Commitment

 

Commitment can be defined as "the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc." This week we will begin with our PLC Reset for 2021.  We will discuss and revisit some collective commitments, things we believe as a staff and are committed to seeing through. I ask you to prepare your minds to commit to seeing all students learning at high levels. Commit to doing whatever it takes to make this happen. Commit to developing yourself as a learner before you can develop your students. Commit to leadership and seeking out opportunities to lead. Commit to excellence and showing #pvespride. The kids in our building deserve it! 

Commitment to great things happening at PVES...

We are excited to welcome our first patrol group for the 2021-2022 school. What a great way for our fifth graders to lead and show PVES Pride! Thank you for supporting and celebrating these students. 

Fifth-grade students explored mixtures and solutions with various labs this week. 

Using exemplar work and providing feedback during Lucy Calkin's Writing Units of Study

Setting up expectations for guided math at PVES

Teachers are committed to making magic happen in their classrooms this year! Thank you for making learning meaningful, engaging, and fun! Make sure you are following us on Instagram @pvesgrowsandglows for ideas and shout-outs. 

Friday was awesome! Thank you to all for your commitment to making our sorting day a blast. We heard cheers, chants, drumrolls, and excitement. It is beautiful to see our students feel a part of something and a sense of belonging.  Even Leo got a chance to spin the wheel- Isibindi it was! See below...

Important Need to Know Information for PVES Staff:

MAP Testing: South Carolina law requires that we test all of our third through fifth-grade students three times a year (fall, winter, spring). We will complete our fall testing on Tuesday 8/31 (ELA) and Wednesday 9/1 (Math). A separate email was sent out to teachers with specifics about how to set up your test sessions (video found HERE)and assign accommodations. I will resend this email on Monday morning as a reminder. A few things to keep in mind with MAP Testing: 

• We will be on a regular schedule. This does not impact related arts, lunch, or recess. Teachers are free to decide the best time to administer this test for their students. Please be sure to communicate with special education and or ESOL teachers if needed. 
• Students who receive oral administration of math tests will need to have headphones. Mrs. Walters is placing a basket of headphones in the office if a student does not have a set to use for testing purposes. Please make sure to return these as soon as your student is finished with them. 
• Teachers who have ML students must administer the ELA and math tests in English. This is according to state law. 

Cognia Month: We are designating September to be our Cognia month. Remember we will be going through district and school accreditation this fall. This is a very important process that will require a great deal of time. Mrs. Horn, Mrs. Martin, and I have been working to streamline and plan our efforts. We have very important deadlines that we will need to meet and will need all hands on deck to assist with the process. This Wednesday we will have our first staff meeting to introduce the process and plan. We will use each Wednesday afternoon following dismissal to meet either in small groups/teams or as a whole staff to complete this process. Thank you for being on time, attentive, and committed to making this process successful. Below are two things we need before our meeting on Wednesday. 

1. Teachers, complete this inventory survey after you finish reading the blog or by the end of the day on Monday. Teacher Inventory: https://eprovesurveys.advanc-ed.org/surveys/#/action/170895/p1197 
2. Students will need to complete this engagement survey following announcements and during the first part of PRIDE time. Homeroom teachers, look for an email with a link and QR code to share with students.

Expectations at PVES: Last week homeroom teachers shared a video with our students about common expectations at PVES. We wanted to include the video HERE for all of our staff to have access view. This helps us maintain a commitment to PVES pride and common expectations.

Spirit Days at PVES: This Friday we will have our first spirit day at PVES. Teachers and students are encouraged to wear house shirts, house colors, and house gear! Teachers you may wear blue jeans on this day as well. This day will fall on the first Friday of every month. PTSO has some really great tie dye house shirts for sale that are perfect for spirit days. Homeroom teachers, write down the names of each student dressed up for spirit days on individual slips of paper and send them to the office Friday morning. These students will be entered into a drawing for a prize.

House Points: Now that each student has been assigned a house, our students can begin earning house points for exemplifying the pride practices found HERE. These can be assigned by any staff or faculty member to any student. Temporarily we will be using Class Dojo to track points. We are excited to introduce the Ron Clark House Points App to our school very soon. Look for more information to come. In the meantime, here is a LINK if you want to know more about it. https://www.rcahousesystem.com/faq

Important Upcoming Dates:

8/30- This week even tables eat in the cafeteria, odd tables eat in classrooms

8/30- All virtual classroom apps are to be completed and sent to Thomas McAuliff

8/31- Mrs. Tollison returns to PVES!

8/31- ELA MAP Testing

9/1- Math MAP Testing

9/1- Progress Report Folders go home

9/1- Cognia Staff Meeting #1

9/2- First Thriving Thursday (schedules added to the master schedule-first nine weeks tab)

9/3- Spirit Day