Teacher Times #15
December 9, 2013

Guidelines for Holiday Displays

  • The primary purpose of any displays should be to promote understanding and respect for the rights of all individuals regarding their beliefs, values, and customs.
  • The display of holiday symbol decorations with secular dimensions is permitted. Displays that depict images of deities, other religious figures, or religious texts are prohibited. Permitted symbols include, but are not limited to, Christmas trees, kinaras, dreidels, menorahs, and the Star and Crescent.
  • Holiday displays must not appear to promote or celebrate any single religion or holiday. Therefore, any permitted symbol or decoration must be displayed simultaneously with other symbols or decorations reflecting different beliefs or customs.
  • All holiday displays should be temporary in nature.

Professional Development and Student Opportunities

 Professional development and student opportunities are posted on the PD and Student Opportunities page. This week’s highlights include: 
§  Participate on December 9 and December 17: Promoting Independence in Kindergarten and the Common Core for Kindergarten
§  Register by December 13: STEM Matters NYC Citizen Science Program
§  Participate on December 16 and January 13: The Evaluator’s Role in the Observation and Feedback Cycle—Day 1of 2
§  Participate on December 17: NYC Leadership Academy: Invitation to Middle School Literacy Workshop
§  Participate on December 17: Webinar on Giving Effective Feedback to Students
§  Participate in December: Teacher Professional Development with the Danielson Group: An Introduction to the Danielson 2013 Framework for Teaching
§  Participate in December: Teacher Professional Development with the Danielson Group: A Deeper Understanding of the Danielson 2013 Framework for Teaching
§  Participate in December and January: Reflecting on Supervisory Practice: For Supervisors with Experience Using the Danielson Framework for Teaching for Evaluation and Development—Day 1 of 2
§  Register by January 2: Elementary Schools: Inquiry Based Science Investigations with the New York Botanical Garden for Grades 3-5
§  Apply by January 31: Bank of America Student Leaders
§  Register by February 12: Inquiry Based Science Investigations with the New York Botanical Garden for Grades K-2
§  Ongoing: Intensive Teacher Institute in Bilingual Special Education (ITI-BSE)

Pic Of The Week
TAPCo.'s Bulletin Board at 1 Fordham Plaza

Common Core Professional Development Updates

The NYCDOE is offering the following professional development (PD) and resources on Common Core-aligned curriculum and instruction.
 
New Registration Links:
 
§  CMP3: Teachers should register by December 20 for one of four technology sessions to support teachers in using the online components of CMP3, including Dash, MathXL, and Teachability. These sessions are meant to supplement the four CMP3 general sessions and will take place from 8:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. on January 10, 17, 24, and 31.
§  Expeditionary Learning: Register by January 10 for an Expeditionary Learning professional development session for administrators and coaches on January 23. This session is designed for principals, instructional coaches, and others who support school-wide implementation of the grades 3–8 Expeditionary Learning ELA modules.
 
Registration Reminders: Register by December 20 for general sessions for ReadyGen, Go Math!, Code X, and CMP3; you are encouraged to share this information with your teachers as appropriate.
 
New Online Resources: The following online resources are available to schools that opted into the Core Curriculum programs below:
 
§  Code X: A recorded version of the second Code X webinar, “Engaging Students in Academic Discourse,” is available here (password “autumn11”). The first half of the webinar focuses on building vocabulary and strategies for scaffolding evidence-based conversations, including facilitating Socratic Seminars; the second half is a discussion about strategies for facilitating the “Collaborate and Present” task and for creating a supportive learning environment for rich conversations in the classroom.
 
To see a complete list of online resources for each Core Curriculum program, click here. For questions, emailcurriculumpd@schools.nyc.gov.

Grant Opportunities

Grant opportunities are posted on the Grants website (you can visit the page on any computer using this link). This week’s highlights include:
 
§  MyLibraryNYC Automation/Migration Grant