9/26/16 Daily Bulletin

Shout Out

Shout out to 7th grader, Victoria Merritt and Linda Solomon Key for supporting a struggling kindergartner with the bus. He is lucky to have a fellow student and teacher to help him feel more comfortable as he begins and ends his day.

School Visitors

We will have three visitors on Monday who will be touring the building, observing classrooms, meetings, lunch, recess, etc... They are working with central office to design the open house at Bolling Building which will take place on Oct 29-30 as part of the Build BPS initiative.  They have spent a couple months understanding the facilities issues and solutions as central office sees them for our schools.  Now they will venturing out to see schools and to listen to teachers and administrators perspectives. They will visit around 20 schools around the district and the Curley is the 6th school. They are not observing classroom instruction but rather how the space is used.

Student Learning Goal

The Curley K-8 Student Learning Goal for SY 2016-2017, "Students will be able to express a clear, organized idea when ____X_______.  As a team we will create a system for progress monitoring student writing.  Our writing data will be tracked using a rubric."

Possible choices for blank X

• writing in response to reading
• writing reflectively about mathematical reasoning
• writing across content text types (explanatory, narrative, argumentative, opinion)
• completing process writing across text types (explanatory, narrative, argumentative, opinion)

Artifacts (Should include but are not limited to the list below)

• Common rubric
• Student work
• LASW Refections
• Student data tracked over time

Environmental Safety Log

Last year, we placed environmental safety binders in each office. These binders can be accessed by staff and families at any time to log anything potentially hazardous in any of the outdoor spaces. Examples can include: dead animals, broken equipment, hazardous trash. Please log anything you see of concern.

ILT

ILT will take place on Wednesday from 3:00pm-4:15pm.

Build BPS

BPS is looking to hear from various communities regarding the 10-Year Educational and Facilities Master Plan. There will be a Open House for communities on October 29^th-30^th from 9am-5pm at the Bruce C. Bolling Building. For more information go to http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/buildbps

Field Trips

Please be sure to submit a Field Trip Request Form and reach out to the nurses and cafeteria staff AT LEAST 2 WEEKS PRIOR to the trip.

Announcements

We will start announcements again this week. We will begin promptly at 8:35am with a greeting, Pledge of Allegiance and the Curley Cheer. If you have any announcements that need to be shared school-wide please give them to Madeline prior to the start of the day. We want to begin to have students support with this and are open to your ideas. We know this is a bit of a concern for grades 6-8 M-W however we have been unable to find a better time in the day.

Sibling Walkers Line

Starting Monday, September 26, 2016 Elaine Cronin will meet sibling walkers at the glass case located on the first floor in the lower school.  Please send her (ecronin2@bostonpublicschools.org) the names of the students who will be meeting their K1, K2 and first grade siblings.  The K1, K2 and grade 1 students should continue to go out with their grade levels.  Parents will be able to meet their children from Pershing Rd. pick-up locations.  This option is only for children who have a sibling being dismissed as walkers from the lower school.  They will then proceed out the front door and stand against the wall to the left. 

Bus Validation Sheets Pershing Rd

We are trying a new system this year that would allows us to ensure that all of our students get on their assigned buses at dismissal. At times, bus drivers leave without checking if all of their students have boarded their bus and we have to chase them or call transportation to ask for back up bus.  Starting on Monday, September 26 I will give all drivers a validation sheet (you can click on the link to see it (Validation Sheet) which we are asking you to initial after you put all your students on the bus. I will ask drivers, not to leave until you have validated their sheet and related to them who is absent. The administration will collect all sheets at the end of the week and make sure that drivers have a new one for the following Monday. Please see Mr. Diaz or Guthrie if you have any questions or concerns regarding this new system for tracking Departure Buses.

Professional Development Plans 

Teams, either content or grade level, should be collaborating to create a PD plan which aligns with the instructional focus and is an extension of the work being completed during CPT. If teams need support in completing their plans please ask an administrator.  Professional development plans (everyone except K2-grade 2 teachers) should be submitted to your evaluator by October 14th. Teams may submit earlier if they are ready (thanks to several teams who already have). 

• Goals are now due October 1, 2016.
• Your Student Learning Goal will be school-wide and will be shared Sunday night in the Blog.
• Your Professional Practice Goal should directly align with this PD plan and be created by grade level or content teams. 
• At this time, TeachPlus has had to change their plans. We are hopeful that they will be able to offer courses in the spring but teams should not rely on them as part of their grade level plans.  Grade level/ content professional development should take place on the PD dates scheduled.

Field Trips

If you are planning a field trip do not forget to fill out the request form and give to Madeline or Kathy. Also be sure to follow up with the Nurses and Cafeteria staff AT LEAST TWO WEEKS prior to the trip. This leave time to plan for food and/or medical needs of students.

Internet Help

On Friday OIIT will be here to begin the first part of improving our internet. They will be installing 89 new access points across the building. This will happen in several phases and Friday is phase 1. We wanted to warn you that someone may walk into your room to check the internet throughout the day. Thank you!

Playworks

Class Game Time starts this week. Email Coach C with any questions crystal.rosa@playworks.org. 

Free Healthy Snacks

Congratulations! The Curley School has been selected as one of the 49 Boston Public Schools chosen for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).  Teachers will be provided with fresh fruit and vegetable snacks each week at times separate from breakfast and lunch.  For details please check your mailboxes for a list of most commonly asked questions and email Torri Canada for any further information.

Breakfast

Breakfast begins promptly at 8:15 a.m. Students in grades K0 – 4th should report to the lower school cafeteria for breakfast. Students in grades 5 – 8 should report to the upper school cafeteria for breakfast. Students must eat in the cafeteria between 8:15 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Food is not allowed to leave the cafeteria prior to 8:30 a.m. Teachers please make sure that students have their lunch or One Cards with them to expedite service. Any student that arrives after 8:30 a.m. is allowed to eat breakfast in the classroom. Please do not send any student to the cafeteria to eat their food, as there is no adult supervision. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Jackson.

From the Curley Library

Please explore the online resources available to the Curley Community and BPS families.

Many of the resources offer translation tools, various reading levels, and lesson plans.

If you need assistance navigating any of the resources please contact me at ckelleypowers@bostonpublicschools.org.

• https://bpslibraries.org/family-resources/
• https://bpslibraries.org/researchhelp/
• https://bpslibraries.org/elementary-resources/
• https://bpslibraries.org/middle-resources/

Digital Publishing Tools

• Storybird is a great tool for teachers and students who want to try digital publishing. Online creation and sharing via social media are free.
• Bitstrips is a comic strip app with lots of illustration flexibility.  Creation and sharing are free.

Fire Drill

Just a friendly reminder (wink, wink, hint, hint) that we must have a fire drill in the month of September. Please be sure to practice routines with students and have all materials prepared in case of an emergency. Even during a drill we will collect attendance and treat it as if there is a real emergency. Below is some information from the Handbook. THIS HAS BEEN UPDATED SINCE YESTERDAY!

6.29 Curley K-8 School’s Fire Drill Evacuation Procedure

Please post a copy of the correct evacuation route and instructions in a strategic and accessible place in the classroom. Please review both the Curley K-8 School Evacuation Map and Evacuation Matrix both are located on the Curley K-8 School shared drive in the Operations folder. Please familiarize your students with the evacuation route from your room, go over assembly instructions in case of an emergency, and the location of where your class needs to wait once you have exited the building. 

The following tasks need to be completed during and after an evacuation:

1. Bring along your classroom emergency kit.
1. The kit will include: attendance roster, copies of emergency forms, a red sheet of paper (to hold up if you are missing a child or need something),  and a sheet of paper with your name on written boldly on it
2. Take attendance outside and when re-entering the building
3. Return attendance and report any missing students to an administrator immediately
4. Everyone must evacuate during fire drills and alarms. Please be prepared to respond promptly and efficiently in order to insure the safety of our students and staff during a building evacuation.

Please familiarize yourself with the evacuation exit assigned to your area of the building.  The assigned exits at the upper school are:

Exit A: Front Lobby Stairwell on Centre St. 

Exit B: Stairwell C – front Schoolyard CASP door by Centre St.

Exit C: Stairwell E - rear schoolyard red door by the former parent center

Exit E: Stairwell F – rear door next to the outdoor Science classroom on Pershing Rd.

Exit G: Stairwell D - gym overpass on Pershing Rd.

Exit H: Stairwell A – at the end of the handicap ramp located on the upper school parking lot.

Exit J: Stairwell B -  on Pershing Rd. next to the lower school parking lot

6.30 FIRE DRILL CONDUCT

Please post fire exits and regulations in your classroom before students arrive on the first day of school. PLEASE BE REMINDED THAT DURING A FIRE DRILL THERE SHOULD BE SILENCE AND STUDENTS ARE TO WALK IN SINGLE FILE LINES. We will schedule several fire drills during the school year. During a fire drill, No one remains in the buildings during a drill. All classes will file away from the buildings and the schoolyard must be completely cleared for use by the Fire Department.

Please make sure:

1. All students are out of the buildings before leaving

2. All teachers/paraprofessionals follow the students out of the buildings and help with outside supervision

3. All students and teachers remain outside until a signal is given to return to the building

4. Students and teachers will return to the same room that they left before the drill

5. Enforce no talking and walking in single file

6. Ensure everyone is with you

7. If a fire exit or stairway is inaccessible attempt to exit the nearest exit

8. Take your classroom emergency kit and cell phones with you. 

EDFS

We are extending the due date for Self Assessments till Friday, September 23rd. We apologize but there have been a few EDFS issues that we are working to resolve. Everyone should be able to sign on now but your evaluator may be updated in the next few days.

Reserving Space

If you are interested in reserving the Playing Field or the Auditorium please go to curleyk8.blogspot.com. On the right hand side you will see the title Helpful Links (below the calendar) Click on Book Playing Field or Book Auditorium and submit your request. Requests must be submitted for use.

BPS Assessment Calendar

Click This link to access the BPS Assessment Calendar.

Curley Student Email and Login Info

For those teachers using Chromebook carts and in need of student login information, you can access student email addresses and passwords on the Curley K8 shared drive in the Technology folder. Student user IDs are their email address; their passwords are their 8-digit date of birth. The AllStudents_EMAIL spread sheet is tabbed by grade level. Since it is only the 1st full week of the school year, please expect the list of students to change.

If you notice any errors in the spreadsheet, please inform Kate Davis (kdavis3@bostonpublicschools.org).

If students are unable to login, check that they have entered their email address and DOB correctly. If they have entered their data correctly and are still unable to login, please email Connie (credden@bostonpublicschools.org) or Kate and include the student's BPS ID number and name. The spreadsheet will be updates over the next few weeks and file with student login data in label format will be shared as well.

SPED PD Options

Below are some PD options being offered at the Curley during our contractual PD dates. Staff may want to include one or more of these into their team PD plan. Here is the link to sign up   https://goo.gl/forms/BwtGbumLgXBfLUMF2

• Sept 29th --- Understanding and Implementing IEPS (A--Specialists, B--Classroom Teachers) 
• Oct 20th --- Goal Writing for Special Education Teachers 
• Nov 17th --- The IEP Process/Meeting Expectations 
• Jan 19th --- Paperwork/IEP Progress Reports 
• Feb 16th --- Tier 1 and Tier 2 Interventions/curriculum modification 
• March 16th --- Behavior Supports 
• April 27th --- Understanding Disabilities and Services available 
• May 18th --- Middle School Transition/Life Skills 
• June 1st --- Inclusion