Mariner Update Family Edition

Volume 14 Issue 4

Mariner Family,

I love our school do you love our school!

Most important people in the world, I hope this message finds you well.

As a professional learning community, our goal is to continuously strengthen our instructional program to ensure every student reaches high levels of learning. Your role in this community is crucial, and we need your support in ensuring consistent attendance. This will enable us to make a meaningful impact on the academic success of each K-8 student.

In our professional learning community, we focus on four key questions:

What should students learn? (Essential learning standards/clusters)
How will we measure their learning? (Assessments)
What will we do if a student doesn’t master their learning? (Interventions)
What will we do when a student masters their learning? (Extensions)

To achieve success, it’s vital that students are present at school, on time, every day. With only 180 school days in a year, students are in a formal learning environment for less than half of the year. Therefore, maximizing each day is essential.

Starting Monday, September 9th, we will begin our middle school SAIL Time intervention block, which runs from 8:00 to 8:30 a.m. It is critical that your student arrives on time and is in their seat by 8:00 a.m. sharp for this dedicated 30-minute block. SAIL Time stands for Student Academic Intervention and Learning, with this year’s focus on Tier 2 interventions and essential clusters (related learning standards).

What is Tier 2 intervention?
Tier 2 interventions provide additional support for students who need extra help in mastering specific learning goals. During this time, teachers will monitor student progress and adjust instruction as needed to meet individual needs.

Our middle school teachers have worked diligently, analyzing student data and organizing groups for this intervention block. Teachers will meet weekly to monitor progress and make any necessary adjustments. Each SAIL Time cycle will last approximately four to five weeks, after which we will reassess students' progress in all subject areas and adjust groups for the next cycle. This process will continue throughout the year to ensure all students receive the support they need in core subjects.

For our K-5 students, SAIL Time will take place from 2:30 to 3:00 p.m.

We kindly ask for your support in fostering a disciplined environment where all students are in their seats and ready to learn by 8:00 a.m. Punctuality is key to making the most of this valuable learning opportunity.

Sincerely,

Your dedicated admin team -

Assistant Principal, Mrs. Barry, Assistant Principal, Mr. Castro, and Principal, Mr. Candelaria

Inside our ship

AVID (Advancement VIA Individual Determination): At Innovative Horizons Charter School, AVID is a key focus in all grades, Kindergarten through 8th grade. This program was created at the high school level years ago and the purpose was to develop disciplined organizational skills of student learning so that students can take ownership of their learning and learn any new information that comes their way, in any classroom, from kindergarten, to college and throughout their professional career. Students have an increased opportunity to graduate from any college/university when they have the organizational skills to organize learning in any formal setting. AVID includes Focused Note-Taking, WICOR, and GROW!

AVID is Focused notes: are a note-taking method used in the AVID program that involves using the Cornell note-taking system. The Cornell method is considered the preferred note-taking method for AVID students because it helps keep information in long-term memory. 5 phases of focused notes are:

Record: The first step in the Cornell Method for note-taking
Reduce: The second step in the Cornell Method for note-taking
Recite: The third step in the Cornell Method for note-taking
Reflect: The fourth step in the Cornell Method for note-taking
Review: The fifth step in the Cornell Method for note-taking

AVID is GROW: The AVID Mariner way is to Get ready to learn, Review what you know, Open your mind, and Wonder and ask.

AVID is WICOR (Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, Reading). This is an instructional approach that places students at the center of their learning by empowering them to take ownership and agency of their thinking and learning. Each component includes strategies that engage both teachers and students.

Herencia Mariachi Program: We had a great first week of Mariachi Class! We still have a few spaces available. Call our front office and/or See Mr. Candelaria if you would like to join. Students in 2nd grade - 8th grade are eligible. First come first served.

Supervision Team: As a professional learning community, we are dedicated to continuously expanding our knowledge and refining our practices, just as professionals like doctors, dentists, and lawyers do to stay at the forefront of their fields. Our Supervision Team meets weekly to collaborate with our admin team and make adjustments to support our students each and every day. They deserve an extra round of applause for their commitment during inclement weather week! Thank you Supervision Team and thank you Mrs. Barry and Mr. Castro for supporting our supervision team each and every day.

Math Professional development: As a professional learning community, we are dedicated to continuously expanding our knowledge and refining our practices, just as professionals like doctors, dentists, and lawyers do to stay at the forefront of their fields. Our Kindergarten and second grade team is pictured with Dennis Regus, Administrator, Instructional Services, Riverside County Office of Education, and two of our academic coaches, Coach Markham and Coach Barraza. Throughout the year, we have scheduled time with RCOE’s Dennis Regus, to consistently develop our mathematical knowledge and implement best practices in the classroom.

Ozobots/Computer Science Class: Second and third graders learn how to design a program and code correct steps to guide their Ozobot correctly along the path, while Ms. Harkema facilitates the learning and explains their learning goal to Superintendent Bivins.

LETRS Science of Reading Professional Development: As a professional learning community, we are dedicated to continuously expanding our knowledge and refining our practices, just as professionals like doctors, dentists, and lawyers do to stay at the forefront of their fields. Our kindergarten team, admin team and members of K-3 team participated in the science of reading professional development. What a week1 Nobody outworks the Mariner Family! Nobody outworks our students, our parents and staff! Way to go Mariners!

Coach's Corner

As we embark on the 24/25 voyage, the IHCS Coaches want to highlight the focal areas identified by the District and IHCS. We are excited to have ongoing open conversations with all of you and look forward to trying new strategies and approaches together as we work toward our goals. Below we have included a visual of these focal points.

Fitness Feature

Welcome back to a new year! Each new year brings a fresh new start! That includes P.E. As we begin the year, we are looking at how our bodies work (K-5). We look at what muscles are and how they help us make movement. We look at the importance of our heart, flexibility and muscle strength. In grades 3-5, we are looking at the State Fitness Test. Third grade is a learning year of the state fitness test. Fourth grade is their practice year. Fifth grade is their official year to test, and will test in the March. We take a pre-test in the September, so by March we can celebrate how we have improved.

As we look at a new year and how families can support their students at home, we always like to start the year looking at nutrition. Nutrition is the best way to help at home. Nutrition means eating the right foods to grow and stay healthy. We reviewed the 5 Food Groups grades 1-5. See if your student can name all 5 food groups. See if you are getting all the food groups at home. Also, making sure each student eat breakfast also help their bodies and brains be ready to learn. Use Choose My Plate (https://www.myplate.gov/) for more resources.