Diario Camino del Río

Week of June 13, 2016

Hello Shining Stars,

We’ve progressed another year and helped students achieve amazing growth. In fact, I would say we have succeeded at this objective. Math instruction has evolved and improved for all students. Our two way immersion school has quickly gained prominence in the community. Families in the North Region and beyond are showing great interest in being a part of our community. We  as educators have gained many technological skills and improved a our program beyond the base programming of dual immersion.  With 14 months until the opening of a new building, one cannot resist to look ahead to what we have in store.  Our careful planning of a state of the art building and the actual beginning of construction is enough to make just about anyone excited about the future we have in store for 2016-2017.  It promises to be a very unique year that you’ll probably never experience again in your career. The nostalgia for our aging building will be strong next year.  Now enjoy the final installment of my weekly announcements for the school year!

• OABE Conference Trip: Nancy and Olivia are going to OABE this year.  I am also sending three parents on the five person team to Portland on Saturday June 25th for the day. Alicia is helping us find those three parents. If you have suggestions, please let me know.  The parent strand is supposed to be very strong this year and is offered in Spanish. My hope is that they will help us build strong Spanish speaker leadership next year.

OABE SUMMER CONFERENCE

• June Fire Drill, Monday at 9:00 AM – Our June Fire Drill will be Monday at 9:00 AM. If we’re rained out, we’ll try later in the day when there’s a break in the weather.

• Class Lists to Specialists & EAs –  My hope is that most of you have completed your initial class lists during your Wednesday time. If you have, please bring your lists to the main office and place them in my box. Thank you 4th grade for getting those to us so quickly.  We need to have all our specialists comb through the lists to check for  balance of needs in each class. This week we’ll share next year’s class lists with specialists and EAs to have another set of eyes on next year’s combinations of students. I’ll let classroom teachers know if any potential issues we may have missed. Final class lists will not be public until September 6, the day after Labor Day. Please remember that parent requests are not accepted. However,  some student needs are definitely taken into account which often involves parent communication about their needs.

• Staff Room Fridge – The Staff Room refrigerator/freezer will be emptied of all contents the morning of Monday, June 20th. If you have any food, drinks, condiments or otherwise, please take them home by this Friday. Anything left will be thrown out.

• Volunteer Luncheon– Do not forget to bring a food item to thank our volunteers her at 11:00 after Field Day. They will be thrilled to see that you recognized their hard work this year.

•Free Summer Program for Families at El Camino del Río- Latisha Malone,  our new library assistant, will be running a summer lunch and reading program at El Camino del Río! A grant is helping us run this literacy program for all 4J students. We want to let you know about a free summer program that is being offered at the school this summer. The program runs from June 20th–July 29th. Lunch will be served at 11am and will include story time. Other activities will begin around 12. Each week will have its own theme and a weekly auto dialer will be sent out with that information. The program will end around 2:30 each day, Monday through Friday. Children must be accompanied by an adult. This is a family friendly program and is open to the community. Please feel free to bring your family and friends.

• Staff Technology Summer Checkout – If you are taking home any of your technology (laptop, iPad, etc.) over the summer, be sure to fill out and turn in a copy to the office of the 4J Technology Equipment Checkout Contract

District now wants us to use this online checkout system on Google Forms.  Here is Kim Ketterer’s message about Technology use:

The purpose of this privilege is so that teachers can have access to teaching materials online or on their device over the summer. This opportunity is limited to teacher laptop and/or tablet.  Any other technology item (e.g. projectors, SMARTBoards, document cameras, etc) need to remain in the building for summer maintenance and inventory. 

 http://goo.gl/forms/se0VppGWMn41ra5b2

Please fill out a separate form for each device, (ie laptop and iPad)

• New Building Summary Update– I have been meeting with the contractors and architects on a weekly basis to get updates on the construction.  In short, we are in the foundation phase. The footings have all been dug and the framing is in place to pour footings.  The sewage plumbing and some electrical lines have been placed in the ground.  Our site is fairly constrained by the old building. There have been several issues with running the main water and utility lines between the old gym and the new building.  This summer some construction may occur near the back annex building.  A large electrical vault will need to be pulled into the back of the property near the annex. This will mean that the stairwell at the back of the annex will be temporarily removed so the larger machinery can lift and place the vault over the fence safely. Getting this vault in place before the foundation is fully laid is important to keep the project on time. What to expect in the coming weeks:  lots of concrete trucks bringing in concrete, more rebar placement, laying of cmu bricks, and later in the summer some steel will be placed. There is still discussion of the outdoor covered play and I will let you know when there are decisions made.

Lastly,  you should all know that we WILL have air conditioning in the new building.  It is part of the final contract which was not clearly reported in the Register Guard.

(Repeat)

• 5th Grade Farewell and clap out – The farewell for 5th graders on their last day of school will run the same as last year, down the main hallway. Please stand close to your classroom starting  by the gym in the 3rd grade area with third grade. From the hallway  staff and students can applaud and wish them well on their way to middle school. Here are the details:

•If you have a scarf or light cloth, make a small arch with it and a fellow adult.

Wednesday, June 16th, classes begin lining up from the gym onward at 11:25.
• At 11:30, 5th graders will begin their final walk exiting the building by the 5th grade wing.
• Students should clap and cheer appropriately as the 5th graders walk past.
• Staff members not assigned to students are invited to join in the “clap out” and give a final farewell.
• Once the 5th graders have made their way to the end of the clap out line, the remaining students can be dismissed to leave for summer.

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(Repeat)

• “Grab & Go” Sack Lunch Schedule, 6/16 – For lunches on the last day of school, Thursday next week, students will enter the cafeteria through the  double doors. They will pick up their lunch in the line. As students pass through the line, they should form a new line near the stage which the teacher leads. Once all the students have gotten their lunches, the class can leave the cafeteria. This process should takes about 5-8 minutes. (Kinder will eat their lunch at 10:40 in the cafeteria as a brown bag lunch.)

10:40 1st grade
10:50 2nd grade
11:00 3rd grade
11:10 5th grade
11:20 4th grade

If staff not supervising students are available to help during this time, that would be terrific!

• Care Team Summer Resources – The DHS Community Resource Coordinator who works with our Student Care Team shared a few good resources staff can pass along to families as you see fit. One is the a schedule of meal site locations available over the summer, in both Spanish and English, and also another one sheet of Food for Lane County sites throughout Lane County. The other is a short list of 2016 Summer Resources for Families, ranging from 211 to Summer Reading Spots to Willamalane Parks and Rec District events. And a resource shared earlier that’s worth repeating is the Direction Services 2016 Summer Directory, which lists camps, diagnostic and treatment services, education services, employment programs, recreation, respite care and support, and website resources for families.

• Paid Research Study and Professional Development Opportunity for anyone working with Students – The UO is recruiting educational professionals for a research project being conducted by the Center on Brain Injury Research and Training at the University of Oregon. The purpose of the study is to pilot test a web-based training program called In the Classroom. In the Classroom was designed to help educators who are working with, or may work with, students that have had a brain injury. This is how the study works. Educators will come into their office at CBIRT [or another private location] and take part in two, three hour group sessions. Everyone will take an online survey, review the online training program on an internet connected device, then take another online survey (post-test). Each educator who participates will be mailed a check for $100 after the second session. Participants will also have the opportunity to earn professional development units. See the linked flyer and feel free to contact Jody Slocumb at the Center on Brain Injury Research and Training University of Oregon (541-346-0567 or slocumbj@cbirt.org) if you have any questions would like to join.

• Take your shoes off! Barefoot kids do better at school – It might be smelly, but you have my permission to follow the advice of this article Suzanna shared with me about how students who were allowed to take off their shoes in class performed better academically, were quieter, and were better behaved.  Just keep kids feet away from sharp objects.

Schedule of Events for the Rest of the Year and a Bit of Summer

Week of June 6, 2016

Hi Shining Stars ,

It was a pretty quick two-day weekend, but we’re on the home stretch now with only seven and a half student days left.

Here are several items of note:

• Staff Meeting Agenda: June 7th, 2:45-3:45 –

1. School Wide Reflections and celebration of student academic successes plus discussions of fine adjustments to our program (30 minutes)
2. Planning for 2016-2017 Field Trips We will fill a calendar together and plan for costs. (20 minutes)
3. The Dual Language Parent Survey- Explanation and Distribution (5 minutes)
4. Announcements including last minute information on Field Day (5 minutes)
5. Distribution of class placement sheets.

• Staffing Updates – We are interviewing for two EA positions on Monday.  We have five candidates to interview.  I have two teachers who have volunteered. I still need classified representation on the team and someone with native Spanish language skill would also be appreciated. The 4 hour position is open for one more week. It went up Wednesday. All three positions are bilingual EA positions. The BEST Coordinator position is yet to be posted but Molly La Jolie will be posting it sometime soon.

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• 2016-2017 Early Return and Retreat:   I am in the brainstorming stages of planning a small summer retreat.  I was hoping for a bonding experience we all could do together at the start of the school year. In addition, I am planning an early return day for us to focus on ELD/ literacy instruction. Hold the date of August 29th as a PD day or possible retreat. This could be a paid day from Priority School Funds.

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• OABE Conference Trip: Nancy is going to OABE this year.  I am also sending three parents on the five person team to Portland on Saturday June 25th for the day. If you would like to be the second teacher to host these parents and drive a 5-6 person car, please let me know on Monday. Some previously expressed interest that cannot go so there is room for one more teacher.

OABE SUMMER CONFERENCE

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• 2015/2016 Non-ESS Licensed IEP Time Log Due Friday – I’ve shared earlier that non-ESS teachers can use this linked form to request payment for up to six hours of additional compensation based on their per diem rate for attending IEP meetings, but this form is due to HR by this Friday. Email the completed form to hr@4j.lane.edu or submit a hard copy to Human Resources by Friday, June 10th. Meeting time is to be accumulated in 15 minute increments. Participating in IEP meetings during scheduled planning days, scheduled prep time, or outside a member’s work day qualifies as log-able. In the event total requests for payment exceed $20,000, compensation will be prorated. If you are attending a scheduled IEP meeting after June 10th, please estimate the amount of meeting time needed on this form. (It is assumed that each meeting would be at least one hour).

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• Year End Checklist and Classroom Placement Forms – Year End Checklists will be put in staff mailboxes this week if you are responsible for an area.   Classroom Placement forms will also be put in your box around the same time. Please use your Wednesday release time to work on these with your grade level team and specialists. They are due on June 17th with specialists reviews and signatures.

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• Staff Technology Summer Checkout – Related to the above items, if you are taking home any of your technology (laptop, iPad, etc.) over the summer, be sure to fill out and turn in a copy to the office of the 4J Technology Equipment Checkout Contract (MS Word or PDF).

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• Report Card Grading Day Expectations – A repeat from last week, but this Friday is the elementary report card grading day. This is a regular work day for all staff, with the exception of the very few student-contact-days-only staff. HR has said it is allowable for licensed staff to work from home this day if you notify your administrator (me) in advance, 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. Teachers are highly visible members of the community, so keep in mind public perception. HR has said if working off-site on grading days is abused, we will not be allowed to continue the practice.

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• 5th Grade Farewell and clap out – The farewell for 5th graders on their last day of school will run the same as last year, down the main hallway. Please stand close to your classroom starting  by the gym in the 3rd grade area with third grade. From the hallway  staff and students can applaud and wish them well on their way to middle school. Here are the details:

•If you have a scarf or light cloth, make a small arch with it and a fellow adult.

Wednesday, June 16th, classes begin lining up in front of the east wing at 11:25.
• At 11:30, 5th graders will begin their final walk exiting the building by the 5th grade wing.
• Students should clap and cheer appropriately as the 5th graders walk past.
• Staff members not assigned to students are invited to join in the “clap out” and give a final farewell.
• Once the 5th graders have made their way to the end of the clap out line, the remaining students can be dismissed.

*****************************************************************************************

• “Grab & Go” Sack Lunch Schedule, 6/16 – For lunches on the last day of school, Thursday next week, students will enter the cafeteria through the  double doors. They will pick up their lunch in the line. As students pass through the line, they should form a new line near the stage which the teacher leads. Once all the students have gotten their lunches, the class can leave the cafeteria. This process should takes about 5-8 minutes. (Kinder will eat their lunch at 10:40 in the cafeteria as a brown bag lunch.)

10:40 1st grade
10:50 2nd grade
11:00 3rd grade
11:10 5th grade
11:20 4th grade

If staff not supervising students are available to help during this time, that would be terrific!

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• 4J Water Quality Testing – 4J sent an email to principals regarding water quality testing, stating that 4J is going to test for lead in drinking water in all schools and facilities this summer, in light of water concerns in Flint, MI, and some schools in the Portland area. The district has done spot sampling in the past, including testing a sampling of water sources at every school in 1998. The district’s water source, EWEB, tests its water regularly. 4J takes the health and safety of students and staff seriously. The district follows all state and federal health and safety requirements, which do not include a requirement to monitor for lead. As a proactive precautionary measure, the district has decided to contract with an independent third party to undertake comprehensive, district-wide testing. All sources of water for drinking and food preparation will be tested. If elevated lead levels are found at any site, the district will take steps to address the cause and provide a safe environment for students and staff.

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• FREE Health and Wellness Family Workshop – Salud y Bienestar is a new resource for the Latino community starting this Thursday, presented in Spanish, that will provide tools to help improve the mental health, physical health, and wellness of the participants. Free childcare is provided. See the linked flyer for details and feel free to share this with any families who you think might be interested.

• FREE tickets to NCAA Track & Field Championships – All K‐8th grade youth are invited to attend the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field for FREE! Students can come experience the magic of Hayward Field and watch some of the best student‐athletes compete. One adult chaperone for each youth (K‐8th grade) is also provided FREE entrance. Registration the linked website is required. See the website or the linked flyers (Spanish or English) for details.

• School Garden Project Teacher Professional Development – Linked here is a flyer and a one-sheet about the Learning Collaborative for Classroom Teachers and Garden Educators, sponsored by the School Garden Project, who we work with on a regular basis for the Howard school garden. There is a summer intensive workshop (35 hours) and fall, winter, and spring follow up. PDUs are available through UO College of Education, and a modest stipend will be available as well. See the above links for more details.

• Summer Reading Challenge on Epic! + Free Summer Access for Families – Many of you are already familiar with or use Epic! but they are offering Epic! to families completely FREE until July 31st (no credit card required). I’ll post this on our school Facebook page, but if you’d like to share this with students and/or families, just direct them to the Summer Reading Challenge webpage or simply print this handout to give to students. Kids who read five or more books by 8/31 will earn a Summer Reading Certificate – showing how many books read – to print at home or show off to their teacher at school.

• Ideas for using QR codes in education – Some educators are using QR codes to distribute classroom materials, share students’ work and gather feedback. One educator provides students with a list of QR codes to help them quickly access websites and resources. See this article for more details.

Schedule of Events for the Rest of the Year