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February 2010 
10th Issue
 
In This Issue
Teacher Quote of the Month
Monthly Tip
Teacher Tip
Great Resources
Class Management Tool
Announcements
 
Quick Links:
 
Videos:
Teacher Quote of the Month...

"You have the BEST software I have ever used!!! It is so age-appropriate and provides EXACTLY what we need as kindergarten teachers!!!  It is very user friendly and so quick & easy to use, while providing interesting activities for my students;  I really appreciate the letters for parents!  I want you to know just how much I APPRECIATE you and your efforts in creating this resource."
 
~Corene S., Woodward, OK 
   
light bulb
 
Monthly Tip:
 
#1 User Question: What is the Class Totals Report?:
 
Description:  The Class Totals Report lists each student in the class, and their "total correct answers" (score) for each test, during each marking period.  Students can be sorted (ranked) according to their score for any test, during any marking period.  This helps identify the students who need assistance and support in any given area.
 
Purpose:  The purpose of the Class Totals Report is to show growth over time, summarize each student's score for each test, on one page, and allow teachers to rank their class according to a test, or a total weighted score for each group of tests.

How It Works:  At the beginning of the school year, the Class Totals Report starts off with 2 columns of data for each test, with the column headers "B", and "1".  The "B" stands for "baseline" or "beginning".  It is meant to capture the score from the very first test session for each test.  The "1" column stands for the 1st marking period (semester, trimester, or quarter), and the number shown is the cumulative total of correct answers for tests given during the 1st marking period.  After the first marking period is past, another column with "2" as the column header will appear for each test, and will show the total number of questions that were marked as correct through the 2nd marking period.  Therefore, at first, the "2" column will show the same score as the "1" column.  Once a student has been re-tested during the 2nd marking period, the "2" column will update, and any additional correct answers will be added to the score in the "2" column.  The "1" column will continue to reflect only correct answers that were marked during the dates that are set as the 1st marking period. 
 
The Class Totals Report accomplishes this by knowing the date that each test question was marked as correct, and knowing the dates that each marking period starts and ends.  With this information, the Class Totals Report is able to determine the total questions that were marked as "correct" in, or before each marking period.  This shows a cumulative score, over time, for each marking period.
 
A "marking period" can include semesters, trimesters, or quarters, and the dates are set when an account is created.  Teachers can choose their marking period, and set the date range for each semester, trimester, or quarter.   To edit the marking periods, click on the Profile button at the top when logged in to ESGI.
 
 
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Teacher Tip
 
Knots Anyone? 

A staple remover (the jaws type) can be used to get knots out of shoes! No more torn up fingernails or feeling frustrated when it takes forever to get those knots out of shoes (or jacket strings)!!

 
To share your favorite teacher tips, e-mail them to info@esgisoftware.com with your name, city and state.
 
Great Resources: 
Do you know of a website with great resources you could not live without? Send us a link at
info@esgisoftware.com .
 
Back and Better Than Ever    
 
After six months of silence we are proud to announce that we are reintroducing our monthly electronic newsletter. If this is your first time receiving our online newsletter then welcome to the ESGI family! To our "old friends", we apologize for being away so long and trust that you will be as excited as we are about the newsletter's resurgence.
 
Despite the newsletter being on pause, ESGI has been quite busy. In our hiatus we consolidated our California and Indiana offices into one location in Elkhart, Indiana. Additionally, we took some time to give our website a long overdue makeover. It now has a new look, but more importantly contains some newly added information and teacher resources. 
 
Check out these new features:
  • A brighter look
  • Easier navigation
  • A breakdown of benefits
  • The Class Management Tool
  • The Parent Conferencer (Download Version)
  • An explanation of the technology behind ESGI
  • Auto email reminders alerting you before your account expires 
We have also been working on other system enhancements that allow us to serve you better, as well as other features and content still in development.  Two things you can look forward to are a greatly enhanced image gallery in the Test Explorer, and a more comprehensive support site with video explanations.
 
Lastly, we would like to thank you for your ongoing support and loyalty.  We appreciate your comments and feedback, and hope your 2010 is off to a great start!
 
Sincerely,
 
The ESGI Team
 

The Class Management Tool

Another Time Saver from ESGI 
 
An exciting new feature of the website is the "Class Management Tool", which you can find under the "Resources" menu.  This program helps eliminate the redundancy of writing and rewriting class lists, creating table name plates, cubby names, names for the pocket chart, etc.  It is a simple program that runs in Excel (Windows versions 2003 & 2007), and offers many instant reports.  Simply add your students' names once, and get a variety of templates you can use immediately! 
 
 Click here to watch the introduction video.
 

hornAnnouncements 

 
 

Past Newsletters
 
Did you just start getting ESGI's Monthly Newsletter?  Would you like to browse past issues?  Click here!
 
 
Upcoming Conferences
 
February:
February 26-27
 
March:
Illinois ASCD Pre-K and Kindergarten
Schaumburg, IL
March 4-5  
 
 
Past Conferences
 
Kindergarten Teachers of Texas
October 2009

 Rochelle in KToT Booth
 

 
Greg and Dr. Jean
 
California Kindergarten Conference
January 2010
 

 Greg and Miss Bindergarten
 

Me and Amberlie

Greg and "Zero the Hero" 
 
Quote of the Month:
 
"The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called 'truth'." 
 
~Dan Rather
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