Information regarding Common Core...just an FYI

Trailblazers,
One of the consistent questions I get from parents is "Tell me about this Common Core.  What is it all about?"  I usually respond with "These are the Standards that our curriculum is designed around.  There is an emphasis on non fiction, critical thinking skills and student centered learning."  I am constantly reading and searching for information that may be helpful to you in building your understanding of the expectations that our children need to meet to be successful.  I ran across this resource that I found helpful.  I hope that you find it informational as well.

My Banks Best, Mrs. Graf

(taken from the blog update:   http://edge.ascd.org/_Ten-Resources-To-Support-a-Deeper-Understanding-of-the-Common-Core-State-Standards/blog/6564977/127586.html)

1. Getting Curriculum Reform Right    By Thomas Guskey

2.  What’s the Difference? Standards versus Curriculum     By Janet Hale

3. I Hate Testing, Not Standards    By Erik Palmer

4. The Problem is Not the Standards    By Michael Fisher

5. From Common Core Standards to Curriculum: Five Big Ideas    By Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins

6.  Rigor Redefined     By Tony Wagner

7.  50 States, 50 Standards     By Diane Ravitch

8.  The Case For Common Educational Standards     By Jeb Bush and Joel Klein

9.  North Carolina Businesses Have Critical Need For Common Core Success     By Jim Whitehead, President and CEO of Red Hat, Inc.

10. Common Core: An Educator’s Perspective      By Steven Weber

Summer Camp...ONLINE!

We are always on the search for ways to extend learning for students at BRES.  I just came across this learning opportunity that puts a whole new spin on "Summer Camp."  Follow the link to learn more about this online camp for elementary and middle school students:


wonderopolis.org/camp-early-registration


My Banks Best, Mrs. Graf

May 26-30, 2014

Good morning Trailblazers,

This morning is a time of reflection for me.  As I sit here with my coffee it is really hitting me that this IS the last week of school of Track 1.  Yes, we completed the EOG's last week and that was a clear sign that the end of school for some Trailblazers was approaching, but honestly as I figure out outfits for the twins to wear to the 5th Celebration, the Mom in me asked, "How did this happen? Where has the time gone?"  As parents we often look at children and marvel at their wonder, their growth, their energy, their tenacity!  This morning I looked at my children and the tears popped into my eyes before I realized it!  It's funny how our biggest accomplishments in life are not the jobs we hold, but the children that grow up right in front of our eyes.  :)  I know I am sentimental this morning, but indulge me just a little...it's the last week of school for Track 1!

In putting on my principal and teacher hat, I am still amazed at the growth and progress of our students.  In talking with Kindergarten team this week, the teachers were reflecting on the progress of our Trailblazers and how much knowledge they acquire and use here at school on a daily basis.  What a huge amount of growth they make by the end of the Kindergarten year.  Overall, Track 1 students and teachers have that feeling of closure, accomplishments and excitement as they begin their track out and then the next steps in their educational journey.  It's a bittersweet time of year in a school.

This past week we were busy! We had Track 1 EOG's and 5th Grade celebrated their learning in the GREAT Program.  This program came out of our partnership with Fuquay Varina Police Department. All elementary schools in Fuquay Varina participate in the GREAT Program and on Friday Detective McDonald, Patrol Captain Jeff Dunn and Chief of Police Larry Smith presented BRES with an official GREAT school sign for the two years of program participation.  Students and teachers also were rewarded with cake, fruit and juice.  

Also on Friday we celebrated reaching our FUN RUN Goal by having the top grossing class SPRAY COLOR Ms. Livengood and my hair NC State red and UNC Blue.  I donned a State shirt all day (it was a challenge but I did it!) and Ms. Livengood wore UNC...she looked GREAT! We stood outside at the flagpole and thanked our families and students as they drove by in carpool or and waved to our students as the buses pulled away!  We raised over $18,000 that will be used to purchase additional technology in our classrooms!  Awesome Trailblazers!!! Check out the photo of the action at the flagpole:

Please mark your calendars for these important dates this week:

May 27th-30th:  Read to Achieve Camp Track 2

May 28th:  4th Grade Track 3 & 4 In-House Field Trip

May 29th:  Track 1 Testing Make Ups

May 30th:  Track 1 5th Grade Celebration in the Multipurpose Room at 9:45 a.m. & 2nd Annual Family Fancy Dance.  Admission is FREE, family photographs will be taken by our Trailblazer parent Diane McKinney, a photo booth will be available, DJ will be spinning music, light refreshments and FUN from 5:45-7:45 p.m.  What a way to end the year for Track 1!  Tracks 2-4, what a way to kick off the last few weeks of school! Remember that all students must be accompanied by a Trailblazer parent! Please call the school if you have any questions.  

Upcoming Dates:

June 2nd:  Track 2 Track In

June 2nd:  No Internet ALL Day due to Server Update

June 9th:  2nd Grade ELA Case Benchmark Assessments & 5th Grade Tracks 3 & 4 Science Benchmark

June 10th:  2nd Grade Math Case Benchmark

June 16th:  3rd Grade ELA EOG, NC Extend 2

June 17th:  3rd Grade Math EOG, NC Extend 2

June 18th:  4th & 5th Grade ELA EOG

June 19th:  4th & 5th Grade Math EOG

June 20th:  5th Grade Science EOG

Remember that last week I shared that Parent Student Reports would be mailed out by WCPSS in June for Track 1 families and traditional and then again in July for students on Tracks 2-4 due to the changes with the testing window and the state's certification of the results.  

That's it Trailblazers! Please call the school if you have any questions.  

Always Trailblazer Proud, Mrs. Graf 

School Messenger Kindergarten Orientation this coming Tuesday, May 27th

Good afternoon Trailblazers,

This is Mrs. Graf, the Principal at Banks Road Elementary School.  

This message is for ALL rising Kindergarten students and families for the 2014-2015 school year.  You are receiving this phone message because you are assigned to Banks Road Elementary for Kindergarten beginning this July.  Welcome to the Trailblazer family!  All families should have received a bright pink post card in the mail with your track assignment.  If you have not received a card, please call the school and ask to speak with our Data Manager, Ms. Smith.

Our 2^nd Kindergarten Orientation is scheduled for this Tuesday, May 27^th from 6-7 in the Multipurpose Room. Please join the Kindergarten Team and me to learn more about the Kindergarten expectations, a day in the life of Kindergarten student and general information about Banks Road Elementary.

You will have an opportunity to hear from our PTA and supplemental services department as well.

Please call the school at 919-890-7333 if you have any questions. 

That’s it Trailblazers! This information will be sent out on the Principal’s Desk blog and posted to our school website.

Always Trailblazer Proud,

Mrs. Graf

Title I Parent Survey

Trailblazers,

Here is a link to the Parent Survey for Title I.  Remember this year BRES operated on the school wide model.  All of our Parents Are Connected Nights, our Banks Book of the Year and related actitivies, the  purchase of additional guided reading leveled books and technology resources were all due to the funds available to us through the federal Title I program.  

Please follow this link to take a quick survey regarding Title I here at BRES.  This information will go directly to Central Office Title I.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Thank you. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/36CMVML

Make it a great day...on purpose Trailblazers! Mrs. Graf 

2014-2015 Wcpss Transportation Update

Team, 

WCPSS will put new practices into place for the 2014-15 school year with the goal of improving yellow bus service for families.  The changes are aligned with the opening of the new school year, and include community outreach to drive the number of last minute student enrollees in the district down, and setting a cutoff date for requesting and receiving transportation on the first day of school. 

Families new to using WCPSS yellow school bus service can request transportation service as they enroll in school. For families to receive first day service on their school calendar, they must be enrolled and sign up for bus service approximately one month before the start of school. 

What families need to do
Families who have students enrolled in the current 2013-14 school year and have been using bus service will be presumed to use bus service in 2014-15, will be automatically included in the plan, and need take no action.

Families with a kindergarten student who will begin in 2014-15 and already have an older sibling using bus service during the current 2013-14 school year must enroll the rising Kindergartner in school by the cutoff date to receive transportation services.

Families moving into Wake County or newly enrolling in Wake County public schools will be able to sign up for Transportation services as part of enrollment in the school system beginning May 30.  A new form for Transportation service will be part of the enrollment packet.  Again, these families must enroll in school and request bus service by the cutoff date to automatically receive first day transportation services.

Some families have already enrolled new students for 2014-15 prior to the new processes that will begin on May 30. We have created an online form for requesting transportation services that will be available on the Transportation website May 30.  We will send a postcard to these families asking them to visit the online form and click to let us know their need for transportation services.  These families must request bus service by the cutoff date to automatically receive first day transportation services.

Families with students in the school system during the current 2013-14 school year who are not currently using transportation services, but plan to ride the bus at the start of the 2014-15 school year should also use the online form to sign up for service.  Again, the request for bus service must be made by the cutoff date to automatically receive first day transportation services.

Cutoff dates

• Year-round calendar schools regardless of track assignment must enroll and request bus service by June 6 to receive first day service.
• Modified calendar schools must enroll and request bus service by June 25 to receive first day service.
• Traditional calendar schools must enroll and request bus service by July 21 to receive first day service.

For families who request Transportation services after the cutoff date, first day bus service is not guaranteed. Requests received after these cut off dates will be processed in the order received. Transportation will make every effort possible to provide service using existing bus stops as quickly as possible.

Bus stops
Transportation will provide service based on the family’s residence of record. Requests for additional service, such as to before or afterschool programs or other alternative stops, will be considered after the first 30 days of the school calendar. Students who do not use transportation services for 10 consecutive days will be removed from routes. Families would need to request Transportation services using the online form to reactivate the student’s bus stop assignment.

Building better bus routes
These new beginning of the year practices will improve the planning assumptions WCPSS Transportation uses to establish bus routes. In the past, WCPSS Transportation started with the assumption that all students may choose to use bus service and school bus routes evolved during the first weeks of school.  This created a situation where routing specialists could not create the most efficient routes for the start of school, where families could not rely on timely bus service in the early weeks of the school year, and where bus drivers had to drive constantly changing routes.

Beginning the planning process with accurate ridership will reduce the start of the school year challenges and provide for superior bus routing. This will provide families better bus service from the start of the school year. Routes for known riders will be set for the first day of school. Bus drivers will no longer have to wait at stops for families who don’t plan to use the service and will practice set routes to be ready for the first day of school. With superior routing, buses will travel less distance saving money on fuel and maintenance.

More Information on SSA...please see below

Here is information from the WCPSS website to support your understanding of the SSA process.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Thank you, Mrs. Graf 

2014-2015 Single Subject Acceleration (SSA)

Single Subject Acceleration (SSA) allows students to accelerate beyond their assigned grade level in English/Language Arts OR Mathematics.

Parents may nominate students for this accelerative practice ONLY within specified nomination windows. Testing will ONLY occur during specified testing windows in the spring of 2014.

Accelerative services will begin at the start of the 2014-2015 school year.

For more information, please refer to www.wakeacceleration.weebly.com

You will find the SSA contact information for your child’s school on the site listed above. Parents are also encouraged to attend the district information sessions.

Students who do not meet the criteria, transfer to WCPSS after the testing window, or are nominated after the spring 2014 window, will not be accelerated during the 2014-2015 school year.

2014-15SSA Parent Information Sessions >>

 

 

http://www.wcpss.net/blog/2014/05/2014-2015-single-subject-acceleration-ssa/

Single Subject Acceleration Information

Trailblazers,

Last reminder about Single Subject Acceleration.  Flyers are still available in the Front Office and information is posted to our school website.  WCPSS has updated their processes and procedures for Single Subject Acceleration.  Our school website has the link that will take you to information regarding the nomination process.

http://wakeacceleration.weebly.com  

Information sessions are being held between May 1-13th.  Information regarding the parent information sessions can be found at the above link.  

Questions? Please call the school or email sfoxworth@wcpss.net.  

Mrs. Graf 

2014 End-of-Grade Testing Dates

Dear Trailblazer Parents,

Please take note of the EOG Testing dates for students in grades 3-5 this Spring.  The testing window is very short, thus we need to be sure EVERY student is at school on their assigned testing days.  Please make every effort to have your child present for testing.  

EOG Testing Dates:

Track 1

May 16:

Grades 3 ELA 

Grades 3-5 ELA NC Extend 2 

May 19:

Grade 3 Math

Grades 3-5 ELA NC Extend 2

May 22:

5th Grade Science 

May 23:

3rd Grade Retest

Tracks 2, 3, & 4

June 16:  

3rd Grade ELA 

Grades 3-5 ELA NC Extend 2

June 17:

3rd Grade Math 

Grades 3-5 Math NC Extend 2

June 18:

4th & 5th Grade ELA 

June 19:

4th and 5th Grade Math

June 20:

5th Grade Science

5th Grade Science NC Extend 2

If you have any questions about the testing calendar, please call the school.  Thank you, Mrs. Graf 

BRES Voting Site Reminder

Trailblazers, 

Just a reminder that BRES is a voting site tomorrow, May 6th.  Community members will enter and exit through the multipurpose room. 

Mrs. Graf