February 2018 Newsletter Principal’s Message Hello Dogwood Family, I hope you all are having a wonderful start to the new year! I want to use this my February message to focus on the importance of supporting our student’s Celebrating BCPS Blue Day emotional needs. Usually around the months of February through May there is Jan. 11, 2018 often a spike in student behaviors. Most student-to-student conflicts occur Important Dates: VIP Day w/ Lifetouch because of miscommunication and their inability to verbalize their emotional 2nd Quarter Report Cards status at the time of the conflict. As adults we know that the skill of recognizing Distributed our emotional needs in the time of crisis is a skill that is only improved with time Thurs, Feb. 1, 2018 MAP Testing – Grades K-5th and self-reflection, however the groundwork starts at an early age. When your *Each grade test on a specific day. Please contact your child’s teacher child is faced with an issue such as someone hurting their feelings, to find out their date.* miscommunication with a close friend, or an exchange of words or hits with Mon. Feb. 5- 14, 2018 VIP Day someone they do not like it is important to determine the function (what occurred Tues. Feb. 13, 2018 to set things in motion) of the behavior instead of mostly focusing on the end School Closed- Presidents Day result. Monday, Jan. 19, 2018 3rd Quarter Parent Voice Meeting If we can get our students to speak to their emotions or feelings at the onset of March 29, 2018 9am-10am, 12pm-1pm, or the conflict then we can impart strategy around avoiding verbal and/or physical 5:30pm-6:30pm altercations. I am aware that conflicts will happen, but in a world where texting 3rd Quarter Report Cards Ends has become the substitute for human conversation it is imperative that we focus Thurs. March 29, 2018 Early Dismissal at on building our student’s emotional stamina. As a school we are focused on 12:10pm. NO PM Pre-K educating our students academically, socially, and emotionally. This is definitely a Spring Break Starts Fri. March 30, 2018- Mon. village approach! April 2, 2018 PTA Events As always, thank you for your steadfast support! General Meeting Mon. Feb. 5, 2018 Respectfully Submitted, 6:30pm-7:30pm Heart Awareness Day- Wear Red Ms. Johari Toe Fri. Feb. 23, 2018 Principal Heart-to-Heart Dance Fri. Feb. 23, 2018 7:00pm-9:30pm *All students have to be accompanied by an adult.* General Meeting Mon. March 5, 2018 6:30pm-7:30pm Principal’s Corner This is the exact information that was shared at the 1st Quarter Parent Voice Meeting. Dogwood Elementary School Honor Roll & Skills and Conduct Award Criteria 2017-2018 Starting this school year, we will be acknowledging our students who demonstrate proficiency, determination, persistence, and dedication in each content area and within the areas identified under the skills and conduct section of the report card. The criteria listed below were filtered through grade level teachers and shared with parents at the 1st Quarter Parent Voice meeting on Wednesday, November 8, 2017. As shared at the meeting, all students who meet the criteria will receive the Honor Roll and/or Skills & Conduct Award in their report card envelopes each quarter. Students will be asked to take pictures with administration on the following school day, but they do not need to bring their certificates back to school for the photo. Unfortunately, we do not have the space to hold an assembly every quarter as our cafeteria is utilized daily from 10:30am-1:45pm. The criteria are listed below. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call, email, or stop by to see me at any time. Skills & Conduct Award – Grades 1-5 – Revised on Jan. 19, 2018 The rubric is located on the back of the report card. Grades 1-3 o Quarter 1 & 3 . Students must earn at least 3 out of 4 – 3’s in all core subjects (ELA, math, social studies, and science) in the Skills & Conduct section of the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly. o Quarter 2 & 4 - - Revised . Students must earn at least 3 out of 4-3’s in all core subjects and special areas in the Skills & Conduct section of the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly. Grades 4-5- o Quarter 1 & 3 . Students must earn at least 3 out of 4- 3’s in all core subjects in the Skills & Conduct section of the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly. o Quarter 2 & 4- Revised . Students must earn at least 3 out of 4-3’s in all core subjects and special areas in the Skills & Conduct section of the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly. Academic Honor Roll – Grades 1-5 Grades 1-3 o Quarter 1 & 3 . Students must earn the majority of CD’s vs. P’s in each core subject (ELA, math, social studies, and science) area on the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly. o Quarter 2 & 4 . Students must earn the majority of CD’s verses P’s in each core subject and special areas on the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly. Grades 4-5 o Quarter 1 & 3 . Students must earn all A’s and B’s in each core subject area on the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly. o Quarter 2 & 4 . Students must earn all A’s and B’s in each core subject and special areas on the report card. This certificate is given out quarterly. Principal’s Award – Grades 1-5 Students must earn academic honor roll each quarter for the entire school year. This award is given out annually. Perfect Attendance – Grades Pre-K – 5 Students must have perfect attendance from their initial start date at Dogwood ES until the end of the school year. This award is given out annually. Title I Information Update Social Emotional Targeted Assistance Support Starting January 2018- June 2018 Starting January 2017 we will be providing additional social emotional supports to targeted students in grades in 2nd -5th. During the month of December Mr. Robert Simmons, Guidance Counselor and Ms. Kristine Alexander, Title I Targeted Family Engagement Liaison will be ranking students using the following data: number of office referrals (monthly), skills and conduct scores from the first quarter report card, and initial Fountas and Pinnell independent reading levels. All parents of students who qualify for the Social Emotional Targeted Assistance Support Program will be contacted by Mr. Robert Simmons prior to Friday, January 19, 2018 (this date has changed from what was announced in the Dec. 2018 newsletter). If you have any questions or concerns please give me a call or send me an email at [email protected]. Title I Targeted Math Program August 2017- June 2018 As stated at the end of the 2017-2018 school year all of the incoming 3rd and 4th grade students were chosen to participate in the Title I Targeted Math Program. The criteria was comprised of a score each student was given based on the cumulative amount of points derived from the student’s 2017 winter MAP score and student report card grades under the categories entitled Operations in Algebraic Thinking and Numbers and Operations in Base Ten. Students were ranked in May 2017 and they began receiving targeted support starting September 2017- January 2018. These students received in class support during math instructional block and were invited to participate in a morning and afterschool extended tutoring program. All parents are invited to attend a Grab & Go professional development that occurred prior to the start of the new unit of study start date. Parents are given a preview of the unit and activities to help support their student learning throughout the unit. The Grab & Go event is offered from 8:30am-6:30pm in order to accommodate parent work schedules. As of February 1, 2018 all 3rd and 4th grade students will be reranked using the same criteria as mentioned above but using the most updated scores (winter MAP and 2nd quarter report card grades). This process will help determine which students have made vast improvements and no longer need the supplemental support, and those students who need to be invited to the program. All parents will be contacted by Ms. Dorothy Sparrow, Title I Targeted Teacher or Ms. Kristine Alexander, Title I Targeted Family Engagement Liaison. If you have any questions or concerns please give me a call or send me an email at [email protected]. Title I Transition Team Meeting Notes Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018 On Jan. 17, 2018 a letter was sent home to all parents inviting them to participate in the Title I Transition Team (TITT). The letter briefly explained that the purpose of the team was to review current school data in order to determine how to appropriately spend the 2018-2019 Title I funds. The mission of the team is to ensure that we have the appropriate process in place to transition from Title I Targeted to Title I Schoolwide as it relates to the use of spending supplementary federal funds. The initial meeting was held in the school library and the audience consisted of school administration, teacher, parents, and a representative from the BCPS Office of Title I. The meeting was very productive. The group used the BCPS Data Analysis document to identify major and minor questions to focus on for data analysis.