November 13 Monday Letter
"Effort Creates Ability"
NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 17
Contact Administration
- Thomas @ (208) 881-4437
- Justin @ (208) 516-0278
- Scott @ (208) 270-7785
Principal Principles
"There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning." -- Jiddu Krishnamurti
Important Upcoming Dates for the Week
- Monday, November 13 -
- Tuesday, November 14 -
- Wednesday, November 15 - School Improvement Team meeting in the morning, content and interdisciplinary team meetings in the afternoon
- Thursday, November 16 -
- Friday, November 17 - Last day of the trimester.
- Also starting Friday the 17th our Special Education Department will be doing a Fund Raiser for families in need. They will set up in the Rocky Mountain main foyer, on Friday to sell stickers for a dollar for Students to wear hats all day on Friday. They will do this for the Friday the 17th, then again December 1st , 8th, 15th; excepting Thanksgiving Break. Students need to have the sticker to wear the hat. It shows teachers that they paid. The sticker must be placed on the hat so it can be seen.
Important Things After This Week
- November 20-24 - No School (Thanksgiving Break)
- Monday, November 27 - First day of the 2nd trimester
Bus Duty Assignments This Week
Morning (8:15 am - 8:35 am) - Cafeteria, Commons Area, and Outside.
Afternoon (Please come outside as soon as the bell rings.) - South end of the Building, Right out front, and by the pavilion. The first few minutes are critical as far as the need for supervision. If there are four people assigned, the fourth person can help where needed.
- Tyler Belliston
- Ken Moeller
- Rob Powell
- Todd Johnson
New Items to Be Aware of:
- With the end of the trimester this Friday, many have asked about grades being stored and when grades are due. First of all, grades will be stored on Wednesday, November 29. All grades should be final by then. If a student is absent for an assignment that is assigned this week, remember that they have two days for each day of absence to get the assignment to you. If the assignment is not critical to your knowledge of their understanding of an essential standard, you can exempt the assignment for that student. If, for some reason, the student does not get the assignment completed until after November 29, you can still put the grade in the PowerTeacher, but it will not affect their official final grade. If this happens, you will just need to send Georgann and email with the new final grade so that we can override the grade in PowerSchool.
- Also, don't forget to make note of you SLOs for this trimester. If you have not already given the assessment that will be the evidence of learning for the SLO, you should plan on giving it this week. Once all of the students who you predicted would perform at the four levels at the beginning of the trimester take the assessment, fill out the SLO form in your Google Classroom and turn it in. We will be doing the same thing for second trimester. Let us know if you have any questions.
Old Items to Be Aware of:
- For our fire and evacuation drills and procedures, we have created two maps that you can use for your reference. We will be getting each of you color copies of these maps to include with your evacuation materials. The biggest clarification comes with the actual evacuation over to the field and how we will be organized there. Essentially, you will need to find your zone in the area shown on the map, then organize alphabetically, keeping your classes in as organized lines as possible. This allows us to quickly document who is present and accounted for. Here is the link for the fire drill procedural map and the evacuation procedural map. Here is also an updated roster for who is in which zones as well.
- Please refrain from excusing student early from class during the day. We have had numerous reports from teachers of students disrupting classes towards the end of class. The earliest students should be dismissed from class is when the bell rings. Thank you for your consideration of your fellow teachers.
- Click here for information about the Idaho Master Teacher Premium if you are interested in working toward that. Since our district will be following the state model, nothing is actually done through the school or district.
- JPAS observations can begin anytime this week starting on Thursday, September 28. Your assigned administrator will let you know when your six-week window of opportunity will begin. Please use the following links to assist in your preparation: JPAS Annual Orientation, Color Coded Domains IV and V, Professional Development Materials by Indicator (JPAS). In addition, anyone who appears on this spreadsheet must complete Domains IV and V (the portfolio/interview portion).
Upcoming IEP/504 Meetings
These meetings are on your Outlook calendar, but this is a reminder of what you have this week. If for some reason, you are unable to attend due to extenuating circumstances, please contact the person whose room the meeting is in prior to the meeting. Unless identified, meetings start as soon as possible after school.
- Monday, November 13 - 3:45 pm - Room 31 - Lynx team members
- Tuesday, November 14 - 2:00 pm - Conference Room - One member from Puma
- Tuesday, November 14 - 3:40 pm - Room 232 - Lynx team members
- Tuesday, November 14 - 3:50 pm - Room 32 - Cougar team members
- Wednesday, November 15 - None
- Thursday, November 16 - 3:40 pm - Rm. 232 - Puma team members
- Thursday, November 16 - 3:45 pm - Rm. 31 - Lynx team members
- Thursday, November 16 - 3:50 pm - Rm. 32 - Lynx team members
- Friday, November 17 - None
Focus Team Meetings This Week
If you are on the following teams, please plan on being to the meeting prior to the start time so that the meeting can start on time. Your time is valuable and so is that of the other people on your team. If for some reason, you are unable to attend due to extenuating circumstances, please inform your focus team leader prior to the meeting.
Professional Development
Grants and Other Opportunities
CenturyLink Teachers and Technology Grant Site- Through this program, pre-K through 12th grade teachers in public, private and/or charter schools in CenturyLink local service areas are eligible to apply for a grant of up to $5,000 to implement innovative technology solutions in their classrooms.
- Go to CapEdFoundation.org for instructions on how to apply for a Teacher Grant. The deadlines are the 1st of each month from September until March.
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Grant: is a contest where middle and high school teachers lead a class of students in the creation of a solution that addresses a need in their community using Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM). As an example, one of the winning teams last year came up with a solution to help low-income students in Brooklyn, New York who do not have the funds to eat a meal at night. It starts with an idea to make a change, which becomes an impactful reality when students are inspired to innovate for good. We encourage you to take a few minutes to enter your school into the contest before November 9th with your general idea today (the project specifics can come later). Contest applicants will have a chance to win a share of $2 million in Samsung technology* for their school throughout the competition – more than $150K for each winning school. Plus, you will be automatically entered for a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy Note8 phone or 65-in TV for every referral application submitted by your colleague teachers. For more details, including the contest and referral rules, visit www.samsung.com/solve.