Learning Together

Message from Troy D. Olin, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction

Staff Appreciation

This week we celebrated three amazing groups in our Spartan family, our principals for National School Principals Day, our teachers for National Teacher Appreciation Day and our school nutrition team for School Lunch Hero Day. As an Office of Instruction, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt appreciation for all that you do. Your hard work, dedication and unwavering commitment to our students have not gone unnoticed. Our team has had the privilege to spend a significant amount of time in schools this year and we have seen firsthand why Gates Chili is a great place to work and learn.

Teaser alert: next week the appreciation continues in honor of all our Spartan staff members. More details to come from Superintendent Dailey.

Budget Vote

A reminder that our Annual Budget Vote and Board Election is on Tuesday, May 16. Residents will vote on the district’s spending for next school year and elect four candidates to the Gates Chili Board of Education. Despite rising costs in almost every area, the proposed tax levy (amount district taxpayers are responsible for) does not exceed the tax cap!

Our proposed budget is made up of three parts:

• 72% goes directly to instruction in our classrooms throughout the district
• 18% provides maintenance and custodial services, utility costs, debt service payments and benefits for our maintenance and custodial staff
• 10% covers general support and management services including employee benefits for administrative and clerical support staff, staff development, BOCES costs, business operations and central administration

If you are a Gates Chili resident, there are several events happening on the main campus the night of the vote, including our Unified Basketball Game at 5 p.m. in the Gates Chili Field House and GCHS Jazz Concert at the Gates Chili Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. Come out and support our students and cast your ballot while you’re here!

The Gates Chili Literacy team was created this spring to support the alignment of curriculum, assessment and instructional practices with research. The team will provide and support recommendations for continuous improvement. During the first two meetings, the team has worked to collaboratively draft a vision for the literacy program and has begun to review current literacy assessment practices.

Membership is representative of all elementary buildings. This includes the building reading teachers, special education content leader, classroom teachers (primary and intermediate levels) and building leadership. The team is facilitated by the Director of Elementary Education Sara Mucino and the K-5 Literacy Coach Jen Christensen, with support from the building reading teachers.

Curated by the Coaches

Click on any of the images to link to the coaches' Wakelet and find out more!

Sentence Expansion Using Kernel Writing- The Writing Revolution

Any easy sentence writing activity-perfect for use in all content areas and grade levels.

The Writing Revolution- Empower teachers to help...

The Writing Revolution aims to help all students become proficient writers, readers, and critical thinkers.

NoodleTools

5-12 Library Tool! NoodleTools is an online platform promoting authentic research and original writing. Students can build accurate source citations, write and organize notes, collaborate in teams, and receive in-context feedback from teachers. Our channel features short tutorials on how to use NoodleTools.

Islandborn

Gloriously illustrated and lyrically written, Islandborn is a celebration of creativity, diversity, and our imagination's boundless ability to connect us- to our families to our past and to ourselves.

If you have books, bits and bytes to share, please reach out to our coaches!

Jen Christensen, K-5 Literacy Coach | @GCReadWriteGrow
Matt Harvey, K-12 Library Media Coach | @GatesChiliLibs

Mike Munski, K-12 Innovation Coach @MikeMunski

Wendy Taylor, K-12 Innovation Coach | @GC_WendyTaylor

Curriculum Development Training

Curriculum Development Training is required for ALL teachers planning to participate in curriculum development for the summer or the 2023-24 school year. There are a handful of sessions, dates and times to choose from. All sessions can be found in the district catalog. Please sign up for only ONE session. Don't forget to request a half-day substitute for the date/time you sign up for if needed.

UPCOMING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SPOTLIGHT!

Getting to Know LGBTQIA+ Terminology and Use of Pronouns (UPK-5 Staff Only)

Wednesday, May 31, 4-5:30 p.m. in the GCPLC

LGBTQIA+ terminology can be confusing as it is continuously evolving. It is necessary for educators to become familiar with terms, identities, and pronouns as we strive to positively support our LGBTQIA+ students, colleagues, and families. Resources include a glossary of terms, pronoun guide, as well as a digital source containing additional resources to continue and deepen your learning (*specific to supporting our youngest learners will be shared). There will be time for Q and A throughout the session. You will be able to:

• describe the differences between sex, identity, expression, and orientation

• develop an understanding of LGBTQIA+ identities and terms

• develop a working knowledge about why and how to use correct pronouns

REMINDERS!

You can sign up for Professional Learning through our regional BOCES as well. To sign up, you must register by clicking on the title and complete their registration process. If there is a cost, once approved, our office will process this so there is no need to pay for BOCES courses out of pocket. You will then be directed to submit an approval form for Gates Chili. Completed GC requests will then go through our internal approval process. Click below to see their current course catalogs.

Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES Catalog

Monroe One BOCES Catalog

MENTORING

If you are interested in applying to become a mentor, you can find more information HERE! Be sure to download the fillable forms first if you plan to fill them out electronically. Submit all documents to Teri Marsh or Joanna Salandy in The Office of Professional Learning.

Congratulations to Kimberly Burgholzer, Jessica Federico, and Jason Ressman for getting the April Riddle correct - Gates Chili has placed fifth Rochester Top Workplaces the last two years.

May Riddle: The 22nd and 24th presidents of the United States of America had the same parents but were not brothers. How can this be possible?

If you know the answer to this month's riddle, click HERE to submit your answer. The first three (3) people who answer the riddle correctly will receive a special prize in their mailbox next week!

Good luck!