Hillcrest Hawk Happenings
The official newsletter of Hillcrest Elementary Staff
Supporting, empowering, & championing every single student, every single day, in every single way.
February 9, 2020
IMPORTANT DATES
TO ACCESS THE MONTH-BY-MONTH CALENDARS for the whole year, click HERE. Please know that these are still works-in-progress, so check back often to see the updates.
MUST READ
PRINCIPAL'S PARKING SPOT: JAYCEE DeGROAT
Last year, the monthly winner of the PBIS Hawk Hero Award received the honor of parking in the Principal's Reserved Parking Space. This year, in order to extend that privilege to more people, we will honor an individual each week who will have the honor of that parking spot for the week ahead.
This week, February 10-14, that honor goes to JAYCEE DeGROAT. In addition to rolling with the punches daily as our STEM teacher while we continue to define and refine that role, Jaycee and two other staff members (likely candidates for the parking spot in the next few weeks...!) stepped in to accompany a 5th grade class on their trip when their teacher was unable to be there. Field trips are typically stressful days for classroom teachers, and it is likely compounded when the class you are responsible for isn't your own class. Jaycee took it in stride and lived to tell the tale, and we appreciate his willingness to step in for the greater good so these students could attend the trip and fulfill this aspect of the residency. Thank you, Mr. DeGroat for all that you do each and every day for the students, staff and families of Hillcrest!
To nominate an individual for this special privilege, click HERE.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Here are some links to lesson/activity ideas:
Some suggestions from National Education Association
Some suggestions from Scholastic
Some from Edutopia
Please click the Black History Month Google Doc to add what you will be doing in your class to celebrate and acknowledge Black History Month.
PRINCIPAL'S PRIDE BULLETIN BOARD
I will be selecting one piece of work from each class's bulletin board to be highlighted in the front by the main office for all of our visitors to see. I will be making a photocopy of the student piece, and the accompanying task/rubric/etc. so visitors can see the amazing work you and our students are working on, and so students can have that additional sense of pride for a job well done. If you have a particular student who whose work you would like me to consider, please send me an email with the subject heading "Principal's Pride" and tell me the name(s) of students you would like to recommend. I plan to select one per homeroom class, and it will be hung with the teacher's name for easy identification.
New Weekly Meeting Structures
Peekskill Art Department Art Shows
Saturday Academy
Messages from the Technology Department
Five of the displays we are considering for replacement of the enoboards and projectors will be presented by the company representatives and Peekskill employees will be given a chance to try them out. Join us for the “Face-Off” which is taking place on Monday, February 10th from 3 pm - 5
pm at the Middle School. Have your opinion be heard!
Clever Issues
Any teachers who are having Clever issues, please continue to use the form to report them. Janice is working with Clever and the companies to figure it out. It is a process.
LITERACY HAPPENINGS
This could officially be called "AIMSWEEK", as this the week when most teachers will be administering the new Aimsweb+ with their classes. This means that there will be less access to ChromeCarts -- see Sal to find our which carts will be available and when. Here is the link to the schedule for the Aimsweb+ assessments. This will also mean that Sal will likely NOT be following his usual tech visits to all classrooms so that he can be available to assist/troubleshoot.
COUNTDOWN TO THE ELA
26 instructional days until the ELA; what are you doing to make sure each and every day matters? This number includes the mock assessment dates, and the days you will be administering AIMSWEB+, so it will feel like even fewer. Who are the students, and which are the skills, that you will be focusing on in these short days?
F&P Assessment Period
Timeline- F&P's will start on 2/24 and will end on 3/18. Please make sure that ALL F&P data is in Infinite Campus in the F&P tab and on our Master Data Sheet in Google by 3/18.
MOCK ELA/TRIMESTER ASSESSMENT
We will be administering the 2nd Trimester/Mock ELA Assessment on February 25. We will be simulating testing conditions with all modifications. The assessment, complete with copver sheet and bubble sheet, needs to be submitted for copies this week.
FISH IN A TREE:
- How is the book study going in your classroom? Literacy Leaders will be sending some questions your way this week to elicit some opinions/thoughts from your students on the themes of the book. If you haven't already done so, please let us know where you are in the book by submitting it HERE.
- As you read, continue to have students describe the characters and prove it with evidence on cards, and add them to the bulletin board in the hallway.
NOMINATIONS FOR SCHOOL-WIDE READ-ALOUDS for next year can be submitted by clicking the School-wide read aloud link. Titles should be 4th-5th grade level chapter book that reflect a theme of kindness or anti-bullying.
GROUP A MEETS THIS WEEK for F&P Assessment training with Christine McCourt
In addition to the days she will be working in classrooms to support Writing Workshop, Christine will be working with small groups to train/calibrate so we can be sure we are utilizing the F&P BAS with fidelity. The day will be structured so that all teachers in the GROUP will meet with Christine from 7:40 - 8:20 on the dates she is doing the training, and then half of the group will meet with her in the morning, and the other half will meet in the afternoon. Teachers will be trained in small groups on the dates designated below; for the division of AM/PM sessions see the whole schedule at THIS LINK.
GROUP A:
February 13th
King, Salumn, Perlowitz, Esposito, Volpe, Rivard, D’Alfonso, Rice, Harrison
GROUP B
February 24th
Levy, Doino, Macpherson, Galiano, Connor, Sicherman, Ramos, Anzovino, Vichitlakakran
GROUP C
February 26th
Badurski, Fernandez, Pena, Flores, Bruno, Rodriguez, Diaz, Hernandez
PROFESSIONAL GROWTH HAPPENINGS
Simple Ways to Encourage Kindness in Students of All Ages
https://www.edutopia.org/article/simple-ways-encourage-kindness-students-all-ages
5 Ways to Support Students Who Struggle With Reading Comprehension
https://www.edutopia.org/article/5-ways-support-students-who-struggle-reading-comprehension
20 Tips to Help De-escalate Interactions With Anxious or Defiant Students
LOVE -- the Commitment to Character theme for February
MATH HAPPENINGS
COUNTDOWN TO THE NYS MATH ASSESSMENT
38 instructional days until the Math Assessment; what are you doing to make sure each and every day matters? This number includes the mock assessment dates, the two days of the ELA, the days we will be administering AIMSWEB+, days we will be doing F&Ps....so it will feel like even fewer. Who are the students, and which are the skills, that you will be focusing on in these short days?
MOCK MATH/TRIMESTER ASSESSMENT
We will be administering the 2nd Trimester/Mock Math Assessment on March 9. We will be simulating testing conditions with all modifications. The final versions of the assessments, including the bubble sheet, need to be submitted to Anchala by Thursday, February 13.
- The 100th Day of School (barring any Snow Days!) will be February 27th. Please be thinking of developmentally appropriate and fun ways to celebrate and engage students. Think about what might happen for students in lower grades and let's build upon that so they aren't doing the same kinds of activities they did in lower grades, and how we can use multiplication, division, fractions and decimals to explore the number 100 and our base 10 number system. Please add information about what you plan to do for the 100th Day of School to this 100th Day of School Google Document.
If you are having any issues with Zearn, ST Math, or Problem Attic, please let us know.
- Whenever possible, please have students log on to Zearn through Clever, as that is how we can see data on their progress/challenges/setbacks, and how much we are using it.
PBIS HAPPENINGS
The SEL theme for the month of January is LOVE. Please look for opportunities to connect classroom learning to the district's monthly theme, and help our students understand the broader meaning of love beyond just "romantic love" (which is likely where their minds will go).
STUDENT LEADERSHIP PROJECT: What I Love About You
Our 5th Grade Leadership Team will be manning a table in the lobby this week where students can send notes to others in school to tell them soemthing that they love about the other person. The notes will then be delivered to the addressee on Friday, February 14. Notes cannot be anonymous, and each note will be checked for appropriateness.
INDIVIDUAL REWARDS
Watch for HAWKS BUCKS coming your way soon!
Please be sure to:
- Hand them out liberally during the initial rollout.
- NAME THE BEHAVIOR you are commending and CONNECT IT to the HAWKS acronym. (Circle the letter on the HAWKS BUCK or have the student circle it)
- Have students write their names on the back.
- Listen for the announcement for the first Friday Redemption Day.
Here is a link to the slides from the faculty meeting with additional details.
Commitment to Character Students Honored at Board Meeting
Watch for the opportunity to nominate students to be honored at the March meeting for the February theme: love.
SPECIALS HAPPENINGS
This week we have a visiting guest artist who will be coming to work with some of our band students. Please check to see if your students are on the list (Band Workshops). If this conflicts with AIMSWEB+, these students should be added to the "absent student list" and they will make the AIMSWEB+ up on a makeup day.
To submit something for this section of the Hawk Happenings in the future, submit it by clicking HERE and it will appear in the next Hawk Happenings.