VP Bulletin Week of 9_28_2012

Today I had the privilege to volunteer in a 1st grade classroom taught by Dana Zervas. I have been in several classrooms in the past, but have never seen a teacher so effectively utilize technology. Every session was clearly organized using helpful interactive visuals.

I was also impressed at how she laid out expectations and gave the students the opportunity to evaluate their own behavior. She also gave the students a much needed mini exercise time that quickly refocused the classroom. I am so pleased that my child’s school has such dedicated and talented teachers like Dana Zervas.

Parent Tyler Hettich Andrea, Erin, and PBiS Team, Great job launching the positive behavior supports!

The Bison Bucks have been so motivating for students of all ages. We greatly appreciate your work.

-Anna Sommerhouser Andrea, Thanks for working with small groups of students to address girl bullying and other issues. It is wonderful that our students have access to your support!

-Anna Sommerhouser

A special THANKS to all the ELD Teachers: Jessica Sawyer and Alissa, You continue to persevere despite challenges. Thank you for your hard work with students. You provide them with just the right balance of pressure and support.

Alejandra and Ashley, You both jumped into teaching ELD without looking back. Thank you for thinking of the students’ needs beyond the ELD classroom- you’ve worked so hard to give them the boost they need.

Jessica LeClair and Aubrey, You are a dynamic duo! You are constantly reflecting and refining lessons to make sure students have the best experience possible. You work hard day in and day out and that will make the difference for the kids you teach.

Kory, Your energy and enthusiasm for students is hard to match. You make the ELD time a warm and encouraging place where students can succeed!

Mary Pat and Katie, You collaborate and work so well together. Students benefit from your hard work and your shared expertise.

I love to see the way you make learning come alive for our young students. You are relentless!!

-Anna Sommerhouser

24551 E. 1st Ave Aurora, CO 80018

303.364.3757

Wednesday Morning PD: Bring your BAS protocols to continue analyzing COMMITTEE MEETINGS: 3:45-5:15pm Equity in the Exploratory LC 3:34-4:45 IST Academic Team in the Cowabunga Room

Thursday, September 27th Science Kit Pick up (West Hallway by offices) New Teacher Induction Meeting 3:45-4:45

Props to Miss Fawkes for helping me with RTI! She helped me right away, explained to me the proper way to start my intervention and really helped me understand how to best support my students! Thank you so much! -Katie Corson Props, props, props to the cafeteria team for fulfilling our daily needs with their hospitality, food and never turning us away when we are late from duties.

Kevin, Michelle, Margaret Jesus and all who are involved in this daily process you all rock and really do make a difference….

Thank you! -The Classified Team I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for doing such good work with my students. I was thinking the other days about how well my students do when they mainstream out of my class and much of that has to do with the good work all of you do with my students. _Amie Seese

“Education must be real-world and relevant, innovative and connected; where staff and students thrive with choice and responsibility; to cultivate creativity and invention.”

www.vistapeakcampus.org

Wednesday September 26th

Props to Jenny, Mary Pat, Arianne and Darrah! I am so grateful to have you as my team members! Thanks for all your support! You are amazing! GO KINDER! -Katie Corson

VISTA PEAK campus PHILOSOPHY

VPK

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

Friday September 28th BAS Data Due in Enrich Acuity Data Due in Enrich Director Learning Walks

UIP AND 3 YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN UIP We are continually working on the UIP in ILT. We have done some amazing work.

September 28 2012

Hello Vista PEAK Community,

El Jefe (Jesus), You are so patience and encouraging with students. Thank you for supporting the ELD blocks and small groups of students. What you do matters hugely to the students.

Thank you for all you do!

-Anna Sommerhouser

Bulletin #03

PROPS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

3 Year Strategic Plan The 3 Year Strategic plan is essentially our implementation plan for our innovation application.

We have made great strides and you can see all completed actions listed in green! Great progress thus far.

This year’s THEME: Relationships This year’s INSTRUCTIONAL FOCUS: The WHAT=Content

VISTA PEAK campus VISION

“To ensure every student who enters the Vista PEAK Campus graduates with a high school diploma, college credits and/or degrees, industry credentials and certifications in order to be successful in postsecondary and workforce experiences.”

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OCTOBER COUNT The October Count window begins 9/24 and ends on 10/8. The official count day this year is 10/1. As always, but especially during the count window accurate attendance is essential. Below are a few things to keep in mind during the count: * Please enter attendance by 4:00 PM each day. * Students who enter the classroom after attendance has been taken please take the time to change the absence to a tardy. An absence consist of a student missing more than half the scheduled class time for a non-school related activity. * Any student on your roster who has not shown up or has very infrequent attendance please email Ana L. the student/s name. * If a student has sporadic attendance during the window a Teacher Verification Form must be filed out and returned to the attendance office. You can find the teacher verification form in your mailbox. * Any students missing on count day (October 1st) require a Teacher Verification Form. * If a student attends school ONLY on October 1st, please complete Teacher Verification Form

BISON STAMPEDE Our Stampede will be upon us very soon, Sat. Oct. 13. This promises to be lots of fun, and a great fundraiser, too. And don’t forget, after the run is the pancake breakfast.

Here is a link to the registration form. please return early, to avoid the additional $5 charge to be added after October 5. http://sites.showitfast.com/44012/60360/bisonstampederegistrationform2012_13.pdf We hope to see you then!

CUSTODIAL APPRECIATION Please think about any maintenance and custodial staff who may have helped to assist with any problems or needs that go “above and beyond” what is normally expected and nominate them for an M & O Quarterly Award!

Nominations will be accepted until September 28th and you can nominate them by going to this link: http://maintop.aurorak12.org

September 2012

Nominate a colleague today!

VISTA PEAK COMMITTEE CORNER

MENTORS/MENTEES

We will use this portion of the bulletin to share news and happenings from committees across campus.

Staff asked for a way to know what others were producing and accomplishing and we wish to heed this call.

See update from ILT below!!

DIVISION OF INSTRUCTION Professional Learning Department

Last week the TECH squad met to evaluate the iPad & Promethean board proposal for this year. We had excellent proposals and the following was decided:

All new teachers with an initial license must have a mentor as part of their induction process for a professional license. Mentors need to send in the name of the new teacher(s) they are mentoring to pjcranney@aps.k12.co.us.

1 Promethean board to go to Andrea Hite, 1 iPad to Jeffrey Spencer, 2 iPads to Laura Klein, and 7 to Jenny Chen. All hardware will be allocated this week and the work order for the Promethean board will be submitted. Thanks!

STAFF CLIMATE & CULTURE: OLT NOTES / TECH SQUAD NOTES / IST NOTES / ILT NOTES

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR NEW TEACHERS AND MENTORS

FOR NEW MENTORS: There is a Mentoring Successful New Teachers I, Part 1 make up session on Monday, October 1st at 3:00 pm at the PLCC for mentors who were not able to attend earlier sessions.

Mentoring Successful New Teacher I, Part 2, is being offered immediately after this class at 4:30 p.m.

MILL LEVY UPDATE

APS Teammates,

As you know, the APS Board of Education has authorized a mill levy override question for the November 2012 ballot. The $15 million in mill levy funds would restore a portion of more than $70 million in state funding cuts we have experienced over the past three years.

The APS Leadership Team and I have received several inquiries from staff members regarding how we would spend mill levy funds if the ballot question is approved by voters in November. Per state election laws, we are able to provide factual information about the mill levy when we receive inquires of this nature, so I am providing this email to all staff.

To clarify, the mill levy funds would be used in three key areas: · Achievement - Recovering a portion of the reduced state funding to be used for reading, writing, math, science, early childhood education and more public school choices · Instructional Resources - Recovering a portion of reduced state funding to be used for instructional classroom technology, equipment and curriculum materials which aid in preparing students for college and careers · High Quality Staff - Recruiting and retaining high quality teachers and staff to provide for increased graduation rates and lower dropout rates

September 2012

Questions about how APS would use High Quality Staff funds The primary focus of questions we have received is related to the item entitled “High Quality Staff.” Funds in this category would include the following: · Salary increases: Mill funds would be used to provide all APS employee groups additional financial compensation if the mill levy override is approved. This is vital if we are to continue to recruit and retain exceptional staff. We have not provided salary increases for all staff in the past three years.

Questions about how APS would use Achievement funds The primary questions we have received about Achievement relate to the public school choice item and staffing levels. Funding in this area would include the following: · Charter school choices: As we did in 2008, APS is again including our charter schools in our proposed 2012 mill levy override. As part of a memorandum of understanding with our charter school colleagues, each charter school would receive a percentage of the mill levy override, based on total charter school student count as a percentage of total district student count. Using October 2011 student count figures to estimate, the charter school percentage would be 9.5%, or approximately $1.4 million. · Staffing levels: We will also review teacher staffing cuts that we have been forced to make over the past four years. This is essential reverse reduced choices and services to students. For example, at the high school level, the majority of our students are currently able to take only five classes a day compared to the former norm of up to seven or eight. The current staffing level adversely impacts the choices we are able to offer students as well as our graduation and dropout rates.

Questions about how APS would use Instructional Resources funding The primary questions we have received about instructional resources relate to instructional classroom technology and curriculum. Funding in this area would include the following:

* Technology and equipment: In the past, our 2008 bond provided APS with needed funding to maintain quality technology in our schools. With the bond concluding at the end of the 2013-14 school year, we would use the mill funds to continue this support so our staff and students are able to use critical 21st century technology. * Curriculum materials: Due to the adoption of the Common Core Standards, APS will need funds to purchase curriculum materials that both align to the State and Common Core Standards. A portion of the mill funds would be used to ensure that APS is in full alignment with the new standards.

Questions about how our proposed mill levy override will impact on tax payers A final area of questioning that we have received is about what the mill will cost home owners.

The mill levy would cost APS homeowners an additional $5.71 per month for every $100,000 of home value. Due to a 15 percent decrease in Aurora property values, the mill levy could be funded with property taxes being about the same as they were three years ago.

Mill Levy FAQ and Fact Sheet In response to many of the other questions we have received, we have prepared a list of mill levy frequently asked questions and a mill levy fact sheet. I am attaching these for your review. You may also learn more facts on our informational mill levy website, http://aurorak12.org/mill.

Thank you for your dedication to our students!

COMMUNITY HEALTH FAIR DIVISION OF FINANCE Risk Management Department

Community Health Fair Please share this upcoming event with your students and families! North Middle School is hosting a Neighborhood Health Fair in conjunction with a variety of local sponsors. Please join us on October 4, 2012 from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. The following flyer is presented in English and Spanish for your convenience.

Download the Neighborhood Health Fair flyer in English and Spanish.

WELLNESS CLASSES Wellness Classes The Aurora Public Schools Wellness Committee is committed to supporting staff wellness through education and activities. Please see the Wellness Classes website at risk.aurorak12.org/wellness-classes for upcoming yoga, zumba and boot camp classes as well as one session classes on taking care of yourself through stress balance, natural energy boosters and MORE!