Anchor Weekly
A newsletter for Alta Vista Staff~Week of October 7, 2019
Don't Forget! Next Week's Calendar
- Wear Blue for No Bullies on Monday, October 7
- WISD Math Support (Gr 1-2) on Tuesday, October 8 at 4 pm at Admin Building (Sign up in Eduphoria)
- Math Coaching with Mr. A (Select Teachers) on Tuesday, October 8
- Wear PINK for Breast Cancer on Wednesday, October 9 in PLC Room
- Superintendent Visit (RESCHEDULED) on Thursday, October 10 at 10:30 am
- Math PLC on Thursday, October 10
- ELL Tool-Kit Make & Take on Thursday, October 10 at 4:00 pm WISD Conference Room
- CDMC on Thursday, October 10 at 5:30 pm in Library
- Wear Green/Gold/Baylor/College Shirt on Friday, October 11
- Soda Floats in Staff Lounge on Friday, October 11
- Baby Shower for Jennifer Williams on Friday, October 11 in the library after dismissal
- Tribe Pow-Wow during Specials on Friday, October 11 (Wear team hats!)
- Columbus Day/No Students (CHAMPS Training for all teachers/aids) on Monday, October 14 at 8:00 am at Waco Convention Center
- Region 12 Science Planning 1/2 Day (One Teacher per Grade) on Tuesday, October 15 at 12-4 pm
- District K-5 ELAR Curriculum Support on Tuesday, October 15 OR Thursday, October 17 at 4 pm at North Waco Elementary
- CTCTM Fall Math Meeting on Tuesday, October 15 at 5-6:30 pm at Alta Vista Elementary
- Wear PINK for Breast Cancer on Wednesday, October 16
- Training for Aids (De-Escalation Techniques) in Library on Wednesday, October 16 at 2:15 pm
- Boys to Men Fine Dining Experience in Library on Thursday, October 17 at 11-12:30
- Reading PLC/Smarty Ants Training on Thursday, October 17
- PK Community Helper Parade on Friday, October 18
- Progress Report Grades Due on Friday, October 18
- Fall/Carnival Potluck for Staff on Friday, October 18 **Don't forget to sign up!**
- Faculty Meeting on Wednesday, October 16
Coming Up Soon: GT Nominations due October 31
Captain's Log
Thank you 4th and 5th grade for deciding on grade level behavior incentives for October. All other grades, please decide what you want to do as a grade level and put it in here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1038TIJCYsmkCrSghch0wWEVmS70yFobe653Pz_Q0pvE/edit?usp=sharing
Make sure you have sent home your 6-weeks grade level newsletter for parents. Turn in a copy to Mrs. Helton.
The ESC Region 12 Technology Foundation will be awarding grants up to $5,000 for individual teacher-initiated programs or projects and up to $10,000 to campus teams, departments and for district/charter-initiated programs or projects. There is a grant writing webinar available on the Technology Foundation website. The application will be available on October 23 at the same website.
Aids Needed!
PLCs
10/10: Math (Gr 3-5 Both Subjects)
- Bring math assessment data & student work samples
10/17: Reading (Achieve/Smarty Ants training)
Resources:
Tribe Pow-Wows
Each student will receive a new brag tag necklace during Pow Wow.
Conscious Discipline & CHAMPS
Continue to consciously work on your 3:1 positive/negative interactions ratio. We will be doing another walk through soon, including an inventory of staff/students that know our school agreements and have received "Anchored in Excellence" recognition.
We have left over brag tags from last year. You are free to pass these out to students to recognize extra effort. Pick them up from Ms. Koenig in the office; your team will receive Tribe points for your focus on positive interactions!
Resources:
- October Morning Meeting Lesson Plans (Responsibility)
- Assertive Voice Video from Kim Jackson (link also posted below)
- October Behavior Incentive Plan (complete as a grade level)
- CHAMPS Poster Templates
October Makerspace
We are excited to bring you two awesome Makerspace activities for the month of October. In the library, students will read "The Dead Family Diaz" to learn more about South American culture and the celebration of el Dia De Los Muertos. They will be making skeletons using q-tips.
Mrs. Helton will also be hosting a Makerspace cart. She will read "This is the House that Monsters Built" and students will be able to create their own monster house out of recycled milk cartons. This book is PERFECT for teaching sequencing! If you are interested, please email Mrs. Helton a time for her to visit (about 45 minutes). Teachers will need to have students save their milk carton from lunch and rinse it out ahead of time.
Fact Fluency Assessments
Remember that you should be doing a 5-10 minute daily fact fluency lesson each day in math. Here's the skill focus for October:
Kindergarten: Numbers to 10
1st Grade: +2 Facts
2nd Grade: +2 Facts
3rd-5th Grade: Review of Subtraction Facts
Resource: Fact Fluency Google Folder
Staff of the Week
Congratulations to Connie Barron for being our STAFF OF THE WEEK. She translates all of our newsletters and so much more on a weekly basis with a gracious attitude.
Special Press Release from Achieve 3000
Alta Vista Elementary is proud to announce that Amy Foreman has recently been recognized as an Achieve3000 PRO Educator. This recognition is reserved the most professional, resourceful, and outstanding educators whom are successfully helping their students accelerate their literacy growth. High-performing educators are invited to apply. After completing their applications, their responses are reviewed and accepted by Achieve3000’s PRO Educator Advisory Committee. When an educator is deemed not yet ready to be recognized a PRO, they have access to additional training and support from Achieve3000’s team of literacy coaches. Achieve3000 PROs receive several benefits including membership in the PRO Educator Network, access to free student prizes, special webinars and thought leadership sessions, and $300 travel vouchers for the National Literacy Summit that is scheduled to take place at Disney’s Coronado Resort in November of this year.
Ms. Foreman has been using Achieve3000’s solutions in her classroom for approximately one years with students in 3rd-5th grades. Overall, students at Alta Vista Elementary met or exceeded their expected literacy growth. By the end of the 2018-19 school year there were more students at Alta Vista Elementary whose reading levels were on track for college and career readiness than at the start of the year.
Ms. Rawles' Blended Learning Project
Student to Student Communication
Blended Learning
NEW Lead4ward Playlist
Lead4ward has an updated list of strategies. These strategies include higher order questions and so many opportunities for student-to-student communication. You can find the playlist HERE or download it from the link below.
GT Nominations
Due October 31 (Grades 1-5)
Resources for nominations: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/108WZ9JV6AxoCl_DlFTIRRx4_ESvXGPAL?usp=sharing
Steps:
1. Have parent give permission to test for GT using the "Nomination Form." https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oAbtziak_xOpyRzsfgM2vRHKh3m8ECejg6JTU-2kxw4/edit?usp=sharing
2. Send home the link to the digital Parent Questionnaire or provide parent with a paper copy. You will have to input the parent questionnaire answers into the digital Parent Questionnaire. bit.ly/gtnomparent
3. Complete the digital Teacher Questionnaire. http://bit.ly/gtnomteacher
4. Have your student use a computer to complete the digital Student Questionnaire. bit.ly/gtnomstudent
ELAR Textbook Adoption Information & Training
When you receive your new adoption, you are welcome to unbox it, but keep materials together. The district will be coming to barcode all the materials, so they need to be easily accessible.
PK, K, & 1 District Professional Development & Coaching Requirements
PK Teachers - 30 hours of Early Childhood Professional Development is required for all PK3 and PK4 teachers in the 2019-2020 school year (15 hours of CLI PD courses and 15 hours of coaching)
**See Mrs. Helton to find out exactly how many hours you have acquired so far for the year.
UPCOMING PD
PK Planning for PK Teachers
Date: Thursday, October 24th
Time: 4:00-5:00
Location: WISD Admin Conference Center
*Register in Eduphoria
*counts towards 15 hours of coaching requirement
Math & Science Vertical Planning Days
Math Planning Dates (Grades K-5): October 28, December 10, February 18
Science Planning Date (Grades 3-5 Only): October 15, November 12, January 10, February 19
Please work with Ms. Bonnie to secure subs for these days (grades 3-5 only). Grades K-2 will use the aides assigned to their grade level.
Box Cards & One Eyed Jacks Training for Math Coming November 14
Grades 3-5 Training: 8 am - 11 am
Grades K-2 Training: 12 pm - 3 pm
You will need to create a 1/2 Day School Business Absence in TEAMS (7:45-11:45 or 11:45-3:45). Please work with Ms. Bonnie to secure subs. The subs in the morning will be able to cover the afternoon classes for the lower grades (if you don't have an aid in your room).
GT Update Opportunities
Foundation 30 Hours of GT Training OR Initial Administrator/ Counselor training (Deadline December 13, 2019)
Day 1: Nature and Needs of Gifted Learners, Responsive Learning
Link:http://txgiftedcourses.responsivelearning.com/SelfRegistration/
Registration Code: c11277WISD11371
Day 2: Screening, Assessment and Identification, Responsive Learning
use the link and code provided above
Day 3: Differentiating in a G/T Classroom, Google Classroom (oqa726)
Day 4: Critical and Creative Thinking, Google Classroom (mslr7j)
Day 5: Depth and Complexity, Google Classroom (eg3pzl)
Annual Update Options- All annual updates are due no later than May 1, 2020
Book Study (September 1-December 20, 2019) 6-Hours Credit Each
Living with Intensity, Susan Daniels (Eduphoria course link)
Mindfulness in the Classroom, Season Mussey (Google Classroom 2mp2z0i)
Frames (ebook)- J. Taylor Publishing. (Must be purchased and downloaded from JTayloreducation.com. Item # JTE-5D) (Google Classroom q359noe)
90 Minute Google Classroom Updates- Complete 4 to fulfill your 6-hour Update
Depth and Complexity: Creating Tiered Instruction (Google Classroom wtda9jh)
Differentiation in the Classroom: The Basics (Google Classroom ifxecn)
Depth and Complexity: Creating a Choice Board (Google Classroom F5gm8ec)
Depth and Complexity: Creating a Frame (Google Classroom 67xr2h)
*Additional courses will be added throughout the year.