We are Rosemont!!
Tradition. Pride. Excellence.
Effective Instruction Matters
Here we are in week nine and we are at a pivotal point in providing interventions and support for our students. Now with parent/teacher conferences behind us, parents can support our efforts and we can work as a team. John Maxwell writes about the "Big Mo," Mo being Momentum. Use the momentum of upcoming holiday festivities to connect learning and make learning fun and memorable. Momentum builds excitement, energy, and anticipation.
The following are the four core questions:
Q1. What do we want our students to learn?
Q2. How will we know they have learned it?
Q3. How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty?
Q4. How will we respond when a student already knows it?
If we are to close the achievement gap, we really have to know our students. And more than that, we have to keep them motivated, inspired, and engaged when students know they are struggling. Continue to believe in them and raise the bar high!! Every student can learn and meet the standards of proficiency. Turn the ownership back on the student to be accountable for their own learning. See "Death Crawl scene from Facing the Giants."
Rosemont Key Action Goals
Goal 1: Increase student achievement through professional development in reading, writing, and math with an emphasis on ELL students and increasing in advanced levels
Goal 2: Increase student achievement by providing effective feedback and coaching to increase teacher proficiency
Goal 3: Increase school culture and climate through high expectations and celebrations
Goal 4: Increase parent and community involvement in supporting academic achievement
Taking Science outside
Collective commitments in reading and writing
Team planning is key
Dallas ISD Student Achievement Goals
- All students will exhibit satisfactory or above performance on state assessments. Students below satisfactory performance will demonstrate more than one year of academic growth. (That's our goal!! Growth is the key)
- Dallas ISD schools will be the primary choice for families in the district. (Rosemont will continue to put kids first and educate the whole child)
- The achievement gap by race, ethnicity and socio-economic status will be no greater than 10 percentage points on all academic measures. (Rosemont will ensure ALL kids - SPED, ELL, AA, Hispanic, White, etc.. will show growth year after year)
- Ninety-five percent of students will graduate. Ninety percent of the graduates will qualify for community college, college, military, or industry certification. (Rosemont will ensure ALL 8th grade students are on a career pathway and destined to graduate)
- Ninety-five percent of students entering kindergarten will be school-ready based on a multidimensional assessment. (Rosemont will work closely with the Early Childhood Department and our own PK and kinder teachers)
- All students will participate in at least one extracurricular or co-curricular activity each year. (Rosemont will increase number of students participating in extracurricular activities)
Inferencing
This is one SE that continues to give our students trouble.
By referencing the text and identifying key words and clues, students need time to organize and sort the evidence.
Check for Understanding
Writing Journals
STUDENT ATTENDANCE AND HOW IT RELATES TO THE STAAR
Did you know the student attendance standard for the STAAR was at 97.4%?
Rosemont was at 97.3% for attendance. Ouch!! Although there were tremendo6us gains in grades 3-5, Rosemont will miss distinctions in STAAR if attendance is not met. It is incredibly important if we ALL work together to meet our school target of 97.5% or higher this year.
Without a doubt, our teachers will help our students reach Phase 2 standards this school year and with attendance met, we will gain those distinctions our teachers and students have worked so hard to deserve.
Middle School Haunted House
Our Student Council needs your help with any type of Halloween decorations and other scary items they can borrow. Please bring items to Mrs. Ramirez or Mrs. Rodgers portable.
The Boo Bash is this Friday.
Volunteers Needed for Boo Bash this Friday
Celebrations and Shout outs
Recognizing teachers and staff and other highlights...
PRINCIPAL FOR THE DAY
Bryan Kaeser from Home Depot and Danitra Marcano from Capital One were Rosemont
Schools Principal for the Day. Both community members came away with a sense of respect and awe of what happens in the classroom and school. A funny moment during the visit is when one second grade student raised his hand and asked Mrs. Marcano, "What's in your wallet?"
CONGRATULATIONS TEACHERS AND STAFF OF THE YEAR:
Voted Teacher and Staff of the Year by their peers
Staff of the Year - Estrella Galarza and Mary Roberts
TA of the Year Lorena Cermeno and Miguel Pichardo
Elementary Teacher - Elizabeth DeNicola
Secondary Teacher - Maria Martinez
Specials at UC- Kellie Lawson
Specials at LC - Stacy Cianciulli
Both Mrs. Lawson and Mrs. Cianciulli will represent Rosemont in the District's Teacher of the Year process.
SELECTED TO ATTEND THE ARTS NETWORK CONFERENCE
Jon Fisher was selected to attend a conference in which guests artists from New York will present and share their knowledge
NEW DTR TEACHERS
A whopping ten teachers are eligible for DTR this 2016-2017 school year. This makes 21 Distinguished Teachers total on staff at Rosemont. Congratulations to the teachers for their outstanding work and contributions.
SPED TEAM MAKES AN "A"
An audit of red folders and the amazing work of our SPED teachers produced no red
flags. The dream team of Ms. Eastham, Ms. Read, Mrs. Walker, Ms. Rosser, Mr. Vasquez, Ms. Thornton and Mrs. Contreras made it happen. Way to keep the records organized!!
SELECTED TO PRESENT AT THE DUAL LANGUAGE CONFERENCE
Nora Garcia was selected to present at the La Cosecha Dual Language Conference in November. What a huge honor to be selected to participate in a national conference!!
GARDEN CLUB IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Parent and student volunteers have come together twice since school started to work on the garden. Special thanks to Ms. Houston, Mr. Manriquez, and Mr. Dominguez for being a part of these workdays and working along side the parents and students.
RUN FOR FUN CLUB
Before and after school Run for Fun club has started. Huge thanks to Mr. Robinson, Nurse Mariscal, Ms. Medina, and Ms. Muchnikoff for running with the kids.
KIDS ON THE MOVE
Every Sunday in October from 1:30-2:30 p.m., parents and students are walking 3 miles to bring awareness to health and wellness. Families that complete all four weekends are eligible for a drawing to attend a special event featuring former Dallas Cowboys player Roger Staubach.
Rosemont News...
Reading initiative
One of the goals set out by Superintendent Dr. Hinojosa is that ALL students by the end of the 2nd grade is reading at grade level. Schedules of support staff have been reviewed to ensure that kinder through 2nd grade students are receiving interventions and support throughout the day. Afterschool tutoring at Primary is expected to start Monday, October 17 and run through November 18 in the computer lab from 3:15-4:00. Student achievement is a team effort!!
Vertical Writing
K-8th grade representatives met to discuss what the needs were in writing. Writing is our lowest scoring area on the STAAR. Beyond the STAAR, our students will be filling out scholarships, writing essays to get into college and filling out job applications in the next few years. There is training in the next few weeks to ensure consistency among grade levels.
Title I Budget
Grade level leaders met with administration to review and provide recommendations on how to use the remaining Title I monies. Administration will continue to work with grade level leaders to get input and feedback. Some of the items mentioned were for more Spanish reading materials, a cart for technology, IXL to improve math in lower grades, and renew subscriptions.
Less referrals = more in class learning
There are less discipline referrals this year. At the beginning of the school year, administration provided time to ensure teachers set up classroom management systems. This is one reason discipline referrals are down from last year. When students are sent to the office, parents are immediately called and administration sets up parent conferences. This ensures administration, counselors, teachers and parents are working together to redirect behavior and determine the root cause.
In addition, administration also listened to teachers last spring about transfer students who were disruptive and not responding to correction and discipline. No student will be allowed to disrupt the learning environment.
Home Visits
During the first six weeks, our community liaisons and assistant principals were busy conducting home due to excessive absences and tardies as well as to verify home addresses. Below are the numbers reported from Ms. Landeros. We have had three families withdraw as a result of the visits.
# of home visits 37
Vending Snack Machine
A vending snack machine was ordered for both LC/UC lounges to increase the teacher fund. Currently, the coke machines provide extra funds. Last year, we used the teacher fund for our holiday party.
Playground update
UC Playground is expected to arrive between October 17-26. A few teachers had concerns that the playground looked more for Primary aged students. I did inquire with the district and the playground is standard for ages 5-12.
Holiday Party
If you would like to provide ideas on where to have our school holiday party, please let Ms. Ibarra or Ms. Steen know.
Mark your calendar...
Monday, Oct. 17 - Title I Needs Assessment at 6 pm @ LC (Childcare and snacks provided)
Thursday, Oct. 20 - Annual Title I Parent Meeting at 6 pm @ LC
Friday, Oct. 21- Boo Bash from 4:30-7:30 @ UC
Tuesday, Oct. 25 - Bike Show Rally @ LC (PK-8)
Friday, Oct. 28 - Literacy Parade @ LC
Monday, Oct. 31 - Acknowledge Dallas ISD Policy
Monday, Oct. 31 - No afterschool committee meetings
Monday, Oct. 31-Nov.4 - 2nd Six Weeks Common Assessments (3rd-8th)
Friday, Nov. 4 - End of the 2nd Six Weeks
Monday, Nov. 21-25 - Thanksgiving Break