Peak Week of September 16-20 Memo
Every Way Every Day
ENRICH, ENGAGE, ENHANCE
SHOUTOUTS
Shout out to Ms. Warren for letting me observe one of our kinder friends! You do such a great job with him!!!
-Wanzer
Shout out to Lucy for watching my scholars while I step out to make observations for grad school! Love you so much!!
-Wanzer
Shout out to Lucy for doing SO much to help out the kinder team!! You are on it and we appreciate you very much!!! -Kinder teachers
Shout out to Katy Peterson for rocking her 1st solo day as a 4th grade teacher. -Grant
Shout out to Kacie Buck for showing me to ropes for lunch duty. -Grant
Shout out to 2nd grade for making me feel so welcomed at lunch. -Grant
Shout out to Erin Gilbert for being such a strong leader when the team needed it most. You have been so amazing and every scholar in 4th grade has benefitted from your leadership. -Grant
Shout out to Ms. Plew and Ms. Mortimer for stepping up and in as coaches for cheer. They were a HUGE help in tryouts and in every way of the transition thus far! - Courtney
Shout out to Ms. Kemp, Ms. Wanzer, Ms. Ackley and Ms. Barkley for assisting with us with
watching and organizing the scholars at tryouts! - Courtney
Shout out to my Peak Pal for the sweet treat on Friday! You rock Ms. Mortimer! -Mrs. Luna
Shout out to Mr. Bearfield for being so caring to the new teachers and watching out for them. -Mrs. Luna
Shout out to Mr. Kincel for being solutions-oriented and always offering great solutions. -Mrs. Luna
Shout out Ms. Campbell for being so quick with our scholars and helping make sure scholars feel safe, comfortable and confident at school. -Mrs. Luna
Shout out to Ms. L. Hughes for a great job with our huddle this week!-Leetha
Shout out to Mrs. Luna and Mrs. Salazar for an amazing job with your groups this year, the learning heard coming out of your room is recognized and to be commended, keep it up!-Leetha
Shout out to Mrs. Mikkelson for doing a great job with serving the needs of scholars. You are always solution oriented, and it is noticed!-Leetha
Shout out to Ms. Warren for doing an amazing job with our new scholars, it has been a challenge, but we are already seeing progress with these scholars. -Leetha
Shout out to Mrs. Bernal, and Ms. Clark for always being proactive and flexible with meeting the needs of everyone. You always do it with a positive attitude and are always putting others first.-Leetha
Shout out to Ms. Awe for keeping your smile while you help balance and support the needs of your team-Leetha
Baby Orantes is HERE! HE IS SO HANDSOME!
Week At a Glance
SPED in action
Currently, Kindergarten is learning about the phases of matter. One of the objectives for this week was for the scholars to understand that heat changes the physical properties of objects (make them melt). So, to help make this idea accessible for Kash we conducted an experiment to see how things change (melt)when they are heated. My goal for the experiment was for Kash to experience through a visual/hand-on-activity heat being created and heat changing the properties of items.
Instructional Focus of the Week
This week's Huddle recap: Aggressive Monitoring
- Let's remember to focus on aggressively monitoring, regardless of the content area. This type of monitoring helps us gage our misunderstandings/misconceptions so that we know whether to do a reset, cold call, great a small group etc.
- Per the question for Eureka, aggressive monitoring will be more effective during "problem set", which requires having them completely annotated, so that as we are checking during monitoring laps and this will let you determine how to tailor your debrief discussion to misconceptions.
Literacy
CER
Have scholars discuss their claim, evidence, and reasoning verbally before sending them off to write it down. Then after you walk around and find a trend where scholars can upgrade their written response, do a show call. Pick an exemplar that models the upgrade done well, have scholars evaluate the exemplar and reflect, then send them off to revise their own CER with the upgrade in mind.
K-5 Math: Leverage Exemplar Responses
Leverage exemplar student responses in order to clear up whole-group misconceptions or to explain the process used to solve the problem being discussed.
Use CFUs (check for understanding) after an exemplar response is given to ensure the whole group is moving on in the lesson with clarity. If you are having to restate or re-explain often, you are doing the heavy lifting.
Checking in with scholars who you have identified beforehand is good practice so that they have thought about the response, state the key points in their explanation, and explain in a quick, efficient way that does not deter the pace of your lesson. This will also help ensure you stick to the time stamps you have planned for with your timers holding you accountable.
Fridays Huddle
ATTENDANCE MATTERS
Uplift Education Fall Appreciation! This is for ALL Uplift employees, don't forget to register!
AR POINTS ARE ALREADY CHANGING SCHOLARS: WAY TO KACIE!!!
Report Card Grading Submission Reminders
There were a few things we wanted to clarify before report grades are submitted:
- ELAR Grades: consist of phonics and writing and SS
- Reading grades: consist of read aloud/close read
Teachers Grades are due October 4th, however please e-mail me your grades before submitting soI can review them before submission. Please ensure that if a scholar is failing that communication has been made before final report cards. Also the failing grade should not be below a 65.
Please reference the Grading policy one pager in the google doc for more guidance.
OUR SCHOLARS ARE AMAZING! I HAD LUNCH WITH HER TO DISCUSS HER HAIR, SHE DONATES IT TO KIDS BATTLING CANCER! HOW AMAZING!
Survey of Homework Hall
Tutoring
1. Maximize the power of first instruction in the classroom. If we continue to focus on differentiation and delivery of effective instruction we minimize the need for intervention for majority of our scholars.
BLACKOUT DATES
1st Semester Black Out Days (Leave will rarely be granted for the days below): *List is
subject to change
- October:3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, 23rd
- October 21st- 23rd- Parent Conferences
- November: 22nd
- December: 2nd. 9th- 16th
- January: 6th-10th, 17th, 21s
See the Link from Mrs. Campbell for guidance lesson schedule
ESL CERTIFICATION
The deadline for ESL certification to be attached in SBEC is: October 31st. Teachers in the above categories, are highly encouraged to attend an upcoming session.
- All K-5 classroom teachers
Upcoming Sessions:
- September 28, 2019 – Uplift Summit – 8:30-4:30
- October 2019 - TBD
Registration link: https://forms.gle/aWTnLSoBK13YXomz8
Please feel free to reach out with any questions to tkelly@uplifteducation.org
Reminders/upcoming events
- Picture Day September 23rd (Uniform only)
- Hispanic Heritage Assembly October 3rd
- October 21-25 Book Fair
- PEROT SCIENCE NIGHT Oct. 30
Specials September Rotation Schedule
Gallup - Fall Staff Engagement Survey
Gallup - Fall Staff Engagement Survey
Twice a year, Uplift employees are asked to take a survey that gauges how “engaged” staff are on their campuses each day. Research completed by Gallup shows that across global organizations staff that are engaged deeply in their work are more likely to stay, enjoy their work each day, and of course, reach more significant outcomes. This Monday, you will receive a survey link that will directly reflect “Peak Primary” and the engagement that we have as a team for our scholars. Please take the time (no more than 15 minutes) to complete this survey on Monday or Tuesday. This data helps Melissa, Tijera and I reflect upon our work as a leadership team and we will bring it transparently back to the entire team. As always, if there is context that you would like to email and share with your team lead, manager, or me, please don’t hesitate to share feedback. We’re here to support transparently.
PANORAMA SURVEY: 3-5 TEACHERS
Mark your calendars - The fall 2019 Panorama window is scheduled for October 7- October 25. The Panorama Survey measures student perceptions of teaching and learning. All scholars in grades 3-5 will take this assessment on computers or Chromebooks. Our network-wide goal is 100% scholar participation. More details to come closer to the survey window.