Monday Memo
April 3rd-7th
Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection. -Mark Twain
Thanks to all of you who were able to take time away from your weekend to help us celebrate McGowen's 10th Anniversary. I know that sacrificing a Sunday afternoon is tough, but I really appreciate your attendance. As promised, those of you who were able to attend may wear jeans every day this week. We will be working off of the honor system and therefore you will not need any type of sticker or pass to wear jeans. If you did not attend this weekend, you may wear jeans on Tuesday with a jeans pass.
Melanie sent out an email last week with the MAP Schedule. If you have not already done so, please review it asap so that you are aware of the dates you are scheduled to test and so that you can resolve any conflicts sooner rather than later.
We want to announce a calendar change. In effort to help you maintain positive energy, we have decided to change April 19th from ELM Design to Team Time. Our hope is that we are making the change early enough for you to plan ahead so that you are prepared for upcoming ELM units as well as some needed down time with friends.
This is a reminder that our spring window for dyslexia evaluations opens up April 1st. In order to address the 160+ evaluations that have been requested this spring, our elementary dyslexia teachers will be testing students on Fridays during April, so no classes will be held on Fridays. This will enable them to begin the evaluation process for the district. Due to the number of referrals, they may need to assist on other campuses as well as their own. All dyslexia classes at the elementary level will end on April 27th, so the team can focus on completing evaluations, peer reviews, and 504 meetings for these students.
Make today count,
JL
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Content PLCs
Content PLCs will be held this Wednesday. As a team, please determine who is best suited to attend each content area. Remember the expectation is that at least one person from each grade level is represented at each content meeting.
Reading - Each person will bring one hard to teach/difficult to learn standard for your grade level and explain how it is assessed as well as how students demonstrate mastery. The purpose is to understand the struggles in each grade level, offer ideas on how to teach, as well as consider how you can support this learning in your own grade level.
Writing - Each person will bring a writing sample that would be a good example of what you want incoming students to your grade level to be able to do. Bring rubrics that your team uses to evaluate student writing throughout the year. The purpose is to have a firm understanding of where your students need to be by the end of this year in order to be successful in the next grade level.
Science - Develop a clear understanding of the standards fifth grade students struggle with the most. The purpose is to determine where those standards have been previously taught and generate ideas on how each grade level can support these standards.
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Interested in Attending Google Syndicate Academy???
Calling all campers! if you are interested in attending the Google Syndicate Academy (PK-12) on June 21, 2017 from 8:30-3:30 fill out the form below. Participants need a working knowledge of Google Apps for Education. The academy is limited to 30 participants. The application will be closed on May 19. Acceptance emails will be sent out Monday, May 22. If you have questions about the application please email Lynda Swanner lswanner@mckinneyisd.net or Amanda Gavin agavin@mckinneyisd.net
Application Link: https://goo.gl/forms/NR9rNV2sh8dgEaoQ2
Calling for Presenters
Below is the link to the form for presenter proposals for Camp Converge 2017. The deadline for proposals will be May 5th with presenters notified by May 19th.
Below are the links for both days of Converge 2017 for this summer. Both days will count for GT update training.
Converge Day 1- Monica Martinez Keynote Speaker
https://eduphoria.mckinneyisd.net/wshop/default.aspx?cid=15458
Converge Day 2- George Couros Keynote Speaker
https://eduphoria.mckinneyisd.net/wshop/default.aspx?cid=15459
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Shoparoo
Did you know that each week I give out jeans passes to the three highest scoring staff members on Shoparoo? I know that many of you have already joined, but if you haven't, it is not too late. Simply go to www.shoparoo.com to create your account. If you use veft4467 as a referral code, McGowen will earn money for you just signing up. Please feel free to push this information out to your parents as well. Once you sign up, Shoparoo will give you a referral code for your parents to use when they sign up. Schools with just 40 supporters are earning an average of $1,000 every year.
Congratulations to Donna Fabian, Barbara Peebles and Amy Arnold for being the highest three staff contributors to Shoparoo this week!
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Focus for 2016 - 2017
In order to help every child their personal best, McGowen teachers and staff will:
- Knowledgeably speak about our current practices that contribute to McGowen becoming a Level 1 Certified High Reliability School.
- Actively participate in grade level and content Professional Learning Communities.
- Engage in collaborative team planning and lesson design that addresses the four essential questions of a PLC.
- Present lessons in such a way that students understand and can speak knowledgeably about posted learning and language targets.
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Remind for Staff
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Appreciations
- McGowen Team - Thanks to all of you who were able to join us today and support our 10th Anniversary celebration. - JL
- MC - Thank you for always sharing such great resources for us to use. -JL
- SL & SdL - Thank you for all of your work behind the scenes to get us ready for a smooth first round of testing. -JL
- McGowen Team - Many thanks for a successful first round of testing. Those days are truly a group effort and we appreciate all the big and small things you did to create the best testing environment for all of our students. -JL
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McGowen Teachers- Thank you all for doing your part to create a wonderful testing environment for our kids on STAAR days! SL
Michelle Cab, Jen B and Marilyn- Thank you for administrating STAAR make-up tests! SL
Shiela- I appreciate all that you do to help me stay focused during STAAR and you always keep me laughing! SL
JL- Thanks for pulling a special friend for STAAR! SL
Barbara, Stacie, Donna, Shannon – Thank you so much for all the extra help the last two weeks with filling my ice machine, carrying papers, making copies, helping me find and secure subs, and so much more. I love you friends! Love, JD
Tanya – Thank you for refilling my ice machine last week. It was beyond nice coming back to my room and hooking right back up instead of sending a student to get it refilled. Love, JD
Tracey & Jen S. - Thank you for carrying my ice machine and bag to and from my truck last week. I truly appreciate the help! Love, JD
Lhauren – Thank you for continuing to take care of all the details with both our classes. I love ya Chit! Love, JD
Jessica, Lhauren, Nikki, & Shana – Thank you for continuing to go above and beyond to help me. Love you all! Love, JD
JL, SL, & Shiela – Thank you for your help and support on Wednesday. I truly appreciate it. Love, JD
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Bad Dude
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GT UPDATE OPPORTUNITIES - TAGT
The district is providing you access to the TAGT Learning On-Demand, a library of online courses for professional development. You will be able to select six hours of courses. Please note that the library includes 1-hour, 3-hour, and 6-hour courses.
To begin, you will need to acquire a username and password. To do this, click the link below and use the registration code to complete the form.
Registration Code: 5491mck9544
Link: http://txgiftedcourses.responsivelearning.com/SelfRegistration/
IMPORTANT NOTE:
It is essential that you disable your popup blocker. The courses are not compatible with smartphones.
We find that Google Chrome tends to provide the best user experience. You may download Google Chrome here: https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/desktop/.
If you need assistance, email support@responsivelearning.com and a support team member will be happy to assist you.
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McKinney ISD's Vision, Mission and Beliefs
Any time we have an idea, concern, solution and/or comment, this is the filter through which we should speak. Let's help each other live up to our vision, mission, and beliefs.
Vision:
We are a cohesive, diverse community providing engaging learning experiences for all.
We will provide engaging learning experiences so students can become effective communicators, quality contributors and socially responsible citizens.
Beliefs:
- Partnerships between students, parents, community members and staff are foundational to educational success.
- Positive school culture and a safe environment foster growth.
- Everyone has inherent value and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
- Learning is an active process requiring engaging tasks and engaging minds.
- Relevant and authentic experiences ignite continuous, deeper learning.
- Meaningful relationships enrich learning.
- Confidence fuels risk taking and higher achievement.
- Financial stewardship ensures a tomorrow for education.