http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=13666
Hey Holt Staff,
I’m super excited (I know, it’s super sad how excited I am about this) to share that the FDA Announced last week they are allowing flavored milk in schools! They were considering banning flavored milk, which was 4J Nutrition Services’ reason for banning chocolate milk, so this may be our window of opportunity to get it back at school!
Nineteen items of note for this week:
• 24-25 Staffing Updates – Two staffing updates for next year:
• Title EA Updates – Normally I don’t share who interviews for positions, but it was kind of out there that Wendy interviewed for the vacant Title EA position Kodie is currently subbing in. Wendy decided to stay in kindergarten, which allowed us to reconfigure Title 1 EA staffing for next year, so that instead of hiring for a 6.5 hour Title EA, we are going to have two 4-hour Title EA positions, shifting some Title discretionary funds around. This means that Timmy will remain in his 4-hour position and we will have a 4-hour vacancy for next year, with Kodie continuing to sub in the 6-hour position for the remainder of the year.
• Job Expo, 0.2 PE Position – Two candidates applied for our 0.2 FTE PE position. HR has made a job offer so we are waiting to hear if the person accepts the position or not.
• Self-Managers Round #1 – Linked here is the Round #1 Holt Self-Managers Spreadsheet. Let me know if you don’t have access to the spreadsheet and I’ll give you access to the Staff Google Drive. There’s a good chance I’ve forgotten to add some folks.
A few other Self-Manager Notes:
Managers Announced Monday – I’ll announce the first round of Self-Managers during Monday Morning Announcements.
Lanyards & Badges – Will be delivered to classrooms Monday after announcements.
Group Photo – We’ll gather kids for a group photo after we pass out the lanyard and badges. Since there are so many kids this time, I’ll probably do a K-2 photo and a 3-5 photo.
Postcards – I’ll finish a postcard design Sunday and have postcards pirnted and in the Staff Room for any staff to sign if you work with the students.
Tracking Warnings – We’re doing 3 Strikes for losing Self-Manager Badges. If a student gets a warning, track it in the Notes column on the Self Manager Spreadsheet.
Privileges – Kids can start going to lunch & specials early right away, though do not send kids out to recess ahead of time since there may not be adults out there to watch them. We’ll have the Golden Table out in the cafeteria as the “Self-Manager Table” Monday – Wednesday” and available for Golden Table Tickets Thursday & Friday. We’ll schedule a Self-Manager Recess one afternoon before the next application deadline. Teachers are welcome to add their own additional privileges.
• Fiddle Artist in Residence Schedule – Linked here is the Fiddle Artist in Residence Schedule, which starts this week. The rotation for PE, Music, and Calming Room to host artist classes will be:
Week 1: 4/29-5/3 (Gym): Alex and Jenifer will be outside for PE, either on the fields or under the covered area, the gym will be open for the fiddle artist in residence classes.
Week 2: 5/6-5/10 (Music Room): Ashley and Tracy will be going classroom to classroom or going outside underneath the covered area for music. The music room will be available for the fiddle artist in residence classes.
Week 3: 5/13-5/17 (Calming Room): the Calming room will be available for the fiddle artist in residence classes. The calming room will be moved to TBA.
• Student Support Team (SST) Meeting TUESDAY – The May SST meeting will be on Tuesday, where the team will screen potential referrals for SPED evaluations and for SST members to do a monthly check-in on students currently in the evaluation process. Use the Request for Student / Classroom Support Form to make a referral to the team. An agenda will be emailed to teachers needing to attend the meeting.
• Grade Level Team Meetings, TUESDAY – 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.eduThe Team Meeting Minutes Form can also be found on the Holt Staff Dashboard.
• Wednesday PD: SAEBRS Spring Testing WEDNESDAY – The spring SAEBRS testing window is May 1-31, so we will meet at 1:30 in the library to use the Wed. PD time for a quick review of the SAEBRS protocols and winter data, and then time for K-5 teachers to input individual student assessments as we did for the winter benchmark window.
• BMX Anti-Bullying Assembly THURSDAY @9:00-9:40 – This Thursday at 9:00 will be the BMX Anti-Bullying Assembly on hard play. I’ll put out cones with grade level signs circling their performance area.
• Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week, 5/6-10 – The week of May 6-10 is Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week. If you’d like a preview of what the Holt PTO has planned, take a peek HERE.
• Wednesday PD: Upbeat Survey Time 5/8 – Wednesday, May 8th will be time for staff to complete the spring Upbeat Survey.
• Earthquake/Fire Drill, 5/9 @1:15 – Thursday, May 1:15 will be our second required Earthquake Drill of the year, followed by 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.
• 24-25 Master Schedule Survey Results – Linked here are the Master Schedule Survey Results. Highlight include a majority of staff prefer:
• Recess – 20 min. recess with 15 min. recess Wednesdays
• Assembly Time – Afternoon is preferred
• Assembly Date – Fridays were preferred
• Tier 3 – After Tier 1 & 2 is preferred
• SSHA – Keep it at 45 or 60 min.
• PBIS Friday – Staff want to start them again
• Cereal Stacks in Workrooms – I got enough cereal from Food for Lane County every classroom can take a box if you want one for your classroom.
• Mystery Science Early Bird Special – Mystery Science is pretty popular with Holt staff and is a good way to hit on a lot of science standards. For the 2024-2025 school year, there’s an early bird special pricing special ending April 30th that I’m planning to renew unless there are any teachers who disagree and think we should discuss as a staff.
• No Kids in Lunch Wagons – A reminder that students are now allowed to ride in lunch wagons. Way too easy for kids to fall and get hurt.
• Science Integration Lesson Design paid opportunity – Teachers, are you passionate about elementary science, wondering how to fit science into an overpacked school day & interested in applying an integrated approach to teaching and learning in their classroom? If so, join the Lane STEM Team for K-5 teachers. This is a 4-day paid workshop on integrating Science into our existing 4J Language Arts programs. The application closes on May 1. See the linked FLYER for details.
• Summer Opportunities for Teachers – WREN is offering paid opportunities for teachers this summer.
• District Admin Updates – Travis Sheaffer has been named principal at Kennedy Middle, Adrienne Pierce has been named Assistant Principal at North Eugene High, Denisa Taylor is retiring and Stephanie Randall has been selected to serve as Twin Oaks principal. See this email for details.
• AI Can Transform the Classroom Just Like the Calculator – AI can better education, not threaten it, if we learn some lessons from the adoption of the calculator into the classroom. I found this Scientific American Article an interesting read and reassuring that AI is not going to upend education.
•Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:
• EEF Grants Due FRIDAY – EEF Grants are opening now and are due May 3. 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). The application link is not live yet, but linked here is a PDF I made of the form from earlier this year.
• PTO Childcare EA Help May & June – Are any EAs interested in helping with childcare at the May 2 and/or June 6 PTO meetings, 5:30-7:30? The PTO will pay extended contract or I can offer trade time if you’d rather bank some hours for a future non-student day. Let me know if you are interested.
•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 29 (M)
Kindergarten Staff Room Duty
Artist in Residence Begins (Gym)
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
2:30-4:00, Girls on the RunApril 30 (T)
2:45-3:30, SST Meeting (Calming Room)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team MeetingsMay 1 (W)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – SAEBRS Spring Testing (Library)
1:30-3:00, Girls on the Run
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)May 2 (H)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
10:45-12:45, 5th Grade Hult Center Field Trip
11:00-12:00, Allan to IDEA PD (Zoom)
2:45, Equity & Inclusion Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
4:00-9:00, ACE Awards – Tentative (Ed Center)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Library)May 3 (F)
Holt Kinder Transition Day
9:30-11:30, 5th Grade Monroe Visit
9:45-12:15, 1st Field Trips Magical Mooombah (The Shedd)May 6 (M)
1st Grade Staff Room Duty
Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week
TAG Testing Week
Artist in Residence Continues (Music Room)
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
2:30-4:00, Girls on the Run
3:30-5:30, Allan to Elem Principal Meeting (Ed Center)May 7 (T)
1:15-2:30, Mobility International USA (MIUSA) SPED Visit
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL Meeting (Calming Room)May 8 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Upbeat Survey Time
1:30-3:00, Girls on the RunMay 9 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
1:15, Earthquake & Fire Drill
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Room)
6:00-7:00, Accessible Education Parent Group (Library)May 10 (F)
Kinder Transition Meetings
9:00-12:00, 4th and 5th Grade Track Meet (Sheldon Track)
4:30, Allan to Mentor Meeting (Campbell Center)
Have a rad week, everyone, and thanks for dressing up for 80s Day last Friday!
Allan
