Week of January 19
What’s Coming Up?
January 19 (M)
No School – Martin Luther King Jr. DayJanuary 20 (T)
8:30-9:45, Joel in Formal Observation
11:30, Design debrief conference call
1:25-1:45, Joel in post conference meeting with teacher
2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting (Agenda items include: Taking it up debrief, math PD ideas, other issues, new PE schedule)January 21 (W)
8:15-9:40, Joel in Formal Observation.
10:00-3:00, Joel to Priority Schools Network meeting.
1:45-2:45, Grade Level PLC Meetings (Focus is on math assessment)
2:45-3:45, IPBS (Will review truancy concerns, please refer students.)
6:00-8:00, Engineering NightJanuary 22 (H)
7:30-8:00, Joel and Megan in meeting with parent.
2:45-3:10, Joel in Post conference
3:00-5:00, Design Meeting- Focus is on budget and moving into the next phase.
4:30-6:30, Joel at 4j Equity Committee (Parr Room)January 23 (F)
7:30-8:00, Taking It UP Debrief- Equity Meeting (all are welcome) (Conference Room)
3:30, Joel in a parent meetingJanuary 24 (S)
9:00-12:00, Elementary School Showcase (Ed Center)January 26 (M)
9:00-10:00, Early Learning Meeting
1:00-2:00, School Choice Tour
2:30-3:30, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
2:45-3:45, Site Council Meeting (Conference Room) (Joel cannot attend)
January 27 (T)8:00-3:00, Joel and Karen at Charlemagne for Learning about Learning Network
9:00-10:00, School Tours
2:00-2:35, Final Music Assembly (Gym)January 28 (W)
8:30-9:30, Joel in formal observation
January 29 (H)
12:00-3:30, Joel and Karen to Smarter Balanced Test Administration Training (Ed Center)
3:00-5:00, Design MeetingJanuary 30 (F)
1:00-2:00, IEP Meeting
Grading Day – No SchoolThis week’s announcements
• Article of the Week – After reflecting on the past week, I recalled an important document which I believe all educators should read read. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” , is an open letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King which still holds true when we are seeking social justice and freedom for the students we educate. I have included the link to the scanned original document which Dr. King sent from Birmingham to an editor. The document is found on the The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute Website. This is a highly recommended space to find resources on Dr. King that are authentic and helpful for teaching.
• Equity Meeting This Week – This upcoming Friday the 23rd we will have another equity meeting in the morning in the conference room. All who are interested are invited. The idea is to meet and discuss the Taking It Up Seminar and how it has effected current staff. We will also discuss further action if we have time and set a future date to talk again. I would like to thank all those who have attended TIU and or CFEE this year. It really feels like we have a critical mass to support our students and staff on issues of racial identity and discrimination. Thank you all for your dedication to this very important topic in education.
• Spanish Spelling Bee Competition in April – Here is an opportunity I do not want to pass up! This Spring there will be a Spelling Bee up in Forest Grove. Perla Rodríguez, principal extraordinaire, is the organizer. This is a great opportunity for us to show Eugene and Oregon how well our students know Spanish and to excite our students that the Spanish language is a special talent and skill. A professor friend of mine named David Wacks also shares the enthusiasm for Spanish language. He teaches medieval Spanish and Sephardic literature at University of Oregon. David has helped us enlist a university student who would like to help us coach some 4th and 5th graders to go to the Spanish Spelling Bee! Hannah Golden is the student’s name. She will be able to meet with the students after school once a week to practice for the competition. I am happy to cover the registration costs. Now all we need are the participants! 4th and 5th grade teachers, can I count on you to enlist your students in this competition?
Spanish Spelling Bee Registration Link
• App Purchases and iPads are coming soon to 4th Grade and beyond – This week Edna and Misty Forsman will be working on imaging the incoming iPads. Edna will be assisting Misty in the iPad volume purchasing and will get the proper licenses for a variety of effective creation and productivity apps. The image will be prepared downtown and delivered sometime in early February. Our tech plan was approved. This means we qualified to receive 35 X 2 iPads on COWS that will be in the building before February 9th. These iPads will be used mainly in 4th grade. The surplus iPads will be available to pilot using in 1st grade. Erin S. and Alexis will experiment with using the iPads in creative ways and also to see how effective our web based programs such as RAZ Kids & Maravillas function on the iPad. This means you should have greater access to the lab and the MacBook Airs as they become freed up by 4th grade for more widespread use. I am hoping to get approval on further purchases this year of iPads for use in another grade. Stay tuned on that one.
• Classroom design meeting debrief – The classroom design meeting was frustrating yet predictable. There were two things that teachers walked away with unhappy about. There will be cubbies inside the classroom and there will remain to be full windows into the commons. On a good note, the architects were able to increase the amount of tack-able space for the classrooms and we will have more than any new building in the district. We chose a classroom layout that included a combination of carpet and concrete flooring. We also spent time looking at furniture configurations to get a feel for how the layouts of classroom would work.
• New Director of Technology – Steve Menachemson is the new Director of Technology and will begin on Feb. 2nd. Steve has been with Symantec since 2008, and for the last three years has worked as a Senior Manager with Global Support Delivery. Before working with Symantec Steve worked eight years as the Vice President for TechNet Group (consulting services) in Santa Monica, California. Steve also worked two years as a project manager and senior consultant for an firm that provided hardware and software sales and technical support as well as project management services to the Santa Monica community (1998-2000). Steve will also be bringing global perspective to 4J. He began his career in Cape Town, South Africa as a project manager and senior support engineer before being advanced to a regional manager for the same company in Windhoek, Namibia.
• ELL Position Filled – I am happy to announce that we have selected our replacement for Sarah Lauer. James Longoria will take over the 6 hour ELL position. This will begin immediately on Tuesday. We will need to begin to look for a replacement for the 4 hour title position very soon. I will be working with Karen Hardin to post the 4 hour title position in the coming week.
Have a nice 4 day week next week.
Joel
Announcements, Back to School, English Language Learners, Equity, Maravillas- McGraw Hill | Comment (0)