District Wide Prefessional Development Day

Professional Learning Activities 

September 23, 2016 is our first professional development day of the school year.  Due to the fact that teh beginning of the year is filled with clerical tasks and duties we will only have an abreviated meeting and allow staff to work to catch and meet all past and pending deadlines.

As we work toward our IB goals we will discuss our Plans of Inquiry for the Thematic Units we are currently teaching.

Please follow the link below and review the contents of the website and the associate pictures of student work products.  Use this information to guide the development of your instructional practices during the demonstration block where we engage students  in thematic instruction.

Tomorrow we will discuss this information and have each team review their POI for our first thematic unit.

https://istpyp.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/key-concepts-in-the-curriculum/

Agenda

7:45 AM - Sign In

8:30 AM 

1. ACIP and Technology Plan Review 

2.  IB Thematic instruction Team Presentations (10 minutes) - Each Team will present to the faculty their thematic unit plan of Inquiry for this month.  The discusssion should include;

a.  essential question / central idea

b.  standards included in unit

c.  learning objectives

d.  resources and activites used to engage learners 

e. details of group discussions and projects

e.  evaluation of student learning

9:30 AM

3.  Computer Lab - (Educate Alabama, Advance Ed Surveys and Easy Tech)

Lunch 12:00 Noon - 1:00 PM

3:15 PM - Dismissed

Team Meetings 9.12.16

Agenda

1.  Literacy Instruction
     a.  Learning Focused
     b.  Journey's
     c.  IB Thematic Instruction
          1.  PYP Action Plan
          2.  POI
          3.  Fidelity

2.  Continuous Improvement Plan
     a.  Self Assessment
     b.  Stakeholder Involvement
     c.  Executive Summary
     d.  Effective Schools Goals

3.  Educate Alabama
     a.  Education Directory
     b.  Self Assessment
     c.  Professional Learning Plan

4.  Introduction to Retirement Counseling
   
   

Updates

1.  Go to the Education directory and update your personal and school contact information. If you are a new employee to our school sure to select me as your evaluator.

2.  Complete your self assessment in Educate Alabama (September 12, 2016).

3.  Complete your Professional Learning Plan in Educate Alabama (September 14, 2016) -  Each year we work toward school goals and we document our plans in the PLP.  We have found it to be most helpful for staff if you include the job-embedded PD that will be offered at school as an easy and reliable means to meet all PLP goals. This year under academic goals you may include the following;

Complete International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program Training (Category 1, 2 or 3 as applies to you based on work completed).

Evidence - Certificate of Completion

Implications for Learning - Implementation of thematic instruction, utilizing inquiry based teaching strategies and increased instructional rigor.

2.  Complete Learning Focused Schools training.

Evidence - Sign in Sheets

Implications for Learning - Lessons framed around an essential questions and anchor activities.  Increased small group instruction, increased use of graphic organizers in literacy lessons, collaboratively planned lessons, emphasis on students improving critical thinking skills as demonstrated by integrating knowledge across content areas.

3.  Team Meetings on Monday - Team Leaders should bring notebook of team meeting minutes and Teachers should bring student data forms showing student levels and intervention groups.

8:30 AM - 2nd and 3rd Grades

9:35 AM - UA and PE

10:40 AM - K and 1st Grade

1:30 PM - 4th and 5th Grades

Month Two of the School Year

August was a flash and now we are about to complete Week 5 of school! Listed below are few updates and important information.  Team leaders please sure that all of your team members review this information and are in compliance.

1.  Be sure to record detailed minutes from grade level meetings including in particular comments and ideas reflecting evidence of data analysis, collaborative discussions and implementation of best practices.

2.  Until all reading materials are in, please utilize your online access to Journey's materials to plan lessons and center activities etc.

3.  Protect the Reading Block! No Interruptions, No Errands, No Excuses!!

4.  Reminder: Parent conferences must occur during planing time.  Please professionally inform parents who may show up of our policy and continue to teach toward your objectives.

Also, parents may not host birthday celebrations at school.  We can not compromise instructional time we have goals to achieve and birthday parties will not help us get there.  Please advise you parents accordingly if asked.  

5.  Please talk to your students about their conduct in the restrooms.  We are finding evidence of students standing on toilets, wasting paper and putting foreign objects in the toilets.  Please monitor your students on your class breaks for time in the restroom and cleanliness.

6.  Please advise you recycling team to be sure to place items in the bins and not on the floor.

7.  Staff must have clearance from administration in order to be in the building after hours (5:00 PM) or on weekends. If you need to do so contact administration for prior approval.

Week 3 Updates

1.  Grade Level Meetings will be held on today in the conference room.

2nd and 3rd Grades - 8:40 AM

UA/ PE - 9:40 AM

K and 1st  - 11:15 AM

4th and 5th Grades - 1:40 PM

Agenda

1. 2016 Data Review

2.  Journeys Reading Program

3.   ELEOT Classroom Student Engagement Tool

4,  Learning Focused Lessons

5.  IB Thematic Units

6.  Student Discipline

7.  Parent Communication

8.  Team Collaboration

9.  Technology Classes will begin on Monday.  Please have your students arrive with Stride Academy Passwords.

Open House Schedule

6:00 PM  Call to Order
           
                 Pledge

                 Welcome

                 Introduction of Faculty and Staff
                 Pre K
                 K
                 1st Grade
                 2nd Grade
                 3rd Grade
                 4th Grade
                 5th Grade
                 Unified Arts
                 Collaborative Education

                 Selection from String Orchestra

                 Greetings From Principal Brown

6:30 PM   Room Visitation

7:00 PM  Room Visitation

7:30 PM  Dismissal

You are remarkable!  Two days of school and two days of success for our students.  I have been very impressed by the spirit of collegiality and professionalism exhibited by staff this week.  We are a learning focused organization and it shows. Keep up the good work!

Reminders

1. Reducing copier costs is still a major point of emphasis for the district as we seek to save money where we can be more efficient.  Therefore you are reminded to be prudent and think about how we can keep fidelity but be more efficient.

For Example : Print Weekly HW Sheets on a 1/2 Page,  Survey parents and only send printed copies to parents who can not access you Blog for the information, Avoid typing a writing prompt on a page and copying it for student writing, rather write the prompt in the board and have students write on their own paper.

2.  Engage in the recycling program.  Saturday I decided to take out the trash so that our custodians would be free for other needs when they arrived Monday morning.  The experience revealed something to me that our custodians have often said.  We discard large amount of paper.  Extra copies of materials that were not used.  I emptied several bags into the recycling bins that were full of nothing but paper.

3.  We will begin administering the Universal Screener on Monday.  As you know all data will be published by class and teacher. We will discuss data and account for the results as we plan for improvement.  That includes benchmark data and end of the year accountability data.

4.  Open House tomorrow 6:00 - 7:30PM. All faculty and staff will be introduced and parents will visit classrooms to hear from the teacher.  There will be (2) 20 minute sessions for classrooom visitation.