Diario Camino del Río

Week of September 19

 

Hello Shining Stars,

This is my first blog entry of the year.  For those new to the school, this is the place where I post information pertinent to our school and some school activities that all should be aware of.  I hope that most people will be able to read it by Tuesday afternoon.  I try to post on Sunday night if I am not too busy with my kids and family.

 

•Staff Meeting on Tuesday-  Please bring your Teaching For Biliteracy Book to the staff meeting on Tuesday. Also, bring your creative mind.  Jay Breslow will be starting a short presentation for us on creativity that many of you will enjoy.

• Updated Master Schedule – Staff directly effetely by changes already know about these, but linked here is an updated master schedule (Google Doc). It’s mainly the PE/Music schedule that had some changes and also a few typo fixes in other parts. Keep this handy for scheduling your day.

• Student Care Team Referrals – The First Student Care Team meeting is Wednesday next week at Howard, so I did want to extend the offer to staff if you have any student situations you would like brought to the team. This can be a chance for us to discuss with DHS staff on a variety of situations including but not limited to:

• Death of a parent
• Incarcerated parent -­ concerns about recent incarceration or pending release
• Homeless or impending homelessness
• Unknown if open child welfare case but has concerns that were called in
• Domestic Violence
• Extreme behavior issues – ­additional supports needed outside of school
• Specific resource needed but unknown where to refer
• Medical concerns about the child or other family member

DHS staff have been great about connecting families in difficult situations with various community resources, so please let me know if you have any students/families you’d like referred to the team.

• Staffing Updates – We had interviews on Friday for two positions,  ELL EA and bilingual Kinder EA. We moved forward on some recommenda

tions to hire after reference checks.  I hope to have these positions filled next week or soon after. Thank you to the hiring team for the great day evaluating our candidates. Also, we are welcoming Jennifer Casco (Jen) to our team. Jennifer is our new BEST Coordinator. She comes with much experience in City of Eugene Programs and is very excited to communicate with our BEST families in Spanish and English.  Do you want to be the after school teacher to support BEST? We are actively looking for a BEST After School teacher.  I would prefer to give it to someone in the building who knows our students and speaks Spanish.  Contact me if you want to take it on and could use the extra money!

•Newsletter Expectation Reminder- If you and your team have not started a classroom newsletter arrangement, please spend some time deciding this week.  It is very important that our families get consistent communication from the whole school.  The set day for distributing newsletters, homework folders, etc. is Monday.  If you are off a day, this effects families in other grades.  Please distribute your newsletter consistently and at the same time as your colleagues.  Also,  the 3,4,5 folks might want to do one single newsletter since we have blends.  This will cut back on the work and you can rotate translation responsibilities.  Remember, your newsletter should not be more than a half page in English and Spanish so families can read it, be informed, and keep up with the school events.  The office is also providing a weekly newsletter, so if you want me to advertise a field trip of something else school wide, I can do that for you. Lastly,  email me your newsletter!  I like to know what is going on in your class.  I can stop by to see the cool things your students are learning if I can plan ahead

•Staff Lounge and Snack Support for this week!

Team MAGENTA: Megan (team leader), Olivia, Lupe, Pilar, Craig, Alicia

•PLT this Friday- We are meeting for a short period on Friday in PLT to deal with any lingering issues.  If you have anything you want to pass on to our team, plea
se contact your rep to share concerns or ideas for possible change.

•Upcoming Assembly with Gabino Palomares – September 30!

The Eugene Community is excited to welcome Mexican musician/songwriter Gabino Palomares to our Community on Friday, September 30th 2016. He will be performing live in Eugene in the Evening of September 30th and also at El Camino del Río during the school day. His music has inspired, advocated and expressed the unheard stories of the people of Mexico and Latin America. With a tone of empowerment and justice, his lyrics demonstrate that a new world is possible. He has written many songs and has travelled throughout Latin America and Europe.
Born in San Luis Potosi Mexico in May 26, 1950, Gabino Palomares originally planned to be a chemical engineer, studying at the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi. It wasn’t until the civil rights protests erupted in the 1970’s that Gabino later realized his purpose was to write the untold stories of “el pueblo” as express them in song. He saw many injustices that needed to be shared, needed to be heard and was compelled to transit those valuable messages to all who would care to listen, through the universal method of music. May 6th 1972 marks the day he decided to dedicate his life to the cause of poor.
Gabino Palomares sings from the heart, from the soul of a man hurts to see his country and his people in so much strife inflicted with so much pain. With over 40 years of music history behind him, we welcome his music and stories to our community
We are very appreciative of our collaborating organizations and leaders in putting on such a powerful, impacting event for our community to enjoy. Thank you to Ramon Ramirez for this tremendous opportunity for our students.

Here are some reminders about assembly expectations:

• U.S TaeKwonDo Demo Team Assembly? – Are any classrooms interested in having an assembly by a the a local TaeKwonDo Demo Team? Founded in 1987, their traditional martial arts demonstration team showcases some of the best talent at their school. Their performances strive to inspire and motivate their audiences, bringing positive thinking, positive talking, and positive action school assemblies. See their website for videos and more info. Teachers, let me know if you’d be interested in this assembly and I can arrange for it to happen later this year.

• Free After-School Reading and Math Intervention Program – This was offered last year and a few Howard students got hooked up with it. The CTL Reading Clinic at the University of Oregon has an opportunity for K-2 students to receive free after school reading and/or math intervention services at the UO. Students who are performing below benchmark are encouraged to apply. Their reading services focus on alphabetic principle/phonics and fluency instruction, so the program will be most beneficial for students performing below benchmark in grades K-2. See the linked email and registration packet for further details. It’s first come, first serve so share this with any families who you think would benefit from this. CTL want to have all intakes completed before October.

• Eugene Math Circle Student Opportunity – The Eugene Math Circle at the University of Oregon will continue its weekly sessions for the elementary, middle and high school students in 2016-17. Students are invited who enjoy math, like solving challenging problems and want to learn exciting topics that are normally outside the school curriculum. The Math Circle teachers are members of the UO Mathematics Department. The program will begin in the end of September and will run through the end of May. See the linked flyer and/or their website for further details.

• Principal Visits to Classrooms – If you would like to set up a time for me to come read to your class, let me know a good 10-15 minute block for me to come in this week or next. I’ll read a favorite story to your class and chat with the kids a bit to introduce myself. Send me an email or catch me in the hall. Thank you!

• District Mandatory Policy Review for all Staff – If you have not had a chance to go over this year’s District Back-to-School Memo (and PDF), which covers a variety of district rules, policies and guidelines, it is a required activity for all staff. I could not spot anything that looked different from last year. Section 1 is the portion that all staff are required to review. I briefly mentioned this in our Nuts and Bolts meeting to review.  I leave it up to you to review it on your own. All staff must review the memo and sign & return the check list acknowledgment form to the office no later than Friday, September 29th.  any of you have already! Thank you. Hard copies of the acknowledgement form were placed in mailboxes last week and this year principals are expected to give HR copies of all signed forms, so be sure make time to review these polices before the end of the month (or before I have to start haranguing individuals next week).

• Eugene Ballet Educational Performance – For grades 1-5, the Eugene Ballet Company is presenting a 50-minute educational performance featuring an interactive demonstration of all the elements that go into performing a professional ballet, followed by a complete ballet performance of Pulcinella (pull-chin-ella). There is a $5 per student fee (thought scholarships are available, which with 100% of our students receiving free/reduced meals we should certainly quality for). Buses are also not provided, but if you’re feeling adventurous, I believe LTD still offers free class field trips or if you want to arrange for parent drivers. See the linked flyer and registration information if you’d like further information.

 

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