Meadow Hall Staff Newsletter

We made it through week #1 and thank you so much to the entire staff for the "all hands on deck" approach to opening the school year. I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful 3-day weekend and is well-rested for this short, but busy week.

We are looking forward to Back-to-School Night on Tuesday at 6pm. Please continue to communicate to parents about the event as much as possible, so we have a strong turnout. Thank you to all those that have been sending families messages, reminders and photos over Class Dojo - it's wonderful for them to see and strengthen our relationships with the community.

We will move forward with the new dismissal times, now that students are used to the routine.

3:20 - K patrols

3:22 - KAH (to media center) and bus riders (in bus lines)

3:24 - K/1 car riders and walkers

3:25 - 2-5 car riders and walkers

Click here to view grading expectations:

Minimum Grading Expectations

Classes with allergies need to get a list of store-bought products that the child can have. We must get approval before it comes. If families come without a call, notice, or approval admin will ask that treats be returned. Must be store-bought and packed. Must have enough for all kids in the class. We can only distribute at lunchtime. We will have the same process for celebrations list of items and approval before sending them in. Store-bought only. Classes with allergies will be asked to adhere to lists provided by families. The nurse will provide an allergy list.

Interested in running an afterschool program around STEM? All materials and resources are provided for this club. Club meetings are once a week for 60-90 minutes and meet over the course of 16 weeks. We have extracurricular funds to provide an hourly stipend. If you are interested, please let Ilana Simhon know by Thursday, September 8th!

September 15 to October 15 is Hispanic Heritage month. Facts about Hispanics and Hispanic-Americans will be shared each day during announcements. Staff is encouraged to highlight and use information about all cultures in their lessons. However, if we can find ways to implement facts about Hispanic culture during this time that is great!

6:00 PM- All Staff need to be present

• KAH will support childcare in the gym

6:00-6:30 pm- Families will have time to sign up and get help with Class Dojo, ParentVue account set up, FARMS applications, and get information on clubs and afterschool activities for Fall (all halls will be blocked off and no families will have access to classrooms. Floaters should monitor these areas to assure no adults come to classrooms)

6:30-6:45 pm- Mr. Mackall and Ms. Simhon will welcome all families in the APR and share updates on new initiatives, etc. Staff should come to the door close to the stage in teams as he will introduce the teams. Teams can go down the center Isle and out the door to head to their rooms to set up. (Grade 1 will be in the media center) Order of Intros: Building Services, Autism Team & Paras, K, 1,2,3,4,5 Arts Team, HSM Team, ESOL, Gen Ed Paras, Professional Support, and Main office/Admin.

6:45-7:15 pm- Session I of teacher Presentations and Classroom Visits

7:20-7:50 pm- Session II of teacher Presentations and Classroom Visits

• Each team will present twice in the event families have more than one child
• All presentations must include a visit to the classroom if presentations are not in the classroom. (Please plan accordingly)

7:50 pm- Admin will thank families via the intercom for coming and we will dismiss to head home.

Support to Families during BTSN

We will need both English and Spanish-speaking non-classroom staff members to support the following events that will take place from 6:00-6:30 pm:

• Parent Sign up for ParentVUE in the Conference Room (2-3 Volunteers)- Need one Person to lead this.
• Parent Sign up for Class Dojo in Media Center (2 Volunteers)-Ms. Binder will Lead this conversation.
• Parent Sing up for FARMS application (2 Volunteers) In Staff Lounge- Mr. Eduardo Garduna Villa will lead this.
• Assisting Spanish Speaking Families at the clubs & Organizations tables in the hallway (3- Volunteers)

Volunteer Sign up for Non-Classroom Teachers

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1o3gM5psiHSavJKgqj6F1I6A2t8v66SEbmVKaXdS7cGs/edit#gid=0

Please consider the following for Presentations:

• Have information in English and Spanish
• I would like to assign an interpreter to a team; any team that does not have a Spanish speaker please contact me.
• Provide opportunities for questions
• All families should visit classrooms
• Consider volunteer opportunities and have sign-ups in classrooms
• If teams are doing presentations separately in classrooms make sure all teams share the same slides (Twins etc.)

Classroom Set up:

• Make sure families sign up for Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Consider a volunteer list to help out & also Field Trip interests
• Consider displaying student work or things they have worked on in week 1
• Keep a notepad of inquiries or questions that come up you do not have answers to in the event you need to follow up with families.

**Feel free to add Lorena's reading slides to your BSN presentation.

Staff photos are now online for viewing and purchasing!

Freed Photography offers each staff member the option of a complimentary digital download.

To select your complimentary photo:

· www.freedpics.com and enter this password: MEADOW22STF

· Find your name and click to view.

· Select "Enter Gallery" and enter your email address

· Click on your preferred image

· For the complimentary digital download, "Add to Cart" and proceed through checkout.

Your digital download will be emailed to you immediately.

Handbook

ALL teachers need to check the Staff Expectations Document for updates as it has been updated. Please see the section on Student Behavior.

Survey

Complete Survey on the Current State of MHES Instruction

Class Dojo

• Send out the FARMS notice via Dojo
• Invite Desmond Mackall, Ilana Simhon and Jennifer Binder to your class on Dojo!
• Share with families that we have backpacks if families need them (Please call or send a message)

Preservice Feedback Form

Please remember to fill out our feedback survey on pre-service this week.

https://forms.gle/YJGssBm9pYiG7AWw8

How to Make My Day

All staff, please complete the "how to make my day" google from so fellow staff members, the PTA and parents know how to spoil you!

Click here for How to Make my Day Form

Test Security Training

The Meadow Hall Canvas course (myMCPS classroom) has the FY23 Test Security video published. All staff members involved with testing will need to watch the test security video, print the nondisclosure agreement at the end and sign it and give to our SDT, Mrs. Binder. Kindergarten teachers and anyone helping to proctor the KRA must complete this prior to the start of KRA testing.

Calendars

Please make sure you have access to the following calendars. By clicking on the link for each calendar, it should be added to your Google Calendar list and therefore you’ll be able to see the important events:

Master Calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=bWNwc21kLm5ldF9iM2w2a2hwMnRxZzY1ZW9hZG8xaDFicGIzb0Bncm91cC5jYWxlbmRhci5nb29nbGUuY29t

Testing Calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=bWNwc21kLm5ldF9uODlzZmZsMDBjZW05ZzFmdWRpamp2c29hOEBncm91cC5jYWxlbmRhci5nb29nbGUuY29t

SPED Calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=bWNwc21kLm5ldF9saDFwNThlbXRmNGQxNmY3czdzYmRtaHNjZ0Bncm91cC5jYWxlbmRhci5nb29nbGUuY29t

Health Awareness Trainings

• ALL SCHOOL STAFF MEMBERS must view the presentation, PDO course number 91273 Level 1: Introduction to Anaphylaxis by Friday, September 23, 2022.

• ALL MCPS STAFF MEMBERS must complete Professional Development Online (PDO) course number 91179, Level 1: Overview of Diabetes 2022-2023, by Friday, September 23, 2022.

• ALL SCHOOL STAFF MEMBERS must view the presentation, PDO Course Number 91182 Opioid Awareness and Response 2022–2023, by Friday, September 23, 2022.
• Bloodborne Pathogens - https://mcps-md.safeschools.com/login (log in with Outlook username) ** required

Kindergarten

• There are no foundational days on the pacing guide. This is the same as last year.
• Lessons will include Counting and Cardinality (CC), Measurement and Data (MD), Operations and Algebraic Thinking (OA), and Geometry (G) domains. CC is the only domain reported on MP1 report cards.
• All kindergarten assessments are score entry on Performance Matters. This means the students do not go on the platform, but the teachers do to enter scores.
• We encourage all K teachers to use the Checklists and Cards and Opportunities by Lesson throughout the marking period rather than waiting until the end for an interview style assessment with the entire class. The assessment days on the calendar should be used for a small number of students when the teacher still needs more data.
• A change for this year is that there will be no Evidence of Learning (EOL) required assessment in MP1.

Grade 1

• Because kindergarteners received all lessons last year, there will be no foundational days in Grade 1. This is a change for this school year.
• All EOL assessments are given paper/pencil to students and entered on the Performance Matters platform by the teacher. Recommended assessments are available for students to complete paper/pencil or in the platform.

Grade 2

• There will be fewer foundational days for each marking period compared to last year (applies to grades 2-5)
• All EOL assessments are given paper/pencil to students and entered on the Performance Matters platform by the teacher. Recommended assessments are available for students to complete paper/pencil or in the platform.
• Module 1 has 10 lessons total and two Operations and Algebraic Thinking (OA) standards. Although this is major work of the grade, given that it is the first two weeks of school, OA is NOT reported in MP1. This will come back around in MP3 and reported then.

Grade 3

• There will be fewer foundational days for each marking period compared to last year (applies to grades 2-5)
• Lessons include Measurement and Data (MD), Operations and Algebraic Thinking (OA), and Numbers and Operations in Base Ten (NBT). Module 2 rarely has NBT as a standalone domain within the lessons and never in the mid-module assessment (paper-pencil and PM) so NBT is NOT reported in MP1.
• For assessments in PM: Students must answer a question completely before they can move to the next question. They will no longer be able to go back to previous questions. The answer eliminator has also been added for student use. (applies to grades 3-5)

Grade 4

• There will be fewer foundational days for each marking period compared to last year (applies to grades 2-5)
• Lessons include Measurement and Data (MD), Operations and Algebraic Thinking (OA), and Numbers and Operations in Base Ten (NBT). OA is NOT reported on the MP1 report card.
• The End-of-Module 2 assessment includes 2 MD standards. There are 4 questions on the paper-pencil version and 6 questions on the PM version. If you’d like more grades than the EOM, consider giving a topic quiz after topic A. There is also an opportunity in module 3 after topic A.
• For assessments in PM: Students must answer a question completely before they can move to the next question. They will no longer be able to go back to previous questions. The answer eliminator has also been added for student use. (applies to grades 3-5)
• COACHING OPPORTUNITY: Module 3 addresses division and teachers may have the urge to lean on the partial quotient strategy as it often makes sense to them as adults and can seem “easier.” What we want to remember about Eureka Math is that they are very intentional in their progression of learning to solidify conceptual understanding. Module 3 Topic E and G overviews do a nice job explaining the progression. There is nothing wrong with partial quotients as a strategy as it is a place value approach, which is called out specifically in the 4th and 5th grade NBT standards. However, many teachers have resorted to the Quotient Café to do the teaching and students will identify the Quotient Café as a strategy. The estimates help students to reason about their answer, and it also reinforces the idea of decomposing units to a more manageable problem. Using partial quotients will not do anything to increase students’ ability to think about division in this manner. It’s also helpful to note that the 4th grade standard continues in the rest of module 3 and then into modules 4, 5, and 7. Module 3 is not meant for a point to check mastery. As you coach teachers, emphasize the need for conceptual understanding. Consider using foundational days to go over unused problem set or HW problems to do more modeling with interactive questioning. Teachers could also revisit some of the application problems with slightly different numbers to solidify the understanding.

Grade 5

• There will be fewer foundational days for each marking period compared to last year (applies to grades 2-5)
• Lessons include Numbers and Operations in Base Ten (NBT), Measurement and Data (MD), and Operations and Algebraic Thinking (OA). MD and OA are NOT reported in MP1.
• There are only 2 OA lessons in module 2 topics A-E. There are 2 standalone OA questions on the paper-pencil assessment and 4 on the PM assessment.
• For assessments in PM: Students must answer a question completely before they can move to the next question. They will no longer be able to go back to previous questions. The answer eliminator has also been added for student use. (applies to grades 3-5)

Math 4/5 and Math 5/6

• There are no foundational days for the year. This is the same as last year. If students are appropriately placed in Math 4/5 or Math 5/6, there should not be a need for foundational days.
• For assessments in PM: Students must answer a question completely before they can move to the next question. They will no longer be able to go back to previous questions. The answer eliminator has also been added for student use. (applies to grades 3-5)
• Math 5/6 only: There are 3 Numbers and Operations in Base Ten (NBT) questions on the PM assessment and 1 NBT question on the paper-pencil version. Consider giving a topic quiz after Topic G for an additional grading opportunity.

Monday, September 5th

• No School

Tuesday, September 6th

• Back To School Night - 6-8pm

Monday, September 12th

Practice Drills

• 9:15 - OSET Meets
• 9:30 - shelter/lockdown drill
• 9:45 - OSET Debrief

Tuesday, September 13th

• Staff mtg for all Professional Staff - 3:45-5pm

Wednesday, September 14th

• Early Release - 12:55pm (no recess)
• Early Release lunch schedule - 10:55 (gr 4), 11:00 (gr K), 11:35 (gr 2/3), 12:10 (gr 1/5)

Tuesday, September 20th

• Equity PLC for all Professional Staff - 3:45-5pm

Email: Ilana_N_Simhon@mcpsmd.org
Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/meadowhalles/
Location: 951 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville, MD, USA
Phone: 240-740-5260