I have started to update the department page, the department meeting schedule is posted and the supply & book request forms are working... Here is the link to the page - please bookmark it!
Department/Faculty meeting Schedule
The AAP (Academic Assistance Program) is up and running! Refer your struggling students if you think they could benefit from this program.
Mondays and Tuesdays between 3pm - 4pm. Registration is not required. Students can attend as needed.
ELA Teachers
English 1/I - N. Kolankowski
English 2/English 2 Honors- F. Ocasio
English 2- R. Abreu
English 3- J. Kennek
English 4- P. Bennett
Link for Student Instructional Video for how to sign up: AAP Sign Up Video
The program is 100% virtual. Students can access AAP WebEX sessions via Canvas by clicking this link: Enroll In AAP on Canvas
The SES Program is also up and running! Refer your struggling students and email the parents the info!
The SES (Supplemental Education Service) program provides free extra academic help to students in subjects such as Reading, Language Arts, and Math. Please use the links below to learn more about the program and apply.
Here is the link for the informational letter and application:
I & RS Referral link
Canvas Links for Students
Departmental PGP
- Through collaborative and individual investigation of external tools and PD offerings, ELA instructors will investigate how to achieve curriculum learning goals through the use of technology and will implement a variety of virtual teaching resources to increase student content knowledge while engaging them in active learning opportunities. The successful implementation of external tools such as NoRedInk, EdPuzzle, NewsEla, FlipGrid, Kami, Study Sync, SmartSuite, Wizerme, WebEx, and other district-approved programs will enhance student performance on skills-based assessments, Research Simulated Tasks and Literary Analysis Responses. This initiative will include creating and revising writing rubrics and assessments which correlate to NJSLS Anchor Standards.
- Through PLC collaboration, subject-level Canvas blueprints will be designed to serve as resource frameworks offering organized, standards-based activities that are departmentally aligned with curriculum learning goals. This initiative includes creating common summative and formative assessments that correlate to skill-related practice to increase student performance on standardized testing.
SGO/PGP Timelines
Complete pre-assessments - must be administered and entered into PowerSchool ASAP
SGOs - Drafts of statements must be entered into the system by 10/26 - these can be adjusted up until the Spring (final dates TBD)
PGPs - 2 goals (minimum of one departmental and one individual goal) must be entered into the system by 10/26. There may be a school-wide one as well, details are forthcoming.
Document Logs
Tenured due 4/12
Non-Tenured due 5/17
NoRedInk - Diagnostics and Instructional Videos
Here is the direct link to the info/chart below:
NoRedInk Planning
Video One: Getting Set Up
-How to sign up
-How to set up your class
-How to add students
-Adding co-teachers
Video Two: Using the diagnostics
-How to administer your diagnostic
-How to see the results from the diagnostic
-How to start the unit
-How to assign a quiz
Please explore the NoRedInk teacher resource page... this is a great resource. Check out the
"Sample writing units and lesson plans for specific skills" section. It has ready-made assignment packages that address Thesis, Formatting dialogue, Claims, Evidence and Reasoning, and topic sentences that support a thesis.
It also offers Essay Unit Plans!
These plans are designed to guide students through the full process of writing a formal essay from scratch over 3–8 class periods. Here are the topics.
- Argumentative Essay Units
- Argumentative Essay Unit: The Basics*
- Argumentative Essay Unit: Claims and Evidence
- Argumentative Essay Unit: Structure and Flow
- Persuasive Essay Unit
- Literary Analysis Essay Unit
- Expository/Informational Essay Unit
- Narrative Essay Unit
It also includes assignments for different genres of writing...You can combine assignments in a variety of ways to meet different learning objectives and support students as they plan, draft, and revise essays.
You can use these activities to support students with different types of writing:- Argumentative
- Persuasive
- Expository/Informational
- Narrative
- Literary Analysis
- Poetry Analysis
- Rhetorical Analysis
- Compare and Contrast (Text Analysis)
Follow this link for the resources: NRI Teacher Resources
- Argumentative
- Persuasive
- Expository/Informational
- Narrative
- Literary Analysis
- Poetry Analysis
- Rhetorical Analysis
- Compare and Contrast (Text Analysis)
SCREENCASTIFY
Here is a link to the Screencastify Webinar "Creating Effective Instructional Videos"
https://my.demio.com/recording/Lyd26d7j
Instructional video for checking attendance from WebEx meetings - Thanks Ashley!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10PTo5yZG3rUoXt0DhNjpCuqVtZa4YYKG/view
Study Sync
This video is for teachers to use to connect to Study Sync. Use this Link:
Study Sync Teacher set-up video
This video is a recording of our live Study Sync training session from 9/29!
Study Sync Training Session 9/29
Blueprints and PLCs
We will work on developing and enhancing blueprints in Canvas for the rest of the school year. This will be an ongoing process over the next few months. The blueprint shells should be assigned by Julissa by Thursday 10-15. Once the shells are assigned and you can access them, you should be meeting with your collaborators at least once a week in some way (WebEx, In-Person) to work on building these shells. These groups will serve as our PLC groups until further notice. We have 5 "floaters" who will assist with the facilitation of module creation and organization. It is up to you who you request assistance from (see below).
The following teachers will assist the blueprint designers with Canvas. Please coordinate time with them to assist with module creation, design, organization, etc…
Abreu
Vargas
Getherall
Ramirez
Ramos
The English 1 and 2 Blueprints for Gen-Ed and SN were already created so the following teachers will work on adding common assessments and projects to them. Please coordinate with each other in PLC meetings to assign tasks for this. The teacher listed in Red is the group coordinator:
English 1 Blueprint: Karisaridis, Halimeh, Alexander
English 2 Blueprint: Bennett, Kolankowski, Kenyon, Lauricella,
School Notices/Events
We Care Jeans Day is Friday, November 5th. Cost is $5. Please see the following people to donate:
1. Karen Salomon / General Office
2. Sandra Castro / Central Office
3. Gail McGeady / Rocco Office
4. Desirae Feliciano / STEM Office
5. Chaz Wozney / Business Office
6. Fred Dieckmann / Custodial/Maintenance
WebEx Issue - "Token may have expired"
If you have received the error message,“token may have expired” when going to Cisco Webex via Canvas, your browser may need to be reset.
If using Chrome please click on the 3 vertical buttons on the right hand side à More Tools à Clear Browsing Data à make sure you check off Cookies & Cached (see screenshot below) Please make sure its set to all time. Then click Clear data.
Once that’s done please close out the browser and try going to Canvas again to start your Webex meeting. If that doesn’t work can you send Yesenia Collazo a screenshot of what you see on your end.
