September 3rd, 2018

Monday Notes 9.3.18

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

Happy Labor Day!! 

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FY19 Calendar Changes                                             

Please make sure you are noting the FY19 Board approved calendar change. November 6th will now be a WORK DAY for all certified staff and March 8th will be an actual school day. 

To clarify: the following groups will NOT work on November 6th since it's a teacher workday and will work on March 8th since it is now a regular school day: 

Food Service Managers

Food Service Workers

Bus Drivers

Transportation Assistants

All Paraprofessionals

School Liaisons

Clinic Assistants

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Student Showcase                                              

Our Student Showcase was a HUGE success!!!! Thank you to everyone for your hard work and dedication before and during the Showcase!!! If you have any suggestions for next year, please let your grade level chair know so they can share your suggestions at Leadership. 

We are also interested in attendance so we will ask for the number of parents who came this week. 

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Dress Code Reminder                                              

This is just a friendly reminder to make sure you are adhering to our school's dress code. We want to make sure that we all look professional in front of our students. The following is from our handbook: 

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Congratulations!!!                                           

High Point Elementary received the Governor's Platinum Shape Award for 2018!!! We appreciate Benita Bearden for all her hard work applying for this prestigious award and are proud that we believe in and support the health of our staff and students!!!

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Absence Report                                          

The following is the absence report for this month. Thank you for pushing attendance with your students!! If you would like to know your classroom absence rate, please see Ms. Pitchford. 

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TKES                                             

The FLEX and FULL TKES roster has now been released and everyone should have the appropriate designation when you log in. If you are a FLEX employee then you will create a professional GOAL. If you are a FULL employee then you will create a professional PLAN. You can go ahead and create these. 

You will not be able to sign off on the TKES pre-conference until September 10th so we appreciate your patience until then. 

TKES walkthroughs will begin this week for all FULL TKES employees. We will be observing standards #3 - Instructional Learning Environment and #7 - Positive Learning Environment. 

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RTI for Behavior

We have a new process in place for RTI behavior this year. If you feel a student is in need of RTI for behavior, please follow the RTI Behavior Flowchart on the google drive. You can find it through the 2018-2019 google drive. The folder is named RTI Behavior Folder- the flow chart is within this folder. Before reaching out about tier 2, you will need to choose 2 tier one strategies to implement for three weeks. These strategies are attached to the flow chart. Please direct any questions to Rachel Salmons.

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Mystery Skype

Are you looking for experts to propel student learning in an authentic and real world way or are you wanting to extend your student's global connected-ness through contacts outside our community?  If so, then Mystery Skype is for you!!  There are pre-prepared lessons and connections with experts already made!  View the quick Sway to answer any questions you have about how to get started, and use the link to explore the possibilities!!  This is your chance to bring the world inside our walls!! Grab it!  Need help, ask Lib!

https://sway.office.com/62Gsl6lvfeAeREAZ?ref=Link&loc=play 

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Morning Meeting

We have received so much positive feedback about Morning Meetings from teachers, students, and parents. Thank you to everyone that has fully embraced these meetings. We know you are feeling the impact!

Please remember that morning meetings are not optional. Every classroom is required to have their ten minute meeting each day. If you need additional support or have questions, please contact Rachel Salmons.

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Fraud, Waste, and Abuse

Per Title I, every staff member needs to receive the Fraud, Waste, and Abuse training. Since we have already had our staff meeting we are asking that you view the most important slides below, view the entire powerpoint in the mailroom, and sign the verification sheet that you have seen the information. Thank you!

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From Your KSU Coach

Schedule: I will be at High Point this week on Tuesday 9/4, Thursday 9/6 and Friday 9/7

Notes: As students are working on the laptops safely and responsibly, reference these 'cheat sheets', https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sDn-bbbEP4daPXzl4yx3UWu1NySmhRF6, to help them remember how to log in, sign out and find the programs they are instructed to work on. You can print out the documents that are specific to your needs OR even blow them up into poster-size. 

Highlights: Thanks for your help getting Seesaw ready to launch! If you or your students need a refresher on the purpose of and tools with Seesaw, let me know. Start simple...show students one tool at a time then practice implementing that tool. For example, 2nd grade has been introduced to taking pictures and using the drawing tool to annotate over their pictures with writing and recording. Check out this example 
https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_activity?share_token=76wrCCG4Sfm40zU7b83l0Q&prompt_id=prompt.34b05836-88ca-40c7-8a43-51d1dec7f870

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PBIS

The Buddy Buck Store is definitely a successful enterprise! Thank you for passing out those Buddy Bucks!  Please remind students to count out their Buddy Bucks and know what they want to buy at the store prior to coming. 

PBIS Meeting will be after school at 2:45 Wednesday the 5th of September. 

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

Monday, September 3rd
No School - Labor Day!!!

Tuesday, September 4th 
1:45 - Leadership Team Meeting in Room 123

Wednesday, September 5th
Guided Reading PD during Specials

Thursday, September 6th
7:30 am - SGC Meeting in Room 123

Friday, September 7th 

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

           There are currently no birthdays for this week. 

August 27th 2018

Monday Notes 8.27.18

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

Condolences                                              

Our sincerest condolences go out to Morgan Mitchell for the loss of her grandfather. Please keep her and her family in your thoughts. 

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Student Showcase                                              

Just a friendly reminder that our Student Showcase for K-5 will be held this Thursday from 2:45-5:00. Please make sure you are working with your students so they are ready to lead the discussions with their parents or family members. 

Also, please make sure that all parents know they have to write a note if their child needs to stay at school on the 30th! Thank you!!!!

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Fastbridge Schedule                                           

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Brain Pop Espanol!                                                

All the things you love about BrainPop, now in Spanish!  

Students access Brainpop by logging into launchpad with their FCS username and pass-code and then clicking the BrainPop icon.  https://www.brainpop.com  

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Join the 2018 Global Read Aloud

October 1 – November 16, 2018

The What: The premise is simple; a book is chosen to read aloud to students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible. Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be. Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible. The scope and depth of the project is up to you. While some teachers use Skype, Twitter, WriteAbout or Flipgrid, you may choose the tools that will make the most sense for you! Teachers connect with  a community of other educators to do a global project with, hopefully inspiring them to continue these connections through the year.

The Why: Global collaboration is necessary to show students that they are part of something bigger than themselves. That the world needs to be protected and that we need to care for all people. You can show them pictures of kids in other countries but why not have them speak to each other? Then the caring can begin!

The How:  Use this link to sign up to discover and receive updates and details!

https://theglobalreadaloud.com/?platform=hootsuite

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Lesson Plans

Please let us know if you need any assistance with your lesson plans; creating them or posting them. We want to make sure they are concise, specific, INTENTIONAL, and not 10+ pages! We are here to help! 

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Rock Eagle

In November, all fifth grade students will be able to attend the overnight field trip to Rock Eagle in Eatonton, GA. Students will study lake ecology and herpetology in connection with the classification of animals standards. Parents are asked to pay $125 this year to cover the cost of this field trip and other field trips throughout the year. If you would like to make a donation to sponsor a child for this trip, please reach out to Sarah Ittig. Any amount will be greatly appreciated!!!!! 
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Title I Input

Per Title I, we need teachers' and students' input on our School Compact and the Parent/Family Engagement Plan for 2018-2019. A copy of each will be located on the wall in the mailroom for you to review. 
The input form will be placed in your mailbox for you to fill out and return to Ms. Mendoza's mailbox. If a student has input, please ask Ms. Mendoza for an additional form. Thanks!!!!

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From Your KSU Coach

Schedule: I will be at High Point on T 8/28 and Th 8/30!

Notes: 
Seesaw is ready go? Are you?! To start your process with Seesaw check out this checklist of tasks and procedures you should follow in order to prep your classroom space for student engagement! (You should have a paper copy of the document to reference as well)

Still feel hesitant about Seesaw could work in your class? Let us know about your concerns through this form, https://goo.gl/forms/SLc1FZ4x2OV8Rxxj2.  We want to do our best to support you on this journey!

Highlights:
Students using Google Apps for Education have many choices about how to show what they know. They can create on Docs, Slides, Drawing and Forms, but do they understand how to pick the right tool? Try exploring each tool together during a short mini-lesson or transition time to set the expectation for how to use the tools effectively. 

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Continuous Learning and Reflection

"A recent study looked at three dimensions of classroom design: naturalness (factors like light and temperature), stimulation (factors like color and visual complexity), and individualization (factors like flexibility and student ownership). 

The big insight? Optimizing all of these physical characteristics of primary classrooms improved academic performance in reading, math, and writing by 16%."

- Edutopia 

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

Monday, August 27th 
Baseline Guided Reading Observations Begin 

Tuesday, August 28th 
2:50 - NKOB Meeting in Room 123
2:50 - Para PLC in Long's Room 134

Wednesday, August 29th
Math PD during Specials
8:00 am - Title I Parent Input Meeting 

Thursday, August 30th
2:45-5:00 STUDENT SHOWCASE K-5
PreK Orientation 

Friday, August 31st
iReady Reading and Math Diagnostic to be Completed!!! 
9:00 - Ellis Island Experience for 5th Grade 

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

Happy birthday to Tiffany Churchwell on the 28th, Haley Rattray on the 29th, and Melvin Miller on the 3rd!! We hope you all have wonderful birthdays!!!

August 20th, 2018

Monday Notes 8.20.18

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

Changes                                                  

Ashlei Dixon has moved from co-teaching special education to the open third grade position. Her first day with the class was last Wednesday. Ashlei taught third grade in another county before coming to Fulton and we know she is going to do an amazing job in this new position. Please welcome her in this new role! 

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Welcome                                                

Please join me in welcoming Susie Kim, who will be taking over Ashlei Dixon's position as a special education co-teacher. Susie comes to us from Gwinnett County as a special education teacher and we are thrilled to have her join our team!!  

Please also join me in welcoming Kari Masters as our new 2nd and 3rd grade paraprofessional. Kari will be starting some time this week. Kari was a 2nd/3rd grade teacher at the Language Academy and we are thrilled to have her support our students and teachers this year! 

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iReady Math Training

Please remember that all K-5 teachers will be a part of the iReady Math Training this Thursday. The schedule is below. If you have the substitute in the morning, please make sure to leave specific plans and let your substitute know which class he/she will be covering at 11:00. The jobs have been put into CASE however if jobs are not picked up, we will have to utilize all assistants. Thank you!!!! 

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Student Showcase                                                    

WHEN? August 30th 2:45-5:00 

WHERE? Homeroom teachers in classrooms; Support staff (EIP, ESOL, TAG, Special Areas, etc...) in Media Center. You will have an area where you will be to talk about your program and/or meet parents. 

WHY? The purpose of our Student Showcase “This is ‘Howl’ We Do It” is to have students show their parents what a typical day in their classroom looks like and how we can work as a team to reach their personal goal this year. 

What? Students should share the following items with their parents on this day:
A Day in the Life Of… 
• Schedule
• Morning Meetings
• Classroom Management System
• Technology (pick one program for them to showcase or explain how they use    
        technology in class)
• Math teacher (IA)

Conversation Prompts/Information to Share
• 1st-5th Grade: F and P level and what that means
• 1st and 2nd grade Numeracy Assessment results
• I am proud of…. (experiment, product, writing, drawing, assessment, etc…)
• People I like spending time with are…..
• You can help me at home with…
• My goal for this year is…. (can be academic, social, emotional, etc…) 

HOW? We are advertising the Student Showcase in newsletters, marquee, Twitter, and Facebook. We will advertise that parents will have to send in a NOTE or EMAIL requesting their child stay if they are going to be there immediately after school for the Showcase. Parents cannot request their child to stay after school and arrive around 4:00. Please help us in communicating that. If a teacher does NOT receive a note, the child will go home their normal way. 

Please start working with your students to prepare them for this day!!!! We want it to be student-led, meaningful, and support our home/school relationship. 
  

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Tips and Secrets of HPES                                                    

I want to give everyone a heads up about a quick activity I have planned for tomorrow’s Faculty Meeting so that you can start thinking about it. 
I would like for everyone to think of tips you can share about our school. These could be some inside pieces of advice that would be helpful if you were showing a new staff member the ropes or deep secrets that would be helpful even to the most senior staff. 

Here are the type of examples I’m thinking about:
 • We’ve named our copy machine Bob Marley, because it is always jammin’! The secret is always loading the paper on the left instead of the right but if it does jam, it will always jam on the right side. 

 • Mr. DiBartolo is a huge University of Tennessee fan. If you miss your Fastbridge session, you can always get back on his good side by giving him something orange the next day. 

I’d love for you to come up with some really fantastic, creative tips, and even some humorous ones too, which will also be funny for this activity. We’re going to be looking for the most helpful tip and also the funniest one. You don’t need to email them to me, just start thinking about them. We’re going to turn this into a little contest at our meeting and the winner gets a prize. Thank you!

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Found Kitten Needs a Home

This adorable, little kitten was found in my neighborhood recently. She is calm, cute (light yellow color fur), yellowish eyes with stripes, has been fixed, and has had her rabies shot. She is hoping for a loving, attentive, and safe home with a wonderful owner or family. Anyone interested, please contact Ms. Stovall in room 120 (Pre-k) or email me.

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SSEF Supply Closet

Once again, SSEF is partnering with the Community Assistance Center to provide a Teacher Supply Closet for our teachers in our Sandy Springs public schools.  Teachers can request supplies for their needy students by going to our SSEF website, click on Teacher Resources and submit  the online order form. The CAC will complete the order as best they can with the available donated school supplies.  They will then notify the teacher when the order can be picked up.  Teachers can begin to submit requests TODAY! 

https://www.sandyspringseducationforce.org/

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From Your KSU Coach

Schedule: I will be at High Point on T 8/21, Th 8/23 and F 8/24.

Notes: Digital Citizenship has started in the Media Center, but if you'd like to continue supporting students with the skills necessary for managing technology appropriately...consider getting them started with Learning.com's Easy Tech Keyboarding. Here are additional activities that will reinforce safe, responsible and respectful technology use

• Google's Interland: Be Internet Awesome https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en/interland 

• BBC's Dance Mat Typing - http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3c6tfr 

• CyberWise Digital Citizenship Games - http://www.cyberwise.org/digital-citizenship-games

Highlights: 
Have you seen the VGA Adapters and Headphones splitters that are in the Media Center? These tools are available for check out and for use in your classroom! The VGA Adapter can help you share your iPad screen on the Epson projector. The Headphone splitters allow multiple students to watch and listen on one shared device. 

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Twitter

Do you tweet about your classroom and our school? If so, follow these simple directions to send Lib a QR code so staff can quickly follow you and you can be included on our "Follow Us" bulletin board!!  Join the conversations and show the world the amazing things that High Point is doing for students!  You can also just email Lib with your Twitter handle if you prefer!

Directions for sending your Twitter link via QR code
1.       Open your twitter account page.  (open Twitter then touch your picture in the upper right hand corner.) Your account page will pop up.
2.        At the bottom of the account page, select the “waffle” on the right corner. See example page below:

3.       After your QR page pops up, select the arrow in the upper right hand corner to send the QR code via email to robertse1@fulton schools.org

4.       We will print it out and add it to our bulletin board to make it easy for staff and parents to follow you!

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WeightWatchers at Work 

We are once again going to bring Weight Watchers at Work to High Point. We need 13 people to sign up to have weekly meetings here (after school on Wednesdays.) This has been a great way to have accountability and companionship on our health journeys. 

If you have any interest in in Weight Watchers at Work, please let Sheri Hess know. 

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Continuous Learning and Reflection

Great article about the importance of building relationships. I have seen so many of these things implemented over the last two weeks and am proud of our focus on RELATIONSHIPS!!

Relationships Matter More Than Rules - Edutopia

https://www.edutopia.org/article/relationships-matter-more-rules?utm_medium=socialflow&utm_source=facebook

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

Monday, August 20th 

Tuesday, August 21st 
2:50 - Faculty Meeting - Please bring your laptops!

Wednesday, August 22nd
Math PD during Specials 

Thursday, August 23rd 
iReady Math Trainings K-5 Room 123
2:55 pm - PLC Meetings
3:00 - Make-Up BAS Training for FCS 

Friday, August 24th

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

Happy birthday to Hannah Rome on the 21st!! We hope you have an amazing birthday!