newsletter - Lake Orion Community Schools

Curriculum, Instruction
and Assessment
NOVEMBER, 2013
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
NEWSLETTER
A Message from Heidi...
2013 ~2014
Dear Staff,
I hope this newsletter finds you doing well and having a great school year thus far. It is that
time of year when we seem to reflect a little more about the things we are thankful for. I am
truly thankful for having the opportunity to work with all of the people in our district. Lake Orion
is a special place because of our staff. Thank you so much for all you do every day, for your
commitment to Lake Orion, and for your love of children. I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving filled
with lots of eating, shopping and sharing with loved ones.
Heidi Kast
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
JUNIOR OPTIMIST OCTAGON INTERNATIONAL CLUB
(JOOI) COMING TO ALL MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Developmental
2
Kindergarten
The Lake Orion Optimist Club is working with our middle
Learning Options
2
national Clubs (JOOI) at all three middle schools.
Pre-K and K
2
This club will recruit students that want to be active in
Early Intervention
3
Math News/
4/5
Motivation
6
TechnoDragons
7
For Sale
8
school principals to start Junior Optimist Octagon Inter-
community service, have fun and make a difference.
The club is expected to start by early 2014.
another great opportunity for our students.
This is
1 ATTACHMENT
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
Page 2
Developmental Kindergarten Coming in Fall 2014
On November 13 the Board of Educa-
kindergarten as an option for par-
tion approved the development and im-
ents who believe their student just
plementation of a developmental kinder-
needs another year of development
garten program.
before actually starting kindergarten.
Lake Orion has had several young five
Enrollment for the program will oc-
students attend programs outside of the
cur at the same time as kindergar-
district.
ten registration.
The state provides a full foun-
Schools of choice
dation allowance for students that are
students will also be allowed to
eligible for kindergarten regardless of
participate.
whether they are in kindergarten or a
dents is needed for a classroom.
developmental kindergarten program.
is an all-day program.
We will attempt to offer developmental
A minimum of 20 stuIt
The location
is yet to be determined.
Pre K and K Team Up
Our Pre K and K teachers are commit-
Beginning in December, Pre K will
ted to working together to ensure the
visit K classrooms to ensure proper
best preparation and transition to kin-
continuity of service and learning
dergarten.
for our youngest students.
Every spring these teachers come together to share and learn about our
youngest learners.
Pre K teachers
Pre K
will visit K classrooms in December
and K teachers will visit Pre K
classrooms in the spring.
share valuable information with our K
The team work that has been de-
teachers so that our kindergarteners are
veloped and fostered over the past
properly placed and K teachers are
few years between these teachers
aware of their students before the first
has been a true benefit for our
day of school.
learners and staff.
Thank you to
everyone involved!
~LEARNING OPTIONS~
A BETTER CHOICE FOR ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION
You will be seeing and hearing
This program has had an excellent
more about our Learning Options
transition to CERC and students
program. The district is marketing
are doing extremely well.
the program to attract schools of
choice students.
An open house is being planned
for December 12 from 6:00 p.m. to
8:00 p.m.
The program success is due to its
committed staff!!!
The district is proud of our Lake
Orion Learning Options program!
November, 2013
Page 3
Early Intervention News…..
As many of you are aware, last year
dents, targeted intervention, monitor-
ten students.
grant resources were used to fund an
ing student progress as well as
its student pre (light green)
Early Intervention Reading Initiative at
comprehensive data collection.
and post (dark green) perfor-
the Kindergarten level.
As the chart below reveals, the dis-
mance data.
The initiative
involved hiring and training support
trict-wide initiative enhanced the
staff, collaboration, assessing all stu-
achievement levels of our kindergar-
The graph exhib-
This year, in addition to the continuation of the Kindergarten Initiative, first grade has been the focus
using the same early intervention model. The Lake Orion School District is proud and fortunate to have
such strong collaboration between Special Education and General Education as we work together to
enhance student achievement!
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
Page 4
LO MATH NEWS
from Missy Butki, LO Math Consultant/Coach
Now that the Michigan Department of Education is allowed to spend money on the implementation of the Common Core State Standards, we can breathe a sigh of relief and continue or work towards full implementation in LOCS.
The next step is for the Michigan Department of Education and the State Board of Education to issue a report to the Legislature by Dec. 1 that includes a review of all available
student assessment tools, information about how they would be used, and how much they
would cost to implement.
In the meantime, LOCS is developing common assessments
aligned to the new standards beginning to look at Performance Tasks that would give students opportunities to improve their “stamina” in order to be prepared for the new Smarter
Balanced Assessment.
Upcoming PD
Performance Task Team: Looking for K-5
teachers to be part of a team to help
develop performance tasks for each grade
level. Looking to meet for half day in
Dec or Jan. Goal is to create a plan for
implementing PT before the end of the
school year and begin to create a common bank of PT’s. If interested, please
sign up and more details will be sent.
Thank you!
Sign up HERE!
Data and Dine: Coming to a lunch near
you….Want to look deeper into the data
collected from your common assessments? You may be receiving electronic
invitations for a Data and Dine session at
your school. Data and Dialog will be provided, BYOL (Bring your own lunch).
Hope to see you there.
Use of Number Lines in CCSS
There
has been growing research on the importance of the number line as a tool for
helping children develop greater mental
arithmetic.
Number lines also help students starting in Kindergarten to construct
mathematical meaning, number sense, and
understandings of number relationships.
Join me for an after school session on
the use of number lines in all grade levels.
Monday Dec 9th @ Webber 3:45-4:45
Monday Dec 16th @ Orion Oaks 4:15-5:15
*Both session are the same content
Sign up HERE!
Puzzle of the Month
A Turkey Problem
Among Grandfather's papers a bill
was found:
72 turkeys $_67.9_
The first and last digit of the number that obviously represented the
total price of those fowls are illegible
and are replaced here by blanks.
What are the two faded digits and
what was the price of one turkey?
Answer: http://
mathlair.allfunandgames.ca/
turkeys.php
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
Page 5
K-12 MATH UPDATE
from Heidi Kast, Asst. Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
For the past two years we have been reviewing our math programming.
high school started with their new series.
Elementary has chosen to recommend Math
Expressions and Middle School has chosen
CMP3.
I would again like to thank all of our math
This fall the pilot teachers at all levels.
A formal recommendation for adop-
tion is anticipated to go before DDCC and
the Board of Education in early December
with a hope for January/February implemen-
This is the
most extensive pilot Lake Orion has conducted.
Teachers have spent countless
hours researching, learning, and planning to
ensure math success for our students.
Thank you to all math teachers throughout
the district for your dedication and commitment to this process!
tation.
LO
Please be sure you are aware and are
taking advantage of the professional
development being offered from our
own Lake Orion experts. We are
providing more and more of our own
professional learning opportunities.
There are many teachers and support
staff throughout the district that are
valuable resources and are willing to
share.
If you are interested in attending a PD
opportunity or have a PD idea that you
would like to develop, please let your
building administrator know.
CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION
AND ASSESSMENT CONTACTS
Heidi Kast……...Asst. Superintendent of Curriculum,
Instruction and Assessment
High School to Develop Their Own App
LOHS is planning on developing
and implementing their own mobile
app by the fall of next year.
The
purpose for the app is for students
to be able to use their smart
phones as their own LOHS planner.
This will provide a cost
savings associated with purchasing fewer student planners as
well as allow for increased communication.
This is a great
use of technology specifically designed for the high school.
Marysue Schwartzmiller….Administrative Assistant
248-693-5409 or Ext. 3908
Linda Glowaz….Assessment Coordinator...Ext. 6410
District Department Chairs…………..Listed on LOnet
District School Improvement Chairs………..Listed on
LOnet
Kate DiMeo…...ELA Consultant and Curriculum Coach
248-391-0400
Missy Butki…..Math Consultant and Curriculum Coach
248-393-0010
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
Page 6
The Motivation Equation-Designing Motivation Into
Student-Centered Learning
Recently, I attended a workshop at Oakland Schools by Kathleen Cushman
regarding motivation.
Motivation is always an area that we are trying to fig-
ure out for our students to perform at their maximum potential.
Cushman simplifies motivation into an equation.
V x E=M
She says that a person has to value something in order to spark motivation.
Something has to matter, but it does not have to be directly related to the
actual thing.
For instance, a student could find value in working on a project
not necessarily to get a good grade or to learn but to work with their friends.
Regardless, the student finds value.
In addition to value, the learner must have an expectation of success.
The
learner has to believe there is a chance of success. Support from others can
play a big role in this part of the equation.
Value multiplied by the Learner’s Expectation of Success creates Motivation.
Motivation is the product of value and the expectation of success. To be entered to win a CIA prize, email Heidi a sentence of reflection on your
thoughts about
student motivation.
Email by the end of the day Friday, No-
vember 22, 2014.
Use the motivation equation to analyze your student involvement dilemma:
What role might the Value factor play in your students’ experience of learning?
What role might the students’ Expectation of Success factor play in their experience of learning?
In what ways could your teaching practices make a difference to either the
students’ Value factor or their Expectation of Success factor?
November, 2013
Page 7
TECHNODRAGONS PREPARE FOR DISTRICT-WIDE
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Our TechnoDragons have been working very
hard to develop and facilitate a district
wide technology PD for January 20 for all
teaching staff.
TechnoDragons started a year ago for the
purpose of using our very own staff as
experts.
This group has led Moodle ses-
sions and Smart Board training. They also
have their own website with PD resources
for staff: lotechdragons.weebly.com
Thank you so much to all TechnoDragons
for their time and commitment to technology and its instructional use!
Above:
Some TechnoDragons in action!
TECHNODRAGON MEMBERS
Amanda Novak—Stadium Drive
Dakotah Cooper—Carpenter/Webber
Dave Stafford—Blanche Sims
David Goetz—Pine Tree
Gretchen Hynes—Carpenter
Jillyan Fuller—Oakview
Kat Montei—Waldon
Leann Maddox—Oakview
Melissa Middleton—LOHS
Nick Coccia—Waldon
Norman Wright - Orion Oaks
Rick Messick—LOHS
Scott Cox—Oakview
Steve Tighe—LOHS
Theresa Perkins—Paint Creek
Zach Abeel—Waldon
LO
November, 2013
Page 8
Please take a look at the first installation of the CIA Newsletter “For
Sale” section. If there is something that you would like to include in
this section in future issues contact Marysue.
CHERRY DINING SET—2 table extensions, 6 chairs,
lighted china cabinet. Rarely used, in great condition. Original price: $2600, asking price: $500.
GREAT FOR HOLIDAY ENTERTAINING!
Contact Brenda Vandederckhove, 248-736-1270. She
can send you pics. Of you can email her at bvandekerckhove@lakeorion.k12.mi.us
Orion Oaks is selling 3 styles of Spirit
Wear shirts for The Leader In Me program. Please call 248-393-0010 for details, get your holiday order in early.
Orders being accepted until 11:00 am
Friday, November 15th
Traditional leather
couch: $700; Traditional chair: $250; Chest:
$400
Contact Dave:
248-391-9786
Scentsy offers wickless warmers, plug-ins and many
more scented products. The make great gifts!
Check out Dayna’s website or call for more information.
LG dishwasher Model LDF6920. Black exterior with
stainless steel interior. Like new. Complete with manual and installation guide. $175. Email Tamura
Oberle:
toberle@lakeorion.k12.mi.us
What’s for dinner? Tired of making tacos again? Get
ready to TAME DINNERTIME and have fun while doing it!
Freezer Meals with Wildtree products are easy and affordable! Attend a freezer meal workshop, and have fun
preparing 10 meals (family of 3-5) or 20 (family of 2) in
one hour with friends. At $2.50 a serving, it is cheaper
than running through fast food and eating off the dollar
menu! Wildtree is all natural and also a certified organic
company.
Canon EOS Rebel XS
camera body with strap,
2 batteries and battery
charger. $275
For any party $500 or more in the month of December,
you as the host will receive DOUBLE hostess benefits!
Contact Maureen
O’Keefe at
248-436-2107 or
Contact Kearsten Manoulian, Wildtree Representative at
248-672-7169 or Kearsten.manoulian@gmail.com
Kawai CN 290 digital
piano with weighted
keys. Excellent condition.
$875
mokeefe@lakeorion.k12.
mi.us