Sunday, March 26, 2017

Week of March 27th

UAI Staff News

Volume IV
Issue 27
Week of March 27th, 2017

This Week's Memories

Student Led Conferences are Almost done! By the end of the day on Friday, 50% of our students' families joined us for SLCs.  We will be using PD time on Monday (3-4:20PM) and this week's parent outreach will be used on Tuesday (3:00-4:15PM - so for this week, the 8min of calls will be folded into Tuesday) to complete SLCs.  All SLCs are scheduled with parents for 3PM.  The main office will work to make sure they filter traffic to you so that you are not doubled up for parent conferences.  Teachers who have completed SLCs and/or have none scheduled can use Monday and Tuesday time for independent work.  Click here and see the tab "SLCs for Mon & Tue" to see your schedule.


To Do's for this Week

[Week of 27MAR17] Re-establishing Ready To Learn.  Starting on Monday, deans will be visiting classrooms to remind students of school rules and expectations around headgear and electronics. Deans will be at the doors and at entry to help students prepare.  However, inevitably, students do slip by, particularly when hundreds of them are entering at the same time in the morning!  We need teachers to uphold school rules in classrooms.  Students must remove headgear and electronics must be turned off and put away.  Deans will be visiting classrooms this week to announce ready to learn guidelines and to assist teachers in developing strategies for helping students to follow school rules. Please do reach out for help if you need it.  Ignoring students who are breaking the rules can lead to bigger problems for everyone.  If we work together to conquer the small tasks, we can proactively avoid big problems.

[MP5 and Failing Students].  Conferences & Action Plans.  For all students who are failing your class and/or who have less than 90% attendance to your class, you will need to make a plan, with check-in points,  for her to turn failure around and end the year on a positive note.  Please schedule conferences with students and work with the students to establish clear, measurable goals that include specific dates for follow-up.  Here are some example student goals, 

  • By April 7th, I will be on time to class at least 90% of the time (i.e. not late or absent more than once). 
  • For next 10 days of class, I will complete at least 9 out of 10 classwork assignments in class.
  • For the next summative assessment, I will score at least a 65%
In addition to the goal, you will need to create an action plan.  First, understand what is getting in the way of the student achieving her goal.  Is it social, is it organization?  What is the plan to address the hurdle (moving seat, setting up reminders in their phone)?  And how will she monitor progress (daily trackers, weekly trackers, peer or parent check ins)...

We don't teach students lessons through failure.  Rather, we help students learn how to be successful by overcoming failure.  This marking period is the last real marking period that students can explore and learn to master this lesson.  To help them do this, frequent check-ups with the student and her home will be necessary.  Please log calls and outcomes into Skedula as these will also serve as your record of intervention (AIS) for failing students.  Without Skedula documentation, there is no evidence of your intervention work.  So please make sure to follow through on this very important step!




SEL Updates

No updates this week!


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Per Session Posting

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Sunday, March 19, 2017

Week of March 20th

UAI Staff News

Volume IV
Issue 26
Week of March 20th, 2017

This Week's Memories

 Successful Progressive Dinner! Over 100 families joined us for our first annual Progressive Dinner. Many thanks to all of the staff who helped execute this fantastic event (Carol, Nancy, Del, Sursattie, Natalie, Elena, Lauren, Jennifer JR, Jamie, Matthew, Cherry, Kerry, Phillan, Alison, Damon, & Jen). Parents, students, and staff all said this was a really fun and exciting event!  We look forward to making it a staple of UAI community events in the years to come!



To Do's for this Week

[MONDAY, 20MAR17] Full Staff PD - Lesson Rehearsals & Student-Student Discourse.  On Monday, you will be reviewing the video that you shot of your partner's collaborative reasoning (CR). Please make sure your CR video and plans are uploaded to THIS FOLDER.  The following staff will be using PD time to prepare for the progressive dinner:  Alison & Damon, Jamie, Matthew & Cherry, Lauren & Jennifer, Sursattie, Natalie, Phillan, and Elena.  If you usual partner is planning for the dinner, please continue to work on your CR plans for this week, independently.

[THURSDAY, 23MAR17 & FRIDAY 24MAR17].  Student Led Conferences. Carol, Del, and Nancy have been scheduling SLC appointments.  They will continue to do so this week.  You can review your schedule - CLICK HERE.  As a reminder, please prepare students to discuss the following:
  • Course Progress (current grades, biggest achievements, greatest area of growth)
  • Attendance (click to see Heat Map and pull up-to-date data on your advisees)
  • Assessment Readiness (what is the student doing at home and in school to prepare for state assessments)
  • Progress towards Graduation (For students in grades 10-12, you'll want to review transcripts and progress towards graduation. Here are the graduation requirements and individual student progress)
Upon arrival, parents will be directed to a common area to receive handouts (e.g. information about high school or college application process, summer school opportunities).  They will also receive their survey to complete prior to attending your SLC.  



SEL Updates


This week all the SEL students had a valuable lesson on looking at things from another person's perspective (which lead to a review of empathy) and how to do that. It reinforced the skills of active listening (our old friend "EARS" - Eye contact, Ask and ask open-ended questions, Reflect their feelings, and Say it in your own words) as a way to gain perspective (which does NOT include giving advice or telling your own story). Through activities, they were able to reflect on what is needed in perspective taking, why its hard and how to push ourselves to "stand in someone else's shoes". 
Additionally, the 9th graders also received an important lesson from the FLSE-Carrera staff on contraception. While, the 6th graders were able to dive deeper into what empathy is and how to express it. 



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Per Session Posting

No New Posts for this week

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Week of March 13th

UAI Staff News

Volume IV
Issue 25
Week of March 13th, 2017

This Week's Memories

Lady Eagles Show Grit! In a riveting quarterfinal game at John Jay High School, the Lady Eagles played their hearts out.  They may have lost the game, but they won incredible experience and growth points! Many shout outs go to Coach Elana and Asst. Coach Damon for bringing our young women through another playoff season.  Many of our players are in 9th & 10th grades this year, so we look forward to yet another amazing year next year!  Go Eagles!


It's a long march to spring break (get it...March...har, har, har).  In the past few weeks, there has been a bit of an uptick in the number of requests staff have been making to have consecutive days off. I know it's hard to control when family schedule life events.  Whenever possible, please minimize the number of days you are requesting, and please remember to receive approval for days off before making your plans concrete.
I know you understand that school staff play a pivotal role in the lives of our students. When you are not here, you are missed by colleagues and students alike.  We all have to pick it up a little to fill the void.  As a result, our school is less effective and efficient whenever you are gone.  We do not get that many days with you each year. Only 180 of the 365 days in a year are school days.  That's less than half the year!  This is exactly why each day requested is so dear and valuable!  

I will be meeting with Val next week to review staff requests for days off. We only have 54 instructional days left before June Regents and MS Field Trip Season begins!  Let's try finish the year strong!





To Do's for this Week

[MONDAY, 13MAR17] Full Staff PD - Lesson Rehearsals & Student-Student Discourse.  On Monday, you will be reviewing the video that you shot of your partner's collaborative reasoning (CR). Please make sure your CR video and plans are uploaded to THIS FOLDER.  The following staff will be using PD time to prepare for the progressive dinner:  Alison & Damon, Jamie, Matthew & Cherry, Lauren & Jennifer, Sursattie, Natalie, Phillan, and Elena.  If you usual partner is planning for the dinner, please continue to work on your CR plans for this week, independently.

[MONDAY, 13MAR17] Progressive Dinner.  Thank you to all of you called parents to invite them to the progressive dinner. We have nearly 100 parents coming!  Staff are welcome to join.  Staff that are planning should meet in the conference room during PD on Monday to finalize plans.

[THURSDAY, 23MAR17 & FRIDAY 24MAR17].  Student Led Conferences. SLCs are just around the corner.  We're changing up the SLC structures a little bit in an effort to increase parent attendance in preparation for completion of our annual accountability survey.  The lovely ladies in the main office will be scheduling all SLCs for teachers.  SLCs will be from 5-8PM on Thursday and from 11:50-2:50 on Friday.  You can expect to receive your schedules next week.  Teachers should prepare students to discuss.  Advisors will still need to print student report cards for advisees. 10th-12th grade Advisors will also receive transcripts 
  • Course Progress (current grades, biggest achievements, greatest area of growth)
  • Attendance (click to see Heat Map and pull up-to-date data on your advisees)
  • Assessment Readiness (what is the student doing at home and in school to prepare for state assessments)
  • Progress towards Graduation (For students in grades 10-12, you'll want to review transcripts and progress towards graduation. Here are the graduation requirements and individual student progress)
Upon arrival, parents will be directed to a common area to receive handouts (e.g. information about high school or college application process, summer school opportunities).  They will also receive their survey to complete prior to attending your SLC.  



SEL Updates

Just in time for SLCs, students in grades 6, 9, and 10 last week discussed how goal setting and friendships can influence their paths as adolescents. Students learned how to set SMART goals for fictional characters in anticipation of being able to set SMART goals for themselves in their classes. Students also explored what types of friends are best for them, and what skills they need to better develop in order to build and maintain high quality relationships.  

This week, students in all 3 grades will be delving deeper into empathy. Students will practice taking one another's perspective and will explore situations where they might or might not have empathy for what someone else may be going through. Students will also review how to listen actively using the EARS strategy (Eye contact, Ask & answer questions, Reflect feelings, and Say it in your own words), demonstrating empathy as they do so.




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Per Session Posting

No New Posts for this week

Sunday, March 5, 2017

Week of March 6th

UAI Staff News

Volume IV
Issue 24
Week of March 6th, 2017

This Week's Memories

College Acceptances are beginning to flow in!  Dreams are becoming real! Janiah Williams (Class of 2017) was recently accepted into SUNY Stonybrook via their educational opportunity program.  This means that she will be fully funded for college at one the state's premier universities.   Many seniors like Janiah are rapidly receiving their acceptances.  Take some time to check in with them this week to see what great news they have to share, and/or check out the rapidly forming college wall outside the college office! 

Finally, it is pride, love, and a heavy heart that I announce that Mara, the architect of our college office and the person responsible for the successful matches of so many of our alumna, is leaving UAI for an amazing job opportunity. Beginning April 1st, she will be the senior development officer for the I Have a Dream Foundation.  It is an undeniable opportunity for her and her family. Please join me in giving her a huge congratulations for a much earned title.  Also, please join in giving her big hugs and many, many thanks for her hard work.  Ms. Mara will always be a part of our UAI family.  We will always appreciate her work and look forward to having her return often for visits and advice!  Also - save the date for a Mara celebration on Friday, March 31st.

I am excited to announce that Ms. Martine will be spending March learning from Mara (with the support of Cassie from Urban Assembly) to take over the leadership of our college office.  Ms. Doris, and Ms. Jennifer will also be working with Ms. Martine to support the continued excellence and growth in a department that has been a jewel in the UAI crown for so many years.  Please join me in welcoming in the new team, and shower them with encouragement and excitement for this new role in their careers at UAI.





To Do's for this Week

[MONDAY, 06MAR17] Full Staff PD - Lesson Rehearsals & Student-Student Discourse. We will continue to use our Monday PD time to focus on lesson planning.  Please continue to use THIS FOLDER by PD time on Mondays so that your peers have access to what you've planned.  This week's focus will be on planning for student-to-student discourse.  Please bring your texts & plans for Collaborative Reasoning Groups.  If you are planning other formats this week for student-to-student discourse (e.g. turn and talks, think pair shares, etc.) please be prepared to discuss and plan for these with your partner.

[MONDAY, 06MAR17] Lady Eagles are in the Quarter Finals!  After a decisive victory (59-43) over #13 seeded Julia Richman, our Lady Eagles are on fire and ready to take on #5 seeded John Jay. Staff are encouraged to head to Park Slope after PD on Monday for the 5PM game.  As the #29 seed in the playoffs, our amazing young woman are overcoming great odds to shine!  Let's show our support by being there to cheer them on!

[MARCH 2017] Attendance Calls and Skedula Attendance.  As a reminder, attendance is a professional responsibility for classroom teachers.  You must take accurate class attendance within the first 10 minutes of class (e.g. right after the lesson, during transition to work time).  You must also complete your phone calls home (to those advisees who do not make it to 2nd period on time) by the end of the day (you have 8 min scheduled to the end of your day to complete this).  Make this a priority because it has real impact for your students' achievement.  I've created a google calendar reminder to help you remember Advisory calls, and Val has met with each of you.  Follow through on this responsibility and help our students excel!! Make contact with home and accurately document in Skedula!  

SEL Updates

This past week, the 6th grade reviewed strategies for coping with strong emotions and began discussing identity development. Students described challenges they will face in adolescence and how having a strong sense of self can help them navigate these challenges. Students explored parts of their identity with their classmates, sharing out some of their talents and skills, and sharing objects from home that had personal meaning to them. 

The HS SEL classes explored Envisioning your future and Planning for College. They explored what is needed to get into college and the important steps they should take each school year.  S. They also learned about the 5 Phases of Achievement (Dream, Wish, Goal, Mission and Expectation).

SEL classes for 6th, 9th, and 10th graders next week will begin addressing some of the needs that arose out of the DESSA survey. As goal-directed behavior was an area for growth across grades, classes will remind students how to set SMART goals to reach academic and behavioral success. Students in all 3 grades will also begin the unit on Building Relationships and Mediating Conflicts, starting with the importance of developing positive relationships. Students will also dive deeper into skills they need to develop to overcome obstacles in relationships.





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Per Session Posting

Progressive Dinner on 13MAR17.  I am looking for teachers to plan with Ms. Carol and Mr. McLean for a progressive dinner next Monday.  Specifically, we're looking for at least 1 teacher from each discipline to run a short 10min collaborative reasoning group (or other brief format) and give an overview of the discipline at UAI.  Please see Ms. Carol for details.  The first meeting of the committee will be on Monday in Carol's office from 3-4:20PM.