Fall is officially here!

I am respectful, honest, responsible. I am a Hawk!

Reminders of the Week:
Firgrove Monday Salad Club from last year resumes next week. For staff new to Firgrove, this means bringing your salad of choice during your designated week to share. It's completely optional. If you're in the club last year and you don't want to participate this year, please let Angie know by Wednesday so she can take your name off the list. Conversely, if you want to join this year, let her know too by Wednesday.

Remember to complete the required Safe Schools training via the links below:
- http://puyallup.wa.safeschools.com/login

This week:
Belated Happy Birthday, Wes (21st) and Melanie M (25th)!

9/26 Mon. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/27 Tues. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym
- Happy Birthday, Mike M.!

9/28 Wed. - CT LIC (traded from IP per super majority input)
- Almai and Christina at Becca Training, 7:30-10:30, WHS
- Lisa and Almai at K-12 Principal Pro Dev and then PSD Administrative Meeting, 1:30-5:00, Mt. View Community Center
- Zumba, 3:00-4:00, gym
- Elementary HIV/AIDS and Sexual Health Curriculum Preview for Parents of Grades 4-6, 6:30-8:00 PM, PHS Commons

9/29 Thurs. - Almai at required Student Services Meeting, 8:30-10:00, ESC
- Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/30 Fri. - Literacy Team's "Hanging Party" to gear up for "Bananas For Reading"; right after school; meet briefly in McCormick's Room, bring stapler (then let's Zumba afterwards!!!)
- Zumba, 3:15-4:15 (or after hanging party), gym

Student Activities:Student Activities that begin this week include the Pan Hawks (formerly known as Steel Drum/World Music Ensemble) and the Singing Hawks. Both are under the direction of Mr. Miller. (Thank you, Dan, for providing this opportunity to our students.)
- Singing Hawks on Mondays and Thursdays, 2:50-3:35
- Pan Hawks on Tuesdays and Fridays, 2:50-3:35

Grades 3-6 and Intermediate Skill Support: Stay tune for information regarding IXL Math getting resumed this week.

Coming up: 
10/3 Mon. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

10/4 Tues. - PTA Fall Fundraiser Kick-off Assembly, 2-2:15, gym; Recess will be adjusted for grades 2 and 3. Stay tune for specific plan.
- Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

10/5 Wed. - PR LIC
- Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

10/6 Thurs. - No School; Supplemental Day #4 - Elementary certificated staff don't need to report since the training was done in either late June or August.

10/7 Fri. - No School; Supplemental Day #5/State In-service Day

10/11 Mon. - PTA Boxtop Breakfast, 7:45-8:25 AM, gym
- Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

10/11 Tues. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

10/12 Wed. - CT LIC
- PTA General Membership and Activity Night, 6:30 PM
- Zumba, 3:00-4:00, gym

10/13 Thurs. - Lisa and Almai at Elementary Principals Meeting then with CAO, 8:30-12:30, ESC Evergreen
- Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

10/14 Fri. - Zumba, 3:15-4:15, gym

10/17 Mon. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

10/18 Tues. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym
- PTA Skate Night, 6-8 PM

10/19 Wed. - EC/SS LIC
- Zumba, 3:00-4:00, gym

10/20 Thurs. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

10/21 Fri. - Zumba, 3:15-4:15, gym

10/24 Mon. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

10/25 Tues. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

10/26 Wed. - IP LIC
- Zumba, 3:00-4:00, gym

10/27 Thurs. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

10/28 Fri. - Zumba, 3:15-4:15, gym

10/28-11/4 - PTA Fall Book Fair

Other BIG Events to Note in Calendar/Planbook:
11/2 Wed. - Evening Parent-Teacher Conferences
11/10 Thurs. - Firgrove Literacy Night "Welcome to the Jungle!" Theme - stay tune for more information from the Literacy Team

Grooving at "The Grove:" Keeping the Great Momentum

I am respectful, honest, responsible. I am a Hawk!

Reminder of the Week:
Please remember to show the Emergency Bus Exit DVD to your students prior to this Thursday's drill. The drill on Thursday begins around 9:30. Please know that we'll work around trying to keep the morning academic block as much as possible. If your students are with specialists when your class is called, the specialist will be the one taking them to the Emergency Bus Exit drill.

This week:
9/19 Mon. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/20 Tues. - Staff Meeting, 3:00-4:00, Library

9/21 Wed. - IP LIC (traded from CT per super majority input)
- Firgrove Blood Drive, 12-2, Front Parking Lot - Please remember not to use the diagonal parking spaces so the Blood Drive van can park there for higher visibility to walk-in donors driving Meridian. Thank you for your understanding to support this life-saving effort.

- Zumba, 3:00-4:00, gym

9/22 Thurs. - Emergency Bus Exit drills, 9:30-10:00, Bus Zone

- Back to School Curriculum Night, 6-7:30 pm - Lisa sent an email on Friday, Sept. 9th, regarding the schedule with an attached powerpoint that you may use unless you already have one you're planning to use instead of it. The expected minimum information content shared with parents is outlined in the powerpoint that Lisa sent.

Back to School Night Schedule: 6-6:25 Classrrom Session #1 (teachers in their classrooms) - during the classroom sessions, you may choose to have a formal or informal presentation format. The choice is yours; however, the session must run through the specified times in order for a certain level of organization to exist.

6:30-6:55 Classroom Session #2 (teachers in their classrooms) - during the classroom sessions, you may choose to have a formal or informal presentation format. The choice is yours; however, the session must run through the specified times in order for a certain level of organization to exist.

6:30-7:15 PTA hosting an Ice Cream Social in the gym while Administrative Team has a running/looping powerpoint of the "State of School Address"

9/23 Fri. - Zumba, 3:15-4:15, gym

Grades 4-6 Teachers: Please include in your parent communication that there is Parent Preview Night for the HIV/AIDS and Sexual Health Curriculum on September 28, 6:30-8:00 PM at PHS Commons. It is out district expectation that any parent who opts their child to be exempt from these lessons need to have previewed the materials.

Assessments:
- Complete all district and building-wide assessments during their designated timeline. Consult with Bobbi, Building Assessment Coordinator, with any assessment related questions.
- Grades 4-6 Teachers: Please complete the Comprehension Strategies Probe Assessment and provide Almai your class set of the Individual Student Pretest/Postest Scoring Chart. Below is the recommended assessment administration steps:
1. Monday - administer the four passages and have students score their work and fill-in their own scoring chart. This allows them to see right away their strengths and weaknesses regarding reading comprehension strategies.
2. Tuesday - administer the remaining three passages and do the same as Monday's procedures.
3. Give Almai your completed class set of scoring charts at the end of the day on Tuesday. She'll create a tool that will visually sort students by mastery (or lack of) of each reading strategy. She'll email you this tool by noon on Wednesay. The tool's purpose is continually use throughout the year to track students' progress in their reading comprehension strategies. While the tool is self-explanatory to Excel users, please come see her for one-on-one training of the tool if you're not familiar with it.
4. On the direction packet Almai gave you last Friday (grades 4-6 teachers), please refer to the section that gives recommendation on the next step after getting the results. Third grade teachers,please see Almai regarding your team's action item.

Coming up:
9/26 Mon. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/27 Tues. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/28 Wed. - CT LIC (traded from IP per super majority input)
- Lisa and Almai at K-12 Principal Pro Dev and then PSD Administrative Meeting, 1:30-5:00, Mt. View Community Center
- Zumba, 3:00-4:00, gym
- Elementary HIV/AIDS and Sexual Health Curriculum Preview for Parents of GGrades 4-6, 6:30-8:00 PM, PHS Commons

9/29 Thurs. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/30 Fri. - Zumba, 3:15-4:15, gym

10/4 Tues. - PTA Fall Fundraiser Kick-off Assembly, 2-2:15, gym; Recess will be adjusted for grades 2 and 3. Stay tune for specific plan.

Re-posted Reminder: Remember to complete the required Safe Schools training and the Office of Diversity Affairs Zoomerang survey via the links below:
- http://puyallup.wa.safeschools.com/login
- http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22CHAT5FGMP

Other BIG Events to Note in Calendar/Planbook:
10/12 Wed. - PTA General Membership and Activity Night, 6:30 PM
10/14 Fri. - PTA Box Top Breakfast
10/18 Tues. - PTA Skate Night, 6-8 PM
10/28-11/4 - PTA Fall Book Fair
11/3 Thurs. - Firgrove Literacy Night "Welcome to the Jungle!" Theme - stay tune for more information from the Literacy Team

Fir-grooving along...

I am respectful, honest, responsible. I am a Hawk!

This week:
9/12-16 - DIBELS testing for grades 1-6

9/12 Mon. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/13 Tues. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/14 Wed. - Fair Day, no breakfast or lunch, School in session 8:20-11:31; Please remind your students and/or include in your newsletters
- PTA Board Meeting, 6:30 PM, Rhiannon's Home
- Zumba, 3:00-4:00, gym

9/15 Thurs. - Stipend Applications due to Almai (green folder with Stipend label on her door)
- CSIP Meeting, Library, 3-4 PM
- Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/16 Fri. - Zumba, 3:15-4:15, gym

Reminders of the Week:
- Remember to email Almai your input on trading the September CT and IP Wednesdays. This proposal came from some Certificated staff. The rationale is to help with expediently creating instructional groupings by having immediate time to look at each of your own students during Individual Planning LIC and then having the Collaboration Teaming LIC the following week.
- Remember to go over the powerpoint sent by Lisa to reinforce behavior expectations.
- Remember to keep your class rosters current - the office can no longer print your class list

Coming up:
9/19 Mon. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/20 Tues. - Staff Meeting, 3:00-4:00, Library

9/21 Wed. - CT LIC (pending to trade as IP)
- Firgrove Blood Drive, 12-2, Front Parking Lot - Please remember not to use the diagonal parking spaces so the Blood Drive van can park there for higher visibility to walk-in donors driving Meridian. Thank you for your understanding to support this life-saving effort.
- Zumba, 3:30-4:30

9/22 Thurs. - Back to School Curriculum Night, 6-7:30 pm - Lisa sent an email on Friday, Sept. 9th, regarding the schedule with an attached powerpoint that you may use unless you already have one you're planning to use instead of it. The expected minimum information content shared with parents is outlined in the powerpoint that Lisa sent.

Back to School Night Schedule:
6-6:25 Classrrom Session #1 (teachers in their classrooms) - during the classroom sessions, you may choose to have a formal or informal presentation format. The choice is yours; however, the session must run through the specified times in order for a certain level of organization to exist.

6:30-6:55 Classroom Session #2 (teachers in their classrooms) - during the classroom sessions, you may choose to have a formal or informal presentation format. The choice is yours; however, the session must run through the specified times in order for a certain level of organization to exist.

6:30-7:15 PTA hosting an Ice Cream Social in the gym while Administrative Team has a running/looping powerpoint of the "State of School Address"

9/23 Fri. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/26 Mon. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/27 Tues. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/28 Wed. - IP LIC (pending to trade as CT)

9/29 Thurs. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/30 Fri. - Zumba, 3:15-4:15, gym

10/4 Tues. - PTA Fall Fundraiser Kick-off Assembly, 2-2:15, gym; Recess will be adjusted for grades 2 and 3. Stay tune for specific plan.

Re-posted Reminders of the Week: Remember to complete the required Safe Schools training and the Zoomerang survey via the links below:
- http://puyallup.wa.safeschools.com/login
- http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22CHAT5FGMP

Other BIG Events to Note in Calendar/Planbook:
10/12 Wed. - PTA General Membership and Activity Night, 6:30 PM
10/14 Fri. - PTA Box Top Breakfast
10/18 Tues. - PTA Skate Night, 6-8 PM
10/28-11/4 - PTA Fall Book Fair
11/3 Thurs. - Firgrove Literacy Night "Welcome to the Jungle!" Theme - stay tune for more information from the Literacy Team

Re-post on Assessments: DIBELS testing for Grades 1-6 is Sept. 12-16. Bobbi has already sent the schedule via email the week of Sept. 6th. Please solicit parent volunteer to be "runners" for these days in your classroom newsletters and give the names to LouAnn as you get them.

CORE MAZE testing for grades 2-6 is Sept. 7-14. Tests have already been put in your boxes the first two days of school. Refer to the MAZE and Math assessment folder for directions. See Bobbi if you have questions.

We're off to a fantastic Firgrove start!

Hawk Creed: "I am respectful, honest, responsible. I am a Hawk!"

We are off to a great start....thank you for starting off with an impressive momentum already. As Lisa and Almai visited classrooms and common areas, here are some of the great observations they've made:
• Frequent specific praise and feedback
• Posted schedule
• Learning targets - posted and articulated to the students during instruction
• GLAD strategies: Community theme on a t-chart; team rewards/points; personal standards tied to the Hawk Creed
• Student engagement
• Teachers using the terminology of the "Hawk Creed"
• Timely pick up from recess
• Teachers walking students to the busses
• Students lined up in alphabetical order for lunch
• Number Corners
• Word Walls
• Excellent hall behavior
• Great customer service
• Use of a system to track lunch orders (colored cards, clipboard check-off)
• Teachers spread-out in the lunch serving area to better supervise students getting their lunches

This week:
9/5 Mon. - No School/Labor Day; Happy birthday, Marlene and Teena!

9/6 Tues. - Lisa and Almai at Zeiger to drop off cards, flowers and treats, 7:45-8:45
- 5th Grade Band Assembly, 2:00 - 2:30, gym - This is for fifth grade students and their teachers only.
- Zumba, 3:45-4:45, gym

9/7 Wed. - PR LIC - see the agenda below
- MAZE testing begins (through the 14th; see more information on assessments below)
- Zumba, 3:45-4:45, gym

9/8 Thurs. - Lisa and Almai at Puyallup Elementary Principals (PEP) Meeting, 8:30-11:30, ESC Pioneer
- Zumba, 3:45-4:45, gym

Sept. 7th Principal-Directed LIC Agenda:
- 12:30 First 30 minutes to spend time in your classrooms or as a grade level team scoring or analyzing or planning the next steps for any student assessment you may have at this point (this will normally be spent after this month’s PR LIC entering data in the DIBELS site and/or other building-wide assessment tracking tool)
- 1:00 Learning Teams Collaboration (if you still haven’t signed-up, please join a team today in which your passion and expertise in that area can benefit the students we serve)
o If applicable, discuss leadership roles, designate them and communicate the results in the Correspondence form
o Identify two things regarding your Learning Team collaboration this year: 1. Time and location for Learning Team Collaboration during the PR LIC Wednesdays; and 2. Date and time (assuming it’s the same location) for the months in which there is no PR LIC day (you will be compensated): November and March
o Pick-up where the team may have left off last year or revisit the goal set last year to fit this year’s school need. For instance, Math/Science and Literacy teams already have a “pick-up point” from last year because of the already identified Fall Math and Literacy Nights on November 3rd.
o If the team needs to set a totally new goal, use this Guiding Question: What is it that this Learning Team wants to accomplish this year in which the ultimate impact would be to increase student achievement?
o Begin identifying the steps to attain the goal (this will be known as your action plan).
o Capture team’s collaboration in the Correspondence form and submit form to Lisa.

Let Lisa or Almai know if you have any question.


Reminders of the Week:
Remember to sign-up to a Learning Team if you haven't done so. The sign-up sheets will be in the staff room.

Stipend applications are due to Almai by Sept. 15th. This was emailed to staff in June, but you can find more copies on her door in a folder labeled "Stipend."

Remember to complete the required Safe Schools training and the Zoomerang survey via the links below:
- http://puyallup.wa.safeschools.com/login
- http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22CHAT5FGMP/

Assessments:
DIBELS testing for Grades 1-6 is Sept. 12-16. Bobbi will put out the schedule soon. Please solicit parent volunteer to be "runners" for these days in your classroom newsletters and give the names to LouAnn as you get them.

CORE MAZE testing for grades 2-6 is Sept. 7-14. Tests have already been put in your boxes last week. Refer to the MAZE and Math assessment folder for directions. See Bobbi if you have questions.

Coming up:
9/12-17 - DIBELS testing for grades 1-6
9/14 Wed. - Fair Day, no breakfast or lunch, 11:31 dismissal
- PTA Board Meeting, 6:30 PM, library
- Zumba, 3:15-4:15, gym

9/15 Thurs. - Zumba, 3:45-4:45, gym

9/16 Fri. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/18 Mon. - Zumba, 3:45-4:45, gym

9/19 Tues. - Zumba, 3:45-4:45, gym

9/21 Wed. - CT LIC, 12:30-3:30
- Zumba, 3:30-4:30

9/22 Thurs. - Back to School Curriculum Night, 6-7:30 pm - stay tune for details via email and/or blog

9/23 Fri. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

9/26 Mon. - Zumba, 3:45-4:45, gym

9/27 Tues. - Zumba, 3:45-4:45, gym

9/28 Wed. - IP LIC

9/29 Thurs. - Zumba, 3:45-4:45, gym

9/30 Fri. - Zumba, 3:30-4:30, gym

Other BIG Events to Note in Calendar/Planbook:
10/12 Wed. - PTA General Membership and Activity Night, 6:30 PM
10/14 Fri. - PTA Box Top Breakfast
10/18 Tues. - PTA Skate Night, 6-8 PM
10/28-11/4 - PTA Fall Book Fair
11/3 Thurs. - Firgrove Literacy and Math Night