WEEKLY BULLETIN for Week Beginning 1.16.18

CALL TO ACTION

● 4 DAYS LEFT IN THE FALL TERM

We are in the final days of the Fall term with 4 days left of classes until Regents.  Make sure students understand where they stand in their classes before they receive their final grades and that these grades will be seen by colleges and universities on their transcripts.

● ATTEND A STAFF TOWN HALL THIS THURSDAY

Our next staff town halls will be this Thursday, January 18 during Periods 3, 4, 6, 7 & 8 (sorry that I cannot do Period 5) – please come by to speak with me about anything that is on your mind about HSFI.

● BE AN ACTIVE PROCTOR / REMIND STUDENTS ABOUT ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT POLICY FOR STATE EXAMS

As you well know, Regents/RCT exams begin next Monday, January 22.  These are high stakes exams for our students so we need to be at the top of our game with our proctoring – in the classrooms, on reserve and the hallways.  It would be a HUGE help if you could remind all students throughout the week about not having cell phone and electronic equipment on them when they are taking their tests and to place these devices in their lockers.

FIRST MONDAY REDESIGN FOR SPRING TERM

Last June, staff and students engaged in “Genius Hour” where we brainstormed responses to important questions facing our school such as “How can we get students to feel more connected to the school?”, “How do we help students develop their voices as citizens in a complex world?” and “How can we make more cross-departmental curricular connections?”  We compiled the responses and found that there are many suggested activities that we could engage our students in, but we are unable to implement them given the constraints of our existing school day structure.

I am proposing that we redesign our 1st Monday structure so that instead of having students rush between short class periods, we use that time in a more meaningful way to engage in extended activities centered around areas of student and staff shared interest.  This was discussed at some of our staff town halls throughout the Fall term.  I am hopeful that this opportunity will go a long way toward community building and ensuring that all students feel connected and cared for.  I am encouraging all staff to consider hosting a student activity.  There are endless possibilities and areas for exploration and enrichment such as:

Museum visits, Social Issues exploration, Music study, Running Club, Acting/Improv, College Trips, Sports/Physical Fitness, Community Service, Art Projects, etc.  This time could be used as an extension for existing clubs or classes or for something entirely new.  You could develop your own activity or team up with another staff member.

This will take a lot of planning and coordination.  The first step is to find out what activities staff members may be interested in offering students.  Please click on the link below to submit a description for how you might use the First Monday time.  

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf31dl6WuAWmQRNbEs9D07qx4-hmMA5DVDH1kPwqahxt0EbnQ/viewform

After I have collected staff responses, I will reach out to students in order to gauge of their interests.  I will then look to match up student and staff interests as closely as possible.  Our goal is to begin on Monday, February 5. Student/staff activity assignments would then last for the duration of the school year on our First Mondays.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with a questions or concerns.

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
JANUARY 15 NO SCHOOL	16 *Regular Bell Schedule PM Supervisor: B McGuinness (Rm. 329)	17 *Regular Bell Schedule School Leadership Team Meeting Room 821 – 4:00pm Parents Association Meeting Room 829 – 6:00pm PM Supervisor: A Rodrigues (Rm. 515)	18 *Regular Bell Schedule STAFF TOWN HALLS Periods 3, 4, 6, 7 & 8 PM Supervisor: N Moore (Rm. 228)	19 *Regular Bell Schedule PM Supervisor: TBD

THE ANSWER IS IN THE ROOM

Here are some highlights of the best practices shared by HSFI Staff Members.  This round focuses on the use of TWR in the classroom:

In the Science Department, Mr. Stampone created a TWR task for use in his Honors Physics class regarding energy conservation.  The activity prompted students to identify a topic sentence from a given list.  Once students identified the topic sentence, they continued to write a paragraph as a summary in their notes.  This activity allows students to connect supporting details to a main idea while summarizing.

SPO - Distinguishing Topic Sentence

In the English Department, the E5 teachers – Ms. Adamczyk, Ms. Drabman, Ms. Heney, Mr. Kearns, Mr. Wieda, Ms. Russell - created a guide to writing introductions and conclusions using the TWR G-S-T, T-S-G method.  This will help prepare them for their argument essays on the Regents.

G-S-T Intro for Argument Essays  

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@hsfi.us or Mr. Kearns at kkearns@hsfi.us 

REFLECTIONS FROM OUR LEARNING PARTNERS PROGRAM VISITS TO OTHER HIGH SCHOOLS

As part of the Learning Partners Program, Mr. Blank, Ms. Moore, Mr. Kearns and Ms. Paz recently visited Art and Design High School and Brooklyn Bridges Academy.  Here are the reflections:

ART & DESIGN HIGH SCHOOL
During our classroom visits we focused on and gave feedback on the use of texts in the classroom, academic vocabulary, questioning, and writing in the classroom.  Here are some highlights of the visit.
(1) Most of the classes were reading content specific texts at some point during the lesson.  In some classes, images and documents were used in place of written text.  It was interesting to see the various ways teachers used texts in the classroom and how students were accessing the texts in different ways.
(2) Academic vocabulary was used in most of the classrooms.  This came in several forms which include word walls, SAT terms of the day, as well as introduction of relevant academic vocabulary within the lesson.
(3) In several classes, students were asked to create their own questions (sometimes reaching level DOK

(4) In other classrooms, teachers were asking clarifying questions to lead the conversation as well as to check for understanding.

BROOKLYN BRIDGES ACADEMY

Brooklyn Bridge Academy is a small transfer high school serving under-credited students ages 17-21, who for various reasons, did not succeed at their original High Schools.

During our classroom visits we focused on and gave feedback on the use of “elaboration”, and literacy initiatives in the classroom.  Here are some highlights of the visit.

(1) Despite the challenging population and their struggles with attendance, Brooklyn Bridge Academy has created a very positive environment for their students.  All students and staff seemed very well versed in the expectations and protocols of the school.  In particular, all students kept writers “notebooks” and often meet one on one with their teachers to receive targeted feedback.  On top of this, every student in the school has independent reading time at the end of their extended 3rd period, where students can choose from a very wide range of high interest texts.

(2) Teachers were actively engaged in helping students “elaborate” on their ideas both in whole class discussion and in writing.  In whole class discussion, students were often pushed to build off of their own responses or their peers responses.  Writing tasks were always open ended and there was a push for revising and developing their own work.

Feel free to reach out to Ms. Paz or Mr. Kearns with any questions or for more information on these Learning Partners visits.

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONAL REMINDERS

● OUR INSTRUCTIONAL FOCUS FOR 2017-18 & BEYOND

□ Every student feels cared for

□ Every student feels challenged

● FIRST MONDAY PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES / STUDENT WORK

PLCs--Academic Teachers: please make copies of student work before the term ends so you're prepared for the Feb. 5 PLC!

● SPECIAL EDUCATION REMINDERS

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. 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 us know.

                                  

● 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

OPERATIONAL NEED TO KNOW

● CHECK YOUR DOE & HSFI EMAILS EVERYDAY

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

● ELEVATOR UPDATE

Great news on the elevator front – the NYC Department of Education has just approved a full repair project of all 6 elevators – this project will include preventive maintenance of each elevator - one elevator at a time will be shut down as work is being performed.  Repairs have begun already.  We will be sending updates daily on the status of the elevators. 

Additionally, beginning at 4:30 pm each day, we will only have 1 elevator on each side in operation in order to minimize the work load on the elevators.

Thank you for your patience with this situation – as you can see, the issues will be taken care of.

● FALCON HEALTH CENTER PHONE ISSUES / CONTACT #

There is a glitch with the Falcon Health Center phone system, so unfortunately the only way to get in touch with the Falcon Health Center is to call directly using the number (646) 559-9351.  Their phone system is being serviced and we hope to get you a direct extension soon.

● TEACHERS’ CHOICE ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT DUE THIS FRIDAY

January 14, 2018 was the deadline for purchasing.

January 19, 2018 - Accountability Report w/original receipts due.  Please bring to the Payroll Office.

● ELECTRONIC W-2 FORMS

To choose this option, log into your NYCAPS Employee Self-Service account at nyc.gov/ess.

Select the Change W2 Print Status option.

● ATTENDANCE SHEETS ARE LEGAL DOCUMENTS

There continue to be issues with staff filling out attendance sheets – absent students are being marked present which could put the school in legal jeopardy.  Make sure your attendance sheets are accurate.

□ Please keep your attendance sheets for the week of January 15

□ All November Confirmation Sheets should have been returned by January 5.  

□ You are responsible to keep attendance records for your classes.  

□ Please make sure to return all December Attendance Sheets 

□ Please make sure to take accurate attendance. We have several students out of the country and some teachers are marking them present

● CANNOT LEAVE STUDENTS UNATTENDED

You cannot leave students unattended anywhere in the building – a classroom or office, the Auditorium or Cafeteria – if you have to leave a particular area, ask the students to leave with you.

● 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.

● KEEPING TRACK OF STUDENT ACTIVITY / COMMUNICATING WITH STUDENTS ABOUT SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Tracking Activity

In our effort to understand how ALL our students are doing, we need to know how much students are participating in activities around the building – this includes:

TUTORING / CLUBS & ACTIVITIES / PSAL SPORTS – PRACTICES & GAMES / ESL ACADEMY

MAKE-UP LABS / NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY PEER TUTORING / USING THE COMPUTER LABS

Use this link to keep track of student attendance in these activities - https://sites.google.com/a/hsfi.us/hsfi-staff-portal/attendance-for-student-activities

Doing this is mandatory if you oversee these activities and needs to be done every time you meet with students.  You must be signed in to your own hsfi.us account when you do this.  Contact Shannon Kohm with questions at skohm@school.nyc.gov, or ext. 5311

Communication

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.

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 all the staff members who have contributed to our best practices sharing - MR.  STAMPONE, MS. ADAMCZYK, MS. DRABMAN, MS. HENEY, MR. KEARNS, MR. WIEDA & MS. RUSSELL - the sharing spirit at HSFI is alive and well!

Thank you to MS. VEGA for her tremendous leadership of SING – the performance was incredible and brought tremendous pride to the HSFI community – you could see how passionate the cast and crew of SING were about the production – it could not have taken place without the dedication of Ms. Vega; Thank you to MS. PAZ & MS. FECSKO for their incredible contributions to the SING production and giving up so much time and energy to support this impressive production!

Thank you to MS. McKEON for her efforts in organizing such a successful College Awareness Day – the pennants on our classroom and offices will generate student knowledge of a wide range of colleges and universities.

Thank you to MS. BATTS for making an outside connection to support the development of our emerging Debate Team.

Thank you to MS. SCHLEIN for being nominated and selected to attend Geometric Sculpture, an Academy for Teachers master class.  Participants like Ms. Schlein become Fellows of The Academy for Teachers, joining a growing number of the city's strongest educators.

Thank you to all the staff members who were part of the Admissions team this past Friday night to interview prospective applicants for next year’s freshman class - MS. CHAVEZ, MS. KASS, MS. KLEPACKI, MR. STAMPONE, MS. DAMIAN, MS. VACCARO, MS. BATTS, MS. STAMBOULY, MR. TALLONE & MS. SILVA.

Thank you to MS. BAILEY, MS. CASTRO, MS. CUFFIE, MS. DAMIAN, MR. DAWSON, MS. DYE, MS. DUCK, MR. LACHOK, MS. LaTANZA, MS. McCAULEY, MS. PINTO & MS. SEVERINO-NORTMAN for welcoming in the ‘The Writing Revolution Team’ and for working hard to make our students stronger writers.

Thank you to MS. BALMIR & MS. CARTER for helping dress the mannequins in the lobby to exhibit amazing student work and show off what our amazing students can create.

Thank you to all the staff involved in the administration of our CTE NOCTI exams - Thank you to MS. RICCI & VACCARO for organizing the written NOCTI exams; Thank you to MS. HERZOG for for always helping to ensure our NOCTI exams have proper coverages; Thank you to MS. ALLEN, MS. BALMIR, MS. BATTS, MS. CHAVEZ, MS. CISSE, MS. DAVID, MS. KING, MS. PARISSE, MS. ROJAS, MS. SEIFERT, MS. YOUNGBLOOD & MS. WEINREB for serving as teacher proctors for the exams.

Thank you to MS. ROJAS for her hard work with her Junior Draping students. These students created interdisciplinary presentations (videos and PowerPoint) to teach others technical draping skills AND the specific math strategies used to create the various patterns.

Thank you to MS. STAMBOULY, MS. WEINREB & MR. JOCELYN for being nominated by their fellow CTE teachers & staff as CTE team members of the month.

Thank you to MS. RUFF for engaging in an SEL conversation with a student and following up on next steps.

Thank you to MS. ROBINSON for writing a grant to support our PBIS program.

VTODs FOR THE WEEK

January 16 Science Tuesday

Polarity: (n) 1. A state in which two ideas or opinions, are completely opposite or very different. The polarity of the candidates' views on the issue means that the voters have a clear choice to make. 2. the condition of having opposite electrical charges. Due to the unequal distribution of electrons in a water molecule, one part of the molecule is more negatively charged than the other part.

January 17, CTE Wednesday 

Gradation: (n) A gradual transition from one color, tone, or surface to another.  The improved dyeing techniques meant more sharply delineated designs and color gradations. “I see each petal distinguished from the next, with proper color gradation from the subtle pink hues to the deeper reds.”                                     

 January 18, ELA Thursday

Articulate: 1. (v) to express ideas clearly and effectively in speech or writing. Talking of her early years, Madonna said, “I was aware of the power of music at that point, not that I could articulate it to anyone.” As the term progressed, the students were better able to articulate the effect of a poet’s   techniques on the meaning and tone of a poem. 

January 19, SS Friday

Circumstance: (n) A condition or fact that affects a situation, action or event. Let’s try to better understand your present financial circumstances, so you can plan for the future.   Feeling forced by circumstances, the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact in 1939.

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.