Murphy Creek P-8
The Highest Achievement for All!
Instructional Program
Table of Contents
Our Mission
In alignment with the Colorado State Standards, Murphy Creek K-8 School ensures the highest achievement for all through:
continuous learning from kindergarten through eighth grade
long-term relationships with students and their families
integration of arts, technology, and academics
Rationale for Mission…
Continuous learning from kindergarten through eighth grade leads to increased student achievement by:
providing connections between elementary and middle school learning
allowing students to progress at individual rates
helping students of all ages to work and learn together
sharing instructional practices between elementary and secondary teachers
eliminating the transition between elementary and middle school
Long-term relationships with students and their families lead to increased student achievement by:
providing consistent student/adult relationships and role models
extending a nurturing learning environment through the middle school years
preparing students for a successful high school experience
increasing family involvement through the middle school years
Integration of arts, technology, and academics leads to increased student achievement by:
making academic content accessible to all learners
allowing students to make connections in order to deepen understandings
stimulating higher-level thinking
developing collaborative work skills
using technology as an instructional tool
increasing student motivation
Instruction and Student Achievement
Murphy Creek P-8 ensures the highest achievement for all. Teachers implement this vision by planning for and facilitating meaningful learning opportunities for students that meet grade-level expectations as well as the developmental needs of the individual learner. Teachers at all grade levels/ content areas use the Colorado Academic Standards, district-created pacing guides, and agreed upon formative and summative assessments.
Based on student data, teachers differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners. This includes daily, formative monitoring of each student’s growth towards identified goals, leading to explicit planning for short-term and long-term instruction. Students at Murhpy Creek have daily opportunities to engage in whole class, grade-level instruction, flexible small-groups based on specific student skills and needs, cooperative learning groups, and meaningful independent practice. Student achievement is frequently reviewed and monitored through professional learning communities and quarterly student achievement meetings with teachers, the principal, the assistant principal and the teaching partner.
Literacy PK-5
Wonders 2023
Wonders 2023, a comprehensive PreK–5 literacy curriculum, is designed to meet the needs of all learners and foster a love for reading in children. A wealth of research-based print and digital resources provide support for building strong literacy foundations, accessing complex fiction and nonfiction texts, writing to sources, and building social emotional learning skills. Wonders2023 provides students equity of access to rich texts and rigorous instruction. By providing a comprehensive set of connected resources for all learners in grades K–5, Wonders 2023 offers students the opportunity to build their background knowledge of carefully sequenced topics as they progress from the primary to the upper intermediate grades .
Foundational Skills K-2
95% Phonics Core Program
95% Phonics Core Program is a component of the literacy block that focuses on foundational skills. The 95% Phonics Core Program uses consistent routines, dialogues, phonics chip colors, and gestures to ensure student learning is focused on the content instead of varied instructional processes. Using consistent and explicit lesson structures, and teaching phonics skills in sequential order, students will successfully identify, read, and write grade-level text.
Literacy 6-8
StudySync
StudySync, a comprehensive literacy curriculum for Grades 6-8, has hundreds of high-quality texts, dynamic videos, and media designed to inspire and advance student reading, writing, listening, and critical thinking skills. Each of the 6 units is organized around an essential inquiry-based question that students will explore through multiple fiction and nonfiction texts, which will lead to students writing about their reading and new understandings.
Math PK-5
Bridges
Bridges Math is a comprehensive PK–5 curriculum that engages students in the Colorado Academic Standards in a rigorous, engaging, and accessible manner. Students gain a deep understanding of concepts, proficiency with key skills, and the ability to solve complex problems. The curriculum is composed of three distinct but integrated components: Problems & Investigations, Work Places, and Number Corner. Math is an engaging, hands-on learning experience with Bridges.
Math 6-8
enVision Math
enVision Math focuses on deep conceptual math understanding aided by visual models, personalized learning, and 3-act tasks. Students will develop conceptual understanding of grade-level standards through a Launch, Explore, Summary approach. enVision uses a balance of technology and off-line work through an online “textbook” as well as a hardcopy student workbook. enVision allows students the opportunity to showcase their understanding of grade-level standards through multiple approaches, including student notebooks and workbooks, peer group work, student-teacher conferences, rubrics, and assessments.
Science K-5
In APS students in kindergarten through fifth grade develop an understanding of the three Disciplinary Core Ideas: Physical Sciences; Life Sciences and Earth and Space Sciences utilizing our Science and Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts. The standards in elementary school develop ideas and skills that will allow students to explain more complex phenomena as they progress through the grades. Our vision in APS is to have ALL students engage in science and engineering units at each grade level that enable students to think deeply about science ideas through natural, engaging phenomena and then apply that knowledge to solve authentic design challenges. We use Engineering is Elementary from the Boston Museum of science for our engineering design challenges. For our phenomenon units in k-2 we use SOLID Start and in grades 3-5 we utilize units from NGSS storylines and Lucas Foundation. Please use this link for more information about the units at each grade level.
Science 6-8
OpenSciEd
OpenSciEd is a comprehensive middle school science curriculum that empowers students to ask questions, design investigations and solutions, and figure out the interesting and puzzling world. OpenSciEd empowers students to be the knowers and doers of science and develops a classroom in which the ideas we hear from our peers help to move our thinking forward as we develop our abilities to think, read, write and argue as scientists and engineers. OpenSciEd is centered around exploring phenomena or solving problems, driven by student questions, grounded in evidence, collaborative, and equitable.
Social Studies K-5
Impact
IMPACT Social Studies supports students in building critical thinking skills, developing a strong reading and writing foundation, and learning what it means to be responsible, active citizens. IMPACT engages students in social studies content by supporting the development inquiries that lead to investigation and research of important topics. Once students have depth of content knowledge, their new learning culminates through reporting and taking action. IMPACT takes a fresh approach to social studies curriculum in the elementary classroom.
Social Studies 6-8
ActiveClassroom
ActiveClassroom is a digital platform with thousands of student-centered, inquiry-based social studies activities correlated to state standards. ActiveClassroom, the core resource adopted to support 6-8 social studies, allows students to explore the areas of history, geography, civics, economics, and personal finance.
Specials
All K- 5 students will engage in visual art, music, physical education, and STEAM on a weekly rotation. Middle School Students will choose specials classes each year based on their preference, and each special will last one quarter. The specials choices for Middle School Students are geared toward their interests with popular topics like: floor hockey, guitar, coding, and woodworking.
Instructional Technology
Murphy Creek incorporates technology into everyday classroom instruction. Each student has a device (chromebook or iPad) assigned to them, and teachers use BrightLink interactive boards and document cameras to present their lessons. As a Google district, each student has a Google account, which provides access to many of our educational resources from any location with internet access. Additionally, students can access iReady My Path lessons from any location to accelerate their individualized goals in reading and math. A full STEAM lab contains a 3D printer, a 3D laser cutter/engraver, mini computer processors, and robots for coding.
Competitive and Intramural Sports
Sixth, seventh and eighth grade girls and boys inter-district, competitive sports will be offered during the year. Students will compete against other APS K-8 and middle schools.
Exceptional Student Services
All students who have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) are provided additional academic, social/emotional, speech/language, and/or OT/PT support as defined in their IEP. Classroom teachers and special educators collaborate to meet the needs of each student. Students may receive the supports defined in their IEP through an in-class “push-in” model or “pull-out” support model on a case-by-case basis
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners
Murphy Creek supports MultiLingual Learners through a dedicated English Language Development block (ELD) and embedded English Language Development instuction. During the ELD block, teachers use the ELAchieve resource to provide MultiLingual Learners with targeted instruction based on their language level. The ELD block focuses on developing students’ knowledge and use of English in increasingly sophisticated ways. Embedded ELD teaches grade-level skills, concepts, and knowledge using strategies, supports and scaffolds aligned to the student’s level of English language proficiency. These cohesive structures work together to support our MulitLingual Learners grow in their social and academic English language skills.
Gifted and Talented
Gifted and Talented Students are identified through a process that includes, testing, a body of evidence, and teacher and parent input. Students who qualify for gifted and talented services are challenged academically through differentiation and enrichment in the classroom based on a personalized Advanced Learning Plan.
Definition of Gifted and Talented
Gifted children means those persons between the ages of four and twenty-one whose aptitude or competence in abilities, talents, and potential for accomplishment in one or more domains are so exceptional or developmentally advanced that they require special provisions to meet their educational programming needs.
Gifted students include gifted students with disabilities (i.e. twice exceptional) and students with exceptional abilities or potential from all socio-economic and ethnic, cultural populations. Gifted students are capable of high performance, exceptional production, or exceptional learning behavior by virtue of any or a combination of these areas of giftedness:
General or specific intellectual ability
Specific academic aptitude- reading, writing, math, science, social studies
Creative or productive thinking
Leadership abilities
Visual arts, drama/theater, dance, music, or psychomotor (movement) abilities
Gifted Children’s Bill of Rights
Gifted children have the right to:
know about your giftedness.
learn something new everyday.
be passionate about your talent area without apologies.
have an identity beyond your talent area.
feel good about your accomplishments.
make mistakes.
seek guidance in the development of your talent.
have multiple peer groups and a variety of friends.
choose which of your talent areas you wish to pursue.
not to be gifted at everything.
Written by Del Siegle (NAGC President, 2007 - 2009)
Referral for Gifted Identification
Teachers, school staff, parents, students, and community members may refer a student to go through the gifted identification process. A body of evidence including classroom work samples, assessment data, and surveys from a variety of stakeholders will be reviewed to make a determination of gifted or high potential ability following guidelines set forth by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). If you have any questions, please contact the GT Facilitator at the school, Whitney Allen at wmallen@aurorak12.org.
Gifted Identification Referral Form
Contact Person
GT Facilitator
Whitney Allen
wmallen@aurorak12.org
Resources
Colorado Association of Gifted and Talented (CAGT)
Colorado Department of Education - Gifted Information
Report Cards
In order to support standards-based education and our mission of “continuous learning from kindergarten through eighth grade”, all kindergarten through eighth grade Murphy Creek students will receive a quarterly report card which reflects the current APS elementary report card structure. The following identifiers will be used in each content area: beginning understanding, partially proficient, proficient, and advanced. Written comments will minimally communicate one developmentally appropriate strength and one next step in reading, writing, and math. Students will also receive an “effort” score in each content area. Specials will report out at the end of each semester in grades K-4 and at the end of each quarter in grades 5-8. Every student in kindergarten through eighth grade will receive a brief progress report at mid-quarter indicating proficiency levels each major content area.