Diario Camino del Río

Week of November 30

What is coming up? The Calendar

November 30 (M)

3:00-4:00, Site Council Meeting (Conference Room)

December 1 (Tu)

8:30-9:30, Cafecito- Topic with Parents, Winter and Mental Health with Pedro Pacheco from NAMI. (Alicia will contact all families via Autodialer.)

2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting -Please come on time.

Agenda:

• Connections
• Revisiting Group Agreements on Dual Language (Teachers, please bring your revised frameworks for 15-16)
• Staff Handbook Review

December 2 (W)

12:45-1:30, Viaje Musicale Assembly

1:45-2:45, PBIS Meeting, All Classified Attend + PBIS Teacher Members
1:45-2:45, PLC Teacher Collaboration Time (Library)
2:45-3:45, Joel to STAMP Assessment Meeting. (Ed Center)

December 3 (Th)

2:45-3:45, Mod Squad (Reckers’ Classroom)
6:00-8:00,Viaje Musicale (Gym)

December 4 (F)

12:00-1:00, Joel at Superboundary Meeting (Howard)

6:00-8:00, Viaje Musicale (Gym)
December 6 (Sunday) -Robotics Competition in Philomath

Good luck Aline and team!

December 7 (M)

2:30-5:00, Joel to Elementary Principal’s Meeting (Ed Center)

December 8 (Tu)

2:45-4:45, PLT Meeting – Focus on Dual Language Instruction
6:00-8:00, Spaghetti and Safety – A Parent Group Meeting- A Parent Traffic Safety and Information Night- A community event focused on safety.

December 9 (W)
1:45-2:45, PLC Wednesday Collaboration Time

December 10 (Th)
Regular Day

December 11 (F)
6:00-8:00, Noche de Peliculas

December 14 (M)

Regular Day

December 15 (Tu)

8:00-11:00, Superintendent Balderas visiting our school and observing classrooms.

December 16 (W)

1:45-2:45, PLC Planning Time with Grade Level Teams

8:45-11:00, Salmon Release Field Trip, 4th and 1st grade buddies activity.

December 17 (Th)

2:45-3:45, Mod Squad Meeting

December 18 (F)

8:00-9:00, Joel at Principal PLC breakfast in Springfield

1:50-2:30, Winter Break Recognition Assembly??? Premios de Virtudes ?? (Tentative)

January 4 (M)

District Furlough day- No work/no pay day (all employees)

January 5 (T)

(5.5 hours)AIMS4S3 Training for Licensed Staff (Classified Staff do normal duties)

Prep time for teachers in the PM.

January 6 (W)

1:45-2:45, PBIS Meeting (Learning Center, All classified attend including the office.)

January 7 (Th)

Equity Team Meeting- All attend who have interest. CFEE and Taking It Up Trained staff are also highly encouraged to attend. (Library)

January 8 (F)

Regular Day

What is happening?

Espaguetis y Seguridad: Please share this message with your families:

Spaghetti and Safety Parent Night

Tuesday, December 8 2015, 6:00-8:00

Come join us for a night of FREE dinner and learning about how to safely get to and from school in the car, walking or biking. The City of Eugene and 4J will share a safety plan for pickup and drop off. All El Camino del Río families are invited!

Also: we looking for volunteers who want to join the Kid’s Crossing Committee. Volunteers are needed to assist children/adults in safely crossing high traffic areas, and directing flow of pick-up lines.

Please contact David Adee at adee_d@4j.lane.edu or

BethAny Freimuth via phone or text 541.543.4229

With any questions or to join the Kid’s Crossing Committee.

• Youth Tobacco Elimination Grant Opportunity – See the attached grant opportunity for your students get involved with the Youth Tobacco Elimination Project. The project goals are to raise awareness about the threat tobacco use poses to youth, advocate to improve tobacco related policies in our community, and make student voices heard. Grant recipients will be awarded up to $750 to conduct activism and advocacy projects against tobacco use in their communities.

• Roofing Seasonal Workers Needed – Dan Temple at Facilities asked principals to forward information regarding his looking to fill a position on his seasonal roofing crew. The crew works during winter break, spring break, and summer vacation and he’s hoping to find a 4J employee who is interested in joining the crew for all three breaks. He said it’s worked well in the past for EAs, campus supervisors, custodians, bus drivers, and other 9 and 10 month employees. If you’re interested, the posting is going up Wednesday and will be posted as a General Laborer (internal only) for one week (this week).

• Parent Communication Coming Soon: State School Report Cards & State Testing Information – In mid-December, the district will send information to families about state testing, the new state opt-out form, and state report cards for schools. This is a state-mandated parent notification. See Kerry Delf’s email she sent to secretaries and principals if you’d like more details. If you’d like to review the materials before they’re sent to families, they are available here:

• State school report cards – Under District Selection, find the drop-down menu and select Eugene SD 4J. You’ll see the district card first, then the school cards. The report cards are available in English and Spanish.

• State testing notice and opt-out form – These materials also are available in multiple languages.

• NCLB rewrite bill is in the works – Here’s the latest from congress on federal education changes. States — not the federal government — would be charged with identifying failing schools under a draft revision of No Child Left Behind. The bill, which has agreement from a bipartisan panel of congressional negotiators, would maintain testing in third through eighth grades and at least once in high school. Test results would be required to be reported by income, race and special need. See this article from NPR for more details.

• Oregon Department of Education Survey – Teachers, if you haven’t filed it out already, please complete the two question SurveyMonkey that 4J sent out to collect information for ODE. See Cydney Vandercar’s email for more information about the survey, but the two questions are “What is the first language or native language spoken in your home in early childhood?” and your 4J email.

• United Way Pledge Forms Due Friday – The United Way of Lane County pledge drive kicked two weeks ago and forms are due to the envelope in my mailbox by this Friday. Please consider donating a small amount this year. You can even donate directly to your own school, grade level or classroom through EEF on the form, which may be a good thing to do since the “Educator Expenses Tax Deduction” was eliminated two years ago and donations through the United Way and EEF are still tax deductible.

• Oregon Poetry Association(OPA) Student Publication Opportunity:

Teachers are invited to encourage your students who are writing daily in multiple genres per CC guidelines to revise and select their best poem for publication consideration in the OPA student poetry journal, “Cascadia”. Submission details available at the OPA website. Forty poems will be selected statewide for publication in “Cascadia” in four age divisions K through high school. Published poets and teachers will select the poems to be published, poets who appreciate thoughtful, vivid and playful student poems. Please send your best poem by Feb 8, 2016. Please contact Steve Jones at srjones24407@gmail.com with any
questions.

That is all for the week. Have a great week with your students and make it count for them.

Saludos cordiales,

Week of November 23

*********

Calendar of Events: What is coming up?

November 23 (M)

9:00-9:45, Dali String Quartet Assembly (Cafeteria) School-wide assembly

3:00-5:00, Joel, Jaime and others at an IEP Meeting in Katie Hynes Petty’s Learning Center

November 24 (Tu)

9:00-11:30,Illana Umanski from the UO visits to discuss Spanish proficiency in ELL identified students.

12:00-1:00, Joel in a meeting at Springfield High School.

1:45-2:15, Joel at a meeting with Sara downtown.
3:00-4:00, PLT Meeting

Agenda:

1. Dual Language Leadership in the building.
2. PBIS School-wide activity boosters.
3. Set TLT and Equity Team Meeting dates for the remainder of the year.
4. Title 2A Sub Time Planning by grade level & AIMS4S3 Error Analysis.

November 25 (W)

2:45-3:45, PLC Planning Time (Library) Focus: Planning Math Units and creating formative assessments.

November 26 (Th)

Thanksgiving- No School

November 27 (F)

Thanksgiving- No School

November 30 (M)

3:00-4:00, Site Council Meeting

December 1 (Tu)

8:30-9:30, Cafecito- Topic with Parents, Winter and Mental Health with Pedro Pacheco from NAMI. (Alicia will contact all families via Autodialer.)
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting

Agenda:

• Revisiting Group Agreements on Dual Language
• Staff Handbook Review

December 2 (W)

1:45-2:45, PBIS Meeting, All Classified Attend + PBIS Teacher Members
1:45-2:45, PLC Teacher Collaboration Time
2:45-3:45, Joel to STAMP Assessment Meeting.

December 3 (Th)

2:45-3:45, Mod Squad
6:00-8:00,Viaje Musicale

December 4 (F)

12:00-1:00, Joel at Superboundary Meeting Howard

6:00-8:00, Viaje Musicale
December 6 , Sunday-Robotics Competition in Philomath,

December 7 (M)

2:30-5:00, Joel to Elementary Principal’s Meeting

December 8 (Tu)

2:45-4:45, PLT Meeting – Focus on Dual Language Instruction
6:00-8:00, Spaghetti and Safety – A Parent Group Meeting- A Parent Traffic Safety and Information Night- A community event focused on safety.

December 9 (W)
1:45-2:45, PLC Wednesday Collaboration Time

December 10 (Th)
Regular Day

December 11 (F)
6:00-8:00, Noche de Peliculas

December 14 (M)

Regular Day

December 15 (Tu)

8:00-11:00, Superintendent Balderas visiting our school and observing classrooms.

December 16 (W)

1:45-2:45, PLC Planning Time with Grade Level Teams

8:45-11:00, Salmon Release Field Trip, 4th and 1st grade  buddies activity.

December 17 (Th)

2:45-3:45, Mod Squad Meeting

December 18 (F)

8:00-9:00, Joel at Principal PLC breakfast in Springfield

1:50-2:30, Winter Break Recognition Assembly??? Premios de Virtudes ?? (Tentative)

What is happening?

Here is a list of important activities and news related to the school:

•New email listserv: river_community. I have added a new listserv tool caled river community.  It is meant to act as a bridge between parents, teachers, and volunteers who want to communicate to the overall group.  The list serv will include non-4j emails and will be strictly for news. No communication about students should happen using this new email tool. I will be adding teacher, staff, and the most active parent group to this email listserv. Anyone in the listserv group will be able to send original communication including parent group members and volunteers.

•Viaje Musicale December 3 and 4!
Viaje Musical-(A musical journey)
December 3^rd & 4^th 6:00pm (show length 50 min.)
Students arrive at 5:30pm and report to classrooms.
Who: All students in grades 4/5
Where: El Camino del Rio Gym
A professional DVD will be made of the Friday performance.
Students attire for show: Black pants, white T-shirt and comfortable athletic shoes. (No heels or dresses please: Athletic movement is an important part of the event and we want students to be safe and have a good time!)
Mr. Adee will provide colored fabric to accent outfits.

PLEASE NOTE: There are several reasons we are having Viaje Musical for two nights.
1) Mr. Adee goes to teach at Howard school second semester so this is our biggest music program of the year and lots of work is going into it! We want students to have the opportunity to present their work more than one time.
2) A professional DVD will be made on the second night.
3) Greater opportunity for community members to come see students.
4) Our gym has been modified to accommodate construction of our new school and so it is much smaller now (3/5 of its original size). Because of the smaller gym we have reduced audience capacity, so we are asking that you please send half your family one night and half the other (if at all possible)! However, please remember that 4/5 students performing in the show need to attend both nights. See…. you…. there! ¡Viva la música!

• United Way Pledge Forms Due Dec. 4th – The United Way drive kicked off with Larry Soberman’s help when I was gone in Albuquerque. Some of you probably spoke to Larry briefly about the benefits of United Way Programming.  United Way is a great program that directly benefits our students in many ways. Please consider donating a small amount this year. United Way is the largest community support network in Lane County and makes a huge difference in many lives. If you choose to participate, forms are due to the office by December 3rd. You can place them in my mailbox by my office. Also, remember that you can even donate directly to your own school, grade level or  your own classroom through EEF on the form, which may be a good thing to do since the “Educator Expenses Tax Deduction” was cut by the feds. However, a donation through the United Way is still tax deductible.

• 2015 Winter Holiday Resources Spanish & English – Last week I shared the 2015 Winter Holiday Resources flyer, which has information on food boxes, meals sites, holiday gift programs and holiday celebrations. DHS has given us a translated version of the documents, so it is now available in both Spanish and English or all in one document.

• District Admin Updates – Two updates were sent out to principals this week:

• Early College & Career Options (ECCO) High School – Stephanie Cannon will continue as interim principal of ECCO on a part-time basis (three days a week) and Scott Mayers will round out the FTE (two days a week) to assist with Alternative Education placements, in addition to his current role at North Eugene. Kim Finch will assume the CTE coordinator responsibilities for 4J in addition to her current responsibilities. These personnel changes were made as a result of Brad New’s resignation from his position at Eugene School District 4J to pursue other professional and personal opportunities.

• Change in Instruction Department Structure – Beginning next month, the district’s Chief of Staff, Dr. Charis McGaughy, will assume leadership of the Instruction Department and oversight of its four divisions—elementary education, secondary education, education support services, and research and planning. Pending board approval, there may also be a change in position title. The office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion also will move into the Instruction Department. Equity and multicultural education were a part of instruction before but they were never given this level of instructional focus. I am encouraged by this move. The new organizational structure will facilitate alignment and coordination between the instructional divisions. This is structure is reminiscent of a time this seems very similar to when Tom Henry oversaw the Instruction Department as deputy superintendent. I can recall that this was a time when communication from downtown was clear and decisions were made with a district level lens. I hope to see the same from Gustavo’s new structure.

• Report: Media stereotypes dissuade girls from computer science – This article reports young girls are negatively influenced by the stereotypes portrayed on television and in films, according to a report from Google with surveys by Gallup. Also, only 7% of students said black and Hispanic characters are represented “most of the time” in these roles on screen. A Google official said every­one benefits from efforts to increase diversity in business and entertainment.

• Report: The Unknown Struggles of a Bilingual Student– This article is a blog entry from a woman who grew up in the South Bronx who has become a teacher.  Her story was inspirational to me for a variety of reasons.  Being a child in a bilingual school has many challenges.  Knowing that there are like minded bilingual teachers out there who take the time to care and love children in a similar setting was very uplifting to me.  I am pleased that our staff understands the importance of helping these children see their language skills as gifts in an increasingly multilingual environment.

That is all for this short week.  Please remember that I am proud of what you do and share your amazing work with friends and colleagues each day.  Thank you for your perseverance and determination to provide the best bilingual education our community deserves. Happy Thanksgiving.

Saludos cordiales,

Joel

Week of November 16

What is coming up?

November 16 (M)

Joel doing informal observations through out the week.
12:30-1:30, Joel, Sara,and Allan to discuss the super-boundary. (Ed Center)
2:30-5:00, Joel at Principal’s Meeting (Ed Center Parr)

November 17 (Tu)

Joel doing informal observations through out the week.
All Day- Picture Retake Day (Room 17)
2:55-3:55, Staff Meeting (Library)
4:00-5:00, CAP Review with the PLT Team and Kathy L.

November 18 (W)

Joel doing informal observations through out the week.
1:45-3:45, PLC Collaborative Time to plan math and create formative assessments.
2:40-3:40, Garden Design Meeting (Conference Room )

November 19 (Th)

Joel doing informal observations through out the week.
1:00, Fire Drill (Pending the weather)
2:45-3:45, Mod Squad (Recker’s Classroom)

November 20 (F)

Joel doing informal observations through out the week.
1:45-2:30, Kelly Band Assembly (Cafeteria, Whole School Assembly)

November 23 (M)

9:00-9:45, Dali String Quartet Assembly (Cafeteria)

November 24 (Tu)

9:00-11:30,Illana Umanski from the UO visits to discuss Spanish proficiency in ELL identified students.
3:00-4:00, PLT Meeting -Focus, Dual Language Leadership in the building.

November 25 (W)

2:45-3:45, PLC Planning Time (Library)

November 26 (Th)

Thanksgiving- No School

November 27 (F)

Thanksgiving- No School

November 30 (M)

3:00-4:00, Site Council Meeting

December 1 (Tu)

8:30-9:30, Cafecito- Topic with Parents, Winter and Mental Health with Pedro Pacheco from NAMI.
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting, Revisiting on Group Agreements on Dual Language

December 2 (W)

1:45-2:45, PBIS Meeting, All Classified Attend + PBIS Teacher Leaders
1:45-2:45, PLC Teacher Collaboration Time
2:45-3:45, Joel to stamp meeting.

December 3 (Th)

2:45-3:45, Mod Squad
6:00-8:00, Viaje Musicale

December 4 (F)

6:00-8:00, Viaje Musicale
Robotics Competition in Philomath,  Sunday, December 6

December 7 (M)

2:30-5:00, Joel to Elementary Principal’s Meeting

December 8 (Tu)

2:45-4:45, PLT Meeting – Focus on Dual Language Instruction
6:00-8:00, Spaghetti and Safety – A Parent Group Meeting- A Parent Traffic Safety and Information Night- A community event focused on safety.

December 9 (W)
PLC Wednesday Collaboration Time

December 10 (Th)
Regular Day

December 11 (F)
6:00-8:00, Noche de Peliculas

What is happening?

• El Camino del Río Staff Meeting- November 17th, 2015 2:55
Outcome: To revise and approve a leadership plan to compensate employees for important work in our building.
Minutes taken by: Aline Baissac or Jaime Jones
Please arrive on time in the Library.

2:55-3:05 Connections -Joel
3:05-3:25  Leadership Plan Proposal – Joel
3:25-3:45  La Cosecha Conference Share Out -Karen, Erin Reckers
3:45-3:55  Art Show Proposal and Spanish Play Update -Nikita B.
4:00-5:00 CAP Review with the PLT Team and Kathy L.

• Last Call for Missing Journeys Materials (Tuesday Deadline) – Susan Penrod, the district ELA administrator, is placing a final order for any missing Journey’s materials. Let me know by 3:30 on Tuesday. Just tell me what you’re missing and how many you need.  Let me know ASAP!

• Fire Drill, Thursday at 1:00 – If the weather cooperates we’ll hold our November Fire Drill on Thursday, November 19th at 1:00. If we’re rained out, we’ll try Friday morning at 8:40.

• Thanksgiving Instruction and School-Wide Reminder – As Thanksgiving approaches, here is my annual reminder regarding how Thanksgiving is taught in classrooms. Keep in mind that student perceptions of Native Americans often come from classroom activities around the First Thanksgiving. The conception of Native Americans gained from such early exposure is often both inaccurate and potentially damaging. When planning activities, be aware that what most of us learned in school about the “Pilgrims” and “Squanto” and the “First Thanksgiving” is a mixture of both history and myth. School wide Thanksgiving activities and decorations should avoid reinforcing historical myths and should avoid stereotypes (ie. NO warbonnets). It’s best to shift the focus away from the “First Thanksgiving” and instead focus on items children can be thankful for in their own lives and on their families’ celebrations of Thanksgiving. Some resources on what to avoid and what to teach can be found at Teaching Tolerance and Education World. Here is a good article with a Native American perspective on Thanksgiving. Also, the 4J Natives Program is a resource that is available for classroom presentations year-round and can offer an accurate picture of Native American culture.

• 2015 Winter Holiday Resources – This came from our Care Team DHS contact and I’ll share this in our December newsletter, but if families or students happen to ask you about assistance over the holidays, see the attached 2015 Winter Holiday Resources flyer, which has information on food boxes, meals sites, holiday gift programs and holiday celebrations. DHS is currently working on getting a translated version to us.

• Care Team Meeting Referrals Due This Week – The Student Care Team will be meeting in a couple weeks, so let me know if any of you have student or family situations you’d like to refer. If you can get a parent/guardian signature on the 4J Release Form (PDF or DOC), we will be able to openly discuss the student by name and DHS will be able to do some research into the family and situation to see what services they would qualify for and share any history. You can also refer “hypothetical” student or family situations if you’re unable to get a signed release form. We have one family who’s signed a release to be discussed at this meeting, but there is space for one or two more to be added.

And that is all for the week. Have a good 5 day school week.

Week of November 9

Calendar of Events

November 9 (M)

No meetings. Regular day.

November 10 (T)

Sara Green Visiting North Region Schools

12:00-2:15, 3rd Grade goes to the Symphony at Hult Center

2:45-3:15, Dreambox Pilot Meeting with Maddy and Misty, (Main Office)

4:00-8:00 PM, No meetings. Conferences from 4-8 PM (Conferences will be in your classroom.)
Let me know if you need an extra person present, myself, or Jennifer.

November 11 (W)

Veteran’s Day- No School. Do not go to work. Rest.

November 12 (U)

No School. Conferences 8AM -8 PM  (Conferences will be in your classroom.)

2:00-4:00, Joel to Somos Juntos Grant Meeting (University of Oregon)

4:00-5:00, Joel to North Region Principals’ Meeting

5:30-6:30, Meet the Superintendent – Community Event – English (Kelly MS)
6:30-7:30, Meet the Superintendent – Community Event – Spanish (Kelly MS)

November 13 (F)

Compensation Day. No School. No Work.
Classified Staff, if you have built up comp time hours, please turn in forms to take this day off.

Joel to personal meeting 5:00 PM

November 16 (M)

12:30-1:30, Joel, Sara, and Allan to discuss the super-boundary. (Ed Center)

2:30-5:00, Joel at Principal’s Meeting (Ed Center Parr)

November 17 (Tu)

All Day- Picture Retake Day (Room 17)
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Library)
4:00-5:00, CAP Review with the PLT Team and Kathy Larson attends. (Conference Room)

November 18 (W)

1:45-3:45, PLC Collaborative Time to plan math and create formative assessments.
2:40-3:40, Garden Design Meeting (Conference Room )

November 19 (Th)

2:45-3:45, Mod Squad

November 20 (F)

1:45-2:30, Kelly Band Assembly (Cafeteria, Whole School Assembly)

November 23 (M)

9:00-9:45, Dali String Quartet Assembly (Cafeteria)

November 24 (Tu)

9:00-11:30,Illana Umanski from the UO visits to discuss Spanish proficiency in ELL identified students.

3:00-4:00, PLT Meeting -Focus, Dual Language Leadership in the building.

November 25 (W)

2:45-3:45, PLC Planning Time (Library)

November 26 (Th)

Thanksgiving- No School

November 27 (F)

Thanksgiving- No School

November 30 (M)

3:00-4:00, Site Council Meeting

December 1 (Tu)

8:30-9:30, Cafecito- Topic with Parents, Winter and Mental Health with Pedro Pacheco from NAMI.

2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting, Revisiting on Group Agreements on Dual Language

December 2 ( W)

1:45-2:45, PBIS Meeting, All Classified Attend + PBIS Teacher Leaders

1:45-2:45, PLC Teacher Collaboration Time

December 3 (Th)

2:45-3:45, Mod Squad

6:00-8:00, Viaje Musicale

December 4 (F)

6:00-8:00, Viaje Musicale

Robotics Competition in Philomath,  Sunday, December 6

December 7 (M)

2:30-5:00, Joel to Elementary Principal’s Meeting

December 8 (Tu)

2:45-4:45, PLT Meeting – Focus on Dual Language Instruction

6:00-8:00, Spaghetti and Safety – A Parent Group Meeting- A Parent Traffic Safety and Information Night- A community event focused on safety.

December 9 (W)

PLC Wednesday Collaboration Time

December 10 (Th)

Regular Day

December 11 (F)

6:00-8:00, Noche de Peliculas

What is happening?

• Bias in Journeys Materials – Downtown is taking a look at bias in the new Journeys materials. At the elementary principals’ meeting last week, a couple schools raised concerns of racial bias in the new curriculum. Principals have been asked to have teachers report elements of bias you come across in the new reading materials, whether it’s race, gender, religion or otherwise. For example, one teacher at Howard spotted a highly inappropriate vocabulary card depicting students of various races dressed as ”pilgrims and indians.” Many of our staff have been reporting the biases as well. Megan Murphy initiated this process. Thank you for your leadership in equity, Megan. There is not a formal reporting form or an official plan of will be done with the collected information, but I do think it’s important for us be cognizant of bias in this and any other curriculum materials.

• Conferences Information – Conferences are this week!  I wanted to let teachers know that I’m available to sit in on any conferences you’d like me to attend. Just tell me the date and time and I’ll get it on my calendar.  Lastly, and I’ve shared this before, here’s a link from the NEA website with resources and tips for Parent-Teacher Conferences and below are some good tips that I copied from an ASCD article on conducting parent-teacher conferences. Mostly though I think parents just want to know that teachers care about their children and if they know that, they’ll be open to most anything you have to share.

• Listen well, regardless of the situation.
• Balance constructive critiques with positive comments about the student.
• Make parents feel welcomed and relaxed. Parents are not on their turf; they may feel anxious or nervous.
• Inform parents that you, the teacher, will take notes during the conference so you can carefully address each of their concerns.
• Be cool and calm in everything you say and do. Your tone of voice and mannerisms can escalate or deescalate parent-teacher interactions.
• Be deliberate and realistic in what you promise a parent. Remember that you cannot feasibly call or e-mail several parents or caregivers every day.
• Collect data on what you say. Take note of how many questions you ask, how often you offer the parent encouragement, and how often you emphasize the ideas or suggestions that the parent brings to the conference.
• At all costs, do not use your authority as a teacher as a means of forcing your point of view.
• Interact with parents or caregivers to learn more about the student and to understand how the parent has been successful or unsuccessful with that student at home.
• Understand your role as a teacher and have a working knowledge of how other school professionals can support parents and students. Generic referrals to “seeing a guidance counselor” are not always necessary or appropriate.
• Conduct the conference in a warm, enthusiastic, and professional way. Teachers who appear apathetic, aloof, or begrudging will seldom foster successful relationships with parents and caregivers.

• Free After School Tutoring Opportunity for Elementary School Students – Starting in January, The Center on Teaching & Learning at the University of Oregon is providing free reading instruction to 1st through 5th grade students reading below grade level. This is a first come, first serve opportunity, so let families know soon who you think would use this resource. Students attend the clinic twice a week (Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday) for 50 minutes after school. There is a 1-hour Parent Orientation either the week before, or the first week of, Clinic, and families are responsible for transportation. Interested families just need to fill out and return the attached packet if they want to register. If you have any questions, contact Shaheen Munir-McHill (munir@uoregon.edu) or Anna Ingram (annad@uoregon.edu).

• Title 1 Newsletter – Here is the latest district level Title 1 Newsletter that went out to Title 1 Coordinators and principals. As usual, this month’s newsletter is mostly coordinator specific information and tasks, but there is a nice equity related video from Janice Jackson on “Discipline Disparity” and an article about the need to analyze multiple measures for effective instructional decisions.

• Meet the Superintendent, Thursday at Kelly MS – 4J is inviting families and the public to meet our new superintendent, Dr. Gustavo Balderas , this Thursday at Kelly middle school to share their thoughts and questions about Eugene and its schools. If you’d like to attend or would like to let your students know, the Meet the Superintendent Event will be in the Kelly library from 5:30-6:30 for a session in English and from 6:30-7:30 for a session in Spanish, which will be great since our new superintendent is from a Spanish speaking family himself. Obviously, for teachers, it will be difficult to be present during parent conferences. I will be slipping out to be there for a half an hour to see Dr. Balderas and families while there.

• Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (OJMCHE) School Tours – I wasn’t originally going share about the K-12 tours being offered by OJMCHE, but their email says “Ask us about scholarships for bus transportation both inside and outside of the Portland metro area” so maybe they’re willing to provide transportation if anyone would like to plan a field trip.

• Three Rivers Foundation Grant Opportunities – The Confederate Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, through the Three Rivers Foundation are offering grants for innovative ideas, collaborative approaches, and grassroots efforts in the following areas; education, health, public safety, problem gambling, the arts, the environment, cultural activities, and historic preservation. Grants do not have minimum or maximum grant limitations, but it’s anticipated that the average award from the Three Rivers Foundation will be between $2,000 and $7,000. This year’s online grant application period opens December 1st and will close at 5:00 PM on December 31st. See their website for more information

• News from the Emerald Empire Reading Council – Here’s the November Newsletter from the Emerald Empire Reading Council. This month’s newsletter includes a number of workshops and information on a $100 literacy grant. If you’d like more information, visit their 1990s Space Jam-looking website.

• Required teacher task: Bus Safety Training Reminder – A reminder to teachers to let Edna know what method you’ve used to teach students bus safety. The state requires all students receive instruction on bus safety by the end of December. Showing your students the video The Safest Way Out is the easiest method to meet the requirement.

• ICSP 2015-16 Brochure – I shared this earlier in the year, but the UO International Cultural Service Program (ICSP) just emailed out their updated brochure for this school year, listing all of the free presentations available to classrooms from international UO students. If you have questions, contact the ICSP Coordinator, Sophie Patterson, by email icsp@uoregon.edu or phone (541) 346-7429, or request for a presenter on their website here.

• These short videos can bring some ‘calm’ into your classrooms – Rachel sent this to elementary principals. Between Halloween and the time change over the weekend, we’re all feeling a little out of whack. Marcy G., a 1st grade teacher (and GoNoodler!) in Oregon, suggests doing lots of stretching and oxygen-rich movements, especially in the morning, to invigorate the body and mind. Here are three calming videos to help, whether you find your class snoozing during reading or going crazy during math!

Airtime Space – Practice deep breathing for a calmer, more focused classroom. Perfect for after lunch or recess.
Find Peace – Think, reflect, and set some positive intentions for the day. Great for morning meeting!
Super Scooper – Stretch and rejuvenate with Maximo the monkey to feel ready for whatever comes next!

• How can technology promote equity in schools? – In this blog post, Robert Dillon, director of technology and innovation at Affton School District in Missouri, shares seven ways technology can promote equity in schools. Ideas include virtual field trips, community-based learning and virtual connections.

That is all for this week!  I hope your conferences go well. Let me know if you need any support in your classrooms with parents.

Saludos cordiales,

Joel

Week of November 2

Calendar of Events

November 2 (M)

Tech Plan due to Kim Ketterer
10:00-11:00,  Joel at El Camino del Rio Info-graphics Meeting (Pivot Architecture)

2:30-5:00, Joel Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

November  3 (T)

Larry Soberman as admin. La Cosecha
Joel, Karen, Erin Reckers leave to present at La Cosecha on our school.
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Cancelled)
6:00-7:00, Grupo de Padres

November 4 (W)

Larry Soberman as admin. La Cosecha
LEL at Awbrey Park- Megan attends without Joel.
4th Grade- Nearby Nature Field Trip
1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Collaboration Time on Math
1:45-2:45, PBIS Meeting in the Learning Center including supervising and classified staff.  (Yasmin attends part- SWIS referral recorder)

November 5 (U)

Larry Soberman as admin. La Cosecha
2:45-3:45, Mod Squad Meeting

November 6 (F)

Larry Soberman as admin. La Cosecha
Regular Day

November 9 (M)

No meetings. Regular day.

November 10 (T)

Sara Green Visiting North Region Schools

4:00-8:00 PM, No meetings. Conferences from 4-8 PM (Conferences will be in your classroom.)
Let me know if you need an extra person present, myself, or Jennifer.

November 11 (W)

Veteran’s Day- No School. Do not go to work. Rest.

November 12 (U)

No School. Conferences 8AM -8 PM  (Conferences will be in your classroom.)

4:00-5:00, Joel to North Region Principals’ Meeting

5:30-6:30, Meet the Superintendent – Community Event – English (Kelly MS)
6:30-7:30, Meet the Superintendent – Community Event – Spanish (Kelly MS)

November 13 (F)

Compensation Day. No School. No Work.
Classified Staff, if you have built up comp time hours, please turn in forms to take this day off.

November 16 (M)

2:30-5:00, Joel at Principal’s Meeting (Ed Center Parr)

November 17 (Tu)

All Day- Picture Retake Day
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Library)
4:00-5:00, CAP Review with the PLT Team (Conference Room)

November 18 (W)

1:45-3:45, PLC Collaborative Time to plan math and create formative assessments.
2:40-3:40, Garden Design Meeting (Conference Room )
6:00-8:00, Spaghetti and Safety- A Parent Traffic Safety and Information Night- A community event focused on safety.

November 19 (Th)

2:45-3:45, Mod Squad

November 20 (F)

1:45-2:30, Kelly Band Assembly

November 23 (M)

9:00-9:45, Dali String Quartet Assembly (Cafeteria)

November 24 (Tu)

9:00-11:30,Illana Umanski from the UO visits to discuss Spanish proficiency in ELL identified students.

3:00-4:00, PLT Meeting

November 25 (W)

2:45-3:45, PLC Planning Time (Library)

November 26 (Th)

Thanksgiving- No School

November 27 (F)

Thanksgiving- No School

Way ahead:

Viaje Musicale: December 3 and 4, 6-8 PM

Robotics Competition in Philomath,  Sunday, December 6

What is happening?

• IEP Meeting Compensation – Many non-ESS licensed staff attend IEP meetings during planning times or outside the workday. The EEA contract allows for licensed staff to be compensated for up to four hours of additional pay. I wanted to remind teachers to track your IEP meeting times on the Non-ESS Licensed IEP Time Log, which will be accepted later this year between April 25 and June 10th. The attachment can also be found on the HR Forms section of the 4J website.

• Downtown Admin Update – 4J has a new Director of Human Resources, Cydney Vandercar. As you may be aware, Cydney became the interim Director of Human Resources in April of this year and has done a fine job leading HR during this time. If you don’t know Cydney, she began her career in 4J as a math teacher in 1993. After teaching for six years, she became one of South Eugene’s assistant principals. In 2004, she moved to Spencer Butte as the principal for four years and then as the principal at Cal Young for four years, after which she joined the HR team as the Workforce Planning and Staffing Administrator.

• 3 ways to take learning outside with mobile devices – Here’s a short blog post for those of you with iPads or anyone who might want to borrow a set from another classroom. Mobile devices are an effective way to stretch the learning experience outside the classroom, STEM educator Julie Willcott writes. She shares three ways teachers can use devices for out-of-the-classroom exploration. And yes, you do have permission to take iPads outside of the building.

• La Cosecha Presentations by Our staff:  Kathy Larson, Karen Ramirez Gutierrez, Erin Reckers and myself will be sharing much about all of your hard work over the last year and a half. We are extremely proud of your accomplishments with our students and will be using them as a springboard for further conversations with the attendees of this large national conference. I am told that DLENM puts on excellent conference on Dual Language.  We are very excited to bring back information to share with the staff in our next time together.  Here are links to the two presentations were are leading:

Promoting Language Growth: Learning to Assess Using the FLOSEM Protocol

• Obama: Limit standardized testing in school testing – Since the amount of required testing is always a hot topic, I thought staff may find this EdWeek article of interest. Obama is seeking to limit standardized testing to 2% of instructional time. The announcement comes as a report from the Council of the Great City Schools finds that the average eighth-grade student spends 2.3% of class time on testing and that some mandatory exams might be redundant. Here’s a related article that also appeared in The Atlantic.

• Bilingualism: When Education and Assimilation Clash- Nearly one in four U.S. public-school children speak a language other than English at home. What’s the best way to accommodate ELL students in the classroom? Well, I think many of us believe we have an answer at El Camino del Río, Two way Immersion done well.  Still, what does this mean for students who do not have an opportunity to learn their heritage language?  This article explores this topic in depth.

• Site Council Writes EEF grants – On Tuesday, Site Council hashed out three EEF Grant proposals for our school.  They are:

1. Latin American Fine Arts Artist in Residence, Libros, Libros, Libros!,$2000.00

2. Acquiring more Spanish books for our bilingual library,$1500.00

3. Beginning a Ballet Folkorico Dance Program at El Camino del Río.  The dance troupe would be offered to students k-5 to provide more cultural opportunities for younger students. $1500.00

They were also ranked by the Site Council in the above order. I wrote the final text of the grants this weekend and submitted them before the deadline.

Indian Boy Speaking Multiple Languages- Example of Translanguaging

I know Larry Soberman will do a good job taking care of things while I am gone.

Best,

Joel