12/17/18

HOLIDAY MADNESS
FYI...  Just in case you were planning tests, quizzes, etc. for this week, keep on the look-out for memos regarding rehearsals for the Holiday Assembly.  There will be many students out on 12/20 and 12/21 during periods 1-9 for the dress rehearsal and the performance. 
OUR ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY

When?                        Friday, December 21st from 
Time?                         7:30am – Beginning of 9th Period 
Where?                       FX239
People in Charge?      Lauren McGorty & Cat Valik 

Below are the Google Forms to sign up to bring item(s) to the Holiday Party. You only need to fill out one form. They are separated by categories. They are asking that everyone spends approximately $10.

Please RSVP on one of these forms:

Crew Members, Non Food Items, and Drinks Form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfba63E36-RgbEd2sQpQLhIIZEf32udv_mYd0huIJRrO_IrYg/viewform

Breakfast Items
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScpgzmQtlgE7nqM20p_vnU65aZE56L-VdLziOyvzsmSQGqtDA/viewform

Snacks and Dips
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe-8aYbIvDcFcQ8-yROK6jrnfDxvTufah8aPU5-yZikEayKDw/viewform

Lunch Items
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeEYT5pwNf6zgDBLBRxXrQ32rd7xGSCswzW3_7MAAjnYHjA4g/viewform

Dessert Items
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdkI4YcWi9gnhtCbRBq4wKbQxHCiD4QJKEeI9I9m6mvKesRvg/viewform


New Naviance Sign-in

PRINT SHOP REQUESTS

Please note that effective immediately, requests for printing and design work
need to go through the Print Shop in room B-201.

• Each request needs to be documented with a work order form.
• Include clear, concise instructions and your contact information.
• The form is attached to this email for your convenience
• and available inside the front door of the print shop.
• E-mailed work orders will not be accepted.
• Digital files for printing will only be accepted upon completion of the work order form.
• Work orders will only be accepted with your department supervisor’s signature.
• We ask that work orders be submitted at least 1 week in advance prior to due date.
• Please remember that the PRINT SHOP is a classroom.
• Work orders should be submitted to the print shop during periods 1 and 9, if possible, to minimize class disruptions.

Plan Ahead - PARCC TRAINING - REQUIRED 
Dates: 4/10 & 4/11 
4 sessions over two days
Sessions offered during period 9 and after school from 3:05 - 3:45
These meetings will take the place of our department meeting for the month.
Sports and Activities cannot be used as an excuse to not attend training. This in-person training is mandated by the New Jersey Department of Education.

This is what I wish for all of you for your Christmas break - days of rest and relaxation!

Ned Flanders and Sunny-bear spend every day this way - oh to be a cat!

(And by the way, that IS Ned's happy face!)

12/10/18

TWO MORE WEEKS AND THE HOLIDAY BREAK 

WILL BE UPON US!

Important: Please Read...


Trimester Grade Locks

Going forward, enter "borrowed books" assignments into the system with a June date. 

Here is the reason...

The trimester grades will now lock at the end of the cycle (Dec 12th).  If you have a "borrowed books" assignments loaded with dates from Trimester one, and will not collect the books until Trimester 2, you must change the dates ASAP to a date in Trimester 2 (or just put a June date in).  You will not be able to get back into the assignment for the book returns when you need to after the cycle closes on the 12th.


Also, if you have other assignments that fall into this scenario, you must adjust them as well.  For example, if you have benchmarks or pre-assessments that have assignments loaded in Power School with Trimester 1 dates but do not have grades entered yet, you must change the date to one in Trimester 2 (otherwise the grades must be entered by the 12).  



If you have questions about this, email me or see Prinzo (she is the wizard of this realm and can probably explain this better than I).  


Honors and AP Prospects

Start thinking about students who should be eligible or show potential for Honors and AP courses. Remember to consider that diligence and work ethic is admirable however skill also should factor in.  Also, students that are involved in multiple activities may find the AP courseload to be more than they can handle if they are going to miss class on a regular basis.  These are the things that WE must discuss with them prior to placement because we cannot count on anyone else relaying this info to them. If they are interested in AP, they could be attending SES afterschool to prepare for the challenge, so talk to them about that as well.

It’s early and the course request process won’t start until after R2, but it’s best to start planting the seed that a teacher’s requirement will be needed to request Honors and AP courses.

We will begin our scheduling meetings when we return from the winter break.



Books Returns and requests:


1) Do not order novels from the book room for other teachers.  For example, do not order "for the room." Order novels for your students only.  

2) When you have collected the novels, enter a pickup request in the Google Form asap.  DO NOT GIVE THEM TO ANOTHER TEACHER TO USE.  It is not an inconvenience for the "books guys" to entertain these pickups. In order to keep and maintain accurate records, we must follow this process.  


3) When you have books that need to be returned and are not ready to enter a new novel request, enter zeros in for the book requests and fill in only the pickup requests on the Google Form.  


Wellness Day:

Wellness Day:  PCTI's 3rd Annual Wellness day is scheduled for March 13, 2019. The goal is to bring as many "whole body and mind" resources as we can to our PCTI students. Some of the presentations last year included yoga, stress relief, mental health resources, drug/alcohol awareness, nutrition, etc. Each year the program has grown and has included both outside agencies (i.e. Susan G. Koman) and PCTI resources (i.e. the Teen Center, Cosmetology students, etc).

This year we would love to draw upon the talents our faculty members in related areas of mental awareness. Therefore, if anyone feels like they (or their shop) can contribute to this year's wellness event, please fill out the form below.

https://goo.gl/forms/zsYdmSuZceuG90CE3

Requesting a Leave: 

Medical/FMLA/NJMLA Leave

1. All medical leave requests should be in writing.
2. All requests should come with a doctor’s note that clearly defines the start date and the end date as well as the reason for the leave.
3. The staff should submit these items to you and you are responsible for submitting them to Human Resources.  All leaves require that action be taken by the Board of Education prior to their start date and no action will be taken by the Board of Education without Human Resources being in receipt of these documents.  
4. If backup documentation is necessary, Human Resources will contact the employee and/or employee’s doctor for that information.  Initially, we will ask the employee to provide the information from their doctor.
5. Staff should contact Yari Stevens or the Payroll Department regarding their health benefits prior to the start of the leave.
6. Should the employee begin any long-term leave without prior approval, it could result in a loss of salary.
7. In an emergency situation, staff should contact their immediate supervisor who will, in turn, notify Human Resources.  Human Resources will follow up with the staff member to acquire the necessary documentation.

Wonderful things...

"Ice Flower" has Dropped!

Pat's band, The Ritualists has released its first single.    Check it out on YouTube!  Pat is hiding in the shadows, but you can catch glimpses of him!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf4IKckhElY

And you can find it on music sites like Amazon music!

https://www.amazon.com/Ice-Flower-Ritualists/dp/B07KPMB6FJ/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1544022816&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=the+ritualist

12/3/18

Just a few things for "The Weekly..."

• Department Meeting:  Our Next department meeting is tomorrow - December 4th. 

• Essay Contest:  The American Legion Auxiliary Essay Contest provided by Cathy Pagano...  Please share this link with your students. Deadline is January 15, 2019

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jbMayQ78DKQokBfJo8laoHkeVZnjyN9L

• Crisis Counselors

We have 2 crisis counselors on staff.   Jennine LaCorte is available for help with non-classified students. She can be reached at extension 7235. The crisis counselor for special needs students is Jamie Saracino.  She can be reached at extension 4153.  Please make sure we are referring students to the correct counselor. 

• Benchmarks: 

We should be in the process of issuing the first benchmark.  The second one should be assigned towards the end of January.  The third should be assigned in about mid-March.  This spaces them out in a logical sequence and gives ample time in between before the final deadline for SGOs...

Wonderful Things...

So, many of you probably know that although I do not have any artistic talent, some members of my family do.  My cousin Brian (aka KAWS in the art world) currently has a show in NYC at the Skarstedt Gallery.  For any of you "art folks," it runs through the 19th of December.  It features some of his current work.  He started out as a Jersey City skateboard kid and then began his turbulent years of dodging the police for his prolific graffiti art in and around Jersey City and NYC.  He ventured into art school after high school and began his journey.  He has been one of only two "living" artists to have his creations featured as balloons in the Thanksgiving Day parade and his sculptures have made their way around the world.  Some are the size of buildings.  Every once in a while, his stuff is featured by companies like Hennessy and VANS.  He has even been featured in a Simpsons episode and designed a Moonman for the MTV Awards!  He initially became famous for wrapping his artwork around real photos of celebrities.  Kate Moss and Lindsey Lohan were some of the early ones.  The crazy point came when Kanye asked him to do one of those pieces for a billboard in Times Square for the release of his new album "808s and Heartbreak."  Oh, he designed the album cover too.  If you are looking for something to do in the city, stop by and check out his stuff!  We are very proud of him. 

(Please send me some of your "wonderful things..."  Otherwise, I will have to start posting pictures of Ned again...)

His sculture pieces are called "companions."

This is a sweatshirt featuring his work - the line was released by Uniqlo last week.
 It features his spin on Sesame Street Characters!  I got this one for Victoria Scarpa for her birthday!

Chuck is very Proud!

11/26/18

Important:  Students who are failing or "on the verge"

(these are things that we must do in order to cover ourselves...)

We must make contact with parents/guardians about students who are failing whether that be through a phone call or email.  We must also make contact with a guidance counselor - I would prefer you did that via email.  These things must be documented in the teacher's log in Power School.  

If it comes to the point where an IR&S form is submitted, please follow these guidelines:

• Refer students who are failing or struggling and have difficulties with things such as responding to written or verbal information, organizing, focusing, and/or completing work without constant teacher intervention.  You can also refer students who have exhibited behavior that interferes with learning.
• You must have made at least 2 forms of intervention.  

1. You must have had contact with a parent/guardian AND contact with guidance and/or CS team caseworker.  My suggestion is to have contacted all of these entities.   
2. Instructional/behavioral interventions - differentiated instruction, extra time, homework or test/quiz reminders, strategic pairing or grouping for collaborative tasks, notes posted on Canvas or Google Classroom, allowing the student to make-up assignments or re-take quizzes or tests, etc...

• You must state that you made contact with the parent/guardian and a counselor/case manager somewhere on the form.  I realize that it does not request this specifically anywhere on the form, just find a logical place to put it. 
• All of the categories on the IR&S form must be filled in.
• Use as much detail as possible
• Please enter a comment in the teacher log in Power School that notes the date that you submitted the IR&S form.  

(again, these are things that we must do in order to cover ourselves)

Teacher Edition Textbooks

I received 2 teacher edition copies for each grade level of our literature textbooks.  If you need one, stop by my office...

Requesting Specific substitutes on AESOP

To request a specific sub to cover your classes - Follow this link to the directions...

file://pcti.tec.nj.us/dfs/hdirs/StaffHN/mwacha/home/downloads/Identifying%20%E2%80%9CPreferred%20Substitutes%E2%80%9D%20in%20Absence%20Management%20System.pdf

Individual class coverages (not pertaining to the whole or half days that have been entered in AESOP)

If you must leave school due to an emergency or illness, or require a class coverage for a meeting, please leave a note on the desk or the board so that whoever covers your class knows what to instruct the students to do. We have little control over who covers our classes, so let's be "ahead of the problems" if we can...

11/19/18

Welcome to another short week, followed by weight gain and excessive guilt...

IMPORTANT ISSUES:

Attendance:  Please take attendance seriously.  I am making it a mandatory practice that you go back and check your attendance after you submit it - every day, for every class.  Make sure attendance was ENTERED AND RECORDED for EVERY STUDENT whether they were absent or present.  

If a student is not in your room, they are to be marked absent. If a student claims that they are being pulled out of class for field trips, workshops, in-school activities, school functions, assemblies, guidance office visits, etc... It is up to the entity that is keeping them out of class to account for their attendance - You must mark them absent.  Tell the student to talk to whoever kept them out of class to reconcile their absence from your class. 

If you are absent and receive notification that attendance was not recorded for your class, you must email Judith and cc Mrs. Holman and let them know.  If the students tell you that no substitute covered your class when you were out, email that as well to Judith and Mrs. Holman and notify me immediately.


OUR ATTENDANCE:

• The cutoff time to enter an absence (into AESOP) for the day is 1 hour before start time. 
• Teachers start at 7:55am so any time after 6:55 am, a teacher would be unable to enter an absence and must call the general office.
• The cutoff time to enter a PM half day would be 1 hour before start time. 
• Teachers' ½ day mark is 11:36, so any time after 10:36, a teacher would be unable to enter an absence and must call the general office.

Reading Testing:

Penny Roman we will be doing Reading Diagnostic Testing for any students you feel should be tested. She will be available during period 3 in H-21 to test. If you would like a student tested please e-mail her the following information:

Student’s name, ID number, homeroom teacher and period 3 teacher.  She will e-mail you the results from the testing.

TEXT MESSAGE REMINDERS:

Any teacher who wishes to receive text messages in cases of school closings, emergencies or important reminders can sign up by following these steps:

Text to this number:  81010
Text this message:  @pctiteach

Wednesday's  Practice ACT Testing:    Please review the following with your classes tomorrow:

• All students will report to their regularly scheduled period 1 class.
• At 8:45 am, all seniors will report their CTE course.
• Grade 9, 10, and 11 students will report to their testing room. Testing room assignments are posted on the PCTI Student Site.
• Lunch will not be served on November 21.
• Dismissal will be at 1:06 pm for all students.
• All grade 9-11 students are encouraged to bring their own calculator
• All grade 9-11 students are encouraged to bring extra pencils
• Cell phones will be collected until after the testing is complete
• Students may not use laptops or cell phones if they finish their practice test early
• Students will not be permitted to use a bathroom without a security escort

Free Webinars: 

Below are FREE webinars offered by Understood.org.  If you are interested (but cannot attend) register and you can view at a later date and time.  Please free to utilize or pass on the below resources.  Thanks to Mrs. Rettenberg for these resources!

 

November 26 RSVP Now   Writing Instruction for Kids With Dysgraphia Understood Expert: Gary A. Troia Kids with dysgraphia can experience difficulty in handwriting and expressing ideas in writing. Gary Troia, Ph.D., will provide effective strategies to help your child become a better writer. November 29 RSVP Now   The Role of Education Technology for Students With Disabilities Understood Expert: Ace Parsi The National Center for Learning Disabilities will share promising practices and potential pitfalls of education technology—and what this may look like in the 21st century. December 3 RSVP Now   Positive Parenting Strategies for Kids With Behavior Issues Understood Expert: Jerome Schultz Learn strategies for keeping your cool while helping your child learn appropriate behaviors. Clinical neuropsychologist Jerry Schultz, Ph.D., will be on hand to answer your questions. December 6 RSVP Now   College Transitions: How to Prepare For and Succeed in College Understood Expert: Elizabeth C. Hamblet Join this chat with learning consultant Elizabeth Hamblet, M.A.T., M.S.Ed., to learn about accommodations in college and how to self-advocate on campus. December 10 RSVP Now   ADHD and Immaturity Understood Expert: Mark J. Griffin Kids with ADHD can seem immature compared with their peers. Join Mark Griffin, Ph.D., founding headmaster of the Eagle Hill School, to learn why—and what you can do to help. Join Us  <

FANTASTIC THINGS...

PBS - The Great American Read...  (Thanks Kimmy)

Not sure if you caught any of the episodes on PBS for The Great American Read - The winner was To Kill a Mockingbird!   If you missed it, The episodes are here...

https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/watch/

Here is a list of the results:
https://www.pbs.org/video/discussion-kill-mockingbird-jyu2o1/

Here is an excerpt from the series that focuses on TKAM - appropriate for the classroom!
https://www.pbs.org/video/discussion-kill-mockingbird-jyu2o1/

This was a great series!  I watched every one and started reading some things on the list that I have never read.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  

I WISH YOU ALL HEALTH, PEACE AND LOVE!