DSAHS Staff News

The February FTE Survey 3 begins this, Friday, January 23, and runs through Friday, February 6. During this 11-day eligibility window, attendance is critical and essential.

During this 11-day eligibility window, all substitutes and staff members who cover classes outside of their regular assignments must submit a paper roster (the class list will be provided by me) in addition to their PowerSchool attendance. This process is crucial for maintaining accurate records and accountability, as required by the Miami-Dade County Public School District.

The FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) Period is when our schools' attendance data is compiled and submitted to the state. During this time, it's imperative that we accurately track student attendance, as state funding relies on the number of students who attend school at least once during this period. Every single student counts, and their presence is essential for securing the resources we need to support their education.

Should you identify students with excessive absences who have not physically participated in your classes, I kindly request that you inform both their dean and me. Furthermore, please consider reaching out to their parents to communicate the potential negative effects of these absences on their students' academic performance.

Monday, February 2

Tuesday, February 3

• 🤫 🍩 Shhhh... It's a SURPRISE... Donuts w/ Officer Mike (7:45-8:25 am)
• ⚽ Regional Game: B Soccer vs. SLAM 4:00pm @ DSAHS

Wednesday, February 4

Thursday, February 5

Friday, February 6- FAB FRIDAY 🍦

• 💟 Pep Rally- Wear Red, Pink, or White (see schedule below)
• 💙 Officer Mike's Retirement Party (see flyer below)

To: Ms. Rubinsztain

From: Ms. Hernandez

Thank you for toughing out the cold weather Sunday for the Freshman car wash! Your leadership made this fundraiser a success. Even with the chilly weather, everyone had fun!

If you plan on attending of Annual Night of Excellence evet, please use the following link to RSVP:

https://forms.office.com/r/pXtwuWL9hN?origin=lprLink

Please see our Spring 2026 Testing Dates attached.

Attached, please find the schedule for the distribution of all Progress Reports, Failure Notices/Notices of Unsatisfactory Progress, and Report Cards for the 2025-2026 school year. Please place these dates on your calendars to serve as reminders as they are hard deadlines.

Here are a couple of reminders:

• As per policy, you must have a MINIMUM of one mastery grade per week. As such, there should be at least 4 mastery grades in the gradebook prior to the printing of Progress Reports and 9 or more mastery grades in the gradebook at the end of each grading period. This is a non-negotiable, so please plan accordingly.

  
  

• We realize grading assignments is time consuming; however, please make every effort to grade all assignments as expeditiously as possible and record those grades in the gradebook weekly. This ensures that Deans, students, and their parents, are aware of where they stand academically at any given point throughout the grading period.

We want to hear from you. Do you have a great idea on how we can improve? If so, submit a suggestion by clicking the blue box below.

Please complete this link to refer students for Social Emotional concerns.

https://forms.office.com/r/V7RP7qRJbY

Please submit PowerSchool attendance if you are covering for another teacher using the following link and login credentials.

Please use a different web browser or open an incognito window so your credentials do not automatically sign in to your PowerSchool account.

Substitute Teacher Sign-In: https://csusa-fl.powerschool.com/subs/pw.html

1. Select the school from the drop-down menu

2. (Don Soffer Aventura High School)

3. Select the teacher

4. Password: barracudas

Tiered Discipline Form: https://forms.office.com/r/ZnNsQe0e0V

Please document student behavior incidents using this form. Thank you to those teachers who have been actively documenting and reaching out to parents!

Looking to surprise a fellow staff member... Check out their favorites!

Stay informed on this year's school events: Events 25_26.xlsx

Students should NEVER be given your keys.Students are NOT permitted to enter the staff lunge to make copies or get copies/materials. Should you ever need copies or material from the lounge, please call the front office so they can be delivered to you.

The purpose of this briefing is to increase staff awareness of human trafficking, reinforce the school's commitment to student safety and staff vigilance, and to ensure employees know how to appropriately report suspected cases of human trafficking. See flyer attached.

Importance of Raising Awareness

• Human trafficking can impact individuals of all ages, including school-aged youth and their families.
• Educators and school staff are often in trusted positions to notice behavioral, physical, or social warning signs.
• Awareness increases the likelihood of early identification and timely intervention.
• Informed staff are better equipped to respond appropriately and follow established reporting protocols.
• Raising awareness supports a safe, informed, and proactive school culture.
• Every staff member plays a role in creating a safe environment for students and the broader school community.

Please be mindful that students should not be staying in your class for longer than the 50 minute scheduled class time. There has been an increase in teachers voicing that students are arriving to their class late (with a pass from their previous teacher) because they were finishing something for another teacher. If you feel a student needs additional time to have a conversation with you or finish an assignment, please call their next period teacher to ask for permission before allowing the student to stay in your class. If you have any questions or concerns, please see an administrator.

Your 2025-2026 digital teacher binders are now live on OneDrive! 🎉 You should have already received an email from me with the link.

📌 Please bookmark the binder page in your browser for quick access throughout the year.

✅ Here’s what you need to do:

• Review all IEP, 504, and ESOL information in your binder to get familiar with your students’ plans.

• Then, go into your Tracker folder, where you will find:

• Folders for each class period

• Tracker files for each of your ESE students

• Drop each tracker file into the appropriate class period folder

⭐️ Reminder – Please Read Carefully: Earlier this week, you were asked to check PowerSchool for your ESE students using the instructions from Becraft’s August 13 email (Subject: “Special Population info in PowerSchool”).

Now, it’s time to compare your PowerSchool list with the students listed in your binder. (This step is critical to ensure you are tracking the correct students.)

​Please email the ESE department if you notice one of the following so we can make the appropriate changes:

• A student in your binder who is no longer in your class

• A student on your PowerSchool list who is missing from your binder

📋 Tracker Guidelines:

• Trackers must be filled out daily for each ESE student.

• Completed trackers are due by the end of the last school week of each month.

• If the month ends mid-week, start using the new month’s tracker the following Monday.

• For example, September trackers will be due on Friday, October 3rd, 2025

• All instructions are included in the attached Digital Tracker 101 PDF – please review it carefully.

🚨 Confidentiality Notice: These files contain confidential student information. Sharing or distributing them in any way is strictly prohibited.

We’ll go over everything during our LTM meeting on Tuesday morning, September 2. If you have any questions before then, feel free to reach out.

Thanks for your attention to detail and continued support!

At the end of the day all desk tops should be free of items, the chairs should be stacked on top of the desk and trash cans should be visible. This will help to ensure that the night crew is able to clean the rooms efficiently.

Please see important information below regarding accommodations, forwarded to you on request of the District ESE Department. The following message regarding accommodations should be a reinforcement of discussions we had in RTO regarding your legal responsibilities to provide accommodations. If you have questions, please, feel free to reach out. Thank you

This marks the end of the first week using the digital teacher binders, and we hope it went smoothly for everyone! Thank you to those who have updated their binders and shared feedback about how the trackers are working.

One common question we've received is how to move Excel files into the correct period folders in OneDrive. Here are two easy ways to do that: CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO TUTORIAL

• Drag and Drop: Press and hold the file you want to move, then drag it into the appropriate period folder.
• Using the Menu: Hover over the file name until three dots appear to the right. Click the dots, then select “Move to” from the pop-up menu. This will let you choose the correct folder within your binder.

Files must be placed in the correct period folder to maintain organization.

We’ve also heard that some teachers don’t see the drop-down menus in every cell of their tracker. As a workaround, we recommend copying and pasting the key you need from a cell that already has it into the correct cell.

Thanks for supporting our ESE students and feel free to reach out to the ESE department with any questions you may have!

📣 Submit Assessments to ESE for Student Accommodations

Giving a quiz or test to IEP or 504 students? Submit your assessments at least 2 days before the scheduled exam using the ESE Assessment Scheduling & Upload Form: https://forms.office.com/r/CTPW5rz4HW

📍 On test day, you will be able to send students directly to Room 114 — we’ll print and distribute the assessments.

📬 Completed tests will be returned to your mailbox.

🟡 Friendly Reminder: Encourage students to scan the yellow “Testing Accommodations Request” poster in your room.

If you don’t have one, let the ESE department know. Posters were distributed during the ESE meeting at RTO.

See attached

Below is a friendly reminder of the information that was shared and discussed in August during PTO. Please ensure you are following the guidelines below.

Students coming to room 114 need to arrive with a pass from their GE or SF teacher. All students reporting to 114 should arrive with a pass even if they have made arrangements for accommodations.

If arrangements have not been made in advance, the teacher must contact room 114 (x114) or the support facilitation teacher directly PRIOR to sending down students. As a reminder the SF teachers have daily schedules they follow and may not be available.

Thank you in advance for your support and assistance.

See flyer attached below.

We are excited to announce a new family engagement platform that we're rolling out for the remainder of this school year. The platform is called "TalkingPoints". Below you can find some information about this new tool that will help us engage families with ease. Stay tuned for information about our training opportunities and launch date!

If you would like to be a lead teacher in the rollout process and serve as a mentor for other teachers, please let Ms. Hernandez know.

Please make sure that your email signature is updated to what is on the attached document below. Please login to your email and complete the following steps:

• Click on gear in the top right hand corner
• In the search bar (top left) type "email signature"
• Copy and Paste the information attached below.
• Make sure to edit your name and title/position.

PTO requests have been processed for all pink sheets that have been submitted. You should have received a calendar invite.

Reminders:

• All requests go to Ms. Hernandez
• If your PTO is scheduled, you must leave sub plans in your sub folder (Schoology)
  

Please double check that the following safety items are complete/updated:

1. TapApp is downloaded on your phone and your know how to use it
2. Your Barracuda Zone has a sign and is taped off with red tape
3. Your classroom has a safety binder placed in the smokey box near your door
4. You can hear the announcements in your room

If you need assistance with any of these items, please contact Ms. Clappier immediately. Safety of our students and staff is our #1 priority!

Please DO NOT enter transfer grades from automated PowerSchool emails. These emails are auto sent by PowerSchool and DO NOT reflect the transfer grade for your class. Please disregard these emails. These emails are send by period and NOT course, therefore they are inaccurate. If a transfer grade is required for a student, Ms. Hernandez will email you directly with instructions and a transfer grade. If you have any questions, please see Ms. Hernandez.

FOR PROGRESS REPORTS: students who transferred in only need 1 mastery grade for each week they have been in your class. We understand for some students this means they will not have 4 mastery grades for progress reports.