11/17/16 Daily Bulletin

Shout Out

Shout out to Lindsey Wright and Nelly Rivera for their unwavering love and support of students. We are thankful for your understanding and compassion for students who are having struggles outside of school. Your ability to provide them with a safe, caring and consistent learning environment helps all students to succeed!

Shout out to Laura Shea for her willingness to jump in and help her colleagues. She remained calm and helped de-escalate a difficult situation. Thank you for your support!

Visitor Thursday

BPS hosts a Principal Partners event every year. This event assigns one person to a school to act as a "principal for the day." This year we will host Sandhya Douglas, Associate Director of Global Multi Asset Strategies, Wellington Management on Thursday, November 17th.

INTERNATIONAL WEEK UPDATE

Please take photos of International Week activities in your classroom (during the learning &/or the sharing) and send Amika 2-3 of your best pictures via email: amika45@gmail.com by 3 PM next Wednesday, November 23rd. We will be putting together a school-wide slideshow for the next Curley Shares. Participating specialists, please take International Week photos in your classrooms as well… and remind homeroom teachers to send students to your class with their passports.

STAR Math Assessment Window(Gr. 3-8 Only)

The winter screening window for the STAR Math Assessment is December 5 – 9. This assessment will give us growth data for our students. Please make sure that you have looked at the data from the first assessment to identify students in the urgent intervention and intervention category. Use Stars data analysis to begin thinking of ways to support these students growth so that they can start to move out of urgent intervention to intervention and intervention to on watch. If as a grade level you need support doing this please email Sean Guthrie to schedule a grade level meeting. The STAR website can be accessed by all students using the STAR bookmark on Chromebooks. Student user names and passwords are the same as STAR Reading. Students can use blank scratch paper and a pencil while testing, but no calculators or reference materials are allowed. Just a reminder, students must sign into Chromebooks using their email address and password – not as “guest”. Grade level teams should arrange to share access to Chromecarts so that all students are tested during the screening window. Please contact Sean Guthrie if you have any questions.

Secret Snowflakes at the Curley! 

Would you like to be part of a Secret Snowflake gift exchange this holiday season? This year, we'll be spreading joy to our Secret Snowflakes starting on December 1st and ending on December 16th. During this time, let your Secret Snowflake know that someone is thinking of them by leaving them small surprises. Be ready to reveal your identity on December 16th with a special surprise (spending no more than $20 total). CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

Picture Day

Pictures will be distributed this week to teachers and students. Please direct all questions and concerns to Kathy Powers NOT the photographer or her company. Thanks

Arts Team Fundraiser

Most (homeroom) teachers have received their students order forms. If you have not yet handed them out to the students please do so as soon as you can.
Couple logistics:

• If you get orders please send them to Mrs. Youman's (004 upper school) room or put them in my box. I will leave it up to you whether you want to keep collecting them and then give them to me all at once or if you want to send them down as you receive the order.
• Paper order forms due MONDAY NOVEMBER 21 by the end of the day.
• Orders can be done online until WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 23.
• Missing work: There are some students that may be missing an order form- I have blank order forms printed (and have attached a digital copy) and students may submit a work of art (8.5 x 11) and the order form by next Monday and their order will be processed in the same manner as the rest. There is also a letter explaining how to include their student attached.
• We will receive all orders DECEMBER 16 and then pass them out so the students will have their orders before winter break.

This is an arts team fundraiser. All profits will be benefitting the arts programming/ elective classes this year. Please encourage families to participate and order! The kids each have their own access code for family privacy reasons but I have a list of all the codes with their work if any staff member is interested I would be happy to forward you the email. Thanks for always supporting us! - Anna Youman and the Arts Team

Teach Plus Classes and Programs

DeWe know that you must have the opportunity to learn from and share information with each other. You are invited to join a dynamic group of educators as part of the Teacher-Led Practice Network. Through these Collaborative Networks, you will acquire new resources, strategies, and information that will empower you to refine your instructional practices. Together, you will learn, apply, reflect and adjust to create meaningful impact for your students. Joining a Collaborative Network is free and offers the opportunity to earn graduate credit from UMass Boston or PDPs, plus, free dinner.
Warmly,
Sasha Zuflacht
Senior Program Coordinator, Massachusetts

How does it work? 

The Teacher-Led Practice Network is a series of teacher-led, collaborative learning sessions.The TLPN focuses on improving your implementation of standards, instructional strategies, and practices in order to promote student learning and achievement. Network sessions are held once a month from December to May and cover a wide range of topics and content areas. Each session will result in new or improved standards- aligned practices and lessons for you to test in your classroom before the next monthly session. Collaborative Networks are listed below. Visit our website for full descriptions.

• Click here to learn more and register now!
• Courses at the Mildred Avenue K-8 School in Mattapan
• Dates: Tuesdays from 4:30pm - 7:30pm, December 6, January 10, February 7, March 7, April 4, and May 2. Dinner provided. 
• Early Childhood Student-Centered Collaborative Network (Grades K-2) 
• Universal Design for Learning Collaborative Network (Grades 1-5) 
• Differentiating to Include all Students Collaborative Network (Grades 3-12) 
• Course at the Orchard Gardens K-8 School in Roxbury
• Dates: Thursday from 4:30pm - 7:30pm, December 8, January 12, February 9, March 9, April 6 and May 4. Dinner provided. *Differentiating to Include all Students Collaborative Network (Grades 1-5) will run from 5:00pm - 8:00pm
• Universal Design for Learning Collaborative Network (Grades 5-8) 
• Developing a Robust Understanding of Fractions Collaborative Network (Grades 3-5) 
• Differentiating to Include all Students Collaborative Network (Grades 1-5) 
• Do the Math: Getting Students Thinking and Talking about Math Collaborative Network (Grades 6-12)

Bulletin Boards

All bulletin boards should be updated by November 15th and each board should display student work (either final products or process) that ties directly to our instructional focus "Teachers will vary demands and resources, to optimize challenge in writing tasks, so students can express a clear, organized idea." If you need help please check in with your Climate Representative and don't forget to access added resources and description template here.

WIT-Curley Partnership

Wellness in the Schools (WITs) is a national non-profit that inspires healthy eating, environmental awareness, and fitness as a way of life for kids in public schools. Through meaningful public-private partnerships, they work with schools to provide healthy, scratch-cooked meals, active recess periods, and fitness and nutrition education. Their partnership approach drives systemic, long-term change, shifting the entire culture of schools. In November, WITs completed a Needs Assessment of the Curley by touring the facility and interviewing students, staff, and district personnel. The Needs Assessment is used to determine the strengths and needs of our school. WITs have compiled the results of the Needs Assessment and would like to present this report to the community on Tuesday, Nov. 29 (3-5 pm). In order to facilitate school improvement, WITs would like for the Curley community to vote on the top three areas of change based on the report. Please join us to learn more about the outcome of the Needs Assessment and to vote on priority items. Babysitting will be available.

$1500 Early Retirement Incentive Out; Deadline January 13, 2017

In order to assist hiring for the 2017 - 2018 school year, the Boston Public Schools is offering a one-time incentive for early notification of termination to members of the BTU Teachers’ Unit.
1. An individual must be a permanent BTU Teacher, have a minimum of ten (10) years of continuous service in the Boston Public Schools, and must meet the minimum age requirement of fifty-five (55) years. 

2. Eligible employees presently on paid or unpaid leave of absence can apply.
3. The application, once accepted by the Office of Human Capital by execution of the Separation Agreement, is binding on both parties and irrevocable.
4. Applicants understand that the termination must be effective between June 30, 2017 and August 31, 2017.
http://d31hzlhk6di2h5.cloudfront.net/20161107/dd/1a/e8/c9/8eeabebfe1475e91be2b1c93/HRS-PP08_Incentive_for_Early_Notification_of_Termination_for_BTU_vF-3.pdf

Early Release

We will dismiss early on Wednesday, November 23rd for the Thanksgiving Holiday at 12:30pm. A schedule for the day can be found here. Please email David Diaz with any questions or concerns.

Reading Progressing Monitoring (Grades 3-8 Only)

Just a reminder, the first progress monitoring event is scheduled for this upcoming week (11/14 – 11/18) for all students reading below grade level, including students ranked “On Watch”, “Intervention” and “Urgent Intervention” for the fall STAR Reading assessment. Progress monitoring is completed independently by focus students, and can be scheduled during the WIN block or other convenient time. To begin the assessment, students log into “STAR Reading”, and begin testing. Progress monitoring should take no longer than 15-20 minutes per student.  Please contact Eileen Cronin if you have any questions.

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

• 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