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Month: August 2016

Published on

DATE:  
August 31, 2016

TO:   
Elementary Principals

FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator, Auxiliary Services
Paul Bergera, Staff Assistant, Auxiliary Services
Dave Rostrom, Director, Facility Services
Lance Everill, Manager, Facility Operations
Ron Boshard, Coordinator, Risk Management

SUBJECT:     
Safety/Green Ribbon Month - September

There is nothing more important than safety.  It is our responsibility to help prepare our students to be as safe as possible and promote a healthy interaction with the community.  Jordan School District has been collaborating with the Region PTA to promote Safety/Green Ribbon Month, which will be September.

All elementary schools are encouraged to participate in this PTA led program, which focuses on education, awareness and prevention of pedestrian/motor vehicle crash injuries.

The PTA will have a packet that consists of:

  • Safety Related Facts
  • Potential Safety/Green Ribbon Month Activities
  • Helpful Safety/Green Ribbon Month Hints
  • Student and Driver Pledges
  • Utah Department of Health Questionnaire

A Reunification video was produced last year by the Jordan School District Office of Communications, to be shown to parents/guardians to inform them on protocol and expectations for reunifying them with students following an emergency/disruption to school.  The video is available on the District Web site under the Parents & Students tab, by selecting General Information, then Student Safety.  The Safety Super Hero video is located on this Web page and can be shown to students during Safety/Green Ribbon Month and anytime in the future to reinforce safe behavior.

The JSD Department of Transportation is offering a Safety in the Schools - Riding the Bus Safely assembly.  Transportation Training Office Assistant Luanne Smith will be contacting your school to schedule an assembly.  Transportation and the Office of Communications have produced an exciting new bus safety video that will soon be available for schools.

If your school’s PTA President has not reached out to you regarding possible PTA led activities at your school, please feel free to contact them.

Published on

DATE: 
August 31, 2016

TO:   
Secondary Principals
Secondary Media Specialists

FROM: 
Administrators of Schools
Laura Finlinson, Administrator, Curriculum/Staff Development
Norman Emerson, Instructional Support Services/Fine Arts Consultant

SUBJECT:   
Networking Meetings for Secondary Media Specialists

In order to prepare and train secondary library media assistants to effectively provide services to their schools and to build consistency across the District’s library programs, several networking meetings have been scheduled for the 2016-17 school year. The participation of your media specialists in these meetings is expected and appreciated.

The meetings will be held on the following dates from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.:

  • September 29, 2016
  • October 26, 2016
  • November 30, 2016
  • January 25, 2017
  • February 23, 2017
  • March 3, 2017 (UELMA Conference)
  • April 26, 2017
  • May 17, 2017

Please feel free to contact Norman Emerson (801-567-8364) if further information is needed. Thank you for your continued support of the library media programs in Jordan District.

Published on

Please be aware of the many flu shot clinics that have been scheduled in our schools this fall (see attachment). English and Spanish versions are included, for schools to post for their communities. Employees are welcome at all of the clinics. Please also note the clinics scheduled for the District Office and for the ASB. Have a healthy year!

Published on

JSD Administrators and Administrative Assistants:

You will soon receive an email link to the Emergency Procedures and Contact Information 2016-17 manual (aka The Red Book).  Please take a moment to open it up and verify that your contact information is correct before we send it for printing.  If a correction is needed, please contact Peggy at ext.88753 or peggy.margetts@jordandistrict.org by end-of-day Friday, September 2nd.

You will receive your hard copy as soon as they are back from the printer.

Many thanks from the JSD Safety Team,
Paul Bergera, Auxiliary Services Staff Assistant
Lance Everill, Facility Operations Manager
Ron Boshard, Risk Management Coordinator
Peggy Margetts, Administrative Assistant

Published on

DATE:
August 31, 2016

TO:
Principals

FROM:
Administrators of Schools
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Clyde Mason, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:
An Upcoming Skylert Message:  2016 SAGE Individual Student Reports – Available in My Family Access

On September 7, 2016, the Communications Department will be sending out the following Skylert Message:

“Parents, if your student participated in 2016 SAGE assessments, her/his 2016 SAGE Individual Student Reports are available online within “My Family Access” under the “Report Card / Academic Progress” tab. Please contact your student’s school if you have questions about accessing or understanding your student’s 2016 SAGE Individual Student Reports.”        

Please be prepared to respond to parent questions regarding access to, and understanding of, the 2016 SAGE Individual Student Reports.

Published on

DATE:
August 29, 2016

TO:
Elementary Principals

FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Clyde Mason, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:
Research Project

The Research Review Committee has reviewed a research project in which your school has been asked to participate.

Project Title:     “Video Self-Modeling with Elementary School Students Displaying Behavioral Engagement Deficits Due to Traumatic Brain Injury”

Applicant:     PFLIEGER, Courtney

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee.  The applicant has been directed to contact you to discuss the extent of the project and to obtain your permission to conduct the study at your school.  If you have questions or concerns relating to participation, please contact Clyde Mason at 567-8243.

Thank you for your assistance.

Published on

Principals:

The course catalog committee will be recommencing on September 26th. If you would like to add a new course to the Jordan District Secondary Course Catalog, please complete the “Secondary Course Request Application” and submit it to the Course Catalog Committee for review through the established audit process for Jordan School District. The final Course Catalog Committee meeting will be held on Monday, November 21st at 1:00 p.m. If possible, please have all new course request applications submitted to Holly Bell before that time. If requests are not received by then, there is no guarantee that we will be able to complete an out-of-committee audit in time to have the course approved and included in the printed edition of the 2017-2018 Secondary Course Catalog.

Included is a file attachment for the committee calendar:
The Secondary Course Request Application link is as follows: http://jordandistrict.org/wp-content/uploads/fgen_Secondary_Course_Request_Application.pdf

It may also be located on the Jordan District website, under Resources/Forms and Documents/General, or at the following link:  jordandistrict.org/resources/forms/general/

Published on

Several sessions have been scheduled to provide updates on Literacy programs currently being used.  See the attached flyer for details and please select a day/time that best fits your schedule.

Topics will include:
JSAS transition to Skyward
Grade-level professional development
DIBELS data, resources, reports
SLO and Benchmark assessments
Early Literacy Software Grants
Open Q & A for all things Literacy

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For Elementary Principals:

Grade-Level Literacy Professional Development

We are excited for the opportunity to continue grade level specific work with teachers.  Three days per grade level are scheduled throughout the year to address Literacy topics pertinent to each grade level.  Classroom teachers will determine the content and presentations will be made by teachers, curriculum staff, and others.  All information will be connected to the Utah Elementary ELA State Core Standards and the JSD Comprehensive Balanced Literacy Framework.  The teachers selected to attend these sessions are expected to take the information back to school and share with their team.  The Curriculum Department will pay for one substitute per grade level for each session.  If you have off-track teachers that are able to attend, please consider sending them first to alleviate possible substitute issues.  They will be paid inservice rate for their attendance.  Registration is available on JPLS for each session.

Please put the following dates on your calendar.

GRADE TIME DATE ROOM DATE ROOM DATE ROOM
Kindergarten 8:30 – 4:00 October 26, 2016 ASB Auditorium February 28, 2017 ASB Auditorium April 26, 2017 ASB Auditorium
First Grade 8:30 – 4:00 October 13, 2016 PDC 113 February 1, 2017 PDC 101 April 4, 2017 ASB Auditorium
Second Grade 8:30 – 4:00 October 12, 2016 PDC 102 February 8, 2017 PDC 101 April 5, 2017 ASB Auditorium
Third Grade 8:30 – 4:00 October 11, 2016 ASB Auditorium February 9, 2017 PDC 103 April 27, 2017 ASB Auditorium
Fourth Grade 8:30 – 4:00 October 6, 2016 ASB Auditorium February 16, 2017 ASB Auditorium April 18, 2017 ASB Auditorium
Fifth Grade 8:30 – 4:00 October 5, 2016 PDC 102 February 15, 2017 PDC 101 April 19, 2017 PDC 102
Sixth Grade 8:30 – 4:00 October 4, 2016 ASB Auditorium February 2, 2017 PDC 101 April 20, 2017 ASB Auditorium

 

For Secretaries:
We have invited one teacher per grade level to join us three times this year for a full day.  For teachers in grades K - 3, please use 5805.  For teachers in grades 4 - 6, please use 7860.  These accounts are not interchangeable.  Thank you for checking to be sure this information is entered correctly.  Please contact Becky Gerber or Lucy Bateman if you have any questions.

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Please remind your 17-hour Literacy Assistants we will hold a beginning of year information meeting on Thursday, September 1 at 9:00 a.m. in PDC 102. If they came to the meeting in August, they do not need to attend this one unless they want to be a part of the conversation with other assistants. The agenda will be the same.

Published on

I am pleased to let you know Info Systems has finished the programming to allow teachers to enter Guided Reading Levels directly into Skyward.  The step-by-step instructions are attached, including screen shots.  Please feel free to distribute to teachers.  We will also post this page to the CBL website for future reference.

Some teachers will find the instructions sufficient to complete the process; others may like some additional guidance.  I have attached a flier with several dates where I will be available to offer additional ‘hands-on’ training for those who would like the extra help.  You may choose to send one teacher that will come back and train others, one per grade level, or all who wish to attend…. Whatever works best for your situation.  Please be sure to note participants will be paid for attending and need to bring their laptop.

**The programming for the administrative side, which will allow you to view/print teacher, grade, and school reports, is not yet complete.  I will provide instructions for you as soon as I get them from Info Systems.  I will, also, walk through the steps at upcoming Principal Literacy Support sessions scheduled for the second week of September.

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Important SLO Information

Because of changes to the law, SAGE scores may no longer be used as the SLO rating for teachers. Therefore, all classroom teachers will need to use SLOs. An email message will be sent to all JSD educators with preliminary guidelines for the SLO process as described below:

The 2016-2017 Secondary SLOs will be available to secondary teachers throughout the year and can be administered by quarter, by semester, or, in some cases, by standard. Scores for both pre-test and post-test should be entered into Mastery Connect as soon as students have completed the tests.

Elementary teachers will have the option of using math, reading, or writing to measure student growth. Teachers may select their SLO subject now and give the pre-test for only that subject or teachers may give more than one pre-test and report the one with the highest rating. It is recommended that pre-tests be given within the first three weeks of school.

The process for reporting SLO ratings will be similar to last year; however, teachers will not be required to turn scores into folders. Before the end of the first quarter, you will each receive a spreadsheet similar to the ones you got last year. Instructions will accompany your spreadsheet. For now, please record any SLO pre-test data in Mastery Connect so that you will be able to transfer it once your post-tests are completed.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact one of Curriculum’s content administrators.

CONTENT AREA CONTACT NUMBER
Elementary Language Arts Becky Gerber 88087
Secondary Language Arts Mindy Dummer 88152
Math Wendy Harmon 88377
Social Studies Pam Su’a 88320
Science Jane Harward 88169
Fine Arts – Dance/Theater Robyn Bishop 88129
Fine Arts - Music Norm Emerson 88364
Fine Arts – Visual Arts Mindy Dummer 88152
CTE Sonja Ferrifino 75959
General Questions Shelley Nordick 88110

Published on

DATE:
August 19, 2016

TO: 
Elementary Principals

FROM:    
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Norman R. Emerson, Fine Arts Consultant

SUBJECT:   
Assemblies by Artistic Resources for Teachers and Students, Inc. (ARTS, Inc.)

ARTS, Inc., now in its fifty-fifth year of operation, was founded in 1961 and has provided performances in all forty-one school districts in Utah, reaching more than 250 schools each year with professional arts and education programming.  We welcome their artists in our schools again for the 2016-17 school year.

Enclosed you will find the following:

  • The assembly schedule with the date and time the artists will be at your school
  • The contact information for the performing group coming to your school from ARTS, Inc.

The artists have been instructed to contact you at least two weeks prior to their assembly to verify starting times and specific needs for their performance.  If the date selected for the music group to perform at your school does not work with your schedule, please contact the music group as soon as possible to reschedule.  The name and phone number of the contact person for each group has been provided.

If you have any questions, please contact Norman Emerson at 801-567-8364.

Published on

In order to be consistent with Federal reporting guidelines, the threshold for coding purchases to equipment (object 730) or computer equipment (731) is increasing to $5,000.  Effective immediately, all purchases where a single item is less than $5,000 should be coded to 610 (supplies) or new object code 650 (technology supplies).  This change does not alter the purchasing threshold of required quotes for a single item >$1,000 or a group of items >$2,000 nor does it impact the items requiring asset tags.

The 2016-17 year will be a transition year.  Please do not change purchase orders already in Skyward or submit journal entries for past purchases.  Current budgets have not been modified.  Please code the purchases to the correct account, regardless of budget.  Schools will be able to transfer budget between equipment and supplies in December and June.  District departments and grant programs may make budget revisions in January to reflect current requirements.

Please contact Heather Ellingson (ext. 88388) with any questions.