RtI

Hello Teachers!

For those of you unfamiliar with our RTI process or those that may need a refresher, below is some important information for you:

Our first full day of RTI is on September 30th!!  This day is for follow-ups only!!  Any kiddos for elementary, intermediate, or primary kiddos that we need more time on (as a result of primary level meeting) should sign up. There are 7 available slots on September 30th so first come first serve. Don't fret...more days will be available in the future.  If you have a student that needs an early follow-up but there are no slots left, please get in touch with me right away and we will work something out!  

How to sign up???  Go to Our One Quest page and click on RTI Referrals. If this is a follow up student (one that has been seen by our RTI team last school year), then you only need to complete the sections that have a red asterik on the first page!  You can skip the rest of the questions on page 1 and go to page 2 where you will choose your time slot. As I said before, first come first serve.  

New Referral days will be coming up in October so if you have a student that hasn't been to RTI in last school year you will be able to sign them up in the near future for them.  You will sign up new referrals the same way as described above for the follow- up kiddos, the only catch is that you have to answer ALL the questions on page 1.  

If you have additional questions or are unsure of whether a kiddo should be signed up for this first RTI follow-up day please see me or email me! 

I look forward to RTI'ing with all of you this year!!

Lisa Winner-Swete; MS, CAS

School Psychologist/CPSE Chairperson
Quest Elementary School
585-392-1000 ext. 6047

Right?

DASA LESSONS

DASA Lessons on Consult Day – September 25^th!

NYS requires us to teach students about DASA. Similar to last year… pick a time that works best for your class and come to the auditorium to learn about the difference between conflict and bullying and what to do when someone is unkind!

v 9:15-9:45

v 10-10:30

v 10:45-11:15

Reminders

• Global Compliance Training needs to be completed by October 1. Please refer to the earlier blog post, or the email from HR, for instructions. 
• All evaluations should be ready for your signature. If you haven't signed yours yet, be sure to go in School Front. I promise you that you will enjoy searching and trying to figure out where to sign! :) 
• The Fun Run is on the 20th of September. This was moved from October in order to avoid being too close to feast and all the business that begins in October. Thank you for having fun with the kids at the time slot you signed up for. We will do this event unless for some reason we have terrible weather that day, in which we would have to reschedule. Please encourage kids to dress according to the weather. 
• Please be sure to turn in your schedule for this year by September 18th. 
• Thank you for your efforts around fund raising--for classroom teachers, it can feel like an added thing, so your efforts are appreciated. Fund raising is open for a couple more weeks. Any push you can give kids to meet your classroom goal would be helpful. Our PTSO gives it all back to the school, and they are a very generous group. Because this is our only fundraiser we have this year, any push you can give to encourage fundraising would be appreciated! Go QUEST! 

Looking Ahead

Where's Warren?

Team,

You went and did it again. As a group, you went above and beyond to make sure every student felt safe, appreciated, and at home. I saw very few tears, and when they emerged, you all swarmed to support and guide. Thank you so much for a great first week!

Sometimes I feel like Where's Waldo. I wander the school and Hannah has to find me when she needs me! :) But being Waldo is a lot of fun as I get to witness educators demonstrating their vast craft knowledge, students engaged in meaningful work, and people pouring their heart into their jobs.

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This week, in true Waldo fashion, I was meeting free and able to witness the art of teaching in action. The time we invest now going slow and methodical will pay dividends later. Some of my favorite things that I noticed or observed this week that highlight that point:

• Students greeted at the door. What a great time to teach social skills and to do that first assessment of the day. More than that, I noticed a room where students choose the greeting: hug, dance, or high-five. Love it! 
• Classes practicing line walking. More than that, I overheard conversations as to WHY it is respectful to walk quietly in the hall. At the middle school, all classrooms transition at once. Here, in elementary land, it can be a big disturbance to shut your door in the middle of a lesson--or to be in the open wings and have classes go by while chatting. I appreciate and valued people going slow, not moving until the class was ready, and reiterating the why behind walking quiet. Awesome.
• Critical thinking/STEM based activities. Our kids need the soft skills just as much as they need the academic content. If they are brilliant but can't work in a group or share their thinking, where will that brilliance take them? I enjoyed seeing lock boxes, STEM challenges, and students communicating their thinking so early in the year. Kudos. 
• Teaching of classroom procedures. EVERYTHING we do in our classroom likely has a procedure attached to it. It's one thing to review rules or create classroom expectations collectively, it is another to go slow and to teach, reinforce, teach again, reinforce again...those procedures. Teaching students how to line up, how to turn in homework, how to transition to morning meeting...all of this teaching will create an efficient classroom. An efficient classroom with clean procedures creates more learning later in the year. Great stuff!
• Students reading! Keep those books in their hands! I appreciate that people made time to read to kids, have them read, and to teach them how to pick out books. Our kids need the reading miles, and all reading instruction we provide is with the goal of creating life long readers and thinkers. Loved that I saw so much reading happening already!
• Smiles. Yes, I saw smiles. Although we all show our excitement in different ways, we are the model for kids. How we work together, how we engage with one another, and the energy we bring to work has an impact on them. I saw great energy, smiles, people laughing. That may be easy to do at this point in the year because everything is fresh and new, but I know this added to students feeling at home. They will treat one another in a way that is similar to how we treat one another, and I appreciate the way we set such an amazing example for them. Go QUEST!

Thank you for all you did this week. I'm beyond proud to be your principal, and I wish you nothing short of a relaxing and restful weekend.

Go Eagles!

Derek 

Remember this?

It's that time of year again where we need to fill out what is shown below :

We have hard copies in the main office. Please swing down and fill it out as you did last year. Hannah has a copy of your one from last year--if you did one last year--that can be copied if you are at the same level. This is required to have on file should we get audited from the state.

Looking Ahead

Reminder: Due October 1

DATE:         September 3, 2019

TO:              District Staff Member

FROM:         Scott Massie

RE:              2019-20 Required Trainings

New York State Law requires school districts to provide annual training for Bloodborne Pathogens, Hazard Communication (Right-To-Know), Sexual Harassment and Dignity for All Students Act/Code of Conduct - NY.  As we have done in the past, the District is using the Global Compliance Network (GCN) on-line tutorials for the 2019-2020 trainings.  The District’s revised Sexual Harassment policy #6121 is attached for your reference. 

Building and department level supervisors are encouraged to supplement the trainings by reviewing Board of Education policies and regulations in large or small group settings. 

Due to recent changes in the law, all employees must complete these required tutorials by October 1, 2019 to remain in compliance.  The four (4) required trainings that must be completed are:

·         Bloodborne Pathogens;

·         Dignity for All Students Act/Code of Conduct – NY;

·         Hazard Communication (Right-To-Know); and

·         Sexual Harassment NY – State Approved.

Please contact Kristina Clemmo (ext. 7001) or Debbie Palmeri (ext. 7015) if you need further assistance with the website and/or would like to access the computer lab for large or small group trainings.        

The website link to access the tutorials is listed below (Ctrl + Click to follow the link):

https://site.gcntraining.com/user-admin/login.html  The Organization ID is:  hilton

Back to School!