Academic Office Newsletter

High School Actuarial Information Day is coming up on Monday, Nov. 25 from 9:30am to 1pm at the Reinsurance Group of America's headquarters in Chesterfield. Actuarial science is the field of study relating to the quantification of risk using math, probability and statistics. This event will include presentations by RGA actuaries and opportunities for Q&A. Limited space available for high school students. Click HERE for a flyer.

Clyde C. Miller Career Academy issued a challenge to the student body to spread awareness and generate solutions for low student attendance. The multimedia pathway, lead by instructor Bobby Edwards, created two PSAs to stress the importance of student attendance. Check them out by clicking on the links, and share them widely with your school community!

Bryan Hill 5th graders were at hit at the Missouri School Boards' Association's annual conference at Tan-Tar-A on Sept. 28. They proudly and confidently spoke to educators and board members from all over Missouri about their school’s media department and their work creating self-portraits in the style of Kehinde Wiley.  They ran their own Kehinde Wiley-inspired photo booth and helped attendees strike creative poses.

Thanks to Britt Tate-Beaugard, Bertha Hamilton, Carrie Brown, Dr. Sarah Briscoe and Dr. Paula Knight for their support to make this event happen!

Teachers work so hard everyday to make our students ready for their future. Each week, I would like to highlight teachers implementing great instructional techniques that should be shared with others.

Click on the link to see their information with pictures. Here are our first two teachers

If you have a teacher who should also be spotlighted for this section, please contact Esther.Palsenberger@slps.org 

I gave the CFA ... now what? Please use the PDF versions of the assessments to plan reteaching activities aligned to the assessed standards. Feel free to use assessments across multiple grade levels. Reach out to Judine.Keplar@slps.org with any questions or to arrange for her to facilitate this work with your content team. PDFs of the assessments and their answer keys can be located HERE.

PD Booster Session: Unwrapping Content Standards to Target Instruction, Oct. 22, 3-4:15pm. Register in MyLearningPlan!
This session will explore the use of unpacked standards to design targeted learning experiences that focus on student mastery. The session is open to all ELA teachers in grades 6-12.

Use of music with religious references, or tied to a holiday observance, should be carefully reviewed with school leadership. Be mindful of cultural differences and  follow these guides:

What is the purpose of the activity? Is the purpose secular in nature, that is, studying music of a particular composer’s style, or historical period?

What is the primary effect of the activity? Is it the celebration of religion? Does the activity either enhance or inhibit religion? Does it invite confusion of thought, or family objections?

Does the activity involve excessive entanglement with a religion, or religious organizations?

If your use of sacred music or text can withstand the test of these questions, it is probably not in violation of the First Amendment. Note: Students will likely not tell you if they should be excused from an activity. They would rather blend into the crowd. Better to plan a program that is INCLUSIVE FOR ALL.

The Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) are one of the three dimensions of teaching science. Each of the practices build from K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking is the fifth practice. “In both science and engineering, mathematics and computation are fundamental tools representing physical variables and their relationships. They are used for a range of tasks such as constructing simulations, solving equations exactly or approximately, and recognizing, expressing, and applying quantitative relationships. These approaches enable scientists and engineers to predict the behavior of systems and test the validity of such predictions.”

For more information visit ngss@nsta.org or contact Valentina Bumbu (6-12) or Janet “Carrie” Launius (K-5)

Click HERE to access links from recent newsletters, including resources for staff and students.

Click HERE for a full calendar of upcoming booster sessions from the Curriculum Team!