Mr. Elkins' Weekly Wrap: January 2025

Friday, January 31, 2025

Week of 1/27 - 1/31

Hey Panda Family,

When I was a middle school teacher I also coached the boys' basketball team. In my opinion, there are a lot of parallels to coaching and being a principal. In a game, when things seemed scattered on the court I would call a timeout for our team to refocus. Right now some things can seem scattered: juggling mid-year conferences, completing MOY testing, managing excessive student absences due to sickness, changes in schedules, and so on. I have found myself needing a breather these past few weeks - just a silent moment to gather my thoughts and refocus so I can be my best. If you have felt the same through this hectic January, don't forget to take a quick "timeout" to take care of yourself and refocus. It can make all the difference in staying positive and productive. Thanks for all you do and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Here are the Weekly Wrap updates for this week:

New Updates

PGE Intent Form: In February, I will receive my allotment for next school year from the district. I need all staff to please complete the appropriate Intent Form so I can begin to plan for next year. Classified Staff will complete the Classified Intent Form & Certified Staff will complete the Certified Intent Form. Please be completely honest when completing these forms. I want to avoid any surprises as we begin to prepare for next school year & I also want to be able to help if you are considering a change. Please have this completed by February 14. Thanks! Here are the links to the forms:

Classified Intent Form 2025-2026

Certified Intent Form 2025-2026

Immigration Guidance: If a parent or student reaches out to you regarding concerns about ICE raids or safety of their child here at school, please feel free to reach out to me and I will help you respond. I have already spoken with a few families about their concerns. I will do my best to use the guidance from the district to help support the families that have concerns.

Vision Screening: All 1st grade, 3rd grade, and EC PreK classes will have vision screening next Tuesday, February 4 in the cafeteria. Please see the schedule linked here - Vision Screening Schedule If you have any questions regarding vision screening, please reach out to Ms. Gardner.

5th Grade Check-Ins (from Ms. Lloyd): We have 5^th grade Check In B for Science on Tuesday 2/4 and Math on Thursday 2/13.

For Science on Tuesday 2/4 here is the schedule: 5th Science - 2/4

Start at 8:30
Testing Central is Mrs. Lloyd's office
Testing Administrators are: 5th grade teachers and Barnes, K. Edwards, Guffey and Gardner.

For Math on Thursday 2/13 here is the schedule: 5th Math - 2/13

Start at 8:30
Testing central is Mrs. Lloyd's office
Testing Administrators are: 5^th grade teachers and Merick, Idol, Guffey and Russell.

Second Step (K-5 Teachers): All K-5 teachers should be through Lesson 15 in Second Step by the end of March.

Lost & Found: All items in lost & found will be donated to our clothes closet or the Salvation Army if they are not claimed by the end of the day on February 4. I will also be letting parents know.

W-2 Tax Documents: W-2s are now available on e-Docs. If you need help accessing your e-Docs please see Ms. Owens.

Updates from Last Week

Taking Leave in May: In an effort to make sure we have all hands on deck for end-of-grade testing, I will not be approving anymore leave for May 5 - May 20. Obviously, if you wake up sick and need to be out one of those days we will work around it; but any planned leave will not be approved during May 5 - May 20 going forward so we ensure we have enough staff to administer EOG tests and to proctor. If you have any specific questions regarding this, please come see Mr. Elkins. Thanks!

Retirements: If any staff members are planning on retiring at the end of the school year, please let Mr. Elkins know by February 14. In order for all retirement paperwork to be processed in a timely manner, so you don't miss a paycheck, we must start the process before March.

ACCESS Testing (from Ms. Lloyd): ACCESS testing starts on Monday 1/27/2025 for Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. If you have students participating in ACCESS testing, you will have an envelope(s) in your mailbox to send home in the student's Friday folders explaining ACCESS testing. Thank you for your helping in putting those in their folders.

Mrs. Pereda will be testing for the next 5 weeks (1/27/2025 - 2/28/2025). Please do not send your students to Mrs. Pereda. She will come and get them when it is time for them to test.

Here is the schedule for ACCESS testing: ACCESS testing 1/27 - 2/28

Remember this schedule often changes with absences and we will not be able to fill out the rest until the students take the first 2 parts of the test. Kindergarten Assistants will be helping with proctoring during the times listed on the schedule.

Thank you and please let me or Mrs. Pereda know if you have any questions.

Mid-Year Parent Conferences: Unfortunately, with the new schedule this year, and the snow days, we don't have any workdays until the end of the year. Because of this, we are going to work as a school team to give our teachers some time during the school day to hold some of their parent/teacher conferences. Many hands make light work! Support staff, including myself and Ms. Gardner, will help cover classes over the next few weeks so teachers are not having to complete all their conferences before or after school. Teachers, please try and schedule as many of your conferences as you can during your assigned coverage day/time. If anyone has questions regarding the schedule, please see me or Ms. Gardner. I am sharing the schedule ahead of the staff meeting so you have a chance to review before we discuss it on Tuesday. Here is the schedule: Mid-Year Conference Schedule

DIBELS/Mclass Updates: Please see the MOY Dibels/Mclass updates below.
If you need to invalidate a student's scores, you must email Mrs. Gardner. She has to submit a form for permission to invalidate.
DIBELS One page reference- see here

MTSS Updates: Please see the MTSS updates below.
If you want to discuss adding or changes in plans, please email Barnes and Gardner
Tier 3 meetings with WS/FCS Interpreter - February 27 - schedule coming soon

Staff Laptops (from district): Technology Services is excited to announce new laptops are here and getting prepared for service. We will begin distribution in January working at multiple sites per week with expectations of district wide completion by April. Please take a moment to read through our official TECH ANNOUNCEMENT – STAFF LAPTOP REFRESH 2024 for detailed information regarding distribution expectations and preparation. The announcement also contains important information pertaining to changes in Windows operating system and software installation processes and approvals.

PGE Substitute List: Here is the updated list - PGE Substitute List.

Committee Minutes: Please review the updated committee minutes.

WS/FCS Interpreter Services: If you need a district interpreter, here is the link to request one. REQUEST FOR INTERPRETATION SERVICES LINK

IEP Minutes Document: Teachers will continue to take minutes during IEP meetings.

Please delete verbs and suggested phrases from the document at the end of the meeting.

Here is a link to the document: IEP Minutes Template

Upcoming Dates:

PGE Event Calendar 2024-2025

Feb. 4 - 100^th Day of School

Feb. 4 - 5th Grade Science Check-In - 5th Science - 2/4

Feb. 4 - Vision Screening - Schedule

Feb. 4 - PBIS meeting @ 3:30 (Vaden's room)

Feb. 4 - PTA Meeting @ 6:00

Feb. 5 - K field trip - 9:00-2:00

Feb. 7 - Mary Starling Field Trip - 5th Grade

Feb. 7 - Mclass Window Closes

Feb. 11 - SIT @ 3:30

Feb. 12 - Elkins @ Principal's Meeting

Feb. 13 - Kindergarten Registration Kickoff

Feb. 13 - Gardner @ AP Meeting

Feb. 13 - 5th Grade Math Check-In - 5th Math - 2/13

Feb. 14 - Progress Reports go home

Feb. 17 - 21 - Book Fair

Feb. 18 - Staff Meeting @ 3:30

Friday, January 24, 2025

Week of 1/20 - 1/24

Hey Panda Family,

We made it through a week in January without any weather, delays, or closures! Yay! As a data nerd, I love this time of the year. You get all your MOY data and you can really start to see the fruits of your labor pay off with numerical results! However, as important as the data is for us to know how to best support our students' academic needs, no one will remember what a child scored on a Check-In or on Mclass ten years from now. They will, however, remember how we made them feel. How we celebrated their successes, how we comforted them when they were upset, and how we showed grace when they made a mistake. Data will always be important, but please don't forget what really makes that lasting impact. Keep up the great work! Have a wonderful weekend! 🐼

Here are the Weekly Wrap updates for this week:

New Updates

Class Pictures: Class pictures will be on the stage on Tuesday, January 28. Here is the schedule: Class Pictures Schedule

Retirements: If any staff members are planning on retiring at the end of the school year, please let Mr. Elkins know by February 14. In order for all retirement paperwork to be processed in a timely manner, so you don't miss a paycheck, we must start the process before March.

ACCESS Testing (from Ms. Lloyd): ACCESS testing starts on Monday 1/27/2025 for Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. If you have students participating in ACCESS testing, you will have an envelope(s) in your mailbox to send home in the student's Friday folders explaining ACCESS testing. Thank you for your helping in putting those in their folders.

Mrs. Pereda will be testing for the next 5 weeks (1/27/2025 - 2/28/2025). Please do not send your students to Mrs. Pereda. She will come and get them when it is time for them to test.

Here is the schedule for ACCESS testing: ACCESS testing 1/27 - 2/28

Remember this schedule often changes with absences and we will not be able to fill out the rest until the students take the first 2 parts of the test. Kindergarten Assistants will be helping with proctoring during the times listed on the schedule.

Thank you and please let me or Mrs. Pereda know if you have any questions.

PGE Event Calendar: Please see the updates below.

PGE Event Calendar 2024-2025
Calendar has been updated to reflect current changes as of today
Once the School Board decides on 15 minutes or adding days to the end-of-the school year, we will update the calendar
Note - Field Day has been moved to Thursday, April 17. Rain date is still May 2

MTSS Updates: Please see the MTSS updates below.

If you want to discuss adding or changes in plans, please email Barnes and Gardner
Tier 3 meetings with WS/FCS Interpreter - February 27 - schedule coming soon

Updates from Last Week

Mid-Year Parent Conferences: Unfortunately, with the new schedule this year, and the snow days, we don't have any workdays until the end of the year. Because of this, we are going to work as a school team to give our teachers some time during the school day to hold some of their parent/teacher conferences. Many hands make light work! Support staff, including myself and Ms. Gardner, will help cover classes over the next few weeks so teachers are not having to complete all their conferences before or after school. Teachers, please try and schedule as many of your conferences as you can during your assigned coverage day/time. If anyone has questions regarding the schedule, please see me or Ms. Gardner. I am sharing the schedule ahead of the staff meeting so you have a chance to review before we discuss it on Tuesday. Here is the schedule: Mid-Year Conference Schedule

Parent/Teacher conferences with WS/FCS Interpreters: If you requested an interpreter for your parent/teacher conferences they have been scheduled. Here is the schedule.

DIBELS/Mclass Updates: Please see the MOY Dibels/Mclass updates below.
If you need to invalidate a student's scores, you must email Mrs. Gardner. She has to submit a form for permission to invalidate.
DIBELS One page reference- see here

Mclass & iReady Reports: I would like all parents to have a color hard copy or a color digital copy of their child's Mclass and iReady MOY progress (Reading & Math). You can send it home separately or you can provide it to the parent when you meet with them for their mid-year conference. All teachers should be able to make the color copies on the Toshiba machine in the front office. Thanks!