BESTeam Tidbits
April 8, 2018
STAAR Week
- Tuesday: Fourth grade writing STAAR and fifth grade math STAAR
- Wednesday: Fifth grade reading STAAR
- Thursday: STAAR make-up
- Friday: STAAR make-up
Please enjoy wearing jeans and Bransford shirts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thank you for keeping the hallways quiet as students will be testing all around the building. Thank you for being flexible with lunch as we adjust coverage as many staff members will be used to give small group tests and monitor bathrooms.
Celebrations!
Congratulations to Jenna and Megan for being invited to participate in VALOR for the 2018-2019 school year!
Successful first BEST pARTy! Thank you to EVERYONE who contributed items and time for the ARTy! Staff donated items raised $1,970!!!! AMAZING! Thank you April, Abbey, Cathy, Tonya, Corrie, Jeanette, Kelsey, Michaela, Alecia, Megan, Lauren, and Al for taking time our of your weekend to attend the ARTy and mingle with our families!
Preparing fifth grade students for AVID interviews!
Budget accepted for 2018-2019!
Thank you Abel for the delicious cake!
Big Rocks
- Conferences April 19:Thank you to many of you for sending out sign ups to your families already regarding April 19. This is our second conference day. The expectation for the afternoon is that students share with their parents their goals, growth, and glows. Please make time allowances for those families you need to meet with for a parent teacher conference. It may not be possible to have all the conferences on the allotted half day. Thank you for being flexible this week as we arrange our schedules to meet our families' schedules. Once you have all your conferences scheduled, please share your schedules with Denise so she can make door arrangements.
- Summative Conference: Please take a moment to sign up for your summative conference by clicking here. Subs will be provided for the thirty minutes you visit with Jamie and Tonya. Calendar invitations to your summative times along with details about the conference will be sent out this week.
- Email Signature: As part of the new website rollout, please be sure to update your email signature in case you had the old website URL included. The new URL is www.gcisd.net.
Arts Resources
Small Rocks
TypingClub District Trial We are participating in a district trial program for a keyboarding resource called TypingClub. During the trial period, all students K-12 have access to TypingClub via Classlink. The trial period begins now and ends July 15 at which time we will evaluate TypingClub and determine the need for purchasing a keyboarding resource for specific grade levels in 2018-2019.
Humanities Voice: The Humanities Voice monthly newsletter includes professional learning opportunities in and outside of the district, celebrations of GCISD staff/ students, and highlights of many fantastic district resources available for ELA and SS teachers.
Grant Opportunity: VOYA is offering teacher grants for projects that are innovative creative and positively influence students. Each year, 100 finalists receive a $2,000 grant and three are selected for additional grants. Click here for more information.
Learning Institute: The Curriculum and Instruction department is gearing up for the 2nd annual GCISD PK-12 Learning Institute which will be held on August 9th at Grapevine High School. Last year, this experience received rave reviews from staff and included over 400 sessions taught by teachers and leaders from across our district.
This year promises to be even better with new session formats and a consolidated one-day event that everyone can enjoy. (It's important to note that all induction and ethics training will be held on a different date). Additionally, the C&I leadership team is planning to launch registration for Institute sessions in late May before teachers leave for the summer break. To accommodate this timeline, all presentation proposals must be received by May 1st!
Please consider a session proposal to share your unique perspective and great work with colleagues from across the district. Please read the proposal form carefully before completing it, and please be sure to submit it prior to May 1st.
Retirement: Save the date for the 2017-1018 Retiree Dinner on Thursday, May 3, 2018. If you are considering retirement, make some time to visit with Jamie or Tonya.
Watch D.O.G.S.: This is the live link for our awesome Watch D.O.G.S.
Supply Drive: Each campus in GCISD has been asked to collect supplies to benefit students in our district. Bransford will be collecting quart size Ziplock Bags and Earbuds until Friday, April 20. The donation box is located in the front foyer.
Back to School Fair:
We are excited to announce that GCISD is once again partnering with the community to serve our economically disadvantaged students. The seventh-annual Back to School Fair is scheduled for Saturday, August 11, from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at Grapevine High School. This is a collaborative event sponsored by GCISD, CONNECT, the Grapevine-Colleyville Education Foundation, and the Women's Division of the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce. Last year, with support of our staff and community, these organizations provided free backpacks, school supplies and other back-to-school needs to approximately 1,200 GCISD students.
We are in desperate need of volunteers! We need both English and Spanish speaking volunteers - the more, the better. This is a very rewarding experience and you will be happy you were part of it - guaranteed! We need assistance with checking families in, guiding families through the fair, and assisting nutrition and transportation with bilingual communication.
Join us in the fun of helping our less fortunate families. We look forward to seeing you there.
Please sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4aafaa22aafc1-btsf1
If you have any questions, please contact Emberly Hill.
ELA Leadership Cadre
- professional development on new TEKS and word study pedagogy in June 2018
- Attend conferences throughout the year for continued professional learning
- Serve on the adoption committee for the ELA Proclamation in 2019
- Commit to training/supporting staff on campus
- Attend curriculum revision days (3-4 days) during the 2018-2019 school year
Instructional Technology Updates
- Blogs you may have missed
- Classroom Screen: https://goo.gl/ZRTJrC
- Discovery Education: https://goo.gl/PaaFVr
- Using the app list for Meraki: https://goo.gl/fTBGNk
- Prodigy Online Math: https://goo.gl/8sMAUU
- DyKnow: https://goo.gl/y3Jx8u
- E-Portfolio
- When we get back from Spring Break, the 3rd artifact will need to be collected.
- Math Slides apps are back!
Week at a Glance
What's going on around BES this week?
STAAR Week
Transfer Lottery Applications on GCISD Website March 26-April 20
Jamie at principal meeting a.m.
STAAR Alternate 2 (grades 3-8 & EOC) April 2nd-20th
TELPAS Assessment Window march 5-April 13
Girls On The Run 2:55-4:25pm
LifeStage Theater 3:00-4:00 pm
Choir 3-4:00pm
April out
Tuesday
STAAR Week: campus closed to visitors
STAAR 4th Writing 5th Math
LifeStage Theater 3:00-4:00 pm
No staff meeting
Snuffer’s Spirit Night 5-8:00pm
Wednesday
STAAR Week: campus closed to visitors
STAAR 5th Reading
Fitness Force 2:55-3:45pm
LifeStage Theater 3:00-4:00 pm
Thursday
STAAR Week: campus closed to visitors
STAAR Make Up
Wendy out
Katrina out
Rebecca at Admin 2:30
Raschel’s birthday
Abbey Rachel’s Challenge Meeting 1-2 at Admin
Friday
STAAR Week: campus closed to visitors
STAAR Make Up
Shelly out
Wendy out
Girls On The Run 2:55-4:25pm
5th grade Choir 3-4:30pm
Sunshine Treats
Be Proactive: A look ahead!
- April 19: Beauty and the Beast 6:30 p.m.
- April 21: Rachel's Challenge Rally and 5K Students and Staff can run FREE!
- Spirit Events
- Snuffer's Spirit Night April 10th 5-8:00pm
- McAlister's Deli Spirit Night April 24th 5-10:00pm
- Menchies Spirit Night May 3rd 3-5:00pm
- El Pollo Loco Spirit Night May 8th 4-8:00pm 9009 N. Tarrant Pkwy. N. Richland Hills
- Zoe's Spirit Night May 23rd
- Tuesday Meetings
April 10: No meeting, STAAR Testing Week
April 17: All staff
2018-2019 Planning & Information
- Calendar 2018-2019
- Master Schedule: We have started the conversation about master schedule for 2018-2019. Our final schedule will be ready in May. Stay tuned for updates. Our goals are to think differently and create a schedule that allows us to:
- meet students' varying needs
- continue our journey from teaching to learning platform
- delve deeply into arts integration
- design and facilitate engaging work for our Texans
- have collaboration time with peers throughout the building
- maximizes time for students and staff
BES Forms
- Field Trip Request Form
- PTA Grant Request: All PTA grant requests are due the Wednesday before the executive board meets.
Jamie Halliburton
Email: jamie.halliburton@gcisd.net
Phone: 806-441-6518
Twitter: @BESHalliburton