January 21, 2019

By Allan  

 

Howdy Roadrunners,

We had quite a few families sign-up for our school choice tours this past week and we had more show up for the evening school choice presentation than I was expecting. We get a break from school choice activities this week, but Howard is still a pretty popular place!

Thirteen items of note for this week:

• Admin Sub for Allan Tuesday – Downtown is helping large elementary schools when principals are out of the building during elementary principal meetings, so for Tuesday’s meeting, North Eugene High School Assistant Principal Trinity Welch-Radabaugh will cover for me.

• Fire Drill Thursday at 8:15 – The January Fire Drill will be this Thursday at 8:15, which should step on anyone’s PE or Music times and as of writing this is supposed to a dry.

• PTO Meeting Updates – The January PTO Meeting minutes and slide show can be found on the Howard PTO Webpage. Topics of note included:

• Holiday Bazaar – The PTO brought in $1237.27 net profit, with 44 vendors participating, and 3 dogs adopted. They are working on marketing to increase customer traffic for the Spring Bazaar.

• Bottle Drop Fundraiser – The group brainstormed ideas around the Bottle Drop fundraiser, asking people to bring bottles and cans to all PTO and school events. We’ll also look at stationing a drop off spot somewhere near the front of the building.

• Harry Potter Family Night – This Friday, in the cafeteria from 6:00-7:30, is the PTO Harry Potter Family Night. There is a Sign-Up Genius on Facebook for event volunteers. The PTO is also collecting clothing donations and mismatched socks they will donate to ShelterCare. Get students pumped for this event!

• Friday Early Release PD – Teachers, this Friday’s Early Release PD is a Behavior Framework training for Modules 5 (Contingent Praise) and Module 6 (Strategies for Inappropriate Behavior). Since we changed one of the earlier Behavior Framework dates, we’re mashing these two modules together for this framework training.

• Classified AESOP Sub Hours Entry – Classified staff, when entering hours into AESOP, you must enter the times you are out as “custom.” Only 8-hour employees use full-day. Especially on Fridays, your day needs to be entered on the left and then on the right, entering the hours that the sub is supposed to report. Lori is having to correct this in AESOP for almost everyone.

• EA Extravaganza Friday, February 1 – Classified staff, please mark your calendar for the Elementary EA Extravaganza on February 1st (Grading Day). Downtown is in the process of putting together the offerings and they will be using the new sign up system that was used for January 7th, so watch for another email with the courses and a sign up link later this week.

• Student Names in Emails (it’s OK)– There’s a common misconception that for privacy reasons staff should not use student names in email and should instead use initials. This is incorrect and it is actually encouraged that staff use full names. This is because if there ever is a records request and downtown has to search for emails, it’s much easier to find relevant emails if the student’s full name is written out versus their initials.

• Printer Ink Cartridge Replacement Process – If you need ink for any school printer, it has to order it through Pacific Automation. Every printer has an equipment ID and phone number and you need to call POA (541-747-9396) and order with them giving them your name and room number for correct delivery. This is done for ease and consistency of supplies and service. Schools are not allowed to reimburse for off-brand cartridge ordering.

• SafeOregon Information – SafeOregon has a goal of keeping all children in Oregon schools safer by having a confidential or anonymous tip line to report safety concerns. This tip line is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week and can be used by students, staff, families, or community members. Go to SafeOregon.com, email tip@SafeOregon.com, download the SafeOregon app, or call/text to 844-472-3367.

• Care Team Resources – Linked here are a few Student Care Team resources:

• Courageous Kids Grief Support Group Referral Information – Linked his is Courageous Kids’ winter term groups and intake information. If you’re not familiar, Courageous Kids offers grief support groups for children and their families who have experienced the death of a loved one. They offer a group specifically for elementary kids on Wednesdays from 5:30-6:30 and have postponed the start date of groups to allow for more families to sign up. If you know of any families that would like to sign up, please direct them to call (458) 205-7474 to schedule an intake.

• OFSN February Events – Linked here the the February Oregon Family Support Network (OFSN) events flyer. They host a weekly parent night every Thursday and have also opened up a food pantry in partnership with Food for Lane County. We will not have Respite available for the month of February as we are restructuring in order to be able to provide MORE opportunities for families to access respite. This service will restart in March. Please share with any families who might be interested in accessing these services.

• 211 – This one isn’t new, but it’s a very easy catchall to recommend to families looking for almost any kind of assistance. 211 will help families identify, navigate, and connect with the local resources for whatever their need may be (housing, medical needs, domestic violence, bills, mental health, etc.). Families can call 211 toll free, or they can text their zip code to 898211, or they can email help@211info.org, or go online to http://211info.org/

• Eugene Concert Choir Outreach 2019 – ECCO is a FREE program that involves three 30-45 minute classroom presentations (not just for music class) designed to introduce basic musical concepts and choral singing to children grades K-5. Students will explore music fundamentals such as melody, vocal sounds, movement, and rhythm. ECCO participants will receive a free pass for themselves and an adult to attend a concert on Saturday, April 27 at the Hult Center to perform “Consider Yourself!” From the musical Oliver! along with the 110-voice Eugene Concern Choir. For more information, see the linked 2019 ECCO Letter and ECCO Application.

• Your life will be better if you turn off push notifications (and all notifications) – You should turn off push notifications and boy, do I agree! I’ve had notifications turned off on everything except texts for about a year. I check in on everything else (email, Facebook, Instagram, etc) several times a day, but I don’t have anything, on any of my devices, that interrupts me to tell me that someone, somewhere is thinking about me. Try it. You’ll love it!

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Google Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the rest of the year:

January 21 (M)
No School – Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 22 (T)
Artist in Residence – Nicole Hummel – Functional Pottery Continues
Winter Benchmark Testing Final Week
8:15-12:00, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting, Trinity Welch-Radabaugh subbing (Ed Center)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Title 1 Room (RM30)

January 23 (W)
February Newsletter Articles Due
11:15-12:40, OBOB Lunches (Community Room)
2:45, Student Care Team (Conference Room)

January 24 (H)
8:15, Fire Drill
10:30-12:15, PERS AXA Rep (Staff Room)
2:45, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Office)
2:45-3:30, PBIS Meeting (Rae’s Room, RM1)

January 25 (F)
Final Day of Winter Benchmark Testing
8:00, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Office)
10:30-12:40, Jan. Birthday Lunches w/the Principal (Community Room)
2:30-3:30, Early Release PD – Behavior Framework (Library)
6:00-7:30, PTO Harry Potter Family Night (Cafeteria)

January 28 (M)
School Choice Visitation Week #2
Artist in Residence – Nicole Hummel – Functional Pottery Continues
2:40-3:30, Site Council (Conference Room)

January 29 (T)
9:45-10:45, School Choice Tour
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Erin’s Room, RM22)
6:00-7:00, School Choice Presentation & Tour (Library)

January 30 (W)
8:30-12:15, Data Team Meetings (Conference Room)

1st – 8:30-9:30
2nd – 10:00-11:00
5th – 11:15-12:15

3:30-5:00, Allan to ESSA Meeting (Ed Center)

January 31 (H)
8:00-11:20, Data Team Meetings (Conference Room)

8:00-9:00 – 4th
9:10-10:10 – KG
10:30-11:20 – 3rd

2:45-3:30, TLT Meeting (Angela’s Room, RM24)
7:00, BEST Strings Concert (Kelly MS)

February 1 (F)
No School – Grading Day
PBIS Monthly Theme – Cooperation
8:00-4:00, EA Extravaganza – More Details to Come

Have a good 4-day week, everyone!

Allan