Anchor Weekly
Week of September 14, 2020
Upcoming Events
- All Week: BAS Testing (In-Person Students Only)
- Wednesday, September 16: Bears for Books Reading to 3rd Grade at 1:00 via Zoom
- Thursday, September 17: PLC Meetings (including Specials Teachers) in Flex Lab
- Friday, September 18: Staff In-service (NO STUDENTS)
- Monday, September 21: Talk Like A Pirate Day! Wear red/black/pirate gear!
- Tuesday, September 22: Flu Shot Clinic at 7:30-9:30 am at Alta Vista
Captain's Log
It has been an AMAZING first week back! I know you all are tired and deserve much rest this weekend. I just can't thank you enough for your flexibility, patience, and willingness to serve our families.
I want to caution everyone, especially our virtual teachers, about making yourselves "too available" for families. You have lives outside the school building! If parents need support outside the school day, encourage them to log into the daily Zoom calls set up by Transformation Waco (Mon-Thurs 4-8, Saturday 9am-12 pm). Zoom Link: https://bit.ly/35kUam6
Mrs. Helton's Week At A Glance
Monday: Start observations
Tuesday: Principal Meeting
Wednesday: ARDs
Thursday: PLCs
Friday: CHAMPS Training
To-Do List
- Complete Technology Inventory (Past Due)
- Post Classroom Management Plan to Shared Behavior Folder (Past Due)
- Complete SafeSchools Training (9/15)
- Complete the Guidance Lessons Teacher Survey from Ms. Maynard (9/16)
- Post your classroom schedule to the "Class Schedules" folder in the AV Schoolhouse (9/18)
- Complete NWEA MAP Training & begin creating sessions (9/28)
- Communicate upcoming testing to families of online students (9/23)
- Complete the STARS Book Club Form if you want to participate
SeeSaw Updates
Parents and students are getting confused about which class to look for assignments/announcements in SeeSaw. In an effort to make sure there is no confusion, please do the following:
- Pre-K through 2nd Grade- only post assignments/announcements in your homeroom class
- 3rd through 5th Grade- only post assignments/announcements to your subject-specific folders (Math, Science, ELAR); do NOT use the homeroom class
For all the classes you do not use type the following: Z- Do Not Use (This will ensure that the classes you do not use go to the very bottom of the list, and the ones you do use are at the very top.)
***Specials teachers- Make sure to put a Z in front of all your classes.***
You need to rename your SeeSaw classes to something that is easily recognizable to parents and students. (Not something like Ms. Helton's Block 2)
Talk Like A Pirate Day
We will have a treasure hunt for each class. In-person students will hunt for clues around the school, and virtual teachers will facilitate a hunt around a bitmoji classroom that Ms. Orchard is designing. Student "treasure" will be their Tribe Hat (big reveal!!).
Virtual students will also have the opportunity to watch a Facebook Live video (with parent permission) at 12:00 of Ms. Spark and Ms. Olivarez doing a pirate book read aloud.
We encourage you to "piratize" the day and make it a fun, themed learning experience for our students! Make sure you let us know when to come take pictures! : )
Attendance Procedures
Make sure you have closely reviewed the Directions for Taking Attendance. Below are 2 different videos on how to do attendance.
Any attendance corrections to be made after the 3 instructional days will require documentation from the teacher (Absence Change Form).
Virtual teachers must document how students are earning daily attendance credit using THIS FORM or a similar. It must be saved to the Online Attendance Folder in the AV School House Shared Folder and updated daily. Online teachers should be correcting the previous day's attendance at 10:30 each day.
NWEA MAP
STARS Book Club Read Alouds
Alta Vista Lesson Planning Resources
- Alta Vista Dashboard (links to lots of campus information, websites, and Google docs)
- Proposed Master Schedule
- Safety Net Standards
- Virtual Lesson Plan Template
- 6 Week Assessments (still in editing)
- Know-Show Documents (click on grade level folder and subject)
- TEKS Resource System
- TEKS Guides (ELAR)
Here is a checklist when you are writing your lesson plans:
- Include actual date (not just day of week)
- Put TEK in parentheses under objective
- Objective should change daily and be specific to what students are learning for that day; keep in mind what you want kids to do independently at the end of the lesson.
- Include links to your activities, videos, slides, etc. This will allow you to keep lesson plans short and sweet because the instructional team can review the activity itself to check alignment and rigor.
September 18 Professional Development
Overview:
- PK Teachers & Aides: Literacy Training on Zoom (AM) + Open Office Hours (PM)
- K-5 Reading Teachers Only: Literacy Mini Lab on Zoom (AM) + district tech breakout sessions on Zoom (PM)
- 3-5 Math/Sci Teachers: Vertical Planning (AM); district tech breakout sessions on Zoom (PM)
- PE Teacher: Morning Session at Kendrick Elementary Gym
- Dyslexia Teachers: Afternoon Session on Zoom
- SpED Team: "Divide and Conquer" session
- Literacy Aides: Work on getting phonics lessons/resources together
Alta Vista Dashboard
Our Technology Dashboard puts all the technology-related links in one quick location.
I recommend you add a shortcut to both of these documents on your Google Drive!
Technology
Here are various technology resources and links for technology support:
- Directions for using Mitel Phone System
- Waco ISD Student Guide to Online Learning Support (very helpful!)
- Alta Vista Technology Support Dashboard All the links in one location!
- Acceptable Use Policy for Families (English and Spanish)
- Clever Access
- SeeSaw Tutorials for Families
- SeeSaw Tutorial for Teachers
- Zoom Instructions for Students
- Connecting Your Device to AirTame
Flu Shot Clinic
Staff Spotlight
Shout out to Ms. Senicero for being a team player and helping out in lots of different places. She's done a great job of checking in on upset students.
Shout out to Ms. Villela. She has been writing excellent virtual and in-person lessons, and she's been reaching out for support to meet the needs of her SpEd students. Ms. Villela has gone above and beyond to support her families.