INSTRUCTION

MR. TALARICO AND MS. CUMMINGS

TEAM TEACH AP ENGLISH CLASS

Week 5 of Advisory 2

We are beginning week 5 of the Second Advisory! We are almost at the mid point of the advisory, and progress reports are coming up. As you prepare progress reports, please pay special attention to the progress of students who failed the first advisory, and reach out to them and to their parents. Please put in place some Tier 1 interventions for them, and reach out to your grade level administrator and counselor for support. Our goal is for every student who is struggling in class to get the support he/she/they need.

Now that projects have been launched, our focus is on making sure the project is the focus of instruction, as opposed to something that is completed at the end of the unit. In project based learning terminology, the project is the main course, not the dessert. Each day, in the work period, students are working on a portion of their project, applying skills or knowledge that have been taught in the mini-lesson.

Throughout the unit, another lever for engagement is reminding students of the audience they will be presenting their project to- an authentic audience – for example, and expert in the field, invited representatives of local government, or corporate partners.

Project based learning supports our focus on making sure students learn by failing forward, through ongoing peer and teacher feedback, and time for revision. Since students work on the actual project in class, there is no reason that their project should not be completed by the end of the unit. Students are provided time to do the actual work in class, and receive a grade for it.

Coaching Corner

NEW PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

A calendar of future PD sessions can be found here.

Want to facilitate a PD session? We would love to add you to our calendar! Email the Coaching Team and let us know: coachingteam@DCk12.onmicrosoft.com

CHEC Testing Corner: December 4 – December 8

Thank you to everyone who completed the ANET feedback survey! Some of our successes included timely communication, availability of devices, and overall organization. We received some promising feedback to improve our next round of testing which included modifying the start/end time for high school and making adjustments to the day’s schedule. Based on our makeup testing data, we will try to create a late testing room if space permits so that we can hit our 95% participation goal more efficiently.

**ELA teachers – Please make sure to complete scoring for ANET 1 by December 8th! **

As December is a relatively quiet month for district assessments, please make sure to use this time to incorporate appropriate accommodations during class time so students are familiar with these supports during testing. For example, our multilingual learners should feel confident using bilingual dictionaries – consider reviewing alphabetical order, parts of speech, or try gamifying bilingual dictionary use with word search races. Reach out to Ms. Bruemmer if you would like a set of dictionaries to use in class.

Finally, keep in mind that we will begin MOY assessments in January. For your planning purposes, consider the following upcoming testing windows:

MOY for RI, i-Ready, MAP Math, MAP Science, STAR: 1/3 - 2/9
8th Grade NAEP Testing: 2/8
ACCESS testing window: 2/12 - 3/22
ANET ELA Cycle 2 testing window: 2/20 - 3/1

The Whole Child

This the season to be jolly falalalalalalalalaaaa!

We hope you are getting into the Holiday Spirit as the holidays are approaching. Whether you like it or not, the holidays are here. This is the last of the 1sts of the month for 2023. With the holidays there are always a lot of lasts the people remember. Be considerate of this and be reminded that sometimes peoples memories may not be that joyful. Take the time to create good memories with students and staff and remember this the season to be jolly!

Here's a song to see with your students:

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la, la la la la. Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la, la la la la. Don we now our gay apparel, Fa la la la la, la la la la. Troll the ancient Yuletide carol, Fa la la la la, la la la la. See the blazing Yule before us, Fa la la la la, la la la la. Strike the harp and join the chorus. Fa la la la la, la la la la. Follow me in merry measure, Fa la la la la, la la la la. While I tell of Yuletide treasure, Fa la la la la, la la la la. Fast away the old year passes, Fa la la la la, la la la la. Hail the new, ye lads and lasses, Fa la la la la, la la la la. Sing we joyous, all together, Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Sincerely,

Ms Planter

Instructional Calendar

The Instructional Calendar is a living document that houses all the major curricular requirements, assessments, and schoolwide events. The Instructional Calendar can be found on the CHEC Corner on Canvas, and you have also received an invitation to share the calendar. If you have any requests for additions to the Instructional Calendar, please contact Ms. Massoni, Mr. Whitney, or Ms. Bruemmer.

Professional Development

This week 15 teachers, chairs, coaches and admin will attend a Design Lab professional development on Rigor by Design, based on the research and work of Karin Hess. The professional development will focus on aligning our projects and learning experiences to rigor in order to ensure deeper learning.

DECEMBER FACULTY MEETING – December’s Faculty Meeting will be held on Thursday, December 7th at 3:30 pm in the Cafeteria. We will be focusing on policies and programming for LGBTQ+ students. The professional development has been arranged by our GSA Advisor, Sarah Ermis, along with DCPS. We are inviting interested students to attend as well, please share this information with your students and encourage any interested students to attend.

ALT TEAM

The LSAT met on November 14, and reviewed the enrollment projections of DCPS. After discussion of the impact of the drastic reduction in enrollment, the team agreed that we should petition for a higher enrollment level. The petition was submitted, and it was to increase to 1567, our last year’s enrollment. We will find out in two to three weeks if it was approved. The team also began to brainstorm and sketch out our recruitment strategy. We need all hands on deck to support! Please let Mr. Odom know if you can support some of our Recruitment activities. The LSAT is composed of teachers, support staff, students, community members and parents, and is charged with developing the schools budget and monitoring the Comprehensive School Plan. If you would like to attend the next LSAT meeting, it will be Wednesday, December 13 at 3:30 pm in the Cafeteria.

Local School Advisory Team (LSAT)