http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=528
Hello Everyone,
Seven items of note for this week:
• Staffing Survey Due, Tuesday, February 22nd – If you haven’t done so already, please return your staffing survey to me by Monday, February 21st. You can reply to me via email or by returning a hardcopy to my mailbox (although I prefer email).
• School Closure FAQs – Although we are not directly impacted by school closures, I thought people might be interested in the attached Frequently Asked Questions about the closure process for this year, answering questions such as what will happen to computers, how will parents be notified of boundary changes, and so on. More FAQ sheets will be coming and I will share them as they arrive.
• Finalist Candidates for Superintendent Announced this Wednesday – The board interviewed candidates for superintendent in executive sessions on February 11 and 12 and at this Wednesday’s board meeting will announce the finalists. The next steps include site visits by board members to the communities where the finalists are now or have most recently worked. Finalists will also return to Eugene to meet again with the board and with various stakeholders including staff, students and community. A community forum is being planned for Tuesday, March 8 to provide an opportunity for each finalist candidate to talk briefly with those interested in attending. The board plans to approve the selection of a new superintendent at the March 16 board meeting.
• NCTM Math Games Website – Janis Swan shared a free math games website, Calculation Nation, created by The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). You have to register to use the site, but it’s pretty quick and it looks like a decent resource, which, of course, also correlates with NCTM standards, which our state standards are based upon.
• Zonta Club of Eugene Event on Human Trafficking – HR asked that we pass along the attached (Forum Event and Book Event) information on two events on Tuesday, February 24th related to Human Trafficking being hosted by the Zonta of Eugene. With Seattle and Portland being two of the highest trafficking areas in the nation, traffickers are farming girls out of our smaller communities up and down the 1-5 corridor. The traffickers don’t discriminate based on socio-economic status; average middle class girls are targeted. Unfortunately, the forum event happens during the school day, but the book event is in the evening.
• February Fire Drill this Week – Our required monthly fire drill will be this week, weather permitting, on Tuesday at 12:35. If it’s raining during this time, I’ll plan to hold the drill at a later date or time.
• Videoconferencing in the Classroom – Here’s a cool article titled “Educators Move Beyond the Hype Over Skype” that might get some idea flowing for you on how you might use Skype or other videoconferencing software, such as iChat, in your classroom. The article discusses how educators are now using the videoconferencing tools to connect language immersion students to native speakers, hold virtual field trips and host conversations with scientists and other experts. Let me know if you’d like help setting up Skype or iChat
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Allan