Report for 11/20/2014

Mark Vallone

COMMUNICATION

Enrollment Total Pre-41; K- 71; First Grade-69 Second Grade -85 Third Grade 80; Fourth

Grade; 79; Fifth Grade-79 Total – 504

Veterans’ Luncheons and Veterans Day Program Last week 43 veterans enjoyed lunch with

students during our week-long program. Thanks to an anonymous donor, all the meals were free to

these veterans as a way of saying “Thank you for your service.” On Friday, the school held a

Veterans Day program in the cafeteria that featured a Navy color guard and speech by Portsmouth

Shipyard Historian Joseph Gluckert. Music teacher Virginia Avery led the school in singing the

national anthem and patriotic songs. Thanks to administrative assistant Cheryl MacLeay for arranging

the program.

National Honor Society Donates Stocking Stuffers to Pease Greeters. For the second year in a row, the

EES National Honor Society collected and donated boxes of stocking stuffers that will be given to

American soldiers serving overseas in Afghanistan this Christmas season. The organization Pease Greeters

collected the boxes and will take care of shipping them so that they arrive in time for the Christmas

holidays.

Dental Screenings Lamprey Health Care is once again providing free dental health education and

screenings to Epping Elementary School. Students have the option for a free screening. Fluoride

varnish is also being offered free of charge. Students have to be signed up by their parents or

guardians to participate in screenings or the fluoride varnish. All classes have received their dental

hygiene presentations. Screenings begin Monday, November 24. See Calendar for details.

Red Ribbon Week. October 23-31 Epping Elementary conducted a number of activities in support of

Red Ribbon Week. High School students presented a skit to kindergarten students about Samantha

Skunk who spoke about the dangers of prescription drugs. Individual classes conducted their own Red

Ribbon activities. The school held a wear red day on October 30th

. The Epping Eagle student

volunteers planted tulips in the garden as well. Thanks to guidance counselors Marianne McDonough

and Kathy Stanley-Berting for organizing these events.

Coffee With Conversation Continues On Friday, November 14, I there was another morning

“Coffee and Conversation” sessions with parents and guardians regarding Epping Elementary

School’s new grading and reporting guidelines. See notes attached. The next session will be held

Friday, December 5 and run from 8:30 to 9:30. School board members are welcome to attend.

National Honor Society Induction Friday. This year’s NEHS induction takes place Friday,

November 21 at 1:30 at the EMS auditorium. EMS Spanish teacher and form Epping School Board

member, Deborah Brooks will be the speaker.

Student Council Food Drive The EES Student Council has been conducting a food drive to

collective canned goods to donate the Soup Kitchen at the Epping Community Church. The Soup

Kitchen provides food to individuals and families in need. The food drive ends tomorrow and the

items will be picked up Monday afternoon.

Craft Fair December 4 The EES Arts Committee is sponsoring the annual Holiday Craft Fair on

Thursday, December 4 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. There will be craft making for students and their

families as well as craft vendors on hand. Kids of all ages will be able to come and make a variety of

crafts to take with them while their parents are free to visit the vendors and craft tables. The EES

Chorus will entertain the crowd with holiday songs.

Monthly Emergency Drill This month, the emergency drill the school will practice is DROP AND

COVER. Drop and Cover is a technique used to quickly protect students and staff during a weather

emergency such as a tornado. When the drill is going on, there will be no access to school building

until the conclusion of the drill. If an actual emergency does take place, parents will be notified. This

notice was sent out by Assistant Principal Erin Milbury in last week’s Cool News

“I ‘m Going to College” Activites EES is supporting this effort to increase student and family

awareness about college education. Next Tuesday, staff members will wear the attire of their alma

mater to show some of the many options students have after high school. Guidance counselors

Marianne McDonough and Kathy Stanley Bertin have arranged a set of presentations to grade 2

students called “ I Can Save” by the Center for College Planning. Those presentations will take place

December 4th

.

ACCOUNTABLE AND COLLABORATIVE CULTURE

Professional Development Activities on November 10

Grades 3-5 Quality Performance Assessments (NH PACE) All three grade levels met as a

group to review the major components of quality performance assessments. This was the first

time all classroom teachers worked together on a single performance assessment ( Grade 3- Math,

Grade 4- Science, Grade 5- English Language Arts.) The curriculum specialists for each

curriculum area were on hand to work with the individual grade level.

Planning session regarding performance assessments. This meeting brought together all the

consultants and administrators involved in Epping Elementary School’s development of the

performance assessments. This was the first time everyone met together. We were able to

update the status of each grade level’s work on the assessments and work out a timeline and plan

for developing performance assessments in all three subject areas. See attached notes.

Grades K-2 Data Analysis The K-2 teams met with NHDOE consultant Donna Beauregard who

demonstrated how to use the Performance Plus system to analyze student data and to track

interventions with students over time.

Olweus refresher District psychologist Deena Jensen and members of the EES Olweus

committee reviewed the main elements of bullying and interventions for bullying. They also

reviewed strategies for incorporating Olweus training into morning meetings classroom teachers

hold with their students.

Individual Professional Development planning Paraprofessionals and teachers also were given

time to work on their own individual professional development plans.

STUDENT LEARNING

NH PACE Quality Performance Assessments Attached please find an example of a performance

assessment. This one was developed for Grade 4.science. This is a model for the kind of testing NH

is proposing to use as part of its accountability plan. The first section is the student portion of the

assessment. The second section is the planning component that follows the guidelines written byu

the Center for Collaborative Education that are being used by Epping and other school districts

participating in the NH PACE program.

TECHNOLOGY/FACILITIES

Health/ Guidance Office Renovation Update. I spoke with Martha Williamson and George

Kimball who said they had received all necessary estimates to put together a proposal to convert what

is now an art room into health and guidance offices. The three of us would like to share this proposal

with the EES facilities committee

Traffic Update Two and half months into the new system and things are going well. Compared to

the previous system, both drop off and pick up procedures take less time. The new system does

require more staffing as we now have to supervise the front and back of the building and supervise

traffic near the security gate at the side of the building.

Calendar November 21 Food drive ends and items are picked up

QPA math work in Rochester. ( Dea, Anne, Susie) MAV in a.m. only

National Honor Society induction 1:30

Last day to complete parent conference

November 24 Food items being picked up 2:00 p.m.

Dental screenings in library conf

Report card Task Force meeting

November 25 Dental screenings in library conf

November 26-28 No school for Thanksgiving Recess

December 1 Literacy Committee Meeting

PTO meeting

December 2 Erin and Mark Admin PD day 12-3 @ EHS with Lew

December 3 Dental fluoride day in library conference

Advisory Council

December 4 AIR Craft Fair with Chorus 6-8:00

Grade 2 College savings assemblies See Marianne M

UNH Collaborative mtg at Elliot Alumni Center 12:40 to 2:00

December 5 QPA ELA mtg @ Sanborn.9-2 pm Gr 3-4-5 representative attend

District Holiday Party at Telly’s 3:00 – 6:00

December 10 Faculty Meeting

Winter Concert Gr. 1-3 7:00 p.m. Mark

December 11 Winter concert for 4/5 gen music, band and chorus Mark covers

December 16 Make up date for concert

Math Committee Meeting

December 17 Data Team meeting

Make up date for concert

December 19 PTO Fundraiser special prize day Pig race, money machine & ice cream party

Secret Santa (optional event for staff who participate)

December 23-January 5 Holiday Vacation

January 22 UNH Intern Breakfast 7:30 to 9:30

January 29 Snow date for UNH breakfast

Grading and Report Cards

A conversation with parents, guardians and the principal

November 14, 2014

Attending: Chris Souza, Chet Clark, Michelle Mylott, Shana McTague, Johanna Comeau, Mark Vallone

Documents Shared: Grade 3 grading guideline for 2014

Sample from Dover, NH elementary report card

Discussion points

Formative/ Summative assessments and the 90/10 formula. How to determine reading grades has been an

issue for years. Grade 3 incorporates Fountas and Pinnell, weekly quizzes, Accelerated Reading, word lists,

reading responses, book reports and Scholastic News quizzes to determine whether a student receives A or B

etc. Questions were raised about whether Fountas and Pinnell reading assessment is appropriate for

averaging into a reading grade. The group appreciated that the team had developed a system of common

assessments that helps ensure all grade 3 students learn the same thing.

Model report based on Dover elementary schools. This report card is different in several ways that

appealed to the group. The Fountas and Pinnell Reading scores were reported separately. Subject areas were

broken down into distinct parts such as reading fluency that each received a grade. The grading system of

year end grade level expectations was both appealing and problematic. The group liked a standard but

thought that it would be confusing to know what the expectations were for each marking period. It would be

better to set expectations for each marking period.

Other points made during the session

Grading on report cards should use the same system and language used for daily work and grades.

The elementary school should help prepare students to make the transition to middle school.

Having two report cards is OK. E.g. One for Gr K-1-2 and One for Gr 3- 4-5

A letter grade system or number system??? Not that important if parents/guardians understand it.

Parent education is an important part of this process. Mark will continue with monthly “Coffee” sessions

in the library. (Next one will be December 12 at 8:30). An evening info session combing pizza or a

potluck and some daycare/movie in the middle school cafeteria and gym should be something to try this

winter. PTO could possibly sponsor the event.

QPA Meeting November 10, 2014

. Agenda/Notes

Attending: Barbara Munsey, Cathy Zylinski, Dea Mayne, Kara Reynolds, Stephanie Maze Hsu, Rob Lukasiak, Rose Colby, Mark Vallone Draft calendar for November 13 to March 13 Date Location/ Sponsor Curriculum Grade levels/ topics 11/13 Rochester ? Tri District Science Gr 4 / Nature of & Energy/ Develop tasks 11/17 Epping only ELA Gr 5/ Kristen/ SMH and Gary meet 11/21 Rochester (??) Math Gr 3/ Validation & Callibration ?? 12/2 Epping only (??) Science Gr 4/ Kara/ Rose/ Krista/ Sam 12/5 Sanborn ELA Multigrade ( send whole Grade 5 team) 12/8 Epping only ELA Gr team meets with SMH . 5 day 12/???? Epping K-12 Math Gr 3, Rob, Dea 2 hours + EMS/ EHS 4 hrs 1/16 Epping District PD Day Sci/ ELA/ Ma TBA 1/????? Epping only ???? TBA with consultant 2/5 NH PACE cohort Sci/ELA/Ma Location and agenda TBD 3/13 Sanborn ??? Math Grades 6-12 only ? Note that a lot of the dates and times and arrangements are still TBD. See action items for more details. Embedding QPA work beyond PACE Barbara Munsey offered to support QPA development across Grades 3-5 beyond the 1 QPA per grade level that the PACE cohort agreed to develop. To avoid stressing the grade level teams with the specter of more PD work this year, the bulk of developing draft QPAs will be done by the content consultants s and building specialists. Since there is no ELA specialist Gary will work with Stephanie.

Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5

ELA Stephanie Gary

Stephanie Gary

PACE Stephanie, Kristen T

SCIENCE Kara Rose

PACE Kara, Rose, Krista, Sam

Kara Rose

MATH PACE Rob, Dea, Anne, Susie

Dea Rob

Dea Rob

Action Items

Kara will research the District, State, and Next Gen standards for alignment

Kara will set up a meeting on 12/2 with Rose, Sam and Krista

Dea will set up a Math QPA session with Rob ( December 8-11 open on Rob’s schedule)

Mark will send whole Grade 5 team to Sanborn ELA meeting on 12/5

Steph will meet with Grade 5 for half day work on QPA on 12/8

Mark to coordinate January PD schedule so that content consultants meet at all 3 schools

Barbara will provide Lucy Caulkins Writing Pathways for all EES classroom teachers

AUGUST 5, 2014 DRAFT THAT HAS BEEN CHANGED

Feature Creature Project Overview

Task: Design an animal with specific internal/external structures and behaviors whose function is to support

survival and growth!

Step 1: Pick a habitat. The habitat that your Feature Creature lives in will have a direct effect on

the structures and adaptations it has that help it survive!

Freshwater (Rivers) Marine (Ocean) Desert Forest

Rainforest Savanna/Grassland Tundra (Arctic)

Step 2: Research other animals in that habitat. What structures and adaptations do those

animals have that allow it survive in their environment? You can find information about animals at the

following resources:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/

Select your habitat (also known as biome), then scroll down to view animals that live there.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/

Check off your habitat (along the left side of the page) and uncheck all the others. Then, look at

the animal cards that come up!

Biome or animal books in the classroom – Ask before you take home to research!

Step 3: Decide specific information about your Feature Creature. These should be both structures AND

behaviors that help your animal survive, modeled after real life examples.

*Size: How big is your animal?

*Food: Is your Feature Creature primarily a predator or prey? What does it eat? How does it get its

food?

*Movement: How does your animal move about its habitat?

*Shelter: Where does your animal live within its habitat (Up in a tree, burrows, underground, etc.)?

Does it live alone or with other members of the same species?

*Communication: How does it send signals to other members of the same species (Dances, songs, scent

marks, etc.)?

*Weatherproofing: How does your animal keep warm or cool?

*Protection: How does your animal stay safe from predators (Claws, antlers, camouflage, etc.)?

Step 4: Design your animal and write up your descriptions! Be sure to carefully consider each structure and

behavior and write about how it helps your animal survive in its habitat.

Step 5: Decide on a unique name to call your Feature Creature!

Step 2: Feature Creature Research Page

My biome/habitat: _____________________________________

Animal/Plant Structures/Behaviors/Adaptations

(Features They Have or Things They Do) Function

(How it Helps Them Survive)

Resources I used (where I got my information): _______________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Step 3: Feature Creature Planning Page Refer back to the Project Overview page for help planning your Feature Creature. By the end of this planning

sheet you must have at least one structure or behavior in each category. In total, you must have evidence of

both structures and behaviors of your Feature Creature.

Area Related to Survival

My Thoughts about My Feature Creature (Answers to questions on Overview page)

Structures/Behaviors to Help it Survive

(Modeled after real life animals) Size

Food

Movement

Shelter

Communication

Weatherproofing

Protection

Introducing the….

(Name of your Feature Creature)

My Feature Creature lives in the ______________

(biome/habitat).

Three important things to know about this biome are:

*__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

*__________________________________________________

Important Structures of My

Feature Creature’s Body:

Important Behaviors of My

Feature Creature:

How These Structures and Behaviors Support My Feature Creature’s Survival:

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________

_____________________________________________________________________

Picture of My Feature Creature’s

Habitat

Diagram of My Feature Creature (Sketched, Labeled with each Important Structure, Colored)

QUALITY PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT PLAN

Task Title: Feature Creatures: Exploring Structures and Functions Subject Area/Course: Science Grade Level: 4th Grade Abstract/Summary: Students will design a Feature Creature that highlights the importance of Structures/Behaviors and Function for animal survival. Time Needed to Complete Task: Original Author: Samantha Gesel

ALIGN: Instructional Goals

Please select competencies, work study practices, skills, and content that you will assess with this Performance Assessment Task.

New Hampshire Competencies

Please write out the entire competency. We recommend no more than 2-3 competencies. We are looking to assess every aspect of the competency chosen.

Math competencies

Science competencies

ELA competencies

Structure and Function. Students will demonstrate the ability to use evidence to support claims about the relationship among structure and function of natural and human designed objects. Nature of Science. Students will demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively and individually to generate testable questions or define problems, plan and conduct investigations, using a variety of research methods in various settings, analyze and interpret data, reason with evidence to construct explanations in light of existing theory and previous research, and effectively communicate the research processes and conclusions.

New Hampshire Work Study Practices

Please write out the entire work study practice. We recommend no more than 1-2 work study practices.

Work study practices

Communication. I can use various media to interpret, question, and express knowledge, information, ideas, feelings, and reasoning to create mutual understanding.

Creativity. I can use original and flexible thinking to communicate my ideas or construct a unique product or solution.

Self-Direction. I can initiate and manage my learning, and demonstrate a “growth” mindset, through self-awareness, self-motivation, self-control, self-advocacy, and adaptability as a reflective learner.

Other Goals

Standards, 21st century skills, and school-specific goals

NGSS: 4-LS1-1. To construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.

School-Specific Goals. Students will understand that the structure or shape of a living thin, material, or system is related to its function.

21st Century Skills. Students show creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, communication skills.

Depth of Knowledge Alignment

What is the DOK of this task? Provide evidence.

DOK 3. This performance task demonstrates DOK 3 in the areas of Understanding and Applying. Students are explaining, generalizing, and connecting ideas (using supporting evidence) about the relationship between biomes and animal structures/function. Students are applying their understanding by creating a Feature Creature, synthesizing information from research and showing knowledge of this relationship.

Essential Questions to Guide Learning and Inquiry

What is the big idea and/or enduring understanding? Example: How are angles used in building a house?

How does the essential question connect with the enduring understanding of the curriculum unit?

How do plants’ and animals’ structures function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction?

Students will know (content) . . .

Bullet points

Specify discreet content and key

Students will be able to (skills). . .

Bullet points

Specify process and skills that align

concepts that align to the competencies and standards (e.g., types of angles)

to the competencies and standards

Start with a verb (e.g., justify why an angle is classified the way it is)

What a biome is.

What animal structures exist to support survival.

What animal behaviors are adaptations to support survival.

The function of animal structures and behaviors.

How animal structures and behaviors are related the animal habitat/biome.

Construct an argument that animals have structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.

Demonstrate an understanding that these structures are influenced by habitat.

Apply their understanding to a novel situation (creating a Feature Creature).

DESIGN: Performance Task and Evidence

Please design a performance task that will provide evidence of the competencies, work study practices, skills, and content that are listed above.

Common performance task summary

This is a high level summary about what the students will be doing. It should be no more than 3-5 sentences or bullet points.

Students will use understanding of animal structures and behaviors to create a Feature Creature that would have a high chance of survival in a chosen biome. Tasks will include researching the common structures and behaviors of real animals in the biome, synthesizing this information through planning a Feature Creature, drawing and labelling a diagram of their Feature Creature, and presenting their final products. Students will construct an argument that plants and animals have structures and behaviors that function to support survival.

Key criteria for performance assessment

Please list the criteria used in the rubric. We recommend no more than 4-5 criteria. These criteria should come from the competencies, standards, work study practices, skills and/or content.

Biomes, Structures and Function

Nature of Science – Research

Nature of Science – Communication

21st Century Skills/Work Study Practices – Creativity

21st Century Skills/Work Study Practices – Self-Direction

Possible Accommodations

What will teachers do in terms of instruction, curriculum and assessment to support the learning of SPED/ELL/other students in class?

Presentation accommodations

Response accommodations

Setting accommodations

Timing and scheduling accommodations

Resources/Texts/Scaffolding Materials

What’s included here depends on the task assignment. It is recommended that a variety of resources are provided that allow students to make choices to access the information needed to complete the assignment.

Text to Speech Software for research

Speech to Text Software for writing

Extended Time

Word Wall Words

Science Anchor Charts

Websites/Books about biomes and animals that live in them

Teacher Guide

Pre-requisites and Placement in the Curriculum

When in the year will this take place? What skills and concepts should be covered before the students perform this task?

This Performance Assessment takes place at the end of the Structure and Function science unit (one quarter long). Before the introduction to this performance task, students learn about adaptations (what are they, what are specific structures and behaviors animals have) and function of those adaptations (why they are important and how they support survival). Students

have also completed investigations that examine structures and function, including investigations that explore the texture of pollinators’ bodies and the shape of birds’ beaks.

Possible Formative Assessments

How do I assess my students’ understanding about the performance requirements of the task (e.g., milestones, benchmarks, observations, dialogues, student reflection, quizzes)? How do I adjust my instruction accordingly?

Before the task is given, students should be secure in the skills of identifying animal structures and functions. Students will have taken an Adaptation quiz to provide evidence of this understanding. The task is broken down into steps, to support 4th graders’ developing executive functioning skills. Through observations and formative assessments of student work through each step, I will be able to adjust instruction to match student need.

Teacher Instructions

To ensure the fidelity in implementation, this section includes:

Step-by-step procedures to implement task as designed

Information on the time allotted for each step of the task

Materials needed

Materials

Student Task Sheet: Feature Creature Project

Student Research and Planning Packet

Student Report Pages (3 pages)

Feature Creature Rubric

Computers or Devices (for research)

Biome books (for research)

Pencil

Time

This task should take about 6 sessions of 45 minutes to complete. Procedure

Ensure that previous instruction on structures and functions has been covered and students are familiar with science concepts.

Distribute materials to students and provide accommodations as outlined in student IEPs.

Teaching/Learning Plan

To be completed by individual teacher, as learning plan may vary by teacher

The lesson plan is written as an outline that other teachers could understand and/or apply in their respective classroom (s). This generally outlines the scope and sequence of the lesson plans within the unit.

It is recommended that the following are included:

The lesson plan includes how the goals will be addressed (what students know and can do

The different steps and the specific instructions that correspond with each step of the process

A timeline for each task

Time or space for student reflection and feedback

Day 1-2: Research. Introduce the performance task. Review the packets and steps to completing the performance task. Answer any questions. Students will select their biome of choice at this time. They will begin their research of animals in that habitat, using the research page to supporting their understanding of common structures and the function of those structures, including how they support the animal’s survival in their habitat.

Day 3: Planning. Students will use their information from their research to make choices about structures and behaviors that their Feature Creature will have that will help it survive in its habitat. Students will use the Planning Page and the questions from the Task directions to help support them as they plan their Feature Creature.

Day 4-5: Drafting And Final Draft Work. Students use the information from their research and planning days to create their Feature Creature. Students will select a name for their Feature Creature and complete the final draft project page write ups. These final draft pages include: a labeled, colored diagram of their animal, synthesized information about its habitat (with illustration), descriptors of important structures and behaviors of their Feature Creature, and a constructed response about how those structures and behaviors support survival in a given biome. Day 6: Presentations. Students will present their final project to the class, effectively communicating the main ideas and overarching concept of the relationship between an animal’s biome, its structures/behaviors, and the chance of survival.