Week of March 20, 2017


March 18th, 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:

  1. Click here for detailed instructions from Maddy Ahearn on Math PD.
  2. 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?

by Debra Josephson Abrams , 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

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