http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=6543
Hi Everyone,
Between starting OAKS testing, the Tech Trot, the Native American Storytelling Assembly, guest speakers, Volunteer Appreciation, ALICE training, Administrative Professionals’ Day, Birthday Lunches, ACE Awards, the all-school photo (see below), and any number of other happenings last week, I think we’re all luck to have survived! With the exception of continuing OAKS testing, this week thankfully looks to be a more typical of week.
Twenty-one items of note for this week:
• Safety Training Follow-Up – A quick reminder to staff that on Wednesday, May 10th, classroom teachers are to teach students the ALCIE classroom training using the ALICE Elementary PPT Presentation and book I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared. We will then hold a Lockdown: Evacuation Drill the next day on Thursday, May 11th at 9:00. See my earlier email for more details.
•Classified & Licensed End-of-Year Evaluation Tasks Due this Month – As the end of the year approaches we do need to wrap up required evaluation cycle tasks by the end of this month. I’ll be trying to finish up my observations over the next couple weeks. Licensed staff and classified staff need to complete the following:
• Licensed Staff Contract Year-1 and Probationary/Temporary: You need to complete the End-of-Cycle Goals Reflection form in TalentEd and I will need to complete your observations, which I’m unfortunately behind on this year. After those are completed, we will meet and then I will complete the Supervisor Goal Rating form and the Summative Evaluation form.
• Licensed Staff Contract Year-2: You need to complete the End-of-Cycle Goals Reflection form in TalentEd. After you’ve completed the reflection form we will meet and then I will complete the Supervisor Goal Rating form.
• Classified Staff: You need to complete the Classified Employee Self-Assessment assessment form (PDF or DOC) and give me a copy (email or hardcopy) and we need to meet briefly before the end of the month, where I will complete a Classified Employee Evaluation form.
• 2017-2018 School Leadership Positions – We will decide leadership positions for next year at the May Staff Meeting. All position will be considered vacant and anyone can sign up for one, with the exception of Math (which downtown wants reps to stay the same) and Science (which I’m guessing downtown also wants to keep consistent). The current list of leadership/rep positions are; IPBS, PBIS, Technology, Literacy, Site Council, Garden Team, Social Committee, and I added Taking it Up, which I’ve led, but am willing to turn over to another building leader if someone is interested. For Site Council I’m also looking to add one more teacher, classifeid, and parent rep since we’re now a much larger school. If you would like to sign up for a leadership or rep position, follow this link to the 2017-2018 Leadership/Building Rep. Positions Google Sheet. I made this a public document, so you don’t need to do any kind of log-on to access or edit the document. UPDATE: I fixed the document so now it is editable.
• Counselor Time – Similar to my Five-Bs reminder for only sending students to the office when they really need to go, please keep the equivalent in mind for when you’re deciding whether or not to send a student to Mr. Matt. When a student asks to talk to see the counselor, please stop to decide if this is something that needs immediate attention or if it is something that can wait to be scheduled. Some situations should absolutely go to Matt right away, but in most situations tell your students, “I’ll set up a time for you to talk with Mr. Matt.” and connect with Matt to schedule a time for the student to be pulled.
• Watch Your Copy Counts – We’re on course to go over budget on our overall school budget this year, primarily due to our copy counts being very high. Copies are running a little over $1,000 a month, so I’m asking folks to be judicious in what you are running off. Please continue to make copies for the essentials, but don’t run off a bunch of coloring sheets or extra sheets just to have on-hand. Especially don’t run off copies for next year at this point.
• Fidgets Stay in Class – We’re seeing a lot of the new spinner fidgets making their way out to the playground and cafeteria where they’re more of a toy than an ADHD accommodation. Please let your students know, and I’ll also make an announcement on Monday, that fidgets will be confiscated if they are seen outside of the classroom, if they are being used as toys, or if they are a distraction (the very opposite of their intended purpose).
• Field Trips and Nurse Notification – We have entered the season of field trips and if you have students with health concerns, please give Nurse Robin as early of notice as possible of any questions, concerns, or coverage concerns you might have. Also remember that Robin covers many schools so anytime she need to train staff on protocols, create safety plans, communicate with families, she needs ample lead-up time, or if she needs to join a trip, she must seek back up support for her other schools.
• Don’t Touch the OAKS Testing Snacks! – There is a new batch of snacks int the staff room for 3/4/5 classrooms taking OAKS this week, but please remember to leave these for students. I think we ended up some some staff or other adults getting into the snacks last week. 3/4/5 teachers, please take what you need.
• Artist in Residence Schedule – I’ve worked with Lane Arts and we’ll have Cartooning with Teri Robertson May 15th – June 2nd. Linked here is a Proposed Artist in Residence Schedule that’s pretty similar to the one we did last year. I tried to work around recesses and specialist times, but let me know if you see any conflicts. I’m sure I missed something.
• Purchase Orders Deadline, May 31 – If anyone needs to create any more purchase orders for this school year, the last day Lori can create one is Wednesday, May 31st.
• Field Day – Working with Rachel, we’ve set our Field Day date for Wednesday, June 7th, 8:30-10:00 (K-2) and 10:15-11:30 (3 – 5). We’ll plan to run Field Day the same as in the past, although Rachel has some fun new stations. Filed Day will happen out on the Kelly Track where teacher will rotate around nine different station with their class, with volunteers running each of the stations. Other available staff should also come out to help and/or join in on the fun.
• May PBIS Focus: Positive Attitude – The May PBIS monthly focus is Positive Attitude. The PBIS team created a PBIS/CFK Cheat Sheet that matches our monthly themes with corresponding Caring for Kids (Caring Schools Curriculum) class meeting lessons, which is an easy way to tie the two activities together.
• Care Team Resources – We’ve learned about a few new resources you can feel free to share with families:
• NAACP Free Tutoring, Back-to-School/Success in School – BTS/SIS is a K-12 tutoring and academic support program. It involves regularly scheduled individual and group tutoring with college volunteers and local professionals. This builds positive identity reinforcement through community interactions with peers in the African American community.
• Self Sufficiency Program Resources – The Self Sufficiency Program is our primary DHS contact for the Student Care Team and linked here is a list of Self Sufficiency Resources they can offer families, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), JOBS Program and Support Services, Needy and Non-Needy Caretaker Relative Grant (NNCR), TANF Grant for parents on Social Security (SSI), Domestic Violence Assistance, Employment Related Day Care (ERDC), Family Support and Connections, Vocational Rehabilitation, Child Welfare, Senior & People with Disabilities, and the Oregon Health Plan (OHP).
• Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) – Grandparents or relatives raising a child under 18 and are at least 55 years of age, may be eligible for support (school supplies, health supplies, paying for camps, etc.) through the Family Caregiver Respite Program. See the linked flyer for details.
• Museums for All – The Science Factory here in town has joined more than 100 museums in ensuring that every child and family has access to high-quality museum experiences by participating in the Museums for All program. Individuals and families who show an Oregon Trail Card (EBT card) and a valid ID will receive the following admission benefits:
• Exhibit Hall Admission for only $1 per person up to 6 family members total
• Stargazing Planetarium Admission for only $1 per person up to 6 family members total• AMX Staff Onsite May 8 & 9 – The AMX people will be working at Howard and Roosevelt May 8th and 9th. They should not be interrupting anyone during the school day and will primarily be in the BEST and YMCA rooms during the day.
• North Region Visioning Survey Update – The staff survey closed and the consultant is in the process of creating an analysis of the responses for the district. A total of 220 staff members from the North Region responded, representing a very significant 51% response rate. Among licensed employees, the participation rate was 59% while among classified employees it was 39%. Next week parents of students living in or attending school in the North Region will receive invitations to participate in the parent version of the survey. The week after that schools will receive copies of and/or links to the student version of the survey, which was postponed to avoid overlap with the Oregon Healthy Teens survey being administered at all secondary schools. Finally, after all the targeted versions of the survey are completed, the consultant will open the community version of the survey to all 4J community members.
• OEBB Mandatory Open Enrollment, Aug. 15-Sept. 15, 2017 – OEBB members who wish to have medical, vision, and dental coverage for the October 1, 2017–September 30, 2018, plan year will be required to log into the MyOEBB system during open enrollment in order to register for that coverage. The mandatory OEBB open enrollment period will be August 15 – September 15, 2017. OEBB will send information about plan designs and offerings, but rate information and other details specific to 4J employees will come from 4J. Watch for updates in the 4J Benefits and Wellness Newsletters, on the 4J website, in your e-mail inbox, and via US Mail over the summer.
• IEP Meeting Compensation From Due June 9th – A quick reminder that the EEA contract allows for licensed staff to be compensated for up to four hours of additional pay for attending IEP meetings. Track your IEP meeting times on the Non-ESS Licensed IEP Time Log, which needs to be turned in to HR by June 9th. The form can also be found on the HR Forms section of the 4J website.
• Movie Licensing – Not that teachers are showing movies all that often, but I did mention to a few people that downtown was recently checking whether the district was in compliance with movie licensing when films are shown in classrooms or at movie nights. Downtown has purchased a district-wide license so school staff and parent groups can show films as long as we don’t charge admission, advertise to the general public, change or alter the films when shown, or show it off campus.
• District Admin Update – Downtown has hired Dr. Karen Pérez-Da Silva as the new Equity, Instruction & Partnerships Manager, a reworked position most recently held by Carmen Urbina. Dr. Pérez-Da Silva will coordinate the district’s equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives. A major change to this position is that it will be more instrunctionally focused, with the primary goals being to support the use of effective and culturally responsive instructional practices that ensure all students are successful, and to cultivate partnerships and resources that address the achievement and opportunity gaps facing historically underserved students.
Dr. Pérez-Da Silva spent more than 16 years teaching in diverse classrooms, conducting action research, and working with teams of general education and special education teachers, students and their families to analyze problems of practice at the classroom and school levels to bring about change. She obtained her doctorate in educational leadership from Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling. She has taught culturally responsive teaching courses, led courageous conversations groups at the district office for teachers on special assignment, and mentored dual language teachers. She has also spent the past year as a community networker in the Human Resources Department and a mentor/coach in the Multilingual Department in the Beaverton School District.
• How to Get the Most Out of Small-Group Math Conversations – Here’s a timely article given our new math curriculum adoption and next year’s focus on Number Talks. The authors address the challenge of getting elementary students to have good math discussions when they’re working in small groups, which includes details on how to model good collaboration, providing opportunities for guided mathematical talk, and providing resources that support mathematical talk.
• 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:
May 1 (M)
Children’s Book WeekPBIS Monthly Theme – Positive Attitude
1:30-4:00, Allan to Testify at DHS Hearing (Lane County Youth Services)May 2 (T)
8:15-11:15, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
3:00, Allan to Taking It Up Training (Ed Center)May 3 (W)
1:30, Allan to Parent Meeting (Office)
2:30-5:00, Allan to Pay Grade Evaluation Meeting (Ed Center)
2:30-4:00, Allan to Pre-referral SPED Meeting (Conference Room)
4:00-5:00, Allan to North Region Principals’ Meeting (River Road)May 4 (H)
No BEST
9:00-11:00, Allan to ILT Meeting (Ed Center)
2:30-3:30, Allan to IEP Eligibility Meeting (Conference Room)May 5 (F)
No BESTMay 8 (M)
Teacher Appreciation Week
Human Growth and Development, 5th Grade
AMX Staff Working in Building
7:00, Allan, Natalie, & Allison to River Road Community MeetingMay 9 (T)
Human Growth and Development, 5th Grade
AMX Staff Working in Building
7:50-11:45, Data Team Meetings (Conference Room)
9:00-1:30, 1st Grade Science Factory Field Trip
11:50:12:20, Allan Covering Classroom
2:30-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Mellissa/Sarah’s Room, B203)May 10 (W)
All Classrooms Teach Safety Training Lesson
Human Growth and Development, 5th Grade
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
Wacky Wednesday – Crazy Sock Day
9:00-12:30, KG Grade Science Factory Field Trip
2:00-3:00, Allan to Coding RoboKind Meeting (Sup. Office)
2:30-3:30, PBIS Meeting (Rae’s Room, A101)May 11 (H)
9:00, Lockdown: Evacuation Drill PracticeMay 12 (F)
7:45-5:30, 5th Grade OMSI Field Trip
12:30, Fire DrillMay 14 (SU)
Mother’s Day
And see below for our all-school photo from last week! I scrutinized the picture and didn’t find any stray middle fingers, although I did catch a couple faces and dabs (such an annoying dance move, but maybe I’m just a cranky old man for blurring them out). Below are also a few picture from the Tech Trot.
Enjoy!
Allan
