Tag: systems and structures

102 Review, January Bomb Cyclone, 2018: From 0 to Promotion In Doubt Real Quick

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

Marking Period 1: 35 school days

MP 2: 38 school days

MP 3: 34 school days

MP 4: 53 school days

An important shift this year was the calendaring of four marking periods instead of three. A crucial reason for this change is to ensure better alignment with our Promotion in Doubt process. Academic growth is brought about by cycles of assessment, reflection, and then adjustment, and more marking periods mean more cycles to do so.

Promotion in Doubt student names (3-8) are due to your APs by 1/16 and a memo with detailed instructions will be mailboxed to you by Wednesday morning.

You should use outcomes from MP1 and MP2 to support your PID decisions, and know that the chief objective of noticing families with this PID information now is to spark the actions that each family needs to do to ensure student success.

Please note:

GCs will facilitate team meetings with the families of all PID students, and review the year’s information with everyone regarding attendance, results from any personalized learning as intervention (incl. 102+), support services, as well as all other relevant information. Meetings should be prioritized strategically, and all must be completed by the end of February.

Students who are not on the January PID list are not eligible for non-Promotion in June.

Lists will be compiled by content area and teachers do not have to confer with one another at this time. (Yes, in June)

PID Guidelines for ELL and students with IEPS will be provided tomorrow.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Staff Spotlight Returns: Learn about the absolute best middle school guidance counselor Ms. Pearlman and her favorite Jackson Heights Tibetan food joint here.

6th Grade newsletter has gone full digital. Thanks, Dayna!

School Public Calendar: One of our biggest area of growth this year came from AP Borelli’s efforts in tidying up our field trip protocol. Information and dates regarding trips and other school events and functions are now publicly available here. http://ps102q.org/public-calendar

You can always find the link to it from the menu on our homepage.

$150 Discretionary Purchases: All teachers will be able to submit supplies order totaling 150. Ms. Mills will be sending out instructions shortly. One final round of purchasing will be scheduled in April.

Bomb Cyclone Staffle Raffle: We’re indebted to all the staff who braved difficult conditions to come in Friday. A special raffle for an incredible gift from the admin team will be held later this week for those who came in Friday.

Student Shoes, Gloves, Jackets, Socks Giveaway: Please be on the look out for any students who may need additional clothing to stay warm. Just shoot me and your guidance counselor an email and they’ll follow up to make sure the students get what they need. This is an open offer to all students.

 

September 24th, 2017: Preparing for Purpose

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

This is late. Sorry.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: FAMILY NIGHT

Our objective on Tuesday, school wide, is to inject a dose of clarity in the complex work we do each day so parents can join in on the fun. We do it by explaining how we:

  1. Identify key standards per grade that students cannot skip;
  2. Deliver world-class instruction with genuine thinking curricula;
  3. Anticipate strugglers, and identify them early to deliver personalized learning as intervention
  4. Preemptively build systems in place for practice, remediation, and self-paced learning
  5. Align all our work with a laser focus: Promotion decisions, marking period grades, 102+ learning, after school program eligibility, EVERYTHING will be tied to the successful mastery of the grade level key standards.

(3) THINGS PARENTS NEED TO KNOW AFTER FAMILY NIGHT

  1. WHAT IS PERSONALIZED LEARNING AT 102

I’ve prepared a 5-minute introduction on our focus on Personalized Learning, and you can use:

  1. an iPad via the Engage by Scrollmotion app (I will share the file with you)
  2. or a web browser using this link: 2017 FAMILY NIGHT PRESENTATION
  3. For 3-8 classes whose families will meet with multiple teachers, only one teacher should deliver the presentation.
  4. A LIST OF THE KEY STANDARDS IN THEIR GRADE(and when applicable, which months these standards will be assessed)

III. SOME OF THE TOOLS THEY CAN USE NOW TO SUPPORT LEARNING TOWARDS THESE SKILLS

-Lexia/ Khan/ OpenEbooks/ etc.

 

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: SUPPLIES

Printers. We have funds and we don’t mind spending them. However, we have funds because we make smart decisions. Replacing 20 printers every year is not one of them.

Should teacher teams want to use their Inquiry Funds toward a printer, that’s fine. However, we need to come up with a better system before we purchase printers again as we need to move away from relying so heavily on classroom printers to make copies. Print one and let the heavy-duty machines do the copying.

Now that we will soon have a copier on every floor, you can expect a much quicker (same-day?!) turnaround.

Document Cameras. We will be purchasing them. Let me know if you want one and haven’t requested one already.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: Personalized Learning in September

TESTING: K-5 should be going full steam ahead with F+P. To assist teachers in 3-5 in testing over 60 students, I will be assignment several staff to assist with testing. 3-5 teachers can expect at least 15 of their students to be “outsourced”, should they be willing. Give the assisting teacher their names and consider it done.

INTERVENING: Once we have the levels, we will identify the most at-risk students (LEVEL III intervention) and provide them with high-impact reading instruction. We will also assign some to AM/PM extended day learning (3-6 weeks).

Teachers who are interested should write one sentence to apply for a per-session posting coming out later this week.

6-8: Ms. Weinstein will provide you with options in a separate memo.

THINGS I NEED TO DO

Starting in October I will be organizing ongoing morning meetings for a writing instruction task force. This team will put in place a vertically coherent instructional plan to elevate student writing, ensuring all elements are in place (grammar, handwriting, using accurate vocabulary to trim length, etc.)

We teachers from all grades–if interested, look out for a posting this week and send back one sentence.

THINKING GENERATOR FEEDBACK COMING SOON. In anticipation of next month’s focus standard, teacher teams should start discussing the TGs they will use to teach them. The most important standards merit the best TGs.

CALENDARS and SCHEDULES

And finally, the item I’ve wanted to share since 2015:

Teacher and class schedules for the whole school, online. ps102q.edupage.org/timetable 

(Any changes should be reported to Teresa so we can update.)

Calendars too.

PUBLIC EVENTS CALENDAR  on PS102q.org

IEP DATES AND SPED STUFF

TEAM SPECIFIC MEETINGS

 

 

102 Review, End of Summer Edition

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

Hello all!

Summer is winding down, and I hope you share my excitement in getting back into doing some of the most meaningful work anyone could ever hope to do. Look around: the cost of not successfully teaching students how to think for themselves and how to care for others is there for all to see.

Sure, our job is to teach kids how to read, how to write, (and at 102, also how to be a good mathemaninjas), but our job is mostly about making tomorrow kinder by teaching students how to love today.

Unless you’re Joe Lacob, this is as good as it gets. Be excited.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

SET UP WEEK: From 8/28 to 9/1, 9AM-3PM, you may come in to set up your room. There have been a few room changes (K-2 STEM finally gets a room!), and your AP should have already informed you of any changes that may impact you.

Please email your AP and cc me to let us know the time and date you will be coming in–we need to know at all times who will be in the building. You are also free to bring family members to assist, and please make sure you have written confirmation from me first.

K-2 AP: Borelli@ps102q.org

3-5 AP: Sheerin@ps102q.org

6-8 AP: Weinstein@ps102q.org

TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS AND CURRICULAR SUPPORT: Teachers, returning and new, should all have their assignments by now. Our STEM coach Ms. Beltran will be in the building next Monday, and you are free to schedule to meet with her to pick up resources, discuss expectations, or simply to connect. You can reach her at jbeltran@ps102q.org.

Should you need TCRWP materials or anything else, you should reach out to your grade-level APs and CC me for good measure.

PS102Q.org Email Accounts: Beginning on September 5th, 2017, I will be sending emails only to your PS102q Gmail account. Additionally, our Google docs will be accessible only be PS102Q Google accounts. We will host a mini-workshop the first day back to get everyone set up, and you should make sure you have your login information before then because it will be difficult for us to reset passwords and set up accounts mid-workshop.

My recommendation is for everyone to have their PS102Q.org account automatically check their DOE emails, and to set it up so that you can send email as both yourname@ps102q.org AND yourname500@schools.nyc.gov from your PS102q.org Gmail account. This way, you will only ever have to use Google and forgo anything Outlook or DOE-related when it comes to using technology for work. It’s 2017, and there’s no reason you should be bogged down by inefficient IT management.

Alternatively, you may also set up your accounts so that another account checks and send from both your PS102Q AND DOE work accounts. Same process.

If you want to start early, feel free to take a look below to see an example of how you can set up your account.

(And if you’re an iPhone user, I highly recommend using the app EMAIL by Edison. It’s amazing.)

New (to 102) Teacher Orientation: On Thursday, August 31st, our APs will host a mandatory paid orientation for new staff. Please respond to Ms. Weinstein’s email to confirm. The session will begin at 10AM and end at approximately 12PM. This is also a good time to ask any questions you may have before the madness that’ll descend starting September 7th.

September 5th: Please report to the cafeteria by 7:50AM. Breakfast will be served.

September 6th: Please report to the auditorium by 8:10AM.

2017-2018 School Session Times: 8:10AM to 2:30PM, M-F.

Teacher Monday Hours: 8:10AM to 3:50PM

Teacher Tuesday Hours: 7:50AM to 3:25PM

2016-2017 Yearbook: And as we ready to go full bore ahead, it’s nice to spend a moment to look back. I know not many of you get to see, nevermind own, our school yearbooks  and I want to share this year’s digital proofs with you.

2017 Yearbook

Have questions? Ask. And should you want to drop by to chat next week let me know and we can set up a time.

Until then, happy last few days of summer!

W

102 Review, May 29th, 2017: Going Out with a Bang

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

Fiona Gil and Valerie Budiman’s art were displayed at the Queens Museum. And Valerie’s TV quote on NY1 is absolutely top-notch: “I chose an owl [as her spirit animal] because I’m a solo worker.”

June is near. Here are some key dates from the NYCDOE calendar.

June 8 Anniversary Day: students do not attend

June 12 Clerical day: elementary & middle school students do not attend

June 26 Eid al-Fitr: schools closed

June 28 Last day of school for all students
But then here’s the 102 Calendar (and it’s not even final).

5/31: Superintendent Visit w/ Meet and Greet with Families in Temporary Housing 

6/1: Kindergarten Orientation

6/1-6/2: Boston trip for both 7th and 8th grade

6/3: Carnival 

6/6: Career Day, Art Expo Opening

6/7: Paint Night

6/9: End Term/ Jeanene-Surprise-Everyone-with-4MoreYears Announcement Party

6/13: STEAM CON

6/14: STEM CON

6/15: 102’s Got Talent

6/16: Pre-K Graduation; 4th Grade Drama Production (5th Period)

6/21: Math Ninja Warrior

6/22: Kindergarten Graduation

6/23: 8th Grade Graduation

I have no doubt every one of these events will be amazing, and I thank all for putting in the extra effort that makes 102 special. One thing we do need to make sure we improve is communication: teachers please help us get the word out to families about these events. We will be backpacking a memo home with brief explanation of all June events, and if you use apps like Remind, Class Dojo, or Google Classroom, etc. to connect with parents, use those channels as well to publicize and inform. (Let’s just assume that backpacked letters rarely reach parents)


THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Rest up.

102 Review, April 23rd, 2017: Get to Know the SBO

Posted on by mrkobot in Principal's Blog

Thinking Generator Highlight: Always, sometimes, never: I understand things better when I have to explain/present the answer.

-Ms. Mills

Sometimes that’s all it takes: a TG that puts a tight focus on students to develop the common sense we often take for granted by having them think about it. Remember, it might be the Nth time we’re teaching a certain topics/skill over the years, but for students, it’s very likely the present 45 minutes will be the only time they’ll ever experience the learning.

Writing effective TGs is hard work, and it’s work that’s important for us to get better at. Monday afternoon–when we’re all fried from a day of teaching–just isn’t going to cut it, and I’ve asked our UFT to conduct an SBO to see if we can use a half day in May or June to allow us some professional learning time after we send the students home early.

Tomorrow at 3:30PM we ask all staff to go to the auditorium to learn more about the aforementioned as well as a few other School-Based Options we can vote for.

Until 3:30PM, individual teacher teams not listed below may work on items as they see fit.

K-2: Blended Learning Refresher: Lexia, SmartyAnts, and introducing Mathletics. RM 325

3-5 STEM: Plan for Tuesday’s’ afternoon event. RM 329

Middle School Math: Placement protocol for 2017-2018 RM 405

ICT SPED Teachers: Reviewing students with inadequate progress RM 327

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

K-5 DISMISSAL: K-5 teachers please be mindful not to be lax in ensuring you are releasing students to parents. We’re now a school that regularly receive new students, and it is important our dismissal protocols are tight and PERFECT. It only takes one careless mistake for the world to turn upside down–don’t let it happen.

TECHNOLOGY INVENTORY: Mr. Horodyski is working on updating our equipment inventory, and he will be asking students to visit every room to look through all technology items. Please excuse the interruption and they should not take more than a few minutes per room.

RUNNING ON TV: Did you know our students were featured on New York Road Runner’s latest TV campaign? See for yourself: http://www.ps102q.org/nyrr

(Oh, Ms. Merino just completed the Boston Marathon last week, for fun, apparently.)

2017-2018 Preference Sheets will be handed out tomorrow.

Inaugural 102 Bring Your Child to Work Day will be busier than I had anticipated–and that’s hardly a bad thing. Enjoy!

Report Card Grade Changes: Should grades on the Marking Period 2 report card be inaccurate due to clerical errors (assignment not included the average, typo, etc.), you should request the necessary changes to your AP. Families should have accurate report cards, and we need to fix any inaccurate report cards brought to us from families.

Student vs. Staff Games: Take your pick: Soccer or Basketball. Official dates will be announced this week. Not that this year’s school teams have a bad record or anything, but STAFF CANNOT LOSE. Have fun, of course, and winning isn’t everything, but DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT LOSING.