Week of October 3rd, 2022
It's a GREAT Day to be a Cougar!
Faculty/Staff Newsletter
WIG - Wildly Important Goal
Ten (10) percentage point increase on ACT target standards from August to January as measured by Horizon/Performance Matters benchmarks.
October 18th - First bi-weekly WIG progress check administered in mastery time.
October 24th - First WIG scorecard released
October 26th - First WIG check-in during PLC
Enjoy Your Fall Break!
Congratulations to our Staff on receiving a "Supply My Class" award from APS
- Dominic Woodard
- Elyn Tumanda
- Rizza Casabuena
- Kerrie Gordon
Each received a $500 grant from APS. Congratulations!
Optimistic October
Goal Setting
Many of you have asked for additional clarity about the goals related to our WIG, Evaluation, and Pay for Performance. We have created this one pager to help clear up some of the confusion.
Thank you all for your efforts to get the goal setting process started with students this week! A few
questions have come up regarding the process.
- Q: Should I have students set goals in all of my classes?
- A: Yes. While it may seem like a lot, student goal setting is a powerful practice that can impact
student growth in every content area. If we only set goals in one period, we will not capture the full
potential of this practice.
- Q: Do I need to use the online form provided?
- A: No. What is important is that students are reviewing the data and setting goals for improvement. It will be important for you to keep a record of students’ goals so that you can share - with your evaluator and verify the percentage of students who set goals. Here is the link to the goal setting form: Student Goal Setting Form Please note: If you use this form you will be the only person with access to this data and will be responsible for maintaining this record to share with your evaluator at your evaluation. You are strongly encouraged to add your evaluator as a collaborator as soon as you create the form.
Pay for Performance Plan
The Pay for Performance plan was approved by the governing board. We will follow up over the October break with details for completing and reporting the required components. A special thanks to the members of the PFP committee for their commitment to ensuring that all voices were heard throughout the process!
Mastery Time - Alek
Hispanic Heritage Month
Check out some of the many happenings regarding Hispanic Heritage month at: World Languages (cguhsd.org)
Bus Tardies
Apply to be a STEM Fellow
AZ STEM Teacher Fellow Application Form: https://forms.gle/Qr4wXHrQgLLYdDA97
Deadline Saturday, October 8
Arizona STEM Teacher Fellow Benefits:
· $4500 stipend paid directly to the teacher upon completion of deliverables
· Classroom materials up to $2000 to develop a STEM project(s)
· Engagement with professional development organizations statewide
· Up to $100 to join an AZ professional STEM organization of their choice
We are looking for teachers who are interested in the following:
· Improving their science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics teaching
· Improving student engagement in STEM subjects
· Willing to help build capacity in Arizona STEM Education
· Teachers who want to make an impact in their communities
· Teachers willing to serve as teacher leaders for Arizona in STEM Education
Program Overview
· The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project (ASAP) is a 2-year project, so don't delay! You need NOT consider yourself to be a science or math teacher to apply.
· ASAP reimagines Arizona’s STEM education ecosystem and prepares teachers to deliver high-quality, hands-on STEM activities by providing access to professional development opportunities and materials. ASAP aims to recruit approximately 450 STEM Teacher Fellows.
· ASAP is an accelerator. In other words, its mission is to boost STEM teaching and learning across the state at a grassroots level and help teachers and students affected by the loss of learning from the COVID-19 pandemic.
· ASAP is an American Rescue Plan grant to ASU's Center for Science and the Imagination. Mike Vargas and Amanda Whitehurst are co-Principal Investigators/Convergence Leads. Both are K-12 teachers.
· Application open to all Arizona teachers (PreK-12) but priority will be given to those teaching students in grades 5-8.
· For more details, see here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B0R5qCo7-E9kNnnUB0k1DiHHTALPg2EL/view
AZ STEM Teacher Fellow Application Form: https://forms.gle/Qr4wXHrQgLLYdDA97 Questions? Send an email to stemteachers@asu.edu
CTE Update
CTE Advisory council members lists are due September 30 so that invitations can be prepared and sent for the District Advisory Committee Meeting on Oct. 27. Teachers who need help with this are to alert DIL’s and Lisa.
Reminders:
- Learning Logs - Please continue to maintain your Learning Logs on Blackboard.
- Grades - Please make sure that you are keeping your grades updated. This impacts eligibility reports along with being an important communication tool for both students and parents.
- We are looking for a couple of staff members to participate on Site Council this year. Site Council is a group of teachers, parents, classified employees, community members and students that work with the principal to develop, review, and evaluate school improvement programs. We would like at least 2 certified and 1 classified staff member. We meet once a month. Here is the schedule:
- Site Council will meet once a month (generally on the 2nd Monday of the month) at 5:30 in the CGUHS Library.
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Upcoming Site Council Meetings:
October 17th (Moved due to Fall Break)
November 14th
December 12th
January 9th
February 13th
March 6th (Moved due to Spring Break)
April 10th
May 8th
- Let's stay visible and at our doors greeting students each passing period. This is a great way to make some positive connections and to get a pulse on how each of your students is doing.
- One way we try to communicate if there is an emergency is using the Remind App. You can join our Remind group by using the following link: https://www.remind.com/join/4g3egg
We want to showcase all the great things going on at your schools and in your classrooms. Please send photos and details to jkortsen@cguhsd.org
When schools have flyers, informational items, website changes, etc. to be posted, please be sure to send to news@cguhsd.org in advance so that we can be sure to get it out in a timely manner.
Microsoft Learn – Educator Center
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/training/educator-center/
offers free training on many topics; Blended learning, Accessibility and inclusivity, SEL, Microsoft tools,
etc.
Weekly Happenings
Mark Your Calendars:
- Please check our Calendar for future activities and events: CG-CalendarAcademic-20220713.xls (cguhsd.org)
October 3rd through 14th - Fall Break (Enjoy a safe break!!!)
October 17th - School Resumes
October 17th - Site Council at 5:30 in the Library
October 18th - Faculty Meeting at 3:30 in the Library
October 18th -FAFSA Night at 5:30 in the Library
October 19th and 20th - Civics Testing in the Library from 8am to 10am