May 1st

Communication

Last Day of YLearning is Thursday, May 11.

Mandatory EOG Proctor Training for Teacher Assistants: Teacher Assistants with the exception of Special ed TA's and Diana Callaghan will choose from one of the following times to be trained as a Proctor:

Tuesday, May 2 - 7:45 - Admin AND proctor training

Wednesday, May 10 @ 12:00pm

Tuesday, May 16 @ 8:00am OR 12:00am

Mandatory EOG/Admin training/Proctor: If someone was not able to attend the April 27 training, there is another one on Tuesday, May 2 @ 7:45 in Media center.

Transportation information in Home Base Student Information System: 

We are excited to announce that student transportation information can now be found in one single location, Home Base, also known as Powerschool. In order to provide the highest level of customer service to our families we are asking those of you who do not yet have a Powerschool account to stop by the school office to complete the necessary form.  You can find more information at www.wcpss.net/student-information.  

Leave Clarification:  Via Human Resources: This attachment is a one pager regarding leave communication that is shared with Lead Secretaries at the beginning of the year.  This is a reminder for you - read, review and refer.

Student Health Plan Update - Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, WCPSS Health Services and the School Nursing Program will begin using EASi to develop and store student health information. Documents will be available to teachers, teacher’s assistants, 504 Contacts and Related Services.

•       July 1, 2017, staff (listed above) will access information by using the Health Services tab
•         The EASi system will replace the current process.  Email and printed student health information will no longer be provided by your school nurse.  Instead, health care plans will be accessed by relevant staff from the EASi system
•         Staff will receive periodic “alerts” from EASi of updates or changes to student medical information, thereby giving access to the most current health information at all times
•    Health Services documents will not appear on the “Documents” page
•    All health related processes and documents will be housed under the student's Health Services tab in the EASi system.
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• Volunteer Luncheon - Volunteer Luncheon to thank all of our wonderful volunteers is Friday May 5th. - Sign up sheet/reminder of items to bring 

Critical Thinking

Jump Rope for Heart - Timeline: Friday, April 28th- Friday, May 12th (due date)

There is no "Event Date" we celebrate during specials, electives & Field Day!

• Please share info/links with parents on your Grade Level Website etc: It will be posted on our next Weekly Specialist Update in the Hub too.
• Learn More: Information about Jump Rope for Heart Program
• Donate Here: Donation Link for Underwood   (online donations only)
• Help save lives! Last year, we raised $4,000. This year goal is $4,300.
• Now, students can receive up to three Thank you Lanyard Zoo Crew Animals. All other Thank you gifts will be shipped from headquarters after the fundraiser period.

Class lists - By June 1st, grade levels will need to have created class lists that are balanced and would be a class that you would be willing to teach. During the week of June 5th we will have class configuration meetings (more info to come on specifics). Travis will send information to grade chairs on how to complete the process and next steps. During the summer, Travis will assign teachers to class lists. Also, reminder to inform parents that if they have have a type of teacher there child would benefit from to email me also, if they have concerns about their child with particular students to email Travis this concern. 

EVAAS - EVAAS Roster Verification enables teachers, school administrators, and district administrators to verify that teachers are linked accurately to students. By enabling educators to specify proportions of instructional responsibility for each student, EVAAS ensures that students' academic growth is tied to individual teachers in the fairest and most accurate way possible. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

State Expectations: 

Principal Preview: April 10 - April 21 (completed) 

Teacher Verification: April 22 - May 19 

AIG, LEP, CCR, Interventionists need to have their % completed by May 12th so classroom teachers would be able to complete their portion. 

Classroom Teachers will need to have it completed by May 19th. 

Calculating Percentage Instruction - will provide examples for individual students. 

Beliefs Survey - Please share the Beliefs Survey Link with certified staff.

What:  Beliefs Survey Link: http://bit.ly/beliefs2017

• Encourage staff to go with their initial responses and to not over-think the questions.
• We will compare these results with the Beliefs survey that we completed last year. 

Collaboration

May 4 Business Meeting-Just a reminder that we will be reviewing the TIPS process.  Be sure to be completing your obligations within the process.

Kindergarten Orientation will be taking place on May 2 and May 4 from 10-11am.  There will be many parents touring the building.

Creativity

Science Olympiads 3rd-5th grade Science Olympiads will be competing on Saturday May 6th at Leesville Middle School starting at 8:30. The event is free to watch and the students would love to see staff there. We will have an applause parade for the participating students on Monday the 8th at 9:30. 

Vocabulary Video created by Jennifer Williams - https://animoto.com/play/xpWjA5dZEeLd0kWO00e68g

April 24

Communication

Mandatory EOG Administrator Training: Thursday, April 24 @ 7:45 in Media Center
ALL teachers in grades 3-5, specialists, special ed and admin team are required to attend this training. Alternate date is Tuesday, May 2 @ 7:45am

Mandatory EOG Proctor Training for Teacher Assistants: Teacher Assistants with the exception of Special ed TA's and Diana Callaghan will choose from one of the following times to be trained as a Proctor:

Tuesday, May 2 - 7:45 - Admin AND proctor training

Wednesday, May 10 @ 12:00pm

Tuesday, May 16 @ 8:00am OR 12:00am

Electives 2017-2018 - The year is beginning to come to a close and it is better to start checking things off your list! Please fill out your electives for next year. Be sure to read the notes in the form to ensure we have all the proper information to create the brochures. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask Alex or Ashley. 

Classroom Teachers- https://goo.gl/forms/FlaOmLLTU8wTfSgf2

Specialists-  https://goo.gl/forms/voqY5KGqhjRRrm7i1

Critical Thinking

EVAAS - The EVAAS Spring Roster Verification process  is upon us. I believe you all received an email similar to the one below regarding the RV process for the spring semester. Please note that the Preview phase of the process ends on Friday, April 21st and teachers will receive an email on April 22nd letting them know that they can begin verifying their rosters. Teacher Verification: April 22 - May 19 (you will receive an email) - https://ncdpi.sas.com Log in with your username and password. Username: If you have forgotten your password, please click the 'Forgot Password' link on the login page. Questions and Answers Document

SSA Nomination - April 26 (4:15 pm) is the due date for SSA nominations.  If you receive a parent nomination, please forward them to us by that time, no later. If you have any students you think would benefit from this process, please contact their parents to make sure they're aware and direct them to the Wake Co. website: http://wakeacceleration.weebly.com

End of Year Reviews - We are at that time of the year reviews for all certified staff. Be sure to sign up for -- Signs for end of year- a time to meet with Daphne and me by the 28th (this way we can have them on our calendars and be prepared prior to meeting). Reviews will start in May and will need to be completed prior to June 9th. Be sure to have your End of Year PDP updated and additional artifacts added to the Google Doc that Daphne sent out.
Instructional Assistants -- Teacher Assistant Evaluations are due by Friday, June 1, 2017.

NC Retirement - Annual Benefits Statement As a member of the various state retirement systems, your Annual Benefits Statement from the North Carolina Retirement Systems Division will be available exclusively online via ORBIT in May. The consolidated report is designed to make retirement planning easier by: • Identifying your active state retirement accounts, Social Security benefits, and all savings in the NC 401(k) Plan; • Projecting whether or not you are on the right track to save enough for retirement; and • Providing some helpful information on how to make up the difference in any potential savings gap. Access Your 2016 Statement You can access your statements online by visiting https://orbit.myncretirement.com/orbit/common/pages/bpaslogin.aspx. Once logged in to ORBIT, click on “View Annual Benefits Statement”, and select a statement year to view the PDF.

Collaboration

NCCAT opportunities - We invite you to search NCCAT's list of professional development programs scheduled for the fall. You can now register electronically and a "search all programs" page has been added for your convenience. Try it out! 

Creativity 

Wake ID Icon - Communications department has created a WakeID global icon for the school websites. This icon will replace the Webmail and Google Apps icons. We will apply the WakeID icon to your school website. This update will be completed by next Wednesday.

April 17

Critical Thinking

Ciara Cooke - Congratulations to Ciara on being appointed to the lead Secretary of Brier Creek Elementary. Although, we are sad to see her leave our school, but we know that she will do a fantastic job at Briar Creek. Due to the current open position her last day at Underwood will be this Friday.

Letterland walkthroughs- In support of Wake County's Initiative, Christine will be conducting walkthroughs to help determine ways to support the implementation of Letterland with fidelity in grades K-2 in the coming weeks.


EVAAS Verification - Teacher Verification window is April 22nd - May 19th. Here is additional information and updates - https://ncdpi.sas.com/support/nc/s/main/NewInRosterVerification.html


Teacher Working Condition Survey - Teachers be sure to complete the WCPSS survey by this Friday - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JJMKDQ3. The Central Areas goal is to have a 100% participation. This information and data will be compiled and I value your responses.

Student letters/hb 13 - Per Cathy Moore: "It has come to our attention that some elementary school classes are having their students write letters to their legislators asking them to support HB 13. Concerns are being raised around Jones Street that such activity may not be an appropriate use of classroom time. We advise you to check with your elementary principals to make sure this is not occurring in your schools".

Collaboration

Math Summit - NCSU Triangle High Five Math Summit 2017 - Wednesday, August 2nd is for elementary math educators. We are excited to welcome Dr. Robert Q. Berry, President-Elect of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Associate Professor in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, and a former middle school mathematics teacher for almost ten years. His research focuses on equity issues in mathematics education, with a particular emphasis on the experiences of African-American boys in school mathematics. Additionally, he engages in research on mathematics teaching practices in elementary classrooms. Registration will open up in May. Let Ashley/Alexandria know if you are interested in attending.

Summer Stem - This July, we are pleased to host again the SummerSTEM professional development for our elementary teachers in our district.  This involves PD in the areas of PBL and gives our teacher teams the opportunity to spend two days in the field with our local industry partners plus a half day with Wake Tech Community College.  Here is an overview of SummerSTEM, the dates, and a link to the application for the teacher team(s) from your school:

SummerSTEM 2017 Overview & Application...Elementary

Arts Integration - As you may have heard from one of the hundreds of Wake County teachers who have participated in this professional development program over the years, we bring in THE best teaching artists to lead a week of arts-integrated workshops. The week includes planning time and a session on how the arts can help teachers solve their most troublesome subjects. Teachers finish the week with inspiring new lessons for their students and a renewed passion for teaching.

This is a great opportunity for four (currently have 2 spots available) teachers from your school (classroom and arts teachers) to attend a local and affordable professional development program designed to meet the needs of Wake County teachers. Every workshop is directly tied to non-arts and arts curriculum standards and is FUN!

Communication

Weekly Messages - It will be important to continue to communicate with families at a minimum one message a week. It has been great seeing many teachers using Twitter and Blogs to showcase your students work. 

Powerschool Grades - Reminder that it is important to continue to record weekly grades through assessments and observations. Be sure to use the excel document that Alexandria and Ashley have shared that indicate the skills for the quarter. PLT discussions should be centered around the essential standards of the quarter. 

Creativity 

Animoto -- A great way to tell a story. Colby and Emily interviewed me with six to seven questions and this is what they created facilitated by Tanya. 

Want to be king Animoto original story and art by Greer

April 3rd

Communication

PTA / Grants -- 34 iPads (arts 20/jenny 5 (through Donor's Choose)/PTA funds 4. , 4 iPods, 1 macbook, 1 iMac, ...and a new Media/Lab/Lounge make over! We are continuing to focus on providing students and teachers with new devices to increase our opportunities to collaborate, be creative, think critically and increase communication skills!

Phishing Attack Targeting Schools – Urgent Warning The IRS issued an urgent warning regarding a dangerous email scam requesting W2 information from school district personnel. Please read the entire article below. http://www.wral.com/-please-be-extra-vigilant-nc-schools-warned-about-email-scam-seeking-private-info/16590265/

Reminder: Wake County Public Schools will never request personal information via email.

Report Cards - Report cards go home on April 7th. If the student is not present at school on Friday, the report cards will go home in their Tuesday Folder on the 18th.

Reflections breakfast-Join us on Tuesday morning at 8am in the Media Center to celebrate all participants in the Reflections program.  A light breakfast will be provided.

Business Meeting will be taking place Thursday morning at 7:45am. We will be continuing to review and analyze our TIPS problem statements based on our kid talk data.

Collaboration

Math Summit - NCSU Triangle High Five Math Summit 2017 - Wednesday, August 2nd is for elementary math educators. We are excited to welcome Dr. Robert Q. Berry, President-Elect of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Associate Professor in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, and a former middle school mathematics teacher for almost ten years. His research focuses on equity issues in mathematics education, with a particular emphasis on the experiences of African-American boys in school mathematics. Additionally, he engages in research on mathematics teaching practices in elementary classrooms. Registration will open up in May. Let Ashley/Alexandria know if you are interested in attending.

Arts Integration Institute - Wake County elementary classroom, music, dance, drama and visual art teachers. A four person team. This is a great opportunity for four teachers from your school (classroom and arts teachers) to attend a local and affordable professional development program designed to meet the needs of Wake County teachers. Every workshop is directly tied to non-arts and arts curriculum standards and is FUN! June 19-23, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Media and Technology Collaboration - reminder that there is a collaboration form to be used to start the conversation in creating a collaborative project, unit, or other items. Collaborative - Collaborative form.

Critical Thinking

Wake Portal - Be sure to bookmark the portal site https://wakeid.wcpss.net and sign in using your new password. Students will go to https://wakeid.wcpss.net and log in with the normal process but they will need to use their student ID number as their password. Students in grades 4-12 will then be prompted to reset their password.

Creativity

April is School Library Month! It is with great pride that Instructional Technology and Library Media Services invites you to join us in celebrating the essential role our school libraries and school library media coordinators play in transforming learning and supporting student achievement. The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has sponsored School Library Month since 1985. This year’s theme is School Libraries Empower Students.

Some ideas to consider include:

• Share ways that your school library program empowers students on social media. Tag your post with the official hashtag for the month #slm17.
• Encourage students and parents to share why they love your school library.
• Hold a spirit day or coordinated reading event to highlight the importance of your school library.