STAFF Weekly
February 3, 2023
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR OUR FAMILY DANCE NIGHT!
DEAR STAFF,
Don't you wish all of our weeks were 2 day work weeks?! I hope you had a fabulous few days off enjoying your fav drinks, pj's, a fireplace, movies, etc!
- Kathy Bumgardner WILL BE AT KENNEDY on Thursday!!! We will not have any PLC's this week . HERE IS THE SCHEDULE for Kathy Bumgardner! Sheridan Chesley, Bailey Silk, Stephanie Shropshire, and Natosha Cagle will be the lucky winners of having her in their rooms to model for us and other teachers around the district.
- Please have all winter holiday decorations down by Thursday and have those pods looking great for all the visitors coming to our beautiful school next week!
- Faculty meeting this week will be required by for all classroom teachers using Lexia!!
- FAST testing has been extended to February 10
- 3rd Quarter mid-term grades are due Monday, Feb. 6th by 5:00pm. Corrections in Infinite Campus is Tuesday, February 7 at 5:00pm
- CoGat testing will be Monday morning and afternoon. Please be mindful of any unnecessary noise outside the 2nd and 4th grade pods all day. Make-ups will be on Tuesday.
- PTA Meeting is Tuesday at 6pm in the library. Please try to make it, if you can. We will be talking about spring events.
- SPECIALS TEAM HAS LOUNGE DUTY THIS WEEK!
- Bui is out of the building on Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning until around 10
PRE-K ENROLLMENT
PreK enrollment is right around the corner! Employee enrollment will begin on Monday, February 6th. The window for employee enrollment will close on February 17th. The public will complete the online form beginning February 21st, with a deadline of March 9th to participate in the drawing.
You can find a complete list of dates and deadlines here.
Kindergarten enrollment will begin AFTER Spring Break this school year. This will allow our families to complete the online enrollment process at their time of enrollment.
IMPORTANT DATES TO MAKE NOTE OF:
**JANUARY 17-FEBRUARY 10 -- FAST midyear screening window**
FEBRUARY 7 -- PTA MEETING 6pm in the library - RESCHEDULED
FEBRUARY 8 -- FACULTY MEETING ON LEXIA -classroom teachers are required to attend!
FEBRUARY 6-10 -- National School Counselor Week
FEBRUARY 9th -- Kathy Bumgardner will be AT KENNEDY!! We will have teachers from around the district come to see her in action in some of our classrooms!!
FEBRUARY 13 -- 100th Day of School
FEBRUARY 13-17 Kindness Week
FEBRUARY 14 -- KINDNESS PARTIES 1:45
FEBRUARY 20 -- President's Day- No School
FEBRUARY 21-- STEAM NIGHT 6-7:30pm
MARCH 3 -- Snow Ball---Family dance night at Kennedy for families (more info to come from PTA)
April 14 -- Celebration of Excellence
SHIRT ORDERS!
STEAM FAMILY NIGHT
NPS 2023 Bond
Staff,
There is a bond and Board of Education election coming up on Tuesday, February 14. As you remember, Dr. Nick Migliorino and Justin Milner came to our site on DATE and shared how the 2023 bond will impact our school and district in such a positive way. It is important that we do our part to share the importance of this bond for us and our families. As a reminder, below are some examples of that impact.
If you want to learn more about the bond and what is happening here or across the district, visit normanpublicschools.org/bond.
We will work with you to ensure you can go vote, so please update me if you plan to do so during school hours. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on February 14, and early voting in Cleveland County is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 9 and Friday, February 10.
If you are planning to vote via absentee ballot in the upcoming school bond election, the deadline to request an absentee ballot is Monday, Jan. 30 at 5 p.m. Absentee ballots must be requested each calendar year. Voters who wish to vote via absentee ballot but did not request absentee ballots by Jan. 1 must request a ballot before each election. Visit the Cleveland County Election Board for more information about voting via absentee ballot.
PARENT INFORMATIONAL NIGHT FOR INCOMING PRE-K AND KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS
IMPORTANT ELA UPDATES:
From Ann Rosales
Early Childhood and Early Literacy:
- PreK Developmental Checklist Parent Guides will be sent directly to sites. These should go home with students when the report cards are available to families. Thank you!
- Kathy Bumgardner will be back in Norman! Kathy and Sandy will be back with us February 7 - 10th for continued literacy learning. Tuesday, February 7th will be a workshop model day for ALL sites. K-2 wll be in the morning, with 3-5 attending in the afternoon. Sites will send 1-2 representatives per grade level to attend. The focus of this training will be Tier 1 Literacy instruction, with an emphasis on effective small group strategies. More details to come, but add that date to your calendar!
- Imagine Literacy and Language: Imagine Language & Literacy is a supplemental, adaptive online curriculum that provides targeted instruction in all four domains of literacy — reading, writing, speaking, and listening. OSDE is offering this online program for FREE for grades K, 1, 3, 3, and striving readers in 4th and 5th grade. If your site has not purchased an additional program, such as Lexia, and you are in need of additional program for those grade levels, please contact Ann Rosales. You can learn more about the program here.
- The Barbara Bush Foundation has a mentoring program called Book Explorers that is now being offered in our state at no cost. If you have volunteers, tutors, or partnerships that would benefit from additional text and mentor guides to support their work this may be a great resource for you site. If you are interested in learning more about how this resource can be used with your community and parent volunteer partnerships please contact Ann Rosales.
- FAST Midyear Screening Window: January 17th - February 3rd
FAST Mid Year Benchmark:
FAST: Deadline will be extended through next week, February 10th.The mid year benchmark window is now open for both literacy and math. During this window Kindergarten literacy will be monitored for needed reading plans and additional characteristics of dyslexia screening needs. Please refer to the Multi-tier document for reminders regarding benchmarks, dyslexia screening needs, etc.
CULTURE OF BELONGING
What is cultural competence?
We are all always learning. Understanding cultural competence requires:
Gaining cultural knowledge (What is my culture and how does it influence the ways in which I view and interact with others?)
Being comfortable with “not knowing” – Balancing your expert knowledge with being open to learning from others’ lived experiences
Being curious about other cultures – Asking questions, reading about other cultures, viewing films & documentaries, studying another language, attending classes & workshops about other cultures, etc.
Attending cultural events and festivals
Establishing trusting relationships with community confidants or connectors who are able to provide insights into cultural norms, family practices, communication styles, traditions, etc.
TEACHING AND LEARNING
From Jeff Patterson (Elem. Only)
New: 5th Grade Science benchmark window will open at the end of February. More information coming soon.
From Sarah Seymore
OSTP Information
The 2023 Parent, Student & Teacher guides for state testing are now available. Links to these online guides have been provided to BTC's and they have been instructed to distribute to teachers to review with their students.
SECOND STEP
You will be teaching Second Step Lesson 17 next week. Please refer to the Pacing Guides linked below to see lesson descriptions of what will be taught in each grade next week. Make sure to review the Teacher Guide for the lesson as well as the unit video to ensure you are familiar with the content of the lesson. These can be found in the Teach portion of your Second Step portal. You can also check out the brain builders/advisory lessons in the Activities section of your portal.
Parent communication will be sent regarding what skills you will be teaching next week with strategies for families to reinforce these concepts at home.
Elementary School Pacing Guide Middle School Pacing Guide
Oklahoma History Center: Hands on History Traveling Trunk Lessons:
The Oklahoma History Center Hands- On History Trunks provide educators with cross-curricular hands-on mate- rials, multimedia, curriculum, books, photos, and more to be utilized in their classrooms. Trunks are checked out free of charge on a weekly basis. Currently, we have thirty K-12 trunks ranging in topics from the colonial period through the 20th century.
ABOVE AND BEYOND RECOGNITION
Please nominate staff for the Above and Beyond Employee Recognition program. Each month staff that exemplify dedication to the Norman Public Schools Community will be celebrated for their efforts.
The nomination form can be found here.
ALPHABEST--BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CARE
Newsletter: AlphaBest Before/After School Program
AlphaBest is accepting enrollment into their before and after school programs for the 2022-2023 school year for middle and elementary school students. The AlphaBest program is located at each school site and designed to engage students in innovative, hands-on activities developed to spark curiosity and creativity. Click here for more information (scroll down for Spanish version).
NPS Employees will get first preference for AlphaBest positions AND FREE CHILD CARE FOR YOUR CHILDREN. click here to apply
AlphaBest is Hiring!
Are you looking for an after school part time job with competitive pay at your school site? AlphaBest, our new before/after school program at all middle and elementary schools, is now hiring and would love to extend their program positions to current NPS employees.
NEED A SUB?
If you have a personal day scheduled, we ask that you try to secure a sub before you submit your absence on Frontline.
Here is the list of subs that have been to Kennedy.
LINKS TO BOOKMARK:
SCOPE AND SEQUENCE FOR EACH GRADE LEVEL
BEHAVIOR DOCUMENTATION GOOGLE FORM
BEHAVIOR IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION MEETINGS
FIELD TRIP PROCEDURES AND EXPECTATIONS
REQUEST FOR VIEWING FILM/VIDEO FORM
Behavior website: www.behaviordoctor.org
VOLUNTEER AGREEMENT FORM (form that all volunteers should fill out if they are working in the school)
LOVE YOU!! Amber, Gretchen, Miranda
Email: abui@normanps.org
Website: https://www.normanpublicschools.org/kennedy
Location: 621 Sunrise Street, Norman, OK, USA
Phone: (405) 366-5894