Whitley Road Elementary School
Week 18, January 11 - 15, 2016
January is National School Board Appreciation Month
Name: Brad Schofield
Birthday: February 4
Where do you like to get a quick lunch? Whataburger
What is your favorite restaurant? Chili's
What is your favorite snack and/or candy? Blue Bell Ice Cream
What is your favorite beverage? Dr. Pepper
Where are your favorite shopping spots? Amazon, Best Buy, Macy's
What activities do you do for fun? Go to the Movies
What are your hobbies? Build and work on computers
*Any food allergies? No
A BIG Shout Out to Allison & Team....
In addition, the following teachers helped make it a success: Tracey, Tina, Kim, Kerri, Karen, Laurie and Nicole. Thank you!!!! We also cannot thank Shelia enough for the delicious pound cake she made for our judges!
Our winners were best friends, Ascha & Naveah! They were so proud of one another. It was a Hallmark moment! :)
Great job, ladies!
Our Very First Stories on Parade...
Google Drive Folder_3rd Six Weeks Guided Reading Levels
Due by January 18th, 2016
https://drive.google.com/a/kellerisd.com/folderview?id=0Bxp1FRT8RnWUSnBKSXRIOFZXUVU&usp=sharingPLC Updates
WRES Badge Access Hours
Badge access to WRES is from 5:00 a.m. - 11 p.m. Monday - Friday & 8 am - 5 pm Saturday & Sunday.
If you enter the building on the weekend, you MUST sign in AND out in the front office. Currently, all badge readers are available for your convenience, however, when entering another door, signing in and out is often forgotten. Please help me keep all doors accessible.
ESL Certification with reimbusement
First priority will be given to teachers with LEP indicated students at elementary-intermediate levels as ESL Specialists are supplemental due to their funding source. We are also looking to increase our number of ESL certified teachers in the areas of science and social studies in grades 3-8.
Reimbursement Guidelines:
- Teacher must be recommended by campus administrator and approved by Language Acquisition Department
- To receive reimbursement for cost of exam and study time, teacher must complete exam and post to certificate prior to January 1st, 2016 - extended
- Teachers completing requirements after January 1st, but prior to May 1st will receive reimbursement for exam cost
Bright Bytes Survey for Students
https://questionnaire.bbyt.es/campaigns/55c534dfbee927544dd76166
Still need EQ hours?
TEA dismisses Education Quality Report
The Texas Education Agency has dismissed the annual “Quality Counts” report from Education Week’s Research Center. Texas dropped to 43rd place among all states and the District of Columbia, and overall, Texas is noted to have been given a C- grade. It got the same grade for student achievement in grades K-12, a C on students’ chance for success later in life and a D on school finance.
2016 ROCK Merchandise
School choice remains top priority for Dan Patrick
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has vowed to pass an improved tax credit scholarship program, and possibly other school choice legislation, out of the Senate in 2017, indicating school choice remains a top policy priority. Last year, the Texas Tribune, notes, the former state senator and chairman of the Senate Education Committee tried to introduce legislation through the upper chamber that would’ve provided up to $100m in tax credits to businesses that donated scholarship money to public school students to help pay tuition at private or parochial schools.
STAR Showcase_January 15th, 2016
1/15 Leaders:
2nd Grade - Chambers
4th Grade - Perkins
3rd Grade - DeVille
Kinder - Charboneau
1st - McLeod
Co-Curr - Britton
IST Group - Buckner
Other Specialists - DeLoof - create Star Showcase Certificates
- Para’s - Langat
News from Charlie:
Attendance/Truancy:
· Teachers, last week we had our truancy meeting with families. These meetings occur when the attendance report shows students with a minimum of four unexcused absences. The purpose of these meetings are to work with families, discuss the truancy law and to provide intervention to families when their children are habitually absent (unexcused). New learnings occurred during these meetings. In a couple of situations, parents provided me with emails that were sent to teachers informing them that their son/daughter would be absent; however, Veronica nor I, were informed. Please make sure to forward emails and/or letters you receive from families to us, so that we can document it appropriately in the system. If a student receives 10 unexcused absences, I am required by law to file against families; therefore, it’s important that we have the most up-to-date information in our system.
LPAC Training:
· There is a handful of teachers that did not attend last week’s LPAC training. It’s important that all staff members receive this training. A make-up training will be held on Weds., January 20th. Please plan accordingly.
LPAC Oaths:
· On Friday, you all should have received an LPAC oath in your boxes. Please make sure to sign it and return it to Araceli Lira-Oliver. Only those who attended the training last Thursday received the oath. Those who still need to be trained will receive the oath on the 20th.
SITs
· SIT dates are scheduled for January 28th and 29th . I encourage all staff members working with students (Specialists and Teachers together) to look at the data and bring students to SITs, based on MOY data. Please follow the SIT timeline below.
· Last day for referral, Weds., January 20th. I will be working on this month’s schedule. Please make sure to leave the referral form in my box.
· Parent conferences by Wednesday, January 27th .
· Email intervention logs and/summaries (Specialists) to Charlie by Weds. January 27th .
· SIT days, January 28th and 29th.
AIMS WEB:
· 3RD and 4th grades- Window starts January 5th and ends on the 15th.
Please make sure all of your student’s scores are entered by the 15th. Please be diligent and make assure that all of your students are assessed.
IStation Reading & Math:
· ISIP Reading K-4TH grades all students. Window ends on the 15th .
· ISIP Math K-2nd only all student. Window ends on the 15th.
· Tracey has done a fantastic job working on a schedule for those wanting to test in the computer lab and/or IPADs. Make sure to get with Tracey if you have not done so.
News from Janie:
Counselor - Small Group Referrals
Due: January 14, 2016
Teachers,
By now you probably already know which students need some type of support/encouragement, etc. I will have different types of groups, and will try to keep them together by grade level depending on the number of students. If any of your students have already been part of a group in previous years, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will need that group again. Some students actually mature and overcome certain behavior issues. I don’t want these groups to interfere with their academic learning. So, you be the one to decide if the student would benefit from any of these groups:
*BFF (Be Friendship Focused) Group – social skills, friendship problems, conflict resolution (Boys/Girls)
*Volcano Group – anger management
*Banana Splits Group – divorce care (if the parents have been divorced longer than 2yrs. they might not need to be in this group unless parents still don’t get along)
*ANT (Automatic Negative Thoughts) Group – anxiety, fears, self-esteem
The groups will meet once a week for a 6 week series and new groups will begin after every 6 weeks, if I have a waiting list. I might have to cancel/reschedule at times. I will only have from 3-5 members in each group and the sessions will last from 30-45 minutes depending on activity. As soon as you have the names, email me or write them down and place them in my box so I can place permission slips in your boxes.
When referring a student please keep these things in mind:
1. School counseling is not therapy, therefore, if the student has serious or very complicated issues we may need to consult before placing them in a group.
2. The issue the student is facing should be affecting their school day and/or academic performance.
3. Students should only go through group one time per year. If the issue isn’t resolved we may need to make a referral to outside resources.
4. Choose students from your classroom who would best benefit from a small group.
5. Talk to the student’s parents before referring.
News from Karen:
Please make sure that parents know about the Six Flags Read to Succeed program. The logging of 360 minutes along with a legit parent signature is all that is needed. I am accepting completed forms now through February 25. If anyone needs additional forms, please let me know.
I am supposed to be receiving some support this coming Monday with the iPads that have been out of order. Fingers crossed, he shows so I can return teacher iPads to those that have been missing theirs for so long.
I am working on ordering new books for our library. If you have specific titles you would like to see ordered or don’t know what books specifically, but know the kind of books you are needing, then send me an email by the end of this month. You know better than me which books you wish the library had more of. I know our collection falls short at times and your input can help improve what we have.
Whitley Road Elementary School
WRES Campus Website
http://campus.kellerisd.net/schools/wre-105/Pages/default.aspx
WRES Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/WhitleyRoadES
WRES PTA Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007883744972WRES Twitter: