High Point News
Week of: March 31st, 2014
********NEWS*************************
Welcome!
Please join me in welcoming Jacinta Alexander as our newly appointed Assistant Principal! As stated in the letter, she comes to us with many years of experience as a classroom teacher, CST, and AP. We are truly lucky to have her! Please take a moment to introduce yourself and welcome her to our school. We don't want to "break her in" too early but she will be the first point in discipline should you have a referral. Ms. Reed will be point person #2 and Pitchford will be #3.
We will also give you Ms. Alexander's number to call if you are out. We are working on getting her a phone. In the meantime, please call, text, or email Pitchford if you are going to be absent. The number is 404-946-8636.
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Reminders Before Break
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Congratulations!
We would like to take a moment to recognize Amy Bradshaw for being one of four finalists in our Central Learning Community for Teacher of the Year. Our Central Learning Staff came out last week to do an observation and interview and were VERY impressed with what is going on in Amy's classroom. While she did not make the final cut, we are extremely proud of her for representing our school!
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CRCT TrainingsCRCT trainings will be held during the following times:
- April 15th = grades 3, 4, and 5 during your common planning time in the conference room
- April 15th = teachers who are unable to attend the planning during the day will need to attend the training offered from 3:30-4:00 Tuesday afternoon in the media center (immediately following the staff meeting).
- April 15th = proctor meeting from 3:20-3:30 in the media center (immediately following the staff meeting).
Additional trainings might be offered. Stay tuned for updates and email Jacinta if you are unable to attend one of the following sessions.
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Technology Tips for the Week!
Technology Tips for the Week!
· Turn off computers and laptops each night (don’t
just close the laptop which puts it in hibernate mode). Laptops need to be
restarted each day…that is how they receive Microsoft updates, virus definition
updates, county updates, etc. and it resets certain settings which keep them
healthy.
·
If you are having a problem with your Promethean
board, desktops, laptop, projector, etc. the first thing you can do is restart
the device. To restart the Promethean board, unplug it from the wall, wait
3-5 minutes then plug it back in.
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What I've Been Thinking About…
I've been thinking about how we can help students embrace their mistakes. This article talks about how important it is to help students "rethink" their mistakes and begin to view them as helpful. Students "mistakes" can affect them both academically and emotionally so it's important that we teach them how to handle their mistakes. Check it out! http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teaching-students-to-embrace-mistakes-hunter-maats-katie-obrien?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-obrien-maats-embrace-mistakes-image
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PBIS This Week!
In order to make sure we are recognizing positive behavior and being proactive in our discipline during the last week before Spring Break, we have decided to redo our TICKETS COMPETITION for this week only!
Please have your students, assistants, volunteers, etc.. help count your tickets and return them in a baggie with the total.
We will announce the winner of the 10 minutes of extra recess and JEANS pass for the teachers the following Monday.
Also, this week is the last week to turn in a buddy brag!! Take a moment to compliment a fellow colleague and give them the "gift of time!"
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Science
Day is this Friday, April 4th
A few items regarding Science Day:
Please pick up
your Science Day bins tomorrow, Tuesday, April 1 in the cafeteria
at the following times:
- Grades K – 2nd from 7:15 am – 8:00 am
- Grades 3rd – 5th from 2:30 pm to 3:00 pm
**In addition
to inspecting your bin to make sure you have everything you need, please
test your experiment before Friday as there may be unforeseen glitches that
need to be worked out. The Science Day Committee is more than willing to
purchase additional supplies if the need arises.**
Please be sure to make time, on Science Day, for
journaling.This is a great tool for the students to reflect on what they
learned and practice good writing.
We will have our School Board Member, Julia Bernath, our Area Executive Director, Kirk Shrum, as well as parents, teachers and staff from other schools here during Science Day! Please make them feel welcome!
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Help Us Recruit Career Day Speakers!
Help Us Recruit Career Day Speakers!
As part of Fulton County's
College and Career Readiness initiative, High Point will host our first annual
career day on May 7th. We are seeking volunteers to share
information about their careers with High Point students on the afternoon of
May 7th. Please pass the following link onto any friends or
family who may be interested in speaking about their career. They can also
visit the High Point homepage and click on the “sign up to be a career day
speaker” link. The deadline to sign up to be a speaker is April 10th.
This information will also go home to parents in this week’s newsletter.
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Parents
Taking Pictures
Teachers: please be mindful of those parents that wish to exclude their
children from photographs. If you have an event in your classroom or a
field trip and parents are taking pictures, please advise them of the students
that should not be photographed as we cannot control where those pictures are
posted.
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Mrs. Woods’s class performed an
array of assessments on the current math standards. Her goal was to give all
students, regardless of their learning styles, a chance to show mastery.
In the photos below, you will notice students showing proficiency of the same
standard in several different ways. The app Infuse Learning was also used
during one of the assessments. It provides a new way of monitoring students’
thinking without adding the stress of a test. Please contact Mrs. Woods or Ms.
Reed if you want to know more about Infuse Learning.
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****VISUALS OF BEST PRACTICES****
In Ms. Cornibe’s 1st
grade class, feedback is given on their writing. It is so important for teachers to provide feedback on
student writing. This feedback support students’ writing development and nurtures their
confidence as writers. Feedback on writing is most valuable to students’
writing development when it takes place at the beginning and middle stages of
the writing process. This is
the time when students can use the
feedback to revise and edit their writing.
******WRITER's GALLERY**********
The writers' gallery/ pledge is hosted by Ms. Wood's class this week.
The writers' gallery/ pledge is hosted by Ms. Rutledge's class after spring break.
******CALENDAR OF EVENTS*******
Monday, March 31st
Tuesday, April 1st
2:50 - Grade Level Meetings
Pitchford out - New Principal's Meeting
Wednesday, April 2nd
College Spirit Wear Day
2:50 - PLC Meetings
Hess out - CST Meeting
Pitchford out - New Principal's Meeting
Wednesday, April 2nd
College Spirit Wear Day
2:50 - PLC Meetings
Hess out - CST Meeting
Thursday, April 3rd
Pajama Day!
Qdoba for Lunch - Please order by Wednesday
Grade Level Newsletter Goes Home
Qdoba for Lunch - Please order by Wednesday
Grade Level Newsletter Goes Home
Friday, April 4th
Science Day
Select and Change Student of the Week; Turn in Tickets!
Happy Spring Break!!! Be Safe!!
Science Day
Select and Change Student of the Week; Turn in Tickets!
Happy Spring Break!!! Be Safe!!
******BIRTHDAYS! ****************
Happy birthday to Ruth Dalzell and Molly Groebner on April 4th, and Wanda Papillion on the 8th! We hope you all have a wonderful birthday!




