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CENTRAL
OFFICE
EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH
Josh Griffis,
Administrative Technology Director
Josh has been instrumental to the transportation department this year in making modifications to the Student Import file. He made sure that the broken server was repaired and that all of the applicable processes were restored promptly. His work ensured that stakeholder information was kept current in Infinite Campus which allowed transportation to route our students in a timely manner. With all of the transportation and registration changes in the first few weeks of school, his hard work is very much appreciated!
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BEARDEN'S TIPS ON LEADERSHIP
The Relentless Search for Better Ways:
How do you respond to failure?
Click HERE for handout.
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SEPTEMBER'S "TREE-MENDOUS" PL CLASSES AT GRIFFIN RESA
Click HERE for the RESA professional development class list for September 2015 for teachers, administrators & paraprofessionals.
For more information or to register, go to www.griffinresa.net
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WANT TO TAKE TECHNOLOGY
TO THE NEXT LEVEL?
Attend the 4th Annual Technology Drive-in Conference
2015 Theme: "Integrating Tech Tools in Classroom and School-wide Settings."
Participants will gain knowledge and valuable "take backs" to utilize technology to engage students, differentiate instruction, maximize learning, and increase operational efficiency in
the school setting. The conference consist of over eighteen breakout sessions.
Click HERE to view the flyer.
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Growing up in the days of the Space Race, one of my favorite interests was space exploration. Astronauts, rockets and planets all fascinated me. Today I got to see students at Atkinson Elementary explain what they were learning about our solar system in a unique way. Students used food products to represent the sun, planets and other features of the solar system. The students used candies, cookies or fruit in very creative ways. I listened to them explain which food product they used and why. Most related their choices to the relative size or appearance of the various bodies. I learned that Mercury can be represented well with a piece of pepperoni and the sun by half of a grapefruit, all held together by the great cosmic force...chocolate. But, what I mainly observed was students engaged in learning, something that happens every day in our schools. Teachers, thank you for finding creative ways to make learning come alive. My final revelation from the lesson was, to paraphrase the great astronomer Carl Sagan, the universe is apparently composed of billions and billions....calories. Great activities like this go on every day in our schools, our challenge is to let our community know about them. I know it is easier to keep up with the results of academic or athletic competitions than it is the more routine activities but they are just as impactful on student learning. I hope our schools will use outlets like your websites, Facebook pages, and Twitter accounts to highlight the awesome things happening in schools. I am trying to better use Twitter to disseminate events and information about our school system. You can follow me at @JamesDSmith2. Have a great Labor Day weekend!
Jim Smith
Superintendent
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PRELIMINARY RESULTS
State scores from the 2014-15 administration of the Georgia Milestones Assessment System were released Thursday. These preliminary scores reflect the first administration of Georgia's new comprehensive testing system. Georgia Milestones assesses student learning along four levels of performance. These designations aim to shift the focus away from just test scores instead capturing the progression of student learning. The levels of student learning are:
- Beginning Learners
- Developing Learners
- Proficient Learners
- Distinguished Learners
Click HERE to see definitions
Additional performance levels help teachers better pinpoint where their students are and give students more opportunities to succeed. As a reminder, Georgia Milestones scores and CRCT scores are not directly comparable. Georgia Milestones and the CRCT are two different tests with different expectations set for student achievement. Because the expectations set by the Georgia Milestones system are higher as expected the percentage of students considered proficient would initially be lower.
In addition to multiple choice, Georgia Milestones includes constructed response and extended response items which require students to generate rather than select their responses. The system also assesses writing at each grade level/course, streamlining the testing system and reducing the number of tests students take.
Georgia Milestones results will now be used to calculate school and district College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) but the 2015 CCRPI is a hold-harmless year since this is the first year of the Georgia Milestones.
To be considered eligible for promotion, students in grades 3, 5 and 8 must demonstrate they can read and comprehend grade-level material. Student performance on the reading component of the ELA test will determine whether the student is reading below grade level or on/above grade level. Students will also receive a Lexile score based on their reading skill. Those same students must demonstrate grade-level skills in mathematics.
Click HERE for results.
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BOE BRIEFS
Click HERE for the September 1 Board of Education meeting briefs.
* Next meeting is October 2, 2015
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 HOW WILL THE NEW GAPSC RULE CHANGE HOW EDUCATORS RENEW CERTIFICATES?
Beginning July 1, 2017, certificate renewal will no longer rely on 10 PLUs as the basic requirement. Instead, educators will engage in continuous professional learning that is job-embedded and linked to their performance.
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DCH BOARD APPROVES 2016 STATE HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN OPTIONS
The Board of Community Health voted to approve the 2016 member contribution rates and plan designs for the Georgia Department of Community Health's State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP), providing continuity and stability in plan options for members next year. The Board's vote establishes the general framework of the plan options for next year including member premiums.
For 2016, the State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP) will continue to provide an array of vendors and plan options for our members, with new enhancements, such as increased access to telemedicine and wellness incentive credits rollover. The Board's vote establishes member contribution rates and solidifies that the following options will be available to SHBP members for the 2016 Plan Year:
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia (BCBSGa) - statewide Gold, Silver, Bronze Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) (exclusively), statewide Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
- UnitedHealthcare (UHC) - statewide High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) (exclusively), statewide HMO, Medicare Advantage (MA) Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) standard and premium
- Kaiser Permanente (KP) - fully-insured HMO for SHBP members who live or work in the 27-county metro Atlanta service area
*Open Enrollment will be held Oct. 19 - Nov. 6, for the Jan. 1, 2016, start date of the new plan year.
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 2015 WELL-BEING INCENTIVE CREDITS WILL ROLLOVER TO 2016!
The State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP) has just announced all unused well-being incentive credits earned in 2015 by participating in the Be Well SHBP well-being program (administered by Healthways), will automatically rollover to your selected 2016 health plan option. You can choose ANY of the available plan options for 2016 (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, United Healthcare or Kaiser Permanente) and your unused credits will follow you. You get to keep it all! But, you have to earn it first.
START EARNING CREDITS NOW. Complete your Healthways Well-Being Assessment (WBA) 2. Click Login to go to Well Being Connect 3. Follow the online prompts to set up your account and complete this online survey.
The deadline to earn credits is fast approaching. All actions must be completed by December 15, 2015. Don't let the 480 well-being incentive credits that are waiting for you and your covered spouse go. That's a family total of 960 credits available to you to offset medical expenses. This year or next year! Click HERE to learn more about incentives. Click HERE to learn how credits work. |
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"If you're an actor, always be true to your character. If you are not an actor, have character and always be true to yourself."
~ Robert DeNiro
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POWER UP FOR 30 DAY - 9/30/15
September 30, 2015, is Power Up for 30 Day, a day to promote physical fitness, health and academic achievement in all elementary schools.
Research shows a positive relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement. Incorporating just 30 minutes of physical activity into the daily school routine can make students more alert attentive and have better classroom behavior. They also tend to have higher grades  and test scores than their less active peers.
To join the movement, sign the pledge at www.georgiashape.org.
For more details on Power Up for 30 day click HERE to see the flyer.
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 DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Did you know you can access the latest SHBP news and updates via Facebook and Twitter? The Department of Community Health (DCH) frequently posts Department news and updates, including news on SHBP and the Be Well SHBP wellness incentives program, on its social media feeds. Be sure to join the conversation! https://www.facebook.com/gadept.communityhealth https://twitter.com/GADCH Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the latest SHBP news and updates today.
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Click HERE for our non-discrimination statement.
Laura Beaber, Editor
GSCS Communications and Partnerships Department
PO Drawer N
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