Jan. 3rd

Happy New Year! I hope you all had an incredible and rejuvenating holiday break! My hope is that your time off provided exactly what you needed to recharge and refocus as we step into the second semester of the school year.

I am genuinely excited to continue this journey of growth, learning, and transformation alongside each of you. As we transition back into the structure and rhythm of school life, it’s crucial that we intentionally revisit both behavioral and academic expectations.

Let’s not assume that everyone remembers these expectations perfectly. Instead, let’s approach this with the mindset that every student (and even ourselves) could use a reminder and a refresh. Setting clear expectations from the start will lay a strong foundation for success in the months ahead.

There’s still meaningful work ahead as we guide our students toward mastering their standards, but let’s not forget to embrace and enjoy the process. Progress happens not just in the milestones, but in the small victories along the way.

I can’t wait to see all of you and continue this amazing journey together. Let’s make this semester extraordinary!

Good things

Instructional 

Kick-Off 2024 Slide Deck

Sample lesson from Mr. Wells (LINK HERE)

November Staff: LINK 

Professional Learning Teams (PLT’s) 

This week schedule will look like the following

Elementary: 

Middle School: NO PLT'S this week.  

January Staff Meeting 

January 14th: Whole Staff 7:30-8:30 am 

January 28th: Committee Meetings 7:30-8:30 am 

Grading Expectations Reminder

Pershing Grading expectations is at least 2 grades per week entered into Canvas 

Lesson Plans/Focus Boards

Focus Board Expectation

• Permanently placed in the room and clearly visible to the back of the room.
• Teacher reference Focus Board throughout the lesson

Lesson Plans Expectation

• Lessons are turned into the hub Thursday by end of day
• Lessons reflect the implantation of district curriculum and anticipation/differentiation to meet the needs of your students.

Mid Quarter Dates 

09-20-24

11-15-24

02-07-25

04-25-25

 

December Instructional Model Focus
Providing and Communicating Clear Learning Goals
Providing Scales and Rubrics	Learning Targets Communicated multiple times including closure   Students can communicate learning targets and understand how what they are doing ties to the learning target.	Resources: HERE
Tracking Student Progress	Student and Teacher has evidence of student learning	Resources: HERE
Celebrating Success	Verbal and Written feedback on progress toward mastery	Resources: HERE
Processing Content
Organizing students to interact over the learning Planned structure	Students have multiple opportunity to (verbally and non-verbally) to process information every 4-6 minutes	Resources:  HERE  Kagan Structures: Essential 5
Implementation of PBIS
Teaching/Re-Teaching Expectation	Using Our Punch Card system to reward students for doing what is expected with INTEGRITY	Using 4 to 1 positive to negative word interactions

Grade Posting Readiness Checklist

DCA entry in Educlimber must be done by the end of day Jan. 3rd 

Teach Forward Jan. 3rd 

January 3rd will be Teach Forward 8-9:45 am. The rest of the day will be a workday to work in your classrooms to complete the 7.25 hours. 

• Middle School teachers need to check your email for instructions of where your session will be located and register for your session in KickUp. 

• Elementary Teachers our teach forward day will be held @ Jefferies Elementary. This is an effort to differentiate and provide choice to what each teacher may need.

Operational 

Smart Pass (Middle School) 

This is a reminder to all Middle School teachers: It is a building-wide expectation that SmartPass is used to grant students access to the bathroom during class time. This is not an optional platform. Using this system allows us to track data, pinpoint issues, and maximize instructional time for all students.

Important Date

AMI Days 

This year SPS will utilize AMI days this school year for inclement weather. Please see the following graphics. 

AMI Teacher Expectations 

Elementary Newsletter: https://secure.smore.com/n/jwyzm 

Important Dates 

Dec. 23-Jan. 3 - Winter Break (students out)

Jan, 3rd - Teach Forward

• Middle School Check email for designed sight
• Elementary we will collaborate with Jeffries to provide choice

January 

1- Tom Cunningham

3- Stephanie Routh 

4- Constance Bonner 

5- April Barron 

10- Julie McClure 

16- Acacia Cavin

17- Leanne Newman 

25- Ashley McCord 

31- Corbyn Bartels