February 26, 2018

Monday Notes 2.26.18

*******************NEWS**********************

Congratulations!!!

Congratulations to Kristen Mayhall and her husband Colton as they will be welcoming a baby this August! The "gender reveal" will not be until late March but we are so excited for them both!!!! 

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Pop Up PD Next Week

Pop-Up PD will be next Tuesday, March 6th. Here are some of the great things you can expect to choose from: 2:55-3:20 and 3:25-3:50

“How to get through the day without pulling your hair out.” - Room 226

Sensory Strategies 101-the basics of sensory integration and simple strategies to use in the classroom for calming, connecting the students body to their brain, and increase their attention/arousal to be able to learn.

"TAG Strategies That Are Good For All Students" - Room 136

"Safari Montage Basics" - Media Center

This beginner session will help you learn the basics of Safari Montage. Safari Montage is a program provided by Fulton Schools and accessed via Launchpad- it contains videos, live TV streaming, and playlists that correlate with your curriculum. 

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Active Shooter Training

Due to recent events, the county is requiring all staff members attend an Active Shooter Training before March 2nd. We will be cutting our Leadership Team Meeting short Tuesday in order to conduct this training after school. 

The training will be from 2:55-3:30. We will review our safety procedures, discuss a few changes to improve our safety, and answer any questions at that time. Sign-in at this training is required. Please email Pitchford if you are unable to attend.  

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International Night!

Teachers: We need your help!

International Night is fast approaching and we are in need of parents to represent their home country!  Last year we had 20 booths!  As you conference or communicate through Dojo, SeeSaw, email, websites etc., please remind parents to return the neon green paper or access this link to sign up!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfUzA_c4PVvkL6V89WH0ezJspPz8AJEy4XjthvTRvMsmerizg/viewform?usp=sf_link

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PTO Fall Fundraiser

Our PTO is so pleased with the results of our successful fall fundraising campaign!  We have already made a meaningful investment in technology for classrooms and will contribute toward each grade’s field trip funds for the 2018-2019 school year.  

We have some additional funds to spend this year and wanted to solicit your thoughts as to how we should spend it.  Please take 2 minutes to complete this 2 question survey for us!  If you complete by Thursday, March 1 we will enter your name into a drawing for a $10 Target card.   Survey is linked here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F23BXFD  

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Digital Learning Day Surveys

Please make sure you are encouraging your students to return the Digital Learning Surveys to you by this Friday. We will ask you to use the surveys to complete a "Digital Learning Form" next week!! Thank you!!!  

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GA Milestones Informational Night

Mr. DiBartolo will be hosting an GA Milestones Informational Night this Thursday! The night will begin at 5:00 pm and we will show parents what GA Milestones will look like in reading and math as well as give tips for how to help their children at home. Teachers in 3-5, please encourage your parents to come!!!

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KSU Coach

Schedule: This week I am at High Point on T 2/27, Th 3/1 and F 3/2

Notes: Needing some resources for your Digital Learning Day planning? Try implementing some of the Fulton supported programs accessed through Launchpad such as Safari Montage, MaxinVia or Galileo! You can find a resource, share a link with students and they can use their student id/birthday to log in to safely view the content. 

Highlights: A big shout out to those teachers who stopped by for the 'Lunch and Learn' session on Th 2/22 reviewing Learning.com. If you didn't have a chance to drop in, I shared the handouts with you - placed in your box. To say thank you, I placed the attendees' names into a 'Random Name Picker' and Leigha Jones will be receiving a fun takeaway for her participation! 

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IB in Action!!

Amy Bradshaw’s IB Classroom Board is a great example of not only showcasing the elements of the Unit of Inquiry, but also displaying evidence of student learning during the unit! Stop by and see it!

*************CALENDAR OF EVENTS**********

Monday, February 26th
9:30 - Prospective Parent Tour
Career Week Begins!! - Hats Off to our Future!

Tuesday, February 27th

5th Grade Field Trip
1:30 - Leadership Team Meeting
2:55 - Active Shooter Training in the Media Center
Career Week: Dress for Success!

Wednesday, February 28th

Math PLCs during Specials
PSC Go Home for 1st Graders 
Career Week: Our Future is So Bright, We Have to Wear Shades!

Thursday, March 1st

2:50 pm - PLCs
5:00 pm - GA Milestones Informational Night
Career Week: Fast Forward to Future Careers! 

Friday, March 2nd 
7:30 - PTO Board Meeting
1st Grade In-House Field Trip
Career Week: College Spirit!!

*****************BIRTHDAYS! ******************

Happy birthday to Bridget Mahle on the 28th and Michelle Dickie on the 3rd of March!!! We hope you both have an amazing birthday!!

February 19th, 2018

Monday Notes 2.19.18

*******************NEWS**********************

Personalized Learning Survey 

Any staff member who received devices (EIP, ESOL, SPED, TAG, General Education, etc...) needs to complete the following survey by March 2nd. Thank you!!!!

bit.ly/FultonPLTeach

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Ridgeview Teachers Visit High Point

Ridgeview will be sending a cadre of teachers to visit High Point today from 9-11 am.  They will primarily be observing in the 5th grade classrooms, but have also asked to walk the building to observe how HPE connects the IB philosophy to teaching and learning!  This is an educational visit for them to better understand our school and how it connects to theirs! 

Thank you for welcoming them into our school! 

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REFLEX Math

As you continue to use Reflex, here are some resources you may find helpful: 

1) Reflex Engagement Kit - http://news.reflexmath.com/kit/ReflexEngagementKit.pdf

2) The Implementation Ideas section of the Reflex blog - http://blog.explorelearning.com/category/implementation-ideas/

3) Reflex YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj6XLhcRdGk

Here is an update on our usage. 

Most teachers are using Reflex, most notably Emma Gilmore, whose students have solved a total of 41,595 facts.  Paws up, Emma!

Our students are working well and have mastered 18,948 new facts and solved a total of 430,775 facts. We have many students that have completed their initial assessments and are within the 60-65% range of fluency. This is amazing progress! 

Our students have an average green light usage of 36%. For our students to make good progress with their math facts, Reflex recommends they have a Green Light Percentage of at least 70%, logging in three days a week or more. 

We want you to feel confident and prepared to implement Reflex in your classroom and encourage you to email Kerstin if you have questions. Keep up your good work! 

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Reminder: Digital Learning Day

Fulton County will have a "Digital Learning Day" on March 9th. All staff will report to High Point while students will be completing work from home. Two things we know: 

1. some of our students don't have devices and 2. we want our students to be learning on the 9th! 

What's the plan? 

Survey: We will be placing a paper survey in your box this week to be sent home asking parents about the types of devices they have as well as if their child has access to the internet. This is great information, not only for the 9th, but also moving forward in your classroom and for next year. You will keep these surveys and report your findings to admin through a quick online form. 

March 9th: Teachers K-5 will create a choice board of online activities as well as offline activities for students to complete. Some activities may include: Redbird, iRead, iReady, Read to Self, Writing Journal, an Inquiry-Based Activity, Google Classroom, etc...! The focus is Reading and Math. It's up to the grade level how many activities you want to offer and want the child to complete. 

K-2 = should be approximately 90 minutes of work

3-5 = should be approximately 3 hours of work

Students can complete these activities on the 9th. If they are unable, they will have the following week for make-ups. The grade level will determine what needs to be turned in and how it will be graded if necessary. 

Please click on the link below for digital learning resources from the county that you can use. https://fultonk12-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/personal/ramonm_fultonschools_org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B0b60faa0-a4c7-45dd-a0f6-82cbfdaf2511%7D&action=view

Each grade level has to have the SAME Choice Board for their students and will communicate it as a team. Please get with EIP, ESOL, and Special Education teachers in order for them to have input on the activities. The choice board should be explained to students during the week of March 5th. 

Bottom Line: Make it meaningful. Make it simple. 

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Teacher Representative on SGC! 

I​t's SGC elections season and we REALLY want our teachers to get involved. If you are interested in serving on our SGC, please fill out the quick application below before Friday!!!! 

Questions? Ask Eigel, Strafford, Roberts, or Truesdale!!! 

http://www.fultonschools.org/en/about/charter/Pages/electionresources.aspx

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Tier III

Tier III deadline is March 2nd. Please contact Brian Madej with any questions or concerns. Thanks!!!! 

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Continue to Recruit Career Day Speakers

High Point will host our fifth annual career day on Friday, March 2nd. Please invite parents in as well as any friends or family members. We currently only have 13 speakers signed up!

  

Please have speakers visit the following link to sign up:

https://goo.gl/forms/IIiKhMCBy09ydrnP2

The grade level that recruits the most speakers will have an additional guidance lesson next month!!!!! 

In addition, please set aside the entire day on the 2nd for Career Day speakers and activities! Ms. Wooden is working on the schedule and will give it to all homeroom teachers ASAP. You will not need to plan anything on this day! 

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KSU Coach

Schedule: I will be at High Point on T 2/20 and Th 2/22.

Highlights: Learning.com provides typing lessons through their program, Easy Tech Keyboarding & Word Processing. Both students and teachers can access this program from Launchpad. Students will use Learning.com to build foundations for keyboarding and gain experience with typing. Teachers will use it to review students' progress and assign curriculum to their classes. If you are unsure of how this program works or what it will look like for your students, check out these tutorial videos Mrs. Dennis and I have made that walk you through the Student View and Teacher View! Please contact either one of us if you have questions!

Notes: Join me for a 'Lunch and Learn' reviewing how to incorporate Learning.com into your daily routine on Thursday 2/22! Stop by the book room before, during or after your lunch to grab a flyer and go OR stay and explore with your colleagues and myself for support. It is up to if you if you would like to participate - however there will be snacks and opportunities for prizes if you attend! If you're wondering how to make this work in your classroom or have no idea why it would benefit you and your students, then come by between 10:25am-12:35pm.

Don't forget to check out the High Point Spotlight on...

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PBIS

The Hound Dog Emporium will be stopping by soon! 

Date to Distribute for FEBRUARY: 

PreK, Kindergarten, and 1st Grade Complete Order forms

3rd Grade           February 20th and 21st 

4th Grade           February 26th and 27th 

5th Grade            February 28th and 1st

February Social Incentive: 

“PAW”rista - Hot Cocoa Party

PAWRISTA DATES: 

K-2 Feb. 23rd in the cafeteria

3-5 March 9th in the cafeteria

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SeeSaw

Teachers will be receiving a Stupendous Usage in Seesaw Award, for the top three classes each week in Seesaw. The top class will receive Buddy Bucks for Working Hard in Seesaw. 

Congratulations goes to: 

Ms. Milazzo’s Class                           58 new posts

Mrs. Bradshaw’s Class                     51 new posts

Ms. Sapp’s Class                               32 new posts

*************CALENDAR OF EVENTS**********

Monday, February 19th
No School!!!!

Tuesday, February 20th

Guided Reading PLC during Specials for 3-5 ONLY

Wednesday, February 21st

Guided Reading PLC during Specials for K-2 ONLY
3-5 Words Their Way Training during Specials

Thursday, February 22nd

2:50 pm - PLCs
1:50 - ETT with 3rd Grade

Friday, February 23rd 
7:30 am - SGC Meeting
PBIS Party for PreK-2
PSC Due for 1st Grade

*****************BIRTHDAYS! ******************

Happy birthday to Lacey Hawkins TODAY and Rachel Wooden on the 25th! We hope you both have an amazing birthday!!

February 12th, 2018

Monday Notes 2.12.18

*******************NEWS**********************

National School Counseling Week! 

We did not realize that last week was National School Counseling Week! We appreciate everything that Ms. Wooden and Ms. Tench do for us and our students at High Point. Please take a moment and let them know how much you value their work and support of our kids!!

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Ridgeview Teachers Visit High Point

Ridgeview will be sending a cadre of teachers to visit High Point on February 20th from 9-11 am.  They will primarily be observing in the 5th grade classrooms, but have also asked to walk the building to observe how HPE connects the IB philosophy to teaching and learning!  This is an educational visit for them to better understand our school and how it connects to theirs!  

Please make sure your classroom IB boards & Hallway Unit Posters are up to date and match, as well as your Hallway IB board showing your previous unit learnings! Let's show off all the great things you are doing!  If you need help, please let Lib  know!

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TOTY and PEOTY

We are excited to hold our Teacher and Professional Employee of the Year Celebration tomorrow in the cafeteria from 2:55-3:30! This year's theme is MARDI GRAS!!!!!!!!

We hope you will join us in wearing purple, green, or gold and bringing any boas or beads to celebrate our event! A mardi gras mask will be in your box this afternoon in order for you to come to our event fully prepared!!!! 

We will have Mardi Gras themed food to snack on such as Popeyes, Zappos chips, MoonPies and King Cakes! We will also have a photo booth and some fun games to play. 

The winners will be announced at 3:20 and then you can stay for as long as you want!!!!

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Digital Learning Day

Fulton County will have a "Digital Learning Day" on March 9th. All staff will report to High Point while students will be completing work from home. Two things we know: 

1. some of our students don't have devices and 2. we want our students to be learning on the 9th! 

What's the plan? 

Survey: We will be placing a paper survey in your box this week to be sent home asking parents about the types of devices they have as well as if their child has access to the internet. This is great information, not only for the 9th, but also moving forward in your classroom and for next year. You will keep these surveys and report your findings to admin through a quick online form. 

March 9th: Teachers K-5 will create a choice board of online activities as well as offline activities for students to complete. Some activities may include: Redbird, iRead, iReady, Read to Self, Writing Journal, an Inquiry-Based Activity, Google Classroom, etc...! The focus is Reading and Math. It's up to the grade level how many activities you want to offer and want the child to complete. 

K-2 = should be approximately 90 minutes of work

3-5 = should be approximately 3 hours of work

Students can complete these activities on the 9th. If they are unable, they will have the following week for make-ups. The grade level will determine what needs to be turned in and how it will be graded if necessary. 

Please click on the link below for digital learning resources from the county that you can use. https://fultonk12-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/personal/ramonm_fultonschools_org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B0b60faa0-a4c7-45dd-a0f6-82cbfdaf2511%7D&action=view

Each grade level has to have the SAME Choice Board for their students and will communicate it as a team. Please get with EIP, ESOL, and Special Education teachers in order for them to have input on the activities. The choice board should be explained to students during the week of March 5th. 

Bottom Line: Make it meaningful. Make it simple. 

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Teacher Representative on SGC! 

I​t's SGC elections season again!  SGC elections are a way for parents and teachers who are elected onto the council to have a role in the vision and direction of the school.  

If you are interested in serving on our SGC, please click on the link below!!! We need a teacher representative who will help our council implement our new Strategic Plan and be innovative in our approaches to learning and teaching!!! 

http://www.fultonschools.org/en/about/charter/Pages/electionresources.aspx

The last day to declare your candidacy is February 23rd!!! Please consider applying for this position! If you have any questions regarding the council or the work, please ask Ms. Eigel, Ms. Roberts, Ms. Truesdale, or Ms. Strafford! 

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Personalized Learning Survey 

It's that time of year again when Fulton County needs your input, as well as students in grades 4 and 5, in regards to personalized learning. 

The following information is collected annually by the surveys. 

Teacher Survey (must be completed by ALL teachers with devices by March 2nd)

o   Classroom instructional practices

o   Data utilization practices

o   Digital content utilization

o   Professional development needs

o   Barriers to classroom implementation

bit.ly/FultonPLTeach

Student Survey (only completed by 4th and 5th grade students) 

o   Engagement and academic mindsets

Students will complete this survey in their classrooms. A link will be placed on the computers for easy access. This survey has to be completed by March 2nd. They can do this as morning work or throughout the day. We appreciate you helping get this completed! 

bit.ly/FultonEMS2018

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Preventative Measures

Since the flu season is among us, please help us be diligent about keeping our students healthy by wiping down your classroom, encouraging students to wash their hands, and keeping your room as clean as possible. If you are in need of Clorox Wipes, disinfectant sprays, or tissues and have not received any from parents when asked, please email Pitchford. 

If a bathroom or your classroom is out of soap or paper towels, please email Derick IMMEDIATELY! We have to make sure our students are taking the necessary precautions and being proactive to stay healthy! 

Also, we will be purchasing Purell Disinfectant Spray for EVERY classroom. This has a quick "kill time" which is under 1 minute and is extremely effective in combating the flu and other airborne bacteria. 

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Labeled Laptops

We thank you for allowing our volunteers to label your ipads and laptops with your name! This will help ensure you receive your devices next year when we check them back out to you. We are ordering charging cables for iPads so everyone should receive additional chargers next year which will also be labeled with your name and checked out to you. 

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KSU Coach

Schedule: I will be at High Point on T 2/13, Th 2/15 and F 2/16

Notes: Do you like Seesaw, but are confused with how to incorporate it into your plans or daily routine? Are you getting confused with how to manage your students' posts? Would you like more engagement of parents with Seesaw? Let's meet individually or as a team to walkthrough Seesaw settings that help with organization and encourage involvement. 

Highlights: How are you managing students' usage of Google Classroom? Are you concerned about accountability and on-task behavior? I challenge you to teach a re-fresher lesson reviewing being a good digital citizen. You could also encourage the class to help you set the expectations for technology use - brainstorm rules, procedures and rewards. Google Classroom is a learning space just like the physical classroom and rules apply there too! For teacher tips on managing the Google Classroom space, check out this post from Tony Vincent - https://learninginhand.com/blog/google-classroom-tips 

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PBIS

REMINDER: Email owensb@fultonschools.org the name of the student you complimented on their CAFETERIA Behavior during the month of February! 

The Hound Dog Emporium (that's the cart) will be stopping by soon!

Date to Distribute for FEBRUARY:

PreK, Kindergarten, and 1st Grade Complete Order forms

                         2nd Grade         February 12 and 13 Monday / Tuesday

3rd Grade           February 20th and 21st

4th Grade           February 26th and 27th

5th Grade            February 28th and 1st

PAWRISTA Hot Chocolate Party DATES:

K-2 Feb. 23rd

3-5 March 9th

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Six Flag Reading Logs

The Six Flags Reading Logs are due on the 15th!!! Please place them in the PTO mailbox or email Jody Novotny with any questions! 

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New Resources from GPB

Winter Olympics Teacher Toolkit

http://www.gpb.org/blogs/education-matters/2018/02/08/the-winter-olympics-teacher-toolkit 

If we look at winter Olympic sports from a different angle, we see that these events involve quite a bit of math. 

New Math Game available free on GPB: GASHA-GO! 

http://www.gpb.org/blogs/education-matters/2018/01/31/new-math-game-gasha-go-for-k-3 

GASHA GO! is a new skill-building math game from GPB Education and FableVision Studios. The game focuses on developing children’s number sense which is a sense of what numbers mean and their relationship to one another. 

*************CALENDAR OF EVENTS**********

Monday, February 12th
9:30 - Prospective Parent Tour
Kindergarten In-House Field Trip

Tuesday, February 13th

2nd Grade Field Trip
WriteScore Write 3rd-5th Grade 
2:55 - TOTY and PEOTY Celebration!!!

Wednesday, February 14th

Guided Reading PLC during Specials
2nd Grade Field Trip

Thursday, February 15th

2:50 pm - PLCs
1:50 - ETT with 5th Grade
GA State ESOL Training Room 123

Friday, February 16th 
Weather Make-Up Day

*****************BIRTHDAYS! ******************

Happy birthday to Nicole Cornibe on the 13th! We hope you have an amazing birthday!!