OCTOber 2016
High School
HIGH SCHOOL
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Trent Stern | 239-4369 | tstern@ Upcoming PD
October 14: From Best Practice to Next Practice: An Exploration of Revised Unit Guides. C&I Update Curriculum review committees have been working to develop “at-a-glance” documents for grades 9-12. Their hard work has allowed us to revise our existing unit guides as we work to provide a guaranteed and viable curriculum. These documents are designed to be practical, teacher-friendly frameworks that identify the agreed upon themes, essential questions, anchor skills, and key assessments for each grade level. We are also working to develop a plan for the meaningful implementation of common assessments as well as a vertical articulation of writing expectations for grades 9-12. I am currently working to put together a literacy intervention plan to meet the needs of struggling high school readers. I will be contacting principals during the month of October to set up times to discuss individual building needs and obtain input and feedback regarding the direction of literacy in Blue Valley. I hope to be able to share my plan with you by the end of the semester. HIGH SCHOOL
SCIENCE Christie Purdon | 239-4375 | cpurdon@ Upcoming PD
October 14 - HS teachers will meet at BVMS to focus on instruction aligned with our curriculum. We will also have discussions around 3 Dimensional learning for our students, PBL, and the EQuIP rubric to evaluate science lessons. I continue to attend science PLCs each Thursday on a rotational basis. This is informal and I join in the conversations and support the problem-solving process. I am always available to meet with teachers individually or as teams in buildings as requested! C&I Update We are continuing to use our new science resources to teach our BV curriculum. The goal is for teachers to use all three dimensions of our standards as they teach. 3D lessons include the practice(s), the core idea (content), and the crosscutting concepts. HIGH SCHOOL
WORLD LANGUAGE Diane DeNoon | 239-4101 | ddenoon@ Upcoming PD
October 14 Half Day AM High school Spanish and French teachers will participate in three sessions: A) discussion of professional learning goals using the TELL (Teacher Effectiveness for Language Learning)framework; B) guided Articulation discussions 8th to HS 2.5 and HS cross level groups to discuss identification and implementation of ‘transitional speaking and writing phrases across courses in 1-2-3-4 sequence and the 3.5-Hon4-AP5 sequence.; C) teacher choice collaborative learning groups based on input for sessions of interest and need from teacher surveys in August. C&I Update HS Latin – ongoing work on common assessments for Latin 2 HS French and HS Spanish – ongoing after school sessions 3:30 -5:30 pm to review and refine common unit assessments as well as common semester and final exams. Teachers of all courses have been reviewing the quality of the listening and reading assessments and we have moved to almost exclusive use of authentic audio and print sources in our assessments and practice documents. Updated common rubrics for interpersonal and presentation speaking, interpretive listening and interpretive speaking and presentational writing are in use for all performance assessments. Action Item: Information on the Kansas Seal of BiLiteracy will be forthcoming soon to C & I principals. We are excited for this recognition to be awarded to students proficient in more than one language. Diane will be visiting each building PLC between October and January to share information about the KS Seal, long range WL Program big ideas, and WL data from the Spring AAPPL testing of 500 WL students. The Joint Kansas & Missouri State Conferences will be held at Overland Park Marriott on October 28 and 29. Great key note speaker! No subs, no travel expenses no per diem needed. Just conference registration! Any help would be appreciated. Jodi Johnson, BVN French teacher will be recognized as Kansas World Language Teacher of the Year by Kansas World Language Association. HIGH SCHOOL
PERFORMING ARTS Janelle Brower | 2369-4109 | jbrower@ Upcoming PD
October 14, Half Day Curricular Resource Exploration – teachers will participate in “reading sessions” to explore and identify resources that will facilitate student mastery of curricular standards. In addition, teachers will meet in vertical PLC’s to align newly revised curriculum including MS Speech and Drama 7th and 8th grade debate units C&I Update Music Theory Committee Unit Design, upcoming full day sub day, TBD. HIGH SCHOOL
LIBRARY MEDIA Cristy Bolton | 239-4234 | cybolton@ Upcoming PD
Friday, October 14 - MS & HS Librarians will bring and explore current maker materials and what is happening around programming in each library. HS Librarians will then share current units being taught, and how units are supporting problem-based learning. C&I Update N/A |
HIGH SCHOOL
MATHEMATICS Adam Wade | 239-4226 | awade@ Holly McCarty | 239-4261 | hamccarty@ Upcoming PD
On October 14th, teachers will go through rotations of vendors for our textbook adoption. Teachers will fill out rubrics as they proceed through rotations. After we collect the data from the rotations, we will use that feedback to narrow each course down to two or three textbook options. C&I Update Calculus and Precalculus groups met on September 26th to evaluate and analyze textbooks. The feedback from these groups will be very valuable for us moving forward. Algebra 1, Geometry, ad Algebra 2 have completed revisions to their scope and sequences, and met to discuss textbooks on September 27th. All groups are formulating communication plans to disseminate information back to their in-building colleagues. HIGH SCHOOL
SOCIAL STUDIES Kelli Haeffner | 239-4263 | khaeffner@ Upcoming PD
On Friday, October 14th teachers will continue discussions and work that focus on 21st century skills which will be incorporated into our goal of developing common quality classroom assessments. Colleagues of the same discipline will discuss activities that develop the necessary skills of a 21st century learner and problem based learner. MS and HS teachers will continue discussions centered around our core content vertical teams (6-12) identifying skill development for each discipline. C&I Update Presidential Election: Students will have the opportunity to take part in Kids Voting Kansas, an online presidential election on Tuesday, November 8th. HIGH SCHOOL
VISUAL ARTS Kathleen Cigich | 239-4337 | kcigich@ Upcoming PD
High school art teachers will be meeting with Robert Asquith to learn about Google Drive for collaboration among teachers and students. They will also attend a presentation by a group of teachers from BVN who have been studying teacher innovation. C&I Update N/A HIGH SCHOOL
PHYSICAL EDUCATION Kathleen Cigich | 239-4337 | kcigich@ Upcoming PD
High school PE teachers will be meeting with a district athletic trainer to learn about cross training. They will also attend a student privacy presentation with all K-12 PE teachers. C&I Update N/A HIGH SCHOOL
CAREER & TECH ED Linda Affholder | 239-4077 | laffholder@ Upcoming PD
October 10 & 11 – Programming teachers attend AP Computer Science Principles workshop October 14 Inservice - All CTE will meet at BV West HS. • Session A: Advisory meetings, how do business partners support innovation in the workplace? • Session B: Next Practices in CTE - BVN team will share their Teacher Innovation Lab experiences, as an example of PLCs investigating a problem of practice C&I Update October 3 – Web Design teachers curriculum work (projects to support coding in HTML) and alignment with JCCC articulated course. October 4 – Architecture teachers integration of OneNote, Plumbing projects in Drafting II, IED update, Wood Technologies authentic workplace projects October 17 – Accounting teachers: support for implementation of new accounting curriculum |
MIDDLE SCHOOL
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Jen Duke | 239-4266 | jdduke@ Upcoming PD
On October 14th, MS ELA teachers will continue to investigate inquiry using the WISE-R model, as well as examining 21st century learning and teaching, with time to repackage units and collaborate vertically. C&I Update Potential future committee topics may include anchor standard skills, 21st century learner attributes, content-based essential questions, and writing assessment rubrics. MIDDLE SCHOOL
SCIENCE Christie Purdon | 239-4375 | cpurdon@ Upcoming PD
October 14 - MS teachers will meet at BVMS to focus on adding inquiry to our science units that ask for this. We will also have discussions around 3 Dimensional learning for our students, PBL, and the EQuIP rubric to evaluate science lessons. C&I Update We are continuing to use our new science resources (CPO Science) to teach our BV curriculum. The goal is for teachers to use all three dimensions of our standards as they teach. 3D lessons include the practice(s), the core idea (content), and the crosscutting concepts. We also have Ellen Jardon (EdTech Team) supporting middle school science teachers in integrating technology with our science. MIDDLE SCHOOL
WORLD LANGUAGE Diane DeNoon | 239-4101 | ddenoon@ Upcoming PD
October 14 Half Day AM MS Spanish and French teachers will participate in three sessions: A) discussion of professional learning goals using the TELL (Teacher Effectiveness for Language Learning)framework; B) guided Articulation discussions in 5th to 6th and 8th to HS 2.5 across level groups; C) teacher choice collaborative learning groups based on input for sessions of interest and need from teacher surveys in August. C&I Update We made some updates to the 7th grade curriculum in Summer 2016 and will continue to monitor student performance to determine if the minor changes were positive or if reconsideration is needed before 2017-18. Action Item: The Joint Kansas & Missouri State Conferences will be held at Overland Park Marriott on October 28 and 29. Great key note speaker! No subs, no travel expenses no per diem needed. Just conference registration! Any help would be appreciated. Jodi Johnson, BVN French teacher will be recognized as Kansas World Language Teacher of the Year by Kansas World Language Association. MIDDLE SCHOOL
PERFORMING ARTS Janelle Brower | 2369-4109 | jbrower@ Upcoming PD
October 14, Half Day Curricular Resource Exploration – teachers will participate in “reading sessions” to explore and identify resources that will facilitate student mastery of curricular standards. In addition, teachers will meet in vertical PLC’s to align newly revised curriculum including MS Speech and Drama 7th and 8th grade debate units. Upcoming Festivals: MS Orchestra – November 18, 9:00-2:00, BVW This festival serves as a summative assessment for Middle School orchestra students. Three judges from outside the district will evaluate student performances and provide feedback for improvement using the MS Orchestra Festival Rubric. A judge will clinic each group after their performance. MS Junior Thespian Festival – November 12, 2016, 8:00 – 12:15, LKMS – This enrichment opportunity features numerous workshops and presentations by members of the Kansas City Theatre community. C&I Update Unit Design work and assessment development in all subjects. MIDDLE SCHOOL
CAREER & TECH ED Linda Affholder | 239-4077 | laffholder@ Upcoming PD
October 14 Middle School Computer Technology, Pre-engineering, and FACS: Next practices: Increasing Student Engagement in Problem-based learning C&I Update October 20 Middle School Computer Tech Curriculum work to increase student engagement in multi-media and coding |
MIDDLE SCHOOL
MATHEMATICS Adam Wade | 239-4226 | awade@ Holly McCarty | 239-4261 | hamccarty@ Upcoming PD
On October 14th, we will continue our focus on quality assessment. Teachers will work with their course alike counterparts on constructing a quality assessment for an upcoming unit. Algebra 1 teachers will be with the high school teachers on October 14th participating in textbook adoption rotations. C&I Update KSDE is currently revising their math curriculum with a goal of finishing this work up by the end of the 2016-17 school year. If the plan from KSDE holds, we’ll be reviewing our curriculum next school year. We are also beginning work on differentiation for top students with middle school math coaches. MIDDLE SCHOOL
SOCIAL STUDIES Kelli Haeffner | 239-4263 | khaeffner@ Upcoming PD
On Friday, October 14th, MS teachers will spend time with HS teachers identifying skill development for each discipline in our core content vertical teams (6-12). We will also continue work on our inquiry based lessons as grade level teams focusing on the WISER model. C&I Update MS: The 7th grade curriculum committee will continue to work on developing unit guides on October 18th at Hilltop. The 8th grade curriculum committee will meet on October 20th at Hilltop, to continue developing unit guides. Presidential Election: Students will have the opportunity to take part in Kids Voting Kansas, an online presidential election on Tuesday, November 8th. MIDDLE SCHOOL
VISUAL ARTS Kathleen Cigich | 239-4337 | kcigich@ Upcoming PD
Middle school teachers will be exploring using Google Drive as a tool for better collaboration among their team during the October 14th professional learning session. They will also attend a presentation by a group of teachers from BVN who have been studying teacher innovation. C&I Update N/A MIDDLE SCHOOL
PHYSICAL EDUCATION Kathleen Cigich | 239-4337 | kcigich@ Upcoming PD
Middle school PE teachers will be meeting with an athletic trainer to learn more about protocol and safety with their students. They will also attend a student privacy presentation with all K-12 PE teachers. C&I Update N/A MIDDLE SCHOOL
LIBRARY MEDIA Cristy Bolton | 239-4234 | cybolton@ Upcoming PD
Friday, October 14 - MS & HS Librarians will bring and explore current maker materials and what is happening around programming in each library. MS Librarians will then work with the WISE inquiry model, share current units being taught, and how units are being repackaged to be more student-driven. C&I Update Content areas will continue work around the WISE inquiry framework. Each content leader will work with teachers in grade level teams to begin repackaging current research units. The ESST team will also start creating materials that buildings can print and use in classrooms with the WISE model on them. |
ELEMENTARY
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Mary Jane Weishar | 239-4179 | mweishar@ Upcoming PD
Oct 14 - Evaluate anchor resources for the ELA Adoption Hilltop Conference Room ABC 8:00-11:15 Oct. 16 - Nov. 16 - Evaluate the Technology for the resources being considered for the ELA adoption during a planning time. C&I Update All Elementary teachers will use an evaluation tool to analyze K-1st (Journeys and Benchmark Advance), and 2nd- 5th (Ready Gen and Benchmark Advance on Oct. 14. Teachers will be sent links to the resources and an evaluation tool to evaluate the technology piece during a planning time from Oct. 16 - Nov. 16. Opportunity for Writing Professional Learning: Writing Wednesdays with Weishar Sign-up in My Learning Plan Oct. 5 Grammar in the Writing Workshop (2nd-5th) 4:15-5:15. Oct. 12 Illustration Study in Writing Workshop (K-1st) 4:15-5:15 Action Item: Building, grade level, individual teachers can choose one of the following or any other topic to deepen their knowledge and instructional practices. (e contact K-5 ELA Mary Jane Weishar for planning of this work.) Some ideas: • How to teach grammar in writing workshop • Deepening Close Reading • Writing Conferences • Reading Conferences • How to use the Learning Continuum as a lesson planning tool ELEMENTARY
SCIENCE Callie Wietzel | 239-4268 | caweitzel@ Upcoming PD
Throughout the fall one teacher per school per grade level will meet for a full day. These times will be used to work through our curriculum and pedagogy including literacy integration, assessment development, and other best practices. Third grade meets on October 18 and fourth on October 19th. C&I Update We will continue to use our new BV curriculum based on the NGSS as well as our purchased resources (TCI). This is a year where we will make additions or deletions based on data from the 2015-16 school year. During meetings with grade levels, essential questions & learning targets will be written for science units. Additionally, work will be done focused on vocabulary, reading integration, and assessments. ELEMENTARY
WORLD LANGUAGE Diane DeNoon | 239-4101 | ddenoon@ Upcoming PD
October 14th Half Day FLES Spanish teachers WL- Principal Notes: will participate in three sessions: A) discussion in small groups of professional learning goals using the TELL (Teacher Effectiveness for Language learning) framework; B) guided Articulation discussions for 5th to 6th cross level groups; C) teacher choice collaborative learning groups based on input for sessions of interest from teacher surveys in August. C&I Update October 27th 8:30 – 10:30 AM FLES Teachers will consider adding more conversational language phrases to the lower elementary curriculum K-2. Students are not performing as well with conversations as we would expect, in part due to their not being taught sufficient functional language phrases. Teachers will also continue to add authentic audio and cultural resources into instruction. The Joint Kansas & Missouri State Conferences will be held at Overland Park Marriott on October 28 and 29. Great key note speaker! No subs, no travel expenses no per diem needed. Just conference registration! Any help would be appreciated. Jodi Johnson, BVN French teacher will be recognized as Kansas World Language Teacher of the Year by Kansas World Language Association. ELEMENTARY
PERFORMING ARTS Janelle Brower | 2369-4109 | jbrower@ Upcoming PD
October 14, Half Day: Curricular Resource Exploration – teachers will participate in “reading sessions” to explore and identify resources that will facilitate student mastery of curricular standards. In addition, teachers will meet in vertical PLC’s to align newly revised curriculum including MS Speech and Drama 7th and 8th grade debate units. October 27, Morning of conferences: World Drumming instructional techniques. C&I Update Upcoming scope and sequence revision during 2016-17 school year. ELEMENTARY
LIBRARY MEDIA Cristy Bolton | 239-4234 | cybolton@ Upcoming PD
Friday, October 14 - Librarians will work with Becca Munson, Ed Tech, around DLC iPads. They will work in small groups to integrate the use of the apps into collaborative lessons. C&I Update N/A |
ELEMENTARY
MATHEMATICS Jennifer Taylor | 239-4262 | jtaylor@ Upcoming PD
I met with 2nd grade teachers on October 6th. I am excited to continue working with them to create supplemental lessons to support student learning. I will meet with them again on December 8th. C&I Update Now that fall MAP testing if finished, I would love to come out to your school’s PLC and share the Learning Continuums John Schulte and I created to help your teachers incorporate their student’s MAP data with their guided math groups. I am also working on some district guidelines in the area of fact fluency. More information will be coming out at the next Elementary Nuts and Bolts meeting. ELEMENTARY
SOCIAL STUDIES Callie Wietzel | 239-4268 | caweitzel@ Upcoming PD
On November 3rd and April 6th the ES SS Curriculum Committee will meet to continue the work that was started last year on the scope and sequence. The focus for this year will be on assessments and different learning experiences, as well as enhancing the 5E lesson plans. C&I Update From last year, we have 5E lesson plans in our unit guides for teachers to share and use (T:drive -> Education Services-> Social Studies -> BVSS Unit Guides or print shop). In addition, scope and sequences for each grade level, sample 5E lessons, suggestions for the first ten days of lessons, and links to online resources, including the KSDE HGSS Skill Expectations can be located on the Blue Valley Social Studies Weebly - http://bvsocialstudies.weebly.com/ and on the curriculum resource page. Action Item: One teacher per building will be needed to form the ES SS Curriculum Committee. These can be the same teachers as last year or a new teacher that you would like to send. Please help support your teachers by directing them to lesson plans in the BV SS Unit Guides on the T:drive or through print shop. While teachers are not required to follow these lessons plans, they were created by BV ES Teachers, edited by our curriculum committee, and offer a lot of support for our ES SS Curriculum. A couple dates to keep in mind for this year… Celebrate Freedom Week & Constitution Day: September 12th – 16th. Constitution Day, September 17th, falls on a Saturday this year, so we will celebrate it on Friday, September 16th. Data will be collected from each school pertaining to what was done during Celebrate Freedom week. Presidential Election: Tuesday, November 8th. We will be working with Kids Voting Kansas to offer students the chance to vote. ELEMENTARY
VISUAL ARTS Kathleen Cigich | 239-4337 | kcigich@ Upcoming PD
Elementary art teachers will be learning about QR codes during their October 14th professional learning session. Teachers will learn strategies for using QR codes as a technology tool with a purpose in their art classrooms. C&I Update Elementary art teachers will meet during the morning on Thursday, October 27th during conferences to focus on curriculum and resources. ELEMENTARY
PHYSICAL EDUCATION Kathleen Cigich | 239-4337 | kcigich@ Upcoming PD
On October 14th, elementary PE teachers will be participating in CPR training. They will also meet with a speaker from Jump Rope for Heart and attend a student privacy presentation with all K-12 PE teachers. C&I Update N/A |
Special Education
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Direct URL: BVSPED.weebly.com.
Direct URL: BVSPED.weebly.com.