The Roar
April 27, 2015
We do not learn from experience...we learn from reflecting on experience--John Dewey
News to Roar About
- Harbin Running Club and PE Club for taking first place in the Grayson Days 5K for the FOURTH year in a row! Way to go, Tigers!
- Tom Gibby and Debbie Davis for sponsoring the Running Club and PE Club to provide these opportunities for our students runners!
- To all of our staff for the role you have played in getting all of the assessments completed. It is key to have teamwork to make it work well for students and you have done an amazing job! Thank you!
- Special Areas teachers for your collaboration to get the 2nd grade SPGs completed. Your teamwork gets it done!
- Thank you to our outstanding clerical staff! We appreciate all you do to keep Harbins running smoothly!
- Thank you to all for changing schedules this week to accommodate the testing requirements. We appreciate your support and positive, professional attitude!
- Support Team for your flexibility in a pinch!
- To our amazing paras for the countless ways you pitch in to help every day! We could not do our work without you!
- Chris Rogers for printing what seems like a million award certificates!
- Lisa Newton for planning all of the poetry month activities with your students. You and your students have made it a fun celebration of poetry.
- Montine for all of your behind the scenes help with the Maker Faire preparation.
- Sonam and Myesha for all of your help to prepare new passports for 2015-2016 and to help prepare Maker Faire invitations.
Announcements
Faculty Meeting
Our next faculty meeting will be on April 28th from 3:20-4:30. You do NOT have a reading assignment or need to bring your book with you to the meeting.
Summer School 2015
The Archer Cluster Elementary summer school will be at Harbins for 2015. Harbins has been allotted one teacher position. If you are interested in teaching summer school, please complete the teacher application and return to Christy LeMaster by Tuesday, May 12.
- Teacher hours: 7:30am - 3:20pm = 8 hrs
- Student hours: 8:00am - 3:00pm = 7hrs
- Salary - $32.50 per hr for 17 days, which include 2 pre-planning days and 15 instructional days. Total $4,420
The summer school calendar is also attached so you can make plans. If you have any questions about summer school, please ask Christy. Thanks!
https://drive.google.com/a/harbins.org/file/d/0Bxo1dS2UuoEPUTZOem1YTVRIRTg/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/a/harbins.org/file/d/0Bxo1dS2UuoEPYjlBaGJ6YWRLVGs/view?usp=sharing
RBES Planning
https://drive.google.com/a/harbins.org/file/d/0Bxo1dS2UuoEPMnA5TjgzOVBMdDQ/view?usp=sharing
Beyond the Core Staff Development during Pre-Planning
The Curriculum and Instruction team will be offering pre-planning staff development sessions for our teachers who work in the beyond the core areas (Fine Arts, Health/PE, Foreign Language, ESOL, Special Education, Gifted, and CTE) on August 5 at the following times:
Middle School/High School Teachers - morning session (8:00am - 12:00pm)
Elementary Teachers - afternoon session (1:00pm - 5:00pm)
The specific location and session information will be provided in a subsequent message.
Maker Faire Classroom Display
- Student writing about the best things about Harbins
- Student writing about what Harbins means to them
- Digital Projects that guests can scan from QR code to view
- Happy Birthday creative art work
- AKS related projects that the students have recently completed
We want to show our guests and parents what learning looks like today at Harbins ES vs 20 years ago.
Harbins Summer eCLASS/D2L Staff Development
Personnel Updates
- Amy D'Angola, currently a teacher in Fayette County, will serve as an ASD Level 3 teacher at Harbins in the fall, replacing Jennifer Tatum. We are excited to have Amy join the Harbins team. She will be here on May 11 to meet everyone.
- Destiny Rodriguez will serve as a stellar substitute at Harbins in the fall. We are excited that Destiny will remain with Harbins and still serve students.
News From Other Schools
- You are invited to celebrate the retirement of Debbie Harris on Thursday, May 14th, from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm in the Chesney ES Media Center. RSVP to Whitney Young if you plan on attending by Friday, may 8th.
- You are invited to a Retirement Celebration in honor of Mary Lou Enright on Tuesday, May 12th from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm in the Dacula ES Cafeteria. RSVP to Judy Presley at Dacula ES.
April Topic:
Let's discuss Assessments... Please tell us your best idea and practice of using classroom assessments in eCLASS C&I in your classroom to engage students and promote student achievement. State your idea, positive results, and what your learned. Go into the self-directed training course and click on the Share Win Contest link to submit your ideas.
Click here to see some of the ways teachers said they are using the "Dropbox" feature. https://www.smore.com/5z21r
Summer Cleaning Schedule
- Moving into a room: Stack your boxes/items along the wall in front of the whiteboard
- June 8-July 1- Summer School will take place at Harbins in designated classrooms
- July 6-24 Floors will be waxed and the building will be closed to working in rooms. We will send out summer emails to notify teachers when rooms have been cleaned and can be set up for the fall.
Snow Make-Up Day for Instructional Staff (Teachers and Parapros)
As your make-up time for the staff day missed due to snow, we will begin work we had already planned for our staff on Formative Instructional Practices. You will use the directions sent to you via by Cindy Truett on 4-15-15 to get into the PD&E course and complete two online course modules. You will go onto the D2L Harbins landing page after completing the two modules to enter your reflections on a discussion board. It is very obvious where the discussion board is located when you get to the landing page. All of this must be completed by May 21.
It is all online so you can complete it at your convenience in your favorite jammies or sweats on your favorite chair or couch. :-) The PD&E tool tracks your progress in completing the modules. The online discussion board will provide your evidence of your learning. We will continue with the remainder of the modules for our work for the fall. To meet the snow make-up requirements, you will complete the following modules:
FIP Module 1 Introduction
FIP Module 2 Clear Learning Targets
Staff Development Survey (SAI)
Last Day for Students to Sign the Book of Honor is April 30
Kid Talk Assessments-- Due in spreadsheets soon
Testing Schedule Changes
We have to change the Specials schedule to accommodate the number of people needed for GMAS-EOG. Please use the schedule below for Specials 4/20 - 4/27. Starting Tuesday, 4/28, we will return to the regular Specials time. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your understanding and flexibility!!
2nd grade SPG dates
Thursday, 4/30 - ELA
Friday, 5/1 -MA
SPGs will start at 8:30am. There will not be AKS/CQI on testing days (4/30 & 5/1)
Be sure to communicate all lunch changes to parents.
GMAS - EOG Test Information: Grades 3-5
AKS/CQI: No AKS/CQI for grades 3-5 on testing days.
Dates/Times:
Monday 4/27 - Science (approx 2.75 hrs)
Wednesday 4/29 - Social Studies (approx 2.75 hrs)
Testing will begin each morning at 8:30am. Students that check in after 8:30am will be sent to the Media Center and stay there until the main administration is complete (both sections 1 & 2).
Make-Ups:
Rolling make-ups will be administered in the afternoon daily and both morning and afternoon on non main administration dates.
Lunch and TDPE Schedule Change:
eCLASS Summer Staff Development
The attached link is to an online flyer with information on eCLASS Summer Staff Development Sessions. The online flyer includes course descriptions, dates and locations as well as PDE section numbers. For questions about eCLASS Summer Staff Development please email or call Dona Smith in the eCLASS office at dona_smith@gwinnett.k12.ga.us or 678-301-7293.
Grade Level Professional Learning
- May 6 Tool Time
- May 7 Math/Literacy Combo
- May 11-15 RBES Conferences (detailed schedule to be sent)
- May 22 All Staff Meeting for EOY at 12:30
Classroom Spirit Award
ABCD Awards
Please send your nominations to Cindy Truett by April 21st for recognition of staff members who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that teaching and learning at Harbins are at the highest levels.
School Improvement Team
The SIT Team meeting will be held on May 5th from 1:15 - 4:00. Location: Professional Development Room. Read professional article for our session.
Roar Deadline
If you want to add something to the Roar, it must be sent to Montine by noon on Thursday of each week. If not turned in by Thursday at noon, it will have to be entered into the following week’s Roar. Thanks for your help!
News to Roar About
We will place “News to Roar About” in the Roar each Monday. It is our hope that throughout the year that you will take time to send us a note to let us know about a colleague who deserves recognition for outstanding work. Please be sure to share your compliments with us so we can highlight those individuals in the Roar. You can email compliments to Cindy Truett or Montine Powell.
Leaders in Learning
A Chrome file has been shared with each teacher, please go in to list your Leader in Learning each month when Montine sends out the notification email.