http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=13182
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 cultureIndividual 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 AdminOctober 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 MeetingOctober 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 GardenOctober 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
