05.02.16 Staff Update
A Communication Tool for the Seven Hills Staff
Personalized Learning at Seven Hills: Finishing STRONG!
It's Staff Appreciation Week!
I want to let you know how much I appreciate each one of you! Every staff member plays an important role in making Seven Hills a GREAT place to learn, work, and grow...and, I am honored to work alongside such wonderful people. There truly is "No Place Like Seven Hills!" In addition to the PTA celebrations that will happen this week, we have a few fun gestures of appreciation planned as well. Thank you for everything you do!
- The Power Thank You! Have you forgotten about these? The banner has been cleaned off, and is ready for a new set of thank yous from staff to staff. A blank power thank you card has been placed in each staff member's mailbox. I encourage you to show your appreciation for a peer this week!
- We "Soda" Think Our Staff is Awesome! Leslie, Tanya and I will be treating staff to a Sonic drink this week. We will deliver the drink of your choice Monday - Friday of this week! Please take a minute to complete this form to tell us your favorite drink...if you don't fill it out, we might choose for you! http://goo.gl/forms/ltXkyYUbo7
- Mailbox Mystery! Check your mailboxes throughout the week for fun surprises!
Reflective Questions to Ensure We Finish Strong & Meet Student/Campus Goals:
Earlier this year, I shared that our journey this year would be much like climbing a mountain...and at times the mountain would seem very steep, but we would climb one intentional move at a time, getting us closer and closer to the summit! As we enter into the end of year assessment season, I hope you will take a minute to reflect on where your students were at the beginning of the year, and where they are now...We already have strong evidence that we are well on our way to meeting campus goals!!! Now, it is time to make those last intentional moves and plant your flag at the top of the mountain! To help you plan those intentional moves:
- Are you capitalizing on every available instructional minute?
- Have you designed lessons aligned with student need in order to give them the final push they need to meet end of the year goals? Remember, the BEST intervention is high quality, focused instruction.
- How is your team using Personalized Learning time, Shine Time, to provide the intervention necessary to ensure student achievement and support our Campus Instructional Focus to ensure a full year's growth for ALL learners?
- What are you doing to motivate students to keep working hard?
Next Steps for The Leader in Me:
- Read chapters 9 and 10.
- June PD for ALL Staff: June 6 -8 (This is the only scheduled opportunity for this training. Remember, The Leader in Me requires the adults in the school to work on themselves before they can implement with students.)
- Continue to record all of the wonderful brainstorming ideas in your Leader in Me notebooks! Great ideas are popping up everywhere!!!! We need to make sure we remember them all!
"Leadership is communicating a person's worth and potential so clearly that they are inspired to see it in themselves"
Staff Member of the Week:
Mari Heffington: I was homecoming queen all four years in high school! There were only five girls in my graduating class, but still.
Cathy Smith: Cathy's fun fact was not available at the time of publication. I will share her fact at a later date.
Learn more about Cathy and Mari when you stop by the Star Staff board in the Teacher's Lounge this week!
What's Happening Next Week at The Hills?
- Monday, May 2:
-Staff Appreciation Week begins with coffee and pastries in the Teacher's Lounge from the PTA!
-Kindergarten Round-Up begins
-Class placement letters will be placed in boxes to go home tonday!
-Theme Team meeting 3:15 in the library
- Tuesday, May 3:
-Grade Level PLCS for K -2
-Evening Event for Kindergarten Round-Up 5:00 - 6:30 pm
-Staff Appreciation Week popcorn bar from the PTA
-Design Team Meeting, 3:15 Conference Room
- Wednesday, May 4:
-STAAR Training for 3-5 during planning period in place of PLCs on Tuesday
-Staff Appreciation Week Cane's lunch from the PTA
- Thursday, May 5:
-Kim out at DLT
-Staff Appreciation Week candy bar from the PTA - no staff meeting
-Halls and classrooms prepared for STAAR
-Teacher and Para of the Year Celebration, 3:15 cafeteria
- Friday, May 6:
-1st Grade Mother's Day Tea
-Staff Appreciation Week potato and salad bar from the PTA
-PTA Mother Son Kickball Tournament and Kona Ice, 6 - 7:30 pm -RESCHEDULED
Save The Date: (please add these dates to your calendars)
- Lunch provided to staff by 1st American Pension - May 12
- May 12: ILT meeting via Zoom conference...more detials coming soon
- May 17th: JA in a Day K-5 Grades
- May 19: Staff Meeting instead of ILT meeting
- Million Word Challenge Zoo Field Trip: May 25th - information will be sent out to teachers and parents this week about chaperons.
Happy Birthday To:
Cathy Smith 5/8
Updates and Information
Campus and District Updates:
- 3rd, 4th & 5th Grade STAAR Information:
3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers,
Please go into the May STAAR Google Folder and complete changes to rooms by the end of the day Monday. If you have questions, please contact Leslie. STAAR training will be held on Wednesday during your planning, in place of PLCs on Tuesday. Rooms and halls need to be prepared by Thursday afternoon so that we can check on Friday.
- End of Year Writing Assessment Window: Our end of year assessment window begins this week. Please note that the EOY writing prompt is “ Write a composition about something that makes you happy.”
- End of Year DRA Window: DRA copies are in the workroom. Please refer to Tanya's email for more information about these assessments.
- Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast: Seven Hills Staff will host a Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast on Monday, May 16th from 7:30 - 8:30 am. The campus will provide a gift of appreciation to each volunteer. The staff will provide breakfast foods, OJ and creamers. A sign up sheet is posted in the Teacher's Lounge - please make sure you sign up to bring something to make this a special event for our volunteers. If you did not receive invitations for your volunteers please ask Lecia and/or Dora.
- Summer School: Tanya Ledger is the point of contact for Summer School. If any parents have questions regarding Summer School, please direct them to Tanya.
The link below will direct you to all of the programs that will be offered this summer. A flier will also be placed in teacher boxes this week. If you have any questions, Tanya is your girl! http://www.nisdtx.org/summer
- June 2 Awards Assembly Schedule:
- 1st Grade: 9:30 - 10:00
- 2nd Grade: 10:00 - 10:30
- 3rd Grade: 10:30 - 11:00
- 4th Grade: 11:00 - 11:30
- 5th Grade: 6:00 pm
SST/RtI Meetings: With the time remaining in the school year, we are going to try a new approach to SST Meetings/RtI Updates. We have discussed as a campus group that the RtI/SST system needs reorganizing. Should this approach yield positive results, we will consider continuing next year. Meetings will be scheduled on Fridays and a few Thursdays for the remainder of the year. This schedule will allow us to meet with teachers two more times prior to the end of the year. The format will be, the teacher listed will bring all SST and progress monitoring data to the meeting. We will begin with students that are in RTI. We will focus on students that are in the homeroom only. If teachers are departmentalized and your partner teacher has concerns as well, then both will need to come to the homeroom teacher's assigned time. We will focus on four questions: What interventions are you using? How often are you using them? What is their effectiveness? Next steps? The schedule is outlined below. Please let Leslie know if you have a scheduling conflict or questions.
Friday May 6 - Zeigler, Willis, Any one else who needed more time
Friday May 13 - Harris, Tucker, Hall, Blanchard, Vann, Wolf
Wednesday May 18 -Brittain, Sammons, Franks, Dial, Davis, Stewart
Thursday May 19 - Hladky, Tindel, Moron, Reyes, Goosey, Heady
Thursday May 27 - Twa, Brister, Gill, Rusin, Pate, Mitchell
Friday May 28 - Zeigler, Willis, Any one else who needed more time
End Of Year Communication
- School Supply Packs: Order forms for EPI school supply packs were placed in boxes last week. This is an optional way for parents to go ahead and take care of collecting school supplies for the 2016 - 2017 school year. To order school supplies: www.educationalproducts.com/shoppacks. School ID: SEV001. Order now through June 20, 2016.
- Online Registration for Returning Students: Due to a programming issue with Enrollment Online, the returning student Enrollment Online services have been temporarily suspended until the NISD Student Information Systems vendor can apply a fix. NISD will notify staff and parents on the website when Enrollment Online is available for returning students.
- Kindergarten Round Up is This Week: May 2 -6 8:00 am - 2:00 pm; evening event May 3 from 5:00 - 6:30 pm. Please help us communicate.
- Pre-K Round-Up: This year we will host a Pre-K Round-Up on May 24 from 8:30 - 11:00 and 12:30 - 2:30. More details will be shared soon.
- Class Placement Letters: I will be sending home letters to parents on May 2, communicating their opportunity to write a letter sharing important information about their child, situations to avoid, circumstances their child will be more successful in, etc. This is not an opportunity to request a specific teacher. When forms are returned to school, please give them to the front office. All letters will be due on Monday, May 9.