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!

11/12/18

YES, THAT IS CHUCK WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 2 YEARS OLD!

Not much for this week... 

• Team meetings are on Thursday, November 15th.  I will arrange coverages for you if needed. Any suggested agenda items will be sent in the next day or so, otherwise, please check in with your team-mates regarding benchmarks and SGO spreadsheets.  Your pre-assessments and benchmarks should be posted in PowerSchool, although you may opt to leave the pre-assessment "unpublished."  

• Textbook barcodes - Please make sure you are keeping the barcodes on file for any books you distribute to the students.  They should be posted in PowerSchool.

• We have a faculty meeting scheduled for today - 3:00 in the auditorium...

Week 11/5

Mandatory Department Meeting - Tomorrow - November 6th. 

• FX Media Center - please be punctual 
• Our department meeting on November 6th is mandatory.  We will have a presentation by the district HIB specialists Mr. Frederick and/or Mr. O'Brien will provide a presentation at department meetings to help staff better understand what constitutes HIB as opposed to disciplinary issues.
• Coaches are to make arrangements with assistants to cover your practices for approx. 45 minutes on that day and tutoring and after-school activities should be canceled ahead of time or arrange for someone to cover you.  
• If you are not attending, please email me with details. 

Team Meetings

• Our next team meetings are scheduled for November 15th. The schedule is posted on the Department Page...

https://sites.google.com/pcti.mobi/ela-dept/grade-level-teams?authuser=0

Class Coverage Requests - please copy me on any coverage request you enter into coverages@pcti.tec.nj.us.

*IF YOU ARE REQUESTING COVERAGE FOR MORE THAN 3 CLASSES, WE HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO ENTER THAT REQUEST INTO AESOP...

The following processes will be implemented when requesting class coverages:

• Faculty who will need a class/period coverage for reasons other than IEP meetings or PLC meetings will need to email the request for coverage to coverages@pcti.tec.nj.us. I will arrange coverages for your team meetings.
• Child Study Team Secretaries arranging IEP meetings will send the needed faculty coverages to coverages@pcti.tec.nj.us. A listing of all coverages for a particular week should be included in the email.

3. Last-minute coverages (i.e. for illness, requested presence during a crisis or critical meeting) should be phoned into Ms. Scott. Do not use coverages@pcti.tec.nj.us for same-day or last-minute coverage needs.

My suggestion is to always check with Judith in the main office in the morning to confirm that coverages were arranged.

Coverage attendance advice:  (this is courtesy of our own Christian McFarland...) 

"On the sub attendance website, you must choose the name of the teacher you are covering for and not your own! I made this mistake at first and then realized I needed to log back in under her name."  

1. Go to the special substitute link: https://ps.pcti.tec.nj.us/subs

2. Select Passaic County Technical Institute
3. Select the teacher you’re covering for
4. The password is the numerical day of the month followed by “Bulldog” with a capital B
5.  EG.  The password for 9/27/18 would be: 27Bulldog
6.  The following day, the password would be 28Bulldog – and so on…
7. Take attendance as normal

Wonderful things...  Please submit pics of the wonderful things in your life!  If no one submits, I may have to creep around and sneak attack you! Just sayin...

Bobby, Stephanie, and Dave took their AP Lit and Honors IV students to see Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera House!  (Don't they look happy? And how long will it take for one of them to come to my office and complain about posting this?)

Our Boys Varsity Soccer Won the County Tournament!  Did Klein bleach his hair?  We cannot know - Only the hat knows...