3/28/17 Daily Bulletin

Shout Out

Shout out to Ms.  Bryson, Ms. Strait, Ms. Tefera, Ms. Javaloyes, Ms. Arroyo, Ms. Wright, Ms. Pina-Pitts, Ms. Moran, Ms. Daly, and Ms. Quatrale for opening up their classrooms for the Excellence For All walkthrough today.

Instructional Focus Walkthrough Today

We will have representatives from BPS join us for a walkthrough of classrooms and look for evidence of our Instructional Focus "Teachers will vary demands and resources, to optimize challenge, so students can express a clear, organized idea." Please be sure that student teachers are in a support role and the primary teachers are teaching. Please also make sure all doors are unlocked. Classes need be available for visitors between 9am-11am. Visitors may enter any classroom during this window. Thank you.

Silent Auction Today!

The Curley School Parent Council (SPC) will be hosting their 10th Annual Silent Auction at Canary Square on Tuesday, March 28th from 6pm-9pm and would like to extend an invite to all staff, friends and families. The money raised from the Silent Auction goes to directly supporting our school such as Playworks, BalletROX, Arts supplies, science supplies, staff luncheon, Chromebooks etc... Any donations or specific questions can be directed to Ann DeGeorge (ann.c.degeorge@gmail.com) or Eyleen Iraola (eiraola@gmail.com). Please show how you CARE ABOUT OUR SCHOOL by showing support if you can make it.

Substitute Teacher Folders

Please make sure that your sub folders are up to date and have explicit instructions about what duties they have to cover and what procedures they should be following. There have been miscommunications with substitutes where duties have not been covered and students have been unsupervised. This has created safety issues. 

Mandatory PD 

We will be having a mandatory PD session this Thursday 3/30 from 3 - 4:15pm.

City Year

The MCAS is drawing nearer every day. To help keep students motivated and in school during this time City Year is hosting a school wide Spirit Week. I am attaching the flyers we're distributing in English and Spanish, each classroom will have a copy of both by tomorrow, and many will have them today. We are encouraging teachers and staff to participate as well to help keep morale high!

The themes for the week will be as follows:

Tuesday: Sports Day (students are encouraged to wear gear and swag from a team they like)

Wednesday: Crazy Sock Day

Thursday: College Day (Teachers are encouraged to wear gear from their Alma Maters, and students from a college in Boston they support, or any other one they'd like to attend)

Friday: Grade level color day (Each grade and their grade buddies will be assigned a color to share)
8th and 3rd grades: Purple

7th and 2nd grades: Blue

6th and 1st grades: Green

5th and K2 grades: Red

4th and K1 grades: Pink

If there are any questions about next week don't hesitate to reach out to me via email or in the City Year team space. Thank you for your time and lets get our students amped up!

-The City Year Team

Library

We are excited to open our library in SY 2017-2018. Please refrain from taking books from this space or using it during the day or afternoon. We will need this time to prepare for our opening next year. Thank you!

MCAS Update

We wanted to send you some MCAS information in advance of next week. As an admin team we have tried to think about how to best simplify this process for all teachers and in turn reduce stress for both staff and students. Attached are two documents for your reference. Teams should review these this week and pay close attention to student groupings since there have been updates.

Please contact David with any thoughts or questions.

MCAS 2.0 Quick Check

MCAS 2.0 Roles and Responsibilities

Boston Red Sox Hat Giveaway! 

Share Your Stories: Please send any photos or quotes (from students with Media Releases on file) by emailing Tess Atkinson at tatkinson@bostonpublicschools.org or tagging BPS in any social media posts.

Computer Science Bus Route Efficiency Challenge

There is a computer science challenge event open to the public at District Hall in the Seaport District on Saturday, April 1st at 10:30am (registration and breakfast starting at 10am). We believe that some of our tech-minded students and staff may be interested in attending (please encourage them to RSVP here!). This event is the start of our first-ever Transportation Challenge -- which you can learn more about on our website -- that has two goals:
Use computer science to improve our bus stop placement and bus routing (solving a variation of the traveling salesman problem).

Using our more automated routes and community preferences, help us equitably and efficiently balance our school start times.

This event has attracted a wide range of professional computer scientists (FedEx, Uber, Microsoft, and others), academic researchers from local universities (Harvard, MIT, Boston University, and others), and various college and graduate students. We believe that a particularly precocious BPS student may be able to solve the problem so encourage them to participate, and that this event may provide tangible examples of computer science in action.

Bulletin Board Reminder

Teachers please update your bulletin boards by Friday April 7th. Use this link to see bulletin board expectations. Use this link to print bulletin board template which should be posted on the bulletin board. Thank you.

Lion King Performances

The Lion King performance dates have been announced:

Evening Shows

*****April 6 Shubert Theatre Doors open at 5 pm & Show starts at 5:30. (This is an amazing opportunity for all of our students!!!!!)

Families are welcome to come to either performance and all students will attend one of the daytime performances.

Message From the Nurse's Office

Spring usually means an increase in field trips. With that in mind we ask that you watch this short video as a fresher on how to use an epipen. It is less then two minutes long. As a reminder, if you are going on a field trip or leaving the building with students it is important to check in with the nurses well in advance. Some students have medication that must travel with them and some students have medical conditions that may need monitoring or special consideration when they are out of the building. Please review permission slips carefully. There is a section in which parents are supposed to check off whether or not their child requires medication on a field trip. Also, please be aware if you have student's in your class who have Life Threatening Allergies. They are supposed to be listed on SIS but we have found that they are not always listed properly. Feel free to email or stop into the nurse's office if you are not sure about allergies in your class. There are emergency epipens in both offices. The epipens in the yellow box are for adults and older children. The ones in green boxes are for smaller children (usually 1st grade and under).
Thanks, April

https://youtu.be/tjILFYPE3Uw

Staff Curley Cares Awards

We Take Care of Each Other... Submit Staff Curley Cares Awards
During next week's whole-school PD (Thursday, March 30​ from 3:00-4:15), staff members will once again have the opportunity to recognize their colleagues by giving Curley Cares awards. This is your chance to acknowledge deeds (both big and small) that have made a difference in your work life. So take some time to consider the contributions of the people you work with each day and how their actions support the Curley K-8 "We Care..." philosophy. Chose one person who you would like to recognize and share your appreciation by filling out the Curley Shares Staff Award form. If you have any problems accessing the form, please contact Kate Davis or Laura Shea.

Submissions are due Tuesday, March 28, 2017 by 4:00pm.

MCAS (Changed as of 4pm on 3/17/17)

Below you will find the NEW MCAS testing schedule. We had to make some changes to the Math and Science testing dates. DOE is requiring all schools to test in the following sequence: ELA, Math, and Science. As a result, testing dates have been adjusted. Please print and save this calendar. Let David Diaz know if you have any questions. Please look at the new schedule by clicking on the following link:
MCAS 2.0 Testing Schedule 

In preparation for the MCAS please take a look at the MCAS google slides. The administrative team will be visiting grade level meetings to go over MCAS logistics. Please take a look at the MCAS google slides so that you will be prepared to ask any questions you may have when the admin team comes to your grade level meetings. Below is the schedule of when the admin team will be at your grade level meetings.

MCAS Google Slides

MCAS 3-5

MCAS 2017 6-8

We Care About Our Community!

The Curley Community is excited to announce that we are launching a Community Caring Project this spring.  We will kick off the project by hosting a school-wide Caring March on April 12th at 1:30pm.  All staff and students will participate and families will be invited to march with us.

Many of our students have participated in marches for various causes over the past few months and there have been discussions in many classrooms about the rights of different groups of people in our community.  There is some inspiring work already happening at the Curley.  Ms. Strait’s 4th grade class is doing a Hunger Project, Ms. Mylett and Ms. Moran’s class is spreading kindness by making kindness rocks, and Ms. Merdkhanian’s K1 class had their own march after several students attended the Women’s March in February.

We would like for all classes to gather with their buddy classrooms to collaborate on this project. Students should think about what they care about, and work with their buddies to create signs and posters for the Caring March.  There are lots of things that we care about in our community.  The possibilities are endless!  

Here are some things that students may care about and want to put on signs:

• Animal rights
• Illnesses 
• Hunger
• Access to school
• The environment
• Immigrant rights
• LGBQ rights

Timeline for the Curley Community Caring Project

• March: prepare for the Caring March by talking to your students about what they care about and creating signs and posters with your buddy class
• April: March with your buddy class on April 12th at 1:30.  
• May and June: Create and complete a community service project.  Ideas, lesson plans, resources and support will be provided.

Instructional Focus Review - POSTPONED TILL 3/28/17

On Tuesday, March 28th from 8am-1pm representatives from BPS will join us for a walkthrough of classrooms and look for evidence of our Instructional Focus "Teachers will vary demands and resources, to optimize challenge, so students can express a clear, organized idea." Visitors may enter any classroom during this window.

Hiring

Hiring season is here! We have 10 jobs posted on www.teachboston.org. We need your help in hiring the best teachers to join our team. Please sign up to be on the interview committee ASAP. No previous experience is necessary but we value your opinions.

Position	Interview Date	Interview Time
K0/K1 ASD	Wednesday, March 22	3pm-6pm
K1/K2 ASD	Wednesday, March 29	3pm-6pm
Grade 1	Thursday, March 23	3pm-6pm
Middle School Math	Thursday & Friday March 23 & 24	3pm-6pm
K-8 Theatre Arts	Monday, March 20	3pm-6pm

Save the Date

Please reserve Friday, June 2nd for our End-of-the-Year and Retirement Party.

Place: Florian Hall

Time: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Appetizers, Buffet, Music, Dance, Celebrations!

Field Trips

Are you going on a field trip soon? Have you shared this information with the nurses and the cafeteria? This is a friendly reminder that the nurse's and cafe should be notified 2 weeks in advance of scheduled field trips. Teachers should also be carefully checking the returned permission slips. They should notify the nurse's office when a parent checks the "yes" box stating that their child requires medication while on the field trip.

Using ESS

If you wish to request a day off (medical appointments, religious holidays, professional day, bereavement, personal day etc...), sign on to Boston Employees Self Service (ESS, Please bookmark this page). When possible, request a personal day at least two weeks in advance. Staff members will request sub coverage through SubCentral (https://subcentral.bostonpublicschools.org/logOnInitAction.do). Please do not decide whether you think a sub is needed and submit the request as soon as you know a day you will be absent. We have many unexpected coverage needs that might need sub help. We are attaching a list of subs who usually work at the Curley upon request.

Sick Day Procedure (teachers and paraprofessionals)

• Call/Text Katie Grassa at 857-265-4954 immediately, no matter how late/early
• Enter the absence in SubCentral (teachers only). Link: https://bostonps.eschoolsolutions.com/logOnInitAction.do
• If it is after 6:30am, also send an email to Katie Grassa, David Diaz and the secretary.

Buddies Update

Are you struggling to think about what to do with your buddy classroom during these cold, snowy, winter days? Check out this link for ideas and feel free to add any fun ideas you may have!

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

• April 27th --- Understanding Disabilities and Services available 
• May 18th --- Middle School Transition/Life Skills 
• June 1st --- Inclusion

10/15/15 Daily Bulletin

Shout Out

Shout out to all teachers! Last night a School Site Council families spoke overwhelmingly about how much they enjoyed Open House. They wanted to make sure that teachers knew how much they appreciated their efforts and how excited they are about this school year! Thank you for creating a warm and welcoming school environment for families!

PACE PD

It will take place on Thursday from 3pm-5pm in room 109 (Upper School). From 3pm-4pm we will review new restraint laws and documentation and from 4pm-5pm Jen Richards will do a communications training. See Liz Spring for further clarification.

LC PD

Cohorts 1 and 2 will meet together to focus on 'Maximizing Literacy Opportunities in Managed Independent Learning'.  Our goals for the session are to think about and discuss the continuum of literacy opportunities during MIL in K2, 1st and 2nd grade, think about how MIL supports the diverse needs of learners in our classrooms, and revisit the values of MIL.  Materials and meeting place TBA.

Staff Social

Friday, October 16th from 3pm-5pm at Canary Square. Come out and meet some colleagues and enjoy each others company. It is our school tradition to host a staff social on the same week as Curley Shares. All staff are welcome and encouraged to attend! 

Fall Fling

Don't forget the Fall Fling on Friday night from 5:30pm-8:00pm in the Upper School Gym! We would love for you and your families to join us!

INTERNATIONAL WEEK IS COMING! 

Thanks to those who were able to come to last week’s planning meeting! Participating homerooms will spend time during the week of November 16-20 learning about a country, then sharing what they’ve learned by visiting & hosting at least one other class (passports in hand) in the days before Thanksgiving. Attached is an “Activity Menu” for your reference. City Year will make passports for all participating students and provide classroom support to grades 3-8. This year we’re encouraging you to exchange with your cross-grade buddy class.

Please let Amika know, by the end of October, which country your class would like to study, preferably via email: amika45@comcast.net. Attached is a list of countries represented at the Curley K-8; let us know if you have anyone whose family came from a country not yet included! We hope you’ll enjoy this annual celebration of countries around the world; it’s a perfect opportunity to invite families to share their cultures with your students. Be in touch if you have questions or need additional support!Your International Week Planning Committee:

Amika Kemmler-Ernst

Kate Davis

Charles Tewksbury

Layla Hijab-Cable

City Year 

Lunch Updates

We will be changing the procedures during lunch. All students will still receive Universal Free Breakfast and Lunch however each student will be asked to type in their 6 digit student ID number upon receiving a lunch. This has been rolling out across the city and we are the last wave of schools to implement this change. Students with bus passes (many 7th & 8th grades) will be able to just swipe their pass but others will need to learn their code. This has been practice across the city in the past so if you know of a good system we are open to the ideas. We will not be getting the white ID cards which has been used in the past.  Please email any ideas, questions or concerns to David Diaz. 

10/2/15 Daily Bulletin

Shout Out

Shout out to Ms. Fleming for checking in on classes for colleagues in their absence. She is always supportive and quick to adjust so our classes are successful. Thank you for being a great teammate!

International Week

Please join us on  Wednesday, October 7, at 7:30 AM in the Teachers Room to help plan this year's International Week. For those of you new to our staff, International Week is the Curley K-8 School’s annual celebration of countries and cultures around the world.

In the past, each homeroom has chosen a country to study and then hosts/visits other classes (passports in hand) to exchange what they've learned. This year, teachers and students will spend time during the week of November 16 learning about a country and class exchanges will take place the following week in the days before Thanksgiving (the week ofNovember 23). City Year representatives will be helping with planning and support again this year. All staff are invited to attend  this initial planning meeting and we encourage each grade level to send a representative. 

MCAS ALT Training

A series of half-day training sessions will be conducted for teachers and administrators regarding the 2016 MCAS-Alt for students with significant disabilities.  New requirements for the 2016 MCAS-Alt include a mandatory ELA-Writing component for all students completing an MCAS-Alt portfolio. 

Morning sessions for teachers will include the following presentations:

• “Introduction to MCAS-Alt” for first time teachers conducting the MCAS-Alt (8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.)
• “Updates for 2016 MCAS-Alt” for teachers with experience conducting MCAS-Alt (8:30 a.m.–noon), including sessions on:
• “What’s New and Notable for 2016 MCAS-Alt?”
• “How to Submit a Complete Portfolio”

AND concurrent sessions on:

• “New ELA-Writing Requirements and How It Will Be Scored” for teachers of students at all levels (i.e., entry points and access skills)
• “Grade-Level (grades 3-8) and High School Competency Portfolios” for teachers working with students working at grade-level expectations

Click on Registration for MCAS-Alt Events to see training session dates, locations, and to register online.

Nurse Announcement

We have delivered a list of k-8 students who have Life Threatening Allergies to both offices and the cafeteria manager.  The list is 11 pages long and has 75 students!  We are working on lists for individual teachers. In the meantime teachers can check in at either office or the nurse's office if they have concerns about children with allergies.  Also, if any staff has not completed the mandatory training on Life Threatening Allergies and Blood Bourne Pathogens they should do so now.

Passes

All students should be given a written pass when the visit the nurse. It should include the students first and last name, the time they were sent to the nurse and why they need to see the nurse. The nurses office is a busy place and we want to assure that accurate record keeping is happening.

Friday

Tomorrow is Friday! Don't forget to show your school pride and wear your Curley gear or colors!

9/18/15 Daily Bulletin

Shout Outs

Shout Out to Officer Soto. His presence in the hallways, lower level, lunch room, and outside of school is so appreciated. An additional Thanks for the support with a student who was having difficulties keeping his hands to himself.

Shout out to Amika for creating to bulletin board displays that are capturing everyone's attention in each main office! Smile and Say Hello is catching on thanks to you!

Visitors

Some of you are inquiring about the visitors from yesterday. They were here to assess the windows and the doors of both school buildings. The plan is to have all new windows and doors (with card key access) installed during the summer break of 2016. This will have a huge impact on the schools overall safety, appearance and energy efficiency. 

Nursing Needs - ALL STAFF MUST COMPLETE from Marilyn Regan RN & April Pumphret RN

BPS staff are required annually to complete training on Blood Borne Pathogens and Life Threatening Allergies.  We are asking that you complete both and take the Blood Borne Pathogens Test. When you have completed both please bring the completed Blood Borne Pathogens Test and the Life Threatening Allergy Certificate to the Nurse's Office. We will give you a short 5 minute demonstration on how to use the Epipen. We ask that you get this done no later then 9/30. We will keep a list of staff and check you off as you come in. The list of trained staff will be given to Katie Grassa on October 1st. We realize that you are all very busy this time of year, but the safety of our staff and students is a top priority.  We have multiple students in this building with Life threatening Allergies that could require the use of an Epipen.  We have had multiple visits/phone calls from concerned parents this week.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation and please stop by and see us in the Lower School Nurse's Office with any questions or concerns.

https://bpshealthservices.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/microsoft-powerpoint-bbp_ppt_09.pdf

http://www.allergyhome.org/schools/management-of-food-allergies-in-school-what-school-staff-need-to-know/

Self Assessment

Just a reminder that your self assessment should be submitted by tomorrow. There are a few staff who are unable to sign on please know that we are working out these kinks and you will have an extension.

Wear Your Curley Gear

Reminder that tomorrow is Friday and everyone wear their Curley gear to show school pride. #curleycares

Correction

I apologize for the misprint about PD in yesterday's bulletin. PD next week is for ALL STAFF but will be from 3pm-4pm in the auditorium. Be on the look out for a link from Kate Davis this evening to nominate staff for Curley Cares Awards which will be given out next Thursday. This will be similar to the format we use with our students.

Show Your School Spirit!

Tomorrow starting at 7am we will have staff at both main entrances handing out our new school teachers. We are asking all staff to show their school spirit and wear the shirt. If you are planning out what to wear tomorrow here is a reminder of how it looks.