Week of September 22nd

UAI High School Staff News

Volume II

Issue 7

Week of September 22nd, 2014

Announcements

A Wonderful Curriculum Night.  Last Wednesday night was a big success from all reports.  Every grade team reported in positive reviews and the parents felt excited and well-informed about the year to come.  Our Skedula sign up was probably the nadir of the evening, so please do reach out to your advisees to make sure that they have a means of logging on to track student progress and attendance.  If they do not have internet access at home, please make sure that you work with Carol and the student to regularly communicate with the home (e.g. a phone call every few weeks to review grades and attendance) to make sure those folks can also stay informed.

Attendance Calls Home.  As a reminder, all advisors need to call home on the same day when their advisees fail to make it to advisory.  Since Skedula is new, I set this expectation with the plan of giving everyone a few weeks to acclimate to the new systems. We are now in our 3rd week of school and thus, our 3rd week with Skedula.  From a cursory look through the database, it looks like most people have figured out how to take attendance.  However, we it doesn't look very consistent on the calls home.  Even if you have a wrong number or no contact, please indicate these types of efforts in the Skedula Anecdotal logs so that we can track UAI's effort to reach out to homes.  I will be checking this week and next.  Carol will also be looking to see who has been called for absent students.

Per Session Policy.  As your UFT chair, Ms. Pamela met with me on behalf of teachers who did not submit their per session time sheets on time. Despite multiple reminders from both Pamela and myself, people still managed to miss the deadline.  Pamela requested that I make an exception.  I explained that this is the second exception I will have made for this year (having already accepted late sheets from the August PD hours).  So, we agreed on the following plan.  I will agree to accept late per session sheets for the September 1-15th pay period.  These are due to Del no later than 8:20AM on Tuesday 23SEP14.  Moving forward, if teachers are late 2 or more times with their per session sheets, I will disqualify them from all per session activities for the remainder of the school year.  

I get that people are busy.  Things happen.  I totally understand from both a professional and personal experience.  There are a million different things that clamor for our attention, always.  However, this thing takes 5 minutes.  Much like completing the attendance bubble sheets, if you choose to make it a priority, it will be finished quickly and have large positive outcomes.  If you choose not to prioritize it, the negatives are quite significant.  Just do your paperwork on time.   Here's an easy fix.  Click on the picture above.  You can PRE-populate the sheet.  Fill out the biographicals at the top.  Make 20 copies.  You can even enter the hours and dates for all the pay periods (check the Google Calendar).  Then, the only thing you'll have to do every two weeks is turn it in.  Provided your time cards match (and you punch in and out each time), you'll be paid!  

1st Benchmark Exams.  The first benchmark exams start this week.  They are Tuesday and Wednesday.  You've had access to the schedule since the start of the year (click on the 2nd tab to see the benchmark program).  All academic teachers must give the associated Regents benchmark in their class.  Copies of Regents exams will be left in your mailboxes on Monday morning.  You'll get 34 copies to hold onto for the course of the year.  Teachers will have to make their own answer sheets.

Important Dates

• Monday 22SEP14, Grade Teams and PD Pods.  All Pods meet in room 409 from 2:50-3:30PM and meet in Grade teams in own rooms from 3:30-4:10PM
• Tuesday, 23SEP14 and Wednesday 24SEP14.  High School Benchmark Exams.  Students Dismiss at 1:30.  Mandatory Staff meeting from 2PM -2:30 PM in room 409 to learn how to evacuate and lock down the building in preparation for upcoming safety drills.
• Tuesday, 23SEP14 at 1:30PM. Girls Inc After School Fair in the Gym.  Please promote with your students and advisees!  They need more productive things to do after school in place of hanging out near Shake Shack or Tillary Park.  Help them make the right choices!
• Thursday, 25SEP14 and Friday 26SEP14.  Rosh Hashanah. NO SCHOOL

Per Session Postings

Before and After School Disiplinary Support.  This position is for a high school dean to supervise breakfast and hold after school detentions.  1 hour per day for all school days.

-----------Filled positions------------------

After School Clubs.  Clubs submitted and approved: Doris - Cultural Diaspora; Ilyana - Book Club; Sarah - ASL.  It's very possible that your proposal got lost in my inbox.  If I missed you, I'm still approving! So please submit.  The hard deadline is the After school fair tomorrow at 1:30.

Before and After School Director of Student Social-Emotional Learning.  This position has been filled by Jen.


------------------------------------------------

Dashiel & Harvey wish all of UAI a Happy First Day of Fall