Innovative Education

Weekly RIMSD #41 Staff Newsletter Dec. 10. 2015 To prepare high achieving college and career ready global citizens.

Inside: ~ Need to KNOW ~ Teaching and Learning ~ Around the District ~ Community Corner

Calendar:

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Winter Intersession Break Dec. 21 - Jan. 1 School Improvement Day Monday, Jan. 4

Innovative Education As we enter the holiday season, I am grateful for our teachers, staff, students and families we serve every day. Working together, we must forge partnerships that say: “In Rock Island and Milan, school by school, neighborhood by neighborhood, we are banding together to provide the quality education the students of our community need now, so that they are prepared to be high achieving college and career ready global citizens.”

Pat Barnes from John Deere presenting a banner to the district supporting Project Lead the Way for Rock Island High School.

Our school district is taking steps in that direction. Over the last couple of years we have had new AP courses each year and working on more dual college credit opportunities with Black Hawk College AND Western Illinois University. We are also the only district that offers a full Certified Nursing Aide CNA program and courses that lead to a certificate in welding. These are courses that our students want and need to be successful in the career paths that they choose. Whatever paths our students choose, I believe that in our school district we value our children - not just some of our children but all our children. We are constantly working to offer our students the best options for their futures - whether it be a college or technical/vocational path - they won’t get an education like RIMSD offers anywhere else. That is something to be proud of.

Send your building information to Communication Director Holly Sparkman at holly. [email protected] by the end of business on Monday for inclusion into each Weekly Edition of the Rock Island-Milan Lines.

Thank you for being a difference-maker in the lives of our students in the Rock Island-Milan School District!

Mike

need to

KNOW

iPads Still Available! It’s easy as 1-2-3: Apply for an iPad---Attend a short training---Start using the iPad in the classroom! The iPad can change the way teachers access the web, collaborate, share media, and teach on the go. This workshop will cover the initial setup of the iPad, how to add content, how access the App store, and how to find educational Apps available -Time permitting, the session includes a primer on using the mobile version of Rock Island Google Drive. Please complete this form to submit your request for a Teacher iPad. We have a limited number of iPads available and will be distributing these based upon your responses on this form. Please keep these ideas in mind as you submit your responses. 1. Please do not apply if you already have an iPad 2 or newer. If you have an iPad 1 you may apply. 2. We are not able to provide keyboards, connectors to projectors, stylus, or other enhancements to the iPads. 3. iPads will be distributed on December 16th at the Administration Building. The training will be in room 23 from 3:45-4:30. Please fill out an iPad Request Form Online http://bit.ly/RIMADiPadRequest

TRS Telephone Counseling Sessions Still Available! There are 15-minute sessions available on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 beginning at 9:00 a.m. with last call at 4:15 p.m. (Break for lunch from Noon to 1:00 p.m.) A request form needs to be completed and is online at the RIMSD staff web site www.rockislandschools.org/riec under Latest News. Forms are due by December 15, 2015. Contact Kim Colson to reserve your teleconference: 793-5900 x210 or [email protected]

RIMSD Employee Directory The Rock Island-Milan School District Employee Directory is now online and can be accessed through the RIMSD Staff web site at www.rockislandschools. org/riec The directory is located under the “District Links” tab. The page is password protected. The password can be obtained from your building secretary and principal. Directory updates can be given to Kim Colson, 309-793-5900 x210.

around the

DISTRICT

Important Tax Year Considerations Have you had an event that may change your tax status? You may need to adjust your withholding of Federal and State taxes. Events That May Cause a Change in Taxes Due There are many different circumstances that can trigger a need to change your withholding: • Having a child • Getting a raise. • Getting married or divorced • Buying or selling a home • An older child no longer able to be claimed as a dependent • Changes in retirement or college savings contributions • Change in employment • Major financial gains or losses All of these events can play an important role in your tax situation. Some may require that you pay more taxes, while others may entitle you to additional tax breaks that require fewer taxes to be paid. If you are unsure, please consult with your tax preparer. If you would like change your withholding, please contact Dawn Wolf at 309-793-5900 x 203, or [email protected]

NCLB is Now ESSA The United States House of Representatives and the Senate have both approved the Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaces the No Child Left Behind law. The education bill has been sent to President Barack Obama. The bill rejects the overuse of standardized tests and one-size-fits-all mandates on schools, ensures that education system will prepare every child to graduate from high school ready for college and careers, and provides more children access to high-quality state preschool programs. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, “Our nation deserves a law that prioritizes both excellence and equity for our students and supports great educators.” Read more from the National Education Association http://neatoday.org/2015/12/09/every-student-succeeds-act/

making a

DIFFERENCE Shout Out!

To: Tim Derry, RIMSD Administration Center From: Gary Eastman

Mr. Derry continues to amaze me and makes a very big difference in the District. Tim is always willing to go the extra mile without hesitation. Many times I depend on Tim for a lot of reasons and he is always there for me and the district. When you see Tim Derry in your building please thank him for everything he does for us!

To: Molly McGreevey From: A fan!

A special shout out to Molly for all she does at Washington! She is always willing to help students, and she goes above and beyond in her duties for the teachers and the building atmosphere! Thanks, Molly!

To: Kim Miers and Chris Beierlein, Denkmann Elementary From: Belinda Hull

I would like to give Kim Miers and Chris Beierlein a Shout Out for all their hard work and dedication in organizing, starting and supporting the Denkmann students in putting out the school newspaper TIMBERWOLF TIMES every month. The kids love working on it and putting their creative ideas to work and seeing the end result. NICE WORK LADIES!!

To: Sa-Tosha Phillips, Rock Island High School From: A fan!

Sa-Tosha gives 100% every day she is here! With so many duties to fulfill as the registrar, she is pulled in many directions…welcoming and registering new students, completing reports, grades, filing…the list goes on and on….yet, she manages the guidance office with grace and a smile! THANK YOU!

To: Alexis Andrews, Thomas Jefferson Elementary From: A fan!

Ms. Andrews is an incredible teacher, friend and mentor. I believe she is an amazing addition to our TJ family. She reaches out to students of all grades and offers to help them in any way she can without hesitation. She has a way with working with students that need that extra attention and someone to listen and understand them. She is our “Kid Whisperer”. Ms. Andrews has also brought new and innovative ideas to her students. Alexis has exceeded the true meaning of “Kids First.”

To: Christi Thigpen, Donna Beeding, Anna Lorenz, Lori Thomas-Johnson, Ramona Dixon, Jeff Hoskins & Mike MacKenna From: Tia Edwards

I would like to shout-out to our impromptu RIA technology team that set up our lab in preparation for Acuity & NWEA/ MAP testing. They were amazing in getting our testing lab and schedule completed without being requested. They are amazing and put our students first!

around the

DISTRICT

There’s Always Something New to Read at RIA Rock Island Academy students always have a fresh cache of books to explore through the RIA Book Swap each quarter. Throughout the quarter, students bring in their “old books” and earn book bucks. Once a quarter, a book swap takes place where they are welcome to come shop with their book bucks. Mrs. Anderson’s Teaching Assistant runs the swap, including making announcements, posters, and collecting books. “It works out great and the students are always excited about new reading material!”

Books and Jammies for Family Night Ridgewood Principal Joey DiIulio donned his CUBS Santa Hat (left) and read a book in front of a “fireplace” to students on their first “Book-Jammy” Family Reading Night of the year on December 3. “It was a great turn out,” said Ridgewood Building Supervisor Roz Lee. “The kids were able to make bookmarks, play reading Bingo, receive a book and then the highlight Mr. D read “T’was the night before Christmas “ to them at the end of the event.”

around the

DISTRICT

Thumbs Up for the Numbed Thumbs! The RICMS LEGO League the “Numbed Thumbs” took 5th place out of 11 teams at the LEGO competition over the weekend. The project encompassed recycling old markers, short or broken pencils, and broken crayons. We also made an iMovie to show students in all the classroom to improve the paper recycling program and explain how the new program works. This was the second year that RICMS participated in the competition. The team was coached by Ms. Moffitt and Mrs. Smith. RICMS student Luke Gustafson came up with the name and designed the t-shirt.

RIHS Entrepreneur Program Recognized with RIMEF Award The Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation was recognized with an award from Renaissance Rock Island for bringing the INCubator Entrepreneur and Enterprise Program to Rock Island High School. The new Jeff Guthrie Entrepreneurship award was named in honor of Rock Island supporter Jeff Guthrie, who has worked with in partnership with Renaissance Rock Island since the late 1990’s. More recently, Jeff worked closely with Renaissance Rock Island and the City of Rock Island with business development, helping nearly 100 start up businesses and entrepreneurs in Rock Island. Guthrie passed away suddenly in August 2015 and Renaissance Rock Island felt it was befitting to honor his memory with an annual award that highlighted the entrepreneurial spirit. The Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation is the first organization to receive the award. Executive Director Monta Ponsetto, RIHS teacher Trish Matson and Principal Wernentin accepted the award.

Photo from RIHS Ribbon-Cutting in the Entrepreneur Classroom in August.

Teaching & Learning Test Results RELEASED Dec. 11 The public release of the school district PARCC scores will occur on Friday, December 11. Individual student results will be mailed to the households next week. Teachers and staff will probably get questions from parents about interpreting the score reports. Fortunately, the reports are easy to read and provide useful information for students, teachers and parents. PLEASE USE THE RESOURCES BELOW as they give good guideance on how to address parents concerns on how the PARCC test is scored. In the case of RIMSD, the percent of students in our district who scored in the meets or exceeds range (levels 4 or 5) is lower than the percentage of students who met or exceeded on the previous ISAT and PSAE exams. Because the PARCC tests measure skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and reasoning (which are different from previous state tests) scores on the PARCC test will look lower. But students aren’t doing worse—it’s just that the bar is higher.

A TEACHERS VIEW on PARCC Score Reports Read how one teacher is handling questions from parents about their child’s PARCC testing scores. http://bit.ly/1NkWPJj

Important things to remember: • Rock Island-Milan is not unique in the lower scores. All who took the PARCC also had lower results. • The PARCC is a new assessment. We fully expect results to improve as teachers and students become more familiar with the higher expectations of the New Illinois Learning Standards. • The primary purpose of testing is to help parents and teachers support their children’s/student’s learning and to help identify where supports are needed to maximize student learning.

IMPORTANT RESOURCES

Luckily, there are a lot of great resources on how the test is scored: • http://UnderstandtheScore.org • Illinois State Board: http://www.isbe.net/parcc-place/ • PARCC: http://parcconline.org/ • Resources: http://www.parcconline.org/resources There are mock score reports and parent guides, videos and descriptions of the higher standards and explanations of how the test is scored.

Mid Assessment Testing Window Closes Dec. 18 The mid assessment testing window opened on Monday, November 30th, and closes Friday, December 18th. This includes Acuity for grades K-8.

Teaching & Learning T & L Update: EUREKA MATH K-5 What is going on with the Eureka math pilot in K-5? The Eureka math pilot group continues to meet as a PLC to share out ideas, suggestions, successes & challenges about the program in grades K-5. Here are some questions that have come to the T&L department in which we wanted to provide clarification. 1. Are we adopting Eureka Math? At this time, no decision has been made. The T&L department will not make this decision on our own. The teachers who are piloting Eureka will drive the decision on whether or not we implement. We will not open this discussion until January of this school year. 2. If we adopt Eureka math, will that occur next year for all K-5 grade levels? This discussion will not begin until January, when we have some student & teacher data to analyze to drive our discussions. (See question 1) Analysis of student performance & monitoring of the fidelity of implementation need to take place before any discussions on various ideas occur. Some of the ideas could include no adoption, full adoption, phasing in an adoption, etc. We will continue to communicate with you each step along the way. 3. Why are supplies being purchased for Eureka math? The pilot group analyzed the recommended Eureka supplies and identified what we already had in our classrooms vs. what was needed in order to implement the program with fidelity. No additional resources were purchased. We used district Title funds, already set aside, for this purchase. These dollars did not come from individual school allotted Title funds. 4. Can I observe a teacher who is in the Eureka math pilot? Yes! We encourage anyone interested in learning more about Eureka math to find a teacher who is in the pilot group at either your school or in another district school and schedule a time to observe. In speaking with this pilot group, teachers were willing to alter their daily schedule so it fits in a time frame you can observe. If you have questions about this pilot and the process, please do not hesitate to contact me. ~Kathy

RI Colleges on MATH TALKS!

Join us as Kathy Felt provides a RI College on Math Talks.

What are Math Talks?: Math Talks is a simple, daily classroom routine that helps students develop their sense of numbers. When students figure math out in a way that makes sense to them and share their strategies with others, mathematical success ensues and student achievement improves. Teachers will learn how to effectively run a discussion, create high quality questions, build number sense and fluency, and create a growth mindset. When: January 19th (repeated session from Dec. 8) Time: 4:00-5:30 Where: RICMS media center Actual Hour recertification credit will be given to those in attendance. Sign up: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/S7FNGYD

Community Corner ROCK SHOP OPEN FOR HOLIDAY GIFT SHOPPING

The Booster Club’s Rock Shop in the Fieldhouse will be open for shopping on Tuesday 12/15, Wednesday 12/16, and Thursday 12/17 from 3:30 until 5:30 p.m.! Items of interest: Red or Black Small Blankets $20.00; Umbrella $30.00; Spirit Flags (4’ X 5’) $30.00; Hooded Sweatshirts (4 Colors) $35.00; Assorted Polo Shirts $15.00; T-Shirts $10 or $12; Book Bag, Insulated Mugs, License plate trim $5.00; Long Sleeve, Red T-SHIRT $15.00. Cash and Check Only accepted. Enter through the Fieldhouse.