Updates -- 24 April 2014

Hello everyone,

A four-day workweek, a four-day weekend, and it's (almost) pay-day!

That's a major Trifecta (note capital-T).  Enjoy!

Snow on Saturday?  Yep.  Looks like it.

Hey, how's this for weird?  There's very little to report for the coming week.

Here's the sum-total of what I've got:

• AIMSWEB final benchmark testing schedules for 06 May through 19 May are in your mailboxes in the workroom.  Please review and confirm with Pavich and Grant before 30 April to ensure that your testing days do not occur during a fieldtrip or somesuch.  Each class is listed twice to accommodate all the tests that must be done this last go-round.  

• The week of 28 April is an "A" week

• The RTI schedule for the week will be as follows:
• Tuesday, 29 Apr. 
• 11:25-11:50 -- 2nd & 3rd grades
• 12:25-12:50 -- 1st grade
• Wednesday, 30 Apr.
• 11:25-11:50 -- 2nd & 3rd grades
• 12:25-12:50 -- 1st grade

• Our kinder, first, and second graders have their Heritage Square performance on Thursday, 01 May at high noon.

• Fourth and second grade teachers will do 2014-2015 class placements during their CTs this week.

• We'll meet for our next two-hour PD at 1:00 on Friday 02 May to hear from our first-grade team about their APTT experiences this year and to get a quick-but-crucial first-responder training from Dr. Mike Hudson.

That's all folks!  Have a lovely long weekend with little on your mind!

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Updates -- 18 April 2014

Hello everyone,

Happy Friday!

ADE Auditors
Please be prepared for a visit from the Arizona Department of Education on Monday, 21 April.  Auditors from the state will be here in the morning to determine how well we are meeting the requirement to provide a minimum of four hours of English language instruction to our students who are on Individual Language Learner Plans (ILLPs).  They will be asking some of you to see your current ILLP folder, ELP standards, dynamic grammar walls, student work, and lesson plans, too.

Fieldtrips
The FUSD Transportation Dept. has informed us that April 11 was the cut-off to schedule buses for fieldtrips.

Placement Meetings
It's already time to start placing our students into classes for next year.  Please have your cards ready for your meeting and, as always, please arrive on time.  The schedule for our upcoming placement meetings is as follows:

• Kinder:  22 Apr. @ 1:05 & 09 May @ 2:00
• First:  08 May @ 2:10 & 15 May 1:05
• Second: 30 Apr. @ 1:05 & 07 May @ 1:05
• Third: 18 Apr. @ 12:45 & 09 May @ 12:45
• Fourth: 29 Apr @ 9:10 & 06 May @ 9:10

RTI Schedule
There will be no RTI during the week of 21-25 April.  Many students will be completing AIMS and SAT 10 make-up tests at this time.

Calendar
Week B

• Monday, 21 April
• Coe off
• Wednesday, 23 April 
• Coe @ elementary admin meeting, 7:30-10:30
• Thursday, 24 April
• Faculty meeting, 8:00 in the Library
• Spring Carnival, 6:00
• Friday, 25 April
• NO SCHOOL - snow day make-up day

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Updates -- 11 April 2014

Hello everyone,

End of another crazy week.  Wow.

Here's an interesting fact I learned on Thursday: Baked Flaming Hot Cheetos^® dust on the fingertips, if mixed with tears, will cause excruciating pain when the mixture comes into contact with the eyes.

It will also produce a substance that, very convincingly, has the appearance of blood.

Now you know.

RTI Schedule

• Monday, 14 April only
• 11:25-11:50 - 2nd & 3rd
• 12:25-12:50 - 1st

AIMS Schedule

• Tuesday, 15 April - 3rd, 4th, 5th
• Wednesday, 16 April - 3rd, 4th, 5th
• Thursday, 17 April - 3rd, 4th, 5th

Teachers, please remember to pick up your materials in rm. 26 at 7:45 each morning during testing.

Please send students to accommodation groups by 9:00 each morning.  Please refer to the purple document you received this week to ensure your students arrive at the proper group location each day.

Remember: AIMS is untimed, this means testing can and likely will continue throughout the school day Tuesday through Thursday.  Please ensure that movement in the halls is as noise-free as possible on testing days.

SPED M.Ed
NAU is currently taking applications for teachers to join a high-incidence disabilities cohort to complete the requirements for a one-year certification program in cross-categorical special education.  The program will begin this summer and end in the summer of 2015.  If you have an interest in this program, you are encouraged to contact Laura Cook at NAU.

2014-2015 Floorplan

I've put together a tentative floorplan for the coming school year.  I've done my best to minimize the need to have teachers move classrooms.  You may download/preview the plan by clicking the link or the image at-right.

Calendar
Week A

• Wednesday, 16 April
• Coe @ Elementary Admin meeting, 7:30-10:30

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Updates -- 04 April 2014

Hello everyone,

Happy Friday!  End of a crazy week, for sure.

2014-2015 Staff Assignments
I know you've all been waiting to see the plan for next year's staffing assignments.  Thanks for being patient.

As I indicated in last week's Blue Note, there are a few changes and modifications to our plan for next year which hopefully will equip us to meet the forecasted demographic and academic needs of our students.

You can download the latest version of the 2014-2015 plan.

Please remember: this plan is tentative and based on current enrollment levels and our best-guess regarding AZELLA testing outcomes.  That means this plan could change at any point with little notice based on shifts in enrollment, actual AZELLA and AIMS test results, resignations, retirements, district initiatives and a host of other unforeseen variables... lots of moving parts.  Rest assured, however: if changes to this plan will affect you I will do my best to give you a heads-up if I am able.

Worth noting:

• We've added a third-fourth multi-age class to the mix for next year for a couple reasons, first because our enrollments at third and fourth demand it (we expect a large number of our current SEI students to pass AZELLA and move into gen-ed classrooms) , and second because we think it might be a very good option for placement of our third-grade students who are retained due to Move On When Reading.  
• Due to the large number of kinder students who will be starting first grade in our SEI program, we've also reduced our non-SEI first grades to three sections; to help us accommodate this shift, Mr. McAllister will be moving to the Computer Lab next year.  I am grateful to him for his willingness to take on this new role.
• We will need to hire at least four new teachers before the beginning of next year.  Three of these positions are already posted (Md-fragile, third, and fifth) and I hope to post the other (third-fourth) by the end of the month.

RTI Schedule
Tier 3 RTI for our third grade students has concluded for the year.

The upcoming Tier 2 RTI schedule is complicated due to SAT-10 and AIMS testing.  Please take note:

• Monday, 07 Apr.
• 2nd & 3rd RTI, 11:25-11:50
• 1st RTI, 12:25-12:50
• Tuesday, 08 Apr.
• NO RTI (testing)
• Wednesday, 09 Apr.
• NO RTI (testing)
• Thursday, 10 Apr.
• NO RTI (make-ups)
• Friday, 11 Apr.
• NO RTI (make-ups)

Calendar
Week B

• Monday, 07 Apr.
• Coe @ Admin Counciil 1:00-4:00
• Tuesday, 08 Apr.
• AIMS Day 1
• SAT-10 Day 1
• Clark Headstart, 2:45
• Science Council, 4:00 in the Science Lab
• Site Council, 5:00 in the Library
• Wednesday, 09 Apr.
• SAT-10 Day 2
• Federated Headstart, 2:45
• Friday, 10 Apr.
• Fire Drill, 10:00

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