May 23, 2019

Here is a picture of Shaan on prom day with Priya and Maya. I can't believe he will be off to college next year and it will be out of state!! It has been so much fun to watch him grow up and be a positive role model to his cousins. Time goes by so fast!! 

What are the key benefits of small group instruction? This will be a focus for next school year K-8. 

There are four key benefits to small group instruction:

1. Personalize Instruction: Small group instruction allows teachers to work more closely with each student. This type of instruction provides the opportunity to evaluate students’ learning strengths, locate gaps in the development of their reading or math skills and tailor lessons focused on specific learning objectives. In addition, small group instruction allows teachers to check for understanding, reinforce skills presented in whole group instruction, and/or change the pacing of a lesson (i.e., teachers may break down concepts not easily understood or quickly pass though lessons that students clearly understand).
2. Provide Feedback: Small group instruction allows a teacher to monitor student actions more closely and to provide frequent and individualized feedback at point of use to improve specific reading or math skills.
3. Reteach or Preteach: Small group instruction is an opportunity for teachers to provide additional teaching and practice often needed for struggling students to master important skills or understand key concepts (e.g., phonemic awareness skill of manipulating ending sounds, or operations with whole numbers or rational numbers). Through the use of diagnostic assessments, a teacher can determine skills or concepts for which students may need more instructional support. Small group instruction also provides an opportunity for teachers to pre-teach specific vocabulary, challenging text structures, or other prerequisite knowledge to English learners or any students who may experience difficulty in upcoming lessons.
4. Build Confidence Through Collaboration: Small group instruction can provide a comfortable environment and boost the confidence of students who might not otherwise participate in a lesson or activity. Small group instruction encourages teamwork as everyone in the group is working toward achieving the same goal.

Reminder about Makeup Work and Absences:

Students who miss school work shall be given the opportunity to complete all assignments and tests that can be reasonably provided. As determined by the teacher, the assignments and tests shall be reasonably equivalent to, but not necessarily identical to, the assignments and tests missed during the absence. Students shall receive full earned credit for work satisfactorily completed within a reasonable period of time.

(cf. 5113 - Absences and Excuses)

The Superintendent or designee shall notify parents/guardians that no student may have his/her grade reduced or lose academic credit for any excused or unexcused absence when missed assignments and tests are satisfactorily completed within a reasonable period of time. Such notification shall include the full text of Education Code 48205. (Education Code 48980)

(cf. 5121 - Grades/Evaluation of Student Achievement)

(cf. 5145.6 - Parental Notifications)

The teacher of any class from which a student is suspended shall require the student to complete any assignments and tests missed during the suspension. Students will have the opportunity to complete any missed assignments and tests, for full earned credit, due to the suspension. (Education Code 48913)

Our current completion date for the new building is Oct. 2019. Room 20 will be used as our Agri-Science room because it has access to hot water. The new staff room will be located in the new building. We will keep all appliances in room 20 for you to have access to until we move into our beautiful, new staff room in October :)

MAP testing: May 28 - 31

It's time for our students to shine and to show us how hard they've worked to meet their stretch goals! This is exciting! As the classroom teacher you will be responsible for any make ups in your classroom. 

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. Last day for MAP testing is June 3. Make sure all make ups have been completed. Have a great day!! 

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.

Read the FSUSD negotiations update HERE

LIFE LAB PD will be on August 20th click HERE

*Report Cards:  We have electronic report cards this year but at the end of the year they must be printed and put in the CUMS.  Until we go to electronic CUMS this process will have to be done every year.

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you Ariel, Patty, Christina, Michelle, and Jennifer for a successful talent show! Annette- thank you for support our students with Battle of the Books. Thank you Heather H., Jamie, and Katie for keeping us up to date and motivating our students all year long with AR!!!

Play: Thank you for supporting each other EVERY DAY!! WOW! Thank you 1st-3rd grade teachers for making the Dragon Awards so fun. You guys are getting so creative and really stepping out of your comfort zone! So proud of you willing to take a chance. I know the kids loved it!!!

Choose your attitude: 

To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?" NO EXCUSES!!

Make Their Day:  Thank you to the staff member who nominated me for the Superintendent's award. I appreciated your kind words :)

Carlos has been diagnosed with colon cancer and will be out beginning May 29th. It is in its early stage so we hope to see him again in the fall. Please take care of yourself Carlos. We will have a sub custodian, Mr. Thompson who will be finishing up the year with us.

Upcoming dates:

May 24 and May 27  No School

May 28- MAP testing begins; Royal King dance starts; 8:00am teacher dance practice

May 30-  AR party 5th to 8th 1:05 to 1:55; K to 4th   2:00 to 2:50May 31-  8th graders at Six Flags; Last day for MAP testing  

June 3-  Report cards due to Jas- visible to parents on June 10

June 4  Staff meeting/social 3:15 at Mangels

June 5 Royal King Dance student show 5:00pm 

June 6 10:00 Promotion

June 7- Field day; minimum day

June 18 and 21 Genentech work days at SV from 9:00-2:00

Aug 20 - Life Lab PD- buy back day

Aug 21 - NEU Llama classroom management PD- buy back day

Aug 22 - Welcome back staff meeting 

A message from Valerie regarding textbooks:

I have been told that next year (2019-2020) all textbooks and consumables will be checked out to students' individual accounts. If you would like for the textbooks to be kept in the classroom after they have been checked out you can do that, but they should be labeled with the students' names. Since I will need to check out the textbooks and student consumables next year, I am asking for the textbooks and consumables to be brought to the library by the end of this school year. Having all the textbooks and consumables in one place will allow for a quicker checkout next year and will help me to keep track of how many extra copies we end up with. 

As for how to get the textbooks to the library: you can either send students down to the library with the textbooks or I can bring a cart around to pick them up. Just let me know either by phone or email if you need me to be the one to get them.

Student Textbooks Include:

Grades 1-5

• Everyday Mathematics Reference Books 
• Reflections California
• California Science

Grades 6-8

• Focus on Science
• History 

If after reading this email you still have questions, feel free to email me back.

Sorry for any inconvenience,

Valerie

May 17, 2019

Don't miss out on this exciting and engaging PD where you can learn all new ways and ideas for engaging students, increasing your technical knowledge, and all while attending an "unconference"!!  Sign up NOW and don't miss out!  It's going to be FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!

Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment:  Here is some information from Jenn Roush:

Textbook Recycling for Spring 2019

PLEASE DO NOT THROW BOOKS IN THE DUMPSTER! FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES
BELOW FOR SUCCESSFUL TEXTBOOK RECYCLING:

Elementary Sites: Encourage students to keep math journals and Benchmark consumables. If you
need to recycle consumables or materials that are not Board approved please request boxes from
IMC. You can box materials and schedule pickup with the warehouse. All boxes must be clearly
marked with an “R” (recycle.)

K-6 and K-8 Sites: Encourage students to keep math and ELA consumables. If you need to recycle
consumables or materials that are not Board approved please request boxes from IMC. You can
box materials and schedule pickup with the warehouse. This includes any unused Math
for grades 6-8. Encourage students to keep used Math and Springboard
consumables. All boxes must be clearly marked with an “R” (recycle.)

Please welcome:
I wanted to let you know that Lori Taylor has officially accepted the roving Teacher of Academic Support position. I will be meeting with Howard and Lori this Friday to discuss goals/outcomes of the work for this coming year as well as share some initial ideas that Lori and Howard had about the structure of the days for each site. We will also identify days for each site for the year, then set up an individual follow-up meeting with each principal to discuss the unique plans and logistics at each site for 2019-20.

A little about Lori:
Hi!  My name is Lori Taylor.  I have taught in FSUSD for 25 years.  I have taught 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade GATE.  For the past two years, I have been a Teacher of Academic Support at Cleo Gordon and Dover Academy of International Studies.  I co-facilitate the district ELA/ELD cohort with Howard Kornblum that focuses on improving instructional practices for English learners. I have two kids that are 20 and 21! My interests are gardening, fitness, and hiking.  I really enjoy collaborating with teachers and can’t wait to connect with the Suisun Valley staff!

*Report Cards:  We have electronic report cards this year but at the end of the year they must be printed and put in the CUMS.  Until we go to electronic CUMS this process will have to be done every year.

May 28th at 8:00 daily teacher dance practice will begin with Rogelio.

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you Christina, Cecily, Robin, Amy, and Carol for a wonderful Parent Tea. You did a great job of creating a beautiful event for our parents!! Thank you FERN for being a ROCK STAR and getting all make ups done all week long!!! AMAZING!!

Play: Thank you for supporting each other during testing.

Choose your attitude: 

To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?" NO EXCUSES!!

Make Their Day:  Thank you teachers who were able to make it to the parent appreciation tea :) Thank you Mrs. Brick for adding our student art pieces at the Solano County art show. Thank you Cecily for doing Girls on the Run with our students. Thank you Kristin for making sure we have 1,000 pictures for our butterfly mural :)

Upcoming dates:

May 21 - 8:45 Talent Show; Grade level meeting 

May 22 - Last day to meet AR goal
May 23 - Dragon Awards
May 24 and May 27  No School

May 28- MAP testing begins; Royal King dance starts; 8:00am teacher dance practice

May 30-  AR party 
May 31-  8th graders at Six Flags; Last day for MAP testing  

June 3-  Report cards due to Jas- visible to parents on June 10

June 4  Staff meeting/social 3:15 at Mangels

June 5 Royal King Dance student show 5:00pm 

June 6 10:00 Promotion

June 7- Field day; minimum day

June 18 and 21 Genentech work days at SV from 9:00-2:00

May 10, 2019

Student Behavior/Adult Responsibilities

As we enter our last weeks of school (who is counting?), it is absolutely critical that we consistently reinforce our expectations, routines/procedures. We are seeing spikes in incidents of student behavior. As the adults on campus, it is imperative that we are supervising all students at all times as we escort students to/from class and reinforce our expectations about lining up, etc. Please make sure that adults are at their assigned duty areas, not congregating. We are required as professionals to monitor and supervise our students' safety on the playground and we gather in groups as adults when we are supposed to be supervising, we are putting the school and the employee in potential liability. Additionally, it is also the adults responsibility to monitor students if you send them outside to work.

What I Wish I Had Known Before . . ..

I wish I had know that my student’s behavior was a language- that their actions and words were telling me something what they were feeling or thinking. I wish I’d remembered that they did not get up in the morning plotting to do things to frustrate me.

I wish I’d known that meltdowns and explosions usually meant my students were tired, or hungry, or bored or frustrated themselves. I wish I’d known that they needed an adult to help them find the words to express what was troubling them. But they sure didn’t need a frustrated adult.

I wish I’d known more about child development, brain development and behavior. I wish I’d known that growing up is a slow process. I wish I’d known how each development stage has its own way of seeing the world. I wish I’d known that most times they saw things differently from me.

I wish I’d listened more to what was true about their hearts and spirits and personalities.

Makes me smile every time :)

Campus Safety and Locked Doors:  Just a reminder: "Campus security procedures

shall include a directive for staff to keep classroom doors locked at all times." It is important to note that
while the doors need to be locked at all times, they do not need to be closed at all times.  As long
as the door is locked, it can be propped open. The locking of the door, even if open, allows the
classroom to be quickly secured should the need arise to go into lock-down or lock out.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you Fern for making sure SBAC make ups are being done in a timely manner!! Thank you to every staff member to ensure testing is going smoothly our first week.

Play: Thank you Daniel for juggling so many hats this year and still smiling every day!!

Choose your attitude: The school year is NOT over - continue to be positive!! To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?" NO EXCUSES!!

Make Their Day:  Thank you for everything you DO to make sure our students are successful every day!! You are amazing!!

May 3, 2019

Dragon Teachers

When I began your class I think I knew

The kind of challenges you'd make me face.

You gave me motivation to pursue

The best, and to reject the commonplace.

Your thinking really opened up my mind.

With wisdom, style and grace, you made me see,

That what I'd choose to seek, I'd surely find;

You shook me out of my complacency.

I thank you now for everything you've done;

What you have taught me I will not outgrow.

Your kind attention touched my mind and heart;

In many ways that you will never know.

I will remember you my whole life through;

I wish that all my teachers were like you.

By Joanna Fuchs

Thank you for being the best all year long!!!

We will be celebrating Staff Appreciation ALL Week next week! If you’re a teacher, you know that these last days of the school year can be some of the most hectic days of all: report cards are due, cumulative folders need sorting, and kids are stir-crazy, watching the windows with envy. So before your count-down is up, take a moment to smile about the growth your students have made this year.

The Student Advisory Council presented their 2nd Student Voices presentation for the school year. Please take a few moments to watch the Student Voices presentation from the April 25th Governing Board meeting. Please watch.

*TESTING STARTS MONDAY!!!  PLEASE continue to encourage your students to DO THEIR BEST!  Remember to give gum or mint 20 to 30 minutes into testing.

Please remember a few important links and reminders:

CAASPP Quick Start Guides For Teachers

Test Administrator Resources for Summative Assessments

Starting point for all testing: www.fsusd.org/assessment

Please remember: 

*Students DO NOT log into Chrome Books!  They go to the bottom left corner to "APPS" and select AIRSecureTest.

*Technical issues during testing: Let Jas and Kristin know first, then Call 399-5100

*Technical issues during testing: Let Jas and Kristin know and then Submit an FMX ticket

*Please be mindful during recesses during testing. The basketball courts will be closed for the next two weeks until 12:25. Students will not be able to hang out on the blacktop near rooms 21, 22, 23.

Please welcome our new RSP teacher who took Chris Crawford's position. Her name is Christine Velarde. If you see her on campus please introduce yourself. 

April 26, 2019

A Teacher’s Success Story in FSUSD: (From Kristen Witt's newsletter)

I have a student who never turns  in any work (almost literally), is often late to class and is generally just insubordinate.  Some might look at him as a BIG problem on campus--I think I did. This student wouldn't even shake my hand.  

I was often at my wits end on how to reach this kid.  I can honestly say that I was ready to give up and just let him fail.  I witnessed another adult on campus treat a similar student with compassion and figured I owed it to him to give it another try.  

I can't pinpoint what it was exactly that I did--other than change my attitude towards him. I didn't confront him, nor did I lambast him (which he probably deserved)--I made a point to be positive and calm--it was tough.  I didn't continue to point out all of the things he was doing that were incorrect/out of line. He must've seen it or been in a place where he could see it and understood. What happened next surprised me--Recently on a Monday morning he showed up on time and shook my hand.  That day he turned in an assignment! Since then he has turned in a number of assignments and they were even well thought out and complete. He had not turned anything in for months. He didn't become an angel, nor has he turned in every assignment--but he has turned in most and he is now participating.  He is respectful and is not causing as many disruptions and I am very thankful that I was open to learning that even the seemingly unreachable can be reached. I am left with the understanding that I made a difference and that this student has made a difference in me too. He has helped me remember that some students need me to not quit on them.  It seemed like I gave him 100 chances--when he needed 101.

I am reminded that these kids can change and will change if we give them the chance.  

A Letter to Teachers From “That Kid”

( From Amy Chavez's newsletter) 

Dear Teacher,

I’m that kid. The kid who gets under your skin. The first grader who colors on your walls and spits on my table partners. The high school junior who mouths off and smirks from the back row. The child who knows exactly how to push your buttons, and does. Regularly.

I taunt. I terrorize. Sometimes I hit. I destroy. I curse. Rolling my eyes often seems like my favorite thing to do. I talk back. Maybe I’ve even made you cry a few times.

Don’t take my behavior toward you personally.

I know that doesn’t make any sense, since it’s mostly directed at you. But you know that old saying about having a bad day at work and going home and kicking the dog? Well, you’re the dog.

(I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.)

I really am a good kid deep down. There are so many things I care about. I have skills and strengths that I want to use to help other people. In fact, I secretly want for you to know all these good things about me.

But unfortunately, you don’t get to see these good things.

I am afraid. I am in pain. You know how if you put oil and water in a container together, the oil will float to the top? It’s like my fear and pain are the oil, and all the good things about me are water. Every once in a while, you might shake me up and see just a glimpse of those good things on the surface, but no matter how hard I try, the fear and pain will bubble up and cover everything again. It’s easy to think that the way that I react to fear and pain—the anger, the defiance—is the real me. In fact, I’ve even started to believe it.

The fear and pain I feel is different than what you may think. It’s not always actual physical fear or pain (though sometimes it is). I might be afraid that I’m not worthy of love, since my dad left me and my mom after I was born. I might be afraid that I will grow up to be like my mom, who is an alcoholic and misses all my baseball games. Or I might be in pain because my family and culture say I’m not manly enough since I cry a lot and am not really into sports. I might be in pain because someone who is supposed to love and protect me said something deeply hurtful that I won’t ever forget.

Maybe you look at me and think there’s no excuse for the way I behave. You might think, “This child has a stable family, loving parents, and a secure environment. I know kids with a lot less who behave perfectly fine.”

But please remember that there is always more than what you see.

What you might not know is that the pressure to be perfect or different than who I am is so intense and crushing that I believe I’m a failure, and I’m too scared to tell anybody that.

Or maybe my home life is fine, but I’m learning a very dangerous message—that I’m inadequate, unlovable, or not worthy of belonging—in some situation outside of home, or inside my own head. Maybe something is going on, or has happened, that nobody, not even my parents, knows about but me, and I do a really good job of faking that I’m happy or that I don’t care.

I know that I’m making things hard for you. I know you don’t deserve it. But I feel like you should know this: Somewhere, on a level I’m not even aware of, I’ve chosen you to behave this way toward because I know you’re a person who can help me.

This is a cry for help.

I want the same things everybody else does, but I’m asking for it in the most confusing and unflattering of ways.

I don’t know how to fix all of this (or I would have already). And I don’t think it’s necessarily your responsibility to fix me. But here’s how you can help me.

Start small. I’m fragile, and I’ve been hurt. Because I’ve got so much junk at the surface, maybe don’t try to remove it all at once or ask me to open up right away about my fear and pain.

Show me that you notice me—not my behavior, but something about me.

Ask me questions.

Don’t give in when I try to rile you up.

Maybe, slowly, I will learn to trust you. Or maybe I will take a long time, and you won’t see any progress in our time together, but your patience and kindness toward me will plant a seed that will sprout many years later.

But please, please, please don’t give up on me.

Love,

That Kid

SBAC Celebration on Monday:
Come prepared with your list of names that you will be reading. I will read perfect scores first. We will start with 3rd grade. Former grade level teachers go up and read the names of their students from last year together. Read ELA first Proficient/Advanced, then read ELA band jumpers. Students stay up front. Read Math next Proficient/Advanced, then read Math band jumpers. All students stay up front until all names are read for each grade level. If you have a new student in your class this year, you will be reading their name and recognizing them. 

Mrs. Merodio's last day will be on Tuesday. Thank you for going above and beyond to meet your students needs and even meeting with those students who are not part of your daily groups. We appreciate your dedication to our school!

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you staff for making our front office staff feel appreciated for ALL they do!! Thank you Heather H. and Kristin for helping out the front office.

Choose your attitude: 

To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?" NO EXCUSES!!

Make Their Day:  Thank you Daniel for always stepping up and going the extra mile. Thank you Ariel and Carole for our fun spring sing concert.

Play: Thank you for making it a fun day for our office staff all week long.