Week of March 30th

UAI High School Staff News

Volume II

Issue 31

Week of March 30th, 2015

Announcements

The Last 40 Days of Classes.  This week has two instructional days, two exam days, and the first day of a nice long break.  When we return from the break, there will only be 40 instructional days remaining.  It's hard to believe that we have so few days left! As you look towards planning these last few days, if your class terminates in a Regent exam, begin planning on how to use Responsibility Teams and Briefs to begin the preparation for these exams.  Be creative with the genre of your briefs.  They could be anything - Powerpoints, Cornell Notes, Infographics, Study Guides, Review Sheets, creating their own practice questions, political cartoons, maps - get them to stretch their imaginations!  Essentially, the teams will be synthesizing review information to present back to their peers.  Ultimately, they will be operating like study groups do in preparation for summative assessments in college.  For them, their big test will be the regent exam!  As a reminder, you will have to teach into the idea that kids must be making time at home to study, take practice tests, and make their briefs.  In-class time should be maximized for collaboration with their teams.  Darby, Brodie, and Paula's Pod is currently working on Briefs and Teams.  On Monday, we are having POD check-ins and looking at student artifacts of learning.  Take a peek for some ideas that these three may have discovered in their study thus far!

Benchmark 4 is on Wednesday & Thursday.  Please review the Benchmark Schedule to refresh your memory.   In addition, you will be entering your Benchmark Results by CLICKING HERE. We will be using this particular benchmark to plan for June and August Regents.  If your class terminates in Regent exam, you must use a Regents-based exam for this benchmark (except for the Geo Common Core).  Most of you have already been doing this, but for those creative types out there, I wanted to make sure that I was clear on expectations for this benchmark. All scores should be entered by the end of the day on Friday, April 17th. But try to get as much done before you leave for the break as you can!

PROSE is a Nope.  We received word from the PROSE people that our application was rejected.  Only about half of the UA schools were accepted.  We didn't receive any official reasons or critiques about our application, but I will reach out to Pamela (UFT) and Shannon (UA) to see if we can get any more details.  Once we have some more information, we can talk about whether or not we want to pursue Prose further.  For next year, there is no real negative impact on our school, and if we want, we can still choose to SBO some of the proposals that were in our prose application.  As a reminder, the three Prose variants were (1) Calendar flexibility to schedule student release days for increasing teacher participation in the UA's practice of Instructional Rounds, (2) Hiring Restriction Relief in being able to hire on Community Assistant lines for college and partnership coordinators, and (3) MOSL Variation in allowing us to use the DRP as a MOSL option for teacher evaluation.  I think the only SBO-able piece is the calendar flexibility, but I will continue to check with Shannon/Pamela/Damon to find out more.

SLCs Wrap Up.  Over 100 families came up to school for the high school SLCs!!   My sense is that number is even bigger.  Please update THIS APPOINTMENT so that I have accurate data to report back to the city.  Also, please turn in your sign in sheets to Ms. Carol by the end of the day on Monday.  She's going to work with Nancy and Allan to update contact information in google and in ATS (and thus Skedula).

Important Dates

• Wednesday, 01APR15 and Thursday 02APR15 - Benchmark IV Exams
• Friday, 03APR15 through Friday 10APR15 - Spring Break
• Monday 13APR15 - First day be from spring break
• Friday, 17APR15 - Benchmark IV Results are due
• Friday, 24APR15 - April Assembly during 8th Period - Details TBD
• Monday, 27APR15 through Friday 01MAY15 - Last week of 5th Marking Period - Please DO NOT SCHEDULE any field trips for this week.

• Monday, 04MAY15 - MP6, the last marking period of the year, begins.
• Wednesday, 06MAY15 - MP5 Grades are Due
• Friday 15MAY15 - Annual High School Honor Roll Breakfast at 9AM
• Wednesday 20MAY15 - Senior Awards Night
• Monday, 25MAY15 - Memorial Day, NO SCHOOL
• Thursday, 28MAY15 - Springfest, our 2nd Parent Outreach night (the 2nd of 2 that were added with the new UFT contract)

• Tuesday, 02JUN15 - Common Core Regents - NO CLASSES
• Thursday, 04JUN15 - Brooklyn Queens Day at UAI - Just UAI HS at UAI HS
• Thursday 11JUN15 and Friday 12JUN15 - Final Benchmark Exams
• Friday, 12JUN15 - End of the 6th Marking Period
• Monday, 15JUN15 - High School Field Day (Details TBD)
• Tuesday, 16JUN15 - Regents Week Begins
• Wednesday, 17JUN15 - Final Grades are Due
• Wednesday, 24JUN15 - Plato Training
• Thursday, 25JUN15 - High School Graduation at Kumbel Theater
• Friday, 26JUN15 - Last Day of School

Per Session

Hiring Committee.  We've started looking ahead to next year for hiring.  I've asked Martine to chair our hiring committee.  I'm trying to scrounge up some funds to pay people, but at present the committee is volunteer.  Funding for hours is reliant on how much money I end up spending on subs and coverages.  If I have left over, then I will be able to pay for some of these hours.  Paid or not, the committee is open to all.  If you are interested in joining, please reach out directly to Martine.  We are currently looking for an Earth Science teacher (Sarah is moving to the middle school next year) and maybe (depending on a few staffing/funding moves) a special ed teacher (Martine is moving into the Dean's position next year).  

Session II After School for STEM electives.  If you have an idea for a STEM elective that you would want to run for after school in the second session (which starts after Spring break and runs through the end of May), please submit your idea(s) to Ms. Nicole by Monday, March 30th.  We will have some per session hours available (hours will vary depending on proposals).  These per session hours come from a grant and as such, have to be STEM related electives.

Summer School Post
I have had several brave and stalwart souls for summer school (Jamie, Kerry, Mike, Michael, Danielle, and Ilyana).  If you responded to me, but I missed you, please email me again!

In-school summer school days (14):  July 1st & 2nd and July 27th through August 11th
Out-of-school Plato check in (3):  One hour per week for July 6th through July 24th
Regents Days (3):  August 12th, 13th, and 14th - Hours TBD for proctoring and grading.

Summer teachers are guaranteed at least 3 hours of instruction per in-school day plus 2.5 hours of prep per week (for in-school time).

I am fully staffed for summer school! WOO double HOO!

Week of March 23rd

UAI High School Staff News

Volume II

Issue 30

Week of March 23rd, 2015

Announcements

Spring Break is Almost Sprung! We have only 9 school days until spring break.  Both this week and next week are short weeks.  This week ends with an assembly on Thursday and a half day on Friday.  Next week ends with Benchmark Exams on next Wednesday and Thursday.  It's completely normal for some students to feel stress and anxiety as we approach long school breaks.  To help sooth these feelings, it's important that keep up with our routines and expectations.  Through the predictability of our classroom and overall school cultures, our students can more readily fit themselves into the UAI landscape of learning. That fitting in gives them a sense of belonging and ownership which goes a long way into easing all of us into the Spring Break!

Benchmark 4 is Next Week.  Next week's benchmarks are the penultimate benchmarks for the year.  As such, we will be using these benchmarks to inform final Regents lists in June, and to inform summer school registration.  For this administration, I will be asking all teachers with courses that terminate in a Regents Exam to provide scores based on the Regents Rubrics (not percentages this time around).  I'll talk more on that in next week's blog.  For a more accurate prediction of Regents performance, teachers may want to use a fresh exam for this administration. However, that is certainly not mandatory.

Marianna & Ilyana present the LC writing methods to
Chancellor Farina at the Superintendent's Writing Conference

Our Visitors Love Us!  Last week we had several visitors, all of whom were immensely impressed with what we do here at UAI.  Brian O'Connell, the principal of a screened high school in Far Rockaway called The Scholars Academy was particularly impressed with the level and quality of individual student intention and questioning.  Janis Ross, Karen Watts' lead principal evaluator (and former founding principal of The School for Classics) exclaimed, "A lot of people say that they are student centered, but [you guys] are really doing it!"  Finally, Chancellor Farina was again impressed with our teachers when Marianna and Ilyana dazzled with their presentation on how our students develop their writing in Learning Cultures.  Learning Cultures set the foundation, but it is your talent and commitment that elevates our school to excellence!  I'm sooooo excited to see how we continue to grow and be even more awesome in the time to come!

Hollaback! Assembly.  In recognition of Women's History Month, our Carrera partners are once again stepping up to coordinate and execute a fabulous experience for our community.  Ms. Wazina has worked to connect UAI with this organization that focuses on stopping street harassment.  We look forward to an afternoon of education and activism this Thursday.  Do not bring students up until we call for your grade, starting at 1:20PM.  The assembly will start promptly at 1:30PM.  We'll have the same seating as last assembly with the juniors and seniors on the bleachers and the freshmen and sophomores flanking the gym floor.

Reminders

March is Women's History Month.  The door decoration is complete! Thank you all for participating.  It is great to see so much celebration of women right at the portal to our girls' learning.   This year's decoration was more of a celebration than a competition, but with so many interested in the competitive aspect, we will probably bring that back next year!  Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm!

It's time for SLCs.  This Thursday and Friday are our Spring Student Led Conferences.  Officially, SLCs are Thursday night 5-8PM and Friday afternoon 12:00-2:40PM.  However, as per usual, you can flexibly use these 5+ hours however you want to schedule the meetings.  If you haven't done so already, you should start scheduling those appointments this week.  Please enter those appointments into THIS APPOINTMENT sheet.  Please take a moment to read the tab that says READ ME FIRST.  There are a couple of added to-dos on the list for the SLCs this time around. You may also want to use this CHECKLIST to help facilitate your conferences.  Grade teams may have their own student reflection sheet and or methods for appointment setting.  Please check in with your grade team leaders.  Finally, if your advisee's parents are not yet registered in Skedula, please print out their letters and help them get signed on (via phone or computer). Parents can also visit Carol to get assistance in signing up.

Important Dates

• Thursday, 26MAR15 - Evening Student Led Conferences 5-8PM
• Thursday, 26MAR15 - Hollerback Assembly (see info above!) 1:30-2:30PM
• Friday, 27MAR15 - Afternoon Student Led Conferences   12-2:40PM 
• Friday, 27MAR15 - Rapid Dismissal at 11AM

• Wednesday 01APR15 and Thursday 02APR15 - Benchmark IV Exams
• Friday 03APR15 through Friday 10APR15 - Spring Break
• Monday 16APR15 - First day be from spring break
• Friday, 24APR15 - April Assembly during 8th Period - Details TBD
• Monday 27APR15 through Friday 01MAY15 - Last week of 5th Marking Period - Please DO NOT SCHEDULE any field trips for this week.

Per Session

Session II After School for STEM electives.  If you have an idea for a STEM elective that you would want to run for after school in the second session (which starts after Spring break and runs through the end of May), please submit your idea(s) to Ms. Nicole by Monday, March 30th.  We will have some per session hours available (hours will vary depending on proposals).  These per session hours come from a grant and as such, have to be STEM related electives.

Summer School Post
I have had several brave and stalwart souls for summer school (Jamie, Kerry, Mike, Michael, Danielle, and Ilyana).  If you responded to me, but I missed you, please email me again!

In-school summer school days (14):  July 1st & 2nd and July 27th through August 11th
Out-of-school Plato check in (3):  One hour per week for July 6th through July 24th
Regents Days (3):  August 12th, 13th, and 14th - Hours TBD for proctoring and grading.

Summer teachers are guaranteed at least 3 hours of instruction per in-school day plus 2.5 hours of prep per week (for in-school time).

I am fully staffed for summer school! WOO double HOO!

Week of March 16th

UAI High School Staff News

Volume II

Issue 29

Week of March 16th, 2015

Announcements

March is Women's History Month.  We are continuing our month of Celebrating Herstory  through a door decoration. Already doors on the 4th floor are starting to take shape as girls are taking charge to decorate under the leadership of their classroom teachers.  It seems like a little thing, decorating a door.  However, the collective effort leads to a broader sense of community which brings pride to our school and our girls!

5th Marking Period Begins on Monday.  Final grades for the 4th MP are due on Wednesday, 18MAR15 at 3PM.  These report cards will be distributed on Friday durinThe 5th MP is the longest and most important marking period of the year.  As an annualized school, this is the last marking period that our girls have to catch up and overcome past mistakes.  The 6th Marking period is super short with only a few weeks in May and only a few days in June.  So this is it!  

Pi Day Success!!  Many thanks and a big shout out to our amazing UAIHS Math Team!  They pulled together a great day for our girls.  The girls were excited and highly engaged in a fun math competition that had them working together, asking questions,  and participating in a little healthy competition.  Thanks again Team Math!

It's time for SLCs.  Next Thursday and Friday are our Spring Student Led Conferences.  Officially, SLCs are Thursday night 5-8PM and Friday afternoon 12:00-2:40PM.  However, as per usual, you can flexibly use these 5+ hours however you want to schedule the meetings.  If you haven't done so already, you should start scheduling those appointments this week.  Please enter those appointments into THIS APPOINTMENT sheet.  Please take a moment to read the tab that says READ ME FIRST.  There are a couple of added to-dos on the list for the SLCs this time around. You may also want to use this CHECKLIST to help facilitate your conferences.  Grade teams may have their own student reflection sheet and or methods for appointment setting.  Please check in with your grade team leaders.

Important Dates

• Monday, 16MAR15 - Beginning of 5th Marking Period
• Wednesday, 18MAR15- 4th Marking Period Grades Due by 3PM
• Wednesday, 18MAR15 - Kiri is at Green Careers for Instructional Rounds visit
• Friday, 20MAR15 - UAI High School Semi-Formal - A Night in Paris 
• Thursday, 26MAR15 - Evening Student Led Conferences 5-8PM
• Thursday, 26MAR15 - Hollerback Assembly (more info to come!) 1:30-2:30PM
• Friday, 27MAR15 - Afternoon Student Led Conferences   12-2:40PM 
• Friday, 27MAR15 - Rapid Dismissal at 11AM

• Wednesday 01APR15 and Thursday 02APR15 - Benchmark IV Exams
• Friday 03APR15 through Friday 10APR15 - Spring Break
• Monday 16APR15 - First day be from spring break
• Friday, 24APR15 - April Assembly during 8th Period - Details TBD
• Monday 27APR15 through Friday 01MAY15 - Last week of 5th Marking Period - Please DO NOT SCHEDULE any field trips for this week.

Per Session

Spring Semi-Formal Dance (yes, it's really happening)...Chaperones are: Kristin, Michael, Damon, Jamie, Doris, and Tyasia.  Friday, March 20th 6PM-10PM

Session II After School for STEM electives.  If you have an idea for a STEM elective that you would want to run for after school in the second session (which starts after Spring break and runs through the end of May), please submit your idea(s) to Ms. Nicole by Monday, March 16th.  We will have some per session hours available (hours will vary depending on proposals).  These per session hours come from a grant and as such, have to be STEM related electives.

Summer School Post
I have had four brave and stalwart souls step up to volunteer for summer school (Mike, Daniell Ilyana).  If you responded to me, but I missed you, please email me again!

In-school summer school days (14):  July 1st & 2nd and July 27th through August 11th
Out-of-school Plato check in (3):  One hour per week for July 6th through July 24th
Regents Days (3):  August 12th, 13th, and 14th - Hours TBD for proctoring and grading.

Summer teachers are guaranteed at least 3 hours of instruction per in-school day plus 2.5 hours of prep per week (for in-school time).

I am still looking for a Science teacher and a history teacher!

Week of March 9th

UAI High School Staff News

Volume II

Issue 28

Week of March 9th, 2015

Announcements

March is Women's History Month.  We are Celebrating Herstory  this month with a variety of activities.  

         

Friday March 13th at Lunch in the Cafe - there will be a celebration in honor of the women who inspire us. Music, raffles, snacks and the opportunity for the girl's to discuss women who inspire them.

 Ongoing until Friday, March 20th - Similar to last year's Black History Month contest, we will be holding another Door Decorating.  Each teacher has been assigned a theme in honor of Women's History Month.  Because advisory is too short, we are asking teachers to assign this task to students during independent work time.  Jen will be providing more details via email, but Doors must be decorating by March 20th. 

Thursday, March 26th - Hollaback Assembly - Hollaback in a non-profit and movement that supports the end of street harassment. Ms. Wazina is coordinating a Hollaback Assembly on the 26th at 1:30PM.

Marking Period 4 Ends on Friday.  The 4th Marking Period ends on Friday, 13MAR.  Grades are due on Wednesday, 18MAR at 3PM.  Report cards will be distributed to kids during 8th period on Friday, 20MAR.  Student Led Conferences will be on Thursday evening March 26th from 5-8PM and Friday afternoon from 12-2:40PM.  As per usual, time is flexible.  However you schedule your 5 hours and 40 minutes of SLCs is up to you.  Students will be rapidly dismissed at 2:40 on Thursday and at 11AM on Friday.  Look for the SLC appointment sheet in next week's post.

This picture is 25 years old.
I think that officially makes it old
enough to be an antique!

High School Pics for the Yearbook.    The Class of 2015 is looking to collect your high school pictures for their yearbook.  Please submit them to Ms. Doris or directly to the yearbook committee.  Nyla Ward chairs that committee.  You can email her directly at nylaw@uainstitute.org.

I would also like a copy of your pictures to put together our own UAI HS throwback Thursday bulletin board!  Email them to me by Friday so I can get our lunch time posse of girls to put it together next week.

Reminders

UAI High School Night at the Brooklyn Nets.  The strong community feel we started at this assembly is going to continue! On Tuesday, March 10th at 7:30PM we have a block of 50 tickets to go to the game together as our UAI HS family.  Students, family, and staff are all invited to attend.  If you want to come, please see Jen to purchase tickets.  We hope you can make it!  It will be a fun-filled night!

Summer and After School Opportunities for Students.  It may not seem like it, but spring is coming.  It's only three weeks away.  With the improving weather, students without things to do find ways of getting into all sorts of bad decisions.  You know what they say about idle hands and devils.  On Monday, March 2nd, our Girls Inc High School After School program begins.   Help get our girls excited about after school by talking up the programs and opportunities!  Additionally, next Tuesday, March 10th at 6PM, Girls Inc and Carrera will be hosting our first annual Summer Opportunities fair.   Please reach out to your students and especially your advisees to make sure that take advantage of all the programs we have to offer!

Important Dates

• Monday, 09MAR15 - Pod Debriefs and Grade Team Meetings.
• Tuesday, 10MAR15 - PTA Meeting and Summer Activities Fair
• Tuesady, 10MAR15 - UAI HS at the Brooklyn Nets 7:30PM
• Friday, 13MAR15 - End of 4th Marking Period
• Monday, 16MAR15 - Beginning of 5th Marking Period
• Wednesday, 18MAR15- 4th Marking Period Grades Due by 3PM
• Friday, 20MAR15 - UAI High School Semi-Formal - A Night in Paris 
• Thursday, 26MAR15 - Evening Student Led Conferences 5-8PM
• Thursday, 26MAR15 - Hollerback Assembly (more info to come!) 1:30-2:30PM
• Friday, 27MAR15 - Afternoon Student Led Conferences   12-2:40PM 
• Friday, 27MAR15 - Rapid Dismissal at 11AM

• Wednesday 01APR15 and Thursday 02APR15 - Benchmark IV Exams
• Friday 03APR15 through Friday 10APR15 - Spring Break
• Monday 16APR15 - First day be from spring break

Per Session

Spring Semi-Formal Dance (yes, it's really happening)...Chaperones are: Kristin, Michael, Damon, Jamie, Doris, and Tyasia.  Friday, March 20th 6PM-10PM

Session II After School for STEM electives.  If you have an idea for a STEM elective that you would want to run for after school in the second session (which starts after Spring break and runs through the end of May), please submit your idea(s) to Ms. Nicole by Monday, March 16th.  We will have some per session hours available (hours will vary depending on proposals).  These per session hours come from a grant and as such, have to be STEM related electives.

Summer School Post
I have had two brave and stalwart souls step up to volunteer for summer school (Mike and Ilyana).  If you responded to me, but I missed you, please email me again!

In-school summer school days (14):  July 1st & 2nd and July 27th through August 11th
Out-of-school Plato check in (3):  One hour per week for July 6th through July 24th
Regents Days (3):  August 12th, 13th, and 14th - Hours TBD for proctoring and grading.

Summer teachers are guaranteed at least 3 hours of instruction per in-school day plus 2.5 hours of prep per week (for in-school time).

I am still looking for a Science teacher and a history teacher!

Week of March 2nd

UAI High School Staff News

Volume II

Issue 27

Week of March 2nd, 2015

Announcements

Black History Month Celebration
We had another wonderful celebration of Black History on Friday. Many thanks again to Ms. Jen for organizing this community-building and many thanks to all the teachers who helped our young women with their submissions for the competition.  There weren't an overwhelming number of submissions, so the competition morphed into more of a celebration, but that's great too!  Please have the girls check in with Ms. Jen to receive their prizes!

UAI High School Night at the Brooklyn Nets.  The strong community feel we started at this assembly is going to continue! On Tuesday, March 10th at 7:30PM we have a block of 50 tickets to go to the game together as our UAI HS family.  Students, family, and staff are all invited to attend.  If you want to come, please see Jen to purchase tickets.  We hope you can make it!  It will be a fun-filled night!

Looking For Teachers.  Keeping in line with our awesome community theme, now that we have most of the preferences back from staff, we have a picture of our hiring needs next year.  We're a staff who works hard together and we're a staff who also gathers for fun - like ice skating together on a Friday afternoon!  It's important to me that we keep our community happy and healthy.  A happy staff is a happy school!  So, if you know someone who would work well with our girls, Learning Cultures, and our staff, please let me know ASAP.  Everyone will be welcome to join in the interviews, (priority will go to grade and subject team leaders, though).  Based on responses from the preference sheets, I'm looking to fill special education and maybe science.  Put your feelers out and see who we can find!

Summer and After School Opportunities for Students.  It may not seem like it, but spring is coming.  It's only three weeks away.  With the improving weather, students without things to do find ways of getting into all sorts of bad decisions.  You know what they say about idle hands and devils.  On Monday, March 2nd, our Girls Inc High School After School program begins.   Help get our girls excited about after school by talking up the programs and opportunities!  Additionally, next Tuesday, March 10th at 6PM, Girls Inc and Carrera will be hosting our first annual Summer Opportunities fair.   Please reach out to your students and especially your advisees to make sure that take advantage of all the programs we have to offer!

Important Dates

• Monday, 23FEB15 - First day back from MidWinter Recess
• Monday, 23FEB15 - Full Staff PD & Grade Team Meetings
• Friday, 27FEB15 - Black History Month Assembly, 8th Period

• Monday, 02MAR15 - Full Staff PD, 1st Monday of the Month
• Introduction of New Pod Structure and Protocol
• Getting into New Pods
• Logistics and Commitments
• Theoretical Exploration of Pod Topics

• Tuesday, 10MAR15 - PTA Meeting and Summer Activiities Fair
• Friday, 13MAR15 - End of 4th Marking Period
• Monday, 16MAR15 - Beginning of 5th Marking Period
• Wednesday, 18MAR15- 4th Marking Period Grades Due by 3PM
• Friday, 20MAR15 - UAI High School Semi-Formal - A Night in Paris 
• Thursday, 26MAR15 - Evening Student Led Conferences 5-8PM
• Thursday, 26MAR15 - Hollerback Assembly (more info to come!) 1:30-2:30PM
• Friday, 27MAR15 - Afternoon Student Led Conferences   12-2:40PM 
• Friday, 27MAR15 - Rapid Dismissal at 11AM

• Wednesday 01APR15 and Thursday 02APR15 - Benchmark IV Exams
• Friday 03APR15 through Friday 10APR15 - Spring Break
• Monday 16APR15 - First day be from spring break

Per Session

Spring Semi-Formal Dance (yes, it's really happening)...Chaperones are: Kristin, Michael, Damon, Jamie, Doris, and Tyasia.  Friday, March 20th 6PM-10PM