Ram Nation News
Week of October 30, 2017
Vision
#AlltheWayUp
We have spent quality time working together creating exemplars, backwards planning, and discussing the TEKS. We know the importance to understand what it is that students need to know and be able to do to master a particular TEKS. During this week, it is the time for our students to show what they have learned the last 4 weeks of school. Let's...
- MOTIVATE our students to do their very best so that they would not miss the opportunity to be and feel successful.
- Be familiar with and implement the accommodations that our Special Education and EL students have during testing; if you don't know, please ask!!! Our special education teachers are here to assist with the implementation of accommodations.
- review and practice for CA using the blueprint and the exemplar created as our guide. By doing so, you are able to determine the critical SEs tested and the level of thinking demand.
- make this learning relevant and incorporate engagement strategies to motivate students. Games such as, Jeopardy or Who Wants to be a Millionaire, use and reference to study guides, stations, and Quizlet are a few examples of engaging activities while reviewing. As we review for CAs, continue to make sure that you are addressing, What students are learning, Why it is important, What mastery looks like, and How to connect it to prior knowledge and their own lives
- Be very intentional in the type of work and tasks that you are putting in front of our students. As you know, there are things that students must know and other things that are nice to know; therefore, have a laser-focus on the learning that is critical for each grade level and focus on the must know.
This week's planning review by the leadership team will focus on reviewing the alignment of the LO and DOL, we will look at the actual DOL, and the level of rigor as compared to the STAAR. In classroom visits, we will be looking for teachers using exemplars for DOLs and implementing aggressively monitoring during instruction. During Testing, we will be looking for teachers having exemplars and monitoring students holding them to the expectations set by the teacher of record.
THANK YOU
- Coach Addison for her leadership and enthusiasm with Homecoming court nomination and voting. Our students enjoyed this opportunity and provided great feedback regarding being able to have fun activities.
- Ms. Davis for her leadership with PSAT testing. Our students responded very well and we had smooth procedures during this day. Also, shout out to all of our 8th grade teachers for their active monitoring and execution of the plan.
- Mr. Carballo for his dedication and commitment to maintaining a safe campus. He walks and does a check-in with each teacher providing support. He has been a great addition to our campus!!!
- Ms. Brown, Ms. Mitchell, and Ms. Lewis for their commitment to being life-long learners as they participated in the RLA conference last Saturday. They were excited about the learning and are already discussing how to implement the learning.
- Ms. Perez for contributing to the profession by being one of the presenters for the RLA conference. This is a big deal and we are proud that she was selected for this opportunity.
- Ms. Baker and the AVID site team for their leadership and dedication as we went through a mock national demonstration visit. We are headed in the right direction as the "big date" is a month away. We got this!!
A Honor Roll and Perfect Attendance
Ms. Lewis
Ms. Vargas
Soccer Team
Debate Team
Mr. Patel
SCHOOL PRIDE AND SPIRIT
I appreciate the hard work, dedication, and commitment as we continue to engage in various activities that supports building climate and culture. It was great to see how staff and students participated in the activities for Red Ribbon Week. Shout out to Ms. Shelby and Ms. Calderons for their leadership and support as we celebrated the Red Ribbon week. The various events used supported our students in knowing what it means to be drug free and what to do to be a person of character.
DAILY EVENTS
- Wear your favorite jersey in support of our Football team as they prepare for their last game of the season and homecoming.
- Common Assessment - Math. Math teachers will switch grade levels.
- Planning Meeting with CIC/AP - 6th Grade (Math, SS, Science), and 7th / 8th Grade RLA
- 4:40 Department Meetings - Department Chair's room. "Show Call" - Exemplar and Aggressively Monitoring review as a foundation to an effective implementation of "show call"
Tuesday, October 31-
- Wear your Green and Gold to show your school pride and spirit.
- Common Assessment - RLA. Follow CA Testing Schedule and Plan
- Planning Meeting with CIC/AP - 7th Grade (Math, SS, Science), and 6th Grade RLA
- Deadline to submit Compliance Videos certificates to Ms. Miranda. She sent individual e-mails to those missing certificates. As a reminder, Child Abuse and Dyslexia are to be completed using the District's e-learning site and not Region 10.
- 3:20-350 Pep rally 6th grade and 1/2 of 7th grade- auditorium
- 3:55-4:25 pep rally 8th grade and 1/2 of 7th grade - auditorium
- 6:00 Football Vs. Medrano @ Franklin - Homecoming
Wednesday, November 1-
- Common Assessment - Science. Follow CA Testing Schedule and Plan
- Planning Meeting with CIC/AP - 8th Grade (Math, SS, Science), and 7th / 8th Grade RLA
- 6th Grade RLA Data Meeting
- 8th Grade Math Data Meeting
- 4:25 p.m. After school
Thursday, November 2
- Common Assessment - Social Studies. Follow CA Testing Schedule and Plan
- CIC / AP Meeting at Ray ES.
- 7th Grade RLA Data Meeting
- 6th Grade Math Data Meeting
- 4:25 p.m. After school
- 5:00 Lesson Plans Due
Friday, November 3-
- 8th Grade Science Data Meeting
- 8th Grade RLA Data Meeting
- 7th Grade Math Data Meeting
Saturday, November 4 -
- 3:00 p.m. Soccer Game @ Franklin
- Before you go to bed, remember to adjust your time to the new time - Fall Backwards. Set your clock to one hour before,
Upcoming Events
Monday, November 6
- Grades Due at 11:59 p.m
- Writing Academy II – 7th grade writing teachers, Ms. Davis, and Ms. Wells
Employee policy and compliance acknowledgment
In compliance with state and federal laws, Dallas ISD requires that all employees complete an Annual Policy and Compliance Acknowledgment at the beginning of each school year.
Between Oct. 9 and Nov. 17, using their EAD user name and password, employees are required to log into http://PolicyAcknowledgement.dallasisd.org/ to access, review, and acknowledge compliance with the following:
Annual Employee Notification of District Policies
State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) Reporting Notice
For more time and flexibility to review these documents, employees can read them by clicking on the links above before logging into the application. Go here for FAQs and more information.
TEI Teacher and Administrator Perception Survey
Rusk Middle School
Email: jcordoba@dallasisd.org
Website: www.dallasisd.org/rusk
Location: 2929 Inwood Road, Dallas, TX, United States
Phone: 972-925-2000
Twitter: @RuskAllTheWayUp