Elementary ENEWS
Issue 25/August 2015
Human - Kind...be both this year!
"Significant learning happens when we have significant relationships!" by Dr Adolph Brown.
Fun, Fair, Firm, and Faith!
McKinney ISD
Growth Mindset
Point People Schedule 2015-2016
Below is a link to the schedule of Point People for Fall/Winter meetings.
Please Note: Location Changes
- Science and Social Studies Point People will meet @ Minshew on designated days.
- ELAR & Math Point People will meet @ Lawson on designated days.
Instructional Coaches
McKinney BOYD Room F110 from 8:30-3:30
- September 8
- September 29
- October 21
- November 12
- December 8
- January 7
- February 4
- March 3
- May 17
Math - Kerise Ridinger @kerise_ridinger
Math Beliefs - Think Through Math - Think Central
Math beliefs - In our first point people meeting and new teacher academy we explored what the math belief pyramid mean to us as teachers of mathematics K-12. We will be using these beliefs to guide decisions throughout this school year. Please ask your point people or new teachers how they might be using the beliefs to design lessons.
Think Through Math- Our Instructional Materials committee has approved funding for Think Through Math for 2015-16. At the moment, the state has suspended state funding for ProjectSuccess.org (including TTM) while TEA accepts bids from companies for the 2015-16 school year. Hopefully, Texas will come through with funding quickly, but either way, funding for TTM will be there, so this important resource will be available again for 2015-16. Our technology department will work with TTM to upload student data and update teacher accounts. As in the past 2 years, the upload process will hopefully be completed within the first few weeks of school.
Think Central/ Texas Go Math- Teacher, student and class files for Think Central, my.HRW and Write Source are tentatively set to begin loading Wednesday, September 2. Point People and coaches have been notified with this information to share with their team. Teachers will receive an email with their new user name and password starting the week of September 2.
Science - Marie Hayes @ScienceHayes
Hands- On Science & Science Safety
Hands – On Science Learning Opportunities - This year one of the main focuses in science instruction will be meeting the needs of our students by providing authentic hands-on science investigations. This state requirement in science classrooms offers the students the opportunity to apply scientific learning through investigations guided by the teachers. We will provide multiple trainings this year to better prepare our teachers to feel confident and excited about the science investigations they offer their students. The dates can be found below and will be in Eduphoria within the next few weeks.
· Kindergarten November 3 3:30 – 5:00
· 1st Grade October 27 3:30 – 5:00
· 2nd Grade September 22 3:30 – 5:00
· 3rd Grade September 24 3:30 – 5:00
· 4th Grade September 22 3:30 – 5:00
· 5th Grade September 17 3:30 – 5:00
Science Safety - As we increase our focus on science investigations this year, it is also important to return to the basics of science safety in the classroom. In order to be prepared as facilitators of investigations; we are requiring all teachers to complete the Science Lab Safety training prior to the start of science investigations that will begin week one with the students. This has been assigned to teachers and can be accessed through the MISD Safe Schools site along with the other required district trainings
ELM
We support you and your teachers along with our wonderful ELM coaches, Lisa Paine and Maria Gonzales. As content coordinators, Marie and Stacie are happy to support teachers in designing ELM projects. We can provide crit, answer content related questions, and be a sounding board as teachers brainstorm ideas. Our first ELM Just in Time trainings are scheduled for September 8 and 10 from 3:30-4:30 (details will be coming soon).
Social Studies - Stacie Nickols @ snnickols
Celebrate Freedom - New Pearson Resources - Forethought - OI Trainings
Celebrate Freedom Week: September 14-18 (more info to come)
New Pearson Resources: We are in the process of ordering new Social Studies resources from Pearson. In the meantime your teachers can create a demo account at TryPearsonTexas.com. More specific details will be emailed out through Point People soon.
Curriculum Documents found in Forethought:
District Assessments Calendars for 3rd grade-5th grade are in the District Assessment tab for each grade level. There is a brand new District Assessment this year in 3rd grade: Community (September 28-October 20).
Instructional Framework chart located in the Resources tab in each grade level designating minutes per day per content area.
OI trainings: we heard positive feedback from teachers who were able to attend OI and Sneak Peek trainings in August during E3! Next training dates: for K-3 see Science above, for 4th Grade: October 6th from 3:30-5:00 at Caldwell and 5th Grade: September 29 from 3:30-5:00 at Valley Creek
ELAR - Mona Savage @mona_rsavage
Beliefs - Literacy Institute - Curriculum Sneak Peeks - Trainings
Many Thanks & Beliefs
Thank you for encouraging literacy learning during the summer months. It was amazing to see the number of teachers who attended Lit Institute with growth mindsets!
As you walk through classrooms these first few weeks, thanks for celebrating those teachers who are establishing Reading & Writing Workshop routines which will fosters solid literacy development. Shared/modeled, guided, and independent learning should be a daily focus!
Balanced Literacy Institute Google Site
Visit this site to learn all about MISD's Balanced Literacy Institute: tinyurl.com/misdliteracy
Curriculum Sneak Peeks
Prior to each quarter, a sneak peek will be provided to discuss and "show" the lessons for each grade level. Thank you for your support in having at least one person from each grade level attend. Training will be after-school on the below dates:
(please check in Eduphoria for specific grade level day)
Q2 training dates: Oct. 6-9
Q3 training dates: Dec. 1-4
Q4 training dates: Feb 23-26
Just-In-Time Trainings (after-school)
Literacy Institute Training (Foundations & Deeper)on Repeat:
- Reading Days - Sept. 3 & Sept 8
- Writing Days - Sept 10 & Sept 15
Coming Soon:
- Morning Message K-2
- Morning Message 3-5
- DRA/Running Records
- Literacy Stations
Resource Update:
Istation: set to begin loading Sept. 1
Write Source (grades 2-5): set to begin loading Sept. 2
ConnectED (Texas Treasures online): master codes will be sent as soon as received