EDUC 461

Alison Haynes

TWS 10 Communication & Collaboration Plan

Communication with Parents/Guardians Parent Letter A parent letter was sent out at the beginning of the school year to introduce myself to the parents/guardians and students, tell a little about my background, and briefly tell my expectations and goals for the school year. ATTACHMENT 1 Weekly Newsletter Each Monday, a newsletter will be sent home with the students. In this newsletter, each subject is listed with its objectives for the week. Any important dates coming up or notes to parents are listed in the newsletter as well. Also, the 15 spelling words of the week are listed on the newsletter, reminding parents that the test is on Friday. ATTACHMENT 2 Parent Survey At the beginning of the school year, a parent survey was sent home for the parent/guardian of each student to fill out and return. The survey included questions such as their childs strengths and weaknesses, computer and internet availability at home, and anything else the teacher should know about the student. ATTACHMENT 3

Communication with Colleagues Email Email is a common and quick way to communicate with colleagues. Email is used when a face-to-face conversation is not possible, or when information needs to be shared through a computer. Email is used to share lesson plans, attachments (worksheets, charts, flipcharts, etc.), schedule meetings, follow up to meetings, or send any brief message. ATTACHMENT 4 Conference Sign-In Sheet The sign-in sheet for conferences was turned into the principal to show who came to a parent-teacher conference. ATTACHMENT 5

Communication/Involvement with the Community Local Food Bank Since the holidays are coming up, we decided to conduct a canned food drive and collect cans for the local food bank in Ninety Six. The students have one week to bring in cans, and the class from each grade that brings in the most cans will win a party (probably ice cream). This is a way to build the relationship between the school and community, and also teach the children about giving to and helping the community and its people. After one week of collecting cans, NSPS collected 1,273 items to donate. ATTACHMENT 6 & 7 Star Fort National Historic Site Star Fort is a national historic site where parts of the American Revolution took place. It is in the town of Ninety Six, and often holds reenactments. The site allows schools to come on a field trip as sort of a private session of the reenactment.

EDUC 461

Alison Haynes

Food Lion The local groceries stores are partners involved for our schools Math Night. Food Lion allows students and their families to come into the store and complete a worksheet. Students learn about grocery budgets, food labels and the food pyramid. Extra-Curricular Involvement Book Fair & Grandparents Day September 5-6, 2013 For Grandparents Day, students invited their grandparents come to visit the school and attend the Scholastic book fair. By doing this, I was able to communicate and work with students, parents, grandparents, and school staff, and be involved in school functions and actually become part of the school. ATTACHMENT 8 Faculty Meeting September 9, 2013 Faculty meetings are held most Mondays after school at 3:40. Through faculty meetings, I have learned much more about life as a teacher. It is not just about sitting in a classroom all day, but there is so much that goes on behind closed doors that teachers have to handle. ATTACHMENT 9 PTO/Open House Tuesday, September 17, 2013 During PTO and Open House night, I was able to interact with students and parents, and learn more about them outside their academics, such as seeing their interaction with their families. Professional Development: PBIS Training September 19, 2013 During professional development, I saw the same vision that I saw with faculty meetings, except a lot more in depth. In this professional development, we talked about PBIS and how to make our school a PBIS school. PBIS is a behavior system implemented at schools. I learned most of all, though, that it takes everyone in a school doing their part to make the school system successful. Parent Conferences October 24, 2013 Parent conferences is a huge experience that was very beneficial. Throughout parent conferences, although it is only a short time, you get to see how much parents are actually involved in their childs education, and their awareness. It allows the teacher to sit down and talk with parents, and come up with a plan on how to work together to ensure the students success, which is also beneficial to the student. ATTACHMENT 10 IEP Meeting IEP meetings are very intense. There is so much legal ground to cover along with everything the child needs to be successful academically. CogAT Testing Training October 29, 2013 CogAT is a test all 2nd graders take to place for gifted and talented. National testing training is good for all educators to have. The training ensured that the teachers knew the rules and regulations for the test and that all students were given an equal chance at being successful.