Morris Memo
January 27, 2020 LWE Newsletter
Principal's Letter
Greetings Lake Windward Elementary Families,
Who is looking forward to our PTO's Bingo & Baskets event on Friday night? This event provides a great night of fun for our students and families as well as serves as an important fundraiser for our school. So many wonderful things have been purchased in the past years as a result of this event. From flexible classroom seating to software programs to classroom libraries to STEM lab materials...the list goes on and on. These items have all been purchased for our students and teachers due to your financial support of this event! All of the profits from the fundraiser go directly back to our school. I'd like to thank all of the volunteers in advance for their time and energy. We are so thankful for each of you!
It is time for your help in responding to our school's climate survey for parents. LWE is proud to currently have a 5 Star Climate Rating. This rating is in part due to the positive responses from our staff, students and parents from last year's surveys. We ask that you take a few minutes to fill out this survey before Friday, March 6th. Your feedback means a lot to us!
Warm regards,
Julie Morris
Notes from the KSU iTeach Coach
Classroom Highlights!
Hour of Code is an introduction to computer science during the week of December 9-15, but can take place at any point during the school year!
Coding promotes creativity, problem solving and builds logic.
The goal is to show that anyone and everyone can access computer science.
How can you help?
Review this 6-step parent guide to get started with some ideas - https://hourofcode.com/us/how-to/parents.
Host a family discussion on how technology affects our lives in both positive and negative ways.
Host an ‘Hour of Code’ at home! Pick a tutorial or an activity to work on with your child - https://hourofcode.com/us/learn.
Classroom Highlights!
Students in Fulton County Schools have access to Office 365 for Education. They are able to engage with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Sway, OneDrive and Microsoft Teams.
Teachers and students can collaborate anytime, anywhere and from any device.
How can you help?
Review strategies for ways you can bring learning home - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/parents.
Ask your students to sign-in to their Office 365 account through Class Link and review projects stored within their OneDrive!
A Message From Our Talented and Gifted Department
The gifted teacher routinely reviews available data to refer students for further assessment. Students meeting either the automatic screening OR the classroom screening criteria AND have supporting data gathered from test history, products, and/or advanced content levels are referred for additional testing to determine gifted eligibility.
I. Automatic Screening- identifies students who score at specified levels on a norm-referenced test as defined in the GaDOE Resource Manual for Gifted Education Services, for further assessment to determine eligibility for gifted services. At the beginning of the school year, TAG teachers review existing test data.
Standardized Tests
Students must have minimally a combination of scores that include > 85th percentile and > 90th percentile in two of the three areas on a standardized, nationally norm-referenced achievement test: Total Reading, Total Math, and Complete Battery.
STAR Assessment – (Spring 2017 Assessment)
Grade 1- 8: Students must score 90% or greater on system’s STAR assessment for Math or Reading. Supporting data is needed.
Acceleration Assessments- Students must score 80% or greater on system’s Acceleration Assessment in:
Grades K: English/Language Arts and Mathematics. No additional supporting data is needed.
Grades 1-3: English/Language Arts or Mathematics. Supporting data is needed.
Georgia Milestones End of Grade Assessment-
Grades 3-8: Students must score at the Distinguished Learner achievement level (4) for English/Language Arts or Mathematics. Supporting data is needed.
Grades
Grades 10-12 -students must have an overall cumulative average of 95 or greater. Supporting
data is needed.
II. Classroom Screening- Local schools select a two-week period from January-February to review all students in the school (Grades K-11).
Classroom teachers use the Characteristics Instrument for Screening Students (CISS) to identify students with superior abilities in five or more of the following areas: motivation, interests, communications skills, problem-solving abilities, memory, inquiry, insight, reasoning, creativity, and humor.
III. Reported Referrals- All reported referrals (parent, teacher and/or administrator) are completed through the two system- level screening and referral processes each year. All referrals are first reviewed by the local Eligibility Team to consider if existing information warrants a formal testing for eligibility.
Students who meet either the automatic screening OR classroom screening criteria AND who have supporting data gathered from test history, products, and/or advanced content levels are referred for gifted placement testing.
Once referred to testing:
Parents receive the Parent Notification for Testing Consent Form.
Student is tested for the gifted program.
Parents receive test results.
If state eligibility is determined, students are placed in the gifted program with parental consent.
Parents may request to view their child’s screening results. For more complete information regarding Fulton County Schools Gifted Services, please visit the Advanced Studies page at: http://www.fultonschools.org/en/divisions/acd/learnteach/Pages/TAG.aspx
Procedure for Absence Approval in Extenuating Circumstances
Students should be present in school every day unless illness or other extenuating circumstances exist. The Georgia Board of Education lawfully excuses students for the following reasons: personal illness, death in the immediate family, religious holidays, and other educational days as pre-approved by the school principal. The principal has at his/her discretion according to Board Policy the option to approve a maximum of six (6) days per student per school year in extenuating circumstances. Parents/guardians must notify the principal of their request by completing the request form located on the school website at least two weeks prior to the absence. Submission of parental/guardian request does not grant automatic approval. A school administrator or designee will contact the parents/guardian upon the final decision. As in the past, absences for illness, death in the family or religious holidays can be approved by your child's teacher by sending in a signed note from you.
1. The principal approval form is to be used for extenuating circumstances only, as stated in the information above.
2. Two weeks ahead of the planned absence, print and complete the request form located on the Lake Windward website.
3. One form is required per student.
4. Submit the completed, signed, and dated form to the Lake Windward front office.
5. Your student’s attendance record will be taken into consideration when reviewing your request.
6. A copy of the decision to accept, decline or amend your request, will be sent to you and your child’s homeroom teacher.
Email requests will not be accepted
LWE Calendar- What's coming up?
Jan. 28 – Tuesday - Family Balance Night
Jan. 31 – Friday – Bingo & Baskets – 6:00-8:30
Pre-order Yearbook sale deadline
Feb. 6 – Thursday - Spirit Night @ City Bar-b-que
Please take a moment to read our LWE Student & Family Handbook
Community News
INTERNATIONAL NIGHT HOSTED BY LWE PTO
We need the participation of our LWE families to make the night a success. This includes displays (posters, flags, ethnic foods, dress, artifacts, pictures, music, games, activities etc.) and basic arts and crafts from around the world (e.g., henna, origami etc.). All children are encouraged to participate in the fashion show and parade of nations.
Please fill out the form below if you'd like to participate in the event.
Stay in contact!
Email: morrisja@fultonschools.org
Website: http://school.fultonschools.org/es/lakewindward/Pages/default.aspx
Location: 11770 East Fox Court, Alpharetta, GA, USA
Phone: 470-254-7050
Twitter: @lwesprincipal