Weekly Forecast/Nightly News for November 20th

 I hope you are rested up and ready to roll for conferences tomorrow. As I shared, I have a love hate relationship with conferences. They can be a lot of work to prepare for, emotional for all involved, but in the end are worth it. 

• It is with great sadness I share that Gladis DaRosa's husband passed away this weekend. Please keep her in your thoughts. She let me know she is open to calls, texts, etc. during this time. Feel free to reach out to her if you would like. 

• We will have a taco bar in the cafeteria starting at 4:00 tomorrow. Clean up will begin shortly after 5:00, so be sure to come between 4:00-5:00.

• It looks like we are finally getting movement on the heating issues in the building. Apparently, there were some heating elements on top of the roof that were turned off and needed turning on.....crazy that it took THIS long to figure out. They are continuing to work on issues and as I type this people are under the building looking into some other potential fixes. Thank you to those of you who made some noise on this. Clearly, my calls and emails were not enough. 

• From the TAG Department: 

• All parent referrals are due NOVEMBER 29th
• All teacher referrals are due DECEMBER 2nd
• To date, we are missing about 70% of the teacher referrals
• All teacher teacher referrals MUST have TWO samples of work, and they CANNOT be MAP scores, as those are being used as another form of evidence
• Teachers are not able to get back in to a referral form after submitting, so please make sure all samples of work and information are included before submitting
• NNAT scores for 2nd grade students will not be available in time for the regular referral deadline and will be handled separately; more info to come
• Many parents have filled in their own name as the student so please have your Facilitator let us know if you run across one

• I have to share this picture. It brought the biggest smile to my face. Thank you to our ESL team for providing structured enrichment to several students after school! 
  
  
  

Conference Reminders:

• From Shannon: I have put the Google meet link at the top of the Chinese (Mon evening)  and Somali (Tues) interpreters schedules. These links are for the two additional interpreter we had to order that will be virtual.  Teachers will need to go to the tab and click on the link at the top of the page during their scheduled time to join with the interpreter. 
  
  
  I’m going to print out instructions with PIN number to use Lionsbridge for an interpretation we don’t have, scheduled or in the building,  if needed.  (ex. Chuukese) 
  Teachers can pick up a copy if needed or call the office for information. 
  We ask that they fill out the detail sheet and turn in at the end of conferences if they use this service. We need to track calls for our budget. 

• Naima and Kelly will be placing class lists in everyone's boxes at some point tomorrow. All teachers please highlight or notate all of the parents you conferenced with over the course of both days. A phone conference counts! ESL and Reading you won't have class lists, but can just turn in a list. 

• Please be sure to take a moment to share the Compact with parents (handed out at last Tuesday's staff meeting) and have them sign it. Do not send them home. We will provide a copy to go home once they are completely signed. Middle School you only need to do this with your 1st Period classes. 

• Please note we will make every effort to utilize Lionsgate and/or the above GoogleMeets if needed. In the event the interpreter doesn't show or you have families who come in that didn't have a scheduled interpreter please call the office and they will help as much as possible with coordination. 

• Parents may ask about TAG identification for their students during conferences. As a reminder you can refer parents to: https://www.pps.net/Page/6097. Please let them know the deadline for referrals from parents is Nov. 29

• On that note please be aware of all your TAG and SPED students. Spend a few minutes thinking about ways you have addressed their specific needs, IEPS, etc. and be prepared to share that with parents. 

• You should be prepared to share MAPS and other assessment information with parents. They may ask about testing from last spring as well. It is always a good idea to have this at your fingertips in the event that a parent asks. 

• We are asking all parents to come through the front doors. Please avoid propping doors open etc. If you have any security concerns Herk will be here during the day and I will be in the lobby in the evening. 

• The Book Fair will be held in the lobby and I believe will be open for most hours of conferences. 

Staff Locations-

• ESL Team- Room 101  (Min Lee in Middle School Hallway)
• Middle School CORE Teachers- MS Hallway
• K-5 Classroom Teachers- In their own classrooms
• Donna Morden/Mary Watkins- In their own rooms and/or pushing into conferences of the students they serve
• Lance Pollard/Heather Stearns (SES Classroom)- In room 136 11:00-7:00 on Monday only
• Reading Team (Michelle Irons/Cheryl DeGroot)- In Library and/or pushing into conferences of students they serve
• Elective Teachers (Ford, Peacock, Marchello, Curtis) in library. Please note Ms.Bird who has been filling in for Gabe Schoene will not be in

Part Time Staff

• Cami Curtis will be in the library Monday (all day) and Tuesday afternoon as she needs to be at Creative Science, her other school, as well.
• Dani Mitchell will be in on Monday only

PFSP Staff

PFSP staff will work their normal hours tomorrow and Tuesday. I will be sending out a request for PFSP staff not interpreting to cover the front lobby/doors for part of the day.

The exception is office staff. They will be here from through the evening. Kelly will be here a little less as she is not a full time.

Admin/Support Staff

Emily and I will be in the building for most of the day/evening. I will be out of the building from 11:30-12:45ish tomorrow and 11:45-1:15ish on Tuesday for an offsite meeting. We will have our cell phones and walkies with us. Please feel free to invite us to any conferences you feel you may need support with.

Dan and Kara will also be here and have their walkies as well. Please feel free to invite them in if they support your students on a regular basis. They will be out and about in the hallways and/or in their offices. 

We do have some meetings lined up on both days to work on reviewing data, streamlining some processes, etc. but will be here!  

Please note Audra Mahoney, Lindsay Alex, Gladis DaRosa, Karena Wu and Lara Fitzgerald will not be in the building this week. Ana Kennedy has jury duty tomorrow and will report after if she is released (she couldn't get out of this as it was already deferred)