The Owl (Week 27)🦉
3/5/23
Week 27
Dear Otis Staff,
Thank you everyone for your contributions and instruction during Black History Month! It was great to see students engaged in so many ways in honoring and celebrating Black Excellence. We are looking forward to all of the exciting events and learning that will continue to take place over the last three months of the school year. Please continue to plan and reach out to admin for potential funding for field trips. These opportunities are so valuable for our students.
Teachers and SECAs in 3rd-8th Grade, please review and complete the Test Administrator Training Certification Form no later than Wednesday, March 8th. For Test Coordinator, please enter Rachel Mann/ramann@cps.edu. A signed copy will automatically be sent to her email.
Please help spread the word about our Quarter 4 Attendance Incentive! Students who receive 95% or higher attendance for the first six weeks of Quarter 4 will be offered two tickets to the White Sox Game on May 11th.
We hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Be OWLsome!
Your Otis Admin Team
Topics for Grade Level PLCs (Week 27)
Cluster - Friday 3/10 10:50 - Room 301
Essentials - Monday 3/6
PK - No GLM
K-2 - Wednesday 3/8 (Please bring progress monitoring data)
3-8 - Wednesday 3/8 10:50-11:40
As we prepare to finish our learning cycle focused on differentiation support with our EL curriculum we will be looking at artifacts of student learning on Wednesday from 10:50 a.m-11:40 a.m. In preparation for the meeting, please review our team created list of embedded scaffolds and supports and one of your already taught lessons where you intentionally planned to differentiate for your students. Please bring student work that demonstrates student learning from that lesson (exit ticket, independent practice, etc.) We will be looking at the growth of the students you prioritized in the fall (Student Work Reflection Protocol) and reflecting on supports you have put in place. We will be together as a full 3rd-8th grade team. We look forward to working together as a team as we continue to collaborate.
Please take time prior to our meeting to answer the questions below in the Student Work Reflection Protocol:
Describe the scaffold/differentiation you implemented for this student and/or student group in this lesson.
What does the student work tell you about their mastery of the learning target/standard assessed? and/or depth of learning about the topic?
To what degree did your prioritized supports contribute to student understanding/mastery in this lesson?
Tier 2 MTSS Quarter 3 Cycle
- Week 27: Intervention Cycle Week 9
IAR Preparations - The IAR testing window for 3rd-8th is fast approaching. We will review training and schedules at our upcoming Grade Level PLC on March 8th.
- We reviewed the Student Readiness Tool at our GLM's this past week. Team's decided to review the mini-lessons during the PL Block.
- Suggested schedule: Review 1 mini-lesson per day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting the week of February 21st.
3rd-8th Grade lessons
Approximately 8-10 mini lessons
20-30 minutes each
- Paper-Based Testing Window: Opens March 6th
- 6th-8th Grade: Week of March 13th
- 3rd-5th Grade: Week of March 20th
Access Testing
- Please review the schedule HERE
Quarter 3 Grades
Review this guide for steps on how to post grades for Quarter 3 (Due by 5:00 pm 3/14)
Please communicate with students and families this week about opportunities for make-up work and retakes. CC admin on any emails to families regarding failing grades.
After School at “The Nest” - Winter - Programs and Program Dates
Winter Session will run January 30th-March 23rd
After School at The Nest - Winter Session
- Craft in French (K-2) Madame Vujicic (Mondays)
- Otis Basketball Stars (6th-8th) Mr. Olvera (Mondays)
- OLCE Tutoring (2nd-4th) Ms. Dietz (Mondays and Wednesdays)
- OLCE Tutoring (7th-8th) Ms. Ratulowski (Mondays and Wednesdays)
- Art and ABCs (PK) Ms. Galvan and Ms. Sosa (Mondays and Wednesdays)
- Volleyball (4th-8th) Ms. DePaepe (Tuesdays)
- Student Council (5th-8th) Ms. Hickey (Tuesdays)
- Choir with Merit School of Music (3rd-8th) Ms. Reardon (Tuesdays and Thursdays)
- Crafty Minds (K-2) Ms. Macotello (Tuesdays and Thursdays)
- Chicago Positive Impact (6th-8th Grade Girls) Coach Abrams (Wednesdays)
- Chicago Positive Impact (6th-8th Grade Boys) Coach Abrams (Thursdays)
- Craft in French (3rd-5th) Madame Vujicic (Thursdays)
Important! Please ensure all students who are enrolled in after school programs go directly to the cafeteria at 2:30 pm. If a student is not attending for that day, a parent/guardian must notify the Main Office. Ms. Rodriguez will then communicate to the homeroom teacher and after school program lead if a child is to be sent home after school. If you have a student who is stating they are going home and not staying for an after school program, but have not heard from Ms. Rodriguez please direct them to the Main Office to contact home. Homeroom teachers and Program Leads, please share any parent/guardian communications regarding students' non-attendance in after school programs with Ms. Rodriguez so that we can we aware of aware of attendance updates. Thank you in advance for working together to ensure the safety our students.
5 Essentials Survey (Staff and Students)
- The 5 Essentials Survey window is opening on Monday for both staff and students on January 23rd and goes through March 31st. Our students from 4-8 grade will take the 5 Essentials Survey the week of February 6. Students will need to enter their student ID and birth date. The survey takes about 25 minutes. The link is here.
- What is the 5 Essentials? It is a research based school improvement system that defines, measures and utilizes the most important organizational conditions, including aspects of a school's culture and climate to improve student outcomes.
- Why is it important? The data is public and is used to measure our school culture. Parents use it for selecting a school for their children. We use it for school improvement planning. The district uses it for accountability. You can see our current 5 Essentials report under reports here.
Feel Good Fridays!
- Let’s celebrate the end of the week together! Sign up here with your team or a few of your colleagues to host a breakfast, lunch, or snack table in the Staff Break Room on Fridays.
Testing Calendar:
DLM-AA - 3/15/23 - 5/10/23
IAR - Online: 3/13/23 - 4/21/23 (Paper per IEP only: 3/6/23 - 3/31/23)
Please see the Important Dates Section Below!
------------------Information Below is Re-shared From Previous Newsletters--------------------
Incident Report Procedures
Please make sure to document and report all incidents by completing the following steps:
Complete an incident report from the Main Office
Notify the parent/guardian immediately
If you are a SECA/Lunch and Recess Monitor/or ESP please share the steps you have taken with the child’s homeroom teacher
CTU Marketplace
The Board has created a new marketplace for all CTU reimbursement requests called the CTU MyFunds Marketplace. The CTU MyFunds marketplace will allow CTU members to make purchases without incurring out-of-pocket expenses when using CTU MyFunds vendors. CTU members can also submit receipts for purchases not made from CTU MyFunds vendors. Beginning August 1, 2022, all CTU members are able to use the CTU MyFunds marketplace. The CTU MyFunds Marketplace can be accessed directly via the CTU MyFunds login link, or through the link posted in ServiceNow(SNOW). Below you will find a list of resources on how to shop, purchase and submit receipts on the CTU MyFunds marketplace portal.
CTU MyFunds Training Video - Training Video
Dear Colleagues:
Welcome to Chicago Public Schools 2022 -2023 School Year, we are looking
CTU My Funds Login Link - Access to CTU MyFunds login page
CTU MyFunds Quick Start Guide - Step by Step Guide
CTU MyFunds Program - PowerPoint Presentation
CTU MyFunds Q & A - Questions and Answers
Tech Support
Complete this form HERE for tech support.
OWLsome Moments
Otis Shared Google Folder for SY23 Photos (drop them here!)
Important Dates
- March 7 - BAC 8:00-9:00
- March 7 - Otis Math Curriculum Research Meeting #2 - VIRTUAL
- March 8- New Family Welcome in the MPR at 2:45 p.m.
- March 14 - 5 pm Internal Deadline for Posting Q3 Grades
- March 14 - PI Day (Bring your favorite pie to the Staff Lounge for our Staff Pie Buffet!)
- March 16 - End of Quarter 3
- March 17 - School Improvement Day
- March 21 - Otis Math Curriculum Research Meeting #3
- March 29 - Parent Teacher Conferences
- April 3-7 - SPRING BREAK 🌷
Black History Artwork Submission by Noah Romero
7th Grade is Learning the Ukulele
Urban Gateways Presented "The Roots of Black Dance"
James Otis Elementary
Website: www.otis.cps.edu
Location: 525 North Armour Street, Chicago, IL, USA
Phone: 773-534-7665
Twitter: @OtisSchool