Bella Vista Staff Bulletin
03/16/2015 v.1 issue 23
Quote of the Week
“When a young person, even a gifted one, grows up without proximate living examples of what
she may aspire to become – whether lawyer, scientist, artist, or leader in any realm – her goal remains abstract.”
from My Beloved World by United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
We Learn!
Using Data to Inform Spring Literacy Instruction
During the transition to the Common Core State Standards, schools throughout OUSD have been shifting instruction to support three signature strategies:
- Academic discussions across the content areas
- Reading and comprehending complex text
- Writing with evidence across the content areas
As all schools in Oakland accelerate their use of data to ensure that student achievement improves for all students, our PLC conversations for the next six weeks will focus on the following questions:
- What does winter literacy data tell us about our students’ ability to read and understand complex text?
- How will we monitor student progress in reading between the District assessments?
Supporting Students Reading Significantly Below Grade Level: Tier 2 Literacy Interventions
- Nearly 80 students in grades K-5 (or 15 percent of our student population) will receive Tier 2 literacy interventions during Trimester 3.
- Students are pulled out of class for Tier 2 literacy interventions, which consist of either small group or technology-enriched instruction for students who were performing well below grade level in reading. These interventions supplement, not replace, in-class Guided Reading groups.
- Intervention groups are led by Mrs. Gibbons, Mrs. Gouguet, Ms. Seaberg and Ms. Yin.
We Live!
Prop 39 Update (Charter School Co-location)
- As first reported in the February 16 edition of the Staff Bulletin, OUSD has made a preliminary offer of nine classrooms and one administrative space at Bella Vista to American Indian Public Charter School, a middle school that is currently operating in the Laurel District on non-OUSD property.
- Representatives from AIPCS will visit Bella Vista this week to view the offer, which includes all spaces on the top floor of our main building except the computer lab, the library and the copy room.
- District leaders met with school staff last week after school to field questions and explain next steps. AIPCS has until the end of March to accept the offer. If it does not accept the offer, OUSD may be required to offer space to an charter elementary school (that offer would include portable classrooms rather than ones in the main building).
- While this continues to be an uncomfortable situation and the outcome remains uncertain, we must remain focused on our immediate goals to accelerate student achievement.
First Look at 2015-2016 Enrollment
- So far for next school year, there are 15 TK students and 52 Kindergarten students assigned to Bella Vista.
- Out of our current TK group, 13 out of 44 students are leaving Bella Vista and enrolling elsewhere in Oakland for Kindergarten. That’s a 30 percent transfer rate.
- Families will confirm their enrollment for 2015-2016 between now and April 1. Also during this time, current families will be asked if their student(s) will return to Bella Vista next year
We Achieve!
Khan Academy LearnStorm Update
- In February, Bella Vista joined hundreds of Bay Area schools in the LearnStorm online math challenge sponsored by Khan Academy.
- For the month of February, Bella Vista ranked 6th in points per eligible student for the whole Bay Area!
- In addition, six Bella Vista students in grades 4-5 rank among the top 100 in their grade level for either mastery (getting problems right) or hustle (trying challenging problems).
- Because of our school’s high level of participation, we will receive $15,000 in technology materials and free home Internet access for six months for all students!
- Thank you, Mrs. Gibbons, for your leadership in this effort.
Balanced Scorecard Update – Reclassification of English Learners
- Reclassification is the process for determining that an English Learner has become Fluent English Proficient. There are two windows for reclassification: fall and spring.
- Our goal this year is to increase our school’s reclassification rate to 22.7%, which translates to 28 students.
- In the fall, teachers approved 15 students for reclassification. Based on winter literacy data, there are 13 more students eligible for reclassification.
- If all of the eligible students are approved for reclassification, we will meet this goal!
- Superintendent Antwan Wilson and members of the OUSD Executive Cabinet will visit Bella Vista on Tuesday morning from 8:00 until 9:30. There will be no set classroom visitation schedule, so everyone should be prepared for a walkthrough from our guests.
- Junior Achievement Day is this Thursday! Webcor Builders will bring a team of professionals to Bella Vista to introduce our students to concepts related to entrepreneurship, financial literacy and work readiness. Teachers are expected to fully participate and support the Webcor guest teachers. For more information on the curriculum, click here.
- Thank you to all teachers who supported the Golden Sneaker Contest! It was great to see students walking, rolling, biking and carpooling to school throughout the ten-day contest period. We will announce the winning class on Friday, March 20.
- Nearly 300 people joined us for food, fun and fellowship on March 11 for Eastlake Connections Night! Special thanks to Mrs. Hansen and Ms. C. Nguyen for attending, to Ms. Carmen and Ms. Vaca for coordinating the food, to PTA officers Maggie Lam and Karen Heida for facilitating the raffle, and to Mr. Cox for making sure the campus was clean and ready for the next day.
THIS WEEK
Mon., Mar. 16
- Field Trip – Sailing into Science Day 1 (O’Brien)
- LESSON PLANS DUE FROM: Cho, Chu, Gibbons, Lee, C. Nguyen, Prchlik, Duffy-Olsson, Smith, Takeuchi, Webb, Xiao and Yang
- 4:30 Elementary Data Summit for ILTs (Tilden Auditorium)
Tues., Mar. 17
- SUPERINTENDENT SCHOOL WALKTHROUGH
- SBAC INTERIM MATH ASSESSMENT – GRADE 4
- Field Trip – Sailing into Science Day 2 (O’Brien)
- Field Trip – Oakland Zoo (Chu, Garcia, Lew, C. Nguyen, Tai, Takeuchi, Yang)
Weds., Mar. 18
- SBAC INTERIM ELA ASSESSMENT – GRADE 4
- 2:00 PEC Teacher Professional Learning (Foster Campus)
- 2:15 Teacher Professional Learning – Trimester 2 Parent Conferences
- 4:30 SSC Mini-Summit (Lakeview Auditorium)
Thurs., Mar. 19
- JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT DAY WITH WEBCOR BUILDERS
- Field Trip – Tilden Regional Park (Chen, Kitty, Lee)
- 1:30 Coordination of Services Team meeting (room 16)
Fri., Mar. 20
- 1:00 TK/K Motor Skills (Auditorium)
Next Week
Mon., Mar. 23
street sweeping
- Field Trip – Sailing into Science Day 1 (Webb
- LESSON PLANS DUE FROM: Chen, Garcia, Hansen, Morente, V. Nguyen, O’Brien, Rajanikanth, Schooling, Stone, Tai, Thai and Ung
Tues., Mar. 24
street sweeping
- SBAC INTERIM MATH ASSESSMENT – GRADE 3
- Field Trip – Sailing into Science Day 2 (Webb)
Weds., Mar. 25
- 2:15 Teacher Professional Learning – PLC Meetings
Thurs., Mar. 26
- SBAC INTERIM ELA ASSESSMENT – GRADE 3
- Instructional Rounds at Carl B. Munck (Ms. Phillips is off-campus)
- 4:15 School Site Council Meeting (room 11)
Fri., Mar. 27
- PBIS TRAINING (Phillips, Garcia, Lee, Morente are off campus)
- 1:00 K Motor Skills (Auditorium)
Bella Vista Elementary School
Email: nikki.seaberg@ousd.k12.ca.us
Website: tinyurl.com/bellavistaoakland
Location: 1025 East 28th Street, Oakland, CA, United States
Phone: 510-436-4900