This monthly newsletter is brought to you by the NISD MS Science C&I Team.

volume 9 issue 3

“Approach the new year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day.”

– Michael Josephson

Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with renewed inspiration, exciting learning opportunities, and the joy of guiding young minds as you continue to make a positive impact on your students each new day!

The Middle School Science C&I Department is excited to welcome the following teachers to the NISD MS Science Family! We hope you have had a great start and we look forward to working with you.

Department leaders met in December to not only play a competitive game of holiday trivia, but also to collaborate as they reviewed the November 5th District PD for all grade levels. They reflected on the components of 3 Dimensional Learning and identified new learning and wonders as instructional leaders. Coordinators also received various updates around CDBs, STAAR, SAVVAS, and zSpace. The next Coordinator PLC is Wednesday, January 22nd.

We had a great turn out for our third New Teacher Institute that took place on Dec. 5th. Twenty-seven teachers, that are either new this year or were in still need of the training, met at NAC for a full day of learning focused on strategies for our Emergent Bilingual population. It was a great day as we were able to kick off the day with NISD Middle School Bilingual/ESL Specialist, Marigel De Leon. Ms. De Leon was instrumental in establishing the WHY. All participants walked away with a copy of the book Teaching Science to English Language Learners and a sentence frames poster for their classroom.

Eighth grade teachers attended their last CIA right after the holiday break. Teachers unpacked curriculum for Matter and Energy Big Idea 2 and Astronomy Big Idea 1. They also engaged in the use of phenomena to spark curiosity and question development as they explored investigations and required labs, and made connections to assessments through the SCR and FRQ process.

Access to all professional learning resources can be found using the link below.

Please consider posting pictures, short videos, and experiences of how you and your students are connecting with science on X, the app formerly known as Twitter! Use the following link to view posts from @NISDMSScience.

Per district policy, please do not use emojis to block out student faces.

Our last NTI for new middle school science teachers is scheduled for Tuesday, February 4th at Vale MS. Teachers will have the opportunity to explore the various digital tools and online platforms available for all middle school science teachers. Please see the 2024-2025 MS Science New Teacher Institute flyer.

All pull-outs are 8:30 am - 3:30 pm, but locations vary so please check the location for each pull-out.

The next district professional development is scheduled for Monday, February 17th from 1:00pm - 4:00pm at Garcia Middle School. Sessions will be divided up by grade level. If you are a split grade level teacher, please see your coordinator as to which grade level session you will attend. It is important that you attend the assigned session that day.

Please see the following Focus on MS Science flyer for further details and registration information.

Completion numbers for the first round of CDBs were fantastic!

When analyzing data, please make sure your PLC is looking at both the regular and CLS version and that you also drill down to look at performance on each question tied to a standard and not just the overall average.

Remember to continue incorporating the various new item types, including Short Constructed Response (SCRs) into your campus CCAs. Averages for these question types continue to score slightly lower in some cases. One SCR worth zero points will be on the second CDB for all grades in the spring.

As your PLC develops CCAs, don’t forget the information provided on the New Item Types: STAAR, CMS, Schoology document also located on the Employee Connection: MS Science: STAAR Information page.

Content Language Supports

The Special Education and Bilingual Department has combined to develop the Middle School CLS FAQ. This document was shared with coordinators at the Dec. 4th meeting and can be found linked to the following Employee Connection: MS Science pages: Assessment, EB, and SE.

Please refer to this document to assist in determining which version of the assessment a student should be taking. Remember that SE or EB students taking a CLS version should be receiving these supports during day to day instruction.

A clicksheet on Adding Content & Language Supports can be found on the Schoolnet Support Site under Assessment Tools.

Curriculum guides for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade will be linked to the Year-At-A-Glance two weeks before the unit is scheduled to begin. **Important Reminder: Please make sure to review all curriculum guide components and individual resources as updates have been made for the 24-25 school year. Please don’t forget that the lab coat symbol indicates a REQUIRED lab.

Assessment items for upcoming 6th, 7th, and 8th grade units will also be added to the CMS CO Shared Item Banks two weeks before the unit is scheduled to begin. A variety of the new item types can be found in the bank. **Important Reminder: Campus banks or previously created CCAs were not retagged, so make sure they are aligned to the new 21 standards if adding those items to a new CCA.

Reminder to please visit the Employee Connection: MS Science page for the new link to the combined feedback form. The link to the form can be found in the menu on the right hand side. Feel free to send any questions or concerns regarding any of the curriculum components or CMS assessment items.

As you plan with your PLC, begin thinking of ways to incorporate this amazing resource into your lessons. Don’t forget about the zSpace lessons provided in the curriculum resource folders. Stations are a great way to use them! Let’s challenge ourselves to incorporate them into a lesson at least twice a grading period!

Please see the Employee Connection: MS Science: New Textbook page for training opportunities including Schoology integration. Last opportunity is January 20th.

Please make sure to check out the Middle School Science Employee Connection Extended Learning Opportunities page to access the Google site for each specific program!

Not a sponsor? No worries…we would love to see you as a volunteer at one of the great program events! Please check out the 2025 Volunteer Opportunities flyer to sign up today!

Got Questions?

Is your campus still in search of sponsors or do you just have questions? Please feel free to reach out to K-8 Enrichment Programs Sponsor, Amalia Sollars (amalia.sollars@nisd.net).

This group will be our main mode of communication throughout the year so please make sure you have joined and that you have turned on notifications. If you are not yet a member, please use the following code to join:

Schoology Group Access Code 4CP8-WZJG-6XH4M

In addition to Employee Connection, this group is how MS Science C&I shares resources and provides updates. To ensure that you are notified when updates are posted, please customize the notifications for this group by selecting Group Update Posted under Email Notifications Settings. For step-by-step instructions, please see the Schoology Notifications Clicksheet.

Please visit the Employee Connection: MS Science page - and make sure it is in your FAVORITES! Information has been updated for the 2024-2025 school year. Check out the CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, and ASSESSMENT pages - menu links are on the right hand side.

Elaine Estrada Instructional Specialist

Lisa Crawford IST

Connie Schaub IST

Lauren Stiles Academic Technology IST

Amalia Sollars K-8 Enrichment Programs Coordinator

Email: NISD.MS-Science@nisd.net
Website: https://nisd.net/employees/department/ms-science
Location: 5900 Evers Road, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: 210-397-8661