Teacher Certificate Renewal

In 2008, the district revised the form that a M-DCPS teacher would need to complete in order to renew his or her professional certificate. 

Click here for the form.

Open House Date Change

Due to the scheduled School Board meeting on Wednesday, September 10, our Open House will take place on Tuesday, October 9 at 6:30 p.m.

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Changes in Standardized Testing for 2008-09

• Discontinuation of the FCAT Norm Referenced Test  

• Florida Alternate Assessment for SPED students administered in January/February (not concurrently with FCAT)  

• Discontinuation of Nagliari Non-Verbal Ability Test (NNAT)  

• Administration of SAT-10 to Grade 1 Students only in Reading First Schools (Grade 2 still in all schools)

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Florida Math Mania Challenge

The Florida Math Mania online competition is set to begin September 16th.  We would like all of our students in grades 3, 4 and 5 to participate.  Each teacher must register his/her homeroom class. To register your students, copy and paste the link below in the address bar.‬‪ Sign up link:   http://www.voyagerlearning.com/mathmania/florida.do

On the registration page, please fill out your contact information and the names and student IDs of your students.  After you register, IDs and passwords will automatically be generated for you and your students. ‬‪ ‬‪

Please register your students by Friday, August 29th so that all of our students will have a sufficient amount of time to prepare for the online competition.  Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact me. 

Thank you.‬‪ ‬‪

Cisely Scott,
Mathematics/Science Coach

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Do The Right Thing

Teachers,‬‪   

I placed a packet of information regarding "Do the Right Thing" in your mailbox.  Please read through the information.  "Do the Right Thing" is an incentive program that recognizes students who have exemplary behavior.  Included in the packet is a nomination form.  Please make copies of this nomination form.  There are also additional copies in drawer #19 in the workroom.  Nominations are due mid month.  I will inform you of the due date each month via email.  The first month's "Do the Right Thing" nominations are due to me no later than Wednesday, September 10. 

Please try to nominate one student from your class.  Please put your nomination forms in my mailbox.  You need to have a minimum of four sentences describing the student you are nominating.  If you have any questions, please see me.  Thank you for your participation and cooperation!‬‪

Ms. Sheara Schwartz
Guidance Counselor

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EESAC Meeting

We will be holding our first EESAC meeting on Thursday, August 28 at 3:15 p.m. in the media center.  The main item will be a review of the School Improvement Plan that we will submit at the state level.    

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State board OK's troubled-schools pilot program.

TALLAHASSEE -- (AP) -- Florida's education board approved a federal pilot program Tuesday to give the state more flexibility dealing with troubled schools.

Under the federal Differential Accountability Program, schools that fail to meet standards under the federal No Child Left Behind program will receive targeted help from education experts.

In the past, schools were required to take specific, federally mandated steps at specific times if they failed to make adequate yearly progress under the law.

Now, state education leaders can assess each failing school and design programs that best fit the school. Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland and Ohio were accepted to the pilot program earlier this year.

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School Begins Wednesday

Source: M-DCPS

All Miami-Dade County public schools and administrative offices will be open as usual on Wednesday, August 20, 2008. All students should report to their assigned schools as scheduled. All employees are to report to their regular assignments at their regular times. Employees may contact their immediate supervisors with any questions.


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Benchmark Assessments Change

Assuming that school resumes on Wednesday, we will begin the Benchmark Assessments for grades 3-5 on Thursday. A revised memo will be sent which will indicate the revised schedule.

Back to school: Shaky economy hits kids

Source: Associated Press

Children will walk farther to the bus stop, pay more for lunch, study from old textbooks and wear last year's clothes. Field trips? Forget about it.

This year, it could cost nearly twice as much to fuel the yellow buses that rumble to school each morning. If you think it's expensive to fill up a sport utility vehicle, try topping off a tank that is two or even three times as big.

At the same time, costs for air conditioning and heating, cafeteria food and classroom supplies are mounting, all because of the shaky economy. And parents have their own tanks to fill.

SEE FULL ARTICLE, Click here.

No School Tuesday

A tropical storm warning has been issued for South Florida. Inclement weather is expected to continue through Tuesday evening.

Because of this all Miami-Dade County Public Schools and adult education centers will be closed to students and all employees unless they are directed to report to work by their immediate supervisor. On Tuesday, August 19, 2008. All athletic events, practices, and extra curricular activities have been cancelled. A decision regarding District operations and schools opening for Wednesday, August 20, will be made on Tuesday, August 19.

It is our wish that all employees will take every precaution necessary to keep themselves and their families safe before, during and after the storm.


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No School Monday

Source: M-DCPS

Current weather reports indicate that high winds and heavy rain resulting from Tropical Storm Fay can be expected to affect South Florida on Monday, August 18, 2008. Because of this all Miami-Dade County public schools and adult education centers will be closed to students on Monday, August 18, 2008. All athletic events, practices, and extra curricular activities have been cancelled.

All school-site and non-school site Managerial Exempt Personnel will report to work on Monday, August 18. All other employees, including instructional and non-instructional staff, should only report to work if they are directed to do so by their immediate supervisor. A decision regarding school operations for Tuesday, August 19, will be made on Monday, August 18.


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M-DPCS Storm Center

To get updated district information with regard to possible school closures, click on the Storm Center.

Opening Of School Status - Fay

Source: CBS4
So far, school is still set for Monday despite the possibilities of TS or Hurricane Fay. School officials in Miami-Dade and Broward are set to decide Sunday at 3 p.m. if schools can open as planned Monday morning.

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Texas School District Will Let Teachers Carry Guns

Source: Fox News

A tiny Texas school district may be the first in the nation to pass a law specifically allowing teachers and staff to pack heat when classes begin later this month.

Trustees at the Harrold Independent School District approved a district policy change last October so employees can carry concealed firearms to deter and protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting teachers follow certain requirements.

Superintendent David Thweatt told FOXNews.com the policy was initiated because of safety concerns.

See full article here.

2008-2009 School Calendar

Please click the title bar above to access the 2008-2009 School Calendar. In addition, you can access the calendar at any time through the "School Related Links" section located on the side bar.

Successmaker Program

In terms of computer assisted instruction, we will use Successmaker as the primary program for reading and mathematics. We will not use Reading Plus. It is my understanding that the students can utilize this literacy-based program for a minimum of 15 minutes in a given session. Details To Come.

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IPEGS Training Registration

The IPEGS Sessions for Parkway Elementary will be available for registration tomorrow after 9:00 a.m. Participants will want to take all four sessions and will need to register four times.

Participants can easily reference the training by going to http://calendar.dadeschools.net under Find a Session, By Location, Parkway Elementary.‬

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Two Retainees Promoted

I am happy to announce that two of our third graders, who did not pass the FCAT in March, successfully completed the Grade 3 Alternative Assessment this summer and are now promoted to the fourth grade.

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IPEGS Training Dates Were Changed

Please pardon the inconvenience, as our IPEGS training dates were changed to Tuesday, August 12th and Wednesday, August 13th. I will inform you via email as to when you may register for these sessions. If you have any
questions, feel free to contact me.

Cisely Scott
PD Liaison

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South Florida teaching jobs harder to find

Source: Sun-Sentinel

Plagued with money woes, South Florida school districts, as well as many throughout the state, are hiring fewer new teachers.

• The Miami-Dade school district, which in recent years hired at least a couple thousand new teachers each school year, plans to hire only about 150 -- for now. The new teacher orientation, set for early August, has been postponed indefinitely.

Because 1,236 teaching jobs have been eliminated, vacancies are being filled with those displaced teachers rather than new ones. Officials also expect fewer educators to leave because of the unstable economy.

Also contributing to Miami-Dade's declining need for fewer teachers: Student enrollment has dropped by more than 17,000 since the 2004-05 school year.

• In Broward, where enrollment dropped by nearly 14,000 students in the same time period, district officials can't even say how many new teachers they will hire.

At a job fair in May, they hired about 80 new teachers. About 25 more are waiting to be cleared.

They've typically averaged 1,800 new teachers per year in recent years, but now they are in the same situation as Miami-Dade -- filling vacancies with teachers whose positions no longer exist. About 171 of those teachers had been placed as of mid-July, with a dozen or so still waiting. There were some 130 vacancies to fill.

FLKRS

The test administration window for the Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener (FLKRS) for all entering kindergarten students will begin August 18, 2008 and end September 29, 2008. FLKRS materials will be delivered to the school the week of August 11 – 15, 2008.

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Open House

Open House will take place on Wednesday, Sept 10.

Details To Come.

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New Teacher Orientation Cancelled

Source: United Teacher's of Dade

The 2008 NTO scheduled for August 7, 8, and 11 has been canceled.