http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=9159
Howdy Roadrunners,
It was great seeing everyone last week and exciting to welcome all of the new folks to our amazing team!
Twenty-eight items of note for this week:
• PBIS Reminders – A few PBIS items of note:
• Rules Round-Up – See Mellissa’s PBIS Email for complete details, but the short version is:
• Teacher Tasks – ALL classrooms review the Howard Playground Expectations before recess the first day of school. Also, review all the rules for the common school areas by reviewing the PBIS Back to School Refresher Slide Show or other means the first three days of school. Teaching these rules in each of the locations is best. Complete the checklist by Thursday, September 12th, return it to Mellissa or Allan’s mailbox, and your class earns a special reward of Mr. Chinn reading to your class!
• Recess Round-Up – For the first three days of school for grades 1-3 and the first two days of school for grade 4-5, teachers walk classes to the playground and and stay with their class for the first 5-minutes of recess to review a few specific playground areas each day.
• Cafeteria Round-Up & Reminder – Classroom teachers during regular lunches are to walk their classes into the cafeteria and stay with them until the cafeteria line is moving. For the PBIS Cafeteria Rules Round-Up, teachers should walk students into the cafeteria and stay with their classes the first day of school at the following times:
8:20-8:40 5th Grade
8:40-8:55 3rd Grade (only C/D)
8:55-9:10 4th Grade (only C)
9:10-9:30 3rd Grade (only A/B) and 4th Grade (only A/B)
9:30-9:50 1st Grade
9:50-10:10 2nd Grade Andress• Golden Tail-feather Challenge! – If a class earns 19 golden tail feathers that can be earned on the playground or cafeteria the first eight days of school, they will earn Otter Pops at a lunch recess!
• Classroom Playground Line Numbers – Recess Supervisors and myself have revamped recess lines where classes should line up in the morning. To help with class spacing and line flow, classes will line up at the spots below. We think 1st grade should stay with these same numbers for all recess, but other grade are welcome to choose other spots for your class to line-up at morning and lunch recess as long as they are not under the covered area if other classes are on the playground.
1st Braud – #14
1st Corliss – #15
1st Ward – #16
2nd Kerins – #10
2nd Larsen – #11
2nd Pond – #12
3rd Charpie – #1
3rd Kreider – #2
3rd Lawson/Peterson – #3
3rd Niccum – #4
4th Chunn – #18
4th Groshong – #19
4th Zimmerman – #20
5th Callihan – Sidewalk Crack #1
5th Cortez – Sidewalk Crack #2
5th Rock – Sidewalk Crack #3• Friday Recess Reminder – Teachers, remember that on Fridays recesses are 5-minutes shorter than MTWH recesses, so make sure you are on the playground in time to pick up your class earlier than usual on Fridays.
• Friday Early Release PD – This Friday’s Early Release PD is designated as a Building Goals day for the topic, so I will designate this time for teachers to complete your SafeSchools and TalentEd Goals and Self Assessment. See below for details regarding SMART Goals.
• UPDATE: 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. Two updates, licensed staff need to also complete SMART Goals, which teachers can decide for themselves or if you’d like to participate in building wide goals, a committee will meet on Tuesday, September 10th at 2:45 in the Conference Room to decide on a building focus, which will likely align with our CIP goals. For classified staff, we’re realized that the website is not compatible with older computer operating systems and isn’t letting staff submit documents. If you do not have access to a newer computer, I’d suggest borrowing a newer student iPad while you’re at school.
• REPEAT: Meet Your Teacher 9/3 – During Meet Your Teacher on Tuesday,1:00-2:00, non-classroom staff will direct families, passing out school maps with highlighters to help guide families, and also passing out a First Day/Parking Lot Flyers. We’ll also give staff a complete set of class lists to be used this day and also on the first day of school.
• REPEAT: First & Second Day of School Plan 9/4 & 9/5 – We will continue having all-hand-on-deck to help at 7:25 on Wednesday and Thursday 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 an UPDATED 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.
• Howard Staff Handbook Review – Linked here is the updated Howard Staff Handbook. All staff must review the handbook and sign & return the Acknowledgement Form to the office by Monday, September 30th. Both of these can also be found on the Howard Team Drive > MISC > Handbooks I’ll place hard copies of the acknowledgement form in mailbox on Tuesday. No changes this year other than the date. Let me know if you have any questions.
• District Mandatory Policy Review for all Staff – Linked here is this year’s District Back-to-School Memo, which covers a variety of district rules, policies and guidelines. Section 1 is the portion that staff are required to review. I covered key points at the BTS staff meeting, but as I said at the there, all staff must review the memo and sign & return the Check List Acknowledgment Form to signify that you have read and understand the memo. Forms should be returned to me no later than Monday, September 30th. I’ll place hard copies of the acknowledgement form in staff mailboxes this week. Looking over this year’s memo and let me know if you have questions on any of this.
• 2019-2020 Field Trip Process – I reviewed some of the changes to the district field trip policy at last week’s Back-to-School Staff Meeting, but principals have since then received a more detailed Field Trip Policy Email from HR. Complete information can be found on the HR Travel and Field Trips webpage. The Field Trip Reference Guide has the link to the Field Trip Request Form. I’ve added both links to my blog under State & District Links. High points regarding the new policy are:
• Field Trip Request Form – After approval from the building principal, all field trips are required to be vetted through the online field trip process. The only exceptions are Walking Field Trips (within 10 blocks of the school). The Field Trip Request Form must be submitted 30 days prior to the field trip. Linked here is a Preview of the Field Trip Form, which includes need to have your ducks in a row for volunteers, transportation, money, student health plans, SPED accommodations, etc. HR said they are not at all wanting to discourage field trips, but are needing to ensure student safety.
• District Field Trip Permission Slip – The District Field Trip Permission Form is now required for all trips, including Walking Field Trips, outside 10 blocks of the school, for a parent/guardian signature, and must be kept on file for one year. No custom or site specific trip forms will be accepted.
• UPDATE: 2019-2020 Master Schedule – Linked here and on the Howard Google Shared Drive is a slightly Updated 2019-2020 Master Schedule. Anyone affected by any changes already knows.
• Classroom Schedules & Classroom Buddy Info to Lori – Speaking of schedules, as teachers solidify your daily schedules, remember to give a copy to Lori. Also be sure to let her know who is your Buddy classroom. This helps the office find classrooms.
• Classified Overtime, Comp Time, and Trade Time – HR send an email to principals about a new process for classified overtime, comp time, and trade time. The main difference is that classified staff now have to complete a 4J Comp Time Approval Form or a 4J Trade Time Approval Form. The trade time form is what Howard staff would most often use, unless you’re working over 40 hours in a week. See the above linked email and forms for details and let me know if you have any questions.
• Library Notes – Library announcements from our fabulous librarian, Julie!
Welcome Back! I hope everyone was able to rest over the weekend :)
Just a quick note… Library classes will begin the first full week of school. Our first week: I will do a read-a-loud in the story cove (k-3rd) go over routines :) and a few more guidelines and expectations. (4th-5th) We will begin with guidelines, routines and expectations and then a Scavenger Hunt to get them antiquated with the library…. Check out will begin the following week. I will email more details to each grade level :)
When we are going over hallway guidelines would you mind reminding kids when entering and leaving school they are to walk around the library on the concrete pathways :). Thank you so much….
• Library Book Sale – The Friends of the Eugene Public Library are holding a sale meant just for teachers and their pupils. There will be hundreds of books, CDs, and DVDs, along with a large collection of teacher resource materials. Most items are $1. The sale is in the downtown library on September 9th from noon to 6 PM.
• easyCBM Testing Begins 9/9 – Fall Benchmark easyCBM testing will start the week of September 9th. This way kids can get acclimated to school before testing. Also, Title 1 staff are helping in Kindergarten this week and will be able to assist classes with testing next week.
• 2010-2020 Leadership Plans – HR emailed principals this year’s Elementary Leadership Plan Process, which are due to HR by November 8th. The process is a similar to how it’s worked in the past. The current contract gives us 22 teacher release days not to exceed 7 teachers. Linked here is last year’s plan, which compensated teachers for School Climate, Technology, Math, ELA, and Equity leadership roles. I’ll hold an optional Leadership Plan Development Meeting on Thursday, September 12th, 2:45-3:15, so please attend that meeting or email if you’d like to share your thoughts on this year’s plan. I’ll plan to share Leadership Plan proposals at the September Staff Meeting and then vote on a plan at the October Staff Meeting.
• Second Step Materials & Pacing Guide – I’d intended to sort the Second Step materials this past Friday, but was kept busy with other things, so I’ll deliver materials to teachers on Tuesday. Linked here on the Howard Google Team Drive is the Second Step Year-Long Pacing Guide.
• Staffing Updates – I’ve requested to re-post our 3-hour Learning Center EA position. It should hopefully go up next week, so please encourage any good people you know to apply. 3-hour positions aren’t too attractive, so maybe if you know a Howard parent who might be interested, feel free to recruit them because that might be a good way to find someone good who’d want to work here for even a short part of their day. We’re also waiting to hear from SSD regarding an additional 6.5 hour Life Skills EA position.
• Technology Department Updates – Three items of note from the 4J Technology Department:
• 3/4/5 iPad Counts – The Technology Department is assuring me they are watching enrollment counts in Synergy and are planning to shift devices between schools based on enrollment. They told me on Friday we would have enough devices by the first day of school.
• Instructional Technology Website – Check the new Instructional Technology Website where there are lots of resources on Apps and the App Request form, Digital Citizenship, Assistive Technology resources, a plethora of resources including lesson ideas, how-to’s video tutorials, and on and on. It is a work in progress, but still a good collection of resources.
• Tech Orders & Reimbursements – All technology related purchases now have to first go through Technology Department and be approved. Schools can no longer reimburse staff for technology purchases that were made without first going through the Technology Department.
• Howard Staff Gear – Five shopping days left if you want some Howard Staff gear! You get a sweatshirt, t-shirt, pullover, pull under, hat, or tie to Jenny by Friday, attaching your name and $7.00 and she will take them to be embroidered and returned to you!
• Artist in Residence Survey – Howard is again getting two artists in residence this year, thanks to The Eugene Rotary, EEF, and ArtSpark. This year they are requiring one artist to be first semester and one second semester. Classroom teachers, please complete the linked Artist in Residence Google Form and that way I can bring a proposal ahead of time to the September Staff Meeting for a decision. Please look at them Lane Arts Artist in Residence webpages for details on each artist and let me know if you have any questions. Survey responses due the Friday, September 13th.
• Morning Announcements Start Monday, 9/9 – I won’t do morning announcements the first three days of school, but we will start regular morning announcements the first full week of school on Monday, September 9th with a couple 5th graders who were trained up at the end of last school year.
• BEST and YMCA Job Opportunities – BEST and YMCA asked principals to let folks know they are actively recruiting applicants for after school jobs. Linked here is the BEST EA Job Posting and the YMCA Jobs Webpage.
• UPDATED: Class Name Plate Template – Last week I shared the linked generic Classroom Name Plate Template for staff to post something outside your classroom door, but linked here is a Fancier Name Plate Templates (including their associated fonts) that Erin Gaston made and passed along to me to share.
• Support Howard with eScrip, SmileAmazon, Fred Meyer Rewards! – An easy way you all can support Howard is by signing up for eScrip, Smile Amazon, and Fred Meyer Rewards. With eScrip, you link you debit and/or credit cards and when you make purchases around town at places like Market of Choice, Sizzle Pie, El Tapatio, or Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, it supports Howard. eScrip also supports purchases through a number on online retailers including Best Busy, Target, and Amazon if you first go through escrip.com. And speaking of Amazon, if you link your Amazon account to the “Howard Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization” through Smile Amazon, a small percentage of you Amazon purchases support Howard. Fred Meyer also has their own rewards program that Howard is a part of. Sign up for the Fred Meyer Community Reward Program by linking your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to Howard Elementary School. You can search for us by our name or by our non-profit number #88934.
• Northwest Community Credit Union Mini Grants – The goal of the NWCU Mini Grant Program is to help educators create learning experiences for kids that might not otherwise be funded by school budgets. Educators submit their funding needs/wishes (up to $1,500) to NWCU through a competitive, submission process. Submissions are being accepted now through October 10, 2019 with winners awarded in December. Grants can be for supplies (e.g.,calculators, dissection specimens, art materials, basic school supplies, etc.), books & materials (e.g., books for classroom libraries or to support curriculum, funding for field trips, etc.), technology (e.g., iPads, Chromebooks, Boogie Board e-writers, headphones for listening centers, etc.), and more. Follow the above link to submit your grant.
• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Google Calendar for future events, but here are the events for the next two weeks:
September 2 (M)
Labor Day – No SchoolSeptember 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 TeacherSeptember 4 (W)
Classes Begin
PBIS Monthly Theme – Safety
PBIS Rules Round-UpSeptember 5 (H)
Regular DaySeptember 4 (F)
1:30, EA Supervisors Meeting (Title 1 Room, RM26)
2:30, Early Release PD – SafeSchools/TalentEd
4:00, KG Class Lists PostedSeptember 9 (M) Fall Benchmark easyCBM Testing Begins
September 10 (T)
8:00, Allan to All Administrator Meeting (Ed Center)
2:45-3:15, Optional Building SMART Goals Meeting (Conference Room)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Cafeteria)September 11 (W)
KRA Testing May BeginSeptember 12 (H)
2:45-3:15, Optional Leadership Plan Development Meeting (Conference Room)
September 13 (F)
2:30-3:30, Early Release PD – Behavior Framework PD (Library)
Let’s rock this first week with kiddos!
Allan
