Monday, September 23, 2019

Week of September 23rd

UAI Staff News

Volume VII
Issue 6
September 23rd, 2019

Announcements

Climate Change Activism and the Vernal Equinox.  Monday is the first official day of fall (though it will feel more like the last day in June!).  Our students once again impressed us with their activism in championing their right to a healthy planet.  Clearly, we all need it!  Many thanks to everyone who pitched in to help our students participate safely.  Many congrats to our young women!




Final Schedule Changes.  Monday also start the last week of September.  Now that we have DRP and IXL data in for the middle school, I'll be analyzing that data to refine enrichment groups and elective classes this week.  All of those changes will take place by Friday.  For AP Class rosters, students and teachers should continue to use THIS FORM  to submit requests for changes.  All changes will be processed by Friday and students should begin their new programs after Rosh Hashanah.

Curriculum Night.  Thank you to everyone who pulled together to make a wonderful event for our parents on Thursday night.  Our attendance was significantly less than usual.  We need to step up our outreach to make sure families connect to our school.  Mr. Isaiah, our parent coordinator, has been charged with tracking down contact information if you're having problems reaching home.  He will call students down to call home and update information in ATS so Skedula contact info is accurate.  Having working numbers is so essential to building strong family ties.  So, please reach out to him for assistance

To-Do This Week

Monday Professional Development.  This Monday is our first Teacher Consultancy Reflection.  We'll meet back in our groups from last week to reflect on the week's instruction after the last consultancy.  What did we try to in our practice as a result of the consultancy?  How did it go?  Who in your group wants to present at the next consultancy?
  • Consultancy Protocol
    • 3:00-3:05 Announcements
      • Congratulations Rachel! - You've been selected to review the blog this week!
    • 3:05-3:10 Reaffirm Norms
    • 3:10-3:20 - Presenters Reframe Dilemma & Reflect
      • 6th Grade:  
        • Phillan (presenter), Alison (facilitator)
        • Sarah M, Sarah R, Laura, JJR, Marni (group)
      • 7th Grade:  
        • Kristina (presenter), Rebecca C (facilitator)
        • Cherry, Emma, Joanna, Jake, Brenda (group)
      • 8th Grade:  
        • Natalie (presenter), Annie (facilitator)
        • Cassandra, Matthew, Amy, Christina, Pauline
      • 9th Grade:
        • Jamie (presenter), Kiri (facilitator)
        • Nick, Danielle R, Nadine, Damon (group)
      • 9th Grade:
        • Tiffany (presenter), Marsha (facilitator) 
        • Brodie, Val, Doris
      • 10th Grade:  
        • Kelly (presenter), Rebecca F (facilitator) 
        • Elena, Rachel, Nina, Amanda
      • 11th Grade:  
        • Suzannah (presenter), Joey (facilitator)
        • Tom, Judy, Juelle, Danielle I
    • 3:20-3:45 Group Reflects
    • 3:45-4:00 Group Selects Next Presenter & Help Form Dilemma
    • 4:00-4:10 Individual Journal Reflections


Social-Emotional Learning Updates


Per Session Opportunities

No New Postings This Week 

 


Sunday, September 15, 2019

Week of September 16th

UAI Staff News

Volume VII
Issue 5
September 16th, 2019

Announcements

First Full Week.  Congratulations on completing your first full week of school for the 2019-2020 school year.  It can be a shocking transition from summer into the full swing of school, but the silver lining here is that we have three uninterrupted weeks of instruction to establish strong expectations for our learning environments and academic achievement.  Setting this strong foundations early will make for a more successful school year.

Schedule Changes or Problems.  All student schedule requests have been processed.  Please continue to use THIS FORM  if you still see problems that have not been resolved.  This week and next, we will finalize MS elective and small groups as well as AP class rosters.  By 27SEP19, all changes will be complete for the year.

Curriculum Night and Family Outreach.  This Thursday night is our annual curriculum night.  This is a required evening even for all classroom staff.  Please use your Tuesday outreach time to remind families about Thursday, and use your independent work time to prepare your classrooms and bulletin boards as per the school opening checklist.  Here is the agenda for Thursday

  • 5:00PM - 
    • All staff report to Cafeteria to welcome families and join first PTA meeting of the year
  • 5:30PM -
    • All staff report to assigned rooms to prepare presentations
    • Parents remain in cafeteria to meet deans, counselors, admin support, and partners
  • 5:45-8:00PM 
    • 8th Grade Parents will join Ms. Lauren in the library for a HS Application Workshop
    • 12th Grade Parents will join Ms. Doris & Ms. Danielle in Rm 205C for a College Application workshop
    • 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, and 11th Grade Parents will rotate through 4 different sessions
      • Session I:  Math & Science Teachers
      • Session II:  Social Studies and English Teachers
      • Session III:  Breadth Teachers
      • Session IV:  PupilPath Sign Up
    • Teachers will have 30 minutes in each session
      • 10min - Short Do Now or Activity to illustrate the type of learning students engage in at UAI
      • 10min - Review of Course Syllabi
      • 10min - Q & A


To-Do This Week

Monday Professional Development.  This Monday is our first Teacher Consultancy
  • Consultancy Protocol
    • 3:00-3:05 Announcements
      • Congratulations Jake - You've been selected to review the blog this week!
    • 3:05-3:10 Reaffirm Norms
    • 3:10-3:20 - Presenters Present Dilemma
      • 6th Grade:  
        • Phillan (presenter), Alison (facilitator)
        • Sarah M, Sarah R, Laura, JJR, Marni (group)
      • 7th Grade:  
        • Kristina (presenter), Rebecca C (facilitator)
        • Cherry, Emma, Joanna, Jake, Brenda (group)
      • 8th Grade:  
        • Natalie (presenter), Annie (facilitator)
        • Cassandra, Matthew, Amy, Christina, Pauline
      • 9th Grade:
        • Jamie (presenter), Kiri (facilitator)
        • Nick, Danielle R, Nadine, Damon (group)
      • 9th Grade:
        • Tiffany (presenter), Marsha (facilitator) 
        • Brodie, Val, Doris
      • 10th Grade:  
        • Kelly (presenter), Rebecca F (facilitator) 
        • Elena, Rachel, Nina, Amanda
      • 11th Grade:  
        • Suzannah (presenter), Joey (facilitator)
        • Tom, Judy, Juelle, Danielle I
    • 3:20-3:25 Group Asks Clarifying Questions
    • 3:25-3:35 Group Asks Probing Questions
    • 3:35-3:50 Group Discusses Dilemma without Presenter Participation
    • 3:50-3:55 Presenter Reflects
    • 3:55-4:00 Groups Reflects on Process
    • 4:00-4:10 Individual Journal Reflections


Social-Emotional Learning Updates


Per Session Opportunities

Student Recruitment Committee.  If you are interested in helping us recruit more students for the 2020-21 school year, we are looking for you!  Please reach out to Ms. Jen for more information.  We are looking for people to support us in hosting school fairs, district and citywide fairs, UAI open house and other recruitment events and duties.  

 

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Week of September 9th

UAI Staff News

Volume VII
Issue 4
September 9th, 2019

Announcements

School Opening.  Thank you to all who shared their feedback on the survey.   Overwhelmingly, the feedback was positive, particularly with respect to the PD workshops.  There were some common logistical concerns:

  • More Time to Set Up ...   There never is enough time to start the year.  Unfortunately, two staff days is never enough time to get through all that we need to do.  It's one of the reasons we provide per session the week before so teachers can have time for classroom set up.  Last week, teachers spent a collect 217 hours to come in and set up their rooms and those who were able to do so did a great job in creating a warm and welcoming space for our students!  This time has been and will continue to be made available to teachers each year.  It will always be the last Tues, Weds, and Thurs, of August from 8:30-12:30.  
  • More Time with the Staff Handbook...The Handbook was released for your review on September 2nd.  It was designed for you to read on your own, and the review during PD was solely aimed at highlighting specific policies that changed.  If you haven't had a chance to do so yet, please make the time to read through the Staff Handbook (Please CLICK HERE to review the handbook).  This handbook is made for your reference.  It will answer your questions about who is doing what this year and how to contact them (School Table of Organization and Contact Information), it will also explain in detail any School Policies and Expectations that may have gone too quickly for you during PD. If after reading through the handbook, you still have questions or require clarification, please submit your questions HERE.
  • General Supplies... We didn't get a chance to get you general supplies. To be honest, it fell through the crack as we focused on getting you the items that were ordered over the summer! Annie made moves to get folks supplies at the end of last week. If you still need general supplies (like paper, tape, etc.), please submit a request HERE and we'll get those supplies to you by the end of the day on Monday!


Initial Planning Conferences.  Annie, Val, and I will be completing all Initial Planning Conferences this week.  Read through the School Table of Organization and Contact Information to see who your evaluator is and email Annie or Val if you haven't been scheduled for your IPC by the end of the day on Monday. 

Schedule Changes or Problems.  Despite the many efforts, inevitably small mistakes with the schedule happen.  There are a million minute moving pieces in a schedule, and that's before you even include the kids!  So mistakes will happen.  They don't always become evident until we've moved through the schedule.  Thank you to everyone who has brought the errors to my attention.  Running through the schedule is an important step to making final corrections.  Please continue to use THIS FORM  to ask for student change requests AND to notify me of problems within the schedule. 


To-Do This Week

Monday Professional Development.  The PD Committee met on Friday to begin planning for the year.  The committee currently consists of Marsha, Rebecca C, Rebecca F, Rachel, Joey, and Jamie.  It is open to everyone.  Please let Kiri know if you want to join.  Currently, we meet in 401, but if more want to join, we will relocate to a larger space.  Here is the plan for the year

  • First Mondays.  Grade Teams will meet the first Monday of each month to review Attendance Team agendas and begin preparing Present Levels of Performance for the IEP reviews that are coming up for the month.
    • Grade Team Agendas for 07OCT, 04NOV, 02DEC, 06JAN, 02FEB, and 03MAR
      • 3:00-3:05 Announcements
      • 3:05-3:30 PLOP Writing
      • 3:30-4:10 Grade Team Attendance Meeting
  • Teacher-Led Consultancies.  For the 2nd and 3rd Mondays we will be working collaboratively to support colleagues on pushing each other to work to eradicate the "soft bigotry of low expectations" and collaboratively problem-solve to help one another provide equitable access to rigorous tasks within each of our classrooms.  For this first round, we will be working in Grade Teams to deepen working relationships and strengthen connections and trust.  We are looking for teachers to sign up and volunteer to present for one of these Mondays.  Once you sign up, someone from the PD committee will meet with you one-on-one to prepare you.  CLICK HERE to sign up.
    • Consultancy Protocols for 16SEP19, 23SEP19, 21OCT, 28OCT
        • 3:00-3:05 Announcements
        • 3:05-3:20 Presenters Present Dilemma
        • 3:20-3:25 Group Asks Clarifying Questions
        • 3:25-3:35 Group Asks Probing Questions
        • 3:35-3:50 Group Discusses Dilemma without Presenter Participation
        • 3:50-3:55 Presenter Reflects
        • 3:55-4:00 Groups Reflects on Process
        • 4:00-4:10 Individual Journal Reflection
  • Last Mondays.  We will use the last Mondays to continue to plan and take the opportunity to recharge through wellness and self-care activities.  


School Opening Checklist.  Many of you were able to complete the checklist.  Use your prep time and independent work time after parent outreach to complete the checklist, including uploading your Pacing Guides and Courses Syllabi (please reference the checklist for directions and the links). 

Teacher Observations.  We will begin the first round of teacher observations this week.  As you know the number evaluations are minimum requirements.  At UAI, you can expect to have more than your minimum number required.   For this first round, we are following through on the thread that Kelly, Suzannah, and Nadine helped illustrate in our Workshop on Planning for Thinking last week.  Please refer to THIS DOCUMENT for our own observation look-fors.  We will be evaluating planning and preparation in Domain 1, so please have your lessons linked in your pacing guides by the end of Tuesday.   If lessons are not linked in pacing guides, please have lessons and units pre-printed and ready for collection upon evaluator entry into classrooms.

Social-Emotional Learning Updates


Per Session Opportunities

After School Clubs and Activities.  If you are interested in working after school, we have hours available to pay per session to teachers to run clubs and activities.  All clubs and activities must sustain a minimum of 10 students in each session.  If sessions routinely have less than 10 students, they will be canceled.  Teachers are responsible for recruitment and will report to Ms. Vanessa or Ms. Kim of Girls Inc, our after school partner that coordinates all after school activities.  All after school teachers are required to participate in all Girls Inc mandatory activities like Winterfest and Springfest.  If you are interested, please submit your idea (just a paragraph description is fine) and the number of hours/days you are willing to work each week with students to Jen at jenc@uainstitute.org.  We will send out final approvals with total hours in next weeks' blog post.

 

Monday, September 2, 2019

Week of September 1st

UAI Staff News

Volume VII
Issue 3
September 1st, 2019

Announcements

School is Starting!  We all have a wide spectrum of feelings as the start of September approaches.  For me, one of the things I love most about my job is that each year I have the opportunity to take the best of the year before, learn from the worst and start anew a little bit wiser and with a lot of hope and excitement for a positively wonderful year.

You'll learn more about this on Tuesday, but for the last four school years, these lovingly learned lessons and painstakingly achieved achievements has put our school on a constant upward swing in almost all categories!  This is an exciting time to work at our school and a wonderful time to be part of the staff who are bringing increasingly excellent learning experiences to our students and families.

Some quick logistics:  Students report on Thursday 05SEP19.  Breakfast for students begins at 8:00AM. We will have an adjusted schedule for the first few days of school which will review with you in PD this week.  Teachers report on Tuesday 03SEP19 to prepare for the new year!  Tuesday and Wednesday are professional development days (PD days).  The day length for pedagogues is 6 hours and 50min on PD days.  For all PD days this year, teacher hours are 8:30-3:20PM. 


Well Done AP for All.  The AP for All Boot Camp was a huge success.  Both students and teachers were excited for the year and we are thrilled to be providing our students the support they need to excel in advanced-level course work.

Schedule Changes.  The schedule has been uploaded and you should be able to check your rosters in Skedula.  If you do not have access to Skedula, please email Phil (philb@uainstitute.org) to set up access.  If students reach out to you regarding their schedule, please help us help them first.

  • Accelerated Student.  Students who were accelerated (e.g. they took Earth Science instead of Living Env last year or they took Geometry instead of Algebra) will take a second year of the course if they DID NOT pass the regent.  If students were not accelerated, they can move on to the next math or science course without the regent exam.  The next course will be their next chance to pass a math/science regent (they only need one to graduate).
  • "I want this teacher not that one". Students who want to change teachers (e.g. same course, but different teacher) will not be allowed to do so.  We do not change teachers.
  • "I didn't sign up for this AP.  I don't think I can do it" Students enrolled in AP Classes are going to remain in their currently assigned AP courses for the first few weeks of September.  Many students have never experienced the AP level work and have limited experience on which to make valid decisions.  The goal is to give them a taste of the course and the experience before making a judgment.  We are aiming to encourage and push our students to push themselves.  After the trial period, students who still want to switch their AP courses at the end of September will be allowed to do so.
  • "I want to be in an AP class" Students who did not get into any AP course need to complete the program change request form.  Where there is space, we will find them a seat!
  • "I don't want to be in class with xyzOn a case-by-case basis we will change the programs of students who have pre-existing issues.  Typically, we have already put in the work (mediations with students, mediations with students and parents, etc.)  Sometimes, theses mediations do not have the desired outcomes and we will separate the girls.  Annie & Jen are tasked with making these final decisions.  Please send students to them and they will make the final call.
  • Use the Schedule Request Form.  I cannot track email requests.  I get about 500 emails a day.  Emailed schedule requests will be lost in the haystack.  So, THIS FORM helps me keep track and follow up on the change requests.  Please enter and/or direct students to enter all change requests into it.

To-Do This Week

Staff Handbook Review.  The UAI Staff Handbook is updated for the 2019-2020 school year.  Please CLICK HERE to review the handbook, and when you are finished, please CLICK HERE to sign off.  You must review and sign off on this handbook prior to your initial planning conference.  Please check your emails for the calendar requests for you initial conferences.

Staff Professional Development.  We will launch the year with two days of Professional Development.  Here are the agendas
  • Tuesday 03SEP19 Agenda - PD Day (Staff Hours 8:30-3:20) 

    • 8:00AM - Breakfast (Optional)
    • 8:30AM - Welcome & Connections and IceBreaker Activity
    • 9:00AM - The Why of UAI
    • 9:45AM - Workshop I:  Understanding Implicit Bias & Our Charge in Disrupting Systems of Inequity 
    • 11:30AM - Lunch (on your own)
    • 12:30PM - Workshop II:  Planning for Student Thinking & Intellectual Engagement
    • 1:30PM - School Opening Checklist & Initial Planning Conferences
      • IPC Schedule - Your individual IPC appointment will be sent to you via google calendar invite so check your email!


  • Wednesday 04SEP19 Agenda (Staff Hours 8:30-3:20)
    • 8:00AM - Breakfast (Optional)
    • 8:30AM - Welcome & Connections and IceBreaker Activity
    • 9:00AM - Staff Handbook & School Policies Update
    • 9:30AM - Workshop III:  Professional Goal Setting
    • 10:30AM - Workshop IV:  Grade Team Meetings
    • 11:30AM - Lunch (on your own)
    • 12:30PM - First Day(s) Logistics Review
    • 1:00PM - School Opening Checklist & Initial Planning Conferences
      • IPC Schedule - Your individual IPC appointment will be sent to you via google calendar invite so check your email!

School Opening Checklist.  On Thursday 05SEP19, we welcome our students to another school year.  Please makes sure to complete all the items on this checklist (which is the same stuff that I listed in last week's blog) to be ready for the first day of school!