Week of March 20, 2017
es impresionante, éste aviso esta escrito en el mismo sentido que viene los carros, cuando debería estar o del otro lado de la calle o las letras volteadas!- Jeanette Chironos, 2011.
Hello Shining Stars,
It is the last week before Spring Break. This can be an especially difficult time for escalating behaviors in the classroom. So let’s remind ourselves of the basics for implementing an effective school wide PBIS system. The most important thing to remember over the next 5 days is: The 4:1 Rule.
Research shows that when people have at least four positive interactions with one another for each negative or corrective interaction, the following occurs:
- Work productivity increases
- Absenteeism decreases
- Job satisfaction increases
- Appropriate behavior increases
- Disruptive and inappropriate behavior decreases
- Relationships between people improve
Research has shown that posting rules alone will have no effect on student misbehavior, but when teachers and staff were instructed to teach school rules, “catch students doing good,” and ignore minor inappropriate behaviors, problem behaviors drop dramatically.
Give out Green Slips next week and sun rays for classroom as much as you can. It will matter for our kids and will boost staff morale. It creates a positive climate when we are recognizing the good we see in the classroom. Each day you are doing a tremendous job supporting our students. Take time to recognize the students for their hard work.
Here are some announcements for the week:
•Office Reminders: Please think twice before sending students to the office for ice packs, and illnesses. We have really seen an uptick in the visits to the office. Often, students are playing a game to avoid work or to get out of class. Of course, sometimes, they are there for legitimate reasons. This takes away from valuable time from Yasmin and MariCarmen to complete accurate attendance, enter referrals, and complete financial work in a timely manner. Thanks for your help on this. It will make for better support for our kids and great customer service to our families.
•Spring Conferences: Yes, we are having Spring Conferences. The date is Wednesday, April 26 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM and Thursday, April 27 from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. There will be no school on April 27 or April 28th. The logistics will be the same as we have used for Fall Conferences. An online sign up program will be coming out soon for teachers to use. Megan Murphy has been building it behind the scenes. She will send out the links this week for you. Remember, in the fall, we set goals for conferences and got to know the parents and their children better. This time around, it is about highlighting growth and improvement for your students. You can revisit goals, or spend time discussing reading, math skills, or behavioral improvements.
•SBAC Testing Message to Parents in your newsletter. Please use the following link to share information about SBAC testing in your newsletter. You can share some or all of the information on the 4j site. It is already translated for you. In 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade you should give the dates for SBAC testing as well as other information about the testing climate you try to create for your students. Karen has created a schedule of the SBAC for your classroom which she will share via email and print form next week.
| DATE SBAC | DATE SBAC | DATE SBAC | DATE SBAC | DATE SBAC | DATE SBAC | DATE OAKS Science |
| 3rd Grade ELA | 4th Grade ELA | 5th Grade ELA | 3rd Grade Math | 4th Grade Math | 5th Grade Math | 5th Grade |
| 4/4-4/14 | 4/4-4/14 | 4/4-4/14 | 4/18-4/28 | 4/18-4/28 | 4/18-4/28 | 5/9-5/12 |
•Moving Letter from Cyd Vandercar, HR Director
This letter was sent on March 17 to all licensed staff, but it is important for all employees to be aware of it.
RE: Administrative directives around moving.
The building construction for your new school will be completed this summer. Due to the make-up days due to inclement weather, I am giving early notice to support a smooth transition during the move from your current building to the new building. You are responsible for understanding and following the information communicated.
Teachers’ last contract day of this school year is June 23rd. It is also the last day you have access to the building. Key cards will no longer grant you access to the building after June 23rd. Teachers will be paid 16 hours extended contract to pack personal and curricular items to be moved to the new location for you. To be clear, your packing must be complete by the end of June 23rd. You will not be eligible for the extended contract stipend if your room is not packed and ready to go by midnight, June 23rd. A team from facilities will begin the asbestos abatement on Saturday as the building cannot be torn down until the removal is completed.
When packing your room, each box needs to be appropriately labeled with the teacher name and new room number. Boxes need to be stacked in your classroom. When workers arrive on Saturday, June 24th, they will pack or discard all unpacked items left in the building. To avoid theft or damage, all personal items of value need to be taken home for the summer. The district is not financially responsible to replace anything lost during this time.
All furniture and equipment will be moved out of the River Road/El Camino dél Rio building beginning June 24th by professional movers. From this point on, there will be no access to the River Road/El Camino dél Rio building by any River Road/El Camino dél Rio staff members.
You will have access to your new room on August 21st. At this time, you will be given another 16 hours of extended contract to unpack once your room is available. Your extended contract should be used between August 21-28, as the regular teacher report day for 2017-18 is August 29. Please understand attendance at pre-service week activities is required and the normal work-day is not the appropriate time to access your extended contract hours.
If you have any questions regarding this directive, please contact your building administrator. Thank you for your cooperation.- Cydney Vandercar
Moving note: Please begin by storing boxes in your classroom. We will place boxes in the library once it is packed and ready for storing your boxes.
Staffing Updates- Not much has changed since our meeting on Wednesday. However, it has been confirmed that Katie Hynes-Petty will be in the position as Learning Center teacher at our school. I am still waiting for information on our learning center classified hours from Cheryl Linder and Leila Schuck. I am assuming we will see those stay the same or slightly increase due to an increase in students on IEPs in the building.
Here is the staffing configuration without names:
| T. | Grade Level | Current Enrollment | FTE | ||
| K | 22 | 1.00 | |||
| K | 22 | 1.00 | |||
| K | 22 | 1.00 | |||
| 1 | 26 | 1.00 | |||
| 1 | 26 | 1.00 | |||
| 1/2 | 21 | 1.00 | |||
| 2 | 26 | 1.00 | |||
| 2 | 26 | 1.00 | |||
| 3 | 29 | 1.00 | |||
| 3 | 28 | 1.00 | |||
| 3/4 | 24 | 1.00 | |||
| 4 | 29 | 1.00 | |||
| 5 | 26 | 1.00 | |||
| 5 | 26 | 1.00 | |||
| Facilitating | X | 0.50 | |||
| Total St. 349 | |||||
| Classroom Subtotal———-> | 14.5 Sub total | ||||
| ELD .5 | 0.50 | ||||
| ESC | .4/.1 | ||||
| Title 1 Coor. | 1.00 | ||||
| Counselor | 1.00 | ||||
| ELD 1.0 | 1.00 | ||||
| Total Certified: | 18.5 FTE | ||||
•April 3rd PD Day Info – Two items regarding the April 3rd Math PD Day:
- Click here for detailed instructions from Maddy Ahearn on Math PD.
- In addition: EAs Who Teach/Support Math to PD – All EAs who teach and/or support math instruction (SPED, Title, Gen Ed) should attend either the K-2 (Holt) or 3-5 (Howard) math training this day to become familiar with LearnZillion. See the above linked flyer for details. An EA Extravaganza was originally planned for this day, but I haven’t heard anything regarding it, so I don’t know if it is happening or not. It was planned before all of the snow days and originally was going to be science PD. If no emails come from downtown this week, my guess is that the EA Extravaganza is not happening.
• Supporting Undocumented Students Important Updates from the District and More – Please review the following linked information that was shared at the meeting. Linked here is the 4J School Board Resolution, which describes the school district’s beliefs and actions regarding this topic, a FAQ for Staff on Supporting Undocumented Students, and the PowerPoint (PDF) from the meeting. Also, here is a guide for Responding to Hate and Bias in Schools and also a fact sheet on Limitations on DHS Immigration Enforcement Actions at Sensitive Locations (i.e. schools, hospitals, churches, etc.). I also recently received a document Eugene Area Immigration Attorney Referral Sheet and a flyer for a new community group, VITALS (Valley Immigration Training, Advocacy & Legal Services). There will be some actions in the coming weeks to support many of our families. April 3 is a PD day in the afternoon which we are beginning to plan for some parents and supporters. Alicia and I are currently planning a training for interested parents and staff to support families that need support preparing documents. We will email staff with specific information this week. North Eugene HS and other regional schools are planning and coordinating together so we can maximize the best support for our families.
• Draft PBIS Forms – I shared in prior announcements that a districtwide committee led by Brianna Stiller is working creating common referral forms (Level IIs and IIIs) across the district and they have also drafted some useful guidelines for what constitutes minor and major behavior referral. This is still in draft from, so it’s not the final word on this topic, but I do like how they separated out behaviors and I thought it was worth sharing. For example, minor defiance/non-compliance is described as “student engages in brief or low-intensity failure to respond to adult request” versus major defiance/non-compliance, described as “Student refused to follow directions after repeated reasonalbe requests AND talks back or engages in behaviors that escalate the situation. Behaviors could include yelling, throwing things, leaving the room without permission, and/or threating to or harming objects or people.”
Teaching and Learning with Emergent Bilinguals:
Listen…do you want to know a secret?
Wednesday, March 08, 2017
As you learned from my previous article, I’m spending almost a year as an English Language Fellow in Moscow, Russia, where, in late December 2016, I had the great fortune to teach three classes to 10th- and 11th-level students at a distinguished English language school for students from primary through high school.
Calendar of Events- Looking Ahead
March 20 (M)
8:30, Attendance Support Meeting ( Joel’s office)
2:00 PM, Title 1 Assembly- Gymnasium (1:45 be prepared to leave classroom)
4:00-5:30, Joel to all admin meeting
March 21 (Tu)
8:15-11:15, Joel at Principal’s meeting
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting with a focus on Moving and Science Instruction
March 22 (W)
9:00- 11:00, Joel in construction meeting
1:45-2:45, PLC Time, Please arrive on time to meet with your team. Focus: Assessment- Math
March 23 (Th)
11:30-4:00, Joel at Equity, Instruction & Partnerships Manager Interviews
8:30-9:30, Cafecito with Parents, Pre-k Headstart focus with Headstart of Lane County
2:45-3:45, Mod Squad
March 24 (F)
Regular day before Spring Break- PLT will be rescheduled.
March 27-31– Spring Break!
April 3 (M) No School, PD Day
8:00-12:00, District Math PD ( @ Howard-3-5 and @ Holt -K-2)
Click here for detailed instructions from Maddy Ahern on Math PD.
All Classified Educational Assistants and Special Education Licensed Staff expected to attend.
April 4 (T)
Students Return
8:15-11:30, Joel at Principal’s Meeting
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting
3:45-4:45, PLT Meeting
April 5 (W)
9:00-11:00, Joel at Construction Meeting
1:45-2:45, PLC Meetings Focus on Math Planning and Assessment
1:45-2:45, April PBIS Meeting
4:00-5:00, Joel at North Region Regional Meeting (Yg/Corridor)
April 6 (Th)
10:30, Fire Drill
April 7 (F)
8:15-10:15, Joel at Leadership Attendance Support Meeting
10:30-11:00, Joel in attendance follow up meeting.
6:30-8:30, Movie Night
April 10 (M)
3:30-4:30 PM, Joel at the Immersion Task Force
April 11 (Tu)
5:00-6:00 PM, Site Council
6:00-7:00 PM, Parent Group Meeting
April 12 (W)
1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Time- Technology Focus- Primary Intermediate- Math Assessment
April 13 (Th)
2:45-3:45, Mod Squad
April 14 (F)
Regular Day
April 17 (M)
Regular Day
April 18 (Tu)
8:15-11:15, Joel at Principal’s Meeting
2:45-4:50, Two hour staff meeting, focus- Audrey and teaching for biliteracy.
April 19 (W)
9:00-11:00, Joel at Construction Meeting.
1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Time- Technology Focus- Primary Intermediate- Math Assessment
2:45-3:45, Teacher Planning Time
April 20 (Th)
8:30-9:30, Cafecito con el Director (FRC)
2:45-3:45, Equity Meeting
April 21 (F)
2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting
2:45-3:45, Teacher Prep Time
April 21 (F)
8:30-9:30- Cafecito con el Director
April 24 (M)
Regular Day
April 25 (Tu)
Regular Day
April 26 (W)
School In-session- There is school on this conference day until 1:40.
There will be planning time for all teachers on this day. No PLC time, just prep for conferences.
4:00 PM – 8:00 PM Parent Conferences
April 27 (Th)
No School- Parent Conferences from 8:00 AM-8:00 PM
April 28 (F) No School- Compensation Day for Teachers-
Regular Work day for Classified Staff
May 1 (M) – Library Closes at old El Camino building. No library use after this date. Packing up books first. Then, used for moving storage. No more staff meetings here.
May 6 (Sa) SATURDAY- Fiesta Community Party 12:00-3:00
June 22 (Th)
The Last Day of School (Dismissal 11:40)
June 23(F)
Last work day for teachers. All employees must be out of the building before 12:00 AM-(Midnight).
June 24 (Sa)
Salvage and Asbestos Abatement begins in the old building. No teachers or classified staff may be present.
That is all for the week. 5 days until Spring Break!
Joel
No me digan ustedes en dónde están mis ojos,
pregunten hacia dónde va mi corazón.
Jaime Sabines
Uncategorized | Comment (0)Week of March 13, 2017
Hello Shining Stars,
I want to take a minute to thank all of the teachers who opened your rooms to the other immersion schools to come and see how we teach science. Feedback from the team was very positive. It was great to hear from other educators how well we are doing to help students stay engaged and learn in a relevant, engaging environment. I can share some of the feedback from the science observations in our last March meeting. In addition, I want to share how good I feel to open our classrooms up for others to see. Time and again, I get feedback about how our staff cares so much about students and that you all deliver high quality instruction. Know that your skills and expertise have not gone unnoticed across the district.
• Spirit Day Wednesday the 15th – Wear your Sports Jersey or clothes. This Wednesday we have an upcoming spirit day. Remind your students that Wednesday is a day you can wear a sports shirt, hat, go, or anything related to a sport. It is a fin way to celebrate
• Taking It Up Seminar Returns – What is Taking It Up? It’s a 2-day seminar (May 1st and 2nd) focused on supporting educators deepen their understanding of institutionalized racism and bring to light the barriers that continue to exist for many of our students, fellow colleagues, and community members. See the linked email for additional details, but downtown is paying registration fees and for subs for two staff members (classified and/or licensed) to attend, though we may be able to send additional staff. The objectives of this seminar are to:
• Develop a deeper personal awareness about how “who you are impacts” your work in schools and with students.
• Deepen your understanding of Oregon’s history and context around race, racism and racial achievement disparities.
• Become more aware of your own attitudes, values and beliefs about race.
• Develop a stronger awareness of racism and its impact on yourself and others.
• Learn skills for talking to other staff, parents, and students about race and addressing issues you encounter.
If you’d like to attend, please let me know by the end of the week. If you have questions about the seminar, we have quite a few El Camino del Rio staff who’ve attended and can share the experiences.
• Social Emotional Curriculum Inventory (Due Wednesday) – Brooke Wagner and the Instruction Department is gathering an inventory list of curriculum across the district for social emotional learning. Teachers, email me by Wednesday what social emotional curriculum materials you have and also email me if you have nothing. Examples would be Caring School Community, Second Step, Stop/Walk/Talk, Zones of Regulation, Steps to Respect, Bucket Filling, Tribes, or any similar programs. Also, downtown is asking if there’s any specific curriculum you would like to have that you do not currently have.
• Caring School Community Materials – Are you missing any CSC materials? Let me know if you need of a K-2 or a 3-5 kit. Also, if you can’t a copy, I still have some Closing Circles: 50 Activities for Ending the Day in a Positive Way to help with closing meeting ideas if anyone would like a free copy of this handy little guide.
•Nursing Services will stay at El Camino del Río next year- We will be keeping Maxine and Ingrid on site! Hooray. Cheryl Linder asked me to keep nursing services at our school. We will keep the nursing department at our site and we will continue to be a training space for district staff. In addition, families who have had a long standing relationship with Maxine will not have to travel to North Eugene HS to get the services they have gotten accustomed too. This is a huge win for us and our students. Nursing services will be located close to the family resources center creating a community hub right at the center of our school.
•Head Start at El Camino del Río next year! – We will be having a Head Start Program at El Camino del Rio next year. I will be meeting with Executive Director Charleen Strauch about early learning planning in the building on Monday. This decision was made to support our youngest bilingual students. We will be designing a dual language program for incoming students. This is not a moving existing program, but a new classroom designed to promote Spanish and English literacy. This is very exciting news indeed.
• 2017-2018 Staffing Updates – We do have information on ESC. This year, Dr. Balderas decided to cut ESC time to our building. We were given a .4 ESC allocation instead of .5. Thankfully, we can supplement this with time from the little bit of Priority Set Aside money we have left. This means we can still have a .5 ESC position. Unfortunately, classified staffing is not in as good shape. We will have to cut about 4 hours of time from classified Title 1 time due to a 35,000 cut from our title budget. The ELD staffing possibility is still up in the air. Jeff Johnson is waiting to hear from another principal. I should have an answer to this on Monday. The licensed classroom plan survey is out and I heard from most staff last week at PLT. We will have a standup meeting on Wednesday to inform all staff on my decisions to submit to HR. I will meet with teachers and classified staff on Wednesday and Thursday to inform them of shifts in teaching assignments or potential cuts in hours.
• ACE Awards Nominations – In case you missed the Ace Awards nominations email, they are now accepting nominations for this school year. If you’d like to nominate any of your colleagues, either licensed, classified, or volunteers, follow this link to the Ace Awards website. Nominations are due the day before spring break, Friday, March 24th. I have no doubt that several of you deserve this award. Let me know if you need help nominating one of your colleagues.
• Student Care Team Referrals – The March Student Care Team is meeting in next week, which means referrals are due to me by this Friday. Referrals can be for families seeking help for food assistance, incarcerated parents, counseling/mental health needs, parenting resources, transportation assistance, clothing needs, financial assistance, or most any other situation where a family is looking for help but does not know where to turn. Try to get a parent/guardian signature on the release form (editable PDF and non-editable PDF), but know that you can also refer “hypothetical” situations.
• OEA Students in the Lead: Culturally Responsive Teaching – March 18 (registration deadline March 13) – Principals were also asked to share that on Saturday, March 18, the 7th Annual OEA Symposium, “Students in the Lead: Culturally Responsive Teaching” will be held at OSU. This year, they welcome educator and author Zaretta Hammond for a day of provocative dialogue, discussion, and learning. The event takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 18 at the CH2M Hill Alumni Center on the Oregon State University Campus. See the linked flyer for additional information. Visit their website to register and if you have questions about registration, contact Penny Hildreth at penny.hildreth@oregoned.org or (503) 495-2135.
•First Aid CPR Training: I sent an email earlier on Friday sharing some of the opportunities to get trained. I highly encourage our cooking staff and office staff to get trained but it is so important for all of us to get trained. Look for the email in your inboxes.
•School Garden Project training on outdoor classroom management: Just another reminder that The School Garden Project will be hosting an Outdoor Classroom Management session on Tuesday, March 14th from 4-6pm.
Teaching and Learning with Emergent Bilinguals:
•Tool Aims to Help Schools Better Identify English-Language Learners,
from: Education Week
A team of researchers has developed a new tool to help educators evaluate the effectiveness of the surveys that schools use to identify English language learners. The Regional Educational Laboratory’s English Language Learners Alliance has created the Home Language Survey Data Quality Self-Assessment to aid state education departments and school districts improve the quality of data collected through home-language surveys — questionnaires used to identify students eligible for special help in learning English — and learn more about how the surveys are administered. Ready the whole article here.
Calendar of Events
March 12 (Su)
Daylight Savings Time – Spring Forward (Ugh)
March 13 (M)
12:00-12:30, Eugene Emeralds Assembly- In the Gym (Non-PE/ Music Day) We will call younger grades first.
March 14 (Tu)
10:00- 10:30, Joel in Observation
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting- Focus 2017-2018 Calendar, End of the year events for 17′, Final Staffing Decision Shared with parents and site council.
6:00-7:00, Parent Group Meeting- Focus: Fiesta
March 15 (W)
Staffing spreadsheets are due to Human Resources
9:00-11:00- Joel at construction meeting.
1:45-2:45, PLC Time, Please arrive on time to meet with your team. Focus: Assessment- Math
2:00 PM, Stand up meeting to Announce Staffing Decision- (Library)
5:30-6:30, Kinder Orientation at El Camino del Rio (Teachers and counselor attend)
March 16 (Th)
2:00-2:40, Title 1 Survey Assembly in cafeteria.
3:00-4:00, Equity Team
March 17 (F)
St. Patrick’s Day- No pinching!
March 18 (SA)
9:00-11:00, OBOB Regional Competition (NEHS)
March 20 (M)
4:00-5:30, Joel to all admin meeting
March 21 (Tu)
8:15-11:15, Joel at Principal’s meeting
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting with a focus on Moving and Science Instruction
March 22 (W)
9:00- 11:00, Joel in construction meeting
1:45-2:45, PLC Time, Please arrive on time to meet with your team. Focus: Assessment- Math
March 23 (Th)
Joel potentially out all day for Equity, Instruction & Partnerships Manager Interviews
Cafecito with Parents- Needs to be rescheduled if there are interviews.
2:45-3:45, Mod Squad
March 24 (F)
Regular day before Spring Break- PLT will be rescheduled.
March 27-31– Spring Break!
April 3 (M) No School, PD Day
8:00-12:00, District Math PD ( @ Howard)
April 4 (T)
8:15-11:30, Joel at Principal’s Meeting
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting
3:45-4:45, PLT Meeting
April 5 (W)
9:00-11:00, Joel at Construction Meeting
1:45-2:45, PLC Meetings Focus on Math Planning and Assessment
1:45-2:45, April PBIS Meeting
4:00-5:00, Joel at North Region Regional Meeting
April 6 (Th)
10:30, Fire Drill
April 7 (F)
8:15-10:15, Joel at Leadership Attendance Support Meeting
10:30-11:00, Joel in attendance follow up meeting.
6:30-8:30, Movie Night
April 10 (M)
3:30-4:30 PM, Joel at the Immersion Task Force
April 11 (Tu)
5:00-6:00 PM, Site Council
6:00-7:00 PM, Parent Group Meeting
April 12 (W)
1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Time- Technology Focus- Primary Intermediate- Math Assessment
April 13 (Th)
2:45-3:45, Mod Squad
April 14 (F)
Regular Day
April 26 and April 27– Parent Conferences
April 28 (F) No School- Compensation Day
May 1 (M) – Library Closes at old El Camino building. No library use after this date. Packing up books first. Then, used for moving storage. No more staff meetings here.
May 6 (Sa) SATURDAY- Fiesta Community Party 12:00-3:00
June 22 (Th)
The Last Day of School (Dismissal 11:40)
June 23(F)
Last work day for teachers. All employees must be out of the building before 12:00 AM-(Midnight).
June 24 (Sa)
Salvage and Asbestos Abatement begins in the old building. No teachers or classified staff may be present.
That is all for the week. Thanks for your ongoing dedication to our students.
Joel
Week of March 6, 2017
Hello Shining Stars,
This week is Classified Employee Appreciation Week, celebrated each year to honor our classified employees. If you never realized it, there are far more classified staff in our building than any other employee group, which means our school could not function without these tremendous employees! Thank you for your dedication and tireless work here at El Camino del Río! We have an incredibly skilled and caring classified staff. You really are a talented group. Look for some goodies in your mailboxes this week as a small thank-you. This Friday, our certified staff will be hosting a special potluck in your honor so look forward to some yummy treats.
Our Superstar Classified Staff: 
Margarita Ascencio-Woodke
Maritza Chavez
Socorro Dominquez
Lilliana Forsman
Lupe Hernandez Ceja
Michelle Hoffman
Peggy Lima
B Loftis
Yasmin Marquez
Maria del Carmen McFadden
Yesica Meza
Dan O’Donnell
Heliane Pinto
Ingrid Quirke
Rita Reece
Antonio Salgado Nolasco
Michelle Williams
Craig Young
Peggy Vega
Pilar Zentz
Here are some items for the week:
• LEL Science Observations in our building this Wednesday! – Here is a draft of the observation schedule for LEL this upcoming Wednesday. Please take a look. I will adjust it to help teachers make it fit in your schedule. As I have stated before, the district expects us to change our schedule for one day to show science instruction in the morning. Please take a close look at the schedule to let me know if this will not work for your classroom. I will be happy to make adjustments.
•Professional Development on Tuesday, March 7 3:00-5:00 with Audrey and Edward– We will be focused on Chapters 8, 9, and 10 from Teaching for Biliteracy. The focus is deeply understanding “the Bridge.” Please preview the text before coming. Also, bring some materials from an upcoming unit you might want to experiment with for a biliteracy Bridge work.
• 2017-2018 Staffing Updates – Still no word on our ESC, or Classified SPED staffing, which are kind of holding up finalizing our staffing plan for next school year. The ELD staffing possibility is also up in the air depending on how Jeffry Johnson decides to staff ELD across the district. I may have some flexibility to allocate ELD in the building IF he allows it. The licensed classroom plan survey is out and I heard from most staff last week at PLT. However, the all the staffing plans are up in the air until we get the rest of our allocations from downtown
• District Safety Drill Trainings – At last week’s All Admin Meeting, principals were given information about a rollout plan for safety drill trainings for students. Principals will be trained and will then train teachers on how to teach evacuation and lockdown drills to students, incorporating ALICE tenants, although the student training will be nothing like what staff went through (it’ll be more like a tabletop discussion for students). I’ll have more details later, but in April there will be district communication going home with families about the safety drills. In May, teachers will do tabletop discussion exercises on these safety drills with students (not actually practicing the drills).
On a related note, principals also received a Care Team supply package (this is the district team who responds with on-site counselors if there is a tragedy, not North Region Student Care Team). The package is stored in the counseling office, though hopefully we’ll never need to use it.
• Buses and Student Dismissal – Please remember to be there for your colleagues in a timely manner to help dismiss students from the GYM. It is really important that we support each other as a team in this area. It is safer for kids and prevents students from making poor choices while waiting for the bus.
• 10-Day Notification for Bus Requests – If teachers need to request a bus for field trips, the Transportation Department requires at least 10 business days prior to the field trip in order to schedule a bus. This means you should plan ahead. Please get the field trip requests in far ahead of time to MariCarmen as we approach Spring Field Trip season.
• SBAC Practice Test Links – Here is a link is a link to the New OAKS SBAC Practice Test. Add it to your bookmarks and I will ask Peggy to add it to the learning links next week.
• Care Team Resources – Here are a few new resources we learned about at the February Student Care Team Meeting if you know of any families who can use these:
Family Preparedness Plan for Undocumented Families – Linked here is a Family Preparedness Plan for Undocumented Families created by the Oregon Law Center and LatinoNetwork. I attend this training on Friday with Alicia and Yasmin. We will have much more information for you on this soon.
SNAP Training & Employment Partnership (STEP) – STEP is for people receiving SNAP (food stamps) who need assistance with employment and/or training. DHS has contracted partners who can help with supports such as work related transportation, interview clothing, career advancement, training, budgeting, etc. The individual can contact any of the partners listed on the flyer. The back shows which partners may be able to help with what supports.
Collaborative Parenting Series – The Collaborative Parenting Series is a weekly group for parents and caregivers of children with challenging behaviors and/or mental health concerns.
• ACE Awards Nominations – In case you missed the Ace Awards nominations email, they are now accepting nominations for this school year. If you’d like to nominate any of your colleagues, either licensed, classified, or volunteers, follow this link to the Ace Awards website. Nominations are due the day before spring break, Friday, March 24th. I have no doubt that several of you deserve this award. Let me know if you need help nominating one of your colleagues.
Teaching and Learning with Emergent Bilinguals:
• 6 tips for better communication with parents – Empathy can help enrich communication with parents, educator Terri Eichholz writes in this blog post. She shares communication lessons for new teachers based on her 26 years of experience in the classroom, including being proactive, don’t take it personally, asking parents for advice, getting involved in the community, choosing your battles, and admitting when you’re wrong.
• Teaching For Biliteracy Blog –Shifting Toward a Multilingual View of Biliteracy-Building Background Knowledge and Oracy: Why, When, and How? Part 1 of 2 by Melody Wharton
The entry explores the idea of oracy and how important it is to teaching reading and language skills.- Take a look!
Calendar of Events
March 6 (M)
9:15-10:30, Priority Schools Tour with Mike Garling
Classified Employees Appreciation Week
3:00, TAG Support Meeting
March 7 (Tu)
8:30, Joel in Informal Observation
10:30, Fire Drill
3:00-5:00, 2 hour Staff Meeting with Edward Olivos and Audrey Lucero on Biliteracy, + discussion on Staffing Grade Level Configuration.
March 8 (W)–
School Choice Lottery Results Emailed to Parents
Science LEL B Visit
1:45-2:45, PLC Time, Please arrive on time to meet with your team. Focus: Assessment- Math/ Planning
March 9 (Th)
Joel at English Learners Alliance Conference- Tom Maloney covers.
3:00-3:45, Mod Squad Meeting
March 10 (F)
Friday Potluck for Classified Staff 11:00-1:00 PM
Joel at English Learners Alliance Conference- Tom Maloney covers.
Joel and Jennifer in attendance Support Meetings
March 12 (SU)
Daylight Savings Time – Spring Forward
March 13 (M)
12:00-12:30, Eugene Emeralds Assembly- In the Gym (Non-PE/ Music Day)
March 14 (Tu)
10:00- 10:30, Joel in Informal Observation
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting- Focus 2017-2018 Calendar, End of the year events for 17′, Final Staffing Decision Shared with parents and site council.
6:00-7:00, Parent Group Meeting- Focus: Fiesta
March 15 (W)
Staffing spreadsheets are due to Human Resources
9:00-11:00- Joel at construction meeting.
1:45-2:45, PLC Time, Please arrive on time to meet with your team. Focus: Assessment- Math
5:30-6:30, Kinder Orientation at El Camino del Rio
March 16 (Th)
2:00-2:40, Title 1 Survey Assembly in cafeteria.
3:00-4:00, Equity Team
March 17 (F)
St. Patrick’s Day- No pinching!
March 18 (SA)
9:00-11:00, OBOB Regional Competition (NEHS)
March 20 (M)
4:00-5:30, Joel to all admin meeting
March 21 (Tu)
8:15-11:15, Joel at Principal’s meeting
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting with a focus on Moving and Science Instruction
March 22 (W)
9:00- 11:00, Joel in construction meeting
1:45-2:45, PLC Time, Please arrive on time to meet with your team. Focus: Assessment- Math
March 23 (Th)
Joel potentially out all day for Equity, Instruction & Partnerships Manager Interviews
Cafecito with Parents- Needs to be rescheduled if there are interviews.
2:45-3:45, Mod Squad
March 24 (F)
Regular day before Spring Break- PLT will be rescheduled.
March 27-31– Spring Break
April 3 (M) No School, PD Day
April 4 (T)
8:15-11:30, Joel at Principal’s Meeting
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting
3:45-4:45, PLT Meeting
April 5 (W)
9:00-11:00, Joel at Construction Meeting
1:45-2:45, PLC Meetings Focus on Math Planning and Assessment
1:45-2:45, April PBIS Meeting
4:00-5:00, Joel at North Region Regional Meeting
April 6 (Th)
10:30, Fire Drill
April 7 (F)
8:15-10:15, Joel at LeadershipAttendance Support Meeting
10:30-11:00, Joel in attendance follow up meeting.
6:30-8:30, Movie Night
May 6 (Sa) SATURDAY- Fiesta Community Party 12:00-3:00
And thank you everyone who came out to help at Literacy Night! We had an amazing turnout of families and I think the night was a huge success! Thank you, everyone!
Joel
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