Sweet Peaches
The Latest News for GCA Teachers and Staff - Dec. 10th, 2014
Georgia Cyber Academy - OUR MISSION
The mission of the Georgia Cyber Academy is to provide an exemplary educational experience to students in a unique and individualized setting. We embrace a collaborative partnership between teachers, learning coaches, and students that recognizes the needs of the individual child. The provision of research based curriculum and rigorous, standards-based instruction guarantees student success as measured by academic gains, parent and student satisfaction, and continued institutional growth in the respected academic community. Academic success and the ability of our students to reach their highest potential is our ultimate goal.
STAFF MEETING & TRAINING AGENDA
Upcoming Staff Meeting Dates and Topics:
12/12 - TLAC Classroom Management series - Stephanie Chi/K12
12/19 - DDI - Action Plan Peer Review - Please see email from 12/8 for required details for completing this training.
12/26 - SCHOOL HOLIDAY
1/2 - SCHOOL HOLIDAY
1/9 - WIDA and Analyzing ACCESS Score reports (DDI for EL’s) - Amy Lacher GaDOE Title III
Please remember these meetings are required for all staff. Should you need to access the recording to a meeting, you can find all staff meeting recordings on the Home Page in Sharepoint. Professional Development follows our Staff Meeting each week.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Winter Break - December 22nd - January 5th
Communication with students and parents Please remember, when kmailing documents to your families, be sure you are sending them in PDF form, not Word. Even though students can use things like openoffice.org to create word docs, we need to make every effort to make things available in PDF format. Please ask your Lead for help if you do not know how to convert documents.
Georgia Milestones
Please review the link below to learn more information about Georgia’s new testing system, Georgia Milestones EOC/EOG!
Preparations for our 2015 testing season is underway!
More Georgia Cyber Academy specific details will be coming soon!
SWP Title I Meeting - Please Complete by 12/15
You were invited to participate in the School wide Plan (SWP), Comprehensive Local Education Improvement Plan (CLIP), and Title I Budget meeting that was conducted in September, 2014.
Please take a moment to listen to the recording by December 15th, 2014.
If you have any questions regarding the information that has been shared with you or our families, please feel free to contact me.
Lawanna Twaites - Manager, Title I Program
To view the recording, click the link below:
View the Blackboard Collaborate recording
Survey to verify that you listened:
Southern Region Instructional Team’s Drop-In Coaching Initiative
What are they doing?
- Stephanie and her team of coaches, Tamra, Daphne, and Shatamara, want to see the amazing instruction happening across our schools.
Their focus will be on empowering and encouraging teachers.
- Lemov’s Practice Perfect Technique: Power of Positive will be used.
- They will informally drop in to CC for 15-60 minutes
- Each month they will be looking for one best practice. November and December: Standards-based learning objectives guiding lessons
- Follow-up email will be sent to teacher and direct lead/supervisor and will include the following:
- Teacher/Class/Date/Number of Students/Lesson Focus
- Instructional Bright Spot
- Comment on integration of monthly best practice focus
- They will be sharing best practices liberally across schools
What do they need to make it happen?
Invitations to high school CC sessions. They have access to all K-8 classes without teachers needing to do anything.
About the strategy….
Rule 26: Use the Power of Positive
We often assume that giving feedback is about correcting what’s wrong. However, feedback can be a powerful tool when it is used to focus on and build on what is right rather than what is wrong. But the problem is that when we focus on what is right, we tend to give vague praise rather than useful feedback. For example, we might say, “You did that well. Great job!”
However, this type of positive feedback by itself rarely moves performance forward. To modify this feedback so it becomes useful, add the following three tools:
1. A statement of identification
2. A statement of application
3. A statement of replication
For example, if you are helping your daughter, Danielle, field ground balls to practice softball skills, you might be tempted to say the following, “You did that well, Danielle! Keep it up!” But what is “it” exactly? How will she know what to do? Consider the following statements instead:
“Good, Danielle. You moved your feet quickly and got behind the ball. Keep it up.” (Statement of identification)
“Good. You really got your feet behind the ball. Now try to do the same thing going to your left.” (Statement of replication)
“Good, Danielle. Ten in a row! You’re doing so well, so let’s work on a couple of other ways you could use a quick start and small steps.” (Statement of application)
What people do right in practice can be as important as what they do wrong in figuring out next steps for improvement.
Family Engagement
Parent University Sessions following the meeting 10:30
Elementary: Literacy Series: Fluency
Middle: What's Edmodo All About
High School: Dual Enrollment
*Please see calendar for all links and recordings
Who should we trust when it comes to a child's education?
Beth Purcell, the director of Public School Options, writes:
For as many students as attend public online schools, there are reasons parents chose that school for their children. Whether it be trouble in a particular subject, an advanced learner needing a challenge, or the desire for a flexible schedule that allows for training time in arts or athletics, over 300,000 students are learning online this year.
Despite being public schools authorized by state law and held to the same standards (and in some instances higher standards) as other public schools, the NCAA has decreed that many public online school students are ineligible to compete in college sports.
Even with its arbitrary ruling, the NCAA has not been willing to articulate policies that would allow these schools to meet their requirements. Governors, legislatures, education commissioners, and local school boards have trusted parents to choose the school that’s best for their children. It’s time the NCAA trusts parents too.
Link to the full article:
http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?u=69cea42911390f2cb0ef8b6e9&id=4e7c11abb8&e=b909bc9585