February 12, 2024

A message from Principal Vinten

Good Morning, Team!

This week's positive message:

Be Demanding, Not Demeaning- To bring out the best in someone you often must demand their best. Don't let them settle for anything but their best effort. Yet in the process of being demanding, make sure you aren't demeaning. Don't put them down. Don't call them out. Call them up to greatness. (#59 - from How To Be A Coffee Bean)

We all want what is best for our students, and setting high expectations and keeping the high expectations is important. We all thrive with positive support, so focus on the positive with the students who may be a bit more challenging. Be demanding with your expectations, but don't demean them to try to get the behavior you want. "Call them up to greatness!" See our staff shout-outs this week for two teachers who set the expectations high daily! Come see me if you need some tips on positive behavior supports!

Thank you for taking the time to read EVERYTHING in the newsletter, as there are a LOT of items to pay attention to this week (TFAR, SLO evidence #3 due, STAAR Interim testing & revised schedules, grades...just to name a few). Enjoy your weekend!

#MAWAY!

Aimee Vinten

The mission of Manara Academy is to provide students with a creative, adaptive and ethical environment to become knowledgeable inquirers and future leaders in a diverse and evolving global society where we master languages, honor cultural heritages, and respect diversity.

"B" week schedule this week!

Teacher Shout - Outs!

This week's shout outs go to two more amazing teammates!

1st shout out goes to ..... Mr. Rabbani! 🎉

Mr. Rabbani is an extremely dedicated teacher! Each time I walk by his classroom, he is either up at the front of his room teaching or walking around the classroom assisting students in their educational needs. Not a momemt goes by that students are not engaged in mathematics in his classroom! Thank you, Mr. Rabbani, for the laser focused attention that you give to all your students and for keeping the expectations high! Your students are thriving in their mathematics curriculum because of YOU! Well done!

2nd shout out goes to ..... Ms. Corey!🎉

Ms. Corey is an amazing team player and is one of the most reliable teammates around! She knows each student and family, holds high expectations, and always assists where needed. I can count on her at all times and appreciate her willingness to "go the extra mile" each day. Thank you, Ms. Corey, for teaching the love of art to our students, as well as all the little "extras" you do to support everyone on our team! You are greatly appreciated!

Thank you, Mr. Rabbani & Ms. Corey for your leadership and dedication! Come see me for a special treat!😁

Friendship Day on Wednesday, February 14🥰

PK 3 & PK 4 will be using the gym on Wednesday, February 14 from 11:00am - 12:00pm for their "Friendship Day" celebration activities. The divider will be put up to separate the cafeteria from the gym so that K - 2 can have their normal lunch schedules in the cafeteria (5 - 6 tables will be down for students to sit at in the cafeteria).

If you are doing any celebration activities for Friendship day, just let Ms. Vinten, Ms. Wilson, and Ms. Tabatha know so if parents come to campus we know where to send them! Permission was given for this day to have fun "snacks" or food items other than the school lunch, so students can partake in fun snacks/food on this day.

Students in the Hallway/Coming to the Front Office

Please remember that our hallways are open and the front office area is an area where the phone is utilized and parents are located. Whenever your class is in the hallway walking from class to class, to the cafeteria, or to specials classes, students should be at a level ZERO!! Do not leave your classroom if they are not at a level zero. Allowing even a few to talk gives the rest permission to not listen to the directive. You should also walk with your class (not way behind them) when your class is going to places throughout the building. Please focus on your hallway procedures with your students and do be careful of the tone when redirecting them if they are not following directives. The loud tone can be heard by everyone who is in the front office area, and can be perceived as "yelling" or negative.

Also, if sending a student to the front office, it should only be because of one of the 7 B's (see chart below) AND with a nurse's pass. DO NOT SEND A CHILD UP TO CALL HOME (they can do that from your classroom) OR SEND THEM UP FOR A BANDAID!!!!!!! If you need more bandaids for your Boo Boo box, please email Ms. Tabatha and she will get you some. Thank you for helping with these procedures! We want to be accommodating to all and need your help with procedures so that the campus runs smoothly! 😁

Content Based Language Resouces

Please see the link regarding content based language resources from TEA. See Ms. Chamri if you have any questions!

Content-Based Language Instruction

End of the 4th 6 week period!

This is the last week in the 4th 6 week period (end of the 4th 6 week period is Feb 16). Please make sure to have all grades updated and submitted by Tuesday, February 20. Grade verification forms should be printed, signed, and given to me before you leave campus on Wednesday, February 21.

Reach out if you have any questions!

Bad Weather Make-Up Day

March 25, the Monday after Spring Break, will be our bad weather make-up day. School WILL be in session that day! We are looking forward to seeing all staff & scholars on Monday, March 25!!

STAAR Interim - Week of February 12 - grades 3 - 8 - information for ALL!!

Another round of STAAR Interim testing will take place the week of February 12 for grades 3 - 8. We will be treating the testing days like a STAAR days, with closing the campus to visitors on testing days (no lunch visitors) during the testing window, keeping the hallways silent, and practicing bathroom monitoring. Math will be taken on February 13 (for all 3rd - 8th students) and Reading will be taken on February 15 (for all 3rd - 8th students). The middle school hallway will be closed down for the testing duration, and a revised specials schedule will be created for those days. There is not a second window of STAAR Interim for 5th & 8th grade Science or 8th grade Social Studies.

Revised schedule for Tuesday, February 13:

STAAR Testing in the middle school hallways. Please do NOT send K - 2nd grade students down this hallway, as 3rd - 8th grade will be using these restrooms. Rooms being used:

3rd grade (Ms. Ray) will be in room 139 (Ms Gigi's classroom)
3rd grade (Ms. Bradley) will be in room 141 (Ms. Fadoua's classroom)
4th grade (Ms. Brockman) will be in room 137
5th grade (Mr. Cravey) will be in room 138
6th grade (Ms. Mehrabi) will be in room 147
7th grade (Mr. De Leon) will be in room 143
8th grade (Mr. Rabbani) will be in room 142

Restroom monitors:

8:00 - 9:30: Coach Smith
9:30 - 10:30: Ms. Vinten
10:30 - 12:30: Ms. Gigi
12:30 - 2:00: Ms. Wilson

Hall monitors (checking periodically to see if support is needed):

8:00 - 9:30: Ms. Corey
9:30 - 2:00: Ms. Vinten / Ms. Wilson

Specials classes will alternate Monday & Thursday schedules for K-2nd grade only - Monday classes will be normal, but will switch around for KA, KB, 1A, 1B, and 2nd grade for Monday and Thursday (meaning, PE for kinder will be on Thursday and Language will be on Monday, 1A PE & 1B Art will be on Monday and Language classes will be on Thursday, and 2nd grade Lanugage will be on Monday and Art will be on Thursday) - see Mrs. Vinten for clarification if needed 😁

Revised Specials Schedule for Tuesday, February 13:

9:30-10:25:

KA & KB will combine for Art in one of the Kinder classrooms - or could be in the gym and PE could be outside - (Ms. Lena - sub - will help support during this time)
1A & 1B language classes will be in their classrooms (Ms. Gigi and Ms. Fadoua will come to you today)
2nd grade will go to the gym for PE (or outside - see Coach for details)

1:15 - 2:10:

Normal specials schedule for 3rd, 4th & 5th grade IF testing is complete. If testing is not complete, Mrs. Vinten will discuss alternative options.

2:30 - 3:30 (if testing is complete)

6A & 6B will go to assigned language classes
7th grade will go to Art
8th grade will go to PE

Revised Specials Schedule for Thursday, February 15:

9:30-10:25:

KA & KB will combine for PE class in the gym - (Ms. Lena - sub - will help support during this time)
1A & 1B language classes will be in their classrooms (Ms. Gigi and Ms. Fadoua will come to you today)
2nd grade Art - Ms. Corey will come to your classroom today

1:15 - 2:10:

Normal specials schedule for 3rd, 4th & 5th grade IF testing is complete. If testing is not complete, Mrs. Vinten will discuss alternative options.

2:30 - 3:30 (if testing is complete)

6A & 6B will go to assigned language classes
7th grade will go to Art
8th grade will go to PE

Lunch schedules will remain the same for PK 3 - 2nd grade. Lunch time for 3rd - 5th will be 12:15 - 12:45, and for 6th - 8th will be 12:45 - 1:15. All Specials team members will cover lunch duties, with the following times for personal lunch times:

Personal lunch time on Tuesday and Thursday: Ms. Corey & Coach Smith: 11:00 - 11:30 (Ms. Fadoua & Ms. Lena - sub - to cover lunch duty 11 - 11:30), Ms. Fadoua: 11:30 - 12:00, Ms. Gigi: 12:30 - 1:00

TFAR Naming Conventions & SLO Student Growth Tracker Information

For teachers in grades 3-8, please make sure to update your TFAR naming conventions with the following:

Teacher last name.grade.subject.TEK focus.date

For all teachers with an SLO focus:

SLO Student Growth Tracker Input #3 is due this week!! (week of February 12) The 4th 6 weeks ends on Friday, February 16, so please have your SLO Growth Tracker updated and your folder with evidence updated no later than February 23. Reach out if you have any questions.

Paper Calendar Events for the month of February- grades 3 - 8

The Paper platform is excited to introduce the 2024 edition of the February Paper Reading calendar. Paper Reading is a reading practice tool that drives literacy outcomes by listening to students’ oral reading and offers instant, data-driven feedback for actionable insights.

Dive into a month of pre-prepared Paper Reading assignments with our Plug and Play Calendar. Are you ready to embark on this literacy journey? Let us guide you!

What can you expect?

Select from two grade-band Paper Reading calendars, featuring daily ready-to-use assignments throughout February.
Calendars will be delivered by email, and include nonfiction and fiction readings, commemorating Black History Month and February Holidays.
Student and teacher video guides to enhance the learning experience.
Passages include built-in assignments with vocabulary tasks, model reading, and reading comprehension question(s)

What does the calendar look like?

The full calendar is available here, with clickable links to assignments. See the example below! These are great activities to assign for homework or during WIN time!

Autism Awareness Month in April - t-shirt link order form

We are in the midst of planning a fun event in April for Autism Awareness Month. The link below will take you to the custom ink website to order Autism Awareness t-shirts. We would love as many people as possible (adults and students) to participate in purchasing a t-shirt to be able to wear at the event in April (more information to come). Thank you for your support!

Autism Awareness T-Shirt Order Form

Lesson Plans and Weekly Newsletters

Where to put them: 2023-2024 Teacher Resources drive within the STEM folder.

Please make sure to upload your lesson plans & newsletters to the correct folder by Sunday evening. If you need help, please let me or Ms. Wilson know! They are being checked, so thank you for having them uploaded on time!

*Make sure to add Common Sense Media lessons to your lesson plans each week, Paper lessons/expectations, and NewsELA Social Studies lessons!

**Also, remember to include morning work for each day as scholars are arriving/finishing breakfast each morning. Routines are key, and strong morning routines set powerful learning tones for the day!

SLO data collection

Within your individual SLO folders I have added a data tracker where you will input data collected from your TFAR or mCLASS assessments. The following dates are when the following data should be input:

Using the Initial Skill Profile Rubric:

BOY assessments (Data acceptable: 1st TFAR given, mCLASS, Circle)

Using the Targeted Skill Profile Rubric:

December (week of Dec 11) End of 3rd six weeks - Evidence of student progress #1 Done!

January (week of Jan 3) Start of 4th six weeks - Evidence of student progress #2

February (week of Feb 12) End of 4th six weeks - Evidence of student progress #3

February (week of Feb 21) Start of 5th six weeks - Evidence of student progress #4

March (week of Apr 1) End of 5th six weeks - Evidence of student progress # 5

May (week of May 20) End of 6th six weeks - EOY Student Skill Level

Remember to utilize the same TFAR for the the start and end of each 6 weeks so that the data is an accurate comparison.

Reminder: Naming conventions for TFAR assessments: last name.grade.subject.date

To-Do Items

Things to do this week:

Place your lesson plans & newsletters in the correct google drive folder
SLO data collection - Evidence #3
Grades -- end of 4th 6 week period ofs February 16
TFAR assessment (give the same one given at the start of the 4th 6 week period!)
Continue with weekly digital citizenship lessons - IMPORTANT!! 😀

Upcoming Events

Feb 12-16 SLO Student Growth Tracker Input Due - Evidence #3

Feb 13 & Feb 15 STAAR Interim Testing Days

Feb 13 Last day of Cookie Gram sales

Feb 14 Friendship Day (if classes are doing something special for Friendship Day, please reach out via Dojo to families)

Feb 14 Staff Potluck Sign Up Genius!

Feb 15 School Resource Officer Day!

Feb 16 End of the 4th Six Week Period

Feb 16 Wellness Friday!

Feb 19 Gradebooks will be locked by 4:00pm

Feb 19 No School - President's Day

Feb 19-23 SLO Student Growth Tracker Input Due - Evidence #4

Feb 20 PD Day - No school for scholars (staff blackout day)

Feb 20 Start of the 5th Six Week Period

Mar 15 Wellness Friday!

Mar 18-22 Spring Break - No School! (March 4-8, 15 & 25 are staff blackout days)

Mar 25 - School will be IN SESSION! Bad weather make-up day from the January cancellation day

Apr 4 UTA Planetarium Field Trip for grades 3rd - 5th

Apr 8 Bad weather make-up day (no school!)

Apr 9-10 No School - Eid holiday (April 5 & 11 are staff blackout days)

May 10 Six Flags Over Texas Field Trip for grades 4th - 8th

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse