Week of 12/2 - 12/6

Hey Panda Family,

We can check off Week 15! Inching closer to the holiday break 🎁

PBIS Gaming Truck: Enter your numbers for the Gaming Truck using the following link https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GnoI0AkCXGQeFYoAjF-329fZPk86378TloWIAEVfzgU/edit?usp=sharing by Tuesday, December 10th.

Safety Update: We will have a community lockdown along with our monthly fire drill before we leave for break.  Please review procedures for a community lockdown with your students.

Spelling Bee (4th & 5th grade only): Reminder that you need to have your class representative selected by December 20. Please see Ms. Sweeney with any questions. 

TOY/Classified Nominations: It's time to nominate our colleagues in recognition of the wonderful work they do each and every day for our Panda Family 😊 Please use the google form below to nominate a teacher of the year and/or classified employee of the year. Please communicate with your nominee to ensure they are interested in being nominated. Please complete your nomination(s) by Tuesday, December 10th. We will then vote based on nominations through December 13th. https://forms.gle/vWXnB3HAhnKWkMtk9

Early Release Day: Please complete the Early Release Day planning form that was placed in your box. The ER Day is this Wednesday, December 11. Completed forms should be returned to Mr. Elkins.  

Time Change: The time for the Winter Musical dress rehearsal on December 12 has been changed to 1:00. We will use the early release lunch schedule that day and all classes will eat in their rooms. 

Featured Teacher: I know it's a busy time of year, but if anyone has time to fill out the link and send Mrs. Jones a photo (email or text 407-2197) to use by Tuesday, she would greatly appreciate it! And it would be great to get a few submissions so she can be stocked for Winter Break. Classroom teachers, assistants, specialists, etc. are all eligible! 
Here is the link: https://forms.gle/UXmaMHbCwk2uXABW9

United Way: This is the online link & the easiest way to donate to United Way: https://uwfc.upicsolutions.org/WSFCS We have met our monetary goal, but we are still working towards 100% participation. As of Friday we had 61% participation from the staff. If we meet both goals then I will cancel the January staff meeting :) 

Winter Parties: If you are planning a winter party for your class please schedule it for the last week before winter break (week of December 16). Make sure to keep the focus of the parties more winter themed (snowmen, candy canes, etc.) than holiday themed; unless you plan to highlight a variety a winter holidays. We want to avoid highlighting one holiday over another. 

Staff Holiday Social: Staff Holiday Social will be on December 13th at 6:30 pm at "Liberty Brewery and Grill” formally known as Liberty Steakhouse, located at 914 Mall Loop Rd, High Point, NC. This event will be for staff and their spouse/significant other. Staff Members meal only will be paid for courtesy of SCC. Drinks will not be covered, but can be purchased separately (sodas, tea must also be purchased). Spouse or significant other attending with you will also order from the Set Menu. No payment needs to be made until that night. Please see the email from Ms. Mabe with more information. If you can attend please complete this RSVP - https://forms.gle/EN5yDB2BbjtTvGA79 

Staff Spotlight: Fox 8 is scheduled to air a news story on our Family Tree mural on Monday, December 9 at 7:15. It is also supposed to be featured on their website after it airs. Check it out! 

Teacher Tuesday Spotlight: Our school Facebook page is highlighting a teacher each week! Our spotlight this past week was Ms. Bolchalk. Check it out! 

Lesson Plans: Friendly reminder that Lesson Plans should be posted to the PowerSchool Wiki the first day of each week by 8:00am.

IF Updates

i-Ready: Diagnostic MOY window has CHANGED! The window is now January 6 to February 7.  REMARK your calendars!  Also, we will start an incentive program that will track hitting usage goals AND to highlight overall percentages of passing scores for each class.  Stay tuned for more details about this super program!

Istation: When writing your lesson plans for the week of January 6, don’t forget to include time for the Istation MOY benchmark!  This should be administered in a testing-friendly environment (quiet in the room, take a bathroom break before you start, etc).  If you need to borrow computers in order to make a complete class set, then just see your buddy class to work out a time. 

Upcoming Dates:

December 10 - SIT @ 3:30
December 11 - Testing Team Meeting @ 7:30
December 11 - Early Release Day
December 12 - MTSS Team Training 8:30 - 3:30
December 12 - Use Early Release Lunch Schedule
December 12 - Winter Music Performance 1:00 (dress rehearsal for school) & 6:30 (evening show)
December 12 - FCAE Meeting @ 3:30
December 13 - Staff Holiday Social @ 6:30 - Liberty Brewery and Grill
December 16 - WFU Women's Basketball game for 2nd, 4th, & 5th grade 10:00 - 1:30
December 17 - Elkins at Principal's Meeting 8:00 - 3:30
December 17 - Staff Meeting @ 3:30
December 17 - PGE Skate Night @ 6:00
December 19 - Gardner @ AP meeting 8:00 - 11:00, Elkins @ Principal Meeting 12:00 - 3:00
December 23 - January 3 - Winter Break! 
January 6 - School resumes
January 7 - PBIS & Wellness Committees meet @ 3:30
January 8 - Spelling Bee @ 8:30
January 9 - FCAE Meeting @ 3:30

A holiday prize goes to the first person who can solve this holiday riddle/joke: Santa went to buy his sleigh but he was surprised that it was free. How did Santa get his sleigh for free?

Put your answer in the comments section below with your name! 

Week of 11/18 - 11/22

Hey Panda Family,

Lucky number Week 13 is done! 😊

Early Release Day: Please complete the Early Release Day planning form that was placed in your box. The ER Day is on December 11. Completed forms should be returned to Mr. Elkins.  

Updates from Principal's Meeting: District is working with outside organization to evaluate school choice, looking to increase classified staff pay schedule, sales tax increase should increase teacher supplement, admin is expected to monitor weekly Istation (30+ minutes for tier 1, 40+ minutes of tier 2 and 3) & Iready (45 minutes in both Math & Reading) usage, State is in the process of updating Science and Social Studies standards.

Afternoon Bus Dismissal: We have an extraordinary amount of substitute buses and changes in bus numbers recently. Please help make sure that students are listening carefully to the afternoon announcements so they do not miss their bus.  

Time Change: The time for the Winter Musical dress rehearsal on December 12 has been changed to 1:00. We will use the early release lunch schedule that day and all classes will eat in their rooms. 

SIOP Sentence Frames: Here is the link to the wonderful SIOP presentation that Ms. Pereda shared: https://drive.google.com/open?id=17jTk2MLANevlTzcYkL1F09oEXgLjZQO725GVqP_EKDI

United Way: This is the online link & the easiest way to donate to United Way: https://uwfc.upicsolutions.org/WSFCS Remember if we get 100% participation and meet our goal of $1267, I will cancel our January staff meeting!

Winter Parties: If you are planning a winter party for your class please schedule it for the last week before winter break (week of December 16). Make sure to keep the focus of the parties more winter themed (snowmen, candy canes, etc.) than holiday themed; unless you plan to highlight a variety a winter holidays. We want to avoid highlighting one holiday over another. 

Paw Form Data Collection: The PBIS Team needs to collect data about the reasons we sent Parent Communication Forms (PAW Forms) home during the first quarter. The data will be analyzed and used to plan professional development based on our most high frequented area(s). The link below will take you to the tool.  Please complete by Monday, November 25. Thanks. 

https://forms.gle/C9speSB4Nzp1gS3n9

Paw Store Schedule: Paw Store began on Friday, November 22. Please see the email sent out by Ms. Gardner for your class' time slot. 

Class Science Fair Project: Just a reminder all classrooms should complete a science fair project as a modeling activity for students. Projects are due on December 3rd, the same day student projects are due.  Only K-2 classroom projects will be entered in the Science Fair for judging, but all K-2 and 3-5 classroom projects will be on display in the Science Lab.  Remember that pictures should not include faces and names should not be on the front of the board. (You can write your name on the back left at the top.) Board headings are Question, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure, Data, Results, and Conclusion. Notes, research, bibliography, and special thanks should be in a folder and on display. Contact Bonnie Adams if you have other questions.

Staff Holiday Social: Staff Holiday Social will be on December 13th at 6:30 pm at "Liberty Brewery and Grill” formally known as Liberty Steakhouse, located at 914 Mall Loop Rd, High Point, NC. This event will be for staff and their spouse/significant other. Staff Members meal only will be paid for courtesy of SCC. Drinks will not be covered, but can be purchased separately (sodas, tea must also be purchased). Spouse or significant other attending with you will also order from the Set Menu. No payment needs to be made until that night. Please see the email from Ms. Mabe with more information. If you can attend please complete this RSVP - https://forms.gle/EN5yDB2BbjtTvGA79 

Staff Spotlight: I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone! You have all worked so hard this year and you keep plugging away each day for our kiddos. We are a true family, and I could not be more proud! You deserve this much needed break! 

Teacher Tuesday Spotlight: Our school Facebook page is highlighting a teacher each week! Our spotlight this past week was Ms. Medley. Check it out! 

Field Trip Calendar: Our Master Field Trip calendar is filling up fast! Remember, each grade level is allowed 4 trips per year or 1 per quarter.  Try to avoid Fridays.  All trips requests for the year should be in to Gardner before Winter break.  See the FT calendar across from Gardner’s office for open dates.

Lesson Plans: Friendly reminder that Lesson Plans should be posted to the PowerSchool Wiki the first day of each week by 8:00am.

IF Updates

Science and Social Studies standards: Science and Social Studies standards are being revised!  There will be a public comment time from December 13-January 13.  Please be on the lookout for district comment sessions so you can attend.   

African-American and Hispanic Infusion lessons: Rebecca McKnight is looking for teachers to work on infusion lessons for the district.  If you are interested, please email Rebecca and share a sample lesson plan that includes an element of infusion.  There will also be a short interview.  I hope that some of you will take part in this!

READWS presents “Why millions of kids can’t read”: This is an opportunity to hear from the author of the article “Hard Words” that went viral on social media, Emily Hanford.  She wrote and did a podcast about the reading change in Bethlehem Area School District in Bethlehem PA.  Free tickets for this event  Here is a link to reserve your free ticket.  I hope to see you there!

Is a student’s reported time on iReady not reflecting the time you know was spent in the program? If this is the case, then the student may be playing a game and not doing the lesson.  ONLY the time on the lesson would be counted in the time reported.  Please see me if you want more information about this. 

Upcoming Dates:

November 27 - 29 - No School/Thanksgiving break
December 3 - PBIS & Wellness Committee Meetings @ 3:30
December 6 - PTA Breakfast cart
December 6 - EFHS Holiday Program @ 8:40 (all grades)
December 9 - Testing Team Meeting @ 3:30
December 10 - SIT @ 3:30
December 11 - Early Release Day
December 12 - MTSS Team Training 8:30 - 3:30
December 12 - Winter Music Performance 1:00 (dress rehearsal for school) & 6:30 (evening show)
December 12 - FCAE Meeting @ 3:30
December 13 - Staff Holiday Social @ 6:30 - Liberty Brewery and Grill
December 17 - Elkins at Principal's Meeting 8:00 - 3:30
December 17 - Staff Meeting @ 3:30
December 19 - Gardner @ AP meeting 8:00 - 11:00, Elkins @ Principal Meeting 12:00 - 3:00
December 23 - January 3 - Winter Break! 
January 6 - School resumes

Share below your favorite Thanksgiving traditions or what your plans are for this year! I hope everyone has a wonderful break with their family :)

Week of 11/11 - 11/15

Hey Panda Family,

Week 12 sure was swell! We can check it off 😀 

Staff Meeting: Staff Meeting this Tuesday, November 19 @ 3:30. We have a full agenda (Suicide Prevention PD, United Way, SIOP Presentation, and vote on SIP). Please plan on staying until 4:30. Tutoring information session will be held immediately after the staff meeting for those individuals interested. It should not last more than 15 minutes. 

Healthcare Open Enrollment: Only 2 days left! Everyone should have received an email from the district regarding Healthcare Open Enrollment. It is open until November 19. Please make sure you complete this. 

Part-time Reading Interventionist: The individual we hired for our part-time Reading Interventionist position abruptly resigned this past week. Please reach out if you know an interested individual. The position is 20 hours per week, it is a district trained position, and has scripted instruction. 

Winter Parties: If you are planning a winter party for your class please schedule it for the last week before winter break (week of December 16). Make sure to keep the focus of the parties more winter themed (snowmen, candy canes, etc.) than holiday themed; unless you plan to highlight a variety a winter holidays. We want to avoid highlighting one holiday over another. 

Paw Form Data Collection: The PBIS Team needs to collect data about the reasons we sent Parent Communication Forms (PAW Forms) home during the first quarter. The data will be analyzed and used to plan professional development based on our most high frequented area(s). The link below will take you to the tool.  Please complete by Monday, November 25. Thanks. 

https://forms.gle/C9speSB4Nzp1gS3n9

Paw Store Schedule: Paw Store begins this Friday, November 22. Please see the email sent out by Ms. Gardner for your class' time slot. 

Class Science Fair Project: Just a reminder all classrooms should complete a science fair project as a modeling activity for students. Projects are due on December 3rd, the same day student projects are due.  Only K-2 classroom projects will be entered in the Science Fair for judging, but all K-2 and 3-5 classroom projects will be on display in the Science Lab.  Remember that pictures should not include faces and names should not be on the front of the board. (You can write your name on the back left at the top.) Board headings are Question, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure, Data, Results, and Conclusion. Notes, research, bibliography, and special thanks should be in a folder and on display. Contact Bonnie Adams if you have other questions.

Staff Holiday Social: Staff Holiday Social will be on December 13th at 6:30 pm at "Liberty Brewery and Grill” formally known as Liberty Steakhouse, located at 914 Mall Loop Rd, High Point, NC. This event will be for staff and their spouse/significant other. Staff Members meal only will be paid for courtesy of SCC. Drinks will not be covered, but can be purchased separately (sodas, tea must also be purchased). Spouse or significant other attending with you will also order from the Set Menu. No payment needs to be made until that night. Please see the email from Ms. Mabe with more information. If you can attend please complete this RSVP - https://forms.gle/EN5yDB2BbjtTvGA79 

Fire Marshall: Thank you for moving items away from your back door so we are in compliance.  If you have not yet, please do so by Friday, November 22.  Let Gardner know when it is complete. 

Tutoring for Pay: We will have an information meeting for all staff interested in tutoring for pay after the staff meeting on Tuesday, November 19. Below is the link to an interest survey to determine how many staff members would like to have the opportunity to tutor students in grades 3-5 beginning in January through the end of the year (Reading and/or Math). Please complete only if you are interested. The pay is $26 per hour before taxes for certified staff, and $18 per hour before taxes for classified staff. This links with some of our SIT initiatives/goals. https://forms.gle/XDUEXnTuNS5kmhpZ6

Staff Spotlight: Shout out to our wonderful 5th grade for supporting our Dancing Classrooms program this year! The kids did awesome at their performance. Congratulations to all our Go Far runners that participated in the 5K! Thank you to Ms. Mason, Ms. Fox, Ms. Musten, Ms. Rinfrette, Ms. Berrier, and Ms. Vaden for your leadership with this after-school program.

Teacher Tuesday Spotlight: Our school Facebook page is highlighting a teacher each week! Our spotlight this past week was Ms. Fox. Check it out! 

Field Trip Calendar: Our Master Field Trip calendar is filling up fast! Remember, each grade level is allowed 4 trips per year or 1 per quarter.  Try to avoid Fridays.  All trips requests for the year should be in to Gardner before Winter break.  See the FT calendar across from Gardner’s office for open dates.

Lesson Plans: Friendly reminder that Lesson Plans should be posted to the PowerSchool Wiki the first day of each week by 8:00am.

IF Updates

When you get a new student… they will need to be added to all of the programs we have.  Here is a rundown of how and when that should happen:

• I am able to add them to Education Galaxy!  If I forget, I always appreciate a gentle reminder. 

• Your student should automatically update in Istation and i-Ready after being added to PowerSchool.  If they have not appeared after 7 days, you need to put in a tech ticket OR email me to put in a tech ticket.  Unfortunately, I cannot add students to these programs.  They are supposed to automatically update, but if they don’t, that is when we need to put in a ticket. 

Contacts in ECATS: Don’t forget to log your parent contacts into ECATS.  There is a little bit different process to do this compared to the old system.  I am happy to show you.  We especially need all contacts added for students who have SSPs (formerly PEPs) or who are going through IST.  You can add them as the contacts or made, or do several at a time.  Just make sure you do it at some point J . 

MOY windows: Mark your calendars!  Istation MOY will be the entire month of January.  This will be the baseline that is used to calculate K-2 EVAAS for the year.  i-Ready’s MOY window will run from January 20^th to February 14^th. I always recommend that you plan to administer the assessments at the beginning of the window so as to prevent someone missing the window due to illness, etc. 

Upcoming Dates:

November 18 - 22 - PTA Holiday Market
November 18 - PTA Meeting @ 6:30
November 19 - Elkins @ Principals Meeting
November 19 - Staff Meeting @ 3:30 (Tutoring information meeting afterwards)
November 20 - Dental Screening (PreK, Kindergarten, 3rd, & 5th only)
November 21 - Gardner @ AP Meeting 8-11, Elkins @ Principals Meeting 12-3
November 22 - Square 1 Art Order Deadline
November 27 - 29 - No School/Thanksgiving break
December 3 - PBIS & Wellness Committee Meetings @ 3:30
December 6 - PTA Breakfast cart
December 6 - EFHS Holiday Program @ 8:40 (all grades)
December 10 - SIT @ 3:30
December 11 - Early Release Day
December 12 - MTSS Team Training 8:30 - 3:30
December 12 - Winter Music Performance 9:30 (dress rehearsal for school) & 6:30 (evening show)
December 12 - FCAE Meeting @ 3:30
December 13 - Staff Holiday Social @ 6:30 - Liberty Brewery and Grill

Enjoy this funny Thanksgiving cartoon for any of our little ones that may be tracing their hand for a Thanksgiving activity :) Feel free to share any fun Thanksgiving jokes that I can incorporate into announcements in the comments section below! 

Week of 11/4 - 11/8

Hey Panda Family,

Week 11 is done! Hope everyone had a nice 3-day weekend & Happy Veteran's Day! 😊

Class Science Fair Project: Just a reminder all classrooms should complete a science fair project as a modeling activity for students. Projects are due on December 3rd, the same day student projects are due.  Only K-2 classroom projects will be entered in the Science Fair for judging, but all K-2 and 3-5 classroom projects will be on display in the Science Lab.  Remember that pictures should not include faces and names should not be on the front of the board. (You can write your name on the back left at the top.) Board headings are Question, Hypothesis, Materials, Procedure, Data, Results, and Conclusion. Notes, research, bibliography, and special thanks should be in a folder and on display. Contact Bonnie Adams if you have other questions.

Staff Holiday Social: Staff Holiday Social will be on December 13th at 6:30 pm at "Liberty Brewery and Grill” formally known as Liberty Steakhouse, located at 914 Mall Loop Rd, High Point, NC. This event will be for staff and their spouse/significant other. Staff Members meal only will be paid for courtesy of SCC. Drinks will not be covered, but can be purchased separately (sodas, tea must also be purchased). Spouse or significant other attending with you will also order from the Set Menu. No payment needs to be made until that night. Please see the email from Ms. Mabe with more information. If you can attend please complete this RSVP - https://forms.gle/EN5yDB2BbjtTvGA79 

Healthcare Open Enrollment: Everyone should have received an email from the district regarding Healthcare Open Enrollment. It is open until November 19. Please make sure you complete this. 

Incremental Absences: In addition to filling out a white sheet, all staff need to enter their absences in Frontline (2 hour to 8 hour/full day absences).  All absences need to be entered - Sick Leave, Workshop and Annual Leave on teacher workdays.  The only absences not entered are holidays, when the school system says you must be off and comp or trade out time. If you have any questions please see Ms. Willis. 

Discretionary Funds: Our discretionary funds budget has been approved by central office. Feel free to start sending your grade level requests to myself or Ms. Gardner for approval. Remember, your allotted money needs to be spent by the end of February. 



Fire Marshall: Thank you for moving items away from your back door so we are in compliance.  If you have not yet, please do so by Friday, November 22.  Let Gardner know when it is complete. 

Grade level activities: If your grade level is planning an activity such as Pirate or PJ Day, please let Elkins and Gardner know so we can participate :) 

SMO: We appreciate your patience as we work through cleaning issues around the building.  We have a new SMO supervisor on site, so hopefully cleaning will be more consistent.  Continue to let Elkins and Gardner know when problems arise.

Tutoring for Pay: We will have an information meeting for all staff interested in tutoring for pay after the staff meeting on Tuesday, November 19. Below is the link to an interest survey to determine how many staff members would like to have the opportunity to tutor students in grades 3-5 beginning in January through the end of the year (Reading and/or Math). Please complete only if you are interested. The pay is $26 per hour before taxes for certified staff, and $18 per hour before taxes for classified staff. This links with some of our SIT initiatives/goals. https://forms.gle/XDUEXnTuNS5kmhpZ6

Staff Spotlight: Huge Thank You to Ms. Pereda, Mr. Jose, and Ms. Grubbs for planning our inaugural Family Hispanic Night! Thank you to all the other staff members that volunteered that evening. It was definitely a family effort and a successful turnout.  

Teacher Tuesday Spotlight: Our school Facebook page is highlighting a teacher each week (thanks for organizing this Ms. Jones)! Our spotlight this past week was Ms. Miller. Check it out! 

Field Trip Calendar: Our Master Field Trip calendar is filling up fast! Remember, each grade level is allowed 4 trips per year or 1 per quarter.  Try to avoid Fridays.  All trips requests for the year should be in to Gardner before Winter break.  See the FT calendar across from Gardner’s office for open dates.

Lesson Plans: Friendly reminder that Lesson Plans should be posted to the PowerSchool Wiki the first day of each week by 8:00am.

IF Updates

Istation Progress Monitoring: Here are a few tidbits that you might find helpful:

• The BLUE box at the bottom that says “ISIP in progress” means that the student is progress monitoring.  If the box goes away, the student has completed the progress monitoring.
• After the box goes away, the student is completing activities that are based on their assessments. 
• Students who are green should be spending 30 minutes a week on Istation. 
• Students who are yellow and read should be spending 40+ minutes on Istation a week.

I-Ready: As a reminder, you will not complete a diagnostic on I-Ready again until the MOY period, January 20-February 14.  ALL students should be spending 45 minutes on I-Ready a week.  Please make sure this is happening every week. 

Upcoming Dates:

November 11 - No school (Veterans Day)
November 12 - SIT @ 3:30
November 14 - Gardner out @ EVAAS training
November 14 - 5th Grade Dancing Classrooms program @ 1:30
November 14 - FCAE Meeting @ 3:30 in Mrs. Ball's room
November 15 - Elkins out
November 15 - Selfies with Santa fundraiser
November 16 - Go Far 5K
November 18 - 22 - PTA Holiday Market
November 19 - Elkins @ Principals Meeting
November 19 - Staff Meeting @ 3:30 (Tutoring information meeting afterwards)
November 21 - Gardner @ AP Meeting 8-11, Elkins @ Principals Meeting 12-3
November 22 - Square 1 Art Order Deadline
November 27 - 29 - No School/Thanksgiving break
December 3 - PBIS & Wellness Committee Meetings @ 3:30
December 6 - PTA Breakfast cart
December 6 - EFHS Holiday Program @ 8:40 (all grades)

I always love learning more about your families :) Comment below if you have a Veteran in your family that you were able to celebrate yesterday.