Weekly Words |December 4, 2022
Our Students vs. Staff Volleyball Game was a thriller! Our staff took away the victory, winning 2 out of 3 matches! Congratulations to our staff for an outstanding display of effort and energy to win! Another huge shout-out goes to our students who also put in a tremendous amount of effort in 3 competitive matches!
The Best 5 Days
Team and Family,

We have 5 days this week to make an incredible impact on our scholars. This is where the “Every Minute Matters, Every Second Counts” mantra lives and breathes. We will need to stay focused and urgent with each day we are given. Our scholars’ growth, achievement, and success are dependent upon it. Can we make these 5 days the best 5 days we’ve had so far this year? The answer is a resounding YES! Just like last week – it comes down to relationships! Take 7 minutes to watch this incredible TED Talk that many of you have already had a chance to see -- Rita Pierson knows this! Rita Pierson TED Talk

In Service to You,
 
Mr. Walker
Principal
Teacher & Staff Spotlight
Each week, we will celebrate teachers and staff members who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to provide all scholars a high-quality education.

This week, we recognize:
Ms. Harris comes to our Flower Family from Atlanta, Georgia. When I was first introduced to Ms. Harris, we spoke for nearly 2 hours about education, family, and geography. It was so delightful and refreshing to speak with Ms. Harris and as I learned more about her passion to impact students with equipping them with essential literacy skills, I knew we had to do whatever it took to bring Ms. Harris to Phoenix!

Ms. Harris joined our team as an ELA Interventionist. In her role, she supports our campus by identifying areas of growth for our students in language arts and using a variety of intervention methods to improve literacy skills. Additionally, Ms. Harris supports our students who are acquiring English as a second language. Ms. Harris has worked incredibly hard this year to create resources and materials for our students and families. The tasks that are asked of her are challenging and require patience, perseverance, and a special caliber of skill. Ms. Harris continues to exceed our expectations and we are so proud of the work she is doing for our community!

Ms. Harris did not come to Arizona alone. She has brought two bright sons with her who have further enriched our community of scholars at AMS Flower. The days and nights are long and the is strenuous, but Ms. Harris grinds it out and we want you to know that we love and appreciate you and all you do!
School Culture & Events:
AMS Marketing Events

As we launch into open enrollment season, it is critical that we go out into our communities, spread the word about the wonderful things happening with AMS, and recruit future Turtles! We would love to see our staff represented at various events this winter and spring!
Please contact me if you would like to know more details!  
School Culture & Events:
Daily Attendance &
Family Communication Log

Our daily attendance average goal is 95%. We know that many variables for student attendance may be outside of our control, however, we must focus on what is within our control. Our families who provide unexcused absences must be contacted on a daily basis as a check in, to stress the impact of an absence, and to offer support - such as providing a clear plan for completing make up assignments. Our contact tracker is completed. We must continue to first call and then, rely on platforms such as ClassDojo, to reach our families. The graphic attached provides staggering statistics regarding the impact of chronic absenteeism.

Family Communication Log is below. Please update it on a daily basis.

  1. Go to your class tab
  2. Find the scholar
  3. Fill out all the required fields: date, time, reason, type of communication, outcome, and follow-up.
School Culture & Events:
Wednesday Detention

Parent communication must be made and confirmed by the teacher assigning the detention! The deadline to assign a detention is each Tuesday, by EOD.

Important Reminders: 
The detention list will be sent to teachers and front office staff prior to detention. During detention, students will complete behavior reflection forms, restorative letters, or copy essays related to why they are in detention. Essays need to be taken home and signed by the parent. If not returned the next day, they have recess detention and are copying the essay again.

 
School Culture & Events:
Kids Korner

The Kids’ Korner Holiday Shoppe gives students a chance to experience the wonderful feeling that comes with gift-giving. Gifts for family members, friends, and teachers are all reasonably priced and available for the students to purchase the same day, no need to order! Shout out to Mr. Boozer for letting us take over the stage! 
  
The shop will be open December 5-9 during designated times.  
December 5 is a PREVIEW ONLY day, allowing students to view the merchandise and create a wish list. A schedule has already been created and is below. Please read over it as you will not necessarily be bringing your homeroom class to the preview. This schedule was intentionally made based on the number of volunteers we have for the day, but we have some flexibility if you are not able to make your time for some reason. Please let me know asap if a change needs to happen. 22.23 Preview Schedule 
  
December 6-9 are SHOPPING DAYS. The store will be open from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. (T, TH) and 8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (W) for classes to sign up for 30-minute shopping increments. 
HOMEROOM TEACHERS - please sign up for a shopping slot using the signup genius below. 
 
December 9 is the FINAL SHOPPING DAY. Store times will be announced for you to send any students who HAVE MONEY and did not get a chance to purchase something or want to purchase an additional gift. 
  
What to Expect - Preview Day: 
Your class will enter through the stage door and proceed up the ramp at your designated time. Students will proceed to the shopping tables, browse the area and create their Wishlist. Once your class is finished, they will exit down the stairs and out the stage door. 
Students need to bring a pencil to create a Wishlist. 
  
What to Expect - Shopping Days: 
Your class will enter through the stage door and proceed up the ramp at your designated time. Students will proceed to the shopping tables, browse the area, make their selections, and check out. Once your class is finished, they will exit down the stairs and out the stage door. 

Once students purchase an item, it will be tagged, bagged, and placed in a dedicated box for your class. The box will be on the stage until the end of the day when it will be delivered to your classroom for you to distribute to your students. Hopefully, this cuts down on distractions upon returning from the store. 
  
Additional Information: 
Family Shopping days: Families are welcome to come and shop at the store on the following days. 
Wednesday: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. 
Wednesday, December 7: 2 - 4 p.m. 
Thursday, December 8: 4 - 5:30 p.m.
School Culture & Events:
Winter Carnival IS COMING!
Our annual Winter Carnival is rapidly approaching! It will be Thursday,
December 15 from 4 - 6 p.m.

Please continue to work on the planning document and contact campus leadership team with questions and resource needs!

School Culture & Events:
Boys' Volleyball
Boys' Volleyball has begun with Coach Cruz!
December schedule is below!
School Academics & Instruction:
Weekly Assessments
Weekly assessments must be proctored the week they are scheduled in the pacing guide, regardless of current pacing.

Unless there is an emergency (lockdown, internet issues, etc.), tests should be taken. In the event of an emergency, please connect with admin on how best to proctor the assessment. If you have an absence, please plan accordingly to ensure that students are tested during the week when you are present.
 
Below are the assessments that should have been given last week for math and the % of scholars who completed the test, as well as the average score and the percentage of proficiency by grade level. 
School Academics & Instruction:
Grades
Attached is the report of grades needing to be updated for the past week. Remember that two grades, per week, per subject, should be entered weekly. If you are listed in the weekly report and have not entered grades for last week or a previous week, please correct by end of week. Grades for Q2 are due December 16. 

School Academics & Instruction:
Interim Assessment Resources
Resources, including rubrics and a one pager on scoring, are available on the SchoolCity PD page of SharePoint and can be accessed here:

PDF Copies of Interim Assessment #2: 
PDFs for updated versions of the ELA Interim Assessment #2 for both the Reading and Writing sections have been uploaded to the SchoolCity PD page of SharePoint. The only changes made were to decrease the number of total items on each assessment. A PDF copy of the updated versions can be accessed here: Interim PDFs
School Academics & Instruction:
AZELLA Updates
The AZELLA spring reassessment is quickly approaching! Utilize the Arizona Dept. of Education’s resources (link below) to help student’s prepare for their testing. This would be beneficial for all students, not only EL students. After clicking the link, select 2022-2023 AZELLA Placement Sample Tests and Resources. Students are assessed on listening, reading, writing, and speaking. You can view the rubrics utilized for the speaking and writing portions and sample placement tests for the various stages. Stage I is kindergarten, stage II is 1st and 2nd grade, stage III is grades 3-5, and stage IV is grade 6-8.
 
School Academics & Instruction:
Upcoming Academic Dates
CFA 2.2, Grades 3-8 ELA: November 21-December 1
(all CR items must be scored by 12/1)
Interim Testing, Grades 3-8: December 5-8,
make-up testing December 9
(all essays and CR items must be scored by 12/9)
Quarter 2 Grades Due: Friday, December 16
i-Ready Diagnostic #2: January 9-January 13
AZELLA Spring Reassessment: January 30-March 17 
School Academics & Instruction:
Computer Based Testing
Are our scholars ready for computer-based testing? The Science-Tech Academic team will begin visiting Computer Science classes to ensure that the curriculum is being used most effectively. Preparations for Semester 2 coding, with continued practice in Applied Digital Skills, is underway. The global event, Hour of Code (hourofcode.com) takes place during Computer Science Education Week December 5-11, with celebrities already lined up. ADE has resources and training for hosting an Hour of Code
(azed.gov/standards-practices/event/how-run-hour-code).
School Academics & Instruction:
Teacher Pacing

We recognize that factors such as student comprehension, accommodations, fire drills, assemblies, parent-teacher conference schedules, etc. can present challenges with staying on pace with curriculum content, however, we continue to remain off pace with executing our curriculum.
To support our students, we cannot continue at this pace.

In response, our campus leaders are committed to supporting you in catching up. In the coming days, please plan to meet with your admin coach and members of the AMS Academic Team to work together to catch up on pacing.
School Academics & Instruction:
TLaC Focus:
Joy Factor
Let's not forget that learning should be fun! Don't forget to celebrate the "small wins" each day with students. Let's get cheers and chants going this week. "Awesome job, NAU! Our class average was 73% on Tuesday's Exit Ticket! Give me a rapid clap on three...1, 2, 3..."*class delivers three claps in unison.*

We will be introducing some incentives for our upcoming Interim Assessment and i-Ready Diagnostic 2. A little friendly competition never hurts anyone!
School Operations:
Raptor is Here
We will begin using the Raptor Visitor Management System at our Flower campus to strengthen our program of campus safety for students and faculty. The Raptor system will better allow us to screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers in our schools and provide us with a safer environment for our students and staff.

Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present an ID such as a Driver’s License, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a US government-issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system. The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not entering our school campuses without our knowledge. The Raptor system checks the visitor's name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency.

Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who visit our schools simply to drop off an item in the office or pick up paperwork.
School Operations:
Maintenance Tickets
There is a new maintenance ticket system should you need maintenance support with items in your classroom. It is pretty straightforward, please be sure to provide as much detail as possible and include photos whenever possible to support the ticket. Please reach out if you have any difficulty accessing the ticket system.

Ticket Link Below:
School Operations:
Field Trips
Field Trips take a lot of behind the scenes planning and coordination. From budgeting and planning details to ironing out logistics, field trips are challenging to plan…and execute. If you are interested in planning a field trip for our students, the authorization form is attached. Please notify Ms. Medina once you are beginning to complete the form and we will work together to ensure we have all bases covered.
We need at least 3 weeks prior notice to the date of the trip.
School Operations:
Extracurriculars
Clubs, sports, tutoring needs to be approved prior to starting. This is vital as several behind the scenes operations must take place with setting up a club, sport, or tutoring activity after school. From logistics to planning purposefully, extracurriculars take time to develop! Please review the attachment to gain a better idea of the approval process. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. 
School Reminders & Resources:
Lesson Plan Objectives
Lesson objectives must be posted in a visible place daily in 100% of classrooms. Objectives are a requirement and an AMS Essential. They guide your planning, set purpose for the lesson’s activities and should be aligned to your end of lesson exit ticket or assessment. Please make this adjustment, beginning Monday.
School Reminders & Resources:
Lesson Plans
Lesson Plans must be submitted weekly via SharePoint. Each teacher has a folder labeled by their name. Within each folder, there are cascaded folders by quarter. If you have questions on how to upload to SharePoint or do not have access, please contact me immediately.
School Reminders & Resources:
Unity Circle Plan
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2 - 2:30 p.m. - Staff Meeting/Data Dive Prep
2:30 - 3:30 p.m. - Winter Carnival Planning
3:30 - 4 p.m. - Teacher Work Time

We are in gymnasium, please bring laptops.
Shout-Outs!
‌
Shout-out to Ms. Torres for receiving the Turtle-ly Awesome Pin! As an interventionist and member of our community, you have done so much to enrich the lives of students and staff! We love your positivity and expertise you bring to Flower!

Shout-out to Ms. Tan for receiving the P.O.W.E.R Unity Chain! You have made continuous improvements to your instruction and your lesson plans are transforming lives with helping students acquire the Mandarin Language!

Shout-out to our amazing paraprofessionals for all of their leadership and support while administering DIBELS!

Shout-out to our front office, meal team, and facilities team for decking the halls! Our holiday doors and bulletin boards look amazing!

Shout-out to Mr. Boozer for providing use of the stage this week for Kidz Korner! We cannot wait to see this! Shout-out to Mrs. Rushing for planning and coordinating the event!


2022-23 AMS Flower Calendar: