Hilcher Herald
GES Staff Update-Week of 2/8/16
Choosing Our Words
We have an awesome responsibility as educators to use our words to impact our students in positive and encouraging ways. We model how we want them to treat themselves, their peers and adults with respect. As we move into an extended period of time without a school holiday, assessment season begins, and spring behaviors bud...ask yourself if you're 'thinking' before you speak? Is there a more positive way to approach a student? Are you assuming positive intent on others' actions? Did you offer perspective when communicating with a parent? Your words matter. Choose them carefully. The video clip below is a great reminder of how if we change our words, we can change our world. Thanks for the millions of ways you build our Stars up and help them SHINE!
Happy Valentine's Day! As Kid President says, " Love changes everything, so FILL the world with it!
Friendly Reminders
- Schroeder Orthodontics grant applications are due to the Education Foundation office on Wednesday, 2/10. Don't miss out on this opportunity to get great things for your classroom!
- Wednesday, 2/10 will be our day for GCISD Technology Visits from 9:00 - 11:30am. Check out the schedule on Google drive: http://bit.ly/1S9Igzb
- Students should not be going to Josh's technology office without a teacher's permission. Remember that you should contact Josh prior to sending students to him for assistance.
- Don't forget to schedule your mid year PLP meeting with Kim & Liz. Sign up sheet: http://bit.ly/20iutpk
- Nurse's clinic is in need of gently used boys and girls pants in sizes 6-14. Reminder: Brenda Bui will be nursing student on campus every Thursday from 8am-3pm. She may request to eat lunch with the students or observe a classroom setting.
- PTA reimbursements for all classroom teachers up to $75 are due 2/26. The Book Fair would be a great place to spend your money!
All MOY text level and fluency rates should be entered into Eduphoria for all K-2 students and in grades 3-5 Tier II and III students only. These were due 2/1/16.
Updates
- At some point this week, you will be receiving information on the application processes for VALOR 5.4 for the 16-17 school year. I hope you will consider participating in this opportunity to collaborate with other teachers in the district through observations and reflections! Phillip Lentz will be in the GES Learning Commons after school on Thursday, 2/11. Be sure to stop by and talk with Philip about the program expectations, time commitment and even how it aligns with our CORE visits. To learn more about VALOR, please refer to the application or watch the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW-cgCBTHbY&feature=youtu.be
- Our Employee Satisfaction Survey was Monday 2/1. A huge shout out to all of the employees who completed it that day. We are still a few people short from making our 100% participation goal. If you didn't get to take your survey on 2/1, please notify Liz so she can work to get you the link. We want to have 100% campus participation!! I appreciate the time you all took to provide (campus & district) leadership with your feedback!
- Friday, 2/12 will be We Love Mr. Nino Day at GES! Students can make cards or notes to show appreciation for all that he does for GES. Sunshine committee will provide him with a thank you treat from the staff, too. Nino works very hard for us, let's show him our appreciation!
Proposed Bond Election
Security & Safety for our District = $24,431,809
Planning for Growth and Evolution = $79,871,353
Investing in the Infrastructure = $91,152,405
Enhancing the Classrooms = $62,506,084
Bond 2016 Total = $257,961,651
It is important for you to know that GES is recommended to get 4.4M in improvements including the additional space for 6 classrooms, storage, etc. In relation to the other elementary schools excluding Cannon (new facility proposed), GES is receiving more funds than the average elementary school. A large part of that is due to the growth, but this bond has improvements for every school. It includes new furniture, books, money to remodel libraries for collaboration spaces, and more.
It is also important for you to know how this will impact our taxpayers. The district is estimating a home valued at $300k, they will have around a $400 annual increase in taxes. For a $500K house, the annual increase is approximately $670. Seems like a small investment amount for so much good towards our district!
Please feel free to attend Monday night's meeting with me if you would like to show your support, or to learn more about the proposed projects. If you see Shea Kirkman, please be sure to thank him for serving on FIRST and for representing the interests of GES. The presentation on Feb 8th will be for initial consideration and a special board meeting will be held on Feb 18th for final vote.
Upcoming Dates
Monday, 2/8 Parent contact regarding RtI students is due
Tuesday, 2/9 Team Leader meeting @3:10
Wednesday, 2/10 Technology visits (9-11:30); Running Club; KC Club & Student Council (2:45-3:30pm)
Thursday, 2/11 1:1 PLCs (conference times); VALOR Q&A in Learning Commons (3:10-4:00pm)
Friday, 2/12 - We love Mr. Nino Day!
Friday, 2/12 Valentine's Day parties (1:45-2:45pm) *ANY student leaving prior to 2:45 must be directed to the office to be checked out of school.
Monday, 2/15 Professional Learning Day at GES (8-4); Skate Town event (GES fundraiser for 5th grade from 2:00-4:00pm)
Monday, 2/15 Behavior RtI information due in Eduphoria
Wednesday, 2/17 & Thursday, 2/18 11:45 dismissal; Student led conferences
Monday, 2/22 & Tuesday, 2/23 PLP meetings with Liz & Kim
Monday, 2/22 VALOR 5.4 applications due
Monday, 2/22-Friday, 2/26 GES Book Fair
Wednesday, 2/24 World Read Aloud Day; Running Club & NEHS (2:45-3:30pm)
Friday, 2/26 Lunch With a Loved One & Book Fair shopping
Where We Will Be...
- Monday, 2/8 - Horn at Jury Duty (all day)
- Monday, 2/8 - Instructional paras meeting with Nancy (3-3:30 pm)
- Tuesday, 2/9 - Gina at Skyward training (1:45-3:15pm)
- Wednesday, 2/10 - Liz at principal’s meeting
- Wednesday, 2/10 Technology Visits (9-11:30am)
- Wednesday, 2/10 - Kim out for District LPAC Training (1:30-3:30pm)
- Thursday, 2/11 - Kim at Assessment Training (1-3pm)
Monday Message to Parents
Disclaimer: It will be a work in progress until late Sunday night!!
Save the date for The GCISD Innovative Teaching with Technology Conference - June 14
Voter Registration
If you are not currently registered to vote, you may fill out an informal online application here: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/reqvr.shtml Once you have completed the application, you will need to print the documents and send them into the Tarrant County voter registrar's office. (Voter Registration Tarrant County Elections at 2700 Premier Street Fort Worth, Texas 76111-3011) Early voting begins on April 25, 2016 and early voting ends on May 3, 2016.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Let your voice be heard...vote!
Information from Kim Ray
TELPAS
TELPAS stands for Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System and fulfills both federal and state requirements for assessing English language proficiency of ESL/ELL learners in grades K-12.
What are teachers of identified ESL/ELL students required to do for TELPAS?
Be knowledgeable of the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) and TELPAS Proficiency Level Descriptors (PLDs).
Attend campus and district level trainings
Complete TEA online training to become a certified rater, which is a time commitment and can be a challenge!
Collect writing samples from students over a 1 ½ month period (Feb.-April)
Assess or rate students’ progress in reading, listening, speaking and writing in English
In light of our 30 Day Happy Teacher Challenge, you may consider what you could do to help a teammate who is participating in TELPAS trainings in the coming weeks. Could you cover their recess/lunch/dismissal duty? Could you bring them a sweet treat one day? Can you offer a smile and maybe a hug? Ask them, “How can I help you?”
Information from Angela Horn
Rachel's Challenge Rally
Information from Erin Wahpekeche
Groovy Book Fair
Monday, 2/22 Wish lists will be created by students & teachers in grades K-2
Monday, 2/22-Wednesday 2/24 Book Fair open for shopping 8am-3:30pm
Wednesday, 2/24 World Read Aloud Day (more info on how you can participate to follow)
Thursday, 2/25 Book Fair will be open 8am-7:30pm; *We are planning an evening family event that will bring in more shoppers! Details are coming...
Friday, 2/26 Lunch With a Loved One; Book Fair open from 8am-2pm
GCISD Information
Invitation for Community Conversation
Camp iCan 2016
Plans for the Language Academy are well underway but we need your help. We are hoping to have students pre-register on our two early release days in February. Having students pre-register really helps us determine staffing needs and activities we can offer. Flyers and pre-registration forms will be sent to your assistant principal the week of Feb. 1 - 5 and will need to be delivered to the teachers of your ESL and/or bilingual students. These students should have an LEP label in Eduphoria. (Students on the English side of Dual would not be eligible for this summer program unless they are ESL). Completed forms will need to be returned to your assistant principal and then sent to Cannon. Please see Kim Ray if you need more information or pre-registration forms!
No money will be accepted at this time. A formal registration form will be sent home the first week of April to those students that pre-registered. That is when we will begin collecting the fees.
The cost is:
Pre-K and K: no charge
1st -5th that qualify for F/R: $25 non-refundable registration fee
1st - 5th: $180 + $25 non-refundable registration fee ***(This is for the full 6 weeks)
We will be located at Timberline Elementary June 6 - July 15 ( We will be closed Monday July 4) from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. The following link will take you to a video with more information! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZjre6SZr9o&feature=youtu.be If you need have any questions, please contact Anne Ricci, Language Academy Principal, or Mia Magana, Language Academy Assistant Principal.
Google Links
- Lesson plans, or links to your plans, should be saved to our Google drive folder in the GES Faculty and Staff folder:http://bit.ly/1LqQ4sg
- Newsletters, or links to newsletters, should be saved to the Google drive folder in GES Faculty and Staff: http://bit.ly/1MAJbWP
- 1:1 work-all resources can be found in the GES 1:1 folder for teachers on Google Drive: http://bit.ly/1YsPIqd
- Digital Citizenship document: http://bit.ly/1YsPIqd