February 26, 2024

A message from Principal Vinten

Good Afternoon, Team!

I appreciate the time you all take to read through the newsletters each week. The newsletter this week has a lot of pertinent information to pay attention to, such as TELPAS testing & Read Across America week coming up. Please reach out if you have any questions regarding the TELPAS schedule within the newsletter. Thank you to you all for your flexibility and patience with the testing schedules. It takes a team to make testing run smoothly, so thank you for the part you play in assisting with all our scholars!

Don't forget to step outside tonight to view the Snow Moon tonight! Fun facts to share with your scholars on Monday...

According to the Farmers' Almanac, full moon names date back to Native Americans in the northern and eastern U.S. "The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full moon," the almanac reports. "Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred."

Calling February's full moon the "snow" moon is usually right on target: On average, February is typically the USA's snowiest month, according to past climate data from the National Weather Service.

The Farmer's Almanac also said some tribes referred to February's moon as the "hunger" moon because harsh weather conditions often made hunting difficult.

This weekend's full moon will be the final full moon of winter, as the next one will not occur until after the March equinox, on March 19, which will signal the arrival of astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

And as for the moon's names, the snow moon follows January's wolf moon. The worm moon will grace the sky in March. (information from USA Today by Doyle Rice)

Enjoy the beautiful 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 out go to.... Ms. Wilson!

Ms. Wilson has jumped on board on our STEM team and hasn't missed a beat! From helping out with getting math data organized for both campuses, to assisting in the summer school planning, she has already proven to be that of great value to Manara! I appreciate the way she supports everyone and brings collaboration to the team. Ms. Wilson, you are a great asset to Manara, especially the STEM campus! I appreciate you and all the work you are doing to help better our team, and especially all you do to help and support me as well!

Thank you, Ms. Wilson for your leadership and dedication! Come see me for a special treat!😁

TELPAS Testing - Feb 26 - Mar 1

TELPAS testing for ESL/EB students in grades 2-8 will occur this week (Feb 26-Mar 1). Testers have all day to complete the assessment, however once completed, can return back to their homeroom classroom for the remainder of the day.

**Staff lounge closed from 8:00am - 1:30pm on Thursday so copying in this room will not be available. This room will be a testing room and the copy machine will be shut down.

See the schedule below, as all grades K - 8 schedules will be affected. Teachers who are testing will return to their "normal" teaching day once all testers in their designated classrooms have completed testing for that day:

*Mrs. Vinten or Mrs. Wilson will come around to get the students in the grade levels testing each testing morning, as well as pass out folders & headphones to the teachers testing.

**Classes will start combining testers once rooms have 5 or less students testing to consolidate testers.

Monday, Feb 26 - Reading & Writing TELPAS, grades 2 - 5

Teachers testing/room location:

Ms. M (testing in room 147) - 18 students (14 - 4th graders & 4 - 3rd graders)
- - Ms. A will take Ms. M's classes during testing time in room 146
Ms. Dormier (testing in room 141) - 17 students (3rd graders)
- - All Kindergarten will combine with Ms. Goodson
Ms. Waseem (testing in room 139) - 17 students (12 - 2nd graders & 5 - 3rd graders)
- - Ms. Wassem's first grade class will combine in room 119 with 2nd graders not testing this day

Tuesday, Feb 27 - Reading & Writing TELPAS, grades 6 - 8

Teachers testing/room location:

Mr. Rabbani (testing in room 142) - 19 students (6 - 7th graders & 13 - 8th graders)
- - Ms. A will take the 23 students in 6th & 8th grade classes not testing during testing time in room 139
Ms. Johnson (testing in room 141) - 12 students (5th graders)
- - All 1st graders will combine with Ms. Waseem
Ms. M (testing in room 147) - 13 students (6th graders)

Thursday, Feb 29 - Listening & Speaking TELPAS, grades 2 - 4

Teachers testing/room location:

Ms. M (testing in room 120) - 12 students (2nd grade) (Ms. April move to Ms. Johnson's room 116 to teach)
Mr. Rabbani (testing in room 139) - 10 students (4th grade)
Ms. Dormier (testing in room 121) - 10 students (3rd grade) (Ms. Bradley move to PTO room 136 to teach)
Ms. Waseem (testing in room 141) - 10 students (3rd grade)
Ms. Johnson (testing in room 133) - 10 students (4th grade - 4 + 3rd grade - 6)

Classroom Plan on Thursday (teachers testing, please have sub plans available for teachers covering your classes):

Ms. Goodson will take all kindergarten students
Ms. Rana will take all 1st grade students in Ms. Johnson's classroom (until noon)
Ms. Hanan will take Ms. M's classes
Ms. A will take Mr. Rabbani's classes

Friday, March 1 - Listening & Speaking TELPAS, grades 5 - 8

Teachers testing/room location:

Ms. M (testing in room 147) - 11 students (6th grade)
Mr. Rabbani (testing in room 142) - 11 students (8th grade)
Ms. Waseem (testing in room 141) - 12 students (5th grade)
Ms. Johnson (testing in room 139) - 10 students (8th grade - 2 students + 7th grade - 6 students + 6th grade - 2 students)

Classroom Plan on Friday (teachers testing, please have sub plans available for teachers covering your classes):

Ms. Rana will take all 1st grade students in Ms. Johnson's classroom (until noon)
Ms. Lena will take Ms. M's classes
Ms. A will take Mr. Rabbani's classes

Specials classes will stay the same but will have smaller numbers if testers are still testing.

Ms. Gigi & Ms. Fadoua will have 6th - 8th graders Monday, Tuesday & Thursday in the gym during Specials time
Coach will have PE outside in the morning on those days for 6th - 8th.
Art classes will still be held in Ms. Corey's classroom. Please have your class walk down the hallway silently. 😉

🌟It will be a great week! Thank you, everyone, for helping with testing. It takes us all to make sure that our testers have the best testing environment for everyone, so thank you for keeping your classes QUIET in your classrooms throughout the day, SILENT in the hallways, and teaching great testing strategies.

🎉Family Fun Event March 5🎉

Our next Family Fun Event will be on Tuesday, March 5 from 4:00 - 5:30. There will be Dr. Seuss station themed games and crafts, as well as the PTO will be selling nachos and snack items. Please sign up on this google doc if you are able to help during this event. Activity ideas are also included within the google doc if you are unsure of what you could host!

Arlington Charities Mobile Food Pantry will also be here, so fill out the information on the link below if you have not already to sign up to receive FREE GROCERIES (only those families/staff who fill out the information on the link can participate)! Yes, you as teachers can qualify too! Over 25 families took advantage of the free groceries last month, and we would love to see more families be able to take home free food!

Arlington Charities Mobile Food Pantry Sign-Up Link

Family Fun Event Details:

Dr. Seuss themed games & crafts (staff)
Nachos and snacks sold by the PTO (in the gym/PTO)
Arlington Charities Mobile Food Pantry (Arlington Charities volunteers)
Registration Event (registrars)
Summer Camp booth with details (Ms. Wilson)

Read Across America Week - March 4-8

March 4 - 8 is Read Across America week. Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child, everywhere to celebrate reading, also in celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday on March 2. There will be fun dress up days throughout that week, as well as a Family Fun Event celebrating Dr. Seuss on March 5. Our Family Fun Event will be Dr. Seuss themed to go along with this week's events!

There are a lot of amazing curriculum activities you can tie into Dr. Seuss books, even for middle and high school students (20 Engaging Dr. Seuss Activities For Middle School). We are looking forward to celebrating reading through this fun week!

Dr. Seuss Week - March 4th - 8th!

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

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!!

TFAR Naming Conventions

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

Next TFAR due this week (for the start of the 5th 6 week period).

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:

Pass out report cards to go home on Monday (and STAAR Interim data for grades 3-8)
TELPAS testing revision schedule (above)
Place your lesson plans & newsletters in the correct google drive folder
SLO data collection - Evidence #4
TFAR assessment (new one for start of 5th 6 week period!)
Sign up for Family Fun Night - March 5 (link above)

Upcoming Events

Feb 26-Mar 1 TELPAS testing - grades 2 - 8 (see schedule within the newsletter)

Feb 26 Parent Meeting 4:15-4:45 for 6th - 8th grade families (in the gym)

Feb 27 Vinten off campus

Feb 28 Vinten and Wilson off campus - Strategic Planning Meeting

Feb 29 Staff Meeting (mandatory) 4:15-4:45

Mar 4 - 8 Read Across America Week (Dr. Seuss themed days listed above)

Mar 5 Family Fun Event 4:00-5:30pm

Mar 10 Daylight Savings Time Begins - "Spring Forward" one hour!

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 Study 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)

Apr 11 Ft Worth Zoo Field Study - Grades PK4 - 3

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

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