Week of May 29th

UAI Staff News

Volume V

Issue 35

May 29th, 2018

[School Days 166-169]

[15 Days Remaining in MP6]      [5 Days Remaining in HS School Year]      [18 Days Remaining in MS School Year]

Announcements

An LDC Open House.  The work of UAI's ELA team has caught some major attention.  Our partner, The Literacy Design Collaborative has us to host visitors from both public and charter NYC schools.   This Wednesday, Marsha, Rebecca, and Phillan are set host an open house to showcase our school and our instructional practices in English.   Many thanks to our entire English team (Sarah, Kristina, Christina, Cassandra, Tiffany, Katherine, and Diana) for their hard work this year!

Red Nose Day Success!  Red Nose Day was a brilliant success!  Our youngest game changers, the 6th graders, managed to put together a fundraising campaign that raised just over $200 to donate to bring awareness to and one day end childhood poverty.    Many thanks to all those who helped to support their good work, and many thanks to all who were able to donate and contribute!

Staff Spotlight

Natalie Rudolf.  This year Natalie took on the role of 8th grade advisor.  As our middle school students prepare for the next big transition into high school, Natalie has worked tirelessly to make sure that their experiences at UAI are punctuated with strong bonding, good memories, and wonderful times.  As we gear up for the end of the year, the activities are kicking into high gear.  Thank you Ms. Natalie for all you do to make sure our young women have a fabulous 8th grade year.

Danielle Romano.  Like Natalie, Danielle took on the role of advisor for our seniors.  This group of seniors is a particularly exciting cohort and they came up with some big ideas and plans for themselves.  Danielle helped them execute their experiences, and is currently in the final stages of planning the big end of the year events, Senior Awards Night, Prom, and Graduation.  Special shout out to Ms. Doris for providing back up support!

To Do This Week

High School Final Days.  We have exactly five instructional days remaining in the year for the high school students.  June 4th is the last day of real classes.  On June 5th, students are released for the Global Regent testing day.  June 6th and June 8th will be HS final exams and will follow a benchmark schedule.  On June 11th, this will be the final day for teachers to meet with students to share their grades and give final advice for regents exam testing.  On this day, make sure to prioritize meeting with any student who is going to fail the class so that she understands why she failed the course.   Please also make sure you've contacted their homes so they too understand why she failed.  HS Regents exams begin June 12th.

Middle School Final Days.  The final weeks for the middle school are a mix of testing, trips, and final classes.  This week 8th graders finish their state science exam testing on Thursday, Friday and Monday the 4th.  Next week, students will have two half days on Tuesday 05JUN and Wednesday 06JUN for their MOSL testing and grading.  Check the calendar for various trip days and 8th grade release days for Regent exam testing.  15JUN is a holiday for all (Eid-Al Fitr) and the week following is a mix of classes and finals (check the calendar to below).  This time of year is historically difficult with behavior in the MS.  To make sure your classes are calm, please continue to plan for thinking and prepare students to excel on their MOSLs and final exams.

Retreat Prep.  We are still finalizing the agenda for our retreat to Tarrytown.  You can expect the detailed agenda in next week's blog.   06JUN will be a half day for UAI.  All students dismissed by 12:10.  From that point, staff will have time to commute up to Tarrytown. For now here's the outline

• 3:00-3:30PM   Arrive and Check In at Tarrytown
• 3:30-5:00PM   Opening Meeting - Our Year in Review and a Look at What Drives Us
• 5:00-6:00PM   Break
• 6:00-7:00PM   UAI Happy Hour!
• 7:00-8:00PM   Dinner

• 8:00-9:00AM  Breakfast
• 9:00-9:30AM  Overview for the Day
• 9:30-12:00PM Work in Teams (Instruction, Operations, and Culture)
• 12:00-1:00PM  Lunch
• 1:00-2:00PM    Wrap up work in teams
• 2:00PM return to NYC

Per Session Opportunities

None this week

SEL Update

None this week

  

Week of May 20th

UAI Staff News

Volume V

Issue 34

May 21st, 2018

[School Days 160-165]

[20 Days Remaining in MP6]      [10 Days Remaining in HS School Year]      [23 Days Remaining in MS School Year]

Announcements

Honor Roll.  Congratulations to all of our Honor Roll awardees.  This year's annual celebration once again celebrated the academic achievements of students.  For some, this was a return trip.  For many, it was their first time and their joy was evident in the smiles.  For some of our 8th graders and our seniors, this was the last one with UAI. We hope they continue to excel and wish them future success at their next schools!




Last Full Week of HS Classes.  This week is the last full week of classes for the 2017-2018 school year.  Next week we have Monday (Memorial Day) off and the following week is Brooklyn Queens Day (and our Retreat).  For the High School, Regents week begins the week after that and we all have off June 15th for Eid Al-Fitr. For the Middle School, the week of June 18th is the final full week of classes.   MP6 will officially close for the HS on June 11th (with grades due on June 14th) and for the MS on June 14th with grades due on June 20th.


 

Staff Spotlight

Amanda Nowicki. Last Friday, Amanda's Earth Science students had a presentation about their experience visiting Sterling Hill Mine.  It's not easy getting kids to be excited about rocks, but Ms. Amanda's passion for Earth Science is contagious!  It was a treat to see the girls show their peers some of the rocks they collected from the site.  Particularly cool were the ones that glowed!  Connecting real world experience to classroom learning is the perfect way to tap into our students' natural curiosity and zeal to learn.  Nicely done Amanda!  

To Do This Week

Retreat Prep.  During Monday's PD, please bring your laptop and pacing calendars.  We will be selecting lessons and units to rework for the retreat.  We will be reflecting on our growth and development in planning and structuring of lessons around student thinking.  You will be sharing your lessons with your planning partner, so make sure you either have hard copies or you have successfully linked your lessons to your pacing calendar.

Tuesday Outreach.  With only a few weeks remaining, we need to check in on our advisees who were failing classes.  Please check Skedula for the students who were previously failing (and thus were invited to the May conferences).  Reach out to the homes this week to provide families with an update.  Please document your outreach as this is a part of our intervention strategy to avert student failure wherever possible.

Per Session Opportunities

None this week

SEL Update:

The 6th graders will be presenting their public service announcements on Tuesday during 1st, 4th and 7th periods in the library. Come by & see their hard work, what they’ve learned & how they hope to help make change! They really got into it & we will be displaying many of them on the 3rd floor. 

  

week of May 13

UAI Staff News

Volume V

Issue 33

May 13th, 2018

[School Days 155-159]

[15 Days Remaining in MP6]      [19 Days Remaining in HS School Year]      [29 Days Remaining in MS School Year]

Announcements

Family Connections.  This week UAI families came out in force to both celebrmate and learn. Many thanks to Sursattie who worked tirelessly with our young women to put on an amazing dance showcase. Sursattie also did an amazing job of promoting the event and reaching out to our families! As a result there was a great turn out.  The next night, over 100 families came to meet with classroom teachers to discuss end of the year. For teachers and families, some of these meetings were emotionally taxing as they touched on issues preventing student success and analyzing weaknesses that are causing failure. However, both staff and families alike showed an amazing level of resilience.  The most common comment parents had as they left with their children was that although the conference wasn’t easy, they truly appreciated the time and attention our teachers put into thinking through strategies for success.  They left saying, we now have a plan!  
Girl’s Inc and Milly. Girl Inc. has done it again! Through their amazing connections and programming, Girl Inc. connected our young women to Michelle Smith (founder and visionary of the fashion label, Milly, and designer of the dress in Michelle Obama’s iconic portrait). Michelle met regularly with our students to mentor and support them in designing their own fashionable and statement-making tops. The girls had a chance to premier their designs I’m Good Day New York and did a beautiful job demonstrating their strong smart and boldness at the annual Girls Inc Gala on Thursday.  Many thanks to Ms. Vanessa and all of the Girls Inc team for their perpetual support of our young women!

Staff To Do

Monday PD.   This Monday and next are the last two Mondays of PD for this year.  These Monday PDs and your professional periods are aimed at proving you with the time you need to carefully plan for high quality thinking in your lessons this week and next.  Please use the time to plans and/or rehearse your lessons these next two weeks.  So doing leads to more effective classroom practice and thus, higher levels of quality intellectual engagement with your students!

Honor Roll Breakfast and Senior Assembly.  This Friday will be our annual honor roll breakst durng 1st and second period.  Stay tuned to hear from Doris and Jen for details!

Kiri is out Mon and Tue.  I’m out for personal days on Monday and Tuesday this week.  Please see Annie (201, Brodie in 401, or Jen in 301) if you need anything.  If you need anything specific from me, please email or call me on my cell!

Week of May 7th

UAI Staff News

Volume V

Issue 32

May 7th, 2018

[School Days 150-154]

[20 Days Remaining in MP6]      [24 Days Remaining in HS School Year]      [34 Days Remaining in MS School Year]

Announcements

College Match Day Results.  This week 94% of our seniors committed to their college for next year.  With schools like Barnard, Vassar, Weslyan, and Spellman, the Class of 2018 is one of the strongest UAI has ever seen! About 54% of the Class of 2018 is on their way to 4 year colleges, outpacing previous classes by 14%.  As UAI grows stronger in our instruction and social support of students, the opportunities and future for our students gets brighter and brighter! Many thanks to Ms. Danielle and Ms. Martine on their first successful year as our UAI College Counseling Team!

Class of	CUNY 4yr	CUNY 2yr	SUNY 4 or 2yr	Private NYS	Out of State
2015	16%	40%	7%	9%	15%
2016	16%	23%	14%	7%	19%
2017	16%	10%	21%	13%	3%
2018	27%	41%	5%	14%	13%

Igniting the College Dreams in the Class of 2021.  With the Class of 2018 well on there way to college, it was time for our newest HS students to get a taste of their future.  Through our partnership with College Access for All, we were able to plan and execute several college trips for our 9th and 10th graders.  On Friday, the 9th graders visited SUNY Stonybrook.  Next year, we are partnering up with the Middle School College Access for All as well to bring these wonderful learning experiences to our youngest students and get the college bug started early!  

Testing and Trips.  After a long week of NYS Middle School Math Exams and High School Mock Regents, nearly all of the grades celebrated with trips and activities to let off some steam!  From Governor's Island to Roller Skating at Prospect Park to Bowling and having an impromptu field day at Cadman Plaza, teachers came together to help our young women unwind after a long week!  Many thanks to everyone who organized these activities and many thanks for giving our kiddos the time and space to find the joy in school, too!





 

Staff Spotlight

 Brodie Crawford and Joanna Tirone.  Many wonderful accolades and shout outs go to Mr. Brodie and Ms. Joanna for planning, executing, and expertly trouble-shooting a massive testing week.  The New York State Middle School exams went off without a hitch, and our young middle schoolers had a streamlined, stress-minimized experience as they completed this major state exam.  For the first time since we started benchmarks, Mr. Brodie finally actualized my dream of having the exams proctored and graded within the same week.  Now we just have to wait for the results from New Visions, but now teachers also have immediate access to the set of short answer responses and student exams.  Information that will be crucial in planning for these last few weeks leading up to the Regent Exams.  This was not an easy feat, and both Brodie and Joanna managed it beautifully!  Please give them big high fives when you see them this week.  They both really deserve it! 

To Do This Week

May Planning.  Often when we complete assessment periods, it can be easy to slip into a pattern of "rest".  However, May is often the most ... spicy... month in terms of student behavior in the classroom.  Kids are stressed, teachers are tired...it's been a long year.  However, this is now the time to dig deep, find your second wind, and finish the year strong.  This is the time to take what you've learned in your planning and lesson execution and put your best work and thinking on display.  The better you are at getting kids to think, reason, and use their brains, the better your classes will be an the happier your May will be.  This month, Annie and I will be doing one final round of observations and feedback.  Please make sure that your lessons are either in your Pacing Calendar or ready to give to us when we walk in.  We will be giving specific feedback around your thinking in planning and we may also give you in-moment coaching in your execution.  If we do coaching, then the visit will be purely formative (and not formally evaluative).

Planning and Summer Per Session.   Lesson planning with the singular aim of stimulating student thinking and engaging young minds is central to your as a teacher.  Probably the single most challenging work of teachers is to create activities that push students to use their brains to figure out a challenging problem, reason through an argument, or make connections from their prior knowledge or learning to draw conclusions or effectively analyze situations or texts.  These type of lesson plans, where you think about how students think vs. what they do has been the central work of our professional development for the entire year.  It's why all professional activities and Monday PD has centered on providing you the time you need to critically think and plan your lessons with your planning partners.  For those teachers who have effectively participated in planning I was able to trace that work through what you posted in your pacing calendars.   It was clear that time spent during your professional periods and Monday PD has subsequently elevated your level practice significantly this year.  As a result, you are eligible to participate in paid planning work this summer. Check your emails for an invitation to me, and respond to me with your availability this summer by the end of the day on Friday.  

Monday PD and Tuesday Outreach.  This Monday will be the first Monday in May.  Grade Teams should convene and review the student failure list and discuss and plan strategies to support students and intervene to prevent student failure in June.  On Tuesday, please reach out to any of your advisees who are failing classes.  They must attend Parent Conferences on Wednesday, May 9th, anytime between 5-8PM to meet with teachers of the classes the student is not yet passing.

Per Session Opportunities

None this week

SEL Update:

After watching a video clip on kindness in their SEL class a group of 6th graders were inspired to start a community service campaign to help those in need. As a result, we will be dedicating the Month of May to community service in our SEL classes. Students will develop their own Public Service Announcements related to a topic of their choice. We will be holding a PSA Fair at the end of May.  One of the themes will be a Red Nose Day to bring awareness to Childhood Poverty.  We can’t wait to see them learn about ways they can make a difference & become inspired to take action!