This Week
Monday

Tuesday
* 7:30-8:15 Leadership Team meeting
* 1:00-3:00 Jenny admin meeting

Wednesday
* 3rd Grade in-house field trip
* SD: EPRs & Student work

Thursday
* 9:00-10:00 Open Enrollment presentation
* 3rd Grade in-house field trip
* Libby admin meeting
* 2nd Grade plan day

Friday

Reminders
* Teachers grades 3-5, please give Libby the names of students who need extra time and/or text-to-speech if you have not done so yet. Students who get extra time must be on a formal plan. This accommodation must be documented beginning December 1st. You do not need to document text-to-speech.

* The iReady MOY diagnostic window is December 3rd - 14th. All students will take the assessment. Students will not need to take the growth monitoring assessment until January.

* As you administer your DRA/F & P assessments, please update your reading data sheets.

* If you are taking your class out for extra recess, please make sure you are actively supervising them.

EPRs
* Click here for expectations for comments and basic navigation strategies. All students should receive a personal comment and comments when they are not meeting standards. Please remember that report cards should not be a surprise.
* Report cards need to be shared with specials, sped, Kristi, Jamie, and Stephanie Brown.

Happy Birthday
Anita Rudman - November 27th

Go For the Gold
* Thank you Gail for an amazing Book Fair!
* Thank you Fat Friday team for the pumpkin spice feast! It was delicious!
* Thank you Angel Zayas for all the work you did for the Parker Task Force!
* Thank you Social Committee for the Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament!

Golden Nuggets
Morning Announcements: Leuschner
Lounge Duty: Westra/Fleet

Thankful for our Incredible Staff!

November 2018

This Week

Monday
* Book Fair - 7:30-4:30

Tuesday
* Book Fair - 7:30-6:30
* 9:00-10:00 Opening Enrollment Building Tours

Wednesday
* Book Fair - 7:30-4:30
* Digger's Family Feast and Celebration of Learning

Thursday
* Book Fair - 7:30-6:30
* Data Discussions for READ Plan students
* Plan Day 3rd Grade

Friday
* Book Fair - 7:30-2:00
* Data Discussions for READ Plan students
* Fat Friday - Pumpkin spice and everything nice!

Reminders

iReady
* Click here for READ Plan Template Guidelines and Progress Check Updates.
Please update the progress check for READ plan students every 6 weeks in Alpine.

* Students will take the Winter diagnostic within the December 3 - 14 window. Since they will be taking the diagnostic in December, our next Progress Monitoring check will be January 11th.

* Click here on how to view Growth Monitoring results.

* Click here for directions on how to view Instructional Groupings. 

* Please sign up for your DRA/F&P day in the lounge if you have not done this yet.

* If you would like to talk to your students about Veteran's Day, here are some titles:

Pepper's Purple Heart by Heather French Henry

Granddad Bud: A veterans Day Story by SHaron Ferry

Veterans: Heroes In Our Neighborhood by Pfundstein

Hero Dad by Melinda Hardin

Veterans Day by Ansary

The Wall by Eve Bunting

We would love to capture any work you are doing around Veteran's Day. Please let Libby or Jenny know if you plan to do an activity. Thank you Gail for pulling these titles!

Data Discussions for READ Students - November 15 & 16
We are excited to hold data discussions and planning sessions for all READ students on November 15 and 16.  A sub will cover your classroom while we review READ students' data and additional interventions.  Click here for your specific day and time.  Please plan on sharing students' current READ goals and the interventions you have tried.  We will collaboratively review progress monitoring data and provide additional resources.

CITE 6  -Due in INSPIRED by November 15 
Please make sure that your initial CITE 6 data and student targets are inputted into InspirED by Thursday, November 15.  Please see Jenny, Libby or Kristi for help.

Celebrations of Learning & Thanksgiving Feast Schedule
Celebrations of Learning is an opportunity for your students to showcase their learning and great work with their parents.  Please plan for activities for the full 30 minutes prior to your time for the grade level feast (see the schedule below).

Save the Date
Our GRE staff holiday party will be held this year on Thursday, December 20 (our last day before break!) The party will be at Gail Golish's home (thanks for hosting us Gail) and will begin at 4:00. You definitely don't want to miss this!

Opportunity
Kristi is is need of teachers to be part of a Gifted and Talented Identification team.  This team meets 3 or 4 times between now and January to evaluate student data and determine services.  This is an unpaid but totally super cool and fascinating opportunity!!  Please let Kristi know if you are interested.

Happy Birthday
Gretchen Immen - November 18th
Kim Layton - November 20th
Kristi Barta - November 24th

Go For the Gold
Thank you teachers and aides an incredible PLC day!
Thank you Christy Schwalick for organizing mindfulness training for classified staff!
Thank you Meuli family for all of your work on behalf of students and teachers!
Thank you Anita for ordering delicious heart cookies!
Thank you Michelle Wright for the goodies at our PLC day!
Do you ever wonder who unloads the dishwasher every day and makes delicious coffee for you every morning?  That would be our own Karen Petty.  Please thank her when you get a chance!!

If you have anyone you would like to recognize, please let Libby know.

Golden Nuggets
Morning Announcements: Hagerty
Lounge Duty: Kramer/Poli

November 2018

This Week

Monday


Tuesday
* PLC Day @ 8:15-3:15 in the Gold Mine Room

Wednesday
* Stand Up Staff Mtg @ 8:00 AM

Thursday
* Jenny admin meeting
* 4th Grade Plan Day

Friday
* Progress monitor all students in Reading

Reminders
PLC Day
* We are excited to have a trainer from Teachers' College share Lucy Calkins' strategies with us.  We will plan on meeting from 8:15-3:15 in the Gold Mine room.  You will have 1 hour for lunch. Please bring the following to our PLC day Tuesday: Your full set of Lucy Calkins' reading materials including student texts and a notebook.  You will need your computer in the afternoon only.

Progress Monitoring in I READY
* We are going to progress monitor all students in Reading every three weeks in iReady. There will be a reminder in the Barker. Our next date is this Friday, November 9th. Please progress monitor all students on Friday.

* iReady uses the term growth monitoring, which is the same as progress monitoring. In Alpine, it is progress monitoring. Please enter progress monitor dates in Alpine for READ Act students every 6 weeks.

* Click here to learn how to view growth monitoring data.

* Please give Libby the list of what you want to report on for EPRs if you have not done so yet.

Data Discussions for READ Students - November 15 & 16
We are excited to hold data discussions and planning sessions for all READ students on November 15 and 16.  A sub will cover your classroom while we review READ students' data and additional interventions.  You will receive your specific day and time by the end of next week.  Please plan on sharing students' current READ goals and the interventions you have tried.  We will collaboratively review progress monitoring data and provide additional resources.

CITE 6  -Due in INSPIRED by November 15 
Please make sure that your initial CITE 6 data and student targets are inputted into InspirED by Thursday, November 15.  Please see Jenny, Libby or Kristi for help.

Celebrations of Learning & Thanksgiving Feast Schedule
Celebrations of Learning is an opportunity for your students to showcase their learning and great work with their parents.  Please plan for activities for the full 30 minutes prior to your time for the grade level feast (see the schedule below).

Save the Date
Our GRE staff holiday party will be held this year on Thursday, December 20 (our last day before break!) The party will be at Gail Golish's home (thanks for hosting us Gail) and will begin at 4:00. You definitely don't want to miss this!

Kindergarten Technology CoTeaching
Kindergartners explored the app ChatterPix this week in LOTS of engaging ways. With each task they took a picture, planned out their thinking using their Story Map strategy with five fingers, and then communicated by recording their voice. Kindergartners taught others how they go for the GOLD in Kindergarten, explained their favorite center and the activities they complete while there, described a favorite part of a book they are currently reading, and practiced their fluency by reciting Five Little Pumpkins in thirty seconds or less. Our youngest learners showed mastery of the app ChatterPix.



Happy Birthday
Cindy Bell - November 7th
Linda Dziura - November 7th
Kylee Lautenbach - November 11th
Michelle Sweet - November 11th

Go For the Gold
Thank you for all of the amazing Halloween parties and surviving the day!
Thank you Leadership team for your time and contributions!

Golden Nuggets
Morning Announcements: Broecker
Lounge Duty: Wright/Hegyi

Happy Trunk-or-Treat

October/November

This Week
Monday
* 2:30 Fire Drill

Tuesday
* 7:30 Leadership team meeting in the Gold Mine room

Wednesday
* 8:45 Halloween Breakfast parties
* 9:30 Parade

Thursday
* Jenny admin meeting

Friday
* Libby out

Reminders
* Click here for how to edit READ plans, including where to enter progress monitoring data, parent communication and how to print the report. See Libby if you need help.

* Teachers grades 3-5, please think about the students who will need accommodations for CMAS. Any student can have text-to-speech in Math and Science, but they to be receiving this from you consistently. They must be on a formal plan to receive extra time. You will need to document students who need extra time beginning December 1st. Libby needs to enter all of this data in Alpine by Nov. 30, so she will be asking for names by November 9th. 

* Please turn in your EPR sheets to Libby by Friday.

Computer Carts

Please review the list below and let Megan know if any of these apply to your cart:

1. If the electrical equipment/wiring is exposed or looks like it is frayed, IMMEDIATELY disconnect from the power source. If you can’t safely disconnect from the power source, please call the office.
2. Please do NOT move a cart while it is still plugged into the electrical outlet. The act of moving the cart or any piece of electrical equipment while plugged can damage the power cord and expose anyone handling the cart to further risk. ALWAYS DISCONNECT POWER CORD PRIOR TO MOVING ANY ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT.
3. Please do not have the cart connected to the electrical outlet while removing or returning the computers to the charging cart.
4. Please do not allow students to move a computer cart, particularly when it is plugged into an electrical outlet. Only adults should handle plugging in or unplugging any electrical equipment.

With any electrical equipment, if you sense (smell, see or hear) anything concerning, disconnect the piece of equipment. Again, please let us know if your cart or cord looks damaged.

Box Tops

Please help kids remember to bring in their Box Tops next week. The first collection will be Wednesday, Oct 24^th.  

Click here for pre-written text you can post on your blog too!

Also remember there is a GREAT gift basket for the teacher of the winning class with the most box tops as of Feb 21, 2019.   

Parker Task Force

Student Council and PTO have teamed up to collect food for the Parker Task Force starting October 29th through November 16th.  That gives you and your students three weeks to bring in the most food for a little friendly competition. The winning class will win a pizza party donated by the PTO.  Angel will be dropping off a box for each class this week to start your collection next week. Please keep all food in your classroom and PTO will come and count and pick up what you have collected daily.  

Extra food from your Halloween parties can also be donated if they are prepackaged. Angel will collect items after your parties on Wednesday. Please leave them where they can be seen. 

Halloween

Halloween breakfast parties will be held on Wednesday, October 31, from 8:40-9:30 AM. It is recommended that party treats be balanced with both nutritious options and sweets. We know that many parent attend our parties. We are encouraging all families to bring an item for the Parker Task Force when they are in. All donations can be placed in collection bins in the main vestibule.

Our school parade will follow at 9:30-9:45 AM.  The parade route, along with directions will be in your box this week. Students who do not wish to participate in Halloween activities can rejoin the class at 9:45 AM.  We will resume with a normal school day schedule at that time.

We encourage students to be creative with their costumes, but safety remains our number one priority.  We ask students to adhere to the following guidelines when selecting a costume:

* Students should come dressed in their costume and bring a change of clothing.

* Costumes can not be demeaning, offensive or promiscuous.

* Face paint, face masks and weapons are not permitted.

1st Grade Technology Co-Teaching
First grade readers left tracks of their thinking in non-fiction books. To share their new learning and wonderings, students created SonicPics presentations and shared them on Seesaw. Seesaw allowed them to access audiences of both parents and other first grade readers. Partners then left digital comments for each other on their presentations. First graders loved learning from their friends and giving digital feedback. As you can picture, there was lots of excitement and wonder about being able to work with a partner without sitting next to them!

See a few samples below!

Happy Birthday
Jenny Huntsinger - October 31st

Kelly Broecker - November 3rd

Go For the Gold

* Thank you Fat Friday team for the amazing chili!

* Thank you Anita Rudman, Jenny Brown, Gail Golish, Jamie Marchese, Ashley Hagerty, and Kylee Lautenbach for participating in Trunk-or-Treat!

Golden Nuggets

Morning Announcements: Lautenbach
Lounge Duty: Russell/Shepperd

October

This Week
Monday

Tuesday
* Lab visits with Janet Merrill
* 1:00-3:00 Jenny admin meeting

Wednesday
* 7:45 Social committee meeting in the office conference room
* SD: Enter Cite 6 data
* Dr. Tucker visit

Thursday
* 5th grade plan day
* 5:00-6:00 Legend Trunk-or-Treat

Friday
* Fat Friday - Chili

Reminders
* Please be ready to enter CITE 6 data in InspirED on Wednesday.

* Last call for a Spelling Bee facilitator. Please let Libby know if you are interested.

* Lab classroom visits with Janet Merrill are on Tuesday. Click here for the schedule. 

Halloween

Halloween breakfast parties will be held on Wednesday, October 31, from 8:40-9:30 AM. It is recommended that party treats be balanced with both nutritious options and sweets. We know that many parent attend our parties. We are encouraging all families to bring an item for the Parker Task Force when they are in. All donations can be placed in collection bins in the main vestibule.

Our school parade will follow at 9:30-9:45 AM.  The parade route, along with directions will be in your box this week. Students who do not wish to participate in Halloween activities can rejoin the class at 9:45 AM.  We will resume with a normal school day schedule at that time.

We encourage students to be creative with their costumes, but safety remains our number one priority.  We ask students to adhere to the following guidelines when selecting a costume:

* Students should come dressed in their costume and bring a change of clothing.

* Costumes can not be demeaning, offensive or promiscuous.

* Face paint, face masks and weapons are not permitted.

Opportunity

We would love new ideas for some fun and activities for ALL of our staff.  We know time is precious, but we would LOVE to have your voice and input at a meeting next Wednesday morning at 7:45 in the office conference room.  If there are too many of us to fit, we will make a move.  We definitely want both certified and classified folks to be a part of this!!  

Happy Birthday

Heather Terry - October 25th

Go For the Gold

* Thank you Leadership Team for your time and insight!

* Thank you Jamie Marchese for leading our new Interact service club!

Golden Nuggets

Morning Announcements: Leuschner

Lounge Duty: Robart/Roberts

Congratulations Ashley Hagerty!

October 2018

This Week
Monday
* Vision/Hearing Schedule
* 7:45 Social Media committee meeting

Tuesday
* Vision/Hearing Schedule
* 7:30 Leadership team meeting
* Janet Merrill visits GRE classrooms

Wednesday
* SD: Enter CITE 6 data in InspirED
* Assistant Superintendent - Ted Knight - Visits GRE classrooms


Thursday
* Jenny admin meeting
* K plan day

Friday
* 4th grade field trip to the zoo

Reminders
* Legend is hosting a Legend Family Trunk-or-Treat. The event is October 25th from 5:00-6:00. We are looking for teachers / teams to decorate their trunks and pass out candy to kids.  Gold Rush will supply the candy.  We would greatly appreciate anyone willing to participate in this event!  

Click here for the SignUpGenius

Click here for the flyer.

* CITE 6
According to state law, 50% of your teacher evaluation will be based on student data, referred to as CITE 6.  On Wednesday you will enter your CITE 6 data into InspirED with your grade level team.  Please determine with your team which assessment(s) you are planning on using this year and bring your formative data on Wednesday.  Let us know if you have questions or concerns.  

* Our feeder PLS, Janet Merrill, will be at GRE on October 16th.  She will be visiting classrooms to get to know teachers and see the wonderful work happening at GRE! Ted Knight, the Assistant Superintendent, will be visiting Gold Rush on Wednesday.  He will also be visiting classrooms between 9:00-10:30.

* We are looking forward to hosting a new service club for fourth and fifth grade students called Interact.  We are looking for a teacher to co-facilitate this club.  We are also still looking for a teacher  to coordinate the spelling bee.  Both are paid positions.  Please let Jenny know if you are interested in either position.

* Please update monthly blog for October. In your blog, please communicate with parents what's been happening in your classroom and during your co-teaching time and what is coming. You can pull information from your co-teaching sessions directly from this blog.

* Please make sure the double doors by the office are closed at all times. They are often left open before/after recess.

* Please turn in your golden tickets on Thursday before the end of the day. 

Halloween
Halloween parties will be from 8:45-9:30 in classrooms. The parade will follow from 9:30-10:00. More info to come next week. 

Opportunities
* The Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP) is an affordable master’s program that combines web instruction from Miami University with experiential learning and field study through Denver Zoological Foundation. The 2019 application is now open. Applications are being accepted until February 28 at https://aip.miamioh.edu. Courses begin in May 2019. If you would like more information, please see Libby.

Drill Reminders

Lockdown

* Keep all doors locked at all times.

* See the office if you need a magnet/stopper for your door.

* Fully remove your magnet/stopper to ensure doors lock.

* Remain on the floor with your students even during drills.

* Always have your classroom key on you.

Fire Drill

* We will let you know if the future if we are practicing a fire drill.  

* Please keep your stopper/magnet on when we practice a fire drill 

Evacuation Drill

* Please read the procedures for our building evacuation below.

Happy Birthday
Katie Timm - October 18th
Mackenzie Villanie - October 21st

Go For the Gold
* Thank you Shannon Wilde for all you have done for our school! We wish you the best of luck in your new job at Cimarron!
* Welcome back Diane Brown!
* Welcome Jacquie Carter, our new SSN EA!
* Thank you Stephanie Brown, Lindsay Reeves, Mary Beth Steinher, Carly Roberts, Jenn Poli, Kelly Broecker, Justin Brakefield, Rochelle Evans, Tammy Simpson, Stephanie Braden, Mackenzie Villanie and Karen Warner for participating in our Digger Dash celebration!
* Thank you Karen Petty and Tobey for helping set up!

Golden Nuggets
Morning Announcements: Hagerty
Lounge Duty: Hoff/Steinher

2nd Grade Technology Co-Teaching
Second Graders analyzed different school communities and created Adobe Spark Video presentations that communicated the roles, rights, and responsibilities students have in their assigned area. Students planned how they would teach and communicate about their topic through speaking and meaningful pictures. Each student reflected on their work by completing a communication rubric and providing evidence that supported their self evaluation.

Student Samples:
Role, Rights & Responsibilities Video
Self Reflection Samples

October

This Week
Monday

Tuesday
* 7:30 Lockdown training in the Gold Mine room
* 11:00 Lockdown drill

Wednesday
* SD: OYO

Thursday
* Parent/Teacher conferences
* 1st grade plan day
* Jenny admin meeting

Friday
* 2:45 Digger Dash celebration

Reminders
* Kindergarten teachers, please administer the iReady probe to students who fell below the cut score by Friday, October 5th.

* We will have our Digger Dash egging ceremony on Friday, October 5th. Please bring your class to the front playground at 2:45.

* Click here for how to edit READ plans, including where to enter progress monitoring data, parent communication and how to print the report. See Libby if you need help.

* i-Ready data will be available after October 14th.

* Conferences:  The leadership team determined we would all share the following information with parents during conferences:

* Students DRA level 
* The DRA range for the grade level
* The characteristics of the different DRA levels 
* A current writing sample
* A celebration and goal for reading, writing and math

We were not going to share I READY reports for math or reading as this is a new assessment for us.  We decided we would refer to this for certain students and situations.

* Please let Jenny or Libby know if you would like them to attend a conference.

* Walktober is here and it is time to get moving!  If you haven't signed up already, go to dcsd.walktober.com to register for Walktober today!  We begin logging steps or activity minutes on Monday, October 1st (but you can sign up through 10/5). Good luck!

* DCSD employees receive discounts on various services/items. Click here for the employees discount page. 

District Lock Down Training - 
Please inform your students of the following:
*If they were not in their classroom when a lockdown was announced on the overhead that they would run to the closest room or hiding spot.
* If they were in the bathroom students are told to remain in a locked stall with their feet up.
* If they are outside they need to run away from the school and find a safe spot until safe person finds them.

October Count

The process is simplified this year:

• Official Count Day:  Tuesday, September 25
• Eleven Day Window:  Tuesday, September 18 - Tuesday, October 2
• Make sure you are taking attendance in IC in your class during the eleven day window.  If you are having problems with IC during that time, please let Christi Dismang know.
• If you have a substitute during the eleven day window, we will give your sub a Sub Attendance Roster for them to take attendance on.  They need to sign the bottom of the form, and we will keep it for our records.  

Opportunity
We are still in need of a Spelling Bee coordinator. You will receive a stipend for this position! Please let Libby know if you are interested. 

Happy Birthday
Kim Gopsill - October 3rd
Christi Dismang - October 4th
Jen Dale - October 6th
Amanda Widdeson - October 11th
Megan Wallace - October 13

Go For the Gold
* Thank you for a great, first night of conferences. We appreciate all of the time and thought you put into them!
* Thank you Fat Friday team for the delicious soup and potato bar!
* Thank you Elizabeth Meuli for all of the painted hearts!

Golden Nuggets
Morning Announcements: Broecker
Lounge Duty: Anderson/Graham

3rd Grade Technology CoTeaching
Third grade readers are remarkable! They took an interim assessment from Lucy, revised their thinking, learned various digital editing tools like, scrolling, spelling, capitalization, indenting, punctuation, and growing text boxes while publishing their revised work. After typing their responses students learned how to share a google document with their Literacy Partners. Then these brave collaborators digitally provided feedback on their partner’s reading reflection using a checklist that combined items from Lucy’s Reading Progressions & Lucy’s Editing Checklist. To communicate meaningful feedback, students used the comment feature within Google Documents.
You can imagine minds were blown this week; kids & teachers alike.

Click HERE to listen to a 3rd grade student describing our work together.