Christmas Party Schedule

We know this is SUPER early, but our 4th grade needs to coordinate their electric village with Christmas parties...so we are going ahead and putting Christmas party dates on the school calendar.

Monday, December 16th - Kinder & 1st

Tuesday, December 17th - 2nd & 3rd

Wednesday, December 18th - 4th & 5th

Wednesday - State Visitors to Observe Sonday System Lessons

Correction:  The state will be visiting our school Wednesday afternoon (not Thursday) to view some of our Sonday System lessons.  Thank you for the incredible job you are doing with implementation!

PES Team Member of the Month

Please use the link below to nominate a faculty or staff member for Team Member of the Month. This is for demonstrating the PACE Character Trait of COURAGE during the month of October. The TEAM Member of the Month will be announced the first of November.

TEAM MEMBER OF THE MONTH NOMINATION LINK

ACAP Professional Development

Thank you to Nicole Jenkins and Kimberly Felts for providing the turnaround training from the ACAP Road Show.  Also, thank you to our ACAP Precept Team for your leadership in Paine's ACAP preparation efforts.

We gained so much insight from the PD that will help us prepare our students for this assessment.  The test measures the Alabama Course of Study Standards and will use DOK language from levels 1-3.  It is important that we use the language of the standards in learning targets, daily questionining, and formative/summative assessments.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  The Writing Portion will be taken by BOTH 4th and 5th grade students (not just 4th).

Please use the link below to access the full presentation. 

Link to ACAP Presentation

Weekly News

 B Week

Class(es) of the Week:  Bagwell & Inman - 1st

Please send a group of students to the office each day by 7:55 (with a post-it containing their first names)

PACE Character Trait:  Courage

Paine Power Word: Unify

Please utilize Powerpoint (from link on blog) to teach Power Word.

Duty Schedule: Please refer to your duty schedule for this week to ensure all students are supervised. 

Paine Precepts this Week

M: All of our dreams can come true...if we have the courage to pursue them. - Walt Disney
T:  Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. - Winston Churchill

W: The most significant change in a person's life is a change of attitude. Right attitudes produce right actions. - William J. Johnson
T:  You are doing your best only when you are trying to improve what you are doing. - Mae West
F:  They can because they think they can. - Unknown

Red Ribbon Week

EnRICh Sessions for Grades 3-5

EnRICh will begin on Monday.  We have rigorous, highly engaging experiences being offered.  This cycle of EnRICh will last for 10 weeks.  

We are asking teachers in grades 3-5 to communicate these guidelines to participating students prior to Monday afternoon.

Student EnRICh Guidelines

1. Participating students must walk directly to his/her EnRICh session, quietly on 3rd street).  Intervention is going on during this time so there should be no noise coming from the hallway.
2. EnRICh begins at 2:10.  Students will not be allowed to enter their EnRICh room after 2:15.  EnRICh teachers will close the door at 2:15.  If late, the student(s) will need to return to their homeroom class. We only have 30-35 minutes for EnRICh so EnRICh teachers will not have time to repeat directions for students who arrive late.
3. Each EnRICh student is responsible for bring a Chromebook with them and returning it to their homeroom after the session.
4. Participation in EnRICh is a privilege, so misbehavior will not be tolerated. It could result in removal from the EnRICh experience.
5. Last, but not least....Challenge yourself, have fun, and learn a lot!
6. 
   

PST Meeting - Tuesday/Wednesday

  The PST meeting will be held in Dr. Lothspeich's Office all day Tuesday and half a day on Wednesday.  A sub will come to your room when it is time.  Bring all data for the students you are presenting to PST.  Remember, any recommended changes related to students receiving Sonday System/Essential interventions must be presented and approved in our PST meeting.  The PST schedule with your tentative day and time will be sent out by Monday afternoon.

Collaboration on Wednesday

Literacy Teachers:  We will continue the work started last week, so please bring standards and upcoming common assessment.
Other Teachers: Please bring your upcoming lessons.

Thursday

The state will be visiting our school Thursday afternoon to view some of our Sonday System lessons.  Thank you for the incredible job you are doing with implementation!

Precept Team Meetings on Thursday at 2:15

Our Precept Teams will meet with the following objectives in mind:

ACAP in Collaboration Room - Work on question banks for Google Classroom

Quality Writing in Math Coaches Room - Continue work on vertical progressions and expectations

Conferring in Literacy Coaches Room - Continue book study and PD design.
Data Notebooks in North EnRICh (R12) - Continue with PD design. Develop plan of tracking 1-2 items this year and what full implementation should look like next school year. Include "why" we should use student data notebooks.
Differentiation/EnRICh in Media Center - Work on lesson plans for EnRICh.
Differentiation/IE in North EnRICh (OR12) - Create a list of the resources we are using for IE in each grade level (for both reading and math). Explore Gizmos and how it could be utilized.

Paine Elementary Fall Festival

Tuesday Night - 4th Grade Pizza Box Night at Marco's Pizza

Tonight is 4th grade pizza box night at Marco’s!  Fifteen percent of ALL sales from 4:00-8:00 (not just 4th grade) go to Paine.  Also, if you order online or call in an order there will be an Express Lane to pick up your pizza. Thank you!

Recognitions for November Assemblies

Please submit your PACE, Paine Pride, and Reader Leader nominations by this Friday, October 25th.

Weekly News

A Week

Class(es) of the Week:  Perry & Vickers - 2nd

Please send a group of students to the office each day by 7:55 (with a post-it containing their first names)

PACE Character Trait:  Courage

Paine Power Word: Unify

Please utilize Powerpoint (from link on blog) to teach Power Word.

Duty Schedule: Please refer to your duty schedule for this week to ensure all students are supervised. 

Paine Precepts this Week

M: No one is good at everything, but everyone is good at something. - 365 Days of Wonder

T:  Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.-Ian Maclaren

W: If you don't know you should ask. - 365 Days of Wonder

T: If there is no struggle, there is no progress. - Frederick Douglass

F: Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance. - Samuel Johnson

Literacy Teachers (K-3) 

   LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling)

Teachers of Literacy in grades K, 1, 2, & 3.  Please read the email below sent by Mrs. McGough on 10/4. I am encouraging you to get your name on the waiting list for LETRS in the event funding becomes available in the future. I have included the registration link in this post.

As you know one of the requirements of the Literacy Act is that students are able to read on grade level by the end of third grade. All throughout the law, the terminology used to describe the comprehensive core reading program which develops foundational reading skills is referred to as the “science of teaching reading.” Alabama chose to train teachers on the science of teaching reading through a program called LETRS. Currently, there are over 3,000 teachers in the course and MANY on the waiting list. In TCS, we have 5 including myself currently taking the course.

After talking with Dr. Berry, we feel that our teachers (K-3) need to register for LETRS in the event more funding becomes available and additional cohorts are added this year. According to Dr. Mackey, he is proposing a request of 26 million from the legislature to train more teachers using LETRS and to assist with other funding needs of the new law.

I am including the link with more information about LETRS for you. Please take the time to read this regarding this training and to register. In the meanwhile, we will begin training K-3 teachers on various modules of an online course on the “science of reading” over the course of the year while we wait for more teachers to be added to LETRS. One session at our upcoming EdCamp will focus on this hot topic! More information to come…

LETRS Link

Update on Ticket to Read

We now have a school license for Ticket to Read (so it is available for any student who needs it).  Our academic coaches are working with Technology on the setup file.  The coaches will let us know when this is ready and we should be up and running in the next few days.

Guidelines for STAR & EL Testing

This is a reminder that STAR and EL should be given to most students on the designated dates three times per year.  The students who are in PST/Sonday System should only take this test once a month as part of their progress monitoring.  We will have designated days on the school calendar for this testing in the future (beginning in November).  Our academic coaches have volunteered to assist us with this testing for our RS3 Tracking Group in 1st Grade.  More information to come.

Paine Partnership Fundraiser

Our PTO Fundraiser kickoff is this week!  Please take a minute to watch their video explaining the fundraiser.  We are so excited that 100% of the funds will be coming to our school.

Collaboration on Wednesday

Literacy Teachers:  Please bring your literacy standards.  You will be working with Mrs. Peters on writing rigorous, standards-based learning targets.  Also, please bring your upcoming end-of-unit common assessment (this is not the LC post-test, but your grade level common assessment).  We will begin the work to examine the linkage between standards and DOK levels in these assessments.

Non-Literacy Teachers:  Please bring you upcoming lessons.

Precept Team PD on Thursday

Our ACAP team will guide us on next steps to prepare for ACAP.  All teachers in grades K-5 should attend.  

Turn Trussville Pink - Wednesday, October 16th

Turn Trussville Pink is Wednesday, October 16th.  We encourage our faculty and students to wear pink if they would like to show their support.

Family News

Congratulations to Gina Lackey on the birth of her first grandchild, Emma Grace Frances Lackey.  She was born on October 8th, 7 pounds & 3 ounces, and 19 1/4 inches long.  She is beautiful! Congratulations Gigi!








We want to make sure everyone is aware of all the precious babies that will be joining our Paine Family in the near future!

Blaire Perry - Due December 2019

Dominique Parker - Due February 2020

Kathi Wilks - Due March 2020

Katherine Walls - Due April 2020
Jennifer Hunt - Due April 2020

Lisa Lothspeich will be adding two grandbabies to her family:

Leeanna - Due December 2019

Amelia - Due May 2020

ACAP Text Dependent Writing Specs

The following is important information for your reference regarding ACAP Written Response Item Specs.  It has also been sent to teachers in grades 2-5 via email.  We will discuss at our ACAP Precept Team PD the end of October.

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Text Dependent Writing (TDW)

ACAP Summative – Grades 4-8

If you are teaching the standards, you will elicit the type responses expected for a successful TDW.  The response should be steeped in evidence within the text.

What is a TDW?       

·         Based on a writing prompt

·         Students are presented with a passage and given a question about the passage(s)

·         Students write an essay response to the question, using evidence from the passage to draw inferences to support an analysis—it is not a summary of the passage

·         Integrates reading, writing and language standards

·         Based on a narrative or informational text

What Standards does a TDW Measure?

Aligned to the anchor standard ALCOS W9 – Draw evidence from literary (RL) or informational (RI) texts to support analysis, reflection, and research

Ex: Grade 4, Standard 30: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research (W.4.9)

a.    Literary – Describe in depth a character, setting or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (W.4.9a)

b.    Informational – Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support points in a text

What does a TDW Requires of Students?

·         Close reading, to infer meaning and provide supporting textual evidence, and writing skills

How is a TDW Scored?

The holistic score reflects the skill level at which is mostly demonstrated by the student.

·         Measures overall writing skills, analysis of the passage(s), and use of information from the passage(s) to develop a comprehensive essay

·         Reflects the students’ skill level in that it is scored in draft form

·         Students may receive a score of 1-4, then it is multiplied by 2 to get the final TDW score

·         All parts of the task must be performed to get a score of 4

What does a Successful TDW Look Like?  

·         Demonstrates a deep understanding of the text(s) or passage(s)

·         Thoroughly analyzes text(s) to support claims, opinions, or ideas

·         Uses a successful organizational structure with effective introduction, body and conclusion

·         References the text(s) using main ideas, details, examples, and/or facts as evidence

·         Uses precise grammar and punctuation

·         Uses proper grammar and conventions

Score Levels
Score 4	Effective analysis of text and skillful writing
Score 3	Adequate analysis of text and appropriate writing
Score 2	Limited analysis of text and inconsistent writing
Score 1	Minimal analysis of text and inadequate writing

Weekly News

B Week

Class(es) of the Week:  Ekonen & Kuhn - 3rd

Please send a group of students to the office each day by 7:55 (with a post-it containing their first names)

PACE Character Trait:  Courage

Paine Power Word: Transfer

Please utilize Powerpoint (from link on blog) to teach Power Word.

Duty Schedule: Please refer to your duty schedule for this week to ensure all students are supervised. 

Paine Precepts this Week

T:  What you do every day matters more than what you do every once in a while. - Unknown

W: If you're lucky enough to be different, don't ever change. - Taylor Swift

T:  You're like a bird, spread your wings and soar above the clouds. - Maired

F:  Believe you can and you're halfway there. - Theordore Roosevelt

DLP (Dynamic Learning Project)

We are asking all teachers to complete the DLP Survey using the link below.  Please do this even if you are not currently participating in the DLP Coaching Cycle with April Chamberlain or Ashley Waring.  This data is an important part of the overall DLP Project.

DLP PRE-SURVEY LINK

Collaboration on Wednesday

 Grades K-2 will collaborate on upcoming lessons.  

Grades 3-5 will review EnRiCh applications and schedules.

District PD (EdCamp) on Thursday

Our District EdCamp will be at Cahaba Elementary on Thursday at 2:15.  There will be important offerings on literacy and math.

3rd Grade Music Program - Thursday at 6:00 PM

Visitor Form

We just received some clarification on the District Visitor Form.  This form should be used for all visitors who will interact with the class on any curriculum topics or lessons.  This includes mystery readers and guest speakers.  The form must be submitted to the Curriculum & Instruction Department 2 weeks in advance.  Please place the forms in Dr. L's box (so she can sign off at the school level first).  She will immediately forward to Dr. Berry for district approval.

Family News

Paine Family,
Please keep Kay Shumate and her family in your thoughts and prayers.  Her precious mother passed away today. 

Red Ribbon Week: October 28-November 1st

Teacher of the Year - Nomination Link

Please use the link below to nominate a Paine Elementary teacher for Teacher of the Year.  A Teacher of the Year Selection Committee will review the nominations, so please provide details to support your nomination.  The name of the Paine Elementary Teacher of the Year will be submitted to our TCS Selection Committee for determination of the TCS Teacher of the year.

Please submit your nomination by Friday, October 11th.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR NOMINATION LINK

Family News

Please keep Kay Shumate's mother in your thoughts and prayers.  She had a major heart attack this weekend, and Kay has traveled to North Carolina to be with her.  They are attempting to stablize her mother so they can do triple bypass surgery.

Weekly News

A Week

Class(es) of the Week:  Felts & Jenkins - 4th

Please send a group of students to the office each day by 7:55 (with a post-it containing their first names)

PACE Character Trait:  Courage

Paine Power Word: Transfer

Please utilize Powerpoint (from link on blog) to teach Power Word.

Duty Schedule: Please refer to your duty schedule for this week to ensure all students are supervised. 

Paine Precepts this Week

M: Happiness is not something ready-made.  It comes from your own actions. - Dalai Lama
T:  To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge. - Confucius
W: It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up. - Vince Lombardo
T:  A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. - Father Faber
F:  The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Important - Schedules

Part of our state/district safety plan is that accurate schedules are posted outside of each door by October 1st.  Please make sure your schedule is accurate (including your recess time) and is posted outside of your door.  This is crucial information if we were to have an emergency situation.  Please remember:  Recess should be 15 minutes a day on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Student Assemblies this Week (8:30-8:55)

We will have our first student assemblies for the year this week.  They will be from 8:30-9:00 in the North Gym.  Please bring your class to the gym when you are called.

Assembly Schedule & Specials/PE Schedule Adjustsments

Tuesday, October 8^th (Grades 1 and 3)

*1st Grade:  Specials at 1:30-2:00 & PE from 2:05-2:35

Thursday, October 10^th (Grades 4 and 5)

Friday, October 11^th (Grades K and 2)

*2nd Grade:  Specials at 1:30-2:00 & PE from 2:05-2:35; IE after assembly

Collaboration on Wednesday

Please bring materials to collaborate with grade level colleagues on upcoming lessons.

Faculty Meeting on Thursday

Bring a drink.  We will have treats provided by our PTO!  We will go over several important updates.  We will also discuss lunchroom procedural improvements.

PowerSchool PD

PowerSchool PD is replacing Chalkable PD.  You should have received an email titled: Welcome to ALSDE Professional Learning.  It would have come from noreply@truenorthlogic.com.  All staff should click on the link and follow instructions to receive their user name and password.  It is very important that all staff members complete the login process as stated in the email.  More information will follow on how to navigate PowerSchool Professional Learning.

Precept Teams

The primary goal of our Precept Teams this year is to serve as Learning Communities and share your knowledge with the rest of the faculty.  Please remember, these are things we are already doing.  Our teams will develop their expertise and share with everyone else so we will continue to enhance what we are already doing in these areas.  It is likely that these teams will be in place for two years so we can pace ourselves accordingly.  We have incredible teams in place that are going to drive continuous improvement in our great school!

Family News

Please keep Buffy Bland's mother-in-law, Joyce in your thoughts and prayers.  She recently received a cancer diagnosis.  Please pray as they determine the plan of treatment.

TAC Questions & Responses

Comments

The duty schedule is so much better.  Thank you for listening to our concerns.

Thanks for setting up the Pack Groups!  I love it and my students have been very excited to be a part of this.  It is a great idea. 

Thanks for giving us the time and support in setting up our Sonday System groups.  I feel we did a good job of identifying students who really need the help and I have enjoyed teaching my groups so far.  I am grateful to be a part of this pilot program.

Question 1

Why are incident reports having to be filled out by people not directly involved with the incident?

Question 1 Response

Assistant principals are taking the information provided in the email (from the teacher) to complete a discipline report.  They are completing these because a copy goes home to the parents, and last year there were often other students’ names, opinions versus facts, etc. in the report. 

Question 2

Can specialists please be made aware of any student behavior plans? 

Question 2 Response

The classroom teacher should inform specialists if one of their students is on a behavior plan.  If a student is on a plan that requires specialist training, the IEP team will arrange this.

Question 3

Behavior is a major concern.  I thought we were going to have a behavior committee.  We need some assistance. 

Question 3 Response

The Paine Elementary School-Wide Discipline Plan was reviewed at the opening faculty meeting.  This included minor infractions that could be handled by the classroom teacher, as well as major infractions that would need an immediate office referral.  We want to keep students in the classroom for instruction if at all possible when there are minor infractions that can be addressed by the teacher.  Meeting with parents is always a first step in addressing problem behaviors.  When there is an office referral our administrative team will follow the code of conduct consistently. 

Question 4

Why are teachers not getting a copy of discipline form?  Why are teachers required to call parents after an office referral?  Is admin following code of conduct consistently for all grade levels?

Question 4 Response

When an office referral occurs, an administrator will conduct a thorough investigation.  The TCS Code of Conduct is followed.  Once the investigation is complete, the administrators contact the parent via phone, and provides copies of the office referral form to both the parent and the teacher. 

Question 5

Do we have a schoolwide calendar that already lists dates that are set? (For example: Spirit Week, Red Ribbon Week, 50th Day of School, 100th Day of School, assemblies, math night, literacy night, Read Across America, etc.) Can this be sent every week as a friendly reminder as to what is going on across all grade levels?

Question 5 Response

A school-wide calendar was set up in Google the beginning of last year.  It contains all school events, field trips, teacher birthdays, etc.  If you are unable to access this calendar please let us know.

Question 6

The lunchroom is so stressful.  There are too many students in there at one time.  Walking through one lunchroom to go to another lunchroom is not working. 

Question 6 Response

We have lunches scheduled between 10:40 through 12:55. It is crucial that every class arrive on time and leave the lunchroom on time.  It will help when the courtyard construction is finished and we can begin the schedule for the last 10 minutes of lunch on the courtyard.  We received feedback from teachers on the preference of you having the opportunity to eat with your entire grade level, which is the reason for “walking through one lunchroom to go to another”.  That can easily be changed where classes eat in the lunchroom on their designated side.  We will collaborate immediately on ways to improve the flow of traffic and lunchroom procedures.

Question 7

Would it be possible for admin to be more visible in the classroom, not for observations but in a more hands-on capacity to show support for our teachers and what they are doing each day in their classrooms?

Question 7 Response

One of the top priorities of our administrative team is to be visible in classrooms.  We are not clear on what is meant by “hands-on capacity”.  More information is needed.

Question 8

What is the turnaround time for responses to emails sent to administration? Why are we not receiving emails from Central Office in a timely manner?

Question 8 Response

The standard turnaround time for emails in TCS is 24 hours or an “out of office” message should be sent.

Question 9

How much longer until we get the swipe on the North Purple hall doors? We have to go all the way around to come back in from recess and this is really taking away more time from our instruction and intervention?

Question 9 Response

The new fiscal year started October 1st, and the order has already beenissued for the access card reader.  Installation is expected to begin October 4th. 

Question 10

Would you consider changing the weekly grade level collaboration day? 

Question 10 Response

Our grade level collaboration was on Thursday last year.  It was moved to Wednesday this year because we felt it would be too much to have collaboration and afternoon meetings (faculty, precept team, or PD) in one day.  Events this year, such as assemblies, have been scheduled around this day but we can decide as a faculty for next year which day is best.

Question 11

Teachers are not aware of Fall Festival.

Question 11 Response

Fall Festival is in the early stages of planning.  The only information we had until this week is the “Save the Date” which was communicated in our blog.  We had a meeting with our PTO president yesterday to create a list of tasks.  This was communicated in the blog that afternoon, along with a request for volunteers.

Question 12

Will we have All Pro Dads this year?  If not, why not?

Question 12 Response

The flyer for All Pro Dads was sent in the parent blog on September 21^st.  We had our first breakfast meeting on October 3rd, with close to 300 families participating.

Question 13

Math teachers get PD days with their cohort. Why do reading teachers not get the same thing? Why is our District PD not focusing on what we need?

Question 13 Response

New math teachers have a one-year training experience (EMT – Elementary Math Institute).  This is designed to focus on “how” to teach math in today’s world for understanding.  This was developed three years ago and has proven to be extremely successful.  The Curriculum & Instruction Department has dedicated district PD days coming up that will focus on literacy.  The dates are:  10-17-19, 12-12-19, 2-20-20,

3-19-20, and 4-9-20.  Please feel free to reach out to Kelly McGough and/or Jenni Peters about a specific topic you would like to see included. 

Question 14

Our special education department desperately needs more teachers and/or para-professionals.

Question 14 Response

We analyze our IEPs prior to each school year, and allocate our staff according to student needs. If necessary, we provide additional resources.

Question 15

Why are we having to document why we are out for a sick day? 

Question 15 Response

When a future-dated sick day is requested, we need a generic broad category (qualifying reason) to approve this day according to policy.  These broad categories are outlined in TCS Policy.  For example, if sick leave is requested, a generic qualifying reason must be included in the request, i.e., doctor’s appointment, child’s doctor’s appointment, etc.

Question 16

Sonday System is requiring a lot of planning and prep time.  Please consider giving those teachers sub time to support preparing for the program.  

Question 16 Response

Sonday System is an explicit, scripted program so it should not require significant preparation time.  Please talk to an administrator or academic coach if you have any questions about preparation.

Question 17

Sonday Systems is great for those who cannot decode, but we need a program that focuses on comprehension. 

Question 17 Response

Lucy Calkins and Reading Strategies by Jennifer Serravallo are our core curriculum resources for classroom literacy instruction. The strategies outlined in the Serravallo book are ideal for working with small groups/intervention groups.  We are working with Curriculum & Instruction to purchase a school site license for all teachers at Paine to utilize Ticket to Read.  This Tier 2 program focuses on foundational skills, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.