gator news
News for Savannah staff
May 5th, 2025
News for Savannah staff
May 5th, 2025
Teacher Appreciation Week is here!!! See the graphics below for more information on how you are to be celebrated.
I also want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the notes, parade, and gifts I received on principal's day. I know that it takes a lot to get students into the hall at the end of the day for a parade. That meant so much. THANK YOU!
What Is Expected of Me This Week
PLTs: All teams will meet in the PLC room during planning time on Tuesday to discuss progress on EOY assessments and class building.
Quality Instruction: Wonderful teachers, we still have THREE weeks of school left. Students have report card assessments and EOY assessments that they must show proficiency on. Make sure that your time with your students count by being prepared each day, using each minute wisely, and continuing small groups. Many of you still need to post evidence of your TTESS goals on your posters. This is a great time to take care of this task as you finish strong!
EOY testing windows: Please see the graphic below for dates and reading testing info from Agnew.
Ever heard of "Exchange Days"? This is a bonus for those wanting a day off in exchange for summer PD! Read the guidelines here as you plan for your summer learning.
Still Important from Last Week
Virtual Summative Conferences: Everyone must complete a TTESS Summative Conference, but you may choose a virtual option. Click here for the virtual form link. You may also reach out to your appraiser for an in-person meeting. This task must be complete by May 9th.
Volunteer Appreciation -- Each homeroom parent has a gift waiting for them in Hawkins office. Teachers--please come pick up the gift and make sure that your person gets it. In previous years we have done an event (luncheon, candy bar etc. but barely any volunteers attended.) This year we are making sure our volunteers are thanked in a way that does not require them to attend anything. Please ensure they get their gift ASAP by handing it off directly when they are on campus, or sending it home with their child.
Upcoming Events:
May 5th -- Master schedule committee meets
May 7th -- School Talent Show
May 13th -- Vertical Zone math Celebration
May 12th -- Guiding Coalition planning day
May 15th -- Campus Lead Team Meeting (GC presents CNA and proposed CIP goals for 25-26)
May 16th -- Gator Games (Field Day)
Week of May 12th-16th -- Class building during planning this week (We will provide details on how we plan to improve our process this year)
May 21-23 -- Student Half Days
May 20th -- Braswell Senior Walk - 8:25am
May 20th -- PreK Graduation
May 21st -- Kinder Graduation
May 22nd -- 5th Grade Graduation at Braswell 6:30 PM WOOHOO!!!
May 23rd -- Last Day of School
May 27th-29th -- Summer Seminar
Just a quick reminder that our End-of-Year (EOY) literacy assessment window will open on Monday, April 28th and close on Friday, May 16th. Please note that this does not include the i-Ready Reading EOY assessment.
All students must be assessed. You will continue assessing each student until you determine their independent reading level, using the fiction books for this assessment.
If students are receiving SPED support during testing, please ensure the fiction assessments are being used in those sessions as well.
Once you’ve identified a student’s independent reading level, please be sure to:
Enter the level on the tracker
Include it on the report card
Upload it into Edugence
Make sure to refer to the yellow comprehension scoring rubric when grading the assessments to ensure consistency and accuracy.
After determining their level, have the student complete the writing portion, which will serve as their EOY writing sample for their cumulative folder.
I know many of you are still in the middle of testing, but I wanted to make sure this stays on everyone’s radar. If you have any questions or need support, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Thank you for everything you do!
Hey everyone!
On Wednesday, May 7th we will have our school talent show. This will be from 9am-10am in the cafeteria. K-2 teachers will be able to watch virtually using the morning announcement teams meeting link. 3-5 teachers will need to start walking students to the cafeteria by 8:50am. We will sit like we would for Celebrate Savannah. Please send any students who are performing in the talent show to the cafeteria stage by 8:15 that morning so we can check the sound and find our places. Fifth grade teachers, we will walk students directly from specials to the talent show once specials are over. Fourth grade teachers, specials teachers will watch your classes during the talent show so you can still have your conference. Third grade teachers, specials will take your classes from the talent show to specials once it is over and you can leave once your conference time starts if needed.
Thank you for your flexibility and I cannot wait for you to see the performance!
May 5-9: All students will return ALL items for the final time during Library this week. No new circulation. During Library we will check accounts and all students with clear accounts (books returned and any accrued fines paid) will get a small reward and a raffle ticket for a few other possible prizes. Meeting this deadline is what will earn students their reward! (Books turned in by Library day the week of May 5th.)
May 9th: Because 5th grade will not have Library the week of 5/5-9, I will send buckets down on the 9th for students to turn in all books. At the end of the day I will run a report. Students in 5th grade who had clear accounts by the 9th will get their reward the following week during Library.
After school on the 9th I will put the first composite list of books missing from teacher's classes in boxes. I will update these regularly as we attempt to get all books returned.
May 16th: This is the district deadline for ALL Library materials to be returned (including from teachers). If you have checked out any books, please have them turned in by this date. I am attempting to collect student items earlier to give more time to track down missing items.
It is definitely not the classroom teacher's responsibility to track down missing Library books. However, I greatly appreciate any help in communicating with families and encouraging students to remember due dates. Also, if students in your class are missing books, please encourage them to look thoroughly in the classroom - desks, book boxes, classroom libraries. Library books are found in classrooms ALL the time - often that had been missing for months and sometimes even years. A great classroom job is to have a student go through and look for Library books!
I will be putting frequent notices in your boxes the last weeks of school to help. These can be cut into strips and sent home as frequent reminders. Just constantly asking and reminding students is very helpful. All of these efforts help keep our collection whole and mean more books for all students.
SAVANNAH SUMMER BOOK SWAP
We are hosting our 4th Book Swap in the Library! I have attached the flyer and will be talking to classes about the details next week. You can also read more about it on the Library website. LINK
Students may start bringing in donations on Monday. Please have them label them with their name and teacher name so I can keep track. The week of May 12th is when students will spend their "credits" to choose new-to-them books from the swap. If you have any questions let me know!
I know that was a LOT of info. Thank you for reading it if you made it this far. If there is anything I can do to support you in these last few weeks, I am here! 🙂
Happy Birthday!!!
Janet Crawford May 1
Paige Pippen May 12
Lillian Hochanadel May 16
Ian Archbold May 28
Don't forget!
Every Thursday is Braswell Spirit Day. You may wear jeans and Braswell spiritwear/colors.
Every Friday is Savannah Spirit Day. You may wear jeans and Savannah spiritwear/colors.