Rocket Weekly for Staff

Character Trait for December: Self-Discipline

December Mindset Focus: We Love a Challenge

Discipline is a choice.

It's simply consistently choosing the

hard right over the easy wrong.

Self-Discipline is knowing you can,

but deciding you won't.

In our RES School Family, we value self-discipline

as we each choose to accept the challenges of life.

Work is hard and it's a challenge

that RES students and staff willingly accept!

Click here for the Monthly Character Education Traits and Mindset Words of the Month.

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

(Last edited 11/04/19 - Change to SPARK Mentoring Club)

Please note the change in meeting date for the MTSS Tier I Team Meeting.

Please note that the MTSS Tier II Meeting has been moved to 12/19/2019.

Flannel Monday!

• Wear your favorite flannel or plaid shirt to get in the spirit!

3:50pm - 4:15pm Tier II Mentoring Team Meeting

Festive Tuesday!

• Spread some holiday cheer wearing holiday hats, headgear, ties or jewelry!

Interim Distribution for students in 5th Grade

9:15am Recycling bins to be placed outside for collection

4:00pm - 5:00pm Competitive DI Team (Mr. Cross' Team)

4:00pm - 5:15pm SPARK (FLOW) Mentoring Club

Holiday Socks Wednesday!

• Wear your favorite holiday or winter socks!

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

10:30am - 11:15am Band/Strings/Chorus Concert for Students

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

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

3:55pm Secret Santa Exchange (Media Center)

5:30pm - 6:15pm Family Code Night

6:30pm - 7:15pm Band/Strings/Chorus Concert for Parents and Community

Candy Cane Thursday!

• Dress like a favorite holiday treat and wear red and white!

IEP/PST/504 Meetings

Holiday Trade Around Day - 3rd and 4th Grades

Kindergarten Polar Express - All aboard!

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

Click here for the Agenda.

9:15am Recycling bins to be placed outside for 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)

3:50pm Holiday Sing-A-Long Performance Practice - Multi Purpose Room

• RES interested staff will be performing "Twas the Week Before Christmas"
• Click here for the Poem

Cozy Friday!

• Cozy up for one last day in your most comfortable pajamas!

2 Hour Early Dismissal - No school for Pre-K Students

12:30pm - 1:30pm Pre-K Family Involvement Day: Building Literacy Skills in Your Learners

1:00pm - 1:40pm Holiday Sing-A-Long

• Kindergarten Classes will eat in their classroom for lunch from 12:10pm - 12:40pm
• 1st Grade Classes will eat in the Art Room for lunch from 12:10pm - 12:40pm
• 4th and 5th Grade Classes will have lunch from 12:25pm - 12:55pm in the Cafeteria
• ALL students will bring their belongings to the Sing-A-Long as all students will be dismissed from the Multi-Purpose Room.

2:00pm Staff Meeting (Media Center)

2:05pm Re-Gift Exchange (All staff are asked to attend even if not participating)

The rules are...

• You may not buy anything
• The item must be wrapped and have NO label
• "Regifted" new or gently use item: you may not regift a spouse, a child or a pet.
• We would LOVE to have 100% participation!!!!!
• This will be a fun holiday game!

Please remember that it is staff members' professional responsibilities to meet all deadlines.

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 2 Chart, developed at the Central Office Level, is linked under SMCPS Sites and Quick Links.

On the 10th day before Christmas Break the RES Elf gave to us.... Leave with the buses today!

On the 9th day before Christmas Break the RES Elf gave to us.... A sweet treat!

(See Mrs. Elf Goddard)

On the 8th day before Christmas Break the RES Elf gave to us.... 5 chances to win a Yankee Candle item to light up our holiday! (Meet in the Media Center after dismissal - must be present to win. See Mrs. Elf Goddard for a preview!)

On the 7th day before Christmas Break the RES Elf gave to us.... some flair for the winter break! (See Mrs. Elf Goddard)

On the 6th day before Christmas Break the RES Elf gave to us.... Leave with the buses today but don’t forget to see Mrs. Goddard for a surprise treat for next week!

On the 5th day before Christmas Break the RES Elf gave to us.... sweet scents! (See Mrs. Elf Goddard)!

On the 4th day before Christmas Break the RES Elf gave to us.... hot beverages in the morning to warm our tummies! (Check out the Staff Lounge after checking in but don't forget your mug - We're going GREEN :)

On the 3rd day before Christmas Break the RES Elf gave to us.... lunch!

On the 2nd day before Christmas Break the RES Elf gave to us.... breakfast!

On the last day before Christmas Break the RES Elf gave to us.... flashbacks to The Crayon Box That Talked to remind us that we are a school family – all unique and united! Don't forget to check your mailbox!

2:05pm Staff Meeting: Re-Gift Exchange

The rules are...

• You may not buy anything
• The item must be wrapped and have NO label
• "Regifted" new or gently use item: you may not regift a spouse, a child or a pet.
• We would LOVE to have 100% participation!!!!!
• This will be a fun holiday game!

All animals and classroom pets should be removed from facilities for winter break.

Window blinds should be lowered to approximately 12 inches above the window ledge to support energy efficiency and to provide visibility into the school classrooms for police.

Turn off all computers and monitors, including computers on carts, which should be fully charged before being turned off.

All vending machines with non-perishable items, TVs, VCRs, DVD players, coffee pots, microwaves, and other small electronic devices, etc., should be unplugged.

Make sure no items block the air supply and air return of any heating units in all areas.

Remove all food items from refrigerators and unplug refrigerators.

Survey rooms for items that may set off the building security alarm system such as balloons, flags, loose papers on the walls, etc., and remove. Remove all items hanging from the ceiling.

Do not unplug any network cables. Do not turn off any network servers/equipment, as this will be handled by the Department of Information Technology Services.

As of January 2nd, staff will no longer be able to log into a Windows 7 machine.

• If your laptop is still operating with Windows 7, now is the time to upgrade.
• Mr. Watson will at Ridge on Friday, December 20th, updating laptops in the Media Center.
• If a staff member wants to have the updates completed next week, please be aware that it can take up to two and a half hours to complete.
• Mr. Watson will gladly return your laptop back to a staff member's room/office upon completion.
• Laptops may be updated over the Winter Break.

Staff wishing to have their laptops updated over the Winter Break need drop their laptop off in the Media Center prior to Winter Break.

Staff members with a laptop that needs to be updated need to backup all of their documents, downloads, folders, pictures, etc., prior to the update as the computer will be completely erased in the process. If a staff member has any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Watson.

Also, during the holiday break Mr. Watson will be completing the transition of all classroom computers to Windows 10 for the same reasons.

• Staff do not need to do anything for that update.
• Older HP computers will be removed, as they can not be updated to Windows 10.
• The possibility that they will be replaced is currently being reviewed, but it should be noted that the elementary school standard is three desktops per classroom.

There seem to be a few SMART boards which have had “Limited Mode” pop up on their slides across the county. If a staff member is seeing the same thing, please put in a ticket for so Mr. Watson can get that done over the break as well.

During the Winter break, ITS will be performing maintenance on the students' home drives. Once students return, please reach out to Mrs. Deeney and/or Mr. Watson if students have any issues accessing data or if they are missing any data from their home drive.

Once December's Progress Monitoring has been completed please return the "pink" DIBELS box to Mrs. Gay; she will place the Benchmark booklets for January in you boxes.

Substitutes are available for the January administration of IGDIS (Pre-K) and DIBELS (K-5).

• Each grade level needs to work together to identify a day to administer the assessment.
• At this time, one day per grade level may be requested. However, 2 days may be identified and Mrs. Batelka will work with Central Office to accommodate as many days as requested, if possible.
• Due to coverage needs, Ridge Elementary School is unable to secure more than two guest teachers/day for the DIBELS administration.
• Please click here to request specific days.
• As the requested day is based upon substitute availability, please identify up to 3 dates (listing as "1," "2," or "3.")
• Requests for coverage (chart completed) needs to be the end of the day Friday, December 20th.

There should be no students in the carpeted area of the Front Office unless assigned there by Mrs. Batelka or Mrs. Cox.

If a staff member is in the office, and meeting with a student, the student will need to stay on the tile side of the Main Office.

There is a lot of confidential material in the front office area and we need to ensure the privacy of all students.

When in the Front Office, please mindful of any students present when discussing school-related items. Often times, there are students present waiting for parents, the Nurse, or other staff. Please be cautious of having student specific conversations or discussions regarding incidences that have occurred.

Principals' Breakfast: The Principals' Breakfast is a quarterly event for students achieving 95% or higher positive on ClassDoJo.

• Based upon the survey, breakfast items will be changed twice - Muffins and Donuts being the winning items

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

• Students have had to earn an overall 75% positive or higher on ClassDoJo to participate in the monthly celebration.
• Beginning with the January Celebration (for the month of December), students will need to earn an overall 80% positive or higher to participate in the monthly celebration.

Rocket Store: Each month students are able to "turn in" their Positive ClassDoJo Points for tangible items or intangible rewards (e.g., lunch with the principal/teacher, read a book to a younger grade, or extra recess).

• As of December 2019, students in 4th and 5th Grade are only able to chose from the "intangible" list of rewards. Please forward additional options to Mrs. Knight to add to the intangible list.
• This change in practice for 4th and 5th graders is to move towards intrinsic motivation and opportunities to build relationships (lunches), give to others (read to another grade or help out), and build a classroom community (class-wide rewards like extra recess may be purchased).

Tier 2 Check-In/Out: There has been a change in the assignment of "points."

• 2 points: Got it! (No reminders needed)
• 1 point: Almost There (1-2 reminders)
• 0 points: Keep trying (3+ reminders)
• Reminder: If a student forgets his/her clipboard, the student earns a "0" for "Responsible" but may still earn points for the other 2 categories.

Temperature cut-off is "feels like" 33 degrees or higher.

As the weather continues to get colder, please note that students will not be permitted to participate in outdoor recess if they are not dressed warmly.

• All students need to wear a winter/thicker coat that zips/buttons.

• 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.

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

Our Relay for Life Team will be selected this week by our students!

More information will be forthcoming this month! Stay tuned!!!!!

Equity Initiatives

• The SMCPS is currently seeking recommendations for representatives from schools to serve to serve as the main point of contact at individual school locations for Equity Initiatives.
• This is currently not a funded position
• Acquired hours will be provided for the RES Staff Member participating as the point of contact.
• Please email Mrs. Goddard if you're interested in being the point of contact.
• Mrs. Batelka will follow-up with interested staff members.

Meet with a Prudential representative in a virtual one-on-one retirement consultation

• There are times available for December 23rd, 24th, 26th, 27th, 30th, January 2nd and 3rd but they’ll go quickly.
• You can also schedule beyond this month, so feel free to plan ahead!
• For more details on this free benefit or to register, please click HERE.

Incentive for Advanced Notification of Retirement

• Employees who meet the requirements outlined in THIS MEMO may be eligible to receive a one-time Incentive for Advanced Notification of Retirement.
• Please read the attachment carefully and contact HR with any questions or you can schedule an appointment.

2020 SMCPS Award Recognitions !!! Nominations Due 12/20/20

• Please click on the hyper-links below for the specifics of each award recognition, to include the type of information to be submitted.

• Mrs. Batelka will complete and submit RES' nominee for the Outstanding Educator and the Education Support Professional of the Year.

• Please click here to nominate a fellow co-worker for the Outstanding Educator of the Year! At this time, only 10 staff members have completed the nomination form.

• Please click here to nominate a fellow co-worker for the Educational Support Professional of the year! At this time, only 8 staff members have completed the nomination form.

Education Support Professional of the Year (ESPY)

• Nominees include non-certificated staff in support professional positions, including secretaries, paraeducators, building service workers, dedicated substitutes, food service, safety assistants, and many more! The SMCPS Education Support Professional Professional of the Year will be selected from all staff nominated in this category.

Outstanding Educator

• Nominees include certificated staff in roles such as classroom teachers, media specialists, counselors, and more! The Maryland Teacher of the Year and Washington Post Teacher of the Year will be selected from teachers nominated in this category.

Leader of Excellence

• Nominees include administrative and supervisory staff in such roles as supervisor, principal, assistant principal and more! The Washington Post Principal of the Year will be selected from principals nominated in this category.

Most recent Kindergarten Memo

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Most recent Math Memo

• December 16, 2019. This edition contains important information modeling with packages for 2nd grade, teacher to teacher notes for 1st, 3rd, and 4th Grades, reminders about fidelity, and Math Learning Center Intervention Course Registration information.

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

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Most recent Special Education Newsletter: The PIER

• Please click here for the December 2, 2019 Issue. This month's newsletter contains information about Phonological Awareness, New Teacher Bridges Intervention Workshop, Inspirational Poem, Closing Student Achievement Gaps, the Traverse Talk Strategy, Removing Content Areas from IEP PLAAFPs and a Hot Topic Reminder.

Most recent Elementary Science Newsletter

• November 2019 Edition. This edition contains information on the Assessment Guides, which have all kinds of items you can use with your students to help them better prepare for the MISA. Click on any of the grades in the newsletter to access the Guides. Unit 2 Assessments for grades 1-5 have been updated.

Most recent Gifted and Talented Newsletter

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Most recent Library Media Newsletter

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Most recent Fine Arts Newsletter

• Please click here for the October Edition
  

Most recent ESOL Newsletter

• Please click here for the December Edition

Most recent Educational Equity Newsletter

• Please click here for the November 2019 Newsletter

During this time of year our lives are busy and hectic. We may celebrate traditions and spend time with family. It is also a time when we recognize that every student needs to feel a sense of belonging and care - and we recognize that for some students, school may be the place where they feel most connected to others. The short narrative, Three Letters from Teddy, tells the story of how making a small connection with one student can make a difference. We wish you all the very best for a warm and happy holiday season.

Resources for Belonging:

• Building a Belonging Classroom - Edutopia video
• Engaging Students before Break - Edutopia blog
• Making Classrooms Holiday Inclusive - Help Teaching blog
• Build Relationships All Year - EdWeek article

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

Chart format for easy access and assessments/dates for ONLY Elementary School Required Assessments (Local) - Quarter 2

Elementary Site Link: Please click here

Performance Matters Thresholds for SY2019-2020:

• A reference chart for SMCPS Color-Coded Thresholds in Performance Matters - by course and grade - has been updated (based on assorted SY2018-9 test performances).
• It should be noted that if staff are basing their SY2019-2020 SLO goals on Performance Bands, they will need to revise their SLOs based upon new bands if they are using county assessments as their metric.
• Staff will need to follow-up with Mrs. Batelka if revisions are needed to their SLOs based upon the new bands.

Data Display Issues:

• Unfortunately, we are still experiencing some issues with data displaying in Performance Matters.
• Scores seem to be delayed by a day, and we are still unable to save corrections to scansheets (misbubbled IDs, bubbles not reading correctly, etc.).
• Please be advised that data may still be inaccurate or incomplete. We encourage you to use the Student Item Analysis (SIA) reports not Baseball Card to look at results.
• In SIA you can view student responses to see whether all questions were answered. If you find that you have sheets that did not read correctly, please darken bubbles and rescan.
• As a reminder, please be sure to scan as a TIFF file; other file types could cause an additional delay.
  
• Any students completely missing an expected score may be missing the ID number on the scansheet; please be sure IDs are bubbled and rescan.
• Follow this link for information on Student Item Analysis reports.
  

Test Center Clean Up

• Teachers need to ensure the title of their assessment contains their school initials and/or limits the availability of the assessments they create to their building. The effect of this is that teachers at other buildings are confused about which assessments their students should be taking.
  
• Click here for guidance on how to ensure assessments are named in a way that reduces confusion.
• Click here for guidance on how to ensure assessments you create are only available at your building.

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.

Performance Matters Online Scoring:

• To utilize Online Scoring for recommended math assessments you must first assign the test to students in order to enable the Online Scoring.
• Locate the test in Test Center, then from the ‘Select’ menu choose Release: Online/Paper Based to open the dialog box for selecting students.
• Then you must choose the class(es) or student(s) and select Preslugged Sheets.
• You can then either save or cancel the download of sheets. Save the file if you’d like to print scansheets, otherwise, you are now ready to navigate to Online Scoring.

Performance Matters Tips for Scanning Scansheets:

• Please do not scan unused sheets for students who have already moved from your class, as the resulting zero may overwrite the score from the correct teacher. Non-bubbled sheets should only be scanned if the student deserves a score of zero.
• 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 last names are included!
• To minimize mistakes by the scanner, please remember to change the scan file type to TIFF and scan as Gray Scale 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.

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
  

The SMCPS Unify Google Site includes, among other resources:

• 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 of the Week!

Check out the new Skills for Coaching and Mentoring Course: #10735 Skills For Coaching and Mentoring - Winter 2020; Participants develop effective coaching and communication skills necessary for developing mentoring skills including conversational processes to develop plans for growth and objective feedback. This is the course required of all SMCPS mentors. January 9, 2020 - February 13, 2020: 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm at LMS Media Center.

The Daily 5 and CAFÉ: This course is designed for educators striving to create a learning environment that teaches students to be engaged in independent, meaningful reading practice. The focus of this course is to improve literacy instruction using evidence and research-based practices. Teachers will improve literacy instruction by implementing the Daily 5 and CAFÉ to foster literacy, motivation, and achievement for students who are reading in the elementary classroom. Scheduled classes will be held and Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary, 5:00-7:00 PM on Jan. 7, 21; Feb. 4, 18; and March 3. There will be an additional one hour of follow up work after each session. Visit the PMPD website for more information.

Processes and Acquisition of Reading Course: This course fulfills a Maryland certification requirement in the teaching of reading (3 credits). Additional time will be spent outside of class for work related to the course. Scheduled classes are held at Hollywood ES, 4:30-7:30 p.m., on Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28; Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25; and March 3, 10, 17. Visit the PMPD website for more information.

Registration is open 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 birthdays!

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

Upcoming events:

• Secret Santa Exchange - Wednesday December 18th right after bus dismissal in the Media Center!

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

• 1/29: Special Education and Specialists
  
• 3/23: Intermediate
• 4/29: Primary
• 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.

Each week a staff member will be randomly chosen to be recognized as the special staff member for that week.

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 August 26th

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

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Week of November 18th

Week of November 25th

Week of December 2nd

Week of December 9th