http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=8881
Hello Friends,
Twenty items of note for this week:
• Staffing Updates – With Erin moving into the 4J Elementary Humanities TOSA position, I’ve worked with downtown administration and have placed Mellissa into our ESC/Instructional Coach Position, which left a vacancy at 2nd grade and also opened up a position in the building for Katrina, who had originally been displaced from Howard for next year. My current plan is for Katrina to teach 2nd grade for next year, though things can always change, such as if kindergarten numbers come in high in the fall, I’d likely move Katina back to kindergarten, or if we receive additional staffing this spring for a fourth 2nd grade classroom, which is very likely, that will also open up possibilities for any teachers wanting to make a move. Please feel free to come talk to me if you have thoughts or questions about staffing for next year.
• May 3rd Transition Day – Principals were emailed guidance around the May 3rd Elementary Transition Day, which was set on the calendar to align with secondary so all families and students are on similar schedules. Secondary uses this day for mid-term grades and building PD. For elementary – this day is not intended for organized PD or meetings led by principals. Teaching staff can gather together to plan or do transition work for next school year.
Possible activities may include but are not limited to:
• Class list preparation for 2019-2020
• Pre-K transition meetings
• 5th to 6th grade transition for fall of 2019
• Kinderzone prep Sept. 2019
• Grade Level planning
• Planning for last six weeks of school
• Parent Communication
• Begin filling in report cards
• Assessing student workThe Instruction Department could provide resources if requested by individual teachers, grade levels or buildings.
• 2019-2020 Master Schedule Survey – It’s time to begin working on next year’s master schedule, so here is a link to the 2019-2020 Master Schedule Survey. I foresee no major changes, but did want feedback on at least two items up for discussion. One is whether we want to continue scheduling a 30-minute Math Booster, which most schools do not do. The other is how we want to break up the required 60 minutes of lunch and recess for students. If you’d like to give input on next year’s schedule, please complete the survey by Friday, April 26.
• Teacher Registration for New ELL Program – Ellevation (click link below)- The ELD Program recently purchased Ellevation, a data, reporting, and collaboration platform designed to support ELs and their teachers. This program is available to all administrators, specialists, and teachers, and will allow all certified educators access to longitudinal data of their current and former EL students. This data is critical when addressing instructional decision-making and program placement. All licensed staff should follow this Ellevation Registration Link to sign-up (only takes about a minute). I’ll also put hardcopies of the letter in mailbox Monday. For additional information, see the linked Ellevation Teacher Letter (and email sent to principals and ELL teachers) and the linked Ellevation Information for Classroom Teachers Power Point.
• Care Team Referrals due Friday – Student Care Team is meeting is Wednesday next week, so if staff have any students or family situations they would like to refer to the team, please let me know by this Friday. If you have any families who are looking for help, try to get them to sign the the Care Team Release Form (English & Spanish) and also let me know about any “hypothetical” situations to bring to the team. And if it is of use in talking with families, linked here is an English/Spanish Care Team Flyer.
• Grade Level Funds from PTO – Don’t forget about your PTO Teacher Funds. Specialists got $125 each classroom teachers got $10 per student and grade level teams received $10.96 per student for enrichment activities. The two criteria for accessing the enrichment funds are:
• Enrichment Activities Only – The funds are to be used for an enrichment activity. This can be a field trip or it can be brining a presenter or other guest into the classroom to lead an enrichment activity.
• Grade Level Agreement – The funds are for a grade level activity and are not to be different classroom to classroom. For example, all classes at a grade level don’t all have to go on a field trip the same day, but they do all have to be going on the same field trip.
• PiVOT School User Satisfaction Feedback Meeting MONDAY – PiVOT Architecture and 4J Facilities are gathering feedback about what’s working well in the new buildings and what they might want to improve. They scheduled an optional meeting this Monday, April 15th at 2:45 in the Conference Room for anyone who’d like to give input on how to improve the next round of schools being built. I have a laundry list of good and bad, so please either come to the meeting or send me an email of anything you’d like me to share.
• Doddle Buddy App Removed – It recently came to the Tech Department’s attention that Doodle Buddy contained advertising that may not be appropriate for students. The app is being removed from student iPads this week and will be replaced with replacement apps, like Book Creator, Keynote, Notability, Seesaw and Notes just to name a few.
• REPEAT: EEF Grants Due to Allan by April 22nd – EEF Grant Applications need to be given to me by Monday next week, April 22nd for Site Council to rank order our grant submissions. Just give me a title and general idea of the grant to rank order the grants. Linked here is the 2019-2020 EEF Grant Application Announcement and the EEF Grant Application. We can submit up to five grants in any amount up to $5,000. EEF puts a higher priority on grants related to Arts, Literacy, and STEM. Linked , but please let me know if you have any questions, want to bounce ideas off of someone, or would like help writing a grant.
• Trauma Informed Care Module Follow-Up – The slideshow from Friday’s Early Release PD can be found on the Howard Google Team Drive under Howard > Meetings/Teams > Early Release Meetings > 2019-04-12 (Trauma Informed Care). A few highlights of note are:
Key Triggers:
• When students feel a lack of personal power or control,
• Unexpected change,
• Feeling threatened or attached
• Feeling vulnerable or frightened
• Feeling shame
• Positive feelings or intimacy.Sometimes adults under stress can also have some of these triggers.
When students are first TRIGGERED:
• Recognize early signs
• Offer/ model strategies & help problem-solving *Ask what is wrong
• Allow emotional expressionWhen students are in a state of AGITATION:
• Offer options, support and tools
• Consider: Breaks, space, calming activities, movement
• Set expectations (calmly) if neededWhen student are in a state of ACCELERATION:
• Minimize threat
• Arrange environment for safety
• Avoid power struggles
• Remain controlled, supportive & nonjudgemental *Move slowly and deliberatelyWhen student are in a PEAK state:
• Minimize language, corrections and interactions *Wait until the child begins to de-escalate.
• Refrain from negotiating or interacting
• Ensure safety for student and others
• SAFETY RESPONSES ONLYDuring DE-ESCALATION:
• Provide structured calming
• Do not try to teach here
• Provide access to calming routines, independent activities *Give time & space in quiet settingAnd once in RECOVERY:
• Active adult listening
• Return student to regular schedule when ready
• Refrain from dwelling on the episode
• Provide reassurance and help reintegrating into the group• School Websites – Classroom websites are a great way to communicate with families and keep them connected to what’s happening here at school. You may not know it, but our TSS, Peggy, besides supporting Howard and River Road also works 12-15 hours a week helping to make school website. If you’d like help building a class website or improving your current website, send in a ticket to 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu
• PTO Meeting Tuesday @6:00 – The April PTO meeting is this Thursday at 6:00 in the cafeteria if any staff are able to volunteer you time to attend. I know our PTO folks always appreciate it when staff are able to attend.
• OPTIONAL NEHS Jazz Band Assembly, Friday, April 26 – Linked here is the Assembly Map and Directions for an optional assembly in the gym for classrooms to attend when the NEHS Jazz Band will be here on Friday, April 26th from 8:45-9:15.
• Free Coast Guard Presentation – The grandparent of a Howard 1st grader in Charissa’s class, who happens to be a US Coast Guard Auxiliary Member out of Depot Bay, has offered to do class presentations about the Coast Guard next month in May for any interested teachers. If you are interested, contact Marv. A. Lee, VFC. FSO-PD of the Flotilla Depoe Bay at (541) 513-4950 or kodiak0503@comcast.net
• District Admin Updates – Joel Lavin, principal at our super-boundary neighbor River Road, is leaving next year to be an assistant principal at Sheldon HS. Also, Molly Gillett, principal at ECCO & Eugene Education Options, is moving out of state, which leaves these two positions vacant. Lastly, Kari Skinner has been hired as our new Safety Officer. Kari has an exceptional background preparing her for this position, from her U.S. Marine Corps experience as a legal adjutant; to law enforcement experience in various roles as a non-sworn (classified) employee, police officer and youth services detective; to serving as the emergency preparedness coordinator for Oregon’s largest school district. See the linked email for more details as well as some secondary assistant principal changes.
• Kindness Video: Follow the Crowd – Lupe shared this video from CBS Sunday Morning about a a thirteen-year-old who was with some middle school friends at a skatepark when they encountered Carter Bruynell, who was there with his mother celebrating his fifth birthday. Big groups of older kids might spell trouble for Bruynell, who is on the autism spectrum, but what Mabes and his friends did initiated a most unexpected friendship.
• Teens ‘not damaged by screen time’, new Oxford study finds – Screen time is a concern by many, but research by Oxford University scientists finds “little evidence of a relationship between screen time and wellbeing in adolescents.” Based on data from over 17,000 teenagers, the study “casts doubt on the widely accepted notion that spending time online, gaming or watching TV, especially before bedtime, can damage young people’s mental health.” This isn’t the first time a scientific study has disproven the notion of a direct link between the amount of time teenagers spend on devices and their well-being, but it’s good to know we can worry less about teens’ time on-screen.
• Report lists skills the class of 2030 will need – The education system must change in three key ways if the class of 2030 — today’s kindergartners — are to succeed in the workplace, according to results from a report conducted by Microsoft. Schools should focus on social and emotional learning, personalized instruction and using technologies such as artificial intelligence and collaborative platforms, the report finds. See this article for details.
• A Look at Implicit Bias and Microaggressions – This Edutopia Article provides a primer on the impact of implicit biases, unconscious biases about people that are contingent on how they talk and look, in schools and how they can be expressed by students and faculty.
• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Google Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the rest of the year:
April 15 (M)
Penny War – Monday – Friday
Final Week of PBIS Kindness Challenge
2:45, OPTIONAL – PiVOT School User Satisfaction Feedback Meeting (Conference Room)April 16 (T)
8:00-11:00, 4J and Apple iPad Training w/Howard Tech Reps (Ed Center)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Classroom)
4:00-6:00, Allan to TalentEd Rubric Committee (Ed Center)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Cafeteria)April 17 (W)
Regular DayApril 18 (H)
5:00-7:00, PTO McTeacher Night Fundraiser (River Ave. McDonalds)April 19 (F)
Licensed Interventionists (Title & SPED) PLC – Virtual Meeting
1:30-2:30, PBIS Meeting (Rae’s Room, RM1)
2:30-3:30, Early Release PD – Behavior Framework #8 (Erin’s Room, RM22)April 22 (M)
OAKS Testing Begins
Earth Day
2:45-4:45, Site Council / ESSA Planning (Conference Room)April 23 (T)
May School Newsletter Articles Due
8:15-12:00, Allan Elem. Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Erin’s Room, RM22)April 24 (W)
Administrative Professionals’ Day (formerly known as Secretaries’ Day)
2:40-3:30, Student Care Team (Conference Room)
3:00-3:30, Ukulele Performances at Terpening Terrace Retirement HomeApril 25 (H)
Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day
2:45-3:30, TLT Meeting (Angela’s Room, RM24)April 26 (F)
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
8:45-9:15, NEHS Jazz Ensemble Concert Assembly (Gym)
10:30-12:40, April Birthday Lunches With the Principal (Conference Room)
2:30-3:30, Early Release PD – Math PLC (Library)
4:00, Howard Staff Social – Friday @4:00, Lane 25 (Adult Bowling)
Have an excellent week, everyone!
Allan
