DogPound Newsletter
December 16, 2024
Message from Dr. D. Ray Hill, Superintendent
Dear Bulldog Family,
As we find ourselves in the heart of the holiday season and with the new year just around the corner, I hope this is a time for you to cherish moments with family and friends.
I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the dedication and service you bring to our students each day. Your hard work makes a meaningful difference, and I hope this holiday break provides you with the rest and joy you deserve.
Take time to enjoy the magic of the season—perhaps a dance with the Sugar Plum Fairies or a sip of Eggnog. Wishing you all Happy Holidays and a Blessed New Year!
2024 - 2025 Teacher of the Year for Elementary: Mrs. Wallis
2024 - 2025 Teacher of the Year for Secondary: Mr. Holder
ACS 2024 - 2025 Classified Staff of the Year: Ms. Felton
Teacher In-Service Days Agenda: January 6 - January 7
Click on the link below to preview the agenda.
(some changes may occur from your principal)
Science Textbook Committee
Remember if you are a part of the textbook committee, make sure to register for your caravan day by December 20.
District Highlights
Central Office
The Central Office embraced the festive spirit with a vibrant seasonal celebration.
Culinary Arts
AHS Culinary Arts students had the honor of catering lunch for the Annual Knox Concert Series Nutcracker Show last week. They prepared a meal for the Ballet Dancers and the entire production crew. All participating students are ServSafe Certified, a certification the National Restaurant Association endorsed. They completed their certification exam on November 14th and received their passing scores before the Thanksgiving break.
MTSS - RPE TIER I PD
Randolph Park had an intentional PD training on Tier 1 an revisiting the purpose of a comprehensive Tieried support. Making sure that Tier 1 is effective is the most important as it applies to all students.
LU Interactive Board at GSE
AHS Ambassadors
On December 2nd to 4th, the Ambassadors had the privilege of escorting approximately 2,000 third-grade students from Calhoun, Cleburne, Oxford, and Talladega County to see "The Nutcracker." Their responsibilities included assisting with arrivals and departures, managing restroom breaks during intermission, and keeping the students engaged before the event. This experience allowed the Ambassadors to develop valuable skills such as patience, responsibility, and attentiveness. We would like to thank KNOX for trusting us with such an important role and for putting on an incredible show.
eLearning Courses
eLearning Courses
eLearning for Educators will be celebrating the beginning of its 19th year beginning with the Spring 2025 Semester. We will offer one Early Bird course, CSDL4201: Application of CSDL COS running from January 8th though February 25th. We will offer an additional 25 courses beginning on February 5th and ending on March 25th. All of our regular courses are 6-weeks long, completely online, and entirely free. You can view our schedule on our COURSE LISTING webpage.
All of our courses are approved by the ALSDE to help teachers and administrators renew their certificates with the new requirements posted last October on the Alabama Achieves website.
Additionally we will offer seven 3-week ACLD-approved courses that are follow-on showcase courses that can earn 1 ACLD-approved PLU for those who completed one of the EDU55xx prerequisite courses in an earlier semester. If you are interested in earning a PLU, please look over the requirements on our PLU COURSES webpage.
Finally we will again offer courses that can earn APLDS hours for principals and assistant principals – these courses have been approved by the Alabama Principal Leadership Development System. Please look over their website for details.
All of our courses are approved by the ALSDE to help teachers and administrators renew their certificates with the new requirements post last October on the Alabama Achieves website.
District Reminders
Absences
All staff must obtain approval from their supervisor before entering any sick, personal, or vacation days into AESOP.
Professional Development
Professional Development forms must be submitted to your principal at least two weeks before the PD for approval. Please check with your principal to confirm if your PD has been approved.
Lesson Plans & Objectives
Updated lesson plans should be posted outside your classrooms at eye level. Your daily learning objectives should be displayed in the classroom with annotations to help students focus and comprehend their learning.
ACS Fridays & Professional Attire
Please remember that if you have been granted permission to wear jeans on Fridays, they must be paired with an Anniston City Schools shirt.
Additionally, staff should avoid wearing revealing clothing, leggings, or clothing with holes. Professional attire is expected at all times.
Field Trip Request Form
When preparing to submit the paperwork for a field trip, ensure that you complete the entire packet and submit the checklist to your principal to initiate the first step of the field trip process. Additionally, please remember to attach the class rosters from PowerSchool.
It is important to note that field trip requests should be submitted 60 to 90 days in advance of the trip date.
November 22 E-Learning Day Survey results
As a result of these professional development experiences, I will use my new knowledge and skills in the following ways:
Top results:
I will use the knowledge gained to support students in various areas of learning. The tools provided will help me better prepare for teaching and engaging my students.
I plan to apply the insights from today’s session as a catalyst to enhance my students’ ACT scores.
I will align my lessons with the Alabama Standards, increase the focus on writing activities, and place greater emphasis on ACT Reading strategies to ensure well-rounded student development.
I will intentionally incorporate mathematical practices into my WIN Time lessons and carefully select additional resources to support learning within the classroom.
I will implement Before, During, and After Strategies to enhance student engagement and comprehension throughout lessons. Additionally, I will incorporate the use of graphic organizers to help students better organize their thoughts, analyze information, and develop a deeper understanding of the material.
What aspects of the PD was most useful or valuable?
Results:
- 50% Knowing the different parts of developing an ACOS Math Lesson Plan and COS.
- 30% All of it.
- 10% Watching other's demonstrate exactly how they teach their lessons, modeling lessons.
- 10% N/A
Do you have any specific suggestions to help improve our E-Learning days?
- 74% stated none or it was successful.
- 10% Continue PD such as Open Court, and iReady.
- 5% Focus on CTE issues like TAPE and CTSO.
- 10% More AMSTI training, manipulative ELA training.
- 1% turn them into virtual days (The purpose is to have in-person professional learning or else we would have students learning at school.
Upcoming events
December 23 - January 3 : Winter Break
January 6 -7: Teacher In-Service
January 20: MLK Jr. Day Observance
January 21-31: ACCESS testing for EL