CWCS February 2008 ES Agenda

Please read the agenda, along with each of its links (all links available in ES Manual for future reference).

The agenda quiz must be completed in F.R.E.D.

 

CWCS Goals:

Improve student achievement in reading and writing

Improve student achievement in mathematics

Improve STAR attendance to 100 %

 

 

1) Dates to Remember and Dated Duties

a) February 5 & 6, 2008: CAHSEE

-All 10th graders MUST attend the February 5 and 6th CAHSEE administration. It is the ES's responsibility to remind their parents of these dates.

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b) February 25 & 26, 2008: All ES Meeting and Parent Training will be held at the San Joaquin Office of Education, 2707 Transworld Dr., Stockton, CA.

*Monday, February 25th will be for ESes only. (Proposed Schedule). ESes, please bring your laptops if you are planning on taking either the Computer Organization or Filemaker Workshops. Wireless internet access available on first floor logged on as “guest”).

*Tuesday, February 26th will be for ESes and Parent Training, and will include the Career Expo. ESes must attend a workshop during each time session and attend both morning and afternoon workshops. Here is a map that shows the times and locations of all workshops offered on the 26th. There will also be an 8:00 a.m. session on gang issues for ESes only.

(ESes, please wear your CWCS Shirts for Tuesday).

*Please give each of your parents a copy of this Workshop flyer and encourage them to attend on February 26th!

FYI, Other Parent Workshop documents: Parent/Student Activities, Career Expo Flyer for parents, ESes, and students, Parent Map to Computer Lab, Curriculum and Computer lab workshops, Curriculum Workshop Descriptions.

(ES arrival time for both the 25th and the 26th will be 7:45 as there will be ES trainings on both days at that time, even though the parent workshop does not start until later).

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c) February 25-29 Benchmark Exams: Third Quarter Benchmark Assessments and Writing Prompts

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d) February 29, 2008: Last date for students to enroll for the 2007/2008 school year.

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e) February-March 2008 Scantron Post test: Scantron Post test must be completed for all students, even those enrolling as late as February 29. (See the Scantron Testing Window.) Here is the Scantron proctor schedule. It is expected that all who can must test prior to STAR and only late enrollees can test later.

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f) March 1, 2008- Advisor Survey: Please complete this advisor survey by March 1st and mail it to the Waterford Office 12420 Bentley Street, Waterford CA 95386. Thank you!

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g) March 3, 2008- ES Self Evaluation: Due no later than March 3rd, to your ES Advisor, the ES Self Evaluation. Please review the ES Evaluation Procedure before completing the self-evaluation.

ES Goals in FRED (new ESes will only do #5):

1) Complete progress report on second semester.

2) Please Format in this manner:

Goal #1:

1st semester progress:

2nd semester progress:

Goal #2:

1st semester progress:

2nd semester progress:
3) Date the goal: 2007/2008 school year, semester one and semester two.

4) Print the first and second semester goals and attach them as page three of your self evaluation.

5) Enter the Future Goals from your ES Self Evaluation.

Sample Goals have been posted to help with ideas.

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h) March 4, 2008: The CWCS Open House and Science Fair. Let your parents and students know about the Performers, Displays and Science Projects Needed! All ESes are encouraged to attend. If you will be attending, please email snelson@connectingwaters.org.

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i) March 4th (5th for makeups at some test sites) STAR Writing exam (See Assessment below for more info.)

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j) March 10, 2008: Please enter the Post High School graduation plans for each of your high school students in FRED using the information collected from the Graduation Requirements Agreement.. To enter the information, go to Student Detail, and click on "graduation" on the right hand side.

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k) April 18, 2008: PO Cut off: April 18th is the “F.R.E.D” Cut-off date for entering POs using this school year’s funding. ESes may need to give their parents a sooner cut off date to allow time to enter the information.

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l) April 22, 2008: WASC Visitation

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m) June 3-7, 2008: Worldstrides Washington DC trip. Now open to 8-11th graders. Registration Deadline March 20, 2008.

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2) Things to Do

a) CWCS 2008 8th Grade and Senior Graduation Information: This Graduation Information was sent as a listserve. Please give this information to your potential graduates. If you have a newly enrolled 8th grade or senior potential graduates, please be sure to give them the graduation participation forms as they will not have received them from the office. There are limited tickets for the Senior graduation. Those who submit forms late may not receive the minimum number of tickets.

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3) Training Items

a) Spring HQT Course Calendar: The Spring 08 calendar for HQT courses has been posted on the password protected site and in the manual outline.

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b) Summer School: Summer school begins Tuesday, May 27, 2008, and ends Tuesday, July 8, 2008, for a total of six (6) weeks (30 school days). More information will be forthcoming via ES listserve and in the March Agenda. ESs who may be interested in serving as a summer school ES should wait until more information is available.

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c) a-g Course Outline: Please remember to include information from the course outline when documenting learning for your students taking a-g courses. Listing the textbook alone is not sufficient. The documentation needs to include the concepts from the outline either written in the learning record or marked in the LR content standards. An addition has been made to the a-g "How To" Guide to reinforce this concept.

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d) Handwritten Marks on SAs: Intake ESes sometimes make handwritten comments on the newly enrolled student’s student agreement, and then go into FRED to make the changes in the database document. Please be sure that you check to see that this is completed in FRED when you receive a student with handwritten additions. Thank you!

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e) Documenting Community College Courses on Transcript: An addition has been made to the Community College Policy. "If your student is taking a community college course, and would like to have the course documented on the high school transcript, the course will need to be referenced in the “comments box” on the transcript.  The ES will assign a course title and units(if the course is UC/CSU transferable, the course title should have the “a-g” designation if available).  In this case, the grade issued by the ES should match the grade earned at the Community College.  Upon completion of the course, the student will request an official transcript from the Community College to be sent directly to Student Records at IEM.  Student Records and the Guidance Department will coordinate to accurately document the course in the “comments box”. The ES should be aware that the number of units assigned to the course by the college may translate into a higher number of high school credits. The ES should consult with their advisor to determine what the number of credits may be, and keep in mind the Maximum number of carnegie units allowed.”

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f) Elluminate Online Code of Conduct: An Online Code of Conduct has been posted with the Elluminate information and on the Parent Info page.

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g) Contract Programs Reminder: Contract Programs reminder from the CP Policy and Procedure:After enrolling your student “print out the form (making sure that your student’s name is visible in the box on the bottom right) and give to your student to take with them to class to give to their instructor as proof of their enrollment and that the school will be paying for their attendance at this course. The ES may also give the form to the instructor if desired.” The instructor MUST have this form in order for your student to attend the class.

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h) CWCS Harassment Complaint: A CWCS Harassment Complaint Procedure has been posted to the website and will be included in future Employee Handbooks.

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i) SB777: Effective Jan. 1, 2008, SB 777 revises the list of prohibited bases of discrimination to disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic contained in the Penal Code's definition of hate crimes. The bill changes all references from "handicap" in the Education Code to "disability."

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j) Group Educational Activities: The GEA Policy and Procedure Document has been revised to insure that ESes understand that GEAs are only created by the Waterford Office.

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k) Parent Listserve: Please use the following email address when making parent listserve requests:

 parentlistserve@connectingwaters.org

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l) CWCS 2008 SARC: The CWCS School Accountability Report Card has been posted to the website. (Reported for School Year 2006-07 Published During 2007-08).

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m) Student Number Designation: For Returning Students. This has been added to the ES Manual under Transfers/Drops

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n) Student Assignments: The Initial Student Assignment Policy and Procedure states:

*Students will be assigned first-come first-served within their geographic area. ESs need to wait to meet with a student until they are placed on their student list. Spaces cannot be "held" for students that you are expecting to send in applications for enrollment.

*The ES is expected to meet with the students, do the required CW Post-Intake Meeting paperwork, place initial orders for educational material, and answer basic school questions. At that time, if the ES decides they do not want to continue to serve this student based on the criteria listed in transfer/drop procedure, they may immediately submit a transfer form to their ES advisor. (ESs should not transfer problem students i.e. truancy or safety issues, but should work with their ES Advisors to follow normal procedures to deal with these situations.) The ES will continue to serve the student until the transfer is approved and completed.”

Please do not assure families that are applying for enrollment you that you have room for them on your student list or that they will be activated soon after intake. Activation depends on enrollment cap, seniority, other students waiting for assignment, etc... We must be equitable to all students. If you know that a sibling is enrolling, please inform student assignments early, before other assignments are made. Otherwise, if you have space on your list, you must accept the students assigned to you and serve them until a transfer ES is located (as stated above). Thank you for your excellent continued service to CWCS students. CWCS Administration

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o) CWCS February Newsletter

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4) Messages from School Departments

Assessment News from Leita Barlow and Jodi Leonardo

* Scantron: Scantron News

*CAHSEE: Feb CAHSEE is mandatory for 10th graders, encouraged but optional for 11th and 12th graders. ESes must remind their 12th graders that they need to test 3 times, (missed test appointments or exams will be considered a truancy). 12th graders who attempt the CAHSEE 3 times, and at the time of graduation still do not have their test results, may "walk" at the graduation ceremony (this year).

CAHSEE Test Courses.

Upcoming CAHSEE Intensive Plan for Seniors:
All seniors who did not pass the CAHSEE in February and who do not test in March will be required to sign up and participate in a CAHSEE Intensive Plan. Attendance will begin in April and last 4-5 weeks. At this time, the options have not been set up. More information will be forthcoming in March….

Starting 08/09 school year, any 10th grader that received a Below Basic or Far Below Basic on their 9th grade STAR will be required to participate in a CAHSEE Intensive Plan.

* STAR: Communication is the key to success in regards to your families and testing dates/locations:

-Be sure you know where your families are testing and give them reminder phone calls.

-Use FRED to find their test site assignments or to request a change…you must select “I HAVE A CONCERN” in the drop down list next to “will student attend star testing” for ANY concerns you want addressed, whether it is CAHSEE, PE, or STAR issues.

-Use CWCS Assessment website for specific information

-Let Leita lbarlow@connectingwaters.org, know of any problems as soon as they arise.

*The STAR Writing test for 4th and 7th grade students:

-March 4th (5th for makeups at some test sites). Testing begins at 10 EXCEPT at San Jose where it begins at Noon, and Oakland at 12:30.

The STAR Multiple Choice testing for grades 2-11 takes place within the March/April window. Check website for specific test site dates.

Call your families to remind them before the test day and make sure you know where they are assigned to test.

*Previous ListServe Reminders(check the website and listserve for specifics):

CAHSEE: New site in San Jose.

March CAHSEE is offered only for potential 2008 graduates .

STAR: New dates for Oakland

 

Curriculum News from Lori Freeman

* February Curriculum News

* Turlock Gem and Mineral Show March 8 and 9: Parent Flyer, Kids Flyer, Schedule

 

Guidance News from Mary Halter and Melissa Cripe

*February Guidance News

*Please make sure that your Seniors have filed their FAFSA and their GPA Verification Form by March 2nd! NOTE: students must obtain the GPA Verification form directly from Mary Halter, forms must be validated and signed by the school!

*Class of 2009 Guidance Appointments….

The guidance department will be offering meetings for ALL of your juniors who are potential 2009 graduates…let’s catch them early!!!!  Please have your student contact Mary Halter at mhalter@connectingwaters.org or 1-800-808-9895 ext.4 then 2 to meet either by phone, online, or in person.   The goal is to review academic progress, to discuss post-high school career plans, and to provide the resources for attaining personal and academic goals. Your families/students will be contacted in early April to set up an appt. with the counselor. They are welcome to call anytime and set up their own appt.

*Please enter the Post High School graduation plans for each of your high school students in FRED using the information collected from the Graduation Requirements Agreement.. To enter the information, go to Student Detail, and click on "graduation" on the right hand side. Please do this by March 10, 2008.

* Kid's College at San Joaquin Delta College

 

Math News from Debbie Kutz

* February Math News (includes a Math Survey for ESes to complete).

 

Language Arts News from Terry Souza

*Standards Based Contest- BlueNose Edutainment: Your students can listen to, read, and interpret song lyrics, then submit their own lyrics, song ideas, or interpretations. Prizes include laptops, cameras, and printers courtesy of Hewlett Packard.  Grand Prize winners will be flown to Los Angeles for the awards show. This contest lends itself to the writing standard of Response to Literature. www.BlueNoseEd.com

* Book It: The Learning Centers have the "Book It" Pizza Hut packets for the ESs..

 

IT News

* The caution regarding Citrix and Vista has been removed from the ES manual. Note from IT: Since the advent of FRED, "Citrix clients using the Vista operating system seem to be running fine."

* IT has created a new way for ESes to communicate with the IEM staff in FRED. When an ES has a PO Inquiry, they no longer need to use the VR Inquiries link in the ES manual. To make a PO inquiry, the ES should go to “View” POs and select
the PO in question. There is a new button on the top right that says “PO Inquiry”. Click on that button and fill out the form; click “send email to PO Inquiry”. The screen will not disappear or change once you click the send
button. To return to the PO, click "View PO Detail". Other forms requests (like new vendor requests) will be added in the future.

 

Vendor Relations

* Dodge Ridge: The Dodge Ridge PO request now says.

“Dodge Ridge is for GEA Only Thru the Waterford Office! Vendor will only accept PO for Group Sales and Group Request Forms must be filled out 2 weeks prior to GEA. Group Confirmation Forms must be received 48 hours prior to date of GEA  NO PREPAY! Must be a total of 10 people to qualify for GEA (Out of the 10, at least 5 must be CWCS students!) No individual checks from the other non-school attendees!”