Priority School Primary News
MAY 2016
thank you TEACHERS!
You made it through another year and its time to celebrate you! As you work everyday to overcome challenges, you inspire the lives of children who need you the most.
This is a small token of appreciation for a big job well done!
It is our turn to say...
THANK YOU!!!!
Congrats to Our Colleagues at Fairwood!
Fairwood Elementary School (another Priority School) was recently awarded the Momentum Award by the State Board of Education. The Momentum Award is presented by the State Board of Education and recognizes schools for exceeding expectations in student growth for the year. Schools must earn straight A’s on all Value-Added measures on the report card.
Congratulations to all of you at Fairwood!
Priority Schools' Literacy Academy: August 8
Priority School teachers of Grades PK - 8! Mark your calendars for the Priority School Literacy event happening August 8th at Leawood Elementary School! Register in CiMS if you're interested in attending. CEUs will be awarded.
Get the year started right by spending a morning with your colleagues and learning new tips as well as participating in make-it-take it activities that you can start using as soon as day 1. We hope you consider this opportunity to learn and grow.
And it's not just for the ELA teachers! ESL, Special Education, Gifted, and content areas will be represented as well!
See the flyer below for more details...
Get ConnectED in CCS Coming AGAIN in August!
Did you miss the Get ConnectED in CCS event in March? Were you one of the March attendees and want to know when the next ConnectED event is?
Save Friday, August 12 for the 2nd Get ConnectED in CCS mini-conference on technology! See the flyer below for more information and register in CiMS today!
Social Studies K-12 PD Opportunity on June 16!
This workshop will provide hands-on strategies for building social studies skills for students in K-12. Topics include: differentiation and vertical alignment, teaching with primary sources, research skills for History Day, and Tech Tools & Google Apps for historical thinking. Participants may bring their own device or use a district Chromebook. Check out this link for more details!
TEACHER INTERVIEW: BRITTANY MOORE, LIVINGSTON ELEMENTARY, GRADE 1
Question: Can you share one success from your beginning of the year?
22 out of 24 students grew 20 points or more on the MAP test since their first MAP test beginning of the year. One student has an IEP and grew 12 points. The other had chronic absenteeism and grew 15 points. Students were tested at the beginning of the year and middle of the year.
Question: What’s something that you are struggling with?
I struggle with trying to get everything I planned done in a day. I tend to overplan, and have more work to do than time. I have so much that I want to do with my students there just isn't enough time in the day.
Question: What’s your favorite “go to” classroom management strategy?
The first twenty one days of school I teach my students to SLANT. This means Sit up, Listen, Ask and Answer questions, Nod for understanding, and track the teacher. This helps students when teaching whole group. Students sit at tables with other students. When students are not SLANTing their table gets a point. If the table gets three or more points they are not rewarded at the end of the lesson. Rewards are small thirty second to five minute rewards such as drumming on the table with pencils, making funny faces, sitting in the chair backward for the rest of the day, snowball fight with balls of paper, and sometimes candy.
Question: What’s your favorite “read aloud?”
My favorite read aloud is the True Story of the Three Little pigs. I love this story because it is a great book for character comparison and point of view. I love how the wolf tries to clear up some misunderstandings about him. I love how the students tend to sympathize with the wolf at the end of the story.
Question: Who was your favorite teacher in school and why?
My favorite teacher in school was Lynda Ray. She was my 9th and 10th grade History teacher. She was young and still had the genuine love of teaching and making a difference. She went above and beyond her job description, and is the reason I am a teacher today.
Question: What is a memorable moment in teaching for you?
I had a student this year who struggled academically. He was getting pulled for LLI, small groups, and received after school tutoring with me. He would get frustrated trying to complete his school work. One day it seemed like everything just clicked for him. He started improving in reading groups and classwork. By the end of the year he improved his beginning of the year map score by 38 points. He was so thrilled and hugged me very tightly. I was overjoyed.