Family Matters
CPES Staff E Newsletter September 7
Test Drive
Our school family matters and these matters are for our school family.
Five Focus Areas
Safety and Security
1. K, 1st and 2nd Grade Classes on B and C Halls--During lockdowns, please move your kids into the bathrooms and hallway areas between your classrooms. You want to be in the safest location possible in the event of an intruder. Please get a plastic cup and put it in your safety bag so you can put that over the toilet sensor so they don't continually flush.
2. Quick Look--Always be sure to do quick looks in the halls and gather up any students before we do a Preventive or Emergency Lockdown.
3. Release from a Lockdown--The only way you are released from a lockdown is when someone comes to your class/area and opens the door for you.
4. Who Can Call for a Lockdown? Anyone at anytime. If you see something, say something. Anyone can call 911, pull a fire alarm, call for a lockdown and call DSS when needed.
5. Where is the Lockdown button? It is below the counter in our reception area. That button is wired into all our systems to notify everyone.
6. Walkie Talkie Communication--Remember that if you have a walkie talkie, be sure to push the button, wait a second and then talk into it. Your communication will be much clearer. Know that Channel 5 is a Sullivan/Cherry Park Emergency Channel. When someone talks on it, it broadcasts to Channels 1-4 as well. We need to stay on Channel 1 during our drills and normal operations. Only in the event of an emergency, you can use Channel 5 to inform the whole campus of a safety issue. If you are on Channel 1, you cannot talk to those on Channel 5. All walkie talkies should be off during normal instructional times.
6. Safety and Security Procedures--Every time we have a drill or event, we want to learn from it to get better. Let us know if you see something we need to improve.
Dismissal
1. Thanks for getting us your bus lists. By Monday, our Bus and Van team should have a list of all students and which ones are going on which bus and van.
2. When in doubt, check it out and always hold the child.
3. Change in Dismissal--Please help us think through how to have an effective process for notifying dismissal teams (especially Bus and Vans) if there is a change in dismissal. Especially for little ones (K-2nd), we need to check folders for notes. The only way we are allowing changes in dismissal is through a written note to homeroom teachers or if a parent comes into the office to make a change.
Doors
Please do not prop open or leave open doors. In addition to being a security risk, it wears down the batteries on the card readers. Our Operations guys changed out all batteries recently.
Recruitment and Retention
2. Heidi Hunsucker--Started last week as well. We are so blessed to have her, too. She has a walkie-talkie if you need her.
Student Achievement
Data Meetings--We will meet in the Guidance Conference room. Resource/Support folks are welcome to join us at any of the sessions. We will take a look at our schoolwide, grade level and individual data. As we do this, we want to remember that tension between a focus on relationships and a focus on results and our two "knots." (It is not about us, it is about our kids and it's not about us and we must not take things personal.) We will look at SC READY, SC PASS, MAP, and STAMP data. These data sources will help you determine areas of focus for your SLO this year as well. K and 5th will be this Wednesday in the AM and PM respectively. 2nd will be this Friday in AM. 4th Grade will be Sept. 18 in PM. 3rd and 1st will be Monday, Sept. 23 in the AM and PM respectively. Try to come as soon as you can so we can get everything done. We want to celebrate our success and determine areas of growth and improvement in this process.
New! ELA Professional Learning Opportunities provided by Dr. Susan Green, Liz Bridges and Barbara Fewell[Click here for more information]
Math Newsletter August/September 2019 [Click Here]
Professional Development --Click Here for an overview of 2019-20 the Professional Learning Opportunities.
Culture
Foundation GRANT APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN! District employees may apply through October 1. Please be sure to email your principal recommendation fro submitted grants to rhsdedfoundation@gmail.com. Follow this link to apply RHSE Foundation Grant Application or visit rhsdfoundation.org.
Open Enrollment for Benefits
Open enrollment is September 16th-October 31st. Please remind your employees to go online to schedule an appointment with a benefits counselor. All staff members need to schedule an appointment. Go to http://wardservices.com/rockhillschools to sign up for dates and times at CPES for September 30-October 4.
Communication
Calendar of Events
This Week--MAP Testing for Upper Grades (3rd-5th) in the AM
Monday--5:30 PM School Improvement Council Meeting (at Central Office); 6:30 PM PTO Meeting
Tuesday--Ed Galaxy PD 3:00 in Media Center; 6:00 PM Parent Meetings for First Grade (in classes); 6:15 PM Fifth Grade Parent Meeting (Cafeteria)
Wednesday--7:45 Kindergarten Data Meeting; 11:00 Fifth Grade Data Meeting (Guidance Conference Room)
Friday--7:45 Second Grade Data Meeting (Guidance Conference Room)
Saturday--Susan Dixon's Birthday
Next Week--MAP Testing for 1st and 2nd Grades in AM; Progress Reports Go Home Next Week
Tuesday, September 17--8:00-4:00 NWEA Train the Trainer for the District (In Media Center); 3:00 ADEPT Orientation (All Certified Staff must attend) (Location TBD)
Wednesday, September 18--11:00 Fourth Grade Data Meeting (Guidance Conference Room)
District Dates (See Below)
Assessment Calendar for 2019-2020 [Click Here]
Elementary Meeting Dates for 2019-2020
Please view/access the Google Doc here