Coming soon to Arno…

March 2

Spring fever

March 4/5

Steve/reading coaches @Kalamazoo

March 5

PBIS District meeting 9:30

March 6

Teacher Data Day

March 7

Spring Picture Day

Super Cougar Lunch

PTA Meeting 6:30pm

March 8

End of 2nd Trimester

March 11

Magic of Stories Assembly

• Y5-2 12:30-1:10

• 3-5 & CI 1:30-2:10

March 12

Ad Council 9:30

March 13

PBIS 8:00

March 14

Bingo for Books

Staff Meeting 7:45

Safety Committee 9:30

March 15

No School- Teacher PD

Report Cards Released

March 17

March 18

1st grade to Dearborn

March 19

Math meeting 8:00

Officer Knudsen Cougar Lunch 11:00

March 20

Reading meeting 8:00

SIP 8:00

Mr. Peace Assembly

• K-2 9:00

• 3-5, CI 10:00

Tornado/Severe Weather Drill 1:20

March 21

SEL 8:00

Fire Drill 2:40

March 23-March 31

Spring Break

March 31

Happy Easter!

April 1

Class resumes

ARNO MISSION

ARNO ELEMENTARY…INSPIRING STUDENTS TOWARD ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY PROVIDES A SUPPORTIVE HIGH QUALITY ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE TO INSPIRE ALL LEARNERS TO ACHIEVE THEIR PERSONAL BEST.

ARNO COLLECTIVE COMMITMENTS

• Academics are student-centered, which allow for various learning styles to showcase student achievement.

• We will develop and maintain a positive, respectful relationship with each student by using flexibility and adaptability to meet individual needs

• We will foster safe learning environments that allow students the opportunity to establish a growth mindset

Tutoring

Another call for anyone interested in doing tutoring before or after school.  Before school tutoring will be for whole group tech (like Edmentum) @$30 per hour.  After School tutoring can be either tech at $30 for one hour OR small group at $60 per session (includes planning period.  We have a number of 3rd grade students who would benefit and this is a great opportunity to help them increase their scores.

Data Dive 

Our next Data Dive is coming up on March 6, the signup is below.  In the meantime, now is a great time to review your quadrant chart from the latest testing.  It will give you a great idea of where your growth is at, and who needs to accelerate to get into that high growth, high achievement grid area.  Below are some questions to ponder about your chart:

1. In reviewing your Low Growth, Low Achievement Quadrant (Pink).  How many students are there and how will you adjust your instructional program to meet their needs (i.e. alter groups, use resources from Scholastic book room, new strategies, etc)

2. In reviewing your Low Growth, High Achievement Quadrant (Yellow).  How many students are there and how will you adjust your instructional program to meet their needs (i.e. alter groups, use resources from Scholastic book room, new strategies, etc)

3. In reviewing your High Growth, Low Achievement Quadrant (Peach).  How many students are there and how will you adjust your instructional program to meet their needs (i.e. alter groups, use resources from Scholastic book room, new strategies, etc)

4. In reviewing your High Growth, High Achievement Quadrant.  How many students are there and how will you continue to support their growth? (i.e. increase text levels using the Scholastic Book Room)

March Sign-up

Parent Square

A reminder for goals to accomplish on Parent Square.  Remember, we want Parent Square to be that one stop communication tool moving forward in the future.   Please let me know if you have any questions on how to do something, and we do now have a number of staff who have explored the many facets of the platform that can help as well.  If you have an upcoming field trip, try using Parent Square to create and send the permission slip. 

M-STEP 

The M-STEP is fast approaching again!  The state calendar is below, our school schedule can be viewed through the link

M-STEP SCHEDULE 2024

Congratulations to all of our 2023-2024 Founder’s Day Winners at Arno!

PTSA Spring Fever Coming Up!

YEARBOOK SALES
Yearbook sales are now ready and did not include a yearbook if you would like to send this link out

Yearbook sale information:

https://inter-state.com/YearbookEntry/83981H

Spring Picture Day

Spring picture day will be coming up on March 7.

This event’s Order Code is 85382PF.

https://inter-state.com/FlyerEntry

Tech Time

Coming soon to Arno…

April 1

Class resumes

April 4

Cougar Cash Lunch

Fire Drill

PTA meeting 6:30pm

April 8

4th grade to metro parks

District MTSS meeting 8:45-12 (8 week update)

April 9

Communication/Attendance meeting 8:00

Ad Council 9:30

April 10

PBIS 8:00

Reading 8:00

April 11

Staff Meeting 7:45

Super Cougar Lunch

Knudsen Cougar Lunch

April 16

5th Grade M-STEP -science

April 17

SIP 8:00

April 18

5th Grade M-STEP S.S.

Safety Committee 9:30

Fire Drill 2:40 pm

April 22

Earth day 

April 23

5th Grade M-STEP ELA

K-1 Spring Concert 6:30

April 24

Teacher Data Day

April 25

Math 8:00

SEL 8:00

April 26

PTA Daddy/Daughter Dance

CI bowling 9:30

April 30

3,4,5 M-STEP Math

May 

May 2

Cougar Cash Lunch

6:30 grade counselors at Arno 10:30am

ALICE Drill- walkabout 1:30

PTA meeting 6:30

May 3

E.R. Teacher PD pm

ARNO MISSION

ARNO ELEMENTARY…INSPIRING STUDENTS TOWARD ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY PROVIDES A SUPPORTIVE HIGH QUALITY ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE TO INSPIRE ALL LEARNERS TO ACHIEVE THEIR PERSONAL BEST.

ARNO COLLECTIVE COMMITMENTS

• Academics are student-centered, which allow for various learning styles to showcase student achievement.

• We will develop and maintain a positive, respectful relationship with each student by using flexibility and adaptability to meet individual needs

• We will foster safe learning environments that allow students the opportunity to establish a growth mindset

M-STEP is on its way!

Please be sure to review the schedule for dates and prep switches.  I will be providing a snack once again for the first primary date of testing only for each subject area.  Please let me know upon delivery if you have any allergies in your classroom.

**We will be doing the ELA clap out for the first day of the ELA test for 3,4,5

Training Slides

M-STEP schedule

M-STEP State Website

Dates:

April 16- 5th grade Science

April 18- 5th grade Social Studies

April 23/24- 5th grade ELA-CLAP OUT

April 30/May 1- 3rd, 4th and 5th grade Math

May 7/8- 3rd and 4th grade ELA- CLAP OUT- we will clap 3rd grade first, then I will come back for fourth grade

Teacher Data Day

We will meet on April 24 for our next day.  We will look at ongoing progress monitoring as we prepare for universal screening in May.

April Signup

Save the Date

Please mark your calendars for the staff appreciation lunch on May 9.  We will host an hour special lunch that day with the normal hour long schedule from 11:00-12:00 for all grades/staff.  More details soon 

Assessments

Our Jan Richardson dates will be coming up soon in May.  Please continue to assess as needed so that your students are getting the proper small group lessons that they need for their current level.

5th Grade May 8

4th Grade May 21

3rd Grade May 13

2nd Grade May 15

1st Grade May 16

Kinder May 22

ALICE Drill 

Our next ALICE drill will be coming up on May 2, around 1:30pm.  This will be a full boot lockdown drill first, then all clear, then proceed for a walk by (not going inside) of our evacuation site.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Green Team Awesomeness

Congratulations to our entire Green Team, they have once again earned Arno Elementary an Evergreen Designated School, which is the highest honor among Michigan Green School recipients. Each year, we provide students with the knowledge necessary to become environmental experts. Continue to stay up to date as Earth Day is approaching.

Daddy/Daughter Dance

FYI- It is that magical time of year- the Daddy/Daughter Dance is fast approaching!  Please stay tuned for all of the magical information from the PTA on this special night, Friday, April 26. 

KINDERGARTEN ROUNDUP

We are pleased to be having our kindergarten round up this spring for all incoming kindergarteners. This year’s event will be on May 13 starting at 6:30 p.m. Parents will attend in the gym, all future Cougars will attend within the 3 different classrooms.

Spring Concert

We are excited to invite you the upcoming concert for grades kindergarten-first grade!  The event will take place at the Allen Park Center for the Arts on April 23 @6:30pm.  Hope to see you there!

5th Grade End of Year

The 23-24 school year is flying by!  For planning purposes, here some important dates for 5th grade:

May 22/23        HIV/Maturation Video

June 4                5th Grade Graduation AP Center for the Arts 9:15am

June 6                5th Grade Picnic @Boccabella Park

Mr. Peace

There was some great messaging that Mr. Peace delivered to our Cougars, please try to occasionally have your students reflect back on this day to really build this in to their mindset.  You will also have the doc from him to make this a more living message in our building.

National Youth Motivational & Bullying Speaker

Tech Time 

When AI Gold Rush Passes: Magic School AI Will Still Be Here

Magic School AI is packed with over 40 nifty tools. Let’s peek at some that are total game-changers:

Rubric Generator

Wave goodbye to rubric woes! This tool is like your personal rubric wizard. Input your assignment, and voilà – a custom rubric pops out, ready to roll on your favorite platform like Word or Google Docs.

Science Assessment Generator

Science teachers, this one’s for you! Aligning with NGSS standards, it’s like having a mini Einstein to help craft those perfect assessments. Though Magic School AI sticks to the basic question types, like most generative AIs do, it’s still better than writing your own assessments from scratch, right?!

Academic Content Generator

Need content that ticks all the boxes for your curriculum? This tool is like having a mini-me to create engaging lessons in any subject you teach.

Student Support Tool

IEPs can be a handful, right? This tool helps you draft them up in no time, tailored just right for each student’s needs.

Many More Tools in Magic AI

There’s a whole world of additional AI tools in Magic School AI. From creating exotic science labs to crafting the perfect math spiral review, these tools are like having a whole team of collaborators at your fingertips.

Unlike most of the AI wrappers focused on educational content generation, Magic School has a huge diversity of offerings making it useful for most teachers, regardless of the courses you teach.

Email to Parents Made Easy

We all know communication is a key aspect of teaching– and also very time-consuming. Magic School AI gets it– and offers a unique solution:

The Email Responder Tool is your personal secretary, crafting responses to parents or colleagues. And it does it well, so you actually get back some time in your evenings.

And for some fun, the Colleague Song Generator lets you whip up a catchy tune to celebrate your awesome co-workers. Who says teachers can’t be songwriters?

Raina: Your Chatbot Pal

And then there’s Raina, which is Magic School’s chatbot. It’s been trained specifically on educational topics and data. It can have an intelligent conversation with you about lesson plans, teaching strategies, or just about anything school-related.When your spouse is weary of more school talk, turn to Raina as your personal sounding board.

Wrapping It Up

Magic School AI is more than just another entry in the AI Gold Rush; it has more gravitas because it has spent its investment dollars wisely. It has focused on truly assisting the education community, not just exploiting it for a quick profit. By using these AI-powered tools you can make many of your teaching tasks more efficient, create high-quality content, enhance communication, and provide meaningful support to your students.

The free account has limits, but they’re easy to understand and it’s a great way to dip your toes into the AI waters, like I’ve been urging you to do!

Magic School Free Version

The Magic School Free version offers:

• Access to 60+ tools, Raina, and the Chrome extension.
• The Raina chatbot is limited to the “translate” feature.
• Output history is limited to the last 5 generations.
• No integration with Microsoft/Google/LMS
• No “Export” feature, only “Copy” option.
• Support through the Facebook group.

Check it out today at: https://www.magicschool.ai/

Coming soon to Arno…

Feb. 1

Cougar Cash Lunch

NWEA Rewards Assembly

Middle School Band visit (5th grade)

PTA Meeting 6:30pm

Feb. 2

Cougar Cash Lunch w/Officer Knudsen

NWEA Student Goal Meetings

Feb. 6

Communication Committee 8:00

Feb. 7

District MTSS

NWEA recess- weather permitting

Feb. 8

Staff Meeting 7:45

American Heart Association Assembly

9:15 K-2

9:55 3-5

Super Cougar Lunch

NWEA reward movie 1:30

PTA Family Fun Night 6:30

Feb. 9

No School- Teacher PD

Feb. 12

Allen Park Schools Wellness Week

MEMSPA building tour (Steve)am

Board Strategic Plan Update

Feb. 13

Ad Council 9:30

Feb. 14

Valentines Day

PBIS 8:00

Reading 8:00

Feb. 15

Crisis Team Meeting 8:00

Feb. 19 & 20

No School- President’s Day Break

Feb. 21-23

5th Grade Camp

Feb. 21 

SIP 8:00

Founder’s Day Dinner

Feb 23

Kindergarten to Ann Arbor

Feb 27

Math 8:00

1st Grade to Dearborn

Feb 28

Cardiac Drill 8:00

Feb. 29

Cougar Cash Lunch

SEL 8:00

March 2

PTSA Spring Fever

ARNO MISSION

ARNO ELEMENTARY…INSPIRING STUDENTS TOWARD ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY PROVIDES A SUPPORTIVE HIGH QUALITY ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE TO INSPIRE ALL LEARNERS TO ACHIEVE THEIR PERSONAL BEST.

ARNO COLLECTIVE COMMITMENTS

• ACADEMICS ARE STUDENT-CENTERED, WHICH ALLOW FOR VARIOUS LEARNING STYLES TO SHOWCASE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.

• WE WILL DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A POSITIVE, RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH STUDENT BY USING FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY TO MEET INDIVIDUAL NEEDS

• WE WILL FOSTER SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT ALLOW STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ESTABLISH A GROWTH MINDSET

FOUNDER’S DAY CELEBRATION

The annual Founder’s Day awards celebration takes place on Feb. 21 as our amazing winners get to shine!  Congratulations to all of our award winners this year- you represent the very best of our Arno Cougars!!

Link for tickets: https://apptacouncil.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true&category=Founders%20Day%202024

2023-24 PTA Founders Day Winners

MTSS Update

The district will be coming out of Feb. 7 to conduct our MTSS meetings.  After that, we will ID any student that will be looked at closer and let staff know that information.

Feb. Staff Meeting

This month’s staff meeting will feature Meaghan Rourke conducting a short training on our new AED units.  After that date, the crisis team will be meeting and planning our cardiac drill that will happen before school on Feb. 28 at 8:00.  This is all part of our application process for MI Heart Safe Schools.  We will also discuss the upcoming bond work slated to start on spring break.

Strategic Plan

All three committees will be presenting the new strategic plan update to the Board on Feb. 12.  This would not be the adoption meeting, which would come at a later date.

M-STEP 

The M-STEP is fast approaching again!  The state calendar is below, our school schedule can be viewed through the link

M-STEP SCHEDULE 2024

Committee Updates

PBIS

~planning date in February

Review reward dates and organizers

Officer/Principal Lunch

~more lunches offered each week?

~budget concern?

~staggering when to put out the certificates

~look at list to see who has received before

Cougar Store

~water bottles

~April bucks 

~dumdums

Club Ideas

~lower el

~Zumba?

~Kaleidoscope

Mentors

~May 31st appreciation

~ice cream and recess

~2 more meetings

~11 mentors currently; one-to-one ratio

Reading

Reading Goals Meeting with Dr.Chuby

• Dr. Chuby will meet with students if 3-5 teachers would like assistance with goal meetings.

M-STEP Prep

• Grades 3-5 should all be using ReadWorks story by now. 
• M-STEP Quizzes and Homework packets are in full swing.
• Charms have started.
• SBA should start by 1/29/24 if they haven’t started yet.
• Edmentum Challenges have been VERY productive! Lots of monthly rewards. “Most Trophy” winners really like the bracelet and smarties!

Concerns

Some teachers are struggling with doing the grammar workbook pages from the end of the Journeys series. 

Math

*Number Talks Website continued – fixing and creating links w/in Google Slides

*Discussion over being able to utilize premade slides from Soranno

SEL

Monthly Topics

Agenda for Meeting 11/7/23

• Mindful Monday
• Black History Month Pages – I will print new bios, will give each SEL member 5 to get filmed? Need 20 total
• SEL Question of the Day TPT Purchase
• Katie Jensen – check in about books for bhm and whm and neurodiversity
• Make a SEL shared drive

School Improvement

• Met and discussed the survey results from Parents and Staff
• Student survey will be given at the end of January
• Created some slides to share from the survey results at the next staff meeting

NWEA Coming Soon

Reading NWEA Conferences with Steve on Feb. 2nd

• Students who finished in under 40 minutes (The Reading NWEA has 40-43 questions, no one should have been done in less than 40 minutes).
• Students who received the sloth.
• Students who did not reach his/her personal growth goal.
• Students who had 10% rapid guessing or higher.

*If a student has rapid guessing of 30% or higher, then NWEA recommends retesting the child due to misrepresentation of the score due to rapid guessing.

Assembly Guidelines 

Winter NWEA (Updated)

• Winter Assembly on Thursday, February 1st, 2024.
• 1 grade level at a time in the gym.
• Students who reach their personal growth goal or the grade level proficiency rit score  earn a charm, certificate, and an extra recess with Mr. Zielinski.
• If students don’t reach their Winter growth goal or the grade level proficiency rit score, tell students they could earn the rewards in the Spring.
• Students with the top ten reading and math scores, in each grade level, will get a movie reward with Mr. Zielinski. 
• If a student doesn’t reach their personal growth goal OR the grade level proficiency rit score, they DO NOT get anything.
• Teachers-Students need to wear his/her necklaces to the assembly. Please hand out the charms in your own classroom after the assembly if they earned a charm.
• 60th percentile on the MSTEP = proficiency on the MSTEP.
  • 3rd Grade Reading Proficiency Rit Score: 198
  • 3rd Grade Math Proficiency Rit Score: 200
  • 4th Grade Reading Proficiency Rit Score: 207
  • 4th Grade Math Proficiency Rit Score: 210
  • 5th Grade Reading Proficiency Rit Score: 213
  • 5th Grade Math Proficiency Rit Score: 219

NWEA-presentation-2024

February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate the impact of African American heritage, culture, and achievement in our country. While most K–12 schools incorporate Black history activities into their curriculum, Black History Month offers a wonderful opportunity to extend your child’s learning at home or enhance your homeschool curriculum. Here are 10 ways your student can learn about Black history and culture. You don’t have to wait until February—these activities and resources can be used throughout the year!

1. Celebrate with Cross-Curricular Activities

Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher of children’s books, has developed 13 cross-curricular activities for teachers to celebrate Black History Month, broken down by elementary, middle, and high school. While these ideas are intended to be done in a traditional classroom, they can all be adapted to online school or homeschool students. While you’re on the Scholastic website, check out their reading list of young adult books written by African American authors.

2. Read a Book About the African American Experience, History, and Culture

Educators recommend that students spend at least 20 minutes a day reading. Celebrate Black History Month by having your student read a book that features African American culture, shares the story of a great African American figure, or brings the African American experience to life. For inspiration, here are 10 terrific books for students in elementary school.

3. Watch a Documentary

Documentaries bring the past to life, connecting us to significant times in history. PBS offers this list of powerful documentaries exploring Black history and culture in America. Relive iconic moments, like the 1963 March on Washington, or join the Freedom Riders on their journey through the Jim Crow South. These documentaries are appropriate for middle or high school students.

4. Plan a Full Lesson on Historical Topics

PBS also offers their Learning Media series, with several lessons that honor Black History Month, including lessons on the Emancipation Proclamation, the Great Migration, and the civil rights movement. These lessons are designed to support teachers and homeschool families but are an excellent resource for parents looking to help their student have a deeper understanding of these important topics.

5. Virtually Visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is part of the Smithsonian Institute and devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. They have a wealth of online learning resources to help you enrich your student’s learning experience, including recommended reading resources for elementary, middle, and high school students and Smithsonian Learning Labs, which are free, interactive lessons where students can explore both well-known and not so well-known moments in history.

6. Watch a Movie Showcasing African American History or Experiences

Celebrate Black History Month with family movie night, watching movies that celebrate the African American experience or that highlight historical events. Movie casts have become more diverse in recent years, so choosing films that feature actors of color is a way to celebrate achievements. Need inspiration? Check out this list of 50 African American children’s movies for a special family movie night.

7. Honor African American Veterans

Did you know that nearly 200,000 African Americans served in the US Army from 1863 to 1865, making up nearly 10 percent of the American soldiers who served in the US Army during the Civil War? It all started with the formation of the 54th Massachusetts regiment. From service in the Civil War to the Buffalo Soldiers and Tuskegee Airmen, African American men and women have a long history of serving in the United States military. Your student can honor their contributions in both times of war and peace by learning more about their service.

8. Learn About African American Inventors

The first African American to be awarded a US patent was Thomas Jennings, who in 1821 invented a way to dry-clean clothes. The first African American woman to receive a patent was Judy Reed for her dough kneader and roller in 1884. Have your student research other African American inventors who made contributions to science, industry, business, agriculture, transportation, and communications.

9. Listen to a TED Talk

If your high school student walks around with earbuds in all day, have them spend some time listening to TED Talks that celebrate Black History Month. TED Talks are designed to share knowledge through short talks and presentations. Their Black History Month playlist includes talks about the migration of African Americans out of the Jim Crow South, an introduction of the woman Martin Luther King Jr. called “the architect of the civil rights movement,” and how speaking openly about race makes for better business and society.

10. Explore African American Musical Influencers

Celebrate Black History Month by listening to the great African American musicians. Have your student read about the 50 most important African American musical artists and learn more about their lives and music. Use this opportunity to introduce your student to musical genres that were heavily influenced by these talented artists, including jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, gospel, doo-wop, and hip-hop.

Activities and Resources for Preschool to Third Grade

Audio and Stories for Preschool to Third Grade

• Listen along as James Earl Jones reads “To Be a Drum,” a story of rhythm, history, and freedom.
• Enjoy the African Folktales With Miss Jo Jo podcast to hear stories that originated in Africa and were passed down through generations.

Videos for Preschool to Third Grade

• Let this mother-daughter team, the hosts of Kids Black History on YouTube, teach some facts about Africa in a video that’s sure to make you smile. (Grades pre-K-1)
• Watch this YouTube video from Nickelodeon to find out how Suzan-Lori Parks became the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for writing dramatic plays.
• Learn about the first Black pilots in this YouTube video from Sesame Studios. What would it be like to build and fly your own plane?
• Find out about the inventor of the modern traffic light and what else he created in this YouTube video from Kids Black History.
• Check out Craig Thompson’s alphabet of amazing Black inventors to revisit some who are familiar and discover others you didn’t know.
• This YouTube video from Nickelodeon highlights the brilliant and driven Alexa Canady, the first Black woman to become a neurosurgeon in 1981.

Hands-On Activities for Preschool to Third Grade

• Follow along with this YouTube video and use your body to play the Hambone — an African drumming technique with historical significance.
• Try this George Washington Carver-inspired craft that just requires a paper plate, paper, and some paint!

Activities and Resources for Third to Fifth Grade

Audio and Stories for Third Grade to Fifth Grade

• Listen to this episode from The Past and the Curious podcast about blues and folk musician Elizabeth Cotten, whose catchy songs traveled all over the world and even influenced the Beatles.
• Journey into the world of Latin American music with this podcast episode (via YouTube) from Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls and learn about the life of Celia Cruz, the Cuban Afro-Latina singer known as the Queen of Salsa.
• Hey Black Child: The Podcast features lesser-known African American Heroes and is hosted by kids!

Videos for Third Grade to Fifth Grade

• Find out about the African American inventor Lewis Latimer, who contributed to the creation of the light bulb, telephone, and more in this YouTube video from the Fab Lab.
• Check out this video and article on Dorothy Vaughan, the supervisor of a group of boundary-breaking African American women whose calculations got astronauts into space.
• Through this Smithsonian video and article, get a feel for the sounds and movements, and a sense of the rich history, behind Afro-Peruvian music, a unique result of the African diaspora.
• Let Flocabulary introduce George Washington Carver’s life, the challenges he faced, and his accomplishments as an inventor and innovator. Then, ask students to consider how his ideas changed life for us all today.
• From The Kid Should See This, learn about science educator and graduate student Adania Flemming, who studies marine life at the University of Florida. Or discover the trailblazing accomplishments of Matthew Henson, who broke boundaries as an Arctic explorer and African American.
• Listen as the kids from Global Citizen share what they know about Black history.

Tech Time

Coming soon to Arno…

Jan 8

Welcome Back! Happy New Year!

Jan 9

Communication comm meeting 8:00

Lockdown Boot training 8:00 (those staff that indicated they needed it only)

Lockdown Boot training 9:45- lunch staff

Jan 10

5th Grade Jan Richardson (JR)

PBIS 8:00

Marin obs 10:00

Jan. 11

4th Grade JR

Staff Meeting 7:45

Super Cougar Lunch

5th Grade PARENT CAMP MEETING 6:39 Center for the Arts

Jan. 15

NO SCHOOL- MLK Observed

Jan 16

Ad Council 9:30

Jan 17

3rd Grade JR

SIP Meet 8:00

PTSA Reflections Celebration Center for the Arts 6:00

Jan 18

Math Meeting 8:00

Safety Committee 9:30

ALICE Drill 2:30 (Hide out)

2nd grade to DIA

Grades 3-5 to Center for Arts Drama Performance

Mother/Son Night

Jan 19

No School- Teacher PD

Jan 23

2nd Grade JR

Jan 24

Reading Meeting 8:00

1st Grade JR

Metro Parks Presentation 3rd Grade

Jan 25

Kindergarten JR

SEL meeting 8:00

Arno Olympics 6:30

Jan 29

Board Meeting Strategic Plan update 7:00

Jan 30

MAISA Conf (Beth/Steve)

Jan 31

Teacher Data Day

February 1

Cougar Cash Lunch

NWEA Celebration Assembly

PTA Meeting 6:30

ARNO MISSION

ARNO ELEMENTARY…INSPIRING STUDENTS TOWARD ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY PROVIDES A SUPPORTIVE HIGH QUALITY ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE TO INSPIRE ALL LEARNERS TO ACHIEVE THEIR PERSONAL BEST.

ARNO COLLECTIVE COMMITMENTS

• Academics are student-centered, which allow for various learning styles to showcase student achievement.

• We will develop and maintain a positive, respectful relationship with each student by using flexibility and adaptability to meet individual needs

• We will foster safe learning environments that allow students the opportunity to establish a growth mindset

STAFF SURVEY

It is that time again, our annual staff survey will be active from Jan 8-Jan 17 for staff, students, and parents.  We primarily use our survey results to inform the school improvement plan and take a careful look at things we may need to change.

We will once again only survey students in grades 3-5, and Carrie will help us out with that during their tech time.   Please see your staff link below, I would love to see lots of staff completing it, it should not take you long.

https://forms.gle/jGgTKPbZVCfecmpp8

JANUARY ASSESSMENTS COMING UP

• FAST Reading and Math (Per Beth and Erin)

• NWEA Reading and Math (3,4,5 ELA as well)

• Jan Richardson Reading

5th Grade Jan 10

4th Grade Jan. 11

3rd Grade Jan. 17

2nd Grade Jan. 23

1st Grade Jan. 24

Kinder Jan 25

BOARD APPRECIATION

A big THANK YOU to our Allen Park Board of Education members during School Board Appreciation Month.  We are honored to have such a supportive Board of Education who keep the arts and education alive in Allen Park!

Teacher Data Day 

We will meet to go over the latest round of data on January 31, at the conclusion of testing.  The district will be coming out on Feb. 7 for MTSS.  Please sign up at the link below:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tNILnyetGdS1Pic27B89trFSfRHN_hMAy6soLkdGGzY/edit?usp=drive_link

Arno Olympics

It’s January, and it’s Olympic time!  All of the fun starts on January 25, at 6:00 pm.  If you are able to stay and help out, please let Nicole know.

Arno Olympics Flyer 2024

STUDENT GOALS

3-5- please remember to review and revise student goals with them to set their path for the next next trimester.  Ongoing feedback,in addition to a high effect size, is a critical part of maintaining and reaching their goal.  I will be once again sitting down with all partially proficient students, as well as those who were ID as rushing,  and checking in throughout as part of the process.

The dates are below, please send any student with their goals who landed in the partially proficient zone (NWEA predictor), and/or rushed through their test as indicated by NWEA.  Please start the time frame with sending 2 students down- then as one comes back, send the next.  The goal is to have another sit down, other than their teacher, to help them focus more on the importance of making their goals and how they can attain them.  

3rd grade- Feb. 2  9:-10:00

4th Grade- Feb. 2 10:15-11:15

5th Grade- Feb. 2 1:00-2:00

NWEA ASSEMBLY INFO

Thursday, February 1st, 2024

• NWEA Goal Assembly

• 1 grade level at a time in the gym.

• Location: Gym

• Time:

  • 3rd Grade: 9:30-10:00 pm

  • 4th Grade: 10:00-10:30 pm

  • 5th Grade: 10:30-11:00 pm

• Students who reach their personal growth goal or the grade level proficiency rit score  earn a charm, certificate, and an extra recess with Mr. Zielinski.

• If students don’t reach their Winter growth goal or the grade level proficiency rit score, tell students they could earn the rewards in the Spring.

• Students with the top ten reading scores, in each grade level, will get a movie reward with Mr. Zielinski. 

• If a student doesn’t reach their personal growth goal OR the grade level proficiency rit score, they DO NOT get anything.

• Teachers-Students need to wear his/her necklaces to the assembly. Please hand out the charms in your own classroom after the assembly if they earned a charm.

• 60th percentile on the MSTEP = proficiency on the MSTEP.

  • 3rd Grade Reading Proficiency Rit Score: 198

  • 3rd Grade Math Proficiency Rit Score: 200

  • 4th Grade Reading Proficiency Rit Score: 207

  • 4th Grade Math Proficiency Rit Score: 210

  • 5th Grade Reading Proficiency Rit Score: 213

  • 5th Grade Math Proficiency Rit Score: 219

Building to Kindergarten Part 2 at Bennie

Building Up to Kindergarten Part 1 1-18-24

ALICE DRILL

This month, on Jan. 18,  we will be conducting our second ALICE drill of the year.  During this drill, classes will be practicing HIDE OUT/KEEP OUT where students will find numerous places in the room to hide (not in one big group) and you will assist in showing the class how the Boot would be used if there was an intruder if needed.  This May we will be practicing GET OUT where the whole school will mock evacuate to our rendezvous point at the Presbyterian church on Park- which will just be a walk by.

Wayne RESA MLK Resources

MLK Day and Black History Month

Tech Time

Do you remember when Wordle was a word cloud generator that was taking the Web 2.0/ edtech world by storm? I do and lately I can’t help but think of it whenever I see people post their Wordle scores on social media. For those who don’t remember those days, Wordle was originally a word cloud generator that teachers were using to create visual summaries of large blocks of text. I found it to be useful in providing students with a nice way to visualize the most frequently used words in a passage of text.

The original Wordle word cloud tool no longer exists, but there are others that still do and are still helpful. Here’s a handful of them to try.

Paste your text into Analyze My Writing and it will generate a ton of information about your writing. Analyze My Writing will give you a break-down of the readability of your writing on five indices. The analysis will include listings of the most common words and most common word pairs in your writing. A listing of how frequently you use punctuation and punctuation types is included in the analysis provided by Analyze My Writing. Finally, a word cloud is included at the end of the analysis of your writing. The word cloud and the graphs can be saved as images.

Word It Out creates word clouds out of any text that you paste into the word cloud generator. Once the word cloud is created you can customize the size and color scheme of the cloud. You can also customize the font used in your word cloud. The feature of Word It Out that I like the best is that you can choose to have Word It Out ignore any word or words you choose. Ignoring words keeps them out of the word cloud.

Tagxedo makes it very easy to customize the design of your word clouds. You can select from a variety of shapes in which to display words or you can design your shape for your word cloud. You can enter text into the word cloud generator manually or simply enter a URL from which Tagxedo will generate a word cloud. As with other word cloud generators you also have options for excluding words from your word clouds.

WordWanderer attempts to be different from other word cloud creation tools by letting you drag and drop words to rearrange the look of your word clouds. Additionally, WordWanderer includes a search tool that you can use to find a word. The context of your chosen word is shown below the word cloud itself.

On WordClouds.com you can create word clouds in a variety of shapes and sizes with a wide array of color schemes. I’ve even used it to make a word cloud about cats in the shape of a cat. In my video embedded below I demonstrate the features of WordClouds.com.

Canva is my go-to recommendation whenever someone asks me for help with anything requiring a bit of an eye for design. So on Wednesday when a reader asked me for a tool to create printable flashcards Canva was my recommendation. There are more than 300 flashcard templates in Canva’s design gallery. In that gallery you’ll find templates for making flashcards for math, spelling, geography, and more. And all of the templates can be modified to fit your needs.

In this short video I demonstrate how to use Canva to create printable math flashcards. While watching the video pay attention to my trick for making all of the cutting lines exactly the same.

Applications for Education

There is still a time and place for offline flashcards. The reader who emailed me this week wanted to make flashcards that her students could use at home with their parents in a screen-free environment. Canva provides a good way to make those flashcards to distribute to students and parents. Of course, students can also use Canva to create their own printable flashcards.

 

Coming soon to Arno…

Dec. 1

Game Truck/fundraiser 11:00-3:30

End of 1st Trimester

Dec. 4

Assembly- Let’s be Inclusive

Bleau obs 1:00

Dec. 5-8

Steve @conference

Dec. 7

District PBIS meeting 1:30

PTA Meeting 6:30 p.m.

Dec. 8

Report Cards sent home

Dec. 11

Guyot X-MAS 2:50

Dec. 12

Ad Council 9:30

Cookie Dough Fundraiser Delivery

Dec. 13

PBIS 8:00

Harrison obs 9:30

Roller obs 10:00

Cervantes obs 10:30

Amonette obs 12:45

Bleau X-MAS 2:10

Dec. 14

Staff Meeting 11:00 a.m.

Martinchick obs 9:00

Kubik obs 9:45

Holiday Lunch 11:00

PTA Snowball Dance

Higgins X-MAS 2:30

Dec. 15

Roller X-MAS 10:15

Zuke X-MAS 1:45

Dec. 18

Christmas Sing A-Long 2:30

Martinchick X-MAS 10:00

Pushman X-MAS 10:30

Dec. 19

4th/5th Grade Concert 6:30 p.m.

Math meeting 8:00

Martin obs 10:00

Huntington X-MAS 2:00

Dec. 20

Reading meeting 8:00

SIP 8:00

Johnson X-MAS 9:45

Mercer X-MAS 10:15

Harrison X-MAS 11:45

Cervantes X-MAS 1:30

Garza X-MAS 2:15

Dec. 21

Cougar Cash Lunch

SEL 8:00

Schultz X-MAS 10:20

Amonette X-MAS 1:30

Talamonti X-MAS 2:20

Kalis X-MAS 2:55

Dec. 22

First Grade to Henry Ford

Christmas Break begins End of Day

Eskew X-MAS 11:00

Jensen X-MAS 11:40

Warneck X-MAS 2:55

Dec. 23-Jan 7

Christmas Break

Jan 8

School Resumes

Thank you to everyone for another all-star year!  Through the good and bad times,

we always remain a solid team and the best in the business as they say. 

Thank you for all you do and have a joyous Christmas season!

ARNO MISSION

ARNO ELEMENTARY…INSPIRING STUDENTS TOWARD ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY PROVIDES A SUPPORTIVE HIGH QUALITY ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE TO INSPIRE ALL LEARNERS TO ACHIEVE THEIR PERSONAL BEST.

ARNO COLLECTIVE COMMITMENTS

• ACADEMICS ARE STUDENT-CENTERED, WHICH ALLOW FOR VARIOUS LEARNING STYLES TO SHOWCASE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.

• WE WILL DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A POSITIVE, RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH STUDENT BY USING FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY TO MEET INDIVIDUAL NEEDS

• WE WILL FOSTER SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT ALLOW STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ESTABLISH A GROWTH MINDSET

• WE WILL SUPPORT EACH OTHER AS COLLEAGUES BY COLLABORATING AS A TEAM USING A RESPECTFUL DIALOGUE WHEN ANALYZING DATA TO POSITIVELY IMPACT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.

What’s Your ELF name??

Gear Up for Holiday Spirit Week!

Committee Updates

Math (Team is meeting Full Day Dec. 6)

• Number talks- strategies and cheat sheet

• Number talks correlation chart

• Scan Number talks resources

• Ongoing teacher PD

Reading

Edmentum Update

• Switch 2nd grade from 2 reading trophies to 30 minutes on Edmentum Reading Path per week.

  • 2 reading trophies per week was too overwhelming for the second graders.

Grammar Question

• Instead of grammar workbook pages, could we use Edmentum Language Arts Learning Path instead? 

• Require 1 Language Arts Trophy per week.

• Grades 3-5 would NWEA Language Arts so the students could get a Language Arts Edmentum Learning Path.

• Grades 3-5 all showed interest in using Language Arts Edmentum.

M-STEP Prep

• Still need to copy SBA papers.
• Third Grade sent home Vocabulary Words #1. First quiz is on Friday.
• Vocabulary Words & Quizzes are copied and delivered.
• Homework packets are copied and delivered.

PBIS

1. Data Report

2. Tier 2 Referral Form

   1. When should teachers fill it out?

   2. Revise form created last year

Communication

Must Do’s 

-communicate one a month academic
learning based
-find a new yearly goal for staff in regards

May Do’s

-share pictures
-share info/events/PTA events after or
during school hours
-provide information such as flash cards
or other learning materials
-have an alternative platform for
communicating with parents other than
email

SEL

Data Day

Since we just had our data day on Nov. 29, there won’t be an additional data day for December.

January Assessments coming up

• FAST Reading and Math

• NWEA Reading and Math (3,4,5 ELA as well)

• Jan Richardson Reading

5th Grade Jan 10

4th Grade Jan. 11

3rd Grade Jan. 17

2nd Grade Jan. 23

1st Grade Jan. 24

Kinder Jan 25

CHRISTMAS STORY TIME

I would like to once again come around to all of your rooms to give you a holiday 30 minute break, and read Christmas stories to our kids.  Please fill out the google doc with your desired time: Christmas

Building to Kindergarten

Our annual fall Building to Kindergarten presentation was a huge success!  We had a big crowd that packed the cafeteria to learn about what it takes to be an entering kindergarten student next fall.    Thanks to our kinder team including Cassie Harrison, Nickie Roller, Cristina Mercer, Megan Johnson, our reading coach Beth Wesley, student teacher Angela Sammut, and all our reading intervention paras for creating a great program!

CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON

Reminder- we have our Staff Christmas Luncheon Dec. 14th 11:00-12:00.  We will do the one hour block again and will have a schedule when we get close.

A BIG Thank you for all of your support for the Cookie dough fundraiser!  All items will arrive on December 12 for pickup starting at 3:00.

CHRISTMAS TECH FUN

GOOGLE’S SANTA TRACKER

Google’s Santa Tracker is a program that runs every December. It lets you track Santa during Christmas Eve and leading up to that there are activities added daily from December 1.

This could be something you could let your students explore. Or, looking at the site as a class could be a fun way to begin or end the day in December.

Check out the page for educators that has a few useful lesson plans and teaching resources.

FLIPGRID

Have you tried Flipgrid yet? It’s an app that allows users to interact with each other via short videos. Usually, a teacher poses a question that is the topic for the grid.

Flipgrid is a really fun way to connect with other classes around the world, especially when timezones make Skyping difficult. Last year, I worked on a grid with a class in Ohio and in South Africa to compare our holiday traditions. It was a rich and engaging experience for everyone.

The end of the year is a great time to try Flipgrid. You could have a question just for your class to respond to or put it out to the families and wider school community.

You could even run a ’12 Days of Christmas’ Flipgrid and pose a different question for your students to respond to each day leading up to the break. These question prompts could be holiday related (such as sharing a favourite food, carol, tradition etc.). The question prompts could also be used as revision for the content covered in class.

DECORATE A CHRISTMAS TREE WITH GOOGLE SLIDES

Educator, Eric Curts has made a fun and free Christmas themed Google Slides activity. This is a great way for students to be creative and to work on their writing skills by describing or writing about their holiday traditions, plans, or memories.

Visit Eric’s website to download the template which you can use with your class.

When students complete their Slide, they can email it, post it on a class blog, print it, or share on social media. Alternatively, you can combine the Slides to make a new slideshow with everyone’s creations.

EMOJI PUZZLES

There’s a popular site called Solvemoji.com where emojis are used in maths puzzles.

Students could try making their own puzzles using holiday emojis!

They could use a tool like Google Drawings, Google Slides, PowerPoint, or Canva. Or they could just hand draw them.

Here are some examples from the Solvemoji.com website. There are puzzles for all levels from junior up to master.

REBUS STORIES

Here’s one more emoji idea because I always find they’re a hit with students!

A rebus story is basically where some words are replaced with images. They’re fun to read and create.

This is another idea from Eric Curts and he has a template you can download as well.

Students in a grade 3/4 class I was working in made rebus stories about their Christmas memories. Here’s an example…

Students could create other sorts of rebus texts as well such as narratives or poetry.

Coming soon to Arno…

Nov. 1

SIP all day meeting

3rd Grade Metro Parks

Nov. 2

Cougar Cash Lunch

Otis Spunkmeyer Fundraiser Kickoff

PTA Meeting 6:30

Nov. 4 (Saturday)

PTSA Holiday Fever

Nov. 6-Nov. 10

PTA Book Fair

Nov. 6

District MTSS

Nov. 7

NO SCHOOL- Teacher PD

Communication committee meeting 8:00

Nov. 8

PBIS Meeting 8:00

Parent-Teacher Conferences (See below) 5:00-7:30 p.m.

Nov. 9

Early Release 11:30 A.M.

Parent-Teachers Conferences 12:45-3:30 p.m. and 5:00-7:30 p.m.

Nov. 14

Otis Spunkmeyer Fundraiser End 

Ad Council 9:30

Super Cougar Lunch

Nov. 15

Student Success Committee 8:00-11:00

Reading comm. meeting 8:00

SIP comm. meeting 8:00

Nov. 16

Staff Meeting 8:00

Mobile Dentist

Fall Picture Retakes

Building to Kindergarten 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Nov. 22-Nov. 24

Thanksgiving break

Nov. 29

Teacher Data Day

Nov. 30

Math Comm. meeting 8:00

3rd Grade Metro Parks Assembly

Cougar Cash Lunch

Safety Committee 9:30

Dec. 1

End of First Trimester

ARNO MISSION

ARNO ELEMENTARY…INSPIRING STUDENTS TOWARD ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY PROVIDES A SUPPORTIVE HIGH QUALITY ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE TO INSPIRE ALL LEARNERS TO ACHIEVE THEIR PERSONAL BEST.

Conferences

Please let me know if you would like me to attend any conferences.  There will be pizza served in the copy room around 4:00 on the 8th.  Thanks

Conference Sign In Doc

Committee Work

We will get updates from all Committees on the Nov. 7 Full Day PD.  There will be a good chunk of time for all groups to meet and plan that day.

New Elementary Media Center Facebook Page

Check it out!

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551390500534

Data Day November

Our next teacher data dive is coming up on Nov. 29, the link to sign up is below.  At this meeting, we will also be joined by Beth Wesley, Erin Jackson, and Jen VanMaele to help support our discussions.  Our time will be spent looking at ongoing progress monitoring results.  I look forward to our conversations!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EF86hL1feH-D8-osgl3DDqYI9e4I_laGSCiCP7bmKkc/edit?usp=drive_link

REFLEX PD

If you are you interested, there is PD available through the link and Sarah Kalis is available for any question son the math program

https://www.reflexmath.com/support/professional-development

Picture Retake

Picture retake day is Nov. 16.

Cookie Dough Sale

Arno will be once again doing the Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough fundraiser starting  Nov. 2 to help supplement the many requests we get from staff during the school year such as assessment programs, research-based activities, special project supplies, literacy materials, tech, etc.  The last fundraiser helped us purchase many extra classroom supply requests, Super Cougar pizza lunch supplies, books, and professional development for teachers.

The PTA has been a tremendous resource for our building with all they have given, however, the many teacher requests received throughout the school year to give our students the very best experiences create a need to seek additional support.  Therefore, we have partnered with this company to offer you a choice of items should you choose to purchase any, that would support providing more resources for our teachers. The large envelope coming home on Nov. 2 and will contain all of the information needed (and there is an online order method).

Fundraiser Timeline

November 2 – November 14         Fundraiser Sale

November 17 All money and orders due (online payment option available)

Game Truck Prize for qualifying sales: TBD

**Turnover time is about 2-3 weeks, we will contact everyone when the items will be in (before Christmas)

Scholastic Resources

Flexible Grouping

Flexible grouping is an essential principle of a Balanced Literacy Block. With flexible grouping, students experience reading in whole-class, small-group, paired, and independent settings. Sometimes, students may work in homogeneous or heterogeneous groups, may be paired with classmates of different reading levels, and may discover texts on their own. The variety of experiences will strengthen and broaden their foundation in reading and writing and support children’s progress in content areas as well.

Flexible and dynamic grouping and regrouping are essential ingredients for an effective classroom. To get started, organize small groups based on guided reading levels and skills-based needs assessments. Then, regroup as needed. When students in a group are not improving at the same pace, reassign students to new groups and/or reconfigure the groups.

Establishing ways for students to work together regularly will minimize self-consciousness about level differences. Students with different skills make good partners for buddy reading or for turn and talk activities.

Group together students who process texts in a similar way or use the same problem-solving strategies. Use a running record with a benchmark book, or other informal assessment tool, to determine baseline reading competencies. Notice how students problem solve as they read.

Conduct group and one-on-one reading chats. Have conversations about the books that have been read in small groups. Which character did you find most interesting? What did you like or dislike about the ending? Why? Why would you like to read more on this topic?

Model asking and answering questions, reading and rereading, and other self-monitoring skills. Exposing your own reading habits, including “not getting it and rereading,” will embolden students and promote an environment of support. All students should feel free to express themselves and ask questions.

Pair students from a small group who have different strengths and have them read aloud together to practice fluency.

Different kinds of self-evaluation sheets can be used by students to keep track of their own progress and their understanding of the books they read, the activities they do, and the discussions they have in their groups.

Scholastic Book Room Inventory:  Master-Title-List

BUILDING TO KINDERGARTEN COMING SOON!

Registration Link: Building to Kindergarten

Tech Time 

ABCya! Thanksgiving Challenge

Nov 11, 2014 – abcya.com – 894

This fun kids activity challenges players to place Thanksgiving guests around the dinner table based on their likes and dislikes.

A Simple App Smash To Create Turkey Story Problems

Nov 15, 2015 – zigzagstech.com – 804

Get your students creating by combining a few super tools to make turkey story problems this fall. They’ll love creating and acting out their own problems!

A Thanksgiving Timeline

Sep 30, 2013 – mooreti.edublogs.org – 872

A Thanksgiving Timeline Via Google Earth Author: lmoore4 | Filed under: Google Earth, Social Studies, Web 2.0 The following activity takes some VERY cool interactive websites and combines them with my absolute favorite web tool, Google Earth. At the bottom of this post is the KMZ file I created along with a printable copy of directions.

Blabberize with Albuquerque Turkey

Sep 30, 2013 – mooreti.edublogs.org – 843

Blabberize with Albuquerque Turkey Author: lmoore4 | Filed under: Tech Tips, Web 2.0 Before you play the video below, let me just apologize for my singing. You can see (or hear) why I kept my day job. Mrs. Cunningham’s class at Fox Run Elementary sang the cutest song to me this morning, Albuquerque Turkey.

Book Creator + Twitter = Students Connected Globally

Dec 15, 2013 – staartechers.wordpress.com – 818

Mrs. Moses’ 2nd Grade Class What does Thanksgiving mean to a second grader? I always ask my students each year what they are thankful for. It is a time for reflection, and the students love to listen and respond to each other. It is my favorite time of the year.

Coming soon to Arno…

Oct. 2

JR testing 2nd grade

Oct. 4

Walk (Or Bike ride) to School Day!

JR testing 1st grade

Oct. 5

Picture Day

Staff meeting 7:45

PTA Meeting 6:30

Oct. 6

Fire Drill 10:30 am

Oct. 11

PBIS Meeting 8:00

Oct. 17

Culver Scholarship Fundraising Night 5:00-8:00 pm

Oct. 18

Teacher Data Day per schedule

SIP meeting 8:00 am

Oct. 23

District MTSS meeting 9:15 am

Oct. 25

Reading Committee meeting 8:00

Oct. 26

SEL Committee meeting 8:00

Oct. 27

Math Committee meeting 8:00

October. 31

Halloween Parade 10:00 am

Early Release 11:30 am/Teacher PD pm

Looking Ahead

Nov. 2

Cougar Cash Lunch

Cookie Dough Fundraiser Kickoff

PTA Meeting 6:30 pm

Nov. 4

Holiday Fever

ARNO MISSION

ARNO ELEMENTARY…INSPIRING STUDENTS TOWARD ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY PROVIDES A SUPPORTIVE HIGH QUALITY ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE TO INSPIRE ALL LEARNERS TO ACHIEVE THEIR PERSONAL BEST.

ARNO COLLECTIVE COMMITMENTS

• ACADEMICS ARE STUDENT-CENTERED, WHICH ALLOW FOR VARIOUS LEARNING STYLES TO SHOWCASE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.

• WE WILL DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A POSITIVE, RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH STUDENT BY USING FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY TO MEET INDIVIDUAL NEEDS

• WE WILL FOSTER SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT ALLOW STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ESTABLISH A GROWTH MINDSET

• WE WILL SUPPORT EACH OTHER AS COLLEAGUES BY COLLABORATING AS A TEAM USING A RESPECTFUL DIALOGUE WHEN ANALYZING DATA TO POSITIVELY IMPACT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.

DATA DIVE

Our first teacher data dive is coming up the link to sign up is below for October 18.  At our first meeting, we will also be joined by Beth and Erin Jackson to help support our discussions.  Our time will be spent looking at the NWEA results, quadrant charts, FAST, and BAS/JR.  I look forward to our initial conversations!

Sign Up October 18

COMMITTEE WORK

PBIS

At this month’s meeting, we organized the monthly rewards, subcommittees, holiday cash, Smencils, and Super Cougars.  We discussed Tier 2, mentors and RESA training availability.  The November meeting was canceled due to scheduling conflicts.

MATH

• A video demonstration of Number Talks was shared with the group and discussed
• A resource book on Number Talks was also shared with examples of how to use it in lessons

READING

• Present: Beth, Renee, Rachel, Nina, Nicole, Megan J*Discuss the strategies we used last year for M-STEP prep – we decided to continue all*Discuss possible focus for this year    -grammar

      -writing

      -stamina

  *Discuss problems with Edmentum

   -doesn’t sink with new scores throughout the year

   -so far this year it is not individualized, just grade level content

   -can’t start the trophies because the content is not correct – waiting for it to be fixed

  *Chair meeting October 17 to review MSTEP and NWEA data from last year

SEL

• Monthly newsletter and resources will continue

HTTPS://TINYURL.COM/SELCHOOSE

SIP

At this month’s meeting, we discussed different ways to highlight areas of our improvement plan. Mr. Zielinski and co-chairs will meet to discuss this further in October. We want to continue our great increase of scores. We are glad that the magnets and flags around the building were well received by parents. We also would like to build camaraderie by continuing with our monthly gatherings. Please sign up for those you are able to plan or attend. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4EAAAC2EA4F94-third1#/

Communication/Attendance

• Team had initial meeting
• A survey was created to gauge the communication to home in order to make future recommendations

REFLEX PD

If you are you interested, there is PD available through the link and Sarah Kalis is available for any question son the math program

https://www.reflexmath.com/support/professional-development

Scholastic Small Group

The resource page for the new digital platform connected to our Scholastic Book room has a lot of great articles when thinking about small group instruction.  I will include some of these in future blogs, as the link will be here if you want to see a full list of titles in the new bookroom.  Please remember that this was a sizeable investment for the district in small group reading, and the expectation is that teachers will use the books that are directly correlated to their reading testing for best practice results.

Guided Reading & Leveled Texts

Scholastic Book Room Inventory:  Master-Title-List

Building to Kindergarten Coming Soon!

Registration Link: Building to Kindergarten

Halloween Parade

I know you have counted down the days-  Oct. 31 at 10:00 for our annual Halloween Parade.  Our route will take us out of the 5th grade doors that morning, making a loop on the inside perimeter of the playground.  Parents may join us around the outside perimeter of the playground to watch.  It is a district PD day with an 11:30 dismissal that morning.

Tech Time

Sometimes it is easier to reply to an email with a video than it is to write out a reply. For example, when a colleague asks me for help with Google Classroom I could write step-by-step directions or I could record a short screencast that would accomplish the same thing. Loom’s Chrome extension makes it easy to do that.

With Loom’s Chrome extension Gmail users can reply to email by simply clicking the Loom icon and recording a video. The video is then instantly uploaded to your Loom account and inserted into the body of your email. In this short video I demonstrate how to record a video right from your Gmail inbox.

Yes, there are other tools for making screencast videos. And you could use one of those to make a screencast for a colleague, but I think Loom’s Chrome extension streamlines the process better than other screen recording tools.

 

Applications for Education

Besides being helpful when answering help requests from students or colleagues, Loom’s Chrome extension could be useful in having students explain exactly what they need help with when they send you an email. Sometimes students don’t know exactly how to phrase their requests in writing so giving them the Loom option could be a good way to get a better understanding of what they’re asking.

Five Tools for Creating Automatically Scored Formative Assessments

• Richard Byrne
• August 1, 2023

This morning I answered an email from a reader who was asked to teach additional classes this fall. She reached out to me for suggestions on tools to create self-grading formative assessments to save her time this fall. I’d bet that there are many other teachers in the same situation and wondering the same thing. Here are some of my suggestions for creating automatically scored formative assessments.

Formative
Formative, which was recently acquired by Newsela, is a great tool for creating formative assessments that can be automatically scored. I’ve been using it for the last half-dozen years to create formative assessments that include labeling diagrams, handwriting and drawing, and multiple choice questions. Formative recently added an AI component that can be helpful in creating assessments. You can see a demo of that feature here and a demo of some of Formative’s other great features here.

Plickers

Plickers is another formative assessment platform that I’ve been using for years. It’s a great option for conducting formative assessment activities when not all of your students have laptops or you would simply prefer an assessment activity that doesn’t require them to use their laptops, tablets, or phones. My most recent blog post about using Plickers can be read here. A demo of how to get started using the Plickers platform is included in the video that is embedded below.

TeacherMade

TeacherMade is a tool that you can use to turn your existing documents (Word, PDF, or Google Doc) into online, self-grading assignments. You can also create activities from scratch in TeacherMade. But perhaps my favorite way to use TeacherMade is to grab a Canva template and turn that into an online, self-grading assignment. How to use Canva templates in TeacherMade is demonstrated in this short video.

Google Forms

Google Forms is the tool that I’ve used for more years than anything else to create self-grading assessments. In fact, I was using it for that purpose back when you had to write a spreadsheet script to have Forms responses automatically graded. Fortunately, today it is is very easy to use Google Forms to create automatically graded assessments. Watch this video to learn how to get started and then head here for dozens of more Google Forms tutorials.

Microsoft Forms

Microsoft Forms is every bit as good as Google Forms is for creating self-grading assessments. In fact, there are some features of Microsoft Forms that I wish Google Forms had. One of those is the new live presentation mode in Microsoft Forms. Learn more about that feature in this video and then head here for a dozen more Microsoft Forms tutorials.

 

Welcome Back Arno Staff!  

“You’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so … get on your way!” – Dr. Seuss

Coming soon to Arno…

August 30

Medical Plan Meetings 

Lunch Staff Meeting 9:00

August 31

Teacher Welcome Back

First Staff Meeting

Meet the Teacher 

Meet the Teacher (Schedule below)

• • Meet the Teacher Night will be an Open House on August 31 from 6:30-7:30pm.

  • Students are encouraged to attend Meet the Teacher Night with their family.

  • Meet the Teacher attendance will be staggered to help with parking  Please arrive and depart promptly according to the schedule below.

• Families will be divided into two groups by alphabet with 20 minute sessions (6:30-6:50 and 7:00-7:20)

• Last Names A-M — 6:30-6:50pm
• Last Names N-Z — 7:00-7:20pm
• If your family has multiple last names, please follow the schedule for your oldest child’s last name

Sept. 5

First Day of School

Sept. 7

First PTA Meeting 6:30

Sept. 8

Fire Drill 2:00

Sept. 14

ALICE Drill 10:00- Full Evac

Sept. 20

JR 5th Grade testing

Sept. 21

Tornado Drill 10:00

Sept. 22

PTA Fun Run!!

Sept. 27

JR 4th Grade testing

Fire Drill 12:50

Sept. 28 

JR 3rd Grade testing

ARNO MISSION

ARNO ELEMENTARY…INSPIRING STUDENTS TOWARD ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY PROVIDES A SUPPORTIVE HIGH QUALITY ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE TO INSPIRE ALL LEARNERS TO ACHIEVE THEIR PERSONAL BEST.

ARNO COLLECTIVE COMMITMENTS

• Academics are student-centered, which allow for various learning styles to showcase student achievement.

• We will develop and maintain a positive, respectful relationship with each student by using flexibility and adaptability to meet individual needs

• We will foster safe learning environments that allow students the opportunity to establish a growth mindset

• We will support each other as colleagues by collaborating as a team using a respectful dialogue when analyzing data to positively impact student achievement.

Welcome Back Arno Staff!!

Arno Staff 2023-2024

New Lunch Schedule

This year we are pleased to welcome Deak Swearingen to Life Skills, and Sarah Kaminski to our ECP program!  Welcome to Arno Deak and Sarah!

Deak Swearingen

Hello to all my new colleagues, I am excited to be joining Allen Park Public Schools! I am a downriver rink rat, who now enjoys sand volleyball and fishing in the summer, and hunting in the fall and winter. I have been in the adapted physical education field for more than 13 years at both the Elementary, Secondary, and Collegiate level. I enjoy immensely watching my daughter develop in Preschool here in Allen Park, and my wife is a former Jag alumni. I will be at multiple schools this year, but hope to meet and learn from everyone in Allen Park!

Sarah Kaminski

Hello, my name is Sarah Kaminski and I have worked in the Allen Park School District for 6 years. The majority of this time has been as a reading aide at Bennie Elementary. Currently, I live in Belleville with my fiancé, Dennis and our dog, Pecan. In my free time I enjoy doing puzzles and crafting. I am excited to start the fall as the new ECP teacher and work with the little ones! Can’t wait to make new friends and connections! Go Cougars!

New Committee

I have created a new committee that will have a lot of importance.  The committee will be a combo of communication and dealing with the absent/tardy problem that is plaguing schools.  The communication is resulting to not only the building surveys that show inconsistent home communication from teacher to teacher, but also at the district level as it will also be part of the new strategic plan this year.  I would encourage anyone who would like to pioneer this new group, to sign up.  In the meantime, this article came out recently on a national level for your reference:

A Stanford study reveals record-high chronic absenteeism after COVID lockdowns with over 25% of students missing 10% of their classes during the 2021-22 school year.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/6-5-million-students-chronically-absent-after-pandemic-new-study-shows

From the Parent Blog:

Important Attendance Information

Please read the attitude article on the importance of student attendance, which is mandatory by the laws of the State of Michigan.  Please be aware that we are required to follow up with families either verbally, in writing, or both when absences reach the 10 full day mark.

The attendance/tardy process:

• Ten full day absences- 1st attendance letter sent home

• 5 additional absences- 2nd attendance letter sent home

• Ongoing after 15 absences- referral to our liaison officer for truancy

TARDIES

• Students are considered tardy after 8:40am

• After 8:40 am, Parents will be required to walk their student into the office to sign them into the building

• If a student has accumulated 5 tardies in a row, the parent will need to sign an acknowledgement letter of the tardies

• After 15 tardies, a meeting will take place with the principal to discuss possible solutions.

Excessive tardy arrival/very early dismissal

• Student arrival after 9:30am will equal a half-day AM absence

• Student dismissal that takes place prior to 2:30pm with count for a half-day PM absence

• Picking up your student between 2:30 and 3:30 does not count for anything

RtP_Attendance

From the PTA

Hello Cougar Families! 

Your new 2023/2024 school year PTA Board is as follows:

President: Xina Bagger

Vice President: Meaghan Bachman

Treasurer: Kristy Varkoly

Secretary: Sarah Wald

The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is an all-volunteer, parent-run, non-profit organization that works cooperatively with school administration and educators to provide opportunities for our students and families to socialize by providing fun family events and in-school opportunities. We have provided our students and families with school assemblies, Field Day, Family Fun Nights, the Daddy Daughter Dance, the Mother Son Night, Christmas events, playground and gym equipment, student technology, Staff Appreciation Week, Spirit Wear and so much more!

Meet the Teacher Night is Thursday August 31^st at 6:30pm. Please stop by our table by the main doors to meet your board members, learn about the PTA, how to become a member, and get a chance to win Detroit Tigers tickets!

Our 1st PTA Meeting will be held on Thursday September 7^th at 6:30 pm in the Arno Media Center (and every FIRST Thursday of the month thereafter). Childcare is always available, thanks to our National Junior Honor Society volunteers!  We might just have some cool giveaways, like Detroit Tiger Tickets!

A Membership Drive will run from September 6^th through October 7^th and our theme this year is “Membership is Sweet”.  The class that receives the most memberships will win an Ice Cream Social!  Forms will be sent home on the first week of school and a link will be posted on our Facebook page. You can find us on Facebook by searching @arnoelementarypta – be sure to like our page, we occasionally give away cool stuff like Detroit Tigers tickets – a member only perk! Check out the flyer below for more details on the PTA and scan the QR Code to link you directly to our Arno PTA membership page! Please consider joining – the cost is $7 for staff and your membership helps support so much.

We have a lot planned for the upcoming school year and are very excited to kick off the season with our annual Arno Fun Run, which will be held on Friday September 22^nd. This is our biggest and most important fundraiser of the year. More details to follow.

Please remember that your input/suggestions/concerns are both encouraged and appreciated so that we know how to better our events. So please reach out via email (arnopta@gmail.com) or attend our meetings! And remember, PTA members get early access to info, first dibs on volunteer events, a chance at our raffles, and can vote on events/funding/student advocacies! Please consider becoming a member this school year!  As always, we appreciate your support! Please consider volunteering or serving as a chairperson at one of our events. If we do not have a chairperson for an event, it is at risk of being cancelled. For more information or if you would like to volunteer, please email the PTA at arnopta@gmail.com.

Stay tuned for more exciting news/events/announcements/reminders from your PTA via email, memberhub and/or our Facebook page! We are so excited for the 2023/2024 school year and can’t wait to share these great experiences with our Caring Cougars!

Classroom assessment thoughts

As we head into the new school year- to some degree, this can be done at all levels…

As you're thinking about classroom assessments next year, remember that we grade against criteria for standards, outcomes, learning goals, i.e., evidence of learning, NOT the vehicle used to deliver that evidence. So, unless we're teaching the assessment format itself, whether or…

— Rick Wormeli (@rickwormeli2) July 5, 2023

Vocab Tool from Sarah

Pear Deck has a Flashcard Factory component that allows you to create flashcards with your students for vocab words! Then it will take the flashcards and turn them into a quizlet. Thought many of you may find this helpful to use, so take a look at the video below to learn more.

https://youtu.be/wlVKjTuoXko

Door Assignments 2023-24

*Please note we can also arrange for siblings to go to the same doors

Door Assignments

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DATES

This year, the district calendar reflects 7 days of teacher PD.  Those half-day PD dates feature no school in the afternoon, 11:30 dismissal.  The dates for this school year are as follows:

8/31, 10/31 (ER), 11/7, 1/19, 2/9, 3/15, & 5/3 (ER)

REQUIRED PLC meetings (45 Minutes on September, October, December, April). Please remember to list your dates, and share agendas in the folder. 

PBIS BEGINNING OF THE YEAR STATIONS AND FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

Thursday, September 7, 2023

There will be 10 minutes spent at each station which includes the discussion and travel time between stations.  You will rotate in sequential order.

Start Times and Stations

8:45a–Huntington (1), Talamonti (2), Johnson (3), Pushman (4), Watson (5)

9:35a–Warneck (1), Guyot (2), Kalis (3), Schultz (4), Martinchick (5)

10:25a–Garza (1), Zuke (2), Higgins (3), Cervantes (4), Amonette (5)

11:55a–Haskin (2), Harrison (3), Mercer (4), Roller (5)

**Presenters, please note that the 11:55a rotation are all littles.  Please shorten your presentation to short attention spans, highlighting the big ideas.  Thank you for making this accommodation!**

               1. Office Expectations

                Staff: Kim Dowd or Cathy Anderson

                Location: outside of office for space

2. Assembly and Bullying Expectations

               Staff: Andrea Alvarez

               Location:  gym or outside

3. Bus Expectations

               Staff: Steve Zielinski

               Location: bus located in parking area

4. Cafeteria Expectations

               Staff: ????

               Location: Cafeteria

5. Hallway Expectations

               Staff: Aly Kubik

               Location: hallway outside of Media Center/Computer Lab

Follow-Up Activities

~Posters for the hallway

~Individual positive messages

~Write about it in your journal

~Review classroom matrix and expectations

~Draw a picture of when you were kind/somebody was kind to you

~Allen Park Elementary PBIS website (brand new from Kendra Payette-Linn!)

~Watch a PBIS video clip

RESA PBIS website–“Videos” dropdown on the page

http://apps.mi.safeschools.com/login

Tech Time

Ten Tools for Gathering Real-time Feedback From Students

I’m taking the week off to do a bunch of fun things with my kids. While I’m away the most popular posts of the year so far will reappear.

Chat tools and polling services provide good ways to hear from all of the students in a classroom. These kinds of tools, often referred to as backchannel tools, allow shy students to ask questions and share comments. For your more outspoken students who want to comment on everything, a feedback mechanism provides a good outlet for them too. Over the years I’ve used a variety of feedback tools in my classroom. This is my updated list of backchannel and informal assessment tools for gathering real-time feedback from students.

Classroomscreen is a service that lets you create a homescreen on which you can place reusable countdown timers, stopwatches, polls, noise meters, random name selectors, and more helpful classroom management tools. With the polling tool in Classroomscreen you can display a question for your students and have them respond with a multiple choice selection or by choosing a smiley face. See my screenshot below for more details.

Yo Teach! lets you create online backchannel spaces to facilitate discussions. To get started on Yo Teach! simply go to the site and name your room. You can get started by just doing those two steps, but I would recommend taking a another minute to scroll down the Yo Teach! site to activate the admin function, the password function, and to select “avoid search.”  The “avoid search” option will hide your room from search results so that people cannot find it without being given its direct URL. The password function lets you set a password that must be entered before students can participate in the chat. The admin features of Yo Teach! let you mute or remove students from a discussion, delete your room, and view statistic about the usage of your room. The admin function that reveals statistics will show the names of participants and how active they have been in your Yo Teach! room. Here’s a video overview of Yo Teach!

ClassPoint. It’s a great little tool that you can use to build interactive quizzes and polls into your PowerPoint presentations. You can also use it to annotate slides, create whiteboards on the fly, and share your annotations with students. In this short video I provide a demonstration of how ClassPoint works. The video shows a teacher’s perspective and a student’s perspective of how ClassPoint can be used in your classroom.

Ziplet is a service for gathering feedback from your students in a variety of ways. The simplest way is to create an exit ticket by using one of the dozens of pre-written questions provided by Ziplet. Ziplet does not require students to have accounts to respond to exit ticket questions. Students can simply enter an exit ticket code that you give to them before they answer the question. What Ziplet offers that is somewhat unique is the option to respond directly to individual students even when they are responding to a group survey. The purpose of that feature is to make it easy to ask follow-up questions or to give encouragement to students based on their responses to a question posed to the whole group. Here’s a short video about how to use Ziplet.

Plickers is a great student response system for classrooms that aren’t 1:1 or for anyone who would rather not have to go through the trouble of trying to get all students onto the same webpage or chatroom at the beginning of a lesson. Plickers uses a teacher’s iPad or Android tablet in conjunction with a series of QR codes to create a student response system. Students are given a set of QR codes on large index cards. The codes are assigned to students. Each code card can be turned in four orientations. Each orientation provides a different answer. When the teacher is ready to collect data, he or she uses the Plickers mobile app to scan the cards to see a bar graph of responses. Click here for three ideas for using Plickers in your classroom.

Mentimeter is an audience response tool lets you create polls and quizzes for your audience to respond to during your presentations. Responses to open-ended poll questions can be displayed as a word cloud, but there isn’t a true chat function in Mentimeter. You can create and display polls and quizzes from the Mentimeter website or you can use their PowerPoint Add-in to display your polls and quizzes from your slideshow. Your audience members can respond from their phones, tablets, or laptops.

The Q&A function built into the presentation mode of Google Slides is a good option for gathering questions from students when they are viewing slides that you or their classmates present. Likewise, posting a simple question in Google Classroom is a good way to quickly get a sense of what your students know about a topic before you begin a lesson or what they think was important in a lesson that you just taught.

Poll Everywhere is a service that allows you to collect responses from an audience via text messaging. The free plan for K-12 educators provides selection of features and quantity of responses that is adequate for almost any classroom. One of the neat ways to display feedback gathered through Poll Everywhere is in word clouds.

I’ve been using Padlet since it was called WallWisher back in 2009. Padlet enables me to have students not only share exit responses as text, but to also share exit responses as hyperlinks. For example, if my students have been working on research projects I will ask them to share a link to something they found that day along with an explanation of how it is relevant to their research.

Formative provides you with a place to create online assignments that your students can respond to in class or out of class. Assignments can be as simple as one question exit tickets like “what did you learn today?” to complex quizzes that use a combination of multiple choice, short answer, and true/false questions. You can assign point values to questions or leave them as ungraded questions. The best feature of Formative is the option to create “show your work” questions. “Show your work” questions enables students to draw responses and or upload pictures as responses to your questions. When you use this question type students will see a blank canvas directly below the question. On that canvas they can draw and or type responses.

Lego Time 

Need LEGO Ideas? Take a Look at This!

Making things with LEGOs is one of my favorite indoor activities to do with my daughters. We’ve spent many rainy days building all kinds of things LEGOs. Often we follow the directions from a guidebook and sometimes we just make our own things. Every once in a while they ask for another LEGO guidebook.

 

I’m been happy to buy my daughters LEGO guidebooks even if they aren’t always patient as they wait for the Amazon delivery of those books. I recently, through Open Culture, learned of a remedy to that problem. Recently, I learned that the Internet Archive hosts more than 6,800 LEGO guidebooks.

In the Internet Archive’s collection of LEGO instruction books you’ll find directions for building everything from a birdhouse to an airplane to a tiger and much, much more.  The directions can be viewed online and or downloaded as colorful PDFs to print. The PDF of directions for building a tiger was an exact copy of what I would have found had I purchased the LEGO kit for building a tiger.

Applications for Education
If you have a big box of LEGOs in your classroom, bookmark this collection of LEGO instructions and perhaps print a few to place in that box.

Coming soon to Arno…

June 1

Special Education Students to APMS tour

Arno Planting Day 3:30

June 2

Cougar Cash Lunch

PTA Field Day

June 5

Mentor Celebration 1:15

June 6

5th Grade Graduation 9:15 AP Center for the Arts

Super Cougar Lunch

June 7

3rd Grade to Greenfield Village

June 8

5th Grade Picnic

2nd Grade to Barney Park 12:15

District Strategic Planning Committee 6:00

June 9

Kindergarten to the Zoo

June 12

4th grade to Boccabella Park 1:00

5th grade to Pretty Park 1:00

3rd grade to Barney Park 1:20

June 13

Early Release 11:30

3rd grade to Boccabella 8:45

4th grade to Pretty 8:45

CI to Barney 8:45

June 14

Early Release 11:30

3rd grade to Pretty 8:45

Kindergarten Picnic to Barney 8:45

June 15

Early Release 11:30

LAST DAY of School!

June 19-July 20 

Summer School Begins

June 23

Arno Office closes (Regular School Year)

Coming in the future…

August 21

Office Opens

August 31

Teacher 1st Day

Meet the Teacher

September 5

ARNO MISSION

ARNO ELEMENTARY…INSPIRING STUDENTS TOWARD ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY PROVIDES A SUPPORTIVE HIGH QUALITY ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE TO INSPIRE ALL LEARNERS TO ACHIEVE THEIR PERSONAL BEST.

From the PTA

FIELD DAY IS HERE JUNE 2! 

All grades will enjoy a day full of fun & exciting activities to kick off the summer followed by ice cream! Tshirts will be provided to all students to wear that day. Please review the reminders indicated below:

The PTA will end the school year with an ice cream truck for all grades to enjoy on the last day of school 

The PTA proudly funded & honored the following with some of our excess funds:

-Picnic tables

-Recess equipment

-A sensory wall

-A stem wall

-Critter bots

-Volleyball equipment

-Field trips for grades 3-5

-Science lab presentations for all grades

-End of year assemblies including Metro Parks and Animals and the Environment

-We also helped CI open it’s coffee cart for their life skills program

Your new 2023/2024 school year PTA Board is as follows:

President: Xina Bagger

Vice President: Meaghan Bachman

Treasurer: Kristy Varkoly

Secretary: Sarah Wald

Please remember that your input/suggestions/concerns are both encouraged and appreciated so that we know how to better our events. So please reach out via email (arnopta@gmail.com) or attend our meetings! And remember, PTA members get early access to info, first dibs on volunteer events, and can vote on events/funding/student advocacies! Please consider becoming a member next school year!  As always, we appreciate your support! 

Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 7, at 6:00pm in Arno’s Media Center.

Stay tuned for more exciting news/events/announcements/reminders from your PTA via email, memberhub and/or our Facebook page!

ENJOY YOUR SUMMER

CLASSLISTS

Criteria to reflect on:

– One room in the grade for ESL, as feasible

– One SPED room in the grade, as feasible

– Balance Boys/Girls

– Balance behavior

– Balance High/Medium/Low (use Educlimber)

– Kids to be separated

We will meet in the conference room on June 13 with Beth, SPED team, and Erin per the schedule

12:30-12:45 Eskew

12:45-1:05 Kindergarten

1:10-1:30 1st grade

1:35-1:55 2nd grade

2:00-2:20 3rd grade

2:25-2:45 4th grade

Park Field Trips for Spring 2023

Thursday June 8, 2023

• 5th Grade: Bocabella 12:00-3:00 (Fifth grade Picnic)

• 2nd grade: Barney Park 12:15-2:15

Monday, June 12th, 2023

• Third Grade: Barney Park from 1:20-3pm

• Fourth Grade Bocabella: 1-3:00pm

• 5th Grade: Pretty Family Park 1-3:00 pm

Tuesday, June 13th, 2023 (½ Day, K-2 Prep)

• Third Grade: Boccabella Park from 8:45-11:15am

• Fourth Grade: Pretty Family Park from 8:45-11:15pm

• CI Classroom: Barney Park from 8:45-11:00 (Class Picnic)

Wednesday, June 14th, 2023 (½ Day, 3-5 Prep)

• Kindergarten: Barney Park from 8:45-11:00

• Third Grade: Pretty Family Park from 8:45-10:15am

Thursday, June 15th, 2023 (½ Day, K-2 Prep)

Some New Beginnings

Some people would say that change is good.  In some cases they would be right,, but not when we say goodbye to some amazing teachers.  This year we must say goodbye to two of our MVP’s of Arno- Jeanine Haskin and Stella Boyer.   The mark they have left on us, and the tremendous impact on kids that they have had is immeasurable.  We wish them well in their retirement as they begin anew, waiting for their next big adventure.  They will always be an Arno Cougar– We will miss you!!!

Jeanine Haskin

Mrs. Haskin’s expertise in early childhood will certainly be felt in our building.  Mrs. Haskin has been our Young 5’s teacher and former kindergarten teacher for many years.  Her insight into how best to help our youngest learners has been invaluable, her mentorship of staff and many student teachers has been priceless. We wish Mrs. Haskin Congratulations and  the very best in retirement, but her presence will be missed by all of our students, staff, and parents.

Stella Boyer

Mrs. Boyer has also been a fixture here at Arno in the special education department.  Mrs. Boyer spent many years as our phenomenal speech teacher, helping so many of our students, as well as her current role in life skills our categorical special ed program.  Recently, Mrs. Boyer also started a Unified League, which is sports league for Allen Park Schools secondary special education students. This accomplishment brought joy to her students and a sense of accomplishment and was a tremendous hit our parents in Allen Park.  Mrs. Boyer’s mission to help her students will be missed at Arno, as well as other buildings in our district, and we wish her Congratulations and the very best in retirement.

Additional changes for 2023-24

Ms. Johnson, our current 4th grade teacher, will be moving into Kindergarten for the fall.

Mrs. Harrison, our current kindergarten teacher, will become our new Young 5s teacher.

Mrs. Bleau, our current ECP teacher, will be moving into the 4th grade teaching role.

Welcome to Mr. Deak Swearinger! He will teaching Adaptive PE for Jessica’s Eskew’s class this upcoming year!

Summer School Rooms Usage

Teacher Appreciation Week Begins May 8!!

Coming soon to Arno…

May 1

SIP Team Meeting Full Day

Kindergarten Roundup 6:30

May 2

MSTEP- 3rd MAth/4th ELA

May 4

Super Cougar Lunch

Reading/Math Committee meetings 8:00

5th grade meet with APMS Counselors 10:30

PTA Meeting 6:00

May 5

Early Release 11:30

Daddy/Daughter Dance

May 8-12

Teacher Appreciation Week!!

May 9

Ad Council 9:30

May 10

PBIS 8:00

May 11

Teacher/Staff Appreciation Lunch 11:00

ALICE Drill 1:30

May 12

Kinder field trip

May 15

Mobile Dentist- gym

May 16

Kindergarten Screening

May 17

SIP 8:00

3rd grade field trip

May 18

Staff Meeting 7:45

Safety Committee meeting 9:30

Kindergarten Screening

May 19

4th grade field trip

May 22

Mobile Ed Animal Assembly 12:20

May 23

5th Grade Video

May 25

PBIS Rewards

Teacher Data Day

NWEA Assembly 9:30

May 26/29

No School

May 31 

NWEA Picnic 11:30

June 1

District MTSS 9:00

SPED to APMS

Arno Planting Day 3:30

June 2

Cougar Cash Lunch

Field Day

Report Card Window Opens

ARNO MISSION

ARNO ELEMENTARY…INSPIRING STUDENTS TOWARD ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.

ARNO VISION

ARNO ELEMENTARY PROVIDES A SUPPORTIVE HIGH QUALITY ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE TO INSPIRE ALL LEARNERS TO ACHIEVE THEIR PERSONAL BEST.

Thank you Arno staff for everything you do everyday to make our school the best place for kids to learn!  Your tireless efforts are appreciated more than you know and reflect the kind, caring people that make up our staff.  Thank you again for making a difference, and I hope you enjoy your special Appreciation week May 8-12!!

May 11 Hour Lunch Schedule:

Lunch Schedule for Thursday, May 1, 2023                     

All recess is outside unless inclement weather

11am – 11:30am

K, Young 5s, Eskew, and 1st grades eating in Cafeteria

2nd grade eat in classrooms

11am -11:30am

3rd grade recess

4th grade recess

5th grade recess 

11:30-12pm

K recess- Y5 recess

1st grade recess 

2nd grade recess, Eskew recess

11:30 am -12pm

5th grade eating in their classrooms

3rd and 4th eating in cafeteria

ALICE Drill

The Crisis team recently met to discuss our final drill and evacuation plan.  We will conduct the regular drill using the smart boot system and go into lockdown mode- fully taking cover.  At some point, I will clear the system and you will know it’s time to replace the boot and exit the building for the walk to the church.  We will NOT be going into the church this time.  Instead, please make your way to the church, and fully turn around upon arrival and come back to the building (You certainly can stop and discuss where you are at, and what would happen if it were real).  You do not need to stop and look at the yards across the street or bring your kids around to your window once the lockdown is cleared.

To the Parks…

Park Field Trips for Spring 2023

Thursday June 8, 2023

• 5th Grade: Bocabella 12:00-3:00 (Fifth grade Picnic)

• 2nd grade: Barney Park 12:15-2:15

Monday, June 12th, 2023

• Third Grade: Barney Park from 1:20-3pm

• Fourth Grade Bocabella: 1-3:00pm

• 5th Grade: Pretty Family Park 1-3:00 pm

Tuesday, June 13th, 2023 (½ Day, K-2 Prep)

• Third Grade: Boccabella Park from 8:45-11:15am

• Fourth Grade: Pretty Family Park from 8:45-11:15pm

• CI Classroom: Barney Park from 8:45-11:00 (Class Picnic)

Wednesday, June 14th, 2023 (½ Day, 3-5 Prep)

• Kindergarten: Barney Park from 8:45-11:00

• Third Grade: Pretty Family Park from 8:45-10:15am

Thursday, June 15th, 2023 (½ Day, K-2 Prep)

Your 23/24 school year PTA board is as follows:

PRESIDENT: Xina Bagger

                        VICE PRESIDENT: Meaghan Bachman

     TREASURER: Kristy Varkoly

SECRETARY: Sarah Wald

From the PTA

Animals and the Environment Assembly Coming in May to Arno Elementary funded by ARNO PTA! 

We also have 5 metro park assemblies coming in May also funded by ARNO PTA

Shirt colors for Field Day:

C1/Y5/K – Blue

1st Grade –Purple

2nd Grade – Yellow

3rd Grade – Green

4th Grade – Orange

5th Grade – Red

We encourage everyone to attend our PTA meeting on Thursday May 4th @ 6pm in the media center, this is our last PTA meeting of the year and also a pretty important one as we are voting on our excess funds we have to spend.

Hello Arno Families,

The Green Team is actively working to ensure Arno Elementary remains an Evergreen Designated School, which is the highest honor among Michigan Green School recipients. Each year, we provide students with the knowledge necessary to become environmental experts. Continue to stay up to date with our latest tips to recycling responsibility as Earth Day is approaching.

Final Data Day

We will have our final Data Day on May 25, with the final district MTSS day on June 1.  Please remember that all testing and JR score input into Educlimber would need to happen by the MTSS meeting at the latest. As of May 1, the NWEA window is open, let Beth know if you need any aide assistance.  Beth and Erin will let you know dates for the final FAST dates.

May Data Sign Up

Jan Richardson Reading Assessment Dates

– May 9-  Higgins, Zuke

– May 10- Talamonti, Johnson, Huntington

– May 16- Kalis, Guyot, Warneck

– May 18- Schultz, Amonette

– May  23- Mercer, Harrison, Rennals

– May 25- Pushman, Watson, Martinchick

Mobile Ed 

The PTA has one more assembly lined up on May 22:

• Y5, CI, K-2 12:20

• 3-5 1:20

NWEA Assembly

We will be having our final NWEA assembly on May 25, followed by the picnic for the top 10, and one student per room most improved on May 31 at the park again.  More details will follow from the Reading Committee.

AP Immunization 

Immunizations

Tech Time

Four Easy Ways to Make End-of-Year Slideshow Videos

Even though the cold and rainy weather we’re experiencing here in Maine makes it feel like summer is a long way off, it’s not. I was reminded of this yesterday afternoon when I got my first email of the spring in which someone asked for advice about making an end-of-year video for her grade six class.

I get emails about this topic every spring and I’m always happy to help because it’s fun to summarize and celebrate the school year in a short audio slideshow video. These are the tools that I’m recommending for that purpose this spring.

 

Adobe Express Video
Adobe Express was previously known as Adobe Spark. I’ve been using it since its launch seven or eight years ago. Adobe Creative Cloud Express makes it easy for students to create succinct audio slideshow videos. It includes a library of background music that you can insert into your videos. Finally, Adobe Creative Cloud Express is a collaborative tool so you can invite a colleague to work on developing an end-of-year slideshow video with you. Watch this video to learn how to make a video with Adobe Creative Cloud Express.

Canva
Canva offers two ways to create audio slideshow videos. The first way is to simply put together a series of slides and then select a soundtrack to play in the background. That process is demonstrated here. The other method is to use Canva’s full video editor to add narration and custom timings to an audio slideshow video. That process is demonstrated in this video.

Microsoft Photos
Microsoft Photos includes a video creation tool for making short audio slideshow-style videos. You’ll find this by just opening the native photos app in Windows 10. Within the editor there are tools for adding animated effects to still images, insert your existing video clips into a video project, and tools for adding audio to your video. There’s also a great option to search for Creative Commons licensed images and insert them directly into your video project. The best part of that feature is that attribution information is automatically added onto the images you choose through the built-in search tool. In the following video I provide a demonstration of how to create a video in Microsoft Photos in Windows 10.

Google Photos

In Google Photos there is a section called “utilities.” It is in the utilities section that you’ll find the video creation tool. To use it all you need to do is select up to 50 pictures and or videos that you have stored in your Google Photos account. Google Photos will then automatically select display length for each image or video and automatically add background music to your video. If you don’t like what was automatically selected for your video, you can manually adjust display length and choose different background music.

Watch this short video to learn how to make an audio slideshow video with Google Photos.

The video creation tool in Google Photos does limit you to 50 images per video. If you need to make a longer video, you could make two or three videos in Google Photos then download them and combine them in iMovie or WeVideo.

AI Tools

This AI Tool Generates Reading Comprehension Questions for Any Article

 

QuestionWell is a new AI tool that will generate reading comprehension and guiding questions for just about any article that you specify. Questions created by QuestionWell can be saved in a document or exported to a handful of popular quiz apps including Kahoot and Quizziz.

There are two ways that you can use QuestionWell to generate questions. One option is to copy and paste a block of text (up to 1,000 words) into the QuestionWell question generator. The other option is to paste the URL of an online article into the QuestionWell question generator. Whichever method you choose, the next steps are all the same.

QuestionWell takes the article that you’ve entered and generates a set of questions based on it. You can view all of the questions and select the ones that you like. The questions can be exported to a Word document and or exported to a quiz app. All of the question sets that you create are also saved in your QuestionWell account so that you can revisit them and edit them whenever you need to. Watch my video below for a short overview of how QuestionWell works.

Video – How Use QuestionWell