December 14, 2020

By Allan  

 

Greetings Everyone,

I’ve said this to a few people, but this year feels like Groundhog Day, so it’s hard to believe it’s already winter break and that we’re nearly halfway through the school year.

Take time over the break to rejuvenate and to gird yourself for the big changes headed our way in the new year.

And look in your mailbox this Monday for a small gift from me.

Sixteen items of note for this week:

• Family Report Card Info – Discussed at last week’s Leadership Team and on the Staff Meeting Agenda for this Tuesday is the topic of prepping parents that grades on report cards may be lower than expected if kids are not turning in assignments to show what they know. I’ve adapted a longer letter the 4th grade team sent to families, which I’ll send home to families on Monday, but we can discuss this at the Staff Meeting since I think we’ll want to remind families of this again after winter break.

GRADES MATTER!

Report Cards are coming soon! The Oregon Department of Education has directed schools to grade students as normal on report cards, so we wanted families to be aware that grades will be based on the work students submit through Seesaw and/or their level of participation in Zoom.

We know this is a challenging time for families, but we also did not want families to be surprised if grades are lower than expected if students are not fully participating in distance learning.

A few general reminders to help your child be successful:

• No TV, cell phone, or video game distractions during Zoom class.
• Camera on and be visible for the majority of class time.
• On time for class and returning from breaks.
• Complete all Seesaw assignments
• Wednesday work is also recorded as participation and graded.
• If possible, have your child show you their Seesaw journal and notifications.

Thank you all for taking these suggestions into consideration and for continuing to support your child as best you can.

• Hybrid Updates – If you glossed over the Staff Return to Learning Update Email and the 4J Parent News, downtown kind of soft-pedaled the level of change coming, but based on the number of students at a grade level who chose Hybrid or Same School Online, class lists will need to be changed and some teachers will be be reassigned to teach blended classrooms of students who selected Dame School Online.

Principals are to receive more information on this at our meeting Monday afternoon, so I’ll have more information by Tuesday’s Staff Meeting, but I did want people to be in the know and not to have missed this.

• Wednesday PD/PLC Time, 2:40-4:00 – I’d originally planned for the Leadership Team to select a topic for this Wednesday, but downtown has now requiring school to go over the 2020-2021 Data Teams Overview Slideshow. See you on Zoom!

• January 4th PD PlanEric Anderson Emailed principals the skeleton plan for the PD Day following winter break. The day will start with a webinar from outside experts on mindfulness, move to building-developed PD, and finish with an activity from the SSD team. Here’s the schedule so far:

8:00 – 9:00 – Mindfulness – All certified/admin webinar
9:00 – 12:00 – Student Engagement Strategies – Building Led
12:00 – 12:30 – Lunch
12:30 – 2:00 – Trauma Informed Instruction – SSD provided material

However, at a stand-up principal meeting on Friday regarding preliminary hybrid planning, it sounds like that might become a topic somewhere in the day.

 

 

• Holt Spirit Day – Pajama Day, FRIDAY – Get your kids pumped! This Friday, wear your jammies to class and get comfy the last day of school before winter break. I’ve already been celebrating the past few weeks with my new “work slippers” I now keep in my office.

• Fasttmath and Fraction Nation – Principals and Title Coordinators were told that since Adobe is discontinuing Flash as of January 1, 2021, older HMH programs that use Flash are being retired as of December 21, 2020. Be sure to export any student data you would like to retain from Fasttmath or Fraction Nation. See this linked email for the complete list of HMH apps being discontinued, but I believe these are the only two being used by Holt staff.

• Nearpod Resource – Linked here is the Dual Screen on the iPad Loom Video mentioned at last Wednesday’s Nearpod PD.

• Any Gaps in Building Wireless Coverage? – Downtown has funds for expanding wireless coverage within buildings where gaps in coverage may be impacting the delivery of instruction. Let me know by the end of the week if you know of any dead spots or poorly covered areas.

• Dec. 18th Attendance – Short version, take attendance for this Friday on Jan. 4. Read on for the long version… The auto-dialer will make calls Monday afternoon, December 21st for absences entered against the previous week (Dec 14 – 18). By default, the auto-dialer will next make calls Monday afternoon, December 28th for absences entered for Dec 21 – 25 (which in all likelihood would result in no calls being made). Next, would be calls on Monday, January 4th for absences recorded for Dec 28 – Jan 1 (again, no calls would be expected). So waiting until Monday, Jan 4th for teachers or attendance staff to record attendance for Friday, December 18th would be fine, but they won’t be included as part of any auto-dialer/emails.

• COVID-19: Communication and Notification – As we continue to navigate a world with COVID-19 to mitigate spread and impacts of the virus, remember it is critical for all employees to stay home when they are feeling sick. District employees also must notify their supervisor and must stay home if they have a confirmed or presumptive diagnosis of COVID-19, have been exposed to a person with COVID-19, or are being tested for COVID-19 due to symptoms or exposure concerns. Additionally, if someone in your immediate household is being tested for COVID-19 due to illness or they have been identified as a close contact of a COVID-19 positive person we ask you to check in with your supervisor prior to coming to campus. The employee’s supervisor will notify the designated Human Resources Administrator, Dawn Strong. See this HR Email for complete details.

• Erin’s Law Async Guidance – A few people asked me what they should do for asynchronous lessons to cover Erin’s Law for students who do not attend class Zooms. My thought is don’t bother trying to recreate this lesson asynchronously since it’s really more of a discussion. I asked some other principals and they didn’t have any ideas either, but if any of you had a brilliant plan PLEASE SHARE!

• PAHS Updates – A few items of note from last week’s parent group meeting. They are working to finalize Jumpathon dates. I shared the staff preference of March #1 and February #2. Linked here is the current PAHS Budget. They are going to develop form for staff requests, so look for that in the future. PAHS is also offering to take over and/or partner on Zoom Evening Events if staff would like that. I have this on the Staff Meeting agenda discuss.

• Regional Sub Update – HR told principals regional subs will start after winter break. Any vacancy will automatically assign our region’s elementary sub and any subsequent vacancies will go out to the system as normal. If you entered your absence as no-sub-required and are doing a 1-2 day absence with async-only lessons, the sub would not be assigned. See the linked HR Email for details.

• 6 Ways Teachers Continue to Promote Student Voice – This year in distance and hybrid learning, elementary teachers are finding it more important than ever to build lessons centered on students’ active involvement. See this Edutopia Article for details on the following six tips:

1. Connect
2. Don’t let up on demonstration and collaboration
3. Check for understanding
4. Holt office hours
5. Arrange for hands-on learning
6. Maintain the routine

• Fridge Magnet Poetry – Looking for a goofy ELA activity for older kids (or yourself)? Check out frij.io to play with word magnets on a virtual refrigerator. Every day the word bank is swapped out with new nouns and verbs and emojis you can use to create poetry or funny phrases.

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

December 13 (SU)
National Cocoa Day!

December 14 (M)
Erin’s Law Fall Instruction Week
International Monkey Day
10:30-11:30, Allan to Sheldon Region Hybrid Staffing Meeting (Zoom)
1:30-3:30, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
4:00-5:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)
5:00-5:30, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting (Zoom)
6:00-6:30, Learn to Draw an Arctic Fox with Ms. Kim (Zoom)

December 15 (T)
9:00-10:00, Allan to ESD Observation in CDL PD (Zoom)
11:30-8:00, Holt Night Out Fundraiser – Hot Mama’s Wings
12:30-1:30, Allan to Attendance Meeting (Zoom)
3:00-4:00, Staff Meeting (Zoom)

December 16 (W)
9:00-9:45, Allan to Virtual Coffee with the Principal (Zoom)
10:00-11:00, Allan to Elementary Site Coordinators Meeting (Zoom)
1:00-1:30, Allan to Check-In Meeting (Zoom)
2:40-4:00, PD/PLC Time – Data Team Rollout (Zoom)

December 17 (H)
1:30-2:30, Allan to IEP Meeting (Zoom)
7:00, Holt Holiday Gift Exchange Party (Zoom)

December 18 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Pajama Day!
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting (Zoom)

Dec. 21 – Jan. 1 (SU)
No School – Winter Break

January 2 (SA)
National Science Fiction Day

January 4 (M)
No School – PD/Planning day
8:00 – 9:00 – Mindfulness – All certified/admin webinar
9:00 – 12:00 – Student Engagement Strategies – Building Led
12:00 – 12:30 – Lunch
12:30 – 2:00 – Trauma Informed Instruction – SSD provided material

January 5 (T)
Classes Resume
3:00-4:00, Staff Meeting (Zoom)

January 6 (W)
Regular Day

January 7 (H)
Regular Day

December 8 (F)
9:00-10:00, Allan to Physical Distancing Monthly Meeting (Zoom)

5 days until winter break!

Allan