ENews 01.19.2015

Posted by Anonymous on
Monday - No School

 Tuesday 
  • 8:00am - Jacobs to Margaret Kilgo Reading Training @ Region 10
  • 8:55am - ARD (Bright, Worley, 3rd Grade Teachers)
  • 9:30am - Asst Principal Meeting @ Admin Building
  • 1:55pm - ARD (Bright, Worley, Propst)
Wednesday 
  • PLC Wednesday
  • Kristen Weichel on Campus
  • 3:45pm - Figure 19 Training @ Admin Building
  • 4:30pm - STAAR Alt 2 Training @ Admin Building
Thursday
  • TELPAS Training for Green (UPDATED-01.21.2015)
  • PBIS Team to CHAMPS training @ Region 10 
  • Valerie James on campus (visiting your classrooms)
  • 3:45pm - Figure 19 Training @ Admin Building
  • 6:30pm - Bedtime Stories
Friday 
  • STAAR Alt 2 Materials Arrive @ Admin Building
EdcampAwesome
Reminder... be sure to get your tickets for EdcampAwesome - 1 ticket for registering and 4 additional tickets for attending the event. Click here for register! Do it... do it!!
Reading Instruction
Guided Reading books have been organized in the 4th Grade pod by reading level. Teachers will develop groups based on student's instructional reading level. Reading groups will meet daily. Lower level readers will meet every day while higher level readers will meet at least 2x per week.

**Figure 19 Training**
Region 10 has placed in the "Online Learning Center" to help teachers with supporting the skills found inFigure 19. As many of you know up to 70% of the STAAR test is dual coded to Figure 19. Ervin Knezek says that Figure 19 contains the "process standards" for ELAR.

Region 10 has created a 75 to 90 minute online course about the skills in Figure 19. In an effort to meet everyone's learning style, they;re offering 2 different options for accessing this content if you are interested in taking the course.

Click this link & you'll find illustrated directions on how to sign up for the online course through Region 10. When you finished, you would take the brief quiz and receive your certificate.

For those that prefer and face-to-face format, Julia Robinson will be facilitating the course 2 afternoons THIS WEEK in the Board room at the Central Office on January 21 & 22. It will begin at 3:45 pm and go for 45 minutes each afternoon. You can register for the face-to face facilitated course at http://www.schoolobjects.com/wshop/default.aspx?cid=389

This workshop does count (in either format) for PD credit. Just list the course in your portfolio, along with the certificate.

 Accelerated Reader (AR) Update - Students should be at 17% of their goal by this Friday. If you notice someone who really needs help, please let me know. We will continue to monitor and encourage students to make weekly targets and a comprehension score of at least 80%. Nita Green is meeting with our targeted 3rd and 4th grade student to ensure they have a book on their reading level each day.

Students should be asked to take home a book every night and read for 20 minutes. Be sure to communicate with parents about their child's AR point goal and their progress toward reaching that goal.

Mathematics
1st & 2nd Grade - Lone Star Daily Rigor is being used with students each week.
3rd & 4th Grade - Math GPS is being used to help students weekly. Teachers should be on week 41-45 this week. We must maintain this pace in order to finished by testing time.

Think Through Math (TTM) for Grade 3-4 - Teachers please ensure that all students have been assessed for TTM. Letters have been sent home during the first report card to parents. Remember that there's an app for TTM and it can be used on the iPad.

**Messages from Valerie James**
Valerie James will be on campus this week HOWEVER you will not visit with her in the front office during your conference times. Since we just had met with her last week, we decided it would be best for her to visit your classrooms instead. Please contact Valerie directly if you would like her to visit your specific classroom or if you have questions about math curriculum. I'm sure she'll pay a special visit to your class if you reach out to her directly.

As of January 14, the answer documents for the Grade 4 Math Benchmark are available to print in AWARE under STAAR Benchmarks. If you printed your answer documents prior to January 14, please destroy them and reprint the new answer documents with the title. 

We are using Test A from the Math GPS workbook that should have been removed from the student workbooks earlier in the year and stored at your campus. This Benchmark is configured based on the STAAR Blueprint from TEA(same number of questions per SE). There is no available online testing for this benchmark.

Professional Development
Remember Valerie James is available for demonstration lessons so be sure to ask her to visit your classroom for additional support as needed. Each week, you're working with Valerie to determine words students must know to be successful. These words are colored by strand and should be posted on the word wall. Be sure to review them frequently with your students. Dr. Bright and I will be looking for these during our classroom observations and walkthroughs.

Kristen Weichel is working with ELAR teachers. She studies the unit IFDs and Assessments to bring materials and ideas for teachers to use during ELAR instructional time. She will also provide support for Guided Reading and is available to conduct demonstration lessons.


Gradebook Reminders 
Let's avoid challenging conversations about grades with parents and be sure to follow the Royse City Grading Guidelines. Here's a couple of reminders:
  • Record Grades Weekly - Grade should be recorded weekly in the grade to afford parents & students the opportunity to view through parent portal. 
  • Late Work – this is accepted within five (5) days of the original due date. Be sure to record grades in a timely manner to allow parents to become aware of missing grades during the five (5) day period. Late work penalties do not apply to make up word from absences. 
  • Minimum number of grades – the district required a minimum of nine (9) grades throughout the six weeks. This includes grades for Science & Studies. You have the option to count assignments twice in the grade book. The same assignment that can be counts for Reading can count in Social Studies too. 
  • Unit Assessments – these will be counted in the grade book. Remember to provide intervention or tutoring before administrating a retest for unit assessments. 
  • Zeros – students have five (5) days to complete an assignment before it becomes a permanent zero in the grade book. We want to support you in motivating students in getting their work turned in on time. We’re working on a Google Doc for you to report students to campus administration with two (2) OR more permanent zeroes in the grade book. Teachers are expected to communicate with parents about the progress of their child and give suggestions to improve their performance BEFORE permanent zeroes are given to students. 
  • Parent Communication – please enter your parent communication into Aware under the Journal tab. This will help us keep track of our efforts with parents. Let us know if you need help with this. 
Staff Meeting - NEXT WEEK January 26th @ 3:30pm
All teaching staff be sure you have made arrangements to attend. Mr. Powley will be reviewing testing procedures for the upcoming benchmark assessments (aka Mock STAAR).

Biggest Loser Contest
Nurse Kacie and Coach Pendleton are organizing a Biggest Loser Content. Click here to read more about the details & contact them directly if you have questions. I'm looking forward to this!!

School Board Appreciation
I want to say "Thank You" to everyone who helped to show their appreciation to the school board this last week via cards, signs, pictures, etc. I especially want to thank Mrs. Ortega for organizing several of our ladies to create some original artwork. Both she and the students did a wonderful job sharing with the Schoo Board last Monday.

PEG Letter
Next week we'll be sending home a letter to our parents about our campus rating from TEA. Parents will have the option to apply for a transfer to another campus. This letter is something we must do this year and for at least two additional years after we meet standard from the state. If parents have questions about this process, please direct them to Mr. Jacobs. I will review with them the specific procedures required for this process. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

The Writing Academy
This was a HUGE success for our 4th Grade students this year. On Wednesday our 4th Grade students spent the day learning more about Narrative Writing. Next month, they will participate in similar activities focused on Expository Writing. Thank you for everyone who help organized this event and were flexible with their schedules. I can't wait to see what the students will be learning next month!
ESL Certification
Royse City ISD is pushing to have 100% of the teaching staff to be ESL Certification. The district will pay for teachers to take the test AND have the ESL Certification place on your teaching certificate. Below are a list of links that are helpful to those interesting in this process:
They can afford to reimburse you now - who know when they will no longer continue to this offer. Be sure to take up the district with this offer to reimburse you for this certification.

Lunch Provided by Texas AFT Next Week
Our lunch will be provided by the Texas AFT next Monday. Our contact for this organization is LaTrisa Davis and she'll be here again next week. Be sure to come hungry!

What Kind of Mindset Do You Have? (#stuvoice)
How do your students respond to challenges they face in the classroom? I like this infographic about Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset. What kind of classroom environment have you created for your students? Do you model this for your students?

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