Thursday, May 24, 2018

Announcements for Summer

WINK’S WEEKLY WORDS

CLICK HERE TO READ MY BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY BLOG

School is out and summer is here.  I pray that each one of you has a wonderful summer full of rest, relaxation, and recharging.  If you are leaving our district, I wish you nothing but the best that life has to offer you.  For those of you coming back, I look forward to seeing each one of you when we return in August.

We have accomplished so much this year, and our kids have done amazing things is so many areas.  My prayer is that you never lose sight of the power of your impact.  Kids could not have accomplished this much without your impact.

CURRICULUM ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you have curriculum resources that need to be renewed for the 2018-2019 school year, please let your campus principal know as soon as possible.  Our goal is to have all curriculum resources ready to be used by the first week of school.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Check out the Summer Learning Document for important information about Magnificent Monday professional learning at Blue Ridge ISD, compliance training information, and directions on how to log your summer learning documentation.

If you have any questions, please see your campus principal.

An announcement from Region 10:

"Region 10 ESC strives to provide the best possible professional development in the most conducive environment possible.  We try to create comfortable, distraction-free settings to enable the greatest possible continuing professional education for everyone.  Region 10 workshops and seminars are not suitable for bringing children and youth.  We understand the challenges educators face as parents to find appropriate childcare for young children and we understand the worries created when leaving pre-teens and teenagers at home.  However, bringing them to Region 10 is not an option we can allow."

Revolutionizing Learning- Registration is now open for the Revolutionizing Learning Conference. It will be on
July 24th and 25th at Royse City High School. Please go to http://www.rlchat.com/ for more information
or click here to register.

Click here for information about 18-19 required compliance training.

Testing Announcements
Excellent work completing MAP and STAAR testing this year!

All STAAR testing results will be made available through DMAC.  Once all results are in and uploaded, STAAR teachers will receive their login information and a video to show you how to access your results.


Upcoming Events
  • August 6 & 7 - New Teacher Orientation
  • August 8 & 9 - Professional Development Day for all staff at the campus 
  • August 13 - District Professional Development Day
  • August 16 - Meet the Teacher Nights
  • August 20 - 1st Day of School

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Week of May 21 - 25

WINK’S WEEKLY WORDS

CLICK HERE TO READ MY BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY BLOG

The last week of school has arrived.  Wow, it seems like yesterday when everyone came back in August.  So much has been accomplished this year, and our students and organizations grew by leaps and bounds in academics as well as extracurricular events.  On Friday, I look forward to seeing you all as we celebrate a fantastic year, and set our sights and a summer of preparation and recuperation.  Thank you for making this a great year.

HUGE NEWS
Blue Ridge Elementary has been recognized as a School of Excellence by the Texas Beta Club.  This is a tremendous honor and we are so proud of our kids and sponsor, Missy Douglas, for doing such a great job to earn this honor.

CURRICULUM ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you have curriculum resources that need to be renewed for the 2018-2019 school year, please let your campus principal know as soon as possible.  Our goal is to have all curriculum resources ready to be used by the first week of school.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Registration is now open for the Revolutionizing Learning Conference. It will be on July 24th and 25th at Royse
City High School. Please go to http://www.rlchat.com/ for more information or click here to register.

Interested in presenting?
Revolutionizing Learning is looking for presenters to lead engaging and exciting sessions during RL 2018. We would
love to see BRISD educators sharing their knowledge and excellence with other educators. Anyone who presents
at Revolutionizing Learning or any other professional conference will receive an additional Flex Day. If you are
interested please go to http://www.rlchat.com/ or click here to submit a session proposal. If you would like help composing
your proposal please email melissa.stiney@brisd.net

STAFF SHOUTOUT

Great job to Leslie Packard and Bob Bean for doing such a great job with our FFA this year.  Our FFA Banquet highlighted such great growth for our program and we can't thank them enough.

Greg Morrison has done an amazing job getting our kids prepared for State Tennis.  For the past 6 years, he has taken kids to the tournament and this year, he is taking 4 students. Great Job

All 4 of our track students placed at the UIL State Track Meet.  Thank you to Andrew Carlson and Terra Mathers for all of your hard work.

Thank you Jennifer Stroup for organizing our Senior Trip to Broken Bow and for making Green Saturday a great program for our kids.

Upcoming Events
  • May 24 - Kindergarten Graduation at 6 p.m.
  • May 24 - 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony at 7 p.m.
  • May 25 - Last Day of School, Early Release Schedule & Showcase Showdown
  • May 26 - Graduation at 11 a.m.
  • May 29 - Staff Work Day
  • May 30 - Region 10 Curriculum Training for Teachers (contact your principal if you have questions)
  • May 31 - Rigor and Mastery work in Vertical Teams
  • August 6 & 7 - New Teacher Orientation
  • August 8 & 9 - Professional Development Day for all staff at the campus 
  • August 13 - District Professional Development Day
  • August 16 - Meet the Teacher Nights
  • August 20 - 1st Day of School

SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN

  • Nathan Chaffin
  • Sarah Hall
  • Cole Jenkins
  • Tiffani Johnson
  • Bobbie Moody
  • Katie Pelzel
  • Stacey Flannagan
  • Jarred Seamans
  • Matthew Todd
  • Mary Townsend
EVERY WEEK WE WILL PULL 10 NAMES.  FIND OUT HOW MANY TICKETS YOU WILL GET TO WIN THE PRIZE IS RIGHT ON
FRIDAY, MAY 25 AT 1:30 P.M.

BELOW ARE THE FOLKS WHO ARE MAKING DONATIONS FOR THE END OF THE YEAR SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN. I HOPE YOU ARE
FINDING "USUAL" AND "UNUSUAL" THINGS TO "MAKE A DEAL".  



SPECIAL PROGRAMS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Blue Ridge ISD Dyslexia on FB - https://goo.gl/dPkJiE

BUSINESS OFFICE ANNOUNCEMENTS

All activity binders need to be turned into the business office by Wednesday, May 23rd. 

Media Center Announcements
Awards ceremonies and end of the year events are quickly approaching. Please make sure you send all special
printing jobs to mediacenter@brisd.net at least a week prior to the event.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Week of May 14-18

WINK’S WEEKLY WORDS

CLICK HERE TO READ MY BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY BLOG

Teacher Appreciation Week was a huge success, and you deserve it for all that you do for the kids.  If you get a chance please take time to thank the folks who coordinated the week for you.  Shawn Harris, Angie Lillard, Faith Jech, and Denise Avery are just a few to name.

DONUT FRET FRIDAY is tomorrow.
Please come ready for breakfast because we are providing it for you.

Also, great job to our HS staff for a smooth week of EOC testing.  I know the kids will grow in their performance.  Thank you also to our elementary and middle school staff for their hard work leading up to next week's test.  To all of you I thank you for all that you have done to prepare our students to reach their +10 goals.  Regardless of the outcomes, we have put in the work, and you are to be commended for your efforts.  Thank you for doing such a great job.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Laura Larsen whose husband, Aaron, lost his battle with cancer.  His services are set for Saturday, May 19 at 4 p.m. at Turrentine-Jackson-Morros Funeral Home Chapel at 2525 Central Expressway North in Allen.

A YouCaring account has been established by Stephanie McPherson and Erica Gudgel to help Laura with medical expenses.  If you would like to contribute, I know she would be appreciative.  As many of you know, Laura is an amazing educator who gives selflessly of herself to help others, and at this time she needs our support and our prayers.

CURRICULUM ANNOUNCEMENTS

Please read your Test Administrator Manual prior test day.  HERE is a link to your Test Administrator Training
that you had in April to review your responsibilities. Mrs. Kay and Mrs. Douglas are scheduling testing meetings with each campus. Be looking for communication from them for your required testing meeting prior to the May STAAR administrations.

The end of the year MAP testing window is currently open and closes Friday, May 18th. When planning for MAP testing, please keep in mind that STAAR testing at the Middle and Elementary Schools will take place May 14-16.

See your campus administrator with any questions regarding the scheduling of the MAP tests. Also, be on the lookout for more communication from your MAP contacts (Ashley Elder, Mary Townsend, Stacey Flanagan) regarding the completion of this last MAP assessment.

Last week, we celebrated growth in our 5th and 8th STAAR scores.  Check out how our students stacked up against Region 10.  Awesome work!

Tested Area at Standard
17-18 BRISD Students at Standard
17-18 Region 10 Students at Standard
Region +/-
5th Reading Approaches
80%
79%
+1
5th Reading Meets
46%
54%
-8
5th Reading Masters
25%
28%
-3
5th Math Approaches
95%
84%
+11
5th Math Meets
63%
58%
+5
5th Math Masters
28%
32%
-4
8th Reading Approaches
76%
77%
-1
8th Reading Meets
58%
48%
+10
8th Reading Masters
33%
27%
+6
8th Math Approaches
90%
79%
+11
8th Math Meets
73%
51%
+22
8th Math Masters
30%
16%
+14

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

We are excited to welcome Region 10 to our district May 30th for Vertical Team learning as we strengthen our understanding of TEKS Resource System, and how it can be most effectively utilized to build rigorous lessons!

The plan for the week of May 28th:

  • May 29th - Using the essential SEs and the BRISD Assessment Calendar to build your Year At a Glance (YAG) for the 2018-19 school year.
  • May 30th - Vertical Team learning with Region 10.
  • May 31st - Working in vertical teams to refine subject level expectation documents, then begin building Lesson Plans for 2018-19.

Remember that attending May 30th and May 31st will account for 2 of the 5 professional learning days needed during the summer.

Revolutionizing Learning
Registration is now open for the Revolutionizing Learning Conference. It will be on July 24th and 25th at Royse
City High School. Please go to http://www.rlchat.com/ for more information or click here to register. You can earn
your GT hours by attending one day of RL.

Testing Announcements
Please read your Test Administrator Manual prior test day.  HERE is a link to your Test Administrator Training
that you had in April to review your responsibilities. Mrs. Kay and Mrs. Douglas are scheduling testing meetings with each campus. Be looking for communication from them for your required testing meeting prior to the May STAAR and EOC administrations.

The end of the year MAP testing window is currently open and closes Friday, May 18th. When planning for MAP testing, please keep in mind that Algebra I, Biology, and US History EOC testing will take place May 8-10, and STAAR testing at the Middle and Elementary Schools will take place May 14-16.

See your campus administrator with any questions regarding the scheduling of the MAP tests. Also, be on the lookout for more communication from your MAP contacts (Ashley Elder, Mary Townsend, Stacey Flanagan) regarding the completion of this last MAP assessment.


STAFF SHOUTOUT

Angie Lillard is an amazing lady.  Thank you to her for all that she did to organize our Athletic Banquet.  

Our Special Olympics Banquet was a huge success thanks to Mary Buchanan and Micki Smith.  Also thank you to Greg Morrison, Chellia Tallant, Nicole Gelvin, Heather Boyett, and Amanda Humphrey for helping our students have a successful year.

Our Band Banquet was a very successful thanks to the organization of David Terry and James Carpenter.  We are also very thankful for our band boosters and the work they do to support the kids.

Upcoming Events
  • May 14 - ES & MS STAAR Testing Week
  • May 25 - Last Day of School & Showcase Showdown
  • May 26 - Graduation
See Wink's Post for more events

Are you ready for the Showcase Showdown???


SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN

Here are 10 more names winning a ticket to the Showdown

  • Alise Burke
  • Rene Elder
  • Erin Hale
  • Lynn Langwell
  • Amanda Nichol
  • Leslie Packard
  • Lisa Reeves
  • Melissa Stiney
  • Jennifer Stroup
  • Kenny Williams

Every week we will pull 10 names.  Find out how many tickets you will get to win the Prize is Right on
Friday, May 25 at 1:30 p.m.

Below are the folks who are making donations for the End of the Year Showcase Showdown. I hope you are
finding "usual" and "unusual" things to "Make a Deal".  


TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Be a Presenter at Revolutionizing Learning 2018
Revolutionizing Learning is looking for presenters to lead engaging and exciting sessions during RL 2018. We would
love to see BRISD educators sharing their knowledge and excellence with other educators. Anyone who presents
at Revolutionizing Learning or any other professional conference will receive an additional Flex Day. If you are
interested please go to http://www.rlchat.com/ or click here to submit a session proposal. If you would like help composing
your proposal please email melissa.stiney@brisd.net


Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Week of May 7-11

WINK’S WEEKLY WORDS

CLICK HERE TO READ MY BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY BLOG

Do your failures define your or refine you?  Our response to failure will tell whether we are on the path to excellence or not.  Watch this video of a runner who fell but overcame it to win.  We can do this in order to reach our goals.



CURRICULUM ANNOUNCEMENTS & STAFF Shoutout

Congratulations to our 5th and 8th graders for their growth on STAAR.  Below is a table that shows how much they grew from last year.  Special thanks to Stephanie McPherson, Laura Larsen, Micki Smith, Roma Morgan, Gayla Brummett and J.D. Williams for all of the effort they put in to help our students reach their growth goals.




Tested Area at Standard
16-17
Percentage of  4th or 7th
graders at standard
17-18
Percentage of  5th or 8th
graders at standard

Growth
5th Reading Approaches
71%
80%
+9
5th Reading Meets
38%
46%
+8
5th Reading Masters
27%
25%
-2
5th Math Approaches
71%
95%
+24
5th Math Meets
27%
63%
+36
5th Math Masters
9%
28%
+19
8th Reading Approaches
72%
76%
+4
8th Reading Meets
38%
58%
+20
8th Reading Masters
17%
33%
+16
8th Math Approaches
73%
90%
+17
8th Math Meets
44%
73%
+29
8th Math Masters
14%
30%
+16


PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

We are excited to welcome Region 10 to our district May 30th for Vertical Team learning as we strengthen our understanding of TEKS Resource System, and how it can be most effectively utilized to build rigorous lessons!

The plan for the week of May 28th:

  • May 29th - Using the essential SEs and the BRISD Assessment Calendar to build your Year At a Glance (YAG) for the 2018-19 school year.
  • May 30th - Vertical Team learning with Region 10.
  • May 31st - Working in vertical teams to refine subject level expectation documents, then begin building Lesson Plans for 2018-19.

Remember that attending May 30th and May 31st will account for 2 of the 5 professional learning days needed during the summer.

Revolutionizing Learning
Registration is now open for the Revolutionizing Learning Conference. It will be on July 24th and 25th at Royse
City High School. Please go to http://www.rlchat.com/ for more information or click here to register. You can earn
your GT hours by attending one day of RL.


Testing Announcements
Please read your Test Administrator Manual prior test day.  HERE is a link to your Test Administrator Training
that you had in April to review your responsibilities. Mrs. Kay and Mrs. Douglas are scheduling testing meetings with each campus. Be looking for communication from them for your required testing meeting prior to the May STAAR and EOC administrations.

The end of the year MAP testing window is currently open and closes Friday, May 18th. When planning for MAP testing, please keep in mind that Algebra I, Biology, and US History EOC testing will take place May 8-10, and STAAR testing at the Middle and Elementary Schools will take place May 14-16.

See your campus administrator with any questions regarding the scheduling of the MAP tests. Also, be on the lookout for more communication from your MAP contacts (Ashley Elder, Mary Townsend, Stacey Flanagan) regarding the completion of this last MAP assessment.

Upcoming Events
  • Wed. May 2 - Retirement Planning Seminar
  • May 7 - EOC Testing Week
  • May 14 - ES & MS STAAR Testing Week
  • May 25 - Last Day of School & Showcase Showdown
  • May 26 - Graduation
See Wink's Post for more events

SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN
  • Heather Boyett
  • Missy Douglas
  • Derek Gourley
  • Shanda Jenkins
  • Terra Mathers
  • Amanda Ray
  • Renee Reed
  • Lana Sikes
  • Helen Thompson
  • Kevin Wiggins
Every week we will pull 10 names.  Find out how many tickets you will get to win the Prize is Right on
Friday, May 25 at 1:30 p.m.

Below are the folks who are making donations for the End of the Year Showcase Showdown. I hope you are
finding "usual" and "unusual" things to "Make a Deal".





SPECIAL NOTE - YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN

TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCEMENTS

#GenTXDay
Friday May 4th is #GenTXDay This is a day where high school seniors around Texas will be sharing their college
and career plans on social media. Anyone that wears a college or university shirt on Friday, May 4th for
#GenTXDay will receive a jeans pass for Monday, May 7th. Help BRISD promote how we are preparing our students
to be college and career ready by sending social media posts about #GenTXDay to your iMPACT team leader.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Blue Ridge ISD Dyslexia on FB - https://goo.gl/dPkJiE

Media Center Announcements
Awards ceremonies and end of the year events are quickly approaching. Please make sure you send all special
printing jobs to mediacenter@brisd.net at least a week prior to the event.