Wednesday Words
October 3-10, 2018
Nurture-Personalize-Engage-Succeed
New Prospect Elementary School Staff Notes
Staff Spotlight
The staff spotlight this week is on Ms. Kati Searcy. Ms. Searcy is one of our wonderful TAG teachers. She not only teaches our students at a very high level but their work is also very engaging. In the picture below, students were working on a carousel brainstorm in our Design Lab on our awesome whiteboard tables. The students were doing a modified SCAMPER activity. SCAMPER is a creative thinking and problem solving instructional technique. The SCAMPER technique is based very simply on the idea that what is new is actually a modification of existing old things around us. See graphic on left for the techniques. This fantastic thinking technique has been integrated into other classrooms in NPE due to Kati’s support of the teachers here! Kati is always willing to help support anyone at NPE! We are lucky to have her!
ACTION ITEMS:
1. All 3rd-5th grade homeroom teachers-e-mail Stephanie Haga by October 4 (tomorrow) with a the DRC Insight status on all student computers
2. Sign up for Book Fair Preview and Buying Times
3. Begin entering data for Progress Skills Checklists (1st-5th)
BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK
Tyra Thomas 10/1
Laura Lamaster 10/6
UPCOMING EVENTS
October 3rd-CORE Team (Zarzour's office)
October 4th-Fulton First Credit Union Visit (10:30-1:00 Collab Room)
October 5th- Workday *no school wide meetings scheduled
October 5th-Book Swap outside of Welch's office -all day-organize by level
October 5th-Hannah Zey meets with 5th (10:30) and 1st (11:45)
October 8th-No School-Holiday
October 9th-RFF Day *schedule below
October 9th-"Sprinkle" for Alterman
October 10-Science Material inventory and wish list due (see grade chair)
October 10th-Grade Levels meet with Welch-mini lesson video discussion due
October 10th-New and New to NPE Teacher PD (TAG/ESOL) 2:45 Collab Room
Week of October 10-New Teacher UNmeeting - VIRTUAL meeting on Google Classroom
October 11th-IOWA training (Boegel's Room 2:45-3:30)
October 11th - Chickfila Night
October 12th-Teachers Load from Gradebook due by 8am.
October 17th-PBIS Meeting 2:45
Grading Timeline
We are fast approaching the end of the 1st 9 weeks. As we look toward the end of the grading period please keep the following dates in mind:
Grading Timeline:
October 11th: End of 1st 9 weeks
October 12th: Teachers load from gradebook due by 8:00 AM
October 16th: Grade Verifications Due to Heather by 8:00 AM
October 17th: Report Cards go Home
Report Card Support
To begin your report cards you must first complete the “Load from Gradebook” function. Press the A+ button beside the subject and then once in that subject you press “L” for load button in the upper right hand corner. Remember you can mass assign grades and comments! This will be great for things like levels. You can find the instructions at the link below. You DO NOT have to do this, but it can save time in the long run.
A few important reminders:
- The first comment for Reading and Math should be the level. (1.1, 3.2, etc.. for Math and on, advanced, accelerated for Reading)
- If a student has scored a C or below, the 2nd comment should reflect the reason for this grade and this should not be the first the parent is hearing of this. Please contact them personally before the report card goes home. If a child will receive an F or a U on the report card please email me with documentation that you have contacted the parents about this before the report card goes home.
- Please select a positive comment beside at least one of the subjects about the student. (Doing well, good citizen, etc…)
- If a student receives accommodations, receives support through EIP, etc… then this should be noted in the comments as well. (some students will have several comments)
- Please be honest about the conduct grade. A student who has been through the cycles several times should not receive an S. There should be a comment to reflect the reason for the low conduct grade as well.
Please let Stephanie know if you have any questions at all!!
RFF Day Schedule October 9
11:00-12:00 Lunch on your own
12:00-2:45 Grade Level SMF Planning**
**Do not leave or ask to leave before 2:45
IOWA Testing
Students in 3rd and 5th grades will take the IOWA Assessments this month. Our testing dates run from October 22-25 with makeup days on the following Friday and Monday.
All of our testing will be completed online in the mornings between 8-10 am. 3rd and 5th grade students will test on the same days. TAG, EIP and ESOL classes will be cancelled during testing. I will send out any additional schedule changes as we get closer to the date.
The schedule is below:
Monday, October 22 – Reading and Vocabulary
Tuesday, October 23 - Math and Computation
Wednesday, October 24 - Spelling, Capitalization, Punctuation and Written Expression
Thursday, October 25 - Science and Social Studies
Friday, October 26 – Make up Testing
Monday, October 29 – Make up Testing
Progress Skills Checklists Timeline
October 5-19: Teachers can begin entering data in Illuminate as soon as your grade level has agreed on standards. (All teachers can be working at the same time now. J)
Monday, October 8: The day printing will be available. (The county still has some work to do around this, but it will be done by the 8th, and it does not affect teacher’s ability to start entering the PSCs.) A video tutorial for teachers will be sent to show you how to print.
October 22: Homeroom teachers create the PDF and submit to Welch for review.
October 22-24: Welch will review and work with teachers to make any edits
October 25-31: PSCs go home with students in Weekly Folders (They must be home by Oct. 31)
Read for the Record October 25
We get to take part in an exciting event on Thursday, October 25, 2018, in our district and in community centers, schools, libraries, homes, and other gathering places across the United States: Jumpstart's Read for the Record. The Humanities department has purchased books for all Kindergarten and PreK classes to be able to participate in this event. (I will deliver K and preK books when they arrive). However, all can participate! View the video of this book at this link: http://viewpure.com/9ypoL3FZ-Ds?start=0&end=0
Jumpstart’s Read for the Record raises public awareness about the importance of early childhood education programs, early literacy, and community involvement for all children, of every income level. By gathering to read the same book on the same day, we can all be part of setting a new world record in a way that engages our entire community – children, families, and civic leaders – in our schools.
The 2018 campaign book is Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell and Illustrated by Rafael Lopez, is based on a true story of the Urban Art Trail in San Diego, California. Maybe Something Beautiful reveals how art can inspire transformation-and how even the smallest artists can accomplish something big. Maybe Something Beautiful will not only inspire adults to read with children but will also spur policymakers and organizations to take action towards transformative change in early education while putting books in the hands of more children across the country.
See activities and resources here:
https://www.jstart.org/activities-resources-toolkit/
Questions? Email Welch
From the Media Center
Thursday Folders: Starting next few week, teachers will receive some Family Tip sheets to send home in Thursday folders. These tip sheets are from Common Sense Media and involve digital citizenship. Please forward them to your students.
Birthday Book Club: We’ll be sending out flyers and links to this fabulous program for students. For $15, parents can sponsor a commemorative book for their child in the Media Center. Here’s how it works: the student will choose a book from our Birthday Book selection; and gets a picture with the book, a letter from Ms. Lemons, a birthday pencil, and a nameplate inside the book. The student is the first to check it out; then the book is returned to the Media Center for others to enjoy for many years.
Book Fair: Our Book Fair is Nov. 5-15 and teachers have to sign up for two dates…. (1) to preview books and to create wish lists; and (2) to purchase books. I’ll send out more specific details about the book fair later. Right now, please use this link to sign up your class for Preview and Buying times. This document will also be found under the Media Center tab on our Google drive. Thank you!
Did you come to a Community Event-Braves or Brusters' Night?
Attendance at Afterschool Activities
If you receive a note stating that a student, who is present in school that day, will not attend their after school session, please make sure Cindy Heibel is aware of the change. The after school programs check their attendance against ours. If a student is present in school, but does not show up to their after school session, we are responsible to find out where they are. Thank you for your help with this.
Number Talks PAWS PD
Thursday, Oct 4, 2018, 02:45 PM
Zarzour's Office
Kagan Strategies PAWS PD
Are you looking for strategies to help you engage all of your students in your lessons, or ways to encourage accountability during group work? Kagan Structures are instructional strategies designed to promote cooperation and communication in the classroom, boost students' confidence, and retain their interest in classroom interaction. These strategies can be used in all content areas during any type of lesson!
Join us on October 15th at 2:45 in Mary French’s room (K123) to discover some of these amazing cooperative learning structures!
Monday, Oct 15, 2018, 02:45 PM
French's Room
Words Their Way PAWS PD
Do you have students with misconceptions about spelling? Do they know how to distinguish between vowels and consonants? Did you know that administering the Words Their Way inventory can help you pinpoint a student's area of need?
Come for a basic introductory lesson on how to administer, score, and recommend what level your students are ready to conquer in Words Their Way!