L.E.S. Buzz...
One School, One Team, One Goal
APPRECIATION...
ap·pre·ci·a·tion
/əˌprēSHēˈāSH(ə)n/
noun
recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something.
Thank you, Mr. Mike Fagnano for all your support throughout our school community. Mike wears many hats as our dedicated sub (e.g., classroom coverage, office coverage, bus duty, support for our little friends who need a walk to class, playground coverage, etc.)! Thank you, Mike for always jumping in to help out no matter where you may be needed! It is deeply appreciated!
Thank you, The Love Committee for taking such good care of the staff this month. Each treat has been truly spectacular. The treats today were to die for! Thank you for caring so much for our staff. It is truly appreciated by all!
In the Know...
- The Common Ground conference will be held this year on May 2-3 in Ocean City. With Title II funds we have the ability to send some people that want to attend. Priority will be given to those that have been selected to present at the conference but any other staff members that wish to attend will be placed in a lottery and all additional conference attendees that we can send will be pulled from this lottery. It is an expectation that all that attend bring back and share the information they acquired at the county level (system PD days; A&S choice sessions; New Teacher Seminars; etc.) Names can be submitted for the lottery until Friday, March 1st. For more information about the conference please visit http://www.commongroundmd.org/
- Join the Department of Student Services and the statewide campaign to help raise awareness about the importance of Children’s Mental Health by signing up to be a School Champion. The Maryland Children's Mental Health Campaign is set for May 5-11, 2019. Register as a School Champion by March 15 to receive free awareness resources and ideas to promote awareness and understanding within your school community. Use your imagination and let’s help remove the stigma of mental health in our children!
- Employees requesting a transfer will need to complete the online Transfer Request form online at https://stmarymd.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=1710. IRTs can request a transfer online at . https://stmarymd.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=1709.
- Student and Staff Climate Survey: MSDE has shifted the start date for the student and staff survey. The window will now open on March 4 and close on May 3. More information to come, stay tuned!
- Parents or guardians of children receiving special education and related services will be mailed the Maryland Special Education Parent Involvement Survey from the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services. Parents are asked to complete the survey and return it in the postage-paid envelope by May 17, 2019. The Survey may also be completed online. To learn more, please visit https://www.mdparentsurvey.com.
- Conscious Discipline Free Parent and Childcare Provider Workshops-Feb. 27, 28 There will be a free Conscious Discipline parent workshop presented by Master Trainer, Amy Speidel, on Wednesday, Feb. 27th from 5:30-7:00 at the JAFCTC. Additionally, there will be a Childcare Provider workshop on Thursday, Feb. 28 from 8:30-4:00 at the Lexington Park Library. This training is also provided by master trainer, Amy Speidel. This Conscious Discipline workshop is eligible for MSDE Core of Knowledge hours for providers.
- Early Childhood Program Application and Kindergarten Registration-The Week of the Young Child is April 8-12 and the application window for Pre-K and Head Start will open then and continue through May 17.
- Early Warning Indicators in Unify - For a description and explanation of how to access Early Warning Indicators in Unify and what they mean -go to the SMCPS Unify Support Site. These indicators can be used to identify at-promise students.
- Updates to Unify/Performance Matters coming March 2nd:
-Performance Matters will update to include new PowerSchool branding and logo, including the Unify name reverting back to “Performance Matters”. video
-A new response option will be added in Online Scoring for “Did Not Answer”. If a student skips a question, selecting this response will score that question as incorrect. video
-A new test setting option will be added to allow for larger bubbles on scan sheets. video
-A few minor updates will enhance usability within the site. video
Assessments
- Unify Item Banks - Goalbook ELA and STEM Gauge NGSS interactive assessment items have been uploaded into Unify. For directions on building assessments from these pre-made Goalbook ELA or STEM Gauge NGSS items, please go to: https://sites.google.com/smcps.org/unify/item-banks/item-bank-usage
- Remember for Unify recommended assessments you must first assign the test to students to make it available in Online Scoring. Locate the test in Test Center, then from the ‘Select’ menu select Release: Online/Paper Based to open the dialog box to select students. Then you must choose the class(es) or student(s) and select Preslugged Sheets. You can then either save or cancel the download of sheets. Click here for more information.
- Elementary School Required Assessments (Local) - Quarter 3
Formative Strategy Sharing
Please access the link below to share.