SHS Weekend Update

October 22, 2023

Check out this week's WILDCAT ROAR (Student/Parent Newsletter):

Wildcat Roar

Wildcat Roar - October 22, 2023 by Jessica Clements | This newsletter was created with Smore, an online tool for creating beautiful newsletters for individual educators, schools and districts

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NEW BUSINESS

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Honing your Craft

October's Grab & Go PD will take place on Tuesday (10/24) and Wednesday (10/25) in the Coaching Corner from 10:48 till 12:12. Pop in anytime that hour to hear all about this month's engagement strategy. You choose which day works best for you and I promise it will be less than 10 minutes!

You're welcome to bring your lunch and visit with colleagues if you would like.

I will have snacks! :)

If you have lunch/recess duty both of those days just let me know and we can set up a time that works for you!

:)Tonja

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Survey Says...

We are currently revising our Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) and seeking feedback through surveys to gauge how staff members feel about our culture and climate.

Please complete the appropriate survey below before November 3. Responses are anonymous and your feedback is appreciated!

HS Teachers - PLEASE ALLOW HS STUDENTS TO COMPLETE THE STUDENT SURVEY (in the WILDCAT ROAR) MONDAY DURING 5th HOUR.

Staff Survey

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Wednesday Wrap Up

This Wednesday after school, we will have a HS Building Level meeting in Teffany Sample's room at 3:10 pm.

We'll debrief about the First Quarter and strategize for finishing the Second Quarter strong. Be ready to discuss:

What went well
What needs work
How we can help each other

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Tricks of the Trade

I saw this graphic (below) with ideas to reinforce reading comprehension and thought, "This is what we need and talked about in (ELA/Social Studies) Data Teams this week!" (Science and Math, feel free to use it as well.😊)

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Appearance and Dress

Slater teachers and staff members, including substitutes, are expected to dress in accordance with “business casual” guidelines. Failure to follow guidelines will result in the employee being requested to immediately make the necessary corrections. Questions on attire should be directed to the building principal. It is the building principal’s discretion to excuse an employee’s dress due to activities or teaching responsibilities.

The definition of business professional is easily understood, but to define “business casual” would be easier defined as what “business casual” is NOT:

· Shorts

· Sweat-suits or warm-up suits

· Athletic leggings

· Denim Jeans

· Flip flops (rubber shoes/shower shoes)

Contributing to the Slater CTA Scholarship Fund allows you the privilege of wearing jeans, khaki or black shorts, and a Slater shirt on Fridays. On Spirit Days and other designated days, a Slater/Wildcat t-shirt is acceptable with jeans.

Parent-Teacher conferences are professional dress days.

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Conferences are Coming!

Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up - they will be held on Thursday, October 26 from 1:00 to 6:00 pm in the gym. Each teacher will have a table. I will provide a vinyl tablecloth and will share the layout as soon as it's finalized. Please bring your charged laptop, signage (name, content), and some items (decor, student work, etc.) for your table as well. I will provide sign in sheets.

I'd also like for you to start reaching out to those parents you'd like to see at conferences. Call or email to ask them to attend so you can talk with them about their student's performance/progress in your class.

School will not be in session on Friday, October 27. This is a day off for EVERYONE. (Ahhhhh)

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October Update

Please enter updates for your courses/organizations in the OCTOBER HS BOARD REPORT by 3:00 pm on Monday, October 23.

When entering your updates, please include the # of students in your course(s) and/or activities.

Thank you!

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Tending to Attendance

Please do not let students in any door after the tardy bell rings. They need to be signed in at one of the offices. Once the bell rings, students are marked absent, which triggers an immediate message to the parent, which in turn generates an immediate call from parents to one of the offices. At that point students have to be tracked down and matched with teachers to clear up each student's tardy/absence status. This has been an ongoing problem that causes many unnecessary attendance issues.

What staff member deserves a shout out?

Take a minute to let me know all about it by filling out THIS FORM or clicking the banner above.

Students, Parents, and Staff can give a shout out to any Slater Schools employee! We'll make sure they receive a copy of it and will look for ways to share them with you throughout the year as well.

Let's get to bragging about all the good people around here!

OLD BUSINESS

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Party Planning Committee

As we discussed in the August Building Level meeting, teacher teams will plan this year's NWEA incentive days. See the groups below.

Fall Group, chat among yourselves and let me know what you're thinking. There's a modest budget for each event. I would like to have the Fall date scheduled within a week and executed within a month.

Winter Group, please start planning your event as well - I think knowing what the incentive will be helps our kids lock in their motivation. I'd like to hold the Winter Incentive before we leave for Winter Break.

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Artisan Teacher Spotlight

Mike Rutherford developed a program called THE ARTISAN TEACHER. Mike's website describes the program by saying, "The Artisan Teacher is our core program for teachers and teacher developers. It is an ongoing study of the most recurring pedagogical approaches of particularly successful teachers. Based on more than 40,000 classroom observations, the 23 Artisan Themes represent a comprehensive lexicon of terms that describe the core skills of excellent instruction. The Artisan Teacher is designed to develop the craft of teaching by enabling teachers to identify and hone their most productive skills—and, to add new, complementary, skills to their repertoire. The Artisan Teacher is also designed to be an aid to administrators, instructional coaches, college professors, and anyone who is engaged in the learning and development of teachers and teaching."

As I come into your classroom to observe, you'll see that I'll often point out one of Rutherford's 23 Artisan Teaching Themes I've noticed you using. Throughout the school year, I will highlight various themes.

(Stay tuned for the next theme.)

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Transition Room Reminder

Don't forget to fill in the Transition Room Assignments document when you have a student in the Transition Room.

If you need access to the document, email Denise Audsley (daudsley@slaterschools.net) or call 222.

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First Aid Supplies

If you need supplies for your fanny packs, please email Crystal Wiseman (cwiseman@slaterschools.net). Include what items you need in the message.

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Help Wanted

We are needing someone willing to work the 25/40 second play clock for next Friday night's game! If you are interested please let Rachel Harding know!

We can also train you if you would like!

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How Do I Enter A Discipline Referral? UPDATED 9/18/23

*I apologize for the change up, but Becky and I worked with Nicole to fix some settings in PowerSchool to be able to submit a referral through the INCIDENT option.

Here are the steps to enter a Referral:

Go to the Student Information icon on the right hand side of your screen.
Click on the last name of the student on the left side of your screen.
Then go to the Select Screen dropdown on the top right of your screen.
Select Submit Incident Entry.
Enter the Incident Title (be sure to title it as Discipline Referral), date and time.
Write your description in the Incident Detail section which should include details of the incident and where it happened.
Submit. (It will say you have successfully submitted the incident.)

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That's My Spot

Did you know that HS Student parking spots off of Morgan Street extend from the corner of Parker and Morgan streets to the ECC Entrance? (See the spots below.)

Some of our HS Students are reporting being displaced by staff member vehicles. The cafeteria lot and spots north of the ECC doors are up for grabs for staff, students, and visitors.

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Proper Protocol

Please do not send students to the offices for health care needs unless you are unable to make contact with the nurse. Reminder: Do not send students out of your room without making contact.

The fanny packs in your rooms are for minor health care needs, ie. bandaids. If your pack is missing something please let the nurse know.

I have stopped several students wandering the halls on their phones who tell me they are heading to the nurse. I would suggest a hall pass that the nurse can sign off on noting the time they came and left. Way to much traffic in the halls during instruction time.

Dr. T

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Being Intentional After Accidents

If a student has an accident at school, no matter how big or small, an accident report needs to be filled out. This needs to be done as soon as possible and submitted through the Google Form that Crystal shared this past week.

I have added a button at the bottom of this newsletter for both the student accident form and the Work Comp Form for your quick reference.

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Visitors in the Building

Anyone who does not work for the District should be wearing a neon green lanyard while in the building.

Remember - if you see a parent/visitor entering the building during drop off or pick up times, you need to remind them that they are to sign-in in the appropriate office. We are also asking you to escort them to that office so that we make sure they are not just going into classrooms.

We have some parents that are having a hard time dropping their babies off at the door and still wanting to walk them to their room and catching teachers off guard.

Please try to be outside of your classroom greeting students as they come in to help reduce some of these issues. Remember: If you see something, say something!

Thank you!

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Expectations

Remember that Tonja Boggs offers Grab & Go PD two days a month during lunch in her Coaching Corner. Those dates are on the Coaching Corner calendar, and it is an expectation that everyone attends. You don't have to stay, but you should come learn about what she has to share.

The next dates are 10/24 & 10/25. Watch your email for more information.

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Right Number, Wrong Person?

Please double check your voice message on your classroom phones. If you are unsure of how to create your personalized message, please refer to the Quick Reference Guide that Angela shared with you.

In the guide, you will find the document How to Make a Call. In that document it tells you how to create your personalized voice message.

2022-23 Lunch Duty Schedule

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Lunch Duties

Expectations for HS Lunch Duty (above) include:

Salad Bar Supplies: Extra salad bar supplies will be kept in an upright cooler in Whitney's 'area' to make it easier for that day's person to keep an eye on supplies and keep it stocked. These are the people who are posted at the salad bar until the line is through. Tasks include making sure kids are getting appropriate portions, not making messes (make them clean up after themselves), and that the stations are stocked. Whitney is entering codes and numbers. She won't be restocking any longer. Once the kids are through the line, staff members can/should move about the room to supervise and finish their meal.

'Outside Area': During the winter months and in inclement weather, this person will keep an eye on condiments until the kids are through the line. That station will move to the North wall as well. Spare ketchup will be stored in the cooler with salad bar items and ala carte drinks. Gravy/sauce may have to be retrieved from the kitchen. Once the kids are through the line, staff members can/should move about the room to supervise and finish their meal.

Hallway Supervision: These people will continue to supervise the hallway until the line has moved past the servers. At that point, staff members can/should move about the room to supervise and finish their meal.

Please be sure to include lunch duty details in your sub plans.

Thank you for everything you do all day every day - including the logistics of making a 28 minute lunch period work. I appreciate you!