Teach, LOVE, Inspire
Cool Cats Update
Our THEME
Welcome Back - Our PD Schedule
New Teacher Week
August 1 & 2
- Lynsey & Amanda @ Liberty
- Ashley @ Hidden Lakes
August 3
- Lynsey, Amanda- time in your classroom
- Ashley - time in your classroom & TTESS training
- Lynsey, Amanda & Ashley - meet with Anna & time in your classroom
August 7 - Writer's Workshop @ SVES
- Tiffany Neal will be presenting a full day workshop on Lucy Calkin's Writer's Workshop, Lunch will be provided!
August 8 - Teach Love Inspire Academy @ SVES
- Our Vision & the Bobcat 6, Team Building, Data Folders, Required Lockdown Security training, Lunch with your friends :)
- Kelly Kaczmarski will be leading us in doing the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). An easy screener will tell you & others some of your key preferences, tendencies and characteristics.
- Tammy Mack will be handing out your data folders so that you can begin to get a snapshot of where your students were at the end of the school year.
- I will be reviewing our Bobcat 6 and will share some of our new processes regarding data. These new processes are now in place across the district.
August 9 - District PD @ various campuses
- Kinder @ ELC North, 1st @ Bette Perot, 2nd @ Willis Lane, 3rd @ Park Glen, 4th @ Eagle Ridge, ESL @ Texas 1 & 4, GT @ SVES, Art, Music, Theater @ Lonestar, IST @ Keller Harvel, PE @ Fossil Ridge/Lonestar, Resource & STRIDES (teacher & paras) @ Friendship, Dyslexia - teacher prep, Nurses @ Caprock, Librarians @ Keller High School library, Counselors @ SVES or Freedom
August 10 - Teacher Prep & Meet the Teacher
- Teachers will be meeting with Anna to review 504, IEP documentation and the pink/blue forms for up to an hour.
- All classroom teachers will create one short video (30 - 45 seconds) that will be emailed to your whole class via TAC between 2:00 - 3:00. Be sure to include information about Meet the Teacher.
- Meet the Teacher will be from 5:30 - 6:30. School supplies will be delivered to your classroom prior to starting. Please wear the NEW "Teach Love Inspire" shirts.
- Eat lunch with friends. :)
August 11 - Convocation & Compliance Videos
- Convocation will begin at 9:30 am at Northwood Church on the corner of N. Tarrant & Rufe Snow. Please wear the NEW "Teach Love Inspire" shirts.
- Eat Lunch with friends.
- Everyone will need to meet back at SVES by 12:45. If you teach Science, we will be watching the required Science Safety compliance video together starting at 1:00 pm
- For the rest of the day, you will then be able to spend time completing the other compliance videos on your own OR work in your rooms/teams if you've already completed them.
August 14 - Social Emotional Learning (SEL) & PBIS Professional Development @ SVES
- As we begin the new year, the PBIS committee will be sharing additional steps that we will be taking as well taking time to review our current processes & discusses updates. We will also begin our year long journey of learning more about Social Emotional Learning. PD will take place from 9:00 - 12:00.
- PTA Luncheon from 12:00 - 1:00 pm. Please consider bringing cash/check to pay for PTA membership.
SVES Handbook
Our staff handbook as a new look. I have updated and uploaded the document to our SVES Staff Shared Folder. Just use this easy "LINK" page for easy access to everything. You will notice that several items have been highlighted - some due to updates and some I want you to review. It is your responsibility to review the handbook then turn in the signature page to the front office no later than Labor Day weekend.
Click HERE for direct access or just look in the SVES Staff Shared folder under Staff Handbook.
2016-2017 STAAR Data
3rd grade
- Math - 86% Passing & 27% Advanced
- Reading - 87% Passing & 32% Advanced
- Writing - 73% Passing & 16% Advanced
- Math - 80% Passing & 35% Advanced
- Reading - 78% Passing & 31% Advanced
Social & Emotional Learning
Goal: For kids to acquire the knowledge and skills to effectively manage their emotions, maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions. What is SEL?
Action Steps:
- Book Study - teachers will choose one book study group & then be prepared to present information to rest of staff at a later date. The two books will be: The Morning Meeting Book and Positive Discipline.
- Professional Development - I am in the process of seeking additional PD in the areas of working with students with behavior challenges and strategies for us all to use to help.
- PBIS Lessons/Videos: these will be done daily for the first two weeks of school.
- Class Meetings: during the first semester, each teacher has the option of scheduling time for class meetings at some point during the day. Beginning second semester, based on our book studies and other discussion, a set time may be given for everyone to hold these meetings daily.
- Administration Team - we will begin meeting with each class once every six weeks to go over an SEL topic. This will be in addition to regular guidance lessons.
- PBIS committee - will provide additional professional development at the beginning of the year to review lessons, begin implementation of Positive Discipline Referrals, share community outreach opportunities, create a flowchart for discipline & define major and minor behaviors. They will also create visuals/posters.
- PRIDE Rallies - these have already been put on the calendar.
K-4 Writer's Workshop
Goal: to build ALL students' fluency in writing through continuous, repeated exposure to the process of writing.
Action Steps:
- Professional Development: Tiffany Neal will be presenting a full day workshop on Lucy Calkin's Writer's Workshop on August 7.
- Lucy Calkin's Unit of Study: teachers will follow the district's timeline using this resource & will take the time to study the content of the lessons during planning. Your short term goals are to establish a safe environment so that kids can take risks in writing & setting up a workable management system to handle the flow of papers/notebooks, folders & so forth.
- Observations/Model Lessons: Tiffany Neal will be on campus on scheduled days and will observe your lessons in action and/or model lessons. Dates will be placed on the calendar.
- District Common Assessments: teachers will schedule DCAs during the district assessment windows. Dates have already been put on the calendar.
- Writing Data Teams: Jennifer Love will be on campus on scheduled days to review assessment data from district assessments. You will be meeting with her as a grade level team during your regular planning time. Dates will be placed on the calendar.
- Highlights: teachers will highlight their students' writing in some way throughout the year.
- Tracking Data - Administration and teachers will implement a data analysis process following each common assessment & identify students interventions. We will also be implementing a student growth tracker process.
K-4 Reader's Workshop
Goal: To help students acquire and draw on a continuum of skills, empowering them to successfully navigate a variety of texts.
Action Steps:
- Balanced Literacy components: Teachers will embed the following components when planning for Reader's Workshop: Modeled Instruction, Word Study, Mini Lesson/Small Group Instruction (I do...We do), Work Period (You do...I confer), Closing (You do...I reinforce)
- Letterland & Letterland Assessments- K-2 teachers will follow the the district's timeline using this phonics-based approach to teaching reading, writing and spelling to their students. You will be able to use the assessments to track student progress/growth.
- K-2 Observations/Model Lessons in Letterland: Kim Wilson will be on campus on scheduled days and will observe your lessons in action and/or model lessons. Dates will be placed on the calendar.
- The Comprehension Toolkit: Teachers will follow the district's timeline using this resource & will take the time to study the content of the lessons to use in class & for interventions during & other professional development opportunities.
- AimsWeb: Teachers will utilize MAZE assessments as a universal screening (or benchmarking) to help identify students who need additional instruction to succeed, & will provide additional progress monitoring to track the effectiveness of instructional interventions, and then will evaluate the efficacy of core instruction to ensure that it is moving students forward at the necessary pace. AimsWeb guide
- DRA - Teachers will use this diagnostic reading assessment to measure students' skills in each of the five components of reading: vocabulary, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency and comprehension. It is given several times throughout the school year and helps teachers drive instruction toward specific needs of their students.
- Tracking Data - Administration and teachers will implement a data analysis process following each common assessment & identify students interventions. We will also be implementing a student growth tracker process.
Mathematics Teaching Practices
Goal: To engage students in meaningful learning through individual and collaborative experiences that promote their ability to make sense of mathematical ideas and to reason mathematically.
Action Steps:
- Observations/Model Lessons: Ashlee Smith will be on campus on scheduled days and will observe your lessons in action and/or model lessons in your classroom. She will meet with individual teachers and teams to discuss best practices and curriculum questions.
- Principles to Action: Our Learning Coach, Ashlee Smith will lead us in this book study. The plan is to focus on the first 50 pages that will cover: establishing math goals to focus learning, implementing tasks that promote reasoning & problem solving, using & connecting math representations, facilitating meaningful math discourse, building procedural fluency from conceptual understanding, supporting productive struggle in learning math, and elicit & use evidence of student thinking.
- Ubd : teachers will utilize the district curriculum documents and plan with the "end in mind". Pre- & Post- assessments will be created prior to each unit. Teachers will take time to create assessments during planning time and during other scheduled opportunities.
- Tracking Data - Administration and teachers will implement a data analysis process following each common assessment & identify students interventions. We will also be implementing a student growth tracker process.
TLI Committees
Teach, Learn, Inspire Committees & other committments
We will be breaking up into a variety of committees this year to continue our work towards our campus vision. TLI Committees will meet regularly. Members of the CEIC, Focus Groups & Leadership will be given specific dates to meet and dates will be placed on the calendar. Focus Group meetings will be scheduled as one of our Thursday Bobcat Gatherings. The number in ( ) indicates the minimum number of volunteers needed. Ideally, one person from every team can be represented on one team.
- Family Engagement (6): in addition planning events to support our school community, one person from this committee will also serve as a teacher representative on the PTA Board. All members from this committee will help plan Veteran's Day & any other special events.
- Sunshine (6): work as a team to create team building activities throughout the school year & plan fun events. Share spending report and plans with staff on a regular basis.
- PBIS (6): This team will meet at least twice a month with an emphasis on school-wide systems of support that include proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create a positive school environment.
- CEIC (3 teachers): Seven Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are the focus of the Campus Educational Improvement Committee. Factors include academic performance, the study of quality data that helps drive instruction, leadership effectiveness, increased learning time, family/community engagement, school climate, and teacher quality. These represent foundational elements known to promote success at the campus level. The principal, assistant principal and counselor are officially a member of the CEIC as well as nominated parents. The focus groups below will support several of the critical success factors and one member from each of the focus groups (Reading/Writing, Math & Science) should be a part of the CEIC.
- Reading/Writing Focus Group (PLC) - one person per grade level
- Math Focus Group (PLC) - one person per grade level
- Science Focus Group (PLC) - one person per grade level
- Leadership Team - one person per grade level/department
- PTA General meetings - one teacher per grade level will need to be present at each scheduled meeting. PTA evening events - Let us all strive to increase our staff involvement & visibility.