A2VE Staff Bulletin
February 13, 2023
Dear Team,
Thank you for your patience and flexibility with the Mitchell room changes this past week. Thanks also for all that you are doing to keep things going.
Enjoy NAAPID with your students and families!
Robin
To Do:
- Read the latest family newsletter: February 10, 2023
- Begin tracking attendance on count spreadsheet: Count Week Folder Link
- Verify EDP's on the A2VE classroom assignment spreadsheet.
- Complete the attendance verification sheet. (See below)
Attendance Verification
Please sign both last week's and this week's attendance verification. You will need to do this each week until we have completed the count period.
February Professional Development Offerings
The district professional development offerings can be viewed on the February Professional Development spreadsheet.
Educational Development Plans
Every student MUST have a completed EDP on file. We will be asked to show them during the spring audit. You can complete it with the family if necessary. Please also verify EDP's on the A2VE classroom assignment spreadsheet.
An Important Curriculum Reminder for 5th Grade Teachers
Our AAPS approved Social Studies Curriculum is the MAISA units. We are no longer using any part of the History Alive! Curriculum. We no longer use Social Studies alive Please click here and carefully read through this more detailed information.
T3 Transition Plan
The Request to transfer to A2VE or to return to building will open on February 21, 2023. Please see the Transition Plan for additional dates and details.
NWEA
The district NWEA window is open until February 15th, should you have students who need to complete/make-up a test.
NWEA Training for Proctors slide deck
Repeated from Previous Bulletins
Planetarium Visit: A Message for 1st and 5th Grade Teachers
The directions for securing a visit to the planetarium can be found here. Please follow the directions carefully to ensure you've secured a spot and completed the calendar appointment process correctly. Doing so ensures that the presenter is prepared and that any questions can be directed to the appropriate classroom teacher. The process is the same as last year with the only major adjustment being that we can double up classrooms during a single visit. At this time, do not sign up for 3 classes in one trip, please secure 2 spots. Like last year, the trip will be covered by the district, not the building but please follow the directions in the document to notify transportation that G/L code for “AA Balas Elem” should be used.
Michigan Model - Update
This email contains several reminders regarding the MI Model for Health curriculum. Please read thoroughly and reach out if you have any questions.
1. The PE teacher(s) in your building will teach the "Nutrition and Physical Activity" MI Model for Health Unit. They will provide a grade for each student for this unit. The PE teacher will email you the grade that each student earns. As the classroom teacher, you will enter the grade the PE teacher provides you for the "Nutrition and Physical Activity" MI Model for Health Unit on your report card on the T2 March report card.
PE teachers have been told to give you the grades by the beginning of March as report cards are due to administrators on March 10.
2. Please make sure you are using the digital curriculum when teaching the MI Model for Health lessons. These are the most up to date lessons and updated regularly by MI Model. You received your access code from Danielle Dros after the October 5th MI Model training.
3. The scope and sequence of MI Model lessons is posted in the AAPS Elementary Health Schoology page. If you are not already a member, please make sure that you join: Access Code: 2XR4-Q6PB-NC9M6
4. Future Training Opportunities:
- Michigan Model for Health K-6 Training: January 25th 9:00am-11:00am (virtual)
- HIV Certification Training: February 8th 3:00pm-6:00pm (virtual)
- HIV Certification Training: March 9th 9:00am-12:00pm (virtual)
- Anti-Racist Sex Education: March 9th 1:00pm-2:30pm (virtual)
- Michigan Model for Health K-6 Training: April 4th 1:00pm-3:00pm (@ Livingston ESA)
Thank you for your dedication and commitment to the health and well-being of our students.
Sincerely,
Katie Hamilton
Environmental Action Mini Grants
The Environmental Action School Mini-Grant program is an opportunity for AAPS staff to apply for mini grants of up to $500 in support of projects that promote environmental action and sustainability at AAPS schools. Up to 40 awards are expected. Projects can include school gardens, recycling, outdoor educational field trips, classroom experiments, and anything else that you can create!
AWARD: up to $500
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, February 10th, 2023
AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT: Tuesday, February 28th, 2023
PROJECT COMPLETION: Before or up to May 2023
The application, which includes additional details is available here:
If you have any questions regarding this opportunity, please email Marion Martyres, AmeriCorps Environmental Sustainability Researcher, at: martyresm@aaps.k12.mi.us.
Power School Address
PowerSchool has a new address for each of the portals we use, so you may need to update your bookmarks:
Students & Parents: https://aapsd.powerschool.com/public
Teachers: https://aapsd.powerschool.com/teachers
School and District Staff: https://aapsd.powerschool.com/admin
Please note that your username and password have NOT changed. If you need help with either, please call the Help Desk at 734-994-5040 or submit a ticket via Incident IQ for Software/Online Systems > PowerSchool.
Also, if you have a parent account or you have students who use the phone app, you may need to re-enter the GGFF district code in order to pick up the new server location. Updated instructions are posted on the district website and on the public portal login page.
Buzz Reports
Need help running Buzz reports? See the attached resources created by Liz L.
Class Report in Buzz:
https://www.loom.com/share/ac1dfcdf4d7e4697aee0c0c260d897cc
Individual Progress in Buzz:
2022-2023 Assessment Information and Procedures
Tony and Kristin shared the 2022-2023 Assessment Procedures for Teachers document. Here are a few key highlights:
- The ELA Assessment Procedures and the linked ELA Assessments Across an Instructional Year document has been updated visually to assist with ease of use but information remains the same.
- Benchmark reading assessments will continue to be required only twice during the year, once in the Fall and once in the Spring. These assessments do require time and are not necessary in the winter unless a teacher determines it would be beneficial.
- We continue to expect the frequent use of formative assessments. We can only get so much information from our screeners/initial assessments (NWEA and F & P Reading Benchmarks). Our striving readers need more regular check-ins to help teachers monitor their progress and target instruction. There are many formative assessment options and guidance located in the ELA Assessments Across an Instructional Year document.
- Information about Math/ELA SLOs, IRIPs, and report cards will be shared in the coming weeks.