https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/madisonstaff/2020/02/16/february-17-2020/
I hope everyone enjoyed their 3-day weekend! Only five weeks until Spring Break.
- Repeat: 4J Secondary School Climate Survey – Please plan a time during Focus to have students take this survey. It needs to be completed before the end of February. This one is different than the one we gave earlier this year. Some questions will be similar if not exactly the same, but this one is for all middle schoolers in the district. Here is the info from Shasta Quigley, the district PBIS coordinator. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Directions for administration:- Please administer this survey to as many students as possible in all grades at your school
- It is important that we have as many students take the survey as possible, and that we get at least 50% response across each grade level
- I have also copied school counselors and middle school PBIS team leaders on this email so that everyone has the same information.
- Your survey must be completed by the end of February. We will be pulling and analyzing results the following week to send to you.
- Repeat: FastBridge Testing – Our testing window for Winter screening is now open in FastBridge. ELA and Math teachers, please plan on spending 2 days on the assessment. Some kids will finish faster or will have tested with Amy or Matt (please check with them), so please consider having an alternative assignment might be a good idea. Kids will need headphones. We don’t have many school headphones, so kids are welcome to bring and use their own. All of the info below is also available in in this google doc. We also have this slideshow for students on how to log in and which tests to take if you’d like to use it again.
- Teacher Log In and Info
- To get your password, visit https://auth.fastbridge.org/login.do and choose “Request Password”. Input your 4J email and it will send you a link to set your password. I’m not sure if this also works if you’ve forgotten your password.
- Log in: 4j email and chosen password
- In your teacher dashboard, under the Screening tab, you can see the status of each of your students’ test. They should test until there are scores in that space. If it says “Not Started” or “Resume”, then the student isn’t finished.
Assessments
- aReading and aMath
- Note: They will likely need to click the blue “More Tests” button to get to A-reading and A-math
- Update: For aReading, students do NOT need to take the AutoReading assessments. They can stop as soon as the test tells them “Congratulations! You may exit this test.”
- To see the kids who are finished, go “Reporting”, choose Group Screening Report, and choose the test you gave. If the student has a score in the Winter column and a percentile rank in the final column, they’re done with the test.
Student Log In
- There is a Fast Bridge shortcut on their iPad apps
- Username = first name(capital) + student id
- Example: Erin345678
- Print outs are in your mailboxes
- Password for ALL students = madison
- Students will need headphones (straight jack) to hear directions for both tests and to have math questions read to them.
- I will be working Monday morning to ensure all our new students have accounts and passwords. If you run into any issues with kids not being able to log in, please let me know ASAP and I’ll get their account fixed.
- I will put lists of usernames and passwords in your mailbox as soon as they are ready. If you’re planning on testing Monday, let me know and I’ll get them to you during Focus.
- You might want to have all students attempt a log-in the day before you want to text to ensure they can all get in.
New: Make Up Testing
- Wednesday, February 19 during 2nd period. I’ll send out a list Tuesday of kids who need to wrap up testing.
- If you’re running a testing session or have some open time, please consider letting kids know if they missed the other assessment (aReading or aMath), they can work on it after they’re finished with your assessment. You can see if students are finished by going to the Group Screening Report and choosing the correct measure. You can also show only your particular class period by using the Class drop down box and choosing your period (if there’s a number at the end, that refers to the class period).
- Teacher Log In and Info
- Staffing Timeline for 2020-2021 – HR will distribute staffing to principals on Wednesday, If you’re interested, linked here is the Staffing Timeline for 2020-21 for both classified and licensed staffing processes. This includes dates for when staffing plans are due, temporary hire staff notifications, displacement timelines, Job Expo dates, and other staffing minutia.
- Random Happenings – Just a little fun from the week. In case anyone mentions they lost their underwear in the hall last week, let them know Mr. Erickson found them and disposed of them. Also, some kids were more excited than others to realize they were twinning with the principal.
- iPad Resources – Chris Benz, the AP at Kennedy, shared iForgot Slips he uses to let students know their iPads are missing from the cart at the end of the day. They get delivered to students during Focus. Some teams are rebooting their iPad expectations. Here are a few other resources:
- Staff Managed vs. Office Managed Behaviors includes a section on technology violations
- iPad Expectations Slides – Please feel free to make a copy if you’d like to update or change anything
- Digital Level 2 Referral – Feel free to use our digital level 2 to quickly document iPad violations that are Staff Managed.
- Repeat: Reading Intervention Testing Coming March 16 – The reading intervention team downtown is working on a better system for identifying secondary students in need of reading intervention. This year they are sending a team to each building to conduct screeners on any students who have been identified as possibly in need of reading support. Students will be identified for screening through a composite score that includes: FastBridge scores, ELA grades, and ELA SBAC scores from last year. Students with low composite scores will take the Reading Inventory from Read 180 to get a Lexile score in comprehension. They expect to test between 40-50 students per grade level. We will set them up in an empty classroom that day. Please be prepared for students to be called out of class to take their screening assessment. I understand this will be disruptive, but I am happy to see a plan that will help us ensure kids are getting the interventions they need.
- Taj in the News – In case you missed it, here’s the link to Taj’s moment in the spotlight!
- Simple Ways to Encourage Kindness in Students of All Ages – With Random Acts of Kindness Day this Monday, here are five ways to promote kindness across all age groups. See this Edutopia Article for ways to bring both planned and totally random gestures of decency to your classroom this week and well beyond.
- Oscar winning animated short film, Hair Love – From Matthew A. Cherry, this short film tells the heartfelt story of an African-American father learning to do his daughter’s hair for the first time.
- Schedule of Upcoming Events:
February 17 (M)
No school – Presidents’ Day
February 18 (T)
7:30, Erin covering at Howard
February 19 (W)
8:00, Staff Meeting (library)
9:30, Peter, Anne, & Erin meeting with Twin Rivers’ principal
2nd period, Andy Dey visiting AVID class
2nd period, FastBridge make up testing in Bushnell’s room
7:00, School Board Meeting
February 20 (H)
9:30, Erin and Peter to HR Staffing Allocation Meeting (downtown)
February 21 (F)
2:45, Building-based PD – PLCs
3:30, Grade Level Team meetings
February 24 (M)
Time TBD, Earthquake & Evacuation Drill
9:45, Front Office Group meeting
2:15, Peter to AVID Coordinators Meeting (Mozart room)
3:45, Peter to MS Principals Meeting (Parr room)
February 25 (T)
7:45, TLC Meeting (conference room)
9:00, Peter and Erin to All Admin Meeting (downtown)
4:00, Erin and others to ISLA Data Design Team Meeting (Briggs MS)
February 26 (W)
2:45, North Region CARE Team Meeting (Howard Conference room)
3:45, Climate Team Meeting (Anne’s office)
6:30, Santa Clara Park Meeting
February 27 (H)
7:30, Justice League (Anne’s office)
9:00, Peter to MS Scheduling Meeting
February 28 (F)
2:45, PLCs
3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
Have a great week, y’all!
Erin
