February 22, 2019

Winter MAP data by grade level compared to Mean Status Norms. I also included scores from last year's winter data to compare. Overall our students have made growth in math compared to last year. You should be very proud of your hard work!! We did drop in ELA in several grade levels compared to last year. 

Grade	Reading RIT SV 2019	Reading RIT SV 2018	Reading RIT Mean
1	172	171	171
2	192	193	184
3	199	200	195
4	207	209	203
5	211	213	209
6	217	220	214
7	221	219	216
8	223	224	219
Grade	Math RIT SV 2019	Math RIT SV 2018	Math RIT Mean
1	177	178	173
2	198	197	186
3	203	199	198
4	212	211	208
5	217	216	217
6	221	221	222
7	227	223	226
8	227	230	229

Tell me and I forget.

Teach me and I remember.

Involve me and I learn.

~Ben Franklin

Sound familiar?  We have all heard this quote and we MUST truly drill it into our teaching.  How can we be MORE intentional with our teaching??  How can you incorporate movement since NO ONE loves to sit for close to an hour?  Please take a moment to read THIS ARTICLE about ways to make it a natural thing in your classroom!!

We will be evaluating our SPSA at our next staff meeting . Please take the time to look it over so we will be ready to work. We will then gather any feedback to help guide our SPSA plan for the following year =)  I KNOW you're excited about that!!

Here is a link to our SPSA 2018-2019:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B01G0KBLi4LvZU1SQnhGaEo4TGM/view

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Be there for your students- make sure they know their RIT scores and the growth they have made. Thank you Patty and Stefanie for leading our Ag bulletin boards in the multi. Thank you Daniel for fixing recess equipment that we have in each classroom. Thank you Heather H. for helping out when I was out at a PBIS training. 

Play:  Dr. Seuss day is on Friday. What fun reading activity have you planned?

Choose your attitude: Have you said anything positive about your students today? A colleague? If you did, let them know :)

Make Their Day:   Thank you for making time with your students and building relationships with them.

THROUGH THE FISH PHILOSOPHY, WE BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, THE STUDENTS WE TEACH AND THE PEOPLE WE LOVE.

February 15, 2019

Student engagement (one of THE MOST important things in teaching), building relationships with our students is CRITICAL to how effective we are as educators.  We cannot simply close the door, turn our back, ignore the signs, or pretend that our kids DO NOT need us.  They do.  Plain and simple.  So how can you build these relationships with 30+ students in your class?  Some ways can be simple.  Check out THIS ARTICLE on some of the "golden rules" of easy peasy ways to make SIMPLE connections.  C'mon people.  Don't they deserve it?  Don't YOU?

WOULD YOU WANT TO BE A STUDENT IN YOUR CLASS???

IF YOUR STUDENTS DIDN'T HAVE TO BE IN YOUR CLASS, WOULD THEY SHOW UP ANYWAY??

Grades 3-8: Please start practicing SBAC

It's a good time to start having students explore the CAASPP Practice & Training Tests. This will help prepare them for the CAASPP summative that they will be taking in just over 8 weeks. CDE has the California Science Test (CAST) Training Test as well. Please go to www.fsusd.org/assessment and click on the green button "SBAC Practice & Training Tests" to access the site. Students and teachers can access as a Guest at school or home. Once you get logged as Guest, you'll need to select a grade. Be sure to select Grades 5 or 8 if you want to take the California Science Test (CAST). 

COLLEGE ESSAY CONTEST - begins Feb. 25

Have your students pick up a paper from the front office if they are interested in competing in our college essay contest or they can use any blank paper. K-8 will be asked to write an essay explaining why they want to go to college. The winners of the contest will have their essays published on the school website and read their essay at the College Week Assembly if they would like to. A drawing will be held for a Kindle Reader one for K-2, 3-5 and 6-8. Each grade level winner (there will be one for each grade) will receive a $10.00 gift card to Barnes and Noble. Let’s get excited about college!!

Read Across America: March 1: Be ready for a fun event on March 1!! I am so excited!! We have people from the district office and community coming to read to every classroom. Please have a book ready for them to read. A schedule will be emailed to you from Kristin as soon as all RSVP's have been confirmed. Students (or you) will come in their pjs or dress as their favorite character.

 

Here are some websites for Read Across America:

http://www.pinterest.com/teachingblogadd/read-across-america-ideas-for-teachers/

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/classroom-solutions/2012/02/five-ideas-perfectly-bookish-read-across-america-celebrations

http://www.seussville.com/Educators/educatorReadAcrossAmerica.php

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you Monica, Matthew, and Rachel for teaching us mindfulness lessons that we can use in our classroom. 

Play:  Thank you student council for our fun luv a grams. Thank you Melissa S. for supervising this during your own time.

Choose your attitude: Have you said anything positive about your students today? A colleague? If you did, let them know :)

Make Their Day:   Thank you for keeping some of your students in during rainy day lunch recess. They love to spend time in their classroom.

THROUGH THE FISH PHILOSOPHY, WE BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, THE STUDENTS WE TEACH AND THE PEOPLE WE LOVE.

February 8, 2019

Resources to teach black history month

CLICK HERE OR CLICK HERE

I know I have published this before and it's WORTH the read again.  Take a look at these 5 Tips for Avoiding Teacher Burnout so that we get to see your smiling face each day!  Want some ideas on Time Management skills so that you don't get burned out?  Check out these EASY IDEAS and suggestions to help you along the way!  

Here is a great pic (hard to see so click the link to take you directly to it) about 10 things every teacher should be able to do on Google Classroom, including manage multiple classes, invite co-teacher to a class, create a resource page, create quick exit tickets and polling (my FAV!!) and MORE! Check it out! 

Don't have money to take your students on a field trip. Check out this link for virtual field trips. So cool!! CLICK HERE

January walk through data: We are doing a great job having writing wall displayed and having a rubric. We have evidence of learning goals for each student. We have really gone down in DOK discourse in level 3 and 4. Please make sure when you are planning student discourse that you are aiming for higher levels. This strongly correlates to integrated ELD, which we went down in as well. Having objectives up - we should be at 100%

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There:  Thank you Vicky for planning our all in days. Thank you Tammy for helping out with morning traffic.

Play:  How do you incorporate play in your classroom?

Choose your attitude: Have you said anything positive about your students today? A colleague? If you did, let them know :)

Make Their Day:   Buy a luv-a-gram for a student! Make their day!!

THROUGH THE FISH PHILOSOPHY, WE BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, THE STUDENTS WE TEACH AND THE PEOPLE WE LOVE.

February 1, 2019

MAP Winter Test Administration - Let’s See that Growth!

Top 4 Reports That Every Teacher Should Run After Administering MAP:

1. Class
2. Class Breakdown
3. Project Summary (choose Fall to Winter)
4. Student Profile - This reports shows each student’s projection for the CAASPP. This report
5. is a great tool for parent meetings, student goal setting, and resources for students.

Shelley will be providing PD on MAP Reports, how to utilize the data to inform your instruction,
and MAP Skills. Please watch for the dates to be posted on Go Sign Me Up soon. If you would
like me to come out to your site to provide training for your staff, please let me know so
that we can get it scheduled.

MAP testing window is from Feb. 4^th -22nd. We recommend that you give MAP testing the first two weeks so the last week can be held for make ups. We will not need to create a testing schedule for this since everyone has their own chromebooks now J

MAP testing for Elementary and Secondary Schools will be administered in two separate testing windows again in the Winter test administration. 

ELEMENTARY TESTING WINDOW - February 4 - February 22 

It is critical that you abide by the designated timeline for your grade level even though the system will allow you to test your students. The result of testing outside of your window will be that you will NOT have access to your student results or any of the report data. There is no work around for this so please be sure to follow the calendar.

You should know:

·        Students will have ONE opportunity to test in Reading and mathematics. They will no longer be able to retest. This will help keep testing to a minimum. It is critical that you proctor and monitor the students closely so that you can be sure students gave their best effort so that accurate data is measured on where students are in their learning. In addition, the system will prompt the proctor letting them know if a student is "rapid guessing". 

·        Equity for All - Accessibility & Accommodations - Removing Barriers - Be sure to look at the available supports. Here is the link to see what is available in MAP

·        To turn on Text-To-Speech - Simply turn the Chromebook on and click on "Ctrl Alt Z and this will turn on the ChromeVox spoken feedback feature. Then open the MAP APP and the screen content will be read aloud. Students will need earbuds.  

Here are the test names for each assessment by grade level.

PLEASE BE SURE TO SELECT THE CORRECT NAME FOR YOUR GRADE LEVEL WHEN SETTING UP YOUR TEST SESSIONS. This will ensure that students do not have the ability to select the incorrect test. 

Grades 1 & 2

Growth: Reading K-2 CA 2010

Growth: Math K-2 CA 2010

** Reminder ** 

Grade 2 take these tests and not the Growth 2-5 tests ***

Grades 3-5  

Growth: Reading 2-5 CA 2010 V2

Growth: Math 2-5 CA 2010

Grades 6+

Growth: Reading 6+ CA 2010 V2

Growth: Math 6+ CA 2010

Here is the Step-by-Step Guide on how to administer MAP for teachers, student directions, and what to do when a student bumps off the network, etc. 

The Help Desk staff is currently operating with two vacant positions so please be patient for a response from them and refer to the step-by-step guide as much as possible before calling 399-5100. 

Support our student council and buy a luv-a-gram (Feb. 1-13) for your students. You may want to check with student council and get a list of students who may not receive one and buy one for that student. This is a great way to make their day and support our school!

MAP and Khan Academy for Math – great resource HERE

Character trait for this month is citizenship HERE

Add your Padlet fish moment HERE  for staff meeting