Hill Happenings

Monday 1/20

RPS Closed: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Tuesday 1/21

Exceptional Education Eligibility Meetings

Reid Goodwin Library Grant Presentation

3:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. New Teacher Meeting

3:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. Exceptional Education Meeting

IGNITE Begins

Wednesday 1/22

8:30 a.m.- 10:30 a.m. Championship Habits Meeting

11:45 a.m. History Department Meeting

History PBA Window Opens

Student of the Month Lunch

3:30 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. Leadership Team Meeting

Thursday 1/23

Principal's Meeting

Friday 1/24

End of 2nd Nine Weeks/1st Semester

History PBA Window Closed

Spirit Wear Friday

Reading Comprehension Training Part 1

Date: December 18th

By February 5th, teachers will use the instructional framework plan and one graphic organizer to support students’ reading comprehension with at least one text.

December 18th Professional Learning Materials

*Original date of January 15th changed due to weather and water closures.

Pear Deck Training

Date: December 4th

Use Pear Deck in a lesson between December 5th and December 18th.

Be prepared to share artifacts at the December 18th faculty meeting.

De-escalation Training

Dates: November 6th and 20th

Presented by: Dr. Kira Austin

Slides
Handout

Specific Vocabulary Instruction:

September 18th Professional Learning Materials

By October 16th, teachers will teach at least 5 Tier 2, and 5 Tier 3 vocabulary words using effective vocabulary instruction strategies before and during reading. Teachers will develop and assess students' vocabulary knowledge using effective strategies after reading. Teachers will either record themselves implementing the strategy or provide clear examples of both teacher and student implementation of the strategy between October 2nd-16th.

By October 2nd, teachers will teach at least 5 Tier 2 and 5 Tier 3 vocabulary words using effective vocabulary instruction strategies before and during reading. Teachers will develop and assess students' vocabulary knowledge using effective strategies after reading.

Before Reading Vocabulary Routine

1. Read and pronounce word

2. Give a student-friendly explanation

3. Provide a different context

4. Engage actively with the word

During Reading

1. If reading aloud, point out and restate the word’s meaning if needed
2. If students are reading independently, have them annotate or use the word in context

1. Discussion Prompts
2. Example or Nonexample
3. Juxtapositions
4. Choices
5. Missing Words
6. True/False
7. Word Associations

Reminder- Selecting Words To Teach

You should only teach about 8-10 words per week (~2 words a day).

Relationships

• Each teacher will know 100% of their students’ names in each period.
• Each student will know the names of 50% of their classmates each period.
• Each student will know at least 2 likes/dislikes of at least 5 of their classmates.

• Each teacher will know at least 2 likes/dislikes about 50% of students taught.
• Each student will know 100% of their classmates names.
• Each teacher will contact the parent/caregiver of each student at least 1x positively.
• Each student will identify at least 1 trusted adult in the building.

• Each teacher will know at least 2 likes/dislikes about 100% of students taught.

Literacy

• Each teacher will incorporate core routines and procedures for explicit vocabulary instruction of Tier 2 (high frequency) and Tier 3 (content specific) vocabulary words daily.
  
• Each student will read using active reading strategies at least 15 minutes (visualize, clarify, question, predict, connect, and evaluate).
• Each student will write at least 3-5 sentences reflecting on learning or generating original thoughts.
• Each student will engage in discourse- spoken or written for at least 3 planned opportunities.
• Each student will engage in active listening strategies by using one of the following: making eye contact, paraphrasing what is heard, responding, asking a question, waiting their turn to speak or giving way (being quiet if they begin talking at the same time someone else is talking) during at least 2/3 planned discourse opportunities.

Instructional Delivery

• Each teacher will implement at least 1-2 strategies that prepare the brain to learn every day.
• Each teacher will teach essential knowledge and skills (core information) in a manner that stimulates the senses simultaneously by incorporating at least one of the following strategies: movement, music, visuals, emotional connections, and manipulatives when introducing new information.
• Each teacher will review core information at least 2x per week interactively using high engagement strategies.
• Each teacher will establish learning experiences that guide students to put what they have learned together without help (including notes) at least 1x each day.
• Each teacher will pre design questions and have documented opportunities to facilitate students’ asking questions each lesson.
• Each teacher will implement student ownership strategies at least 1-2 times daily.

AHMS Device Free Procedures

Great first week! Progressive discipline for students begins this week. Violations reset for all students. The administrative team met with students and contacted families of students with 3 or more infractions last week. Please continue to document and contact parents for all violations.

Midyear Performance Reviews

Midyear performance reviews will begin the week of January 21st. All teachers who have artifacts to support the professional standards should send them to their content administrator at least 48 hours prior to their scheduled midyear performance review. Completion of the attached the attached interim performance review reflection google doc is OPTIONAL. If completed, please share with your content administrator at least 48 hours prior to your scheduled midyear performance review.

Tentative- Tornado Drill

I am waiting on confirmation from the district Emergency Manager but based on previous years a tornado drill was required before the end of the 1st semester. If confirmed as mandatory, we will have a tornado drill on Thursday, January 23rd in compliance with the state requirement to have at least 1 per year during the 1st semester. Please review the attached procedures with students prior to the drill. As a reminder, all 3rd floor classes should move to the 2nd floor hallway.

End of 2nd Nine Weeks/ End of 1st Semester

Grades for the end of the 2nd nine weeks and end of the 1st semester are due February 3rd. Please see Mrs. Pope or Mr. Cipolla if you have any issues inputting grades or need assistance. Please do not wait until the last minute to account for any problems with Aspen as many teachers in the division will be inputting grades during the same time. All teachers should call parents of students who have F's for the 2nd Nine Weeks OR 1st Semester by February 1st and note contacts in the Parent Contact Log. Exceptional Education progress reports are due to Ms. Scott for review on Monday, February 3rd.

1st Semester Awards and Students in Jeopardy of Failing

Team leads will be meeting with teams to discuss 1st semester awards and students in jeopardy of failing in the coming weeks.

Reading Comprehension: Evidenced Based Intervention

Please review the reading comprehension professional learning materials and next steps covered prior to break in the Instructional Focus section. Department chairs and the admin team will be supporting teachers with implementation. If you missed the professional learning, please see Ms. Collier to make up the professional learning by Friday, January 24th.

Midyear Goals

All midyear goals were due for all teachers in Talent Ed by noon Friday, January 17th except for math teachers with ixl as a goal. The admin team will review goals and request revisions as appropriate. If you have questions or concerns, please let me know. *If you have trouble logging in to TalentEd, please contact Mrs. Christie Barford cbarford@rvaschools.net

All requested goal revisions are due by COB Thursday, January 23rd.

PTA Winter Party Information (Flyer Below)

The Winter Party fundraiser for the PTA will be on Friday, January 31st from 7:00-10:00pm. This year, we’re kicking off the 100th anniversary of our school building and we’re celebrating in Roaring 20s style! We would love to see as many Albert Hill teachers and staff as possible, so we’re offering a $25 discount on tickets, making them $25 each until 1/20 and $35 each if you purchase after 1/20. To get the discount, purchase tickets through the link below but use the coupon code HILLSTAFF25 to reduce the regular ticket price by $25. If you would like to come, but the ticket doesn’t fit into your budget, there are free tickets available that have been sponsored by parents; please reach out to Ms. Ivy if you would like to use a sponsored ticket.
For all information and to purchase tickets, visit: tinyurl.com/HillWinterParty2025. Questions? Reach out to alberthillpta@gmail.com.

Albert Hill Centennial

If you are interested in serving on the Albert Hill Centennial committee, please send Mrs. Ivy an email. The celebration will take place Fall 2025.

Intent Letter and Internal Transfer Fair

As the district plans for the 2025-2026 academic year, we want to inform you about the upcoming Intent Letter and Internal Transfer Fair process and dates. Intent Letter Submission Distribution: Intent letters will be distributed to all staff on January 6, 2025. Deadline: All forms should be completed by January 17, 2025. Internal Transfer Interviews Scheduling: Interviews will be scheduled between Tuesday, January 28, 2025, through Thursday, January 30, 2025, from 4:00 PM to 7:30 PM. Format: As in previous years, Talent Office cluster recruiters will schedule virtual interviews for all schools and send the schedule to principals.

Morning Arrival

All students should be in their assigned class at 8:15 a.m. Please do not let students out of class between 8:15 a.m.- 8:35 a.m. except for emergencies. If an emergency arises, please send the student out with a pass. All students should be engaged in community circle and have had the opportunity to take care of their personal needs prior to reporting to class at 8:15 a.m.

Community Circle

Community circle should begin at 8:15 a.m. with the students who are present. All teachers should be in their classrooms engaging students in community circle beginning at 8:15 a.m. Please enter your classrooms and begin community circle no later than 8:15 a.m. If your community circle ends before 8:35 a.m., please prepare culturally responsive activities such as coloring pages and other reflective activities so that students are encouraged to settle before classroom instruction begins. Staff who are in the hallway will supervise students who are arriving. Any classrooms with co-teachers or instructional assistants should have at least 1 adult in the hallway for added supervision.

January Community Circles

Community Circle One-Pager

WINTER SESSION

Dates, Times & Locations

Tuesday, January 28, 2025, in the Lucille Brown Middle School Multipurpose Room:

• 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM: All SOL-tested Science teachers with 1st or 2nd block planning will attend this session

• 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM: All 6-8 History teachers with 3rd or 4th block planning will attend this session

Wednesday, January 29, 2025, in the MLK Middle School Auxiliary Gym / Multi-purpose room

• 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM: All math teachers with 1st or 2nd block planning will attend this session

• 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM: All ELA teachers with 3rd or 4th block planning will attend this session

Kudos to Ms. Midyette and Mrs. Sherlip for an amazing International Night!

Thank you to all staff members who attended and supported International Night!

Kudos to Ms. Foxworth, Ms. Bruce, and Ms. Dumas for their exceptional service in the cafeteria short 2 staff members!

Kudos to all staff for supporting a device free learning environment!

Kudos to Ms. Bartenstein for being recognized as staff member of the month!

Kudos to Mr. Swofford for being passed the Tiger!

Kudos to Ms. Polk for supporting Conexus during their visit!

Kudos to Mrs. Pope and Ms. Bennett for managing the office this week!

Hey Tiger teachers!

Here are the latest EdTech updates:

Another week brings more Tech Flex sessions as we continue our month of Canvas overviews. Due to the 1/6-1/10 outage, we will continue the Canvas series through 2/6. As a reminder Albert Hill is not a pilot school for the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), but all RPS teachers have Canvas access via their Google Waffle to explore. This is part of a multi-year rollout of Canvas for RPS.

Stay tuned. Later this week the ETI team will drop the January Tech-able Moments newsletter, which will include more content related to Canvas such as timelines, tips, and more.

In non-Canvas tech news:

• GoGuardian updated its session scheduling settings so that classes with different A/B schedules can be pre-scheduled on a class-by-class basis.
• Google Forms updated its interface so that the "Send" button is now a "Publish" button, changing the way Forms are shared.
• Google quietly launched Google Vids, a new free video creation tool with a ton of starter templates. In Google Drive, you can find this option by clicking the "+ New" button, opening the menu shown below:
• Pear Assessment Users: RPS is in the process of getting Pear Assessment (formerly Edulastic) for the rest of RPS. If you experience any disruptions to your regular account access in the coming weeks, please let me know ASAP.

Finish strong with this first semester! If anyone needs assistance with posting grades, Pear Deck, or any other EdTech, please reach out.

Thanks,

-Mr. Cipolla

January 27

3:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. Department Meeting

January 28

3:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. Team Meeting

January 29

Recess/Clubs

January 30

3:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. Team Lead Meeting with Admin

January 31

February 5

3:30 p.m.- 4:45 p.m. Staff Meeting

February 7

Honors Choir Festival Trip

CTE Job Shadowing Event

February 10

3:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. Department Meeting

February 11

3:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. Team Meeting

February 12

Student of the Month Lunch

February 13

PTA Board Meeting

February 17

RPS Closed: Wellness Day

*School Goals- Total Students: 501

• 501 Math

• 501 All Students: 76%, 381

• 292 Black Students: 67%, 196

• 305 ED: 67%, 204

• 74 SWD: 61%,

• Low Incidence- 10 (7)

• General Education- 64 (45)

• 13 ELL: 64%, 9

• 339 Science- 70%, 238 (216 PS, 123ES)

• 501 English

• All Students: 81%, 406

• 292 Black Students: 73%, 214

• 305 ED: 73%, 223

• 74 SWD: 64%

• Low Incidence- 10

• General Education- 64 (41)

• ELL: 67%

• 13 (9)

• 142 History- 70%, 100

Math

• Develop, implement, and monitor assisting students in monitoring and reflecting on the problem solving process. (EBI Rec. 2)Tier of Evidence: Strong evidence (Improving Mathematical Problem Solving in Grades 4-8)
• Evidence Based Strategy Name: Develop, implement, and monitor teaching students how to use visual representations. (EBI Rec. 3) Tier of Evidence: Strong evidence (Improving Mathematical Problem Solving in Grades 4-8)

English

• Develop, implement, and monitor explicit vocabulary instruction for all students (EBI Rec. 1) Tier of Evidence: Strong (Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices)
• Develop, implement, and direct and explicit comprehension strategy instruction(annotation, vocabulary development, and justification) for all students (EBI Rec. 2) Tier of Evidence: Promising (Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom Intervention Practices)

History

• Develop, implement, and monitor explicit vocabulary instruction for all students (EBI Rec. 1) Tier of Evidence: Strong (Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices)
• Develop, implement, and direct and explicit comprehension strategy instruction(annotation, vocabulary development, and justification) for all students (EBI Rec. 2) Tier of Evidence: Promising (Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom Intervention Practices)

Science

• Use quizzes to re-expose students to information. (EBI Rec. 5b) Tier of Evidence: Strong (Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning)
• Develop, implement, and monitor explicit vocabulary instruction for all students (EBI Rec. 1) Tier of Evidence: Strong (Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices)

Field Trips

If you are sponsoring a field trip in October, please ensure the list of student attendees is sent to Mrs. Davidson to be emailed to all teachers at least 48 hours in advance of the trip. Placing the list in the chat is not an acceptable way of distributing the list to teachers for the first time.

Meeting Attendance

Attendance to calendared meetings as per the 2024-2025 Albert Hill Calendar distributed in August 2024 is required under collective bargaining. Failure to attend scheduled meetings regularly may result in progressive discipline.

Chromebook Issue Form

Please use the attached link to the "24-25 AHMS Student Chromebook Issues" google form if a student presents a Chromebook issue. Responses go directly to Ms. Bennett, and concerns are addressed by the order in which they are received. Please bookmark this form for easy access.