The Academy Weekly Memo: October 30-November 3, 2023

 

Together: "A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality."-John Lennon & Yoko Ono

I. Praise and Thanks:

• Thanks to Raygan Lloyd for being so dufitful with her presence and support. I appreciate Raygan for exemplifying The Portrait element of "being  a team player who is committed to doing what is best for students.
• Thanks to Chantae Reynolds for enduring committment to building a sense of belonging for our ML students. This was most evident in her direct outreach to our families and inviting them to share a part of their cultural heritage for the Hispanic Heritage Month. This outreach will prove to be a game changer for our school culture at the Academy. I appreciate Chantae exemplifying the Portrait element of "being committed to using inclusive practices."
• Thanks to Joy Hickman for exemplifying the Portrait element of "believing that all children can learn and should have equitable access to knowledge." I observed instruction where all students were empowered by Joy to "speak like a mathematician" throughout Math Workshop.
• Thanks to Kim Black for her willingness to be compassionate in service of her students and try new things. I appreciate Kim exemplifying the Portrait element of "believing in children."

II. This Week's Events:

Wednesday, November 1: First Day of Native American Indian Heritage Month

• Beginning of 2nd Quarter
• 9:30 a.m.-Care Team Meeting
• 12:00 p.m.-Hiker of the Week Submissions to Darron Daniels
• 2:45 p.m. Enrichment Friday Huddle for Selected Staff

Thursday, November 2:

• 8:00 a.m.-Schoolwide Morning Meeting via Zoom

Friday, November 3:

• No Enrichment Friday: We will have a regularly scheduled day.
• We will run the Specials Monday Schedule on this day.
• 6:00-8:00 p.m.-AMF PTO Family Movie Night, Bus Lot

III. Reminders and Updates:

A. Report Cards and Parent Conferences

• Thank you to everyone for your hard work and dedication on using the new report card program with Mastery Connect!
• Barbara and I are reviewing report cards.
• Report Cards will be sent home with students on November 9.
• Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled on the school calendar to take place November 13-21. A Google Form will be sent to all teachers which will serve as documentation that the parent-teacher conference took place.

B. This Friday

• Due to our shortened week, we will not have Enrichment Friday this week.
• We will for the Monday Specials Schedule.

C. Upcoming Data Meetings

• Grade Span Teams are to plan to be in attendance for Data Meetings.
• These meetings will take place during planning periods on November 8th and 9th.
• Our purpose is to analyze assessment data and develop an intentional plan for next steps.
• Be on the lookout for some preliminary activities which will need completion prior to these data meetings.
• All Curriculum Coaches, Classroom Teachers, Interventionists, Teacher Assistants, and Academic Tutors must plan to be in attendance at these very important meetings. ML and EC Teachers can schedule accordingly to attend.
• We will follow a specific data protocol for analysis, reflection, and the implementation of next steps.
• These meetings will occur throughout the year. Our focus for these first meetings will be on Math. We will spend some time with reading data after these scheduled math-focused data.
• Stay tuned for information on data meeting locations.
• Here is the rundown for focus of each of these meetings:

• Kinder/1st Grade Span

  Day 1: November 8, 2023

  Math Pre/Post Assessment Data

  
  

  Day 2: November 9, 2023

  Math Instructional Plan and Pacing

  Discussion of Math Workshop Groups

  
  

  2nd/3rd Grade Span

  Day 1: November 8, 2023

  Math Pre/Post Assessment Data

  NC Check-In Data for 3rd Grade - Math

  
  

  Day 2: November 9, 2023

  Math Instructional Plan and Pacing

  Discussion of Math Workshop Groups

  
  

  4th/5th Grade Span

  Day 1: November 8, 2023

  Math Pre/Post Assessment Data

  NC Check-In Data for 4th and 5th Grade - Math

  NC Check-In Data for Science

  
  

  Day 2: November 9, 2023

  Discussion of Math Workshop Groups

  Math Pacing

D. Enrichment Friday Huddle for Selected Staff

• Please plan to meet in the Conference Room at 2:45 on Wednesday if you received an emailed invitation to discuss Enrichment Friday.
• This is a solutions-based meeting, so please bring an ideas for solutions.

E. New Cafeteria Manager

• We are excited to welcome a new cafeteria manager! Please join me in welcoming Alicia Phillips!
• Alicia Phillips joins us officially on November 1st. She is an experienced cafeteria manager who has worked at other schools in WSFCS.
• Tonya Lee has been a great interim cafeteria manager. Please be sure to show her some appreciation.

F. Morning and Afternoon Duty:

• See the attached document for the duty roster. This will go in effect for 2nd Quarter.
• Morning and Afternoon Duty Roster

G. H.I.K.E. Office Referrals:

• We want to celebrate our students in a special way using the H.I.K.E. Office Referral.
• All you need to do is complete the form when you catch a student doing H.I.K.E. in a very special way.
• Students receiving an office referral will be called to the office and receive a surprise celebration.
• I will call home to brag on the student demonstrating H.I.K.E. Students will also receive a special certificate. The goal is to uplift our mini-Mountaineers as we all hike up to the mountaintop together.
• Use the link here to make a H.I.K.E. Office Referral. The link is also available on the hub.

H. Save the Date: Literacy Luau

• We are having a new approach for our Literacy Night! 
• It is now a Literacy Luau! Yes, I will bring my ukulele. 
• All faculty and staff are expected to attend and participate in this event on November 16-17 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
• This will be a fun night!