Staff Bulletin

Essential 55 " Rule 7 "

Feb 1 - 28 Black history Month ( see flyer )

Feb 12 Basketball game @ Johnston Square

Feb 13 Budget Launch Event 8:30- 3:30 district school leaders

Feb 13 No school district PD morning

Feb 13 100% collab meeting afternoon

Feb 14 Wellness day - No school

Feb 17 President Day No School

Feb 20 Feel Good Thursday

Feb 20 BHM biography trifold due students 3-5

Feb 21 BHM essay competition due

Feb 24 Report Card Window Opens

Feb 26 Report Cards DUE COB

Feb 26 BHM "A day at the Museum"

Feb 26 TSI monitoring meeting (Admin)

Feb 27 3rd grade Field Trip

Feb 27 BHM assembly PK & K

Feb 28 BHM assesmbly 1-5

Mar 5 Family MCAP Night

Mar 7 PBIS event

Mar 12 Math Bee

Mar 19 Family Stem Night

We encourage you to review your data to identify any students who may need a Student Support Team (SST) intervention. If you have sufficient data indicating that a student requires additional support strategies, please complete and submit their SST form, fill intervention form out, and complete information in Infinite Campus.

Due to the short week we are adjusting collab meeting days. Please check the day we are meeting. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to your leads.

Below is our Personalized Instruction Usage Report.

Personalized Instruction Key Reminders

• K-5: 45 minutes weekly of Amplify & 3 passed Math personalized lessons

• Personalized Instruction ELA (Amplify / CommonLit) & Math (Zearn/Iready) is an independent activity students can complete during small group or personalized learning blocks when students are not directly working with a teacher in a teacher-led small group lesson.

• All students need to hit their weekly target before using classroom time for any other online learning platform.

• Celebrate student progress

• Certificates awards to students during Community Meeting each Friday.

Remember that the goal is that students pass 3 lessons per week in either app.

This will be adjusted for grades 4 & 5 given the shift in their Math instructional schedule. However, students should be engaging in online learning platforms when possible. I recommend that lessons are assigned strategically for students that are struggling with current content skills. I have seen students intentionally type/select wrong answers in Zearn so that they can just move on, if you see this, remind students to use their scrap paper to solve or maybe this is a sign that iReady lessons should be used instead of Zearn lessons.

Scratch paper is often seen as a simple tool, but when used during assessments, it can have a big impact on how well students perform. It provides students with the space they need to think through problems, make corrections, and approach questions in a clear and organized way. Here’s why it’s so important to allow students to use scratch paper during IREADY, MCAP, Zearn and daily instruction. We’ve observed that during some of our instructional practices students often attempt to solve problems mentally instead of using scratch paper to calculate or organize their work.

1. Organizes Thought Process

Assessments often require students to work through complex problems, especially in subjects like math, science, and writing. Scratch paper gives students a space to organize their thoughts, jot down notes, and break down the problem step by step.

2. Helps with Mistakes and Revisions

Mistakes are a part of learning. Scratch paper gives students the freedom to make mistakes and try different approaches without worrying about it affecting their final answers.

3. Reduces Test Anxiety

Many students feel stressed during timed assessments. The ability to write down ideas, calculations, or rough drafts on scratch paper can ease this stress. Knowing that they can work through problems and make changes on paper can help students stay calm and focused, leading to better performance.

4. Promotes Better Problem-Solving

Scratch paper encourages students to approach problems methodically. Instead of rushing to find an answer, they can take the time to plan their approach, outline their reasoning, and double-check their work.

Staff Attendance - The following staff members are scheduled to be out this week. This section is

intended to give folks a view of the staffing landscape as a school:

2/10: Height, Hinkson, Kennel

2/11: Woodland, Kennel

2/12:

2/13: Liburd, Cowger, Long-PM, Hines, Fisher, Powell, Ahonsu, Kimbrow

2/14: Everyone enjoy "wellness"

Please join us in celebrating our history and culture for the month of February by participating in our weekly spirit days! It's not Black history, it's just history!

BHM Logistics 2025

Student Safety Reminders- Please ensure that all exterior doors are closed securely behind them. Doors should never be propped/ left open. If you see a door open, you must close it and report it to school administration. Also, please remind students that they should never open the exterior door for visitors'. Visitor's must be screened through the front entrance way. In addition, staff must never leave students unattended. If you need coverage and must leave students for any reason you must call the main office to request support. You are responsible for the students in your care.

Let's start the year off strong on our school priorities

This PLC is for content teachers and other BTU-level staff who have had little or no previous professional learning focused on supporting multilingual learners (MLs). As a friendly reminder, this PLC is not open to ELD staff, whose professional learning needs will be better met by other professional learning opportunities designed specifically for ELD teachers and paraeducators.

This PLC will address:

• Demographic trends in Baltimore City's ML population

• Supporting social-emotional needs common among MLs

• Best practice for building relationships with multilingual families

• The basics of Second Language Acquisition Theory

• WIDA proficiency levels and Can Do Descriptors

• Differentiation strategies to support MLs in content classes

• Language Objectives

This PLC will include 8 in-person sessions that will be held on Thursdays from 4:00-6:00 beginning on February 6th and running through April 3rd (with the exception of February 13th) at William Paca Elementary. Participants will also be expected to complete an asynchronous assignment following each in-person session that will take about one hour. Those who successfully engage in in-person sessions in their entirety and complete corresponding asynchronous assignments will earn a stipend at the hourly rate indicated in the BTU contract.

Those who are interested in participating should read the syllabus found here and register using this form.

Please reach out to Sarah Dukeshire (sedukeshire@bcps.k12.md.us) with any questions.

The WIDA schedule has been updated. Please make sure you know when your students are going to be pulled for testing.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TJQ8mMAEKd0RtAmk5nZNd3aSPXSjVdGJE2acqI9JgkA/edit?pli=1&gid=0#gid=0

The 100% Project

5 Schools: 1 Mission

ACCE, Commodore, Harford Heights, James McHenry, Mary E. Rodman

100% for 100%

Good afternoon. I hope you're doing well. I’m looking forward to our next 100% Project Cohort Collaborative Meeting on Thursday, February 13, which falls on a district professional development day. As outlined in our SBO, 100% Project staff should attend systemic PD sessions in the morning and transition to 100% Project sessions in the afternoon.

Good Things

Great things are happening across The 100% Project!

Commodore, Mary Rodman, and Harford Heights recently marked the 100th day of school with students and staff dressing up as if they were 100 years old, bringing creativity and joy into their classrooms.

February is also Gifted Education Month, and James McHenry is celebrating with a dynamic GEM spirit week, packed with engaging activities that highlight creativity, critical thinking, and academic excellence. Students have enjoyed trivia PLINKO at lunch, solved riddles on bulletin boards, and learned fascinating facts during morning announcements. McHenry also had a visit from Mayor Brandon Scott yesterday to celebrate their victory in the Quarter 2 Mayor’s Attendance Challenge! Competing against all the schools across the district, James McHenry earned the top spot by reducing their chronically absent students by an impressive 25%. The celebration featured performances from the school’s cheer team and choir, highlighting the school’s commitment to student engagement and success.

Meanwhile, schools are in full swing celebrating Black History Month with meaningful events throughout February. ACCE, for example, has curated a rich calendar of activities centered around Black Joy & Intellectualism, ensuring students engage in powerful learning experiences that honor and uplift Black history and culture. One early highlight was a performance by the ACCE Middle School Drumline. Commodore's staff and students are also preparing for a Black History Month Showcase, hosting a bookmark contest, and holding a Sickle Cell Awareness fundraiser, amongst several other events.

Pictures from all events can be found here.

Feedback from Our Last Session

The response from our last meeting was overwhelmingly positive. 98.4% of attendees agreed or strongly agreed that the session enhanced their practice, and 100% felt it would positively impact student outcomes. If you have additional feedback or ideas on how to make the most of our time together, please feel free to reach out to me or your session facilitator(s).

Meeting Details

Date: Thursday, February 13

Time: 1:00 – 3:00 PM (We will start promptly, so please allow time for travel, parking, and settling in.)

Location: Harford Heights Elementary School (1919 N Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21213)

We continue to host at Harford Heights due to its central location and convenient parking. You can park in the front lot (GPS: 1919 N Broadway) or the back lot (GPS: 2050 Wolfe Street)—the back lot tends to have more availability closer to start time.

PD room assignments remain the same and can be found here.

Please note that all staff members are expected to participate in systemic PD in the morning and 100% PD in the afternoon as required by our SBO. Please reach out to your principal if you have any questions or concerns about this component.

Preparing for the Session

100% Project Fellows have shared (or will be sharing) important details to help you prepare. Please review these in advance to ensure a productive session.

Sign-In Reminder: Attendance sheets will be provided in each session. Please be sure to sign in, as these records are shared with principals and the district as part of the SBO process.

Recruitment Update

A huge thank you to everyone supporting our recruitment efforts! One of the most impactful things we can do for our students is ensuring they have exceptional educators in front of them every day. We are off to a strong start and with your support we can do even better.

Help Spread the Word: Our latest hiring flyer is attached—please share it on social media, in professional circles, or with potential candidates. Feel free to connect any interested individuals with me or your principal.

Clymb Update

Don’t forget that 100% Project students in our elementary or elementary/middle schools have access to Clymb, an emotional health application available through Clever. Clymb serves as a check-in tool and resource hub aligned with CASEL competencies. Nearly 1,000 students have already engaged with the program! If you haven’t explored it yet, consider adding it to your toolkit as we continue to build Strong School Cultures.

If you have any questions or feedback about Clymb, reach out to me or your school’s Clymb Champion and we can help troubleshoot or pass along to our vendor contacts.

Launch

"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Please make sure you are keeping on top of entering your grades in IC weekly. Parents have access to their child's grades and is able to know how their child is doing in each content. Make sure you are entering the required amount of grades per week: 2 Math, 2, ELA, 1 Science, and 1 Social Students grades.

Please refer to the attached document for instructions on using the cellphone app to communicate with ML Families. You can find the app, named *Interpret Manager*, in your App Store. The email and PIN required to access it are included in the attached document.

If you post on class dojo it will be required to post in English and Spanish, this includes flyers. Having all Dojo posts translated into Spanish is a great way to ensure clear communication with our Spanish-speaking families and show respect for linguistic diversity in our community.

Drafting English and Spanish Versions: Prepare both versions of the post before sharing. This can be done manually, or using translation tools like Google Translate. We also can use canva, see the following link for assistance. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1U3CRzkiZ3S6CV-3t21mfpf10ZWEbsm3FP5cfFrOSTJg/edit?usp=sharing

This approach will foster better engagement and trust with families while meeting our school wide communication goals.

S/O to all the staff members who have been using the Staff Communication Log to inform me about your scholar attendance issues ONLY. Here's the link if you need it. Please keep up the great work. https://forms.gle/8zuVH7uVmfzxV6iC8

Email: woodland@thehhschool.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/thehhschool.org/harford-heights
Location: 1919 N Broadway, Baltimore, MD, USA
Phone: 443-224-0320
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarfordHeightsElementarySchool