Elementary K-2 Teacher Newsletter
Bi-Weekly - Issue 4 - May 2020
You Made It, Summer is Near!
ELA Instructional Materials Narrowing Team Application - DEADLINE EXTENDED
Attention Teachers & Instructional Coaches:
Get involved! The Office of Leading and Learning has initiated the review of instructional materials for the upcoming English Language Arts adoption. Selecting instructional materials is one of the most critical decisions we will make as a district and we need your expertise to choose the best materials for our students. Many are involved in the process from the steering team, to the narrowing team, to the school-based adoption team representatives.
The steering team sets up the foundation for the entire process from logistics (dates, deadlines, forms) to overseeing and monitoring the process from start to finish. The steering team is also responsible for training and educating both the narrowing and school-based adoption team representatives on the process of selecting and piloting prospective instructional materials. This team consists of representatives from the Office of Leading and Learning.
Here is where you as teachers and instructional coaches can help lead the process:
Option 1: Narrowing Team
The narrowing team, as its name implies, is responsible for narrowing the selection of instructional materials to be piloted in our schools. This is a five day commitment at the beginning of next school year. To narrow the selection, the team will receive in-depth training on the newly released Florida B.E.S.T. ELA standards as well as how to apply our district evaluation tool to thoroughly review state approved instructional materials. The goal of this team is to recommend 2-3 instructional materials programs to be piloted in our schools.
Option 2: School-based Adoption Teams
The school-based adoption teams consists of 1-2 representatives from each school, elementary, middle, high, to receive training from vendors for the prospective instructional materials to be piloted in schools. This is a two day commitment currently projected during the month of October next school year. Following training, they will serve as liaisons between their schools and OLL with piloting the materials, providing training and support within their buildings, and assisting with the final selection of materials.
Both teams serve important roles and are integral to the success of the adoption process.
If you are interested in serving on the narrowing team, please fill out an application by clicking on the link below. The deadline for submitting applications is no later than Friday, June 5th at 5:00p.m. More information regarding school-based adoption teams will be forthcoming in the fall.
ELA Narrowing Team Application
ELA Teacher Perception Survey
Teachers & Instructional Coaches:
Share your feedback! The Office of Leading and Learning wants to hear from you! As a district, we would like to get a better understanding of how our current literacy instructional materials have impacted your classroom practices and overall attitudes toward literacy instruction. The following survey will take about 15 minutes to complete. Your answers will be used to help inform future planning, specifically the review of instructional materials for the upcoming K-12 English Language Arts adoption. We have also included questions pertaining your experiences with blended and virtual learning (Canvas/myLearning). None of your responses will be personally identifiable. The survey closes Friday, June 5 at 5:00 p.m. Please be sure your voice is heard!
Elementary ELA Teacher Survey
Attention Teachers and Instructional Coaches: A Message from ARM
On Thursday, June 4, and Friday, June 5, 2020, Focus Groups will be conducted providing the opportunity for instructional staff members to share ideas and thoughts related to instructional coaching in PCS.
A process will be used to identify participants from a list of volunteers who want to participate and represent Title I and non-Title I schools. All those invited are encouraged to participate, however taking part in the Focus Group is voluntary.
All information collected during the Focus Group meeting will be confidential and all comments will remain anonymous. Trends will be reported as a peer group.
If you are interested in participating, please indicate by completing this form.
The deadline to complete this form is Thursday, May 28 and those selected to participate will be notified Friday, May 29. Please note the Focus Groups are 45 minutes in length and will be scheduled over those two days (specific times TBD).
Thank you.
Reading Endorsement
If you are currently pursuing your Reading Endorsement through the district pathway, please note that summer courses are currently available for registration. If a course is full, please join the waitlist as additional sections continue to be added.
Please note that SUMMER SESSION 2020 is the FINAL opportunity to take competency 1 or competency 2 separately. In the future, only the Combined 1/2 course will be offered.
If you have any questions, please contact readingendorsement@pasco.k12.fl.us
ELA
As you say good-bye to your students over the summer remind them to continue to read this summer. Flyleaf Publishing has made some books free from now through the next school year, they can access them over the summer. When you and your students are reading over the summer, please share out your reading on social media, #PascoSummerReads. If they need to practice some sight words, power words, or tricky words over the summer, you might consider sharing these ideas with families. You can also encourage your students to continue to write over the summer with these summer prompts.
Most importantly, we wish you and your students a safe, happy and healthy summer!
Math
Exciting news! Zearn has shifted their focus to recovering learning during the summer and through the 2020-2021 academic year. They are providing new resources to help administrators and teachers support students to stay on track and mitigate the COVID-19 education interruption. These new resources include Summer Learning Recovery Lessons and Plans for each grade level. Click here to learn more about these awesome resources!
Science
*****************SAVE THE DATE*******************
Pasco Science & Engineering Showcase- January 30th 2021 at CSRMS with the Showcase Awards Gala on Wednesday February 3rd at Wesley Chapel Performing Arts Center. For the 2020-2021 school year we will host a Showcase Launch week October 5th-9th.
WIPRO Science Fellowship Opportunity-Stipend $8000
Applications opened for Cohort 3 of the WIPRO Science Educator Fellowship DEADLINE EXTENDED THROUGH July 15th
The TB Wipro SEF program is designed to foster teaching and leadership skills in those who have a minimum of three years of teaching experience and are committed to staying in the classroom within their school district for the next two years. Applicants do not need to have prior leadership experience. While many teachers may find these skills to be helpful for other avenues of leadership in the district, this program is not designed to facilitate the transition of a classroom teacher to becoming a school-based or district-based leader, such as a principal or superintendent. Up to twenty teachers from grades K-12 representing areas of biology, chemistry, physics, and earth/environmental science will be selected to be a Fellow for two years beginning in August 1, 2020. This is a partnership between USF and Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. The cross county design of the project has sparked numerous meaningful conversations.
Application and Information
http://bit.ly/TB_Wipro_Application
Social Studies
Memorial Day - Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday in May each year to honor military personnel who paid the ultimate price in sacrificing their lives during military service.
Please share with students why we honor this day, many students still have a misconception between Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
Below you will find some video links to share with students:
Overview of Memorial Day including a brief history: Click HERE.
PBS Kids -Memorial Day Click HERE
American Holiday- CBS History of Memorial Day: Click HERE.
Memorial Day Read Aloud – Video Links
Rolling Thunder by Kate Messner
USF Stavros Center Virtual Summer Webinars
The USF Stavros Center will continue their virtual webinars through the summer. Here are few upcoming sessions - check their webpage throughout the summer to see other opportunities that may come up.
WEBINAR 1:
MISS RUMPHIUS MAKES THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE – GOOD LIFE GOALS FOR YOUR STUDENTS’ EMOTIONAL AND FINANCIAL FUTURES
Presented by the USF Stavros Center and Sponsored by State Farm
· WEBINAR, Microsoft Teams
· Wednesday, May 27, 2020
· 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
In this webinar, we will begin with a popular children’s book, Miss Rumphius, which is about a woman who practices social entrepreneurship as she spreads lupine seeds to make the world a more beautiful place. We will provide interactive Nearpod lessons that you can use and adapt, which include decision-making, entrepreneurial thinking, and Ask the Right Focused Question activities. We will illustrate how responsible decision-making activities involve putting Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and social entrepreneurship into action.
During the webinar, we will include connections to Financial Literacy, Social Studies, English Language Arts, Media Literacy, and STEM. Although we begin with a children’s book, most of the Nearpod lessons are adaptable across grades. During the activities, we will provide examples of creative thinking and critical questioning strategies.
This workshop will include:
-Connections to a variety of texts
-Interactive Nearpod activities that can be adapted
-Decision-making lessons on Florida Native Wildflowers
-Ask the Right Focused Question activities
-Writing activities for informational and persuasive texts, including infographics
During the webinar, we will provide links to the free standards-based interactive activities we have created. Sign up at: https://www.usf.edu/education/stavros-center/programs/index.aspx
WEBINAR 2:
Sustainability Superheroes Make Responsible Decisions: K-8 Interactive Activities About Invasive Plants and Animals
Date: Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Time: 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Location: WEBINAR Microsoft Teams
This webinar is part of our grant from the Coca Cola foundation: Sustainability Superheroes: Developing Global Citizens for a Sustainable Future. It is also part of a new series webinars on decision-making and entrepreneurial thinking, which use interactive activities to encourage responsible decision-making and entrepreneurial thinking.
The goal of Sustainability Superheroes is to help educators teach students about key sustainability development issues we face in the local and global economy. As such, the webinars will infuse the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and consider the connection between economic and ecological systems. We will also illustrate how responsible decision-making activities involve putting Social Emotional Learning (SEL) into action. During the activities, we will provide examples of creative thinking and critical questioning strategies, along with examples of how sustainability can be aligned to Florida Standards.
This K-8 workshop will include:
· Connections to a variety of texts
· Interactive Nearpod activities that can be adapted
· Decision-making lessons on invasive plants and animals
· Interactive entrepreneurial thinking activities involving the SDG goals Life on Land and Life in the Water
· Writing activities for informational and persuasive texts
During the webinar, we will provide links to the free standards-based interactive activities we have created.
Register using the form below, a confirmation email will be sent with a link provided to join the webinar. Sign up at: https://www.usf.edu/education/stavros-center/programs/index.aspx
Upcoming:
June 10: Global Literacies Through Literature: Book club on Social Entrepreneurship with One Hen
June 17: Sustainability Superheroes Make Decisions About Food
Art - - Music - - PE
We hope you have a relaxing and safe summer!
Don't forget to fill out the Thought Exchange so the district can hear your ideas and concerns about opening up in the fall. Communications sent a No Reply email on Wednesday, May 20 @ 3:02pm with the link for the Thought Exchange.
Art
We have collected and put together a variety of enrichment ideas and opportunities for elementary art students. I hope some of these ideas come in handy for your artsy students.
Click HERE for the document of ideas.
SEL/Compassionate Schools
It’s hard to believe we are at the end of the school year. So much has happened! Here is a link to an article that gives some great ideas on how to close out your virtual classroom in a way that still makes students feel connected even when they can’t participate in “traditional” end of year activities at school. We hope everyone has a restful and fun summer!
Elementary Team Contact Information
If you have any questions or need any assistance please do not hesitate to reach out to any of us on the elementary team.
- K-1 Literacy Senior Instructional Specialist: Danielle Varcardipone – dvarcard@pasco.k12.fl.us
- K-6 ELA Senior Instructional Specialist: Courtney Lough – clough@pasco.k12.fl.us
- PK-6 Math Senior Instructional Specialist: Tracy Miller – tamiller@pasco.k12.fl.us
- K-8 Science Senior Instructional Specialist: Lesley Kirkley – lwade@pasco.k12.fl.us
- K-12 Social Studies Senior Instructional Specialist: Tina Stavrou-Klem - astavrou@pasco.k12.fl.us
- K-12 Fine Arts Program Coordinator: Tom Viking – tviking@pasco.k12.fl.us
- K-12 Physical Education Program Coordinator: Matt Wicks – mwicks@pasco.k12.fl.us
- K-12 Social Emotional Learning Program Coordinator: Lesley Wilson - lrwilson@pasco.k12.fl.us