http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=5001
Howdy Everyone,
I hope you all had a relaxing and refreshing three-day weekend and that you all were able to stay healthy, avoiding the many illnesses that seem to be sweeping schools the past couple weeks. My wife got hit with whatever’s going around and was out most all of last week and all of this weekend, so I was full-time dad and didn’t get as much relaxation time as I’d hoped for, but I’m still never going to put down a three-day weekend.
Twenty-one items of note this week:
• 2016-2017 Staffing Survey – If you haven’t done so already, please complete the staffing survey, either on Survey Monkey or on a Word file. I’d like to hear from both classified and licensed staff to know folks’ individual plans and preferences for the future as well as your thoughts on next year’s building-wide staffing plan and master schedule. Please complete the by next Monday, February 22nd so I can gather input before I draw up potential staffing scenarios. All answers will be kept confidential and please let me know if you have any questions.
• Fire Drill, Wednesday, Feb. 17th at 9:00 – If the weather cooperates, we’ll hold our February Fire Drill and also our last required earthquake drill on Wednesday, February, 17th at 9:00. And remember, the new catchphrase for earthquakes is Drop! Cover! Hold On! If we’re rained out, we’ll try for the same time next week on Wednesday.
• Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program Audit Coming Soon – The FDA and USDA are conducting an audit of 4J’s FFVP. They’re planning to come sometime in the next few weeks and will be visiting all schools that participate in the program. Nutrition Services asked me to set up a few classes for them to visit, which I’ve already done with a few teachers, though it is possible the FDA and USDA staff will decide to randomly visit a classroom, so I wanted all classroom teachers to be aware the audit. Julie Whittlesey is going to send me a reminder list of how the FFVP is supposed to work, so look for that coming soon along with the date of the audit.
• PTO Meeting, Tuesday at 6:00 & PTO Board Update – The February PTO Meeting will be this Tuesday, 6:00-7:00 PM in the library if any staff are able to attend. Their main topics are getting ready for the Tech Trot in April and the Carnival in June. The PTO Board is also reorganizing a bit, with Kaylynn stepping down as president and Julie stepping down as parliamentarian. Vice President Angela Hargrove is taking over as president and the rest of the board is continuing on, so things are still in good hands.
And for McTeacher Night this Thursday, if there are extra staff members who would like to volunteer but saw all of the spaces on the sign-up sheet filled, the PTO said McDonalds would be able to have treats to pass out for any additional staff who’d like to come and greet families, so feel free to add your name to the list. And if you can’t help volunteer, stop by for some deliciously greasy, processed food!
• Student Care Team Referrals – The Student Care Team will be next week, which means referrals to the team are due this Friday. Let me know if you have any situations you’d like to refer to the team, either as a hypothetical or a full referral with a signed 4J Release Form (PDF or DOC). Let me know if you would like to talk about any potential referrals.
• NEHS National Youth Service Day Offer – I was contacted by another teacher at North Eugene High School, Kelly McGhehey, who is wondering if there were any staff who would have a 3 hour job or projects for her 10th graders on Friday, April 15th, 9:00-12:00, which is National Youth Service Day. This could be production work, packing of materials, cleaning, working with students, or any other jobs you can think of. If you’re interested, see Kelly’s email and contact her directly at mcghehey@4j.lane.edu
• NEHS Key Club Book Drive Update – I got positive feedback from staff about the NEHS Barns & Noble book fundraiser so I’ve told NEHS to move forward. I did hear from some teachers that their classroom libraries were already pretty well stocked, so for those veteran teachers, we can instead seek donations for the school library. I’ll share more information once NEHS Key Club works out a date and logistics.
• Eugene Emeralds Reading Program Kicks-Off Assembly, March 9th – For those of you who like to plan ahead, Shelly has set up for us the annual Eugene Emeralds Emazing Reading Incentive Program. The kick-off assembly will be on March 9th (3-5 Assembly 8:40-9:05 and K-2 Assembly 9:15-9:40). See the linked assembly map & directions for details. For anyone not familiar with the incentive program, classroom teachers set a reading goal and at the end of the year the Ems will give students free game tickets to all students who met their reading goal. Last year ,Howard our own special “Howard Night” at one game. I got to throw out the first ball at that game and despite my rabid disinterest in sports, I do know how to throw a ball and managed to make it across the plate.
• New Building Updates – The elevator is up and running. Front sidewalks are poured. Trainings on the different new systems (HVAC, sliding panels, AV systems, etc.) are starting up. And parts of the building are starting to get their final clean. Linked here are the minutes from the last Owner/Architect/General Contractor (OAC) Meeting and below is one item of note:
• Class Tours Postponed, Again, Until Mid-March – Student tours are again being postponed until mid-March, after the punch lists are completed. For those not familiar with construction lingo, a punch list is a document prepared near the end of a construction project listing work not conforming to contract specifications that the contractor must complete prior to final payment (i.e. the district will point out all the things Todd Construction got wrong and needs to fix). If you’ve been to the new building lately, all the pieces of blue tape stuck everywhere are preliminary punch list items. But regarding adult tours, I can still take staff out to the new building if any of your or a group of you want to go out.
• Dr. Balderas Visit to Howard BEST After School Program – The district BEST Coordinator, Molly Lajoie, let me know that Dr. Balderas is planning to visit BEST on Thursday, March 10th at 2:30. They’ll then plan to visit Madison at about 3:45.
• District Admin Updates – Cal Young principal Kim Watry has accepted a middle school principal position in Colorado back at her previous school district. And in the elementary ranks, Camus Ridge principal Tom Maloney announced earlier this year that he is retiring at the end of the year. I think I forgot to include Tom in my district admin updates.
▪ IEP Meeting Compensation – I shared this earlier in the year, but with man annual IEP meetings coming up, I wanted to remind non-ESS licensed staff that the EEA contract allows for licensed staff to be compensated for up to four hours of additional pay. Track your IEP meeting times on the Non-ESS Licensed IEP Time Log, which will be accepted later this year between April 25 and June 10th. The attachment can also be found on the HR Forms section of the 4J website.
• Free 4 Week Soccer Clinic – If you want to share this with any interested kids, a new local non-profit soccer club for 5-19 year olds is offering a free 4 week session this month (they are asking for a $5 donation though). The sign-up is at Kelly Middle School this Wednesday and Thursday from 4:00-5:30. See the linked flyer and letter for details.
• Eugene Concert Choir Outreach Program – The Eugene Concert Choir Outreach program is in it’s eighth year and is again offering free classrooms presentations Feb 12 – April 22 to introduce basic musical concepts and choral singing to elementary students, K-5. This year they are offering up to three 30 minute classrooms sessions if any teachers or grade levels are interested. After kids learn the song, they’re invited to perform with the Eugene Concert Choir on stage in their spring kids’ concert at the Hult Center. See the linked letter and application (PDF and DOC) for more details. If you have any questions, email Choir@eugeneconcertchoir.org or call the Eugene Concert Choir office at (541) 687-6865.
• ASCD Express: Building Better Student Relationships – Educators building positive relationships with students is something that I personally believe is just as important if not more important than sound instructional techniques, so I was very happy to see an entire issue of ASCD Express focus on this topic. Relationships are not incidental: they are central to what happens in the classroom. Last fall, an episode of the Hidden Brain podcast shared research demonstrating the effects positive teacher-student connections can have. For example, sharing the results of a simple survey of teachers and students to find common interests prompted students—especially minorities—to perform better in class. This issue of ASCD Express shares research-based and teacher-tested techniques for building the bonds that buoy everything in schools.
• News from the Emerald Empire Reading Council – Here’s the February Newsletter from the Emerald Empire Reading Council. This month’s newsletter includes a number of workshops and some new book reviews of kids books. If you’d like more information, visit their antiquated website.
• Expert: How ADHD affects students at school, home – Research about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder continues to reveal potential negative outcomes for some children with ADHD such as higher rates of obesity among girls. This blog post highlights advice from expert Ned Hallowell about what parents and teachers need to know about the disorder.
• Helping ELLs excel: Engaging your beginners – In this Educational Leadership article, Jane Hill shares six do’s and don’ts to help teachers engage students at all stages of speaking English, including the first levels. Because beginning-level ELLs often can’t communicate what they already know or what they’re taking in about a topic, it’s hard to know whether you are reaching them at the right level, but being aware of the stages of second-language acquisition and following these tips will help teachers be more sure-footed in their instruction
• Giving Better Feedback To Bright Students – Our brightest kids can go through school without ever receiving meaningful feedback. This can set up a fear of feedback and a fixed mindset. In this blog post from Byrdseen, a nice blog about teaching gifted learners, are some helpful tips for being feedback to our brightest students.
• TED Talks: How to make stress your friend – Stress. It makes your heart pound, your breathing quicken and your forehead sweat. But while stress has been made into a public health enemy, new research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces us to an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others.
• 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:
February 15 (M)
Presidents’ Day – No SchoolFebruary 16 (T)
Progress Monitoring – Week 8
9:00-10:00, Allan to Formal Observation
10:20, Allan to Mid-Cycle Goals Conferences
2:30-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Library)February 17 (W)
Exclusion Day
10:45, OBOB Battle Practice (Gym)
1:15, Allan to Mid-Cycle Goals Conferences
4:00-6:00, Digital Learning Day (Ed Center)February 18 (H)
Several Staff Attending Carrying it Forward (formerly Taking it Up)
8:30-9:30, Allan Covering a Class
2:15, Allan to Mid-Cycle Goals Conferences
3:45-5:15, Allan and KG Teacher to Monthly Kindergarten Teacher Meeting (Adams)
5:00-7:00, PTO McTeacher Night Fundraiser (River Ave. McDonalds)February 19 (F)
Several Staff Attending Carrying it Forward (formerly Taking it Up)February 22 (M)
School Choice Visitation Week
2:30-5:00, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)February 23 (T)
2:30-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Room 1)February 24 (W)
9:00-11:00, Allan to OAC Meeting (Construction Trailer)
10:00-11:30, Allan to Staffing Allocation Meeting (Ed Center)
1:30-2:30, PBIS Meeting (Room 21)
2:30-3:30, Student Care Team Meeting (Staff Room)February 25 (H)
Regular DayJanuary 26 (F)
Last Day for In-district School Choice Requests
10:45-12:25, Birthday Lunches with the Principal (Library)
Have a spendid week, everyone!
Allan
