Weekly Update

Team,

Gratitude

It was a great week to be a student at QUEST Elementary. Lots of awesome notices that place kids, and our collaboration, first. As you head into Thanksgiving break, take time for you. Feet up, make sure you have a full belly (I always recommend wearing stretchable clothing on 11/24), and enjoy the moments with your family, friends, and loved ones.

Thank you for an awesome start to the year. I am grateful to lead such a dynamic group of humans. 

Feast at QUEST

Feast is a long held tradition, with plenty of stories and memories that have transcended time. As we tackle this day, consider why we do it. Below is a snippet from a document that we created a few years back regarding our traditions and their purpose. 

We Keep our Commitments: Reminder

From Tech

Good morning. As you are aware, the District has recently suspended access to the Teachers Pay Teachers website on district devices due to an attempted ransomware attack from a downloaded resource on the Teachers Pay Teachers website. Since we recognize that some individuals utilize this site to support their instruction, our goal is to support impacted staff members by developing a secure, safe process to help users retrieve saved files that are currently in individual Teachers Pay Teachers accounts. Our next step is to determine the scope of users and resources this plan would involve.  

If you have resources you would like to retrieve from your Teachers Pay Teachers account, please complete the form here no later than the end of the workday on Tuesday, November 22. 

We will use the information gathered to finalize a plan and communicate with those users who completed the form. This communication will include the next steps to obtain any files that can be downloaded from individuals' Teachers Pay Teachers accounts. This process will occur with the support of a member from the Technology Department.  

Thank you for your continued patience as we work on this process. 

Computer Based Testing 

Background Information

In June 2022 New York State Education Department issued a memo on Statewide Implementation of Computer-based Testing (CBT). The full memo can be found here. The state is requiring a transition to computer-based testing for all 3-8 assessments including ELA, Math, Science, and NYSESLAT assessments by Spring of 2026. The timeline below represents the minimum requirements for administering CBT over the next four years.

 

*The implementation of required computer-based testing for the NYSESLAT and NYSITELL is scheduled to begin in Spring of 2024 for grades 2-12. Grades K-1 will remain paper based.

 

Hilton’s Action Plan

The Hilton School District will transition to computer-based testing in grades 3-8 in ELA, Math, Science, NYSITELL, and NYSESLAT assessments in Spring of 2024.

Over the course of the 2022-2023 school year, the Office of Instruction will work with the Technology and Data departments to train and develop systems for CBT implementation. Ongoing updates will be provided as they are available.

 

Rationale

The state’s requirement that grades 5 and 8 must use Computer-based Testing in Spring of 2024 would mean that the elementary schools and Merton Williams would administer assessments in both paper and computer-based formats for two years. Simultaneously administering two different formats of assessments would create a burden on resources and individuals’ time, which can be avoided by moving all assessments in the sam

Weekly Updates

 Team, 

Veteran's Day

Thank you to our Veterans for their service to our country! 

November 15th

November 15th is a consultation day, meaning we do not have specials. Please be sure to double check last week's post regarding the November 22nd conference day schedule! In addition, any lunch or special sign-ups are listed in that post as well! 

Joy Shop

Joy Shop is December 13-15th. Those making items, please have them ready to go after the first week in December!

Elementary Learning Loss Support - Deadline to Express Interest: 11/21/22

Each of our elementary schools in the district is looking to provide Learning Loss Support for small groups of students to address gaps students have developed due to the pandemic. This means: 

• Teachers involved will work with small groups of students 

• No more than six students in a group

• Open to students in grades 4-6

• Small group, targeted intervention 

• Groups will meet 2-3 times per week

• Groups will meet before or after school

• Student participation based on identified academic needs/gaps and teacher recommendation

• Could focus on ELA or Math

• Teachers will be compensated:

• At the professional rate for time spent providing direct services to students

• At the curriculum rate for ½ hour of planning per hour of instruction 

• Teachers will be responsible for planning, delivering, and progress-monitoring interventions to determine the achievement of student learning goals

• At the end of the first 8-week period, we will evaluate and determine if we will continue to run additional rounds of support. 

 

Once we are able to identify teachers, principals will work with teachers' availability to develop a schedule, identify students, and confirm participation with parent/guardians. 

To express interest, please email Derek by the end of the day on 11/21/22.

Vetted Resources and Teachers Pay Teachers

During the week of October 31, a cybersecurity filter used on staff computers detected a malicious file downloaded on a staff member's computer. The program alerted Technology Department staff, flagging it as ransomware, and stopped further activity. During the Technology Department's work on the situation, it was determined that this file was part of the download of a Teachers Pay Teachers resource.

 

In order to have time to better analyze the situation, investigate further details, and consult with cybersecurity experts on potential next steps, Teachers Pay Teachers was blocked and still is at this time. We are working to determine how we can safely allow users to retrieve resources from the site while also not opening up the risk of another potentially malicious download from the site. We recognize that many users have resources they utilize on the site but need to be sure that we don't put district technology resources at risk while moving forward with plans. As you may have seen in the news both locally and nationally in recent years, ransomware can have far reaching impacts on a school district. 

 

Lastly, in analyzing this situation, we have come to learn that student accounts have also been accessing Teachers Pay Teachers.  At this time, we do not have an ED Law 2D compliance agreement with this company and have blocked this site for students as well. 

 

As more information is available, we will reach out and share that information. Thank you for your patience as we continue to find a secure resolution.

Weekly Updates

Team,

Open-Mindedness: an IB Profile for all of us to aim for! 

Our charge as an IB school is to live the IB Profiles. The profiles are not just for students, and making these our own aim supports an incredible culture. 

Open-mindedness goes hand-and-hand with empathy. Hearing others, considering new ideas, walking in their shoes, and being mindful in our conversations regarding our own bias are all interwoven to form open-mindedness. Being open-minded is quite hard, but it is a profile worth aiming for!

Reward Assembly for Fundraiser

When: November 10th from 2:50-3:10 

Where: QUEST Aud.

Why: Our students met the goal of 20k...and THEN some! 

Who: The top earners will turn Mr. Warren into an ice cream sundae, but that's not all! We will also have: 

• Mr. Booth
• Mrs. L
• Ms. Yensan
• Mrs. Velyk
• Mrs. Kingdollar
• Mr. Moore
• Mrs. Butlin
• Mrs. Bitetto

(email me again if you said yes to this and I missed your name!) 

Joy Shop

Joy Shop is December 13-15th. Those making items, please have them ready to go after the first week in December!

Elementary Learning Loss Support - Deadline to Express Interest: 11/21/22

Each of our elementary schools in the district is looking to provide Learning Loss Support for small groups of students to address gaps students have developed due to the pandemic. This means: 

• Teachers involved will work with small groups of students 

• No more than six students in a group

• Open to students in grades 4-6

• Small group, targeted intervention 

• Groups will meet 2-3 times per week

• Groups will meet before or after school

• Student participation based on identified academic needs/gaps and teacher recommendation

• Could focus on ELA or Math

• Teachers will be compensated:

• At the professional rate for time spent providing direct services to students

• At the curriculum rate for ½ hour of planning per hour of instruction 

• Teachers will be responsible for planning, delivering, and progress-monitoring interventions to determine the achievement of student learning goals

• At the end of the first 8-week period, we will evaluate and determine if we will continue to run additional rounds of support. 

 

Once we are able to identify teachers, principals will work with teachers' availability to develop a schedule, identify students, and confirm participation with parent/guardians. 

To express interest, please email Derek by the end of the day on 11/21/22.

Congrats to Nicole!

Congrats, Nicole. If you were unable to view the video on the news, here it is!

CAUGHT THROWING FISH

It was great seeing so many shout-outs this week. When I started at Q-town, we all read the book FISH. Although this was meant to be a jump start and to get us all focused on building our school community, the four practices speak to culture: being there, having fun, finding the good, making others' day. The shout out section is reserved for sharing positives and an attitude of gratitude. In the spirit or gratitude, I challenge you to find some positives to share each week. Send them directly to Derek or Paula and we will add to the blog for you.

We are a culture that values care. Keep them coming, and awesome work with the shout-outs this week! 

8:55 Start on Wednesdays

Wednesday 8:55 start can be a grind for some of us, especially getting a class full of students to the aud. When I am out for bus duty I will move kids right along to their classrooms upon the 8:40 arrival so they are ready in 15 minutes, however, please know it is okay to take lunch count and attendance right after the morning meeting. This little switch might help! 

 Schedules (Dance Planner, FEAST and half day on November 22nd) 

Dance Planner (Health continues in your classroom): CLICK HERE

FEAST Specials (sign-up required): CLICK HERE

FEAST Personal Lunch (sign-up for when you want your lunch away from students for classroom teachers): CLICK HERE

November 22nd Specials:  CLICK HERE

Weekly Update

Team, 

Being Reflective

As we foster an environment that promotes reflective students, what does this practice look like for you? How often are you modeling this for our learners? But more importantly, what practices do you have in place that involve purposeful reflection? How have these practices supported a healthy life? 

Reflection can lead to a greater quality of life, happiness, and personal alignment with your values and goals. But with the onslaught of information that drowns us each day, it would be easy to have reflection be a fleeting goal. 

 I challenge you to consider the reflective practices that you have adopted, and chew on what additional practices you can add to enhance your time in quiet reflection. 

Lockdown Drill 

We will have a lockdown drill next week. An invite has been sent out. Please ensure you are able to log-in to Navigate prior to the drill. 

New Names and Emails (Congrats on the weddings!!) 

Congrats to Val for her wedding this weekend. She is now Mrs. Pond! Also, Kelsey's email has officially changed from her name change over the summer due to her marriage! kbitetto@hilton.k12.ny.us 

Val's email will change in the near future!  

No Meeting Weeks

Just a reminder that we begin no meeting weeks next week. This goes until after Thanksgiving. This is a QUEST practice designed to honor, and provide the gift of time, for a busy staff during report card and conference time. 

Despite it being no meeting weeks, please be sure to continue to connect with your colleagues on your team and across the school. These daily emotional deposits with one another support a healthy culture and are meaningful. Go QUEST! 

 Report Cards Open November 1 

Report cards open Nov. 1. Please contact Derek and Tom if you start them and are seeing any errors that need immediate revision. 

Halloween Parade

 

Weekly Update

Team,

Notices

What an awesome week at QUEST. We continue to do right by kids, and our values of collaboration and caring continue to be a real strength. This week, I'm grateful for witnessing:  

• A few different students getting to ring the bell to celebrate their goals! 
• A few classrooms unpacking student goals with their children. I even was able to see Kindergarten students discussing goals as a class!
• A teacher's aide getting down to the student's level and reminding them to go back to their breathing when they were upset! 
• An observation where connections across the grade-level were occurring. 
• A teacher reminding a student of what they are capable of in a way that was away from the child's peers. Warm demander approach! 
• Two "local experts" sharing all the potential found in MAP reports to their colleagues. 
• A teacher having a student sit next to them during guided reading time as a way to produce more work. A sacrifice by the teacher in order to push the student as a learner.
• A custodial team going above and beyond despite absences, doing some last minute work to prepare for picture day. 
• An IB Coordinator working with graduates to provide them with plenty of background support for exhibition! 
• A mental health team member meeting with teams informally to problem solve for our learners.

Building Subs and the Library

We now have two building subs: Kennedy and Jacqueline Sloan. Because we have been unable to secure a librarian, Kennedy is working out of the library on days she is not assigned to a classroom. This is why we were able to get a second building sub. 

As much as we appreciate our building subs and like them working with our classes when we are away, anytime you need to be out,  please continue to request a sub (if your job requires one). The building subs get assigned each morning by the main office. Thanks for understanding! 

The librarian opening is still posted, but kudos to Lisa, Lyza (now library clerical support), and Kennedy for keeping our library as a great place for kids and staff while we search for our next librarian. 

Surveys

I hope that you will take the time to participate in our strategic plan survey located at the bottom of this email.  I want you to know that the Board of Education and administration value your feedback and ideas and will use this data to improve our district.  Please know that the survey is anonymous and the data shared with the district will not have any personal identifiers.  We also ask that feedback is constructive.  We believe that this is the most transparent and vulnerable strategic plan process that the district has participated in. 

 The process will involve voluntary input from students in grades 4-12, parents, staff, board members, alumni, and community members gathered through surveys and focus groups. Please view the following video at https://youtu.be/fm9jzuf1cSU to learn more about the overall process.

 The surveys will be open from today until 11/1.

Teachers, please use: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/hilton_instruct 

Support Staff, please use: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/hilton_non-instruct

 

Student Processing

The brain is quite a complex organ, and our jobs as educators is to provide learning that sticks. This often means breaking the learning down into very small, tight chunks of information. As we learned about warm demanders in the staff meeting, we followed an ignite, chunk, chew, review process. For those looking to try this information processing approach with kids, or for those not able to join the staff meeting, check out below. 

A visual: 

Overview of the strategy. 

CIA for 10/25

As you will recall, we have three staff meetings that are community circles with the focus on Welcoming and Affirming environments. The prompts were developed by DIT. Please find your name and report directly to your assigned location on Tuesday. 

	Quest Elementary Community Circles:  Start-7:50 am, End-8:30 am
	Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
25-Oct	Facilitator	Facilitator	Facilitator	Facilitator
	Derek	Liz Thornton	Julie Forgione	Kristy Shafer
	Location	Location	Location	Location
	Cafe	Library	Greg's Room	Gym
	Staff Members	Staff Members	Staff Members	Staff Members
	Julie Blandford	Bre Stanford	Nicole DiBattisto	Alicia Francesca
	Annie Yensan	Kelsey Bitetto	Ashley Pierri	Amy Firkins
	Emily Tracey	Katie PJ	Karen Velyk	LaDonna Howell
	Paige Langswager	Carol Jones	Barb Jones	Mary Elias
	Kennedy Johannes	Emma Monfiletto	Danielle Duffy	Dave Moore
	Loni Butlin	Brenda Carpenter	Nate Gibbs	Brenna Healey
	John Weingart	Anna Kingdollar	Heidi Lancia	Shalyn Pestilli
		Jim DePrez		Shana Kohler
	Cathy Lippincott	Judy Fuller	Greg Booth	Rebecca Bauman
	Elizabeth Hardie	Valerie McCormick	Lance Trott
	L	Jennifer Donovan	Candace Henry	Sarah Butler

Weekly Update

Team

Notices:

Walking around QUEST is magical, but this week I was trying to be respectful of my recent illness so I minimized my classroom visits. Even so, I was able to notice so much good happening at our school. This week, I was excited to see: 

• Teams relying on one another regarding how to address a new goal setting process. 
• Colleagues going out of their way to make a colleague who is leaving feel celebrated.
• Custodian staff doing some extra little details just to be supportive. 
• A couple staff members going out of their way to help a child that dropped their lunch.
• Staff members still standing at their doors EVERY SINGLE MORNING, even in mid-October! 
• A colleague jumping in to help out a colleague that is sick.
• 
  

Joy and Gratitude

Man, was I bummed to miss Dennard! A few people shared his work with me, and I was excited to see that he touched upon gratitude! Gratitude can have life changing benefits, so much so that Brene Brown found that people who claim to have "joy" in their life ALL intentionally practice gratitude. 

We all have a negative bias. This is nature's way of allowing us to keep safe, especially if we are being chased by one of those "tigers" that our ancestors faced or that we metaphorically face. How do you ensure you are allowing yourself the opportunity to have a grateful mindset? 

Enjoy this quick watch. 

CULTURE!

Culture belongs to all of us. I can work hard to be a supportive and positive leader, but at the end of the day we all have to own a piece. And we do. That is what makes QUEST such an incredible place for kids: the adults own the culture! 

It is a joy to witness teams work together. The culture on a team is a part of the whole. Teams matter and good teams build good culture. Loving the collaboration I get to witness.

                                                     (sweet room, Mr. Booth!)

CIA

What: CIA--Warm Demander 

When: 10/18/22 @ 7:50 am

Where: QUEST Cafe 

Being a warm demander is an equity based approach that a professional takes to ensure students feel safe, empowered, and valued. 

Seven Hour Workday 

There is always some confusion around the seven hour workday, so just for clarification, the workday is 8:40-3:40 for QUEST.

FEAST

·  We will be having demos, the fire, and fried dough down at the creek.  Use this to sign-up for a time to come down.  Times may change as we get closer. I will communicate out those changes if they are made

·  We will be cooking this year!!!!!

o Foodservice is going to cook the turkey 

o Classes will be cooking sides. GLOVES MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES WHEN HANDLING FOOD

§ I have the Quest kitchen signed out and assigned your pole a cooking day.  Sign-up if you need to use the kitchen

§ Use this sign-up to make sure your food is being reheated

§ I am asking for each pole to have 1 parent and teacher as a point person in charge of supervising the reheating of food. This will streamline the chain of communication and help cut down on confusion in the kitchen on the day of the Feast.

§ If you are cooking in your room, you need to sign-up, make sure your crockpots have been approved by Mike, AND you have touched base where you are plugging them in.  We need to make sure we aren't tripping any breakers when cooking food.  

o Kitchen Reminders: This ISN’T YOUR kitchen.  The rules below MUST be followed!

§  GLOVES, GLOVES, and GLOVES need to be worn at ALL TIMES.  

§  NO CHILDREN ALLOWED IN KITCHEN  

§  Clean up after yourself

§  Make sure you close the cooler/freezer doors

§  Make sure to turn off any equipment that was used

·  PTSO will be providing cutlery and plates and dessert for kids.

o PTSO paper product sign-up

o Kids WILL NEED to provide their own water bottle/reusable cup

·  The following spaces have been reserved for serving/eating on11/18

o Cafeteria: Equator

o Gym: South Pole