1/31/17 Daily Bulletin

Shout Out

Shout out to Kiki Iatrou for helping a colleague today so she could take a few minutes for lunch. Thanks for caring about others.

Immigration Clinic

If you know of an undocumented student or family in need of legal advice, please refer them to the Free Immigration Clinic at Boston City Hall. Volunteer lawyers are available on the first and third Wednesday of every month from 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. Please inform families that it's a safe space and no appointments are needed.

Immigration Clinic Information Dates:

• February 1st and 15th
• March 1st and 15th
• April 5th and 19th
• May 3rd and 17th 
• June 7th and 21st 

Times: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Where: 1 City Hall Square, Room 806, Boston, MA 02201
**Please call at least 1 week in advance for interpretations (other than Spanish) and/or disability accommodations

LLT

Our January LLT meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 31st from 2:45pm-3:30pm in the Lower School Conference Room.

School Climate Team

Please join us for our next school climate team meeting on Wednesday, February 1st from 3pm-4:15pm in room 003.

Staff Social

Please join us for the February Staff Social from 3pm-5pm at Costello's on Centre Street. All staff are welcome!

2nd Semester Electives

Second semester electives will begin on Friday February 3, 2017. We will no longer have elective preview days. Students will attend last semester's electives on Thursday February 2, 2017. During that time students will choose their elective for the second semester. Ms. Jackson and the Arts Team will assign student electives on Thursday after school. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ms. Jackson awardjackson@bostonpublicschools.org.

COMPUTER NETWORK UPGRADE

Plans are now finalized to upgrade the Curley’s computer network

• Phase 1 – Lower School: February 2-7 
• Phase 2 – Upper School: February 8 -13 

You should plan to be without Internet service for approximately two-three days during this transition period. Here are some important steps to follow to assure a smooth upgrade to the new network

Attendance

Please post attendance as usual on the first day of your respective school’s upgrade. Attendance must be taken manually each succeeding day that the network is down, and should be given to the school secretary no later than 9:30AM. 

Accessing the New Network
New log in information will be provided once the network is upgraded. Hard wired devices, including desktop computers and printers, will be added back to the network first, followed by wireless devices, including Chromebook carts and teacher laptops.

PLEASE NOTE: Non-BPS wireless devices must be manually added to the new network. Please complete the following Google form by Tuesday, January 31st, listing any Non-BPS wireless devices in your classroom. This includes iPads, tablets, printers, other wireless devices, as well as laptops used by teacher interns and student teachers. We will use this list to systematically add devices to the new network.
https://docs.google.com/a/bostonpublicschools.org/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfdc11M2fR0i_QpW2zjq73zu0gsaYp5VRGwS_U-gpLGhgoEWA/viewform?c=0&w=1

We appreciate your patience during this transition period and will keep you updated regarding the project’s progress through the daily blog. If you have further questions, please contact:
Connie Redden - Lower School
Kate Davis - Upper School
Eileen Cronin

Term 2 Grading Window for Grades 6-12

The term 2 grading window for students in grades 6-12 will open from January 19th to February 1st. Please submit the names and grades of any student that received a NC for term 1. Adrian will share the NC report with all teachers that needs to make a change of grade. If you have any questions, please email Adrian awardjackson@bostonpublicschools.org. 

Bulletin Boards

We are looking for staff to update bulletin boards by Wednesday, February 1st. Just a reminder that this should align with out School Wide Instructional Focus and every board should be accompanied by the following completed sign.

NAEP Testing Grades 4th and 8th

The Curley K-8 School will participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) on 3/8/2017 (8th grade) and 3/9/2017 (4th grade). Your students will take a mathematics or reading assessment. I will send a list of all students taking the assessment once we input all the accommodations for ELL and Special Education Students. The assessment also asks students questions about their daily routine and their educational experiences. Student responses are anonymous, and they provide context and meaning to the assessment results. You will also receive an email for NAEP with a Teacher Questionnaire to help them gather information on teacher training and instructional practices. Please visit http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/booklets.asp to review sample questions.

The assessment takes about 90 to 120 minutes for most students. This year, students might take a computer based or paper test and the Department Of Education sends their own staff to administer the test. A letter notifying parents about the NAEP Assessment and other helpful information will go out no later than February 17, 2017. It is important to note that the information collected is used for statistical purposes only. Students may be excused for any reason, are not required to complete the assessment, and may skip any question. While the assessment is voluntary, NAEP depends on student participation to help policymakers improve education. If parents do not want their children to participate, they are able to opt out. However, parents need to notify the school in writing by 2/28/2017.

Middle School Dance

Valentine's Dance on Friday, February 17, 2017 from 1:05 to 2:10 pm in the gym. Price: $3.00 and the proceeds will be used for the end of year field trip to Canobie Lake. Bottled water will be sold for $1.00 in the gym and again the proceeds will be used for the trip to Canobie Lake. Wrist bands will be available on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 from your homeroom teachers. Active chaperones are welcomed. Each team will send at least one adult chaperone who will actively supervise and help at the event. A cleaning crew will be ready after the dance. For more information please ask Maria Amy-Moreno in room 210, Upper School.

Stars Math

Our next math STARS assessment will be conducted Feb. 13-17th. Please make sure that students that are absent when you give the test make it up when they show up. This round we will be asking why students have not taken math STARS assessment.

If you have not already done so make sure you are analyzing the STARS data from the last assessment to help inform your teaching in order to increase SGPs. We will be looking closely at SGPs to ensure we are conducting the best instructional practices to ensure an increase in student achievement this year. If you need any help getting STARS data or analyzing it to think of next steps please email Sean Guthrie at sguthrie@bostonpublicschools.org to set up a time to meet.  

K2, First and Second Grade Teachers

The BAS and Dibels windows are open from January 23rd to March 3rd. Teachers should find an independent, instructional and hard level for students not meeting the current benchmark according to your most recent running records. The current benchmarks are: K2 - C, 1st - H, 2nd - L.

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

• 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