August 26, 2019

By Allan  

Greetings Roadrunners,

I’ve already seen quite a few folks who’ve stopped by school, but it’s almost that time that we get to see all of our work friends again!

Here’s the first of my regular weekly staff announcements.  My intention with these weekly announcements is to send only one email to all staff per week, so as not to clutter up your inboxes. My hope is that staff read the announcements by the end of the day Tuesday each week. These sometimes get long, like this one, but I’ll advise staff to read the bold heading for each bulleted item and you can decide from there if it applies to you or not and read on accordingly.

And one more reminder, don’t forget to make your Breakfast Burrito Order!

Nineteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Three staffing updates! Please welcome to the Howard Team Tami Brittenham (PE), Christine Butler (BEST Coordinator), and Jeff Koldewyn (Project PASS Behavior Support EA). Tami already knows quite a few Howard staff, but she has been a classroom teacher for the past 18 years, most of that time at Awbrey Park, and is making the move to teach PE this school year. Christine is our new BEST Coordinator, who comes with experience as a middle school math teacher as well as a Program Manager at the UO. Jeff will be our Project Pass Behavior Support EA and comes to us with a wide variety of EA experience having worked as a special education EA, a Spanish translator, and an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter. Please welcome these excellent folks to the STELLAR Howard Team!

We have three position still to be filled. One, we’ve conduced interviews for a 3-Hour Learning Center EA and I’m waiting on HR to make the job offer to our selected candidate. Two, SSD is adding another 6.5 hour Life Skills EA to our program, so I am awaiting details from SSD on that. And three, we’ll be conducing interviews this Monday from 11:30-3:30 for primary grade classroom teacher if anyone would like to join the interview committee. Our K/1/2 class sizes are all very large and at this point downtown has approved one additional teacher which they said might be a straight K, 1 or 2 classroom or it may be a K/1 or 1/2 blend.

• Enrollment Updates – Right now we have some very large class sizes and are one of the few 4J schools over projection. We were projected for 435 as of Friday are at 487 students. Current class sizes are:

KG – 35, 35
1st – 33, 33
2nd – 29, 29, 29
3rd – 22, 22, 22, 21
4th – 27, 26, 26
5th – 29, 28, 28

I’m grateful for the additional 1.0 FTE we’ve been given and that we can hire now, but I’m continuing to push hard for additional staffing in addition to that. Current numbers should equate to a total of 2.5 FTE being added, though I’m also reminding downtown that last year we added over 50 students by the end of the school year (over 30 the year before), along with serving a high needs population of students and families.

No changes have been made to 2019-2020 Classroom Assignments, but if we add a straight KG class it would go into Room 2, a straight 1st grade class would go into Room 14, and a straight 2nd grade class would go into Room 21. If we have to do blend, a K/1 blend would go into Room 2 and would follow the Kindergarten C scheduled and a 1/2 blend would go into Room 21 and would follow the 2nd grade D schedule.

• Updated 2019-2020 Master Schedule – Linked here and on the Howard Google Shared Drive is a slightly updated 2019-2020 Master Schedule (PDF and XLS). Anyone affected by any changes already knows.

• REPEAT: Breakfast Burrito Orders Due 8/26 – If you haven’t already and would like a FREE breakfast burrito Wednesday morning, please complete linked Breakfast Burrito Order Google Form by 9:00 on Monday. You’ll need to log onto your 4J Google Account to complete the form.

• UPDATED: In-Service Week Schedule – Most of this is the same, but we now have a few more details from downtown for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday’s PD, which are included below.

August 27 (T) – Planning Day – Teachers report back and this is a protected planning day. I’ll have some breakfast goodies, coffee, and drinks in the Staff Room at 8:30 to welcome folks back and to meet new staff members.

UPDATED: August 28 (W) – Building PD Day – Classified staff report back this day and we’ll start the day with everyone in the cafeteria. Breakfast burritos will be available 7:30-8:00 for folks who placed orders and the Back-to-School Staff Meeting with everyone will begin at 8:00. This meeting will be focused on building items and some district PBIS info, which may help with our afternoon PBIS Team Meeting. The agenda is attached to my email and in the Staff Meetings folder on the Howard Google Shared Drive. There will be a PBIS Team meeting the afternoon at 1:00 in the Conference Room to finalize PBIS Rules Round-Up plans.

UPDATED: August 29 (H) – Optional 4J BTS Event/Specialist PD – The 4J Back-to-School Event at South Eugene High School is this morning 8:30-10:30. Attendance is encouraged, but optional. Following that, there will be multiple required trainings for some licensed and classified staff (primarily specialists, such as SPED, PE, Music, Library, Counselors, etc.), so look for emails from the folks running those sessions for details. SSD licensed staff will have a meeting immediately following the Back-to-School Event. SSD classified staff are to return to buildings and use the remaining time to watch the SafeSchools Trainings.

UPDATED: August 30 (F) – Half-Day PD/Half-Day Planning – All staff, classified and licensed, will meet in the cafeteria and will have a 2-hour training on supporting student behavior. Following that there will be a 90-minute training for licensed staff focused on introducing the Instructional Framework and a PLC reboot. The agenda is attached to my email and in the Staff Meetings folder on the Howard Google Shared Drive.

September 2 (M) – Labor Day, No School

September 3 (T) – I have a placeholder Staff Meeting from 8:00-10:00 scheduled this day if anything comes up that can’t wait until our first regular staff meeting. At 10:00, I’ve scheduled a Q&A Session for new staff members to meet with me in the office to answer any questions you might have. I can get busy durning in-service week and am not always easy to find, so I’ve set this time aside. Also, “Meet Your Teacher” will be from 1:00-2:00, when families can come see their classrooms, drop off supplies, and meet staff.

September 4 (W) – The big show begins! We are not doing the big gathering in the gym this year and will have student follow our normal morning routine. See the third bullet down, First & Second Day of School Plan 9/4 & 9/5, for details.

• PBIS Rules Review Meeting 8/28 at 1:00 – Mentioned above, the PBIS Team will be meeting this Wednesday at 1:00 in the Conference Room, to which anyone and everyone is invited, to decide how we want to do our our rules review with students. The last few years we’ve used slide shows to teach Playground Rules and Common School Areas, but at the end of the last year we discussed going back to our Rules Round-Up style of teaching school rules, where classes rotate around the school and school grounds to learn how to be SAFE, KIND, and RESPONSIBLE in various targeted areas. If you have thoughts on how you would like this year’s Rule Round-Up to go, please come to the meeting Wednesday or email me your thoughts before then. Also for your reference, linked here is the Howard PBIS Matrix.

• Meet Your Teacher 9/3 – During Meet Your Teacher on Tuesday, September 3rd ,1:00-2:00, I’d like to repeat what we did last year, having all non-classroom staff available to direct families, passing out school maps with highlighters to help guide families, and also passing out a First Day/Parking Lot Flyer about the first day of school and parking lot pick-up and drop-off procedures. We’ll also give staff a complete set of class lists to be used this day and also on the first day of school.

• First & Second Day of School Plan 9/4 & 9/5 – We are not doing the big gathering in the gym this year and will mostly follow our regular morning routine, as we used to do in the old building on the first day of school, but we will continue having all-hand-on-deck to help at 7:25 on Wednesday, September 4th and on Thursday, September 5th to help direct students and families before and after the first bell. Here is the plan:

• Students will enter in at 7:25 to eat breakfasts.

• Non-classroom staff, starting at 7:25, will be in front of the building, the front hallway, the cafeteria, and the playground to help supervise and to help guide students and families. All staff will be given class lists to help guide students as well as a handful of building maps to pass out. See the map below for where people are stationed.

• Kindergarten and 1st grade students will have a designated area in the cafeteria to eat breakfast. 2nd through 5th grade students will eat breakfast and go out to the playground.

• 2nd – 5th grade students at 7:50 rings will line up (T-square classrooms signs will be posted to help students know where to line up) and will be dismissed one class at a time to go to their classrooms. Non-classroom staff will have assigned areas to help with student flow and for students arriving late. Staff will be stationed at the front entrance, cafeteria, the hallway corners of the library, and one person in each wing (upstairs and downstairs). See map below.

• Kinder and 1st grade students at 7:50 will wait in the cafeteria to be met by classroom teachers and walked to class.

• We will follow this routine the first two days of school and on Friday will begin our usual routine of 1st through 5th grade students on the playground and will not have as many staff members posted around the school, although extra hands are always appreciated.

Staff helping direct students and families should hold onto their class lists and maps from Meet Your Teacher for the first and second day of school. Linked here is the First & Second Day Directions and a First & Second Day Map of where staff will be stationed. Anyone who can’t flex their hours to come in earlier these two days, please let me know so I can adjust where people are stationed.

• Kinderzone & Title & SPED EA Help – Downtown has given schools more direction on how Kinderzone is suppose to work, the main difference from what we did last year is that all Title 1 and Learning Center classified staff not working with students are too spend the first three days of school in the kindergarten classrooms. Other than that, it will be the same as last year, where for the first three days of school kindergarten students see all teachers and on Friday the kinder team will create class lists, which will then be posted outside the office on Friday, Sept. 6. Linked here is the letter that was sent to kindergarten families (English and Spanish)

• Classified & Licensed Goals and Self Assessment – All staff, both classified and licensed, need to complete a self assessment before the end of September in TalentEd. For Licensed staff, one change to the self-assessments is that they are now viewable by the building administrator (me) after it has been completed, with the notion that this will assist with goal setting and coaching. One other change for licensed staff is the standards for SPED teachers have been revised to more closely match what SPED teachers are actually required to do. For classified staff, completing the self assessment in TalentEd is new. HR is loading all classified staff members into TalentEd by September 1st. I have not seen the new online form, but I believe it is essentially an electric version of paper form. Stay tuned for more information regarding classified self assessments.

• Monthly PBIS Focus: Safety – The September PBIS monthly focus is Safety, which all classroom teachers should take time review with students. Remember that you can use the PBIS/CSC Cheat Sheet, which matches our PBIS monthly themes with Caring School Community class meeting lessons. This is a nice way to tie the PBIS and CSC together

• Facilities Notes – A few facilities related items of note:

• No Blue Tack – Under no circumstances use blue sticky tack on the walls. After some classroom moves this summer, we’ve realized it’s near impossible to get the stuff off the walls due to the cheap paint the contractors used on our interior walls.

• Summer School – The three summer school programs were not quite as invasive as we’d feared (although they did slow down summer cleaning). If you notice anything damaged or missing, let me know and they will rectify the situation. They’ve already done one reimbursement for damage in one classroom.

• Follow Up Long Term Radon Testing – On September 3rd, Facilities will place RSSI Alpha Track Radon test kits in the Community Room, which was the one room in our building that had elevated levels. The levels found were within EPA limits for usage, but did warrant further testing, which will be done over the next nine months. There will be 2 test kits in the room, either hanging on a wall or strategically placed on or under a counter surface.

If anyone is concerned about the elevated levels of radon, to give perspective, 3.99 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L) is considered safe. The Community Room measured at was 4.3 pCi/L and 5.3 pCi/L. For closing down a building or room, the EPA recommends people “consider” relocation if levels are over 100 pCi/L.

• Items of Note for New Staff and Reminders for Veterans – I’m still waiting for the district back-to-school policy memo before I send out the updated Howard Staff Handbook, but below are eight items of note for new staff, which also may also be good reminders for returning staff:

• Tech Subscriptions – As a reminder to staff, Howard has paid subscriptions to the following online resources. Students can link to these by going to the Howard Website and clicking their grade-level’s “Links for Learners.” If there are any links your grade level would like added or removed, just let me know and I’ll get it updated.

• Seesaw App – Howard has more teachers using Seesaw than any other school in 4J and we own a site license, so it is available to ALL teachers. If you’re not currently using it, I’d encourage you to give it a try. Teachers sign-up for free on the Seesaw website. Parents download the free app and get access to your class from a secure code you share. From there, students can upload videos, audio, photos (approved first by the teacher), and and families then get a personalized window into their child’s school day! Teachers also have a fast easy communication tool to your families, where you can quickly push out a message to all families, where it shows up on their phone like a text instead of an email, getting their attention right away.

• BrainPOP, BrainPOP Jr., and BrainPOP Espanol – BrainPOPBrainPOP Jr., and BrainPOP Espanol are animated Educational Sites for Kids, covering Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology.USER: howardschool PASS: roadrunners

• Dreambox – 4J purchased a K-5 subscription to the adaptive math program Dreambox, which I strongly recommend teachers use. Log-in with your 4J email and username to set up your classroom.

• SpellingCity – We have paid subscription for grades 3-5 for SpellingCity. Let me or your TLT reps know if you need assistance setting this up.

• RAZ-Kids – RAZ-Kids is an online guided reading program with interactive ebooks, downloadable books, and reading quizzes.

• TumbleBooks – The TumbleBooks link on our Links for Learners will take you to our subscription website.

• FastMath & FractionNation – FastMath and Fraction Nation are adaptive math software program for students in Grades 4-8.

• Staff Parking Areas (not the front row) – Starting next week, in September, I’d like staff to begin using the designated staff parking areas, which is anywhere in the parking lot except for the front row of parking spaces, which is the three handicap parking spots and 12 regular parking spots, which I’d like to reserve for families. With over 80 adults working in our building this year and only 94 parking spots it’s a pretty tight fit.

• No Scents, Fragrances, Perfumes – Please do not wear any scents, body sprays, perfumes, or such at school. We have a number of students and staff with allergies who can have serious potentially life-threatening allergic reactions.

• Classroom Newsletters – I’d love to have copies (email is best) of classroom newsletters when teachers send them home to families. This helps me get school events on the building calendar, keeps me up to date on what’s happening or going to happen in classes when families ask, and it also lets me know details of any class activities that I might be able to get the local media to come out and cover. I love promoting our school!

• Google Permission Forms – If you have students who do not have permission to use Google apps such as Google Classroom, linked here is the 4J Google Permission Form (English and Spanish). The forms can also be found online at the 4J Instructional Technology Resources & Links webpage.

• Friday Folders/School-Home Communication – We have a building-wide an agreement that all classrooms will send home information the same day (Fridays) in the cleverly named Friday Folders. This makes communication easier for families and for people needing to send home school wide information.

• Homework Policy – We have the following guiding beliefs for our building-wide homework policy:

• All classes will send a weekly reading and/or math log of some sort.
• Teachers may send games or other activities home for students to optionally do with their families.
• Classes may send worksheets home with students, but may not have an expectation that students return the work.

The main thing we DO NOT want is for students in one class to be getting something significantly different from another class or grade level. I will include our Homework Policy Letter (English and Spanish) with the September School Newsletter so families know this is a building-wide practice.

• How to Hang Things on Walls – If you want to hang anything on the walls or other surfaces, be sure to use either tape (but not duct tape, which leaves sticky residue), non-blue sticky tack, command hooks, or most anything that doesn’t poke a hole in the wall or will leave behind imperfections when they’re removed. If you have something heavy you want to hang, like a picture frame, let our lead custodian, Crystal, know and she’ll install a district approved wall-hanger.

• Building Google Calendar – At the bottom of my weekly announcements is a two week calendar and also a link to the Howard Building Google Calendar for the entire school year. If you use Google Calendars yourself, you can add the Howard Building Calendar to your own list of Google Calendars by clicking the calendar link in my blog and then clicking the +Google Calendar icon located at the bottom right of the calendar webpage (it’s a little different to add if you’re doing it from your phone). This will add the building calendar to your list of Google Calendars if you’re logged onto your Google account, regardless of whether that’s your personal Google account or your 4J Google account. You can also add this calendar to most any calendar app you might use. Let me or our TSS, Jyllian, know if you would like any help with this.

• Student Username/Passwords and Other TeacherVUE Reports – If teachers need a reminder how to find your students’ usernames and passwords, linked here is a quicksheet on Printing Reports in TeacherVUE. There are several reports teachers can generate from TeacherVUE. For example: To see which students have permission restrictions. A list of student user names and passwords for testing. To print a class list, student/parent directory, health conditions, emergency contacts etc. To print labels to send mail home.

• Can it be Recycled? – As people are setting up their spaces and clearing things out, keep in mind changes to what can be recycled.

The following items continue to be accepted in commingled recycling bins:

• Newspaper, ads and inserts, direct mail, magazines, and catalogues
• Flattened cardboard boxes
• Cereal, cracker, and shoe boxes (not refrigerated or frozen boxes!)
• Office paper
• Paperboard/cardboard egg-cartons
• Steel and aluminum cans (no lids)
• Certain plastic bottles and jugs will still be accepted: soda bottles, water bottles, milk jugs, and juice bottles (no lids)

Items that are no longer be accepted:

• Plastic tubs
• Any plastic item that isn’t a bottle or jug
• Aseptic containers (such as for milk cartons, or shelf stable soy milk)
• Shredded paper
• Plastic bags, take-out food containers, plant pots, and lids of any kind should never be placed in commingled recycling bins

Any items that are not clearly recyclable should be put in the trash—when in doubt, throw it out! See the Sanipac Waste Wizard to know exactly what is accepted and what it not.

• Putting in Tickets for Technology Help – If you ever need assistance with anything technology related, you should send an email to 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu or call (541) 790-7777, but do not email Jyllian directly. The reasons staff are asked to put in tickets to 4jdesktop are numerous, including but are not limited to:

• To get an accurate accounting of the workload for our schools
• To obtain statistics on the overall workload for all TSS
• To justify the existence of site-based TSS
• To get statistics on the type of requests coming in, so they can target training and other resources.
• To see historical data for devices and problems
• Because TSS assignments can change at any time
• To better allocate TSS staffing.

This is important because a low number of tickets would indicate that a school doesn’t need as much tech support time as it is currently getting, so please do not email or talk directly to Jyllian for assistance and instead of put in a ticket.

• Class Name Plate Template – Teachers, feel free to use the linked generic Classroom Name Plate Template if you want something to go outside your classroom door with minimal effort, but also feel free to design your own Pinterest-like sign.

• Voicemail Set-Up – If you changed rooms this year or are new to Howard, please take time to set-up your voicemail by using the linked Quick Start Voice Mail User Guide. If you have questions, please contact our TSS, Jyllian, at 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu or call (541) 790-7777.

• Classroom A/V Set-Up – If you’ve forgotten over the summer how to set up your laptop, doc cam, projector, audio, and white board interactivity, see the linked quicksheet on HDMI Projection Set-Up.

• Possible Hazardous Weather Makeup Days – As you make your plans for NEXT summer, be aware that the last day of school is Friday, June 12th, but possible hazardous make-up days run through Friday, June 19th, so please do not make any definite or expensive travel plans that would be difficult to change before that date.

• District Admin Updates – Willagillespie’s new principal is Sheila (“SHY-luh”) Minney, replacing David Jacobson who was selected to be the new Federal Programs Administrator. Sheila, who is coming to 4J from Maple Elementary School in Springfield. Kevin Gordon, the Adams principal, is moving to Camus Ridge, replacing Wes Flinn, who is moving to Sheldon HS as an assistant principal. Teresa Martindale was appointed as the new Adams principal. Teresa has been the Madison assistant principal the past five years and was a K-8 principal before that. And of special interest to Howard staff, taking Teresa’s place at Madison is Howard alumnus Erin Gaston! Sun Saeteurn (“Say-Turn”) will be the new principal of Monroe, replacing Mike Johnson, who is the new Creswell superintendent. Sun was previously an assistant principal at Thurston High School.

• Book It! Reading Incentive Program – The FREE reading incentive Book It! program has been around for years, but teachers can enroll their class and choose between a paper program or a new digital program, where students are rewarded for meeting reading goals with Reading Award Certificates, which they can redeem for a free one-topping Personal Pan Pizza at Pizza Hut.

• SELCO’s SPARK! Creative Learning Grants – As a credit union founded by teachers, SELCO wants to support projects that inspire curiosity, bring students together, and spark something new. That’s why SELCO offers educator grants of up to $1,000 to help bring creative classroom ideas to life. Applications are open August 15–September 30. Visit selco.org/SPARK for details and to apply.

• Back to School Tips – Are you ready for the new school year? Is your classroom all set up? Do you have a plan for remembering all the new faces, establishing an inclusive culture, and staying in touch with parents and caregivers? See this Edutopia Link for some of their best back-to-school articles and videos form master teachers across the country.

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

August 26 (M)
9:00, Breakfast Burrito Orders Due!

August 27 (T)
Licensed Staff Report Back
8:30, Welcome Back Breakfast Gathering (Staff Room)

August 28 (W)
7:30-8:00, Welcome Back Breakfast Burrito Gathering (Cafeteria)
8:00-12:00, Back-to-School Staff Meeting (Cafeteria)
1:00, PBIS Team Meeting (Conference Room)

August 29 (H)
7:30-8:30, District Back-to-School Breakfast & Social (SEHS Lawn)
8:30-10:30, District Back-to-School Event (SEHS Auditorium)
10:30, Specialist Staff In-Services (Various Locations)
12:30-1:30, Recess Supervisors Meeting (Title 1 Room, RM26)

August 30 (F)
8:00-12:00, Behavior Support & PLC PD (Cafeteria)
12:00, 1st-5th Class Lists Posted

September 2 (M)
Labor Day – No School

September 3 (T)
8:00-10:00, Potential Staff Meeting (Cafeteria)
10:00, Q&A Session for New Staff – Optional (Allan’s Office)
1:00-2:00, Meet Your Teacher

September 4 (W)
Classes Begin
PBIS Monthly Theme – Safety
PBIS Rules Round-Up

September 5 (H)
Regular Day

September 4 (F)
1:35, EA Supervisors Meeting (Title 1 Room, RM26)
2:30, Early Release PD (Volunteer’s Classroom)
4:00, KG Class Lists Posted

 

See you all soon!

Allan

 

This reminded me of a few individuals…