HASHTAG: Happy New Year!
January 8th - 17th
Food for Thought - John Hattie, Visible Learning. Pt 2
Achieve 3000 Training - January 16th
After School Activities and MASH
After School Activities
The Lineville Office closes daily by 4:15 p.m. Anyone who is supervising an after school activity MUST remain until all students are picked up. We have had some students waiting outside with no adult supervision for more than 45 minutes after school.
Classroom Teachers - please remember to confirm any MASH dates with families and make certain the family understands that they will need to pick up their child at 4 p.m.
MASH Teachers - please check the sign up sheet to be sure the parent notification has been confirmed. If it hasn't been, please ask the child to call home to confirm a ride.
Lineville Apple Cafe
January 16th - MaryAnn Ceaglske will presenting on the website noredink.com - a grammar practice site similar to Moby Max but with a personalization twist for students and the ability to assign certain skills for teachers.
Coffee and rolls will be provided!
Staff Meeting Rescheduled for Wednesday, January 15th
ALSO - Please let Phil know if there is a specific session or topic you would like to see at the February meeting or if you are willing to lead a session that others might be interested in learning more about. Thanks!
Budget Information
CLASSROOM BUDGETS
Allocations for 2014-15 will be sent to buildings in early February. Over the past several years, our Lineville budget has been reduced quite significantly:- 2011-12... 10% reduction
- 2012-13... 12% reduction
- 2013-14... 12% reduction AND a further mid-year reduction of 30% for Digital Transformation (I believe this will remain in place for 14-15).
What this means for planning purposes is that I am anticipating the need to reduce classroom budget allocations. As a preliminary guideline, I am thinking $200/Classroom Teacher. When we receive our LV allocation, I will send you final notice of your classroom allocations.
To assist you with budgeting, we will continue to provide:
- PRINT CARTRIDGES: We will continue to provide one printer cartridge per year (just turn your empty cartridge in to the office).
- CENTRAL SUPPLY: Cathy will be sending a list of the most ordered office supplies and offering the opportunity to provide feedback and request additional items. In 2014-15 we plan to purchase and keep those items in stock in two locations - the main office and the 5th Grade storage room - eliminating the need for you to budget for these items.
CAPITAL/NON-CAPITAL REQUESTS
If you have a need for items above and beyond what your classroom budget will allow, you can request those items using the form linked below. This form will also be housed on the LinevilleStaff Wiki page for future reference. All such requests are due no later than 4 PM on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17th.
Phil and Kristin's Schedule
Friday, Jan. 10th - Phil will be at HO from 10 AM - 2 PM for SPED Aide interviews. Kristin will be in the building that day.
MAP Testing and Data
We will be working to reschedule testing for those who were affected by the snow days. Joyce and I are working with TLC to see if we can extend the MAP window. In the mean while, we will proceed with testing as scheduled beginning tomorrow (Thursday). Stay tuned for more information on make up testing.
PLC Updates
As we complete the second quarter, it is a good time to shift the focus of our PLC teams from a building wide scope down to a classroom level focus. The MAIN PURPOSES of this shift are to Know Thy Impact (Hattie) and Increase Thy Knowledge! That is to say...be able to focus collaboratively on instructional practices and using data to evaluate the effectiveness of those practices on student learning.
Facilitation Meetings
To assist with this transition, Phil and Kristin will be replacing the former model of facilitator meetings with a new model. We plan to visit each of the core teams one time per month together. At that time, we will hear what work the team has done, what work they are planning to do and be available to answer any questions or offer any clarification that may be needed. I have attached a schedule and a sample agenda below.
PRINCIPALS VISITATION AGENDA
Field Trip Allocations
Fundraiser money is now available in your Student Activity Account. Statements are available with your total balance. Remember as written in December's Hashtag:
- Each grade level will take one major field trip as a grade level (ie, Barlow and Camp Wabansi).
- In addition to the grade level trip, each House may opt to provide ONE additional field trip. However, the cost per student for that field trip cannot exceed $10/student. It must also (as always) be connected to your curriculum.
- Allocations of fundraiser money that you can use for such additional field trips have now been distributed.
(For 6th grade planning: Last year the average cost of Barlow for two person houses was: Barlow $468; Lamers $278)
Please see Cathy for your House’s Student Activity Account Statement.
Educator Effectiveness Update
As a reminder (from Jim Freeman's E-mail)...
The next step in your Educator Effectiveness cycle is the Mid-Year SLO Review form. This form is meant as a way for you to reflect on your SLO goal and to make decisions about next steps based on what you know / have learned.
Paul Hermes, Associate Principal of Bay View Middle School, put together a really nice screencast that explains the Mid-Year SLO Review form to you. I highly recommend that you watch it…it takes about 4 min. 30 sec.: http://youtu.be/UT_y-w4qifQ
From Phil and Kristin...
- The Mid-Year SLO Review Form has now been released to you (along with all of the forms you will need for the rest of the year).
- We will NOT plan to meet with every teacher about this, but if you have questions or would like to discuss your progress to date please feel free to set up a meeting with one of us.
- If you feel everything is on track and you do not have questions, simply submit the form by February 15th.
Cool Stuff from EdShelf
- Pivot Animator - A free Windows program to create stick figure animations. Great for simple cartoons and stories.
- Pixiclip - A free online whiteboard where you can record your voice - or yourself (in a video) - while you draw.
- Zaption - Put together an online lesson by adding images, text, quizzes, and discussions to your own videos or any from YouTube and Vimeo.
- Projeqt - Combine live tweets, blog feeds, interactive maps, audio notes, and streaming video into a real-time presentation for free.
- Been - Using this free browser extension, collect and organize your favorite websites. Then add notes and share them with friends and colleagues.
- Creatorverse - Create fantastic inventions using motors, joints, pulleys, levers, and other kinds of simple machines in this free Android and iOS app.