11/17

Congratulations to Jessica who won a free Dunks run in last week's blog. Keep an eye out for those periodically throughout the year. 

It was so nice to have an assembly in the building. Please let me know what you thought, not just of this particular content, but of the logistics of the gym, etc. I hope to have more shared experiences as a building moving forward but would like to streamline that process as well. 

The state has released more COVID tests heading into the holidays. If any staff member would like any please let me know. 

In an attempt to start eliminating some server hardware at the Central Office, IT is starting to have staff move their H: Drive over to their Google Drive. Please follow these directions and plan to have everything over by the new year (1/4/23). New staff can disregard this as they haven't been given access to the H drive. 

Please remember that on PD days, if you are calling out, you still need to put it in ReadySub as "no sub needed." 

We received our report from the building and fire inspector this week. There are several things for us to work on but the one I need your help with is on propping doors open. Please do not do this as it is deemed a fire hazard. 

Notes from BethAnne: 

I apologize that this week I have a lot to share...

Grade Level/Team Meetings: On Wednesday morning I attended the district Team Chair meeting. One of the focuses during that meeting was about accommodations/modifications for our students on IEPs. I need the time to sit with each grade level/team to discuss responsibilities, accountability, and IEP accommodations/modifications. Please fill out this doc with some days/times that your grade level/team is meeting (or consulting) so that I can plan to attend and chat with you. It is my hope that we can arrange coverage for the special educators to attend these meetings with me if the day/time you share is not your consult time. 

IEP Meetings: Now that I am officially running the IEP meetings on my own (woooohoooo), I am looking for ways to make them more efficient and meaningful. From this day on, for IEP meetings, I'd ask that all members of the team come prepared with a short, yet concise and meaningful summary of how the student is doing in the classroom. This will help us keep the meetings short and running on time. I'd also like for classroom teachers and special educators to come to the meetings with a few work samples to share with parents, either as examples of successes, accommodations that are being used, and/or areas of concern/challenge. I've seen a few staff members share samples at recent meetings and the parents really value this input. 

PBIS: Thank you for your enthusiasm about the Tommy Tickets and putting the P back in PBIS. Here is the slideshow with the coupon links and the classroom expectations matrix! 

MCAS: For those of you who are interested in learning more about the changes that were made to the ELA MCAS in the written portion of the assessment, DESE is now offering virtual training (sign up here) Here are the details: A new session on writing expectations for the ELA tests, during which DESE staff members will review writing expectations, with a focus on narrative writing. Members from the MCAS test development team will present information about how MCAS essays are scored and will review sample student responses. This webinar is intended primarily for teachers, curriculum coordinators, and individuals who analyze ELA test results. 

The Week Ahead: 

• 
  Monday (11/21) 
• Vision and Hearing Rescreening
• COVID test pickup from 3:00-6:00
• Tuesday (11/22) 
• TPS Middle School STEAM parade
• Wednesday (11/23) 
• No School
• Thursday (11/24) 
• Thanksgiving
• Friday (11/25) 
• No School