Classroom Attendance/Warm-ups -
- We have been talking about our attendence rates a considerable amount over the school year. However, in order to be meaningful that data needs to be accurate. We have seen a recent spike in having to remind staff to take attendance every morning. We have also had students marked present recently to only have them bring in a note for their absense the next day. Please make use of your warm-up activity at the start of class to take an accurate attendance in your classroom or shop and if you do make a mistake please let Marie know at ext. 413 so we can correct the attendance up front immediately.
Staff Attendance -
- A reminder that when you are going to be out sick please call the sick line, 617.688.7386, every time. We appreciate the staff going into Tyler/Ivisions to put in their requests for sick days, but we do not have time to check this during the call-in windows from home. We rely on the phone communications to set up substitutes and coverage for the day.
- Additionally, if you are putting in for a half a day personal or sick we ask that you simply identify AM or PM in the comment window.
- Thank you for your cooperation with both of these.
Semester 1 Grades -
- Student grades will be collected from PowerSchool at 1:00 PM on Monday afternoon. Please make sure your grades are up-to-date and any comments have been included. We will be sending home printed report cards with students on Wednesday afternoon.
Blood Drive -
- A reminder that on Friday, February 14th, we will be holding our annual American Red Cross blood drive for staff and students. Please plan accordingly.
MCAS Updates -
- DESE and Pearson have updated the platform that students use to take the electronic MCAS test. Please check out the changes below.
- Expandable Panels: The new “expandable panels” functionality allows students to expand the left or right side of the screen to make it easier to read passages and/or write responses. The functionality is available in some ELA items and some items for the next-generation Biology and Physics tests for grade 9.
- Calculators: Certain Mathematics and STE tests will have multiple calculators available for students on TestNav. While students can choose from multiple calculators, it is recommended that students use the calculator they typically use in the classroom.
- Zoom: Students will be able to zoom in to make everything on their screen larger.
- Highlight to Hear in Text-to-Speech: When students with the text-to-speech accommodation select text, a “Listen” button will appear alongside the highlighter options. Students can click this “Listen” button to hear the selected text.
From Student Services:
The MCAS STE re-test is February 5 & 6. The majority of our paraprofessionals will be used to proctor. Please plan accordingly. Good luck, students!
Special Education Progress Reports are due on February 13, 2020. Please be on the lookout for an email for assignments and instructions.
Educational Assessment B forms are due at least 2 days prior to a Special Education Team meeting. Parents have the right to request the assessments two days before the meeting. In addition, the final assessment allows the Team to prepare for the meeting in advance.
Amy's tours are on Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoon's. Our admissions process is in full swing - thank you for your efforts to help her showcase our school!
Please reach out to Katie if you need assistance in using Kurzweil in your classrooms.