Equity

November 6, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/11/04 20:33 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, P.D., Video  |  Comments (1)

Hi Everyone,

We survived Halloween and are now being rewarded with a nice short week. 

Twenty-one items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Two staffing updates:

• New Title 1 EA (Timmy Beick) – Timmy Beick has been hired as our new 4-hour Title 1 EA, filling Carol’s position, which he’s been subbing in for the past couple weeks. And if you didn’t know, Timmy is the son of SPED EA Molly Beick and also plays volleyball with our Family Resource Coordinator, Felicia, so we are keeping it in the family. Please welcome Timmy to the team!

• SPED EA Job Posting – I’ve modified our 7-hour SPED EA job posting to 6.5 hours and have shifted 30-minutes of that vacancy to Denice, who expressed interest in moving to 7-hours instead of 6.5 hours. I’ve asked HR to simply modify the job posting, but they may require us to post all over again, which will stretch the hiring process out longer, but Tiffany is planning to continue to subbing in this vacancy and is also planning to apply once it goes up.

 

• Stop, Walk, Talk Lesson 1 & 2 This Week – Teachers this week should teach Lessons #1 and #2 of the Stop Walk Talk Bully Prevention Lessons. The subsequent lessons are optional. The first lesson is on how to use Stop, Walk, Talk (you can skip the candle portion of the lesson) and the second lesson is on how to respond when someone tells YOU to stop. I forgot to share a Lesson 1 & 2 Slideshow shared last year, which anyone can feel free to use. Linked here is the Stop Walk Talk Resource Folder that’s on the Staff Google Drive, which has the poster I’ll get up around the school and other items.

 

 

 

• TAG Testing TUESDAY – Caitlin will notify teachers if you have any students who will be tested, but district TAG testers will be here Tuesday to conduct testing. I’m still working on a space for testing, but it may end up being in my office.

 

• Wednesday PD: 11/8 Staff Meeting – Wednesday at 1:30 will be a Staff Meeting instead of PE since we had to shift the November Leadership Meeting around due to all the non-school days. Let me know if you have any agenda items.

 

• Mid-Term Grading Day, THURSDAY – Downtown shared with principals that for Nov. 9, staff are expected to report to the building and be available to colleagues, with 3.75 hours of ELA Planning and 3.75 hours of Assessment and Conference Planning On a related note, their plan for the April 12 Mid Term Grading Day is for 3.75 hours of ELA Planning and 3.75 hours of Strategic Family Outreach.

 

• Nov. 9 Assistance Requests (EAs, Add Your Names) – If staff are needing assistance from EAs with anything on the Mid-Term Grading Day, add those tasks to the Nov. 9 EA Assistance Form. Last time around, most all EAs ended up being required to attend PD, but this time downtown is not pulling as many staff.

 

• Classified Staff Meeting, THURSDAY @9:00 – I’ll hold a Classified Staff Meeting at 9:00 to review Stop, Walk, Talk, do a supervision checking (make sure we are aligned on rules), and any other topics the group would like to discuss. Let me know if you have any agenda items. I know there is a district PD during this same time, but I’ve heard most EAs are not signing up for it since many EAs have already gone though Conscious Discipline and the others are Life Skills focused, but let me know if you are attending because I will reschedule the meeting to a later time if a number of staff are attending.

 

• Grade Level Team Meetings, Nov. 14 – The first two Tuesdays of the month on non-Staff Meeting weeks are dedicated Grade Level Team Meeting times. Teams should:

• Meet in their wing so specialists can connect if needed
• Take care of any needed team business
• Complete the Team Meeting Minutes Form (make a copy) and email it to holt_staf@4j.lane.edu

The Team Meeting Minutes Form can also be found on the Holt Staff Dashboard.

 

• Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day, Nov. 14 – Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day is Tuesday, Nov. 14, so please encourage your kiddo to walk, roll, or carpool this day. Share earlier are some resources including the Day of Dialogue Teachers’ Project Guide to Supporting Changemakers.

 

• Holt Night Out – Panda Express @VRC, Nov. 16 – Thursday, Nov. 16 is a Holt Night Out Fundraiser at Panda Express at Valley River Center, so be sure to talk it up to your students. Bring the Panda Express Event Flyer (English or Spanish), paper or smartphone, when you order or use the fundraiser code “363024” if ordering online. The PTO also wants folks to save their receipts and submit them at shopandlog.com/VRC or turn them in at the office for the PTO School Cents Fundraiser (English or Spanish).

 

• Holt Spirit Day, Nov. 17, Backwards Day! – Friday, Nov. 17 is a Holt Spirit Day and this time it’s Backwards Day! Get kids excited to wear everything backwards; backwards shirts, pants, hats, backpacks, etc. or kids can simply wear their Holt spirit gear (maybe backwards).

 

• Magic & Balloon Sculpting Assembly, Nov. 17 – The November monthly School Spirit Assembly is a combo assembly with a fun Magic & Balloon Sculpting Assembly on Friday, Nov. 17. The K-2 assembly is 8:05-8:55 and the grade 3-5 assembly is 9:05-9:55.

 

• Elementary Admin Curriculum Updates – The linked 4J Elementary Admin Curriculum Updates aren’t required reading for staff, but if you’re interested, there’s info on upcoming LETRS Trainings (now including a Nov. 9 PD date), a  SWIS CICO (Check In Check Out) Zoom Training, and K-5 Health PD offerings on Jan. 2.

 

• Behavioral Support Shared Drive – The District Behavior Team compiled an impressive Behavior Support Folder of Resources for buildings to assess and support behavioral and SEL needs. They only gave principals access, but I downloaded a copy of it that I put in the PBIS folder on the Staff Google Drive for anyone interested. 

 

• ODE 2022-23 School Profile Reports – If you’re interested, ODE At-A-Glance School and District Profiles are available on the 4J website, which include data on school enrollment, class size, student and teacher demographics, teacher retention, assessment info, and other details from the 2022–23 school year, but due to a technical issue, the staff data in the reports are not accurate. Corrected reports will be published when they become available.

 

• Mandatory Bus Training (tell Allan when completed) – I was thinking downtown forgot about this again, but the Transportation Dept. Emailed principals about the required annual bus safety training, which is to be given to all students, even non-bus riders by the end of December. In the past teachers were asked to show a video, but this year teachers are being asked to review the following two handouts:

• Riding the School Bus Safely
• Emergency Exits Handout

If teachers choose, they may also show students the videos on the 4J Transportation Website. Sadly, this no longer includes the quaint 90s bus safety relic, The Safest Way Out. Let me know the date you reviewed the handouts, so I can add it to the completion form I need to submit to downtown.

 

• Remind Families to Sign Up for Conferences – This week, teachers should send a whole class reminder to families about signing up for conferences. I will have a reminder in the Quick News as well.

Next week, teachers should follow up with individual outreach to families, preferably a text or phone call, but email works as well. And if you’re like me and do not like to share your personal cell number for texting, Google Voice is a good option, which allows you to kill off your Google Voice number at any point and then get a fresh one. Google Voice is unfortunately turned off as a feature for 4J, so you have to use a personal Google account. There are other apps you can also use for anonymous texting, such as TextNow, that do the same thing, but I prefer Google Voice since you can easily do it on your laptop.

 

• October SSD Newsletter – If you’re interested, here is the November SSD Newsletter, which has info about ELD teachers in IEP meetings, when to consider reevaluation, where BSPs “live,” and how DHS caseworkers participate in special education meetings/processes. See the Newsletter Archive for past newsletters.

 
• American Indian Heritage Month – Last Wednesday was the first day of American Indian Heritage Month. The latest Library Lowdown has some good resources, including a curated list of titles available in Sora and a collection of resources in Destiny Discover. The Eugene Public Library has a great list of books too. Other resources are:

 
•Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:

• Fall Conferences Reminders – Several conference-related reminder:

• Conference Schedules to Office – Give office staff a list of your conference dates and times. Parents often forget their times and call the office. Teachers should export their times in Calendly by logging onto their account, clicking SCHEDULED EVENTS, and then clicking EXPORT to get an XLS file you can email the office.

• Items to Review at Conferences – Teachers should review the Title 1 Compact, the Annual Permissions Form, the Student Tech Contract (K-2 and 3-5) if you haven’t already, and if you would like, you can also use the Synergy Family Report, which has attendance, benchmark, and OSAS info.  NEW INFO: I’ll have copies of the compact, permission form, and Synergy report in teacher’s mailboxes before the Nov. 15 Wed. PD Conference Prep time. I won’t print the Tech Contract since I don’t know who’s done it and who has not, but teachers should print it or I can print it if you let me know you need it. 

• Language Link Phone Translations – See the 4J Language Link Interpreting Service webpage for step-by-step directions on how to do translations for in-person meetings, phone meetings, or Zoom meetings. The “cost center number” for Holt is 270.

• EA Assistance During Conferences Sign-Up – If teachers could use any help with prep or other tasks, add your name and the task to the EA Assistance Spreadsheet. EAs should also add your name to the tasks you’d be willing to take on

• Staff Not in Conferences – Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are regular work days for all staff who are not part of conferences and should work their regular hours at school. However, if you pre-arrange trade time with me to not work Wednesday, email me your plan ahead of time. HR Emailed principals they are also making a one-time exception to allow personal days on Wednesday for classified staff.

• Allan Available to Attend Conferences – Teachers can let me know if you have any tricky conferences you’d like me to attend. Send me a date & time (and a Zoom link if it’s on Zoom) and I’ll be there!

• Resources for Families – Should any families request assistance with food, clothing, housing/rental assistance, hygiene products, SNAP (food stamps) Benefits, Insurance, counseling, and such, please have them fill out the linked Helping Hand Online Form or contact Holt Family Resource Coordinator, Felicia LaCuesta, at lacuesta_f@4j.lane.edu or call her at (541)790-6174.

• Scientist Guest Speaker, Nov. 17 – I have one taker so far, but let me know if anyone is interested in having a scientist guest speaker. A friend from high school, Luke Wackler, is in town Nov. 17 offered to speak to any class that’s interested. He’s worked on NASA satellites, Mars rover analysis, GPS satellites, communication satellites, and electronics systems.

 

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

November 6 (M)
Title Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up

November 7 (T)
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL Meeting

November 8 (W)
TAG Testing Day
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Staff Meeting (Library)

November 9 (H)
Exploding Whale Anniversary (KATU News & 10 min. of raw meaty footage)
No School – Mid-Term Grading Day
8:30-11:30, EA Pathways PD
9:00-10:00, Classified Staff Meeting (Library)

November 10 (F)
No School – Veterans Day (Observed)

November 13 (M)
Kinder Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
9:00-2:00, 4th Fish Creek Field Trip (Benavides & Cobb)
3:30-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

November 14 (T)
Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day
November Birthday Drinks & Goodies in Staff Room
9:00-2:00, 4th Fish Creek Field Trip (Longoria & Reich)
9:30-12:10, 3rd Grade Music Field Trip
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings

November 15 (W)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Conferences Prep
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

November 16 (H)
Holt Night Out – Panda Express @VRC
Picture Retakes (Library)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Team Meeting (Volunteer’s Classroom)

November 17 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Backward Day
8:05-8:55, K/1/2 Balloon & Spirit Assembly (Gym)
9:05-9:55, 3/4/5 Balloon & Spirit Assembly (Gym)
4:30, Allan to 4J BIPoC Staff Affinity Meeting (Roosevelt)

 

Start planning your 3-day weekend!

Allan

 

October 9, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/10/07 19:11 Posted in Announcements, Equity, Grants, P.D.  |  Comments Off on October 9, 2023

 

Hello Holt Bolts,

Twenty items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Three staffing updates:

• Small SPED FTE Increase – Sheryl was previously 0.5 FTE at Holt and 0.25 FTE at EOA, but part of her EOA time is being shifted to Holt, so she is now 0.65 at holt and only 0.10 at EOA

• Carol Leaving Us – Carol let me know last week she is resigning from her Title EA position, so I have submitted to HR to post for her vacancy, which I think should go up this week. Carol’s last day will be this Friday, so be sure to wish her well!

• Title EA Interviews, MONDAY – Jenny, Lisa G., and I are interviewing three candidates (we had 30 applicants!) this Monday after school for Lisa P.’s replacement. Let me know if any of you are interested in joining us and I will email you the interview materials.

 

• Wednesday PD: 100% Data Team Meeting – Wednesday at 1:30 in the library, we will participate in our first 100% Benchmark Data Review Meeting. The primary purpose will be to engage with your grade level team to assess how likely it is your core instructional materials (Heggerty, Fundations, and Wit & Wisdom) will meet your students’ needs and then make a plan together about where to focus your time and energy. Next you’ll get a chance to look at your classroom and student data to determine which students are likely to succeed with just core instruction and who may need more time and targeted support to be successful. The goal is to then connect you with the resources and support you need to best meet the needs of your group of students.

 

• Friday PD Day Schedule – On the Staff Zimbra Calendar and linked here is the October 13 PD Schedule, with times and locations. For specialists, refer to the emails from your presenter.

 

• UPDATED (Title EA PD Info): Oct. 13 Assistance Requests (EAs, Add Your Names) – If staff are needing assistance from EAs with anything on the Friday PD day, add those tasks to the Oct. 13th EA Assistance Form. Kinder and BBSAs, please add your name to the sheet where you can help and connect with the requesting staff member. Title and SPED EAs are scheduled to attend PD.

 

• 4J Professional Development Expectations – Downtown asked principals to share the following. Principals were also told we’re to help take attendance after all breaks and lunches during the Friday PD:

Professional Development is a major component of your continued growth as an educator. Professional Development is where you not only get the opportunity to continue your learning, but it is the beginning of shifting from learner to professional practice. Because of that, you will be expected to display professional behaviors during professional development training.

Professional behavior is also a component of your supervisor’s evaluation of your performance during the school year and therefore directly related to your advancement and continued employment in Eugene School District 4J.

Eugene School District 4J would like to introduce the following principles and expectations for professional behavior during all district and building-based professional development experiences:

1. Attendance and punctuality: arriving before the appointed time; registering your attendance; being prepared to engage as a working professional; providing your administrator prompt notification of tardiness or absences.

2. Respectful demeanor and interactions: demonstrating respect and deference to a speaker(s)/peers; conducting oneself in a manner consistent with the values and ethics of our district and the professional standards.

3. Professional language and communications: demonstrating professional oral and written (including electronic) communication skills; using discretion and appropriate professional language in addressing speaker/peers; “filtering” language to limit emotional reactivity/content; being very selective in communicating, during the training, with individuals outside of the regular training (emails).

4. Appropriate effort and initiative: collaborating with one’s peers to identify and complete training activities and expectations. Following through on appointed tasks and activities; showing a genuine interest, initiative, and engagement on the day’s topic(s) while demonstrating intellectual and professional curiosity and insightfulness.

5. Accountability and integrity: being accountable to the trainers and training participants; completing tasks and activities in a professional, high quality, and timely manner; maintaining professional integrity and honesty in all activities/interactions; accurately documenting training hours worked and tasks completed.

6. Emotional self-regulation: attending to one’s emotional reactivity and triggers; taking responsibility for one’s feelings/behavior and avoiding blame; managing the expression of raw emotions; being personally and professionally centered when engaging with the speaker(s) and other attendees; using appropriate professional language (spoken and written) to filter emotional content; demonstrating a willingness to resolve difficult conversations, relationships and modify one’s behavior accordingly.

7. Responsiveness to feedback: demonstrating non-defensive receptivity to feedback and suggestions; showing a willingness to be self-reflective and self-corrective.

 

This message makes me think I must have missed some fiery, emotionally charged PD sessions!

 

• BEST Begins, 10/16 – We’ve sent invites to families and will communicate out who is officially enrolled in BEST, but the start date is still Monday, Oct. 16th. We’re still looking for an Academic Coordinator, so let us know if anyone is interested in a little extra cash!

 

• Wednesday PD, 10/18: Upbeat Survey – We will not meet Wednesday, Oct. 18 and this time will instead be time for staff to complete the Upbeat Survey, which should be emailed out this week.

 

• Book Nook Starts 10/19 – The PTO is starting Book Nook Thursday, Oct. 19. Just like last year it’ll be during first recess in the cafeteria. For folks new to Holt, “Book Nook” is a book exchange run by our parent group. Kids can bring in a gently used book to trade for another. Kids can also bring in 25¢ to buy a book.

 

• Holt Night Out: MOD Pizza, 10/19 – Remind your kids that Thursday, Oct. 19 is a Holt Night Out at MOD Pizza on Coburg Road. They just need to bring the MOD Pizza Fundraiser Flyer when they order or for online orders use the coupon code MODGIVES25. 25% of purchases will go to Holt!

 

• Leadership Positions – Linked here is the Holt Leadership Plan I’ll submit to JCAC, which will include names of the folks assigned to each position. On the Leadership & Teams Sign-Up Sheet, we had a few positions with more than one name, so I will connect with those individuals this week before making a final decision. Positions so far are:

Equity & Inclusion Facilitator – Emily
Equity & Inclusion Facilitator – Carla
Equity & Inclusion Collaborator (Primary) – Lesli
Equity & Inclusion Collaborator (Intermediate) – Marissa
Equity & Inclusion Collaborator (SPED) – Kelsey
Equity & Inclusion Collaborator (Specialist) – Jenny
Equity & Inclusion Collaborator – Lisa Z.
Equity & Inclusion Collaborator – Kendallyn
Assembly & Enrichment Activities Coordinator – Ashley R.
Non-Monthly School Wide Assemblies – Ashley R.
Student Voice/Council/Leadership Coordinator – Ashley R.
Parent Group Liaison – Leslie
PBIS & SEL Collaborator (K-2) – TBA
PBIS & SEL Collaborator (3-5) – Geoff
Building Scheduling Facilitator – Lesli
Communications Coordinator – Debbi
Sunshine (Staff Wellness) Coordinator – Elizabeth
TAG Coordinator – Caitlin
Grade Level Team Leader KG – Lesli
Grade Level Team Leader 1st – Heidi
Grade Level Team Leader 2nd – TBA
Grade Level Team Leader 3rd – Kendallyn
Grade Level Team Leader 4th – Ashley R.
Grade Level Team Leader 5th – Liz
Specialist Team Leaders (SPED Rep & Other Licensed Specialists) – Kim
Specialist Team Leaders (SPED Rep & Other Licensed Specialists) – Kelsey
Literacy Leader – Leah
Sunshine (Staff Wellness) Collaborator – Robin S.
Student Voice/Council/Leadership Collaborator – TBA
Attendance/Family Outreach Coordinator – Kim
Girls on the Run Coordinator – TBA
Girls on the Run Coordinator – TBA
Girls on the Run Collaborator – Kim
Evening Family Event Coordination – Jenny
Evening Family Event Coordination – Kendallyn

 

• Student Affinity Groups – Please let me know if there are any staff interested in running a monthly BIPOC student affinity group. There is a $1,000 stipend for elementary schools, which can go to one person (classified or licensed) or can be split between two or more staff members. If I don’t hear from anyone by the end of the week, I’ll plan to reach out to the LaneESD for assistance starting a group.

 

• Send Home Fruit & Veggies DAILY – A reminder teachers are to send home the fruits and vegetables from FFVP home with students at the end of each day. Do not hold them over until the next day. If you have left overs, feel free to pass out extras as kids leave or just send the entire bag home with one lucky kiddo.

 

• Holt PTO Updates – The PTO met last week (here’s the agenda), approving funding three school-wide assemblies for later this year, sharing Budget updates, approving the PTO Bylaws, and sharing out committee reports. Their next big event  will be Costume BINGO Night, which will also feature a Trunk or Treat. One reminder that came out of the meeting is if teachers have requests for funds to support enrichment activities, contact Lesli and she will connect with the PTO for approval.

 

• Employee Report: Aggressive Student Behavior – Principals were emailed the new Aggressive Student Behavior Form that is to be used to document threatening interactions and extreme behavior by a physically aggressive student. Related, if a staff member sustains injuries beyond basic first aid, an Incident Report needs to be completed as well. Both forms are on the HR Forms Webpage and the Holt Staff Dashboard. All completed forms should be submitted to me.

 

• Join the Superintendent’s New Advisory Committees – There is no shortage of opinions here at Holt and people willing to share them, so if you missed it in the latest 4J Educator News, downtown is looking for 4J staff to serve on advisory committees convened by the superintendent to hear from both classified and licensed staff. Apply Here!

 

• October Library Lowdown Choice Board – In case you missed it, the October Library Lowdown Choice Board has some good resources for Fire Safety Week, Bully Prevention Month, Halloween Activities, and more.

 

• October SSD Newsletter – If you’re interested, here is the October SSD Newsletter, which has mostly nuts-and-bolts SSD info, with Abbreviated School Day info being the main one of interest. See the Newsletter Archive for past newsletters.

 

• Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:

• EEF Grants Due FRIDAY – EEF Grant Applications are due Oct. 13 deadline. EEF prioritizes grants that focus on Enrichment (ex. STEM, arts, experimental learning), Ready to Learn (ex. literacy, SEL, accessibility solutions), and Pathways (ex. CTE, SPED, TAG).

• Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Oct. 9 – Monday, October 9 is Indigenous Peoples’ Day is Monday and many can be found at NEA, WeAreTeachers, The Smithsonian, Educators 4SC, and this 4J Doc.

• National Hispanic Heritage Month – It’s the last week of National Hispanic Heritage Month and a couple resources are Learning for Justice and also the 4J K-5 Social Studies Newsletter.

• Sunshine Committee Dues – See Elizabeth’s Email for details. Full-Time Licensed Staff: $30.00 and Classified Staff: $20.00. There’s a money envelope in Elizabeth’s mailbox or you can Venmo @elizabethcobb1

• Licensed Optional SMART Goals, Due Nov. 3 – Here are Optional Licensed SMART Goals teachers can cut-and-paste into TalentEd if you would like.

• Holt Resource Map (add your info) – Add your info to the Holt Staff Resource Map, which Downtown wants all school to complete, listing all licensed staffs’ degree, endorsements, certifications, areas of expertise, etc.

 

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

Communication
Office Staff:
Notifying the office staff of changes in your schedule, field trips, guest speakers, any classroom activity that is “out of the ordinary”, etc. will allow the office to support your activities and better address questions that may arise.

All Staff:
Email is our primary mode of communication so checking your email “in box”, daily, is important. Our school website is another resource that not only includes information for the general public, but it contains links for both our learners and our staff.

Our website is http://holt.4j.lane.edu

Bertha Holt has a group agreement that if action is required by staff members and the notification is sent through email, staff should have 24 hours notice lead time on the action. Staff also recognizes that occasionally this will not be possible. The goal is to avoid same-day notification and action items

A leadership role has been designated to facilitate communication with all staff

Parents:
Please provide the office with a copy of all written and electronic communication (ie newsletters) sent home with your class (this does not include notes to individual parents). This will enable office staff to answer parent questions in an intelligent and informed manner. It is highly recommended that, prior to sending written communication home, a minimum of one other person proof the document. Any note that may cause controversy should be shared with the principal prior to distribution. Please keep parents informed frequently of what is happening at school and in your room. Each classroom teacher is responsible for providing regular updates to parents

Teachers should do their best to ensure each parent receives either a written note or a telephone call at least once during each report period.

FERPA – Under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), parents shall have access to their child’s educational records. FERPA regulations presume equal access for both parents, unless there is a court order or legal document to the contrary. If a non-custodial parent requests records or a conference, the principal or principal’s designee will inform the custodial parent that the school will grant the request unless the custodial parent produces the required document. If a non-custodial parent requests copies of report cards, newsletters, etc., teachers may request stamped, self-addressed envelopes from that parent. However, if parents have joint custody, the law states the school must provide copies to both parents.

Administration:
Weekly, the Parent Board, in conjunction with the Principal will generate a school newsletter (Quick News) that will be emailed to families on Mondays, in both English and Spanish. If teachers need hard copies for families without internet, the teachers alert the office.

Translating:
We will translate school-wide correspondence in Spanish, if possible.

 

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

October 9 (M)
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
5th Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements Begin (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
2:30-3:40, Title 1 EA Interviews (Library)
3:30-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

October 10 (T)
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden

September 11 (W)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – 100% Data Team Meeting (Library)
4:30-7:00, Allan to Bias & Triggers PD (Zoom)

October 12 (H)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)
4:30-6:00, Allan to Bystander Intervention PD (Zoom)

October 13 (F)
No School – PD Day
EEF Application Deadline
8:00-1:30, Licensed Staff PD
1:30-2:00, Travel Time
2:00-4:00, Planning Time
2:00-4:00, Allan to MAPS Meeting (Zoom)

October 14 (SA)
5k/Fun Run for 4J- EEF Event

October 16 (M)
ELD/Speech/Counselor/Library Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
3:30-5:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)
2:25, BEST Program Begins (Cafeteria)

October 17 (T)
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden
2:45-3:30, PBIS / SEL Meeting (Library)

October 18 (W)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Time for Upbeat Survey
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

October 19 (H)
Holt Night Out – MOD Pizza
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Team Meeting (Library)

October 20 (F)
Regular Day

 

Enjoy your four-day week, now with a bonus early-release Wednesday!

Allan

 

Meme credit to Lisa G.

October 2, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/09/30 21:47 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, P.D.  |  Comments Off on October 2, 2023

 

Hi Everyone,

Twenty-one items of note for this week:

• Title EA Job Posting – Lisa Phillips, currently student teaching in Robin Seno’s classroom, is planning to sub after she gets her teaching license, so she has resigned her EA position, which means we’ve posted her position. If you know anyone good out there looking for a 6.5 hour Title EA job, the Title EA Job Posting closes this Wednesday.

 

• Back-Up TalentEd Info by Tuesday – Super late notice from downtown on this, but they are performing BusinessPlus updates starting Tuesday and will continue to Oct. 8. During this time, downtown is asking everyone to not upload any new information into their TalentEd accounts. They do not anticipate any information being lost during the updating process, but out of an abundance of caution, they recommend people save, print, and/or download any recent information already completed (e.g., Self-Assessment, Goals) in the event information becomes unretrievable. Because of this, the Self-Assessment deadline has been extended to Oct. 30 and the deadline for Goals to Nov. 3.

 

• Walk+Roll to School Day, WEDNESDAY – Remind your kiddos that Wednesday is Walk+Roll to School Day, where all students are encouraged to walk, bike, carpool or ride the bus to school.

 

• Wednesday PD: SafeSchools/Vector Modules – Wednesday’s PD will be time for staff to complete the SafeSchools/Vector Modules. Unless something super pressing comes up, I’ll plan to give staff one more Wednesday to complete the modules.

 

• Picture Day & Health Screening Schedule, THURSDAY – This Thursday is picture day for all grades and also health screening for kindergarten. See the linked Picture Day-Health Screening Schedule Lesli created for these two events.

 

• Spirit Assembly FRIDAY @8:20 – Our first monthly School Spirit Assembly is this Friday in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:20, but all classes should be in the gym by 8:15. See the Assembly Map and Directions for details, but get your kids excited for prizes, games, and fun!

 

• Kona Shave Ice, FRIDAY (@1:30 for bus riders) – Kona Ice is coming one last time and it’s short notice, but it’ll be this Friday and the same as in the past. They’ll be here after school, but bus riders can come out early at 1:30 if they have money. We have some free tokens if you have any kiddos you think will feel left out, so just let me know if you’d like one.

 

• Leadership & Team Sign-Ups, DUE FRIDAY – Now that staff approved our Leadership Plan and are awaiting for a stamp of approval from JCAC, licensed staff can add your name to the Leadership & Team Sign-Up Sheet (2023-2024), which I updated to add our new PBIS and Girls on the Run Collaborator positions. Deadline to add your name is this Friday. I will connect with folks early next week.

For Team Sign-Ups (scroll down lower), Site Council can still use 3 classified reps and 3 licensed reps. Site Council is separately compensated for licensed staff and classified staff can bank these meetings to trade time.

 

• Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Oct. 9 – Monday, October 9 is Indigenous Peoples’ Day, replacing Columbus Day in Oregon and most of the country. If you’re looking for resources, many can be found at NEA, WeAreTeachers, The Smithsonian, Educators 4SC, and this 4J Doc.

 

• Oct. 13 – Classified Staff Training – Title EAs and BBSAs will have training available this day. Additional details to follow. Other EAs will have time to complete building tasks (see next Item) as well as time to the Upbeat Survey (if it gets sent out), Vector Training, and the TalentEd Self-Reflections.

 

• Oct. 13 EA Assistance Requests – If staff could use help from EAs with anything on the Friday, Oct. 13th PD day, please add tasks to the Oct. 13th EA Assistance Form. I already added a task for one or two EAs to help box up 4th and 5th grade ELA materials that are swapping around.

 

• Book Nook Starts Oct. 19th and is now Thursdays – The PTO is worried with shorter recesses on Wednesday kids won’t have enough time to pick a book, so they are moving Book Nook to Thursdays. They are also changing the start date to Thursday, Oct. 19th.

 

• Halloween Costume Blurb – Here’s what I’ll plan to put in the Quick News mid-October. Let me know if you have any suggestions to make things more clear.

Halloween Dress-Up Rules

Tuesday, October 31st is Halloween and students are allowed to come to school dressed up, but the following costume dress code will be enforced:

• NO props
• NO masks (except with teacher permission in class)
• NO especially scary or gory costumes (i.e. no blood, wounds, etc.)
• NO inflatable costumes
• NO dressing as another race, ethnicity, or culture

Individual teachers will determine if parties will take place in their classrooms. A fun alternate activity will be provided for any students who do not celebrate this holiday.

 

• Phone Times (not clocks) for Specials & Recess – Mentioned at last week’s Staff Meeting, go by the time on your phones and not the building clocks for dropping off and picking up classes from recess and from specialists. Clocks are not consistent throughout the building and they also “drift” over the year, needing to be reset multiple times a year.

 

• Grant Approval Form – The new Director of Finance emailed that he is requiring ALL grants to get approval from the Finance Department and sumbit a Grant Approval Form. In the past it was only $5,000 grants or larger that required approval (which is what’s still on the 4J Grants Website). EEF grants are the only exception. I asked if this even included $250 mini grants and it does (a waste of time and resources IMO). Note that DonorsChoose are not considered a grant, so this form is not required there.

Staff now need to email the form to finance@eugene4j.freshservice.com at least 2 weeks prior to the grant application deadline for review & approval. This form is not on the 4J website, but I have added a link to the Holt Staff Dashboard.

 

• Great Body Shop Student Magazines – Downtown’s current student numbers may be different from the forecasting numbers from last Spring, so if you are short student magazines email Jocelyn Mendelssohn at mendelssohn_j@4j.lane.edu and provide how many you need.

 

• Don’t Slap Parking Signs – Another of our Pause Parking Signs has bit the dust thanks to boys needing to jump up and tap high things. Please remind students not to jump up to touch or slap the parking signs or door frames for that matter.

• National Hispanic Heritage Month – I shared earlier that Sept. 15-Oct. 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month, but a couple additional resources are Learning for Justice, a great landing page for teachers to learn more about celebrating the month, and also the 4J K-5 Social Studies Newsletter.

 

• October is Dyslexia Awareness Month – Downtown asked principals to share this flyer for opportunities to watch some great films about literacy and science of reading. Need inspiration around literacy instruction? You should definitely come see one or all of these films!
 

• Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:

• Sunshine Committee Dues – See Elizabeth’s email for details. Full-Time Licensed Staff: $30.00 and Classified Staff: $20.00. There’s a money envelope in Elizabeth’s mailbox or you can venmo @elizabethcobb1

• Math Adoption Survey – Have your say on this Math Adoption Survey emailed to teachers earlier.

• EEF Grants Due Oct. 13 – EEF Grant Applications are due Oct. 13 deadline. EEF prioritizes grants that focus on Enrichment (ex. STEM, arts, experimental learning), Ready to Learn (ex. literacy, SEL, accessibility solutions), and Pathways (ex. CTE, SPED, TAG).

• Holt Resource Map (add your info) – Add your info to the Holt Staff Resource Map, which Downtown wants all school to complete, listing all licensed staffs’ degree, endorsements, certifications, areas of expertise, etc.

• Principal Visits to Classrooms – Let me know a 5-10 minute block of time I can come visit sometime this month to introduce myself and read a story to your class.

 

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

October 2 (M)
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
2:45, Allan & SPED Team Meeting w/SSD Admin

October 3 (T)
8:15, Allan Meeting w/SMART
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meeting

October 4 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – SafeSchools/Vector Modules
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

October 5 (H)
Picture Day (Gym)
Health Screening (Gym)
9:00, Holt Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Library)

October 6 (F)
Fall Benchmarking Window Closes
8:15, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)

October 9 (M)
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
8:00, Morning Announcements Begin (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
3:30-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

October 10 (T)
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden

October 11 (W)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – 100% Data Team Meeting (Library)
4:30-7:00, Allan to Bias & Triggers PD (Zoom)

October 12 (H)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)
4:30-6:00, Allan to Bystander Intervention PD (Zoom)

October 13 (F)
No School – PD Day
8:00-1:30, Licensed Staff PD (Locations TBA)
1:30-2:00, Travel Time
2:00-4:00, Planning Time
2:00-4:00, Allan to MAPS Meeting (Zoom)

 

One more 5-day week until we get a nice 4-day week, which I’m calling a 3-day week since Wednesday is now the early release day.

Allan

September 18, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/09/16 17:37 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, P.D.  |  Comments Off on September 18, 2023

 

Hello Holt Staff,

It was a long week, but we’re building up our stamina, right?

Twenty-seven items of note for this week:

• New Building Behavior Support Assistant, Julie Zybach – We’re pleased to announce that Julie Zybach will be our new Building Behavior Support Assistant (i.e. Behavior EA), who many of you already know from a long-term sub job last year and this year subbing for Lisa P. in Title. Julie is also a Holt parent of a 5th grader, so we have a new member of the Holt Parent/Staff Member Club. Julie’s first official day in her new position will be Wednesday and Jenny and I are working on securing another EA Sub to take over. Please welcome Julie to Team Holt!

 

• Wednesday PD: Shared Staff Goals Development – Wednesday at 1:30 in the library will be an optional meeting to brainstorm shared building goals teachers can cut-and-paste into TalentEd as your goals for the year if you choose. With the district push for morning meetings at the elementary level, I was thinking that could be one area of focus. We might also possibly look at some of our equity based goals on our SCIP. I’ll try to draft a few ideas ahead of the meeting to get the ball rolling, but let me know if any of you have ideas as well.

 

• Fire Drill, FRIDAY, @8:20 – This Friday at 8:20 will be our first Fire Dill of the year. It’s fine for teachers let students know about the drill ahead of time to do pre-teaching before it happens, since this is our first one of the year.

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

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

On a related note, I’m planning on holding a “Safety Week” the week of Oct. 30th to review all the most common safety drills.

 

• Dynamo Math Groups Delayed – Due to staffing issues, the start of Dynamos math groups will be delayed until late October or early November. Dynamos reading groups start:

1st-2nd grade start Tuesday, Sept. 26
3rd-5th grade start Thursday, Sept. 28
Kinder will start mid-October

 

• School Spirit Assembly, Sept. 29 @8:05 – We’ll have our monthly School Spirit Assembly on Friday, Sept. 28 in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:10, but all classes should be in the gym by 8:05. Stay tuned for details! The first spirit day theme will be “Ultimate Holt Spirit Day” where we encourage kids and staff to deck themselves out in Holt Colors (purple and green) or Holt Gear!

 

• PTO Updates – Here is the PTO Event Calendar for the year. The first big event is the Costume BINGO & Trunk-or-Treat event for Thursday, October 26th, which will take place during the Book Fair. They might also have some food trucks come. The Spring Carnival is planned for April and the Holt Bolt Jog-a-Thon will be in May (so we can better avoid fall rain or bad air quality)

 

• YMCA Student Roster – Not on my blog, but attached to my announcements email is a list of all the students enrolled in YMCA.

 

• Hispanic Heritage Month Resources – Sept. 15 – Oct. 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month. Helpful resources can be found on the Library Lowdown Hispanic Heritage Month Slide, Hispanic Heritage Month Collection on Sora, Common Sense Media, and the US Gov Hispanic Heritage Month Teacher Site.

 

• Stop, Walk, Talk Reminder – Staff decided last spring to teach Stop, Walk, Talk for common language for kids to solve minor (non-phsycial) problems on their own. I’ll put this on a futrue Wednesday PD to review with teacher, but if people want to teacher want to review this with student earlier, we we agreed last year to use lessons 1 and 2 of the Stop, Walk, Talk Bully Prevention Lessons. Lesson 1 takes about 50 minutes and lesson 2 takes about 30 minutes. Lessons 3, 4, and 5 offer additional practice for specific situations (Gossip, Inappropriate Remarks, and Cyberbullying) if teachers would like to cover these as well.

I’m also a fan of this short Stop, Walk, Talk YouTube Video done in the style of a silent film to teach kids how to use it. 

 

• Visitors & Volunteers – With COVID restrictions on visitors and volunteers gone, I’d asked for clarification on the current 4J Volunteer/Visitor Policy and I got the answer I was hoping for, which is that any parent, guardian, or adult coming into the building (whether a visitor or volunteer) needs to sign-in at the front office and also have completed a background check.

For volunteers, we are no longer limited to volunteering only for safety or instruction.

For visitors, a change from pre-COVID rules is we are no longer allowing the flood of parents in the morning to walk their children to class or breakfast, without first signing in at the office and having a completed background check on file.

The only exception to this is for scheduled meetings (IEP, 504, conferences, etc.) or large school events (open house, curriculum night, family night, PTO meetings, school carnivals, book fairs, etc.).

 

• Student Head Injury Reporting – Not new, but a reminder that 4J policy requires parent notification for all student head injuries. Linked here is the Head Injury Notification Letter and below are the steps to follow:

1. Student experiences head injury
2. Staff member completes letter and notifies guardians.
3. School nurse receives email notice of letter to guardian
4. If child is diagnosed with concussion or activity restrictions, guardians notify school.

More info can be found on the 4J Students with Concussions Webpage.

 

• FREE White Board Easel (broken wheel) – Does anyone want a free white board easel? The only catch is it has a broken wheel, so it probably needs to be stationary for the most part.

 

• School Board Policy AAC: Racial Harassment – Schools are required to inform and instruct students on School Board Policy ACC – Racial Harassment. District staff are working to take the policy and turn into a kid friendly presentation for elementary schools to use with students. More info can be found on the 4J Hate & Bias Resources Webpage.

 

• Use 4jdesktop or Freshservice for Tech Support – Please do not grab Rob in the hallway if you need tech support. Instead, put in a ticket by emailing 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu or using the 4J Freshservice Website. This documents what all is being asked of Rob at Holt and is what determines future TSS staffing levels at our building. On a related not, Erica Bowman is taking over for Rob this week. She may not be on site as much, but if you put in a ticket, she will come out if it’s something she can’t take care of remotely from downtown.

 

• Raptor Alert App on Pause – For folks not at the Staff Meeting or who missed it in the minutes, principals were emailed last week that use of the Raptor Alert App is on pause to address some tech issues. I’l keep folks posted for when we’re ready to try it again.

 

• Raptor Alert on Personal Devices – It was asked during inservice week the rules around installing the Reptor Alert App on personal vs. school devices. Principals were told building staff can choose to add this app to their personal device, however it is not a requirement. In my opinion, the app loses most of its usefulness since staff do not carry their laptop or iPad with them at all times, and even if they did you’d lose wifi as soon as you left the building. Downtown is working on a new training for staff on Raptor Alert, so we’ll see if they address this issue or not, but I’m thinking reunification situations would most likely rely on paper/paper and not the app.

 

• Equity & Inclusion Administrator Draft Job Description – If you’re interested, here is the Draft Equity & Inclusion Administrator Job Description, which takes the place of SSD Admins, though Angela Crum is still the district admin for Sheldon Region.

 

• Kid Art for CASA of Lane County – Former Holt teacher Jacque Barton is looking for student artwork that could be used for thank you and holiday cards for CASA of Lane County. See Jacque’s Email for details, but the short version is:

Thank-You Ideas: Ocean scenes, birds, cats and dogs, family, nature, abstract, etc.

Holiday Art Ideas: Fall trees, pumpkins, scarecrows, winter scenes, snowmen, penguins, mittens, hot coco, etc.

No Pokemon, but email artwork to Jacque Barton <jacqueb@casa-lane.org> or she can pick-up them up at the office.

 

• 4J Air Quality Info – Downtown emailed principals the current air quality guidelines they are following. Nothing seems different than before except I noticed they said schools will provide staff with N95 masks for any staff wanting one when AQI goes over 100.

 

• WREN Newsletter & Workshops – The latest WREN Newsletter has several new PD opportunities for both classified and licensed staff. Most of them are virtual and most of them offer a stipend if you attend. Check them out!

 

• UO Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) Study – See this flyer if you’d be interested in doing a 30-60 minute Zoom interviews on DEI and then receive a $25 Amazon gift card for completing the interview.

 

• Holt Resource Map (add your info) – I’ll put this on a future Wednesday PD or Staff Meeting, but downtown wants all school to complete a “Resource Map” that lists licensed staff members’ degrees, endorsements, certifications, areas of expertise, etc. If you’re so inclined, add you info now to the Holt Staff Resource Map.

 

• SSD September Newsletter – If you are interested, here’s the September SSD Newsletter that was send to SPED teachers and principals. Lots of info in this one on info about Abbreviated School Days, meeting types, IEP timelines, mental health, and a newly created position.

 

• MagicSchool.ai Educator AI Tool – Here’s an educator specific AI tool called MagicSchool.ai. You can use it to help lesson plan, differentiate, write assessments, create rubrics, write IEPs, communicate clearly, and more. I tired it asking “Raina” to write a SMART Goal for elementary morning meetings and got a far better result than I did from ChatGPT.

 

• Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:

• TalentEd Self-Assessment & Goals – All staff, both classified and licensed staff, need to complete the Self-Assessment/reflection in TalentEd by Sept. 30.

• PBIS Common Area Rules Review – If you haven’t already, review the PBIS Common Area Rules Review Slideshow with your class.

• Principal Visits to Classrooms – Let me know a 10 minutes block of time I can come and visit sometime this month to introduce myself and read a story to your class.

• SELCO’s Educator Grants, Due 9/30 – SELCO’s SPARK! Creative Learning Grant Program offers grants up to $1,000, which are due Sept. 30th.

• Holt Spirit Gear Sale Deadline, TUESDAY – See Ashely’s Email for details, but the limited edition Holt Spirit Gear Sale ends Sept. 20.

• Team Sign-Ups – Feel free to add you name to the Team Sign-Ups Spreadsheet.

 

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Inside Recess – Since we very nearly had to do inside recess last week due to poor air quality, this week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook seemed timely, which is on Inside Recess. Teachers should note of posting above your door your inside recess expectations/choices for students:

Inside Recess:

Indoor recess takes place in individual classrooms under the supervision of EA personnel. Having quiet activities available to students (board games, cards, coloring materials, hopscotch, manipulatives, etc.) is important.

Expectations:
• Students may not go in the cubbies
• No electronics. This includes iPads or classroom computers
• Students should choose a seated activity
• Games and activities should be provided and taught
• Students must stay in their own classroom
• Permission is needed by supervision staff to use the bathroom
• When the lights turn off turn and look at the adult by the door
• Classroom expectations/choices should be posted above your classroom door
• A trial plan is in place for allowing some access for under cover supervision during recesses
• Classroom teachers will have expectations in Guest Teacher binder and post on the wall (near or above the door) what room expectations are.
• All certified staff will teach their students what appropriate activities are prior to the first indoor recess.

Supervision:
• EAs and additional staff will be assigned to hallways and classrooms for supervision
• Teachers will take inside recess as their regular break time and are not required to supervise classes

 

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

September 18 (M)
Dental Packets Due
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
9:00, Allan to Parent Meeting
2:45, Allan to 504 Plan Meeting

September 19 (T)
Talk Like a Pirate Day
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL Team Meeting (Library)

September 20 (W)
7:30-8:30, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting (Zoom)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Optional Staff Shared Goals Planning
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

September 21 (H)
Regular Day

September 22 (F)
Regular Day

September 25 (M)
8:00, Morning Announcements Begin (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
3:30-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

September 26 (T)
Dynamos/Title 1st & 2nd Reading Groups Begin
5:00-6:30, Curriculum Night
⁃ 5:00-5:25, Grades K/1
⁃ 5:30-5:55, Grades 2/3
⁃ 6:00-6:25, Grades 4/5
⁃ 5:30-6:30, Pizza in the Cafeteria

September 27 (W)
Happy Birthday to Me!
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Stop, Walk, Talk Review

September 28 (H)
Dynamos/Title 3rd-5th Reading Groups Begin
Holt Night Out – DoughMo Cookies
10:15, Monday Announcer Tryouts (Reich’s Room)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)

September 29 (F)
Regular Day

 

And we’re three weeks away from our first four-day week, but who’s counting?

Allan

 

May 15, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/05/13 20:53 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, P.D., SEL, Technology, Video  |  Comments Off on May 15, 2023

Greetings Bolts,

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

Twenty-five items of note for this week:

• 23-24 Staffing Updates – Two updates:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Playground Supervisor Reminders – Two Playground Rules reminders:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just two more 5-day weeks left!

Allan

May 8, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/05/06 15:01 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, P.D., Video  |  Comments Off on May 8, 2023

Hi Everyone,

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

Nineteen items of note for this week:

• 23-24 Staffing Updates – Four updates:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May 14 (SU)
Mother’s Day

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Allan

May 1, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/04/29 21:35 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, P.D.  |  Comments Off on May 1, 2023

 

 

Howdy Freinds,

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! Or maybe it’s next week depending on which website you look at (it’s traditionally celebrated the first full week of May, so I guess it depends on whether you consider Sunday or Monday is the start of the week). Regardless, Holt teachers, and classified staff for that matter as well, ROCK! It was pretty cool to hear multiple candidates at the Job Expo say how they’ve heard great things about Holt. You all are what make Holt a great place for kids and for us to work. Go, Bolts!

Fourteen items of note for this week:

• 23-24 Staffing Updates – Four updates:

MTSS-INSTRUCTIONAL COACH – I’m happy to announce Carla Zimmerman has been hired as our Instructional Coach. I worked with Carla when I was principal at Howard, where she has taught 1st, 3rd, and 4th grade as well as serving as the ESC (Essential Skills Coordinator) and for the past three years as Howard’s Instructional Coach.

2ND GRADE – We had six applicants for this position and at this point I haven’t heard anything from HR.

0.2 FTE PE & MUSIC – No one applied for these positions at the Job Expo, so HR should hopefully give me an okay to post for these positions later this week.

23-24 TOSA Updates – I asked at last week’s principal meeting which TOSAs, mentors, managers, coordinators, consultants, specialists, coaches, etc. were eliminated and which remained. We were told Staff Development Specialists (SDSs) and ELA TOSAs were the only ones reduced for next year. I also asked for a list of all the positions (and who’s in them) and how they can support schools (which principals have asked for since August).

• 23-24 Master Schedule Development – I emailed staff last week the 23-24 Skeleton Master Schedule, which has two options for teams to consider (2/3 and 4/5 AM recesses and specialists times are the main difference). If teams can work around these recess, lunch, and Tier 3 times, it’s much more likely we’ll be able to make your “Dream Schedules” work. The other two tabs are the matching, suggested, PE/Music/Library times to go along with the skeleton schedule options. Add your dream schedule directly onto this spreadsheet and next week on May 9th, we will reconvene our Master Schedule Committee to see how things match up.

• PE Minutes Requirement Change – Principals haven’t been told this, but another principal shared an email with me that went out to PE teacher stating that the district is planning to change next year’s PE minutes requirement in order to get closer to the state PE requirement, which is that all students are to get PE five days a week for 30 minutes (yes, that’s impossible if your school has 10 or more classrooms and only one gym). It sounds like a final decision hasn’t been made and they are considering options that include classroom teachers teaching PE using a kit downtown would purchase. You know as much as I do on this, but this will potentially impact our master schedule work. This is on the elementary principal agenda for Monday, so hopefully I’ll get more information then.

• REPEAT: Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week! – This week is Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week and it sounds like PAHS has an excellent response to their Appreciation Sign-Up (if you want a peek at their plans).

• REPEAT: Data Team Meetings, WEDNESDAY – We are set to have roving subs cover classrooms Wednesday, May 3rd for grade level Data Team Meetings. Here’s the schedule:

1st – 8:00-8:55 (Guest Teacher Time 7:50-9:00)
5th – 9:05-10:00 (Guest Teacher Time 9:05-10:00)
3rd – 10:20-11:15 (Guest Teacher Time 10:15-11:15)
KG – 11:25-12:29 (Guest Teacher Time 11:10-12:20)
2nd – 12:55-1:50 (Guest Teacher Time 12:20-1:50)
4th – 2:05-3:00 (Guest Teacher Time 2:00-2:25)

• Friday PD: Equity, Responding to Racial Slurs – The Friday PD this week is Building based and we are continuing our equity focus. The topic of this meeting will be how to respond to racial slurs.

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

• Friday, May 12th PD: Upbeat Survey – This Friday is as also a Building Based PD, though downtown is pulling all kindergarten teachers for a separate meeting. Downtown is also planning to have all staff complete a second spring Upbeat Survey to provide building and district admins feedback. I don’t know downtown’s timeline for getting out the survey, but I’m hoping it will be out in time for this to be the designated time for staff to complete the survey.

• 23-24 Leadership Plan Update – A bit of a non-update, but I also asked at last week’s principal meeting for an update on the leadership plan details for next year, which is holding up us being able to work on a master calendar and that their timeline to complete a draft plan by the end of May is no longer realistic given all the other items we need to complete between now and the end of the year (Raptor rollout, Upbeat survey, master schedule [especially if we have to change PE minutes. See prior item.], master calendar, class lists, classroom changes, etc.) and that there are only 3 staff meetings and two building based Fridays left.

• Door Magnet Pilot – Way back at the start of the year I volunteered to be a pilot school for trying out the magnetic door plates. The idea is that door locks will always be kept in the locked position and the plates can be placed over the door locking mechanism. This allows the door to remain unlocked, but in the case of an emergency, the plates can simply be pulled out to secure a classroom instead of having to fumble for keys to lock a door. For teachers who currently keep your doors locked, you are welcome to continue this practice if you choose. Plates are supposed to come soon.

• District Family Handbook Feedback – Downtown is asking principals for feedback on the District Family Handbook (this is the 22-23 handbook) they send to families each year. If you have any suggestions you’d like me to pass along, let me know by May 12th.

• Packing up and Storing your Science Kits – See the linked Science Kit Packing Instructions for restocking, inventorying, and what to do with the student books and teacher guides. One person from each grade should complete the Support and Materials Request Form.

• How to Promote the Intrinsic Desire to Learn – Rather than relying on grades as external motivators, teachers can help students develop intrinsic motivation by providing opportunities for autonomy and building their sense of competence. This Edutopia Article notes that the “baseline rewards” concept suggests that basic extrinsic “rewards” in a classroom (a caring teacher, engaging lessons, predictable and fair grading, cleanliness, respectful rules and atmosphere, etc.) or in a job situation (reasonable salary, safe working conditions) must be present for people to have any sort of motivation at all. Beyond that, researchers have identified four general areas that can contribute towards creating the conditions where intrinsic motivation can be supported:

• Autonomy: having a degree of control over what needs to happen and how it can be done
• Competence: feeling that one has the ability to be successful in doing it
• Relatedness: doing the activity helps the student feel more connected to others, and feel cared about by people whom they respect
• Relevance: the work must be seen by students as interesting and valuable to them, and useful to their present lives and/or hopes and dreams for the future

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

May 1 (M)
Teacher Appreciation Week
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
PAHS Can & Bottle Drive (4/26 – 5/19)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #1 Classes
4th Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

May 2 (T)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)

May 3 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
8:00-2:50, Data Team Meetings
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:45, 23-24 Classroom Placement Committee Meeting (Library)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

May 4 (H)
MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU!
5:00-7:00, ACE Awards Celebration (SEHS)

May 5 (F)
School Lunch Hero Day (2nd)
8:45-9:45, 5th Grade Monroe MS Tour (Walking Field Trip)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Friday PD – Building Based (Equity)

May 8 (M)
PAHS Can & Bottle Drive Continues (4/26 – 5/19)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #2 Classes
7:30-3:30, PreK-Kindergarten Transition Meetings
5th Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
3:45-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

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

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

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

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

And May the 4th be with you, always.

Allan

 

April 24, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/04/22 11:33 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, P.D.  |  Comments Off on April 24, 2023

 

Greetings Bolts,

This Wednesday is Administrative Professional’s Day, formerly known as Secretary’s Day, so a BIG, BIG, BIG shout out to our awesome front office staff, Melanie and Sharon! You both are a critical part of our school that holds things together! We couldn’t do it without you!

Twenty-three items of note for this week:

• 23-24 Staffing Updates – Three updates:

1ST GRADE – If you were not at Tuesday’s Staff Meeting for the announcements, Leah Willow, currently our ELA TOSA, will return to Holt as a full-time 1st grade teacher. This was originally posted as a job-share with Gloria, but Gloria was snapped up as a Title 1 Teacher at Awbrey Park for next year. Please welcome Leah back to the Holt Team!

0.5 SPED TEACHER VACANCY – SSD is moving Sheryl Carroll to YG instead of Holt, so our part-time special education teaching position is vacant and I’ve asked SSD if I’m allowed to post for the position or if they are still working through their bumping process.

SCHOOL PSYCH – SSD emailed the School Psychologist and Consultant Assignments for next year and we get to keep Kelly. Next year she’s taking on more of a leadership role with the psych group, so we’ll be her only building and we’ll get to see her around Holt more often next year.

• Master Schedule Revised Timeline – Mentioned at Friday’s PD Meeting, we’re pushing back the Master Schedule Timeline in order to include interventionist times on the “Skeleton Schedule” for grade level teams to build their dream schedule. We’ll get the skeleton schedule to teams early this week, which will only have recess/lunches and interventionist times. If teams can plan around these times, it will make it more likely we’ll be able to combine grade level dream schedules. Specialist time are the one part we may need to rework, since morning times are the less popular time, so we’ll need some compromise in that area. The revised meeting schedule will be:

April 24-May 9:  Team Build Dream Schedule

May 9 – Reps Meet
– Combine schedule
– Plan next steps

May 16:  Staff Meeting Discussion

• NEW DATE: Earthquake/Fire Drill, TUESDAY @8:05 – We got rained out last week, but this Tuesday at 8:05 looks like better weather. We’ll start with an Earthquake Drill and then move into a Fire Drill. I’ll get on the PA to announce the earthquake drill, reviewing Drop, Cover, Hold, and will launch the drill by saying “EARTHQUAKE! DROP, COVER, and HOLD!” We’ll pull the alarm to signal when to evacuate the building. In a real earthquake, you could evacuate once the earthquake is over. There are many resources for teaching Drop, Cover, Hold at The Great Oregon Shakeout. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map.

• Team Meetings, WEDNESDAY– The first two Wednesdays of the month on non-Staff Meeting weeks are dedicated Team Meeting times. Teams should:

• Meet in their wing so specialists can connect if needed
• Take care of any needed team business
• Complete the Team Meeting Minutes Form (make a copy) and email it to holt_staf@4j.lane.edu

The Team Meeting Minutes Form can also be found on the Holt Staff Dashboard.

Hopefully we’ll have the skeleton master schedule template out for teams to start working on by this day.

• 2023-24 Kinder Parent and Kids Meet & Greet – If you missed it in the Quick News, I’ve invited incoming kinder families for a casual meet-up on the playground this Wednesday at 3:30. I’ll be out there to schmooze and PAHS reps will be there to get incoming families started on the volunteer background check process.

• REPEAT: Kona Ice Fundraiser, THURSDAY @1:45 – Kona Ice is coming to Holt Thursday, April 27th at 1:45. Teachers should send bus riders who brought money to hard play at 1:45, so they have time to buy and eat their shave ice before having to get onto the bus. And remember, all staff get a free shave ice! Just show your badge!

 

• Holt Spirit Day – Wacky Hat Day, FRIDAY – This Friday is the monthly Holt Spirit Day and this time it’s Wacky Hat Day! Wear your favorite or wackiest hat or headwear, or simply wear your Holt spirit gear. Get kids pumped!

• REPEAT: School Spirit Assembly, April 28 @8:05 – We’ll have our monthly School Spirit Assembly on Friday, April 28th in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:10, but all classes should be in the gym by 8:05. Watch the Staff Zimbra Calendar for the Assembly Map & Details!

• Classified Staff Meeting, FRIDAY @1:30 – Classified staff will meet in the library at 1:30 to review the Neurodiversity and Behavior Presentation that Emily & Kelsey shared at last week’s Friday PD and also information about the Raptor app. Here’s are the iOS and Android links to download the app to your smartphone ahead of the meeting. Let me know if you have any additional agenda items.

• Friday PD: Staff Choice – This Friday’s PD time is designate as “Staff Choice.” Plan on doing whatever it is you signed up for on the Elementary Staff Choice PD Sign-up Form last time.

• Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week, May 1-5 – Not this week, but next week is Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week. PAHS is planning on showing their love and appreciation bringing various goodies all week and currently has a parent sign-up if you want a peek at their plans.

• Data Team Meetings, May 3rd – We are set to have roving subs cover classrooms Wednesday, May 3rd for grade level Data Team Meetings. Here’s the schedule:

1st – 8:00-8:55 (Guest Teacher Time 7:50-9:00)
5th – 9:05-10:00 (Guest Teacher Time 9:05-10:00)
3rd – 10:20-11:15 (Guest Teacher Time 10:15-11:15)
KG – 11:25-12:29 (Guest Teacher Time 11:10-12:20)
2nd – 12:55-1:50 (Guest Teacher Time 12:20-1:50)
4th – 2:05-3:00 (Guest Teacher Time 2:00-2:25)

• Neurodiversity and Behavior Presentation – A big shoutout to Emily and Kelsey for their presentation last Friday on Understanding Function, Replacement Behaviors, and Shaping for Neurodiverse Students. And here’s a direct link to the Behavior Intervention Ideas Doc that’s linked within the slideshow, though Emily did share it’s from her prior school, which was K-12 and she didn’t get a chance to delete all of the secondary info yet.

We’ll also share this same information at Friday’s Classified Staff Meeting, but I wanted to highlight the two slides below, which may be worth printing and hanging up as reminders, about Key Phrases & Language to Use with Escalated Students and the Function & Replacement Behavior Chart. Also linked below is the Rethinking Power Needs Poster.

 

 

And take note of the following key takeaways.

● Our students are changing. It is not their fault. They are still learning how to be human.
● Universal Design for Learning helps ALL students succeed and makes your life easier
● What skill does this student need to learn?
● Understanding function is key
● Replacement behaviors serve the same function more efficiently
● Use shaping to mold behavior over time
● There’s nothing wrong with extra motivators. It’s temporary.
● Take pride in the little victories: progress is progress

• UPDATE: Safety Inspection Now May 23rd – Our annual inspection date got rescheduled to Tuesday May 23rd at 10:30.

• End-Of-Year Purchasing Deadlines – the cutoff for purchase orders is Monday, May 15th. The cutoff for school credit card purchases is Wednesday, May 31st. If you need to order something by PO or credit card, it must arrive by June 20th.

• Field Trips Payment, 1-Week Notice to Melanie – If you are going on a field trip and there is a payment required let Melanie know at least one week before the trip.

• Be Descriptive on Behavior Referrals (Avoid Being Vague) – When writing referrals, be descriptive when writing up incidents. Instead of writing “Student was disruptive & defiant” or “Student used inappropriate language,” write “Student continued to talk out and interrupt the teacher after three reminders” or “Student called another student the B-word.” This makes things more clear to parents what happened and leaves kids less wiggle room to make excuses for their behavior.

• Licensed IEP/504 Time Log – As a reminder, the Licensed IEP/504 Time Log is for teachers to record times you’ve attended IEP and 504 meetings during your prep time or beyond regular work hours. The deadline is to complete the form is June 8th and payment would be on your June 30th paystub. Teachers can receive up to 12 hours compensation.

• Raptor (Emergency Drill) App – Downtown wants principals to rollout the Raptor App (iOS and Android) with staff before the end of May, so I will add this to a future licensed and classified staff meeting. Click the link above if you’d like to add the app now to your phone or iPad. The Tech Department should have everyone entered into the system and attached to Holt when you log in with your 4J email and password.

• Interior Classroom Blinds – Facilities asked me to share the following with staff for increasing the lifespan of the interior classroom blinds facing the hallway:

• Use Swivel Stick to Open (Not Pull String) – To open your classroom blinds, use the swivel stick to rotate the blinds open instead of pulling the drawstring to pull them up and down. The weight of the larger blinds is too much for the string and the mechanism.

• Avoid Item Pushed Against Blinds – Please do not have items on the ledge next to the blinds, which can then get pushed against and damage the blind.

• District Admin Updates – See this email and this email for full details, but here are a few admin moves for next school year. Jim Moore, principal at Edgewood, will be the new South Eugene Athletic Director. Peter Barsotti, principal at Madison, will the new North Eugene Athletic Director. Sarah “Poppy” Campbell (who I’ve been friends with since pre-school), assistant principal at Spencer Butte, will be the new principal at Charlemagne. Brian Watson, assistant principal at Monroe, will be the new principal at Kennedy, whose current principal, Jen Hebard, will be the sole principal for Chinese Immersion instead of both CI and Kennedy. And a couple out-of-district folks, Nain Muñoz is the new principal at North Eugene and Kee Zublin is the new principal at South Eugene. This leaves unfilled principal jobs at Chavez, Edgewood, YG, and Madison, along with a few AP jobs.

• May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – Next month is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. If you’re looking for teaching resources, check out NEA, WeAreTeachers, ReadWriteThink, and the US Library of Congress for loads of ideas. There’s also quite a few stories on Sora.

• 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 24 (M)
PAHS Can & Bottle Drive (4/26 – 5/19)
Spring Benchmarking Window Opens
Library Week #2 Classes
3rd Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
3:00, Allan to Parent Meeting
3:45-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

April 25 (T)
8:05, Earthquake/Fire Drill
8:30-1:30, 4th Field Trip to UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History (Cobb & Reich)
5:45-7:15, Conscious Discipline Parent Night (Library)

April 26 (W)
Administrative Professionals Day (KG)
8:30-1:30, 4th Field Trip to UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History (Benavides)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
1:45-2:45,3rd Grade Delgani Strings Assembly (Cafeteria)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
3:30-4:30, 23-24 Kinder Parent and Kids Meet & Greet (Soft Play)

April 27 (H)
8:00, Allan Meeting w/Amy Page & Justin Huntley (Office)
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Garden Project (Garden)
1:30-3:00, Kona Shave Ice Fundraiser (Hard Play)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Meeting (Library)
4:00-7:00, Allan to Elem Job Expo Round #2 (Zoom)

April 28 (F)
School Spirit Day – Wacky Hat Day
8:05-8:35, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Staff Choice
1:30-2:30, Classified Staff Meeting (Library)

May 1 (M)
Teacher Appreciation Week
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
PAHS Can & Bottle Drive (4/26 – 5/19)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #1 Classes
4th Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

May 2 (T)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)

May 3 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
8:00-2:50, Data Team Meetings
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

May 4 (H)
Holt Night Out – Elkhorn
5:00-7:00, ACE Awards Celebration (SEHS)

May 5 (F)
School Lunch Hero Day (2nd)
8:45-9:45, 5th Grade Monroe MS Tour (Walking Field Trip)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Friday PD – Building Based (Equity)

Only 8 more Mondays until summer!

Allan

 

April 17, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/04/15 21:40 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, P.D.  |  Comments Off on April 17, 2023

Hi Everyone,

Sixteen items of note for this week:

• 23-24 Staffing Updates – Several staffing updates for next year:

• Job Expo Updates – Five Job Expo updates:

COUNSELOR – Megan Travis has been hired as our school counselor for next year, coming to us from Spring Creek where she taught kindergarten and 5th grade. She’s only been with 4J for three years, but prior to working at Spring Creek worked with neuro-diverse students with ages spanning from 2-18 years old at the Sheldon Community Center for 20 years, working part of that time under our very own Kim McManus.

UPDATE:  1ST GRADE – Leah Willow, currently our ELA TOSA, will return to Holt as a full-time 1st grade teacher. This was originally posted as a job-share with Gloria, but Gloria has been snapped up as a Title 1 Teacher at Awbrey Park. Please welcome Leah back to the Holt Team!

HR made a mistake on their job offer for our 1st grade opening and is working right now to correct it. I hope to announce our hire at Tuesday’s staff meeting.

2ND GRADE (New Vacancy) – Michael was hired into an ELD position at Willagilespie/Monroe for next year. That leaves us with a 2nd grade vacancy for Round #2 of the Job Expo or if any staff are interested in moving into this opening, though being the last in one in on a four-person team can be tenuous what you’ll do the following year. Let me know ASAP if you are interested as the deadline for me to notify HR of our opening is Monday night. On a related note, Candace and Liz are flip flopping position for next year, with Candace moving back to 2nd grade and Liz moving back to 5th grade.

PE/MUSIC (0.2 FTE) – As expected, no one applied for either of these positions, but I do know of external candidates interested in both of these position, so I’m not worried about finding good candidates.

INSTRUCTIONAL COACH – This position will go to Round #2 of the Job Expo. Here’s a link to the most current MTSS-Instructional Coach Job Description. There’s full-time openings at multiple schools and downtown said they would will have more information for principals last week regarding the interview process, but principals didn’t hear anything, so I’m still not quite sure if hiring will be done by principals, district admin, or some sort of collaboration. I’ll share more info at Tuesday’s staff meeting if something is shared before then.

If you know any excellent people out there for any of our openings, tell them HOLT ROCKS and that they should apply!

• Melanie is Retiring – Melanie is sadly leaving us at the end of the school year, but did say she will sub at Holt, so she’s not gone for good. I’ve submitted a job requisition to HR last week, so the job posting might go up as early as this week. Melanie will leave some big shoes to fill, but the good news is Sharon is interested applying, so we know we’ll have at least one strong candidate!

• Volunteer Appreciation Week, THIS WEEK – Looks like every team has signed up on the Volunteer Appreciation Treat Sign-Up Form, so just remember to bring your treats this week!

• Jimmy John’s Staff Catered Lunch, DEADLINE MONDAY – Monday at 3:00 is the deadline to get Elizabeth $12 (cash or Venmo) for A Jimmy Johns Boxed Lunch (sandwich, chips, cookie) for this Wednesday.

• Holt Night Out Fundraiser – Papa’s Pizza, TUESDAY – If you missed it in the Quick News, this Tuesday is a Holt Night Out Fundraiser at Papa’s Pizza on Coburg Road. Remind your kiddos about the event and remind them to bring the flyer!

 

• NEW TIME: Earthquake/Fire Drill, April 19 @8:05 – I forgot to look at the state testing schedule and have moved the time of our drill to 8:05 this Wednesday. We’ll start with an Earthquake Drill and then move into a Fire Drill.

When it comes time for the drill, I’ll get on the PA to announce the earthquake drill, reviewing Drop, Cover, Hold, and will launch the drill by saying “EARTHQUAKE! DROP, COVER, and HOLD!” We’ll pull the alarm to signal when to evacuate the building. In a real earthquake, you could evacuate once the earthquake is over. There are many resources for teaching Drop, Cover, Hold at The Great Oregon Shakeout. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map.

• REPEAT: Sheldon Drama Club Addams Family Assembly, FRIDAY @8:30 – This Friday the Sheldon Drama club will perform for us in the cafeteria from 8:30-9:30. Attendance is optional, but it should be a fun assembly. Linked here is the Assembly Map and Directions.

• REPEAT: Friday PD: Equity – This Friday is a “Building Based” Friday PD and our Equity Team is putting on a presentation around neurodiversity and de-escalation strategies at 1:30 in the Library.

• Annual Safety Inspection, April 26th @10:30 – 4J’s liability insurance agent and members of 4J Risk Management will conduct a safety walkthrough inspection next week on Wednesday, April 26th around 10:30. Linked here is a handout of the Most Common Classroom Safety Violations. The two main items we got dinged for last time were:

• Combustable items hanging from ceilings
• Door egress width (3 feet) blocked by rolling carts and other items

• Kona Ice Fundraiser, Thursday, April 27 @1:45 – Kona Ice is coming to Holt Thursday, April 27th at 1:45. Teachers should send bus riders who brought money to hard play at 1:45, so they have time to buy and eat their shave ice before having to get onto the bus. And remember, all staff get a free shave ice! Just show your badge!

• School Spirit Assembly, April 28 @8:05 – We’ll have our monthly School Spirit Assembly on Friday, April 28th in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:10, but all classes should be in the gym by 8:05. Stay tuned for details!

• Classified Sick Leave Bank Open Enrollment Help Session, May 9th – The 4J Classified Benefits Coordinator will be in the staff room on Tuesday, May 9th from 10:30-12:00. They will be available to answer questions about the Sick Leave Bank as well as provide information on how to enroll, but feel free to ask any benefit related questions you may have.

• BOGO Scholastic Fair, May 22-26 – We’ve scheduled our spring Buy-One-Get-One-Free Scholastic Book Fair for the week of May 22 – 26. The library will be closed for check out this week, but Robbie will continue to teach library lessons to Week #1 classes, just in classrooms instead of the library.

• Free Earth Day Lessons & Activities – Earth Day is this Saturday and linked HERE is a collection of lessons and activities to help teachers explore this subject with K-12 students. And don’t forget about the 4J Earth Day Learning Hub.

• April SSD Newsletter – If you’re interested, linked here is the April SSD Newsletter that was shared with SPED teachers and principals. This edition includes info about specially designed instruction, required FBAs, and rules for conducting observations of students.

• OEBB Dependent Eligibility Verification, Due April 30th – I finally did this for myself if any of you have questions on the process. If you have dependents covered by your insurance you need to submit the items listed HERE by the end of April. You also need to complete the “OEBB Dependent Eligibility Verification” form, which was mailed to people. However, if you’re like me and can’t find it, you can also just send a secure email to OEBB.dependenteligibility@odhsoha.oregon.gov with the required documents, including your full name, address, and phone.

• 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 17 (M)
Volunteer Appreciation Day and Treat Table (Sunshine/Staff)
Library Week #1 Classes
2nd Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
2:40-4:30, Talent Show Auditions (Reich’s Room)
4:00-5:30, All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)

April 18 (T)
Holt Night Out Fundraiser – Papa’s Pizza
1:30-2:00, Kinder Music Performance (Gym)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)
4:00-5:00, 4J Library Advisory Meeting (Library)

April 19 (W)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
9:00-12:15, 3rd Grade Science Center and Planetarium Field Trip
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:40-4:30, Talent Show Auditions (Reich’s Room)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

April 20 (H)
Oingo Boingo Day
2:45-3:45, PBIS/Equity/SEL Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

April 21 (F)
Eid al-Fitr, End of Ramadan (Major Religious Holiday)
8:30-9:00, Sheldon Drama Club Assembly (Cafeteria)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Friday PD – Building Based (Equity)

April 22 (SA)
Earth Day

April 24 (M)
Spring Benchmarking Window Opens
Library Week #2 Classes
3rd Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
3:45-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

April 25 (T)
8:30-1:30, 4th Field Trip to UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History (Cobb & Reich)
2:45-3:30, Master Schedule Committee Rep Meeting (Library)
5:45-7:15, Conscious Discipline Parent Nights (Library)

April 26 (W)
Administrative Professionals Day (KG)
8:30-1:30, 4th Field Trip to UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History (Benavides)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
1:45-2:45,3rd Grade Delgani Strings Assembly (Cafeteria)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
3:30-4:30, 23-24 Kinder Parent and Kids Meet & Greet (Soft Play)

April 27 (H)
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Garden Project (Garden)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Meeting (Library)
4:00-7:00, Allan to Elem Job Expo Round #2 (Zoom)

April 28 (F)
8:05-8:35, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Master Schedule Rep Meeting (Library)
2:30-3:00, Attendance Team Meeting (Library)

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep 5th grade from their appointed rounds at Outdoor School! Believe it or not, they endured all those weather conditions at ODS last week! Thank you to all the staff who worked those long days last week!

Allan

April 10, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/04/08 14:06 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, P.D.  |  Comments Off on April 10, 2023

 

Howdy Everyone,

A shoutout to Holt’s ACE Award nominees, Alex, Emily, Kendallyn, Lesli, and Lisa G. Thank you all for your work and for making our school look good!

Fifteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Three staffing updates:

• 23-24 Part-Time SPED Teacher, Sheryl Carroll – SSD has placed Sheryl Carroll into Whitney’s position for next year, where she will be 0.5 FTE at Holt and 0.5 FTE at Gilham.

• Darren Out Rest of Year – Darrin will be out on leave for the remainder of the year, but luckily Abby is able to continue to fill this position.

• 2nd Grade 1:1 EA, Julie Zybach – Outside of Abby, Julie has been our most regular classified sub at Holt this year, and she has agreed to fill the 2nd Grade 1:1 EA sub job, supporting a challenging student who was placed at Holt, for the rest of school year. Please welcome Julie to the team!

• REPEAT: Holt Night Out Fundraiser – DoughMo Cookies, TUESDAY – This Tuesday a Holt Night Out Fundraiser at DoughMo Cookies! Owned by a Holt family and located in Downtown Eugene at 980 Oak St. under the Overpark Parking Garage (free parking the first hour). I went there myself and thought they were pretty darn tasty! Get your kids excited.

• REPEAT: Team Meetings, WEDNESDAY– For this week’s Team Meetings, make sure you have a grade level rep selected for Friday’s Master Schedule Committee Meeting. Also make sure your team is in agreement regarding the master schedule questions shared in prior announcements.

As usual, be sure to complete the Team Meeting Minutes Form (make a copy) and email it to holt_staf@4j.lane.edu

The Team Meeting Minutes Form can also be found on the Holt Staff Dashboard.

• Friday PD: Master Schedule Committee Meeting – This Friday’s PD is a Building Based and we are using it for our first Master Schedule Committee Meeting. We’ll meet at 1:30 in the library to share where teams are at on subject area times, recesses, morning meetings, closing meetings, ELD pullout times, PE/Music morning preferences, and library times. Following this meeting, the schedule will be:

April 12-26 – Teams Build Dream Schedule
April 25 – Reps Meet to combine schedule and plan next steps
May 2 – Staff Meeting Discussion

• Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 17-21 – Please add your team info to the Volunteer Appreciation Treat Sign-Up for what sweet treat your team will bring on Monday, April 17th that will be good through the week (i.e. Hershey kisses, pretzels, chocolate, caramel cookies, granola bars, lollipops, or your favorite teacher treat). This is our last sign up until the EOY BBQ.

• Earthquake/Fire Drill, April 19 @10:05 – Not this week, but next week on Wednesday, April 19th at 10:05, we’ll hold our second and final Earthquake drill of the year right and will then hold our Fire Drill Evacuation. With 3rd grade on a field trip this day, we can hold these drills during their recess and also not step on anyone’s PE or Music times. 4th grade will be lined up outside when I announce the earthquake drill, so they should follow the Shakeout guidance of: If outside, get clear of buildings, power lines, trees, light poles and other dangers, drop down to your knees and cover your head and neck. Or we could do the drill two minutes later if 4th would rather do it from their classroom.

When it comes time for the drill, I’ll get on the PA to announce the earthquake drill, reviewing Drop, Cover, Hold, and will launch the drill by saying “EARTHQUAKE! DROP, COVER, and HOLD!” We’ll pull the alarm to signal when to evacuate the building. In a real earthquake, you could evacuate once the earthquake is over. There are many resources for teaching Drop, Cover, Hold at The Great Oregon Shakeout. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map.

 

• REPEAT: Sheldon Drama Club Addams Family Assembly, April 21 @8:30 – Not this week, but next week on Friday, April 21st, the Sheldon Drama club will perform for us. The assemble will be in the cafeteria from 8:30-9:30. the grade level signs and cones so classes know where to sit. Attendance is optional, but it should be a fun assembly. Linked here is the Assembly Map and Directions.

• Friday PD: April 21 – Equity – April 21st is another “Building Based” Friday PD and our Equity Team is putting on a presentation around neurodiversity and de-escalation strategies.

• SCIP (School Continuous Improvement Plan) Update – Site Council reviewed and revised the Draft SCIP (School Continuous Improvement Plan) I emailed earlier. The plan is mostly the same as our School Improvement Plan as last year, except that we pulling out one action item from our Equity & Inclusion goal regarding parent involvement and made that a goal all it’s own. The other change is that the SCIP plan required us to target specific historically underserved groups, so our new goals read as:

1. Revitalize and re-engage post-pandemic parent involvement of families of students of color.
2. Emerging bi/multilingual students and students of color will maintain regular school attendance.
3. With a focus on increasing inclusive and equitable school-based practices and systems, students on IEPs and students of color will experience meaningful academic, social, and emotional growth.

Downtown may require us to slap a number onto these goals, in which case I might add 85% or 90% of students will…, but really our goal should be for 100% of students to be successful. Downtown Friday Evening provided an updated timeline that states the plans due at the end of the month are merely drafts and the final plan isn’t due until September, though I feel we already have a pretty solid plan.

We’ll discuss this at our next Staff Meeting where folks can suggest any additions or changes.

 

• Library Books to Book Nook (help stamping?) – We got an official okay for the library books being discarded to go to Book Nook. The original plan for the discarded books was to pay a company to take them away and recycle/pulp them, so Financial Services said it was okay to give them to kids, though the district librarian said we needed to stamp them discard/discontinued and black out any 4J markings, so let me know if any of your classes would like to take a box for this task or I can have a naughty kid owing time in the office take it on.

• Earth Day (4/22) Resources – If you missed it in the latest Eco Experience, Earth Day is Saturday, April 22nd and there is a 4J Earth Day Webpage with loads of elementary resources and activities you could use the next two weeks leading up to that day.

• April SSD Newsletter – If you’re interested, linked here is the April SSD Newsletter that was shared with SPED teachers and principals. This edition includes info about specially designed instruction, required FBAs, and rules for conducting observations of students.

• Love Food Not Waste Resources – If you’re interested, here is the Elementary Love Food Not Waste Resource document that includes information, resources, and more. And, here is the 3-Year Love Food Not Waste Plan for background information.

• Field Trip Ideas – COVID got us out of practice on Field Trips, but WeAreTeachers has some tips and suggestions for you, including the best field trip ideas for every grade, the best virtual field trips, and an article titled Why I Hate Field Trips (And How I Learned to Deal). Plus, don’t miss these free field trip permission forms.

• 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 10 (M)
Library Week #2 Classes
1st Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
3:45-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

April 11 (T)
Holt Night Out Fundraiser – DoughMo Cookies
8:45-5:15, 5th Grade Outdoor School (Camp Wilani)
2:45-3:45, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

April 12 (W)
8:45-5:15, 5th Grade Outdoor School (Camp Wilani)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings

April 13 (H)
8:45-5:15, 5th Grade Outdoor School (Camp Wilani)
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Garden Project (Garden)
2:45-3:30, Allan to Evaluation Planning Meeting (Zoom)
4:00-7:00, Allan to Elem Job Expo Round #1 (Zoom)

April 14 (F)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Master Schedule Rep Meeting (Library)
2:30-3:00, Attendance Team Meeting (Library)

April 17 (M)
Volunteer Appreciation Day and Treat Table (Sunshine/Staff)
Library Week #1 Classes
2nd Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
2:40-4:30, Talent Show Auditions (Reich’s Room)
4:00-5:30, All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)

April 18 (T)
Holt Night Out Fundraiser – Papa’s Pizza
1:20-1:50, Kinder Music Performance (Gym)
2:30-4:00, Talent Show Auditions (Music Room)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)
4:00-5:00, 4J Library Advisory Meeting (Library)

April 19 (W)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
9:00-12:15, 3rd Grade Science Center and Planetarium Field Trip
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:40-4:30, Talent Show Auditions (Reich’s Room)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

April 20 (H)
Oingo Boingo Day
2:45-3:45, PBIS/Equity/SEL Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

April 21 (F)
Eid al-Fitr, End of Ramadan (Major Religious Holiday)
8:30-9:00, Sheldon Drama Club Assembly (Cafeteria)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Friday PD – Building Based (Equity)

April 22 (SA)
Earth Day

Back to the 5-day week grind!

Allan