Westwood Weekly
Staff Newsletter - Week of February 24-March 1, 2020
Shout-Outs!
- Happy Birthday, Val (2/25)!
- Welcome Cora Campbell, a Teachers for Tomorrow candidate who will be working alongside Michaela!
- Thanks to Leatha for chaperoning our 5th graders on their visit to Concord High School's Leadership event!
- Thanks to Melinda and Kelly (and Laurie), who worked together to put on an awesome STEM day/night event!
Highlights this Week!
This Week:
Monday:
-School Site Council (3:00, Library)
Tuesday -
-Annual IEP Meeting for Gabriel M (2:30, D6)
-Annual and Triennial IEP Meeting for Tristan K (3:30, D5)
-PFC Meeting (6:30)
Wednesday -
-Care Team Meeting (10:30, Office)
-Principal Discretionary Day
Thursday -
-Principals Visit for Instructional Rounds (12:15-2:15)
Friday -
-Spirit Store Open (2:00-3:00)
-Black History Month Celebration (2:30, Library)
Upcoming Events:
3/2-3/6 - Read Across America Spirit Week
3/3 - Family Reading Night and Dr. Suess' Birthday Bash
3/6 - 2nd Trimester Awards Assemblies
3/9 - Spring Pictures
3/11 - Soul Shoppe Workshops
3/16 - Teacher In-Service
3/17 - Art Gala & Auction
This Week in AVID
Scholarly Speaking activities teach students how to communicate effectively and comfortably in a variety of situations and help our English learners to develop their academic language. One-One-Two Minute Partner Share helps students develop their knowledge of their classmates, while concurrently allowing them to work on creative thinking and speaking skills. Also, be sure to check the primary level adaptation and the extension into course content at the end of this collaborative lesson plan.
For more resources and support, contact our AVID TOSA:
Jeanne Johnson - AVID Instructional Coach
Google Classroom Add Code: 7uwcLg or eavk628
PBIS Information
Life Skill of the Month - Trust - Check out related lessons and activities in our Cool Tools for Schools resource.
Focus Area of the Week - Assemblies and Special Events - Please be sure to review the related lesson plan, in preparation for our awards assemblies next week.
Black History Month - Black History is American History: Students are invited to help us celebrate Black History Month by creating a poster/display depicting an important moment in black history, or to highlight the contributions of a notable black figure or organization in American history.All completed posters and displays can be dropped off in the office, and will be available for display in our library on Friday, 2/28. Families may stop by after school to view the projects and learn more about our history. Students may also volunteer to read a quote or poem by a black poet/author/leader during morning announcements this week (sign up in the office).
California School Staff Survey (CSSS)
All Westwood staff members - both certificated and classified - are asked to please take this survey. Your input is valuable! The purpose of this survey is to obtain staff perceptions of student behavior and attitudes, school programs and policies, and the overall school climate as they relate to student well-being and learning. Your participation is voluntary. It is also very important. The information you provide will help guide district and school efforts to promote safety, enhance learning supports, improve student achievement, and reduce health risks that stand as barriers to learning.
Click here to access the staff survey.
California Healthy Kids Survey - Parent Survey Information
The CHKS links will be available for parents, and our 5th grade students starting tomorrow, 1/27. The information below will be shared with our families. Please encourage your students' parents/guardians to participate (one per household) - maybe offer an incentive upon completion. Our goal is to reach a >80% participate rate.
Dear Parent or Guardian,
Some students will be taking the California Healthy Kids Survey soon. We want to hear from you as well. We would appreciate your participation in the a CA School Parent Survey (CSPS). Your survey responses are anonymous. This is an opportunity for parents to confidentially communicate their perceptions and concerns about the school and its environment.
MDUSD values the survey data for addressing the needs of students, improving the learning and teaching conditions, and addressing LCAP requirements. Each family is invited to participate in the CA School Parent Survey (CSPS) however, there should only be one survey participant per student.
Parents can access surveys in the following languages online or on paper: English, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Hindi, Korean, and Vietnamese. Your student’s school will put a link on their web page or you will be able to go to the district web page www.mdusd.org to access the surveys online.
Parents can access surveys in the following languages on paper: Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Farsi, Hebrew, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Tagalog, and Thai. Please let your school office staff know if you would like a paper copy of the survey in one of these languages.
If you have any questions about this survey or your rights contact Linda Pete; MDUSD Administrator, Student Services at 925-682-8000, Ext 4061.
ELPAC
Dear Teachers,
The Summative ELPAC (English Language Proficiency Assessments for California) will be switching to a mostly Computer-Based ELPAC assessment. The administration window is from February 3 - May 31, 2020. Although we hope to be done by mid-March. As the time get closer, I will let you know when we will be testing at Westwood.
English Learners should use the online Computer-Based Practice questions to become familiar with the format and types of questions on the ELPAC.
TK, Kinder, 1st grade students are tested one-on-one on all 4 domains.
The Listening, Speaking, and Reading domain are administered by a district examiner individually using a computer. The Writing domain is administered individually by a district examiner using paper and pencil.
2nd Grade students are tested one-on-one on 3 domains, and in a group for writing only.
The Listening,Speaking, and Reading domains are administered by a district examiner individually using computer. The Writing domain is administered by a classroom teacher in a group setting using paper and pencil.
3rd - 5th Grade students are tested one-on-one for Speaking only.
The Speaking domain is administered by a district examiner individually using a computer. Students take the Listening, Reading, and Writing domains on a computer, administered by classroom teachers, in a group setting.
Both Computer-Based and Paper-Based ELPAC Practice Tests can be accessed online. The Computer-Based Practice Test has DFA (Directions for Administration) that should be used as a companion document to the online Practice Test. The DFA includes scripts and example test questions for giving the practice test to students.
Follow this link to access the DFA's for the computer based practice tests: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HY6OFfFI1VGBiGsl9GcDJUE3Ol5kZNst (The script is only really necessary for the Speaking domain.)
Here is the link for students & teachers to access the Computer-Based online Practice Tests: Practice and Training Tests: https://www.elpac.org/resources/online-practice-and-training-test/
If you would like to print out paper practice tests in order to focus on the task types, they can be accessed here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AYQBGW5KEU4SuSRwKPu5jNUZy8u9dkkR
I am happy to go through this with you in person after school. I am also available to come to your class and do a lesson with your students. Just let me know!
Thank you for supporting English Learners!