Thursday, August 30, 2018

Week of September 3

WINK’S WEEKLY WORDS

Thank you for another great week of hard work and guaranteeing that every child learns.  I had a few people state that they liked the image I created with the word, believe and the number 13.  As a reminder, everyone of us owns 1/13 of a child's life this year, and our belief in kids impacts whether or not they learn, grow, and excel this year.  

As you reflect on your work this week, ask yourself this question.  Which kids am I having a hard time connecting with?  Is this connection issue affecting my belief in their ability to learn, grow, and excel.  Sometimes we don't see an immediate result from our efforts; therefore, we have to believe it before we will see it.  Don't underestimate your impact.  You are making a huge difference.  


Steps to become a registered voter
1. Request voter registration forms from the Secretary of State. Online order form or PDF form to mail or email your request. 


2.  
Request voter registration forms from your county elections office.

CLICK HERE TO READ MY BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY BLOG

What I'm Reading

Six Strategies to Help Introverts Thrive at School and Feel Understood
How to Talk to Parents  from Edutopia

CURRICULUM ANNOUNCEMENTS

BRISD utilizes TEKS Resource System for the scope and sequence related to your subject, as well as other tools designed to enhance your planning.  For a quick reminder on how to access your subject's scope and sequence (YAG), please view this video.  CTE teachers in need of additional support are encouraged to visit the Texas CTE Resource Center.

All consumable curriculum resources have been delivered to the campus principals.  Ms. Stiney is in the process of preparing all online curriculum resources for deployment as quickly as possible.

Please see your campus principal for questions/suggestions/concerns regarding curriculum resources.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Log your compliance training, as well as any other professional learning from this summer in the BRISD Summer Learning Documentation Form.

LATE START FRIDAY FOCUS

Please bring your Chromebook to all BRISD Professional Learning

Friday, August 31st is a campus level Friday Late Start.
Check with your building principal for attendance expectations vs campus coverage.
We will begin promptly at 7:30am on your home campus.
The topic will be reviewing campus/grade level routines & procedures, as well as ensuring SpEd, 504, and LPAC accommodations are understood and implemented.

Friday, September 7th is a district level Friday Late Start.
Check with your building principal for attendance expectations vs campus coverage.
We will begin promptly at 7:30am in the BRISD Board Room.  
In order to keep traffic flowing smoothly, please park behind the elementary building, and utilize the elementary sidewalk to access the administration building.  Please do not park in the administration building parking lots.
We will be discussing how to document Allowable Accommodations for FA and STAAR testing.  If you are a core subject and/or special education teacher in 2nd through 11th grades, you need to plan to attend.


Friday, September 14th is a campus level Friday Late Start.
Check with your building principal for attendance expectations vs campus coverage.
We will begin promptly at 7:30am on your home campus.

The topic will be reviewing and responding to MAP Reading and Math data within vertical campus Math/Science and Humanities teams.
ALL DISTRICT SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS AND PARAPROFESSIONALS will attend a required training regarding X Logs and the Random Moment of Time samples at district administration.

Testing Announcements

TEA has released the 2018 STAAR/EOC assessments.  BRISD uses these assessments as the MOCK FA prior to your STAAR/EOC assessment.  With this in mind, please 
DO NOT USE ANY 2018 RELEASED STAAR/EOC MATERIAL.  

Remember that FA1 is due in DMAC on or before September 7th.
Click here for FA testing dates and required subjects.
Click here for Instructions for Creating FAs

The beginning of the year MAP testing window opens September 4th and closes September 14th.  Remember that we will be assessing students in grades K-9 in reading and math.  

Elementary: IStation, F&P,  and AR testing windows open September 4th.

Be sure to check the 2018-2019 Blue Ridge ISD Testing Calendar for important testing dates throughout the school year.


STAFF SHOUTOUT

Thank you to Missy Douglas and Greg Smyder for successfully launching the Watch D.O.G.S. program at Blue Ridge Elementary. They had a GREAT turnout of dads, stepdads, uncles, and granddads at the initial meeting who are interested in working with the students of BRISD! 




Upcoming Events

  • Mon, Sep 3 - Labor Day Holiday
  • Thu, Sep 6 - School Picture Day
  • Fri, Sep 7 - End of 1st 3 Weeks Grading Period (Progress Reports out the next week)
  • Fri, Sep 7 - Deadline to enter your 1st FA in DMAC 
  • Sat, Sep 8 - Saturday Night in Blue Ridge by BRASA at the Square in Blue Ridge
  • Sun, Sep 16 - Paint the Town Green for Homecoming Week
  • Fri, Sep 21 - Homecoming at 7:00 p.m. and Homecoming Parade at 1 p.m.

TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCEMENTS

All online programs will be available for teacher and students to access beginning on SEPTEMBER 4th through Clever. If you have any issues accessing teacher and student accounts please email melissa.stiney@brisd.net

To access teacher and student accounts BRISD uses a tool called Clever. Clever allows teachers and students to log into multiple online accounts using only one username and password. This reduces the amount of wasted instructional time spent on logging into accounts. To get started with Clever and to begin accessing your online programs please view the following resources. 



To log into your Teacher Clever account click on the Clever app logo in the top right-hand corner of your Chrome browser and sign in with your BRISD Google account information. You can also go to https://clever.com/in/blueridge and sign in with your BRISD Google account information.


SPECIAL PROGRAMS ANNOUNCEMENTS

New announcements and information regarding special programs have been added to the Special Programs page in the Teacher Toolbox blog!!

Please complete the Gifted and Talented Teacher Information form for the 2018-2019 school year.

The 2018-2019 Blue Ridge ISD Special Program Coordinators are:

Terra Mathers, Special Education - terra.mathers@brisd.net
Missy Doulgas, Section 504 - missy.douglas@brisd.net
Missy Douglas, At-Risk - missy.douglas@brisd.net
Leslie Patterson, Dyslexia - leslie.patterson@brisd.net
Anna Miller, ESL/ELL - anna.miller@brisd.net
Rebecca Kay, CCMR - rebecca.kay@brisd.net
Alise Burke, Gifted & Talented - alise.burke@brisd.net

These coordinators are ready and willing to assist as needed.  Please do not hesitate to contact them with any questions or concerns.

Media Center Announcements
Media Center Hours: 7:00-4:00 

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Week of August 27

WINK’S WEEKLY WORDS

The above image reflects the Professional Learning
Philosophy of Blue Ridge Independent School District.
Step 1 is initial learning, followed
by Guided Learning, and then Teacher Team.  The final
step is Personalized Growth Plan (PGP).

On Friday, August 24, the DMAC/MAP training will be
at the Initial Learning level as the information is new
to all participants.  The next step for training would be
Guided Learning.
Congratulations on a great 1st week of school.  Your planning and execution was outstanding, and it
showed based on how well the kids responded to you. As you reflect this weekend in preparation for next week, ask yourself these questions:
  • How effective is my C4B4Me with my classes and for my most struggling students?  Where are they resourceful learners or dependent on me?
  • How consistent and independent were my routines and procedures?  Where will I need to tighten up next week?
  • How well did I build relationships with all kids, and how well did I get them interested in my content, and interested in learning with and from their classmates?
The answers to your questions will drive your lesson planning for next week.  In closing, thank you for all that you do for kids, and I truly believe Week 1.2 will be even more exciting than Week 1.1.

CLICK HERE TO READ MY BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY BLOG

CURRICULUM ANNOUNCEMENTS

BRISD utilizes TEKS Resource System for the scope and sequence related to your subject, as well as other tools designed to enhance your planning.  For a quick reminder on how to access your subject's scope and sequence (YAG), please view this video.  CTE teachers in need of additional support are encouraged to visit the Texas CTE Resource Center.

All consumable curriculum resources have been delivered to the campus principals.  Ms. Stiney is in the process of preparing all online curriculum resources for deployment as quickly as possible.

Please see your campus principal for questions/suggestions/concerns regarding curriculum resources.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Remember that compliance training is to be completed by September 3rd.

Log your compliance training, as well as any other professional learning from this summer in the BRISD Summer Learning Documentation Form.

LATE START FRIDAY FOCUS

Please bring your Chromebook to all BRISD Professional Learning

Friday, August 24th is our first BRISD Friday Late Start!
Check with your building principal for attendance expectations vs campus coverage.
We will begin promptly at 7:30am in the BRISD Board Room.  
In order to keep traffic flowing smoothly, please park behind the elementary building, and utilize the elementary sidewalk to access the administration building.  Please do not park in the administration building parking lots.
The topic will be creating assessments in DMAC, and preparing for BOY MAP testing.

Friday, August 31st is a campus level Friday Late Start.
Check with your building principal for attendance expectations vs campus coverage.
We will begin promptly at 7:30am on your home campus.
The topic will be reviewing campus/grade level routines & procedures, as well as ensuring SpEd, 504, and LPAC accommodations are understood and implemented.


Testing Announcements

TEA is in the process of releasing the 2018 STAAR/EOC assessments.  BRISD uses these assessments as the MOCK FA prior to your STAAR/EOC assessment.  With this in mind, please 
DO NOT USE ANY 2018 RELEASED STAAR/EOC MATERIAL.  

Remember that FA1 is due in DMAC on or before September 7th.
Click here for FA testing dates and required subjects.

The beginning of the year MAP testing window opens September 4th and closes September 14th.  Remember that we will be assessing students in grades K-9 in reading and math.  


STAFF SHOUTOUT

Thank you to our awesome BRISD District and Campus Office Staff who worked tirelessly to enroll every student and ensure that our data entry was perfect.  

Thank you:  Shawn Harris, Angie Lillard, Tiffani Johnson, Jennifer Adlof, Lynn Langwell, Donna Wiggins and Kelly Waddell

Upcoming Events
  • Mon, Aug 27 - BRISD Board Meeting
  • Wed, Aug 29 - PTO Meeting at BRISD Board Room at 6:30 pm
  • Mon, Sep 3 - Labor Day Holiday
  • Thu, Sep 6 - School Picture Day
  • Fri, Sep 7 - End of 1st 3 Weeks Grading Period (Progress Reports out the next week)
  • Fri, Sep 7 - Deadline to enter FA 1 into DMAC
  • Sat, Sep 8 - Saturday Night in Blue Ridge by BRASA at the Square in Blue Ridge
  • Fri, Sep 21 - Homecoming at 7:00 p.m. and Homecoming Parade at 1 p.m.
  • Mon, Sep 24 - FA1 Assessment Week.

TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Aesop: An email was sent from Aesop to all newly hired staff members to create a login for requesting a substitute. Follow the directions in the email to set up your Aesop account.

Request forms: Maintenance, Transportation, and Technology Request forms have been moved to Google Forms. Links to these forms can be found under Support Requests Forms or under staff resources on the BRISD website.

Student programs: All online student programs will be ready to launch on September 4th. We will be using Clever as our system for accessing student and teacher accounts. Clever is a tool for accessing all learning applications in one place. This system allows teachers and students to have one username and password to log into all applications. More detailed information about Clever and student accounts will be communicated next week.

Clever Overview Video:

SPECIAL PROGRAMS ANNOUNCEMENTS

The 2018-2019 Blue Ridge ISD Special Program Coordinators are:

Terra Mathers, Special Education - terra.mathers@brisd.net
Missy Doulgas, Section 504 - missy.douglas@brisd.net
Missy Douglas, At-Risk - missy.douglas@brisd.net
Leslie Patterson, Dyslexia - leslie.patterson@brisd.net
Anna Miller, ESL/ELL - anna.miller@brisd.net
Rebecca Kay, CCMR - rebecca.kay@brisd.net
Alise Burke, Gifted & Talented - alise.burke@brisd.net

These coordinators are ready and willing to assist as needed.  Please do not hesitate to contact them with any questions or concerns.

BUSINESS OFFICE ANNOUNCEMENTS

2018-2019 Budget will be adopted at the Board Meeting on August 27, 2018. Purchase orders will begin being processed September 7th. This will also be the first day checks are cut in the 2018-2019 school year. 

Media Center Announcements
Media Center hours- 7:00-4:00
All media center requests should be sent to mediacenter@brisd.net


Friday, August 17, 2018

Week of August 20

WINK’S WEEKLY WORDS

I hope you had a great week of training, learning, and preparation for the 2018-2019 school year.  Growth is the goal, but how much you grow is dependent on your plan for growth.  WATCH THIS VIDEO to see how you can use your lesson plan to set growth goals and make your personalized plan for growth.

I wish each one of you the best start to the school year that you have ever had.  I also invite you to give me and our administrative team feedback to help us better serve you.  Your success is greatly impacted by our ability to support you, and we will support you best when we know your needs for learning and growth.

If you want to watch the video from our welcome back, here it is.  Please feel free to share.

CLICK HERE TO READ MY BLUE RIDGE COMMUNITY BLOG


CURRICULUM ANNOUNCEMENTS

BRISD utilizes TEKS Resource System for the scope and sequence related to your subject, as well as other tools designed to enhance your planning.  For a quick reminder on how to access your subject's scope and sequence (YAG), please view this video.  CTE teachers in need of additional support are encouraged to visit the Texas CTE Resource Center.

All consumable curriculum resources have been delivered to the campus principals.  Ms. Stiney is in the process of preparing all online curriculum resources for deployment as quickly as possible.

Please see your campus principal for questions/suggestions/concerns regarding curriculum resources.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Remember that compliance training is to be completed by September 3rd.

Log your compliance training, as well as any other professional learning from this summer in the BRISD Summer Learning Documentation Form.

Testing Announcements
TEA is in the process of releasing the 2018 STAAR/EOC assessments.  BRISD uses these assessments as the MOCK FA prior to your STAAR/EOC assessment.  With this in mind, please DO NOT USE ANY 2018 RELEASED STAAR/EOC MATERIAL.  

Friday, August 24th is our first BRISD Friday Late Start!
Check with your building principal for attendance expectations vs campus coverage.
We will begin promptly at 7:30am in the BRISD Board Room.  
The topic will be creating assessments in DMAC, and preparing for BOY MAP testing (see below).
Remember that FA1 is due in DMAC on or before September 7th.
Click here for FA testing dates and required subjects.

The beginning of the year MAP testing window opens September 4th and closes September 14th.  Remember that we will be assessing students in grades K-9 in reading and math.  

STAFF SHOUTOUT

Thank you to our maintenance staff for all of their hard work this summer preparing our campuses and district for another school year. We appreciate everything you do to make Blue Ridge ISD great!  

Upcoming Events

  • Mon, Aug 20 - 1st Day of 2018-2019 School Year
  • Mon, Aug 27 - BRISD Board Meeting
  • Mon, Sep 3 - Labor Day Holiday
  • Thu, Sep 4 - School Picture Day
  • Fri, Sep 7 - End of 1st 3 Weeks Grading Period (Progress Reports out the next week)
  • Fri, Sep 7 - Deadline to create FA 1 in DMAC
  • Sat, Sep 8 - Saturday Night in Blue Ridge by BRASA at the Square in Blue Ridge

TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCEMENTS

We are no longer utilizing Eduphoria in BRISD. Due to this change, we will now be handling all technology support requests, transportation requests, and all maintenance requests through online Google forms. You can access these forms under Staff Resources at www.brisd.net or by clicking below. Please complete each form with as must information



SPECIAL PROGRAMS ANNOUNCEMENTS

The 2018-2019 Blue Ridge ISD Special Program Coordinators are:

Terra Mathers, Special Education - terra.mathers@brisd.net
Missy Doulgas, Section 504 - missy.douglas@brisd.net
Missy Douglas, At-Risk - missy.douglas@brisd.net
Leslie Patterson, Dyslexia - leslie.patterson@brisd.net
Anna Miller, ESL/ELL - anna.miller@brisd.net
Rebecca Kay, CCMR - rebecca.kay@brisd.net
Alise Burke, Gifted & Talented - alise.burke@brisd.net

These coordinators are ready and willing to assist as needed.  Please do not hesitate to contact them with any questions or concerns.

Media Center Announcements
Media Center hours: 7:00-4:00

Important reminders about the media center

  • All color or special print jobs should be sent to mediacenter@brisd.net
  • Allow a 3 day turn around on media center requests
  • All jobs MUST come print ready
  • All posters need to be sent in Publisher. The largest poster size is 24 X 36
  • If you need access to the media center after 4:00, you will need to make prior arrangements for it to be kept open.