We are the Champions

  Just thinking about the next 4 weeks of school makes me feel like the owl on the right.  Believe it or not, the end is almost here.  Having a late spring break is great because there's not much time left when we return, but it also can be stressful knowing how much there is to do in so very little time.  Please know that we are all in this together and if you need help just ask.  I am going to ask for help from everyone with the student cum folders this year.  Typically the homeroom teachers do this themselves, but with a baby on the way and teacher workshops during the 4 days when school is done, it's going to be all hands on deck.  Thank you in advance for being All In to Make the end Happen with as least stress as possible.  The top 6 items that need to be addressed before we hit the beach are: grades, cum folders, inventory, packing up the rooms, professional development, and review of our action plans.  We have two remaining faculty meetings, two half days of school, and 4 PD days that will help to get this all done.  Gina will have more details at Monday's faculty meeting.    

Here is the list of PD available the 4 days after school lets out.  Anyone who will be teaching science next year is required to attend one of the sessions (Thursday or Friday) on NGSS.  I will also this workshop.  Anyone who will be teaching K-8 science, technology, art, religion, math, or language arts will be required to attend the STEAM workshop on Monday.  Gina and I will both be there for this.  This will be a great opportunity for us to learn together and start developing plans for how we will start the paddle upSTREAM.  It will not happen in one year, but we need to take advantage of this opportunity to help get us started.  The other workshops are optional if you wish to take them.  Gina and I will also work on getting PD for envision math (K-8), whichever science program we choose (K-5), and anyone new to Wit and Wisdom.  We can talk about when is best to do this.  It may seem like a lot, but there are a number of new series we are adopting and it's best to do all this at the beginning of the summer so you have the summer to digest it and start planning for next school year.  We can then plan some PLC time during pre-planning in August for questions, idea sharing, refreshers, etc.  

Thursday, May 30

Exploring Next Generation Science Standards (Full Day) 

Project/Problem Based Learning K-12 (am session)

Accommodations for Special Learners K-12 (pm session)

Friday, May 31

Exploring Next Generation Science Standards (Full Day)

Writing Across the Curriculum K-12 (am session)

Using Technology to Differentiate K-12 (pm session)

Monday, June 3

STEAM K-12 (Full Day Workshop)

Tuesday, June 4

Effective Classroom Management K-12 (am session)

The Power of Praise in the Classroom K-12 (pm session)

Now that I've hit you with all that, it's time for the REALLY GOOD NEWS!......  We've seen the Terra Nova scores and there is much to celebrate.  In some cases, the classes did better than on the iReady tests.  What I am most excited about are the math scores.  I'm not sure how these compare to Iowa and there is a lot of analysis to do, but at first glance, for the first time taking this test we did great.  For some of you, if you look at the overall class scores in some areas, you may not be impressed.  However, if you look deeper and look at individual scores, you will find that there are a few students in your class (and I'm sure you will know who they are) who bring down the class scores.  There are students scoring in the single digit percentiles and that will affect scores greatly.  One thing I believe you will find is that this test more accurately compares to how students do in the classroom.  Those who you expect to do well did and those who struggle did not do as well.  Again this is in general.  There are always exceptions.  I don't understand how to read it all yet and how to run reports, particularly for InView.  Alton and Gina will be trained on this on May 6.  They will then share what they learned at our May 13 faculty meeting.  In the meantime, I will share your login codes tomorrow so you can start looking.  

Some general highlights by grade (areas where the class did very well):

2nd grade - math

3rd grade - math and reading

4th grade - reading

5th grade - math and reading

6th grade - reading and language

7th grade - this class was in the 60s percentile for everything

8th grade - this class was in the 70s percentile for everything and were clearly the superstars

Overall, everyone did very well in science and social studies.  Language and mechanics tended to be lower than other scores in most grades. 

Thank you to everyone, not only for your day-to-day efforts in teaching our students, but also for getting the students through the testing in a way that helped them to be successful.  

Highlights for this week:

Full faculty meeting Monday (location TBD)

Galy and Jamie to be interviewed for the Shining Light award

May 1 is the May crowning Mass and Kids on the Block presentation for grades 3 and 4

Friday I will be at the Bethany Center.  This will be a working session to review and revise our crisis intervention plan.

Friday is also Marvelous Mustang and Jean Day

Saturday - First communion for our 2nd graders

Have a Blessed Holy Week

As we near the end of our Lenten Journey, I wish you all a Blessed Holy Week.  Our much awaited Easter Break is almost here.  Enjoy the time away with friends and family and return rejuvenated and ready for the final weeks of school.  Those final weeks will fly by and there is much to accomplish before the year is over.  

Say a prayer for our 5th and 8th graders this week as they will be taking the ACRE test on Tuesday.  This is an opportunity for our students to show how much they have learned about their faith and how they live it.  

One more reminder to get all your events for next year into schooldude by May 10.  If there is anything else that needs to be added to the school calendar, please let me know asap.  I will share our current final version with everyone.  Thank you and have a Happy Easter!

Spring Break is Closer than it Seems

Gina and I walked the school on Friday after everyone left.  We really enjoyed the dino-doors you all created.  I particularly like the dino-selfies of Sue and Susana.  We did have a hard time picking a winner so we decided to choose one from Angel's Wing and one from the main building.  That didn't quite work either.  Here are the winners....

Angel's Wing - 7th grade

Main Building - It was a tie...  2A (Ms. Galy) and 1A (Ms. Maria)

We truly loved ALL the doors.  All three classrooms will receive $50 to spend on books.  We will also announce on the Morning Show. 

This is our last full week prior to Spring Break.  It's important to finish up units if possible prior to break, give summatives, and start fresh when you return.  Once we return, we will only have 4 full weeks of school (3 for 8th grade).  It will go by quickly.  Before you leave for on April 17, please be sure you spend some time with the students cleaning your classrooms.  While we have a cleaning company for trash, floors, and bathrooms, most of the classroom cleaning should be done by you and the students.  Here are some things that should be done on a weekly basis:

• Dust shelves
• Clear off the sink counter and wipe it down
• Wipe off desks and tables
• Dust electronics
• Clean the whiteboard

Students should also clean out desks and lockers every Friday and take home their papers.  If you have a job chart in your room (and you should), be sure to include these items.  Remember, our classrooms are used by others each week and every day when you leave, they should look the same way your home does when you are expecting company.  

Next Sunday is uniform Sunday.  Please remind students to come to church in their uniform.  There is only one more opportunity after next week to earn a Holy Card.  

I will be at the Ringling Museum on Friday with Mrs. Gonzalez and the 8th grade.  

Be sure to sign up for a Benefits session.  There are many changes and it would be wise to attend.  The closest is at Nativity and you will probably need to go to the 6 p.m. session.  Everyone who has benefits would have received an email regarding the meetings.  

On a final note, any time a parent talks to you about tuition, scholarships, finances, etc. please refer them to the office.  I'm not sure who said what and it could have gotten lost in translation, but I had a parent say to me they were upset I was asking everyone to participate in the raffle when his tuition money goes to others who then get free tuition.  That is not true at all.  When we spoke he told me he thought that because a teacher told him some students come here for free and that's how it works.  Please know that no one comes here for free using another family's tuition money.  Some get government scholarships, some get scholarships from the diocese and other trust funds, and some do get school scholarship money.  The school scholarship money does not come from other parents.  It comes from support from our church, support from other churches that do not have schools where our students are registered, and donations from parishioners, many of whom are very generous to our Heart-to-Heart program.  Now you all have the facts, but it's always best to refer people to the office.  

Thank you all for everything you do.