Monday Morning Motivation
Central Elementary Staff News----May 1--May 5, 2017
Our Mission
Providing engaging academic experiences, the Central Elementary Community will inspire and support students to become caring, confident, lifelong learners.
Teacher Appreciation Week 2017
Dear Staff,
Although there are many things on your plate and you are tired, please take a moment this week to soak in how much you are valued and appreciated by our students, parents and me.
Please read carefully the information below as you create your "last 17 days of school" to do list. I ask that you work hard to keep a normal schedule during this time. Understanding that there are special events planned, please keep in mind that our students thrive and succeed in their routine.
Have a great week!
Julie
Two Weeks at a Glance
Central Calendar
MONDAY, May 1
- Casual for a Cause Jeans Day
- 4th grade ISTEP science online
TUESDAY, May 2
- 5th grade ISTEP social studies
- Flat Rock parent meeting 6:30 PM
WEDNESDAY, May 3
- Pack up computers in the basement lab
THURSDAY, May 4
- Show CCC video
- Incoming 6th grade meeting at PCMS
FRIDAY, May 5
- Central preschool transition conferences
MONDAY, May 8
- 5th grade music performance 7:00
TUESDAY, May 9
- Faculty meeting 7:30
- Study Buddy Party
WEDNESDAY, May 10
THURSDAY, May 11
- Kindergarten Screening at Central
- 5th grade to Flat Rock
- School Board Meeting
FRIDAY, May 12
Announcements and Reminders
- Construction in the basement begins May 8th.
- Please note that the final STAR Growth Reports showing your final math and reading data is due to me no later than May 19th. You may turn it in earlier. Please highlight 33+ on the SGP and/or 60% PR Reading and 70% PR math on the report.
- Give the Math Common Assessment--May 15-19
- Specials will run through May 22nd. We will not have specials the last day of school. A Step-up schedule and Brag Tag schedule will come out this week.
- IREAD-3 Student score reports will go home in sealed envelopes on May 5th.
- High Ability letters will go out this week to students/parents who are in high ability. Additionally, letters will go out to those students who are no longer in high ability. Once I have your 3rd grade (math and ELA), 4th grade (ELA) and 5th grade (ELA) lists, I will send out letters in early June letting parents know students will be in more rigorous classrooms receiving service, but not formally identified. Hopefully, this added layer of communication will help misconceptions about those students who are not formally identified but in our honors classes. As these letters go out, I will send copies to teachers so you will know what parents are receiving.
- PTO Grants--Due May 8th. I encourage you to apply for a grant because they have money they want to give back to the school.
- As we prepare for the summer renovation of the hallways and lockers, we must take everything down and clean out all lockers before the last day of school. Demolition begins in the basement after May 5th.
Please share with students that the reward for completing the Math Facts Challenges in your grade level this year will be an "out of this world" experience! A dome planetarium will be in our gymnasium on May 17th to allow every student who has met the challenges to attend a 1/2 hour to 45 minute program, depending on the number of students. As we get closer, I will ask for an estimated number to begin creating a grade-level schedule for the experience. This "reward" goes along well with our math facts initiative since many are trying out the Rocket Math program this year.
Letter to new class-Putting this on your radar that you will write a letter to your new students next year introducing yourself to them. You should have your letter last year that you can tweak. Please share these with your new teammates. Again, you can give these to us in envelopes. We can put labels on and mail. Thanks.
Curriculum and Instruction
ISTEP+ Grades 4 and 5 Online
See Schedule below. We will be in the upstairs and downstairs labs. Please note I am at my desk during this time to restart tests if needed.
Grades K-2--Again, please make note of how this schedule may impact your specials times, assistant availability, etc. It takes our entire school to provide the kind of testing environment we want for our students!
enVision 2.0 Trainings
As an administrative team we agreed that teachers would participate in several tutorials before receiving their teacher edition of the book (This would take the place of a summer training).
Below are the tutorials you need to watch and turn in evidence of participation:
1. enVision 2016 Program Overview …. 9:45
2. enVision 2016 Digital Courseware … 16:00
3. envision 2016 Teaching a Lesson …. 13:00
4. envision 2.0 2017 (Grades K-5) Indiana Program Overview … 18:30
I have included the links for these tutorials and each one has a previously emailed pdf for you to follow. Once you create an account Pearson tracks what you watch and allows you print evidence of watching. This is what you turn in to me.
This is about an hour of training! We do not have any meetings scheduled next week, so use an hour to complete the training.
Also, you will meet as grade levels during our next faculty meeting (Tuesday, May 9th) to talk about what you saw and professionally compare/contrast the differences between the current program and the 2.0 version. Please use the previously emailed Venn Diagram and reflections for your discussions.
Additionally, you need to participate in the following tutorials (with evidence of watching) before the start of the school year:
1. Assessment Support …. 11:20
2. Adaptive Homework and Practice …. 8:08
3. Differentiation …. 10:00
4. Problem Based Learning …. 13:00
This is the link for general envision 2.0:
https://mypearsontraining.com/products/envisionmath2-2016/tutorials
This link is the Indiana Specific:
https://mypearsontraining.com/products/envisionmath2-2017-in/tutorials
Important 2017-2018 Dates
Sunday, July 30, 2017 from 4-6PM
Sunday Snow Cones and Supplies
Frigid Frog will be here to sell Snow Cones. Once Families drop-off supplies in boxes outside your classroom, they can visit in our parking lot and playground. You are not required to be here. Please make sure you lock your classrooms because we only want people in the hall. (I'll remind you again.)
Meet the Teacher Night
Kindergarten: July 31 st 6-7PM
Parents will listen to the Kindergarten teachers give a presentation, including the newly adopted math curriculum. Then students and parents can take a self-guided tour of the building. This is the only grade-level where we are encouraging students to come.
Grades 1, 4 and 5
Tuesday, August 8 from 6-7PM
Parents will come and listen to a short presentation by the classroom teacher, including the newly adopted math curriculum.
Grades 2 and 3
Wednesday, August 9 from 6-7PM
Parents will come and listen to a short presentation by the classroom teacher, including the newly adopted math curriculum.
Staff Celebrations!
- Thank you to Kathy Crum for leading the convocation on Friday!
- Kudos go out to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teachers for a great ISTEP experience. We had few absences and zero errors. One more test to focus on and they we are finished with the testing season.
- It was fun to give out Brag Tags and to see the students excited about getting them!
- I am happy to report that Heidi's surgery went well. She will be recovering this week.
- We greatly appreciate the "A Team" in the office--Amy and Allison. Thank you for all you do to support us and keep us organized. You make all of our jobs lighter and easier.
Happy MAY Birthdays
- Ann Tice (1)
- Annie Pagels (3)
- Lauren Richard (20)
- Anita Stevenson (23)
- Jennie Menser (28)
- Dana Loudermilk (30)