The Dunwoody Springs Dispatch
A Project Based Learning School
March 27, 2019
Ivy Goggins, Principal
Dr. Lesia Griffin, Asst. Principal
3/28 - PBL Showcase; 5:00pm - 7:00pm
3/29 - Student of the Month; 8:15 am
4/1-4/5 - Spring Break (no school)
Come to PBL TOMORROW NIGHT to learn all about why...
The Georgia Milestones is a comprehensive end-of-grade (EOG) assessment program that is given to grades 3 through 8. Georgia Milestones measures how well students have learned the knowledge and skills outlined in the state-adopted content standards in English Language Arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The Georgia Milestones Assessments provide a measurement of student achievement: what they have learned and are able to do at the end of their grade level year as described in the expectations stated in the Georgia Performance Standards. The main purpose of Georgia Milestones is to improve student achievement by providing information that guides plans for improving teaching and learning. Students in grades 3 through 8 take an end-of-grade assessment in English Language Arts and mathematics while students in grades 5 and 8 are also assessed in science and social studies. For our purposes at the elementary level, this means that grades 3, 4, and 5 will take assessments in English Language Arts (including writing) and math. Grade 5 will also take assessments in science and social studies. This year, the testing window for grades 3 and 5 will be April 15-25 (5-7 days of testing with 2 days for make-ups). Grade 4 will test from May 6-14 (5 days of testing with 2 days for make-ups).
What types of questions will be on the Georgia Milestones Assessments?
• Open-ended (constructed response) items in English Language Arts and math
• A writing component within the English Language Arts Assessments (in response to passages read by students)
• Nationally norm-referenced items to provide a national comparison, alongside criterion-referenced items
• Multiple choice items
Please use the links below for more information about Georgia Milestones and how you can help support your student(s) in grades 3-5.
Parent brochure/Q & A:
Study Resources
Assessment Guides
Study Resources
Georgia Milestone Scheduling Update:
A few changes with Georgia Milestone this year for students in third through fifth grades. The testing schedule will be shortened each day to only one subsection of each test. This will reduce the length of testing per day students are testing. However, this does stretch out the number of days of testing. The schedule is a county-wide schedule that all elementary, middle and high schools will follow.
April 15 Reading and Evidence Based Writing – Grades 3,5
April 16 - 17 ELA – Grades 3, 5
April 18 – 19 Math Grades 3, 5
April 22 Science – Grade 5
April 23 Social Studies – Grade 5
April 24 – 25 Make up Days (Grades 3, 5 – if needed)
May 6 – Reading and Evidence Based Writing – Grades 4
May 7 – 8 ELA – Grade 4
May 9 – 10 Math – Grade 4
May 13 – 14 Make Up Days (Grade 4 – if needed)
Please reach out to your child’s teacher, Megan Meneely Curriculum Support Teacher, or Dr. Griffin, Assistant Principal, if you have questions.
Career Day is set for Friday, May 3! We'd love to have parents, family and friends to present to our students! We're looking to have a large variety of careers to expand our students' knowledge so don't be shy about signing up! Please complete the attached form! Mrs. McLane will contact you in the next few weeks with more information!
TAG Trip to Tybee
Snakes, squid, and salt marshes, OH MY! Fifth grade TAG students spent 2 full days engaged in classes at the Burton 4H Center in Tybee Island. Learning seminars on animal classification, beach ecology, and life in a salt marsh prepared us for hands on activities. We were able to trudge through the salt marsh and interact with the organisms there, dissect a squid, build a model of the beach zones, hold a python, and sing along around a bonfire complete with s’mores! The last night we spent just enjoying the beauty of the sunset and playing football on the beach. Thank you to parents, chaperones, and Ms. Goggins for making this interactive memorable experience possible.
This semester, we will be focusing on a new schoolwide initiative to support positive behavior- PBIS. As a part of our PBIS initiative (Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports) students enjoyed a kickoff pep rally on January 11th to explain behavioral expectations and a reward system to reinforce positive behavior. Students will be receiving rewards for following school rules and making positive choices. Teachers and staff will assist with reinforcing appropriate behaviors in all areas of the school and will recognize students for modeling them. PBIS is an evidence-based framework designed to establish behavioral supports for social, emotional and academic success in schools.
Intervenciones de Comportamiento Positivo y Apoyos
Este semestre, nos enfocaremos en una nueva iniciativa de toda la escuela para apoyar el comportamiento positivo: PBIS. Como parte de nuestra iniciativa PBIS (Intervención y Apoyo de Comportamiento Positivo), los estudiantes disfrutarán de una reunión de lanzamiento el 11 de enero para explicar las expectativas de comportamiento y un sistema de recompensas para reforzar el comportamiento positivo. Vamos a presentar el uso de Class DoJo en toda la escuela como un medio para recompensar a los estudiantes por seguir las reglas de la escuela y tomar decisiones positivas. Los maestros y el personal ayudarán a reforzar los comportamientos apropiados en todas las áreas de la escuela y reconocerán a los estudiantes por ser modelos de estas reglas. PBIS es un marco basado en evidencia diseñado para establecer apoyos de comportamiento para el éxito social, emocional y académico en las escuelas.
Please continue to monitor the GDOT website for updates. Use the link below to see additional meetings and opportunities to provide feedback.
This week’s reading comprehension strategy is determining importance. Along with finding the main idea if a text, readers need to be able to explain why. They need to figure out what is important to remember about what they are reading and how that supports the main idea of a text. No one can memorize or remember every fact in something that they read, nor do they need to. Instead, readers should focus on the important information and merge it together with what they already know about a topic. This helps them to create a line of thinking while they read, all the while focusing their attention on what is important.
Social and emotional abilities are said to be indicators of how well a person adjusts to his or her environment, adapts to change and, ultimately, how successful she or he will be in life. Core development abilities such as conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness and agreeableness can be as or even more important than cognitive intelligence in determining future employment. Combining these skills and the 21st century skills listed below with academic development creates high-quality learning experiences and environments that empower students to be more effective contributors in their classrooms today and in their workplaces and communities tomorrow.
Essential 21st Century Skills
Cognitive Empathy -Ability to recognize accurately and understand another’s emotional state and use that understanding to influence your actions.
Teamwork - Ability to work effectively with peers from around the world & across different specializations.
New Leadership - The ability to collaboratively mobilize people in situations defined by change.
Change Making - Ability to analyze problems & implement solutions.
Imagine Learning, iRead, iReady, and Learning.com are all available for use at home as well. Students can access these programs through their Launchpad account.
Helping your child practice non-verbal reasoning at home
Non-verbal reasoning skills include understanding, remembering, and making visual sequences, interpreting the meaning of and relationships between the visual presentations or pictures. Non-verbal reasoning requires good visual acuity (acuteness of vision combined with good interpretation by the brain), which is a skill that comes more naturally to some people than to others.
Examples of nonverbal intelligence in action include – Solving a puzzle; using a diagram or blueprint to build a two or three dimensional structure; creating a two or three dimensional design such as a drawing, a sculpture, etc.; creating and/or following a map; anticipating and/or planning for outcomes (e.g., hearing that it will snow and therefore making sure that shovels and ice scrapers are easily available)
How can I boost my child’s non-verbal reasoning skills!
Non-verbal reasoning skills can be improved even if they’re not second nature to your child. The key is to be disciplined and systematic, and to look at each element in the sequence in turn, ruling out options as you go along.
· Draw objects from unusual perspectives
· Practice elaboration: How many details can you add?
· Do puzzles and create puzzles.
· Create a new picture by changing
For some additional interactive activities and resources, visit the following sites:
http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Children%27s-Perceptual-Reasoning
Early Checkout Procedures
Our office staff spend the last 45 minutes of the day organizing and communicating transportation changes to teachers. This is a very detailed and important daily task. In order to prevent mistakes and risk student safety, we do not allow early checkouts after 2:00 pm. Thank you for understanding.
Dads at Dunwoody Springs
WHERE ARE YOU DADS?
Our next DADS DAY at Dunwoody Springs is scheduled for Friday, April 12th from 7:10 – 8:15 am! We’d love to see more dads come out to get our students’ day off to a great start with carpool and breakfast high-fives followed by fun station rotations in
Chestatee Counseling Center
We partner with DSES to offer counseling services for children and families who need help with:
* Adjustment
* ADHD
* Depression and Anxiety
* Anger and Stress Management
* Divorce/Single Parent Families
* Parenting Support
* Behavioral Issues
* Abuse/Neglect
* Crisis Intervention
* Coping with grief and loss
We are a Medicaid Provider Accepting: Amerigroup, Centpatico and Wellcare.
Please contact Stacy Wolff, LCSW, MAC directly for more information. 706-344-8462 stacy.chestateecounseling@gmail.com You can also contact Mrs. McLane, School Counselor, for a registration packet.
DSES Student Council
The DSES Student Council attended the Sandy Springs City Council meeting to experience positive leadership in action and learn more about what it takes to run a growing city! Pictured left to right: Fatou Gueye-Class Representative, Wilna Charlemagne - Class Representative, Mayor Rusty Paul, Noah Linnen - Class Representative, Susan McLane - Sponsor/Counselor and Andrew Mark - Treasurer.
School Governance Council
Thank you to all of the parents and teachers who stepped up to serve on the School Governance Council next year. Congratulations to Mr. Irvin Clark, newly elected parent representative and Ms. Latoya Tolefree, newly elected teacher representative! We look forward to having you join the council for the 2019 – 2020 school year!
Science Festival
On Saturday, March 23 the after-school STEM Club sponsored a field trip to the Atlanta Science Festival in Piedmont Park. It was a beautiful day for a science festival, and we all found plenty to learn about and explore. A very special ‘thank-you’ goes out to all the family members and staff that accompanied us on our trip, and we’re already looking forward to next year!
Discipline
Fulton County Schools Code of Conduct
Parents are asked to review school system rules and submit an acknowledgement signature form at the beginning of each school year.
The updated 2018-2019 Student Code of Conduct & Discipline Handbook web link is listed below. A copy may also be obtained in our school office.
http://www.fultonschools.org/en/divisions/acd/supportserv/Pages/StudentDiscipline.aspx
Teachers will be reviewing the Code of Conduct during the first two weeks of schools. It is important that parents also discuss the Code of Conduct and potential consequences with their children.
After you have reviewed the Code of Conduct parents are requested to submit the Acknowledgment of Electronic Receipt by clicking on the link below. A hard copy can be obtained at our school office.
English Handbook: https://www3.fultonschools.org/codeconduct
Spanish Handbook: https://www3.fultonschools.org/codeconduct/home/indexspa
Our school is required by the State and our School System to obtain either an electronic
receipt or a signed receipt by September1, 2018. We ask that you submit this electronic form by next Friday, August 17th.
The bus rules must be followed by all students for safety reasons. School bus transportation can be denied if students do not conduct themselves properly. The following link provides a list of school bus rules.
Change of Transportation Update & Forms
Transportation changes will only be accepted in writing via fax using this form (http://school.fultonschools.org/es/dunwoodysprings/Documents/TRANSPORTATION%20CHANGE%20FORM.pdf) or via email to 981transportation@fultonschools.org by 12:30p.m. on the day of the change. Last minute changes will not be accepted. If you have questions regarding the changes, please contact the front office.
Who can receive a special diet?
Allergies
- -Intolerances
- -Special Medical Needs
- -Physician/Physician Assistant/Nurse Practitioner Order
Who cannot receive a diet?
- Parent Orders
- Religious Preferences
- Cultural Preferences
Volunteers
Your Dolphin Café is looking for volunteers to help with lunch! This is an excellent chance to mingle with the students while serving nutritious & delicious food. Hairnets, gloves, and training will be provided for all eager volunteers! If interested please contact Café Manager Veronica Quarrels at 470-254-9302 or quarrels@fultonschools.org.
Dunwoody Springs Elementary Project Based Learning School
Email: gogginsi@fultonschools.org
Website: http://school.fultonschools.org/es/dunwoodysprings/Pages/default.aspx
Location: 8100 Roberts Drive, Sandy Springs, GA 30350, United States
Phone: 470-254-4060
Twitter: @DunwoodySprings