- Reader’s responses
- Writing About Reading Day pieces
- Writer’s notebooks pieces
- Art reflections
- Review the piece selected for total number of convention errors based on the grade level conventions to secure document. Share the total number found with the class.
- Copy the piece or pieces of writing chosen and remove student name.
- As a class, edit the piece for conventions, making sure students locate each of the conventions errors you found during your initial shopping experience.
- Chart the total number of errors found each week….the hope is that the number of errors would go down after students realize they are being held accountable to/for writing for publication each time they write.
Note: One thing that Jennifer Gill, one of our writing calibration trainers, brought up that I believe your respective teams may want to dig a little deeper into between now and the end of year writing assessment was the idea that on benchmarks you typically only rate on idea development. While, I understand the purpose behind this, Jennifer raised a valid point. If we don’t go back and at least make students aware of their grammar/conventions mistakes, are we sending the message that this is important? Now that you have rated the MOY writing for idea development, you could incorporate grammar editing as part of the writing block sometime this grading period.
Habit Focus for the Week: Habit 2
Wonder
Precept for the Week: will be shared on Monday
Remember...asking students to share their thinking about the precept each week is an excellent opportunity for students to write and practice with conventions! All reflections are shared on the morning announcements.
Campus and District Announcements and Updates:
- You + 2: What will you do to support your two students this week? A WIG check is a wonderful 1st step! Make sure you sign student WIG Charts each time you meet with them.
- TTESS Goal Setting and End of Year Conferences: Leslie and Kim will begin scheduling conferences in April. The information for collecting evidence for Dimension 4, goal progress, etc. will be sent in a separate email. Please plan on having all of this completed by April 13. End of Year Conferences will be completed April 16 - 27.
- Observe Me Walks: ILT leaders worked with grade level teams to sign up for Observe Me walks to be completed before End of Year Conferences. The key ideas/dates/information for this are outlined below. Important Dates: Wednesday, March 20 = everyone is signed up for an observe me walks & Friday, April 13 = complete at least ONE observe me walk for the person you are matched with. Typically walks could be completed during your conference period. If you need coverage for your class to support walks, please let Leslie, Hayley or Kim know. We will either cover your class or help find someone who can. Observe Me Sign Ups: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PovS5R6IOTsawfvHKHOT69gE-1uY283i1r_Xu6HXb04/edit?usp=sharing
- FLEX Days: Have you completed the required hours for your 2017 - 2018
FLEX agreement? Do you have documentation of completion of these hours? Leslie and Kim will be confirming these with teachers. Please be prepared to share evidence of completion or your plan to complete the requirement. Remember, if the hours are not completed, the employee is docked pay at the daily rate for the number of hours not completed.
- Save the Date for NISD 2018 - 2019 Professional Learning: The NISD PD calendar has been approved. I attached a document outlining the dates and other important PD information/requirements in last week's S'more. Please read carefully. We will discuss your PD plan for next year in summative conferences.
- Save the Date for Campus Based PD in August: Seven Hills staff will complete The Leader in Me Empowering Instruction professional learning on August 10, 2018. All instructional staff are required to attend, and because this is a non-contract day, this will count toward FLEX credit. The location is TBD, as we may opt to have this off site for a more engaging PD.
Girls on the Run 5k Celebration and Running Buddy Discount through April 3
The Girls on the Run 5k is Saturday, April 28 at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie. Parking will be free and we will have a ton of space!
- Registration for running buddies is open now. Attached is a flyer about being a running buddy and the event. Coaches and girls registered for the program do NOT need to register for the 5k.
- We ask that the girls run with a “buddy.” Buddies can receive $5 off of their registration through April 3. The code is 5KRUNNINGBUDDY. It is important you share this discount code with the parents/guardians.
Our 5k is open to anyone who would like to participate. Click here to register! Make sure the buddies are clicking “register as an individual” and not the “create a team” which is for our corporate and community adult teams that participate in the race! http://gotrdfw.org/5k/
Attendance Snapshot Time: Staff, it is imperative that attendance be completed DAILY at the 9:30 reporting time. Funding is connected to this reporting, and should the district/campus be audited, failure to report attendance at the snapshot time could result in loss of funding for all of the students in your classroom on each day that attendance was not completed at the reporting time. Please be advised that reporting attendance is connected to T-TESS discipline 4.
Save the Date:
March 26:
- LHT Meeting, 3:30
- SST D & E
March 27:
- Grade Level PLCs
- Seven Hills Safety Town Hall, 6:00 pm
March 28:
- Staff may wear jeans and black polo for fall fundraising incentive
- Math planning with coaches
- Campus OHI Survey, 3:30 pm in cafeteria (ALL certified staff)
March 29:
- JA in a Day
- STAAR Training, 3:30 pm (required for ALL staff)
- Wear Jeans and "World Changer" shirt
March 30:
- No School
Happy Birthday to You:
Tiffany Howe 3/27