Diario Camino del Río

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.

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• “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