11/28/16 Daily Bulletin

Shout Out

Shout out to Amika Kemmler-Ernst for being an incredible partner to the Curley K-8! She put so much time and effort into supporting International Week and we truly appreciate her efforts. It was a a fabulous week of learning and celebrating the diversity that makes up our world! Thanks!

Shout out to Sugeily Santos, Adrian Ward-Jackson, Linda Solomon-Keys, Charles Tewksbury, Jim Carvalho, Alisa Fleming, Sue Trotz, Genet Mehari, Madeline Vasquez and Eileen Cronin for donating their time this afternoon to care about others. They spent Tuesday afternoon at a food bank serving dinner. Thank you for being role models for our students about caring and service learning. (Apologies for missing a few names last week!)

Shout out to Lindsey Wright and colleagues, Joanne Mylett, Debbie Bryson and Kiki Iatrou for meeting after school to share best practices to support access to the general education reading curriculum for our SAR students!

SAVE THE DATE

2nd Annual Smile and Say Cheers New Year's Party
Formal invitations with RSVP details will be coming soon! 

Staff mark your calendars!!
January 13, 2017 at 4:30pm Bella Luna

Picture Day

You Have Photos now available for viewing! Take some time to view photos from the Curley School Picture Day 2016website. Your favorite photos can be easily ordered with your credit card in a highly secure purchasing environment. Please save this e-mail to quickly access this website, as it contains your unique event information. Please visit http://www.enjoyphotos.com, and fill in the following information:
Username: Curley School Pictures 2016
Password: 42612
Jennifer Connelly Photo
136 Ruthven Street
Dorchester, MA 02121
Jenniferconnellyphoto@gmail.com
(781) 696-1138
jenniferconnellyphoto.com

Missing Item

The litter pick up stick is missing from the Keep it Clean locked bin in the schoolyard. If you borrowed it to use during your buddy clean up, please return it to the bin. The parent volunteers who empty our trash bins every week need it to reach the trash at the bottom of the barrels. Thank you for helping keep our campus clean!

Movie Night

PACE is hosting a Family Movie Night Fundraiser on Thursday, December 1st from 5:00 to 7:00pm in the auditorium. This event will help raise money for field trips, which provide very important social and community experience for students on the Autism Spectrum. Tickets will be $3 a person and will include the movie ticket, popcorn and water. All students must be accompanied by an adult to this event. We can't tell you the name of the movie, but it's a new movie about a fish finding her way! Please email Cassie Mountain for further details cgendron@bostonpublicschools.org

Principal Breakfast

Please join us for the December Principal Breakfast on Friday, December 2nd from 8:45am-9:45am in Room 221. We will be discussing bullying and the systems and support BPS has in place to support students, families and schools. We will be joined by Iris Nieves, Safe and Welcoming Schools Specialist and Sugeily Santos, Guidance Counselor.

School Previews

We are looking for family volunteers to support our upcoming School Previews. These are building tours for perspective families and Curley families help to lead and share information from a parent’s point of view. All families are welcome to participate and no prior experience is necessary (we will partner you up with others). The preview dates will take place on Saturday, December 3rd from 9am-1pm, Friday, December 9th from 9am-10am, Friday, January 13th from 9am-1pm and Monday, December 23rd from 3pm-4pm. Please email Arusha Hollister (arusha_h@yahoo.com) if you Doodle Poll: Doodle: Curley Preview Tours

Health and Wellness

Please join us for our December meeting on Tuesday, December 6th from 7:30am-8:15am in room 203 Upper School. We will be finalizing our new policy on celebrations at school that will take effect in January 2017.

K-5 End of Term 1

Marks close for all students in K-5 on Friday, December 2nd. Report cards will go out to families the following week.

Artifacts

All artifacts must be uploaded to EDFS by December 15th. Administrators need time to review artifacts prior to writing Formatives. Please remember that 2-3 items should be uploaded for each goal (Student Learning & Professional Practice) AND each standard (I, II, III, IV). This means around 12-18 artifacts, we know you are doing many amazing things but uploading more than that makes it challenging to review each item thoroughly. Be sure that there is evidence tagged to each goal and standard. Also note that it is just as important to include a thorough description of what you uploaded. Do no assume that the evaluator will know why you choose to upload a particular document. Please let your evaluator know if you have any questions.

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.

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)

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

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

• 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