02/22/16 Daily Bulletin

Shout Out

Shout out to Maria Amy-Moreno for hosting a fabulous dance for all of our middle school students! They loved the time to hang out with friends and listening to their favorite music. Thank you!

Shout out to Maria Ploessl, City Year Program Manager, for her tireless work in leading our City Year Corps Team and supporting our classrooms grades 3-8. Thank you for all your efforts!

Whole Staff PD & Share

This Thursday, February 25th we will have whole staff PD from 3:00pm-4:00pm in the auditorium. This PD is for all staff! Shanika Houlder from the BTU is coming at 4pm to briefly talk about the budget crisis and contract negotiations. She is asking BTU members to remain for just 5 minutes after PD. She will also talk about things more in depth at the next Faculty Senate Meeting in March.

Submit a Staff Curley Cares Award. 
During PD, we will have a staff share. This our chance to recognize and thank those people whose contributions (big OR small) demonstrate caring and support for our staff, our students, and our school. If you'd like to give an award to a colleague please click on this link and fill out the form. Submissions are due by 4:00pm Wednesday, February 24 - Thanks!

Lost and Found

Please remind students to check the lost and found outside of the nurse's office. There are many winter coats in there now and it will be emptied at the end of this month.

ILT

Please join us on Wednesday from 3:00pm-4:15pm for ILT in Room 111.

Curley Silent Auction

The Curley School Parent Council (SPC) will be hosting their Annual Silent Auction at Canary Square on Tuesday, March 29th and would like to extend an invite to all staff and their friends and family. If you are interested in donating a prize to the auction please contact Molly Brigham by February 22nd at mollykbrigham@gmail.com. In the past some staff have donated an afternoon with their teacher to get an ice cream at JP Licks, Principal for the Day, lunch with your teacher, etc... The SPC is open to any of your ideas and really appreciates your time (and the students love the prizes). The money raised from the Silent Auction goes to directly supporting our school such as CMCB, BalletROX, Arts supplies, science supplies, staff luncheon, Chromebooks etc...

Uniform Survey

Our yearly uniform surveys will go home with students tomorrow in both Spanish and English. We are asking staff to collect these forms and encourage students to return them. We are also asking staff to complete these forms for feedback either on paper or online http://goo.gl/forms/YVgo87NEZy. Please bring all completed forms to Madeline or Kathy by 3/3/16.

Teach Plus Courses

Teach Plus courses are returning this spring and we strongly encourage staff to participate. The courses being offered at the Curley specifically focus on areas we are discussing with the ILT and align with our school goals and the Instructional Focus (Teachers will vary demands and resources to optimize challenge in writing task to support students in expressing a clear, organized idea). 

Curley staff will be given preference for seats in courses offered at our school and we hope you take advantage of this benefit - either individually or as a team. Course offerings are listed below; please visit the Teach Plus website for course descriptions (click here to learn more and/or register).

Courses at the Curley K-8 in Jamaica Plain Dates: Thursdays from 4:30pm - 7:30pm, March 10, March 24, March 31, April 7, and April 14. Dinner provided.   Harnessing the Power of Centers and Student Choice in the Early Childhood Classroom UDL: Varying Demands and Optimizing Challenge (Grades 1-5) Empowering Students to Speak: Text Based Discussions and Debates in the Secondary Classroom Breaking Down the Standards for Mathematical Practice to Make the Shift (Grades 5-8) Strategies for supporting English Language Learners and Special Education Students in Writing  Critical Thinking and Writing Through Non-Fiction Literature: A Methods and Materials-Sharing Course

Courses at the Murphy K-8 in Dorchester Dates: Tuesdays from 4:30pm - 7:30pm, March 8, March 15, March 22, March 29, and April 5. Dinner provided. Effectively Teaching English Language Learners Determining Student Mastery of Math Content Standards (Grades 3-8) Revitalizing ELA Instruction Through Cognitively Demanding Tasks (Grades 3-8) Implementing Project-Based Work and CCSS in the Early Childhood Classroom Applying the Common Core to Diverse Learners: Differentiating to Include All Students Courses at the Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot in Roxbury TBD starting the week of March 7, 4:30pm - 7:30pm, Dinner provided.  Making Students Rational - Helping Students Develop Robust Understanding of Fractions (Grades 3-8) Implementing Cognitively Demanding Math Tasks in the Secondary Classroom

Questions? Interested in Facilitating a TeachPlus Course? Please contact Sasha Zuflacht, Massachusetts Program and Policy Coordinator, at szuflacht@teachplus.org with any questions.  If you're interested in facilitating a course in May, please click here to apply.

Jumpathon

Mr. Righini will lead the Jumpathon on Feb. 23rd from 10:30-11:30am in lower gym, students in grades 1-6 can raise money for the American Heart Association. This year we are being sponsored by a company called ARCLIGHT.  They are donating $250 for Physical Education supplies. See Mr. R for forms and details.

BAS Testing K-2

The winter benchmark window is now open through February 26th.  Teachers in K2-2 should administer the BAS for students who are reading below the current grade level instructional expectations.  Instructional level expectations for the middle of the year are as follows: Kindergarten - C, Grade 1 - G, Grade 2 - L.  It is expected that teachers will change the data board at the end of this window to assure it reflects the most up to date data.