CST Update
November 2022
Curriculum & Instruction, Special Services and Instructional Technology Update
Curriculum and Instruction
Standards Based Report Cards and Parent Teacher Conferences
Report cards will be distributed to students on Friday, December 9, 2022. At Valley Stream 30 we utilize a standards based report card. Standards-based grading is a method used by teachers to measure your child’s consistent progress towards meeting the learning expectations for their grade, as determined by state standards. Each content area is broken down into several learning expectations and measures your child’s knowledge and progress towards mastery of content taught during each marking period. Teachers will use tests, projects, quizzes, written assignments, student work samples, teacher observations and district assessments as evidence for determining your child’s learning throughout each marking period.
The following scale is used to measure a student's progress toward meeting grade level expectations:
Level 1 or “Below Standards” means your child seldom meets requirements for grade-appropriate work, demonstrates minimal understanding of learned concepts and skills, and assistance is necessary to produce work.
Level 2 or “Working towards Standards” means your child meets some requirements for grade-appropriate work, is beginning to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of learned concepts and skills, and produces quality work inconsistently.
Level 3 or “Meeting Standards” means your child meets requirements for grade-appropriate work, demonstrates knowledge and understanding of learned concepts and skills, and produces quality work.
Level 4 or “Exceeding Standards” is achievable but may be harder to come by. Your child can achieve this level by consistently demonstrating their ability to:
- Meet requirements but exceed expectations for grade-appropriate work.
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding but apply and extend learned concepts and skills.
- Produce work of outstanding quality.
Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Wednesday December 14, 2022. Families will have an option to attend in person or remotely. Sign up information will be shared the week of November 28th. These conferences are an opportunity to ask your child's teacher questions about their progress and discuss next steps about how you can work collaboratively to extend their learning journey.
Virtual Homework Support
We are excited to offer our virtual homework support again this year. This support is open to all students Monday through Thursday. Students can sign on at any point within the hour to ask the staff member questions about their homework. Here is the schedule by grade, along with the Google Meet code to access the sessions:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HnqymnYEjeorSyORbNux8MRgXZLb10Ka7TjB4nsCziY/edit?usp=sharing
Upcoming Engagement Opportunities
Virtual Family Math Night
Open to all Families, Virtual Family Math Game Night. Math and Movement will be hosting a district wide virtual math game night. We need families to sign up in advance as we need to order the materials for the program. Please submit the Google form if you will be participating by Monday, November 21st.
https://forms.gle/pnvtJe4HRhQYCVJR8
After School Dance Program for Grades 4-6
The district is planning on beginning an after(or before) school dance program hosted by Dancing Classrooms. Sessions will either be held before or after school on Tuesdays or Thursdays. An official schedule will be set once we have an idea of the number of participants at each school. Students will have the opportunity to learn a variety of dance genres. Please complete the interest survey below by Monday, November 28, 2022 if your child would like to participate.
World Children's Day
UNICEF's World Children's Day is Sunday, November 20, 2022. This day of recognition reminds everyone the important part every child plays in contributing to our society. The theme is Inclusion, For Every Child.
What message would you like to share with a child for World Children's Day? Tell a child in your life why they are so important. Share your message in the link below:
Special Services
Supporting All Students' Language Development through a Multi-Tiered RTI Model
Speech and Language Therapy traditionally is reserved for students with a disability who have an IEP. However, here at Valley Stream #30, we are always finding innovative ways to proactively support all students at an early age without a special education label. Response to Intervention (RTI) has provided a vehicle for our Speech and Language Pathologists (SLPs) to use their expertise in new ways that help their entire school in a more inclusive and relevant service delivery model. SLPs have amazing intervention skills in language and literacy that is a great resource for our classroom teachers to support students in their class with for example some sound production errors. For this reason, the district rolled out last year a Multi-Tiered RTI Model for Speech that includes articulation and language screenings, providing pull-out services (ex: 5 minute articulation) based on IST data meetings, consulting with teachers to offer in-class language support (ex: listening center), and parent workshops.
A total of 40 students across the district currently qualify and started to receive Tier II or Tier III RTI pull-out speech services. Parents are notified if your child is being recommended to receive these services. Additionally, RTI language Tier I support are being provided by classroom teachers in consultation with the SLPs.
If you would like to learn more information or have a question, feel free to contact Dr. Schimpf @ nschimpf@vs30.org or reach out directly to the SLPs at your school who can guide you through the RTI process.
Mrs. Reilly or Mrs. Costa @ Forest Road Elementary, jreilly@vs30.org / raecosta@vs30.org
Ms. Benyaminy or Ms. Cabral-Martin @ Shaw Avenue Elementary, sbenyaminy@vs30.org / mcabralmartin@vs30.org
Ms. Benetti @ Clear Stream Avenue Elementary & District-wide Spanish Bilingual, abenetti@vs30.org
November is "National Gratitude Month"
- In 2015, November was declared National Gratitude Month. Since then, people around the world have used the month of November to reflect on what they’re grateful for. Gratitude can make you feel better about your life, manage mental health problems like depression and anxiety, improve self-esteem and sleep, lower your stress and more. By taking time to reflect on the things we are grateful for, we are inviting positivity into our life and welcoming joy. So take the challenge and make this an intentional practice! Simply saying thank you, offering a helpful hand, or offering a compliment can lift someone's spirit in ways you cannot imagine...
Upcoming Celebration - International Day of Persons with Disabilities December 3, 2022
- It builds awareness of people with disabilities who often times feel invisible (CDC: 1 in 4 U.S. adults have a disability)
- We better understand the difficulties people with disabilities face on a daily basis and how offering accommodations is necessary
- It spreads a message of tolerance and acceptance for ALL
- Disability is an important aspect of Diversity
- 12% of our students in our district have a disability
- Talking to children about disability can help them better understand themselves and their peers
So let's start the conversation...
New SEL Digital Resource Hub for Teachers
The district is always looking for innovative and evidenced-based social-emotional learning development resources. For the 2022-2023 school year, Valley Stream #30 is piloting a brand new on-line strengths-based SEL resource (titled"LESSONS FOR SEL") for teachers to use with their students to teach SEL competencies (ex: Wellness Periods). This is not a packaged SEL curriculum. The district continues to utilize the RULER Approach as our SEL Framework. This resource compliments RULER and is meant to be part of a teacher's SEL toolbox as a Tier 1 class resource to expand our mental health work. Some highlights to this new SEL digital platform includes the SEL TV where you can find a ton of fun SEL related videos, grade specific "6 minute" SEL lessons broken down for you by the CASEL's 5 competencies: SELF AWARENESS, SELF MANAGEMENT, SOCIAL AWARENESS, RELATIONSHIP SKILLS, and RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING.
Any questions, please reach out to Dr. Schimpf or one of the building's school psychologist.
Here is the log-in portal: lessonsforsel.com . Your teacher accounts was emailed to you approximately two weeks ago. Any difficulty signing in, please reach out to Mr. Onorato @ conorato@vs30.org
ENJOY!
Afternoon Tea Time with Dr. Schimpf
Do you have a question about the special education process?
Do you have a question about reading your child's IEP?
Do you have a question about how the district can provide reading services without a special education label?
Do you have a question about the different tiered SEL support offered by the district?
Do you have a question about the different tiered Speech support offered by the district for grades K-2?
Do you have a question about support for families who are displaced or facing financial hardships?
If you answered “YES” to any of these questions or just want to make introductions/provide ideas, please join Dr. Nicole Schimpf via Google Meet, log onto www.tinyurl.com/teavs30. Sessions will take place the first Monday of the month at 3:15pm starting Monday December 5, 2022. Information will also be shared on Parent Square.
21st Century and Instructional Technology
Otis Online PD - Build Your Technological Capacity!
Teachers, looking to become more proficient with the technology you use on a daily basis, such as iPads, SMART Boards, G-Suite Apps (i.e. Google Forms, Drive, Docs), and much more? Parents, would you like an opportunity to become more comfortable and familiar with some of the platforms your children are working on every day? OTIS Online PD offers on demand professional development sessions for teachers and families that can be accessed right from the confines of your home. Click HERE to learn more! Feel free to contact your technology department if you have any questions about this amazing opportunity at conorato@vs30.org.
Prioritizing Data Privacy and Security - The Parent Bill of Rights
Given the amount of web-based softwares and platforms our students and teachers use daily, it is imperative that we have the proper security measures in place to ensure staff and student personally identifiable information (PII) is safe and secure.
New York State Ed Law 2d requires companies and vendors to sign off on a school district's Parent Bill of Rights to agree that any student PII will not be sold or released for any marketing or commercial purposes. By signing off on this document, vendors are also acknowledging that they have the proper measures in place to keep the PII in their possession safe. Mandating vendor agreements with our Parent Bill of Rights is one of the recommended standards and best practices by the The National Institute Standards of Technology (NIST) Framework that reduce our district's cybersecurity risk.
iMovie, Garage Band and the Digital Media Mobile Lab!
Looking for a new way to cultivate student creativity and advance children from being consumers of content to creators of content? With softwares like iMovie and Garage Band, children are now in the driver's seat as they can create projects like movies, movie trailers, podcasts, songs, and much more.
Is your class currently learning on Chromebooks and don't have access to Apple software? Not a problem - Digital Media Mobile Labs consisting of iPads, Macbooks, USB microphones, green screens and a variety of creative software, have been distributed to each of the schools and can be reserved for class projects. Click HERE for some easy ways to implement iMovie into your classroom!
New York State's Digital Equity Survey
New York State has created the Digital Equity Survey in an attempt to assess and address the need for equitable access to technology and Internet services. Please click the button below to fill out the brief survey at your earliest convenience! Please be advised that a survey submission is required for each child you have enrolled in Valley Stream District 30. Thank you for your cooperation!
Contact Us
Jennifer Lewner, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
jlewner@vs30.org (516) 434-3600 ext.5229
Dr. Nicole Schimpf, Director of Special Services
nschimpf@vs30.org (516) 434-3600 ext.5232
Christopher Onorato, Director of 21st Century Learning and Technology
conorato@vs30.org (516) 434-3600 ext.5001