Astro News
Compass 2020: Power On Alanton & Reach for the Stars!
October 19-23
Reach for the STARS!
- October is Virginia Disability History & Awareness Month
- Bullying Prevention Month
Bus Driver Appreciation - October 19-23
- Please ask your students to express appreciation to the bus drivers.
- The office staff will recognize the drivers with something creative and fun on behalf of our school.
- I know that student made cards are always greatly appreciated and put a huge smile on the face of our drivers. :)
Staff Seminar - October 20
- We will focus on 'High Yield Student Engagement' best practices. Please bring your teaching framework wheel to the meeting.
- Emily will also join us to discuss the United Way Campaign.
- Briefly share (SWAPS) School wide assessments of problem solving- math
Report Cards & Comments
- Please be sure to have your grades finalized by November 3rd. This is the same day as Parent-Teacher Conferences. You may want to have them done in advance so you have an opportunity to share grades with parents during your conference.
- Report Card Comments: Katie will be checking all 649 report card comments. Please take the time to edit your comments before submitting them to Katie. You may want to swap comments with a colleague to check before submitting them to Katie. She will return the edits for you to make the corrections within 24 hours. The final copy will be submitted to administration for review. At this point, there shouldn't need to be any final edits. (You edit, your colleague edits, Katie edits, you make corrections, PERFECT!)
DRA Data Due 10/23/15
Reminder: DRA scores need to be entered into Synergy by October 23 for Grades 1-5.
Let's Recognize Ms. Willie on October 21st!
The National School Safety Center, state governors and state school superintendents are sponsoring America's Safe Schools Week, Oct. 19-23, 2015.This observance is also actively supported by local, state and national public officials and professional organizations.
Virginia Beach City Public Schools will observe these dates to again highlight and reinforce school safety. In appreciation of their important contributions to school safety, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, is designated as School Resource Officer and Security Assistant Day in our schools. You are encouraged to acknowledge their work in the manner you deem appropriate.
To obtain additional information about America’s Safe Schools Week, please go to the following website: www.schoolsafety.us/safe-schools-week. If you have any questions or need additional information contact the Office of Safety & Loss Control at 263-2450.
Goal Setting and Professional Learning for Student Progress: Must be in alignment with the PCI.
Goal Setting:
- Classroom Teachers: 2 Goals – 1 Math Goal & 1 Reading Goal
- Classroom Teaming Teachers – 2 Reading Goals or 2 Math Goals
- Specialist – 1 Student Achievement Goal (Preference to use data in Grades 3-5 if possible.)
Formative Options:
- Select 2 Formative Options
Notes:
- We are going to use School Wide Assessments of Problem Solving (SWAPS) to measure math progress. The SWAPS contain only 3 questions, which will be administered in October, January, and May. You will need to administer and collect data for your goal. I am extending the Goal Setting window until October 28th so you have additional time to administer and collect data. We will build in time on Monday during the Staff Seminar to discuss SWAPS. (Rubric: 3 Correct=P; 2 Correct=DP; 1-0 Correct-N) You will report the data to Katie and she will include it in our database.
- We are also using some of our CLC time next week so you could work as a team on Goal Setting.
- Please see the detailed email I sent on 10/15/15 - The PCI and Literacy Plan was attached.
Fire Drill Feedback -
Staff, We practice so we could evaluate our procedures and make improvements where necessary. Please read the implement the feedback below: (Thanks!)
- CHANGE: Mr. Clark will walk down the line of classes and report whether each class has been accounted for via walkie-talkie.
- Green (or red) card needs to be held up by the teacher until Mr. Clarke gives him/her the OK.
- If teacher is holding up the card, he/she needs to be standing at the front of the line.
- If a student is holding the card, the teacher needs to stand right next to that child.
- Students will remain in their lines until all classes have been checked off.
- Please make sure that you turn out lights and close the doors of classrooms when heading out for a fire drill.
Weekly Happenings
- CLC meetings begin this week - Focus: Language Arts, Talent Ed Goal Setting, Assessment Window Schedule - Bring Laptops
- America's Safe Schools Week, Oct. 19-23, 2015
Monday- 10/19/15
- STAR Student Names Due to Jodi
- 9:35-10:50 - Grade 3 CLC
- 11:00-12:15 - Grade 4 CLC
- 1:00-2:15- Grade 1 CLC
- 3:15 Color Me Mine - Melissa @ Art Room
- 3:15-4:15 Staff Fitness Class - Library
- 3:30- PLP class: QR Codes - computer lab
Tuesday- 10/20/15
- 8:00-10:00 - Data Meeting at Dey ES - Charlene
- 8:55-10:10 - Grade 5 CLC
- 1:45-3:00 - Grade 2 CLC
- 3:30-4:30 Staff Seminar - library
- 3:45-5:00 Girls on the Run (room 24)
Wednesday- 10/21/15
- Security Assistant Day :) Celebrate Ms. Willie
- 12:10-1:10 - Kinder CLC
- 1:30-4:30 - Charlene at a Principal League Meeting
- 3:15 Color Me Mine - Melissa
- Staff Jeans Day (for $25 prepay)
Thursday- 10/22/15
- 3:15-4:30 Girls on the Run meeting - room 24
- 3:15-4:15 Staff Fitness Class - library
Friday - 10/23/15
- DRA Data Due in Synergy
- Monster Mash
- Fara Faust OOTB for the State Social Studies Conference
- Linda Gardner and Jenny Miller OOTB for Literacy Leader meeting
Future Events -
- CLC meetings begin this week - Focus: Math
Monday- 10/26/15
- 9:35-10:50 - Grade 3 CLC
- 11:00-12:15 - Grade 4 CLC
- 1:00-2:15- Grade 1 CLC
- 3:15 Color Me Mine - Melissa @ Art Room
- 3:15-4:15 Staff Fitness Class - Library
- 3:30- PLP class: QR Codes - computer lab
Tuesday- 10/27/15
- Make-up pictures & group photos w/Lifetouch
- 8:55-10:10 - Grade 5 CLC
- 1:45-3:00 - Grade 2 CLC
- 3:30-4:30 School Planning Council Meeting (SPC) - Library
- 3:15-4:15 SCA meeting (officers, class reps, executive council) - rm. 3
- 3:45-5:00 Girls on the Run (room 24)
Wednesday- 10/28/15
- Talent Ed - Goal Setting Due
- 12:10-1:10 - Kinder CLC
- 3:15 Color Me Mine - Melissa
- Katie Z. OOTB for training
Thursday- 10/29/15
- 3:15-4:30 Girls on the Run meeting - room 24
- 3:15-4:15 Staff Fitness Class - library
Friday - 10/30/15
- Kinder Halloween Celebrations
- Have a frightfully fun weekend!
Celebrate Good Times, Come On!
Happy Birthday -
OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS
- Brianne Nelson - 1st
- Whitney Simmons - 3rd
- Pearl Willis - 4th
- Amy Calicchio - 6th
- Megan Griffith - 7th
- Leslie Wildman - 9th
- Sarah Robinson - 13th
- Wendy DeMartini - 14th
- Elizabeth Davis - 19th
- Nancy Reckling – 20th
- Araceli Mock - 20th
- Kim Nolette - 27th
- Emily Crouch - 30th
- Susan Anderson - 31st
#ShoutOuts
- #10MarksTerrificTraining - Thanks to Fara and Anne Douglas for providing us with training on 10Marks.
- #ExtraTLCSupport - Thanks to Mary Nutter for researching and contacting additional support systems for our students that are having difficulty with Social Emotional needs.
#SuperSupporter - I would like to give a shout out to Jodi Lamberson for helping me amend my ELA Center Rotation power point from 20 minutes to 30 minutes. Changing times involves so many slides and Jodi offer to do it for me without a moment of hesitation. She helped me last year with setting up the ELA Center Rotation power point and it has made my center so much easier for the children to follow. This makes them more successful, too. I also want to thank her for sending me her math rotations power point which allows me to leave the centers up while the children are rotating without the Windows screen bouncing around. Sincerely, Susan Anderson
#AwesomeBeth - Thanks to Beth for managing AESOP and supporting teachers with sub coverage - always with a smile too! :)
#TOY - Congrats to Amy Paulson and Fara Faust for being Super Teachers of the Year! We all had a wonderful celebration with the school division on Thursday.
#PersonalizedLearningVisit - Shout-out to Mr. Clarke for jumping in and joining the interactive presentations in Mrs. Wildman's fourth grade class. Princess Lea, Ty, and Mr. Clarke had a blast!
PCI Plan - 2015-2016
Student Learning Outcomes / SMART Goals
Literacy SMART Goal:
(We will talk about this goal during CLC meetings.)
- By June 2016, 100% of all students in grades K-5, will be reading on/above grade level or show a minimum of one years’ growth as measured by the DRA/SRI.
Literacy Strategies:
Use the VBCPS unpacked curriculum documents to effectively plan, deliver, and assess instruction (Planning: Use guided reading learning plans to plan for differentiated instruction.)
Use an assessment wall/chart to monitor student progress and engage in Data Chats during CLC to analyze data and identify appropriate interventions.
Use Learning Targets for all subjects—Knowledge, Reasoning, Performance/skills, and/or Products—so that students and teachers can accurately identify what students should know and be able to do.
Numeracy SMART Goal:
- By June 2016, 85% of all students in grades 2-5 will demonstrate proficiency on the School Wide Assessments of Problem Solving (SWAPS) math assessments.
Numeracy Strategies:
- Use the VBCPS unpacked curriculum documents to effectively plan, deliver, and assess instruction (Planning: Use small group math learning plans to plan for differentiated instruction.)
- Use an assessment wall/chart to monitor student progress and engage in Data Chats during CLC to analyze data and identify appropriate interventions.
- Use Learning Targets for all subjects—Knowledge, Reasoning, Performance/skills, and/or Products—so that students and teachers can accurately identify what students should know and be able to do.
Environmental Learning Garden SMART Goal:
- By June 2016, 100% of students in grades K-5 will participate in the Alanton Teachable Gardens, as measured by the garden participation chart.
Environmental Learning Garden Strategies:
- A common visual graphic will be used in grades K-5 to record participation with the Alanton teachable gardens. Data will be collected quarterly to monitor progress.
Inclement Weather Makeup Plan
With the threat of Hurricane Joaquin now subsided and as we approach winter, please review with your staff and school community the makeup plan in place in case school days are missed due to inclement weather.
As a reminder, the makeup plan outlines that the first through fourth inclement weather days requiring a school cancellation will be made up using the following staff days and holidays:
- Feb. 1, Staff Day
- April 13, Staff Day
- Feb. 15, President’s Day
- June 20, Staff Day
The fifth through seventh days of school canceled due to inclement weather will not be made up by students, but will be used as unassigned staff days. In extreme cases where school cancelations exceed seven days, we will seek first to add minutes to the school day, then use remaining staff days and additional days at the end of the school year to extend instruction.
Please note the makeup plan was published as part of the school calendar in the spring and is available on vbschools.com.
PAC Meeting Notes: 10/13/15
- Reporting Attendance -
- Must be done no later than 9:00 a.m.
- Idea was discussed – have a student helper remind you at 8:50 or 8:55.
- Dismissal Procedures- m.
- Grade 1 Added – Concerned with dismissal going past 3:30 p.m. – Going past contract hours at 3:30 p.
- Charlene will talk to the PE staff about options. (possibly calling all buses to the hallway that are not picked up by 3:30 – admin will assist with dismissal supervision)
- Bruce talked to transportation – they are sorry about the shortage of drivers, which makes us run behind.
- PE staff provides treats for drivers if they take on extra runs. If you have anything you want to contribute you may want to share with Wendy. (Wendy, I hope you don’t mind me throwing out this idea.) :)
- PE Schedule
- Grade 1 Added – Wants to discuss for 2016-2017. It is hard to not have the consistency and short PE times.
- Wants to get the PE schedule back on track with the same time each day for 45 minutes.
- Understands that we need time for CLC, but is there a different way? Teacher need more team planning time. Admin is listening and trying to use your time wisely (for example, we used our data CLC for TenMarks & Achieve3000 training instead of having you attend another meeting after school)
- We will continue to brainstorm throughout the year. There will be an opportunity to give input before the schedule is made for next year.
- Grade Level Celebrations and/or Concerns
K- Halloween with Costumes (K-2 Fall Parties/Treats / 3-5 Treats)
1 – :)
2 – :) Ask Fara for more ideas on the mini iPads
3 – :) What is the plan for November 3rd? Parent/Teacher Conferences
4 - :)
5 – Oysters – wahoo! Edmodo is awesome.
Specialists - :) Wanted to know the expectations for Goal Setting for specialists.
Special Ed – Request for picture day – ID kids need a separate time to have pics taken (too much for kiddos)
Admin – Please continue to send ‘#ShoutOuts’. Goals due – October 23
Switch Witch Idea - Cool idea!
- Evaluate the Meeting-Plus/Delta
-Plus:
- On time
- Comfortable sharing thoughts/ideas
- Fun meeting
- Excited for new iPad for SpEd (news)
- Great time keeping
-Delta:
- Happy Group! :)
Teacher Assembly
(Attachment Sent via Email 10/16/15) - Please let me know if you are interested by October 23 and then you will have an opportunity to vote on the Alanton candidate before the November 6 deadline. We will need a representative and alternate. It is the expectation that the Alanton rep attends all 4 meetings. (*We are doing this in a form of a vote because we don't have our next PAC meeting until November 17, which is after the due date.)
The 2015-2016 Teacher Assembly, which includes one teacher representative from each school, will be meeting four times during the 2015-2016 school year. This group will engage in dialogue and problem-solving activities associated with our continued efforts to accomplish the goals of Compass to 2020: Charting the Course.
The purpose of these meetings is to gain a broad spectrum of teacher input focused on teaching and learning. Each representative is expected to provide a briefing of Teacher Assembly outcomes to faculty and staff after each meeting. This provides an excellent opportunity for all teachers to gain access to the broader scope of Compass to 2020. At the same time, division administrators will utilize the products of the Teacher Assembly to plan future professional learning opportunities, fine tune initiatives, and gain an understanding of the experiences of teachers as they implement Compass to 2020.
The attached flyer outlines the goals of the Teacher Assembly and the expectations of the representatives. Please share it with your teaching staff to ascertain their level of interest in serving. We are asking that each school’s Principal’s Advisory Committee or teaching staff select one representative and one alternate. Please note that in order to increase teacher ownership of the work of Teacher Assembly, there are also leadership opportunities that are available for interested representatives. Please complete the attached form, scan, and email it to Mattie Stimpson at Mattie.Stimpson@vbschools.com or pony the completed form to the Office of Professional Growth and Innovation by Friday, Nov. 6.
I would like to emphasize that all schools should be represented at each meeting. If the representative or alternate is unable to attend, it is expected that another teacher from the school will attend in their place. All meetings will be held in the Library Media Center at Larkspur Middle School from 4:45-6:00 p.m. The meeting dates are Wednesday, Dec. 2; Thursday, Feb. 4; Thursday, March 10; and Wednesday, April 27. Representatives will receive email communication prior to each meeting with any preparatory expectations.
Teacher Assembly COMPASS to 2020- An opportunity for ...
- Teacher-Superintendent Dialogue
- Teacher Networking
- Teacher Leadership
The goals of Teacher Assembly are as follows:
• To provide school administration and the School Board with the teacher perspective on the important work of teaching and learning in Virginia Beach City Public Schools.
• To serve as a resource for the development or refinement of programs to meet the goal and student outcomes set forth in Compass to 2020.
Here's how Teacher Assembly will work:
• Each school will name teachers to serve as a representative and an alternate.
• Teacher Assembly representatives will be expected to brief their school staffs on the outcomes of each meeting.
• Meetings will be held from 4:45-6:00 p.m. in the library at Larkspur Middle School. The dates scheduled for the meetings are Wednesday, December 2; Thursday, February 4; Thursday, March 10; and Wednesday, April 27.
• Meeting agendas will be collaboratively set by the Office of Professional Growth and Innovation and the Teacher Assembly Advisory Board. The Teacher Assembly Advisory Board is a new leadership opportunity for representatives and will provide guidance on developing agendas and activities for meetings.
Partial Spanish Immersion - Let's Practice Spanish & Communicate with our First Graders!
Teaching & Learning Framework - Alanton teachers living the life with the VBCPS framework.
Click on the link for the video:
Charlene Garran, Principal
Email: Charlene.Garran@vbschools.com
Website: www.alantones.vbschools.com
Location: Alanton Elementary School, Stephens Road, Virginia Beach, VA, United States
Phone: 757-648-2000
Twitter: @AlantonAstros