Good Morning, Team!
This week's positive message:
Be Prepared- Ben Franklin famously said, "When you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail." When you prepare, you are more likely to succeed. Preparing gives confidence. Preparing helps you perform better. Preparing leads to great knowledge and understanding. Be prepared and little things will turn into big accomplishments. (#102 - from How To Be A Coffee Bean)
Being prepared, having morning routines set, having a schedule posted each day, posting your objectives, all gives clear expectations for students. Clear expectations, clear routines and clear procedures leaves no room for questions, minimizing off-task behavior. When students know what the expectations are, behaviors are less frequent, and teaching can seamlessly occur. Let's focus on being prepared to make it to the final weeks of school...you've got this!!!
Ramadan Mubarak for those celebrating Ramadan! Also, don't forget to "Spring Forward"! Enjoy the extra bit of light in the evenings!
#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!
Congratulations to the following teachers for earning Golden Tickets this week!
Mr. Rabbani - for having the highest percentage of ‘Paper’ usage in the charter.
Mr. Cravey - for evidence of perseverance in the face of challenges.
Ms. Bradley - for her consistency with receiving feedback with fidelity.
Ms. M - for her consistent leadership and professionalism.
Thank you for being great leaders within our team! Turn in your Golden Ticket for a day you would like to leave at 3:30pm!
We're looking for our next set of "Golden Ticket" winners! Keep up the amazing work, team!
For those celebrating Ramadan, Ramadan Mubarak!
There may be students in your classroom who, during this time, will want to fast until the end of Ramadan (approximately March 10 - April 10). Fasting means no food or water, which means more students may not feel well or have headaches until their body adjusts to the fasting. Please do not send them up to the front office for not feeling well or headaches, as discussed during the staff meeting this past week.
For lunch time, the tables students currently sit at will have sections that students can sit at where students are not eating. There will not be designated classrooms for students to sit in during lunch time if they are fasting, as they can still sit in the cafeteria for monitoring during this time. If parents reach out or have any questions that your are unable to answer regarding eating/lunch time, please reach out to Mrs. Vinten or Mrs. Wilson. We will be happy to talk to parents if you are unable to address their concern.
If you are wanting to complete your IPDP for the spring semester, the 20 hours for the next IPDP submission is due by April 15 (to be paid on May 1). Submissions after April 15 will NOT be accepted. Please create another folder within your IPDP folder and title it "Spring IPDP certificates" to upload your completed courses into. If you need to change your original IPDP form due to new courses taken, retype or rewrite it, print it out, and give it to Mrs. Vinten for approval prior to April 15. If you have any questions, please reach out for help!
TELPAS make-up testing for ESL/EB students in grades 2-8 will occur this week. 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 Tuesday through 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.
All classes/specials will occur as normal. The ESL teacher from the Irving campus will be coming to administer the assessments in the staff lounge. The following testing will occur throughout the week
Tuesday = Reading & Writing (21 students in grades 2 - 8)
Wednesday = Listening & Speaking (12 students - 4 third graders & 8 fifth graders)
Thursday = Listening & Speaking (9 students - 3 fourth graders & 3 sixth graders, 1 seventh grader, and 2 eighth graders)
Thank you for keeping scholars SILENT in the hallways and quiet within the classrooms for the testing environment!
Please revisit the email from Ms. Wilson regarding filling out the link prior to sending down students for office referrals:
It is imperative that we partner together to support our students with making positive choices. In an effort to ensure that I am doing my part, while simultaneously equipping you with the skills you need to be successful, I need every teacher to access the following link below and complete the form in the link, prior to sending students to my office for behavior infractions.
However, if it is truly an emergency like a fight or situation requiring medical attention, please send the student first, then complete the form. Please note, this form is unique to me at this time, due to the fact I am serving dual roles (Assistant Principal and Instructional Coach).
Thank you.
PBIS Form
On April 20 Manara will be hosting a 5K run/walk in Irving. Put it on your calendar today! More information will be coming out as to how you can participate or volunteer on this day. It is sure to be a fun event!
To recap from part of our staff meeting on 3/8/2024:
Common Language is important. Make sure you are stating what you want to happen (example: Quiet vs. Silent)
Expectations (Rules vs. Procedures)
Lunch room expectations (enter at level zero, stay at level zero until teacher designates level 1, last five minutes level zero)
Hallway procedures (silent in the hallway)
Classroom displays
Are rules posted and reviewed daily?
What procedures are evident in your classroom?
Create classroom display for classroom/morning routines (get support if needed for ideas)
Create a classroom agenda and have it ready to post no later than the Monday after Spring Break (permanent display can be created with magnets for the board to switch up items - google for ideas or come see Mrs. Vinten for ideas!)
Practice, practice, practice! Consistent expecations are key!
Have a plan for revisiting all of your classroom/school expectations for after Spring Break.
Take the time to solidify your rules and procedures. It will be worth it!
Paper is thrilled to announce the 2024 Paper March Madness Challenge, dedicated to supporting teachers and students throughout the test-prep season! Students will have two chances to win amazing prizes like Apple AirPods and more by scoring Paper Three-Pointers.
To score a Paper Three-Pointer, students will need to complete a Paper activity on three separate days before each draw. The first round of prizes will be drawn on March 15th and the second on April 1st.
Students can dive into the Paper Missions section of their student dashboard, choosing from Math, ELA, Vocabulary, or Test Prep, and begin on their journey today.
Raffle prizes will include Apple Airpods, NBA/WNBA jerseys and Stanley Cup Tumblers!
Flyers will go home on Monday as well, but students in grades 3-8 can log onto the Paper App this weekend (through Clever) and start this weekend! Utilizing these resourses will be great practice and support for the STAAR testing the end of April!
All students coming up to the front office should be in EMERGENCY cases ONLY (one of the 7 B's) and with a nurse's pass. ALL scholars who are in the hallway (even when coming to get water) should have hall passes.
***PLEASE do not send out more than one scholar at a time from your classroom to get water (unless the scholar is in PK - 1st grade - with a buddy).
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!!
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
The next TFAR is due in 4 weeks (for the end of the 5th 6 week period). However, you can still use the platform for practicing STAAR type questions. Practice makes perfect...or at least it helps with learning the platform better!
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!
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
Things to do this week:
Review your morning procedures and make sure you have structures in place for the start of each day
TELPAS testing revision schedule (above)
Place your lesson plans & newsletters in the correct google drive folder
SLO data collection - Evidence #4
TFAR assessments
Create a classroom display for classroom/morning routines (get support if needed for ideas)
Create a classroom agenda and have it ready to post no later than the Monday after Spring Break (permanent display can be created with magnets for the board to switch up items - google for ideas or come see Mrs. Vinten for ideas!)
Mar 1-31 Paper Contest for scholars in grades 3-8
Mar 10 Daylight Savings Time Begins - "Spring Forward" one hour!
Mar 12-14 TEPAS make-up testing - grades 2-8
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
Mar 28 Birthday Thursday for March Birthdays
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
Apr 15 Spring IPDP hours and certificates due
Apr 20 5K Run/Walk in Irving
May 10 Six Flags Over Texas Field Trip for grades 4th - 8th