Rocket Weekly for Staff

This document will be updated regularly as additional information is provided.

Information in this document includes:

• Field Trips
• Staff Travel
• Student Assignments
• Employee Absences
• Employee Health Insurance
• Employees Accessing Healthcare
• 24-Hour Nurse Advice Line
• Athletics/Extra-Curricular Activities/Events
• Use of Facilities by Outside Groups

Character Trait for March: Respect

March Mindset Focus: Mistakes Are Opportunities For Learning

Having respect for someone means you think good things

about who a person is or how he/she acts.

You can have respect for others and you can have respect for yourself.

Showing respect to someone means

you act in a way that shows you care

about their feelings and well-being.

not calling people mean names, treating people with courtesy,

caring enough about yourself that you don't do things you know can hurt you.

In our RES School Family we all work together to help our students be respectful

through daily instruction and mindset/counseling lessons.

We are also teaching our students that mistakes are an opportunity to learn,

how to make a different choice, and to "recover."

Being respectful takes work, especially when we're not happy or something is hard;

together we can work to turn an academic or behavioral mistake into a opportunity to learn!

Please click here for one list of all after school club teams and students.

• (Last edited 02/02/20 - Wellness Mindset Club students added)
• Please Note: List will be updated by 8am on Tuesday (03/03) with the students participating in Destination Imagination Club.

9:45am - 9:25am Reading PLC Meeting: Kindergarten and 1st Grade

Please click here to access the agenda in PDF Format.

The google doc will be shared during the meeting.

9:45am - 10:15am Character Ed/Mindset Lesson: 4th Grade classes

8:30am - 9:10am PLC Meeting: Special Education

The agenda will be linked here by 3pm on Monday (03/20/2020).

9:15am - 9:30am Recycling Bin Collection

9:45am - 10:15am Character Ed/Mindset Lesson: 3rd Grade classes

4:00pm - 5:15pm Spark (FLOW Club)

4:15pm - 5:15pm Friends of Ridge (FOR) the Kids Meeting

Work-Out Wednesday: Students and staff are encouraged to wear school appropriate athletic gear as we focus on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle while also taking a mid-week motor break to focus!

8:15am - 9:00am Creative Writing Club

8:15am - 8:45am New Teacher Mentor Team Meeting

8:45am - 9:25am Reading PLC Meeting: 2nd and 3rd Grades

Please click here to access the agenda in PDF Format.

The google doc will be shared by 9pm on Monday (03/09/2020).

3:45pm - 5:15pm 4th Grade Math Team

4:00pm - 5:00pm Destination Imagination Club Team

4:30pm - 5:30pm Relay for Life Team Meeting

IEP/PST Meetings

9:05am - 9:35am MTSS Tier 2 Team Meeting

Agenda will be posted here by 9pm Tuesday (3/10)

9:15am - 9:30am Recycling Bin Collection

11:50am - 12:20pm Maker-Space Club (2nd/3rd Grades)

12:40pm - 1:10pm Maker-Space Club (1st Grade)

1:20pm - 1:50pm Maker-Space Club (4th/5th Grades)

3:45pm - 5:15pm Wellness Mindset Club

Wear RED to Show Your Ridge Pride!

8:45am - 9:25am Reading PLC Meeting: 4th and 5th Grades

Please click here to access the agenda in PDF Format.

The google doc will be shared by 9pm on Monday (03/09/2020).

10:45am - 11:15am Character Ed/Mindset Lesson: 5th Grade classes

4:00pm - 5:15pm Robotics Club

3:50pm - 4:15pm RES Management Team Meeting

4:00pm Relay for Life Drawing

4:15pm Staff Member of the Week Lottery Wheel!!!!

4:15pm - 6:15pm Staff Social: Legion

Dues: $20 may be turned into Ms. Steiger or Mrs. Goddard.

Sunshine Breakfast/Lunch/Snacks Potluck! Each team will determine what type of snacks to provide.

• 3/23: Intermediate
  
• 4/29: Primary (Breakfast)
• 6/15: Office Staff

Staff Member of the Week

• We're celebrating one another and selecting a staff member of the week every Friday at 4:10pm for the following week!
• If you have not completed the survey, and wish to participate in the selection process please click here.
• Only staff who have completed the survey will be included in the Lottery Wheel.

Below is a chart, developed by Mrs. Batelka, based upon the available information regarding county-based assessments. End of Unit optional assessments, highly recommended by supervisors, are also being included.

Please Note: The Quarter 3 Chart is now available from Central Office. It is linked below in the Required and Recommended Assessments by Grade Level Section.

Three additional Smart TVs are being purchased at the Central Office Level and will be placed in the following classrooms: Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Pierce, and Ms. Rye.

The date of installation is unknown at this time. Outside contractors will be installing them and we will be informed of the date/times of installation. There is a chance that the installation will occur during instructional time. Notice will be provided and in advance, thank you everyone for being flexible as the dates and times are not negotiable due to a system-level schedule.

An EXCITING new set of webinars are about to launch with SMART Technologies for EDUCATORS by EDUCATORS.

• Click here link to register and learn more

• March 11th - Notebook & SLS Online Go Together like Peanut Butter & Jelly: Join us to learn how to build engaging interactive lessons in SMART Notebook and then seamlessly deliver this content to students using SMART Learning Suite Online. See how this process supports student inquiry by leveraging student devices as well as flexible grouping to personalize learning.
  
• March 19th - Ink Here, Ink There, Ink Everywhere with SMART Ink: Learn how to leverage this powerful SMART Tool that is always at your fingertips. Create a favorite pen, quickly capture screenshots, and ink over your favorite applications. Tips & tricks to get started today.
• March 24th - Not your Mama's Whiteboard- Digital Inking with SMART: Digital Ink is a powerful tool for students to interact quickly and meaningfully with content. Participants will:
  - Learn how to leverage the SMART solution to visualize ideas.
  - Select the right whiteboarding app for your outcome
  - Collaboratively whiteboard with your students on their devices.

Staff may also watch previous webinars

Classroom Teachers may earn acquired hours (45 minutes) for watching the 30 minute webinars and writing a brief reflection on how to apply the webinar in their instructional plan. To earn the acquired hours staff must submit a brief paragraph about what they learned and how they plan on using (or will use) the information in a future lesson.

Rocking Rockets' Celebration: Monthly Celebration for students achieving a specific positive percentage on ClassDoJo.

• April Celebration will be our typical stations and held on April 14th

Rocket Store:

• Next Rocket Store: Friday, April 3rd

Tier 2 Check-In/Out:

• Additional students, based upon the criteria set by the MTSS Tier 2 Team will be considered during the 04/20/2020 Meeting.
• Any teacher referrals to Check In Check Out, for consideration in the March Meeting, were due by 4/16/2020.

• All students need to wear a winter/thicker coat when the feels like temperature is 50 degrees or below.

• Any students wearing only a light jacket or sweatshirt will remain inside for indoor recess.

Recess Teams need to work together to identify a plan of who/where to take students who are not allowed to go out because they do not have the appropriate coats.

Please Note: Students may not be sent to ISIC or the Main Office as there is no guarantee that a staff member is available to supervise students. If needed, the Gift of Time may be reallocated to cover indoor recess when there is outdoor recess should alternative coverage be unable to be made.

The Relay for Life Team is sponsoring a T-Shirt Fundraiser in support of Autism Awareness.

National Autism Awareness Day is April 2, 2020.

Click here to buy a shirt/sweatshirt to support Autism Awareness and our Relay for Life Team!

We are very excited to announce that the Ridge Rocking Rockets Relay for Life Team is up and running!

Click here for the Relay for Life Staff Folder.

Ridge Elementary School will have a Relay for Life Team this school year to support and honor our School Family Members affected by cancer.

Please click here to donate or join our team!!!!!

Our last Relay for Life meeting was held on Wednesday, February 12, 2020.

• The meeting notes will be posted here next week.

Weekly Raffle Fundraiser

• Each Friday a raffle will be held for a special item or basket of goodies.
• Staff may purchase raffles tickets on Thursdays/Fridays prior to the raffle immediately following bus dismissal.
• Raffle tickets will be $1/ticket or $5/6 tickets.
• We are looking for donations for the weekly raffle. Please click here to donate an item.
• If you're aware of an organization or group able to donate an item please let Mrs. Batelka know and she will follow-up with the organization/group.

Friday, March 13th Goodies: Bath & Shower Set Basket!

Relay for Life Event - June 6th

• Click here to sign up for the Dunk Booth!

Stay tuned for upcoming fundraisers and activities sponsored by our Relay for Life Team!

• TAC will open for elementary teachers on Monday, 3/9 (much earlier than usual) in order to provide more time for elementary teachers to complete Standards Based Report Cards.
• The marking period ends on Friday, 3/27.
• TAC Window will close for administrators to review report cards on Wednesday, 4/1 at 5:00 PM.
• Report cards are distributed on Wednesday, 4/15

Administrative Updates

• The next SMCPS Town Hall Meeting will be on Monday, March 16, at 6 p.m. at the Dr. J. A. Forrest Career & Technology Center. This town hall will be a join effort with the St. Mary's County Health Department, with a focus on reviewing key findings from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
• SMCPS Mental & Behavioral Health Fair will be held on May 9, 11 am-2 pm, at the Dr. J. A. Forrest Career and Technology Center. This is an opportunity for families to meet local providers and learn more about local services that address mental and behavioral health needs such as anxiety, depression, trauma, substance abuse and more. Short presentations will be available for parents on supporting the mental and behavioral health needs of youth ages 5-21.

Instructional Updates

• Literacy Training Opportunities: MSDE has partnered with the Center for the Collaborative Classroom to offer free literacy training opportunities. Inside the Writer’s Workshop, K-6 will take place on Friday, March 27 and Teaching Our Youngest Readers, K-2 will take place on Wednesday, April 1. DCI has funds to cover substitutes for 3 teachers to attend each of these events. If you are interested please email Mrs. Batelka (only one per school may be recommended) for one of these training opportunities. Requests will be considered on a first-come basis.
• MCAP Practice Tests- On March 6th, the non-secure Practice Tests will be available on the MCAP Portal (md.mypearsonsupport.com) under Test Preparation and the secure Practice Tests will be in the Training Center of Pearson Accessnext. Within a few days of March 6th, you will also see the non-secure Practice Tests on the TestNav app. This is the most popular way of accessing the Practice Tests in schools. While there are multiple ways to access a Practice Test, these three sites all present the exact same test in each of our formats (Online, Text-to-Speech (TTS), American Sign Language (ASL), Spanish, etc). Please remember that the main purpose of the tests is to provide an introduction to platform (TestNav) functionality so students are familiar with the tools and navigation of TestNav. Some of our tests will also give students an opportunity to engage with items that represent the operational assessments.
• 2020 Instructional Conference “Best Practices for Student Success” - This year’s Conference will be held on Monday, August 10 at LMS. Principals will select school team members to attend the conference. Ten-month school team members will receive a stipend for 4 hours of instructional planning on Tuesday, Aug. 11. The Call for Proposals will go out in Mid March. We have not been notified the number of team members each school may send. In the interim, please email Mrs. Batelka if you are interested in attending. Once the number of teams members is provided, Mrs. Batelka will follow-up with interested staff
  
• SMCPS will be holding a STEM Playdate on April 16th, 4:30-6:30. Activities include Sphero, Bee Bots, Digital BreakOut Boxes, and Botball. If any staff members are interested in running a session, they can fill out this form. Any staff interested in attending can add their name to this Google Sheet. Staff will be paid for their time. Questions can be directed to Heather Wysokinski at hmwysokinski@smcps.org.
• The Department of Assessment & Accountability is offering stipend compensated training opportunities available to SMCPS staff on a number of software applications. All training will be first come first serve and will be limited to a set number of attendees. Please click here to see the Training Opportunities portion of the Department of Assessment & Accountability’s Google Site.
  

Student Services:

• Mental Health First Aid Training open to all staff, March 30th or May 22nd, registration information coming soon- 20 slots will be available on each date, 8 am-4 pm. Please email Mrs. Batelka if you're interested in attending this training. Click here for information on this training. There are 20 slots, across the system, allocated for each day of training.
• Please consider showing this short 18-second video, Cover Coughs and Sneezes, promoting habits that help prevent the spread of flu and germs that can cause illness. Posted by the Center for Disease Control, this video can be shared on your morning newscasts or as classroom news.
  

Human Resources

• SMCPS will hold a Job Fair on Saturday, March 28, 2020, from 9 a.m. to noon. at the Dr. James A. Forrest Career & Technology Center. Please share widely!

Finance Updates

• SMCPS is partnering with Prudential to provide FREE monthly financial wellness seminars. Click here to read about March's seminar, Teaching Your Children Good Money Habits. It’s never too early to teach children about basic money management. This session will look at some age-by-age questions and lessons to help you reinforce your family’s values about spending, giving, and saving. This one-hour seminar will be held on March 18, 2020. Please join us!
• SMCPS is pleased to offer you a financial wellness educational series through Prudential Pathways. Prudential Pathways offers practical, down-to-earth information that may help you and your family today, tomorrow and beyond. It is designed to give you an understanding of the fundamentals of financial wellness through educational seminars.The series available is Prudential Pathways: A Financial Wellness 3-part Series. To register to attend, please click HERE.

Continuing Education Opportunities

• Pittsburgh is currently offering 100% tuition assistance for both Teacher of the Visually Impaired and Orientation and Mobility programs. Programs are online and are eligible for Maryland certification. The deadline to apply is April 15. If you, or someone else you know may be interested in this, please let Mrs. Batelka know. The Department of Special Education will be able to support individuals in the process as they are in direct contact with the school.

Most recent Kindergarten Memo

Most recent Math Memo

• March 2, 2020. This edition contains important information about MCAP Evidence Statements, Modeling, as well as a Modeling Checklist for Students.

Bridges Updates and Supports:

• Please click here to access the Bridges Issue
• Please click here to access help videos

Most recent English Language Arts Newsletter

• Please click here to access The Reading Corner (December 2, 2019 Edition). Please take the time to review the information as there is important information staff need to be aware of regarding upcoming standards and instructional notes for each grade level.
  

Most recent Health and Physical Education Update

Most recent Special Education Newsletter: The PIER

• Please click here for the February 7, 2020 Issue. This month's newsletter contains information about the following: New staff, Math Strategies vs Models, Alt Assessment Update, Two Word Challenge, Alternatives to Reading logs, Supplementary Aids Reminders, February Hot Topic, ESY Reminder, Transition Expo 2020 and some February humor!

Most recent Elementary Science Newsletter

• February 2020 Edition. This edition contains information on assessments for Kindergarten through 5th grade, MAEF's new hybrid course, Infusing Agriculture in the Elementary Classroom, and additional PD opportunities.

Science Supports and Resources

• Click here to access RES' MISA Evidence Statement Analysis with links to STEM Gauge Items for Grades 3rd through 5th.

Most recent Gifted and Talented Newsletter

Most recent Library Media Newsletter

Most recent Fine Arts Newsletter

• Please click here for the October Edition
  

Most recent ESOL Newsletter

• Please click here for the February Edition
• Please click here to access the ELL Site

Most recent Educational Equity Newsletter

• Please click here for the February 2020 Newsletter

Department of Assessment and Accountability (DAA)

• Please click here to access the DAA Site

... You can be anything you dream to be...

As we help guide students along their paths, it's important to provide them supports to help them reach their goals. It is also essential that we show them a variety of paths in front of them. Think about how many times you may have changed your mind along the way to your current place along the journey. By giving students choices and a variety of options, we let them see that it's OK to change your mind, and it's OK to try something different. That is how you find your passion. That is how you determine your future.

Resources for Aspiring:

• How to Help Kids Find Their Aspirations - Mindshift Article
• 3 Reasons Students Procrastinate - and How to Stop Them - Edutopia Article
• Learning Conversations for PLCs - Learning Forward Article

Click here for a SMCPS developed Aspiring Video

This will be updated quarterly and as changes are made by content supervisors.

Elementary Site Link: Please click here

• Goalbook ELA items are available in Performance Matters for the easy constructions of self-scoring assessments to support the review of low performing standards and encourage UDL.
• Guidance on accessing and using these items to construct assessments can be seen here.

Performance Matters updates are live! Highlights include:

• Baseball Card: A reset button was added to deselect all added measures while retaining applied student filters
• Items with rubrics: Scorer permissions are now defaulted for all instruction blocks, no need to manually select ‘scorer’ when adding the rubric
• Online Scoring: displays scanned image if applicable
• MyDashboard: users with access to more than one building can filter to a specific school on the MyDashboard page
• Interventions: “RTI/MTSS” was changed to “Intervention”; new attribute INT identifies students with open interventions watch video
• More updates can be found here

Reminders for Scanning Scansheets:

• To minimize mistakes by the scanner, please remember to change the scan file type to TIFF and scan as GrayScale or Color. This will help ensure that bubbles and erasures are read correctly.
• Please remind students to bubble dark, complete bubbles, to stay within the bubbles, to erase mistakes completely, and not to mark in or near the barcode.
• Please remember to include both the Student Name and ID Number if not using a pre-printed scan sheet. If sheets are double-sided, be sure student information is on both sides. Please be sure the last names are included.

Have a question about assessment data, building a test, or entering RTI data? Visit the SMCPS PM Google Site for all this and more! https://sites.google.com/smcps.org/unify/home The site can also be found on the SMCPS Staff page under Instructional Resources. Within PM you can also visit the News & Assignments tab or Help module ⍰ for videos and instructions. Contact Jeff Gibson jsgibson@smcps.org or Kristen Maher kmmaher@smcps.org with further questions.

SMCPS UNIFY Google Support Site:

• Reminder that the SMCPS Unify Google Site can be found on the staff page under Instructional Resources at https://www.smcps.org/staff
  

• Troubleshooting directions for student testing.
  
• Directions to assist teachers with online scoring.
  
• Steps for the creation of Answer Key Only assessments.
  
• Steps for using pre-made interactive test items to create online assessments.

Any questions, training or additional Unify support needs can be referred to the appropriate contact found on the Training Page.

Stay tuned for the next TAC TIP!

Towson University will hold a Graduate School Information Session at the St. Mary's County Central Administration building -Board of Education Meeting Room on Thursday, March 26, 2020 from 4:00-6:00 pm. Information on all programs offered in Southern Maryland will be available. Towson also offers reduced tuition and direct billing to SMCPS employees. Please stop by and talk to the Towson representative about how Towson can help you reach your professional development goals.

McDaniel College is offering a 100% online cohort for its Equity & Excellence in Education certificate program. This unique, multi-county cohort is available to school system employees partners, with a $200 discount from the standard tuition rate for those who join the cohort (Official cohort code: HE5). This is a great opportunity for educators of all stripes to continue their education while networking with other educators from across the state. Please contact Adrianne Dillahunt (amdillahunt@smcps.org) if your have any questions.

Methods of Teaching Reading in the Content Areas, Part II: This course focuses on teaching secondary students to access and learn from text. Class participants are expected to apply theories, strategies, and practices in classroom lessons. The course introduces types of reading, reading skills, and instruction that integrates content with reading goals. You do not need to have completed Teaching Reading in the Content Areas Part I to register for this course. To account for all 45 hours (3 credits), participants will be required to complete work outside of class meeting times that will be applicable in their own classrooms. Scheduled classes will be held at Leonardtown Middle School from 4:00 - 8:00 PM on March 25; April 1, 15, 29; May 6, 13, 27; and June 3, 10. Visit the PMPD website for more information.

Registration is open for additional courses:

• Please log into the system for available courses

Register online: https://smcps.truenorthlogic.com
UserName: beginning of SMCPS login (without @smcps.org)
Password: normal SMCPS password

Stay tuned for upcoming staff members' birthdays!

We will announce the staff member on morning announcements and post information about that person in the hallway for all to see.

We also will be playing 2 truths and a myth. These will be posted on the display to give staff and students a chance to try and figure out what a staff member's myth may be. It will be revealed at the end of the week.

Week of September 2nd

Week of September 9th

Week of September 16th

Week of September 23rd

Week of September 30th

Week of October 7th

Week of October 14th

Week of October 21st

Week of October 28th

Week of November 4th

Week of November 11th

Week of November 18th

Week of November 25th

Week of December 2nd

Week of December 9th

Week of December 16th

Week of December 30th

Week of January 6th

Week of January 13th

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Week of January 27th

Week of February 3rd

Week of February 10th

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Week of February 24th

Week of March 2nd