Principal's Newsletter
January 27th, 2017
WOWs
WOW to Carrie Alvernia for bringing me into your class meeting. It was a pleasure to listen to your students share their thoughts and to get to share my thoughts with your class.--Dr.DeWeese
WOW to everyone that attend the book study last Thursday! It was great conversation around a topic that many people are passionate about. Thanks for taking the time to learn and share your ideas!--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Debbie and Tracy for being consistent in teaching students the cafeteria expectations.--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Betsy Arnold for inviting me to come listen to her students writing. They are working on a persuasive piece of writing and working to get my approval on an idea to make our school better. It was refreshing to get to spend time interacting with your class and being a part of their work!--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Meagan Brown and Maika Durant for always working together as a group and helping when ever it is needed. It is great working with these ladies. --Julie Myers
WOW to Natalie, Angeline and Katie for always coming to help with students and listening to our concerns. --Julie Myers
WOW to Linda Murphy and Greg Vest for checking into our room everyday, asking us how we are doing and helping with students any time it is needed. --Julie Myers
WOW to Nurse Deb for being amazing and helping every student who walks in her door.-Julie Myers
WOW to Linda Carr for bringing us paras in room 5 a bag of chocolates to help us through our day. --Julie Myers
WOW to Kristen Schrameyer for stopping on the way to take her class to the bus to ask me if I needed help with a student. It was very appreciated. --Julie Myers
WOW to Lindsey Crawford and Kristy Giacomarra for being so helpful and flexible and switching their aimsweb times with me.--Julie Coombs
WOW to Jenee Mackiewicz for handling a serious crisis situation by staying with a student and parent well after school hours to ensure the student received the intervention and services they needed. Jenee is an essential member of the counseling team, and we appreciate her!--LaTonya Foster
WOW to Kristin Schrameyer for using her lunch time to eat in the cafe with her students in order to model appropriate lunchtime behavior! That's dedication!--Linda Appelbaum
WOW to Dr. OH for your important work and dedication to support the Character Committee!! --Linda Murphy
WOW to Jenee Mack for her dedication to a crisis situation! Way to go Jenee!!--Linda Muphy
WOW to Nurse Deb and Jane for taking care of me and not laughing!~Janice
WOW to my 5th grade team for offering to help when I had to leave suddenly~Janice
WOW to Kody for teaching my kiddos at the last minute and his student teacher, Nick for helping out as well~Janice
WOW to Becca Lewis- she pulled all her reports and created her links with no assistance. Way to go!--Dr. OH
WOW to the Reading Team- you all worked tirelessly to get everyone in our building and across the district tested. We are so excited and grateful to have you in this role again next year!--Dr. OH
WOW to SpEd Paras- you all helped hold it together with me when Tony, Katie and Natalie were out at a meeting. Thank you for your help!--Dr. OH
WOW to recess and café- we are seeing improvement with student behavior in large part due to your willingness to use tickets and increase logical consequences.--Dr. OH
WOW to Susan, Shanna, and Kelly for working together to get our Love to Code activities organized.--Dr. OH
WOW to the ladies in the office for always pitching in to help out when it gets hectic.--Dr. OH
WOW to BST for getting interventions set up and organize SELF meetings and next steps for all our students!--Dr. OH
WOW to data team- you all are having powerful conversations and working to make sure all students are getting the support they need!--Dr. OH
WOW to Carrots and Sticks book club member- you all had great conversations at our first meeting. I was so proud of you all to have honest conversations around behavior and how to address it.--Dr. OH
WOW to Linda, Kristy, and Tony for staying late on short notice on Friday for a pop up parent meeting. I appreciate all your input and help.--Dr. OH
WOW to Stacey Cervera for being a continued source of support and encouragement for one of her past students. She even brought him cookies for his birthday so he had something to share with the class. --Kristen Cuneo
WOW to Mrs. Thornhill for "holding down the fort" with a large group of students so that Mrs. McCoy could work individually with students on the MAP-A. What a team player! Way! To! Go!--Linda Appelbaum
WOW to Brandy Leffeler for catching our friend up in math! Thanks for your support.--Stacey Cervera
WOW to Christina and Makenzie for being so flexible in changing your groups to help me with my reading dilemma.--Stacey Cervera
WOW to Christina Rosenow for always knowing what to say....whether it is words of advice or words to the school board about what's best for young readers, you always seem to have the right words! I am proud to call you my friend!--Stacey Cervera
WOW to Maika Durant for brailling a recipe for me with such short notice! Thank you!!!--Stacey Schuette
WOW to Linda Appelbaum for embracing the pre-vocational leadership jobs and brainstorming with me to problem solve the little road blocks that pop up!--Stacey Schuette
WOW to Shanna Bradley for letting us use the Learning Commons for our pre-vocational leadership job tasks and always being open minded to helping the students we have completing these tasks.--Stacey Schuette
WOW to all classroom teachers- Your help directing your kids to testers during Aimsweb testing was a huge help. Thank you for your patience as well, with only 12 testers I know it took us a little longer than in the past. ~Chrisitina Rosenow
WOW to Jodi Fitzgerald- I appreciate her passion to always think of others and share a kind word. Thank you for the time you spend to writing WOWs for every newsletter. ~Christina Rosenow
WOW to Angeline- I appreciate her passion and dedication to our building and our students. Thank you for the time spent on a Friday evening doing a post observation conference. I valued our conversation. ~Christina Rosenow
WOW to the 5th grade team- I was so impressed by their conversations during their data team meeting. Sometimes I lose sight that 5th graders are still kids and not mini teenagers. The kind and gentle way they spoke about their students showed how much they truly care and value them as individuals. Their conversation also reminded me that 5th graders are really just little kids in bigger bodies. Thank you for your work with them. ~Christina Rosenow
WOW to 3rd grade, 5th grade, 2nd grade, 1st grade, the interventionists, and the reading teachers for the awesome progress monitoring meetings this week. There is so much to be proud of in the work you are doing with students.--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Shanna for your flexibility in using the Learning Commons for our EDC Retreat. I really appreciate it!--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Mr. Mack for holding down the fort today so that all of the administrators could be in the EDC Retreat! We really appreciate it and hope it was a great learning experience for you!--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Susan Adams for bringing a student and his awesome work down to share with the reading teachers. You not only made our day, but you definitely made his day by allowing him to share the paragraph he had written (complete with a topic sentence, supporting details, and a concluding sentence...not to mention the paragraph was also indented!). It gave him an opportunity to reflect on his perseverance, effort and his accomplishment. I loved seeing the smile from ear to ear on his face as he listened to us brag on what we loved about his writing. Thanks for taking the time to build his confidence and reinforce his effort. You are appreciated!!---Jodi Fitzgerald
WOW to Jane for spending the day with the EDCs and capturing the day with the notes! It was helpful so that we could be active participants, but still have a record of the day.--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to Tessa for getting our lunch all organized and delivered to us! You are the best!--Dr. DeWeese
WOW to the EDCs. Thank you for your patience in getting our retreat scheduled and for all the sub plans you had to write! Today was a great day and I am so glad to have every one of you on this team. Thank you for all of your input and reflection today!--Dr. DeWeese
Staffing Timeline
https://drive.google.com/a/g.fhsdschools.org/file/d/0B55nQpj4PAvLV3VYWUV0LTdQcHM/view?usp=sharing
- The change in this staffing plan from the plan I presented to you on January 3rd is that we will no longer see a reduction in the 1.0 FTE Reading Specialist position.
- We will still a reduction by 1.0 FTE in 1st grade, 1.0 FTE in 4th grade, and .5 FTE in SLP.
As we talked about in our meeting on January 3rd, there will be movement this year because there has to be movement. My philosophy on staffing is that we make the best decision based on students and the desires of staff. Sometimes staff members are looking to make a change and I always want to honor professional growth. It is never my intent to make unnecessary changes in staffing for the sake of making changes.
Some of you have already had conversations with me regarding your wishes and thoughts. Please continue to keep the lines of communication open with me as you think about next year and please remember when filling out your preference forms you must be certified for the position and you may not place a board approved position on your sheet. Please let me know if you have any questions about staffing or if you just need to chat about your form.
There are times when a staff member may be seeking an opportunity outside of the building or even outside of the district. Please keep those lines of communication open with me as well. While I never like to see someone go I will always support you in the decision you make about your career and professional growth. I am always open to helping you prepare your paperwork or to prepare for an interview. I would much rather know ahead of time that you are a seeking a change somewhere else than to be caught off guard by the reference check.
Resignations
Alicia Baehler has submitted her letter of resignation to be effective at the end of this school year. Alicia's resignation has created an opening in second grade that will be filled in the staffing process. Please wish Alicia well in her next adventure.
Julie Molloy is also resigning. Julie has accepted a position in the Brentwood School District. Thanks Julie for all your hard work with our ELL students. The ELL para position has been posted and we will begin filling that position soon.
Timeline
February 3rd- Preference Forms Due
February 13th-16th- Dr. DeWeese will notify any staff members of any change in placement.
February 17th- Dr. DeWeese will email the Harvest Ridge staffing plan following the district PD at 12:30.
***All of the elementary principals have agreed to email their staffing plans at 12:30 on February 17th.
Behavior PD Follow Up
During the January 3rd PD we had a parking lot for questions. The questions were taken back to the Character Committee and below are the responses to the parking lot. A suggestion was made on the parking lot to share the presentations and the links for the presentations have been provided below.
If tickets are optional what if a specials teacher or bus driver give a ticket and the child’s teacher isn’t doing them?
Some specials teachers are doing their own rewards- some are returning to the teacher and the teacher will use their own system of rewards- classroom teacher can use verbal celebration if not doing tickets communicate why they got it- or could trade for High Five- could put tickets in teacher’s mailbox
Specials teachers use tickets within their room with their own rewards- or do they give to the teachers?
See above
Can people who presented share the powerpoints?
The links for the presentations will be provided in the Principal's Newsletter
How do you stay positive when writing an office referral?
When writing an office referral just be factual rather than accusatory. Reference the Hawk Habit or the specific unexpected behavior and keep other student's names off the referral. Remember a parent will see the information so it needs to sound professional.
It is extremely helpful in the investigation process to indicate whether the incident was reported or if it was witnessed. See below for some good examples.
Examples:
I witnessed Joshua arguing with another student about chalk. Then him and the other student started to punch and hit each other.
It was reported that Suzy pushed Jenny while lining up for recess.
Non Examples:
Ken ran out of the room without permission because he didn't get a his way during the game. (this has an opinion in it) We can assume that is why Ken ran out of the room, but it could be something else. We would find that out in the investigation.
How long should a student stay on Tier 2 if unsuccessful?
Students begin to receive Tier 2 interventions once they have been triggered by the data trigger chart based on minor and major referrals. Students are monitored through the use of referral data and just like academic interventions we need to wait 6-9 weeks to determine if an intervention is working. There are a variety of Tier 2 interventions. So while one Tier 2 intervention may be unsuccessful another Tier 2 intervention might work. Often times students that are receiving interventions have layered interventions meaning they are getting more than one service. There really isn't a length of time a student remains in a particular Tier, however the length of time is about the particular intervention a student is receiving.
What do you do with a kid that throws a fit because they didn’t get a ticket?
Students should be given tickets for following the expected Hawk Habits. If a student is escalated by not recieving a ticket it is important to wait until the student is calm to have a conversation with that student about the incident. Tickets are about being consistent with all students so it is important to make sure all students have the opportunity to recieve a ticket. The ticket should be reinforcing the expected behaviors.
How/who decides what behavior is entered in the SWISS System? ** We know not all are entered**
All referrals are entered into the SWISS system. There is not a decision making process regarding which referrals get entered.
Because this question has come up frequently in the last few months the administrative team has conducted an investigation as to what might be causing this concern and question to come up. It was difficult because on our end we know we are entering everything we get, but we have discovered a couple of glitches in the system that need to be addressed by the committee.
We apologize that we did not predict that both of these glitches were going to occur and for any mistrust this may have caused. If you know that one of your students has reached the trigger please check in with an administrator to ensure that we have seen all the referrals and that they have been entered. Special thanks to the people who came to us and shared what might be causing the issue. We appreciate your help in making things more clear.
Glitch #1
Teachers were indicating that major office referrals were not being entered in infinite campus because they couldn't see them. Angeline collaborated with Ruth because Ruth enters the major office referrals into Infinite Campus as she gets them from administration. Ruth reached out to central office regarding the issue and we finally have an answer to the Infinite Campus mystery.
A few years ago Dr. Sloan had the IT department remove the behavior tab in Infinite Campus from all teacher due to Ferpa and the Privacy Act. Teachers have not had access to that information for a couple of years. Only those staff members with administrator access are able to see information regarding student behavior in Infinite Campus. If at any time you would like a report on an individual student in your classroom please see Ruth and she will get you that information. I will also be taking an idea to the Character Committee on how to show a teacher that an office referral has been entered into Infinite Campus.
Glitch #2
At the beginning of the year the Character Committee presented two ways to report a minor referral. To make the process more convenient for the teacher the committee gave teachers the choice to report a minor using google or using the minor paper form. What we have discovered is that having two systems is not an efficient way to report minors. It is difficult for one person to keep up with both systems and unfortunately that could prevent students from being triggered into interventions. We have discovered that we are a couple months behind on the minor forms in google. This was an honest clerical error and not because anyone was determining not to enter referrals.
For the remainder of the school year Angeline will pull the google minors each week and each administrator will enter those into SWISS to help Ruth out. Then we will give them back to Angeline to have record of them just like we do for the paper form. Moving forward for next year we will be seeking input from the committee to determine one system for reporting minor referrals. I have also created a flow chart of the referral process that was shared with the Character Committee. Your committee representative should be sharing that with you.
Here is the link to the trigger sheet, which is the same one from last year.
Kindergarten needs time to teach school wide expectations prior to handing out tickets. Could they start 2nd quarter?
The committee recommended starting with class rewards for quarter one and then individual for quarter 2.
2x10 strategy- with so many needy kids in the classroom, how can you find time to meet with each?
Only use this strategy for the students in your classroom that are in the top tier. This shouldn't be more than a couple of students per classroom.
For next year, will everyone use tickets the same way? - ex. pull tickets for same rewards with same regularity- teacher chosen rewards seems to work good, we need to give teachers some choices
The tickets are to be universal. They are for every adult in the building to pass out to all students at any time of the day when they are following expected behaviors. Within classrooms teachers can have their own systems in place for trading in tickets for items or for setting class rewards. There will only be a building incentive to reach our building goal for the number of tickets earned as school. For example, as we reach milestones toward the building goal we might have a spirit day.
For the 2017-2018 school year the building tickets will be the same. We will be setting a building goal next year for tickets so there will be a collection and counting system in place to help students see how close they are to meeting the goal. This system still needs to be determined by the committee.
The committee recognizes there is an issue with cutting out the tickets so they will be exploring options for volunteers.
What to do when you give one ticket for following instructions and then everyone starts to do it (do I give a ticket to everyone)?
No-you can word the praise in a way that the child is receiving the ticket for being timely or the first time; you don’t always have to say it out loud so that everyone can hear, but if you do make sure that everyone knows that tickets can be earned at any time and in any place throughout the building so there will be many chances to earn tickets.
Remember that part of the purpose of the ticket is to recognize the student for following expectations and so that others want to follow the expectations.
Can we purchase our own carnival tickets so we don’t have to cut the paper tickets apart?
Right now yes. Next year tickets will be the same building wide. Purchasing tickets for the entire building is very expensive and would require us to spend less on other classroom supplies, unless we are able to increase the funds in our student activities account through fundraisers. Since the tickets are meant to be used by everyone and in every area of the building it will be important that the ticket itself is universal. The committee will be working to determine the tickets for next year based on feedback from staff.
Presentations
Logical Consequences (Adams, Barth, Gorris)
PBIS Overview (Foster, Reagan, Murphy)
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cXQYbOapw3f4e5QbNEBw8ehg017KZEUDNE4Z4rUvD5s
Big 5 (DeWeese)
Committee Minutes
January 17th Character Committee Minutes
January 23rd Character Committee Minutes
FHEA
January 10th EDC Meeting
January 24th EDC Meeting
EDC Retreat
January 11th Data Team Minutes
January 25th Data Team Minutes
Oops Box
MAP Testing
Kid President
We can all learn something from Kid President. Below is a link to a great video about how to disagree. Enjoy!