http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=8761
Hi Everyone,
Ten items of note for this week:
• Friday Early Release PD – This Friday’s Early Release PD is a Reading Progress Monitoring meeting. Principals have not been given the plan for this meeting yet, but I expect we’ll get some direction at Tuesday’s elementary principals’ meeting, so stay tuned. I’l also plan to go over some potential staffing scenarios at this meeting and give people time to discuss as a group.
• ESSA Updates – ESSA Reps met last week with Debbi Renard from ODE and Jeff Johnson from 4J to begin going through the ORIS Tool, doing a self evaluation of our school, looking at the five areas of School Leadership, Talent Development, Stakeholder Engagement, Well-Rounded Learning, and Inclusive Policy & Practice. We had many things in place (Distributed Leadership, Stakeholder Engagement) and some only partially in place (useful staff growth & professional learning, materials and practices that are culturally responsive and make interdisciplinary connections). Our strengths and weaknesses were a result of both building decisions and district initiatives. What I think is good about this process, besides the self reflection, is that we have district and state representatives hearing from building staff which mandates we feel are working, which are not, and what we are needing. Our next meeting will be an even more interesting one where we begin talking about what help we want from the district and state as we begin crafting our school improvement plan.
• Student Teacher Celebration – 4J is doing something new this year. HR is hosting a Student Teacher Celebration March 4th at the Ed Center Auditorium, 4:00-5:00. Please, share the above linked flyer with your student teachers. If you know you will have a student teacher this spring, they are also invited and you are welcome to join the event as well. Thank you in advance for helping spread the word.
• Book Fair News from Julie – If you haven’t had a chance to stop by and check out the book fair, please do. So many new books! Teachers, if you have not had a chance to add some books to your wish box, please do. Parents love to add books to classroom libraries. Link to our Online Book Fair :) Book fair will be open to students Monday morning 9:45, I have 2 more previews to finish up and a recess duty :). Please be sure to send students with their hall pass. This helps everyone know they are allowed to come. If you have bus riders, they should come earlier in the day. It’s hard to get them out in time for the bus. We tend to get busy quickly and it takes time to stand in line and pay. Thank you so much for bringing your classes for the preview! The kids are so excited! Have a great week and thank you for all your support – Julie
• March PBIS Focus: Safe Bodies – The March PBIS monthly focus is Safe Bodies. The PBIS team created a PBIS/CSC Cheat Sheet that matches our PBIS monthly themes with corresponding Caring School Community (CSC) class meeting lessons. This is an easy way to tie the two activities together.
• Walk + Roll to School Day, March 6 – Not this week, but next week is the Monthly Walk + Roll to School Day, so remind your students that they might try to walk, skateboard, bike, or use another mode of transportation to get to school this outside of riding in a car.
• REPEAT: 15th Annual Literacy Night, Thursday – Literacy Night is this Thursday. We’ll have sign-in sheets for each classroom and each family that signs in will get a book delivered to their classroom the following week. We’ll continue our traditional free pizza and cookies for families. The schedule of the event will be:
5:30-6:00: Free Dinner (cafeteria)
6:00-6:45: Visit Classrooms
6:30-8:00: Scholastic Book FairTalk Literacy Night up to your students and get them pumped to attend!
• REPEAT: Literacy Night Staff Dinner – We’ll once again provide a meal for staff working Literacy Night, with a variety of pizzas and salads from Mezza Luna (including some of my “weird” pizzas).
• Bringing the Science of Learning Into Classrooms (it’s about relationships) – Years of research prompted a group of scientists to ask whether we should rethink the way we do school. “The science says to us that, in fact, the way the brain functions and grows, it needs safety, it needs warmth, it actually even needs hugs,” explains Stanford professor Linda Darling-Hammond. “We actually learn in a state of positive emotion much more effectively than we can learn in a state of negative emotion. That has huge implications for what we do in schools.” According to Darling-Hammond, there are a few ways school can shift to better align with these insights. See this Edutopia Article for details on the importance of building strong, long-lasting relationships with students, understanding where each student is developmentally to scaffold instruction, and integrate practices that explicitly address belonging and safety.
• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Google Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the rest of the year:
February 25 (M)
8:30-11:30, Matt at Counselor’s Meeting (Ed Center)
8:30-10:30, Allan to Night Custodian Interviews (Conference Room)
2:30-6:00, Book Fair Open (Library)
2:45-3:30, Site Council (Conference Room)February 26 (T)
8:00-11:00, Apple Trainer Meeting w/Tech Reps (STEAM Room)
8:15-11:30, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting – John Wayland subbing (Ed Center)
2:30-6:00, Book Fair Open (Library)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Erin’s Room, RM22)February 27 (W)
12:00, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Office)
2:30-6:00, Book Fair Open (Library)
2:45-3:30, Student Care Team Meeting (Conference Room)February 28 (H)
12:30-1:00, BORA Architects Touring Building
2:45-3:30, TLT Meeting (Angela’s Room, RM24)
5:00-5:30, Staff Literacy Night Dinner (Staff Room)
5:00-8:00, Literacy Night
5:30-6:00: Free Dinner (cafeteria)
6:00-6:45: Visit Classrooms
6:30-8:00: Scholastic Book FairMarch 1 (F)
PTO Read-a-Thon Begins
PBIS Monthly Theme – Safe Bodies
Book Fair Take Clean-Up & breakdown (during school) – Library Closed
8:00-9:45, ODE EdTech Visit (Larsen, Pond, Groshong, Kreider)
1:30, EA Supervisors Meeting (Title 1 Room, RM25)
2:30-3:30, Early Release PD, Reading Progress Monitoring (Library)March 4 (M)
Classified Employees Appreciation Week
PBIS Tail Feather Reward Spring Break Incentive (Disco Party)
2:40-3:05, Allan Meeting w/KG Team – Staffing Input (RM2)
3:05-3:30, Allan Meeting w/1st Grade Team – Staffing Input (RM11)
4:00-5:30, Student Teacher Celebration (Ed Center)March 5 (T)
2:45-4:45, ESSA Meeting #3 (Conference Room)
6:00-7:00, Kindergarten Round-Up (Library)March 6 (W)
Monthly Walk & Roll to School Day
8:00, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Office)
2:40-3:05, Allan Meeting w/2nd Grade Team – Staffing Input (RM22)
3:05-3:30, Allan Meeting w/3rd Grade Team – Staffing Input (RM18)
2:30-5:00, Allan to Pay Grade Evaluation Committee – SKIPPING
4:00-5:00, Allan to North Region Principals’ Meeting (NEHS)
5:00-6:00, 5th Grade Parent Info – Human Growth & Development (Community Room)March 7 (H)
Licensed Interventionists (Title & SPED) PLC
2:40-3:10, Allan Meeting w/4th Grade Team – Staffing Input (RM26)
3:10-3:30, Allan Meeting w/5th Grade Team – Staffing Input (RM12)
4:00-6:00, Allan to TalentEd Rubric Committee (Ed Center)
5:00-6:00, 5th Grade Parent Info – Human Growth & Development (Conference Room)March 8 (F)
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
9:30-10:00, 2/3 Music Performance (Gym)
1:30-1:55, Allan Meeting w/Specialists (SPED, ELD, Title, PE, Music, etc.) – Staffing Input (RM10)
2:30-3:30, Early Release PD – Reading PM/Math PLC (Library)
4:00-5:00, Allan to Title 1 Budget Meeting (Ed Center)March 9 (SA)
9:45, OBOB Lane County Regional Tournament (Thurston High School)March 10 (SU)
Daylight Saving Time – Spring Forward
And if you’re wondering when the next short week is, it’s in two weeks with the Friday, March 15th PD Day. :)
Allan
