April 30, 2018

By Allan  

Hello Awesome Howard Staff,

Thank you to everyone who helped organize, promote, and participated in Howard’s Kindness Challenge and in the Kindness Extravaganza Assembly last week. It was a great way to promote positive behaviors and was also a whole lot of fun (especially the assembly). KEZI News actually came out to do a story on the Kindness Challenge after seeing our social media posts about it. Thank you, everyone, and enjoy the pictures and video at the bottom of this week’s announcements!

Eighteeen items of note for this week:

• Second Standard School Schedule Draft – If you didn’t get a chance follow the links in Superintendent Balderas’ email, the district released a Second Standard School Schedule Draft. Highlights of this draft include Wednesday early release instead of Fridays, the school day being 10-minutes shorter, and Howard now has the earlier start time (7:55-2:25 MTHF and 7:55-1:10 Wednesdays). There is a link on the above website for feedback if you are so inclined.

• REPEAT: May 4th Math PD Day – Linked here is a May 4th PD Day Flyer with details about this Friday’s PD Day. For licensed staff, teachers grades 3-5 and Title/SPED teachers will meet 8:00-11:15 at Holt, and teachers grades K-2 will meet 12:00-3:15 at Holt. For classified staff, there will be an EA Extravaganza at the Ed Center. Details on that should be coming soon.

• PTO Updates – three updated from our fabulous PTO:

• Tech Trot Date/Times – Our annual Tech Trot is in two weeks on Wednesday, May 16th. Information will be going home this with students this week. I’ve schedule times for classes will go out to the track around recesses (though wasn’t able to schedule around all specialists/workshop times), but will be:

• 8:15-9:00 – 2nd & 3rd Grade
• 9:15-10:00 – 4th & 5th Grade
• 10:15-11:00 – Kinder & 1st Grade

The same as in the past, kids will run the track for 30 minutes and will collect colorful bands as they run/jog/walk around the track to take count of their laps. Drinks and snacks will also be provided for students, along with free Howard Tech Trot t-shirts for students and staff who turned in their order forms.

Shirts should be passed out the day of the Tech Trot and like last year, I’d like to take an all-school photo in our matching pink Howard shirts. We first took an all-school picture four years ago with 347 students and last year we took one with 470 students. This year we’ll take a new picture with 509 students.

Since our outdoor all-school selfie got rained out last year (like most of the Tech Trot), we’ll again try meeting in the courtyard the day of the Tech Trot at 12:50. See the linked All-School Photo Map and Directions (which includes a rainy day plan in the gym) for where classes will stand in the courtyard outside the cafeteria to take a picture from the green wing balcony. We may need to adjust positions once we get out there, but I think we’ll all fit. Let me know if you have any questions.

• Tech Trot Volunteers – The PTO would like to know Monday who’d be willing to help with any of these staff prizes. Let me know ASAP if you’re willing to any and all:

Be a special guest at a fun lunch with 2 kids from each class in the Community Room
• Jill
• Natalie
• Allan

Get a whip cream pie in the face at an assembly
• Natalie
• Allan

Get duct taped to a wall or post
• Natalie
• Allan

Do a lip synch battle at an assembly
• Jill
• Matt
• Allan

• PTO Fundraising Updates – The Penny War raised $1,100 to go towards eliminating the Technology Fee we used to ask families to pay. McTeacher’s Night set a new record and brought in $1,4000, which will go towards buying books for classroom libraries, so each classroom will receive $75 to purchase new books (which you might want to save for the upcoming BOGO Scholastic Book Fair).

• Artist-in-Residence Updates – Artist-in-residence visits resume next week. Here are three related items:

• K/1/2 and Life Skills Artist Question – The ReUse Art artist asked if all K/1/2 and Life Skills classes would have scissors, glue, and crayons. I told her yes, but I wanted to double check with everyone that this is true. She also said she has a USB drive with some images she’d like to project off a teacher laptop if teachers can be ready to accommodate that.

• Stay in Your Classroom – I think teachers are already doing this, but one of our new artists asked me to remind teachers they are supposed to stay in the classroom during the lesson to assist if needed.

• Updates Schedule – Linked here is the most current Artist in Residence Schedule, although I am currently going back and forth with the artist for grades 3/4/5 over the schedule, so that one may change. Let me know if you see any issues or conflicts that need fixing.

• UDPATE: Walk & Roll to School Day “Walking School Bus” – For the May 9th Walk & Roll to School Day, the Safe Routes to School Program Manager is organizing a “Walking School Bus” where regular ed buses will park at Trinity United Methodist Church (in the parking lot on Dalton Drive). Volunteers will be stationed along Maxwell to Grove to Howard during the walk. More details are going home in the May School Newsletter as well as a link to a Volunteer Sign-Up. Staff are welcome to help as well. Buses typically arrive between 7:20 and 7:40.

• Better Hearing & Speech Month 2018 – Howard is lucky to have Shelley and Michelynah as our SLPs, and this month is Better Hearing & Speech Month, which provides an opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders and the critical role of played by speech and language pathologists. For 2018, the theme is “Communication for All.” The above linked website has many resources to help you celebrate all month long.

• May PBIS Focus: Positive Attitude – The May PBIS monthly focus is Positive Attitude. The PBIS team created a PBIS/CSC Cheat Sheet that matches our PBIS monthly themes with corresponding Caring School Community class meeting lessons, which is an easy way to tie the two activities together.

• No Heelys at School – With nicer weather, we’ve had several kids wearing Heelys to school (the shoes with a roller skate in the heel). For safety reasons, these are not allowed at school and if you see a student with these, they need to pop out the wheel, which sometimes requires a screwdriver. FYI – There are adult sized Heelys and I own a pair myself.

• Wacky Wednesday, Extreme Hair Day Next Week – Not this Wednesday, but Wednesday next week is Extreme Hair Day, so start getting kids excited about this spirit day and also start planning your own crazy hair!

• Care Team Resources – Here are a couple resources discussed at last week’s Student Care Team meeting. These and many other resources can be found on the Howard Google Team Drive under Meetings/Teams > Student Care Team > Resources

• Housing Authority (HACSA) is now called Homes for Good – On their new website, https://homesforgood.org/, at the bottom of the “Find a Home” tab you can find PDF flyers for lower income housing rentals in Lane County. These complexes may or may not be managed by the Homes for Good but they do offer units that have reduced rent.

• Safe Families – Support for families in crisis get back on their feet. When a crisis strikes, many rely on relatives and friends, but for some families, this is not an option. For families out of options, you can call Safe Families and they will work to arrange care for your child with one of their certified Host Families. How it works:

• Parent(s) maintain full custody
• 100% Voluntary Placement and Hosting (Host Families are not paid)
• Children go home as soon as the parent(s) are ready
• Children ages 0-18 are eligible, including parenting teens
• Volunteer families are trained, and screened with background checks & home studies
• Stays can be as short as a couple days and as long as a year
• They are committed to reuniting parents and children as soon as possible

For more information or to get help, contact Angela Albin at (541) 349-2870 or AAlbin@safefamilies.net, or visit their website. https://eugene.safe-families.org/

• Licensed IEP/504 Time Logs – A reminder to teachers that you can request compensation for attendance at IEP and 504 meetings. Non-SSD staff use the linked 2017/2018 Non-SSD Licensed IEP/504 Time Log to request payment for up to six hours. SSD staff use the 2017/2018 SSD Licensed IEP Time Log. See the form for directions and how to submit. Forms are due to HR by 5:00 PM on June 08, 2018 and both forms can be found on the HR Forms website.

• REPEAT: Classified Self-Evaluation Forms DUE FRIDAY – All classified staff need to complete the Classified Employee Self-Assessment form (PDF or DOC) and give me a copy (email or hardcopy) by this Friday, May 4th. After I get a copy we will meet briefly sometime before the end of May, where I will go over the evaluation form I have to complete for each classified staff member (all 43 of you). Let me know if you have any questions.

• REPEAT: Journeys & Being a Writer Materials Order (DUE May 18) – This Friday would be a good day to complete this if you team has not done so already. Grade level teams should meet to decide what Journeys and Being a Writer materials you want to order for next school year. See the linked Piktochart for details shared at the April staff meeting. Complete this Survey Link before Friday, May 18th.

• REPEAT: Don’t Touch the OAKS Testing Snacks – As temping as they are, don’t eat the snacks in the staff room and save them for 3/4/5 students.

• District Admin Updates – First, next year’s South Eugene High School principal will be Carey Killen, who is currently principal at Prairie Mountain in Bethel and was previously an assistant principal at Sheldon HS. She is replacing Andy Dey, who will be the new Director of Secondary, replacing BJ Blake who is retiring. Second, Tasha Katsuda, principal at Spencer Butte Middle School, has accepted a curriculum director position in Bethel, but will finish out the year. If I’m keeping track right, this leaves principal openings at Charlemagne and Spencer Butte.

• Activating Prior Knowledge With English Language Learners – Students learn better when they first access what they already know—and this plays a big role in improving English language learners’ academic literacy. This means both eliciting from students what they already know and building initial knowledge that they need in order to access upcoming content. 4 ways to do this include K-W-L Charts, Anticipation Guides, Multimedia, and Preparatory Texts. See this Edutopia article for more details.

• 9 Ways to Create a Rich Writing Culture for Early Learners – A lifetime of written expression and academic success begins with understanding the purpose of writing and the mechanics of putting crayon to paper. Why not make that effective foundation fun, engaging, and developmentally appropriate? See this ASCD article for details.

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

April 30 (M)
Children’s Book Week
Children’s Book Day
3/4/5 OAKS ELA CAT
3:00-5:00, Allan to Report Card Sub-Committee Meeting (Conference Room)

May 1 (T)
3/4/5 OAKS ELA CAT
PBIS Monthly Theme – Positive Attitude
Better Hearing & Speech Month 2018
9:00-12:00, 1st Grade Near By Nature Field Trip – Corliss
4:00-5:00, Allan to North Region Principals’ Meeting (NEHS)

May 2 (W)
3/4/5 OAKS ELA CAT
9:20, 5th Grade Group Photo (front of building)
2:30-5:00, Allan to Pay Grade Evaluation Meeting (Ed Center)

May 3 (H)
3/4/5 OAKS ELA CAT
12:00-3:00, Allan to ILT Meeting (Ed Center)

May 4 (F)
No School — Professional Development/Planning Day
8:00-12:00, EA Extravaganza! (Time is Tentative)
8:00-11:15, SPED/Title/Grades 3-5 Teachers Math PD (Holt)
12:00-3:15, Grades K-2 Teachers Math PD (Holt)

May 7 (M)
Staff/Teacher Appreciation Week
3/4/5 Math OAKS
Artist in Residence #2 (Maiya Becker, ReUse Art, K-2 & LS) Begins

May 8 (T)
3/4/5 Math OAKS
8:15-11:15, Allan to Elem. Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
8:30-12:30, LCC Dental Clinic
2:30-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Mellissa/Mariah’s Room, RM23)

May 9 (W)
3/4/5 Math OAKS
Wacky Wednesday-Extreme Hair Day
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
Walk & Roll to School Day
12:05, Allan Covering a Classroom
1:15, EA Supervisors Meeting (Room 26)
2:30-3:30, PBIS Team Meeting (Rae’s Room, RM1)
2:30-3:30, Allan to Wrap Around Meeting (Conference Room)
4:00-5:15, Allan to Report Card Committee Meeting

May 10 (H)
3/4/5 Math OAKS
2:30-3:30, TLT Meeting (Angela’s Room, RM24)

May 11 (F)
3/4/5 Math OAKS

Ahh, a four-day student week is going to hit the spot just right…

Allan