Feb 25—GES Family Fitness Night—5:00-7:00

Feb 26-Mar 18—WES Book Fair

Feb 27—WMS Parent Volunteer Meeting—3:30

March 1—Elementary District Gov-ernor’s Cup Competition @ AES

March 1—GCHS Snowball Dance

March 3—AES Ham it Up with Dad Breakfast

March 3-7—GES Book Fair. Family Night—March 4—4:00-6:00

March 4—GCHS ACT Test Date; ESS and Grade Recovery Begins

March 6—AES Family Book Fair Night

March 10-14—GES Kindergarten Registration—9:00-2:00

March 17-21—WES Kindergarten Registration

March 17-21—WMS Book Fair

March 21—GCHS Library Read-In—3:30-9:00

March 27-28—MES Kindergarten Registration; 8:30-11:30; 12:30-2:30

March 28—WMS Operation Prepa-ration

Message from the Superintendent Fellow Employees,

As of today, we have missed twenty-two school days so far this school year. That total had pushed our school calendar to reflect the last day for students as June 13th and staff closing day June 16th. These late ending dates created several issues that were detrimental to our stu-dents, staff and the district as a whole. To combat these issues, the Board of Education voted last night to elimi-nate spring break from the school calendar. The re-vised calendar now reflects that school will be in session March 31—April 4. The last day for stu-

dents is now June 6. Closing day for staff is June 9.

The decision to take spring break was not made lightly. This year all state testing (KPREP) must be completed during the last fourteen days of instruc-tion for all schools. Without taking spring break, the bulk of the last fourteen instructional days were scheduled the last of May and early June. The educa-tional feeling was that our students would not perform as well as they should and school attendance for that period of time may have also suffered. To go along with these concerns, several of our graduating seniors are planning to attend college summer school along with possible summer employment being hindered by the late closing date.

Our staff was also impacted by the late closing date as many take summer college graduate courses to meet the continuous educational requirements for all teachers in the state of Kentucky. These college graduate classes start no later than the first of June.

For the school district as a whole, poor student attendance during the June make-up days would have impacted our Average Daily Attendance (ADA), which is the revenue mechanism our state uses to fund all public school dis-tricts. As budgets continue to shrink, lost ADA monies become even more of an issue.

The calendar may still change—we are not through winter just yet. But one thing is for sure, we will continue to provide a world-class educational oppor-tunity for every Greenup County student.

With Musketeer Pride,

Steve A. Hall

this issue

Did You Know? P.2

Curriculum Updates P.4

PGES Update P.4

Upcoming Events

News You Can Use Greenup County Schools Employee News

ISSUE 5, Feb/March 2014

GCHS Spanish Honor Society students host the 2014 state conference.

2014 Greenup County High School yearbooks are currently on sale for $75.00. Please contact Ms. Bowling at the High School or visit yearbooks.biz to place your order today.

AES celebrated the 100th day of school on Wednesday, February 19th. Students in Mrs. Barney's kindergarten class enjoyed their 100th day projects that got them excited about math!

Mrs. Gammon and Mrs. Steele's third grade classrooms will explore hands-on inquiry based learn-ing with resources provided by the "Happy Hands Investigative Learning" grant received from Donors Choose. GCHS teachers Kristina Brown, Ashley Henry, Anna Potter and Jill Arm-strong have also received Donors Choose grants. Ashley Henry has been funded twice.

About 80 students in grades 3-5 at MES participated in the first Multiplication Dance of this school year. Students who passed the multiplication quiz with 80 problems in the allotted time were able to attend. Several other dances and a field trip are planned for the remainder of the school year for any 3-5 grade student who passes this test.

The MES Family Resource Center received a $500 grant from WSAZ Children's Charities to purchase student supplies for the center. The FRC also received a $100 grant from the Greenup County Farm Bureau to help with the Brown Bag Program. Congrats, Gaila!

Jenifer Webster, librarian at McKell Middle, produced a fun video entitled, “The Buses Won’t Run” to the tune of REO Speedwagon’s :Take it on the Run”. Her Facebook video was featured on local news and radio and spotlighted by WKYT news in Lexington. The video’s popularity even reached REO Speed-wagon band members, who contacted her via FB! Johnna Ailster is selling t-shirts to commemorate Jenifer’s online success and our epic winter. All proceeds will be donated by to the MMS Li-brary. Contact Johnna at: johnna.ailster@greenup.kyschools.us to place an order!

GCHS senior baseball players, Jesse Hall and Carson Glancy, recently signed to continue their base-ball careers at Alice Lloyd College. Congrats Jesse and Carson!

WMS PE Teacher, Jay Krebs, was awarded the McDonald's Balanced and Active Lifestyles Grant (physical education grant) and the Greenup County Green Fund Grant (to enhance our courtyard ar-ea and curb appeal at WMS). Way to go, Mr. Krebs!

GCHS science teacher, Justin Stafford, received a NASA water quality grant. More information about this project coming soon!

Thanks to all community supporters that assisted with Greenup County Schools' Holiday Drive. We also received donations of coats, scarves and gloves from Trinity Station, the Greenup County News-Times and the Beacon’s Mission Group at Russell First Baptist. Many donations went to students in the “Students in Transition” program who are being raised by caregivers other than parents. Our community is awesome!

Students in Mrs. Nemeth's 5th grade classroom at AES enjoyed Ms. Nickel's unit kicking off random acts of kindness week and learn how to be a Bucket Filler! The unit, based on the award winning book, Have You Filled A Bucket Today?, encourages positive behavior and demonstrates easy ways to express kindness, appreciation, and love on a daily basis.

Four GES students qualified for state individual Future Problem Solving competition. They will travel to Louisville, along with the school’s Community Problem Solving teams (TEAM SKIP and TEAM HOMES), to compete for spots at international competition. Good luck Greyhounds!

AES 4th and 5th grade students are preparing demonstration speeches as part of the University of Ken-tucky 4-H communication program. Students will choose topics within fifteen categories and present a "How to" demonstration on March 7th. Students are busy researching their topics, writing written re-ports, and gathering props in preparation for their speeches!

The Winter MAP data results for the GCHS science department have proven to be quite promising. Upon analysis, the science department was able to determine that students were performing along the national norm. Essentially, the top 10 percent of our students are falling into the 90th percentile or above. This is a great accomplishment and demonstrates that, as an academic

institution, GCHS continues to steadily and consistently improve. The data also demonstrates a very pleasing trend: over 280 students performed at a high level (220+) on the Biology portion of the exam. This statistic bodes well for the future given that the Biology students will take the state mandated End-of-Course exam that will be re-flected on our school's report card.

Congrats to our world-famous GCHS varsity cheerleaders. They placed third at UCA Nationals with a perfect routine. Way to go, girls! You make Greenup County proud!

Did You Know?

Assessment/Curriculum Updates

GIFTED/TALENTED EDUCATION Elementary G/T students are currently creating their own versions of Fractured Fairy Tales. Students have been using story boarding techniques to give a different twist to a traditional fairy tale. In addition to composing their tales, students will be designing string puppets and background scenery to present their Fractured Fairy Tales to other classes.

Middle school G/T students will be studying energy transformation through the Science of Energy Program from the Need Project. Students will be utilizing scientific inquiry skills to design and conduct investigations. They will work in groups and complete experiments relating to potential and kinetic energy, radiant energy, thermal energy, and electrical energy.

PROGRAM REVIEWS The district Program Review Team completed a few scheduled visits before weather prompted many cancellations. These schools have analyzed their data and categorized evidence. Evidence has been organized by standard and demonstrators for each Program Review area (writing, arts and humanities, practical living/career studies and K-3) . This focus allows the teams to identify areas of need and move students toward proficiency. The district team will continue school visits in March. GREENUP COUNTY LITERACY TEAM

The GC Literacy team, which is comprised of representatives from the high school and middle schools, will meet on March 18. At this meeting teachers across content areas will share effective strategies being used in their classrooms. Evidence of lesson plans and student work will assist in the discussions. The team is working to provide more professional development opportunities in utilizing effective strategies. MAP TESTING Spring testing in MAP was originally scheduled for the end of March, but will be rescheduled due to the number of days missed due to inclement weather. The revised test dates will be determined after the Board revises the school calendar.

AUTOMATICITY Winter Automaticity testing was scheduled for the month of January, but winter weather caused it to be extended into Febru-ary. Most results have been reported. Spring testing dates will be announced after this month’s board meeting. CIITS

Greenup County received a very positive report during the state visit in December, with commendations for creation of lesson plans and resources. Teacher-created assessments and student on-line testing is showing an increase, and we hope to see this reach 100% by the end of the school year. We appreciate our teachers’ efforts with these goals! CATCHUP MATH Catchup Math is an on-line program covering Grades 6-7 Math, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, and high school graduation test prep. With the program’s diagnos-tics ability to drill down and re-teach grades 3-5 topics as needed, the program has been extended to all fifth grade classes. Catchup Math uses a test-reteach-retest model that targets and remediates individual skill weaknesses which can dramatically accelerate student learning.

ALEKS ALEKS is proving useful in filling learning gaps with its ability to quickly and accurately determine exactly what a student knows and doesn’t know in a course. ALEKS peri-odically reassesses students to ensure that topics learned are also retained. Re-search has shown that students who show a high level of mastery in an ALEKS course will be successful in the actual course enrolled in at the local school level.

Month 5 A�endance

Wurtland MIddle 95.38%

Wurtland Elem 95.03%

Greysbranch 94.93%

Argillite Elem 94.50%

McKell Middle 94.26%

McKell Elem 93.61%

GCHS 92.46%

District 94.28%

The GCHS Spanish Honor Society was honored to host twelve schools from across the state for the annual conference. State presi-dent Sydney Shoemaker welcomed our guests to the two day conference held at GCHS and the Ashland Plaza Hotel. Former GCHS valedictorian Tyler Hurst served as keynote speaker to talk about his work with refugees. Member Allison Tracy was elected to the state secretary position. Senior Strait Taylor received one of four SHS scholarships. Congrats Seniorita Del Valle and GCHS!

PGES Update— Dr. Ma. Baker, Director of District-Wide Programs This month I will continue the series of articles that attempt to describe aspects of our new evaluation system in Kentucky, the Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (PGES). In previous months, I have shared information in this newslet-ter comparing the differences between the teacher portion (TPGES) of this system with the principal (PPGES) portion of this system. I have also described the certification process (TeachScape) all certified evaluators in this district have now com-pleted that will allow them to use the Framework for Teaching in performing evaluations of their teachers.

I will begin a review of the multiple measures that, when combined, form the basis of determining level of effectiveness for TPGES. As you will recall from the trainings conducted this Fall, there are 6 “multiple measures” that determine the level of effec-tiveness in each of 5 “domains”. This relationship is depicted in the pictured graph.

The first “multiple measure” is the Student Voice measure. The Student Voice Survey is a confidential online survey, developed by the Kentucky Department of Education, that asks K-12 students to give feedback on specific aspects of the classroom experi-ence, organized around seven elements of teaching practice: support, transparency, understanding, discipline, engagement, nurturing and trust. These elements form the acronym STUDENT.

The survey generates information about how students experience teaching practices and learning conditions in the classroom as well as information about how students assess their own engagement. Student Voice Surveys are being used by hundreds of schools and thousands of classrooms in more than 25 states nationwide.

The effective use of student voice surveys is featured in the Gates Foundation Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) study of teaching quality. Using a sample of more than 44,500 students, the results of the MET study in December 2010 and Jan-uary 2012 reinforce a growing consensus that integrating student survey assessment results with high-quality observations and student gain-scores on achievement tests creates a more valid and reliable teacher evaluation system compared to current standard practices. The questions are aligned to Framework for Teaching, which has been adapted for KDE.

As our pilot school, students and teachers at GCHS will complete this “multiple measure” within the next few weeks. During the 14-15 school year, each school will be required to pilot PGES with at least 10% of the tenured teachers in the building. So, next year each building will be administering this survey on a limited basis. Questions for these surveys are listed below.

In the next newsletter, I will review another of the multiple measures that are used to determine teacher effectiveness.

Student Voice Survey Questions for Grades 3-5

Support: 1) My teacher pushes us to think hard about things we read. 2) My teacher pushes everybody to work hard. 3) In this class we have to think hard about the writing we do. Transparency: 4) In this class we learn to correct our mistakes. 5) This class is neat-everything has a place and things are easy to find. 6) My teacher explains things in very orderly ways. 7) My teacher knows when the class understands, and when we do not. Understand: 8) My teacher takes the time to summarize what we learn each day. 9) When my teacher marks my work, he/she writes on my papers to help me understand. Discipline: 10) My classmates behave the way my teacher wants them to. 11) Our class stays busy and does not waste time. 12) Stu-dents behave so badly in this class that it slows down our learning. Engage: 13) School work is interesting. 14) We have interesting homework. 15) Homework helps me learn. Nurture : 16) My teacher in this class makes me feel that he/she really cares about me. 17) If I am sad or angry, my teacher helps me feel better. 18) My teacher seems to know if something is bothering me. 19) My teacher gives us time to explain our ideas. Trust: 20) My teacher wants us to share our thoughts. 21) Students speak up and share their ideas about class work. 22) My teacher wants me to explain my answers-why I think what I think.

On the elementary survey, the 5 choices are labeled: “no, never” “mostly not” “maybe/sometimes” “mostly yes” “yes, always”

Student Voice Survey Questions for Grades 6-12

Support: 1) In this class, we learn a lot almost every day. 2) In this class, we learn to correct our mistakes. 3) My teacher doesn’t let people give up when the work gets hard. 4) In this class, my teacher accepts nothing less than our full effort. Transparency: 5) My teacher explains difficult things clearly. 6) My teacher has several good ways to explain each topic that we cover in this class. 7) If you don’t understand something, my teacher explains it another way. 8) My teacher knows when the class under-stands, and when we do not. Understand: 9) My teacher checks to make sure we understand what s/he is teaching us. 10) The comments that I get on my work in this class help me understand how to improve. 11) We get helpful comments to let us know what we did wrong on assignments. Discipline: 12) Students in this class treat the teacher with respect. 13) My classmates behave the way my teacher wants them to. 14) Our class stays busy and does not waste time. 15) Student behavior in this class is under control. Engage: 16) I like the ways we learn in this class. 17) My teacher makes lessons interesting. 18) My teacher makes learning enjoyable. Nurture: 19) My teacher in this class makes me feel that s/he really cares about me. 20) My teacher really tries to understand how stu-dents feel about things. 21) My teacher seems to know if something is bothering me. Trust: 22) My teacher respects my ideas and suggestions. 23) My teacher wants us to share our thoughts. 24) Students speak up and share their ideas about class work. 25) My teacher gives us time to explain our ideas.

On the 6-12 survey, the 5 choices are labeled “totally untrue” “mostly untrue” “somewhat” “mostly true” “totally true”

• Workorders Completed: 125 workorders completed since December 1, 2013.

• 6530b Laptop upgrade is continuing. All 6530b laptop are currently being up-graded to 2 gb ram and Windows 7. • Social Media Committee will be formed with administrators, principals, teach-ers, & students to create a policy which will allow school district to use social media sites for educational instruction. • PBS Learning Discovery : March 26 – Helen Morrison will demonstrate addi-tional features in PBS Learning and Discovery – open to staff to attend. • 707 Lenovo ThinkPad notebooks have been imaged and delivered to the schools for different projects. • Office 365 upgrade completed - Sky Drive Pro & Office apps are now available to staff and students. VOIP phone system set up in all schools – GCHS, AES, and GES are complete. WES and WMS will be switched over next. Currently working with Windstream to get X1 portal working which allows teachers to use iphones as classroom phones • Additional Security RFP

Additional interior and exterior cameras : AES - 5 int./4 ext.; GES - 6 int./ 3 ext.; MES - 9 int./5 ext.; WES - 7 int./ 2 ext.; MMS - 6 ext.; WMS - 8 ext.; GCHS - 6 int./ 6 ext.; ATC - 13 int. Electronic Door Locks : AES – 3, GES – 3, MES – 4, WES – 3, MMS – 4, WMS – 4, GCHS – 5 Interface with E-911

•Student Voice Survey: 2013-2014 - GCHS Only (one class per teacher); 2014-2015 - ALL students K-12 (3-12 online no assistance; K-3 proctors one-on-one) •Wireless Access Point Plan - Every classroom will have WAP by end of next school year. 30 - 50 devices can concurrently connect. GES, WES, & MES will be first, then middle & high schools. AES currently has updated WAP system and will be switched over last. •Windows XP to be removed: Windows XP will have an end of life support from Microsoft on April 14. 400 XP machines will be removed or upgraded to 2GB memory and Windows 7 Website Update - working with eSchoolview to update our website.

IT Department Data

LivingWell The LivingWell HumanaVitality team will be touring the Commonwealth in March and April to assist KEHP members in completing their LivingWell Promise. The team will be at ACTC’s Technology Drive campus (Room 112), on April 24 from 11:00 -6:00. Members who do not need extra assistance should complete the LivingWell Promise on their own before May 1, 2014.

Computers will be available for assistance with:

· Humana.com username/password creation and retrieval

· HumanaVitality LivingWell Promise Health Assessment completion

Completion of the Assessment takes approximately 20-40 minutes and you will be assisted on a first come, first served basis. Please plan accordingly. We recommend arriving at least one hour prior to event end time.

What to Bring:

· Your Kentucky Employees’ Health Plan In-surance Card · Your Humana.com username and password – if you have registered (not your KHRIS login)

GC Board of Education 2014 Meeting Dates

All meetings begin at 6:00 at Greenup County High School

♦ February 24 ♦ March 24 ♦ April 28 ♦ May 19 ♦ June 23 ♦ July 28 ♦ August 25 ♦ September 22 ♦ October 27 ♦ November 17 ♦ December 15

GCHS ESS/Grade Recovery Schedule

• Midterm will close on Thursday, March 6.

• Transportation will be provided to McKell Middle School and Wurtland Middle School.

• 3:15 – 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 4 Thursday, March 6 Tuesday, March 11 Thursday, March 13 Tuesday, March 18 Thursday, March 20 Tuesday, March 25 Thursday, March 27 Tuesday, April 8 Thursday, April 10 ESS Science: Justin Stafford Math: Laci Ingles Social Studies: Brandi Litteral English: Melissa Bowling Grade Recovery Science/Math: Justin Stafford Social Studies/English: Sara Sexton