Principal's Newsletter
July 2017
Dates to Remember
July 25th, 26th, 27th- Kindergarten Success
July 27th- Back to School Bash, 5:30-7:30
August 2nd- Full Work Day
August 3rd- Half Work Day and Open House for 1st-5th, 5:30-7:30
August 4th- Heather Forbes PD, 8:30-3:30 (lunch provided)
August 7th- Kick Off Building Meetings, 12:00-3:30 Kindergarten Open House, 5:00-6:00
August 8th- Half Work Day
August 9th- First Day of School
August 9th- Boo Hoo, Yahoo Breakfast, 9:30
August 9th- Welcome Back Assembly, 2:45
August 11th- Faculty Meeting, 8:00
August 21st- Solar Eclipse Day
Kick Off
Please note that the location has changed.
We will begin our building meeting at 12:00 in the gym.
New Staff or Position Change
Fifth Grade- Stefanie Means
Fifth Grade -Emilie Molitor
First Grade- Angie Reagan (position change)
Second Grade- Brandy Leffeler (position change)
ELL- Kristy Giacomarra ( position change)
SPED Paras- (in the process of hiring 3)
Reading- Bethany Miller
Building Information Specialist- Tessa Golden (position change)
Recess Paras- (in the process of hiring 3)
Site Secretary- (in the process of hiring)
SLP- Julie Elder
Counseling- Tracy Lloyd
SPED- Carrie Alvernia (position change)
SPED- Michele Kelly (position change)
Literacy Coach- Jodi Fitzgerald (position change)
Custodian (in the process of hiring)
Other Staff News
Aubrey Tharp, our instructional para has accepted a position as a third grade teacher in Warrenton. We will post the position soon and begin the hiring process.
Krystal Hollingsworth has accepted a position to teach first grade at Daniel Boone. We are working to fill her position as a SPED para.
Penny Szarwinski, one of our interventionist will be taking a one year leave of absence. Penny will be undergoing treatment for cancer. Please keep Penny and her family in your prayers and we will send updates on Penny as we receive them.
Courtney Kuhl recently, as in just a few weeks ago got married. Her new name is Courtney Cole. Congratulations Courtney!!
Certified Staff List
Back to School Bash
Open House/Conference Sign Up
Teacher Evaluation Updates
The link above will connect you to Board Regulation 4610CR. This regulation has recently been updated regarding the number of teacher observations. I have provided a summary below of the changes.
Standards to Observe
1.2 Cognitive Engagement (all teachers, no change to past practice)
3.1 Curriculum Implementation (all teachers, no change to past practice)
7.4 Formative Assessment (all teachers, no change to past practice)
5.2 Classroom Management (new teachers only, no change to past practice)
5.2b Uses effective discipline (new teachers only, no change to past practice)
Number of Observations
Tenured Teacher on a Summative Cycle- 4, 10 minute observations (change from 6)
Tenured Teacher on a Formative Cycle- 2, 10 minute observations (change from 3)
Non-Tenured Teacher First Year Teacher-minimum 6, 10 minutes observations
New to The District - minimum 6, 10 minute observations
Non-Tenured (2-5 years)- minimum 5, 10 minute observations (change from 6)
Things to Remember About Observations
- All observations will be unscheduled
- New teachers and new to the district must have 2 observations within the first 4 weeks of school
- Administrators will post feedback within 24 hours (administration will notify the teacher if there will be a delay)
- A conference will occur within 3 days of the observation (administration will notify the teacher if there will be a delay)
- Observations may begin anytime after the start of the school year
- Balanced Literacy Walkthroughs and CITW Walkthroughs are not evaluative.
The following link will connect you to a document that will show you which administrator will be your evaluating principal for 2017-2018. A star by your name indicates you are on a summative evaluation cycle for the 2017-2018 school year. Please see an administrator if you have any questions regarding the evaluation process and the recent changes.
Reminder
August 7th Agenda (Tentative)
- Celebrations and Introductions
- Relationships
- Mission and Vision
- Communication
- Protect the Well
- Connect the Dots
- Sanctuary Overview
- Community Meetings
- Behavior Updates
First Day of School Reminder
We need all hands on deck for the arrival and dismissal of students for the first two weeks. We will need help from anyone that is available in the morning to help get kindergarten students to their classroom. We will also need help at the end of the day making sure all kindergarten students get on their assigned bus.
Bus Duty and Parent Pick Up/Drop Off Duty
Arrival and dismissal will all work the same this year with one change. We will have the buses drop students off in the circle lot this year instead of parking. This will create a shorter distance for students entering the building and should help prevent their need to increase speed down the walkway. It will also help when an administrator is called to a bus for arrival. We will provide a checklist for those people on morning bus duty to check off the slots as they arrive in order to account for all buses.
Below is a link to the duty schedule. All staff has been assigned to a position with the following exceptions:
Tony Beer does not have morning duty until December in order to make him available for students who may need assistance transitioning into the school day.
Carrie Alvernia and Jamie McCoy will be getting students on and off SPED buses all year.
Jodi Fitzgerald will start duty in October. With a large number of staff changes the past few years we wanted to make sure Jodi was available for collaboration with teachers. She is first on the sub list.
Part Time staff members have been assigned to a pm duty and will work that out with their teams.
Special area has been added to bus slots to provide help when they do not have parent pick up duty.
Parent Pick Up has a 12 staff member rotation. They will work it out as a group.
Majority of the bus slot assignments remained the same per a few requests. The overall goal of assigning teachers to slots is to provide an opportunity for teachers to continue to build relationships with students and bus drivers. Many of you indicated that you would like to remain on your same slot from last year because you had grown to know the students on that bus and had developed a relationship with the bus driver.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the assignments please see an administrator. Mrs. Fazio oversees this schedule and can best answer your questions or address your concerns.
We will distribute parent pick up tags again at open house and we will have bus tickets again this year. We will get tickets out to you as soon as those are finished.
Solar Eclipse
Meeting Times
August 15th 8:15-8:45
August 15th 4:15-4:45
Solar Eclipse Day is August 21st. Each area has a representative on the Solar Eclipse Task Force that has been working to identify activities. The district expects students to be engaged in activities and learning about the solar eclipse. More updates will be provided when we return as far as the schedule of activities for the day. Your parents are invited to attend and we have purchased glasses for parents too.
Angeline sent an email to all staff a few weeks ago with a link for solar eclipse lesson plans. The email stated that if you would like any supplies for your lessons on August 21st you would need to submit the list by Friday, July 14th in order to have those supplies purchased for you. So far we have received request from 1st grade and 4th grade. The email also had a link for ordering a solar eclipse t-shirt.
2017-2018 Calendars
All of the calendars below can also be found on HowellNet.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B55nQpj4PAvLX0dWNE9CQkRjYjA/view?usp=sharing
Student Academic Calendar
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B55nQpj4PAvLOFpNOFd6eko1MUE/view?usp=sharing
PD Calendar
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B55nQpj4PAvLaUVFQU82OTM4aTQ/view?usp=sharing
PD Schedule
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1heHKL8112DSZALfFbulM5FuHzDRamSmT-jNLEBaELDc
Para Work Calendar
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B55nQpj4PAvLaDVQa2c0Wm9WWVk
2017-2018 Administrative Responsibilities
Below is a link to the updated administrative responsibility chart that was sent a few months ago. Please note that the discipline that each principal will oversee is slightly different from last year and does not align with the PLC teams that we will supervise. The list is also posted above our mailboxes outside of each administrator's office.
The district expects building administrative teams to meet weekly. We will be meeting every Monday from 8:00-10:00. We ask that we only be interrupted if there is an emergency. We have changed our meeting time to start before school in an effort to be able to meet the full time that we need to and to still be available the rest of the day. We would like to get our meeting in before lunch and recess begin. Please refrain from scheduling any other meetings where you need an administrator present on Mondays during this time unless you absolutely have to, in which case we can change our time for that week.
Friday Meetings
Committees and Task Forces
Please take a look at the committee list. The committees and task forces that are highlighted in yellow need more representation. The task force highlighted in green does not require more representation, but it would be nice if a few more people joined.
Remember that committees are a form of open communication and shared decision making. Please let me know if you have any questions about any of the work for any of the groups. Calendar invites will be coming soon for all meetings.
PTO Updates
PTO has decided to give each grade level a $300 grant again this year just like last year. Please work with your team as quickly as possible to determine how you will spend your money. They do ask that your money is spent on as many students as possible. Remember that someone from the PLC will need to attend a PTO meeting to request the funds and explain how you plan to spend the funds. Please see me if you have any questions.
PTO has also reached out per my request and was able to secure the donation of two new microwaves for the teachers lounge and a new BBQ grill. They have already been delivered!
PTO Executive Board
- President- Brittany Woods
- Vice President- Susan Fajatin
- Treasurer- Darcie Brady
- Recording Secretary-Sarah Hopkins
- Communications- Jen Atkinson
School Improvement Plan
The documents in the links below both have the same information. The School Improvement Plan is the document that holds all the goals, strategies, action steps, timeline, monitoring, and will eventually have all the data attached to it. The Snapshot is the "staff friendly" version and will give you goals, strategies, and actions that staff members are responsible for implementing in an effort to improve student achievement. We will review both of the documents and gather input from staff around the goals, strategies, and action steps when school starts.
All of the goals and strategies are district expectations and have already been reviewed by Dr. Garland, the Director of School Improvement. Administration met with her in June to finalize the plan that EDCs, Character Committee members, Climate Committee members, and Attendance Committee members had drafted prior to the end of the school year. The plan will be shared with staff groups in August to gain staff input.
School Improvement Snapshot
2017-2018 Schedules
https://drive.google.com/a/g.fhsdschools.org/file/d/0B55nQpj4PAvLOEUtT0xlRE5zNnM/view?usp=sharing
Grade Level Schedules
Specials Schedule Rotation
Kindergarten - 2nd
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KY3sX3qsBxHF8PqSqA_Ou3_BrYFHp8gGpvCwdEm0uhU/edit?usp=sharing
3rd-5th
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Xu-sva-0CJV7WgDMcSP1mFIJB37z2eC2-ty6OIXELtM/edit?usp=sharing
Active Supervision
Students must be supervised at all times According to Board Policy 2730. You may refer to the exact policy using the link below. Please do not leave students unattended. If for any reason you need to leave your classroom or an area that you are in with your students please get someone to supervise. You may contact the office if you need help in finding someone.
http://www.boarddocs.com/mo/fhsdmo/Board.nsf/Public#
Please note that it is also the teacher's responsibility to know where students are at all times. Make sure you have a system to know where your students are located if they leave the room frequently.
Staff Attendance
Pink Forms
Please see Jane for a pink form regarding leaving early. Teachers are allowed to leave up to 90 minutes early for a doctor appointment with principal approval. The appointments are for the employee. All other requests to leave early will need to be approved by administration.
Intervention Update
May Meeting Minutes
Intervention Pacing/Plan for 2017-2018
Recess Schedule
CITW and Balanced Literacy Walks
CITW
- The administrative team will conduct collaborative walkthroughs during first quarter to calibrate our scoring. The team will provide individual teachers with feedback using the CITW feedback form. We will also provide each PLC with grade level data monthly.
- After first quarter administrators will continue to conduct walkthroughs, but it may not always be collaborative. In an effort to get in more classrooms and get more walkthroughs completed we will be walking solo. Feedback will still be provided and conversation or collaboration with the administrator who conducted the walkthrough is encouraged.
- Dr. DeWeese will conduct walkthroughs with our CITW trainer (Shelly Gotsch) and Dr. Buckman periodically. Staff will be made aware of when these walkthroughs are occurring through the Principal's Newsletter.
- In February, Dr. Buckman and principals from other elementary buildings will conduct walkthroughs as part of district-wide callibration. Building Principals are required to participate in this collaborative walks with other building principals twice a year. They will only occur at Harvest Ridge once and staff will know ahead of time
* It is not an expectation for you to receive checks in every area every time. That is not possible as a walkthrough is a brief glimpse at what is happening in the classroom.
Balanced Literacy
Last year we tabled our balanced literacy walkthroughs due to climate and time. After collaborating with Dr. Garland, our data reflects a need to conduct walkthroughs during independent reading in an effort to increase reading level achievement across the building. It is also a district expectation to have a balanced literacy strategy and to be monitoring a component of balanced literacy. Angeline and I met with Melinda Scheetz in June to create the questions that we will be asking students during the walks and what those questions would indicate. We spent time discussing our goals and what we would like to see happening during this time.
First quarter will be used to collect baseline data and from their we will set the building goal with the help from our EDCs. Independent reading is the toughest part of the literacy block and we are okay with moving at the pace that meets the needs of teachers. It is our hope to use the feedback from these walks to guide discussions and professional development. It is also our hope that we can really pinpoint the best resources and materials for students and for teachers.
We have every intention of setting an attainable goal. We understand that by gathering baseline data during first quarter may cause us to set a lower goal than we would normally like to set, but we also understand that after first quarter you have lost some time for set up and for teaching students management strategies during that instructional time.
The best way to think about this feedback is that it is an opportunity for reflection, conversation, professional development, and planning for the future.
- Just like CITW, we will walk together during first quarter to calibrate the scoring and feedback.
- After first quarter we will set a building goal and continue to conduct walks either as a team or on our own.
- Dr. DeWeese will conduct walkthroughs with Jodi.
Below is a link to a document and outlines the look fors and the questions that we will be asking students. There is also a link to the form that we will use to collect data and a link to the district balanced literacy expectations.
Independent Reading Look Fors
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pc7qJgJ-vJ07jjS7wmZIOoZLmYBwYQOyKeXPgLQINSU/edit?usp=sharing
Independent Reading Feedback Form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Ntp4Dza7jQfufS7PJRv6jzVvYwGfSWjT4wahVGz1ITY/edit?usp=sharing
District Balanced Literacy Expectations
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B55nQpj4PAvLQ0Y4WDVLTWh6Q1U/view?usp=sharing
Open House Handouts
The magnetic calendars will only be given out at open house this year and will be given to the youngest child in the family. This means you will not have enough magnetic calendars for your whole class and you should not come ask for any. We are ordering a certain amount and are working to keep some as families enroll throughout the year. If you have a circumstance with a family asking for more than one due to separate households just let us know and we can accommodate that.
School Theme
Professional Dress
PLC Updates
PLC Pacing Guide
PLC Agenda Template
District PLC Expectations
Behavior Updates and Expectations
We will spend time on all of the areas below during our August 7th faculty meeting, but I wanted to provide you with the information ahead of time for your planning purposes. All of the updates are action steps that have been identified by members of the character committee as ways to increase the number of tools staff have available and to address the need to reduce referrals and support calls.
Continuum of Supports
The link below will show you all of the supports available and systems that are in place to address student behavior.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B55nQpj4PAvLd2VkZUxLY05vMjA/view?usp=sharing
The universal tool to support 4:1 positive statements will be tickets. We have already made copies and are in the process of getting 10,000 tickets cut for staff to use. You can do your own thing in your classroom with the tickets, but we will be collecting them weekly to combine them to set a school goal. We will share the system for submitting the tickets for the building total at our August meeting. Once a child earns a ticket it may not be taken away. They already earned it. Many of you already have great systems in place with tickets. It is an expectation to use the school tickets so that all staff can give any student a ticket.
Refocus Area
ALL classrooms are expected to have a refocus area. This area should be a space in your classroom that students can choose to go to when they need a break or need to get refocused. It is not to be used as time out or punishment. Each classroom will be provided with the resources in the links below, but feel free to use the links to look at the resources. Your character binders contain the lessons to show your students how to use the refocus area. You will receive your calming caddies when we return and you should place your caddy in your refocus area. The refocus area is a proactive and positive approach to supporting students who may start to show signs of dysregulation. Please don't expect students to know how to use it without teaching them the expectations. There is not a time limit on how long a student may stay in the refocus area and as long as students are not disrupting the learning of others they can be in the refocus area while you continue to teach. It would be a goal that a student not need to be in your the refocus area for more than 10 minutes, in which case you might consider sending the child to the buddy room.
- Refocus Area Lesson (this lesson is in your character binder)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gLg7CxWmUMXhDzzdvLv1BzTbfNCBxVmh25cruZdS9v8/edit?usp=sharing
- Refocus Area Posters (you will be provided with these)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JTEB3Aliq8-rF6kKtpSSGcVgA8mcr7i1M3rbvDs1iDg/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d8KLYh3AxsB34uPeG7glfjl0RHspnsiHS1s3gijUCTY/edit?usp=sharing
Class Meetings
It is an expectation to conduct class meetings with your students daily. Remember the purpose of a class meeting is to build community with your students. It is not a time to go over the days agenda and objectives. It is okay to call your class together at other times during the day to problem solve issues that arise. When reintegrating a student back into the classroom after an incident it is best practice to stop instruction and hold a class meeting to reintegrate that student back in. If you would like help or guidance during a reintegration meeting please let an administrator know. We would be happy to help! This is a great step in helping the class and you restore your relationship with a student who may have been disruptive or had a different type of incident.
Support Calls/CPI Calls
It is a school improvement goal to reduce support calls. The link below will display the steps you should take before calling for support. Remember that if you make a support call the person who responds to the call will take over your classroom while you work with the student who needs support. You are expected to follow the steps in the link below. As a reminder a support call means that only one person will respond and a CPI call means a team of people will respond ready to administer CPI. If you make a CPI call you should be clearing your classroom as that would indicate that other students are in danger and the team will not restrain a student in front of other students. There will be a debriefing meeting after support and CPI calls. The debriefing protocol will be shared at our faculty meeting.
You will notice in the link below that one of the steps is to use the buddy room. Administration will assign the buddy rooms. We are waiting on class lists to finalize and then we will share the buddy room assignments. The assignments are based on the students in the classrooms.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B55nQpj4PAvLdVpQaHVMU1VJbW8/view?usp=sharing
Harvey High Fives
Harvey High Fives will be used for staff members to distribute to students who are displaying behavior that is above and beyond our Hawk Habits. You can track Harvey High Fives however you would like. When a student reaches 21 they get to have lunch with a principal. Just email me when you have students that are ready and I will send you a calendar invite for the lunch! Harvey High Fives are another way to reinforce positive behavior.
Zones Charts
Last year you were provided with a laminated copy of the Zones of Regulation for your classroom. You should continue to use this resource as a way to check in with students or to help students identify how they are feeling. Please make sure you not only use the colors, but use the vocabulary terms. The way we support the feelings students identify is different even within the same color zone. It is best to have your chart placed in an area in your classroom where kids can access it.
Binders/Lesson
The binder sub committee of the Character Committee has worked to put together all of the lessons for the beginning of the year. You have enough lessons for every day of the first quarter. It is an expectation to teach the lessons. You can use intervention time until we get interventions up and running. From there you can use your class meeting time. If you are having a hard time figuring out how to fit your lessons in please see an administrator to help you problem solve.
PBIS
Members of the Character Committee will be attending PBIS training this year as a result of staff voting to receive the training. As part of the training a member from EDPlus will visit us each quarter to measure fidelity of implementation. We will notify staff ahead of time regarding the date and details of the visits.
Pyramids of Intervention
https://drive.google.com/a/g.fhsdschools.org/file/d/0BxpkYK3BaxtLaDlScGxLR0pKRXc/view?usp=sharing
Behavior
https://drive.google.com/a/g.fhsdschools.org/file/d/0B55nQpj4PAvLMnVrM0dFdEZYcEU/view?usp=sharing
Achievement
https://drive.google.com/a/g.fhsdschools.org/file/d/0B55nQpj4PAvLTVdBLWJxM2UyR2c/view?usp=sharing
Student Teachers
We have had a large amount of turn over and change in the last few years and in an effort to ensure you have the time you need to implement your new learning and refine your craft to help move our building forward I felt it was best to just press the pause button for a bit on student teachers. I am extremely passionate about growing new teachers, but I am even more passionate about taking care of the staff at The Ridge. I will keep you updated as I work with UMSL moving forward.
Heather Forbes Professional Development
All of the material Heather covers aligns with the future of our building and the way the district expects us to be working with students. Please note that all of the strategies shared will be expected to be utilized with students. In an effort to meet School Improvement goals of reducing support calls and suspensions all staff will be expected to use the strategies.
Please make sure you are attentive during the presentation and reflecting on your current practice. After the professional development we will provide opportunities for follow up discussions. We will also be setting up a time to have a face to face book club on Help for Billy. One of our parents is joining us for the professional development as she wants to be more involved in the initiatives we are studying to promote positive behavior at our school.
Attendance Changes and Updates
Greeting Students
First Few Weeks of School
Filed Trips and Parent Events
You must have appropriate supervision and volunteers for field trips. If you are short on parent volunteers you must let administration know at least two weeks prior to the field trip. We cannot be pulling staff members from the building to go on field trips. There were multiple situations last year that caused us to be short staffed in the building due to needing to send staff on field trips. The same process for field trip approval applies for this year. Please keep in mind that April and May are very busy and it is not a great time to go on a field trip.
Remind 101
Please make sure you are making a positive phone call about all of your students within the first few weeks of school. Parents love to hear good things about their kids and it is a great way to start a positive relationship with your parents. Parents need to be part of the educational process and we should not be waiting until parent/teacher conferences to make contact with parents, especially if there are concerns. Please create a system that will work for you to communicate effectively and efficiently with your parents.
Faculty Meetings
August
Sherri Lorton will present to classroom teachers on the fidelity of Envisions. Sessions will be offered for other certified staff members.
September
Safety meeting with Jason and Jeremy. This will be an all staff meeting as the presentation is for everyone.