Patriot Points 2/8
Staff News
Vision
Mission
Independence Elementary believes that nothing is more important than children. We are continually committed to the social, emotional, and academic development of every child. Our school is a safe, challenging, caring, and supportive environment where teachers, parents, students, and community members work together to ensure all Independence students have a solid foundation for life. We strive to make the learning experiences at Independence fun and engaging while holding everyone accountable for reaching his or her highest potential.
Quote of the Week
-Philip Sydney
Patriot Honors
From Freeman:
A very big THANK YOU to Amy White, Bailey Edmonds, and Merritt Balding for agreeing to have lessons videoed for the district. These videos will be posted in Canvas for teachers to view. You ladies ROCK!!! If anyone else wants to be videoed, let me know. Liz and Melanie are always looking for great lessons to share with other teachers!
WAY TO GO GENE AND JILL. ALL 8 of their Reading Recovery students discontinued 1st wave. That means they came to them below grade level and are now successfully reading ON GRADE LEVEL. This is a huge accomplishment. And, Jill is in her training year! Way to go Ladies!
THANKS to all our great chefs for making today's "Soup"er bowl party a success!! GO PANTHERS!!! #keeppounding
From Holiday:
A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped pick up and drop off children for the Winthrop Back the Pack basketball game. An extra thanks to all who paid for snacks for our children.
Ashley Miller-You ROCK! You did an awesome job creating our Educators storyboard for the convention this weekend. Thank you for always going that extra mile!
From Administration:
Thank you to the Hospitality Committee for supporting our staff during hard times as well as planning fun events like the SOUPerbowl!!!
Valentine Parties - Next Thursday
From Holiday:
Since most of us get inundated with candy from our students on Valentine's Day, I was thinking we could donate any unwanted goodies to the women at Pilgrim's Inn. This is the same shelter where we donated the purses and hygiene products. I'm sure they would really appreciate someone thinking of them on this special day. Besides, there are 60 calories in one Hershey's kiss!!!
I will drop off the goodies on that Friday, so if you want to donate something, please get it to me by Friday, Feb. 12th at 4:00. Thanks
Survey for Teachers of ESOL Students - Due 2/11
Weight Loss Challenge - Keep up the Healthy Living!!
Run 4 Reading
Lace Up those running shoes, choose your teammates and join along to support The Early Learning Partnership of York County as we race to get children ready to be successful when entering school.
Who will take home the awards? Run 4 Reading is a 4 mile run that takes place in beautiful down town Rock Hill. It starts at fountain park and goes to Winthrop University and back. There are 3 types of registration:
Eat and Run (You are challenged to eat a dozen doughnuts at the half way point.) $35
Casual Run/Walk (No eating required.) $30
Book Relay (4 per team. I think each team member runs a mile and passes the books to the next team member.) $25
These prices are good until January 31st.
The prices increase after that.
February 27th is race day.
Here are some awards up for grabs:
- The District with the most teams- 1 award
- Fastest Team per each District- 4 awards
- Most Spirited per each District- 4 awards
- Team Awards: 1st 2nd 3rd Place
- School District Awards: 1st 2nd 3rd Place
- The District with the Most Teams Participating *will need to add school district to team sign up page on Registration.
For more information visit: https://run4reading.racesonline.com
Email Mrs. Cash if you are interested in participating. All levels of walkers/runners are invited.
Grade Reporting Update
Beginning 3rd Quarter, ELA %’s in CANVAS for grades 3-5 will be as follows: 40% Reading, 40% Writing, 10% Grammar, 10% Word Study (your assigned Instructional Technology Specialist will support teachers with CANVAS %’s). A great deal of input and reflection (teachers, school/district reading coaches, principals, APs, technology specialists) has been given regarding the need to weight scores within ELA. Many teachers are already weighting the assignments this way and others are not; it is critical to strive for district-wide consistency of reporting that accurately depicts student learning. The %’s are in direct alignment with the District Literacy Guide……The importance of grammar and word study, yet the integration of both within reading and writing. Some teachers are totally integrating grammar and word study within reading and writing and will not need to input grades separately (in the 10% categories), however some teachers are doing both, giving them an option to input summative assessments as 10% of the grade. In other words, teachers are provided options within the system by appropriately weighting the learning within each option, yet maintaining a high level of consistency.
- District-wide Elementary Progress Reports for 3rd Quarter!!
This is definitely a celebration of collaborative efforts to deliver a unified message to parents regarding student progress. During the AP meeting on Thursday, additional ‘ tweeks’ were made to the 3rd quarter progress reports and are already at the school-level for distribution.
Major components of the K-2 & 3-5 Progress Reports……
*Directly aligned to each report card: 1-4 scoring of Power Standards for K-2 and %’s for each Content Area for 3-5.
*Both progress reports outline the standards for the quarter and identify which standards have been taught & assessed at this point in time.
*Communicates student Reading Level
*Provides an opportunity for the teacher and/or parent to request a parent conference.
Tutoring
ESOL Testing
Sharon Lee will begin ESOL State Testing on Tuesday, February 2. Some of the testing will be done on-line. The Computer Lab will be in use for this important event on Wednesday, February 3, Friday, February 5, and Monday, February 8. If you have Computer Lab on those days, you will report to Mrs. Graham in the Laptop Lab. If you have Laptop Lab, you will report to the Media Center with Mrs. Patton. It is very important to make sure you do not enter the Computer Lab on these days. Thanks for your support of these students!
District and State Testing
MAP Window for Spring
K-2: April 13 – May 3
3 – 5: May 4 – May 25
Schedule to be provided.
SC READY
Grades 3-5 (both ELA & math)
paper/pencil
April 26 – 28
PASS Window for Testing
Grades 4-5 (Science & Social Studies)
online
May 11-27
Schedule to be provided.
SC READY Testing Information
Literacy Update
1. If you have not updated your January instructional levels on the R drive, please do that ASAP.
2. I have changed grade level meeting from Thursday, Feb 11th (Valentine party day) to Thursday, Feb 18th.
3. Please complete the January Writing reflection in Canvas if you have not already.
4. Complete the writing lesson analysis in Canvas. Remember, this is the time you "plan" for WW and the "actual" time spent on each part. There is a place for a short reflection as well. This is only between you and me!
Math Notes of Importance
PD Opportunities
We just wanted to make you aware of new math professional learning opportunity available for K-5 teachers. (Hahn & Jerrell)
Teachers can sign up on My Learning Plan.
#Talk the Walk
In this 3 session professional learning opportunity, kindergarten through fifth grade teachers will explore how talking about math builds a community of mathematicians who can understand and explain mathematical concepts. The first session will focus on how we build a community of mathematicians, and how teacher questioning supports that. The second session will focus on how to ask open ended questions that help students construct their own mathematical knowledge. The third and final session will focus on moving students from verbal explanations to written explanations about math.
Dates:
Session 1: Feb. 25
Session 2: March 24
Session 3: April 21
Black History Program - 3rd, 4th and 5th Grades Only
Friday, February 26th at 12:30pm
This day we will have bag lunches in your rooms.
Dismissal procedures will be emailed to you by Anne prior to this program.
Finance
Weekly Agenda
Monday
Tuesday
2:45 - Action Teams
Wednesday
Duty-Free Lunch
Happy Birthday Sharise!!
Thursday
1:30 Valentine Parties
Jean Day!
King @ PIP
Friday
King @ PIP
Jean Day
Happy Birthday Barbara!!
Staff Birthdays
February
1 - Sharon Lee
4 - Natalee Shumate
5 - Lynn Poe
10 - Sharise Graham
12 - Barbara Cauthen
14 - Ashley Miller
18 - Lisa Brown
18 - Julie Griffin
19 - Martee Patton
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
FEBRUARY
11 - Complete ESOL Survey
17 - Dr. Pew's Visit
26 - Black History Program @ 12:30 - Bag Lunches in Classrooms
27 - Run 4 Reading Race - Good Luck!
MARCH
2 - Math PLC Meeting at IDES
3 - ARTOME Show
10 - Community Visit
11 - Book Fair - Grandparent Ice Cream
23 - Awards - K/1
24 - Awards - 2/3 & 4/5
APRIL
4-8 - Spring Break! :)
13 - 5/3 - K-2 MAP Testing
15 - All Grade Level Money Spent
26 - 28 SC READY Testing
MAY
(Week of May 1st - Teacher Appreciation)
4 - 25 - 3-5 MAP Testing
6 - Muffins for Moms & National Nurse's Day
11 - 27 - SC PASS Science & Social Studies
19 - Patrols to Carowinds
20 - No School
27 - Field Day & Lunch & Learn
30 - No School
31 - First Grade to Gardens
JUNE
1 - Half Day
2 - Half Day - 5th Grade Celebration
3 - Last Day for Teachers - Check Out