MMM
12/10/18
HAPPY DECEMBER BIRTHDAY TO...
Shannon Pierson (4th)
Barb Clark (16th)
Colleen Gazard (19th)
Daphna Malinsky (21st)
Sharon Kenny(23rd)
Sharon Madaglia (23rd)
Kathy Carey (28th)
OBJECTIVES
thank you...
Thank you to Kelsey and Sara for once again emceeing trivia!
Congratulations to Sally for winning best costume.
The weeks leading up to December break are stressful for everyone. Each year student referrals spike during this time. Keeping the next 2 week as "regular" as possible will help with student behaviors.
Thank you!
The peak of the cold and flu season is upon us
To help prevent widespread illness in the school, cold/flu guidelines are being emailed to Dunning parents.
Just a few things to keep in mind when it comes to students vomiting: Tara will be vigilant in monitoring the number of complaints of stomach flu like symptoms and let you know if there is a marked increase. Children vomit for all kinds of reasons (nerves, coughing, motion sickness), and not all mean the child is contagious and has to go home. Children also report vomiting and no one has seen actual evidence of it. Tara will continue to assess the student for symptoms of an infectious virus and then determine if the child is able to stay in school or return home.
- Please continue to reinforce the need for frequent hand washing
- Discourage students from touching their eyes, nose or mouth
- Remind students to cover mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, use a paper tissue, throw it away and then wash hands
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
If you have any questions please let Tara know.
Here is some helpful info on the norovirus.
cookie swap
WINTERFEST DECEMBER 21ST at 9:30
Each year the students wear a specific color (if possible), to the Winterfest Celebration. The student Council is responsible for the color assignments.
This year, the grade level colors will be the same for both Winterfest and Field Day in the Spring. This is a fun way to show our spirit, but is in no way mandatory.
Here are the 2018 Winterfest Grade Level Colors as determined by the student council:
K-yellow
1-Green
2-White
3-Purple
4-Red
5-Blue
Staff: Please wear your grade level colors (if possible), and accessorize as you like with scarfs, jewelry etc...
These colors will be posted on the PTO Facebook page as well as in the "Notes From the Office". A flyer also went home in backpacks.
Please see Wendy if you have any questions. Thank you!
Occupational therapy screening procedures
If you have questions, please let Deb Plugis know.
Occupational Therapy Screening Procedure for Dunning Elementary School
Framingham Public Schools Occupational Therapy Screening Request Form Elementary Level
book swap
We are holding a book swap on Wednesday December 19th. Our goal is for every student at Dunning to go home with a "new-to-them book."
Here's what you need to know:
- December 10-13: Students will bring in books to donate to the swap. Please have students bring K-2 books to the Think Tank and 3-5 books to Room 27 first thing in the morning!
- All students will receive 1 ticket that they can bring to the book swap. (These tickets will be in your boxes on December 18th).
- If students bring in more than one book, they will get tickets (1-5 additional tickets) that they can use at the book swap on the 19th. They will get one book for each ticket - up to 5. We will also try to keep track of how many books students bring in just in case they lose their tickets.
- The schedule for the Book Swap is linked HERE Please let us know if there are any problems or questions with the schedule.
Looking forward to all the books!!
Brett and Jae
Literacy Coaching Cycles - from Brett
I recently had some time open up in my schedule and would love to start some new coaching cycles with teachers who I haven’t worked with yet. Please let me know if you are interested in starting a coaching cycle around a literacy practice you’d like to explore! Email me or find me in the halls!
MCAS Practice Tests Updates
Blank CBT Response Boxes Now Updated
Blank CBT response boxes, which allow students to practice answering constructed-response questions using TestNav, have been updated. For ELA and STE, students can answer the constructed-response question and use the blue arrow at the top of the screen to submit a final answer. Educators can then view the student response and print the screen to review students’ work (this is the same functionality as in the practice tests).
Calculators are embedded in the Mathematics and STE response boxes for the grade levels where a calculator is required during MCAS testing.
readathon
WINTER CLOTHING DRIVE
Winter has arrived! Did you scramble to find snow clothes to fit your kids this morning? For some of our families the scramble is more of a struggle and we would like to provide some assistance in keeping all of our Pandas warm and dry this winter. If you have any kid sized snow clothes (hats, mittens, boots, snow jackets and snow pants) that are clean and usable please help us get them to the families that need them! There will be a collection box in the lobby beginning Monday 11/19.
Please only donate use-able kids sized snow clothes!
planning ahead
WINTER ASSESSMENT WINDOW
Kindergarten:
Literacy Assessments: 12/10 - 1/25
iReady: 11/13 - 12/14
Grades 1-5
Literacy Assessments: 12/10 - 1/25
iReady: 1/7 - 1/18
For the Winter Assessment Window, the 2018-19 Assessment Matrix by Grade (on canvas) indicates that not ALL students will be given the BAS. Please use the link to determine who in your class will need to get a BAS assessment.
PLEASE NOTE THIS MESSAGE FROM THE OFFICE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING REGARDING WHO IS GETTING BAS THIS WINTER:
For Grades 1 and 2 there was mixed information related to WHO to BAS. We have updated both Grades 1 and 2 to say that we should use BAS with ALL STUDENTS in these grades as a winter benchmark. These are our youngest learners and it is an essential tool that helps track their progress and inform our instruction. Please be sure to communicate this to your teams as the Winter benchmark window begins on MONDAY (Winter Assessment Window: December 10th - January 25th, 2019).
If you do give a BAS to students, you may want to try using the ASSESSMENT SUMMARY FORM to document each student’s BAS results this season. Please staple all the completed BAS the student got this testing period to the assessment summary form. Then fill out the information on the form. This form is an easy way to see how the students did at each testing period. It also gives teachers a place to note the reading behaviors that the student has mastered as well as those that the student still needs to learn (bottom box). I
You can get copies of the assessment summary form using the link above or in your BAS kit (System 1, page 143 in Assessment Forms spiral book or System 2 page 167 in Assessment Forms spiral book). There are also copies in the front of the file cabinet drawer with the other BAS response forms.
Please let Brett know if you have any questions. This is not a mandatory form. It’s just a tool other teachers have used which helps them track student progress. Here is a picture of a filled out Assessment Summary Form:
REPORT CARDS
This is a "Bank" of frequently used comments to write report card comments (or part of them) in Spanish or Portuguese.
Following is a screen shot highlighting the 'Term' field. When you go into your gradebook, you may need to manually change this to Term 1 - and then the grade columns will appear.
CARE & SHARE
Please remind your students to bring in items for Care & Share. Our monthly food collection makes a huge difference in our community, while teaching our students the importance of giving. As an added incentive, the class that brings in the most each month will earn 15 minutes of extra recess on the new playground!
- December: Pancake Mix
- January: Canned Fruit
- February: Rice
- March: Crackers
- April: Spaghetti
- May: Juice Boxes
- June: Cans of Tuna Fish
DATES FOR THIS WEEK
Monday 12/10:
Tuesday 12/11:
- Community Meeting, 1:45, Grade 3
Wednesday 12/12:
Thursday 12/13:
Friday 12/14:
- Staff Breakfast: Kindergarten/ Hannah/Daphna (Holiday Breakfast)
- Panda Paw Cash-In
Saturday 12/15:
Sunday 12/16:
panda paw cash-in dates
COMMUNITY MEETING DATES
Thursday, 2/7 at 9:30, Kindergarten
Thursday, 3/28 at 1:45, Grade 2
Wednesday, 5/15 at 9:30, Grade 4
Thursday, 6/13 at 9:30, Grade 5
STAFF BREAKFASTS
01/11/19 - Specialists/Gary/Michele Klein
01/25/19 - Principals/Office Staff/Tara
02/08/19 - Grade 2/Sharon/Lauren W. /Krystn (Valentine’s Day)
03/08/19 - Grade 4/Michelle M./Leigh(St. Patrick’s Day)
03/22/19 - Grade 1/ Suzanne/ Kevin/Jen O.
04/05/19 - Grade 3/ Claire/Brett/Deb P.
05/03/19 - Rooms 6, 7,16, & 18
05/17/19 - Grade 5 Cara/Tess
05/31/19 - Kindergarten/Hannah/Daphna
06/14/19 - Specialists/Gary/Michele Klein