September 2016
High School
HIGH SCHOOL
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Trent Stern | 239-4369 | tstern@ Upcoming PD
September 13: ELA Curriculum Review Committee (Grades 11 & 12) September 20: ELA Curriculum Review Committee (Grades 9 & 10) October 4: ELA Curriculum Review Committee (Grades 9 & 10) C&I Update Curriculum review committees are working to develop “at-a-glance” documents for grades 9-12. These documents are intended to be practical, teacher-friendly frameworks that identify the agreed upon themes, essential questions, anchor skills, and key assessments for each grade level. These documents will be shared with all high school ELA teachers during our professional learning day in October. Teachers will use these documents to focus their work in collaborative teams to better align our teaching as we strive to deliver a guaranteed and viable curriculum. We are also working to develop a plan for the meaningful implementation of common assessments. Looking forward, the primary focus areas for professional growth and learning throughout the year will continue to be quality assessment, writing instruction and feedback, and 21st-century skills. HIGH SCHOOL
SCIENCE Christie Purdon | 239-4375 | cpurdon@ Upcoming PD
I am joining 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! Our next District PL is in October. 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
N/A C&I Update All French course alike groups meet 3:30 – 5:30 during September to update the common performance assessments, balancing the mode (performance type) and reviewing and revising the quality of the task. They are also replacing language-controlled text passages with listening and reading sources for use in classroom practice and in performance task assessments. AP Spanish meets on Friday September 9 all day with subs provided. Spanish 2/3 meet on Tuesday, Sept 13. Each group meets for half day; a pair of teachers will share one sub in each building for the day. Spanish 2.5/Spanish 1 meet on Friday, September 30. Each groups meets for half day; a pair of teachers will share one sub in each building for the day. Latin - ongoing 2016-17. Latin teachers are creating common assessments based on the recent adoption of Jenney Latin materials for the high school courses. Last year they focused on Latin 1; this year will be Latin 2. They will meet occasionally after school as their schedules allow and I will have stipends to pay them for this collaborative time. Action Item: 1. Any collaborative time for the three Latin teachers to work together during late arrival would be very helpful to support their ongoing work – thank you. 2. I will send via email a digital copy of the Look Fors in middle school world langage classrooms. I know most of you have seen it before, but it's a good tool to guide you in some of the WL specifics of teaching and learning that you should see happening in our WL classes. Bottom line: 90%+ target language use by teachers and students is the expectation goal. As for class time instruction, students should be engaged 80% of the time in language using (speaking, listening, reading, writing) and 20% of the time in language getting (grammar and vocabulary exercises). HIGH SCHOOL
PERFORMING ARTS Janelle Brower | 2369-4109 | jbrower@ HIGH SCHOOL
LIBRARY MEDIA Cristy Bolton | 239-4234 | cybolton@ Upcoming PD
September 15, 1:45-3:15 pm - HS librarians will meet to discuss curriculum integration around inquiry. September 23 (AM) - HS librarians will be working with Paige Jaeger & Mary Boyd Ratzer on creating stronger collaboration around inquiry-based learning projects.. C&I Update Our focus this year will be with increasing collaboration around problem-based and inquiry learning. We will also continue to develop maker space programming and how it fits into each library program differently. |
HIGH SCHOOL
MATHEMATICS Adam Wade | 239-4226 | awade@ Holly McCarty | 239-4261 | hamccarty@ Upcoming PD
September 12th, 4:00 – 5:30 – Department Chair Meeting September 26th, 7:30 – 3:15 – Precalculus and Calculus Committees September 27th, 7:30 – 3:15 – Algebra 1, Geometry & Algebra 2 Committees October 14th, 8:00 – 11:15 C&I Update Most math courses are adopting resources, and will cycle through presentations on these resources during October PL. During these presentations, teachers will fill out rubrics evaluating the resources. Additionally, as part of the September 27th committee work, Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 teachers will be finalizing their scope and sequences. 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 September 17th- Constitution Day, celebrated on Friday, September 16th. All high school teachers will designate part of their learning time to focus on the Constitution. All activities must be reported on the Google Doc for their specific building. 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 teachers will be joined by two new professional learning coordinators in August. Rick Rhoades (PE teacher at BVSW) and Ben Bond (PE teachers at LVE) will be fulfilling the roles of coordinators. I will be work with Rick and Ben to analyze data and feedback received from teachers to plan meaningful professional learning opportunities. C&I Update N/A HIGH SCHOOL
PHYSICAL EDUCATION Kathleen Cigich | 239-4337 | kcigich@ Upcoming PD
High school teachers enjoyed their professional development in August where they were asked to reflect on their teaching and improve their practice through goal setting. Teachers were CPR trained. C&I Update N/A HIGH SCHOOL
CAREER & TECH ED Linda Affholder | 239-4077 | laffholder@ Upcoming PD
Teacher leaders will attend various pathway updates provided by KSDE as well as articulation meetings with JCCC. C&I Update September 13: Marketing teachers will meet to update Branding and Selling course utilizing new digital resources and projects. CTE teams are in the process of establishing SMART goals and PLC plans for the year. These will be made available to administrators in Google Drive in October. Next cross-building PLC date is October 6. |
MIDDLE SCHOOL
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Jen Duke | 239-4266 | jdduke@ Upcoming PD
I am very excited to be in this new position working with our middle school ELA staff! On September 23rd, we have an amazing collaborative professional learning experience planned with not only middle school ELA staff, but also with middle school Librarians, Social Studies and Science teachers regarding the inquiry process! Guest speakers Paige Jaeger and Mary Ratzer will be presenting to our staff about embracing inquiry and engaging our students. C&I Update Grade level representatives will meet on September 21st for a full-day professional learning centered around reviewing curriculum and identifying critical skills. A second day is tentatively scheduled for October 12th. Action Item: If you have not done so, please email me with your recommendation for grade level representatives to attend curriculum review meetings! [email protected] MIDDLE SCHOOL
SCIENCE Christie Purdon | 239-4375 | cpurdon@ Upcoming PD
September 23 1/2 day Professional Learning @ HCC Inquiry Framework presentation to continue our work from last year. 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 (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
September 23rd 12:00 – 3:15 PM MS WL teachers meet at Hilltop. Topics to include information on the new Kansas Seal of Biliteracy, feedback on and revisions needed regarding curricular changes made to 7th grade for 2016-17, vocabulary quiz formats that transition to HS, and proficiency-oriented speaking activities that engage ALL students at the same time. C&I Update N/A Action Item: Principals: I will send via email a digital copy of the Look Fors in middle school world language classrooms. I know most of you have seen it before, but it's a good tool to guide you in some of the WL specifics of teaching and learning that you should see happening in our WL classes. Bottom line: 90%+ target language use by teachers and students is the expectation goal. As for class time instruction, students should be engaged 80% of the time in language using (speaking, listening, reading, writing) and 20% of the time in language getting (grammar and vocabulary exercises). MIDDLE SCHOOL
PERFORMING ARTS Janelle Brower | 2369-4109 | jbrower@ Upcoming PD
September 23, Half Day. Assessment Design and Redesign. MS Performing Arts teachers will begin the process of unit design for newly revised scope and sequence. Teachers will evaluate common assessments created for the BVKeep and revise as needed to improve effectiveness. Orchestra teachers will share instructional strategies for preparing students for the MS Orchestra Festival at BVW in November. Speech and Drama teachers will design instruction for the Junior Thespian Festival LKM in November. C&I Update Unit Design work and assessment development in all subjects. MIDDLE SCHOOL
CAREER & TECH ED Linda Affholder | 239-4077 | laffholder@ Upcoming PD
September 23 Inservice • FACS: Finalize Dairy Unit. Review Scope & Sequence and identify next units to update. • Computer Technology: Unit Development, organization of units and resources in Google Drive and adapt for mobile devices. • Pre-engineering: Review Scope and Sequence and update pacing guide with supporting projects. C&I Update CTE teams are in the process of establishing SMART goals and PLC plans for the year. These will be made available to administrators in Google Drive in October. |
MIDDLE SCHOOL
MATHEMATICS Adam Wade | 239-4226 | awade@ Holly McCarty | 239-4261 | hamccarty@ Upcoming PD
September 23rd, 12:00 – 3:15 September 27th, 7:30 – 3:15 – Algebra 1 Committees October 6th, 7:30 – 3:15 – Coaches meeting October 14th, 8:00 – 11:15 C&I Update We will be focusing on quality assessment on September 23rd and October 14th. On September 23rd, teachers will reflect on student MAP data and will look at examples of quality assessment (MAP, State Assessment, PISA, ACT, AP). On October 14th, we will begin work on writing quality assessments that require greater levels of student thinking. Algebra 1 teachers are an exception, as one per building meets on September 27th to revise their scope and sequence and discuss resource adoption. Furthermore, Algebra 1 teachers will spend the October 14th date working more on resource adoption with their high-school counterparts. MIDDLE SCHOOL
SOCIAL STUDIES Kelli Haeffner | 239-4263 | khaeffner@ Upcoming PD
On Friday, September 23, MS librarians, social studies, science, and ELA teachers will attend a session led by national presenters Paige Jaeger & Mary Boyd Ratzer. Jaeger & Ratzer developed the WISE inquiry model, and will guide teachers to repackage research units into strong, inquiry-based curriculum that is student-driven, and includes strong essential questions. On October 14th, MS teachers will spend time with HS teachers identifying skill development for each discipline in our core content vertical teams (6-12). C&I Update September 12th-16th- MS Celebrate Freedom Week. This week is designated to celebrate our freedoms and liberties fought for by our founding fathers and dedicated patriots. SS teachers will report the daily activities completed in their class on a Google Doc for their specific building. 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 meet on September 23rd. During this time, teachers will focus their work on implementing their new curriculum and further developing unit design. Teachers will be asked to self-reflect on practices and various instructional strategies. C&I Update Our focus this year will be on the implementation of new curriculum and 21st century learning skills. Teachers will be developing new lessons, analyzing essential learning skills and reflecting on how to best improve their practice. MIDDLE SCHOOL
PHYSICAL EDUCATION Kathleen Cigich | 239-4337 | kcigich@ Upcoming PD
Middle schools teachers will be completing observations at the high school level on September 23rd. The purpose of this activity is for the middle school teachers to look for effective teaching strategies, analyze vertical alignment and reflect on curriculum gaps. Rick Rhoades, PL coordinator for physical education, has been working hard to analyze data and feedback received from teachers to plan meaningful professional learning opportunities. C&I Update N/A MIDDLE SCHOOL
LIBRARY MEDIA Cristy Bolton | 239-4234 | cybolton@ Upcoming PD
On Friday, September 23, MS librarians, social studies, science, and ELA teachers will attend a session led by national presenters Paige Jaeger & Mary Boyd Ratzer. Jaeger & Ratzer developed the WISE inquiry model, and will guide teachers to repackage research units into strong, inquiry-based curriculum that is student-driven, and includes strong essential questions. C&I Update Our focus this year will be with increasing collaboration around problem-based and inquiry learning. We will also continue to develop maker space programming and how it fits into each library program differently. Action Item: A reminder that MS librarians will also be working with Paige Jaeger & Mary Boyd Ratzer the morning of Friday, September 23. The focus will be on creating stronger collaboration around inquiry-based learning projects. |
ELEMENTARY
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Mary Jane Weishar | 239-4179 | mweishar@ Upcoming PD
September 9 - Reading Specialists Meeting September 15 - Elementary ELA Content Team meets to continue work on the reading anchor resource adoption. September 23 - All elementary teachers will attend a presentation on the following adoption programs being considered: K-1 Journeys (HM) and Benchmark Advance (Benchmark Literacy). September 23 - Reading Specialists will meet to collaborate about intervention strategies. October 14 - All elementary teachers will evaluate the reading anchor resources for adoption. C&I Update This fall elementary teachers will have the opportunity to review and evaluate materials being considered for adoption. The Elementary ELA Content Team will develop an evaluation tool to evaluate the programs being considered for adoption. Reading Specialists will be reviewing MAP data to make determinations of any changes that might be needed to best meet the Reading Intervention K program. The end of September 2nd-5th grade teachers will be receiving District Narrative Common Writing Performane (previously the District Common MDPT). This needs to be completed by Oct 14. Action Item: Optional Building Work- Building, grade level, individual teachers who wants work on any literacy topics please contact me at [email protected] or 4179. Here are some that you might be interested in: • 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
August 9, 2016 – Framing PLCs through a 21st Century Lens. We will kick off the 2016-2017 school year exploring the 4Cs of 21st Century Skills (Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking & Creativity) and how teachers can support students developing these skills. Professional learning will focus on strengthening PLCs (continued from summer leadership conference) and the difference between standards v. curriculum v. resources. Fall 2016 Callie Weitzel (K-5 Science) and I will have all day meetings with one teacher per school per grade level. These times will be used to work through our curriculum and pedagogy including literacy integration, assessment development, and other best practices. 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 2015-16. Action Item: We will be requesting one name per grade level for a teacher to attend an all day science meeting. We will email you for those names this fall. ELEMENTARY
WORLD LANGUAGE Diane DeNoon | 239-4101 | ddenoon@ Upcoming PD
September 23rd 12:45- 4:00 FLES teachers meet at Hilltop. Topics to include technology integration using the new tools that all FLES teachers received this year. We will use the expertise of the IS teachers to provide training and support to learn 3 or 4 new tools: Book Creator, See Saw, and Explain Everything. Teachers will work in small groups to create speaking activities for several units at each grade level that engage ALL students at the same time while incorporating visuals that convey cultural aspects to young learners. C&I Update N/A Action Item: I will send a digital copy of the Look Fors in elementary world language classrooms. I know most of you have seen it before but it's a good tool to guide you in some of the specifics in WL teaching and learning that you should see happening in our WL classes. ELEMENTARY
PERFORMING ARTS Janelle Brower | 2369-4109 | jbrower@ Upcoming PD
September 23, Half Day. Technology Integration in General Music. Topics will include using I-pads, Apple-TV, and I-tunes effectively, collaborating using Google drive, and assessing student learning with Kahoot. C&I Update Upcoming scope and sequence revision during 2016-17 school year. ELEMENTARY
LIBRARY MEDIA Cristy Bolton | 239-4234 | cybolton@ Upcoming PD
September 23 (AM) - HS librarians will be working with Paige Jaeger & Mary Boyd Ratzer on creating stronger collaboration around inquiry-based learning projects. C&I Update Our focus this year will be with increasing collaboration around problem-based and inquiry learning. We will also continue to develop maker space programming and how it fits into each library program differently. |
ELEMENTARY
MATHEMATICS Jennifer Taylor | 239-4262 | jtaylor@ Upcoming PD
Throughout the year I would love to come out and support your teachers in the area of math. I am working with John Schulte to come up with a teacher-friendly way to incorporate their student’s MAP data with their guided math groups. I will also be sending your teachers some extension activities incorporating 21st century skills. C&I Update Based on our teacher feedback from last year, the Quick Checks and Benchmark Assessments are no longer required. Teachers are encouraged to utilize them if they feel they will support their teaching. Just a reminder that your teachers need to be pretesting their topics. The pretest scores must be reported to your math interventionist. Action Item: I plan on inviting a 2nd grade teacher from each building to meet two times this semester to continue the curriculum work that was started last year. We are going to dig deep into our MAP data and see how it relates to our standards and resource. Based on what we find, we will collaborate together to create supplemental lessons to support student learning. 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 met in August with Gillian Bush, a member of our Ed Tech team, to learn about their new technology and implementing devices into daily instruction. We are thrilled to have a teacher iPad and SMARTBoard in every elementary art classroom! In September, teachers will focus their attention on Seesaw and the development of digital portfolios. C&I Update Our focus this year will turn to the implementation of our new curriculum paired with technology integration. Teachers should be developing new lessons, analyzing learning outcomes and reflecting on changes to the curriculum. ELEMENTARY
PHYSICAL EDUCATION Kathleen Cigich | 239-4337 | kcigich@ Upcoming PD
On September 23rd, elementary physical education teachers will meet with Ben Bond, PL coordinator for physical education. They will look at their curriculum, 21st century learning skills and implementation of CrossFit. C&I Update N/A |
Special Education
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