ODDS and ENDS…

As I look back on this year, it’s been quite a whirlwind filled with new learning, exciting challenges and the forming of new relationships. You have welcomed me into your Title family and I can’t express how much I have enjoyed the time we’ve spent working together toward a common goal; raising the achievement of our most struggling learners! You are an amazing group of professionals whose dedication, talent and desire to continually learn more are incredible; thank you for teaching me so much this year! I look forward to my final school visit of the year. Please find the schedule attached ~ if you notice any “opps” or you need to make an adjustment, please let Bee know right away! May_Visitations 2013

Family Engineering and Parent Involvement Training: As a reminder, you are welcome to invite 1-2 parents you’d like trained and who you feel would be able to help facilitate a family event at your school. Principals are also invited and encouraged to attend the training on May 13; 1:oo-5:00.

Year-End Procedures for Title Tech Equipment (Extended Learning w/Technology): More details regarding the handling and use of the Title purchased tech equipment will be shared on 5/7 during our Extended Learning w/Technology PD. Still, I wanted to share a bit of information as I know you are beginning to plan for the end of the year.

• Equipment should be collected, reconciled against the inventory and securely stored by the Title Coordinator, no later than June 5, 2013.
• Monica will verify reconciled inventories when upgrading laptop operating systems and installing Meraki on iPods

NOTE: The equipment must be recorded on the Title I Inventory and should be monitored by the Title I Coordinator, at least annually.

Retirements: I would like to recognize and congratulate the following Coordinators on their, soon-to-be, retirement! Cindy (Holt), Priscilla (McCornack), Debbie (YG/Corridor) and Karen (Spring Creek). In celebration of this momentous occasion, we will enjoy some cake and fond memories during our PD on May 7.

Mentor/Mentees: Over the course of this past year, 11 Coordinators have participated in this program; 5 experienced coordinators were teamed with six fairly new coordinators. They have been time to meet both before/after school and for more extended periods of time. Meetings were designed to allow time for the mentor to answer questions, share advice/guidance, provide support/encouragement, help problem solve, etc. We will be holding our final meeting at The North Bank, at 3:30, on May 22! Mentors, please bring your log to this meeting OR email it to me prior.

Collaborative Practice Lesson Study Group: Four Coordinators were able to take advantage of an invitation to engage in a collaborative practice lesson study project, of their choosing, with at least one colleague; we have a total of seven participants! They have been given time to meet and collaborate over the past several months to engage in examining their practice to become even more effective educators. Wednesday, May 29, we will sharing our work and learning from one another! Participants, please ensure this meeting is included on your calendars ~ remind your partners as well.

Extended Learning w/Technology Project Presentations on May 7: Presentations will take place during our regularly scheduled PD, on May 7. Presentations are scheduled to run from 9:00-10:30, or so; please note this is a close estimate. PRINCIPALS ~ we hope you are able to join our PD during this window to see a glimpse of ways in which teachers are integrating technology into their reading/math intervention strategies. Presentations will take place in the Parr Room (Spring Creek, Awbrey Park, Holt, Camas and O’Hara), Mozart Room (Howard, Kelly, ATA, YG/Corridor and Family) and the Auditorium (Willa-g, River Road, Chavez, Twin Oaks and McCornack). A sign will be posted outside the auditorium to guide principals to the correct location when they arrive. Coordinators, REMEMBER to bring 3-5 photos of your project/students in action. Photos should be taken on your iPod touch and/or iPad. Please remind your teaching partners to brings photos, too.

Title I Coordinator’s PD on May 7: So that you can fully participate in our Give One/Get One activity, please plan on bringing one of your best/favorite reading strategies to share. If you have a handout to share, making five copies would be great!

AGENDAS for Upcoming Meetings:
May 7 (Ext. Learning w/Technology followed by Coordinator’s PD): Ext. Learning_Title Coord PD 050713A
May 13 (Family Engineering Training in lieu of Principal/Coord’s meeting): Princ_Title Coord Mtg 051313A

Information on Upcoming Compliance Documents ~ Please note who should be receiving the remaining compliance documents as it varies between Penny, Linda and Bee. 

End-of-Year Report: This report is due no later than June 7. The End-of-Year report, or NCLB CDPR Students and Programs, is scheduled to open on May 9. Bee will download and distribute to your school as appropriate. The questions will be broken out by Targeted, Schoolwide and Private. Please email to Bee no later than June 7. Bee will compile the reports and submit to ODE by the deadline.

Inventories: Please ensure inventories are updated and current and that Linda has copies of all your receipts. Linda is happy to provide you with purchasing reports from Lawson if you need a little reminder; just let her know! Updated inventories sheets WITH THE CURRENT YEAR’S DATE should be emailed to Linda by June 10.

Semi-Annual Certifications: Bee will email these out to principals (cc’d to coordinators) in mid-May, with a due date of June 7. Semi-annuals should be returned to Bee.

Electronic Student Profiles: Don’t forget, student profiles must be printed and included in each child’s folder/binder prior to leaving for summer.

Professional Development Questions:  These documents are due to Penny by 5/13.
1) Professional Development questions pertaining to the 2012-2013 school year. The questions are attached for:
TAS: PD Question TAS 2012-2013
SWP: PD QuestionsSWP 2012-2013
2) A copy of your school’s professional development plan/activities for the current year. This is likely developed by Site Council and/or your principal.

Program Review: I know you have all begun work on this monstrosity! Keep plugging along and let me know if you have any questions! Your program review is due to Penny by 6/10.

Links Related to Math CCSS: These helpful links (and descriptions) were included in one of Sara’s recent newsletters (thanks, Sara!); you are encouraged share them with your colleagues!  Including a snippet regarding the content of the link is always helpful (see link details below)

www.illustrativemathematics.org: This site is an excellent resource when a teacher is looking for an activity to support demonstration of a standard or concept.  All teachers need to do is find the standard and there are a number of ideas and activities provided.  The activities are typically easy to set up and the majority of them support developing student understanding through inquiry.

www.smarterbalanced.org: This site is simply the website for the upcoming Smarter Balanced assessments.  They provide ongoing updates about how the pilot assessments are going, etc.

www.k-5mathteachingresources.com: THIS SITE ROCKS!  IF you don’t share anything but one, share this one.  It utilizes Pinterest and has a format similar to Edmodo.  Here is their description:

“Welcome to K-5 Math Teaching Resources!
This site provides an extensive collection of free resources, math games, and hands-on math activities aligned with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Our math printables are suitable for use in math centers, small group or whole class settings. Instructions for each activity are presented in large print on a task card in child-friendly language to enable students to work on tasks independently after a brief introduction to the task. All files are in PDF format and can be accessed using Adobe Reader. 

Also available are Math Journal Tasks (K-5), Math Vocabulary Resources (Gds. 2-5) and Math Projects (Gds. 3-5) for teachers looking for ways to support students’ math writing skills while developing key concepts and skills. See our E-Books page for more information on these resources.”

www.insidemathematics.org: Another great choice!  This site provides teachers with a host of resources including video examples, tours and tools for instruction. They are also in the process of aligning everything they have to the CCSS.

www.teachingchannel.org: You may have used this one already.  This is a great resource if teachers need specific lesson examples or if you want to use some of the LeL and Saphier techniques to practice (this could be done during a staff meeting and/or PD day, too).

Enjoy exploring!

Deadlines on the Horizon for Compliance Documents: Please note who should be receiving the remaining compliance documents as it varies between Penny, Linda and Bee.
5/7:     Semi Annual Certifications (due to Bee)
5/10:   Completed Parent Involvement Questions, from Site Council (due to Bee)
5/13:    Professional Development Questions for the 12-13 school year (see questions, above) (due to Penny)
5/13:    Professional Development School and Title I Plan for the 2012-2013 school year (due to Penny)
5/17:    Summer school registrations (due to Linda)
5/24:    Summer school information/data forms (due to Linda; NOTE date change to reflect the assessment window)
6/10:    Program Review, sections E-P (also referred to as sections 5-16); (due to Penny)
6/10:    Inventory Sheets and accompanying receipts (due to Linda)
6/10:    ODE End-of-Year Report (due to Bee)

Mark your Calendars:
5/7:  Extended Learning w/Technology PD; 8:00-11:15 for everyone; 8:00-1:00 for Coordinators. PLEASE INVITE YOUR ADMINISTRATOR TO JOIN US from 9:00-10:30!
5/7:     Semi Annual Certification (due to Bee)
5/10:   Completed Parent Involvement Questions, from Site Council (due to Bee)
5/10:    Parent Involvement Survey window closes and hard copies (due to Bee)
5/13:    District CIP; 12:00-1:00 in auditorium – lunch is provided
5/13:    Family Engineering & Parent Involvement Training; 1:00-5:00 (this is in lieu of the regularly scheduled Principal/Coordinators meeting). Principals and 1-2 parent reps are also invited; please let Bee know if parents will be joining us.
5/22:   Mentor/Mentee meeting at The North Bank; 3:30
5/29:   Collaborative Practice, Lesson Study Group ~ final meeting to share work; 3:30 at Ed Center