"A" week schedule this week!

Bad Weather Make-Up Day

This Monday, March 25, 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!!

Ramadan Mubarak!

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.  

IPDP - Spring 2024

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!  

Formal Observations

Mrs. Vinten & Mrs. Wilson will be completing formal classroom assessments for all teachers within the next 4 weeks.  You will receive invitations to your preconference meeting from your appraiser this week.  When you come to the meeting, please have the following questions prepared to discuss:

• What should the students know and be able to do by the end of the lesson? 

• What will the teacher and students be doing to show progress towards mastery of the lesson objectives? 

• How will the teacher know that the students have mastered the objective(s)? 

The information gathered during the preconference will be used to score all of Domain 1 (Planning) and parts of Domain 2 (Instruction) within the T-TESS rubric.  The preconference will be a discussion between you and your appraiser regarding the planning that goes into the complete lesson cycle. In this conference, by focusing on the above questions, you will be setting the stage for what the appraiser will see during your formal observation including: student learning occurring, classroom environment structures, and behavior management structures.  

Grades and PowerSchool Parent Access

The end of the 5th 6 week period is April 12 (in 3 weeks).  Please make sure you are updating your grades EACH WEEK, as parents now have access to view their child's grades/progress in PowerSchool.  As a reminder, you should have a minimum of 2 grades per content area each week uploaded into PowerSchool, and you should have at least 3 summative assessments per 6 weeks included within those grades.  Zeros can be placeholders within the gradebook while you are waiting for students to complete work if necessary, but make sure you are in communication with the parents if students are not completing work.  There should never be failing grades that stay in a gradebook without communication to families.  Reach out if you have any questions or need help!

PBIS Form

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

https://forms.gle/P7eY9BDVFxWPfmpx6

Manara 5K

On April 20 Manara will be hosting a 5K run/walk in Irving.  Put it on your calendar today!  It is sure to be a fun event!  See the communication sent from Ms. Wilson as to how you can participate/volunteer.

Classroom Management Focus

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)

  1. Lunch room expectations (enter at level zero, stay at level zero until teacher designates level 1, last five minutes level zero)

  2. Hallway procedures (silent in the hallway)

  3. Classroom displays 

     1. Are rules posted and reviewed daily?

     2. 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!

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

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!  

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:

• Review your morning procedures and make sure you have structures in place for the start of each day

• Place your lesson plans & newsletters in the correct google drive folder 

• SLO data collection - Evidence #4

• TFAR assessments

• Work on IPDP completion (if wanting to complete)

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

Mar 28 Birthday Thursday for March Birthdays

Mar 28 Vinten & Wilson off campus - Strategic Planning Meeting

Mar 29 Vinten off campus

Apr 1 -5 SLO Evidence of student progress # 5 due (uploaded in drive)

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 12 TFAR for end of 5th 6 week period due today! (grades 3 - 8)

Apr 12 End of 5th 6 week marking period

Apr 15 - 19 TFAR for beginning of 6th 6 week period due this week

Apr 15 Start of last 6 week marking period!

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

May 24 8th grade end of year celebration 9:00am - 12:00pm (more information will be sent home with 8th grade families)

May 24 Manara High School Graduation (Irving location)

May 27 No school - Memorial Day holiday

May 31 Last day of school for students