BCS Elementary Education Newsletter

Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year. I hope you took the time to relax and connect with your family and friends before returning back to school. As we begin this new year, I want to thank you for the work you have done to prepare for your students and to set yourself up for a successful start. I continue to be impressed by the dedication and work of our elementary teachers and support staff. As we work together this year, please refer to the elementary newsletter, curriculum resources and instructional coaching team for support. We are here to serve you as you teach our students.

This newsletter is designed to provide you with timely and relevant information each month. The newsletter is housed in the Elementary Resources Google Site that is available to teachers through Clever as well as anywhere teachers can access Google. Our elementary instructional coaching team's goal is to continue to provide relevant useful curriculum resources and support from the district and school level. In addition to feedback links that are on curriculum documents, we have added a feedback link to this newsletter. We value your feedback and suggestions.

Here's to a successful start to our teacher workdays this year. Thank you for all you do to plan and prepare for our students.

August 15-16 - Non-Required Workdays

August 17 - First Day for Teacher Assistants

August 17: Wit & Wisdom Launch PD for K-5 Reading Teachers

August 17-18 - Required Workdays

August 19 - Non-Required Workday

August 22: LETRS Unit 5 Zoom PD

August 22 - First Day for Bus Drivers & Child Nutrition Staff

August 22-25 - Required Workdays

August 26 - Non-Required Workday

August 29 - First Day of School

September 5 - Holiday-Labor Day

The North Carolina Early Learning Inventory (i.e. NC ELI) is a process that helps teachers understand where children are and how to support them going forward. This state tool is a resource that supports teachers in their efforts to strengthen instruction for Kindergarten students. The North Carolina Legislature requires that every entering kindergarten student receives a kindergarten entry assessment. This assessment measures a child’s performance over multiple developmental domains based on teacher observation within the learning environment. Baseline data entry is required within the first 30 days of enrollment. Students are assessed in the following areas: Social-Emotional, Physical, Language, Cognitive, Literacy, and Mathematics. This information provides a continuum for learning that a teacher can use to inform instruction. At the beginning of the school year, Kindergarten teachers will have access to NC ELI Transition Reports through the NC ELI Platform once their class rosters appear in the platform. These reports are only completed for students who were served in an NC Pre-K or LEA operated Pre-K classroom. The Office of Early Learning has developed a brief, interactive module to support stakeholders in finding, understanding, and using the new report at the start of the school year. The module can be found here. For more information about this assessment, including specific dates for the 23-24 school year as well as documentation requirements, you can access the Office of Early Learning’s NC ELI FAQ Resource here. You can always contact your school’s Instructional Coach for NC ELI support.

Want to familiarize yourself with the newly adopted 2023 Science Standards and related crosswalk documents? Click on the slides below to review specific shifts in the content and learning requirements found in the 2023 Science standards that will be implemented during the 2024-2025 school year. Also take a moment to check out the wonderful resources that have been added and updated in Discovery Education that can help to enhance the learning experiences in your classroom.