May 7, 2018

By Allan  

Howdy Howard Staff,

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week and I’d like to recognize the work of ALL of our amazing staff members. Howard is a special place for students and families and it’s because of you all that Howard’s reputation as a great school has continued to grow (as has our enrollment). I think what sets our staff apart from others is our esprit de corps, where we’re all in it together and take pride in what we do. And although our jobs can be challenging at times, the people here are what make things manageable. You all are my work family and I look forward to seeing you each and every day. Thank you for being such an marvelous and talented staff to work with!

Eighteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Update – Naveeta Medart, who came to Howard after spring break as a CLC 1:1 EA with a new student from Edison, is moving on to new opportunities and her last day will be this Friday. She’s done a nice job during her short time here at Howard, so please wish her well when you see her this week.

• Master Schedule Recess/Lunch Survey Question – The Proposed Standard School Schedule requires 60 minutes daily for lunch & recesses and 50 minutes on early release days. I’d like staff feedback on how you’d like to implement this. Please complete the linked 2018-2019 Master Schedule Survey by Friday if you’d like to have your say.

• Updated Artist in Residence Schedules – Linked here is an Updated Artist in Residence Schedule for both artists. For the K-2 ReUse Art starting this week, Pond’s class was the only one that had a change. For 3-5 Silk Painting, I had to do a major overhaul of the schedule that changed just about everyone’s times due to some field trips and assemblies that have since come up. Let me know if you spot anything wrong with the schedule that needs changing.

• 2/3 Ukulele Club Assembly Friday, May 18th – Not this Friday, but Friday next week will be a Ukelele Club Performance. Siera has been meeting with a group of 3rd graders after school on Wednesdays and they’d like to perform for their 3rd grade peers and also for 2nd graders to help recruit for next year. See the linked Ukulele Club Assembly Map & Directions for details.

• HR Classified Notice of Assignment Timeline – I’ve had a few people ask, so I thought I’d let all classified staff know that the week of May 14th is when final letters of assignment will be sent to all classified employees. Prior to that, HR and OSEA will review staffing and any displacements, layoffs, recall list, etc. Please let me know if you have any questions on this.

• Last Day for POs & Reimbursements – The last day Lori can create POs or do credit card purchases from student body funds is May 24th. General funds will be about the same, but only if the merchandise will be here before June 15. All employee reimbursement requests are also be due by June 15.

• PTO Meeting Tuesday, May 15th – Not this week, but next week is the May PTO meeting where we’ll vote in next year’s PTO Board. It would be wonderful if any staff are able to come to show our support and appreciation for these new parents stepping up to help support Howard.

• Report Cards are Open – If any teachers are feeling like real go-getters, report cards are now open in Synergy.

• Nag, Nag, Nag – Actually just two pointed nags:

• Don’t take food that’s not yours! – There were six ziplock bags of cookies with “Title 1” written on them in the upstairs workroom freezer and now there’s only one and a half bags left. If you took these, please let me or Title 1 staff know so they can be replaced. We’ve similarly had food disappear recently from other areas as well, so unless it’s your food (or if it’s a freebie left on a Staff Room table), don’t take it.

• Watch Your Students’ Printing – Our copy counts are already way over and there’s still over a month of school left in the year, so please watch that your students are not sending frivolous printouts to the copiers, such as this Roblox printout (and as an aside, students should not be playing Roblox during school due to inappropriate content and chat capabilities with strangers).

• Care Team Resources – Here are a few more resources shared by our DHS contact. These and many other resources can be found on the Howard Google Team Drive under Meetings/Teams > Student Care Team > Resources

• Unlimited Summer Fun with the 1 PASS – Scholarships are available for kids to access Parks & Rec activities this summer for free or at a reduced cost when filling out the linked applications for Eugene or Springfield. They must resident within the Eugene or Springfield, which unfortunately excludes a lot of Howard students. Eugene’s applications are first-come-first-serve and Springfield applications are due May 20th. See the links above for details.

• Double Your SNAP Dollars At the Farmers Market – Double Up Food Bucks will be offered at the Lane County Farmers Market at 8th & Oak, 10am-3pm on Tuesdays. Families simply go to the information tent, swipe their EBT card, and they will receive up to an additional $10 a day for SNAP eligible foods. See the flyer for details.

• Womenspace Survivor Groups – See the linked support group flyers for details regarding a Men’s Group, Parenting in Crisis Classes, Intimate Partner Violence Education, and a Latinas Support Group.

• Mental Health Awareness Month Event – Come celebrate mental health awareness month with NAMI at their FREE Community Celebration Sunday May 20th, 1-4 pm at Alton Baker Park Eugene. All activities will be free of charge. For more information, visit their website.

• BEST Grant Application Timeline – I’ve mentioned earlier that the current 3-year ODE state grant for BEST is up this year and 4J is currently applying to renew the grant. June 1st is when we will be notified if we were awarded the grant or not.

• iPad Case Replacement – If you have a Speck iPad Case that break, email Peggy at 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu. These have a lifetime and warranty and we can get replacements for free.

• REPEAT: Walk & Roll to School Day “Walking School Bus” – Wednesday is Walk & Roll to School Day. If you’re able to sign-up to help with the “Walking School Bus,” we’re having regular ed buses park at Trinity United Methodist Church with volunteers stationed along Maxwell to Grove to Howard during the walk. See the map below and the sign-up link details.

• REPEAT: Wacky Wednesday, Extreme Hair Day – This Wednesday is Extreme Hair Day, so get your kids excited about this spirit day and start planning your own crazy hair!

• K-12 Comprehensive Human Sexuality Workgroup – Downtown is seeking teachers, counselors, EAs, admin, parents, students, and community partners for a workgroup to adopt a comprehensive K-12 human sexuality program. This is in response the a new ODE requirement. See this link for additional information. Let me know by the end of the week if any of you are interested in serving on this committee and I can forward your name.

• “13 Reasons Why” Season 2, May 18th – The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has shared guidance regarding regarding the upcoming second season of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, which if you’re not familiar was very popular among adolescents and raised significant concerns for parents, educators, and mental health professionals because of its dramatic, often graphic portrayal of difficult issues such as sexual assault and suicide. These topics sadly touch the lives of elementary age students, including students here at Howard. See the linked NASP article for information and resources regarding these topics and the series, which some of our students will undoubtedly watch.

• Join The Movement! The Daily Mile – Some of our kindergarten and 3rd grade classes already run the track daily, and other classes might want to consider this as well. Robin Vaughan shared with me The Daily Mile, which is 15 golden minutes of childhood where school children go out into the fresh air and run, jog or walk, at their own pace, every day at school. The initiative has frequently been described as a “no-brainer” and helps children be fit for life and fit for learning!

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

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
7:15-7:45, Walking School Bus (Trinity United Methodist Church)
12:05, Allan Covering a Classroom
1:15, EA Supervisors Meeting (RM26)
1:30, Allan to IFSP Meeting (RM12)
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
2:15, Allan to Eval. Planning Meeting (RM25)
2:30-3:30, TLT Meeting (Angela’s Room, RM24)

May 11 (F)
3/4/5 Math OAKS
2:30-3:30, Allan to IEP Meeting (Conference Room)

May 14 (M)
Library – Last Week of Checkout (1 book per student)
Artist in Residence #2 (Maiya Becker, ReUse Art, K-2 & LS) Continues
3/4/5 Math Performance Task
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)

May 15 (T)
3/4/5 Math Performance Task
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Community Room)

May 16 (W)
8:15-9:00, 2/3 Tech Trot Event (Track)
9:15-10:00, 4/5 Tech Trot Event (Track)
10:15-11:00, K/1 Tech Trot Event (Track)

May 17 (H)
3/4/5 Math Performance Task Make-Ups

May 18 (F)
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting
1:30-1:55, Ukulele Club Assembly (Gym)
4:00-Sunday, Allan and Howard ECET2 Team to Portland
7:00-8:00, String Academy Concert (Kelly MS)

Have an excellent week everyone and look for some nice appreciations from our PTO this week!

Allan