The #swcrkCOL Newsletter
From the Office of Curriculum and Instruction
March 2014
April 7th-11th
Our Mission
MISSION: Swartz Creek Community Schools inspires our learners to embrace challenges, set goals, grow their talents, and realize their dreams for success in a global society.
VISION: Swartz Creek Community Schools provides a world class education through innovative experiences while developing the unique talents of our learners.
BELIEF STATEMENTS:- We believe in a culture of learning.
- We believe that student learning should be the primary goal for all decisions made affecting the school district.
- We believe the climate and culture of the school is engaging, nurturing, challenging, and inspires students to express their personal ideas.
- We believe curriculum is integrated, differentiated, meaningful, and pertinent to life.
- We believe in culturally relevant education that provides the knowledge and skills to meet the global challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century.
- We believe in continuous improvement informed by critical evaluation and reflection.
- We believe expanding technologies enrich how teachers teach and students learn.
- We believe in building relationships and sharing resources with our community, parents, and staff members.
A newsletter for the swcrk Community
Adam Hartley
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
@adamhartley2014
March is Reading Month!
Each building held engaging activities and our students learned that reading is both important and FUN!
Dave Rendall Visited Swartz Creek
Dave travels around the world and speaks about using our "weaknesses" to succeed. Dave incorporates real life experiences and humor in his talk to keep the students engaged.
If you are interested in purchasing a book contact Adam Hartley at ahartley@swcrk.org
Watch Dave's TEDx Talk
Meet our Technology Director- Travis Smith
Swartz Creek is committed to becoming a 21st century relevant school district and Travis continues to help us lead the way.
"I have enjoyed my time here in Swartz Creek and working with the teachers and students. We are on our way to becoming a leader in technology integration and finding ways to utilize technology in relevant ways"
-Travis Smith
swcrk Family Digital Night
Keynote and breakout sessions for Parents
Monday, May 5, 2014, 06:00 PM
Swartz Creek High School, Dragon Drive, Swartz Creek, MI, United States
Save the Date-More Information to Come
We will have breakout sessions for parents led by swcrk teachers and students.
Breakout Sessions include:
Social Networking in the classroom
Twitter 101
EDP for middle school
Math Expressions online
Smarter Balanced Assessments
IPads and Apps
and more...
Spring Pilots for Online Assessments
These pilot tests are broken up into two 25 minute sections.
Our middle school students will participate in the pilot also-dates TBA.
The assessments will be taken in the computer labs sometime during the week of the date listed below.
Here is the schedule for May:
Dieck
1st and 2nd Grade Math
May 12
Elms
1st and 2nd Grade Math
May 12
Gaines
1st and 2nd Grade ELA
May 12
Morrish
1st and 2nd Grade ELA
May 19
Syring
1st and 2nd Grade Math
May 19
MTSS (Multi-Tierd System of Supports)
To learn more about MTSS please review this MTSS letter:
Learn more about MTSS in MI here: http://miblsi.cenmi.org
MTSS Highlights for February 2014:
- K-5 Math Data Meetings were held for both Reading and Math
- Many PD sessions on MLK Day focused on tiered instruction to meet the needs of every child. See brochure here
- All K-5 students continue to be assessed in STAR Math and DIBELS for the winter data review.
- All MS students continue to be assessed in AIMSweb for Math and Reading for the winter data review.
- All swcrk Academy students are assessed in Reading and Math with STAR testing.
- We have had a reduction of behavior issues due to a common system of problem solving, Tier 2 check in and check out and using the CREEK code to frame our expectations.
School Calendar Extended
Due to weather/snow days this year, we have to make up 3 days.
The following schedule was approved:
Secondary (Middle School, High School, Academy)
June 16,17,18 1/2 days (Finals)
K-5
June 16,17 (Full days) June 18 (1/2 day)
Lets hope for a warm and sunny summer!
STEM Classes Coming to SCHS
We will have a teacher trained in the summer and equip a classroom for our Introduction to Engineering classes.
If your child is interested in STEM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) have them go talk with their counselor.
See article here (Ginger Ortiz is the Career Prep Coordinator)
We are also building our STEM Lab into a viable, purposeful learning space for our K-5 students at Dieck. We will be looking at other opportunities to advocate relevant experiences for our students in the future.
Bloom's Taxonomy
HOTS vs LOTS
Apps to use for levels of Blooms
Early Release April 24, 2014
Thursday, Apr 24, 2014, 08:00 AM
Swartz Creek Community Schools, MI, United States
Office of Curriculum and Instruction
Debbie Vanderlip: Secretary
Corrie Wendt: Web Master
Email: ahartley@swcrk.org
Website: www.swartzcreek.org
Location: 8354 Cappy Lane, Swartz Creek, MI
Phone: 810-591-2384
Twitter: @swartz_creek
swcrk21
S- Skills: What skills must our students have when they leave us for college or careers?
W- Wired: How can our students be global communicators? Problem solve real world issues? Write for a global audience?
C- Creative: How can we encourage and advocate creativity?
R- Researchers: How do we help develop our students to be researchers and learn through inquiry? How can they be more producers of information and less consumers?
K- Knowledge: What content is important to cover and what knowledge should our students have when they leave us?