Hello, Team!

Who else is ready for a normal work week? I am ready for winter to move on out and for things to get back to normal. On the positive side, I have gotten a lot of stuff done for Vanguard over the last few days.

Information regarding stipends has been sent out via email. If you didn't receive an email, reach out to me. If you have any questions about your stipend, reach out to your Learning Community Lead.

This VanWeekly is longer than I hoped, but promise it is worth the read! Lots of #VanPoints opportunities shared.

Stay Warm Friends!

Andrea

New Members!

Please be sure to scroll all the way down to the bottom to see the update about the on boarding course: two. Its open!!!

-Justin

We are excited to announce Giovanna Allison is Joining Leadership as a Member at Large to support the team. This semester she will be supporting the SLC/AZ. We are excited to have her support!

Giovanna is the Instructional Tech Specialist at McNair MS. She has done AMAZING things there this year. We are THRILLED to have her on Leadership.

2018 has brought about lots of changes for the leadership team. Learning Community Leadership is your first point of contact. We are dedicated to the Vanguard work and ready to support members!

This area will always appear at the top of the VanWeekly. Please review these link regularly to ensure you are in good standing.

The Vanguard stipend ready to be released to school bookkeepers. Members recieved an email with information on qualification for stipend.

Stipends released in January are for those members that completed least 25 Activity Points & Completed the 1st coaching check by December break. New Members were required to complete 45 New Member points from the Onboarding Course: One.

Didn't qualify? There is a recovery option!

Complete the following by February 2, 2018 and you will receive your Vanguard Stipend in early February. This is a hard deadline.

• Earn 30 Activity Points
• Complete Coaching Check 1 Make-up -- Turn in the PDF generated from the TIM site at: https://goo.gl/mXSUc6
• NEW MEMBERS!! Are you a new member that wasn’t able to complete your requirements on time? We have a recovery option for you to still earn your $500 vanguard stipend, which is different than the recovery option for regular members that has already been shared. To recover, you must complete at least 45 points from the Fall on-boarding course. Once you believe you have completed all of your requirements, you must complete this Google Form (https://goo.gl/forms/opAlZWrxLeQmMtKc2).

Vanchise teams are receiving a $1500 stipend to use to support the school Vanchise!

Thank you for completing the necessary information for this year. School Leads will receive an email with information on spending this money in the next few days.

Hoke gave an awesome #VanPoints Challenge during our session on Jan 5th! ... and we have done an few others this year. However, it is extremely tough to go through all of those because many of you don't have your name in any way associated your twitter account. So to get your tweets to count as #VanPoints:

• twitter account set to public view
• last name must be associated with your account
  

Topic: Collaborating Across Multiple Disciplines

Hosted By:

Valerie Bennett @DrValBennett

Jessie Downs @jessie__downs

Remember, all of your tweets need to contain: #fcsvanguard

This Semester we will continue Twitter chats twice a month on Thursday at 7:30PM.

Dates: Jan 25, Feb 8 & 22, Mar 8 & 22, Apr 12 & 26, May 3 & 17

Be prepared for the participation link at the VERY END! #VanPoints

During the Coaching Play Offs on Jan 5th PD day, members were asked to complete the NEARPOD below on the Coaching Cycle. PDCA cycle Nearpod is worth COACHING Points if you complete it. This activity is optional, but highly recommended.

#VanPoints will go towards coaching Points.

If you're interested in volunteering for the FCS Tech Fair, please be sure to save the date and click the button to sign up.

Volunteering to support this event will earn FCS Activities points for Vanguard!

Here's more information: "Each year we have a Technology Competition for our students in grades 3 – 12. Students compete in 15 different categories from 3D Modeling, Animation, Robotics, Digital Game Design, and more. Please save the date and consider volunteering. We need judges, room captains, hall monitors, photographers, award ceremony presenters, hospitality people, etc…Believe me, there is a job for everyone and it takes about 200 volunteers to put the event together. We also always need help setting up on Friday night as well."

Questions? Contact Maryelizabeth Ward

From Wendy Smith:

Fulton County needs volunteers for the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl being held on Sat. January 20 from 8:00-12:00 p.m. at Paul D. West Middle School. The volunteers can serve in one of the rooms as a moderator, console judge, scorekeeper or timekeeper. Use the button below for details for the volunteer positions.

Training Documents - http://www.dekalbschoolsga.org/helen-ruffin-reading-bowl/documents-training/

If interested, email Wendy Smith at smithw2@fultonschools.org

The science fair will be hosted at North Springs High School. If you are a Vanguard member that teaches science grades 6-12, please reach out to Chanel Johnson if you are interested in volunteering.

Science Olympiad is coming to Fulton County!

When: March 3rd

Where: Centennial High School

If you are interested in volunteering, contact Chanel Johnson

Fulton County Schools has embraced digital citizenship as an important part of educating today’s students. Our district believes that preparing students to use technology safely and responsibly is an essential commitment as we leverage educational technology to personalize learning and boost student engagement. As a result of this belief, we use Common Sense Media’s materials to teach all students tangible skills related to internet safety, protecting online reputations, personal privacy, managing online relationships, and respecting creative copyright. Each school must prepare a digital citizenship plan and apply for certification annually. The purpose of this committee is to assist with the oversight of Fulton County’s district plan for digital citizenship education.

Duties:

• Provide input about the district digital citizenship process as needed
• Manage the digital citizenship plan review process for 5-10 schools (beginning Spring 2018 and continuing until plans are approved)
• Review the school’s plan
• Provide feedback and request revisions
• Track status and follow up with schools until plan is approved
• Communicate progress with Instructional Technology staff (Heather Van Looy & Kevin Robinson)

Number of Positions: 5 per learning community

Selection Process: Request for Volunteers (Note: Experience as the Project Coordinator for the school Digital Citizenship plan would be beneficial, but is not a requirement.)

Points: Qualifies for Extending the Reach points. Heather Van Looy will award these points before April 30th.

Save the Date!!!

Bearcreek Middle school - February 24th

Ridgeview Middle School- March 24

#VanPoints awarded for attending! Be sure to complete the form at the end of the event.

Open the link below for details.

Register now for the Microsoft Innovative Educator Academy facilitated by fellow Vanguard teammates, Dana Munson and Lin Lee. This academy will be held on Saturday, March 3 from 9:00-2:30 at Riverwood High School. Spend the day learning about OneNote, Sway, Teams, Forms, Skype and earn this special badge.

Click this link to register. Do you want to attend this training but are not available on March 3? There is an option for you to indicate that on the registration form. Please email Mindy Ramon in the Instructional Technology Department if you have questions or would like more information.

#VanPoints awarded for attending! Be sure to complete the form at the end of the event.

It’s that time of year again! Yup, you guessed it…the Bear Creek Redefining Learning Conference 3.0 presenter application is live. Last year’s RLC 2.0hosted over 1600 attendees and has gained international attention the largest school-led Microsoft Showcase Schools event in U.S. History. We hope Vanguard members consider applying to present innovative practices at our annual conference.

Here are quick facts regarding the application process:

• Application Link: http://www.bearcreekpd.com/rlc-presenter-app.html
• Presentation Length: Each presentation should be developed for a 50 minute session
• Application Due Date: January 5, 2018
• Application Status Notification Date: No later than February 4, 2018 (via email)
• Application Requests from RLC Committee: We simply request that the presentation is Innovative!
• Conference Date: March 9, 2018
• Conference Location: Langston Hughes High School-7510 Hall Road, Fairburn, GA 30213

You did it! You read all the way to the end of this super long VanWeekly! Reward... #VanPoints!

Complete this form to earn 2 Bonus Activity Points! Bonus #Vanweekly Points

New Members, please make sure you are checking Microsoft Teams on a regular basis. Important information about your Spring coaching course is being shared there and that’s where all new-member questions should be asked and answered. Teams is part of Office 365, and can be accessed through portal.office.com. You should see at least two different Teams: Vanguard – General, and Vanguard New Members – General. Make sure you’re checking the New Member Team!

The Spring semester new member course on Coaching is LIVE. If you haven’t already, please enroll by following this link (https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/enroll/CEK-BFL-DBL) on your iOS device. If you have any questions or problems, please ask on the Microsoft Teams New Member channel. Our first module is going to be posted shortly, and it will address the first step in developing a coaching relationship – building trust. The assignment will be to read several articles and respond to reflection questions. This semester we’re going to be utilizing multiple due dates rather than having everything due once at the end of the year. So please note your FIRST due date will be Friday, February 2nd.

Are you a new member that wasn’t able to complete your requirements on time? We have a recovery option for you to still earn your $500 vanguard stipend, which is different than the recovery option for regular members that has already been shared. To recover, you must complete at least 45 points from the Fall on-boarding course. Once you believe you have completed all of your requirements, you must complete this Google Form(https://goo.gl/forms/opAlZWrxLeQmMtKc2).

Our mission as a Vanguard team is to build the capacity of FCS educators and leaders to personalize learning through coaching and instructional technology.

Website: fcsvanguard.org
Twitter: @FCSVanguard