Monday Memo & Motivation

☀️Dear Sierra Vista School Staff,

Welcome back! I trust you had a restful and rejuvenating spring break. As we gear up for the final stretch before Summer Break, there's still plenty of work to be done. This week, I encourage you to dedicate time to reviewing key concepts, particularly for students preparing for upcoming tests. It's also beneficial to revisit testing strategies to ensure readiness. I'll be actively involved, making announcements and visiting 3rd to 5th grade classrooms to motivate students to give their best effort during the tests. Additionally, let's not forget about our Spirit Day on Monday, April 15th—do you have your WIGs 👩🏻‍🦰 (wig for your hair) ready?

Speaking of WIGs, I'm excited to announce that we've been selected for a District Goal 1 Walkthrough on Monday, April 8th. Six General Education and Special Education classrooms will be randomly chosen for observation. Expectations for this walkthrough align with our informal criteria: clear learning objectives posted, implementation of effective reading strategies and High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM), updated WIG scoreboards and individual student WIGs, and evidence of supporting students under the Yazzie Martinez umbrella. I'm confident that our visitors will be impressed by the dedication and outstanding instruction taking place at SVES!

On another note, a student from one of our local Girl Scout troops is working towards earning a Bronze Award. She proposed the idea of allowing students to take snacks outside on a trial basis. Her troop plans to place informational signs near the trash cans to educate students about the environmental impact of littering and the importance of proper waste disposal 🚯. I've agreed to this trial period, allowing students to take snacks outside for the next two weeks. We'll monitor the situation closely, and if there's no improvement, we'll discontinue this practice. I'll also make daily announcements to reinforce this initiative.

As you can see, there's a lot happening at Sierra Vista. Our troop's initiative to place signs near the trash cans will not only make the bins more visible but also educate students about environmental responsibility. Let's rally behind this worthwhile endeavor by one of our students and encourage greater responsibility among our student body.

-♥️ Delilah

🔸IMPORTANT: Partial Eclipse:

Students can participate If they have the proper eyewear and their families have been informed, and supervision from their classroom teacher (not duty teachers during recess).

❗Recess: Students will not be able to go outside without proper supervision by their teacher who can closely monitor them (with protective gear) from 11:16:35 until 12:30:53 . Our students will be in the cafeteria for lunch for most of this time. Duty teachers will keep the students inside.

They can opt-out, and students will have an alternative assignment. Native American families may want their students to opt-out.

Anyone outside wanting to view the Partial Eclipse, must wear protective gear – even if there are clouds!

🔸Monitoring Students: Teachers, please ensure that you meet your students at the playground in the morning. It's essential to have students lined up, and this can be overwhelming for our duty teachers to handle alone. Additionally, due to the change in dismissal time, it's crucial for teachers to accompany their classes to the exit door at the end of the day. Our older students need to be more cautious around our younger students when exiting at the end of the day.

🔸Hall Pass System for Grades 3-5 (bookmark this form for week of April 8)

Teachers will receive an updated link every week. Please take note of the tabs at the bottom for specific days of the week. A timestamp will be automatically generated once a student's name is entered. Additionally, please ensure that students are limited to 3 restroom passes each day and that they do not leave during whole-class instruction. Thank you for your cooperation in implementing these guidelines

• April 8: District Walkthrough
• April 10: EOY PDP & Domain 4 due in Canvas
• April 10: Staff Meeting 3:15-4:15
• April 11: Delilah out in the afternoon for Principal Seminar
• April 12: New printers will be installed
• April 15: WIG & Crazy Spirit Day and Pep Walk!
• April 16: NM-MSSA Testing Begins 📈

Chapter 5: The Transitional Reader

Think about 💭:

❔How do you address specific challenges to ensure students become fluent readers?

💡Know where they are and what they need!

💡 Through reading groups - work with students based on needs - strengths and weaknesses.

❔How can you best serve the higher readers and the lower readers?

💡Differentiated guided reading groups

💡Supplemental activities to meet specific needs

💡Daily 5 stations

💡Phonics instruction

💡Comprehension practice

💡Vocabulary practice

❔How do you decide on your comprehension focus for guided reading?

💡 Based on reading level and focus standards.

Resources here

*If you would like to recognize a staff member with a Big Shout Out, please email me this information and it will be added to our weekly Monday Memo & Motivation!