Week of April 18th

UAI Staff News

Volume III

Issue 28

Week of April 18th, 2016

UAI Celebrations

Spring Break is Almost Here!  Starting right after our rapid dismissal on Friday, you will have nine uninterrupted days of vacation.  Please avoid all work.  Don't open your email until Monday morning. Relax.  Self-nurture.  These have been a long nine weeks.  You deserve to relax and recharge.  So, plan a massage;  go have drinks with good friends; play in a garden; do some painting.  Plan some mindful, self-healing and renewal activities.  You deserve the break!  So savor each minute of rest!

Middle School Testing is Complete! A big shout out goes to Joanna who successfully completed her first state testing period as our newest testing coordinator.  Our middle schoolers also need some shout outs.  They completed 6 grueling days of testing, and so many of them demonstrated grit and perseverance as they opted into taking additional time to complete their tests.  Originally, these tests were slated for 90 minutes per day.  Many of our girls took nearly 3 hours to complete their tests, showing extraordinary commitment to making sure they tried their best on the exams.  This is the difference between option and limits.  When presented as an option, our younger middle school students chose to spend nearly 3 hours on the exams.  When presented as a limit, our older high school students choose to spend only half that time on their exams.  Food for thought!  Finally, many many thanks to all of our middle school proctors who continued to provide words of encouragement and fill our young girls with confidence in themselves as they completed this onerous task!  Your belief and faith in our girls fuels their achievement.

Operation Prom.  Congratulations to Ms. Doris and senior parent, Dawn Simon, for planning and staging another successful Operation Prom event.  For the 3rd year in a row, Ms. Simon and Ms. Doris have worked together to provide UAI girls and seniors from across the city access to a rite of passage for teenagers across America.  Prom costs can rapidly skyrocket.  Organizations like Operation Prom give young women like ours the opportunity to defray costs with these free dresses and accessories.  Thank you both to Ms. Doris for her awesome coordination and many thanks to our parent, Dawn Simon, for sharing this opportunity with our girls!

Announcements and To Dos

Monday 18APR16 is PD.  This Monday, we will be continuing our work on Danielson in our Pods.  Grade Teams will follow.   Including Monday, there are only 5 Grade Team Meetings remaining.  Grade teams should use part of Monday's meeting to prioritize and select goals for the remaining meetings and keep time and agenda streamlined to achieve those goals.  

Tuesday 19APR16 is Primary Elections.  This Tuesday, our school will host the Primary Elections.  Given the current election, this is bound to be an actively attended event.  Our gym will be closed and the elevators will be unlocked.  The building council has arranged supervision of the elevators from 8:15-3:00PM.  However, please be vigilant on the floors for any lost or misplaced voters.  

Wednesday 20APR16, MP5 Grades are Due.  Marking Period 6 begins on Monday and MP5 grades are due at 3PM.  This is a tight turnaround time to get report cards to students. So please, plan to submit your grades on time.  This marking period, we will be distributing report cards during 7th period.  At the end of 7th period (starting at 1:40PM) students will be called by grade to the assembly.  Please make sure to hold students until your grade has been called up.  

    

Thursday 05MAY16 is the Final PPO of the Year.  On Thursday May 5th, Fred Walsh, Superintendent, will be conducting the final evaluation of the year for our school.   Please make sure that you are planning clear objectives for each of the formats that run for the day, and that you have thought about how you will respond to the formative assessment responses students give during these formats.  As the lesson will be the primary focus of the visit, I will be calling for both lesson plans and unit plans for that day in the next blog post.  Lesson and unit plans will be due to this folder by the end of the day on Monday, May 2nd.

Friday, 22APR16 Celebrate and Prepare.  On Friday, we will be having our April Assembly for Poetry Month.  This will be our final assembly of the year.  Many thanks to Kelly, Sursattie, and Tracy for their work and planning this and all of the other assemblies this year!  Before you bring your students to the assembly, please make sure you have done the following:

• All students have all of their things for the break.  There will be no access to the floors after dismissal.  All students must exit directly to the first floor.  If they have after school, Girls Inc will direct them to the cafeteria.  
• All students have their report cards
• All chairs are put up on the desks.  Custodians will be cleaning all classroom floors.  
• Lock up ALL technology for the break.  

Important Dates

• Monday, 18APR16.  6th Marking Period Begins
• Wednesday, 20APR16.  5th Marking Period Grades Due at 3PM
• Friday, 22APR16.  5th MP Progress Report Distributed 7th Period
• Friday, 22APR16.  Poetry Slam Full School Assembly 1:45-2:30PM

• Monday, 25APR16 thru Friday 29APR15 - Spring Recess, NO SCHOOL

• Monday, 02MAY16. Full Staff Town Hall Meeting (Agenda TBD)- Grade Team Meetings moved to Tuesday
• Monday, 09MAY16. Pod Share 3 of 6 and Grade Team Meetings
• Monday, 16MAY16. Pod Share 4 of 6 and Grade Team Meetings
• Thursday, 19MAY16 and 20MAY16.  Final Benchmark (Full Mock Regent Exams)
• Monday, 23MAY16. Pod Share 5 of 6 and Grade Team Meetings
• Monday, 30MAY16. Memorial Day- NO SCHOOL

• Wednesday, 01JUN16.  Algebra II Common Core Regent Exam
• Thursday & Friday 02JUN-03JUN16. 8th Grade Science Test
• Monday, 06JUN16.  8th Grade Science Written Test
• Monday, 06JUN16.  Pod Share 6 of 6 and Prep for Staff Share
• Wednesday, 08JUN16 and Friday 10JUN16.  High School Final Exams
• Thursday, 09JUN16. Brooklyn Queens PD Day
• Monday, 13JUN16.  Last High School Day of Classes
• Monday, 20JUN16 and Tuesday 21JUN16.  Middle School Final Exams
• Friday, 24JUN16.  8th Grade Stepping Up
• Monday, 27JUN16.  High School Graduation, MS early dismissal at 10AM.

For All UAI School Important Dates, please add "UAI School" calendar to your google calendars.

Per Session Posting

No new postings

Week of April 11th

UAI Staff News

Volume III

Issue 27

Week of April 11th, 2016

UAI Celebrations

New York Aquarium

Seniors go Bowling

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

On the way to Ailey!

Successful Trips! Since February break, our girls have had the opportunity to extend their learning through a variety of trips.  In the 7 weeks since we came back from that break, the girls have gone to Alvin Ailey, Google, upstate SUNY colleges, The Museum of Math, Cooper Hewitt (Smithsonian Design Museum), The NY Aquarium, and so many more that I don't have listed here at home (I got the ones who sent me pics or emails!).  Thank you so much to all of our staff whose work and efforts bring such amazing opportunities to our girls.  

Announcements and To Dos

Monday PD.  This Monday, we will be continuing our work on Danielson in our Pods.  Please make sure that you bring your copy of the rubric and your notes from your classroom visits. In addition, take a moment to review the following:

     Domain Two:  Teacher Perceptions on Danielson Domain Two

     Domain Three:  Depth of Knowledge Chart  

                               Engaged vs. Compliant Chart

                                                           Wanna learn more about Danielson?  CLICK HERE

Middle School Testing.  This week will be the second round of testing for the Middle School.  The NYS Math tests will be this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.   Something pretty amazing happened during last week's test.  For the first time, the middle school tests were untimed.  When given the choice to take extra time to complete their English exams, many of our girls took it and spent nearly three hours completing their essays and short response.  On the flip side, when we tell our high schoolers that they have only three hours to complete the test, they often give up and leave after 90 minutes.  It gave me pause to think about the impact on our students' persistence and grit when we give them a choice vs. set a limit!

Important Dates

• Wednesday, 13APR16 thru Friday, 15APR15.  Middle School NYS Math Exam
• Friday, 15APR16.  5th Marking Period Ends
• Monday, 11APR16. Pod Share 1 of 6 and Grade Team Meetings
• Monday, 18APR16. Pod Share 2 of 6 and Grade Team Meetings
• Monday, 18APR16.  6th Marking Period Begins
• Wednesday, 20APR16.  5th Marking Period Grades Due at 3PM
• Friday, 22APR16.  5th MP Progress Report Distributed 8th Period
• Friday, 22APR16.  Poetry Slam Full School Assembly 1:45-2:30PM

• Monday, 25APR16 thru Friday 29APR15 - Spring Recess, NO SCHOOL

• Monday, 02MAY16. Pod Share 3 of 6 and Grade Team Meetings
• Monday, 09MAY16. Pod Reflection - Grade Team Meetings moved to Tuesday
• Monday, 16MAY16. Pod Share 4 of 6 and Grade Team Meetings
• Monday, 23MAY16. Pod Share 5 of 6 and Grade Team Meetings
• Tuesday, 24MAY16.  Grade Teams meet Tuesday
• Monday, 30MAY16. Memorial Day- NO SCHOOL

• Monday, 06JUN16. Pod Share 6 of 6 and Pod Share Prep - Grade Teams meet Tuesday
• Thursday, 09JUN16. Brooklyn Queens PD Day

For All UAI School Important Dates, please add "UAI School" calendar to your google calendars.

Per Session Posting

No new postings

Week April 4th

UAI Staff News

Volume III

Issue 28

Week of April 4th, 2016

Announcements and To Dos

Countdowns Begin!  This week marks the beginning of the middle school assessments.  Middle School teachers.  We will be having a brief meeting after PD on Monday to review expectations.  There are only five weeks of classes until we have our final benchmark of the year.  Before we know it, the year's end will be here!  Let's make sure to keep the time in mind and make sure we make the most of the rapidly evaporating days to maximize teaching and learning!  Here's some fun facts:

• 1 class day until the NYS ELA Exams begin
• 7 class days until the NYS Math Exams begin
• 10 class days until Marking Period 5 Ends (MP5 Ends on Friday, 15APR16)
• 15 class days until Spring Break
• 28 class days until Benchmark IV (Regents Predictive Benchmark - HS + 8th Gr Only)

Danielson Norming.  This week's PD will be a full staff PD (1st Monday of the month).  Grade teams are moved to Tuesday.  We are going to adjust our original plans around pods to address a recent need, the training and norming of teachers to Danielson.  We've done extensive work around Learning Cultures rubrics, but we have yet to work as explicitly with the nuances of Danielson.  To achieve this, we will be assigning folks into Pods for this cycle.  85% of a teacher's MOTP rating is from Domain 2 (Classroom Environment) and Domain 3 (Instruction).  The remaining 15% comes from Domain 1 (Planning and Preparation) and Domain 4 (Professional Responsibilities.  Here's the Agenda for Monday's PD

• 2:40PM - Kiri, Colleen, & Joanna meets with MS teams to prep for testing
• 3:00PM - Kiri Announcements to full staff
• 3:05PM - Divide into Pods and norm Danielson
• 3:05 -3:20PM Watch Video - 7th Grade Social Science - History of the Earth
• 3:20 - 3:30PM Find Evidence Transcript of Video to support a rating on the Danielson Rubric (Independent Work Time)
• 3:30-3:40PM Share Individual Ratings and Discuss
• 3:40-3:50PM Share State Ratings and Discuss
• 3:50-4:00PM Logistics Planning for Pod Visits
• 4:00-4:20PM - HS Teams Meet

Domain 2 (Classroom Environment) Pods.  These pods will work on understanding Danielson Domain 2 and how to use SEL to develop strong relationships, both teacher-student and student-student.  These pods will also be working on understanding UAI teacher perspectives, and how to reflect on our structures to strengthen and optimize the work we all do (in and out of the classroom) to provide students with a strong, united front, and a strong, nurturing learning environment.  If you are in these pods, please take a moment to complete this survey.

• Jen Facilitates - Rebecca, Sarah, Natalie, Anna, Sursattie, Kelly
• Doris Facilitates- Wendy, Steve, Matthew, Elana, Paula, Kim
• Martine Facilitates - Meredith, Erick K., Jamie, Elena, Tracy, Michelle

Domain 3 (Instruction) Pods.  These pods will work on understanding Danielson's evaluation of Assessement, Questioning & Discussion, and Student Engagement.  These pods will also integrate UAI teacher perspectives in comparision to NY state expectations with Danielson.   These pods will also work to crosswalk our work in Learning Cultures and how high quality LC practice achieves effective Danielson practice.

• Kiri Facilitates - Marianna, Darby, Damon, Brodie, Ilyana, Alison
• Colleen Facilitates - Marsha, Phillan, Danielle, Kerry, Michael, Kristin
• Val Facilitates - Mike, Christina, Joanna, Tom, Erick

Roster Maintenance.  Teachers should have received an email in the DOE accounts providing them with instructions on how to review and verify student rosters used for MOSL ratings.  Please complete this by May 3rd.  Val or I can help you if you need support!

Important Dates

• Monday, 04APR16. Pod Cycle IV Launch [Grade Team Time moved to Tuesday]
• Tuesday, 05APR16 thru Thursday, 07APR15.  Middle School NYS ELA Exam
• Wednesday, 13APR16 thru Friday, 15APR15.  Middle School NYS Math Exam
• Friday, 15APR16.  5th Marking Period Ends
• Monday, 11APR16. Pod Share 1 of 6 and Grade Team Meetings
• Monday, 18APR16. Pod Share 2 of 6 and Grade Team Meetings
• Monday, 18APR16.  6th Marking Period Begins
• Wednesday, 20APR16.  5th Marking Period Grades Due at 3PM
• Friday, 22APR16.  5th MP Progress Report Distributed 8th Period
• Friday, 22APR16.  Poetry Slam Full School Assembly 1:45-2:30PM

• Monday, 25APR16 thru Friday 29APR15 - Spring Recess, NO SCHOOL

• Monday, 02MAY16. Pod Share 3 of 6 and Grade Team Meetings
• Monday, 09MAY16. Pod Reflection - Grade Team Meetings moved to Tuesday
• Monday, 16MAY16. Pod Share 4 of 6 and Grade Team Meetings
• Monday, 23MAY16. Pod Share 5 of 6 and Grade Team Meetings
• Tuesday, 24MAY16.  Grade Teams meet Tuesday
• Monday, 30MAY16. Memorial Day- NO SCHOOL

• Monday, 06JUN16. Pod Share 6 of 6 and Pod Share Prep - Grade Teams meet Tuesday
• Thursday, 09JUN16. Brooklyn Queens PD Day

For All UAI School Important Dates, please add "UAI School" calendar to your google calendars.

Per Session Posting

Hiring Committee.  The hiring committee consists of Phillan, Christina, Marsha, Kristin, Martine, Colleen, Val, Kiri and Jen. They will be paid per session for their time.