Week of January 26
Dear Staff,
This last week was another impressive week for me at El Camino del Rio. I really enjoyed teaching in the Engineering Night. Our team once again did an amazing job. It was so encouraging to see parents and students working together to do science and engineering. Aline and Alicia did a tremendous job teaming up to organize this event. Thank you both for your hard work. Also thank you to all the teachers who took time out of their evening to support this important work. We continue to build a strong bi-cultural community and that’s exciting! Lastly, as we enter school choice season Edna and Nikita have gone the extra mile to help us look strong out there in the expo and with our new flier. We will be posting our new information in the lobby for incoming parents to read. Come by and check it out so you have a good feel for what we are sharing with the public.
What’s coming up?
January 26 (M)
8:20-9:45, Joel in formal observation
9:00-10:00, Early Learning Meeting
10:30-11:00- Design Debrief Meeting
1:00-2:00, School Choice Tour
2:30-4:00, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
2:45-3:45, Site Council Meeting (Conference Room) (Joel cannot attend- Olivia facilitates.)
January 27 (T)
8:00-3:00, Joel and Karen at Charlemagne for Learning about Learning Network
9:00-10:00, School Tours- Alicia/ Edna conduct the tour.
2:00-2:35, Final Music Assembly (Gym)
Staff Meeting cancelled due to grading week.
7:00- 9:00, Forum with Rob Saxton Asst. Superintendent from ODE, North Eugene HS- This is guaranteed to be an informative (and lively) event.
January 28 (W)
8:30-9:30, Joel in formal observation
10:15-11:30, Joel in formal observation
1:45-2:45, PLC Time- Main focus Mathematics Report Card Reporting, use time for peer support and communication. Report using the PLC Form.
January 29 (H)
12:00-3:30, Joel and Karen to Smarter Balanced Test Administration Training (Ed Center)
3:00-5:00, Design Meeting
January 30 (F)
Grading Day – No School
9:00-11:00, Edna, Yasmin, Joel meet with Kevin Boling to pilot the new 4J attendance system.
1:00-2:00, IEP Meeting Joel attends.
2:30-3:30, Joel attends second IEP Meeting
6:30-7:30, Ballet Folklórico Introductory Session in the cafeteria. All students invited.
February 2 (M)
Second Semester Begins
National School Counseling (We love Jennifer! 😀 ) Week
February 3 (T)
8:00-12:00, Joel out in the AM for HR Training and speaking event at UO.
12:30, Earthquake and Evacuation (Fire Drill)
2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting
February 4 (W)
8:20-9:30 Joel in Formal Observation
1:45-2:45, PLC Time – Please get back to using math formative assessments and document this using the PLC Form.
4:00-6:00, Digital Learning Day (Ed Center)
4:00-5:00, Joel to North Region Principals’ Meeting (NEHS)
February 5 (H)
Last day to submit grades so we can print and send in Monday folders on February 8th.
8:00-2:30, IIPM Consult Data Team Meeting
2:45-3:05, Joel in pre conference meeting
3:00-5:00, Design Committee
February 6 (F)
8:40-10:00, Joel in Formal Observation
4:00-6:30,Winter Social at Eugene Wine Cellars
This week’s announcements
• School Choice Visitation Week – Just a reminder that this week is School Choice Visitation Week #1. We have a few families already signed up for tours (mostly at the younger grades), so don’t be surprised if you see me walking visitors around the building and into classrooms this week. The Showcase was excellent. We had a great turnout from families as well as staff to assist. I want to give a big thank you to Edna, Nikita, Karen, Jill, Nancy, Jessica and many others who either showed up to help or put in many hours to create our fabulous new posters. It really showed Estrella Pride!
• January 30 Grading Day Staff Expectations – Taking classified staff first, this is a regular work day for most classified folks, so remember there are many workshops available this same day at the EA Extravaganza, but if you have any comp time coming, this would also be a good day to pay back extra time that’s owed to you. For licensed staff, HR has gone back to being more flexible about grading day expectations. The following rules were sent out to principals, which now allow teachers to request to work from home on grading days:
Unlike a planning or PD day, where the District has a firm expectation that all teachers report and be physically present throughout the work day, we have exercised greater flexibility for grading days in recognition of teachers’ professional status. On grading/ report days, principals have discretion to require that all teachers report and work on their grades at the building, or alternatively, to allow teachers to request permission to work from home, and report to the building when grades are completed. In exercising this discretion, please consider the following:
(1) Would allowing a teacher to work from home on this day interfere with work that needs to be done? For example, do you have teachers who need to collaborate with each other in order to prepare reports? — if so, it does not make sense to allow them to work in isolation;
(2) Grading day is a work day. It costs the district about $480,000, and it is not intended to be a vacation day.
(3) Teachers are highly visible members of the community, and part of our expectation of them as professionals is to be good stewards of public resources. If you do allow teachers to work off site this day, please remind them public perception issues and work to protect them. This means that if we grant flexibility to work off-site, it is critical that they work during work time. We grant flexibility to principals to allow teachers to work off-site on grading day, but if it is abused, we will not be able to continue to do so.
(4) The flexibility to work off-site is a privilege, and not an entitlement. Whether you allow any teacher to work off-site is within your discretion. I believe the best practice is to communicate to teachers is that you expect them to work in the building on this day, unless they have requested and received your advance permission to work from home.
So in short, if teachers would like to work from home this day, let me me know, but be sure to make plans ahead of time if you need to collaborate with colleagues for grading. Also, be sure to use this time for grading and not use it to run errands around town.
• Winter Social at Eugene Wine Cellars on February 6th– Come have a glass of wine and bring a little cheese to this social event on the Friday after grading as we mark 1/2 way through the school year. We will be there from 4:00-6:30.
• Synergy Attendance Reminder from CIS –We received an email from CIS asking us to remind teachers to mark student attendance every day for both AM and PM sessions. If you are using the “Take Attendance by List” option in Synergy instead of the seating chart option, you are most likely correctly marking both the AM and PM absences. Please see the above directions if you are not using the list view option to begin using this attendance screen. Edna or Yasmin will adjust attendance for those students who arrive late after 8:00 and for students who leave early. For students who arrive tardy before 8:00, teachers should only mark the tardy for AM and not PM. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like any help with this.
• Mid Year Check-In Meetings & Observations – This is the time of year principals are supposed to begin conducting our mid-year check meetings with licensed staff regarding educator goals. I am continuing to try to see all staff in a formal observation. I will do my best to contact each of you to make these appointments. The mid-year check in process will begin in early February. Please bear with me as I try to see each of you teach and provide feedback. It is a priority for me to make sure I observe everyone. If you want to combine your mid goal meeting with the pre-conference or post conference, let me know. That will make things easier for all of us. Make sure you have your SLGO smart goals ready to analyze at the mid term meeting.
• Feb. 13 Camino del Rio PD/Planning Day – We will be continuing the work with Edward and Audrey on February 13th. This session will more specifically address how assessment fits in to the instructional cycle. Audrey and Edward will continue to weave in components of the Skillful Teacher work so we can address each of these issues.
• Denver Public Schools Series on Dual Language Videos – It is always good to see examples of what other schools are doing. Take a look at this video series if you have time.
• PLC time this week – All teams are expected to continue to meet in the library each Wednesday. Also, continue to use the PLC form each time that we meet. It is important that we document how our PLC time is going for the state and so I can monitor progress in this area. This information is submitted to the priority schools SST team and the Office of school improvement. Please complete it for each grade level. This week, I encourage you to use your PLC time for familiarizing your self with math report cards, especially if you are new. You could even collaborate and help each other record progress of students on the report cards together during this time. This falls closely in line with our math assessment focus of PLCs.
• Concussion Policy – Attached is the final district concussion policy. This document represents the collaboration of 4J Athletic Trainers, Nurses, and the Regional Traumatic Brain Injury Liaison. It has also been reviewed and approved by our Insurer. School nurses have offered to present the document at staff meetings, which we will likely do at a future staff meeting, but I thought I’d share the policy now if staff wanted to get a preview.
• Full-Day Kindergarten Updates – Attached is an informational flyer about full-day kindergarten that was shared with families at the School Showcase by district staff. Also, Sara Green shared with principals this week in her newsletter, though nothing is definite at this point, that she’s proposing a 23:1 ratio for full-day Kinder. Keep in mind that it is a proposal and where we end up may be somewhat different, but this would be significantly better than the current district elementary average of 28:1. Sara’s been advocating for less than 23, but there are a number of competing interests and it’s challenging to put all the budget eggs in one basket.
• Key multimedia skills all educators should have – Educators provided input about multimedia skills that help in the classroom as part of a recent national survey conducted by T.H.E. Journal. The following are the top five skills that teachers should master, according to the results: troubleshooting technology, embracing curiosity, incorporating video, using multiple display devices and using technology to create presentations.
• How Integrating Arts Into Other Subjects Makes Learning Come Alive – Here’s a good article from Mind/Shift on the value of including the arts in core instruction and not viewing it as an elective or add-on. The main crux of the article is viewing art not as an extra, but as integral to learning.
Thanks and have a good week!
Joel
Announcements, Parent Involvement, PLC Collaboration Time, School Choice, Skillful Teacher, Staff Meeting Agenda, Teacher Evaluation/ Observations, Technology Integration, Two Way Immersion | Comment (0)