Arts

August 23, 2021

By Allan  |  2021/08/21 20:28 Posted in Announcements, Arts, Grants, P.D., Technology  |  Comments Off on August 23, 2021

 

Howdy Everyone,

The countdown to school has begun.

Thirteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Two staffing update for this week and we are now fully staffed for the year!

• Annie Carpenter (4-hour EA) – Annie is currently working as a Life Skills EA at ESY (Extended School Year Summer Program) and prior to that she was the Hybrid Utility EA at Awbrey Park. Before that she worked as an elementary EA in Veneta and way before that, I was her principal at Yujin Gakuen (I’m old). Please welcome Annie to Team Holt!

• Holt BEST EA Job Opportunities – If any classified staff are looking for additional hours, or if you know of anyone good, there are two job posting up right now, Program Coordinator Assistant, BEST Afterschool Program (closes 8/24) and Educational Assistant, BEST Afterschool (closes 9/5). Holt will get a BEST Afterschool Program this year and are partnering with YMCA, where the programs will serve 50-80 students and run until 5:30 or 6:00, five days a week, also proving students with a dinner.

• Inservice Schedule Updates – I’ve sent the Staff Meeting Agendas in a separate email for portions of inservice week that I’m in charge of. The most current dates and times are at the bottom of my announcements and also on the Staff Zimbra Calendar. Downtown made a few changes to the week, including adding an optional KinderZone Meeting on Monday (in-person), a Heggery training for 2nd grade Tuesday (Zoom), a meeting on Thursday for SSD Staff (Zoom), a Heggerty Training for New EAs on Friday (Zoom), and I added a Leadership Team Meeting on 9/7 to touch base with last year’s team. Downtown hasn’t sent all of the Zoom links the district-led PDs, but I will add them to the Staff Zimbra Calendar as they come in. Here are some additional inservice week items of note:

• K-1 & Title EA Heggerty PD – Noted above, any K-2 or Title 1 EA who has not participated in a previous Heggerty training should attend one of the Zoom sessions on Friday, September 3rd at 8:00-9:50 or 10:00-11:50. Anyone wanting a refresher is also welcome to attend. Zoom links are on the Staff Zimbra Calendar.

• Optional Q&A Session for New Staff, Wednesdays @9:00 – I’ll be available Wednesday 9/1 and 9/ 11 at 1:00 in the library to check-in, answer questions, or provide any assistance for new staff. I can get busy during inservice week, so I like to set aside a time when I’ll be available for new staff. You can also always email, text, or call.

• Transition Day 9/9 – Thursday, September 9th will be a day for kindergarten only to be in the building. It’ll be all-hand-on-deck for helping this day. Classified staff will push into classrooms as well as licensed staff, though if classroom teachers want to use this day for personal phone calls to connect with families, that is an acceptable alternative. This item is also on the BTS Meeting Agenda.

• Care and Connection Week – ODE is asking schools to focus on Care and Connection the first week students return, and also for the first week when staff return, which is why I’ve hacked off and impressed some of the PD time, so people have more time to plan and prep. I think it’s pretty clear staff will need extra time to plan since you can’t recycle your usual start-of-the-year activities since this is not a usual start-of-the-year. If you’re interested, there are some resources on the ODE Care and Connection Week Website.

• ArtSpark Artist in Residence Survey – Holt will get two Artist Residencies this year funded by ArtSpark. One big change is we can choose from both visual and performing arts artists, which means we can ask for artist who do dance, drama, or music. I want to get your preferences early, so we can lock in an artist and date before the good ones are taken. Please fill out the linked Artist in Residence Survey to help start the conversation when we make a final decision at our Back-to-School Staff Meeting.

• REPEAT: Breakfast Burrito Orders Due 8/31 – Want a delicious breakfast burrito for our first meeting back with the whole gang together again? Fill out the linked Breakfast Burrito Google Form by 9:00am August 31st and I’ll have a hot burrito waiting for you Friday morning. You’ll need to log onto your 4J Google Account to complete the form. I’ll also have food for folks the first day licensed staff report back (8/30) and also the first day classified staff report back (9/2). Let me know if you have any trouble with the form and I can input it for you.

• Single Student Desk Raffle! – The single student desks are supposed to arrive this week! We have enough desks for 8 (maybe 9) classrooms. Please add your name to the Single Desk Lottery Google Form if you’d like something other than your current desks. A few classrooms already have some older single desks, so if any of those teachers win this raffle, their old single desks will be added to the raffle at the end.

 

• COVID Updates – The latest RSSL has come out and and downtown is mostly solid in their COVID protocols. For the most part, protocols are the same as in the spring, except we have 3-feet physical distancing instead of 6-feet, staff must wear masks at all times unless in a room by themselves (with a few exceptions), and masks are not required outside. Let me know if you have questions or if there are questions I should ask.

• Updated Class Capacity – Taking into account the new 3-foot instead of 6-feet distance guideline, linked here is the Updated Holt Classroom Capacity Sheet. I’ll update numbers posted on classroom doors this week. Looking at current Student Totals, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade will be slightly over capacity. I’ve notified Jeff and Melissa about this, but the exact language of the RSSL advises for “maintaining at least 3 feet of physical distancing to the extent possible.”

• Open House, Not Allowed – Parent, volunteers, and other “non-essential” volunteers are not allowed inside schools, so that means no Open House. However, I am putting on the 8/30 Meeting Agenda to discuss if we want to do some kind of virtual open house, maybe individual class Zooms, or one big schoolwide Zoom where we introduce staff and then parents can pepper me with questions, or maybe just stick with a welcome email when we email class lists (see next item).

• Class List Email 9/3 @3:00 – We’ll likely need to update Class Lists once we see who all is going to EOA or 4J K-5 Connect, which I predict will not be as many students as last year. We’ll get that list sometime later this week, but the district class list notification process will be the same as last year, with all classroom teachers sending a welcome email at the same time, which will be on Friday, September 3rd at 3:00pm. I’d advise folks to “schedule” your emails in Zimbra, so you don’t have to worry about hitting send two something times at 3:00. Let me know if you’d like me to show you how to use the schedule feature.

• Breakfast & Lunch – Breakfasts will be as we did them in the spring. Grab-and-go meals which students will eat in the classroom. Lunches will be eaten the cafeteria, but classrooms will have assigned tables and students will have spots 3-feet apart. Linked here is the 4J Breakfast & Lunch Consideration Doc if you want all the details. This doc says to pass out breakfast at entrances, but I’m going to check if we can do it how we did last year in classrooms, since that was folks preference.

• Area Carpets are Coming Back! – You won’t be able to seat your entire class on the carpet at once with the 3-foot rule, but teachers are allowed to have their carpets back in class.

• Separate Supplies for Students – There has not been a lot of transmission over surfaces, but 4J is playing it safe and all students should have their own supplies, using either desk cubbies or the book boxes from last year to store items.

• Mask Lanyards for All Students – Downtown purchased mask lanyards for all students, which should help when students transition from indoors to recess or other outside activities.

• Water Bottles are Coming – I ordered a new set of water bottles for students since drinking fountains are still off limits.

• Other Questions? – When I get a chance, I’m going to update the Holt COVID Protocol Handbook and will share that soon, but what are we forgetting? What haven’t we thought of? I’ve already gotten some good questions from folks, so keep them coming. A few lingering questions downtown is still working out include:

• If a student has to quarantine for two week, do they go to EOA, get a paper packet, Zoom into their classroom, or something else?
• If breakfast is in the classroom, what time are schools letting students in so that teachers don’t lose contractually guaranteed prep time?
• If we’re not as worried about transmission over surfaces, does that mean we do not need to assign cohorts to specific restrooms?
• Can we offer on-site tuition based after school programs, such as Young Rembrandts?

• Back to School Family Newsletter – Im going to finish the Holt Family Welcome Back Quick News later this Sunday and send it out Monday morning, but the link will be up on the Holt School Webpage before I email it if you want a preview.

• Make Sure Your Voicemail is Set-Up – All teachers should ensure your 4J voicemail is set up and working. See the linked 4J Phone Voicemail Manual or this Quick Start Voice Mail User Guide for how to set it up as well as info on other phone functions. If you have questions, please contact our TSS, Brian, at 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu or call (541) 790-7777.

• REPEAT: Report Back Dates – Most staff report back the last week of August. Here are the report back dates:

• Licensed Staff – Monday, August 30
• Classified Staff – Thursday, September 2 (196-day on 8/27)

• REPEAT: 21-22 Master Schedule – Linked here is the 2021-2022 Holt Master Schedule and is also on the Holt Staff Dashboard.

• REPEAT: Who is A/B and C/D on the Schedule? – If you haven’t already, grade level teams should let me know which classes will follow the A, B, C, or D schedules and I’ll add names to the Master Schedule and PE/Music Schedule.

• REPEAT: Holt Staff Handbook – The Holt Staff Handbook includes most every relevant building policy and procedure. Please take time to review the handbook.

• SELCO’s Educator Grants, Due 9/30 – SELCO’s SPARK! Creative Learning Grant Program is now accepting applications for projects up to $1,000 that inspire curiosity, make learning accessible, and spark something new. Applications are open August 15–September 30. Visit the above link for details and to apply.

• FREE Google for Education Level 1 Certification – ODE and Google are partnering to offer educators their Google for Education Level 1 Certification. See this ODE News Release for additional info. The deadline to apply is September 15th.

• Podcast Suggestion: Jessica Lahey on Armchair Expert – Candace shared this Armchair Expert Podcast Episode (Spotify) with me where Dax Shepard interviews Jessica Lahey, a teacher and author. She speaks primarily about parenting, but nearly all of her advice also applies to teaching. Next time you’re working in your room, think about putting this podcast on in the background. It’s full of good advice.

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

August 23 (M)
Office Opens
August 26 (H)
6:00, PAHS (Parents at Holt School) Meeting (Zoom)

August 30 (SA)
9:00-12:00, Project Hope – Holt Clean-Up Day

August 30 (M)
Licensed Staff Report Back
8:00-8:30, Welcome Back Social w/Breakfast Treats! (Library)
8:30-10:00, Building Welcome Back & A.C.T. PD (Library)
10:00-11:30, 4J Keynote – Keith Jones (Zoom)
12:30-4:00, PLC Info & Business Meeting (Library)
4:00-5:30, Optional KinderZone PD (Ed Center)

August 31 (T)
8:00-11:30, 4J Instructional Tech (Zoom)
8:00-10:00, 2nd Grade Heggerty Phonemic Awareness (Zoom)
12:30-4:00, 4J ELA Adoption (Zoom)

September 1 (W)
Teacher Planning Day
9:00, Optional Q&A Session for New Staff (Library)

September 2 (H)
Classified Staff Report Back
8:30-9:00, Welcome Back Social w/Breakfast Burritos! (Library)
9:00-11:00, District Kick-Off (Zoom)
12:00-4:00, 4J Literacy PD PD (Zoom)
12:00-4:00, SSD Staff Meeting with SSD Dept. (Zoom)

September 3 (F)
8:00-8:30, Welcome Back Social w/Breakfast Treats! (Library)
8:30-12:00, Principal Led PD – Learning for All, Anti-Racism Instructional Strategies, SEL (Cafeteria)

September 6 (M)
Labor Day, No School

September 7 (T)
8:00-12:00, Staff Meeting, if needed (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:00, Leadership Team Meeting (Library)

September 8 (W)
Teacher Planning Day
9:00, Optional Q&A Session for New Staff (Library)
10:00, Classified Staff Meeting (Library)

September 9 (H)
Transition Day
2:30-3:15, IPBS Team Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:00, PAHS Meeting (Zoom? School Garden? Library?)

September 10 (F)
Classes Begin for All Students

See you all soon, but not too soon. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Allan

 

April 12, 2021

By Allan  |  2021/04/10 19:01 Posted in Articles, Arts, SEL, Video  |  Comments Off on April 12, 2021

 

Howdy Holt Bolts,

Last week seemed to go well and I think it shows that class size matters. And the break of sorts on Wednesday was quite nice.

Eight items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Four staffing related updates:

• 2021-2022 Staffing Plan & Expo Updates – With 4th grade going down one classroom, Ashley Wolf is planning to apply for an opening at the Job Expo. HR requires all current staff to be placed in open positions, so for the first round of the Job Expo, Holt will have a kindergarten and music opening. If Ashley gets a job at another building, we will have a 5th grade opening in the second round of the Job Expo. Linked here is a copy of the 21-22 Staffing Plan, which includes all FTE and funding sources.

• CLC EA Interviews Thursday – SPED staff are lined up to help with interviews to fill Clay’s vacancy, but if any other staff are interested in joining the interview committee, we”re conducting interviews this Thursday, 1:30-3:30 on Zoom. Let me know if you’d like to join.

• Hybrid Utility EA – Sharon Alberts has officially been hired as our Hybrid EA. She’s been subbing in the position up until this point, but is now officially with us through the end of the school year.

• Part-Time Night Custodian – Facilities changed their mind and Mark Elmore did start with us last week as our part-time night. Mark is currently Edgewood’s night custodian and is at Holt only a couple hours later in the evening, but please give Mark a “Howdy” if you happen be working late one night.

 

 

• Hybrid & Hybrid-SSO Handbook Updates – Fourteen hybrid updates and updates made to the Holt Hybrid-SSO Handbook:

• NEW: Hand Washing Before AND After Meals – Students are now supposed to wash their hands both before AND after they eat meals. This was shared with principals at Friday’s COVID Site Coordinator Meeting (lined here are the complete meeting notes).

• No Student Teacher Supervisors in Building – Also new as of last week, supervisors of student teachers are not considered essential visitors and are not allowed inside schools (see email for details). Student teachers will instead need to record themselves in some manner (ZOOM or camera) so university supervisors can evaluate the candidates.

• C-Wing Door Update – Facilities is going to re-key door near the gym that C-Wing is using as an entrance/exit to be opening with a classroom key. That’s the short term fix. For the long term they agreed to install a card reader, but that will likely be a summer project, though it could happen earlier depending upon the complexity of the install, crew workload, and parts availability.

• Child Face Coverings – If any students are wearing gaiters, face covering that are too loose, or need a replacement mask for any reason, the office has disposable child sized masks we can give students the day. Linked here is the 4J Mask Requirements.

• Recess Restroom Badges – Facilities wasn’t crazy about the restroom badges having multiple door access, so the new plan is for students on the playground to enter through the main front entrance, which will also allow for office staff to supervise students.

• Kickball at Hard Play Only – At the staff meeting I said we could do kickball at both soft and hard play in the grass, but after looking at the space they were closer than I thought, so soft play will not have kickball, but we will allow kids to play in the grass as long as there is sufficient supervision.

• Hybrid Model – FAQ’s – Downtown shared the Elementary Hybrid Model – FAQ with principals earlier, but we were told not to share it. However, we are now allowed to share it. They will continue to update the FAQ as regulations change. I’ve added this link in the left column of my blog under District & State Links.

• TAG During Hybrid – Debbi already connected with teachers who have students referred for TAG testing, but if others are interested, linked here is the TAG Email Update from the district TAG Coordinator.

• 24 Day Student Quarantine if COVID Positive Parent – If a student has a parent or family member who tests positive for COVID, they must quarantine for 24 days. They will be marked as an excused absence for contact tracing purposes, but the school should still provide instructional opportunities, which would be what we already do for off-site days and for on-site days providing them with some form of teacher directed learning, whether that a choice board types of activity (i.e. Dreambox, Lalilo, independent reading, etc.) or something else the teacher decides.

• REMINDER: Notify Allan of Positive COVID Cases – With case counts rising, remember to notify me if you become aware of any students or family member who have tested positive for COVID.

• REMINDER: Notify Office of Cohort Close Contacts – If students from different cohorts come into close contact with one another (i.e. within 6-feet for more than 15 minutes), contact the office so we can document this in Synergy.

• STAFF MEETING REPEAT: Late Arrivals Enter at Office – All doors will close at 7:55 this week and any students arriving after that point should enter through the office so we can begin recording tardies.

• STAFF MEETING REPEAT: Guest Teacher Start Time, 7:15AM – Normally 7:30 is our start time for subs, but now that students come into class at 7:40, please put 7:15 into AESOP for the sub hours start time. Katie has set 7:15 as the default start time, so make sure your sub plans match accordingly.

• STAFF MEETING REPEAT: Meals into Classroom Garbage Cans – Ryan was originally going to order more garbage cans, but decided instead that he’ll empty classroom garbages each morning after breakfast and after school for lunch.

 


Sound On and click image for video!
 

• Virtual Artist in Residence – LaneArts is offering for free to Title 1 Schools a virtual artist in residence. How it works is they have recorded lessons ready to go that teachers can do with their class in-person or push out as async work. Linked here is the ArtStream Access Instructions for Teachers.

They only ask that we DO NOT share the log-in information and that we DO only share the lesson URL with students and families.

• Teacher Observations – Now that we actually have children in the building, I’m going to start teacher observations. For teachers on the observation cycle this year, I’ll start with informal observations and later this week will email a proposed date & time for formal observations. For the second informal observation, I may just do an async Seesaw lesson, which won’t require anything on the part of teachers.

• District Admin Updates – Principal shuffling season has begun. The Adams principal, Teresa Martindale, is moving to be the principal at Family School, and the Family School/Chinese Immersion School principal, Jen Hebard, is following Chinese Immersion for when they relocate to Kennedy Middle School next year. Chris Benz, the current assistant principal at Kennedy MS, will be the new principal at Adams. For full details, see this email, which includes some secondary principal appointments of interim principals who are now permanent and some assistant principal shifts.

• COVID-19 Surveillance Project – Would you like to find out if you have Covid-19 antibodies now and again this summer? Linked here is an opportunity through the Oregon Health Authority to do a prick test to learn about your antibody load and help OHA learn more about Covid-19 antibodies around Oregon. 

• “Why teachers should “go slow to go fast” – Despite pressures to focus on rigor and academic progress over the past year, educators should take time to rebuild relationships, establish communities and make connections, asserts the author of this EdSurge Opinion Piece. In this commentary, they suggest educators “go slow to go fast” and assert these foundations for learning will improve outcomes for students.

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

April 12 (M)
1:30-3:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)

April 13 (T)
2:30-3:15, Allan to Referral Review Meeting
6:30, Holt Kindergarten Orientation for Fall (Zoom)

April 14 (W)
8:15-9:00, Virtual Coffee w/the Principal (Zoom)
9:00-11:00, Allan to Elem Pool Interviews (Zoom)
12:30, Lunch Bunch w/Ms. Darla (Zoom)
1:40-2:40, Leadership Meeting (Library & Zoom)

April 15 (H)
1:30-3:30, CLC EA Interviews (Zoom)

April 16 (F)
Regular Day

April 19 (M)
National Volunteer Appreciation Week
4:00-5:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

April 20 (T)
Regular Day

April 21 (W)
Administrative Professionals’ Day
8:30-9:00, Student Council (Zoom)
9:00-9:45, Virtual Coffee w/the Principal (Zoom)
9:30-10:00, KG Data Team – Tier 3
10:40-11:10, 1st Grade Data Team – Tier 3
12:00-12:30, 2nd Grade Data Team – Tier 3
12:30, Lunch Bunch w/Ms. Darla (Zoom)
1:40-2:40, Staff Meeting (Library & Zoom)
2:40-4:00, PD/PLC Time – SEL – Anti-Racism Training

April 22 (H)
Take Our Daughters & Sons to Work Day
3:00-7:00, Allan to Job Expo (Zoom)

April 23 (F)
7:30-8:30, Allan to 4JMAPS Board Meeting (Zoom)

Have a good week, everyone!

Allan

 

March 9, 2020

By Allan  |  2020/03/07 22:31 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Arts, Equity, Grants, Literacy, Technology, Video  |  Comments Off on March 9, 2020

 

Howdy Roadrunners,

You may have lost an hour this weekend, but this will cheer you up. There’s only two weeks until spring break!

Thirteen items of note for this week:

• 2020-2021 Staffing Updates – We have tentatively received an additional 1.5 licensed FTE from SIA (Student Investment Act, formerly SSA) funds. This is tentative pending final board approval and then approval by the state, but downtown is comfortable sharing these draft allocations. Principals will submit two staffing plans. One with SIA staffing and one without. I shared last week this FTE can be used for:

• Facilitating teacher for a “walk to read” model for grades 1 & 2

• Class size reduction for a single grade (grades 1 or 2)

• Class size reduction with blended grades(1/2 blend)

• Limited use for reading intervention

I shared with EA Supervisors and Licensed Specialists on Friday the two plans that incorporate this 1.5 FTE, adding a class at 1st grade and adding 0.5 FTE to 2nd grade for walk to read. The difference between the two plans is 3rd or 5th grade getting the fourth classroom.

SIA PLAN 1: Four classes at 1st, 4th, 5th
K – 25, 25, 25
1 – 19, 20, 20, 20 (SIA 1.0 FTE)
2 – 21, 22, 22, 0.5 facilitating (0.5 SIA FTE)
3 – 26, 26, 27
4 – 21, 21, 21, 22
5 – 20, 20, 20, 21

SIA PLAN 2: Four classes at 1st, 3rd, 4th
K – 25, 25, 25
1 – 19, 20, 20, 20 (SIA 1.0 FTE)
2 – 21, 22, 22, 0.5 facilitating (0.5 SIA FTE)
3 – 19, 20, 20, 20
4 – 21, 21, 21, 22
5 – 27, 27, 27

This brings our total classroom count to what we have this school year, with 21 full-time gen ed classrooms. I’ll continue meeting with grade levels this week for input on these plans, but also feel free to email or talk in person with me if you’d like to share you thoughts on these or other potential scenarios for next school year.

Outside of classroom staff, we’re still waiting on ESSA, ESC, and the Student Behavior Support Coordinator allocations, which leaves our classified and non-classroom licensed positions a bit up in the air. I will update staff on this as soon as I get more information.

• 4J Coronavirus FAQs and NASP Talking to Kids about COVID-19 – Principals and secretaries were sent the linked Coronavirus COVID-19 Talking Points for when we encounter questions from families and I thought all staff might find this useful if you have anyone ask you about this. Should students want to discuss Coronavirus, linked here is a document from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) on Talking to Children About COVID-19, though the short version is to:

• Remain calm and reassuring
• Make yourself available
• Avoid excessive blaming
• Maintain a normal routine to the extent possible
• Be honest and accurate
• Know the symptoms of COVID-19
• Review and model basic hygiene
• Discuss new rules or practices at school

 

 

• REPEAT: March PTO Meeting, TUESDAY – This Tuesday at 6:00 in the Community Room is the March PTO meeting if any staff are able to attend.

• REPEAT: Literacy Night, Thursday – See last week’s announcements for details on Literacy Night. The schedule wasn’t on the flyer, so teachers should let students know the schedule for the evening:

5:30-6:00: FREE Pizza & Cookies (Cafeteria)
6:00-6:45: Visit Classrooms
6:30-8:00: Book Fair Open

Talk Literacy Night up to your students and get them pumped to attend!

• REPEAT: Literacy Night Staff Dinner – We’ll have a variety of pizzas and salads from Mezza Luna and also drinks for any staff working this evening.

• REPEAT: Classified Staff Help at Literacy Night – We could still use some more help on Literacy Night, 5:00-6:30ish. We can use help with setting up drinks, serving pizza, and then with clean-up. Trade time is available, which could be used the next day on Friday’s PD Day. Let me or Corianne know if any of you are available to help!

• CORRECTION: FRIDAY PD Day Info – Oops! I had the locations flipped for K-2/Music/PE and 3-5/SPED/Title, but the correct locations are on the schedule below. See the March 13 PD Email for details, but the short version is:

8:00-10:30: Licensed Tech PD
Grades K-2/Music/PE(Holt)
Grades 3-5/SPED/Title(Gilham)
8:00-10:30: Classified PD (Chavez & ATA)
10:30-1:30: Travel time, lunch, prep time
1:30-4:00: Behavior Framework (Howard Cafeteria)

Linked here is a complete list of the K-12 PD Sessions for March 13, 2020. Classified need to register for trainings on TalentEd Develop (TED). Linked here are the TED Registration Directions.

My preference for part-time staff, both licensed and classified, would be for you to come to the afternoon training here at Howard if you can adjust your hours, but part-time staff can decide.

• Fun Friday! – Book Character Day, 3/20 – Not this week, but the last day before spring break is the March Fun Friday and it’s Book Character Day! Who will you dress as? Hermione Granger, Waldo, Katniss, Arthur, that mouse with the cookie, Khaleesi, Ignatius J. Reilly, Hester Prynne, or maybe just stick a Dr. Seuss Wocket in your pocket and call it good. Sooooo many fun choices! There’s a lot of great ideas here and here. I’ll dress like McMurphy if anyone wants to dress like Nurse Ratched! That or maybe we can get a group to go as Alex and his Droogs. I’m sure the kids would love it. ;)

• Roadrunner Awards Assembly, 3/20 – Not this week, but next week is the March Roadrunner Awards Assembly. The planned mid-show entertainment will be a Siegfried & Roy-like magic performance by Matt and myself if we can pull it off. See the linked Roadrunner Awards Assembly Map for details and teachers should get your awards to me to sign by the end of the week.

• 2020 ACE Award Nominations – It’sACE Awards& season! Howard has exceptional staff and volunteers who make a difference for students every day and are worthy of recognition. Now is the time to recognize them! Nominations can be made in five categories: teachers and licensed specialists, administrators and supervisors, classified staff, volunteers, and a special lifetime achievement award. Nominations are due by March 31st. Going by past experience, winners are usually selected when a staff gets together to nominate an individual with a flood of nominations, so let me know if staff want to coordinate anything. Linked here is the ACE Awards Email and the ACE Awards Nomination Google Form. One thought for the volunteer category would be to nominate Bruce “The Gardner” Campbell. Feel free to join me in nominating Bruce, but we can start a campaign to nominate others Howard folks as well!

• EEF Grant Proposals Due to Allan, April 27 – EEF Grant Applications are now open and grants need to be given to me by April 27th for Site Council to rank order our grant submissions. I don’t need the grant completely written out, but if you can give me a title and general idea of the grant, that’s enough for us to rank order them. The date to submit the completed grants is May 8th. Linked here is the EEF Email Sent to Principals, the 2020-2021 Grant Application Website, and here is the 2020-2021 EEF Grant Application. We can submit up to five grants in any amount up to $5,000 per application. EEF has modified their EEF guiding principles for grant funding to:

– EEF supports educational enrichment programs throughout 4J.
– EEF aligns its resources to help schools achieve their goals.
– EEF supports district-wide strategic initiatives.
– EEF values equity in educational programming and opportunities.
– EEF rewards exceptional and innovative ideas.

Additionally, EEF prioritizes requests that support educational enrichment, equity and/or access programs, and that impact the largest number of students possible. They are focused on the areas of:

• Literacy
• Arts
• STEM (Science, Engineering, Technology, & Math)
• Career/Technical Education (CTE)

Let me know if you have any questions, want to bounce ideas off of someone, or would like help writing a grant.

• May/June Artist in Residence Schedule – Linked here is the Spring Artist in Residence Schedule, May 4 – June 5, for Bugs, Bones, & Botany: Exploring the Natural World Through Arts with artist Jess Graff. Mellissa cleaned up my previous draft schedule so it doesn’t interfere with OSAS testing, assemblies, and known field trips, but let us know if you spot any potential conflicts.

• Brevity is key to writing an effective email – Keeping your message brief and to the point is proper etiquette when writing an email. See this Forge Article for some other pointers for writing an email that others will want to read. (FYI – The irony of me sharing this in my long weekly announcements is not lost upon me, but hopefully the bolded headings make this a faster read for people when deciding which items apply to you.)

• Love Them First: Lessons From Lucy Laney Elementary – I haven’t watched the entire video yet, but what I saw was pretty great if you didn’t catch this in the latest 4J Office of Equity Update. You will be hooked in after the first few seconds – … leading with your heart, building relationships, holding students to high expectations but starting with “loving them first.”

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

March 9 (M)
PTO Read-A-Thon Continues
8:00-6:00, Book Fair Open (Library)
9:10-10:25, Human Growth & Development, Rock & Calliahan (STEAM Room)
11:00-12:15, Human Growth & Development, Cortez & Carpenter (STEAM Room)
11:55-12:15, Allan & 4th Team – Staffing Input (Upstairs Green Wing)
2:45-3:05, Allan & 2nd Team – Staffing Input (Ashley’s Room, RM25)
3:30-3:30, Allan & 3rd Team – Staffing Input (Allison’s Room, RM20)

March 10 (T)
8:00-6:00, Book Fair Open (Library)
9:00-10:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)
9:10-10:25, Human Growth & Development, Rock & Calliahan (STEAM Room)
11:00-12:15, Human Growth & Development, Cortez & Carpenter (STEAM Room)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Mellissa’s Room, RM26)
2:45-3:45, Allan to IEP Meeting (Allison’s Room, RM20)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Community Room)

March 11 (W)
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
8:00-6:00, Book Fair Open (Library)
9:10-10:25, Human Growth & Development, Rock & Calliahan (STEAM Room)
10:00-10:30, Allan Covering a Classroom
11:00-12:15, Human Growth & Development, Cortez & Carpenter (STEAM Room)
2:45-3:05, Allan & KG Team – Staffing Input (Robin’s Room, RM3)
3:30-3:30, Allan & 1st Team – Staffing Input (Jasmine’s Room, RM11)

March 12 (H)
Newsletter Articles Due
8:00-5:00, Book Fair Open (Library)
8:10-8:55, BSU Meeting (STEAM Room)
9:00, February Monthly Book Winners (Conference Room)
3:30-3:30, Allan & 5th Team – Staffing Input (Suzy’s Room, RM9)
5:00-5:30, Staff Literacy Night Dinner (Staff Room)
5:30-8:00, Literacy Night

5:30-6:00: Free Pizza & Cookies (Cafeteria)
6:00-6:45: Visit Classrooms
6:30-8:00: Book Fair Reopen

7:00-8:00, Community Forums: Student Success Act Proposed Plan (River Road)

March 13 (F)
No School – Professional Development/Planning Day
8:00-10:30, Licensed Tech PD
Grades K-2/Music/PE(Holt)
Grades 3-5/SPED/Title(Gilham)
8:00-10:30, Classified PD (Chavez & ATA)
10:30-1:30, Travel time, lunch, prep time
1:30-4:00, Behavior Framework (Howard Cafeteria)

March 14 (SA)
9:00-12:00, OBOB Regional Battles (North Eugene High School)

March 16 (M)
PTO Read-A-Thon Continues
8:15, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Conference Room)
9:00-11:15, Lawson to Museum of Natural and Cultural History

March 17 (T)
St Patrick’s Day
9:00-11:15, Niccum to Museum of Natural and Cultural History
2:45-3:30, PBIS Meeting (R&R Room, RM21)

March 18 (W)
9:00-11:15, Charpie to Museum of Natural and Cultural History
2:30-3:25, Ukulele Ensemble Performance (Lone Oak Assisted Living)

March 19 (H)
8:50-2:10, Kreider to Museum of Natural and Cultural History
2:45-3:30, TLT Meeting/Tech Training (Angela’s Room, RM24)

March 20 (F)
Fun Friday! – Book Character Day
Popcorn Friday!
8:15-8:45, K-5 Roadrunner Assembly & Tail Feather Reward (Gym)
10:30-12:45, Birthday Lunches With the Principal (Community Room)
2:30-3:30, Early Release PD – PLC (Library)

March 21 – 29
Spring Break

March 30 (M)
Classes Resume
EEF Grants Due to Allan
Cafeteria Waste System Training (Composting) Begins

We can do this! Spring break is almost here!

Allan

 

February 17, 2020

By Allan  |  2020/02/15 18:05 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Arts, Equity, P.D., Video  |  Comments Off on February 17, 2020

 

Hi All,

Hope you all enjoyed your 3-day weekend!

Eighteen items of note for this week:

• Staff Needed for Outdoor School – We are looking for additional classified and licensed staff interested in helping at this year’s 5th grade Outdoor School happening April 22, 23, & 24. Extended contract is available for both classified and licensed staff. Subs will be provided to cover for staff here at school while you’re at camp. Outdoor School is overnight this year, but the hours you work are flexible. We can use help during the day, we can use help by people simply be on-site in evenings 6:00 until morning, as well as people who’d like to stay at camp overnight and help all three days. Kids are going to Sky Camp, which is a pretty cool spot that I’ve attended in the past when I was principal at Corridor. Let me know if any staff are interested and/or willing to help out with this fun activity.

• PTO Meeting Notes – Linked here is the February PTO Slide Show, but here are a couple items of note:

• Dickie Jo’s & Dickie Yo’s Fundraiser WED & THURS – Please remind kids about the PTO Dinner Out Fundraiser this Wednesday & Thursday at Dickie Jo’s and Dickie Yo’s by Valley River Center. Bring a printed or digital copy of the Fundraiser Flyer and let kids know that the flyer also includes a FREE desert!

• Readathon Feb. 28 – Mar. 16 – It’s shorter this year, but will operate similarly to last year. There will be weekly drawings for participating students. There will also be individual prizes.

• Budget Updates – Popcorn income is at $847.69 and expenses are at $263.67. The PTO is at $750 income for restaurant fundraisers!

• REPEAT: Classified Self Evaluations Due Feb. 28th – Classified Staff Self Evaluations are due by February 28th. They now need to be completed online using TalentEd. Your login is your full email (username@4j.lane.edu) and your password is your regular email password. Let me know if you need any help or have any questions.

• REPEAT: Fun Friday! – Superhero Day, FRIDAY – This Friday is a Fun Friday and it’s Superhero Day! Remind you students and get them pumped and also get your outfit planned so you can join in on the fun.

 

• REPEAT: Roadrunner Awards Assembly, FRIDAY – This Friday is the February Roadrunner Awards Assembly. The planned mid-show entertainment will be a special Roadrunner Award for Bruce the Gardner. See Mellissa’s email for details and the linked Assembly Map.

• Friday Early Release PD – This Friday’s Early Release PD is designated as a PLC work session session and the following week we’ll have our PLC team meetings with roving subs, so this Friday bring your math “things” and come prepared for your team to continue to dig into LearnZillion and math instruction.

• REPEAT: Student Care Team Referrals Due FRIDAY – The Student Care Team is next week, so referrals to the team are due this Friday. Try to get a signature on the 4J Release Form (English & Spanish).

• February Fire Drill, 2/25 – We’ll plan on holding our February fire drill Tuesday, February 25th at 1:15. If it’s raining, we’ll try again the next day at the same time.

• PLC Meetings Next Week – Not this week, but next week is our next PLC meetings with roving subs, so please plan accordingly.

WEDNESDAY
Kinder 11:10-12:10
3rd Grade 12:20-1:20
5th Grade 1:30-2:30

THURSDAY
2nd 8:10-9:10
1st 9:30-10:30
4th 10:55-11:55

• Storytelling Assembly, 2/28 – Not this week, but Friday next week will be the Lane Arts Storytelling Assemblies with Noah McLain Philpot, who was one of our Artists in Residence last year. The first assembly for K-2 is 8:10-8:45 and the grade 3-5 assembly is 8:55-9:30. Linked here is the Assembly Map & Directions.

• Love Food Not Waste Program – Howard is one of six elementary schools who haven’t yet started the new cafeteria food waste collection, but we’ll be starting program the week of March 30-April 3. This will involve a school wide in class viewing of the Love Food Not Waste video followed by 3-5 days of student cafeteria training led by 4J staff and trained community volunteers. Schools will be get more information later, but I wanted staff to be aware this is coming. See the linked email for additional information.

• March Meetings Flip-Flop – To adjust for OSAS trainings, I’m flip flopping the March Staff Meeting and Marth PBIS Meeting, so the PBIS Meeting will be Tuesday, March 17th and the Staff Meeting will follow spring break on March 31st, which is when we’ll hold part one of our annual OSAS Training. Part two of the OSAS training will be held during the Early Release PD that same week on Friday, March 3rd.

• Native Families Event, Wednesday – Late notice on this, but principals were emailed on Friday about an outreach effort to Native Families for this event. An important component at the event will be the “Listening Circles” for Native students and adults to talk about their experiences with schools, and education. Linked here is an Event Flyer.

• Staffing Timeline for 2020-2021 – HR will distribute staffing to principals this Wednesday. If you’re interested, linked here is the Staffing Timeline for 2020-2021 for both classified and licensed staffing processes. This includes dates for when staffing plans are due, temporary hire staff notifications, displacement timelines, Job Expo dates, and other staffing minutia.

• Simple Ways to Encourage Kindness in Students of All Ages – With Random Acts of Kindness Day this Monday, here are five easy ways to promote kindness across all age groups. See this Edutopia Article for five simple ways to bring both planned and totally random gestures of decency to your classroom this week and well beyond.

• Culturally Responsive Schools – In U.S. school culture, some researchers find a hidden curriculum of white, middle-class values rather than classrooms receptive to all learners. What happens when educators reframe cultural differences as strengths that they intentionally embed in all aspects of learning? This issue of ASCD Express features a host of articles that include strategies for applying culturally responsive approaches to curriculum and instruction, classroom management and discipline, and school leadership.

• Oscar-winning animated short film, Hair Love – From Matthew A. Cherry, this short film tells the heartfelt story of an African American father learning to do his daughter’s hair for the first time.

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

February 17 (M)
No School – Presidents Day
Random Acts of Kindness Day

February 18 (T)
9:15-11:30, Allan to Elem. Principals’ Meeting – Gaston Covering (Ed Center)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Charissa’s Room, RM17)

February 19 (W)
2020-2021 Staffing Allocations Released
Newsletter Articles Due
11:00-9:00, PTO Dickie Jo’s & Dickie Yo’s Fundraiser – Bring a Flyer!

February 20 (H)
11:00-9:00, PTO Dickie Jo’s & Dickie Yo’s Fundraiser – Bring a Flyer!

February 21 (F)
Popcorn Friday!
Fun Friday! – Superhero Day
8:15-8:40, K-5 Roadrunner Assembly & Tail Feather Reward
1:30-2:30, Allan to IEP Meeting (Conference Room)
2:30-3:30, Early Release PD – OSAS/PLC (Library)

February 24 (M)
Regular Day

February 25 (T)
1:15, Fire Drill
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Mellissa’s Room, RM26)

February 26 (W)
Ash Wednesday (avoid scheduling schoolwide events)
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
11:10-2:30, PLC Meetings (Conference Room)

Kinder 11:10-12:10
3rd Grade 12:20-1:20
5th Grade 1:30-2:30

2:45-3:30, Care Team Meeting (Conference Room)
4:00-8:00, District First Aid Class (Library)

February 27 (H)
8:10-8:55, BSU Meeting (STEAM Room)
8:10-11:55, PLC Meetings (Conference Room)

2nd Grade 8:10-9:10
1st Grade 9:30-10:30
4th Grade 10:55-11:55

2:45-3:30, TLT Meeting/Training (Angela’s Room, RM24)
2:45-3:45, Allan to IEP Meeting (Conference Room)

February 28 (F)
PTO Read-A-Thon Begins
8:10-8:45, Storytelling Assembly, K-2 (Gym)
8:55-9:30, Storytelling Assembly, 3-5 (Gym)
10:30-12:30, February Birthday Lunches With the Principal (Community Room & Library)
12:00-1:00, Human Growth & Development Parent Preview (Community Room)
2:30-3:30, Early Release PD – Building Based PD (Library)

February 29 (SA)
10:00-1:00, UO Eugene Math Festival (MacArthur Court)

See you Tuesday!

Allan

November 18, 2019

By Allan  |  2019/11/16 15:28 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Arts, Equity, P.D., SEL, Technology, Video  |  Comments Off on November 18, 2019

 

Hello My Friends!

Be sure to fill out the Howard Shirt Staff Order Form by Friday! The PTO was able to secure donations from Moir Construction (Howard parent), Evergreen Roofing, and Deborah Coelho Gordon, Realtor (Howard grandparent) to fund staff and student shirts.

Eighteen items of note for this week:

• Fire Drill, Friday @8:50 – The November Fire Drill will be this Friday at 8:50. Hopefully the weather cooperates, but this is one of our few windows of opportunity where we can do the drill and not step on any Music, PE, or recess times.

• CLC EA Interviews Thursday – Katie, Rebecca, and I will be conducting interviews for our new CLC EA position this Thursday at 2:45 if any other staff are interested in joining. Just let me know and I’ll print you an interview packet.

• Help With Hoods – It’s a school rule that hoods are not to be worn indoors, so if you spot students with their hoods up or even halfway up, remind them of the rule and have them put their hood down. It’s important that everyone is consistent on this rule.

• UPDATE: Erin’s Law & Second Step Child Safety Unit – I mentioned in last week’s announcements that to meet the Erin’s Law state requirements, teachers must cover Lessons 1-4 of the Second Step Child Protection Unit this fall. A few teachers asked Matt to teach the lessons, as some school counselors did last year, but the expectation this year is that classroom teachers provide the instruction.

• Use Instaprint for Journeys Printing – If grade levels are doing any ELA related printing from Journeys, please try to place your orders though Instaprint. There is a district account that can pay for these orders, which will help us offset increased paper costs we’re facing this year. Just note “Journeys” on your InstaPrint order forms. Let me know if you have any questions on this.

• Thanksgiving Classroom Reminder – As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to send out my annual reminder regarding how Thanksgiving is taught in classrooms. Keep in mind that student perceptions of Native Americans often come from classroom activities around the “FirstmThanksgiving.” The conception of Native Americans gained from such early exposure is often both inaccurate and potentially damaging. When planning activities, be aware that what most of us learned in school about the “Pilgrims” and “Squanto” and the “First & Thanksgiving” is a mixture of both history and myth. Thanksgiving activities should avoid reinforcing historical myths and should avoid stereotypes (ie. NO warbonnets). It’s best to shift the focus away from the “First Thanksgiving” and instead focus on items children can be thankful for in their own lives and on their families’ celebrations of Thanksgiving. Some resources on what to avoid and what to teach can be found at Teaching Tolerance and Education World. Here is a good article with a Native American Perspective on Thanksgiving as well as one on The True Story of the First Thanksgiving. Also, the 4J Natives Program is available for classroom presentations year-round and can offer an accurate picture of Native American culture.

• PTO Meeting Updates – Linked here is the November PTO Meeting Slide Show and below are a few highlights:

• Family Night: Fun with Science – The evening of January 10th will be a PTO Family Night that will include stations with science themed activities for families to work on together.

• Tech Trot Update – We earned $5688.41 and the winner of the Superhero Party is… Ms. Silver’s class!

• Fundraising Opportunities – Several upcoming opportunities to remember and promote with students and families:

• Valley River Center School Cents – Help Howard earn up to $2,000 by shopping, dining or watching a movie at Valley River Center October 1 – March 31 with the VRC School Cents Program. Save your receipts and drop them off in the receipt collection box in the office.

• Bottle Drop – Collect cans and bottle in Howard Elementary PTO Bottle Drop Bags. There is one in the Staff Room and another for families.

• Duer’s ATA – Bring $49.00 for 1-month of unlimitied lessons at Duer’s ATA and 100% of the proceeds goes to the Howard PTO.

• Christmas Tree Fundraiser – Buy your Christmas tree at Spring Creek Holly Farm on McKenzie Highway and 50% of the proceeds will be donated to Howard.

• Holiday Bazaar – Saturday, Dec. 7th, 9:00-2:00 will be the annual Howard Holiday Bazaar, which this year is being run by Ashley Pond instead of being run by the PTO run.

• Hot Mama’s Wings Fundraiser 12/17 – Eat at at Hot Mama’s Wings on Thursday, Dec. 17th and earn money for Howard!

• Beep Beeps Drawing Change – Teachers, please put your Beep, Beep winner into my mailbox by Wednesday morning for the Beep, Beep Drawing. This will save time carting the jars back and forth and can also give teachers some control over winners (not that the drawing is rigged, right?).

• Student Success Act (SSA) Community Forums, Phase 2 – I attended last week’s SSA Staff Input Forum at North HS (not so well attended) and this week downtown is starting the Community SSA Forums which staff may attend as well. If you’d like your say in how this money is or is not spent, you get to spend green dots in support of the top items to surface from the first round of forums, survey, and focus groups (I spent my dots mostly on reducing class size) and red dots for proposals you do not support (I spent some of these too), you can attend one of the four meetings starting this week:

• November 19 (T), 5:30–6:30 p.m., Churchill High School (English)
• November 19 (T), 7–8 p.m., Churchill High School (Spanish)
• November 21 (H), 7–8 p.m., North Eugene High School
• November 25 (M), 5:30–6:30 p.m., South Eugene High School

• REPEAT: 2019-2020 Mandatory Elementary School Bus Safety Training – Gold start to Callihan, Chunn, Cortez, Corliss, Niccum, and Rock for already completing this! As required by OAR 581-53-002, all students must receive instructions on bus safety before the end of December 2019. Linked here i an updated Bus Training Info Sheet (English and Spanish) which can be used to help with bus safety instruction, but all classroom teachers need to do is show one of two 12-minute bus safety videos (the Newer Bus Evacuation Training Video or the quaint 1990s classic The Safest Way Out) and then tell Lori the date you showed it.

• Leadership Plan Not Approved – JCAC did not approve our leadership plan and I’ll meet with HR this Wednesday for guidance as to why and what needs to change for our plan. I’ll let licensed staff know more once I have more info.

• Hour of Code 2019 is Coming! – The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify “code”, to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts. Check out the tutorials and activities at Hour of Code, Computer Science Education Week, Khan Academy, and these Edutopia Articles. If you have any favorite coding links you’d like me to add to the “Links for Learners” on the Howard website, just let me know.

• Friday Early Release PD – This Friday’s Early Release PD is designated as building goals. A request out of Data Team was to provide a Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Training for 1st and 2nd grade teachers (others are invited to attend as well). Howard’s Staff Development Specialist, Rebecca Boyd, will lead the training in the library starting at 2:30. Grades 3-5 and any KG teachers who have already attended the training can use this time for any unfinished PLC work.

• Playground Sketches – I’m sharing this is partly for fun, but I can also see it being useful for a number of purposes, but Jeff made a hand drawn sketch of our playground (Black & White and Colored Playground Zones), which could be used by staff however you see fit (PBIS, investigating incidents, reviewing other logistics, etc.).

• 2019 Winter Holiday Resource – Linked here, and also on the front page of the Howard website, in English and Spanish, is a document listing Winter Holiday Resources. This contains information regarding holiday food boxes, meal sites, and gift programs. We’ll share this in the December school newsletter and on social media, but staff can feel free to pass this along to individual families as well.

• UPDATE: Artist in Residence Video Info & Schedule – Our artist, Rachell Jarvis, has asked teachers to have this Linked Video ready to show during your first session. Also, linked here is an Updated Artist in Residence Schedule, which effected folks already are aware.

• Responding Calmly to Upset Parents – When an angry email shows up in the inbox, it can be tempting to respond in kind. See this Edutopia Article for five tips from a middle school principal lead to better responses. #4 is my favorite bit of advice, which is “Pick up the phone instead of sending an email.” but the others are good as well, which include Sleep on it, Take a walk, Phone a friend before you hit send, and Let it go.

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

November 18 (M)
Roadrunner Tail Feather Challenge Continues
Artist in Residence – Glass-Fusing Fun! w/Rachell Jarvis Continues
8:45-2:00, 3rd Grade Salmon Trip (Lawson/Peterson & Niccum)
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elementary Principal Meeting (Ed Center)

November 19 (T)
8:10, Allan to Formal Observation
8:45-2:00, 3rd Grade Salmon Trip (Kreider & Charpie)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Natalie’s Room, RM18)

November 20 (W)
Newsletter Articles Due
8:10-8:40, 3rd Grade Classical Spark Assembly (Gym)
11:10-2:25, PLC Meetings (KG, 3rd, 5th)

KG, 11:10-12:10
3rd Grade, 12:20-1:20
5th Grade, 1:30-2:25

November 21 (H)
8:10-11:55, PLC Meetings (2nd, 1st, 4th)

2nd 8:10-9:10
1st 9:30-10:30
4th 10:55-11:55

2:45-3:30, TLT Meeting/PD (Angela’s Room, RM24)
2:45-4:00, CLC EA Interviews (Conference Room)

November 22 (F)
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting
8:50, Fire Drill
10:30-12:40, November Birthday Lunches With the Principal (Community Room)
2:30-3:30, Early Release PD – Heggerty (1/2), PLC (KG/2/3/4/5)

November 25 (M)
Artist in Residence – Glass-Fusing Fun! w/Rachell Jarvis Continues
8:10, Allan to Formal Observation
10:30, Junior Achievement Presentation (Kreider)
2:30-3:30, Allan to IEP Meeting (Conference Room)

November 26 (T)
8:15-11:30, Allan to Elementary Principal Meeting – Gaston Covering (Ed Center)
8:10, Native Presentation (Native Food) – Cortez & Carpenter (STEAM Room)
9:25, Native Presentation (Native Food) – Rock & Callihan (STEAM Room)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Matt’s Room, RM21)

November 27 (W)
United Way Pledge Forms Due
8:10-8:35, K-5 Roadrunner Assembly & Tail Feather Reward (Gym)
1:15-2:00, Tailfeather Incentive Movie Day Reward (Classrooms)

November 28 (H)
No School — Thanksgiving Break

November 29 (F)
No School — Thanksgiving Break

Get ready for our one 5-day week of the month!

Allan

November 4, 2019

By Allan  |  2019/11/02 18:39 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Arts, P.D.  |  Comments Off on November 4, 2019

 

Greetings Everyone,

If you have any leftover Halloween candy you’re looking to get rid of, the giant community candy dish in my office will gladly take them off your hands.

Fourteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Please welcome Kaitlyn Michlanski as our latest new kindergarten teacher. Kaitlyn did her student teaching at Holt in a Kindergarten classroom and was also in the same UO Teacher Ed Program cohort at Savannah and Megan. Kaitlyn’s first official day will be Wednesday, setting up her classroom up that day and during conferences, and starting with students the following week.

We’ve also posted for an additional 6-hour CLC EA position that was approved last week, which should get posted this week, so if you know of any good candidates out there or folks with fewer six hours looking for more time, let them know they should apply.

In other staffing new, I’m also working with downtown to get support for our Music and PE specialists who now have the largest class load in all of 4J. There’s almost no flexibility in the schedule for rescheduling missed preps, so we’ll be relying on extended contract for either classroom teachers or specialists if we can’t reschedule any missed preps.

• Tailfeather Incentive starts MONDAY – See Mellissa’s Email for details, but remember to be on the lookout for positive class behaviors and shower those classes with tailfeathers from November 4 – 22, culminating in a movie day reward a the end of the day on the last day before Thanksgiving Break, Wednesday, November 27th.

• REPEAT: EA Extravaganza Nov. 7th – For classifieds staff, Conference Days are regular work days. See Marlee Litten’s Email and Directions for a list of the workshop opportunities as well as the registration instructions. Follow this Registration Link and do a search for “K-8 EA PD.”

• REPEAT: Conferences Notes – A few key reminders about conferences this week:

• Student Profile Sheets – Teachers, have families review and update Student Profile Sheets.

• Parent Report Update – Parent reports will be delivered to teachers once they are available.

• Title 1 Compacts – Please remember the following:

1. You sign the Teacher section
2. You have the students read (or you read it to them) the Student section
3. You have parents/guardians sign their section at conferences
4. If a Compact is in Spanish (the student’s name is at the top on that side), please sign the Teacher section and have the student sign their section on the Spanish side. This is helpful for the parents when they get sent home.
5. DO NOT SEND COMPACTS HOME WITH STUDENTS!!!

For “no-show”, give Corianne the Compact with your signature and the student’s signature.

• Allan Available for Conferences – Let me know if you’d like me to join you for any of your conferences.

• PTO Provided Dinners – Soups and Salads will be here Wednesday night and on Thursday there will be PF Changs for lunch and a separate dinner provided.

• UPDATED: Artist in Residence Schedule – Linked here is the Updated Schedule for the Fall Artist in Residence (Glass fusing Fun! with Rachell Jarvis), which starts this week. Several adjustments were made, but classrooms effected already know. And linked linked here is a Draft Schedule for the Spring Artiest in Residence (Bugs, Bones, & Botany: Exploring the Natural World Through Arts with Jess Graff) from May 4 – June 5.

• PTO Meeting, Tuesday, Nov. 12 – Not this week, but next week on Tuesday, November 12th at 6:00 will be the November PTO Meeting if any staff are able to volunteer their time to show support for the work of our PTO Board members.

• PTO MOD Pizza Fundraiser, Thursday, Nov. 14 – Also next week will be the November PTO Resturant Fundraiser and this month it’s at MOD Pizza on Coburg Road. I try to limit my carbs so my meal of choice at MOD is to do the MOD Salad, where you get to go through all of their pizza toppings and choose which ones you want to go into a big ol’ salad!

• Fun Friday! – Sports Day, Friday, Nov. 15 – The November Fun Friday is next week. This time it’s Sport Day, so come to school ready to celebrate your favorite team or sport. Get kids pumped and get your own attire for the big day!

• NATIVES Program Assembly, Friday, Nov. 15 – Not this Friday, but Friday next week will be a NATIVES Program Assembly. The KG/1/2 assembly will be 8:10-8:40 and the 3/4/5 assembly will be 8:50-9:20. Remember to pre-teach assembly behaviors before the assembly and remember there is a Caring School Community lesson on assembly behaviors if you’d like to use that sometime before the assembly. See the linked NATIVES Assembly Map & Directions for details.

• NAACP Tutoring Resources – If you missed this in the 4J Office of Equity Update, the NAACP offers free PreK-5th tutoring at the LCC Downtown Campus on most Saturdays. See the above link for details or visit the Eugene Springfield NAACP Website.

• Leave Information – There’s no policy change on this, but I do often get questions around leaves and when you need to fill out a leave form, so here are the basics:

1) Any employee out for more than 5 days must submit a leave request to HR – medical, family medical, bereavement, parental, military, personal, part-time and/or professional.

*Copies of the medical, non-medical, family medical and unpaid day request forms can be found on the HR Forms webpage. They can also be found on the web under HR-Leaves of Absence

2) Any bereavement leave request (even if it is less than 5 days) must be submitted using the non-medical leave request form. This is for HR to determine if it is for a qualifying family member, and if they qualify under OFLA. Bereavement leave is also paid out of a different leave bank than the employee’s own banks.

3) All documents required to complete a leave must be turned in directly to HR. This would include leave requests, medical certifications and release forms. All medical leaves must have a release to return to work before they can resume working. If they return to work without a release, they must be sent home until HR receives the release.

4) If an employee is taking any unpaid days (5 days or less), an unpaid day request form must be filled out by the employee, signed by the building supervisor (if it is supported), and turned in to HR. Please note, a building supervisor signature does not mean this type of leave will be approved by HR Admin.

5) HR will enter ALL leaves into Lawson for ALL staff who are on an approved leave. This process will take place at the conclusion of their leave. The only absences the building needs to enter will be non-leave absences, and unpaid day entries.

Please note the importance of #5. If HR and the buildings are both entering absences into Lawson, the employee could be double deducted which will mess up payroll, and their leave banks.

Please only enter absences for non-leave related days, and any approved unpaid day requests. Also, when entering absences into Aesop for staff on leave, please use the code Long Term Leave of Absence.

• Measles information from Lane County Public Health – Free measles shots for staff and dependents are available through many local pharmacies and at the 4J Wellness Clinic. This immunization will be made available to staff at the Wellness Clinic whether your healthcare coverage is through Moda Health or Kaiser Permanente. Please call 541-686-1427 to make an appointment. See the linked Health Notice for details.

• The Role of Emotion Co-Regulation in Discipline – Helping students regain their calm after misbehavior doesn’t mean there are no consequences — it ensures that the right lesson is learned. This Edutopia Article notes that it takes a calm brain to calm another brain—this co-regulation is something that students with ACEs may have missed out on. Their school can be an environment where they feel safe and connected even when they make poor choices.

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

November 4 (M)
Roadrunner Tail Feather Challenge Begins
Artist in Residence – Glass-Fusing Fun! – Rachell Jarvis Begins
2:45, Allan to IEP Meeting (Conference Room)

November 5 (T)
Regular Day

November 6 (W)
Monthly Walk + Roll to School Day
2:30-5:00, Allan to Pay Grade Evaluation Committee (Ed Center)
4:00-8:00, Parent/Teacher Conferences

November 7 (H)
8:00-4:00, K-8 EA Extravaganza & MANDT
8:00-8:00, Parent/Teacher Conferences
12:00, Allan to his kids conferences (Adams)
3:40, Allan to Conference

November 8 (F)
Teacher Comp Day – No School
Classified Staff Regular Work Day
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting

November 11 (M)
No School — Veterans Day

November 12 (T)
Roadrunner Tail Feather Challenge Continues
Artist in Residence – Glass-Fusing Fun! – Rachell Jarvis Continues
9:00-10:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Matt’s Room, RM21)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Cafeteria)

November 13 (W)
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
World Kindness Day
Picture Retakes

November 14 (H)
10:25, Allan to Formal Observation
4:00-9:00, PTO MOD Pizza Fundraiser (Coburg Road)

November 15 (F)
Fun Friday! – Sports Day
Popcorn Friday!
8:10-8:40, K-2, Natives Program Storytelling Assembly (Gym)
8:50-9:20, 3-5, Natives Program Storytelling Assembly (Gym)
2:30, Early Release PD – PLC (Library)

Have a good week, everyone, and an even better three-day weekend!

Allan

October 28, 2019

By Allan  |  2019/10/26 16:28 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Arts, Assessment, Caring for Kids, Equity, P.D.  |  Comments Off on October 28, 2019

 

Hi Everyone,

FUN FACT! This is our last full 5-day week until November 18th and the next full week after that isn’t until December!

Sixteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – We conducted interviews this past Thursday for our fourth kindergarten teacher, which will bring kindergarten class sizes down to 20, 20, 20, and 21. We’re happy with our candidate and I’ve submitted a candidate name to HR to make the job offer, so hopefully the person will be able to start as soon as possible. Timeline-wise, we’ll give the new teacher three days to set up their classroom and plan, I will notify families of students changing classrooms, and students will start the following day.

• EA Extravaganza Nov. 7th – For classifieds staff, Conference Days Nov. 7th and 8th are regular work days. See Marlee Litten’s Email and Directions for a list of the workshop opportunities as well as the registration directions. Follow this Registration Link and do a search for “K-8 EA PD.”

• Conferences Updates – Nine items of note for conferences next week:

• Student Profile Sheets – Teachers, be sure to have your families review and update contact information on the Student Profile Sheets Lori put into mailboxes.

• Parent Report Update – Parent reports are being generated and will be ready before conferences to share with families. For new folks, these include information on attendance as well as SBAC and fall benchmark scores. I’ll put these in teacher mailboxes as soon as I get them.

• Licensed Specialists Expectations – The district expectation for licensed specialists (Title, SPED, ELD, Music, PE, etc.) during conferences is they need to be working during conferences in some capacity and are to be available to families if they would like to meet. 

• Title 1 Compacts – Title 1 compacts were put in teacher mailboxes last Friday. Please remember the following:

1. You sign the Teacher section
2. You have the students read (or you read it to them) the Student section
3. You have parents/guardians sign their section at conferences
4. If a Compact is in Spanish (the student’s name is at the top on that side), please sign the Teacher section and have the student sign their section on the Spanish side. This is helpful for the parents when they get sent home.
5. DO NOT SEND COMPACTS HOME WITH STUDENTS!!!

If a conference is a “no-show”, please give me the Compact back with your signature and the student’s signature. I will get copies made and put a sticky note on it before we send it home. That way if we never get it back, we still have a record of trying.

• Allan Available for Conferences – If teachers have any tricky conferences and would like me to attend, just let me know and I’ll put it on my calendar.

• PTO Provided Dinners – Our awesome PTO is again providing dinner for staff working late during parent teacher conferences. I believe the current plan is for a “Soup Contest” along with salads and breads.

• Compensation for Large Class Sizes – Per section 10.1.9 of the contract, teachers who have greater than twenty-eight students for conference, will be compensated for one half (1/2) day at their per diem rate. Following conferences, I’ll put extended contract in teacher mailboxes for classes of 29 or more students.

• What Teachers Want Parents to Know – Here’s a nice reminder before conferences from an Edutopia article by a teacher who has worked in a variety of schools, reflecting on what teachers want parents to know:

• We care about your child’s well-being.
• We want your child to succeed.
• We know that learning is difficult.
• We know your child has other responsibilities.
• We care deeply about what we teach.

• Parent-Teacher Conference Tips from NEA – There are quite a few resources available on the NEA website to assist teachers in preparing for and conducting conferences. My own favorite advice is to just listen to parents, which is something I learned from my mentor teacher back in my student teacher days. He started every conference by saying “How do things look on your end?” which I copied and always thought was a good way for families to share whatever was on their mind, instead of me launching into my spiel and making them wait to share.

• Friday Early Release PD – This Friday’s Early Release PD is designated as PLC Meeting time. Downtown hasn’t given principals details on this yet, but I except this will be a continuation of what we worked on two weeks ago on 10/18. If that’s the case, we’ll plan to meet in the library for grade level teams to share where they are at and continue working on your Math Essential Standards document and make sure your PLC Meeting Notes are finished, especially your Next Steps section, so that we are ready for our next PLC meeting time with Rebecca.

• Artist in Residence Schedule – Linked here is the a Draft Schedule for the First Artist in Residence (Glass fusing Fun! with Rachell Jarvis) from November 4th – December 13th. The only things I held sacred on the schedules were recesses, lunches, and specialists times, but let me know if you have suggestions how to make the schedules work better or if you noticed any mistakes (I’m sure there are some). The only constraints are the artists need at least 15 minutes between sessions and are limited to no more than five classes per day, but I think the schedules worked out for the most part.

• MyOn (i.e. News-o-Matic) Access – Howard veterans will remember a great app we used to have called News-O-Matic, wgucg was purchased by MyOn. Carla wrote an EEF grant to get us a schoolwide subscription to MyOn, which we just got the funds for an submitted. I’ve uploaded students (USER: 4J email username PW: 4J six digit password) and teachers (USER: 4J email username PW: roadrunner) last week and they will hopefully be loaded soon.

If you’re not familiar with myON, it started as vast a collection of online books, which is still has, and once they purchased News-O-Matic, they deliver authentic reporting on timely topics and current events through a series of five daily news articles, 52 weeks a year. Articles are written by professional journalists and reviewed by a child psychologist for age-appropriateness. Every article is written at 3 Lexile® levels, with audio supports and engaging multimedia to further student understanding.

• Site Council Date Changes – At the Elementary Principals’ Meeting last week, principals learned that it is acceptable for Site Council groups to meet on a quarterly basis. In light of that, Site Council will meet in January, April (for EEF grant approval), and in May (end-of-year warp-up items). Some years Site Council will need to meet more often, such as last year when we worked on our 3-year school improvement plan, and there may also be times when items come up we’ll need to meet, but this makes sense given that most years Site Council has less to do in the School Improvement off-years.

• Winter Fire & Pest Control Reminders – This is your annual reminder that the risk of fire grows as temperatures drop and heating systems start to operate. 4J has had fires in the past caused by combustible materials placed too close to heating sources. With this in mind, please take the time to visually inspect that all combustible materials are at least three feet in all directions from heating sources. Even if you have a heater that doesn’t appear to run during normal operations please maintain the required clearances for materials as it might run if the building cools to a specified point overnight, over a holiday or school break. Additionally as it gets wet and cold outside the mice and rats begin looking for warmer places to hang out. This underlines the importance of pest prevention in order to provide our desired work/learning environment. We need your help to prevent pest problems by learning proper food storage techniques which can be found in the attached Integrated Pest Management (IPM) document. Please report any pest sighting or signs of a problem to your building custodian.

• REPEAT: Costume Parade Update – Linked here is the plan for the 2019 Costume Parade Directions & Map, which also includes an indoor rainy day parade route.

The Halloween Parade will start at 1:40 PM on October 31st. Classroom parties may run prior to or after the parade at the teacher discretion. At 1:40, upstairs classrooms will begin a single file line down their stairs and will pick up their downstairs buddy classrooms who will follow behind out to the field where we will parade around the track and cross the field at the 50 yard line. Here is the approximate schedule:

1:40 – Upstairs classrooms walk single file downstairs
1:45 – Downstairs buddy classrooms follow upstairs buddy classrooms
1:50 – Classes proceed single file onto the track area following the red arrows
2:10-2:20 – Classes return back to their rooms.

• Halloween Staff Photo, 2:40 in Story Cove! – Remember to keep your costumes on after school for our annual staff picture in the Library Story Cove!

 

• Student Care Team Resources – There were a few resources that were shared at last week’s Student Care Team Meeting:

• Section 8 Housing Opening Up, Nov. 12 – On Tuesday, November 12th at 8:00AM until the following Tuesday, November 19th at 4:00PM. Terra will email the flyer to Allan, who will distribute later.

• Energy Assistance – There are several energy assistant programs coming up:

• Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) – Opens Nov. 1st at 9:00 at the Eugene or Springfield office at Catholic Community Services (CCS) or go online to https://lanecounty.org/LIHEAP. In Eugene, call (541) 345-3642. In Springfield, call (541) 747-8349. Applicants need to talk to a staff member, and not leave a message to get on enrolled. To get on the list, they have to talk to a human, apply online, or enroll in person. Last year the list filled in 15 minutes. This year they are opening it up the first business day of every month
• EWEB Customer Care (ECC) – ECC is adding clients to a waiting list the first business day of the month starting at 9:00. People can apply by calling the Eugene CCS office at (541) 345-3642. going online at: https://lanecounty.org/ECC

• OLGA – Oregon Low Income Bill Assistance – NW Natural – Program is funded by Northwest Natural. This program is available to all Northwest Natural (NWN) customers who meet the income qualifications. The OLGA program provides a one-time payment that is applied directly to the applicant’s NWN account. To apply, in Eugene, call (541) 345-3642. In Springfield, call (541) 747-8349. Or visit the OLGA Website.

• Dovetail – Dovetail Project (formerly known as Project 250) was developed for integrating services provided by Department of Health and Human Services Divisions to achieve better outcomes for chronic clients (families, individuals, and veterans). Contact is Laurel O’Rouke, Social Services Liaison for Dovetail Program at Lane County Government, (541) 682-8778 or visit the Dovetail Website.

• Roseburg Therapy – Roseburg Therapy began as a provider in schools throughout Douglas County and is expanding into Eugene and Springfield school, so children can access mental health services in their school without the obstacles of parents needing to leave their jobs and children needing to leave school. More information and the referral form (under “Services”) can be found at their website: https://www.roseburgtherapy.com/

• November PBIS Focus: Appreciations – The November PBIS monthly focus is Appreciations. The PBIS team created a PBIS/CSC Cheat Sheet that matches our monthly PBIS themes with corresponding Caring School Community class meeting lessons, which is a nice way to tie the two activities together.

• United Way Annual Campaign – United Way Campaign Forms were put in staff mailboxes this past Friday. If you’d like to donate, return forms to my mailbox by Friday, November 16th. United Way of Lane County supports many Lane County community programs that assist our students and families. Linked here is the email sent to principals. You can learn more about what all they do by following the above link.

• The Power of the Positive Phone Call Home – We all know this, but this Edutopia article serves as a good reminder that calling students’ parents or guardians with good news encourages more good behavior and creates strong teacher-student bonds.

• Identity-Affirming Schools Need Race-Conscious Educators – Inclusive environments are catalysts to students’ success. In this ASCD Express Article, an equity and inclusion specialist shares four steps necessary to foster belonging and dismantle systems that marginalize students, which are:

1) The Colorblind Approach Is Damaging
2) Disproportionalities Send a Message to Students
3) Singular Stories Are Dangerous
4) Students Want to Be Heard

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

October 28 (M)
2:45-3:30, Site Council CANCELLED

October 29 (T)
8:10, Allan to Formal Observation
9:00-11:00, Jeff Out of Building at Synergy Training
9:10, Allan to Formal Observation
10:00-12:00, Allan to ESSA Planning Sessions (Office)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Matt’s Room, RM23)

October 30 (W)
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
2:45-3:30, PBIS Meeting (Ashleys Room, RM25)

October 31 (H)
1:40-2:15ish, Halloween Costume Parade
2:40, Staff Halloween Photo!

November 1 (F)
PBIS Monthly Theme – Appreciations
Popcorn Friday!
1:30, EA Supervisors’ Meeting (Title 1 Room, RM26)
2:30, Early Release PD – PLC (Library)

November 3 (SU)
Daylight Saving Time Ends

November 4 (M)
Roadrunner Tail Feather Challenge Begins
Artist in Residence – Glass-Fusing Fun! – Rachell Jarvis Begins
2:45, Allan to IEP Meeting (Conference Room)

November 5 (T)
Regular Day

November 6 (W)
2:30-5:00, Allan to Pay Grade Evaluation Committee (Ed Center)
4:00-8:00, Parent/Teacher Conferences
8:00-4:00, K-8 EA Extravaganza & MANDT

November 7 (H)
8:00-8:00, Parent/Teacher Conferences
3:40, Allan to Conference

November 8 (F)
Teacher Comp Day – No School
Classified Staff Regular Work Day
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting

November 11 (M)
No School — Veterans Day

Have a fun week of making fun school memories for kids!

Allan

October 7, 2019

By Allan  |  2019/10/05 16:35 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Arts, P.D.  |  Comments Off on October 7, 2019

Hello Crazy Busy Staff,

We only have three days with students, but this is shaping up to be a pretty busy week!

Thirteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – I emailed staff last week that Howard received 2.0 FTE for a fourth kindergarten teacher and for a 4/5 blend. We’ll conduct joint interviews for both positions this Thursday from 1:30-4:00 if anyone wants to help with interviews. We’ll have subs starting Monday helping out until someone is hired, but will wait to change classrooms until someone is officially hired, which we home will by sometime next week if HR moves quickly for us. I will personally call all students changing classrooms once we have a teacher hired. KG teachers will each move 6-7 students from each classroom to the new kindergarten teacher. Each 5th grade class will move 6 students and each 4th grade class will move 2 students to the 4/5 blend. The 4/5 blend will most likely follow the 5th grade schedule since it is almost entirely 5th graders. See the linked email to KG and 4/5 teachers for all the nitty gritty details of furniture, curriculum, and other minutia if your’e interested.

We’re also conducting KG EA interviews Tuesday, 2:35-4:00, 3-hour LC EA interviews Wednesday, 2:45-4:00, and Night Custodian interviews Friday, 2:45-4:00 if anyone would like to volunteer their time for those interviews as well.

• Busy Week’s Details! – See below for the quick version fo this week’s many events:

• Bike Rodeo, TUESDAY – After school on Tuesday on the playground from 2:25-4:00 will be the Bike Rodeo, where students are invited to learn about bike safety.

• Walk+Roll to School Day, WEDNESDAY – The first Walk + Roll to School Day THIS Wednesday, which will include the usual incentives for participation. Remember to encourage kiddos to participate!

• Tech Trot, WEDNESDAY – The PTO Tech Trot will run similarly as to in the past. Kids will run the track for 30 minutes and will collect colorful bands to keep count of their laps. Drinks and snacks will be provided at the end of each run. At the start of the run, grade levels should gather behind the balloon arch so we can start the times below:

• 8:30-9:15, Grades 2/3
• 9:30-10:15, Grades K/1
• 10:30-11:15, Grades 4/5

The PTO is also planning to distribute capes for all students, so stay tuned for details on that, and they are also seeing if a local Marvel Comics themed cosplay group will send some of their members to the event!

• Open House (formerly Curriculum Night), WEDNESDAY – Open House, formerly known as Curriculum Night, is Wednesday. Classroom and specialist areas will open 5:45-6:45, where families will collect their Pizza Tickets to redeem in the cafeteria for pizza, which will be open 6:15-7:00. There will be a Title 1 Presentation in the library at 6:00 and any families who attend will get a special Ice Cream Coupon.

• 5:45 Classrooms Open
• 6:00 Title 1 Presentation (Library)
• 6:15 Pizza Served in Cafeteria
• 6:45 Classrooms Close
• 7:00 Pizza Dinner in Cafeteria Closes

• Volunteers for Open House? – Mentioned above, any classified staff interested in accumulating trade time so you don’t have to work on Thursday or Friday, we can use folks to help set-up, serve, and clean-up at Open House 5:15-7:15. We could also use help from non-classroom licenses staff as well

• PD/Planning Day, THURSDAY – See the linked Elementary PD Oct 10 & 11 Email for details, but the schedule this day will be:

8:00-11:00, Teacher Tech Training – Licensed Only
8:00-9:00, Keynote in Gym
9:00-11:00, Breakout Sessions
11:00-12:00, Lunch & Drive Time
12:00-2:00, Behavior Framework – Classified & Licensed (Cafeteria)

Some classified staff may need to adjust your hours to attend the Behavior Framework PD from 12:00-2:00, which may be a good idea since the parking lot will be a madhouse in the morning.

Licensed staff will need to register for breakout sessions at: https://4jlane.truenorthlogic.com

• Classified Professional Learning, FRIDAY – This is a non-contract day for licensed staff, but is a regular work day for classified staff, who have a few options this day.

• Collaborative Problem Solving PD, 8:30-10:30 – Intended for elementary and middle school EAs who work with students who display behaviors that can disrupt learning (for themselves or others). If you are interested, this training requires pre-registration at: https://4jlane.truenorthlogic.com

• SafeSchools/TalentEd – Classified staff can use this time to access technology to complete SafeSchools trainings and the Self Evaluation and Goal Setting Form in TalentEd. You’ll need a newer device to use this submit your TalentEd forms, so I’d suggest borrowing one of the newer 3/4/5 student iPads.

Let me know if you have any questions on our crazy week!

• Oct. 10th Classroom Use – Below are the classrooms that will be used for Thursday’s District PD Day. Folks in these rooms should be sure to leave out your HMDI cables, audio cables, and video adapters (i.e. dongles).

Gym – For main presentation
Room 7 – Jordan Gentzkow
Room 8 – Justin Huntley
Room 9 – Kelley Wilson
Room 11 – Kalil Kantara
Room 15 – Jacque Barton
Room 16 – Geoff Parks and Liz Ayres
Room 17 – Apple presenter
Room 18 – Apple presenter
Room 19 – Apple presenter
Room 20 – Apple presenterRoom 14 – Jenny Kneale
Room 22 – Misty Jackson
Room 24 – Angela & Sarah S.
Room 25 – Kellyclare & Carly
Room 27 – Nick van Bloem
Room 28 – Jenny Groshong
Room 29 – Allan Chinn

• EA Supervisors Meeting Notes – Three items of note from last Friday’s EA Supervisors’ Meeting:

• Trade Time, Comp Time, Over Time – HR has standardized the process for approval and tracking of Trade Time and Comp Time. The process is:

1. Get Approval Before Working Over Regular Work Hours – Get administrator approval by email or in person before working over your normal work hours. If it’s an unforeseen event that made you to work over (i.e. late bus, late parent pick-up, etc.) notify administrator by the next day and document it on the new forms.

2. Complete Trade or Comp Time Form – Complete the linked Classified Trade Time Form or the separate Comp Time Form posted on the HR Forms webpage. In most cases, classified staff will use the Trade Time form (comp time is only used if you’ve been approved to work over 40 hours within the same week, which earns you time and a half). Use the above linked form to track trade hours within the same workweek.

3. Submit Form to Allan Within One Week – Forms must be submitted to me within one week of using the pre-approved trade time hours. Trade time is equal time that is intended to be exchanged within the same workweek, but if there is mutual agreement between staff and admin, trade time may be used at a later date outside of the same workweek.

More information can be found on page two of the above linked forms, but let me know if you have any questions.

• October 10th Volunteers – Mentioned above, we can still use volunteers to help serve pizza and ice cream. Families will get their pizza coupon from the classroom and ice cream coupons will be given out at the Title 1 presentation. Allan will also make sure multiple large signs are posted about attending the Title 1 Presentation for getting ice cream to hopefully avoid annoyed people wanting ice cream who didn’t attend the presentation.

• Secure Courtyard Gates After Recess – Teachers, when walking kids back to class from the playground, please remind the last student in line to make sure the courtyard gate is closed. The gate is not closing all the way on its own and we’ve had a work order in at Facilities for about a month, but they’re being incredibly slow about coming out to fix it, so in the meantime we need to make sure we’re securing the courtyard area.

• Roadrunner Award Assembly, 10/18 – Our first round of Roadrunner Awards (Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Responsible) is on October 18th, K-5. Each teacher will choose one student for each of the 3 PBIS expectations. We will present half of the awards, have a “halftime” show where teachers that want to will do a fun relay, and then present the rest of the awards. The PBIS team is meeting next week to work out details, but see the linked Assembly Map & Directions for times and where classes should be seated.

• PTO Meeting Tuesday @6:00 – The October PTO meeting is this Tuesday if any staff are able to volunteer their time to come show support for the work of this year’s parent group. So far they’ve been able to keep popcorn alive, run a well attendented movie night, and have their first big fundraiser of the year this week with the Tech Trot. Hope to see some of your Tuesday at 6:00 in the cafeteria.

• Artist in Residence Updates – We were able to get our top choices for Artist in Residence on our preferred dates. We’ll have Glass-Fusing Fun! with Rachell Jarvis November 4 – December 13 and Bugs, Bones, & Botany: Exploring the Natural World Through Arts with Jess Graff May 4 – June 5. The artists are scheduled to work with 22 classrooms (this includes Life Skills and our new KG & 4/5 classrooms) where they will meet 4 times for 45 minutes session with 15-minutes of set-up and clean-up between sessions. I’ll draft a schedule in the next couple weeks and share it in the near future.

• Fun Friday! – Favorite Color Day, 10/18 – Our first School Spirit Days is next week on Friday, October 18th and it’s Favorite Color Day! Get kids pumped and encourage them to deck themselves out in their all-time favorite color(s)!

• Howard Family Donation Site – If you didn’t see it in the news last week, one of the two bodies discovered in the river was the father of two current Howard students and one former student now in middle school. Donation info can be found on the above linked website. This mom was actually a former student when I did an undergraduate practicum at Howard.

• UO International Cultural Service Program (ICSP) – ICSP offers free presentations and classroom visits by specially trained international UO students. They can give educational and cultural presentations, participate in panel discussions, and introduce a wide array of activities such as music, dancing, storytelling, religious ceremonies, and martial arts. This year, they have 33 students from 27 different countries. You can request ICSP students to do presentations through this their Registration Website or send an email to icsp@uoregon.edu. For more information, please visit the ICSP website.

• Why fan fiction is a great tool for young writers – Students who resist creative-writing prompts in class might enjoy writing in someone else’s fictional world, a genre known as fan fiction. Researchers say the positive feedback and mentoring often present in online fan fiction communities encourage novice writers of all ages to polish their skills, while engaging in an activity that feels like play rather than work. See this Atlantic Article for more.

• The Irrefutable Case for Taking Class Outside – “Research suggests that regular contact with nature… can improve students’ physical fitness, mental health, academic achievement, and cognitive, social-emotional and motor functions.” See this EdWeek Article for details!

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

October 7 (M)
8:30-3:30, Allan to Leadership Training (LaneESD)
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elementary Principal Meeting (Ed Center)

October 8 (T)
Title 1 Groups Begin
9:00-10:30, Allan to All Administrator Meeting (Ed Center)
10:30, Jim Torrey Visiting Kreider’s Class
11:30, Allan to Formal Observation
2:25-4:00, Bike Rodeo (Playground)
2:45-3:30, PBIS Meeting (RM23)
2:45-5:30, Kindergarten EA Interviews (Conference Room)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Cafeteria)

October 9 (W)
Walk+Roll to School Day
Tech Trot

8:30-9:15, Grades 2/3
9:30-10:15, Grades K/1
10:30-11:15, Grades 4/5

8:10, Native Presentation – Cortez (STEAM Room)
9:25, Native Presentation – Rock/Callihan (STEAM Room)
1:40-2:00, 5th Grade Make-Up Recess
2:45-4:00, LC 3-Hour EA Interviews (Conference Room)
5:45-7:00, Open House (formerly Curriculum Night)

5:45 Classrooms Open
6:00 Title 1 Presentation (Library)
6:15 Pizza & Ice Cream Served in Cafeteria
6:45 Classrooms Close
7:00 Pizza Dinner in Cafeteria Closes

October 10 (H)
No School – PD/Planning Day
8:00-11:00, District Teacher Tech Training (Howard)
12:00-1:30, All Staff Behavior Framework (Cafeteria)
1:30-4:00, KG & 4/5 Interviews (Conference Room)
3:00-5:30, 4J Flu Shot Clinics (Ed Center)

October 11 (F)
No School — Statewide In-Service Day (regular work day for classified and admin)
2:30-4:15, Night Custodian Interviews (Conference Room)

October 14 (M)
Digital Citizenship Week
9:00-12:45, Kerins to Mt. Pisgah

October 15 (T)
11:15, Allan to Formal Observation
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (RM23)

October 16 (W)
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
11:15, Allan to Formal Observation
3:00-5:30, 4J Flu Shot Clinics (Ed Center)
5:45-8:45, EEA Listening Session (Library)

October 17 (H)
School Pictures

October 18 (F)
Fun Friday! – Favorite Color Day
8:10-8:35, K-5 Roadrunner Award Assembly (Gym)
9:10, Allan to Formal Observation
2:30, Early Release PD – PLC

Hope it’s a good 3-day student week for everyone!

Allan

September 16, 2019

By Allan  |  2019/09/14 16:51 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Arts, Grants, P.D., Technology  |  Comments Off on September 16, 2019

 

Howdy Roadrunners,

That was fun seeing folks at last week’s Friday at 4:00 and a big thank-you to Jenny for hosting!

Twenty-six items of note for this week:

• Friday Early Release PD & PLC Info – This Friday’s Early Release PD will be our first PLC session. Principals are to receive more information at our principal meeting on Monday regarding what we’re presenting, but I’m guessing it will be something of a review & reboot from last year and an overview of this year’s plans. On a related note, we’ll have our first grade-level PLC meetings in two weeks on 9/25 (2nd, 5th, 1st) and 9/26 (KG, 4th, 3rd) with roving subs. See the building calendar or the dates below for times.

• FREE Howard-Only First Aid & CPR Class 10/2 – I’m using building funds for staff wanting wanting to renew their First Aid & CPR cards at a Howard only training on Wednesday, October 2nd, 4:00-7:00 in the library. 4J RN Kim Roellig will teach the course. There are only 12 spots, so let me know by the end of the week if you’re interested in renewing your cards. If more there are more people than slots, I’m going to prioritize staff who work more with medically fragile students.

• 4J Kindness & Crazy Hair Day, Friday 9/27 – 4J is partnering with a citywide Kindness Challenge, holding districtwide events to highlight kindness. The first of these is Friday, September 27th, when elementary school kids all over 4J will recognize this day of kindness with kind words and CrAzY hAiR. Jordan Kent Skill Camps will award the “BEST HAIR” photo posted on social media using #crazyhairbecausewecare with a FREE admission to one of their camps. We’ll put the linked flyer in teacher mailboxes to send home this Friday.

• Say “Thank you!” to Bruce the Gardner – If you haven’t noticed the gentlemen working in front of the building and in the west courtyard this week, his name is Bruce and he’s a neighbor who complained to the Facilities department about the appalling conditions of the overgrown flower beds at our new building. He then followed up his complaint by taking things into his own hands and has committed to maintaining ALL of the flower beds in and around Howard throughout the year! Be sure to say thanks and ask students to say “Thank you!” to Bruce for volunteering his time to make our school look beautiful. Allison shared with me how she used Bruce as an example to her students as someone who is doing something kind and is not expecting anything in return, so celebrate Bruce and use him as an inspirational example to our students.

• Kindergarten EA and LC EA Postings Up – Our 5.5- hour KG EA Job Posting is up and closes Tuesday, and closing Sunday is our 3-hour Leaning Center EA Job Posting. If you know of any good candidates, please encourage them to apply.

• Enrollment Updates & Input on Class Size – Students continue to enroll and I’m continuing to advocate with downtown for additional staffing. Looking at butts-in-seats, Howard should have another teacher, not even taking into account that in prior years we’ve grown by 30-50 students from the start to the end of the year or given the level of need compared to other schools. As of Friday, we are 73 students over our projection, with 508 student enrolled (not including 18 preschoolers)

KG – 28, 27, 27
1st – 25, 24, 23
2nd – 28, 28, 27
3rd – 23, 22, 21, 20
4th – 28, 28, 27
5th – 30, 29, 29

If you’d like your voice heard regarding class sizes and funding, be sure to complete the linked Student Success Act Survey and/or attend the last Staff Input Forum (9/17, 4:15 @ATA) or one of the Community Input Forums (9/25, 7–8 @ATA, 9/26, 5:30–6:30 (English) & 7–8 (Spanish) @North). The district is required to document staff and community input before submitting to the state for the Student Success Act funds and there are a narrow set of things the funds can be spent on, reducing class size being one of them, so make sure your opinion is counted!

• Library Announcements – Notes from our fabulous librarian…

Library happenings :)

Well we made it, first week under our belt…. :) We have an amazing staff thank you for all you do!! I am working hard trying to get library circulation up and running. 500 plus students – it takes a little bit. Lots of new faces and more are starting.

As testing completes and we find out where kids are, please keep in mind I have several small books sets from past OBOB years available for you :).

We are learning about our kids and all their littleness and bigness. If you are experiencing a range of stressors in your class and would like a book to help address these, please let me know. I usually can come up with a good book or two that would be fun and helpful. Last year we purchased several books dealing with common behaviors. I also have been purchasing books about kindness and friendship. Please let me know how I an help you as teachers or be of help to support your students outside of library class.

Taking library books home. My general guideline has been in the past; new students keep books at school to start until we have an idea on responsibility and home situations. If a student can be responsible to bring back their Friday folders and other items sent home they may take their library book home. :). This has worked pretty well in the past. It tends to help get our Friday folders back.

Students who would like to exchange library books outside their library time – the answer is yes! Anytime as long as there is not a class in the library :) I am out of the library from 11:00-11:45 for lunch duty.

Here’s to a great week!

• Howard PTO Updates – Thank you to all the staff who were able to attend last week’s PTO meeting. Two items of note from the meeting:

• Fundraiser Updates – Our PTO Board is scaling back on a couple fundraisers, changing weekly popcorn to monthly popcorn the first Friday of each month (unless a parent volunteer steps forward) and also forgoing the Holiday Bazaar (although Ashley has stepped up and offered to organized this fundraiser and the PTO is considering selling table space for sellers at this year’s carnival). We’ll still do our biggest fundraisers (Tech Trot 10/9, Read-a-Thon 2/30-3/16, Penny War 4/20-4/24, McTeacher Night 5/TBA, and Carnival 6/5). The PTO is adding more Restaurant Nights to earn money for the school, the first of which is at Noodles & Co. on 10/10 and others in the future including Mod Pizza and Hot Mama’s Wings (I highly recommend the deep-fried dill pickle chips). And continuing from last year are the Duer’s ATA fundraiser (pay $49 for 1 month of unlimited lessons and 100% of the proceeds go to the PTO) and the Bottle Drop fundraiser (bring cans and bottles in Howard PTO Bottle Drop bags).

• Tech Trot, Wednesday, October 9th – Last year’s Tech Trot didn’t bring in as much money as we were hoping, so to keep cost down they are doing a superhero theme and providing all students with a cape instead of a t-shirt this year.

• Student Care Team Referrals DUE FRIDAY – Our first Student Care Team meeting is in a couple weeks on Wednesday, September 25th, so if you have any student situations you would like brought to the team, please let me know.

For staff new to Howard, The Student Care Team is part of DHS’s Self-Sufficiency Program. Meetings are intended for directing community resources and services to families looking for help, and avoiding families falling through the social services cracks. The goal of the team is to prevent child abuse and neglect by working together as a team to discuss concerns about children/families, problem solve solutions, collaborate, and assist in brokering resources for families. Families typically sign a disclosure form, which allows DHS to do a lot of research before we meet, looking into family history and what types of resources they would or would not qualify for. In addition to situations where families are seeking help, we’re also able to discuss hypothetical situations (not using names) with DHS representatives, which can be very helpful for how to address challenging situations where families will not sign a release. Our partnership with DHS’s Self-Sufficiency Program has been an extremely valuable resource for us and for our families.

Common referrals, though not limited to, are:

• Homeless or impending homelessness
• Medical concerns about the child or other family
• Extreme behavior issues – ­additional supports needed outside of school
• Mental health concerns (child or family member)
• Death of a parent
• Incarcerated parent -­ concerns about recent incarceration or pending release
• Unknown if open child welfare case but has concerns that were called in
• Domestic Violence
• Specific resource needed but unknown where to refer

DHS staff have been great about connecting families experiencing difficult situations with various community resources and in providing assistance, so please let me know if you have any students/families you’d like referred to the team. Linked here is the Care Team Release Form (English and Spanish) that families sign for their situation to be openly discussed by the team.

• Informal Observations – I’m going to start informal observations of Probationary and Contract Year-1 licensed staff and am planning to use the Behavior Framework Informal Observation Tool for classroom teachers. . I’ll most likely do these in the mornings, but teachers can let me know if you have a specific time you’d prefer I come by. Let me know if you have questions on this.

• Formal Observations – I’m trying to be more organized with formal observations and have them all finished before winter break. I’ll send an email to all Probationary and Contract Year-1 licensed staff for the week I plan to do your formal observation. I’ll propose a date and time, but let me know if that date doesn’t work for any reason.

• Ladders – DO NOT stand on desks or chairs- Use District Issued Ladders – 3 point contact – A reminder from Risk Management, staff should never stand on desks or chairs and should use the district issued ladders, making sure you are maintaining three points of contact (either 2 hands and 1 foot or 1 hand and 2 feet). Please let me or Crystal know if you do not know where your wing’s ladder is located.

• Leadership Plan Proposals – I received some input on potential 2019-2020 Leadership Plans for this school year from folks who attended last weeks optional meeting and from folks who shared ideas with me prior to the meeting. The three plans are similar with last years plan with one difference in each plan.

• Plan A:
School Climate Leaders: 3 people (3 days PBIS and 5 days x 2 IPBS Co-Leaders = 13 days)
Instructional Technology Leader: (3 days)
Literacy Leader: (2 days)
Math Leader: (2 days)
Equity Teacher Leader: (2 days)

• Plan B:
School Climate Leaders: 3 people (3 days PBIS and 5 days x 2 IPBS Co-Leaders = 13 days)
Instructional Technology Leader: (3 days)
Literacy Leader: (2 days)
Math Leader: (2 days)
Science Leader: (2 days)

• Plan C:
School Climate Leaders: 3 people (3 days PBIS and 5 days x 2 IPBS Co-Leaders = 13 days)
Instructional Technology Leader: (3 days)
Literacy Leader: (2 days)
Math Leader: (2 days)
Student Leadership/Climate: (2 days)

Details of the drafts can be found on the Shared Howard Drive under MISC > Leadership Plans/Positions > 2019-2020. Let me know if you have other proposals and we’ll discuss the options at the September 24th Staff Meeting and make a final decision at the October Staff Meeting.

• Building SMART Goals Meeting – A few folks met last week to develop and update the linked Optional Building SMART Goals (also on the Shared Howard Google Drive under MISC > Educator Effectiveness > 2019-2020) around math and our PLC work, which classroom teachers can enter into TalentEd. Goals #1 and #2 may look the same, but the “Target Population” is different. The first goal for your entire class (the state requires at least one be for all of your students) and the second goal is for a target population to a subgroup (i.e. students of color, students in special education, ELL students, etc.). The professional goal is similar to last year around our PLC work, although Rebecca Boyd told me TOSAs are developing a new suggested on teachers can also use. Licensed staff are, of course, welcome to create your own goals, but I know folks have appreciated this in the past. Non-classroom licensed staff are welcome to adapt the language of the above SMART Goals for any of your own related work, but please let me know if I can be of any assistance in crafting goals for anyone.

• Artist in Residence Survey Results – November and May were the top choices of dates for the two artists in residence. The top artist picks were Glass-Fusing Fun! (by a lot), Bugs, Bones & Botany: Exploring the Natural World through Art, and Bend it, Build it, Be Creative with Wire Sculpture. We’ll do a quick check in at the September Staff Meeting and make a final decision there.

• REPEAT: 3/4/5 ESYO (Strings) Recruitment Assembly FRIDAY @8:40 – The Eugene Springfield Youth Orchestra Program (ESYO) is opening up Strings Academy I classes up to 3rd graders this year, so 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classrooms are invited to attend the annual ESYO Strings Recruitment Assembly this Friday at 8:40. See the linked Assembly Map & Directions for details.

• REPEAT: Classified & Licensed Goals and Self Assessment DUE 9/30 – All staff, both classified and licensed, need to complete a self assessment before the end of September in TalentEd. Licensed staff also need to also complete SMART Goals. Classified staff, will need to use a newer device to submit your form (older operation systems aren’t compatible with TalentEd), so I’d suggest borrowing a newer student iPad from a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade classroom if you are having trouble with your current devices. Let me know if I can help with any of this.

• REPEAT: Team Sign-Ups Google Sheet – Please follow the link to the 2019-2020 Howard Teams Google Sheet to add your name to a team you’d like to volunteer to be a part of; Equity, Garden, IPBS, PBIS, Safety, Site Council (one open classified spot), Social, or Tech (TLT).

• REPEAT: Howard Staff Handbook Review DUE 9/30 – Linked here is the updated Howard Staff Handbook. All staff must review the handbook and sign & return the acknowledgement form to the office by Monday, September 30th. Let me know if you have any questions.

• REPEAT: District Mandatory Policy Review for all Staff DUE 9/30 – Linked here is this year’s District Back-to-School Memo, which covers a variety of district rules, policies and guidelines. All staff must review the memo and sign & return the Check List Acknowledgment Form by Monday, September 30th to signify that you have read and understand the memo. Let me know if you have questions.

• REPEAT: SELCO’s SPARK! Creative Learning Grants DUE 9/30 – Don’t forget about the SELCO Educator Mini Grants for up to $1,000 to bring creative classroom ideas to life. Applications are due September 30. Visit selco.org/SPARK for details and to apply.

• Looking Glass Community Services – Looking Glass Community Services provides counseling services, emergency shelter and housing assistance, educational and vocational assistance, and addiction treatment to young people. Linked here is a Looking Glass Brochure that summarizing their services if you every want to pass this along to families.

• Eugene Math Circle – The Eugene Math Circle will continue offering classes for math loving kids in grades 2-12. The program has been operating for six years, and all classes are taught by the University of Oregon professors or instructors. If you have students who enjoy math and want to be challenged, please share the linked Eugene Math Circle Flyer.

• Experts: Put down the phone – I’ll note this is different from using technology as a tool, but when it comes to simply filling the void of “I don’t have anything to do,” research supports the benefits of learning to be bored versus spending time looking at a screen, according to this Edutopia article. Neuroscientists and cognitive psychologists assert that this “default mode” can improve creativity and problem-solving.

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

September 16 (M)
Title 1 Individual Diagnostic Screener Assessments
BEST Invites Go Home
3:45-5:45, Allan to Elem Principal Meeting (Ed Center)

September 17 (T)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Mellissa’s Room, RM23)
3:30, Allan to Super Boundary Meeting (Office)

September 18 (W)
Lori’s Birthday!
2:45-3:30, PBIS Meeting (Rae’s Room, RM1)

September 19 (H)
Talk Like a Pirate Day
4:00-6:00, 4J K-2 Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Trainings (Ashley’s Room, RM25)
4:15-5:15, 4J Student Success Act – Staff Conversations – SPED (Cafeteria)

September 20 (F)
8:45-9:15, 3/4/5 ESYO (Strings) Recruitment Assembly (Gym)
2:30, Early Release PD – PLC
5:30-7:30, PTO Family Night – Secret Life of Pets 2 (Cafeteria/Gym)

September 23 (M)
Banned Book Week
2:45, Site Council (Conference Room)

September 24 (T)
8:15-11:30, Allan to Elementary Principal Meeting – Gaston Covering (Ed Center)
2:45-3:15, Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Classroom)

September 25 (W)
Howard PLC – 2-hour Meetings (2nd, 5th, 1st)
2nd 8:10-10:10
5th 10:15-12:15 PE/MUSIC (Rock/Callihan to be rescheduled to Friday)
1st 12:20-2:20 PE/MUSIC (Corliss/Ward to be rescheduled to TBD)
2:45, Student Care Team Meeting (Conference Room)
4:00-7:00, District First Aid Class (Library)

September 26 (H)
Howard PLC – 2-hour Meetings (KG, 4th, 3rd)
KG 8:10-10:10
4th 10:10-11:55
3rd 12:05-2:05
2:45-3:30, TLT Meeting (Angela’s Room, RM24)
5:30-6:30, Student Success Act Community Conversations – Phase I (North Eugene HS)

September 27 (F)
Happy Birthday to Me!
10:25-12:45, August/September Birthday Lunches With the Principal (Community Room)
2:30-3:30, Early Release PD – Building Based PD – ALICE Training and Safety Week Prep (Library)

One full-week down. Thirty-five to go!

Allan

September 9, 2019

By Allan  |  2019/09/07 19:34 Posted in Announcements, Arts, Assessment, Equity, Grants, P.D.  |  Comments Off on September 9, 2019

Greetings Roadrunners,

Nice work welcoming kids and families back and making our first week such a good one! And again, awesome job, everyone who was on hand and able to step-up to help out during Thursday’s unexpected events! (◔_◔)

Twenty-Nine items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – A few staffing announcements.

• Added Kindergarten EA – Downtown approved adding a 5.5 hour Kindergarten EA since we’ve added a third kindergarten classroom. We’ll start with a sub on Monday until we can hire someone, but the job posting should go up hopefully this week if you know of anyone good who might be interested. We’re thinking the hours will be 8:15-2:30 MTWH and 8:15-1:15 Fridays.

• Added Looking Glass Counselor – I shared last year that Looking Glass is adding a second counselor to our building this year given the level of need and Sarai Barrera will be joining our current Looking Glass counselor, Audra Landry. Audra will be going on maternity leave soon and Sarai will take over her caseload, but once Audra returns, we will have two therapists available for Howard and Kelly students. Audra will work out of the current Looking Glass office upstairs and Sarai will take over Matt’s old counselor office.

• New Kitchen Staff – Nutrition Services hired Christine Fogle as our newest Food Service Assistant in the kitchen. Christine should start this week.

• Enrollment Update – On a related note, Howard is now over 500 students and is 70+ students over our projection, so I’m continuing to advocate with downtown for additional staffing. Numbers-wise, our current enrollment and staffing ratio should equate to us having one more full-time teacher, not even taking into account that we typically add 30-50 students over the course of the school year. My current thinking if we received another teacher to is to add a fourth 2nd grade classroom.

• Friday Early Release PD – This Friday’s Early Release PD is designated as a Behavior Framework PD session. Principals are to receive more information on Monday, but I believe it’s a behavior Tier 1 booster.

• EA Supervisors Meeting Notes – Several items of note from last Friday’s EA Supervisors Meeting

• Friday Recesses 5-Minutes Shorter – A reminder to classroom teachers that BOTH recesses on Friday are 5-minutes shorter than recesses Monday – Thursday. These are the hours laid out by the Standard School Schedule, where students are to have 60-minutes of recesses/lunches/passing times MTWH and 50-minutes on early release Fridays.

• Please Pick-Up at Recess On-Time – Many recesses supervisors are scheduled for other duties immediately follow their recess duty, so it’s important that classroom teachers be one the playground when recess bell rings.

• Future PBIS Rules Round-Up Thoughts – It was great having teachers coming out for the rules round-up on the playground so students know everyone is on the same page. However, it was a grueling process to review the rules over a three day period, so a couple suggestions for future round-ups were to have teachers review the rules with students on their own out on the playground the first day of school or to do the rules round-up as we did this year, with EAs doing the teaching with teachers staying with their classes, but with quick 2-3 minute rotations to cover all of the playground areas, possibly at a time different than regular recess times.

• Team Sign-Ups Google Sheet – I decide instead of an old fashioned chart paper sign-up, we’ll move into the 21st century and do a Google Sheet sign-up instead. Please follow the link to the 2019-2020 Howard Teams Google Sheet. I actually just added a tab to our Leadership/Building Rep. Positions Google Sheet, so click the Teams tab to add your name to a team you’d like to volunteer to be a part of; Equity, Garden, IPBS, PBIS, Safety, Site Council (one open classified spot), Social, or Tech (TLT).

• You’re a LIFESAVER! – Take note of Mellissa’s email stating that you’ll find a little note with a lifesaver in your mailbox and to please take a moment at some point this week or two to drop someone a positive thank you note for being a “lifesaver” during these tough first days of school.

• Friday at Four at Jenny’s! – This Friday will be our first Howard Staff Social of the year. Jenny is hosting the event at her house, now conveniently located within walking distance of Howard at 1663 Rosy Turn. Bring your own beverages and maybe a snack to share. Hope to see you there!

• PBIS Reminders – Two reminders for PBIS activities still happening.

• PBIS Back to School Refresher – By the end of the week, all classrooms should review the rules for the common school areas by reviewing the PBIS Back to School Refresher Slide Show or other means the first three days of school. Teaching these rules in each of the locations is best. Complete the checklist by Thursday, September 12th, return it to Mellissa’s mailbox, and your class earns a special reward!

• Golden Tail-feather Challenge! – If a class earns 19 golden tail feathers that can be earned on the playground or cafeteria the first eight days of school, they will earn Otter Pops at a lunch recess!

• Principal Visits to Classrooms –I’d like to again visit every classroom sometime during the first few weeks of school to meet students. I’ll read a favorite story to your class and chat with the kids a bit. Teachers, please let me know a good 10-15 minutes block of time I can come and visit.

• 3/4/5 ESYO (Strings) Recruitment Assembly 9/20 @8:40 – The Eugene Springfield Youth Orchestra Program (ESYO) is opening up Strings Academy I classes up to 3rd graders this year, so 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classrooms are invited to attend the annual ESYO Strings Recruitment Assembly. See the linked Assembly Map & Directions for details.

• Library Notes – From our library leader, Julie, …

Are we ready? First full week and library classes start! Kids are excited they keep asking when they are able to come in :). We will go over expectations and routines this week.

Kinders– I will come to you and read in class for now :)
1st– story time/story cove expectations. Practice coming in and sitting down…..
2nd – Library/story cove expectations and routines – sending shelf markers back to class for them to decorate
3rd– Library/story cove expectations and routines – sending shelf markers back to class for them to decorate
4th – Main library expectations and routines – possible check out if time allows. :) 1 book
5th – Main library expectations and routines – check out 1 book this week )

Grades 1-5 Will meet me lined up on the gray wall outside the story cove :)
It’s easier to start out side the story cove for expectations on entering the story cove….

Have a great week!

Julie

• Howard PTO Happenings – Three PTO related items of note:

• PTO Meeting Tuesday – This Tuesday, 6:00-7:00 in the cafeteria will be the first PTO Meeting of the year. It’s typically the best attended meeting of the year by families, so it would be great if any staff can volunteer their evening to come show support for parents who are making time to be involved in their child’s school. Mark your calendars and hope to see you there!

• PTO Teacher Funds – Linked here are the 2019 PTO Teacher Funds this year. Specialists will again get $125 each and classroom teachers will get $10.25 per student and grade levels will get $300 each for enrichment activities. As was last year, the two criteria for accessing the enrichment funds are:

• Enrichment – The funds are to be used for an enrichment activity. This can be a field trip or it can be brining a presenter or other guest into the classroom to lead an enrichment activity.

• Grade Level Agreement – The funds are for a grade level activity and are not to be different classroom to classroom. For example, all classes at a grade level don’t all have to go on a field trip the same day, but they do all have to be going on the same field trip.

• New PTO Board Members – We have an excellent PTO Board for the year, which is a mix of new and returning board memebers. Here are the our fabulous parent volunteers:

• President – Abbie Stillie
• Vice President – Beth Moir
• Secretary – Paige Walker
• Treasurer – Tichelle Carlson
• Communications Manager – OPEN
• Volunteer Coordinator – Holli Breshears
• Fundraiser Coordinator – OPEN
• Parliamentarian – Christy Garland
• Staff Liaison – Christina Wagner

• UPDATE: 2019-2020 Master Schedule – There’s been some more minor tweaks to the 2019-2020 Master Schedule. See the linked file on the Howard Shared Drive for the most current iteration of the schedule. Anyone affected by changes already knows.

• 4J Instructional Materials Overview – This may have gotten lost amongst the many links in Sue Wilson’s email earlier this week, but I wanted to highlight the new 4J Instructional Materials Overview, which has links to many tools such as websites, scope/sequences, login information, DreamBox student login info, etc. which may come in handy. Pages 6 & 7 have a very useful table of digital resources (i.e. Dreambox, LZ, Second Step, Journeys, FOSS, Clever, etc.) and their corresponding student and staff log-ins. Page 8 has concise directions for printing student rosters usernames and passwords as well as how to print Clever badges.

• Optional Building SMART Goals Meeting, Tuesday – Teachers are, of course, welcome to create your own goals, but I know folks have appreciated having shared building goals focused around the year’s planned PD activities, so this Thursday at 2:45 in the Conference Room will be an optional meeting to discuss potential building wide SMART Goals. Linked here are Last Year’s Building SMART Goals.

• Optional Leadership Plan Development Meeting – This Thursday at 2:45 in the Conference Room will be an optional Leadership Plan Development Meeting. The current contract gives us 22 teacher release days not to exceed 7 teachers. Linked here is Last Year’s Leadership Plan, which compensated teachers for School Climate, Technology, Math, ELA, and Equity leadership roles. If you’d like to share your thoughts on a potential Leadership Plan, you may attend this meeting or email me your thoughts. I’ll plan to share Leadership Plan proposals at the September Staff Meeting and then vote on a plan at the October Staff Meeting.

• TSS Schedule – Jyllian has solidified her schedule for her three schools (Howard, Kelly, and River Road). She’ll be at Howard five days a week, 7:30-10:30 MWF and 10:30-1:30 TH. As always, please send requests to 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu

• Updated SPED Referral Process – On the Howard Shared Drive and linked here is the updated Steps for 4J Special Education Referral Review Process and the updated Special Education Referral Packet. I got this from Matt, who got it from Cassidy, so I haven’t seen official information on the new forms from SSD, but at an admin meeting SSD shared that the process is pretty much the same as last year, but that the referral packet is more streamlined and clear about who fills out which part.

• Classified Trade Time Forms – A few classified staff spoke to me this week about working longer days to help with start of the year craziness or to attend meetings, which is very much appreciated, but remember that you now need to complete the 4J Trade Time Approval Form and have it pre-approved by me before you can accrue trade time hours. Don’t worry about this past week, but be sure to use this form if you want to use trade time in the future.

• Music & PE Specialists and Prep – Principals were emailed the following, that when a teacher misses a prep slot during a student day, the prep should be made up. If students missed PE or Music, it is made up with a replacement slot. If students attended PE or Music but a teacher missed a prep (for a meeting or other admin-assigned reason) then the prep should be paid for at the teacher’s per diem rate. Administrators should initiate an extended contract form. Specialists’ missed prep time should also be made up or paid at per diem. If these preps are missed because there was no school (holiday, grading day, PD day, etc.), they will not be made up.

• Medical Cell Phones – Our school nurse, Robin Wellwood, shared earlier that all school nurses were issued a district cell phone, so make sure ALL phone or text communication with Robin is done using her new phone number. This is being done to address privacy concerns. SSD’s urgency is in moving texting and picture taking of injuries and students to district phones instead of personal phones.

SSD also issued the first round of building medical cell phones, which Howard received and is being kept in Lori’s office. These phones are to be used for any and all calls of a medical nature that seem appropriate. They can even be used to text a family their student is sick and needs to be picked up. These are also how staff can text our school nurse sensitive medical information. Linked here is the email that was sent to principals regarding this, but let me know if you have any questions.

• Insurance Open Enrollment Deadline SUNDAY – If you have not participated in Open Enrollment yet please do so. We do not want you to lose your 4J health insurance benefits. The deadline is Sunday, September 15th!

• REPEAT: easyCBM Testing Begins Monday – Fall Benchmark easyCBM testing starts Monday. Same routine as usual, but see Mellissa’s email for details.

• REPEAT: Artist in Residence Survey: DUE FRIDAY – Classroom teachers, please complete the linked Artist in Residence Google Form and that way I can bring a proposal ahead of time to the September Staff Meeting for a quick decision. See the Lane Arts Artist in Residence webpages for details on each artist and let me know if you have any questions. Survey responses due this Friday.

• Behavior EA Job Duties – Downtown is kind of building the airplane while they’re flying it with the new Behavior EA positions, which at our building is Jeff, but they are solidifying some dos and do nots for the position. Some highlights include:

Roles and Responsibilities:

• This EA is a Tier 2 facilitator. Meaning they will help to run Tier 2 behavioral interventions for students identified for through your schools IPBS/Tier 2 & 3 Team.
• Any student receiving Tier 2 support from the behavior EA, must be identified through your school-wide data source, teacher referral or have been receiving Tier 2 last year.
• We will provide specific and ongoing training for Check In Check Out, Social Skills Instruction, and PASS.
• Limited recess duty. We understand that there is always the need for more staff supporting recess, and recommend that the behavior EA be used to support students who need Tier 2 intervention support or social skills instruction at recess.
• We anticipate this person attending IPBS/Tier 2 and 3 meetings.
• Since this person is a Tier 2 support, they are not expected to respond to individual student crisis, unless it is part of an individual student plan or as a brief de-escalation strategy to help a student from escalating further (i.e. 5 minute walking break)

Other Important Information:

• The Behavior EA should NOT be running in-school suspension rooms or handling discipline concerns that occur throughout the day. Those should still be processed through the school-wide system.
• They will not independently add students to an intervention without being processed through the schools IBPS/Tier 2 & 3 team.

However, since this is a new position and we have a pretty sharp IPBS Team, I bed we could probably propose some of our own ideas as well.

• Papa’s Pizza Achievement Awards – I know teachers sometimes like to use the Papa’s Pizza Achievement Awards as an incentive for students, so I contacted Papa’s Pizza last week to get some awards. The awards can be given students for any sort of academic achievement and will entitle kids to a free pizza. Awards will be located in the front office in the filing cabinet next to Elizabeth’s desk.

• 4-H School Visit Opportunity – Lane County 4-H offers free presenters, who are 4-H staff, volunteers, and teen members from their Lane Leadership Team. Presentations can be one of two types: Informational (explaining about 4H) or a more interesting hands-on educational experience that could be around animal science, leadership, healthy meal preparation, getting physically active, agriculture, natural science, gardening, art, and more. If you are interested, linked here is a 4-H Sign-Up and Info Sheet teachers to fill out and submit to their office. Once you have submitted a form, their staff will contact you to set a time for your presentation.

• FREE Architects in Schools Program, 3-5 – For over 40 years, the Architecture Foundation of Oregon’s Architects in Schools program has matched professional architects and engineers with 3rd through 5th grade teachers for a FREE 6-week classroom residency. The curriculum uses architecture and engineering concepts to teach math, science, social studies, language arts and other disciplines, includes sustainable design concepts and can incorporate the engineering and design standards. Follow this link for Additional Information or this flyer and follow this link to the Teacher Application webpage. Deadline to apply is October 4th.

• Educator Grant From Teaching Tolerance – Do you have an idea for a project to help make your school or district more welcoming? Apply for a Teaching Tolerance Educator Grant! Their grants support projects designed to bring anti-bias principles and practices to classrooms, schools and districts. Awards range from $500 to $10,000 and are selected on a rolling basis. Apply today!

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

September 9 (M)
Fall Benchmark easyCBM Testing Begins

September 10 (T)
8:30, Allan to All Administrator Meeting (Ed Center)
2:45-3:15, Optional Building SMART Goals Meeting (Conference Room)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Cafeteria)

September 11 (W)
2:30, Allan to Eligibility Determination Meeting (Conference Room)

September 12 (H)
2:45-3:15, Optional Leadership Plan Development Meeting (Conference Room)
4:15-5:15, Student Success Act Staff Conversations – Phase I (North Eugene HS)

September 13 (F)
2:30-3:30, Early Release PD – Behavior Framework PD (Library)
4:00, Howard Staff Social – Friday at Four at Jenny’s House (1663 Rosy Turn)

September 15 (SU)
INSURANCE OPEN ENROLLMENT DEADLINE

September 16 (M)
Title 1 Individual Diagnostic Screener Assessments
BEST Invites Go Home
3:45-5:45, Allan to Elem Principal Meeting (Ed Center)

September 17 (T)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Mellissa’s Room, RM23)

September 18 (W)
Lori’s Birthday!
2:45-3:30, PBIS Meeting (Rae’s Room, RM1)

September 19 (H)
Talk Like a Pirate Day
4:00-6:00, 4J K-2 Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Trainings (Ashley’s Room, RM25)
4:15-5:15, 4J Student Success Act – Staff Conversations – SPED (Cafeteria)

September 20 (F)
8:45-9:15, 3/4/5 ESYO (Strings) Recruitment Assembly (Gym)
2:30, Early Release PD – PLC
5:30-7:30, PTO Family Night – Secret Life of Pets 2 (Cafeteria/Gym)

Have a fabulous week, everyone!

Allan