WEEKLY BULLETIN for Week Beginning 10.16.17

CALL TO ACTION

● COLLEGE APPLICATION WEEK / GOLLEGE GEAR DAY

College Application Week is this week from October 16 – 20 where our seniors will begin the submission of their college applications – we will kick off the week with College Gear Day on Monday, October 16 – please wear college gear on Monday (shirts, sweatshirts, hats, etc.) to help encourage our students with the college application process.  We always get great participation for this day – it should be fun.

● THE POWER OF MENTORING

HSFI is using the power of mentoring to support the students that you identify as being depressed, acting strangely and victims of bullying.  Each week all the counselors and deans will be meeting with our Mentoring Coordinator, Eileen Donlon, to have a dialogue about these students and try to get them mentors to support them.  Here is a list of HSFI groups that can support these students with mentors:

□ HSFI Alumni Association Mentoring Program

□ Social Emotional Learning Coordinators

□ Partnership with Long Island University (Brooklyn) Psychology department – LIU graduate students come to HSFI weekly to support our students

□ Relationship Abuse Prevention Program

□ Health Corps

□ SPARK

● COMMUNICATING WITH STUDENTS ABOUT SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Please make sure that you communicate with our students about anything going on in the school – a club meeting, sports game or program opportunity – you can do this by including it in our Daily Announcements email / Jupiter message – here is the procedure for submitting this information:

(1) Go to the HSFI Staff Home page - https://sites.google.com/a/hsfi.us/hsfi-staff-portal/home?pli=1 

(2) From there use the Announcement form link on the left hand side of the page - all announcements should be requested by 3:00 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

● CONSIDER DONATING YOUR TEACHERS’ CHOICE BACK TO THE SCHOOL TO BUY PAPER

Last year we spent $19,990 on paper and are well on our way to spend that much this year – please consider donating all or part of your Teacher Choice’s money back to the school that we use to buy paper.

● STAFF ADVISORS NEEDED FOR THE DEBATE TEAM

Please consider being the advisor for the Debate Team – we have a number of interested students.

PLEASE CONTACT ME OR MR. RAU IF YOU ARE INTERESTED – THANK YOU

THE ANSWER IS IN THE ROOM

Just like last year, Mr. Kearns and Ms. Paz will be putting instructional best practices together for the entire HSFI community.  They are making some changes from last year on how they send them out, and organize them, which they are hoping will make them more useful to the HSFI staff.

First of all, they are only going to focus on two best practices per week.  They hope this will make the best practices compilation more streamlined and find it more useful and less overwhelming.  They hope to to do more outreach to the other departments, and hopefully get a wider variety of teachers sharing out.

Secondly, they have created some Google folders organized by department that is shared with the whole staff.  All of the shared work from last year is there as well.  Each week in the bulletin we will link to the shared folder and directly to the activities in drive so that they are much easier to find/use.

Here are some highlights of the best practices shared by HSFI Staff Members.  This round focuses on The Writing Revolution strategies in the classroom:

In the Math Department, Ms. Medina, Ms. Dye, Ms. La Tanza, Ms. Schlein, Mr. Ng, Ms. Kucker, and Ms. Klepacki created a TWR activity for their Geometry classes.  The activity focused on properties of a parallel line cut by a transversal.  Students were asked to complete an expanded sentence activity, which included scaffolds for students who were in need.  Linked is the activity, as well as the teacher anticipated response.

TWR Activity

Teacher Anticipated Response

In the English Department, Ms. Dawson created a sentence types activity for her ninth grade students.  Students were asked to identify different sentence types in a short story they were studying, and then as a challenge create a sentence of their own.  This activity is linked below.

TWR Sentence Types Activity

If you would like to see all of the activities compiled from last year, as well as the weekly additions, you can check out the shared Google Folder via the link below.

HSFI Best Practices Folder

*If any staff member would like to share a lesson, activity, or best practice, send it to Ms. Paz at SPaz@schools.nyc.gov or Mr. Kearns at kkearns@hsfi.us 

SAGA INNOVATIONS COMES TO HSFI

I wanted to share with you an exciting program that is starting at Fashion this week – we are partnering with SAGA Innovations in order to provide individualized math tutoring to about 200 9^th grade HSFI students taking Algebra on a daily basis for the remainder of the school year.  In addition to the math tutoring, they mentor students on the behaviors, skills, attitudes and strategies as well as provide regular communication to families.  SAGA will have 12 math tutors working at Fashion every day, all day – during a given class period there will be 1 tutor working with 2 students.  Half the students will get tutoring every day – the other half every other day – they will be doing research on the results on the program.  Here is a website if you want to take a look at the program - http://sagainnovations.org

We are psyched about this amazing opportunity and I wanted to share the good news.

COMING NEXT WEEK – 1^ST SET OF PARENT VISITATION DAYS October 26 and 27

Thank you once again for being supportive of our Family Visitation Days on Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27, 2017. During these Family Visitation Days, HSFI parents will be able to observe their children in action.  This weekend we are beginning to register parents.  We will make sure the parents that attend understand that this is not a day to conference with you and have them go through an orientation on the behavioral expectations for the day.  We will let you know the parents that sign up for these visits.  We understand that you are voluntarily agreeing to participate in these visits, so THANK YOU!  If you do not wish to participate, please reach out to me directly.

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
OCTOBER 16 *Regular Bell Schedule PM Supervisor: B McGuinness (Rm. 329)	17 *Regular Bell Schedule PM Supervisor: S Rau (Rm. 829)	18 *Regular Bell Schedule School Leadership Team Meeting 4:00 pm – Room 821 Parents Association Meeting 6:00 pm - Auditorium PM Supervisor: K Boulamaali (Rm. 703)	19 *Regular Bell Schedule PM Supervisor: N Moore (Rm. 228)	20 *Regular Bell Schedule STUDENT TOWN HALLS Periods 4 -7 in Room 821 PM Supervisor: J Tallone (Rm. 201)

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONAL REMINDERS

● OUR INSTRUCTIONAL FOCUS FOR 2017-18 & BEYOND

□ Every student feels cared for

□ Every student feels challenged

● THE WRITING REVOLUTION FOLLOW-UP / RESOURCES AVAILABLE

If you've attended TWR PD over the past two and a half years, you can register for access to a very useful TWR Resource Library:
This resource provides customizable templates for construction of TWR tasks, samples, videos and more.
To register, the URL is www.thewritingrevolution.org/register
Once you submit, you'll be sent a password.
Once set up, the library can be accessed directly at www.thewritingrevolution.org/resources
If you want access to the library, but haven't attended TWR training, connect with your AP.

● TEACHBOOST EMAILS MIGHT GO TO YOUR EMAIL JUNK FOLDER

Instructional supervisors are using Teach Boost to record observation feedback – if you have not received your feedback email from your supervisor, check your Outlook email junk folder to see if it is there.

● SPECIAL EDUCATION INFORMATION

As the end of the quarter draws near, we in room 329 wanted to provide everyone with a reminder regarding students with IEPs and SESIS as well as the sections of the IEP which you may find most helpful when planning your instruction. While reviewing the IEP you may notice your Teacher Form responses or information you shared during the meeting- this is a great example of how your insight helps us to create an authentic, student specific IEP.
In addition to asking a special educator, you can easily determine which students in your class have IEP's by reviewing your class roster. If the first or last character of the students’ official is a letter, the student has an IEP. Generally, but not in all cases, a letter at the end means the student receives SETSS services, while an I, C, or T at the beginning will signify an ICT placement.
There are exceptions where students have been moved from one placement to another based on their needs and this is why it is incredibly important to reference the IEP. Students within our
D75 Inclusion Program will have an L as the first letter of their official class and at this time will not appear when you log-in to SESIS. We are working to gain access for those who need it. In the interim you are invited to stop by 329 to speak with Ms. Smith-Brown and review a hard copy of their IEP(s).
This year we will continue to distribute an electronic standards-based Teachers Form. The information you are required to complete on this form is subject specific and your insight will better help us in determine the needs of our students with IEPs. The Teacher Form in conjunction with your participation at the IEP meeting (if you are invited) are two critical elements we need in order to best serve our students. We try to plan our IEP and Triennial meetings with teacher schedules in mind, however there are times when families are only available at specific times and a coverage will be requested for your class.
Our monthly SIT meeting addresses concerns surrounding Special Education (placement, initials,
etc) and is announced in advance in the Weekly Notes. All are welcome and encouraged to attend and if you are interested in becoming a regular member just let me know. Please feel free to stop by room 329 if you have any questions and thank you for your continued support of our students.
The Access-VR meeting for 12th graders with disabilities will be held in the Principal's Conference room on Wednesday October 11 at 12:00pm - a list will be sent out on Tuesday, please excuse these students from class.

● PARENT INFORMATION LISTING

Familiarize yourself with our student list with all their Parent Contact information 

https://docs.google.com/a/hsfi.us/spreadsheets/d/1yEo3ZbWPZqU_4C7Tr6HaPRevPjr28h5N5q1_PAhW0Q4/edit?usp=sharing

If you get an updated phone number and/or email of a student that is different from the information in this document, email AP Danielle Silva at DSilva3@schools.nyc.gov – include Student Name & 9 Digit ID - with the correct, updated contact information.  This list will also be added to the Staff Homepage

● STUDENT SURVEY RESULTS

Over 900+ students have filled out the Student Information survey that we gave out to students – here is the link to the survey results – please familiarize yourself with the spreadsheet and encourage your students who have not filled out the survey to do so.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1r6-RcqMd1SUZS9cHx-NEJq4pc2_m6MhU1t952cMa5n0/edit#gid=0

Here is the information on the survey:

Student Name; OSIS; Counselor; Grade; Name In class I would like to be called; In class please use this pronoun (He, She, They/Them); Would you like us to use your preferred name when calling home? (Yes or No); What borough do you live in?; How long does it take for you to get to school?; Do you have any medical conditions we should know about? (Yes or No); Siblings names and ages:

Personal Interests

Are you involved in any clubs or activities at HSFI; If you are not in a club or activity, what are you interested in joining?; What would you like us to know about you?; What is something I can help you with this year? (Choices – Academic, College/Career, Personal, Homework/Organization, Job / Internship / Volunteer); What are your strongest subjects?; What subjects do you struggle in?; Any additional information you would like to add to get to know you better?

OPERATIONAL NEED TO KNOW

● CHECK YOUR DOE & HSFI EMAILS EVERYDAY

● HSFI STAFF HOMEPAGE LINK - https://sites.google.com/a/hsfi.us/hsfi-staff-portal/

● HEALTH CENTER PHONE NUMBER

The Falcon Health Center is having some phone problems – the normal extension is extension 3431 – in case of an emergency, use the number (212) 206-2910.

● SUPPORTING OUR LATENESS PLAN

Last week, I sent a message to students and their families clarifying the timing for the Lateness Plan.  For 1st period on regular schedule, students need to be in the school building by 8:15 am (5 minutes after the music stops playing) to NOT be considered late.  For 2nd period on regular schedule, students need to be in the school building by 9:04 am (5 minutes after the music stops playing) to NOT be considered late. As always, we will check train delays and cancel the plan based on transit delays.  Continue to highlight the importance of getting to school on time.  Make sure you are recording students’ readiness grades to insure accountability for being on time.  Here is the spreadsheet with the list of students who were late thus far:

https://docs.google.com/a/hsfi.us/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTWE1P2yjxJ5lljxmoP8QIsxxzlnE1f7jOPXv_AFAGPN7NOZvD1mz2HsQsg5tRN244B0fsZpww7CZlB/pubhtml?gid=1810865957&single=true

● PARKING PERMIT INFORMATION

DOE parking permits expire on November 1.  You can sign up for a parking permit OR you can renew parking permits through the DOE’s parking permit application using this link: self-service portal by October 12 (note that the portal works best in Google Chrome).

You will need the following information to submit this application:

#1 – Reference ID # that can be found on your paystub

#2 – License Plate #

Once you submit your application through the portal, the DOE will deliver parking permits to our school by November 1.  The DOE parking permits may only be distributed after we have collected expired parking permits from your staff.  DOE parking spaces will continue to be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

● PROTOCOLS FOR RESPONDING TO CLASSROOM INCIDENTS

In the event of an incident in your classroom that creates disruption (student is defiant and / or uncooperative) but is NOT A THREAT to student and/or staff safety, the following protocol should be followed:

□ Classroom management, i.e., using your skills as an educator to move on from the situation, followed by

□ A phone call to your Supervisor informing them of the incident and the steps you have taken to address the matter, followed by

□ A referral to the Peace Center and/or the Guidance Department via Google Docs., followed by

□ Outreach to parents, informing them of their child’s misbehavior, and request for family support to correct the matter.  

In the event of an incident in your classroom that involves an immediate THREAT to student and/or staff safety, the following protocol should be followed:

□ A phone call to the Peace Center (x1491 or x1431) informing available staff of the incident and requesting assistance, followed by

□ A phone call to School Safety (x1341) informing them of the location and nature of the incident and requesting assistance, followed by

□ A call to your Supervisor informing them of the incident and the steps you have taken to address it.

HOW TO SUBMIT LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION ON NAVIANCE

Guidance counselor Alex Jones sent you an email this past week on how to upload letters of recommendation onto Naviance.  At this point if you don't have an active Naviance account, please send a separate email to Mr. Jones – Ajones22@schools.nyc.gov or call him at ext. 1011 - and he will set you up with one.  

1. Enter your Naviance Log in Info

2. Click on Manage and Complete your College Recommendations

3. See a list of your student’s names

4. Click on UPLOAD FILE for a specific student (far right) - this will take you to a student’s EDOCS page, complete with a list of yellow tabs, documents checklist, and a section that says TEACHER DOCUMENTS

5. Scroll down to TEACHER DOCUMENTS and click the +ADD icon

6. Click UPLOAD A FILE

7. Under Applications, select ----ALL APPLICATIONS

8. Under Type, select ----LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

9. Click BROWSE and find your saved letter of recommendation that you have typed (from Word, a thumb drive, etc)

10. Open the document and press UPLOAD FILE

11. Go back out to the EDOCS screen (where you started with the yellow tabs underneath the student’s name)

12. Scroll down to TEACHER DOCUMENTS and click the +ADD icon again

13. Click on PREPARE A FORM

14. Under Type, select ----COMMON APP TEACHER EVALUATION

15. Click on PREPARE FORM

16. Answer all of the questions and select SAVE

You must complete BOTH actions for each student, including uploading a written letter of recommendation AND completing their Common App Teacher Evaluation. After you have done both of those, your job is finished.

WEEKLY PARENT COMMUNICATION

● FASHIONABLE TIMES BLOG

Just like we maintain a blog for staff, we maintain a weekly blog for HSFI Parents that includes a weekly message from me.  The link is:

http://hsfifashionabletimes.blogspot.com/

STUDENT INFORMATION RESOURCE

● NYC DOE STUDENT PROFILES

The NYC Department of Education has created a central location to access key student information – www.nycenet.edu/studentprofile

You have been emailed a one page summary of this resource.  Here are the key categories of the ‘Student Profile’:

● Grades – current and historical report card grades

● Assessments - previous Regents scores

● Attendance - current and historical daily attendance including lateness

● Schedule – students’ current schedule

● Details – student biographical and demographic information including Special Education and English Language Learner (ELL) status

● Enrollment – enrollment history including all NYC schools attended

● Guardians – all the adults on the students’ biographical record including contact information and preferred language

STAFF MEMBERS WHO SOARR

The SOARRing staff showcased below come from nominations from their supervisors and their colleagues.  You can nominate a colleague by using the email: PBISDataTeam@hsfi.us

Please include the reason why your colleague has SOARRed!

Thank you to MS. PAZ & MR. KEARNS for leading our collaborative efforts by organizing our best practices on our weekly basis.

Thank you to all the staff members who have contributed to our best practices sharing - MS. DAWSON, MS. MEDINA, MS. DYE, MS. LaTANZA, MS. SCHLEIN, MR. NG, MS. KUCKER & MS. KLEPACKI - the sharing spirit at HSFI is alive and well!

Thank you to MS. PARISSE, MS. STAMBOULY, MS. MOLLOY (CONAGHAN), MS. PADRON & MS. BOULAMAALI for taking 50 HSFI students to Yale University this past Friday to get trained by the Yale faculty from their Center for Emotional Intelligence on social emotional learning – these students are being trained to become SEL leaders at HSFI.

Thank you to MS. BOHNER, MS. DRABMAN, MS. THOMAS & MS. VARRICHIO for kicking off another year of running the after-school English Language Learner Academy. They create a welcoming, warm environment to support some of our most struggling students.

Thank you to MR. EGAN for facilitating SEL aligned activities to get his focus group members energized and into the yellow quadrant for productive conversations around student progress.

Thank you to MS. CHAVEZ for dedicating her weekend to represent HSFI at the Manhattan Borough Wide Fair to recruit our next class of incoming HSFI students.

Thank you to MS. RUFF for stepping up to lead the Response to Intervention efforts for her colleagues in 10^th grade Global History.

Thank you to MS. CARTER for helping with the student government this past week – she stepped up and facilitated student government this week.

VTODs FOR THE WEEK

October 16– Math Mondays - Trigonometry

Compound: (n) 1. an enclosure of residences and other buildings. American government employees rarely step outside the heavily fortified U.S. Embassy compound in central Kabul. 2. (adj.) describes something consisting of two or more parts used in a combination:  A compound angle is an angle made by two angles; in trigonometry, compound angles can be calculated when you know all the sides of the two right triangles that form the compound angle.

October 17- Science Tuesdays, Science Elective

Physiology: (n) Physiology deals with the ways that living organisms or any of their parts function.   Tattoos may permanently alter the physiology of skin in ways that affect sweating. The nursing students studied human physiology to understand how our cells, muscles, and organs work together.

October 18 CTE Wednesdays: Graphics and Illustration

Transparency: (n) 1 visibility or accessibility of information. “It should not fall on the courts to enforce basic transparency from the public’s elected leaders.”  (2) a piece of thin, clear plastic with pictures or words printed on it that can be viewed on a large screen by shining light through it. The photographer’s piece for the exhibition included a large transparency on a wall-mounted light box.  

October 19 ELA Thursday– 12th Grade

Evidence: (n) 1. Physical signs or facts that help to prove something true. Clearly, the evidence shows that global warming is occurring. To support the thesis of his article -- that bullying has long-term negative effects—the magazine writer used evidence from relevant articles and research studies on the topic as well as information from interviews he conducted with victims of bullying.   

October 20 - Social Studies Friday - 12th Grade

Referendum: (n) a public vote for or against a law that deals with a specific issue of importance to the citizens of a country, state, or city. In a 2016 referendum in the United Kingdom (UK), 51.9% of its citizens voted to leave the European Union (EU); Brexit is the popular term for the UK's withdrawal from the EU

ADDITIONS TO THE BLOG

If you are interested in adding something to the Weekly Bulletin Blog, please email Angela Ianniello – AIanniello@schools.nyc.gov – by Wednesday of that week.  Submissions emailed after this deadline will be placed in the following week’s Blog.