April 1, 2018
A Communication Tool for the Seven Hills Staff
STAAR Testing Information From Leslie and Hayley:
STAAR:
Thank you everyone for kicking off your 3-Day weekend with STAAR training. There will be updates sent throughout the week about testing next week. Please read each email carefully.
Seven Hills will be a closed campus to visitors and volunteers on Tuesday the 10th and Wednesday the 11th. Please share this information with your parents.
STAAR Reminders:
ALL STAFF MUST BE GENERAL SECURITY TRAINED! If you were not able to attend our training on Thursday afternoon, please arrange a time to get trained by contacting Leslie or Hayley.
Staff who will be giving Oral Administration of the test will have an additional training and will be contacted directly on Monday. Watch your email.
Everyone who is giving the STAAR test next week - Remember to read your manual.
4th and 5th grade teachers - make sure you are talking to your students about their accommodations. They need to feel comfortable with what they will be receiving. Testing groups, locations, and accommodations will be uploaded into the google classroom on Monday.
Testing rooms must be prepared for testing by the end of the day Friday. Please help each other with this room prep.
TTESS Domain 4 Reflection and End of Year Conferences:
Leslie and I will begin scheduling your End of Year Conferences soon. We have decided that conferences will be completed between April 16 and April 27. You will receive calendar invites for your conferences. If the date and time of the conference will not work for you, it is your responsibility to collaborate with your appraiser to schedule a new date and time. All End of Year Conferences must be completed by Friday, April 27.
In preparation for your End of Year Conference please complete the following by Friday, April 13:
- Domain 4 Reflection in Google Drive:
- https://goo.gl/forms/Smtxu1z1Tp7rP4Rp2
- This form allows staff evaluated on the TTESS instrument to reflect on each dimension within Domain 4. The evidence provided in the form will be used to prompt discussion during the End of Year conference and complete the ratings. Staff have the opportunity to upload pictures to support each dimension. While the photos are optional, they can provide valuable evidence. The form limits staff to 5 pictures in each dimension. Choose carefully.
- I recommend completing the reflections in a Word or Google document and copying them into the Google form.
- Goal Setting Reflection in Edugence:
- All staff should have had their goal setting forms “returned” to them in Edugence. If you cannot open yours, please let your appraiser know.
- Staff are completing the “Evidence of Goal Attainment” section as well as providing any evidence to support Part 1 #1 and #2
- The evidence provided in the form will be used to prompt discussion during the End of Year conference and complete the ratings.
It is our hope that the Google form will help you carefully consider Domain 4, setting us up for reflective and meaningful End of Year Conferences. Please put first things first. Do not wait until the last minute to complete your reflections and compile evidence. Remember, everything is dues Friday, April 13.
Also, if you have not yet read your observation post conference form, added any comments you would like, signed, saved, and submitted, please do so by Wednesday, March 29.
Please let Leslie and I know how we can help you! We are looking forward to End of Year Conferences!
Seven Hills is Managing the Whirlwind and Focusing on the Wildly Important!
Lexia Campus Update:
- 60% of our students who are meeting usage have advanced one or more grade levels in Lexia!
- There is a noticeable difference in the progress being made and skills gained in students who are meeting their target minutes.
- Students not meeting minutes are making some progress, but not at a rate that will close all gaps.
- The bottom 10 skill areas are areas you should plan for review and practice either in guided reading groups, intervention groups, work stations, or with tutors. Don't forget about the Core 5 Resources Hub! PHONICS, PHONICS, PHONICS!
- Partial year usage represents students who enrolled after the placement test given in the fall.
Remember, student trajectories will reset tomorrow, April 1st!
Spring Math Learning Cycle:
What GREAT discussion we started in our PD last week! I know so many of the groups were engaged in discussing where each example should be placed on the continuum. Just when the discussion was getting rich, time ran out. We will most definitely pick up where we left off with these discussions, and I HOPE you will continue to think about the continuum when reflecting on your own student writing in math. I have shared some of the key slides from our work on Thursday, the wonderings we have had for this math learning cycle, and the reflection at the end of our PD on Thursday. ILT members will be sharing your team's overall reflections and wonderings with us. If you have not completed the reflection yet, this is your friendly reminder to do so.
Wonderings:
- Is problem solving block continuing to be implemented with fidelity?
- Are students being given critical writing opportunities on a consistent basis?
- Are students able to transfer writing skills to math?
- Are students able to explain their thinking? Are they able to move to justification in 3-5?
- Are students using multiple strategies to solve problems, or are they only using the strategy modeled by the teacher?
Generalization
Notice how short or brief this can be. It is very clear and concise, and makes one simple generalization about one step/part/strategy.
Conjecture
Importance of Critical Writing Opportunities
Habit Focus for the Week: Habit 3
Campus and District Announcements and Updates:
Brandy Brewer's IT Challenge: Take me out to the ballgame… Take me out to the crowd… It's Opening Day in Texas! Anyone else think this should qualify as a holiday? My family sure does love baseball season. What a better way to start the season than with a little tech challenge? You're invited to step up to the plate and compete in the #7HillsLeadsIT challenge. Will you hit it out of the park? Click the link to learn more. As a reminder, I'm typically on your campus Wednesdays, if my schedule allows, I am happy to be flexible with meeting on alternate days!
- You + 2: What will you do to support your two students this week? A WIG check is a wonderful 1st step! Make sure you sign student WIG Charts each time you meet with them.
- Observe Me Walks: ILT leaders worked with grade level teams to sign up for Observe Me walks to be completed before End of Year Conferences. The key ideas/dates/information for this are outlined below. Important Dates: Wednesday, March 20 = everyone is signed up for an observe me walks & Friday, April 13 = complete at least ONE observe me walk for the person you are matched with. Typically walks could be completed during your conference period. If you need coverage for your class to support walks, please let Leslie, Hayley or Kim know. We will either cover your class or help find someone who can. Observe Me Sign Ups: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PovS5R6IOTsawfvHKHOT69gE-1uY283i1r_Xu6HXb04/edit?usp=sharing
- FLEX Days: Have you completed the required hours for your 2017 - 2018
FLEX agreement? Do you have documentation of completion of these hours? Leslie and Kim will be confirming these with teachers. Please be prepared to share evidence of completion or your plan to complete the requirement. Remember, if the hours are not completed, the employee is docked pay at the daily rate for the number of hours not completed.
- Save the Date for Campus Based PD in August: Seven Hills staff will complete The Leader in Me Empowering Instruction professional learning on August 10, 2018. All instructional staff are required to attend, and because this is a non-contract day, this will count toward FLEX credit. The location is TBD, as we may opt to have this off site for a more engaging PD.
Girls on the Run 5k Celebration and Running Buddy Discount through April 3
The Girls on the Run 5k is Saturday, April 28 at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie. Parking will be free and we will have a ton of space!
- Registration for running buddies is open now. Attached is a flyer about being a running buddy and the event. Coaches and girls registered for the program do NOT need to register for the 5k.
- We ask that the girls run with a “buddy.” Buddies can receive $5 off of their registration through April 3. The code is 5KRUNNINGBUDDY. It is important you share this discount code with the parents/guardians.
Our 5k is open to anyone who would like to participate. Click here to register! Make sure the buddies are clicking “register as an individual” and not the “create a team” which is for our corporate and community adult teams that participate in the race! http://gotrdfw.org/5k/
Girls on the Run Practice 5K: We will have a practice 5k on Friday, April 6th from 3:15-4:45 after school. We would LOVE to have each of you come and support, run, walk with your buddy. The more that participate the more spread out we can make the practice 5k around the building and more like a real race. We are still working on planning some fun things for the girls as they run to earn along the way with their final prize being their 5k race day shirt at the finish line. Please let Hayley, Jennifer Gill, or Laura Sammons know if you are able to make it or not so they can plan accordingly! We appreciate you taking the time to invest in these girls and the Girls on the Run program!
Attendance Snapshot Time: Staff, it is imperative that attendance be completed DAILY at the 9:30 reporting time. Funding is connected to this reporting, and should the district/campus be audited, failure to report attendance at the snapshot time could result in loss of funding for all of the students in your classroom on each day that attendance was not completed at the reporting time. Please be advised that reporting attendance is connected to T-TESS discipline 4.
April is Autism Awareness Month:
Students and staff wear blue on Monday, April 2 in recognition of World Autism Awareness Day. Staff may wear jeans with their blue.
Autism Awareness Activities From PACEE:
This coming Monday, April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day. We are working hard filming and editing a video in our class to share with you on Monday. We will also have a small sensory exhibit (think weighted vests) and a create-your-own puzzle piece station in the empty room next to Kelly Bryant and Goosey’s room. The idea is for your students to explore some of the different sensory tools we use with our students and to decorate their own puzzle piece with the understanding that EVERYONE is different but we all fit in somewhere in the puzzle of life :) This is totally optional…I have a link to a google sheet below to sign up for a time if you are interested. The time slots are 20 minutes each. Thanks for taking time to help us spread awareness for autism!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dt5i7kU0ZdcrItOzsgxdRX4mHNUkkpcJCZIdIwIZ8lE/edit?usp=sharing
HUGE shout out to Erin Johnson, Lacy Denman, and Stefanie Miller for their contributions, awesome ideas, and putting up with me!
Save the Date:
Note: This would be a GREAT week to complete Observe Me walks to give feedback to your peers connected to their professional WIGs.
April 2:
- ILT Meeting, 3:30
- World Autism Awareness Day, students and staff wear blue with jeans
- PTA Board Meeting, 6:00 pm
April 3:
- Grade Level PLCs
- Kim off campus
- Friends at the Fire House (Staff who volunteer their time to support this event can wear jeans with the "World Changer" shirt on Tuesday)
April 4:
- Staff may wear jeans and black polo for fall fundraising incentive
- Math planning with coaches
- National School Librarian's Day
April 5:
- Kim, Hayley & Leslie off campus at Learning Teams
- No staff meeting
April 6:
- Hall and room prep must be finished by the time you leave
- Leader Rally, 7:40
Happy Birthday to You:
Hayley Sample 4/5