Video

May 16, 2022

By Allan  |  2022/05/14 21:27 Posted in Announcements, Literacy, Science, Video  |  Comments Off on May 16, 2022

 

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

May 9, 2022

By Allan  |  2022/05/07 21:39 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, Literacy, P.D., Video  |  Comments Off on May 9, 2022

 

Hi Everyone,

My 91-year-old father-in-law had to go to the hospital Friday afternoon and has been in the ICU with intestinal bleeding since then, so I didn’t get as much time to get school work done this weekend as normal. He’s stable now and I hope to get the Site Council agenda and Draft School Improvement Plan out by Monday, as well as a draft plan to Leadership for the 22-23 Class List Process. Stay tuned!

Fourteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing & Expo Updates – Four updates:

• 0.5 SPED Position – Whitney Oliver has been hired as our 0.5 SPED Teacher (shared with 0.5 SPED at Gilham). She’s an experienced special education teacher who is currently the CLC teacher at Chavez. She had excellent references and should make a great addition to our school! Please welcome Whitney to to Team Holt!

• 1.0 SPED Interviews Friday – Our 1.0 SPED Teaching job was not filled at the Expo, but Kelsey and are conducting interviews this Friday at 1:30 to try to hire someone from the 4J Early Hire Pool. Let me know if any of you would like to volunteer your time to join us.

• 2nd Grade Interviews Thursday – Our two 2nd grade classroom positions are also both unfilled. HR wants us to interview some of their early hire candidates before posting externally (I do know of some strong external candidates), so I’m conducting interviews this Thursday at 2:30. Let me know if you’d like to join me for these interviews.

• New School Nurse – Please welcome our new school nurse, Jill Klinko. He schedule isn’t set just yet, but we are sharing her with and Cal Young, so she’ll hopefully be there three days a week like our prior school nurses. Please welcome Jill to the team!

• Region Equity Manager Visit Tuesday – Alma Reyes Guillen, the Sheldon Region Equity Manager emailed principals she is planning to visit all schools in our region this week. She’s visiting Holt on Tuesday at 11:00, so don’t be surprised if you see her in your classroom or around the school.

• Friday PD – Watch for a separate email for this Friday’s PD, which will be async so I can conduct SPED teacher interviews.

• Bruce Hale, Virtual Author Visit, May 17th – Author of the Clark the Shark series of books, Bruce Hale, is doing a virtual author visit at Holt on Tuesday, May 17th at 1:10. I don’t have a Zoom link but will add it to the calendar once I get it. We’ve ordered some books for the library by Bruce, so hopefully we’ll get those this week. If you’d like to get kids excited, he has on his website some Fun Activities and Curriculum Tie-ins.

• Holt Bolt, Thursday, May 19th – The Holt Bolt is on the calendar for Thursday, May 19th at the following times:

K/1/2, 8:45-9:45
3/4/5, 10:30-11:30

The event this year is a “Fun Run” and not a fundraiser. PAHS is going to test out a new digital tool for counting laps, where all students will have a QR code sticker, which volunteer will scan with an app on their phones that keeps track of all participating students. If it works well, we may try it for the Fundraiser Holt Bolt next school year. Students will run around the building. We’ll have a map we will share soon. There will be prizes (TBA on details) and also Otter Pops (or something similar) for kids at the end of the event. There will also be t-shirts for all students and staff! This is my first jog-a-thon at Holt, so let me know if I’m missing anything or if you have any questions.

• CORRECTION (times were swapped): Field Day, Wednesday, June 15th – Holt’s annual end-of-year Field Day will be Wednesday, June 15th. Grades 3-5 will be 8:45-10:15. Grades K-2 will be 12:00-1:30. Linked here is the 2022 Field Day Plan, including station direction, where classes will start, and map of the stations. Thank you, Alex, for coordinating all of this!

• COVID Updates – Two COVID updates:

• When to Stay Home w/Symptoms – We are almost back to regular-times standards for when staff need to stay home, which is fever or vomiting. The only new wrinkle is if you have symptoms on the COVID list you need to have a negative test, which I can administer to you here at school. The HR COVID person said staff, “need to stay home if they are sick – that goes without question. If it is congestion and runny nose, and they test negative they can come to work. As always, they must be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to work (if they had a fever).” COVID symptoms are:

• Fever of 100.4º or higher
• Chills
• Cough (non-persistent, dry coughs are okay, but congested coughs are not)
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

• iHealth Rapid Test Expiration Dates – If families ask about the expiration date on the iHealth tests that were sent home with all students, the date have been extended to 9 months instead of the 6 currently listed on the boxes. Also, the date is likely to be extended to 12 months. Also, we still have extra tests if you know of any families needing rapid tests.

• G.I. Outbreak Update – Unfortunately the barfing continues, so we aren’t able to lift the LCPH safety measures just yet. Keep washing those hands!

• ELA Adoption Update – The ELA Adoption Team meet last Friday to review their independent scoring of the two pilot programs. If you’re interested in seeing the final scores, see the linked LA/ Literacy Materials Adoption Pilot Wrap Up & Celebrations Slide Show. I checked in with Robin S. and she said the team is moving forward with recommending Wit & Wisdom for adoption.

• TSPC PDU/PEER Form Temp Change – TSPC is suspending PDU Reporting through the end of next year, December 2023. HR is not requiring licensed staff to turn anything in, but continue to track PDUs, since you’ll need to have those ready for any renewals for January 2024 and beyond (if nothing else changes). Let me know if you have any questions on this.

• Self-Harm Event Recording – Linked here is the Self-Harm Video Recording from the community event about self-harm that was held April 25th at Sheldon. It could be a good resource if families reach out about self-harming behaviors.

• Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Activities – May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. If you are looking for activities to recognize the challenges the AAPI community has faced and celebrate their part in the American story, see these resources at Houghton Mifflin, NEA, Education Northwest, and the official Asian Pacific American Heritage Month website.

• 5 Super Common End-of-Year Behavior Issues (Plus How to Address Them!) – This WeAreTeachers Article was already shared by Kim, but I wanted to highlight it. Excessive talking, incomplete work, defiance, drama, and no motivation. Read on for tips how to handle these situations.

• 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 9 (M)
Yellow Day
ELD/Speech/Title/Counselor Staff Room Duty
TAG Testing Window Opens
8:30, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Zoom)
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS, ELA PT
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS, ELA CAT

May 10 (T)
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS, ELA PT
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS, ELA CAT
2:45-3:25, PBIS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
6:00-7:00, Conscious Discipline Parent Night (Zoom)
6:00-7:00, ACE Awards Celebration (Facebook)

May 11 (W)
School Nurse Day (Office)
8:30-1:30, Allan to Superintendent Interviews (Ed Center)
9:00-11:00, Allan skipping Elem Principals’ Meeting
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS, ELA PT
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS, ELA CAT
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade
5:00-6:00, Site Council (Zoom)

May 12 (H)
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS, ELA PT
9:10-10:10, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
10:40-11:40, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS, ELA CAT
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 13 (F)
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS, ELA CAT
1:30-2:25, Friday PD
1:30-3:30, SPED Teacher Interviews (In-Person & Zoom)

May 16 (M)
SPED/PE Staff Room Duty
8:30, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Zoom)
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS – ELA CAT
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade O Heroes Program Visit
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS, Math CAT
4:00-5:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

May 17 (T)
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS – Math CAT
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS, Math CAT
1:10-2:10, Bruce Hale, Virtual Author Visit (Zoom)
2:45-3:25, Staff Meeting (Library)

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

May 19 (H)
8:45-9:45, K-2 Holt Bolt
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS – Math CAT
10:30-11:30, 3-5 Holt Bolt
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS, Math CAT

May 20 (F)
11:30-12:30, 5th Grade OSAS, Math CAT
1:30-2:25, Friday PD

Just 27.5 kid days left. Here’s a link to some Summer Countdown Actives to relish your final days with your kids. You’ve got this, people!

Allan

 

April 25, 2022

By Allan  |  2022/04/22 20:35 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, Literacy, P.D., Video  |  Comments Off on April 25, 2022

Hello Holt Bolts,

This Wednesday is Administrative Professional’s Day, formerly known as Secretary’s Day, so a HUGE shout out to our AMAZING front office staff, Melanie and Sharon! Be sure to let them know how appreciated they are, because we all know that the above image is true.

And if you need a reminder that Holt is a pretty great school, I had two different visitors on two different days last week remark how Holt has such a welcoming, positive, and calm feel to it compared to other schools they’ve been. This is a nice reminder since it’s sometimes easy to lose perspective, especially this time of year when it’s easy to get frustrated with things, so although you may not always realize it, you all have created a pretty rad school here!

Fourteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Two staffing updates:

• Expo Updates – Shared at last week’s Staff Meeting, SJ took at job at Adams and Ashley Wolf took a job at Gilham. Since that announcement, Elizabeth Cobb is moving into the 3rd grade vacancy, which means Holt will have two 2nd openings and 1.5 SPED openings at this week’s Job Expo.

• COVID Utility EA Update – Rosie is no longer with 4J, so we will have subs in this position for the remainder of the year since building are not be staffed with COVID Utility EAs next school year. Our sub from this past week, Carol Eicher, has agreed to be our regular sub for the remainder of the school year Mondays through Thursdays, so please welcome Carol to Team Holt!

• REPEAT: Allan Out MONDAY – I’m attending a COSA Conference and will be out of the building this Monday, but I’ve asked the Monroe principal, Sun Saeteurn, to be on call if anything out of the ordinary comes up.

• UPDATE: Fire Drill, TUESDAY @1:10 – We got rained out last week, so we’ll try again for this Tuesday at 1:10. Linked here is the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line Map.

• Kona Shave Ice Fundraiser THURSDAY – Kona Ice it coming to Holt this Thursday at dismissal, so remember,  shave ice is always free to all staff members! Remind your students and start thinking about what flavor you want (Lavender Lemonade is my fav)!

• K/1 Hearing Screening, THURSDAY & FRIDAY (hallway closed) – Kindergarten and 1st grade students have their hearing screening this Thursday and Friday. UO speech language pathologists will run the tests out of the Speech and ELD classroom, which means classes should not use this hallways as an entrance/exit Thursday and Friday during testing, which is scheduled for the following times:

Thursday
10:30-11:00 Barton
11:30-12:00 Harmon
12:00-12:30 Seno

Friday
8:30-9:00 Gulewich
9:30-10:00 Vaughan
10:00-10:30 Cobb
10:30-11:00 Gori
11:30-12:00 Stimler

• Holt Spirit Day – Wacky Wear Day, FRIDAY! – Start planning your outfits for this Friday’s Wacky Wear Day! Get your kids pumped and don’t forget to log onto the Virtual Assembly at 7:40.

At the assembly we’ll play a game of Pictionary and are also presenting a special Holt Hero Award, which I’m told was something put into place pre-pandemic, but hasn’t been used yet. For folks like me who weren’t here for that discussion, linked here is the Holt Hero Award Nomination Form, explaining how it’s a special award for student community service outside of school that goes above and beyond. Maybe only one or two students a year would get this award, but we had a student who last week alerted their parents to a fire at a neighbor’s house in the middle the night, who was then able to contact the fire department before the fire spread.

• Friday PD: School Improvement Planning – Site Council met last week and have decided upon two umbrella School Improvement Goals; Attendance and Equity/Inclusion. Our next step is to develop strategies and action steps to improve in these areas, which I would like to get staff input on.

Some of the ideas discussed at Site Council for attendance were to focus on more Tier 1 school wide strategies, such as attendance challenges, or to create a strategies to reduce barrier for families, such as partnering with Safe Routes to School for carpools and walking groups. For equity/inclusion, we discussed ideas such as starting affinity groups, reinvigorating parent involvement after two years of mostly virtual parent involvement, and also taking a particularly close look at supporting ELD students, who are stood out when we looked at attendance, discipline, and academic data.

Start brainstorming ideas in these areas and come prepared to share on Friday.

• Friday at 4:00 @PublicHouse – Here’s a great way to end your week! Join colleges for a beverage at PublicHouse in Springfield! There’s pizza, Hawaiian food, Fisherman’s Market, Indian & Latin fare, and all sorts of good food to choose from, as well as a variety of beverages. Bring your family along if you’d like and hope to see you there!

• Staff Pockluck, May 2nd – The Sunshine Committee May Staff Pockluck is happening a week from Monday. Add your name to the Staff Potluck Luncheon Sign-Up! Sunshine will provide Birthday cake for May Birthdays!

• Next Year’s Master Schedule Update – Downtown is providing schools with guidance on master schedules and suggested/required times for content areas, so we need to wait until we get this official guidance before we can begin working on the master schedule for next school year. Principals may get more info this week, which I’ll share out once I get it.

• Digital Access to New ELA Curriculums – I wanted to highlight one item from the FAQ for the ELA Adoption, which is that staff can access everything digitally from for the two programs being considered for adoption starting next school year.

For EL Education, log on to their website. Fill out form to create account. Check email for confirmation. Create password using link from confirmation email.

For Wit & Wisdom, log onto their website and use the password: elafororegon More info on what you can access can be found here. (Shhhh. Insider info leads me to think Wit & Wisdom will be the adopted curriculum)

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

Garden
Schedule:
A Zimbra calendar is created for garden use

Events:
Fourth grade runs a curriculum project with the gardens beds
Buddies classes often sign up for picnics or use at end of the year

Expectations:
Garden tour before garden time
Benches are to be sat on
Brenda’s Rock is meant to be observed

• What Role Does Vulnerability Play in our Classrooms? – I quite liked this Brene Brown video that came from the Spring 4J TAG Newsletter.

It’s hard to find someone in our field completely unfamiliar with shame researcher & author, Dr. Brene Brown. She’s written a good number of books outlining her research on shame, vulnerability, courage, resilience, leadership, and the list goes on. As teachers we know that our students learn best in classrooms where the teacher has created a culture of courage and belonging. Creativity and learning take place when children feel safe to risk and try to learn something new.

Gifted learners are not the only ones who find it especially difficult to appear vulnerable in the classroom, but the truth for all of us is that learning IS inherently vulnerable – by definition. How does our own personal “baggage” effect our teaching? How can we grow as human beings to better serve our learners? Watch this video of Dr. Brene Brown speaking to an audience made up entirely of teachers and see how it makes you feel. Listen to how she describes empathy as the antidote to shame. You just might find yourself inspired and even braver than before.

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

April 25 (M)
4th Grade Staff Room Duty
Allan at COSA Conference
9:15-5:30, 5th Grade to Outdoor School (Camp Lutherwood)
6:00-7:30, Self-Harm Community Event (Sheldon HS)

April 26 (T)
9:15-5:30, 5th Grade to Outdoor School (Camp Lutherwood)
1:10, Fire Drill
2:45-3:25, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

April 27 (W)
Administrative Professionals Day!
9:00-11:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
9:15-1:45, 5th Grade to Outdoor School (Camp Lutherwood)
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade

April 28 (H)
Max Out, but with Sub Covering
9:10-10:10, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
10:30-12:30, K/1 Hearing Screening (SLP & ELD Rooms)
10:40-11:40, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
12:45-1:45, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
2:15-3:00, Kona Ice – Holt Shave Ice Fundraiser! (Hard Play)
2:45-3:25, Leadership Team Meeting (Debbi’s Room)
4:00-7:00, Allan to Job Expo (Zoom)

April 29 (F)
Max Out through May 6th, but has Sub
Holt Spirit Day, Wacky Wear Day
7:40-8:10, Spirit Day Virtual Assembly (Zoom)
8:30-12:00, K/1 Hearing Screening (SLP & ELD Rooms)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD
1:30-2:20, 4th Grade Data Team Meeting
4:00, Friday at 4:00 @Public House

May 2 (M)
Teacher/School Staff Appreciation Week
May Staff Potluck
5th Grade Staff Room Duty
8:30, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Zoom)
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS – ELA CAT
11:20-12:20, 5th Human Growth & Development (Henrich & Parks)
1:10-2:10, 5th Human Growth & Development (Lovato & Ayres)

May 3 (T)
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS – ELA CAT
11:20-12:20, 5th Human Growth & Development (Henrich & Parks)
1:10-2:10, 5th Human Growth & Development (Lovato & Ayres)
2:45-3:25, Staff Meeting (Library)

May 4 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
8:00, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Zoom)
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS – ELA CAT
11:20-12:20, 5th Human Growth & Development (Henrich & Parks)
12:30-12:55 – Delgani Strings Visit to Longoria
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade
1:00-1:25 – Delgani Strings Visit to Benavides
1:10-2:10, 5th Human Growth & Development (Lovato & Ayres)
1:30-1:55 – Delgani Strings Visit to Talley
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

May 5 (H)
9:05-9:50, 3rd Grade OSAS – ELA CAT

May 6 (F)
School Lunch Hero Day (2nd Grade)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD

It’s the last week of April and then just a month and a half until summer!

Allan

 

 

April 18, 2022

By Allan  |  2022/04/16 20:50 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Literacy, P.D., SEL, Video  |  Comments Off on April 18, 2022

 

Greetings Bolts,

Hope you all had a good semi-three-day weekend.

Twenty items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Two staffing updates:

• Darrin Update – I know lots of folks are concerned and have been asking about Darrin. He’s asked us not to share too much, but we can share that he will be out the rest of the school year for medical reasons, but that he’s getting better daily and plans to come back in the fall. HR is having us put in for subs for the remainder of the school year.

• School Nurse Update – Martin McCarthy, RN has agreed to stay with Holt to support the current illness outbreak as well as providing nursing coverage. We will continue to have Hallie Ritter, LPN continue to be the one to provide on-site nursing services. SSD has already hired a new RN who starts early May and they’ve asked Maxim for another LPN who could help cover for absences, so we will have more staffing options soon.

• Job Expo Update – I was not notified of any changes from round one of last week’s Job Expo, so as of Saturday night, we still have 1.5 FTE special education teaching positions vacant for next year and no other staffing changes.

• REPEAT: Volunteer Appreciation Week, THIS WEEK – This week is Volunteer Appreciation Week. See the linked Sunshine Committee Volunteer Appreciation Doc for details and sign up on the Treat Table Spreadsheet to celebrate our volunteers and student teachers, bringing teats each day this week!

• REPEAT: Fire Drill, TUESDAY @1:10 – As long as the weather cooperates, this Tuesday at 1:10 will be our April Fire Drill. Linked here is the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line Map.

• Friday PD – Watch for a separate email regarding this Friday’s PD, which will focus on the ACT area of High Leverage Instructional Strategies.

• Allan Out April 25th – Not this week, but Monday next I’m attending a COSA Conference and will be out of the building, but I’ve asked the Monroe principal, Sun Saeteurn, to be on call if anything out of the ordinary comes up.

• 2022–23 School Calendar Dates Pending Approval – If you didn’t catch it in the 4J Family Email shared with staff, the 22-23 School Calendar for next school year is posted online. Key dates include:

• First Day of School (Except Grades 7 & 8): Wed., September 7
• Winter Break: Mon., Dec. 19–Mon., Jan. 2 + Tue., Jan. 3 (staff work day)
• Spring Break: Mon., March 27–Fri., March 31 + Mon., April 3 (staff work day)
• Last Day: Thu., June 15 (or later if weather makeup days are needed)

• FRIDAY PD Follow-Up – As a follow-up to Friday’s PD, here are links to the:

• Second Step Training Modules
• Second Step K-5 Pacing Guide
• Kelso’s Choice Slide Show
• Printable Pocket-Sized Kelso’s Wheel
• SB 13 Update for K-5 Slides and Zoom Recording (Passcode: iK56V=S2)
• LETRS Introduction Slides and Zoom Recording (Passcode: iK56V=S2)
• LETRS Sign-up Form
• ELD Adoption FAQ, answering questions from the February ELA Update Video

Lastly, please enjoy the cringy Kelso’s Choice music video.

• SSD Learning For All PD – Related to the above, linked here is the SSD Slide Show shared with licensed SSD staff last Friday, as well as a Recording of the Zoom (access code: 8Uyz9i?Q)and the questions/comments from the chat.

• Kindness Rocks! – See the Kindness Rocks Email for details, but show your kids the Student Council Bertha Holt Kindness Rock Project Video to get the excited.

– Grade level rocks are outside Ashley’s room (B5).
– Paint them anytime. Could be a Buddy Activity!
– Give finished rocks and leftover paints & pens to Ashley by May 11th

• Bruce Hale Author Visit, May 11th – Also mentioned at Friday PD, we will have an optional Virtual Author Visit from Bruce Hale, author the the Bruce the Shark series among others. If you want to introduce your kids to Bruce Hale before the visit, here are some Fun Actives & Curriculum Tie Ins with the author visit and also s a collection of Bruce Hale Videos on Writing from his website.

• Fiddle Pictures? – Did anyone get good pictures or videos of Kelly fiddling with your class? If you did, can you email them to me?

• iPad Cords & Charger Order Cancelled – Tech Department got wind of our order, so we do not have our off-the-books extra chargers and cords coming. However, the Tech Department is planning to order additional cables and chargers, so hopefully we’ll get those soon. For now, continue to put in tickets to 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu if you need additional chargers so you stay on this list, but eventually, COWs will have a full set of chargers.

• Nut Products at Snack Time – I finally got an answer about how to handle nuts and allergies during snack time. Downtown said teachers should have a nut free space for students that require it. Also wipe down before and after any food break. You can say that a room is nut free, especially in a room where there is a significant medical need. You have to look at medical plans so the messaging will be different for different classrooms. Medical staff should weigh in for students with sensitivities to nut products.

• Summer Job Opportunities w/KITS – KITS emailed that they are looking for KITS Site Supervisors, KITS Lead Educators, and KITS Parent Group Facilitators. Job posting close this Sunday, but if you missed that deadline, let me know and I can reach out to the KITS Coordinator on your behalf.

• Self-Harm Community Event – 4J is hosting a Self-Harm: Suicidal/Non-Suicidal Self Injury Community Event on April 25 from 6-7:30pm in the Sheldon Auditorium to learn what to do when your child exhibits signs of cutting, what it means, and where to seek help.

• April is National Poetry Month – This month is National Poetry Month. If you looking for any classroom resources, you can start at Reading Rockets, Read Write Think, or Edutopia.

• District Admin Updates – Coming from Springfield, David Hulbert has been hired at the new principal for Edison starting next school year. Also, Peter Tromba, principal of Spencer Butte Middle School, has accepted a high school principal position in Asheville, North Carolina. See this email for details.

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Class Placements – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Class Placements. This topic is going to be revisited at the next Leadership Team Meeting and brought to rest of the staff if we want to tweak or change any parts of this process:

Class Placements
Procedure:
• Each spring our staff works to place students currently in Grades K-4 into balanced classes. Staff uses an electronic matrix to configure classes for the following fall. Point values were assigned to various attributes in an attempt to equalize the classes given a variety of factors. Our Grade 5 teachers work to complete transition paperwork for our middle school. All placements go to the front office and administration at the conclusion of this process. The administrator(s) then review the lists, verifying that there aren’t extenuating variables which need to be considered.
• Kindergarten teachers, along with Administration, meet following the first full week of school in September to configure the classes for the school year.
• Administration makes the final decision on all classroom placements, considering the needs of the teachers, educational assistants, students, parents, and school.

Moving students
Prior to school start and during the year:
• Classroom placements are an administrative decision. We do the best to include teacher feedback in all decisions. Requests for classroom changes by families will not be considered until the second full week of school. All requests should be directed to the building administrators. No classroom changes will be considered until Friday of the second full week of school. If a change can be made it will be made the following Monday. Any changes made after the initial two week request are an administrative decision. Medical and Emergency moves are determined as needed.

Parents:
• Parents MAY NOT make requests for classroom/teachers through you. If parents have information about their student they feel is important for placement for the following grade, the office has a form that is due at the end of May for them to use. Those forms will be given out by office staff to teachers when placement time comes, to the grade level. Please disregard any emails or notes you may have received from parents regarding placements.

Staff Responsibilities:
• Please remember to use neutral comments like “wears glasses”, “seat close to teacher”, or “see me for more information” in the comment section of the grid. Back of the cards are now left blank
• Some students will be assigned to classes based on need (ELD, SPED). These decisions are made by staff in those areas and administration.
• Card comments: please remember anything written on a student card is public record. Please keep comments helpful, but neutral. If you feel you have specific information that a teacher needs to know about a student, mark the “see teacher” field
• Class lists are created using the “green” and “blue” cards, as well as an electronic matrix. As you build each class, it is helpful to keep in mind these characteristics and details:

⁃ SPED- CLC, LC, 504,
⁃ Behavior challenges, CICO, and IEPs
⁃ Academic skills, Title, should be in Title but not enough room
⁃ Speech
⁃ Gender
⁃ Parent volunteers
⁃ Personality conflicts between students
⁃ Parental needs (how frequently does parent contact teacher)
⁃ TAG
⁃ Medical issues

• When your team has finished creating classes:

⁃ Make a master list (ideally alphabetical by last name) of each class created, wrap it around the cards and secure it with a rubber band. These go to Melanie asap.
⁃ NO information about class placements may be shared with families- not even that they have been created.

• A New Resource for Free Digital Field Trips – This Edutopia Article share how the Museums for Digital Learning was developed in partnership with teachers and provides curated material on a variety of subjects. They have resource kits and ebooks sourced from museums across the country. It has materials for kids at all grade levels. Create a free account and check it out!

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

April 18 (M)
Volunteer Appreciation Week
3rd Grade Staff Room Duty
3:00, Allan to IEP Meeting (Zoom)
3:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

April 19 (T)
11:30-12:20, 5th Grade OSAS – Science
1:10, Fire Drill
2:45-3:25, Staff Meeting (Library)
5:30, 22-23 Kindergarten Orientation (Zoom)

April 20 (W)
Oingo Boingo Day
8:15-9:00, Allan to Retention Meeting (Office)
9:00-10:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
11:30-12:20, 5th Grade OSAS – Science
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade
3:00-4:00, Allan to IEP Meeting (Zoom)
4:00-6:30, School Board Work Session (Zoom)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

April 21 (H)
11:30-12:20, 5th Grade OSAS – Science
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Zoom)

April 22 (F)
Earth Day
7:30-8:30, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting (Zoom)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD

April 25 (M)
4th Grade Staff Room Duty
Allan at COSA Conference
9:15-5:30, 5th Grade to Outdoor School (Camp Lutherwood)

April 26 (T)
Allan Potentially Testifying at Custody Hearing
9:15-5:30, 5th Grade to Outdoor School (Camp Lutherwood)
2:45-3:25, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

April 27 (W)
8:00, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Zoom)
9:00-11:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
9:15-1:45, 5th Grade to Outdoor School (Camp Lutherwood)
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade

April 28 (H)
Max Out, but with Sub Covering
K/1 Hearing Screening
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)
2:15-3:00, Kona Ice – Holt Shave Ice Fundraiser! (Hard Play)
2:45-3:25, Leadership Team Meeting (Debbi’s Room)
4:00-7:00, Allan to Job Expo (Zoom)

April 28 (F)
Max Out, but with Sub Covering
Holt Spirit Day, Wacky Wear Day
K/1 Hearing Screening
7:40-8:10, Spirit Day Virtual Assembly (Zoom)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD
1:30-2:20, 4th Grade Data Team Meeting
4:00, Friday at 4:00 @Public House

Lots of rain in the forecast this week. Fingers crossed it’s not during school hours!

Allan

 

April 4, 2022

By Allan  |  2022/04/02 19:07 Posted in Announcements, Articles, P.D., Technology, Video  |  Comments Off on April 4, 2022

 

Greetings Holt Bolts,

Twelve items of note for this week:

• Sunshine Newsletter Highlights – Desiree send a Sunshine Newsletter of Sunshine Committee events coming up:

• Staff Potluck Monday! – I forgot to put this on the calendar way back when Sunshine originally sent this out a couple months ago, but it’s not too late to add your name to the Staff Potluck Luncheon Sign-Up! Sunshine will provide Birthday cake for April Birthdays!

• Volunteer Appreciation Week and Treat Table Sign-Up – Sunshine also shared the April 18-22 Volunteer Appreciation Week Sign-Up to recognize our small but dedicated volunteers, as well as student teachers and practicum students.

• Staff Shout Outs – Click the Shout Outs Link to post a shout out about a staff member who has gone above and beyond! You can also use the shout out notes in the Staff Room table. These will be shared in the next Sunshine Newsletter!

• Holt Openings for Job Expo – Holt Will have one full-time SPED teaching position and one half-time SPED teaching position at the Job Expo later this month if you have any teacher friends you want to recruit to come work here at Holt! SSD is pairing the half-time job with a Gilham half-time SPED job, so it will actually be a full-time position. Spread the word that Holt is the place to be!

• Summer School Classified & Licensed Jobs – The new SEALs Summer School Program has a number of openings if folks are looking for summer work. The 4J Jobs website has postings for Teachers (Elementary and Middle), Counselors, Secretaries, and EAs (Elementary and Middle). There are also job postings for K.I.T.S. (Kids in Transition to School) and E.S.Y. (Extended School Year). Most positions close Wednesday.

• Friday PD – School Improvement Plan Updates – This Friday’s PD time will be an update and chance for input on our School Improvement Plan being worked on by Site Council. We’ve looked at a variety of data and have used the ORIS Tool to examine areas of need. Our next step will be to develop 2-3 goals and I wanted staff to have a chance to share your thoughts on priority areas. If you’d like to review the data, info, and past meeting minutes, you can go the Holt Staff Drive > Meetings > Site Council > 2021-2022 > Minutes.

• April 15 PD/Planning Day – Principals were told last Wednesday that we are in charge of the PD for this day (5.5 hours of PD, 2 hours of prep), though a portion of the day that’s a district led Zoom, but downtown doesn’t know yet what time that will be, so I can’t announce times for the building PD at this time. However, as I shared last week, I will plan on doing an all-staff review of Kelso’s Choice and the Second Step Bully Prevention Unit (which is different from the Erin’s Law Student Safety Unit). Let me know if you have any additional topics you’d like us to cover or if you’d like to help lead or assist with the Kelso or Bully Prevention review. I’m also planning to hold a Classified Meeting this day, but will announce the time of this meeting once downtown figured out the time for their portion of the day.

• SSD Staffing Allocation Update and Clarification – I shared last week how SSD Licensed & Classified Allocations were different this year, with no program identification between LC and CLC staffing. If you are interested, linked here is a Google Slide Show and Google Doc that SSD Admin went over with principals last week, but the elevator speech version is that IDEA tells us special education is NOT a place where students go to receive services, but rather special education services are to follow students as determined by the IEP.

• REPEAT: 2022 Electronics Recycling Competition – Remind kids they can drop off any old electronics at the collection site in front of the office this week. See the Electronics Recycling Competition Flyer for details, but donations can be anything with a plug or that takes batteries (toys, cell phones, monitors, computers, phones, cables, etc.).

• Suspected Norovirus – If you’d didn’t hear through the grapevine, C-Wing had a suspected Norovirus outbreak with half a class out sick with similar symptoms (i.e. barfing). Lane County Public Health ordered nightly deep cleaning for that wing and for classes to use hand wahsing instead of using hand sanitizer, so remember the continued importance of washing hands and not touching your face, even for non-COVID reasons.

• Oregon Blue Book Student Essay Contest – If you’re looking for a writing topic that may grab your kids’ interest, the Oregon Blue Book Student Essay Contest theme for the year is, “Oregon Students Share Their Pandemic Experience.” Students can submit written or video essays. Written essays must be 100-300 words and will include an illustration to go with the essay. Video essays must be two minutes or less. Winners will be featured in the 2023 Blue Book and also invited to the State Capitol for the official Oregon Blue Book Release Party. The contest is open until October 20, 2022.

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

Hall Passes:
• Any student coming to the office must have a hall pass (hot pink). Please remember if they are coming for a break you need to note the time that they are able to return. If you need more hall passes, please let the office know.
• Generally, students should have permission to be in the halls with a note, or in some cases, a self-manager badge. All students in halls should follow the regular rules of the halls and walk quietly.

• 100 ways to slightly improve your life without really trying – This Guardian Article has some fabulous tips! Whether it’s taking fruit to work (and to the bedroom!), being polite to rude strangers, or taking up skinny-dipping, here’s a century of ways to make life better, with little effort involved. Some of my favorites were:

22. Laugh shamelessly at your own jokes.
34. Go for a walk without your phone.
60. Drop your shoulders.
91. If in doubt, add cheese.
97. Listen to the albums you loved as a teenager.

But I firmly disagree with this one (utensils MUST be loaded in the same order they go into the drawer):

17. Don’t be weird about how to stack the dishwasher.

And one bonus tip I did a few years ago that was a life changer:

101. Turn off you phone notifications. My phone only has text and phone notifications turned on. All other apps I check when I’m ready to, not when they tell me to.

 

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

April 4 (M)
Artist in Residence Continues
School Librarian’s Day (5th Grade)
1st Grade Staff Room Duty
2022 Electronics Recycling Competition Drop-Off Week
8:30, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Zoom)

April 5 (T)
2:45-3:25, Staff Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:00, Conscious Discipline Parent Nights (Zoom)

April 6 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
9:00-10:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade
2:40-3:30, 2nd Grade Data Team
3:00, Allan Meeting w/SSD Admin (Zoom)

April 7 (H)
Regular Day

April 8 (F)
8:00, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Zoom)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD – School Improvement Plan (Cafeteria)
1:30-2:20, KG Data Team Meeting
2:25-3:15, 1st Grade Data Team Meeting

April 11 (M)
Artist in Residence Continues
2nd Grade Staff Room Duty

April 12 (T)
Allan Potentially Testifying at Custody Hearing
2:45-3:25, PBIS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

April 13 (W)
9:00-11:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade
2:40-3:30, 5th Grade Data Team

April 14 (H)
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)
4:00-7:00, Allan to Job Expo (Zoom)
6:00-7:00, PAHS (Parents at Holt School) Meeting (Zoom)

April 15 (F)
No School — Planning/Professional Development
Times is TBA for All-Staff, Classified, and District Meetings

Just eleven weeks until summer (or is it too soon for that?).

Allan

February 21, 2022

By Allan  |  2022/02/19 19:05 Posted in Announcements, Literacy, Video  |  Comments (1)

 

Hello Holt Bolts,

Hope you all a good 3-day weekend!

Sixteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Four Staffing Updates:

• CLC Staffing Updates – Melanie Pinto (CLC Teacher) and Andy Raasch (CLC EA) have resigned their positions. Andy resigned last weekend and Melanie’s last day in the building was Friday. She’ll be working out of the SSD office downtown to finish paperwork. Both positions should get posted this week on the 4J Jobs website for five days. Regular Holt sub Richard Schminke is taking over for Melanie starting this week and is interested in applying for the CLC teaching position for the rest of the year, so that’s great news! I don’t have any leads for the 5.5 hour CLC EA position, so if you know of anyone out there, please encourage them to apply.

• 22/23 Staffing Info – Principals will get 2022-2023 Staffing Allocaitons for licensed, classified, Title 1 and SSD staff this Wednesday. I’ll email information to staff Wednesday evening and will meet with the Leadership Team on Thursday ahead of meeting with all staff on Friday. I know classified staff do not typically attend the Friday PD, but you’re welcome to attend this meeting and use trade time if the 1:30 meeting is outside of your normal work hours. Linked here is the HR Staffing Timeline sent to principals, but Building Staffing Plans are due to HR by Wednesday, March 16th, so between now and then we’ll process staffing scenarios and discuss different options. As I shard earlier, we are being projected for same number of students as this year, which should mean we’re staffed at a commensurate amount of FTE. Let me know if you have any questions on this.

• 22/23 Staffing Survey – To help me with next year’s staffing plan, I’d like staff to complete the linked 2022-2023 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.

• TSS Schedule Update – Brian has already shared that he’s been hired to work as part of the Synergy Team downtown, but he’s continuing here part-time as our TSS until they can hire someone permanent. He will continue to respond to tickets and will be on site Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays in the afternoon. He’ll be able to do some work remotely when he’s off site and if there’s ever an emergency, other TSS staff will be on call to be dispatched to our building.

 

 

• REPEAT: Gifts of Hope Project – Ashley already emailed details, but note the following dates:

WEDNESDAY = Money Due
THURSDAY = Choose Items to Purchase (with your grade level)
FRIDAY = Announce items at assembly

Remember to record totals on the Gifts of Hope Collection Counter Google Sheet. The 4J Communications Department got wind of this from a Holt International Facebook Post and is working on getting us some media coverage!

• REPEAT: Holt Spirit Day – PJ Day, FRIDAY – This Friday is a Holt Spirit Day and it’s Ultimate Cozy Pajama Day! Get kids excited and remind them they can earn Spirit Tickets for participating. Also, be sure to plan your own PJ Day outfit! I’m pretty excited about my Captain Kirk PJ Onesie that just came in the mail.

• Friday PD – This Friday’s PD time will be dedicated to sharing and discussing 2022-2023 Staffing Information. Staff will have an opportunity to discuss the staffing process, staffing scenarios, and a chance to ask any questions.

• REPEAT: Staff Social, Friday at 5:00! – This Friday is our first Friday at 5:00 at the PublicHouse in Springfield. There’s pizza, Hawaiian food, Fisherman’s Market, Indian & Latin fare, and all sorts of good food to choose from (I’ll be getting a bratwurst from Pig & Turnip), as well as a variety of beverages. Bring your family along if you’d like and hope to see you there!

• Anti-Bullying BMX Virtual Assembly, Feb. 28 @8:30 & 1:15 – Monday, Feb. 28th will be a very cool BMX Virtual Assembly from Guinness World Record Holder, Matt Wilhelm. Zoom links are on the Holt Staff Calendar and times are the same as the prior virtual assembly.

Grades K-2: 8:30-9:15
Grades 3-5: 1:15-2:00

Ashley emailed info about the assembly earlier, but Matt Wilhelm has won three X-Games medals, two World Championship medals, and two United States National Championships. The assembly will include some amazing bike tricks, but more importantly will focus on an anti-bullying message told through Matt sharing his story of beating the odds en route to becoming a BMX National Champion. Linked below are a couple of his appearances on America’s Got Talent if you want to get kids excited ahead of the assembly.

(Short version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW0mwKTVJ5s

(Longer Version)

• Contact Tracing Resumes for Breakfast/Snack/Lunch – Contact tracing resumes this week for maskless meal times. Teachers, make sure students are not sitting by the same people for both breakfast and snack, which add up to more than 15 minutes and will lead to a quarantine for any unvaccinated students. Also make sure you do not have students sitting by the same people in class and in the cafeteria. Cafeteria Supervisors, continue to have students mask up and dump their trays at the 15 minute mark, so we don’t have any close contacts at lunchtime. Let me know if you have any questions on this.

• Referral Reminder – Whether in the classroom or at recess, when you address student misbehaviors be sure to document incidents with a referral, even if you were able to handle and address the situation in the moment. It’s important we track behavior patterns, as well as ensuring parents are notified. If staff feel parents do not need contacted, write DOCUMENTATION ONLY on the referral.

• Remind Kids “Take Your Coat to Recess” – It’s going to be pretty cold this week, with one day in the teens, so be sure to remind students to bring their coats to recess. Students are not be allowed to go back to class for coats, though we may in rare circumstances escort a younger student back for a coat if temperatures are in the teens, but will otherwise stick with the natural consequence of being cold for a short time.

• FREE Coats in Office – If you know of any students who cannot afford a winter coat, we have a good number in the office they can choose from.

• Responding to Students Making Suicidal Gestures and ideations – If staff ever become aware of a student making a suicidal attempt, gesture, or ideation (i.e expressing statements around wanting to die), whether on or off campus, immediately notify me, Kim, or Max, who will use the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale to assess the situation before notifying parents.

This is at the process 4J is having schools follows, which helps assess situations and can also help parents see the seriousness of what their child is doing or saying. For student who make flippant comments around wanting to die, this process can also have the impact of conveying to them the seriousness of such word and that it is not a joking matter. See the 4J Suicide Prevention website for full details, but let me know if you have any questions on this

• Kids Not on Library Circulation Computer – A reminder that students are not allowed to use the library circulation computer to check out books themselves. Checkout needs to be done by an adult.

• Sluggo’s Home Run Reading Challenge is Back – I’ll assume all classrooms want to participate in this program and am planning to request materials for all classrooms, but it is optional if your grade level does not want to participate. If you’re unfamiliar, teachers set a reading goal for students and when they meet that goal they receive two FREE tickets to a Eugene Emeralds baseball game. One change this year is schools have to turn in their final totals earlier, by April 15th. I’ve requested Monday, March 7th at the same K-2 and 3-5 times as our BMX assembly, but haven’t gotten confirmation on those date/times yet. See the Ems Email for additional details.

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

Absences:

Staff members who will be absent from work due to illness, personal reasons, or to attend training need to use the AESOP website (www.aesoponline.com) to document the absence and request a guest teacher, if needed. Please try to schedule as early as possible to make arrangements. If it is too late to schedule a substitute, contact office staff immediately so arrangements can be made. If a longer term absence is anticipated, please contact the administrator for help with the process. All forms and links can be found on the 4J website.

• Read Across America, March 2nd – NEA’s Read Across America is next week on Wednesday, March 2nd. This is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading with the theme: Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers. For some ideas and resources, check out NEA (National Education Association), The Book Wrangler’s Month Long Reading Calendar (which includes Google Slides linked to books on Epic!), and Reading Rockets.

• 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 21 (M)
No School – Presidents Day

February 22 (T)
5th Grade Staff Room Duty
9:00, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Zoom)
2:45-3:25, IPBS Team Meeting (Kelsey’s Classroom)

February 23 (W)
Gifts of Hope Money Due
9:00-11:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
2:30-4:00, Mobile Food Pantry (Ed Center)
5:30-10:30, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

February 24 (H)
Gifts of Hope Grade Level Purchase Decision
2:45-3:25, Leadership Team Meeting (Debbi’s Room)

February 25 (F)
Holt Spirit Day, Ultimate Cozy Pajama Day
7:40-8:10, Gifts of Hope Virtual Assembly (Zoom)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD – 22/23 Staffing Discussion (Cafeteria)
5:00, Staff Social! Friday at 5pm (PublicHouse)

February 28 (M)
ELD/Speech/Title/Counselor Staff Room Duty
8:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin
8:30-9:15, K- 2 Virtual Assembly – Matt Wilhelm BMX Show (Zoom)
9:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin
1:15-2:00, 3-5 Virtual Assembly – Matt Wilhelm BMX Show (Zoom)

March 1 (T)
8:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin
9:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin
2:45-3:25, Staff Meeting (Cafeteria or Library)

March 2 (W)
NEA’s Read Across America
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
8:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin
9:00-10:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
9:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

March 3 (H)
8:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin
9:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin

March 4 (F)
1:10-2:00, Kona Ice – Holt Shave Ice Fundraiser! (Hard Play)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD – ACT SEL/Self-Care (Async)

18 days until spring break!

Allan

 

February 14, 2022

By Allan  |  2022/02/12 20:45 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Literacy, Math, P.D., Video  |  Comments Off on February 14, 2022

Howdy Everyone,

Twelve items of note for this week:

• State Mask Updates – Staff were sent the 4J COVID Update, but linked here is the ODE Update if you want to more nitty gritty of the rules that go into place if a school district does eliminate the indoor mask mandate. The short version is we are status quo until March 31st, at which time 4J will work with Lane County Public Health to decide if indoor mask rules will change or not.

• Friday PD – Downtown said they are creating an ELA Adoption Infomercial Video for teachers this Friday. They also said there will be an optional Zoom Q&A with the district ELA Adoption Team for teachers to join if they choose. Principals don’t have the video or the Zoom link or times yet, so I’ll email and post them on the Staff Zimbra Calendar before Friday.

• Gifts of Hope Project – Ashley already emailed details, but the short version is:

1- Collect dollars, along with the slips of paper stating how they earned their dollar.

2 – Keep a record of who has turned in a dollar on the class list on the front of the envelope.

3 – Visit the Gifts of Hope Collection Counter Google Sheet to update the total amount of dollars your class has collected. Ashley will use this to update the fundraiser thermometers on the wall.

4 – On February 24th, your grade level will come up with the gifts of hope item that they would like to purchase.

• Holt Spirit Day – PJ Day, Friday, Feb. 25 – Not this week, but next week on Friday, Feb. 25th is a Holt Spirit Day and hit time it’s Ultimate Cozy Pajama Day! Get your kids excited and start planning your own PJ Day outfit!

• Staff Social, Friday at 5:00, Feb. 25 – The Social Committee emailed info earlier, but Friday next week will be a Friday at 5:00 at the Public House in Springfield. There’s pizza, Hawaiian food, Fisherman’s Market, Indian & Latin fare, and all sorts of good food to choose from (pretty sure I’ll get a bratwurst from Pig & Turnip), as well as a variety of beverages. Hope to see you there!

• Data Team Options for Missed Prep – For Data Team meetings on Fridays, we’d previously given teachers the option to skip the PD in order to make up for the missed prep, but downtown is also offering extended contract. Teachers can choose either of these options. If you choose extended contract, just fill out the linked Extended Contract Form and give it to me to get signed for payroll.

• Free UO Basketball Tickets – Holt had free basketball tickets donated for the UO vs USC men’s game on Saturday, Feb. 26th. I’ll put 10-12 tickets in each teacher’s mailbox teachers can use with students as incentives, rewards, or however you see fit. If you don’t want them, put them in my box and I’ll redistribute them. Thank you, Ashley R., for scoring these!

• K-8 Summer Enrichment and Academic Learning Program – See the linked 4J New Summer Programs Doc if you’d like to learn about some of the new student summer programs being offered this year. If you have questions about programs or summer job opportunities, contact Casandra Kamens at kamens@4j.lane.edu

• Superintendent Search Update – If you didn’t catch it in The Register Guard, The school board last week met with Alma Advisory Group, the firm hired coordinate the superintendent search, who recommended the board extending the timeline, citing board dysfunction as a reason why 4J did receive many quality applicants. The board did not make a decision regarding the timeline, but this will likely be discussed at this week’s board meeting. Linked here is a video of last week’s meeting.

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Library – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Library. Teachers, please note it is an expectation to stay with your students to help with supervision during your library time:

Library

Schedule:
• A Library schedule is created each year, posted in the library, and given to staff via paper. Staff sign up for times based on their availability

Expectations:
• All classes will visit the library each week for a story/lesson as well as for check out.
• Some classes will have access to the media specialist and some will not depending on the time their class is scheduled.
• Students are expected to talk with a level 1 voice, walk, use shelf markers, and sit at tables quietly following their check out.
• Class periods are 25 minutes.
• Teachers are expected to monitor students and be present during their scheduled time.
• Classes should arrive and leave at their scheduled time.
• Classes can trade times should a conflict arise. Please notify the media specialist of the change.

• Get Ridiculous! – From Ian Byrd’s blog Birdseed:

I used to aim for “real world” problems when planning lessons. But this was often a pathway to the mundane. I mean, how many times did I ask students to calculate how much paint they’d need for a wall? Real world? Yes. Interesting? Not even close. Our brains are drawn to the unusual and the unexpected. Let’s take advantage of that and purposefully seek out weird outliers, oddball examples, and unexpected constraints. Let’s get ridiculous!

Get ridiculous with Math:

If you’re writing a fraction problem, PLEASE don’t make it about pizza! No one uses fractions when eating pizza. But if your question has to be about a pizza, then make that pizza unbelievably huge. Make it the size of a football stadium. Or have Tiny Tim eat just 2/999 of the pizza. Make the numbers weird!

Get ridiculous with Language Arts:

Rather than pushing kids to write 500 word stories, we’d practice very very very short stories. Or ask students to rewrite sentences or paragraphs without using a particular letter.

See the full Byrdseed Article for more ideas on how to get ridiculous and grab kids’ interest. If you’re intrigued by this, you can subscribe to the Brydseed Newsletter.

• 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 14 (M)
4th Grade Staff Room Duty
Winter Benchmark Testing Continues
9:00, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Zoom)
4:00-5:00, All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

February 15 (T)
2:45-3:25, Staff Meeting (Cafeteria or Library)

February 16 (W)
9:00-10:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
2:30-4:00, Mobile Food Pantry (Cal Young MS)
2:40-3:25, 4th Grade Data Team
5:30-7:30, School Board Work Session (Zoom)

February 17 (H)
5:30-7:30, 4J/EEA Negotiation Session (Zoom)

February 18 (F)
Winter Benchmark Testing Closes
SJ Visits Her Class!
1:30-2:20, 5th Grade Data Team
1:30-2:25, Classified Staff Meeting (Library)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD – ELA Adoption Update (Async)
2:25-3:25, 3rd Grade Data Team

February 21 (M)
No School – Presidents Day

February 22 (T)
5th Grade Staff Room Duty
1:10, Fire Drill
2:45-3:25, Leadership Team Meeting (Volunteer’s Classroom)

February 23 (W)
9:00-11:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
2:30-4:00, Mobile Food Pantry (Ed Center)

February 24 (H)
2:45-3:25, IPBS Team Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
5:30-7:30, 4J/EEA Negotiation Session (Zoom)

February 25 (F)
Holt Spirit Day, Ultimate Cozy Pajama Day
7:30-8:30, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting (Zoom)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD – High Leverage Strategies
5:00, Staff Social! Friday at 5pm (Public House)

Have a good week and an even better 3-day weekend!

Allan

January 24, 2022

By Allan  |  2022/01/22 20:18 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, Grants, P.D., SEL, Video  |  Comments Off on January 24, 2022

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for being out last week. In normal times, I would have just come to work, but since my vaccinated middle schooler tested positive and since I had primary COVID symptoms (sore throat, congestion, minor fatigue), I figured I needed to follow the rules and stay home from work. In the end, I never tested positive and burned a few regular ol’ sick days.

Twenty-one items of note for this week:

• Staffing Update – Please welcome (back) Margaret Maddy as our newest 2.5 hour Title 1 EA. You may recognize Margaret because she previously worked at Holt in the kitchen. Welcome to the team, Margaret!

• COVID Updates – In COVID news…

• Contact Tracing Resumes – The state is now requiring schools to contact trace for all UNMASKED situations (breakfast, snack and lunch), but not recesses. This means the pause on contact tracing is over.

I asked if this meant specialists (PE, Music, SPED, Title, ELD, etc.) no longer needed to maintain seating charts, since those are always masked situations, but was told they should continue to maintain seating charts just in case rules change or if any unusual situations come up. See this 4J Communication for additional info on changes in contact tracing, isolation ,and quarantine.

As a reminder, the best way to avoid close contacts is to keep breakfast and snack in the classroom to less than 15 minutes total or create two different seating charts for breakfast and snack.

• KN95 Masks Available – Downtown is giving all schools KN95 Masks and is ordering more. One mask is good for 5 days and can last good longer if cleaned and disinfected. Come by the office if you want one.

• Staff Notifications – Teachers will get a notification from the district if a student in your class tests positive AND was in school during their infectious period. If a student developed symptoms over the weekend and was not infectious while at school, there would be no notification. However, I will continue to notify teachers of positive students so you have the quarantine dates for sending out assignments.

• Temporary Paid Leave (TPL) – If staff test positive for COVID, you will qualify to TPL. Staff Sick Leave into AESOP and after 4J Staff Contact Tracer Dawn Strong contacts you, she will authorize TPL. Also, staff caring for a child who is positive and if the staff member is not fully vaccinated (booster), they would qualify for TPL because they are now a close contact. If you are booster, however, you’d have to use sick days for child care. (I know. I know. Not my rule there.)

• January Virtual Assembly, THURSDAY @7:40 – The January Virtual Winter Wonderland Assembly is this Thursday. See the above linked agenda for details, but log on early at 7:40 and the festivities will begin at 7:50. Zoom links are on the Staff Zimbra Calendar.

• Science Assembly, THURSDAY @8:30 & 1:15– Ashley emailed details earlier, but this Thursday will be a very cool Extreme Science Assembly. See the link for some videos you might show your kids ahead of time to get them excited! Zoom links are on the Holt Staff Calendar.

Grades K-2: 8:30-9:15
Grades 3-5: 1:15-2:00

 

• REPEAT: Holt Winter Wonderland BINGO Night, THURSDAY – Get your student’s pumped! Not this week, but next week on Thursday, January 27th is a Holt Virtual Event and this time it’s Winter Wonderland BINGO Night!

• Asynchronous EA Learning – FRIDAY – SPED and Title EA were emailed info about Asynchronous EA Learning happen din this Friday, which may have missed a number of building EAs. More details and session descriptions are coming this week, but newer staff are encouraged to attend specific foundational sessions that they have not been able to join previously. These sessions will be highlighted with guidance.

• Report Card Info & Reminders – Three items of note:

• Print on Friday – Report cards cannot be printed until Friday morning. Melanie will send out an email after she’s updated the attendance.

• Parent Reports – The 4J Parent Reports (easyCBM, OSAS, attendance) need to go home and will not be available to print until Thursday. Gloria will get them to staff as soon as she can that day.

• Friday Teacher Work Day Expectations – Although teachers need to come in to print report cards, downtown emailed principals the official expectations for Friday’s Teacher Work Day, which is:

The staff work day is a regular work day. Teachers are allowed to work from home if they notify their administrator in advance. However, teachers should plan ahead if they need to collaborate with any colleagues on grading or student issues. Please be aware that teachers are highly visible members of the community, so keep in mind public perception of how this day is used.

• Staff Meeting Location Survey DUE FRIDAY – With only 13 votes it’s a dead heat between switching Staff Meetings to Zoom or remaining in-person. Please fill out the linked Future Staff Meeting Location Survey by the end of the week.

• Student Semester Changes – Last Thursday, I emailed the list of students switching pathways. If teachers haven’t already, do the following as soon as possible:

1. Decide who is taking the new students.
2. Notify the office who is taking the new students (so we can put them into your Synergy).
3. Send new families a Welcome Email by Tuesday, which can simply be your fall welcome email.

We had 12 students returning to in-person and 11 students moving online. Here’s the grade level breakdown.

Returning
KG – 2
1st – 3
2nd – 3
3rd – 1
4th – 1
5th – 2

Leaving
KG – 1
1st – 2
2nd – 0
3rd – 0
4th – 5
5th – 2

I’ve emailed returning families the following Welcome Back – Quick News.

• Bertha Holt Celebration, Gift of Hope Project, Coming in February! – As part of an ongoing tradition, the student of Holt are raising money to support an international family using the Gifts of Hope Catalog through the Holt International Organization. See the linked Gifts of Hope Project Flyer, but we are asking student to find a way to earn $1 that they contribute. These will go home at the semester change and the deadline to return funds raided is Thursday, Feb. 10th. We will announce the gifts chosen on Feb. 11th, Friendship Day at Holt.

• Classroom Buddy Activity – At the request of Student Council, the PBIS Team emailed teachers a Classroom Buddy Activity we’ll do for the Feb. 11th Friendship Day. See the above email for details and classroom buddy assignments, but be sure to following the timeline:

• Complete All About Me activity AFTER the start of the new term (Monday 1/31) and with enough time to meet and exchange with your buddy teacher.
• Meet with your buddy teacher to match kids up and then exchange papers.
• On Friendship day (Friday 2/11) hand the papers out to your class so they can “get to know” their buddies. Make sure you explain what classroom buddies are because it has been awhile and some kids might not have been here when we did them last.

 

 

• Parent Education Series – Jenny and Max are leading a parenting titled “School to Heart to Home – Conscious Discipline Parent Nights” starting next month. Please help promote this event. I’ve created a Facebook Event and Jenny made a Program Flyer (English & Spanish).

 

Parent Education Series
School to Heart to Home – Conscious Discipline Parent Nights

Let’s face it, being a parent is a hard job! It has been even harder since the beginning of the pandemic. At times, our emotions get in the way of our ability to access our own parenting brilliance. Wouldn’t it be nice to respond to conflict with rational thinking and problem-solving? Join us as we learn to regulate our emotions and stop reacting out of impulse or tradition, so we can help our kids regulate their emotions and reactions.

Come learn, connect, and explore parenting with Conscious Discipline

This series, led by 4J staff on Zoom, is based on the School to Heart to Home parenting education curriculum from Conscious Discipline.

Tuesday, February 8 at 6:00p-7:00pm – Brain States: A new way of understanding yourself and your children
Tuesday, March 8 at 6:00-7:00pm – Composure: Being the person you want your children to become
Date TBA – Assertiveness: Setting limits respectfully
Date TBA – Encouragement: Noticing, accepting and connecting with children

Dinner! Make & Take Materials! Free!

Following each session, attendees will receive:

• a gift card to a local restaurant (to replace the meal we’d provide if able to meet in person)
• printed material related to content covered.
• a copy of Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline, a parenting book that covers much of the content we will discuss.

RSVP here:

Registration Form Or email Jenny Potter potter_je@4j.lane.edu Limited to 25 families!

Once you’ve registered, we will send you a link.

For more information about Conscious Discipline, visit the Conscious Discipline Website or this short Conscious Discipline Video.

• REPEAT: Fire Drill, TUESDAY @1:10 – This Tuesday at 1:10 will be the January Fire Drill. Linked here is the Building Evacuation Map and the • REMINDER: Teacher PD Survey – During last week’s cancelled Staff Meeting, I asked teachers to use the time to complete the linked Optional Teacher Curriculum Trainings Survey (which was revised the following day on 1/19). Be sure to complete the survey by the end of the week if you did not do so already.

• REPEAT: Final School Choice Tour TUESDAY – The last school choice tour of the year is this Tuesday at 12:30, but wanted staff to know I’m planning a Zoom tour of the school at the end of my presentation, so you may see me walking around hallways and classes Zooming with my iPad or laptop.

• EEF Grants Due Feb. 4 – EEF is now accepting grants for round two of the school year. See the EEF Email or EEF Website for details. Unlike in the past, staff may directly submit grants without first going through Site Council. This year, after the Feb. 2 deadline, all submitted grants will then go to Site Council for rank ordering.

• Optional Morning Meeting PD (Virtual) WEDNESDAY or 2/2 – Jan. 26th and Feb. 2nd 4:15 to 5:15 pm, SDS staff will present how you might help to meet the Social Emotional Learning needs of your students while developing a better sense of community, belonging and classroom culture. RSVP using this Google Form as soon as possible. SPOTS for this session are limited to 50 participants. Extended Contract will be provided.

 

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

Medications:

• It is the policy of the Eugene 4j School District to cooperate with parents to dispense medication that has been prescribed by a physician during the school day. Confidentiality should be practiced regarding individual student medication.
• All medication should be kept locked in the office and must be in the original container issued by a registered pharmacist. Parents must sign an authorization form granting the school permission to administer medication.
• Students are only allowed to carry inhalers if there is an authorization form in the office to do so. This is very rare at the elementary level. Otherwise, students should not have medication with them, including over the counter medications. Cough drops are not permitted in class and should be immediately sent to the office.

• Black History Month Resources – February is Black History Month, so I wanted to pass along this list as a starting point for resources. There are, of course, many other resources available; Rethinking Schools, the Zinn Education Project, and Facing History and Ourselves to name a few.

Info on BHM origins:
• Awesome Video: How Black History Went From a Week to a Month
• Article: Black History Themes
• Article: The Man Behind Black History Month

On Teaching:
• How to Be an Anti-Racist White Educator
• What Anti-Racist Teachers Do Differently

Black Youth Leaders and Activists:
• Past: Youth in the Civil Rights Movement
• Present: Young Black Activists, Young Black Leaders and Creators Making History Today, Amanda Gorman

Black History Month 2021
For 2021, the BHM theme is The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity. There’s obviously such a wealth of resources to work with here, but these are a few books related to this theme:
• Read-aloud: Me and Mama
• Sony Animation: Hair Love
• Read-aloud (there are a bunch of other great ones on this YouTube channel): We March

Lesson plans, etc.:
• Virtual History Journeys
• PBS Learning Resources

Keep in mind that black history and teaching the story of historically of marginalized groups should be a year round-activity and not just a sidebar or novelty to the American history typically taught in U.S. schools. It should be viewed as a central part of the American story.

• MegaMillions Lotto Pool – Time to dream big! The MegaMillions Jackpot for Tuesday’s drawing will be $396 Million. If you want to join the pool, get me $2 (cash or Venmo) by 3:00pm on Tuesday!

• 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 24 (M)
1st Grade Staff Room Duty
Winter Benchmark Testing Continues

January 25 (T)
12:30-1:10, School Choice Presentation & Tour (Zoom)
1:10, Fire Drill
2:45-3:25, Leadership Team Meeting (Library)
7:00-8:30, Superintendent Selection Community Forums (Zoom)

January 26 (W)
9:00-11:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
4:15-5:15, Optional Morning Meeting PD (Zoom)

January 27 (H)
Holt Spirit Day, Winter Wonderland!
7:40-8:10, Winter Wonderland Virtual Assembly (Zoom)
8:30-9:15, K- 2 “Extreme Science” Virtual Assembly (Zoom)
1:30-2:15, 3-5 “Extreme Science” Virtual Assembly (Zoom)
2:45-3:25, IPBS Meeting (Library)
6:30, Holt Winter Wonderland BINGO Night! (Zoom)

January 28 (F)
No School – Staff Work Day
7:30-8:30, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting (Zoom)
9:00, Allan to SSD Meeting (C1)

January 31 (M)
2nd Grade Staff Room Duty
Report Cards Sent Home
Winter Benchmark Testing Continues
4:30-6:30, Allan to Conscious Discipline PD (Zoom)

February 1 (T)
Black History Month
2:45-3:25, Staff Meeting (Cafeteria)
5:30-7:30, 4J/EEA Negotiations (Zoom)

February 2 (W)
9:00-10:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
4:15-5:15, Optional Morning Meeting PD (Zoom)
7:00-10:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

February 3 (H)
5:00-7:30, 4J/EEA Negotiations (Zoom)

February 4 (F)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD – PBIS / SEL PD

February 5 (SA)
1:00-2:30, Superintendent Selection Community Forums (Zoom)

Have a good week, everyone!

Allan

 

January 3, 2022

By Allan  |  2021/12/30 22:03 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Arts, P.D., SEL, Video  |  Comments Off on January 3, 2022

 

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Hope you all were able to relax during your break and maybe even forgot what day of the week it was at some point.

Sixteen items of note for this week:

• Jan. 3 Professional Development  – We’ll meet in the cafeteria for the Jan. 3 PD. 7:30-8:00 is an optional social time and the meeting will start at 8:00. I’ll have some continental breakfast type of food and drink. I’ll resend the agenda I shared right before the break. SSD, ELD, and staff on the ELA adoption team will leave the meeting early for a different meeting 9:30-12:30.

• Friday PD/PLC Time – This Friday’s PD will focus on the 4J ACT strand Achieve Equitable Outcomes, with a particular focus on Anti-Racism & Anti-Bias. Watch for a separate email with details on this Friday’s activity.

• School Choice Info – School Choice season has begun and school choice tours will again be over Zoom. I’ll hold virtual school presentations and tours on Jan. 11th (12:30PM), Jan. 20th (6:00PM), and Jan. 25th (12:30PM). Holt is closed to most students (we’re allowed to take about 10 kinders), so these tours serve more to retain neighborhood families who are considering trying to lottery into other schools. I’ll reach out to PAHS this week to see if a parent rep would be willing to share about the parent group and about Holt from a parent perspective. If there are any staff who are interested/will to join me in the presentations, I’d love to have more voices than just myself. You could share as little or as much as you’d like. Staff merely being present during these Zooms also helps families feel like we’re a family and a team and makes it more welcoming. Below is an article I’ll put in the next Quick News.

School Choice for the 2022-23 School Year

Spread the word to all of your friends that HOLT ROCKS! With Holt’s focus on the whole child we are an excellent school and a positive choice in your child’s education. With School Choice coming soon, please invite friends and acquaintances to visit Holt (virtually) and seriously consider joining the Holt family.

We’re holding virtual school presentations and tours on Jan. 11th (12:30PM), Jan. 20th (6:00PM), and Jan. 25th (12:30PM)

Please watch the 4J website at www.4j.lane.edu> Parents > School Choice for information on upcoming visitation opportunities and the upcoming lottery applications timeline.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/95863212123?pwd=QTQxbFlmaU8wSlJaM3hKZGZmN3ZaQT09

Meeting ID: 958 6321 2123
Passcode: 908361

• Artist in Residence Update – Lane Arts go back to me over the break about our artist preferences. None of our top picks were available winter term (Jan, Feb, Mar), but our #1 pick, the fiddle artist, is available right after winter break. However, we need to find a dedicated space for him to see classes, such as the library or somewhere else. Space is pretty tight and I’m stumped on finding a spot outside of the library, so I’ve added this to Monday’s meeting as a business item. Please let me know if any of you have ideas on how we might make this work or if you think we should look for a different artist.

• COVID Protocol Updates – Five updates:

• REPEAT: Outdoor Mask Requirement (Students) – Downtown announced that starting January 4th students will no longer need to wear masks outdoors. Make sure students take their masks to recess so they can put them back on when they re-enter the building. Remind students to keep track of their masks at recess by:

• Mask lanyard,
• Pocket
• Slid below their chin
• Wrapped around their arm

• Outdoor Mask Requirement (Staff) – Downtown clarified that staff outside can only take their masks off if they can maintain 6-feet distance from students. With kids running up to adults at recess and arrival/dismissal on a pretty regular basis, I’d suggest staff use a mask lanyard so you can quickly mask up when you are closer than 6-feet with students.

• Masks at Recess Line-Up – At the end of each recess when kids line up, we will have students mask-up so they are ready to go when they re-enter the building. This will avert traffic jams at the doors going back in from recess.

• Masks at Arrival Line-Up – For morning arrival, staff should tell students to mask up a minute before the bell rings. Staff supervising entrances should get some extra masks to pass out as needed.

• CDC Quarantine Changes – You may have read in the news the CDC has revised their 10-day quarantine guideline to a 5-day quarantine. I emailed the 4J COVID person and they said this won’t change anything for us until the new guidelines are first filtered through the state, then the county, and then 4J, so we are status quo on 10-day quarantines and test-to-stay for unvaccinated students.

• 2.5-hour EA Vacancy – Our runner-up candidate for this position accepted another job with more hours, so I reposed the position. It closes on Sunday, Jan 2nd. HR will give me the candidate list sometime this week, so I’ve tentatively scheduled interviews for Wednesday, Jan. 12th, 2:40-4:30. Let me know if any of your are interested/willing to volunteer your time to help with interviews.

• Social Emotional Teaching Reminders – Two SEL reminders:

• Second Step Pacing Guide – I’ve shared this before, but linked here and also on the Holt Google Team Drive is the Second Step Year-Long Pacing Guide.

• Starting Each Class With a Warm Welcome – I see most teacher starting class each day with a morning meeting, which is great. This Edutopia Article and video below reinforces the importance of morning meetings as not just a good welcoming activity but also a proactive classroom management strategy. It builds community in the classroom, establishes a sense of shared values, and makes everyone feel included. These were made for the fall, so they reference the start of the year, but their lessons apply all year.

• UO International Student Free Presentations – The UO ICSP (International Cultural Service Program) is offering in-person and virtual cultural presentations to schools. See the linked UO ICSP Brochure and UO ICSP Website for student profiles, presentation topics, and how to request a presentation.

• Walk+Roll to School Day, WEDNESDAY– Remind kiddos this Wednesday is the monthly Walk+Roll to School Day, where we encourage students to walk, bike, carpool, or ride the bus to school. The goal is to reduce traffic and pollution around our school and to promote physical activity for our students. This happens the first Wednesday of each month.

• District Admin Update – Jose Salgado, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, has resigned from his position with 4J. Downtown has yet to decide on the future of this position (though I have my theories).

• District McKinney-Vento Student Data – Linked here is the most recent district-wide McKinney-Vento Student Report. These totals represent students for the entire school year, not necessarily who’s in buildings now. Holt server the fourth highest number of homeless students and families than any other elementary school in 4J. Not on my blog, but attached to the email is of which of our students qualify for McKinney-Vento.

• EEA Seminar Brochure – Linked here is the EEA 2022 Professional Development Seminar Series, which is filled with useful PD opportunities for EEA members, as well as an option to earn collect credits that can bump you up a column on the pay scale.

• Hazardous Weather Information for 4J Staff – With all the now we had over the break, as a reminder, linked here is the Hazardous Weather Information for 4J Staff district webpage, which has everything you need to know what to do when winter weather comes. Setting up the Text Message Alerts for whether closures and delays can be especially helpful.

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Accidents – Staff & Students – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on accidents involving staff and/or students:

Accident:
Staff:
Any staff member involved in a workplace injury needs to inform the administrator and fill out an injury form immediately. If a form is not completed, personal loss may not be covered by workman’s compensation insurance. If you find it necessary to see a physician due to a work injury, please get information from office staff. The designated district facility is indicated on the form. Forms can be found on the 4J website.

Student:
In the case of minor accident or illness, send the student to the office with a Health Pass, or call the office to inform them that the student is coming to the office. Don’t hesitate to send another student as an escort if you feel the need. In the event of an injury, be sure to fill out an accident report. If the student is vomiting or feels they are going to, please send them with a trash can.

If a student is seriously injured then must be accompanied by a staff member. Please press the emergency wall button nearest the location of the injury and request assistance. If you are unable to leave the student having a health emergency to call the office, send a student to the office with a red card.

• JUST FOR FUN: The Far Side Returns! – Were you also a child of the ’80s or ’90s? If so were you also obsessed with The Far Side? Then you may be interested to know that after 25 years of silence Gary Larson occasionally posts new stuff on his Far Side Website.

 

• 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 3 (M)
No School — Professional Development/Planning Day
SPED/PE Staff Room Duty
7:30-8:00, Optional Visiting and Social Time (Cafeteria)
8:00-1:00, Staff Meeting/PD (Cafeteria)
1:50, Allan Meeting w/Angela Crum (Office)

January 4 (T)
Winter Benchmark Testing Opens
2:45-3:25, Allan to IEP Meeting (Zoom)

January 5 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
9:00-10:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
5:00-7:30, 4J/EEA Negotiation Session (Zoom)

January 6 (H)
Regular Day

January 7 (F)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD/PLC – Equity

January 10 (M)
Office/Library/Music Staff Room Duty
Winter Benchmark Testing Continues
2:30-3:30, Allan to Care Team Meeting (Zoom)
4:00-5:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

January 11 (T)
12:30-1:30, School Choice Presentation & Tour (Zoom)
2:45-3:25, PBIS Meeting (Library)

January 12 (W)
9:00-11:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
2:40-4:30, 2.5 Title EA Interviews (Library)
7:00-10:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

January 13 (H)
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Zoom)
5:00-7:30, 4J/EEA Negotiation Session (Zoom)
6:00-7:00, PAHS (Parents at Holt School) Meeting (Zoom)

January 14 (F)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD/PLC – SEL

January 17 (M)
No School — Martin Luther King Jr. Day

See you all soon!

Allan

December 13, 2021

By Allan  |  2021/12/11 19:35 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Grants, P.D., SEL, Video  |  Comments Off on December 13, 2021

Hey Holt Bolts,

The week before winter break is usually a crazy one, with more than normal of escalated behaviors (kids and adults), so be prepared. Also, give yourself permission to just have fun with kids this week, which can lessen some of the undesired behaviors. That’ll also send kids off to winter break on a positive note and help them feel good about coming back from the break in January. Make this week a fun one!

Eighteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Four staffing updates:

• Behavior EA Update – Hannah Connor, who recently started as a 2.5 hour Title 1 EA, is our new Behavior Support EA, filling Max’s former position before he became our school counselor. Besides working here at Holt, Hanna also currently works as a Behavior Technician at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders and prior to that worked as a Personal Support Worker.

• 2.5-hour EA Vacancy – HR is allowing me to submit to hire our runner-up for this position without having to start over. My hope is HR will make the job offer next week and the person can start after winter break.

• Holt BEST Coordinator Update – Downtown is shuffling BEST Coordinators. The person originally assigned to Holt is being moved to Howard and Howard’s coordinator, Aubrey Bulkeley, is coming to Holt. Aubrey will start at Holt in January, though she’ll be visiting Wednesday after school, and the goal is for BEST to start up in early February. Depending upon available curriculum and hiring of BEST EAs, they are planning to start small with 15-25 students.

• BEST Academic Coordinator Opportunity – If any staff are interested in supporting BEST as the Academic Coordinator, see this linked Email and Job Description. The best fit for this position is a licensed staff member who has an interest in/comfort level with math and data, but classified staff with this skill set can also take it on. Here’s the basic overview:

• Oversee EA instruction in Do the Math small groups (similar to Title groups happening during the day).
• Look at data, and with consultation of the Data Team, determine who should be invited to BEST.
• This is an extended contract position for 1.5 – 2 hours per day.
• There are Academic Coordinators at other sites who can help, with regular collaboration meetings planned.

Since this is extended contract, there’s no interview or job posting or anything like that. Just let me know if you’re interested and I’ll put you in touch with Molly Lajoie, the District BEST Afterschool Coordinator.

• REPEAT: Crazy Hair Because We Care! FRIDAY! – Get kids pumped and plan your own crazy hair! If families want to share their crazy hair on Facebook or Instagram using the hashtag #crazyhairbecausewecare, Papa’s Pizza will award the “BEST Hair” photo with a FREE Large Pizza of their choice!

• December Virtual Assembly, Friday @7:55 – The December Spirit Day Virtual Assembly will be this Friday at 7:55. Here’s the agenda for the event:

7:50
Start Zoom meeting with each class.
Music will be played until start time.

7:55
Assembly begins Live! Mr. Chinn Starts us off!

7:56
Miss Kim pulled out 23 winners (Pre drawn…one from each class) and adds to the wheel (pre-written) 😜
These kids will STAY IN CLASSROOM!  Pizza coupons Prize will be delivered!
Mr. Chinn will then Spin the wheel with all 23 names on it for the big prizes!

1st Spin = Connect 4
2nd Spin = Large Pop-It!
3rd Spin = Bubble Wand
4th = Drone

These winners can come down to get their prize!

8:00
Ms. Reich does BOLT WINNER DRAWING for Vending Machine Coins by
They can come to get their prize!

8:01
While we are waiting for Holt Bolt Winners to get their prize, Lets share ourCrazy Hair (Highlight each room!)

8:05
GAME TIME!!!
We drew 8 Spirit Tickets and have 4 teams for the game!
Today we are playing Reindeer Games!

GAME:
4 teams of 2
One person wears the reindeer antlers
The Other player throws the rinds on the antlers.
The first one to get 3 rings on the antlers wins!
PRIZE??? Gold Coins and something else for “losers” 🙃

8:07
End Assembly portion. Congratulations to the teams!

8:09
School cheer and goodbye!

• SIA Library Pick-Up WEDNESDAY – The SIA Classroom Libraries are being delivered this Wednesday. Teachers should pick up your three book sets at the end of the school day.

• Science Kit Transition Survey + Information – I connected with Jamie Tait, District K-5 STEM Specialist, regarding Eric Anderson’s Email and Holt’s past agreement with Sue Wilson and Jaimee Massie where each grade level kept their kits and had them refilled by the district. Jamie is fine with this arrangement and she and Eric are seeing if they can possibly use this arrangement at other buildings.

So don’t send you kits back, but if you have kits that need restocked, let me know and I’ll contact Jamie.

• January PD & PLC Times – For January and February, district admin have reduced the amount of PD and PLC time to just 1-hour per week on Fridays, though it’s actually 55-minutes, 1:30-2:25 to ensure staff get their golden hour, but I’ve deleted the Wednesday PLC times off the calendar. There’s only two Friday PDs this month and I will send a separate email with the plan for those days.

• COVID Updates – Two updates:

• Outdoor Mask Requirement – Downtown emailed principals that starting January 4th students will no longer need to wear their face coverings while outside at recess. When students go to recess, make sure they take their masks with them so they can put them back on when they re-enter the building. Ideas for taking masks out are:

• a mask lanyard,
• in a pocket
• slid below their chin
• wrapped around their arm

• Test to Stay – Downtown is planning to start using BinaxNOW rapid testing at schools in January. Specifics are going to be shared with principals later, but linked here is the OHA Release from earlier this month.

 

 

• Cabinets Blocking Doors – This Monday is our Fire Marshall re-inspection. The main issue on the Fire Inspection Report is moving rolling cabinets, wagons, or other items from blocking the 3-foot required fire egress, so I’ve told Ryan to move anything not already moved before the re-inspection.

• Work Room Doors Closed – We have a few students who elope now and then, so we need to make sure the two work room doors are kept closed. They don’t need to be locked, but being closed is probably enough to keep students from wandering in.

• Leadership Plan Approved – The 4J JCAC (Joint Contract Administration Committee) last Thursday officially approve the Holt Leadership Plan.

• K-5 Health Adoption Reps – Downtown is looking for Churchill or Sheldon Region reps on the K-5 Health Adoption Committee. They are specifically looking for Special Education, Kindergarten, 1st grade, 4th grade, and PE reps. If you are interested, see the linked email and add your name to the K-5 Health Adoption Team Interest Google Form.

• Holt School Choice Tour Input – I’m prepping for January School Choice Tours and wanted feedback on the School Choice Tour Slideshow and the Holt School Choice Webpage. Although Holt is closed to most transfers, this is our chance to retain students and families who live in our neighborhood who are considering leaving us for other schools. Let me know if you see anything we should add to highlight for families or if there’s anything that looks incorrect. This is where we want to seriously brag about ourselves!

• Send Me Photos for Social Media! – Related to the above and showing ourselves off, please text me pictures of anything fun or interesting happening at school. I love getting good content to post to our social media pages, which potential families also often check out when shopping for schools.

• $600 Kindness Mini Grant – The Choose Kindness Foundation is offering schools $600.00 to design and implement kindness activities that may be used for classroom or school-wide kindness events or celebrations as well as specific Teacher Wellness through kindness activities. Linked here is the very simple Choose Kindness Mini Grant Application and also Sample Ideas for potential kindness activities. The due date is Feb. 25, 2022 and notification of awards will be by March 11, 2022.

• Choose Kindness Foundation Music Video – Related to the above, the music video below, from the Choose Kindness Foundation, highlights four kindness skills kids can practice: be friendly, offer help, show appreciation, and reach out to those with needs. It’s a tad corny, but feel free to share with you class if you’d like.

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Child Abuse – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Child Abuse and Child Abuse Reporting:

Child Abuse
Any employee of the district who has reasonable cause to know or suspect that a child has been subjected to abuse or neglect, or who has observed the child being subjected to circumstances or conditions that could result in abuse or neglect will immediately report these observations to the counselor and/or principal, completing the Suspected Abuse Reporting Form. School employees are mandated reports and should contact the Department of Human Services with their observations/concerns, immediately (within 24 hours) or the EPD Non-Emergency line:

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

School employees should not contact the child’s family, or any other persons, to determine the cause of the suspected abuse or neglect. It is not the responsibility of the school employees to determine or prove that the child has been abused or neglected.

• 5 Days of Holiday Resources for Educators – While Character Strong is a curriculum for the secondary level, they shared some links that could be used at elementary to wrap up the week before winter break.

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

December 13 (M)
ELD/Speech/Title/Counselor Staff Room Duty
Artist in Residence Continues
National Cocoa Day
Fire Marshall Re-Inspection
2:30-3:30, Allan to Care Team Meeting (Zoom)
4:00-5:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

December 14 (T)
2:45-3:25, PBIS Meeting (Library)

December 15 (W)
9:00-11:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
2:45, Teacher SIA Library Pick-Up (Library)
7:00-10:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

December 16 (H)
Regular Day

December 17 (F)
Holt Spirit Day, Crazy Hair Day!
7:50-8:10, December Virtual Assembly (Zoom)
2:35, LEAVE EARLY FOR WINTER BREAK

December 18 – January 2
No School – Winter Break

January 3 (M)
No School — Professional Development/Planning Day
SPED/PE Staff Room Duty
8:00-1:30, Staff Meeting/PD (Cafeteria)

January 4 (T)
2:45-3:25, Allan to IEP Meeting (Zoom)

January 5 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
9:00-10:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)

January 6 (H)
Regular Day

January 7 (F)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD

FIVE days until winter break! Make them good ones!

Allan