http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=7955
Howdy Everyone,
Eight and a half days to go and twenty-one items of note:
• Last Call for Staff Summer Reading Picks! – Next week I’ll share my annual end-of-the-school-year Summer Reading Staff Picks! Email or let me know in person what your summer reading list looks like or if you have some favorites you think others should read. Are you reading high minded literature and/or professional books, casual beach books, or catching up on comic books haven’t had time to read (like me). To join the fun, send me your pick by this Friday!
• REPEAT: 4th Grade Play, Wednesday at 8:15 – The annual 4th Grade Play is next week on Wednesday, June 6th at 8:15 in the gym. See the linked Assembly Map & Directions for details!
• 3/4/5/ Strings Performance Thursday at 9:15 – This was last minute, so I let 3/4/5 teachers know last week, but the ESYO Strings Academy teacher would like to do their annual end of year performance this Thursday. It will be Thursday, June 7th from 9:15-9:40 in the gym. See the linked Assembly Map & Directions for details.
• NEHS Senior Stroll Wednesday at 11:20 – North Eugene High School staff are continuing their new fun tradition of letting their graduating seniors visit their old elementary and middle schools. This Wednesday, NEHS is first holding a Goodbye Assembly and from there will make groups based upon what school graduates want to stroll through. They should arrive here at 11:20, where they will stroll through the school until about noon.
• Dreambox Student Summer Access – Before you send your students off for summer break, be sure to remind them (and their parents) that they can access DreamBox anywhere, anytime—all summer long. And, playing for just 30 minutes three times a week will help them keep their math skills sharp. Feel free to send this Dreambox Parent Tip Sheet home with your students or email it directly to parents. It’s an easy way to get everybody on the same page when it comes to summer learning.
• 5th Grade Clap Out – The clap out for 5th graders will be the day of their promotion ceremony, next week on Thursday, June 14th. It will run the same as last year. 5th graders will start their walk in the cafeteria, walk around the courtyard gate to the 1st grade wing, past the library, and out the front entrance. Linked here is the Clap Out Map and Directions (the map isn’t so pretty, so let me know if you have questions where your class should stand). Here are the details:
• Thursday, June 14th, classes begin lining up in their spots at 1:50
• At 1:55, 5th graders will begin their final walk through the 1st grade hallway.
• Students should clap and cheer appropriately as the 5th graders walk past.
• Staff members not assigned to students are invited to join and give a final farewell.
• Once the 5th graders have made their way to the end of the clap out line, remaining students can be dismissed.• “Grab & Go” Sack Lunch Schedule, 6/15 – For lunches on the last day of school, Thursday next week, students will enter the cafeteria as usual. They will put together their own sack lunch, assembly line style. As students pass through the line, they should form a new line at the an exit door of the teacher’s choosing. Once all the students have gotten their lunches, teachers can walk students back to class. This process should takes about 5-8 minutes.
10:00 KG grade
10:10 1st grade
10:20 2nd grade
10:30 3rd grade
10:40 4th grade
10:50 5th gradeIf staff not supervising students are available to help during this time, that would be terrific!
• PTO News – Two PTO Items related to Friday’s annual PTO School Carnival:
• Community Room Closed – The Community Room is going to be closed this week for the PTO to start getting things ready for the Carnival on Friday. Their storage room is already packed to the gills, so they need another space to spread things out. Let me know if this causes problems for anyone and we’ll figure something out.
• Sign the Shirts – There are four shirts in the Staff Room for all staff to sign. These are for the school carnival and are always popular items at the silent auction and drawings.
• District McKinney-Vento Student Data – Linked here is the district-wide McKinney-Vento Student Report. These totals represent students for the entire school year, not necessarily who’s in buildings now. It’s a pretty shocking how many more homeless students and families Howard serves compared to any other 4J school (Howard, 61, Edison 39, Chavez 33, Awbrey Park 27, River Road 22). We’re only surpasses, barely, by two high schools, and high schools typically have over a thousand students enrolled.
• Student Care Team Resources – Below are a few new resources that came out of last week’s final Student Care Team meeting of the school year:
• Direction Service 2018 Summer Directory – Linked here is the Direction Service 2018 Summer Directory. Each year Direction Service publishes this resource of recreation, respite, support, and service opportunities that families of children with disabilities can access during the summer months – and some are available year-round. Feel free to share this with families. You can also access the 2018 Summer Directory via the Direction Service website
• Courageous Kids Camp Information – The Courageous Kids Camp serves youth who have experienced the death of a loved one. Details about camp is linked here in this Courageous Kids Camp Information Packet, as well as information about evening support groups and other services. Please pass this information along to any of your students or families who would find it beneficial, and if you or a family would like an application packet for camp, email Kristin Kintigh at kkintigh@peacehealth.org Once families submit their completed application packets, they will be contacted to schedule an in-person interview to determine if camp is a good fit. The deadline for families to submit applications is June 25th.
• Laurel Hill Center, Ready To Rent Program – Laurel Hill Center has a new class for those who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. It is called Ready To Rent. Laurel Hill received a grant to provide this free 6 week class. At the end, the participant will receive $300 to be used towards barrier removal (such as past due utilities, deposit, etc.) They also get a certificate of completion that they can show a landlord. Laurel Hill does a walk through with the tenant and landlord and offers a few ‘assurances’, such as limited reimbursement for broken lease or damages. People will learn budgeting, housing search plan, how to read a lease, identifying common behaviors that lead to evictions, etc. They can start the classes at any time. The current schedule is listed on the Ready to Rent Flyer. Linked here is the RTR Application. No childcare currently available. It is only offered in English at this time, however people are welcome to bring whatever support people they need/want (interpreter, a case worker, mental health support worker, etc.) If you have questions, you can contact Diana Johnson at Laurel Hill (541) 485-6340.
• Central Housing Registry – One wait list families can get onto that will place them on the wait list for all of the community agencies that provide housing assistance (i.e. Catholic Community Services, St. Vincent De Paul, Shelter Care, Looking Glass, etc.). Can get on list at any of these agencies
• Trillium Care Coordinator – For families on OHP, where they apply and can receive assistance navigating health system. Linked here is the Care Coordinator Application.
• NAACP of Lane Councy ACT-SO – ACT-SO is an acronym for Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics. ACT-SO provides a forum through which youth of African descent demonstrate academic, artistic and scientific prowess and expertise, thereby gaining the same recognition often only reserved for entertainers and athletes.
• NAACP of Lane Councy Youth Council – The NAACP Youth Councils’ mission is to educate, connect and motivate local youth, toward collective community involvement, cultural pride, and strong cross cultural relationships to buildup strong youth in our communities. The NAACP has established a line of communication and collaboration with our local high schools and institutions of higher learning (LCC, UO), to provide a dynamic and well supported platform for youth development. The hours that students spend in Youth Council activities, fundraising, social events, or community outreach projects will count as Community Service volunteer hours; and, the lessons learned while in the program will last a lifetime. To become a member, dues are $10, good for 1 year. Youth Council members meet at the Bi-weekly Youth Council meeting.
• Perfect Attendance Awards – Let me know if you’d like me to recognize your students who had perfect attendance all year long or your students who had perfect attendance second semester. Not linked here, but attached to my email, is a list of students who made this achievement.
• DO NOT move your phones! – Peggy emailed this out earlier, but I want to reiterate that staff SHOULD NOT unplug and move your classroom phones. Moving a phone without going through the proper channels can mess things up pretty bad on the technical side. If you would like a phone moved, email 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu and we can get it done through the proper channels.
• REPEAT: 2018-2019 Leadership/Building Rep. Positions – We’re still looking for volunteers to lead the Garden Team, PBIS, Social Committee, and TLT. If you would like to sign up for a leadership or rep position, follow this link to the 2018-2019 Leadership/Building Rep.
• REPEAT: Homework Committee Meeting, Monday at 2:30 – If you are interested, there will be a meeting on Monday, June 4th at 2:30 in the Conference Room to help draft a letter and/or other means by which we’ll communicate our new reduced (and I would argue more equitable) approach to homework.
• REPEAT: Report Card Grading Day, Classified & Licensed – This Friday is a regular work day for both classified and licensed staff. For licensed staff, HR allows teachers to work from home if you notify your administrator (me) in advance, but be sure to plan ahead if you need to collaborate with any colleagues on grading.
• REPEAT: Class Lists Due Friday – Classroom Teachers should have next year’s lists finished by this Friday, Grading Day, so specialists and support staff have time to review final lists before the end of the school year. Before then, non-classroom staff are welcome to connect with classroom teachers about any specific student placements.
• District Admin Updates – One, Ryan Spain will be 4J’s new Facilities Director, taking the place of Harlan Coats, who is retiring this year. Ryan was Howard’s project manager before taking on the #2 position at Facilities. And two, Courtney Leonard will be the new principal at Charlemagne, taking the place of Eric Anderson, who is taking the place of Chris Mitchell at Roosevelt MS, who is taking on the principalship at Cal Young MS. Courtney was previously an assistant principal at Hillsboro and North Eugene, and was a French immersion teacher at South IHS.
• Optimism Is a Learnable Skill – According to the author sof this Edutopia article, understanding the differences between pessimism and optimism can help students improve the way they respond to challenges. Read on for details how to achieve this by increase students’ awareness of multiple choices, help students identify their pessimistic explanations, and increase students’ capacities to reframe pessimistic explanations with optimistic ones
• Should teachers adjust for learning styles? – Support for embracing students’ different learning styles may be unfounded, asserts Cindi May, a professor of psychology at the College of Charleston. Instead, she writes in this Scientific American article that educators should adopt evidence-based ways of learning that benefit most students. I’m not sure I completely agree with this article’s thesis, but it’s an article I found interesting and has stuck with me.
• Educators Eat Free at Red Robin on June 5! – On June 5th, all school staff who visit participating Red Robin restaurants and present their school ID will be rewarded with a FREE Tavern Double Burger and Bottomless Steak Fries on dine-in and to-go orders.
• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Google Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the rest of the year:
June 4 (M)
3/4/5 Artist in Residence Continues (STEAM Room)
Library Closed for Inventory & Close Out
12:30, Tim Chuey Visiting 1st Grade
2:30, Homework Committee Meeting – OPTIONAL (Conference Room)June 5 (T)
Happy “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” Day
All student library books due back to the library
8:15-11:15, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
2:30-3:30, IPBS End-of-Year Meeting (Hop Valley)June 6 (W)
Report Card Translations Due
8:15-9:00, 4th Grade Play (Gym)
11:15, NEHS Senior Stroll (tentative)
2:30-5:00, Allan to Pay Grade Evaluation Committee (Ed Center)
4:00-5:00, Allan to North Region Principals’ Meeting (NEHS)June 7 (H)
Last Day for BEST
Last Day for Title 1 Groups
9:15, 3/4/5 BEST String Academy Assembly (Gym)
11:00-12:45, Birthday Lunches With the Principal (Library)June 8 (F)
Grading Day – No School
Class Lists Due (for review by support staff)
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting
5:00-8:00, Howard PTO School Carnival (Gym, Cafeteria, Playground)June 11 (M)
easyCBM Testing Closes
3/4/5 Artist in Residence Continues (STEAM Room)
3:00, 5th Grade Interviews – TENTATIVE
3:00-6:00, Bike Rodeo – Bike Safety Activities (Cafeteria & Gym)June 12 (T)
All staff library books due back to the library
Silver & Vaughan to Emerald Park
9:15-1:00, SPLASH Field Trip for Grades 3/4/5
10:00, Fire Drill
2:30-3:30, Staff Meeting – If Needed (Volunteer’s Classroom)June 13 (W)
Wacky Wednesday – Day at the Beach
Preschool’s Last for Students
8:30-10:00, K-2 Field Day (Track)
9:55-10:10, 5th Recess w/3rd Grade
10:15-11:45, 3-5 Field DayJune 14 (H)
PE Classes Outside
10:30, KG Family Picnic (Front Grass)
12:00-12:15, 5th Grade Lunch
12:15-12:35, 5th Grade Recess
12:45-1:45, 5th Grade Graduation (Gym)
1:50, Clap Out for 5th GradeJune 15 (F)
Last Day for Students, Early Release
Last Day for 192 & 196 Day Classified Employees
Sugar field to Emerald Park
10:00, Grab-n-Go Sack Lunches (Cafeteria)
11:05, K-5 Dismissal
11:30, Staff Last Day of School Root Beer Float & Ice Cream Sundae Party and Staff Farewell Celebration (Cafeteria)“Grab & Go” Sack Lunch Schedule
10:00 Kindergarten
10:10 1st grade
10:20 2nd grade
10:30 3rd grade
10:40 4th grade
10:50 5th gradeJune 18 (M)
Last Day for Licensed Staff
2:00-4:00, Allan to ILT Meeting (Ed Center)
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)June 28 (H)
Allan’s Last Day
Just two weeks to go! You got this!
Allan
