Good evening/morning, Happy New Year to you! Welcome back and I hope you have a great start to second semester. During Third Quarter we start to see tremendous academic changes and student growth as we push them towards academic proficiency they'll need for the next grade level and beyond. Keep on doing the great work you have all year: focusing on the TUSD Triple Crown initiative, clear learning goals for students, data driven planning and instruction, and your excellent classroom management! For 3-8 teachers, we all know what's ahead and I have faith in you to prepare students to be successful.

Please start your Monday revisiting classroom and school expectations for behavior, especially personal space, keeping hands to themselves, using kind words, and telling adults when something is happening. We have seen an increase of students going home and telling their parents things that have happened and not telling an adult at school. I will also remind them on announcements about these things.

Thank you for all you do!

Brian

Monday

• Leadership Meeting
• Soccer practice for MS students

• Kinder MTSS Meeting

Wednesday

• PD in the library - Getting the most out of your Promethean Board w/ Ameel Attallah

• MS Boys VB Championship 5:00 @ Pueblo HS

Jan. 13 - 31 - iReady MOY diagnostic window

February 24- March 6th - 3rd Quarter Benchmark Window

I would like to give our fine arts teachers a shout-out for their hard work leading up to and the day of the holiday performances. Matt, Stephen, and Daniel always do such a great job of getting our kids ready to put on a great show. It's pretty amazing what they are able to do already in December. The end of the year performances will be incredible.

Thank you to all the teachers and classes that worked hard preparing their own students for their holiday performances. This is definitely a highlight for parents in regards to their children's growth.

Thank you all for all you do for our students and each other!

January

6th - Third Quarter starts

10th - Boy's VB Championship game @ Pueblo HS 5:00

15th - Domains 1 & 4 completed (conferences with your evaluator will be scheduled)

20th - MLK Day (No School)

21st - 100th Day of school

29th - Teacher Professional Learning Day (No School)

February

4th - Kinder Kickoff district-wide event

One of the requirements that we still need to lock down for our PSS status is a student ambassador program. I would like to formally name it Purple Astros. In K-5, please select a student or two that can mentor your newly arriving students and make them feel welcome. In 6-8, we will be working with you to create a program based on the student ambassador program we had last year.

TBA

Teachers, you may remember that we alerted you to this last year and you'll have plenty of time to complete it before the deadline of August 1, 2028.

Resources:

• ADE Literacy Endorsement Information
• FAQs from ADE
• Infographic: infographic
• Video: This video describes the requirements and other important details of the K-5 endorsement.

Click this link to learn about more about the K-5 Literacy Endorsement

Will the district offer courses to support teachers with getting their Literacy Endorsement?

• Beginning in the Fall of 2025, TUSD will offer the LETRS course to K-5 teachers.

Does ADE offer courses to support teachers with getting their Literacy Endorsement?

• ADE offers a free, asynchronous course, Pathways to Proficient Reading with Pathways to Structured Literacy. K-5 Literacy Endorsement website

Will I be required to take and pass an assessment?

• Yes, the test is called Foundations of Reading Assessment and is offered through Pearson. The first time you take the test, there is no charge. Each additional time you take the test there is a $139.00 fee.

• Grade level meetings continue.

• Please submit a Request For Support immediately for behavior and attendance.

• Continue to enter observations.

• If there is an immediate need, please let me know.

There is now a 'positive' category. All positive documentation being recorded for a student must use one of the below Observation types:

• Positive- Academic
• Positive- Attendance
• Positive- Behavior
• Positive- Other

• Positive- SEL

Thank you for your support of MTSS!

Q2 Benchmarks- Dec. 2nd-19th. ELA, Math and Writing | There is an extra week built into this assessment where students should take the Writing assessment first. Scores need to be input and submitted by Jan. 10th.

Thank you to all the teachers for having the students create the Cookie Crunch Christmas cards, the students did some amazing drawings, and I am sure the airmen were greatly appreciative of the gesture.

If you have not already turned in the Christmas cards for the deployed personnel, please be aware that the due date is Wednesday Dec. 4, 2024. You can place them on my desk or in my box.

Thank you all again for all you do.

MFLC-Military Family Life Counselor -Vanessa Aldecoa Work cell #520-310-0060

• Issues addressed by MFLC: School adjustment, deployment & separation, reunion adjustment, sibling & parent-child communication, behavioral concerns, grief & loss

• Weekly PEACE/Deployment Groups with each grade level

• Focus is on how I feel my feelings and how does this affect our behavior and emotions

• 1st Thursday of each month, DM MFLC Mtg

Teachers, please remember to be doing your attendance in the first 10-30 minutes of class and make sure the student you are marking absent is really absent. If they walk in tardy after you've already done attendance, please mark them teacher tardy. Khiara starts calling parents once most or all teachers have their attendance in. We don't want to accidentally call a parent whose student was a bit late and alarm them unnecessarily.

This is to inform you of the upcoming Sick Leave Sell Back Program being offered to eligible employees in June 2025! We are excited for this initiative which will be available for the 2024-2025 School Year.

Please review the eligibility criteria below and the attached flyer. More information as well as an opt-in form will be made available during the Spring semester.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Must be employed with TUSD for three years as of August 1, 2024

• Must have a minimum of fifteen (15) days of sick leave available by May 7, 2025. If eligible, you will be able to sell back five of the fifteen days, leaving a minimum of ten days as an available leave balance.

• Be present at assigned work site for the days listed below

• PLD Days: October 23, 2024, January 29, 2025, and March 26, 2025

• Site-prescribed Days:

• Monday April 21st

• Friday May 2nd

• Friday May 16th

• The Last Day of School: May 22, 2025

Please note that this is a new District-wide initiative and there will be regular updates as to the Sick Leave Sell Back Program. Please keep an eye out for the FAQ.

Speech Screening Protocol

If you have a communication concern about a student, email me (Mandi Moss-SLP) the student’s name, indicate what your concern is, and I’ll pop into your classroom to listen to the student.

Articulation:

-understanding what a student says, makes sounds errors

Language:

-drops words from their sentences, uses the wrong pronouns (expressive language)

-has difficulty following directions/answering questions (receptive language)"

Deborah Marquis

Website

Phone: 520.584.4600

Address: 6630 E. Lightning Dr. Tucson, AZ 85708