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Dear Staff,
Happy Holidays!
I wish you and your family a joy-filled holiday season. I hope you find
your break relaxing, fun and safe.
We will return in 2012 to continue our commitment to our students—
providing the best education for them.
All the Best!
Heidi Kast,
Asst. Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
A M e s s a g e f r o m H e i d i . . .
Please see ATTACHMENT
#1 PowerPoint from
MDE for more infor-
mation.
With the Race to the Top
came Common Core
Standards and a new test
for measuring the new
standards in ELA and
math. Two consortia are
currently working to
develop the assessment:
SMARTER/Balanced
Assessment (SBAC) and
Partnership for the As-
sessment of Readiness
for College and Career
(PARCC). The test is
expected for implemen-
tation in the 2014-2015
school year.
The major changes in-
clude:
Moving online
Scoring
Reporting
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
N e w S t a t e T e s t C o m i n g 2 0 1 4 - 2 0 1 5
I n s i d e t h i s
i s s u e :
Technology Update 2
Olweus Update 2
IXL Statistics 2
Service Learning 3
Community Enrich-
ment
3
Did You Know? 3
Book Drive 4
D e c e m b e r 1 4 , 2 0 1 1
K i n d e r g a r t e n
a n d 1 s t G r a d e
P l a y
Kindergarten and 1st grade
each had a day during the
first week of December to
work with Mary Masson to
dig deeper into the study
and importance of play.
We believe children learn
through play. Children
develop language, cogni-
tion, socio-emotional, and
physical skills, as well as
creativity, through play.
Therefore we need to:
Keep play experiences
fresh, relevant, and fun
Provide children oppor-
tunities, materials, and
time for free play within
our daily schedule
Curriculum, Instruction
and Assessment
NEWSLETTER
I X L S t a t i s t i c s
T e c h n o l o g y
U p d a t e
O l w e u s U p d a t e
applied for grants for bullying
prevention. We have been
granted one at this time. Let-
ters have been sent to some
local organizations and a
presentation was done for the
Chamber of Commerce. Ef-
forts are being made to re-
ceive funding and get the
community involved. Please
see ATTACHMENT #2, a bro-
chure summarizing some
important information regard-
ing this District initiative.
There were 4 staff members
that applied to attend the
training to become certified
Olweus trainers for our Dis-
trict. At this point, the District
has received the funding to
train 2 people. Brent Skiba,
Family School Coordinator at
Pine Tree and Cindy Hilley,
head custodian at Oakview,
attended the training the first
week of December. Brent and
Cindy have been very active in
their buildings’ implementa-
tion of Olweus. It is hopeful
that we may be able to bring
the training to Michigan in
the spring. If that transpires,
we are hoping to be training
the other two applicants, An-
drea Rutlege from the high
school and Kim Haynes, Coun-
selor at Oakview. Both Andrea
and Kim have helped to coor-
dinate Olweus in their build-
ings.
Currently, the District has
sending home the standards
from the unit they are teaching
that align to IXL so parents
can work with their students.
Parents and students love the
program!
If you have not already done
so, please find a way to incor-
porate this program into your
teaching whether it be direct
or indirect.
IXL’s use is increasing. The
following stats are highlights
from November.
Stadium—2nd and 4th
grades have 99% using it
and 100% of 3rd grade
Carpenter— 86% of K and
2nd grade has 100%
Pine Tree—5th grade is at
97%
Paint Creek—has 2nd grade
and 3rd gades at 96%
Waldon— has 7th at 97%
This is an excellent resource
for students both at school and
at home. Please be sure you
are taking advantage of it.
Teachers are using the pro-
gram for homework, centers,
competitions, and District
instruction. Some teachers are
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
P a g e 2
Our district will be receiving one time funds for
the compliance of best practices. The Board
has approved to use a portion of these funds
for technology. Specifically, each elementary
and middle school will receive netbook carts
and the high school labs will be replaced. The
netbook carts will be purchased soon while the
labs at the high school well be completed in
late spring/summer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Recently, you were asked to complete a tech-
nology survey required by the state. Please see
the results, in ATTACHMENT # 4.
Be one of the first to email Heidi a statistic
from the survey results to win a CIA prize!
D i d Y o u K n o w ? ? ?
Lake Orion High School wel-
comes nine exchange students
this school year. These stu-
dents are enrolled in the tenth
and eleventh grades and will
participate in English as a
Second Language program.
They will spend the year like
typical LOHS students: going
to classes, getting involved in
extracurricular activities, and
hanging out with friends.
While living with host families,
they will experience new foods,
holidays, and do some travel-
ing. The countries represented
by these students this year are
Germany, the Czech Republic,
France and Korea.
Academic Service Learning and Student Engagement
Through Academic Service
Learning activities, students not
only feel that they belong to a
group that is pursuing a com-
mon goal, they feel a heightened
sense of accomplishment and
pride as they observe the results
of their efforts. ASL gives every-
one the opportunity to be suc-
cessful as they learn to be better
students and citizens and gain a
sense of empowerment and
pride in their ability to help
others.
Want to know more? Have an
idea? Need help with a project?
Contact Laurie Trafton, Academ-
ic Service Learning Coordinator
at Ext. 6427 or 248-693-5436,
Ext. 2, (email:
for further information and
resources.
Academic Service Learning as a
teaching strategy provides stu-
dents with the opportunity to
meet clearly established aca-
demic goals while they provide
meaningful service to the com-
munity.
One of the key elements of Aca-
demic Service Learning that
makes it so successful is student
engagement. When the service
is connected to academic class-
room content, students see that
they are able to apply that class-
room content, as well as their
own social and personal skills, to
improve the community. No
longer does the teacher have to
answer the question, “Why am I
learning this?” or “How are we
ever going to use this in our
lives?” As students use the
content learned in the classroom
to work on projects that offer
“real life” experiences and see
that they can have an impact by
doing for others, they are natu-
rally motivated and the material
presented in class becomes more
meaningful.
Academic Service Learning en-
gages and, therefore, motivates
students at all levels, from high-
ability students to those who do
not respond as well to tradition-
al approaches. In addition to
traditional approaches, ASL
employs a variety of participa-
tory and experiential approaches
that enhance student learning.
These approaches include dis-
cussion, practicing of new skills,
and instructing others. Accord-
ing to the National Training
Lab, Bethel, Maine, The Learn-
ing Pyramid below shows the
retention rate of the different
teaching methods.
C o m m u n i t y E n r i c h m e n t E x p a n d s A c a d e m i c O f f e r i n g s
the curricular based courses
include: After School Spanish,
Kids With Cameras, LEGO
engineering, and Drawing/art
classes. In terms of second-
ary and adult education, Ger-
man and Spanish classes
along with MS Office Com-
puter Classes make up some
of the newest programs being
offered to the public.
The LOCS Community En-
richment Department has
been extremely busy creating
many new programs and clas-
ses for the upcoming new
year. Accordingly, the major-
ity of new programs being
offered will be educational
based. There are still the reg-
ular staple courses like paint-
ing, dance, sports, exercise,
etc. offered in the depart-
ment’s bi-annual brochures
(the next one comes out in
mid-December). However,
the freshest enrichment offer-
ings hit upon some of the key
LOCS curriculum areas for
elementary students such as:
Writer’s Workshop, Summer
Math Boost, Summer Reading
Boost, and Summer Writing
Boost. Likewise, other new
courses that will complement
D e c e m b e r 1 4 , 2 0 1 1
P a g e 3
Shows the average percentage of re-
tention of material after 24 hours for
each instructional method.
Did you find
the snow
flake?!!
Not this one!!!
CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION
AND ASSESSMENT CONTACTSAND ASSESSMENT CONTACTSAND ASSESSMENT CONTACTS
Heidi Kast……...Asst. Superintendent of Curriculum,
Instruction and Assessment
Marysue Schwartzmiller….Administrative Assistant
248-693-5409 or Ext. 3908
Linda Glowaz….Assessment Coordinator...Ext. 6410
District Department Chairs…………..Listed on LOnet
District School Improvement Chairs………..Listed on
LOnet
LOCS Book Drive
a HUGE success!!
This November Lake Orion Community Schools hosted
it’s 2nd annual used book drive. Our mission was to
match more kids with the perfect books to support their
growth as a reader. Thank you to parents and commu-
nity members for their donations. 696 books were
adopted by classroom teachers for direct use in Lake
Orion classrooms. Each of these books is valued at a
minimum $5.00. Cleaning out our bookshelves saved
LOCS over $3,480.00! Watch for upcoming details on
our spring book drive. Questions may be forwarded to
Kate DiMeo, [email protected]. Thank you
for your generosity!!
The Office of Curriculum,
Instruction and Assessment invites you. . .
Join us as we grow together by participating in a professional book club on Reader’s
Workshop. This spring, we will be discussing Teaching Reading in Small Groups by Jennifer
Seravallo.
For teachers who sometimes feel as if data-based instruction, differentiated groupings, and formative assessments somehow involve going over to The Dark Side, this book is a powerful antidote. It will help you know that you can hold tight to your deepest beliefs about children and literature, classroom communities and good teaching. —Lucy Calkins
If you choose to participate, the book will be offered to you for only $10.00. As a way of
saying thank you for going the extra mile, the district will cover the additional cost. Student
teachers, long term substitutes, friends from other districts etc. are welcome to participate
but must purchase his/her own book independently.
Interschool mail or e-mail Kate DiMeo at Webber by January 20th at 3:30 PM to reserve your
book. The book and reading assignments will be sent to you via interschool mail. You will only
need to return the book if you do not attend at least three of the four meetings on the book.
All meetings will take place at Webber from 4:15-5:15 PM in the teacher’s lounge. Childcare
will be arranged if interest is expressed.
Teaching Reading in Small Groups (grades 1-8)
February 7 (Tuesday), February 28 (Tuesday), March 6 (Tuesday), March 20 (Tuesday)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This information may be e-mailed or interschool mailed to Kate DiMeo by January 20th.
Name_________________________________
School_______________ Grade Level___________
Enclose $10.00 for each book (non-LOCS employees include $27.00 per book).
Checks may be made payable to LOCS.
Teaching Reading in Small Groups By Jennifer Serraavallo
Admini- Categories Media Elemen- Level High
Question District State strators Teachers Spec. Other tary Middle School
1What is your skill level in using email (e.g., able to open and send email and work
with attachments)? 4.37 4.35 4.69 4.37 4.78 4.00 4.35 4.51 4.30
2 What is your skill level in using digital cameras in the learning environment? 3.63 3.64 3.94 3.63 4.22 3.20 3.79 3.67 3.38
3What is your skill level in using projection devices (e.g., data projectors, document
cameras, interactive whiteboards) in the learning environment? 3.14 3.39 3.94 3.14 4.11 2.60 2.84 3.42 3.35
4What is your skill level in using classroom response systems (e.g., CPS or Turning
Point Clickers) in the learning environment? 1.87 2.35 2.75 1.82 2.89 1.50 1.58 2.04 2.15
5 What is your skill level in querying a database?2.41 2.72 3.06 2.34 4.44 1.90 2.17 2.50 2.68
6 What is your skill level in using a spreadsheet? 3.27 3.46 3.88 3.22 4.11 2.90 3.09 3.34 3.46
7What is your skill level in using digital tools to create documents (e.g., word
processing, Google Docs, WordPad)? 3.49 3.80 4.19 3.49 4.44 2.20 3.38 3.55 3.57
8What is your skill level with assessment/evaluation tools such as online survey
makers (e.g., Google Forms, Survey Monkey, Zoomerang)? 2.49 3.00 3.44 2.41 4.11 2.30 2.38 2.74 2.44
9What is your skill level with assessment/evaluation tools such as rubric makers (e.g.,
RubiStar or other rubric making sites)? 2.14 2.42 2.75 2.11 3.00 1.50 2.01 2.37 2.14
10 What is your skill level using PowerSchool? 3.82 3.45 4.31 3.91 3.44 4.00 3.53 4.18 3.98
11What is your skill level in using Pearson Inform for data inquiry and analysis of
student achievement? 2.68 2.50 3.13 2.72 2.89 2.90 2.78 3.06 2.26
12What is your skill level in using keyboarding short cuts (e.g., Ctrl+A highlights/selects
all text)? 2.97 3.26 3.50 2.95 4.00 2.50 2.87 3.16 2.95
13 What is your skill level with blogging tools?2.05 2.43 2.75 1.98 3.33 1.70 1.95 2.18 2.10
14What is your skill level in using collaboration tools (e.g., Google Docs, Wikispaces,
Buzzword)? 2.08 2.54 2.69 2.03 4.22 1.50 1.92 2.33 2.12
15What is your skill level in using online content area tools that provide lesson plans,
interactive and instructional materials? 2.90 2.47 2.75 2.93 4.00 2.10 2.90 3.06 2.81
16What is your skill level with using digital differentiation tools (e.g., Premier Assistive
Technology Suite, LearnPort's Nettrekker, VozMe, Read the Words)? 1.44 1.82 1.81 1.39 2.67 1.30 1.35 1.52 1.48
17What is your knowledge level of the online digital citizenship resources available
which teach web site evaluation, cyber safety, and acceptable use? 1.79 2.26 2.38 1.67 4.44 1.70 1.70 1.94 1.84
18What is your skill level in using digital tools that allow editing and enhancement of
digital images? 2.37 2.80 2.75 2.32 3.78 2.00 2.29 2.55 2.32
19What is your skill level in using online digital story telling tools (i.e., PhotoStory 3,
MovieMaker, iMovie)? 2.02 2.41 2.13 1.97 3.44 1.70 1.87 2.33 1.97
Admini- Categories Media Elemen- Level High
Question District State strators Teachers Spec. Other tary Middle School
20What is your skill level in using online tools for creating an online presence (e.g.,
Blackboard, Moodle, EduBlogs/blog, or a variety of tools)? 2.32 2.61 2.81 2.30 4.00 1.80 1.90 2.69 2.61
21What is your skill level in using a course management system (e.g., Blackboard,
Moodle) to enhance, extend, and/or provide online learning experiences? 2.26 2.48 2.88 2.24 3.78 1.90 1.82 2.63 2.63
22What is your skill level in using online interactive learning or virtual tools (e.g.,
Google Earth, Thinkfinity/Illuminations)? 2.16 2.57 2.56 2.13 3.33 1.80 1.97 2.35 2.24
23What is your skill level in using online video resources (e.g., SchoolTube,
TeacherTube, YouTube)? 2.94 3.24 3.31 2.94 4.00 2.00 2.63 3.33 2.99
24What is your skill level in using commercial online video resources such as United
Streaming or Learn360)? 2.61 2.84 3.25 2.65 4.11 1.90 2.42 2.97 2.57
25What is your skill level in using audio resources in the learning environment (e.g.,
iTunes, podcasts)? 2.56 2.86 3.31 2.52 3.44 2.20 2.42 2.83 2.54
26What is your skill level in creating audio content for use in a learning environment
(e.g., Audacity, GarageBand)? 1.71 2.05 2.38 1.67 2.78 1.20 1.56 1.88 1.78
27 What is your skill level in using file conversion tools? 2.13 1.85 2.69 2.10 3.22 1.80 1.97 2.22 2.27
28What is your skill level in creating digital presentations (e.g., PowerPoint, Google
Presentations)? 3.33 3.59 3.94 3.33 4.33 2.60 3.05 3.56 3.54
29What is your skill level in using online tools to create screencasts (e.g., CamStudio,
Camtasia)? 1.55 1.75 1.94 1.52 3.00 1.30 1.35 1.74 1.69
30 What is your skill level in using webinar and video conferencing resources? 1.78 2.14 2.81 1.70 3.44 1.80 1.63 2.06 1.76
31What is your skill level in using Distance Learning resources (e.g., T.W.I.C.E., virtual
fieldtrips)? 1.60 1.96 2.19 1.55 3.22 1.60 1.46 1.76 1.66
32What is your skill level in using online communication tools with voice and video
(e.g., Skype, GoogleTalk)? 2.40 2.65 3.31 2.35 3.22 1.80 2.22 2.67 2.40
33What is your skill level in using online social networking tools (e.g., Twitter,
Facebook, Michigan LearnPort)? 3.04 3.27 3.31 2.98 3.78 2.70 3.02 3.15 2.93
34 What is your skill level in using online educational databases? 2.68 2.73 3.19 2.65 4.11 2.20 2.53 2.81 2.77
35 What is your skill level in using online citation tools? 2.19 1.98 2.75 2.15 3.78 1.80 1.86 2.43 2.48
36 What is your skill level in using online tools to attach copyright to created works? 1.74 1.61 2.25 1.68 3.33 1.90 1.56 1.87 1.90
37 What is your skill level in using an RSS reader? 1.52 1.86 2.25 1.45 2.89 1.50 1.30 1.70 1.67
38What is your skill level in using online organizational tools for bookmarking web
sites? 2.84 2.17 3.44 2.80 3.78 2.70 2.86 2.98 2.71
Admini- Categories Media Elemen- Level High
Question District State strators Teachers Spec. Other tary Middle School
39What is your skill level in using digital calendars (e.g., GroupWise, Outlook, Google
Calendar)to schedule meetings? 2.74 2.99 4.00 2.64 3.78 2.50 2.62 2.85 2.81
40
What is your skill level in using digital graphic organizers and visual learning tools to
mind map, brainstorm, storyboard, or create organization charts (e.g., Inspiration,
Kidspiration, Webspiration)? 2.26 2.38 2.69 2.22 4.00 1.90 2.33 2.36 2.09
41 What is your skill level in using word cloud tools to support learning? 1.68 1.88 2.38 1.61 3.89 1.30 1.51 1.93 1.73
42 What is your skill level in using criteria to critically evaluate web sites?2.16 2.43 2.88 2.06 4.11 1.90 1.88 2.30 2.43
43 Rate your skill level integrating technology in your work?2.99 3.41 3.25 2.94 4.33 2.70 2.86 3.14 2.99