Buzz-tastic Reminders!

Greetings Parents and Community Members,

I want to take a second to thank everyone who showed up and showed out for our very first Book Character Drive Thru Parade! It was so fun standing on the corner Friday and seeing all of the amazing costumes, paired with books and teacher support signs. With the storms and the eventual decision to make Thursday and Friday non-instructional days because of power outages across metro Atlanta, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. 

The PC had no power but we were able to get into the building and our teachers and staff still came out in full force! Our teachers were treated to a special lunch from our PTA and it was a breath of fresh air to be able to lay eyes on students and teachers during these virtual times. Thank you to all that helped make this possible. Stay tuned for more exciting and engaging activities coming your way as we lead into Thanksgiving and ultimately Holiday break. 

Over the next few weeks, our focus will continue to be around quality virtual instruction and social emotional well being activities. Hopefully by now you’ve received a link to sign up for your child’s Fall conference. This year teachers will be meeting virtually with parents to discuss academic progress, struggles, successes, and mental well being as it pertains to virtual learning. It is no secret that Fall conferences may look and feel a little different this year. Our staff want to hear what we can do to continue to support our students during this time. If there is anything you feel you need additional information on or want to discuss after the conference, feel free to contact myself or a member of our admin who would be happy to assist! Don’t forget that we have several support staff standing by ready to support our students. From social workers, school counselors, support teachers, paras and interventionists, we are here for our Morris Brandon families.

Additionally over the next two weeks, we will begin our first Benchmark Window. Benchmarks are common assessments that are given to ALL students in APS. Benchmarks are formative in nature and will not count as a class grade but rather provide a great data point in evaluating what our students know, what needs to be taught, or material that needs to be revisited. For this first window, Benchmarks will be administered online using our Phoenix platform and will be given to all students in grades 3-5. The assessment will be given for ELA (English/Language Arts) and Math. For our K-2 students, Benchmarks will continue to be Wit and Wisdom and Eureka Math EOM (End of Module) assessments. These are “internal” assessments for our school, may count as a grade, and will only cover material that was taught. When testing is complete, teachers take this data, discuss it in their bi-weekly PLC’s (Professional Learning Communities) and work to plan engaging lessons to help address the standards that need to be revisited or to help accelerate learning for those that have grasped the concepts. If you have any questions about the 3rd-5th grade Benchmark window which will begin November 9 and go until November 20, please reach out to your teacher or our Lead Testing Coordinator, Fume Ekpere at fuekpere@atlanta.k12.ga.us.

I hope everyone has a great rest of the week! See below for a great socially distanced staff photo from last Friday. 

Take care, 

j