GRE Staff Newsletter
For the Week of September 17, 2018
Dear Team,
Happy Sunday! I hope you enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather and of course the Buckeye win last night. Every morning while straightening my hair I listen to Podcasts or Audiobooks. Super cool right? Yesterday I was listening to a Podcast where the point of the message was this:
1. Healthy things grow
2. Growing things change
3. Change brings challenges
To say I connected with the message is an understatement! I thought of all the challenges I've faced both personally and professionally and truly saw the value they have each added to my life. I don't see challenges as negative, I see them as opportunities. It made me wonder how our students, staff and families feel about change. Do we tackle them with a positive mindset, or get frustrated and want to give up? As we tackle Monday's waiver day where we learn about educational software changes, have think tanks, dabble with ideas to help us include all OUR students, or work as PLC's to think through how we report student progress to families, I hope we'll remember the ideas above and work hard to remain positive as we tackle some of these challenges in order to create a healthy and growing school.
Here's to another great week at GRE!
Kate
News to Share
1. Waiver Day is tomorrow! You'll find a link to the agenda here. Thank you to our Instructional Facilitators and PAC members for helping to organize a productive day of learning. I will send out a survey to get your feedback on the day later this week. This will assist us in planning for future Waiver Days.
2. K-2 teachers, please email Ginna and Kate what time you teach Fundations. We've seen some awesome lessons already and are excited to see even more.
3. GRE is in third place...behind Souders for the Big Nut Strut. Click here to get signed up! This 5K run/walk provides funds to the entire school district through building PTO's. It's a chance to come out to show our EAGLE PRIDE! Be sure to share this information with your families as well.
4. As you plan your Fall Harvest Classroom parties, please remember that all food items must be store bought and include the nutritional information and ingredient list. We cannot have homemade food items due to allergy and diabetic concerns. If you have questions see Megan or Kate.
5. Due to Friday's fog delay, this Friday we will have our first Keys to Success Assembly from 9:00-9:40. If you need to review the schedule, see Ginna's email from September 13th.
6. Just a reminder that if you need me to attend any conferences, please send me the date/time at your earliest convenience. I'm happy to support you if needed!
7. We will have the first PBIS committee meeting this Wednesday the 19th at 8:00. This group will meet monthly on the third Wednesday. Any staff member is invited to attend and if you can't meet this time, feel free to join when you are able. We will meet in Megan Sweet's room.
8. Please remind your students that no food should leave the cafeteria. This includes breakfast and lunch items.
9. PAC will meet this Tuesday. To see a DRAFT agenda, click here. If you have something a question or concern, please be sure to let your PAC member know. As a reminder, if you have a question or concern that only relates to your classroom or content area, please set up a meeting with Kate.
10. We will have a short meeting Thursday morning at 8:00 in the STEM Hub with Angie and Jeremy regarding District Finances. It should only last about 15-20 minutes. I will send a reminder the night before.
Fun Finds-Ideas to Spark Your Creativity
Supporting our Students
Be #FutureDriven in Your Classroom
This week the ODE released District and Building Report Cards. While reviewing the information, I revisited my Future Driven book. This quote really stood out to me:
"Being great is not about having a school with the highest test scores. Being great is showing kids and families how committed we are to kids and learning. Being great is investing in people. If standardized test scores are your school's top priority, then your mission is more about adults than it is kids." p. 63
While I don't base decisions on this tool, I do think it's important to review the findings from a lens of "what can I learn from this data that can tell me more about my instruction or students". I will share more information about my noticing's and wondering's at future PLC meetings. For the time being, take a look and see what you notice or wonder about.
Week at a Glance
Tuesday, Sept. 18th- C Day;
Wednesday, Sept. 19th-D Day; PBIS Meeting 8:00; Mumkin Orders Due; Yoga at GRE
Thursday, Sept. 20th-A Day;
Friday, Sept. 21st-B Day; Keys to Success Assembly 9:00-9:40
SLO Information-Repeat from last week
1. Make a copy of the SLO (or SLOs) you're submitting and share with your administrator by Friday, September 28th.
2. Complete the SGM Calculation Signoff 18-19 and turn in by Friday, September 28th.
At the bare minimum each teacher needs to do one SLO. You must do STAR, as it's a vendor approved assessment. If you want to do more than STAR, it has to be off of the list written below (all SLOs that have been done in previous years) and has to be the same as your building wide grade level.
Here are the SLOs as outlined by each grade level:
Kinder- STAR Early Literacy, letter ID, letter sound ID, number ID
1st- STAR Math, 1st Grade Math Assessment (the same assessment across district), Number Grid
2nd- STAR Reading, Sight Words
3rd- STAR Reading, STAR Math
4th- Your choice: All Value Add, 40% Value Add/10% SLO (has to be STAR); 10% Value Add/40% SLO (has to be STAR); All SLO (if no value add available)
Music- 1st Grade (as many 1st grade classes as you want)
Art- 3rd Grade (as many 3rd grade classes as you want)
PE- 2nd Grade (as many 2nd grade classes as you want)
STEM- 3rd Grade (as many 3rd grade classes as you want)
Intervention Specialists- pick the grade level and/or students you work with the most
Tutors- pick the grade level and/or students you work with the most
If you need help or support, please see Kate or our building Evaluation Committee member Trisha Hilton. We are here to help!