August 31, 2015

By Allan  

Back to School Logo

Welcome Back Howard Staff!

Here’s the first edition of my weekly announcements. For new staff and as a reminder to Howard veterans, it’s my intent with these announcements to share informational and business items here rather than taking up time at staff meetings. It’s also my hope to avoid cluttering up your inboxes by sending emails throughout the week and to instead just send just one email a week to staff. Typically I send these out on Sundays and my hope is for staff read them by Tuesday evening.

Twenty-three items of note this week:

• 2015-2016 Master Schedule and Calendar – Attached is the building Master Schedule [EDIT: links updated as of 09/04/15] (XLS and PDF), which also includes Workshop and PE/Music schedules. Classroom teachers, please let me know which of the PE/Music slots teachers at your grade level are using so I can put names on the schedule.

I also wanted to let new staff know that Howard uses a Google Calendar for our building Master Calendar. And your tech tip of the day, if you’d like to add the Howard calendar to your own list of Google Calendars, is to:

1. Log onto your Google account
2. Click the link above to view the Howard calendar
3. Click on the “+ Google Calendar” button in the lower right hand corner to add it to your Google Calendars.

And if you’re like me and prefer to use the OSX Calendar app over a web browser, just do the following:

1. Open Calendar
2. Go up to Calendar and down to Preferences
3. Click on Accounts
4. Click the “+” button
5. Click on “Google” to add all of your Google Calendars.

Let me know if you have any questions on any of the schedules or calendars.

• 4J Welcome Back Event on Thursday – Since a number of folks have asked, I thought I’d let everyone know that attendance at the 4J Welcome Back Event is optional. I’m interested to see what tone Gus sets with his speech, so I’ll be going, but since I’m taking staff time on Wednesday with a meeting and since there’s also a required Digital Training for Journeys for teachers on Friday, I completely understand if staff feel they need to work in their rooms on Thursday.

• Digital Training for Journeys, Friday, 8:00-11:00 – Howard teachers will be attending the training with River Road and Awbrey Park on Friday, September 4th from 8:00-11:00 at the Ed Center Auditorium. Teachers should bring their laptop or iPad and also bring a class list. Since Howard piloted Journeys and the digital components, I got permission to go ahead and enter all of our teachers and students into ThinkCentral. Howard may be more ahead of the game than other schools, who as of writing this have not yet had their students entered by downtown. Since teachers are being asked to bring class lists, I’m thinking they’re going to have teachers enter students. Students in the system are current as of 8/28, but let me know if there are any students missing from your list and I’ll get them entered if the trainers don’t show you how. Student usernames are their district email username and their password is their lunch PIN with a zero added to the end (ThinkCentral requires a five character password). If you’re curious when other schools are attending, attached is the complete training schedule.

• Send Me Your Summer Photos – If you haven’t done so already, be sure to send me one or more photos from your summer for something I’m putting together for our back-to-school staff meeting. Text or email works fine for getting them to me.

• Staffing Updates – ESS still has to hire for a few of our vacant EA positions in the CLC and Life Skills. Downtown is also still in the process of hiring for our second semester PE teacher. I’ll let people know as soon as I have any updates.

• PE/Music and Prep Times – I mentioned this in my back-to-school letter, but several folks have since asked about it, so I thought I would clarify how the new elementary prep times will work this year for classroom teachers. First semester, classroom teachers will have two preps per week, provided by two PE classes each week. Second semester, classroom teachers will have three preps per week, provided by two Music classes and one PE class each week. I don’t know yet what days we’ll have the PE person second semester because they haven’t been hired yet and we’ll likely share them with another building. Hopefully we can get them M/T or H/F so it fits easily into our existing schedule.

• District Mandatory Policy Review for all StaffAttached and linked here is this year’s District Back-to-School Memo, which covers a variety of district rules, policies and guidelines. If you’re reading this on Sunday, the document is still being updated, but should be updated by Monday [EDIT – it is now updated]. All staff must review the memo and sign & return the check list acknowledgment form to Lori no later than Friday, September 25th. I’ll place hard copies of the acknowledgement form in staff mailboxes once the memo is officially updated. I’ll also post a summary of any changes to district policy in next week’s announcements.

• Howard Staff Handbook Review – Speaking of policy review items, attached is the updated Howard Staff Handbook for 2015-2016. For people new to Howard, this handbook should answer most any questions you have about Howard policies and procedures. Let me know if you have any questions and please sign & return the acknowledgement form, which I’ll also put hard copies of in mailbox, to Lori by Friday, September 25th, stating that you have read and understand the contents of the handbook. For wily veterans, the only changes from last year’s handbook are updates to student dress and updating kindergarten hours to full-day.

• Teacher Classroom Funds – The PTO is planning continue to providing classrooms funds, which was $400 per classroom last year, but I wanted to let teachers know that I’m waiting to hear what amount they will be able to provide this year. I know the PTO raised more funds than ever last year, but we also have more teaching staff this year, so at this point I’m not sure if funds will be more, less or the same.

• Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program – The Fresh Fruits and Vegetable program will be continuing this year. Nutrition Services estimates that it’ll be ready to start on Monday, September 14th.

• Enrollment Updates – If people are curious where we stand in terms of enrollment, we’re over our projection by 12 students as of 8/28 with 394 students either enrolled or with registration packets out. The grade level breakdowns, not including Life Skills students but including packets still out, are KG (61), 1st (59), 2nd (79), 3rd (60), 4th (60) and 5th (66). These numbers will likely continue to fluctuate with more move-ins and move-outs, but that’s where we are right now.

• Crossroads Technology Bond Update – Thanks to the Howard TLT, we have a very thorough building technology plan, which helped us get some new hardware in the final two phases of the Crossroad technology bond funds. Over the summer we received a new iPad Cart, which will go to 1st grade. This gives 1st grade two iPad carts, which will be enough for 1:1 iPads for all three 1st grade classrooms. Howard also had enough F and D-rated laptops (meaning they’re really, really old) that we were able to trade those in for two brand new carts of MacBook Airs (72 total laptops). 3rd grade will swap out one of their older COW and the other new COW will replace older laptops at 1st grade. Lastly, and this is not out of Crossroads bond funds, but something that’s being done for Kindergarten classes to help with the transition to full-day kindergarten, the district is providing each kindergarten class will be getting a set of four iPad 2s.

• Counselor Schedule – Our fabulous counselor, Jennifer, will be keeping the same schedule as last year, which is as follows:

Monday: River Road
Tuesday: River Road 8-12, Howard 12-4
Wednesday: River Road 8-11, Howard 11-2 (RR 2ish for meetings)
Thursday: Howard 7:30-11:30 River Road 11:30-4
Friday: Howard

• TSS Schedule – Peggy will again be in the building five days a week in the morning, 7:30-9:30. She’ll then be next door at Kelly and a little over at River Road. Her Kelly time has some flex time between Howard and Kelly, so she is on-call during that time if anything urgent comes up over here. If you need Peggy during her Kelly time, just send her a ticket through 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu and she will be be able to come back over to Howard. Also remember that you can always call the tech help line at (541) 790-7777.

• Two District Tech Updates – One, the district is converting all library browser from the Via library circulation systems to a new one called Destiny that’s made by Follett and is web based. Julie has been trained on the new system and will share information on the new system with staff at a later date. And two, a reminder is to use the Technology Permission Form if you are planning to have student use Google Apps, Edmod or district email, although I don’t think anyone was using these last year.

• Smarter Balanced Score Information – If any of you have been looking at Smarter Balanced scores from last spring, here are a few things to know. Individual scores are under review until the end of August. Also, the scores are “embargoed” from parents and students until September 17th, so DO NOT share scores with anyone outside of school staff. Schools are also advised to not make any major changes based on test results (i.e. suddenly focusing more on looking for evidence or focusing on open response) because the test itself may be undergoing changes. Schools are instead encouraged to look more overall at how they are doing.

• Write In Readers – Journeys Intervention Materials – The Instruction Department sent out “Write in Readers” to schools for grades 1-5. These are intervention materials for students performing below the 30%. They have half the vocabulary, shorter chunks of text, and follow the theme of the main selection, but not the exact same story. Our fall benchmark numbers from the last year were used to determine a minimum of the number of students at some and high risk in reading at grades K-4. These were allocated by students per grade, not teachers. These materials were delivered to classroom teachers for use with students performing below the 30%. However, grade levels can also decide that these materials would be better used with students in Title 1 or SPED.

• Construction Updates – Attached are the minutes from the last Owner/Architect/General Contractor (OAC) Meeting and below are a few related items of note:

• Asbestos Abatement in Room 3 – The carpet crew this summer noticed some wets spots that weren’t drying and were molding in the two layers of carpet Linda’s room, so this past week the district contracted with a company to remove the the carpets and asbestos in the floor. District staff then laid a new carpet, so hopefully Linda’s class will smell better . Facilities weighed just laying a new carpet on top of the two old carpets, but decided to abate in order to better address the smell and to also help speed up the building demolition schedule.

• Wall Graphic for New Office – Attached are the two options for the back wall of the reception area in the new building’s front office. Both options are graphic illustrations, as opposed to a mural or enlarged photo, and utilize the design color scheme of the new building.

Option 1 takes cue from the roadrunner mascot and celebrates the imagery while combining elements of the school’s technology focus and Roadrunner Pledge. It utilizes text graphics to communicate school values and the roadrunner pledge.

Option 2 also uses the technology focus and combines that with the natural form of trees to communicate the schools commitment to both values; technology and nature. This option celebrates the educational mission of the school and seamlessly meshes the two values together into one elegant graphic. It also relates to the old Oak tree that will be removed during demo (cause of much debate during design); a little silver lining.

Lori and my preference is Option 2, although we did like the Roadrunner Pledge in the first option. Option 2 more emphasizes the technology aspect of our program, the new school’s color scheme and also seemed like a cleaner overall design. If you’d like to weigh in with your opinion, let me know by the end of the week.

• New Housing – I mentioned this in my announcements last year, but to update folks on the ground work happening now at the end of Howard Ave. along North Park, there are quite a few new houses about to be built. Originally there were going to be fewer houses and one commercial lot, but if you look on the City of Eugene permitting website, it now looks like they are planning to build 47 residential homes.

• Telecom Path Through Playground – If you noticed a bunch of digging going on out by the kindergarten classrooms, it’s a telecom conduit into the new building that’s running under the existing playground. Todd Construction originally wanted to dig a trench, which would have caused us issues with the blacktop being torn up, so they instead bored a conduit under the playground, which ended up actually being cheaper.

• Beginning Spring Cleaning Now! – Although the move-in date is still in question, this is still a good time to start cleaning out old materials and furniture you don’t think you’ll be using when we make the move into the new building. A little work now can save a lot of time later.

• River Road Construction Update – If you’d like to know where River Road is at in their construction process, you can subscribe to updates by following this link. Attached is the latest update which has information about a potential purchase of some adjoining property that 4J has been trying to negotiate a purchase of for a number of years since the River Road property is so small.

• Gus Out to Buildings – Our new superintendent is planning to visit all schools this year and is scheduled to visit Howard the morning of January 12th. Gus is visiting one or two schools each week for a half-day. He also said he doesn’t need to attend a staff meeting, but would rather walk around unescorted after meeting with principals for a quick check in and then meet with the principal again at the end for a follow-up.

• 15/16 4J Transportation Trip Rates – Attached are the 2015-2016 4J Transportation Trip Rates. After 6 years of zero rate increases, there will be a 7-9% increase this year to offset higher driver, fuel and maintenance costs. In addition, for schools utilizing activity vans, Transportation will be moving to a per-mile fee to help capture fuel and maintenance costs associated with their use.

• District Admin Updates – There were a few district admin changes and movement over the summer. Susan Penrod, principal at Spring Creek, accepted a new position in the Instruction Department as K-12 Curriculum Administrator: English Language Arts. The position is the ELA equivalent of Maddy Ahearn’s Math position downtown. Taking Susan’s place at Spring Creek as principal is Raquel Gwynn, who many of you may know as a Staff Development Specialist (SDS) and the District BEST Coordinator. Raquel’s District BEST Coordinator position has yet to be filled. Over at ESS, Leila Schuck is the new Elementary ESS administrator, taking over for Amy Tidwell who’s now the Director of SPED in Bethel. Leila was most recently a SPED Consultant and a SPED teacher at Willagilespie. Howard parent Cydney Vandercar is continuing on this year as the interim Director of HR. No one has been hired to fill her previous HR position. Lastly, Gus is currently deciding whether or not he will hire a Deputy Superintendent. 4J has always had one until Dr. Berman came to Eugene, so Gus is weighing whether or not to bring back that position.

• How To Tackle Digital Citizenship During The First 5 Days Of School – Digital citizenship is not a one time discussion. It is an ongoing process that needs to be taught to all grade levels. The problem is that things are changing so rapidly that it is difficult for everyone to keep up to date with the trends. Everyone has to be educated and develop an understanding of the role digital citizenship plays in our everyday lives. There is so much that goes into being a digital citizen; from taking photos of others to knowing when it is appropriate to share something online. See this short article for more details.

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

September 1 (T)
Teachers Return – Planning Day
8:00-8:30, Welcome Back Breakfast Burrito Gathering (Cafeteria)

September 2 (W)
Classified Staff Return
7:30-8:00, Welcome Back Breakfast (Library)
8:00-12:30, Howard Back-to-School Staff Meeting & PD (Library)
12:30-1:00, Staff Tour of New Building (Construction Site)

September 3 (H)
7:30-8:30, District Staff Back-to-School Breakfast & Social (SEHS)
8:30-12:00, District Staff Back-to-School Event & Speeches (SEHS)

September 4 (F)
8:00-11:00, Digital Training for Journeys for Licensed Staff (Ed Center)

September 7 (M)
Labor Day – No School

September 8 (T)
8:00-10:00, Staff Meeting – potential meeting for any needed business (Library)
10:00, Q&A Session for New Staff – Optional (Library)
1:00-2:00, Meet your Teacher

September 9 (W)
First Day for Students
PBIS Focus: Safety

September 10 (H)
REGULAR DAY

September 11 (F)
REGULAR DAY

See you all soon!

Allan

PS: I’ve replenished my candy supply if any of you need a quick sugar boost.

 

Little-Humans