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May 15, 2023

By Allan | 2023/05/13 20:53 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, P.D., SEL, Technology, Video | Comments Off

Greetings Bolts,

This Monday is National Speech Pathologist Day, so a big shout out to our awesome SLP, Katharine, who we are so lucky to have here at Holt!

Twenty-five items of note for this week:

• 23-24 Staffing Updates – Two updates:

0.5 SPED TEACHER VACANCY – After previously changing their mind, SSD is once again moving Sheryl Carroll to Holt, where she will be 0.5 at Holt and 0.5 at YG. Sheryl is currently a SPED teacher at Edison.

SECRETARY & 0.2 PE/MUSIC – We held secretary interviews last Thursday and are waiting on HR to make a job offer. The part-time PE and Music Job Postings are now up and we have at least one solid candidate applying for each position, so we should be good for next year!

• Raptor & Fire Drill, THURSDAY @8:05 – Staff should now be able to log onto the Raptor app (iOS and Android) with your 4J email and password. Staff are not required to use the app for the May 18th fire drill at 8:05, but I’m going to initiate an evacuation on the app so staff can see how the app works during an emergency. Do note that staff are not required to install this app on your personal devices, but may do so if you choose. Next year, I think we should have all teachers use the app to account for students, so we are practiced using the app if there ever were a real emergency, especially for evacuation/reunification situation such at what happened at SEHS last week. Teachers not wanting to install the app on a personal device could install it on their district issued iPad and if you were out of wifi range could have a colleague mark your students accounted-for for you. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map.

• Holt Spring Carnival, FRIDAY, 6:00-8:00 – Remind your kids to bring the whole family (adult must be present with kids) to the Holt Spring Carnival this Friday from 6:00-8:00. There will be games, a cake walk, food trucks, free pizza (one slice per person), and a car bash! This is a free event.

• Friday PD: Curriculum – The 4J PD Calendar lists “Curriculum” and “SPED Educator Training” as the topic for this Friday’s PD, but nothing else has been shared with principals. If downtown doesn’t pull anything together, plan on this being additional individual and team prep time.

• Class Lists Due May 24th – Grade level teams should complete your 23-24 Class Lists by Wednesday, May 24th. After Team Meetings that day, lists will be available for classified and licensed staff to review and share feedback ahead of the June 6th Staff Meeting were grade levels will meet to share individual student information.

• Fundations + Math Student Consumable Order Due, May 26 – See this email for details, but remember that consumable orders for Fundations and Math are due Friday, May 26th. One person from each grade level should place your order.

• Holt Spirit Day, May 26th – Friday, May 26th is a Holt Spirit Day. We stole Wacky Hat Day for last month’s Spirit Day since Recycle Day didn’t quite play out, so stay tuned for the official theme. How about Mix-Up / Clash Day, where kids wear crazy mismatched clothes? That’s an easy one for all kids to participate. Stay tuned!

• 4th & 5th Assembly Monroe Victory Tour Performance – Monroe Middle School Band and Choir are performing for feeder school 4th and 5th graders. We’re waiting for confirmation, but we’re tentatively expecting the assembly to happen Friday, May 26th, 9:15-9:45 in the gym.

• Friday PD: Staff Choice – Friday, May 26th is Staff Choice. I plan to ask at the next prinicpal meeting if the ULD trainings are still happening. Seems the last few times they did not share out the Zoom links and I’m not sure they actually happening.

• Staff Social! Friday @4:00 on May 26th! – Location is TBA (don’t ask me to choose or else we’ll end up at The Embers on HWY99), but mark your calendar for our final Friday at 4:00 of the school year!

• May Spirt Assembly & Talent Show Combo Assembly, June 1 – Rather than hold two separate assemblies so close to one another, we’ll combine the May School Spirit Assembly and the Talent Show Assembly. May 26th will still be a spirit day (stay tuned on the theme since we moved up Wacky Hat Day), but we won’t have an assembly that day and will shift it to the Talent Show Assembly Date on Thursday, June 1st, doing drawing between acts and such.

• Responding to Racial Slurs Follow-Up – On the Zimbra Calendar, the Google Drive, The Staff Dashboard, and linked here is the Responding to Racial Slurs Slideshow. This slideshow contains a lot of ready-to-go activities and slides teachers can use. There’s also several links embedded in the slideshow including the Little Spot SEL Books, Indigenous People’s Day Resources, and videos of Don’t Touch My Hair by Sharee Miller and Marvelous Max – Autism Awareness for Kids. A future PD following next fall might be looking at what are the words and common language we might use for bias incidents.

On a related note, the 4J Equity Department added a page containing Specific Topic Resources for responding to issues of hate and bias.

• 23-24 Master Schedule Updates – Reps met last week and although it may not be a “Dream Schedule” it seems to at least be an “I Can Live with this Schedule.” This will be on the agenda for Tuesday’s Staff Meeting, but linked here is the Draft 23-24 Master Schedule. A couple caveats on the schedule are one, Title & SPED need to make sure Tier 3 times when there are two grade levels being served at the same time that they are not both heavy caseloads, and two, we are continuing to look at changing around the library schedule where we would do weekly 30-minute Library lessons and weekly 15-minute checkout time (most classes checking out on Wednesdays and a few on other days). Feel free to let me know ahead of Tuesday’s Staff Meeting if you have any questions.

• SEAL (i.e.Summer School) Classroom Use – Downtown needs 4 classrooms for KITS, and for SEAL needs 2 classrooms at each grade for rising 1st through 5th (this year’s 5th graders will go to the middle school program). I think we should exempt any classrooms from hosting if there is a new classroom teacher moving into that space. I also tried to rotate out teachers who hosted last year when possible (kinder classes and a few other don’t get a break). I’ve put this on the staff meeting agenda as a discussion/decision item, but linked here is my Proposed Summer School Map as a starting place and for reference here is Last Year’s Summer School Map.

• Playground Supervisor Reminders – Two Playground Rules reminders:

• No Pushing Kids on Swings – Students need to swing themselves and should not be pushed by other students or staff.

• No Tag/Chase/Monster Games – Tag and other chase games are not allowed, which can too easily lead to unintentional injuries and student conflicts.

• No Sidewalk Chalk on Building – If you are doing any sidewalk chalk activities with students, do not allow them to write on the building. Rain does not wash it off, so it’s pretty much there for good when kids do this. The same happens when kids do sidewalk chalk underneath covered areas, though foot traffic will eventually remove them, but it takes much longer than one good rain, so covered areas should be avoided too.

• Check That Exterior Doors Latch – It’s that time of year when there are air pressure changes and the doors don’t always latch. It’s important that all exterior doors remain locked and are secure, so when going in or out of the building, make sure the is latched shut. Jeremy has put in a work order to have the doors adjusted by the kinder wing and by the bike cage, so let me know if you notice any other doors that need fixed.

• Last Day Lunch Plan – Deb is already planning our last day of meal service, which will have grade levels coming to the cafeteria to simply pick up a sack lunch on a 5-minute rotating basis, which they will put in their backpacks to take home (bus riders included).

10:25 – Kinder
10:30 – 1st
10:35 – 2nd
10:40 – 3rd
10:45 – 4th
10:50 – 5th
11:10 – Early Dismissal

• Seesaw Renewed for 3-Years – I learned on Friday that 4J has renewed the Seesaw district license for 3 more years. I’ll put on a future Friday or Staff Meeting agenda whether we want to use Seesaw or another common communication tool with families next year.

• Volunteers Policy Change – One small change in the 4J communicable disease management plan is that individuals with a vaccine exemption are no longer required to wear a mask. I’ll let downtown communicate this out to families, but I thought staff would want to know.

• Free Bike Locks, Lights, and Helmets – If you know of any students in need, Safe Routes to School is offering free bike locks, lights, and helmets. Just let Felicia know you need any. See this email for details.

• Safety Inspection Rescheduled Again, May 31st – I was emailed that our annual inspection date got rescheduled again and is now Wednesday, May 31st at 10:30.

• Airblade Hand Dryers – If you haven’t noticed (and I’m sure you have), but the new restroom hand dryers are extremely loud. To help minimize the noise, teachers might show kids how you’re supposed to use the new hand dryers by showing the video below. Kids are often using it wrong and that means they’re using it longer and making more noise for nearby classrooms (not to mention if they’re trying to talk over it).

• District Admin Updates – Three district admin updates for next year. One, Kevin Gordon will be the new principal of Chavez, replacing Deirdre Pearson, who took an admin job out of district. Two, Ed Mendelssohn is the new College and Career Readiness / Career and Technical Education Administrator, replacing Tia Holliday, who is retiring. Three, Eric Anderson, 4J Director of Instruction, has taken a job as assistant superintendent at the LaneESD. See these emails (one and two) for details.

• 38 Awesome Team-Building Games and Activities for Kids – We may be nearing the end of the year, but cooperative team building games are great for SEL and community building any time during the year. This WeAreTeachers Article has 38 fun activities to give you ideas. Feel free to take a break in class or take your kids out in the sun! Some personal favorites on the list that I’ve done or looked fun were #16 Hula-Hoop pass, #22 No-hands cup-stacking challenge (probably more for older kids), #27 Caterpillar, #32 Zip, Zap, Zop, and #34 Newspaper Fashion Show.

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

May 15 (M)
PAHS Can & Bottle Drive – Final Week
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Upbeat Survey Open Until May 22nd
Final Library Checkout Week
Library Week #1 Classes
ELD/Speech/Counselor/Library Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)

May 16 (T)
8:45-12:15, 4th & 5th Holt/WillaG Track Meet (Sheldon Track)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library) Give a Staff Shout Out!

May 17 (W)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:45, Staff Talent Show Video (Reich’s Room)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

May 18 (H)
National Speech Pathologist Day (Title)
8:05, Fire Drill
1:30-2:30, Allan Meeting w/Risk & Safety Dept. (Office)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

May 19 (F)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Curriculum/SPED Training (TBA)
6:00-8:00, Holt Spring Carnival (Hard Play, Cafeteria)

May 22 (M)
Upbeat Survey Closes
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #2 Classes
SPED Staff Room Duty
Scholastic Book Fair BOGO Sale
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

May 23 (T)
10:45-11:45, Math Acceleration Testing (TBA)
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meetings (Kelsey’s Room)

May 24 (W)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
10:45-11:45, Math Acceleration Testing (TBA)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:45-3:30, Team Meetings – Class Lists Deadline

May 25 (H)
Towel Day
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Garden Project (Garden)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Team Meeting (Library)

May 26 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Theme is TBA
Fundations + Math Student Consumable Order Due
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting
9:15-9:45, 4/5 Monroe Victory Tour Performance (tentative)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Staff Choice
1:30-2:30, Classified Staff Meeting (Library)
4:00, Holt Friday at 4:00! (Location TBA)

Just two more 5-day weeks left!

Allan

May 8, 2023

By Allan | 2023/05/06 15:01 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, P.D., Video | Comments Off

Hi Everyone,

A big shout-out to the amazing Nurse Eden for School Nurse Day happening this Wednesday! Not only do you take care of the daily barfs, nose bleeds, bumps, and bruises, you do it all with a smile and a sense of humor. We’re lucky to have you here, Eden!

Nineteen items of note for this week:

• 23-24 Staffing Updates – Four updates:

2ND GRADE – Jenny Bemiller has been hired for our 2nd grade vacancy. She’s currently teaching 2nd grade at Chavez and before that taught 1st grade in Bethel. Please welcome Jenny to the team and to the “Holt Staff Same-Name Club,” which here’s the list for next year: Amber & Amber, Ashley & Ashley, Carol & Carol, Debbi & Deb, Elizabeth & Liz, Jenny & Jenny, Katie, Katherine & Kathy, Kelly & Kelly, Lisa, Lisa & Lisa, Rob & Robbie, Robin & Robin, and Tracey & Tracy.

SECRETARY INTERVIEWS THURSDAY – We’ll conduct interviews for next year’s secretary this Thursday after school. If any of you would like to volunteer your time to help with interviews, let me know and I’ll send you the interview questions and candidate applications.

0.2 FTE PE & MUSIC – I’ve submitted requisition to hire for these positions.

BEST EA JOB POSTINGS – 2.5 and 3-hour BEST EA Job Postings for next year have been reopened if anyone is interested. The posting closes Wednesday.

• Classified Sick Leave Bank Open Enrollment Help Session, TUESDAY – Not this week, but next week 4J Classified Benefits Coordinator will be in the staff room on Tuesday, May 9th from 10:30-12:00. They will be available to answer questions about the Sick Leave Bank as well as provide information on how to enroll, but feel free to ask any benefit related questions you may have.

• 23-24 Master Schedule Meeting, TUESDAY – Reps will meet this Tuesday at 2:45 in the library to compare our grade level dream schedules for next year. Make sure you team has entered your schedule onto the 23-24 Skeleton Master Schedule Spreadsheet. We’ll see how schedules match up, make adjustment, and plan next steps (we’ll see if we’re close or if we need to do a lot more work).

• Class Lists Pre-Meeting, WEDNESDAY– For Team Meetings this week we’ll meet in the library for a pre-class list meeting so receiving grades can meet with sending grades before teachers begin adding creating next year’s 2023-24 Class List Placement Form. We’ll start with K/1, 2/3, and 4/5 meeting, and when teams are finished 1/2 and 3/4 will meet. I think we will forgo teams filling out the 2023-24 Class List Placement Form for this month. Following this meeting, grade should work on building next year’s lists. Let me know if any teachers want student cards to help with sorting. We can print some basic ones that look like Student ID Cards or if you want cards with all the information on the spreadsheets, we can print either or both. We’ll hold grade level transition meetings at the June 6th Staff Meeting.

• Friday PD: Upbeat Survey – The Friday is listed as Building Based PD, though downtown is pulling all kindergarten teachers for a separate meeting. Downtown is also planning to have all staff complete a second spring Upbeat Survey to provide building and district admins feedback. The survey is supposed to be emailed to staff on Monday and Friday will be the designated time for staff to complete the survey.

• Raptor & Fire Drill, May 18 – Staff should now be able to log onto the Raptor app (iOS and Android) with your 4J email and password. Staff are not required to use the app for the May 18th fire drill at 8:05, but I’m going to initiate an evacuation on the app, so staff can see how the app works during an emergency. Next year I think we should have all teachers use the app to account for students, so we are practiced using the app if there ever were a real emergency or an evacuation/reunification situation such at what happened at SEHS last week. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map.

• Updated 23-24 Class Assignments – A group of interventionist reps met last week and made some updates to the 23-24 Class Assignments Map. Changes from the earlier map have Title moving into the counseling office and the small SPED classroom across the hall. A-02 will be the part-time SPED teacher’s classroom, who currently serves 3rd graders primarily. The counselor would move into the E53 Calming Room (counselor could use the current Quarantine Room to meet privately with students), alone with the SSC (Kim), FRC (Felicia), BBSA (Levi), and Instructional Coach (Carla). I’ll put this on the agenda for the next Staff Meeting, but feel free to share your thoughts with me before then.

• 150 Minute Weekly PE Requirement – 4J elementary schools have been out of compliance with OAR 581-022-2263 in regards to Physical Education instruction for the past few years. In order to meet this state requirement for the 23-24 school year, each school will need to provide 150 minutes of instruction connected to the Oregon PE Standards. At least 50% of these minutes need to be physical activities. The 4J PD Compliance Plan at the elementary level will combine Morning Meeting activities (15 minutes/4 times a week) that are designed to help students exhibit responsible personal and social behavior (PE Standard #4–Social and Emotional Learning) and scheduled physical movement breaks aligned to the PE standards (10 minutes/4 times a week). The district will be providing materials, training, and support for both of these areas during in-service week.

• Elementary Math Adoption – The School Board approve a timeline for the elementary math adoption. The general timeline is to form a team between now and the fall (two reps from each building, plus specialist reps), evaluate programs next school year (23-24), pilot the programs in the fall and adopt a curriculum in the spring (24-25), and begin implementation of the new program the following year (25-26). See the linked Process for an Elementary Math Curriculum Adoption Doc for details.

• Specialist Last Days – PE, Music, and Library will go through the end of the year, but the final week for Library checkout will be May 15-19. Title groups will end on May 8th, the Thursday before Grading Day. SPED pull-out will also go through the end of the year.

• Lunch Reminder (All Students Take Lunch) – More for upper grades, please remind students they may not opt-out of lunch and that all students are expected to take a school lunch if they did not bring a lunch from home. They’re not required to eat it, but they are expected to take a lunch. Even when kids say they’re “not hungry” or “don’t like any of the food” they usually end up eating some of their food after they have a tray of food in front of them.

• Stop, Walk, Talk Refresher Videos – Teachers can use these videos below to as a refresher lesson on Stop, Walk, Talk. The first done in the style of a silent film. The second one is more for older grades and explains how to use Stop, Walk, Talk and also what to do if someone uses Stop, Walk, Talk towards them. The last one is from the Start With Heart YouTube Channel, which has a TON of SEL videos for K-5 students, which features a pig puppet.

• Sample 23-24 Meeting Schedule Coming – Principals asked at our meeting last week for a sample monthly meeting calendar, given that the proposed addition of required PLCs, MTSS meetings, Wednesday PD, along with building committee meetings, safety team meetings, grade level team meetings, etc. are sounding like more required meetings than the contract would allows (only 1 all-licensed staff meeting per week is allowed, though PD is not considered a meeting). I’ll share more info once I get it on this topic.

• Norovirus Cleaning in Effect – We’re seeing a jump in kids vomiting and GI issues, so Jeremy and Richie are starting Norovirus cleaning protocols in an effort to head off illness before things get so bad we have to contact Lane County Public Health. Classrooms should all have Purell Spray if staff want to more frequently sanitize as well. If you are out or need a replacement bottle, let Jeremy know.

• Leadership Plan & SCIP Timelines Extended – Principals were emailed (Leadership & SCIP) that district admin and EEA are still ironing out details on Leadership Plans, so school will not be working on Leadership Plans until the fall. We’re finished with our SCIP, but other schools are being given another month to wrap up plans.

• May SSD Newsletter – Linked here is the May SSD Newsletter that was sent to SSD Staff and administrators. This issue has info on Transition Services, Progress Reports, CMA services, and Playgrounds. You can always review this and prior newsletters on the Google Drive:SSD Newsletter Archive.

• Electronics Recycling Competition Results – Holt came in 6th place out of 13 schools with 1,340 pounds of electronics recycled. If you’re curious, see this email for details.

• A Note on Mother’s Day – With Mother’s Day this Saturday, keep in mind our goals around creating an inclusive environment for all students. We have quite a few students who either don’t live with their mothers, have lost their mothers, are being raised by their dads, or have difficult relationships with their mothers.If you’re planning to do projects or activities to celebrate mothers, consider shifting to a “Love Makes a Family” or “Family Day” theme instead. Creating an inclusive environment means we intentionally create space for students to be given choice about which adult they’d like to celebrate, regardless of gender or their role in their life. This Welcoming Schools Article shares information and resources about creating an inclusive experience for students.

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

May 8 (M)
Upbeat Survey Open Until May 22
PAHS Can & Bottle Drive Continues (4/26 – 5/19)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #2 Classes
5th Grade Staff Room Duty
7:30-3:30, PreK-Kindergarten Transition Meetings
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up

May 9 (T)
Birthday Drinks & Goodies in Staff Room
10:30-12:00, Classified Sick Leave Bank Help (Staff Room)
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meetings (Kelsey’s Room)
2:45-3:30, Master Schedule Committee Rep Meeting (Library)
7:00, Reverend Horton Heat (Whirled Pies Downtown)*Who wants to join me for a psychobilly freakout!

May 10 (W)
School Nurse Day (Office)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
9:00-12:30, Kinder Field Trip (Seno & Gulewich)
9:00-12:30, 2nd Grade Nearby Nature
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:45-3:30, Class List Meetings (Library)

May 11 (H)
Twilight Zone Day
9:00-12:30, Kinder Field Trip (Harmon & Vaughan)
9:00-12:30, 2nd Grade Nearby Nature
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Garden Project (Garden)
2:45-4:30, Secretary Interviews (Library)
5:00-6:00, Site Council (Library)
6:00-7:00, PAHS Meeting (Library & Zoom)

May 12 (F)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Building Based (Upbeat Survey)

May 14 (SU)
Mother’s Day

May 15 (M)
PAHS Can & Bottle Drive (4/26 – 5/19)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #1 Classes
ELD/Speech/Counselor/Library Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)

May 16 (T)
8:45-12:15, 4th & 5th Holt/WillaG Track Meet (Sheldon Track)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)

May 17 (W)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:45, Staff Talent Show Video (Reich’s Room)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

May 17 (H)
National Speech Pathologist Day (Title)
1:30-2:30, Allan Meeting w/Risk & Safety Dept. (Office)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

May 18 (F)
8:15-10:00, Math Acceleration Testing (Dynamos Classroom)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Curriculum/SPED Training (TBA)

Only three more full weeks, then it’s only short weeks left in the year!

Allan

February 21, 2022

By Allan | 2023/02/18 15:59 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Arts, P.D., Technology, Video | Comments Off

Hello Holt Staff,

Hope you’re all having a restful three-day weekend!

Twenty-two items of note for this week:

• REPEAT: Artist in Residence Starts TUESDAY – OUR Artist in Residence, Larry Meyers, starts on Tuesday. Linked here is the Schedule.

• 4J Board Member Visit, TUESDAY – Geoff is on a district committee looking at elementary libraries and 4J Board member Michelle Hsu was interested in visiting one of the schools piloting licensed librarians. She’ll be visiting Holt this Tuesday at 10:45.

• REPEAT: Holt Spirit Day – Wacky Dress-Up Day, FRIDAY – Not this week but next week is a Holt Spirit Day and it’s Wacky Dress-Up Day! Start planning your outfit now and let your kids know how they can participate, wearing mismatched closthes, bright color, crazy outfits, crazy attire, or simply wearing their Holt gear or Holt school colors!

• REPEAT: School Spirit Assembly, FRIDAY @8:05 – Note that we are starting earlier for our monthly School Spirit Assembly this Friday in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:10, but all classes should be in the gym seated by 8:05.

• Holt Friday at 4:00, @Beer Garden! – Get ready for some bangers and brews at The Beer Garden this Friday for the February Holt Staff Friday at 4:00! See you there!

• Informal Observations this Week – I’ve said this before, but for probationary folks, I’m going to try to get around to do informal observations this week, so don’t be surprised if I pop in for 10-15 minutes at some point for a short observation.

• Optional Meeting w/UO Interior Architecture Student, Feb. 27 – A UO Interior Architecture student contacted me, wishing to speak with and/or a tour the school to better understand different types of students and faculty needs. They’re hoping to talk with teachers and educational assistants to understand unique opportunities that may benefit a variety of user groups. If you’re interested in helping this UO student, I’ll be meeting with them Monday, February 27th at 2:45 in the library.

• Holt Night Out – Pegasus Pizza, Feb. 28th – Not this week, but next week on Tuesday, February 28th is a Holt Night Out Fundraiser at Pegasus Pizza at Oakway Center! Just mention Holt when ordering and Pegasus will donate a percentage of your purchase to Holt. Take out and dine in only.

• REPEAT: 22/23 Staffing Survey – To help me with next year’s staffing plan, I’d like staff to complete the linked 2023-2024 Staffing Survey. I’d like to know staff members’ individual plans and preferences for the future as well as your thoughts on next year’s staffing plan, master schedule, or other thoughts. All answers will be kept confidential and let me know if you have any questions.

• Read Across America, March 2nd – NEA’s Read Across America is next week on Thursday, March 2nd. This is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading. For some ideas and resources, check out NEA (National Education Association) or Reading Rockets, or Discovery Education. Or just read aloud high-quality books, invite guest speakers, read with buddies, or any other fun celebration of reading and literacy!

• Kona Ice Fundraiser, Friday, March 3rd @12:30 – Kona Ice is coming to Holt for during Read Across America week. Teachers should sent bus riders who brought money to hard play at 12:30, so they have time to buy and eat their shave ice before having to get onto the bus. 4th and 5th grade will still be on the playground at this time, but I will be out there to crown control. And remember, all staff get a free shave ice as well! Just show your badge!

• Voice Amplification Systems – Tech folks emailed that all classrooms have now received new LightSpeed voice amplification systems. Most teachers already use the voice amplification systems, but if you don’t, I’d strongly encourage you to give it a try. Linked here is a short video and also training materials. Linked here are additional LightSpeed Training & Troubleshooting Videos. If you have any trouble with your system, submit a help ticket at 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu

• April 3rd District ELA PD Survey – The 4J ELA team emailed principals to ask teachers for input on the April 3rd ELA PD Day. Please complete the linked 5 minutes ELA PD Survey, which is grade-level specific. SPED, Title, and any licensed staff who support literacy are also welcome to fill it out.

• Staff Shout Outs! – We’ll share Staff Shout Outs at the start of Tuesday’s Staff Meeting. The link can always be found on my blog and also on the Holt Staff Dashboard.

• Summer School Dates, June 29 – August 15 – No word yet on summer program locations, but I did get an email that the dates for summer school will be June 29 – August 15. I am pitching for Holt to be given a pass on housing a program, though I don’t think we’ll get our way this year. Edison is the only new building with AC, but it’ll most likely be closed for the summer so the contractor can fix punch list items that would’ve been too disruptive to fix during the school year.

• UPDATE: 4J Grown Your Own Teaching/Counseling Program – HR sent an Email Update to principals about the 4J Grown Your Own Program that there is additional financial assistance through the Lane ESD for classified staff wanting to get their teaching or counseling degree. I’ve already heard from a few classified staff who are interested but let me know if you are interested and I will get you additional info. The deadline to apply is Feb. 28th.

• 4J Weather Alert Text Set-Up – Every staff member is should be set up in school messenger to receive text alerts if there’s ever a delay or school closure due to weather conditions. If you did not receive a text last week for our 2-hour delay, you should go to https://go.schoolmessenger.com to register for an account. Use your 4J email address and pick a new password. Once in, you can add/delete phone numbers for text messages and limit what notifications go to email or to your phone. And as of Saturday, there’s another chance of snow this Wednesday!

• Input on 4J Budget Priorities – Think more funding should go towards reducing class size than other district positions? The last 4J Educator Newsletter has a section called Integrated Guidance where all staff can give input on where you think district funds should be spent. Downtown identified three areas to focus on and have three different surveys. It’s a rather strange survey format, where you share your thoughts on the strategies for each of the three areas and then you rate the thoughts other staff shared. And FYI, class size is on the third survey, but I’d encourage folks to complete all three surveys to have your say. I do think downtown is genuinely paying attention to survey results, as seen by their revising next year’s proposed school calendar based on feedback.

Engaged Community
Equity Advanced
Well-Rounded Education

• New School Calendar: Classes Begin After Labor Day – Mentioned above, downtown listened to feedback and significantly changed their proposed 23-24 School Calendar. They changed most of my issues with the original draft, with school starting before Labor Day, all the non-school days in September, and also moved the spring break PD day to the Monday following the break instead of the Friday before. Parent teacher conferences are now Nov. 20, 21, and 22, right before Thanksgiving Break, which is more days than in the past, so I’m not sure how this will work, but it’s fine by me (long days 11/20 & 11/21 and a comp day 11/22?). Share your thoughts on the Revised 23-24 School Calendar Survey.

• Abbreviated Day (SB 819) – Not sure if this is on folks radar, but you may have heard some rumor or speculation coming from the state that there will no longer be an option for an Abbreviated Day for students. This comes from Senate Bill 819, but the truth is there are a lot of unknowns. It is highly unlikely the bill would preclude students with IEPs and behavior plans to not have the ability to have an abbreviated day. Downtown is waiting on additional information from the state, but I’ll share more information as soon as we get it.

• Small Shifts to Limit ‘Teacher Talk’ and Increase Engagement – Guiding students to regularly direct their own discussions brings academic rewards as they gain confidence working independently on challenging tasks. This Edutopia Article reminds us to:

• Teach what good discussions look like
• Let students come up with ideas first
• Focus on all students getting to participate
• Don’t rush to clarify the hard parts
• Use video (of yourself teaching) to ensure your strategy is working

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

February 20 (M)
No School – President’s Day

February 21 (T)
Artist in Residence – Ceramic Tiles w/Larry Meyers Begins
Library Week #2 Classes
5th Grade Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Heinrich)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Ayres)
10:45, 4J Board Member Visit – Michelle Hsu
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Library)

February 22 (W)
Bus Appreciation (4th)
Staffing Allocations Distributed to Principals
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Parks)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Lovato)
12:00, Student Council Meeting (Reich’s Room)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)
2:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting w/Sup (Ed Center)
2:40-3:30, Data Team – Kindergarten
3:30-5:30, District MTSS Team Using Library

February 23 (H)
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Heinrich)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Ayres)
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Gardening (Garden)
10:30, Allan to HR Staffing Meeting (Zoom)
2:45-3:30, Data Team – 1st Grade
6:30-7:30, 3rd Grade Cultural Heritage Night (Gym/Cafeteria)
6:30-7:15, 4th Grade Expert Project Night (Classrooms)

February 24 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Wacky Dress-Up Day!
8:05-8:40, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Parks)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Lovato)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD, Staffing Discussion #1 (Library)
2:30-3:20, Data Team – 2nd Grade
4:00, Holt Friday at 4:00 (Beer Garden)

February 27 (M)
Artist in Residence Continues
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
Library Week #1 Classes
ELD/Speech/Counselor/Library Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)
2:45, Optional Meeting w/UO Interior Architecture Student (Library)
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

February 28 (T)
Holt Night Out – Pegasus Pizza
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Heinrich)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Ayres)
2:45-3:45, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
5:45-7:15, Conscious Discipline Parent Night (Library)

March 1 (W)
Women’s History Month
Fluoride and Sealant Clinic
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Parks)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Lovato)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)
2;45, Grade Level Team Meetings
2:40-3:30, Data Team – 3rd Grade
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

March 2 (H)
Read Across America Day
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Heinrich)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Ayres)
2:45-3:30, Data Team – 4th Grade

March 3 (F)
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Parks)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Lovato)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD, Staffing Discussion #2 (Library)
2:30-3:20, Data Team – 5th Grade

Keep watching for those snowflakes in the forecast!

Allan

January 2, 2023

By Allan | 2022/12/31 09:54 Posted in Announcements, Articles, P.D., Video | Comments Off

Happy New Year!

Hope you all had a good break. My family Christmas celebrations were delayed due to everyone in my house except me getting sick the first week of the break. Still, it was nice to have some time off. Best new movie I watched over the break was Everything Everyone All at Once and the best book I read was Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino, which is essential reading for film nerds.

Ten items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Four staffing Updates:

• Title 1 EA Job Posting – Ashton Stowell is sadly leaving us at the end of the week to pursue a teaching degree. Holt parent Keri Schneider (the one who brought the Subway Party Sub before the break) is coveringuntil we hire a replacement. The job posting for the 6.5-hour position should go up this week, so please encourage anyone good to apply!

• Counselor Interviews, Jan 3rd @1:20 – We had two applicants for our temp counselor position and interviews will be Tuesday, January 3rd from 1:20-3:00 in the library. Let me know if you’d like to join me and Kim and I will email you the interview materials.

• Temp PE Interviews, Jan. 6th @1:25 – We had three applicants for our temp part-time PE position. Alex, Ashley, and I will hold interviews on Zoom from 1:25-3:00. Interviews are on Zoom because this position is 0.2 at Holt and 0.2 at Howard, so Zoom was the easier option. Let me know if you’d like to join.

• BEST EA Job Posting Open – 2-hour to 3.5 hour BEST EA positions are now posted on the 4J Jobs website and closes Thursday.

• Jan. 3 PD/Planning Day – Emailed earlier and on the Staff Google Drive is the Meeting Agenda for Tuesday. We’ll plan to meet in the Cafeteria with the following schedule:

8:00-8:30, Breakfast Stacks & Socializing (Cafeteria)
8:30-11:00, PD and Staff Meeting Meeting (Cafeteria)
11:00-1:30, Team Collaboration & Vector Training Time

Bring a device to the meeting for the “DHS Child Welfare Reporting Online Documentation” agenda item. I’ll walk folks through setting up your account.

I’ll have the usual mix of breakfast goodies available starting at 8:00 and we’ll start the meeting promptly at 8:30.

• Classified Staff Meeting – Following the Staff Meeting will be a Classified Staff Meeting to prep for the Recess Rules Round-Up later in the week (see the next agenda item) and any other business the team would like to discuss.

• PBIS Rules Round-Up Refresher, THURSDAY & FRIDAY – The PBIS Team discussed holding a Recess Rules Round-Up Refresher the first week back. Grades 3-5 will be Thursday, 1:30-2:00. Grades K-2 will be Friday, 8:20-8:50. Let me know if any classes need to adjust times. As we did in the fall, we’ll do 5-min. rotations (4 min. talk, 1 min. transition), but we’ll change some of the stations to focus more on problem solving. We can discuss any tweaks at the Staff Meeting, but the tentative plan is for the five stations to be:

1. Equipment, Lining Up
end-of-recess lines and equipment are problem areas
2. Restrooms, Snacks/Food
snacks only on the curb in AM, no food at lunch recess, trash in the garbage
3. Gaga Ball
main point – don’t be a cheater
4. What to do when you have a problem?
mini-Kelso review
5. What does it mean to be Safe, Respectful, & Responsible on the playground
hands-feet-objects-to-self and being kind to one another, discussing different scenarios appropriate for younger and older grades

Linked here is a Map of the Station Locations. Classes will rotate in the station order listed below. Teachers should plan to come out early so we can start and end on time. Let me know if there are any scheduling conflicts and we can adjust [CORRECTED: ADDED KG and MOVED 3RD, flip flopped #4 and #5 to match map]:

Thursday @1:30
5-Minute Rotations (4 min. talk, 1 min. transition)
Classes start at:

1. Equipment & Lining-Up (Ball, Talley)
2. Gaga Ball (Benavides, Harshbarger, Longoria)
3. Restroom & Snack/Food (Cobb, Reich)
4. What to do when you have a problem (Lovato, Ayres)
5. How to be Safe, Respectful, Responsible (Parks, Heinrich)

Friday @8:20
5-Minute Rotations (4 min. talk, 1 min. transition)
Classes start at:

1. Equipment & Lining-Up (Harmon, Seno)
2. Gaga Ball (Norton, Gulewich, Vaughan)
3. Restroom & Snack/Food (Gori, Barton)
4. What to do when you have a problem (Dempsey, Rabourn)
5. How to be Safe, Respectful, Responsible (Zluticky, Gullekson)

We will decide on station assignments at the Classified Meeting on Tuesday. We’ll talk more on Tuesday, but me know if you have any questions or suggestions on any of this.

• Friday PD: Team Collaboration Time – This Friday is “Building Based” and will be a time for a Team Collaboration Time, with the same guidelines as the January 3rd collaboration time.

• Fire Drill, Friday, Jan. 13 @8:20 – Not this week, but Friday next week at 8:20 will be our January Fire Drill. Linked here are the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line Map.

• Security Camera Ideas – Facilities is meeting with principals about installing additional security cameras. My guess is they are only going to add them to one or two locations, but my thinking is priorities should be:

1. Playground (Hard Play #1 and Soft Play #2)
2. Hallways (A-D Wings #1, Wing Intersections #2, Counselor/Calming #3, Gym/Cafeteria #4, Library/Office #5)
3. Bus Pick-Up/Drop-Off Area
4. East side of the building
5. Back of building

I’ll add this as a Business Item for the staff meeting but wanted to get this out now since it’s a fast turnaround.

• Revoking a Transfer for Irregular Attendance – Schools used to be able to do this, but we are once again being allowed to revoke a transfer for a student due to poor attendance.The process to revoke a transfer is to communicate with the family about school choice and that the transfer can be revoked for poor attendance and/or repeated behavior infractions. Work with the family on providing some tiered interventions and have data to support the revocation. If attendance/behavior does not improve a transfer may be revoked. See attached policy and process. Attendance criteria should match the attendance criteria that we use for all students. Students that are dipping into tier 2/chronic attendance should be addressed.

• How Drawing Can Lead to Deeper Understanding – Organizational drawings—concept maps and sketchnotes, for example—help students see gaps in their learning while boosting comprehension by fourfold. See this Edutopia Video for details.

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

January 2 (M)
Winter Break – No School

January 3 (T)
8:00-8:30, Breakfast Stacks & Socializing (Cafeteria)
8:30-11:00, Staff Meeting & PD (Cafeteria)
11:00-12:00, Classified Staff Meeting (Cafeteria)
11:00-1:30, Team Collaboration & Vector Training
1:20-3:00, Temp Counselor Interviews (Library)

January 4 (W)
Students Return
Library Checkout Week (no library learning sessions)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
Winter Benchmarking Window Opens
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)

January 5 (H)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
1:30-2:00, Recess Rules Round-Up – Grades 3-5 (Playground)

January 6 (F)
8:20-8:50, Recess Rules Round-Up – Grades K-2 (Playground)
9:00, Allan Meeting w/Facilities RE Security Cameras
1:25-2:25, Friday PD – Building Based – Team Collaboration
1:25-3:00, Temp PE Interviews – Tentative (Library)

January 9 (M)
Library Week #2 Classes
Title Staff Room Duty
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Holt Library)

January 10 (T)
10:15-11:45, 4th Grade Junior Achievement
2:45-3:45, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

January 11 (W)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
12:00, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
2:45, Allan to IEP Meeting (Lesli’s Room)

January 12 (H)
5:00-6:00 Site Council (Library)
6:00-7:00, PAHS Meeting (Library)

January 13 (F)
8:20, Fire Drill
1:25-2:25, Friday PD – Staff Choice
4:00, Holt Staff Friday at Four (TBA)

See you soon!

Allan

November 28, 2022

By Allan | 2022/11/26 21:47 Posted in Announcements, Articles, P.D., Video | Comments Off

Howdy Everyone,

Just three weeks until winter break!

Fourteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Two Staffing Updates:

• New SPED EA, Denice Mellor – Please welcome our newest SPED EA, Denice, who comes to us from Chavez, where she was also a SPED EA. We hired Denice about a month ago, but Chavez put a hold on her starting until they could hire her replacement, but she will officially join us starting this Monday, so please welcome her to Team Holt!

• UPDATE: Temp Job Posting, 1st, Music, PE – Our temp 1st Grade, Music, and PE Job Postings were extended another week and will now close on Tuesday, November 27th.

• Book Fair Evening Event & PJ Day, WEDNESDAY – To help bring awareness to the Book Fair evening event this Wednesday, we’re holding a special mid-week PJ Day! Get your kids excited to wear their comfy pajamas this day and also remind them about the book fair, which will close Thursday.

• REPEAT: Holt Staff Annual Gingerbread House Event, THURSDAY – The Staff Gingerbread House Event is this Thursday from 5:30-8:00ish. Come if you have a team or if you just want to socialize! The gathering is at Katies’ house. Address is on the Staff Zimbra Calendar. See Debbi’s Email for details.

• UDPATE: Staff Workload Relief Day, FRIDAY – Downtown revised their guidelines for the workload relief day that only licensed staff may work from home (if you notify your principal ahead of time) and that classified staff are to work your regular hours on-site (unless you are using appropriate leaves)

December 2nd – This transition day should be treated much the same as a grading day for licensed staff. Licensed staff may work from home on this day, but should be available to team members. Any licensed staff that intend to work from an alternate location, will need to let you know their intentions. In that communication licensed staff should also identify how they will communicate with their colleagues on this day. Licensed staff that have not communicated a desire to work from an alternate location will be expected to work on site. As a reminder, our classified staff are wage and hourly employees and need to report to their building or use appropriate leave.

• Need any EA Help this Friday? – If teachers can use any help with prepping materials or with other tasks, add your name and the task to the Workload Relief Day Tasks Spreadsheet. EAs should also add your name to the tasks you’re willing to take on.

• Book Nook Starts Dec. 7th – See Jenny’s Email for details, but here’s the quick version:

Start: Wednesday, December 7th.
When: Every Wednesday
Where: Cafeteria
How: Send kids at the beginning of morning recess (not before).
How many: Send up to 5 kids each time.
Other info: Please do not send them with a snack (unless it can stay in their pocket)
What next: A Book Nook staff person will walk kids out to recess after they are done choosing a book. The book will be delivered to the table outside your classroom with a sticky note with the child’s name on it.

Make sure they bring a Book Nook Recess Pass, plus their Book Nook currency, which is one of the following:

• 5 Zaps
• 1 Instant Winner
• 1 Book Nook free book coupon
• $0.25
• A used book from home to trade in

• REPEAT: Friday PD, Dec. 9 – Building System – Leadership discussed doing a review of all of our support systems, with a particular focus on behavior support systems. With many new staff members and with systems having changed and morphed over time, here are the system I’m planning on reviewing, but let me know if there are other you think we should go over:

• Major/Minor Referrals
• PBIS Tickets (Zaps, Orange Tickets, Spirit Tickets)
• PBIS Videos & Resources
• Behavior Supports Available
• Voice Levels
• Recess/School Rules
• Request for Support – Academic/Behavior
• Request for Support – Student/Family Needs
• Family Resource Coordinator Supports

• HOLT Cozy Blanket Essay & Drawing Contest, ENTRIES DUE Dec. 12 – In place of the annual Winter Coat Drive, we’re trying a Cozy Blanket Drive. See Ashely’s Email, Staff Flyer, and Entry Form for details, but here’s the short version:

What?
Instead of the yearly coat collection, Holt will be having a fuzzy blanket giveaway for kids who would benefit from a warm and cozy blanket if their own.

When?
Contest forms are due on Monday, December 12. Winners will be announced at the assembly on Friday, December 16th.

How can teachers help?
Put the contest forms in Monday Mailers. If you would like, you can give students time in class to complete the form if they want to enter. Miss Darla has also volunteered to help kids get forms complete in here room.

• UPDATED: Elf Jr. Performance, Dec. 15, 9:00-10:00 – Thursday, Dec. 15th from 9:00-10:00 has been confirmed with Upstart Crow for our performance of the Elf Jr. Musical. Upstart Crow will begin setting up at 7:00, which will conflict with 3rd and 4th grade Music times. The 9-10 assembly time will also conflict with Kinder, 1st, 2nd, and 4th grade recesses. Those teachers can take their prep during the assembly and other staff will cover your class. Linked here is an Assembly Map & Directions. If Holt has used a different sating format for performances in the cafeteria, let me know and I can adjust.

• January 3rd PD Day Info – The following was sent to principals regarding the PD Day following winter break on January 3rd:

January 3, 2023 – With the various moving parts, please know that it has been confirmed that the Elementary Wit & Wisdom Language Arts PD that was scheduled for January 3, 2023 (4 hours) has been postponed. We recognize that many buildings were only planning for the 1.5 hours, however, that is now 5.5 hours with your staff (in order to absorb the 4 hours that Wit & Wisdom will no longer be leading.) This could mean that your building will have more time to address work that has been put on pause, in addition to focusing on what care and connection will look like as we welcome our students back on January 4. On this date, licensed staff members will need to be provided 2 hours for prep/planning (first thing in the morning or to end their day).

I’ll put this on the next Staff Meeting Agenda to see if there are PD topics staff would like to cover this day or if folks would rather make this a “Collaborative Team Planning Time” or some combination of the two. My initial thinking is there are a few topics I’d like to cover this day (CICO Review, Escalation Cycle Review, Equity Decision Making Tool, DHS Child Welfare Reporting Online Documentation, School-wide Problem Solving Student Strategies), but to make the bulk of the 5.5 hours collaborative planning time for teams.

• 4J Communications Survey Deadline Extended, Nov. 28 – The 4J Communications Audit has been extended to Nov. 28th, so doing miss out on your change to let district admin know how they are doing on communication.

• Standard Response Protocol (SRP) Slideshow – I’ve already covered this with staff earlier, but if you’re interested, linked here is a 4J Standard Response Protocol Slideshow that was shown to principals last week, covering Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter.

• 20 School-Appropriate Funny Videos for Kids When You Have 5 Free Minutes – Here’s a funny WeAreTeachers Arcile that aims to help teachers when you find yourself needing to fill a few mintues. Why not fill that time with a video of a cat riding a Roomba?

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

November 28 (M)
Library Week #1 Classes
5th Grade Staff Room Duty
Book Fair Continues
Artist in Residence Continues
November 29 (T)
4:00-6:00, Allan to 4J IPBS Meeting (ATA)

November 30 (W)
Picture Retake Day
Holt Spirit Day – PJ Day
Book Fair Evening Event

December 1 (H)
Book Fair Last Day
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
5:30-8:00, Holt Staff Annual Gingerbread House Event (Katie’s House)

December 2 (F)
No School – Staff Workload Relief Day
8:00-11:00, Allan to LTRS Training (Zoom)
1:00-2:30, Allan to SPED Parent Advocacy Group Listening Session (Ed Center)

December 5 (M)
Library Week #2 Classes
ELD/Speech/Counselor/Library Staff Room Duty
Artist in Residence Continues3:45-5:15, Allan to All Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

December 6 (T)
Sunshine December Birthday Coffees & Goodies!
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Library)

December 7 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

December 8 (H)
Pretend to be a Time Traveller Day2:45-3:45, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
5:00-6:00, Site Council (Library)
6:00-7:00, PAHS Meeting (Library)

December 9 (F)
9:00-2:00, 4th Grade Salmon Fry Release Field Trip
1:25-2:25, Friday PD – Building Systems Review (Library)
4:00, Holt Friday @4:00 (TBA)

And if you’re a snow watcher, there is a very slight chance of snow Monday night!

Allan

November 21, 2022

By Allan | 2022/11/19 22:01 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Grants, P.D., SEL, Video | Comments Off

Hi Everyone,

Fourteen items of note for this week:

• Temp Job Posting, 1st, Music, PE – Our Temp 1st Grade, Music, and PE Job Posting is now up and close on Tuesday. The specialist jobs are 0.2 FTE jobs to provide some relief for Alex and Ashley now that we’ve added another 1st grade classroom, so if you know any part-time (or maybe retired) Music or PE specialists, please encourage them to apply.

• Book Fair Opens Tuesday – The Book Fair will set-up Monday and will be open for families before school (7:30-7:50) and after school (2:25-3:30). The Book Fair will also be open the evening of Wednesday, November 30th.

• Holt Staff Annual Gingerbread House Event, Dec. 1 – See Debbi’s Email for details, but the Staff Gingerbread House Event is Thursday, December 1st from 5:30-8:00ish. Come if you have a team or if you just want to socialize! The gathering is at Katies’ house. Address is on the Staff Zimbra Calendar.

• Staff Workload Relief Day, Dec. 2 – The following was sent to principals regarding the December 2nd Workload Relief Day (which is referred to as a “transition day” below for some reason), which states that staff may work from home if you notify me ahead of time and also have a plan how you will connect with colleagues if needed.

December 2nd – This transition day should be treated much the same as a grading day. Staff may work from home on this day, but should be available to team members. Any staff that intend to work from an alternate location, will need to let you know their intentions. In that communication staff should also identify how they will communicate with their colleagues on this day. Staff that have not communicated a desire to work from an alternate location will be expected to work on site.

• Friday PD, Dec. 9 – Building System – Leadership discussed last week doing a review of all of our support systems, with a particular focus on behavior support systems. With many new staff members and with systems having changed and morphed over time, here are the system I’m planning on reviewing, but let me know if there are other you think we should go over:

• Major/Minor Referrals
• PBIS Tickets (Zaps, Orange Tickets, Spirit Tickets)
• PBIS Videos & Resources
• Behavior Supports Available
• Voice Levels
• Recess/School Rules
• Request for Support – Academic/Behavior
• Request for Support – Student/Family Needs
• Family Resource Coordinator Supports

• Elf Jr. Performance, Dec. 15 – I checked in with Leadership back in September, but Upstart Crow Youth Theater is offering performances of the Elf Jr. Musical Comedy to schools and finally emailed back last week. Dates and times aren’t confirmed, but they said they are available the last week of December before winter break, and I’ve asked for them to come Thursday, Dec. 15th, 8:30-9:30. I’ll keep you posted once date/times are solid.

• REMINDER: Orange Tickets – Progress is going slow for our school-wide Orange Ticket Reward. As a reminder, these tickets are whole class rewards for positive behavior around the school (i.e. cafeteria, hallways, gym, library, etc.), which are then added to the hallways display near the Calming Room.

• REMINDER: Classroom Buddies – One other PBIS reminder, linked here is the 22-23 Classroom Buddies List for the year. Buddy Classroom should do one activity each month together, which can be as simple a big buddies reading with younger students. If you’d like some ideas, here’s some form TeacherStarter.com and from Teacher.org

• EEF Grant Updates – Two grants were submitted for Holt and we got both of them!. 3rd grade’s “Hands on Art Materials for Third Graders!” and also our bigger $3,000 “Refill the Book Machine!” grant application were approved!

• Holt School Choice Guide – Principals were emailed our 4J School Choice Guide Descriptions last week to be updated by Friday next week. Let me know if you see anything on here you think we should update. Holt is usually closed to students living outside of our neighborhood, but this is our chance to advertise ourselves and retain families who might be looking to lottery into BV or another choice school.

• 2022/2023 Licensed IEP/504 Log – I’ve been asking about this since September and looks like HR finally posted this without telling anyone, but the Licensed IEP/504 Log Google Form is now live. This form is for licensed teachers to request payment for up to twelve hours of additional compensation based on your per diem rate for attending IEP or 504 meetings during your prep and/or outside of your normal workday. This link can be found on the Holt Staff Dashboard and also on the 4J HR Forms webpage.

• Building Behavioral Needs Assessment – If you’re interested, here is the Behavior Tool and Resource Kit that has been shared with the 4 elementary schools that are currently being supported with TOSA teams.

• 22 Videos To Help Kids Understand Gratitude – Just in time for Thanksgiving, here’s a List of Videos from WeAreTeachers for all age groups that will help your students to cultivate an attitude of gratitude.

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

November 21 (M)
Library Week #1 Classes
4th Grade Staff Room Duty
Artist in Residence Continues
4:00-5:30, Allan to All admin Meeting (Ed Center)

November 22 (T)
Book Fair Opens
2:45-3:45, Allan to IEP Meeting

November 23 (W)
Regular Day

November 24 (H)
No School – Thanksgiving Break

November 25 (F)
No School – Thanksgiving Break

November 28 (M)
Library Week #2 Classes
5th Grade Staff Room Duty
Book Fair Continues
Artist in Residence Continues
November 29 (T)
Regular Day

November 30 (W)
Picture Retake Day
PJ Day
Book Fair Evening Event

December 1 (H)
Book Fair Last Day
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
5:30-8:00, Holt Staff Annual Gingerbread House Event (Katie’s House)

December 2 (F)
No School – Staff Workload Relief Day
8:00-11:00, Allan to LTRS Training (Zoom)
1:00-2:30, Allan to SPED Parent Advocacy Group Listening Session (Ed Center)

17 student days until winter break!

Allan

September 12, 2022

By Allan | 2022/09/10 20:24 Posted in Announcements, Literacy, P.D., Video | Comments Off

Hi Everyone,

We survived our first week of school and now gird yourselves for our first full week of school!

Twenty-five items of note for this week:

• Assembly Photos? – If anyone snapped some photos of Friday’s Assembly, please send me your photos. I’d love to post some on our Holt social media.

• Back to School Night (i.e. Curriculum Night) – To better capture our hybrid Curriculum Night / Open House, I’m rebranding our event “Back to School Night.” I’ll send out the linked Back to School Night Flyer to families on Monday. Let me know if you have any suggestions for edits. I’ll include in the Quick News article that specialists (SPED, ELD, Music, PE, and Library) will also be available to meet with families. The schedule will be:

5:30-6:00 Back to School Night Begins
– Kindergarten meetings in classrooms begin
– 1st-3rd grade open house in classrooms (drop in)
– Free pizza & Title1 Annual Meeting in cafeteria:

6:00-6:30
– 4th/5th grade meetings in classrooms begin
– 1st-3rd grade open house in classrooms (drop in)
– Free pizza & Title1 Annual Meeting in cafeteria:

6:30 Back to School Night Ends

• Leadership Survey – Shared at the back-to-school Staff Meeting is the linked Leadership Plan Survey. This will be on the agenda for next week’s Staff Meeting and filling out this form will help focus that discussion.

• Morning Announcements, Monday @8:00 – I’ll start doing Monday morning announcements this week at 8:00. I’ll do them at this time each Monday until we have our usual student news crew in place. I’ll do a few short announcements and end with the Pledge of Allegiance.

• Friday PD, Curriculum – Downtown asked principals to share the following info with teachers:

Geodes PD for grades K-2 (for classroom teachers): Zoom session from 2:25-3:55. This training is a 90 minutes session that goes past the typical work day and teachers will be compensated for the additional and optional 30 minutes that they attend on both Fridays. Teachers will take their 1 hour of preparation time before the PD session.

Social Studies PD for grades 3-5 (classroom teachers): The social studies PD will ONLY run for 1 hour via Zoom, 1:25-2:25.

• Fire Drill, Thursday, Sept 22nd @12:50 – TIME UPDATED – No this week, but next week will be our first Fire Dill of the year, on Thursday, September 22nd at 12:55. Since this is our drill, it’s fine for teachers let students know about the drill ahead of time to do pre-teaching before it happens.

See the Holt Staff Handbook for complete details on Fire Drill Procedures, but highlights are:

• Students and staff clear the building, following the Evacuation Routes.
• Teachers should take their Emergency Binders (let me know if you do not have one).
• Classes walk single file to their marked spot at soft play/playground (see map).
• Students at specialists (PE, Music, Title, ELD, SPED, etc.) return to their homeroom teacher for attendance
• Teachers take attendance and raise their green card once all children are accounted for.
• Notify the admin or designee or of any missing/additional children in your line by raising the red card.
• Admin or designee running the drill will announce the all-clear when classes may return to the building.

On a related note, I’m planning on holding a “Safety Week” the week of Oct. 31st to review all the most common safety drills. Principals are still waiting to hear from downtown what they want us to present to staff on the I Love U Guys standard response protocols, which is replacing the ALICE Drills. I asked if principals could put together our own presentation if we were comfortable, but was told we had wait for downtown to create it.

• Voice Level in Hallways – Student voice levels in the hallway should be zero until you reach the fire doors near the cafeteria, where students should try to keep it to level 1 of volume.

• Classified Computer Access for Email – All staff should check their email at least once each workday. Mornings are the best time to check, since this is when last minute schedule changes get communicated due to unfilled sub jobs. If there are classified staff who’d like a laptop to check email, let me know and we can get you one. There is also a computer available in the office by the copier for staff to use.

• Air Quality Updates & Inside Recess– We had some bad air quality over the weekend and downtown emailed that schools are to do, using AirNow.gov as the official AQI measure.

• AQI 150 or higher, keep outdoor activities to a minimum. Students may have recess outside, but activity should be limited—no high-exertion activities like running games.
• AQI 200 or higher, all recesses and activities are done indoors.

• 4J Policy Review Highlights – Checklist Due Oct. 30 – Linked here is this year’s District Back-to-School Memo, which covers a variety of district rules, policies and guidelines. Section 1 is the portion that staff are required to review and return to me a singed Staff Orientation Checklist by Oct. 30th. I’ll dedicate the “Building Based” Friday PD on Sept. 23rd to giving staff time to review this on your own. I didn’t spot much that changed since the last 19-20 Policy Memo, but here are some highlights:

GIFTS – Staff cannot accept any gift or gifts with an aggregate value of $50 or more during any calendar year from any single source (person or entity).

REIMBURSEMENTS – Expenditures must be pre-approved, are limited to $250 per reimbursement, per month, and should be submitted and paid through Financial Services within 60 days of when the expenditure was incurred. Per IRS requirements, employee reimbursement requests that are submitted more than 60 days following the expenditure will be considered TAXABLE INCOME to the employee.

RACIAL HARASSMENT POLICY (NEW) – Adopted last spring, Board Policy ACC – Racial Harassment, sets the expectation that staff who have knowledge of racial harassment are responsible for taking action to stop the behavior and report it that day to the school admin. Examples of conduct prohibited by this policy, regardless of intent, include but are not limited to: racial slurs or epithets; unwelcome gestures or acts of physical aggression based on the person’s race or ethnicity; derogatory language about a person’s skincolor, accent, appearance or dress when linked to ethnicity or ancestry; statements or display of graffiti or printed material promoting racial stereotypes; offensive jokes or comments about a religious group when based on actual or perceived shared ancestry, ethnic characteristics or residency in a country with a distinct religious identity; display of symbols of hate; and verbal or nonverbal slights or insults which communicate hostile, derogatory or negative messages to persons based on their race or ethnicity. Students who violate this policy are subject to discipline as provided in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook. Staff members who violate this policy, including by failing to stop or appropriately respond to a report of racial harassment, are subject to discipline.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT – In 2021, the district’s Sexual Harassment policy was revised to distinguish between harassment towards staff and harassment towards students. All incidents of sexual harassment are to be reported to the building administrator. Sexual harassment of students and employees is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

ATTENDANCE – 4J expects reliable and timely attendance and timely leave notification by all employees. Be sure to review the linked Attendance Expectations and Notice Requirements document.

REPORTING CHILD ABUSE – All staff are mandatory reporters. If you become aware of abuse/neglect, you must notify the building administrator and also complete an Abuse Reporting Form (make a copy and don’t edit the original), which helps me track dates, concerns, and how many calls we’ve made for individual student. To make a report, you can call either:

Oregon Child Abuse Hotline, 1-855-503-7233 (SAFE)
Eugene Police Department Non-Emergency number, (541) 682-5111

GUEST SPEAKERS – Staff must ensure presenters and guest speakers adhere to the following guidelines:

• Information presented must be educational, not promotional.
• Presenters are prohibited from gathering personally identifying information from students.
• Information presented should be age appropriate and relevant to curriculum and classroom instruction.
• Information must be presented in a neutral and nondiscriminatory manner.
• District representatives (Holt staff arranging the presentation or guest speaker) have a responsibility for vetting and supervision of guest speakers and outside presenters. Building administrators have the authority to cancel or stop presentations deemed to be inappropriate.

WELLNESS POLICY – Key elements of the 4J Wellness Policy that may affect you include:

• Soda pop (including no-calorie varieties) will not be sold or distributed at school.
• Use of candy as a reward is strongly discouraged. Certain candies that are largely sugar with minimal nutritional value may not be given to students as a reward.
• Foods of minimal nutritional value that do not conform with the wellness policy (such as soda pop, most candy, candy-coated popcorn, water ices) may not be purchased with a district funs and cannot be reimbursed.

TRANSGENDER & GENDER NONCONFORMING STUDENTS – Students have the right to be addressed and referred to by a name and pronoun that corresponds with the student’s gender identity, consistently asserted by the student at school. Students have the right to keep their transgender status private. Students shall have access to a restroom that corresponds to the gender identity they consistently assert at school.

• Start of the Year Feedback – The first week of school seemed to generally go well, but can you think of anything that would have made it smoother? Let me know your thoughts so I can make note of them for next year. As of now feedback I’ve gotten is:

⁃ Rules Round-Up start time should be later on first day of school.
⁃ Looking up bus route info for new enrollments not on the list yet ahead of time.
⁃ And not really in our control, but I can give downtown the feedback staff should have more time for prep inservice week and to schedule most of the PD until after the school year has started.

• Hall Passes – We are using the pink Hall Pass / Office forms until they run out and have an updated one we’ll use. In the meantime, you can write “C” for Calming Room since it is not listed.

• Friends Riding on Buses – The Transportation Dept. shared with secretaries that they will again allow students from the same school to ride home from school with a friend IF THEY HAVE A NOTE FROM A PARENT/GUARDIAN. The procedure is that students should bring the note to the office (or office staff can write a note if parents call or email), where office staff will initial, stamp or in some way designate that you have seen the note and assessed that it is authentic. Students then show the note to the driver at the end of the day and they will allow the students to ride home together. If students come to the bus without some designation from the office, the driver will send them back to the office.

• CPR/AED/First Aid Training Update – I tried to grab the Oct. 14th PD day for the CPR/AED/First Aid Training, but they are unavailable that day. Instead, they are checking if they can break up the 5.5 hour training into two parts we can do after school or if they can do one long one starting right after school.

• TalentEd Goals and Self Assessment – All staff, both classified and licensed staff, need to complete the self assessment/reflection in TalentEd by October 1st. For licensed staff, I’ll hold an Optional Building SMART Goals Meeting next week on Wednesday, Sept. 21st.

• REPEAT: Principal Visits to Classrooms – Teachers, if you haven’t already, let me know a good 10-minute block of time I can come and visit sometime this month. Thank you!

• REPEAT: Team Sign-Ups – If you’d like to sign-up to be a member of one of our building teams, please add your name to the Team Sign-Up Sheet (2022-2023). Leadership Team (monthly), PBIS Team (monthly), IPBS/SEL Team (twice a month), and I added an Equity Team Meeting (monthly).

• REPEAT: Insurance Open Enrollment Deadline, THURSDAY – A reminder that you need to choose your insurance plan by September 15th or else you will lose your health insurance benefits for this year. See the linked 4J Open Enrollment 2022-23 Website for details.

• REPEAT: Holt Staff Fun Facts – If you haven’t already, be sure to fill out or update your info on the Holt Staff Fun Facts Spreadsheet.

• Human Resources FAQ – HR sent principals an HR FAQ at the start of the year and I wanted to highlight a couple points:

• Unpaid Leave Days – If staff request unpaid leave days, either because you’ve run out or unable to use sick or personal leave days, they must request this time, in advance from Human Resources. HR will generally contact the supervisor (me) to discuss any potential hardship on the program, before approving the leave. To request unpaid leave, staff should go to the HR leave webpage: https://www.4j.lane.edu/hr/loa/

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – All staff are eligible to use the EAP program through Uprise Health. EAP is a free and confidential service to staff and their dependents and provides a wide variety of benefits. To access services, call 866-750-1327 or go online to uprisehealth.com and use the access code: OEBB.

Employee Assistance Program Services include the following:

Counseling Services – 1 to 6 Visits
● Face-to-face counseling
● Counseling by phone
● No copays
● 24-hour crisis assistance

Work-Life Balance Resources
● Legal & Mediation
● Childcare, Adult & Eldercare Services
● Online Will Preparation
● Mediation Services
● Identity Theft
● Financial
● Home Ownership Program
● College Planning Program
● Free Resilience Webinars

• Enrollment Info – Holt is now officially one of the few school overenrolled. Not by a lot, but enough I can make more compelling of arguments with district admin about some of our class sizes and they can’t come back with “change your current configuration to fix it.” Here’s the district Enrollment as of 09/09/22.

• District Leadership Update – Downtown is adding another admin position and also reworking some of the positions. If you’re interested, see the linked email for details and the new district admin organizational chart.

• Sept. Library Connection Choice Board – Easy to miss in Amy Page’s monthly Library Connection is the Student Choice Board, which works great as an early finisher activity for students, particularly at older grades (K/1 would need more help), or can be that extra homework activity a parent might ask for. Check it out!

• Building Strong Foundations With Classroom Routines – Investing time early in the year to establish procedures and expectations lets teachers and students enjoy a classroom that runs more smoothly (almost!) every day. See the Edutopia Video below for some good tips and reminders.

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

September 12 (M)
Pastini Fundraiser Begins (Sept. 12 – Oct. 16)
Fall Benchmarking Window Opens
ELD Begins (Tier 3 Reading Time)
4:00-5:30, Allan to Equity PD (Ed Center)

September 13 (T)
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

September 14 (W)
Regular Day

September 15 (H)
Deadline for Open Enrollment (Insurance)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
6:00-7:00, PAHS (Parents at Holt School) Meeting (Cafeteria)

September 16 (F)
7:30-9:00, Allan to MAPS Meeting
1:25-2:25, Friday PD, 3-5 – Social Studies (Zoom)
2:25-3:55, Friday PD, K-2 – Geodes (Zoom)

September 19 (M)
International Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Pastini Fundraiser Continues
Fall Benchmarking Continues
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom or Ed Center)

September 20 (T)
School IT Professional’s Day (Speech/ELD)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)

September 21 (W)
2:45-3:15, Optional Building SMART Goals Meeting (Library)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

September 22 (H)
12:55, Fire Drill (UPDATED TIME)
1:00-5:00, 4J Flu Shot Clinic (Ed Center)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

September 23 (F)
1:25-2:25, Friday PD – Building Based (4J Policy Review)

Have a good week, everyone!

Allan

June 6, 2022

By Allan | 2022/06/04 20:48 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Literacy, Science, SEL, Technology, Video | Comments Off

Howdy Bolts,

We’ve almost made it!

Twenty-three items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Three staffing updates:

• Ryan Moving to Washington – Our fabulous Lead Custodian, Ryan Brown, is moving to Washington at the end of the month, which sadly means we are now on the lookout for hiring a new lead. Wish Ryan well on his new adventures!

Facilities will post the position soon, but custodial jobs have been very hard to fill this year, so over the summer we’ll likely have a lead custodian from another building fill in during SEAL and KITS. If you know any good custodians out there, please encourage them to join our awesome school!

• New 2nd Grade Teacher, Myah Rahbourn – We had a strong pool of candidates for our remaining 2nd grade opening and have hired Myah Rabourn. Myah student taught this year with Ashley, but before that was an EA in Lebanon School District and at the end of last year taught 3rd grade on an emergency license. Watch for Myah subbing at Holt this week and welcome her to the team!

• Job Posting Updates – Our Human Services Coordinator position and possibly our 4-hour Title 1 EA position will go up this week. We have two 4-hour opening and HR is likely bumping someone into at least one of these positions. They emailed me one person was bumping into one of the openings, but when I sent that person a “Welcome to Holt” email they told me HR offered her a job at Howard instead of Holt. I emailed HR about this, but haven’t heard back, so at this point I’m not sure if we have one or two openings. If you know anyone good out there though, please encourage them to apply.

• REMINDER: PE/Music On-Time Pick-Up – With PE and Music out on the field, make sure you’re out there on time to pick up your class, so that Alex and Ashley get their breaks.

• ELA Adoption: Wit & Wisdom – Staff were emailed that Wit & Wisdom was officially adopted last week by the school board. Due to delays in the pilot process and delays in obtaining school board approval, we will not have materials until August. However, staff do have digital access if you go the Wit &Wisdom Teacher Review Site and use the password: elafororegon

Scroll down to access a 10-minute “Welcome to the ELA Review Page” video.

Additionally, there is a Wit & Wisdom Introduction Slide Show teachers may want to check out, which goes over what models you will teach, as well as links for further exploration.

• ELA Materials Open House TUESDAY & FRIDAY – If you want to preview materials now, there is an open house this week. Here are the details:

Tuesday, June 7, 2:30-5:00
Friday, June 10, 9:00-4:00

Bailey Hill Instructional Center
2295 Four Oaks Grange Rd.
(off of W 18th, west of Churchill)

• REPEAT: Erin’s Law & Second Step Child Safety Unit, THIS WEEK & NEXT – All classroom teachers should use the Second Step Child Protection Unit for meeting the state Erin’s Law requirements. Teach lesson 6 right before summer break, within the last two weeks of school. Each grade level has their own kit, but linked here are the Child Protection Unit Scans of the teacher guides if that makes things easier.

• Earthquake/Fire Drill, TUESDAY @1:10 – We’ll conduct an Earthquake/Fire Drill this Tuesday at 1:10. I’ll get on the PA an announce the earthquake drill, reviewing Drop, Cover, Hold, and will launch the drill by saying EARTHQUAKE! EARTHQUAKE! EARTHQUAKE! We’ll pull the alarm to signal when to evacuate the building. There are many resources for teaching Drop, Cover, Hold at The Great Oregon Shakeout. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map.

• Allan Job Shadow TUESDAY – Beth Kruzki is going to job shadow me on Tuesday. Beth will be the SEAL/KITS principal for the second part of this summer. I’ll be principal for the first couple weeks of summer school to get things going and Beth will take over for the remainder of the program, although I report back a couple weeks later on July 27, so I’ll be around most of the program anyhow. Beth wanted to job shadow me to get a sense of how things look at elementary (she has mostly secondary admin and online admin experience).

• REMINDER: James Brown Award Nominations, DUE WEDNESDAY – See Ashely’s Email for details, but complete your nomination for the 2022 James Brown Award by Wednesday at 9:00pm. Here are the past James Brown winners:

2018 – Jincy and Heidi
2019 – Lisa Goff
2020 – Jenny Potter
2021 – Kelsey Hicks

• REPEAT: Kona Ice, WEDNESDAY at 1:45 – Kona Ice is coming to Holt THIS WEDNESDAY. Bus riders who bring money can be dismissed at 1:45 if they brought money for shave ice, so they have time to buy and eat their shave ice before getting onto the bus. Supervision of students will be provided.

• REPEAT: FRIDAY Report Card Grading Day Expectations – This Friday is a regular work day for both classified and licensed staff. For licensed staff, HR allows teachers to work from home if you notify your administrator (me) in advance, but be sure to plan ahead if you need to collaborate with any colleagues this day. Also, be sure to use this time for grading and not use it to run errands around town. Teachers are highly visible members of the community, so keep in mind public perception. HR has said that if working off-site on grading days is abused, we will not be allowed to continue the practice. For classified staff, this is a good day to cash in any accumulated trade time you’ve built up, but remember you need to notify me before you begin accumulating time.

• REPEAT: Report Card Printing & Envelope Stuffing – Since grading day is before the last day of school, like normal, 4J elementary schools are going back to normal report card procedures, where teachers print report cards and stuff envelopes, which will be sent home with students the last day of school. Melanie will do the “Update Attendance” procedure in Synergy the Thursday before grading day, so wait until grading day to print report cards.

• REPEAT: Schedule Your Gaga Ball Rules Lesson – Gaga Ball is going to be one of our Field Day stations, which I’ll be running, and I’d like to teach kids the rules ahead of time. Let me know a good 10-minute block to go over the Gaga Ball Rules Slide Show with your class sometime before Field Day on Wednesday, June 15th. The closer to Field Day the better, but email a time that works well for you.

• EA Help Boxing Materials this FRIDAY & Next Week – Title 1 EAs will be available this Friday and next week to help box up ELA Materials (Journeys & Being A Writer) and also to inventory the SIA Diverse Book Library Kits. Just let Jenny know and she will send someone your way.

• ELA Materials Packing Directions – Linked here is the Full ELA Materials List to Keep or Discard, as well as Eric Anderson’s Email.

• Teachers will get 6 boxes per classroom.
• Most Journeys and Being A Writer materials: Box and attach this Label Template on each box.
• Leveled Readers: Box separately and use the Leveled Reader Label Template ere.
• Trade books and big books: Keep them for 4J use. If your building does not want them, please send them to Bailey Hill using this label.

• REPEAT: Diverse Classroom Libraries Inventory – Teachers will inventory the SIA Diverse Classroom Library Book Sets. There are two processes depending whether you are teaching the same grade next year or if you are moving grade levels or schools.

If not moving: Inventory books, cross any missing books off of the inventory list, keep books in your room.

If moving: Inventory books, cross any missing books off of the inventory list, leave bins in classroom, and write the bin barcode number on the End of Year Checklist 2021-2022.

• REPEAT: End of Year Checklist – Linked here is the End of Year Checklist 2021-2022. This needs to be completed by all staff in charge of an area before you start your summer and need both mine and Ryan’s sign-off. Let me know if you have any questions.

• REMINDER: 3/4/5 Climate Survey – If you missed the deadline, the survey is still open for 3/4/5 teachers to have students complete the student climate survey. See the email I sent earlier for details, but first show the video and then have students complete the survey.

English version: http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/4jelementaryclimate2022 Spanish version: http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ambienteprimaria4j2022

• REPEAT: June 20th, Juneteenth Expectations – HR was supposed to send something out, but principals got the succinct graphic below. Monday, June 20th is the last regular workday for licensed staff, but it is also a new Federal Holiday, so staff have the option to work extra days prior to Juneteenth and not working this day or you can take June 20th off and work on Tuesday, June 21st instead.

• REPEAT: Science Kit Restocking – If you need additional materials for your science kit, be sure to complete the Science Kit Restock Order Form before the end of the school year.

• 2022 Direction Service Summer Directory – The 2022 Direction Services Resources for Youth and Families is an annual resource containing recreation, respite, support, and service opportunities that families of children with disabilities can access. I’ll share this in the Quick News, but wanted to share with staff as well.

• District Admin Updates – Paula Nolan, current EOA principal, will be the new principal at Spencer Butte Middle School, replacing Peter Tromba who is moving back east. Also, Andrea Belz, Director of Financial Services, Holly Langan, Director of Support Services, and Christine Nesbit, 4J General Counsel, are all leaving 4J at the end of the school year. See this email for full details.

• Is Silent Ball the Best Classroom Management Tool You Never Knew Existed? – I used to play this game all the time when I taught 2nd and 3rd grade, except I called it “Quiet Ball” and this was back in olden times before GoNoodle or even projectors. This WeAreTeachers Article shares why it’s a great tool to have in your classroom-management toolbox.

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the rest of the school year:

June 5 (SU)
3:00-7:00, Barbara Kitterman Retirement Celebration

June 6 (M)
1st Grade Staff Room Duty
Erin’s Law Lesson #6
8:00, Allan Teaching Gaga Ball Rules (Ayres)
9:50, Allan Teaching Gaga Ball Rules (Heinrich)
3:45-4:45, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

June 7 (T)
Beth Kruzki Job Shadowing Allan
8:00, Allan Teaching Gaga Ball Rules (Parks)
11:00-12:00, 5th Math Advancement Test (Location TBA)
12:00-1:00, Allan to KG Transition Meeting (Zoom)
1:10, Earthquake/Fire Drill
2:45-3:25, Staff Meeting (Library)

June 8 (W)
9:00-10:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
11:00-12:00, 5th Math Advancement Test (Location TBA)
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade
1:45-3:15, Kona Ice – Holt Shave Ice Fundraiser! (Hard Play)
9:00PM, James Brown Award Nominations Due

June 9 (H)
Last Day for Title 1 & ELD Groups
11:00-12:00, 5th Math Advancement Test (Location TBA)
2:45, Allan to SPED Planning Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
6:00-7:00, PAHS (Parents at Holt School) Meeting (Zoom)

June 10 (F)
No School – Grading Day

June 13 (M)
2nd Grade Staff Room Duty
Erin’s Law Lesson #6

June 14 (T)
9:50, Allan Teaching Gaga Ball Rules (Lovato)
2:45-3:25, PBIS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

June 15 (W)
8:45-10:15, Field Day, Grades 3-5 (Field)
9:00-10:00, Allan Skipping Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
12:00-1:30, Field Day, Grades K-2 (Field)
7:00-9:00, Sheldon HS Graduation (Hult Center)

June 16 (H)
1:30, Allan to BEST Meeting (Office)
2:45-3:25, Leadership Team Meeting (if needed)

June 17 (F)
Last Day for Students
Last Day for 192 & 196 Day Classified Employees
8:30-10:00, 5th Grade Breakfast & Celebration (Cafeteria)
10:15-10:30, 4th & 5th Grade Recess
10:45, Grab-n-Go Lunches Delivered to Wings
11:10, Early Dismissal
Staff Social – End of Year BBQ

June 20 (M)
Juneteenth
Last day for licensed staff
8:00-4:00, Allan to I Love U Guys Training (Ed Center)
4:00-5:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

August 26 (F)
Licensed Staff Report Back

August 29 (M)
Classified Staff Report Back

8 1/2 days to go!

Allan

May 30, 2022

By Allan | 2022/05/28 21:19 Posted in Announcements, Literacy, Science, SEL, Video | Comments Off

Greetings Bolts,

That was fun seeing folks on Friday at Roadhouse and at Top Gun: Maverick. My capsule review of the film is that it was the perfect mix of nostalgia (buzzing the tower, Danger Zone, shirtless beach sports, etc.) and an entertaining original story that was able to stand on its own. No deep subtext. Just a fun summer popcorn flick. 3 1/2 starts out of 5.

Twenty-five items of note for this week:

• Safety Reminders (Doors & Visitors) – For those not at Friday’s Staff Meeting, a few key safety reminders:

• Doors – All exterior doors are to remain locked at all times. Do not prop doors open. Also remember that this time of year the doors don’t always properly close on their own due to pressure differentials, so make sure they are fully latched shut behind you.

• Visitors – All visitors need to go through the main office entrance. Do not let anyone in through a side door, even if they are a 4J employee.

• TUESDAY Staff Meeting – Not exactly a standard Staff Meeting, but as shared earlier, we will meet in the library this Tuesday at 2:45 for sending and receiving grade level teams to discuss students of note (not enough time to discuss all students).

• 2nd Grade Interviews, WEDNESDAY (Avoid Staff Room) – We’re holding interviews for our 2nd grade classroom this Wednesday at 2:40 in the Staff Room. Please avoid the Staff Room after school that afternoon if possible. If you’d like to join Lesli, Kim, Jenna, Ashley R., and Lisa Z. when we interview, just let me know and I’ll share applications and interview materials.

• Bricks & Minifigs Fundraiser, THURSDAY – I forgot to put this in the Quick News last week if you can share this with kids, but Bricks & Minifigs is doing a fundraiser for Holt this Thursday. Just bring the flyer, which I’ll include in Monday’s Quick News, and Holt get’s 20% of all sales!

• FRIDAY PD Cancelled – Double Prep – To make up for the missed hour of weekly prep next week on the Grading Day, there is no meeting this Friday, which will instead be a “Double Prep” Friday.

• End of Year Checklist – Linked here is the End of Year Checklist 2021-2022. This needs to be completed by all staff in charge of a school area before you start your summer and needs both mine and Ryan’s sign-off. It’s the same as last year with the following exceptions:

• ELA Materials Boxed-Up – Downtown is sending all classroom teachers six boxes to pack up ELA materials (Journeys and Being a Writer). Teachers can keep any books or pieces you want to keep for future use. Classified staff can help with packing on the June 10th, Grading Day. Leave the boxes outside your classroom for Warehouse Staff to pick-up in August.

• Diverse Classroom Libraries Inventory – Teachers will inventory the SIA Diverse Classroom Library Book Sets. There are two processes depending whether you are teaching the same grade next year or if you are moving grade levels or schools.

If not moving: Inventory books, cross any missing books off of the inventory list, keep books in your room.

If moving: Inventory books, cross any missing books off of the inventory list, leave bins in classroom, and write the bin barcode number on the End of Year Checklist 2021-2022.

• Friends/Family Allowed to Help End of Year Packing – For the last week of school, when students are not in session, downtown is allowing friends and family of staff members to be “essential visitors” to help with end of year packing. The only requirement is they check-in at the Raptor Kiosk in the office (if you’re packing on a weekday) and limit their movement throughout the building.

• Report Card Grading Day Expectations – Friday, June 10th is a regular work day for both classified and licensed staff. For licensed staff, HR allows teachers to work from home if you notify your administrator (me) in advance, but be sure to plan ahead if you need to collaborate with any colleagues this day. Also, be sure to use this time for grading and not use it to run errands around town. Teachers are highly visible members of the community, so keep in mind public perception. HR has said that if working off-site on grading days is abused, we will not be allowed to continue the practice. For classified staff, this is a good day to cash in any accumulated trade time you’ve built up, but remember you need to notify me before you begin accumulating trade time.

• Report Card Printing & Envelope Stuffing – Since grading day is before the last day of school, 4J elementary schools are going back to normal report card procedures, where teachers print report cards and stuff envelopes, which will be sent home with students the last day of school. Melanie will do the “Update Attendance” procedure in Synergy the Thursday before grading day, so wait until grading day to print report cards.

• CORRECTION: Kona Ice, June ~~15th~~ 8TH at 1:45 – Kona Ice is coming to Holt the SECOND TO last week of school and this time, as we discussed at a Staff Meeting a few months ago, bus riders who bring money will be dismissed early if they brought money for shave ice, so they have time to buy and eat their shave ice before getting onto the bus. Kona Ice will be here Wednesday, June ~~15th~~ 8TH at 1:45, so teachers can send out at that time, where they will be supervised.

• UDPATE: “Grab & Go” Sack Lunch DELIVERY – To simplify some scheduling issues and I think also to make it easier on teachers, Deb agreed to deliver Grab & Go Lunches to each wing at 10:45 the last day of school instead of the schedule I shared last week.

• June 20th, Juneteenth Expectations – HR was supposed to send something out, but principals got the succinct graphic below. Monday, June 20th is the last regular workday for licensed staff, but it is also a new Federal Holiday, so staff have the option to work extra days prior to Juneteenth and not working this day or you can take June 20th off and work on Tuesday, June 21st instead.

• End-of-Cycle Goals Reflection;- I’m hoping to finish everyone’s observations over the next two weeks, but one final step probationary licensed staff need to complete in TalentEd is the End-of-Cycle Goals Reflection. You do not need to write a novel. A few sentences reflecting on how you did towards your goals is fine, but please complete these before the end of the school year. Let me know if you have any questions.

• YMCA/BEST iPads Stay at School – Starting this week, students who attend YMCA/BEST can begin leaving their iPads in class and no longer need to take them home each night.

• Schedule Your Gaga Ball Rules Lesson – Gaga Ball is going to be one of our Field Day stations, which I’ll be running. I’d like to teach kids the rules ahead of time, so let me know a good 10-minute block to go over the Gaga Ball Rules Slide Show ahead of June 15th.. The closer to Field Day the better, but email me a time that works well for you.

• Summer SEAL Update – Downtown emailed principals and Title 1 Coordinators an update on SEAL, which included a count of the current number of students enrolled by grade level and region. Looking at these low numbers, it doesn’t seem likely we’ll use many classrooms. We’ll also host at least two middle school classes and one classroom for KITS. I’ll keep staff posted on how many classrooms are needed, but I estimate it’ll be no more than 8-9 classrooms at most. Stay tuned!

• UPDATED: 22-23 Classroom Map – Semi related to the above, linked here is the 22-23 Classroom Map (Dynamos & Calming Room change over summer) we came up with a couple months ago. I’d actually forgotten some of our shifts, so I figured others may want a reminder as well. I’ve also updated the map with some of our new hires.

In order to help the Calming Room with alternative recesses and to also find a spot for our new Human Services Coordinator, I’d like to move:

• Dynamos (Title 1) stay where they are this year instead of Stimler’s room.
• Calming Room moves to Stimler’s room.
• 0.5 SPED (Whitney) moves to the Calming Room (this year’s location)

The back grass area by Stimler’s old class would work well for alternative recesses and the exterior door allows one person to supervise both the outside area and also the Calming Room. That room is also large enough to house our new Human Services Coordinator

• REMINDER: Science Kit Restocking – If you need additional materials for your science kit, be sure to complete the Science Kit Restock Order Form before the end of the school year.

• ELA Updates (Adoption, SIA Kits, PD Options) – The district ELA TOSA’s shared the linked ELA Update Slide Show with principals last week. They are going to email teachers additional details, but here it is is you’re curious.

• Wellness Policy Reminders – Nutrition Services emailed principals a reminder about food at end-of-year parties. For quick resources and answers, see the 4J Wellness Policy, including guidelines for snacks and parties. Note that families can provide special foods, but make sure they are commercially prepared and are not served at the same time as school meals. Kitchen staff need at least two weeks advance notice if students will not eat school breakfast or lunch. Shellfish or nut products are discouraged.

• REPEAT: Erin’s Law & Second Step Child Safety Unit – All classroom teachers should use the Second Step Child Protection Unit for meeting the state Erin’s Law requirements. Teach lesson 6 right before summer break, within the last two weeks of school. Each grade level has their own kit, but linked here are Child Protection Unit Scans of the teacher guides if that makes things easier.

• Safety & Lagging Skill Planning Resources – 4J Behavioral Safety Assessment Coordinator, Sheri Hoyland, emailed principals a reminder about the 4J Safety & Lagging Skills Planning webpage, which lists safety interventions and educational components for a student’s safety plan. I’m not sure staff were aware of this page or the larger Student Wellness & Safety Resources website, which has some useful resources and tips for creating plans for students with unsafe behaviors.

• REPEAT: Summer Reading Staff Picks! – Email or let me know in person any summer book recommendations you have for colleagues and I’ll post everyone’s picks in my final weekly announcements of the year. Another book I’m considering reading this summer is Consumed by weirdo horror movie filmmaker David Cronenberg (The Fly, Dead Ringers, Scanners, Videodrome). Let me know your summer reading picks!

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Staff Mailboxes – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Staff Mailboxes:

Housekeeping:

• Students should pick up scraps, books, pencils, etc. off the floor before being dismissed each afternoon.
• Similarly, chairs should be stacked each afternoon and all trash cans should be placed outside your door.
• No stickers should be placed on desks, chairs, books, cubbies, etc.
• Student work habits often reflect their surroundings. Maintaining a neat and tidy classroom serves as a positive model for children to emulate.
• While seemingly unimportant, housekeeping details can make a difference in school appearance and students’ respect and attitude toward learning.
• Trash cans should be placed outside the room each night.

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the rest of the school year:

May 30 (M)
No School – Memorial Day

May 13 (T)
Kinder Staff Room Duty
3/4/5 Climate Survey DEADLINE
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
1:50-2:05, K/5 Buddy Recess
2:45-3:25, Staff Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:30, Parent PD: Teen Substance Use & Coping (Churchill)

June 1 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
9:00-10:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade
1:35-1:50, 1/3 Buddy Recess, Barton/Gori/Talley, Longoria
1:50-2:05, 1/3 Buddy Recess, Cobb/Benevides
2:40-5:00, 2nd Grade Interviews (Staff Room)
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

June 2 (H)
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
1:50-2:05, 2/4 Buddy Recess
2:45-3:25, Allan to IEP Meeting (Zoom)
6:30-7:30, 4J Math Education Parent Information Session (Zoom)

June 3 (F)
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
1:30-2:25, Friday PD Cancelled – Double Prep

June 5 (SU)
3:00-7:00, Barbara Kitterman Retirement Celebration

June 6 (M)
1st Grade Staff Room Duty
Erin’s Law Lesson #6
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
3:45-4:45, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

June 7 (T)
11:00-12:00, 5th Math Advancement Test (Location TBA)
1:10, Earthquake/Fire Drill
2:45-3:25, Staff Meeting (Library)

June 8 (W)
9:00-10:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
11:00-12:00, 5th Math Advancement Test (Location TBA)
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade
1:45-3:15, Kona Ice – Holt Shave Ice Fundraiser! (Hard Play)

June 9 (H)
11:00-12:00, 5th Math Advancement Test (Location TBA)
6:00-7:00, PAHS (Parents at Holt School) Meeting (Zoom)

June 10 (F)
No School — Grading Day

June 13 (M)
2nd Grade Staff Room Duty
Erin’s Law Lesson #6

June 14 (T)
2:45-3:25, PBIS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

June 15 (W)
8:45-10:15, Field Day, Grades 3-5 (Field)
9:00-10:00, Allan Skipping Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
12:00-1:30, Field Day, Grades K-2 (Field)
7:00-9:00, Sheldon HS Graduation (Hult Center)

June 16 (H)
1:30, Allan to BEST Meeting (Office)
2:45-3:25, Leadership Team Meeting (if needed)

June 17 (F)
Last Day for Students
Last Day for 192 & 196 Day Classified Employees
8:30-10:00, 5th Grade Breakfast & Celebration (Cafeteria)
10:45, Grab-n-Go Lunches Delivered to Wings
11:10, Early Dismissal
Staff Social – End of Year BBQ

June 20 (M)
Juneteenth
Last day for licensed staff
8:00-4:00, Allan to I Love U Guys Training (Ed Center)
4:00-5:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

12 1/2 days to go!

Allan

May 16, 2022

By Allan | 2022/05/14 21:27 Posted in Announcements, Literacy, Science, Video | Comments Off

Hello Holt Bolts,

Fourteen items of note for this week:

• 2nd Grade & CLC Hiring Updates – Last week we interviewed candidates from the 4J Early Hire Pool. The are external hires by HR done early this year to secure experienced teachers before other districts hire them. Schools with openings first interview from this pool and then have the option to hire someone or to post external. I’m pleased to say we did find one strong candidate for our full-time CLC position and one strong candidate for one of our two 2nd grade opening. I’ve notified HR to make a job offer and hope to announce these folks soon!

• Bruce Hale, Virtual Author Visit, TUESDAY @1:10 – Author of the Bruce the Shark series of books, Bruce Hale, is doing a virtual author visit at Holt on Tuesday at 1:10. If you’d like to get kids excited, he has on his website some Fun Activities and Curriculum Tie-ins.

• Holt Bolt, THURSDAY – The Holt Bolt is this Thursday (weather contingent). See Lesli’s Email for details, but here are the highlights:

Times – K/1/2, 8:45-9:45 and 3/4/5, 10:30-11:30. Classes report to hard play 10 minutes before running begins.

Holt Bolt Shirts – Shirts will be put into mailboxes on Monday. Fabric markers are in the Staff Room if you’d like for your kids to decorate their Holt Bolt shirts. See Ashley’s Emails for details. And remember, DO NOT send shirts home. Keep them until the Holt Bolt.

Map/Supervision – Kids will follow the path on the map below. We’ll have staff strategically stationed along the path to supervise/cheer students.

Recess Changes – All morning recesses are canceled. 1st-5th grade teachers are welcome to take their morning break during their jogathon time. Kinder and 1st grade lunch recesses will be in the gym. Kids should move through the hallway to get to the gym. K/1 teachers need to pick up from the gym. 2nd grade lunch recess will have to be soft play only while things get finished and cleaned up.

Prizes – PAHS is providing a number of prize drawings. Kids will enter their name into different buckets, which will be stationed around hard play. Winners will be announced after running and prizes will be announced later in the day.

QR Codes – Teachers will receive the lanyards with the QR codes early this week. These lanyards will be reused please ask students to take care of them. There will be a video coming from Jackie that you can share with kids on how to scan their badge.

No Spectators – If parents ask, we’re not allowed to have spectators.

Extra Fun – PAHS is also going to have a mister for kids to run through if they choose. At the end of the run, PAHS will have Otter Pops for everyone. Also, we’ll have Electa AND Sluggo at the run!

• Friday PD, Class List Prep – We’ll discuss and decide the 22-23 Class List process at Tuesday’s Staff Meeting, but this Friday will be time for teachers begin entering students on the 22-23 Class List Spreadsheet.

• Staff Social, Movie Night, Friday, May 27th – Stay tuned for details from the Sunshine Committee, but there’s a Staff Movie Night Social a week from this Friday. And if I might be so bold as to make a suggestion, maybe we should get together this Friday and order tickets to watch Top Gun: Maverick! And maybe stop at Original Roadhouse before to get a beverage.

• Last Day of School Dismissal @11:10 – Principals were told this week the dismissal time for early start schools this year will be at 11:10, which is what it has been in the past during normal times.

• 4J Science Kit Update – STEM TOSA Jamie Tait emailed principals the following email and Science Kit Slide Show Update regarding some changes how kits will be handled next year. Rather than read the slide show to you at a meeting, I’ll let folks read it here on your own and find me if you have questions. The main points are:

• Each classroom teacher with have their full year of science curriculum (3 modules).
• Science kits will no longer be returned and restocked at the district level.
• Storage and maintenance of science kits will be managed at the building level.
• District will support restocking of consumables and live materials.
• Teachers Submit a Spring 2022 Restocking Form to replenish consumables.
• Continue to uee the 4J Science website for the prioritized lessons & standards (since there’s not enough time to teach ALL lessons).
• Additional kits will be delivered to schools over the summer.
• Kits need to be cared for as if you were passing them along to another teacher.
• Keep items in the boxes that they belong in. Use the list on the front of each box to keep track.
• Kits are stocked for multiple uses, but you will have the opportunity after each use to fill out a Kit Restock form.

• No Reimbursements for Teacher Pay Teachers – The Finance Department emailed secretaries they were told by the Instruction Department they may not reimburse teachers for any purchases made from Teachers Pay Teachers. I’m planning to ask about this at the next principals’ meeting. I understand there’s a lot of garbage on TpT, but there’s also some really good stuff there as well. I’m failing to see how this is any different from being reimbursed for an Amazon purchase, which also has some terrible quality teaching materials as well as some excellent materials.

• No Helium Balloons in Gym or Cafeteria – Facilities figured out there was a helium ballon in the gym that set off our hale alarms last week, so be sure you never take any balloons in there.

• REMINDER: School Supplies for Fall 2022 – A reminder the 4J is again purchasing supplies for all students next year, but if there are additional items your grade levels needs, let Melanie know ASAP. Linked here is what is being ordered.

• Summer SEAL Update – As of last Wednesday, only 205 K-5 students signed up for SEAL out of 840 spots districtwide. The program continues to be understaffed, but downtown is forging ahead as planning. I will keep staff posted if they decide to combine the Holt and River Road SEAL programs. If that happens Holt will host the ESD Migrant Ed Program.

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Staff Mailboxes – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Staff Mailboxes:

Staff Mailboxes
• Staff mailboxes are found in the main IMC (workroom). District, classroom, office mail, notices for families will be placed here. Flyers to go home in Monday mailers are to be placed in boxes before noon on Friday; understanding that occasional exceptions will need to be made
• [DURING NORMAL TIMES] PAHS has a work request box. Staff can fill out a form for volunteers to help with copying, stapling, etc.

• Moments of Zen – If you and/or your students need a little Zen in your lives these days, here are some live streams that might help:

• Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Otters
• All of Monteray Bay Aquarium’s Live Cams
• Multiple live cams of different areas in an African nature reserves
• San Diego Zoos Live Cams
• Smithsonian Zoo Live Cams
• Aquarium of the Pacific Live Cams

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

May 16 (M)
SPED/PE Staff Room Duty
8:30, Allan Meeting w/Garden Way Church
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade O Heroes Program Visit
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

May 17 (T)
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS
11:00, Allan to SEAL Admin Interviews (Zoom)
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS
1:10-1:55, Bruce Hale, Virtual Author Visit (Zoom)
2:45-3:25, Staff Meeting (Library)

May 18 (W)
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
9:00-10:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

May 19 (H)
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
8:45-9:45, K-2 Holt Bolt (Hard Play, arrive 10 min. early)
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS
10:30-11:30, 3-5 Holt Bolt (Hard Play, arrive 10 min. early)
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS

May 20 (F)
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS, Math CAT
1:30-2:25, Friday PD – 22-23 Class List Prep

May 23 (M)
Office/Library/Music Staff Room Duty
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS, ELA PT
4:30-6:00, Allan to Conscious Discipline PD (Zoom)

May 24 (T)
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS
2:45-3:25, Leadership Team Meeting (Debbi’s Room)

May 25 (W)
Towel Day
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
9:00-11:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade
2:45-3:25, IPBS Team Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
4:30-6:00, 4J Annual Retirement Celebration (ATA)

May 26 (H)
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS
9:10-10:10, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
10:40-11:40, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
12:45-1:45, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
2:30-4:30, 2nd Grade Interviews (In-Person & Zoom)
6:00-7:00, PAHS (Parents at Holt School) Meeting (Zoom)

May 27 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Superhero Day!
7:30-8:30, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting (Zoom)
7:40-8:10, Spirit Day – Virtual Assembly (Zoom)
8:45-9:25, 4th Grade OSAS
1:30-2:25, Friday PD
1:30-3:30, SPED Teacher Interviews (In-Person & Zoom)
~5:00, Staff Social, Movie Night (Cinemark 17)

May 30 (M)
No School – Memorial Day

22 1/2 kid days left!

Allan

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