The school day will end for Port Aransas students at 1 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 2.

Teachers, however, will find themselves in class.

They’ll use the afternoon for professional development, grade level planning and other endeavors.

Five early release dates are built into the 2009-10 school calendar. Students are released at 1 p.m. on those dates, and the afternoons will be used by administrators to provide professional development time for their staff and department/grade level planning sessions, according to Superintendent Dr. Sharon Doughty.

The next holiday/professional development day will be Monday, Oct. 12.

Professional development sessions scheduled for tomorrow by campus are as follows:

H.G. Olsen Elementary School

1:15 - 4 p.m.

• Response to Intervention (RtI) Symposium Information Update - Teachers Janice

Moore and Marilyn Cook

• Review of Current RTI Checklist Expectations – Principal Sylvia Buttler

• Token Economy Positive Reinforcement Strategies – Teacher Julie Findley

Brundrett Middle School 1:15 - 4 p.m.

• District/Campus Emergency Operation Plans – Principal Gina McKeever

• Swine Flu Procedures – District nurse Melissa Ramsden

• Absence from Duty Request and Sign-Out Book Procedures – McKeever

• Red Ribbon Week Planning (TEKS from Counselor Jeri Franco)

• Kindle training – Librarian Pam Voyles

Port Aransas High School

1:15-2:15 pm. Computer Lab (all staff)

• Instructional Analysis Tool – Principal Travis Longanecker (Using Dana Center

Information)

• Legislative Update –Longanecker (Using Dana Center

Materials)

• Two Articles: Better teaching through brain biology, and “The Teenage

Brain”

2:30 – 4 p.m.

• Vertical Content Area Teams -- Math 9th-12th, English Language Arts 9-12, Social Studies 9-12, and Science 9-12.

Math teachers in grades three through 12 will meet to go over student assessment results, talk about gaps in the data, which may mean gaps in instruction, best practices in teaching and instruction, etc. Core subject area teachers talk about what is needed as students advance through the school system. PK-2 teachers meet with Sylvia Buttler to facilitate their instructional discussions because, although TAKS testing begins at grade three, early childhood teachers need to discuss what they are doing to get the students ready.