Welcome Back to School 2014-2015


August 17th, 2014

August 15, 2014

 

Dear Camino del Río Staff,http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/5d/d3/5d/5dd35d9da76c5bb19b5e4816c5cb6860.jpg

I hope you all are enjoying the great weather and time away from work. Remember, we work REALLY hard and you need to be playing just as hard to re-energize yourselves. I look forward to hearing all the adventure and the relaxation stories when you return.

 

I am really excited about our back to school retreat this year on August 25th. I have met with experts in the field of two-way immersion over the summer and we have some great professional development planned for all. The focus of our day will be to begin to build our Caring School Community. Enclosed with this letter are the details that will help in your planning. As is typical, we didn’t get through summer without staffing changes. As many of you know, we had many openings to fill.

 

 

Erin Bucklew will be returning to teach kindergarten in AM and PM sessions. She is working hard to plan our kinder parent orientation on August 28th.

Tracy Fleming will be our new second grade teacher. Tracy comes from California and has an amazing approach with young children and has been involved in bilingual education since the 80’s!

Erin Reckers will be moving to third grade full time to work with Erin Piper. We are happy to have her full time.

Jamie Jones will be a new teacher on the 5th grade team. Jamie brings more than a decade of dual language program experience to our school from Corvallis.

Jill Torres is making the jump across the river from Buena Vista to El Camino del Río. We are very excited to have her join our 5th team and will appreciate her leadership in MECHA NEHS & GANAS.

Nancy Schaal-McHarry will be returning as our full time ELD teacher this year. We are also happy to have her return to support our students with their English Language Development and more.

Jessica Zapata will be working as our BEST Coordinator after school. Jessica is very involved in several organizations in Eugene/Springfield including Downtown Languages and her own organization, Eugene Arte Latino.

Renee Stinson will be our new Food Service Coordinator. Renee is very excited to join us and comes from Howard Elementary.

Peggy Young-Vega, is our new TSS3 Technology Support Specialist. She brings wonderful skills in web design, troubleshooting, and brings a strong education perspective since she is also a licensed teacher.

Kathy Larson will be our new ODE Priority Coach. Kathy is an expert in Dual Language Instruction that worked as an interim director of bilingual education in Woodburn.

I know all of you will help our new staff make the transition into our amazing school and most importantly make them feel welcomed and loved.

 

In other news, we found out that we will have a PE grant this year to provide 35 minutes of PE two times a week all year long. This means that in the fall, teachers will have a prep time for 35 minutes 4 days a week including music time. It also means we will have active healthy children who will be able to focus well in class. The fall position is vacant right now and we hope to fill it before school begins. Michelle Lampe will be our winter semester PE Specialist.

 

When you return, we will get things ready for a very successful year. El Camino del Río is a special place and we have all the tools necessary to give students, and staff, an exceptional learning experience.

 

I’m looking forward to learning and playing with you all at the Lamb Cottage on Monday, August 25th at 8:00 AM.

 

Mil gracias,

Joel Lavin, Principal/ Director

 

Back To School Teacher Schedule

Friday, August 22                       

9:00-11:00 PBS Team Planning Meeting- 13-14 PBIS Members welcome to attend. (Paid 2 hours.)

 

Monday, August 25                    

8:00 Breakfast Served,

8:30-4:00 Back to School Retreat

Location: Lamb Cottage, Skinner’s Butte Park 130 Cheshire Avenue
Eugene, OR 97401 (All staff paid 7.5 hours if out of your contract time. Please attend licensed and classified staff if you can make it.)

 

Tuesday, August 26                    

8:00- 4:00 Certified Staff Return – 100% Planning Day

 

Wednesday, August 27                 

8:00-12:00 Teacher Planning Time

12:00- 4:00 Math Professional Development Led by Reid Sheppard and Karen Ramirez (2 hours of collaborative planning included)

Location: Camino del Rio Library

 

Thursday, August 28                   

8:00-12:00 All 4J Elementary Teachers expected to attend the Common Core ELA Trainings at South Eugene HS

1:00 – 3:30 PD on School Wide Systems (PBIS, IPBS, IIPM), Our New Staff Handbook, Our New Parent Handbook Review, School Wide Group Agreements, Teacher Growth and Effectiveness Plan Location: Camino del Rio Library

6:00-7:00 Kinder Orientation- Erin Bucklew, Jennifer Harris, Karen Ramirez Gutierrez, and Lily Forsman to attend.

Location: Camino del Rio Library

 

Friday, August 29                       

8:00-12:00 -Teacher Planning Time

12:00-4:00 Dual Language Instruction Training on Collaborative Planning and clarifying objectives in a two way immersion program. Led by Audrey Lucero and Edward Olivos from UO. (2 hours collaborative planning included)

Location: Camino del Rio Library

Tuesday, September 2                  

8:00-2:45 Teacher Planning Time

2:45-3:45 Meet and Greet – Classrooms open for families.

Office helps with paperwork and enrollment in cafeteria.

 

Wednesday, September 3                 

8:25 Classes Begin – Dismissal at 1:40

 

Thursday, September 4                   

5:30-8:00 Bienvenidos BBQ Event at River Road (Optional for Staff)