Week of December 16th

UAI Staff News

Volume VII

Issue 18

December 16th, 2019

Announcements

Last Blog Post of 2019.  It is hard to believe that another entire year has gone by, but we are at the final blog post of 2019!!  I know this time of year can be hard for both students and staff alike.  We are tired from running at full tilt since September.  Our students have building anxiety as the end of the semester and the holidays approach.  It can be rough - particularly if we only focus on what's hard.       BUT      If we take a minute to look ahead, we make the time to see our horizon.  We are 5 school days away from 12 uninterrupted days of vacation.  These are 12 days in which we can relax, spend time recharging, hang with family and friends, and celebrate the end of the year.  In the midst of this celebration and rest, I know that many of you will also use this time to get a jump on the spring term, which will in turn, become an investment in an easier spring term.

Let's end this last week strong for our students and our school.  Look ahead to next week's rest and dig deep to plan and deliver the last five lessons of 2019!!  I look forward to seeing your best and brightest work as we visit classrooms this week!!

Superintendent's Visit.  I wanted to make a point to reiterate that this latest visit from our Superintendent was one of the best ones we've had to date!  Throughout classrooms and subject areas, she saw students engaging in rigorous tasks, asking questions, forming ideas, and discussing them with their peers to construct new understandings and skills.  She also saw a team of committed professionals who are working tirelessly to bring the best quality learning experiences to our students.  A special shout out goes to Annie & Jen who skillfully told the story of their teams' work around social emotional learning, college planning, student activities, parent engagement, discipline, attendance and instruction to provide Debbie with a complete picture of the work we do as a school community each and every day.  I'll be sharing in more explicit detail at our next full day PD in January, but for now, take a look at the statistics on our school I shared with Debbie.  We have had four years of sustained growth in all major metrics.  We are on track to have a 5th year of the same!  On both qualitative and quantitative metrics, we are well on the path to continuing our growth & achievement.

Staff Holiday Party.  Many thanks for all of you who were able to join in our annual staff winter celebration!  It was yet another fun times had by all!! For those who could not come, you were certainly missed!

Thursday's Craft & Carol-oke.  This Thursday, our Girls Inc and the UAI PTA is hosting their annual craft fair with karaoke caroling.  Please join us in the celebration.  There will be crafts, snacks, singing and fun!  Come close out 2019 with UAI at this wonderful celebration with staff, family, students, and friends!

To-Do This Week

Blog Review.  Congratulations Kelly (since you missed last week's fun)!  You get to review the BLOG today!

Monday Professional Development.  This Monday, we're going to launch the first of a 3-part series aimed at supporting teachers in planning and executing high quality turn and talks in their classes.  For this series, teachers will be working in subject teams (see groups below).  The first of the three parts will use the protocol of teacher consultancies to help the presenting teacher plan for the turn ad talk.  When we return after the break, the subject team will help the teacher rehearse the lesson, paying particular attention to teacher moves and execution.  The final part on January 13th, will be a review and reflection of the lesson.  Teachers will have the opportunity to either visit or watch a video recording of the planned turn and talk before hand.

Teacher Core Subject Teams -Note:  For this round of subject teams, we're going to focus on core subject turn and talks and integrate breadth & elective subjects into the core teams.  This is strictly for planning and preparation logistics in running these consultancies

• (8) MS ELA - Sarah M (Presenting), Marsha (Facilitating), 
• Phillan, Kristina, Christina, Cassandra, Laura, Pauline
• (8) HS ELA - Joey (Presenting) Rebecca C (Facilitating) 
• Tiffany, Rebecca F, Damon, Elana, Jessica, Juelle
• (9) MATH - Jamie (Presenting), Kiri (Facilitating) 
• Alison, Cherry, Matthew, Danielle Ro, Joanna, Nina, Judy
• (9) SCIENCE - Amanda (Presenting), Rachel (Facilitating)  
• Sarah R, Amy, Emma, Nick, Tom, Elena, Jelissa
• (9) SOCIAL STUDIES - Brodie (Presenting); Annie (Facilitating)
• Jake, Natalie, Kelly, Suzannah, Nadine, Giselle, Brenda

Monday Agenda

• 3:00-3:05 - Blog Announcements
• 3:05-3:10 - Setting Out Intention - Why the focus on Turn and Talks?
• 3:10-3:20 - Taking Stock - How and when do you use Turn and Talks in your Class?
• 3:20-4:05 - Teacher Consultancies
• 3:20-3:30 - Presenting Teacher Presents Lesson & Ideas for Turn & Talk
• 3:30-3:40 - Clarifying & Probing Questions
• 3:40-4:00 - Team Discussion & Planning
• 4:00-4:05 - Presenting Teacher Reflection & Commitments to Next Steps
• 4:05-4:10 - Staff Journal & Reflection

Tuesday Family Outreach.  Please share with all families that we are hosting our Annual Parent Craft, Snack, & Karaoke night on Thursday, December 19th.


<<REMINDER>> Gradebook Audits.  Because MP 3 is credit bearing if students pass, we need to make sure all gradebooks follow school grading policy, which is submitted to the NYCDOE and Superintendency each year.  We will be randomly checking grade books throughout this month and January to ensure all gradebooks are in alignment.  As a reminder,

• Grades are cumulative - Grades are a reflection of work students have been doing since September.
• The Lowest grade for anything is a 50.  So, in other words, we do not use zeros or any grade less than 50.
• The Only failing grade on report cards is 55.  If a student's overall average is between 55 and 65, teachers must choose to give the student a 55 OR a 65.  

Social-Emotional Learning Updates

No Updates This Week

Per Session Opportunities

Holiday Craft Party.  If you are interested in working the Annual PTA Craft and Karaoke party on December 19th, please let Jen know ASAP.  We are looking for folks to run craft tables (whatever you'd like!) or any other artistic/holiday related activity.  Please see Jen for details.