http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=7385
Happy New Year Everyone!
I hope you all had a fabulous winter break. My break got off to an unusual start, with the Chinn Family moving in with my in-laws for a week. Our house had some water damage to our hardwood floors in November due to a leak behind our dishwasher, so we had to move out of our house while the floors got refinished. Hopefully your break was not as atypical.
Seventeen items of note for this week:
• January 2nd PD/Planning Day Info – There was a rather confusing flurry of last minute emails from downtown regarding PD plans for January 2nd, but to recap, here is the latest:
• Classroom Teachers – See Sue Wilson’s email for info about the Jan. 2nd FOSS Science Training. It will be at River Road 8:00-11:30 for people teaching Earth Science starting in January and 12:00-3:30 for people teaching Physical Science starting in January. If you’ve forgotten which kit was sent to you, see the email I forwarded earlier.
• SSD Staff (licensed and classified) – See Marlee Litten’s email for info about SSD’s Jan. 2nd “Addressing Challenging Behaviors” training. All SSD staff will meet at the Churchill High School STEM Center from 8:00-11:25. Lunch will be on your own. Licensed SSD staff will have an additional meeting 12:05-1:15 for a job-alike meeting.
• Title 1 Staff (licensed and classified) – Corianne has organized an alternate Howard specific IPBS and Academic Language training for Jan. 2nd that was approved by downtown, so Title 1 staff do not need to attend the above behavior training as you were originally directed by downtown and should instead report to Howard for the training at 10:00.
• All Other Staff – For all other staff, this is a regular work day at Howard unless you’ve made prior arrangements.
• Staffing Updates – With Frank’s retirement, SSD has hired Tamera Berge to fill the vacancy. Her first day of work will be January 2nd, so please welcome Tamera to the Howard Team! I’ve also received notice from HR that Life Skills EA Susan Schueller, who was here part of September, is extending her leave and we will continue with a substitute filling her position.
• Winter Break Facilities Updates – Here are some updates on the work done over the break:
• Extra Rolling Book Shelves & Furniture – We have several of the low rolling book shelves that quite a few people had asked for last year (see picture below), so if you would like one, they are in the hallway along the library. Feel free to take one or tag it with where you’d like it delivered.
• Elevator Badge Reader – The elevator badge reader is finally working, so to use the elevator you will need to present a badge to the pad, wait for the beep, and then push the call button. Upstairs classrooms will now need to give students an elevator badge when they are going up or down with lunch baskets, library books, or other large items we don’t want carried up or down the stairs. I have elevator specific badges I’ll put in upstairs teacher mailboxes on Tuesday. Staff badges are all coded to use the elevator, but let me know if for some reason your badge was missed.
• Window Tint Update – Window tinting will be added for all south facing classrooms, both first and second floor, so hopefully that will help with the natural lighting issues. However, there is no definite timeline for when this will happen. In the meantime, let us know if you’d like help putting up butcher paper to block the sunlight.
• Classroom Audio Issues – Technology Department Staff and AMX contractors came out over the break to try to fix the classroom audio issues. I haven’t gotten an update on their progress, but do let me know if the problems are continuing.
• January PBIS Focus: Be Your Best – The January PBIS monthly focus is “Be Your Best.” The PBIS team created a PBIS/CSC Cheat Sheet that matches our monthly PBIS themes with corresponding Caring School Community class meeting lessons, which is a nice way to tie the two activities together.
• School Choice Visitation Week & Info – School Choice season has begun and the School Showcase will be held this Saturday at the Ed Center, 10:00-12:00 if any staff members are interested/willing to help me brag about our school. This event is for families to learn about all 4J schools in one place at the same time. Last year they provided breakfast for staff helping at the event. Let me know if any of you are interested/willing to help promote Howard and tell families why they should come to our amazing school!
Three related items: One, the first School Choice Visitation Week is next week, January 8-12, so be prepared for families to drop by classrooms over the course of the week. Two, all North Region elementary schools are doing one school choice evening event and Howard’s evening event will be Tuesday, January 23rd if anyone is interested/willing in helping me talk about our school. And three, the window for school choice applications has been shortened this year, so if families ask, they have until the end of the January to lottery into Howard. The out-of-district lottery will be March 1 – April 1, but those families are invited to attend tours at Howard this month.
• TaeKwonDo Demonstration Team Assembly, 1/12 – Not this week, but Friday next week, the U.S. TaeKwonDo College Demonstration Team will hold their motivational assembly we discussed at last month’s Staff Meeting. The K-2 assembly is 8:10-8:35 and the 3-5 assembly is 8:45-9:10. See the linked assembly map and directions for details.
• Howard Holiday/New Year Party, Friday! – See Angela’s email for details, but this Friday 6:00-8:00ish at Angela’s house is the Howard Holiday/New Year Party. Watch for the pot-luck sign up and we’ll see you there for the fun!
• Number Talks Info – Two items from our final Number Talks trainings.
• Developing Math Fluency with Number Talks Pacing Guide – Number Talks supports the development of students’ procedural fluency from conceptual understanding. Located on the 4J Learn Zillion website is a Number Talks Pacing Guide for each grade level (Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5), which lists the concepts that should be focused on in the Fall, Winter, and Spring. The pacing guides are on the 2nd or 3rd to last page of the above linked documents, which can be found on the 4J Learn Zillion website by going to Math full lesson plans (K-5) > your grade level > LearnZillion Pacing Guidance & Additional Supports.
• Number Talks Peer Observations – Subs are already taken care of for the peer observations. Information about the observer-as-learner protocol used for the observations can be found in the green Number Talks Resource Spiral. The dates for the half-day peer observations are scheduled for:
• Kindergarten: Jan. 25, 7:30-11:30
• 1st Grade: Jan. 26, 7:30-11:30
• 2nd Grade: Jan. 24, 7:30-11:30
• 3rd Grade: Jan. 11, 11:30-2:30
• 4th Grade: Jan. 11, 7:30-11:30
• 5th Grade: Jan. 19, 7:30-11:30Let me know by the end of the week if these dates/times present any potential conflicts for you so we can reschedule.
• Artist in Residence Survey Results (so far) – Teachers, if you haven’t already completed the Artist in Residence Survey for your preferred dates and artists, please do so this week. Survey results so far are:
• First Artist Dates: February was the #1 pick and March the #2 pick
• Second Artist Dates: April was the #1 pick and June the #2 pick
• #1 Artist Choice: Ceramics — Andrea DiPalma Yansane
• #2 Artist Choice: Silk Painting — Merideth Ferrell
• #3 Artist Choice: Drawing for Everyone: Zentangle– Rosie Hill• Front Entry Wall – I’ve taken down our Veterans Day display in the front entryway (I saved the stars if any students are wanting them back) and now it looks pretty empty. If any classroom would like to crate a display, just let me know and the space is all yours!
• Google Apps Student Access Tip – If a student is unable to log into Google Apps AFTER the permission form has been given to Lori and recorded in Synergy, email 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu. Permissions should become activate during the evening Synergy update process, so email 4jdekstop if it’s to working for a student the following day.
• Volunteer of the Month Nominations – The Register Guard would like to have more Volunteer of the Month nominations from 4J schools. There are a good amount of parents and other volunteers at Howard doing great things! This is an excellent way to highlight some of our amazing school volunteers and a nice way to encourage more volunteerism. Linked here is the Volunteer Nomination form. Feel free to submit the form yourself, but I’d be happy to submit it for you if you email me a volunteer’s name and what they do for you.
• School Board Behavior Presentation – This isn’t anything staff aren’t already aware of, since we live it day-to-day, but if you are interested, linked here is a presentation district staff shared at a community forum in December regarding rising student behaviors in schools. What I found most interesting was the data regarding the rise of challenging student behaviors both in our community and across the nation.
• Young Writers Fiction Contest – Here’s a fun contest to motivate students to do some creative writing. There is a K-2 and 3-5 category. See the Wordcrafters in Eugene website and linked flyer for details.
• School Garden Project Workshop Series for Elementary Teachers – The School Garden Project is presenting a free workshop series titled Deepening Connections in January, February, and March, to help 2nd – 5th grade teachers learn strategies to successfully take your classroom outside, and share simple lessons that help students connect with their school garden while learning math, art, writing, and science standards. See the above linked flyer for details.
• Howard Staff Social: Queens of the Stone Age Concert! – Hard rock fans, time to assemble! The Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal are playing the Hult Center on Saturday, January 27th. Matt, Becky, and I are in and we’ll be ordering tickets this Friday after school in Matt’s office. Meet us there and we’ll buy out a block of seats for all of the Howard Metalheads!
• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Google Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:
January 1 (M)
Winter Break – No SchoolJanuary 2 (T)
No School — Professional Development/Planning Day
8:00-11:30, K-5 FOSS Earth Science Training (River Road)
8:00-11:25, SSD Staff (Licensed & Classified) “Addressing Challenging Behaviors” Training (Churchill STEM Center)
10:00, Title 1 Staff Training (Room 26)
12:00-3:30, K-5 FOSS Physical Science Training (River Road)
12:05-1:15, SSD Licensed Staff Job Alike Meetings (Churchill STEM Center)
1:00-3:00, Allan to Admin Science Training (Chavez)
3:00, Allan to Principal Goals Meeting (Ed Center)January 3 (W)
PBIS Monthly Theme – Be Your Best
Classes Resume
easyCBM Winter Benchmark Testing Opens
In-District School Choice Opens (Closes Jan. 31)
2:30-5:00, Allan to Pay Grade Evaluation Meeting (Ed Center)CANCELLED
4:00-5:00, Allan to North Region Principals’ Meeting (NEHS)January 4 (H)
12:00-3:00, Allan to ILT Meeting (Ed Center)
2:45, Allan to Early Childhood Open House Planning Meeting (Room 21)January 5 (F)
2:15, Queens of the Stone Age Ticket Buy (Matt’s Office)
6:00-8:00, Howard Holiday/New Year Party (Angela’s House)January 6 (SA)
10:00-12:00, Elementary School Showcase (Ed Center)January 8 (M)
School Choice Week #1January 9 (T)
8:15-11:15, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
2:30-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Mellissa/Mariah’s Room)January 10 (W)
Wacky Wednesday – School Color Day
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
2:30-3:30, PIBS Meeting (Rae’s Room)
5:30-7:45, SSD Early Childhood Open House (English)
6:00-8:15, SSD Early Childhood Open House (Spanish)January 11 (H)
7:30-11:30, 4th – Number Talks Peer Observations
11:30-2:30, 3rd – Number Talks Peer Observations
2:30-3:30, TLT Meeting (Angela’s Room)January 12 (F)
10:00, Allan to testify at DHS Hearing (Lane Circuit Court)
5:00, PTO Spaghetti Feed/BINGO Night (Cafeteria)January 15 (M)
Martin Luther King Jr. Day – No School
Not to end my first announcements of the year all sappy, but I’ve missed seeing my work friends over the break and was thinking of what I said at the end of the year last year; that years from now I want Howard to be know as “that geezer staff who’ve all been together over there forever.” See you, all, soon!
Allan
