Week of May 1, 2017


April 30th, 2017

Go hear Matt de La Peña this week at UO. He will be speaking at College of Education. Edward Olivos has made many of the arrangements to have this great author come to Eugene. Details on the poster below.

 

Dear Shining Stars,

Spring Conferences were a huge success.  I am so proud of our staff and your steadfastness to provide families with quality feedback about each child’s progress. This was a great time for our TAG Coordinator and Special Education Case Manager to catch up with families too. It was so encouraging to hear from staff about the quality feedback parents got from teachers. A special thanks goes  to our timekeeper DJ  David Adee who kept everyone on track every 20 minutes.  In addition, it was so nice to have Parent Group provide us with a meal each day for dinner.  Lastly, to Megan Murphy for helping us use the online appointment system.  That made things so smooth this spring.  

I hope everyone got a good rest over the weekend. I was also encouraged to see so many teachers pack over the time when parents did not have appointments.  This is really nice to see.  I do encourage you to jump in and get many boxes packed in the next week.  Also, keep considering what to get rid of.   Space is limited in the new building. 

Here are some items of the week:

• Safety Training Follow-Up – A quick reminder to staff that on Thursday, May 4th, classroom teachers are to teach students the ALICE classroom training using the ALICE Elementary PPT Presentation and book I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared. It should be taught at 12:00 PM across the whole school. We will then hold a Lockdown: Evacuation Drill the next day on Thursday, May 5th at 12:00. 

•Classified & Licensed End-of-Year Evaluation Tasks Due this Month – As the end of the year approaches we do need to wrap up required evaluation cycle tasks by the end of this month. I’ll be trying to finish up my observations over the next couple weeks. Licensed staff and classified staff need to complete the following:

• Licensed Staff Contract Year-1 and Probationary/Temporary: You need to complete the End-of-Cycle Goals Reflection form in TalentEd and I will need to complete your observations, which I’m unfortunately behind on this year. After those are completed, we will meet and then I will complete the Supervisor Goal Rating form and the Summative Evaluation form.

• Licensed Staff Contract Year-2: You need to complete the End-of-Cycle Goals Reflection form in TalentEd. After you’ve completed the reflection form we will meet and then I will complete the Supervisor Goal Rating form.

• Classified Staff: You need to complete the Classified Employee Self-Assessment assessment form (PDF or DOC) and give me a copy (email or hardcopy) and we need to meet briefly before the end of the month, where I will complete a Classified Employee Evaluation form.

• 2017-2018 School Leadership Positions – We will decide leadership positions for next year at the last May Staff meeting. All positions will be considered vacant and anyone can sign up for one, Science. The current list of leadership/rep positions are; IPBS, PBIS, PLT, Technology, Literacy, Math, Science, Site Council, Social Committee, and Equity, Safety/ Crisis.  For Site Council, I’m also looking to add a new teacher, classified member, and two more parents.

• Field Trips and Nurse Notification – We have entered the season of field trips and if you have students with health concerns, please give Nurse Ann as early of notice as possible of any questions, concerns, or coverage concerns you might have. Also remember that Ann covers many schools so anytime she need to train staff on protocols, create safety plans, communicate with families, she needs ample lead-up time, or if she needs to join a trip, she must seek back up support for her other schools.

• Purchase Orders Deadline, May 31 – If anyone needs to create any more purchase orders for this school year, the last day MariCarmen can create one is Wednesday, May 31st.

• Field Day – Working with Ronny, we’ve set our Field Day date for Thursday, June 15th, 9:00-11:00. We’ll plan to run Field Day the same as in the past. Ronny has been gathering some fun new ideas though so it should be fun. We will hold field day in the playground area and oak tree field one more time in the old building. Other available staff should also come out to help and/or join in on the fun.  Ronny ill create a sign up sheet for you to participate soon. 

• Family Resources – Here are a few resources you can feel free to share with families:

• NAACP Free Tutoring, Back-to-School/Success in SchoolBTS/SIS is a K-12 tutoring and academic support program. It involves regularly scheduled individual and group tutoring with college volunteers and local professionals. This builds positive identity reinforcement through community interactions with peers in the African American community.

• Self Sufficiency Program Resources – The Self Sufficiency Program is our primary DHS contact for the Student Care Team and linked here is a list of Self Sufficiency Resources they can offer families, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), JOBS Program and Support Services, Needy and Non-Needy Caretaker Relative Grant (NNCR), TANF Grant for parents on Social Security (SSI), Domestic Violence Assistance, Employment Related Day Care (ERDC), Family Support and Connections, Vocational Rehabilitation, Child Welfare, Senior & People with Disabilities, and the Oregon Health Plan (OHP).

• Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) – Grandparents or relatives raising a child under 18 and are at least 55 years of age, may be eligible for support (school supplies, health supplies, paying for camps, etc.) through the Family Caregiver Respite Program. See the linked flyer for details.

• Museums for All – The Science Factory here in town has joined more than 100 museums in ensuring that every child and family has access to high-quality museum experiences by participating in the Museums for All program. Individuals and families who show an Oregon Trail Card (EBT card) and a valid ID will receive the following admission benefits:

• Exhibit Hall Admission for only $1 per person up to 6 family members total
• Stargazing Planetarium Admission for only $1 per person up to 6 family members total

• North Region Visioning Survey Update – The staff survey closed and the consultant is in the process of creating an analysis of the responses for the district. A total of 220 staff members from the North Region responded, representing a very significant 51% response rate. Among licensed employees, the participation rate was 59% while among classified employees it was 39%. Next week parents of students living in or attending school in the North Region will receive invitations to participate in the parent version of the survey. The week after that schools will receive copies of and/or links to the student version of the survey, which was postponed to avoid overlap with the Oregon Healthy Teens survey being administered at all secondary schools. Finally, after all the targeted versions of the survey are completed, the consultant will open the community version of the survey to all 4J community members.

• OEBB Mandatory Open Enrollment, Aug. 15-Sept. 15, 2017 – OEBB members who wish to have medical, vision, and dental coverage for the October 1, 2017–September 30, 2018, plan year will be required to log into the MyOEBB system during open enrollment in order to register for that coverage. The mandatory OEBB open enrollment period will be August 15 – September 15, 2017. OEBB will send information about plan designs and offerings, but rate information and other details specific to 4J employees will come from 4J. Watch for updates in the 4J Benefits and Wellness Newsletters, on the 4J website, in your e-mail inbox, and via US Mail over the summer.

• IEP Meeting Compensation From Due June 9th – A quick reminder that the EEA contract allows for licensed staff to be compensated for up to four hours of additional pay for attending IEP meetings. Track your IEP meeting times on the Non-ESS Licensed IEP Time Log, which needs to be turned in to HR by June 9th. The form can also be found on the HR Forms section of the 4J website.

• Movie Licensing – Not that teachers are showing movies all that often, but I did mention to a few people that downtown was recently checking whether the district was in compliance with movie licensing when films are shown in classrooms or at movie nights. Downtown has purchased a district-wide license so school staff and parent groups can show films as long as we don’t charge admission, advertise to the general public, change or alter the films when shown, or show it off campus.

• District Admin Update – Downtown has hired Dr. Karen Pérez-Da Silva as the new Equity, Instruction & Partnerships Manager, a reworked position most recently held by  David Bautista and Carmen Urbina. Dr. Pérez-Da Silva will coordinate the district’s equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives. A major change to this position is that it will be more instructionally focused, with the primary goals being to support the use of effective and culturally responsive instructional practices that ensure all students are successful, and to cultivate partnerships and resources that address the achievement and opportunity gaps facing historically underserved students.

Dr. Pérez-Da Silva spent more than 16 years teaching in diverse classrooms, conducting action research, and working with teams of general education and special education teachers, students and their families to analyze problems of practice at the classroom and school levels to bring about change. She obtained her doctorate in educational leadership from Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling. She has taught culturally responsive teaching courses, led courageous conversations groups at the district office for teachers on special assignment, and mentored dual language teachers. She has also spent the past year as a community networker in the Human Resources Department and a mentor/coach in the Multilingual Department in the Beaverton School District.

Teaching and Learning with Emerging Bilinguals:

 
 
  • Matt de la Peña
 
https://education.uoregon.edu/student-academic-services/matt-de-la-pena-may-4
The Department of Education Studies will welcome New York Times bestselling author Matt de la Peña on May 4, 2017 for three on-campus presentations.

De la Peña is an award winning author of young adult literature and one of the most recognized figures in multicultural children’s literature. He is the author of six critically-acclaimed novels, including Mexican WhiteBoy, The Living, and The Hunted. He is the recipient of the 2016 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Intellectual Freedom Award. That same year he also won the prestigious Newbery Medal for this picture book Last Stop on Market Street. The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Illustrated by Christian Robinson, Last Stop on Market Street was also named a Randolph Caldecott Medal and Coretta Scott King Book Award honoree.

At 10am, de la Peña will be speaking to students in EDST 464 (Multicultural Literacies) in 229 McKenzie on current trends in children’s literature. At 1:30pm he will be leading a creative writing lecture/workshop in the Knight Library Browsing Room. De la Peña has taught creative writing at New York University, Vermont College, and Hamline University. He will conclude his visit to the UO at 5:30pm at 156 Straub Hall speaking about his personal trajectory from growing up in the working-class San Diego County city of National City (CA) to becoming a best-selling, critically acclaimed author. All three presentations are free and open to the public. De la Peña’s books will be on sale at all three events.

For additional information, contact Edward M. Olivos, Department Head, Department of Education Studies at emolivos@uoregon.edu(link sends e-mail).

Sponsors: Department of Education Studies, Humanities Program in College of Arts and Sciences, Romance Languages, English Department, Office of Institutional Equity and Inclusion, College of Education, UO Libraries, Department of Ethnic Studies

  • “Día”

Children’s Day, Book Day/El día de los niños, El día de los libros
April 30th and every day of the year

Children’s Day, Book Day, in Spanish, El día de los niños, el día de los libros, is a year-long commitment to celebrating all our children and to motivating them and their families to be readers, essential in our democracy.

Often known as Día, meaning day for our daily commitment, this literacy initiative is a collaboration of national and state library and literacy organizations, educators, presses and readers creatively striving to share bookjoy and its importance. Culminating April Children’s Day, Book Day celebrations that unite communities, April book fiestas, are held in libraries, schools, homes, parks, etc., often on or near April 30th. DIA is also used to mean Diversity In Action.

We encourage libraries, schools, universities, literacy organizations, and all who wish to promote Día to share these videos on social media, showcase them on your website, and share them with patrons, students and families.

Read more and check out the website:

What’s Día?

School Events and Activities for the Rest of the School Year:

May 1 (M) 

Tom Maloney Guest Principal

SBAC Testing All Week- Make Ups and Science

– 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 (Room 18 instead). Boxes will be stored here after library packing is complete.  

CFEE Taking It Up Conference at the Ed Center: Margarita, Lupe, Peggy Lima, Joel, Jennifer out.

May 2 (Tu)

Tom Maloney Guest Principal

CFEE Taking It Up Conference at the Ed Center: Margarita, Lupe, Peggy Lima, Joel, Jennifer out.

Staff meeting Rescheduled to May 9.

May 3 (W)

9:00-11:15, Joel in Construction Meeting

1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Time- Technology Focus- Primary Intermediate- Math Assessment

Also, prepping for the Safety Drill, Review and answer questions.  Joel in Library to review plans.

May 4 (Th)

ALICE Safety Drill Lesson in All Classrooms: Lesson done at 12:00 PM

Regular Day

May 5 (F)

ALICE Safety Drill across the school: Drill to happen at 12:00 PM

Regular Day- Not a PD day as was previously scheduled.

May 6 (Sa) SATURDAY- Fiesta Community Party 12:00-3:00

May 8 (M)

9:00 AM, Fire Drill

Regular Day

May 9 (Tu)

Staff Meeting changed from May 2.

2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Room 18)-

  1. Planning Academy Day dates and PD Focus for 2017-2018
  2. Erin’s Law Review and Support
  3. AIM4S3 Expectations from Principal/ Discussion & DreamBox explanation of new features.

May 10 (W)

9:00-11:15, Joel in Construction Meeting

1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Time- Technology Focus- Primary Intermediate- Math Assessment

May 11 (Th)

2:45-3:45, Mod Squad Meeting

May 12 (F)

Regular Day

May 15 (M)

Regular Day

May 16 (Tu)

3:00-5:00, Two Hour Staff Meeting on LearnZillion & a session on Dreambox and how to use some new features.  Maddie Ahearn, Jamie Massie, and Reid Sheppard in support.

May 17 (W)

9:00-11:00, Joel at construction meeting.

1:45-2:45- PLC Time  Focus- Planning  for math instruction. New Compendium for the end of year??

May 18 (Th)

3:00-4:00, Equity Meeting 

May 19 (F)

 2:00- 2:30 PM (Cafeteria )Earth Assembly

May 22 (M)

4:00-5:00, Joel at All Admin Meeting

May 23 (Tu)

2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting

5:00-6:00, Site Council

6:00-7:00 Parent Group Meeting

May 24 (W)

9:00-11:15, Joel in Construction Meeting

1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Time- Technology Focus- Primary Intermediate- Math Assessment

May 25 (Th)

5:30-7:00, River Road Farewell Event in the cafeteria and parts of the school.

May 26 (F)

Academy Day- No School

Short staff meeting in the AM focused on moving questions and the new building.  PBIS and routines in the new building will be a topic.

Most of the day is allocated for packing boxes and doing moving preparation.

May 29 (M)

Memorial Day – No School

May 30 (Tu)

Joel doing site visit to Rigler Elementary (Dual Immersion) in Portland.

May 31 (W) 

Joel at construction meeting. 9:00-11:00

June 1 (Th)

5th Grade Field Trip to Camp Lutherwood

June 2 (F)

5th Grade Field Trip to Camp Lutherwood

June 15 (Th)

Field Day, 9:00-11:00

BBQ Lunch for whole school- Alternate Schedule, 11:00-12:15

5th Grade Promotion, 6:00-8:00 PM

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. 

Have a great week, everyone! 36 days of school left in the old building!

Joel

Week of April 24, 2017


April 23rd, 2017

Today, Sunday, April 23rd marks 24 years since César Chávez passed away. His legacy and the values he stood for are more important than ever in 2017. There are the additional threats farm workers face on a daily basis. It is our duty to inspire their children and live up to this great leaders aspirations for their families. http://ufw.org/

Hello Shining Stars,

This week, we are once again doing something considered best practice but not usually accomplished in 4J schools.  We are meeting with parents a second time in the year to tell them about their child’s student growth.  This is not unheard of but it is very important to help our students progress and to further foment teacher parent relationships in order to create more success in their lives.  I am so happy that you have committed to doing this work. It is a testament to your commitment and dedication to student success. 

Here are some items of note for the week:

• Staffing and Job Expo Updates –  We had two positions up for expo last week and no one applied internally.  However,  there were interviews last week for these positions with external applicants. The three candidates all had strong Spanish skills.  We are currently in process of reviewing references for candidates. Hopefully, I will have some announcements about this within a week. HR makes the offers to candidates so that piece can take a couple days.

• 2017-2018 Supply Lists – Please check in with MariCarmen about our school supply list.  We created the form back in late March and got some input. However, it would be great to hear from each team in order to finalize that.

• Student Body Funds Spending Deadline – Student body accounts (teacher funds, grant funds, etc.) need to be spent down to as close to a zero balance as possible by June 1st. If anyone has questions on their balance, please check in with MariCarmen.

• School Credit Card Use Deadline – Use of the school credit card for orders will be cut off May 19th, so that everything will clear before the summer. This especially affects Title 1.

• Reminders from Last Week – Several reminders from last week’s announcements:

• 2017-2018 EEF Grant Applications Due next Monday – EEF grant applications are due to me before next month’s Site Council Meeting. You don’t actually have to have a final draft of your grant. Just give me a title and enough of a description for Site Council to rank order the grant submissions. We can submit up to five grants in any amount up to $5,000 each. Grants focused on Arts, Literacy, and STEM receive a higher priority. Linked here is the application form and linked here is the EEF Grant Guidelines.

• Earth Day Poster Contest Ends this Week – The NuNaturals and Market of Choice Earth Day poster contest deadline is the end of this week. Winners will receive a “tree kit” for every student in their classroom and a gift certificate from the National Geographic Society for their teacher to use for learning materials for their class. See the linked flyer for details.

• Staff Appreciation – The PTO is putting in place some very nice plans for all staff on Teacher Appreciation Week coming up May 1-5.

• District Admin Updates – KC Clark, current SSD administrator assigned to high school and post-graduate programs, will be the administrator of the Fox Hollow Campus, which is a new SPED focused facility that opened this school year which houses three programs—Comprehensive Services, Home Instruction, and Instructional Programs. The Lane ESD provided the on-site administrator this year, but starting next fall, the Fox Hollow administrator will be provided by 4J, and KC has been selected for the position. KC Clark and I go way back to the days when I worked in the Extended School Year Program 2001-2009. I am very happy for her in this new role.

• Anti-bullying resources – The Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Usable Knowledge has launched One and All with strategies to protect students, help them reject bullying, and build communities in which everyone thrives. Resources so far include: Widening the definition of bullying; a conversation about how to honestly confront racial trauma and facilitate conversations about racially tinged events in the news; and one ELL teacher’s first-hand experience as an ELL student.

Teaching and Learning with  Emerging Bilinguals

Here is a link from  The Teaching Channel on ELL Co-Teaching:

The Far Reaching Benefits of Co-Teaching for ELLs by Jamie Ponce, Co-teaching has recently become a hot new buzzword in education; something at which veteran teachers might normally roll their eyes as they wait for the pendulum of best practices to swing back the other way. read more 

Calendar of Events:

April 24 (M)

SBAC Testing

Volunteer Appreciation Week
4:00-5:30, Joel to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)

April 25 (Tu)

Regular Day

April 26 (W) 

Administrative Professionals’ Day

7:30-8:30, Joel meeting with Gustavo Balderas

9:00-11:15, Joel in Construction Meeting

12:00- Meeting with Head Start of Lane County to plan Early Learning Dual Language Curriculum.

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) 

Tom Maloney Guest Principal

SBAC Testing All Week- Make Ups and Science

– 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 (Room 18 instead). Boxes will be stored here after library packing is complete.  

CFEE Taking It Up Conference at the Ed Center: Margarita, Lupe, Peggy Lima, Joel, Jennifer out.

May 2 (Tu)

Tom Maloney Guest Principal

CFEE Taking It Up Conference at the Ed Center: Margarita, Lupe, Peggy Lima, Joel, Jennifer out.

Staff meeting Rescheduled to May 9.

May 3 (W)

9:00-11:15, Joel in Construction Meeting

1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Time- Technology Focus- Primary Intermediate- Math Assessment

Also, prepping for the Safety Drill, Review and answer questions.  Joel in Library to review plans.

May 4 (Th)

Safety Drill Lesson in All Classrooms: Lesson done at 12:00 PM

Regular Day

May 5 (F)

Safety Drill across the school: Drill to happen at 12:00 PM

Regular Day- Not a PD day as was previously scheduled.

May 6 (Sa) SATURDAY- Fiesta Community Party 12:00-3:00

May 8 (M)

9:00 AM, Fire Drill

Regular Day

May 9 (Tu)

Staff Meeting changed from May 2.

2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Room 18)-

  1. Planning Academy Day dates and PD Focus for 2017-2018
  2. Erin’s Law Review and Support
  3. AIM4S3 Expectations from Principal/ Discussion & DreamBox explanation of new features.

May 10 (W)

9:00-11:15, Joel in Construction Meeting

1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Time- Technology Focus- Primary Intermediate- Math Assessment

May 11 (Th)

2:45-3:45, Mod Squad Meeting

May 12 (F)

Regular Day

May 15 (M)

Regular Day

May 16 (Tu)

3:00-5:00, Two Hour Staff Meeting on LearnZillion & a session on Dreambox and how to use some new features.  Maddie Ahead, Jamie Massie, and Reid Sheppard in support.

May 17 (W)

9:00-11:00, Joel at construction meeting.

1:45-2:45- PLC Time  Focus- Planning  for math instruction. New Compendium for the end of year??

May 18 (Th)

3:00-4:00, Equity Meeting 

May 19 (F)

 2:00- 2:30 PM (Cafeteria )Earth Assembly

May 22 (M)

4:00-5:00, Joel at All Admin Meeting

May 23 (Tu)

2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting

5:00-6:00, Site Council

6:00-7:00 Parent Group Meeting

May 24 (W)

9:00-11:15, Joel in Construction Meeting

1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Time- Technology Focus- Primary Intermediate- Math Assessment

May 25 (Th)

5:30-7:00, River Road Farewell Event in the cafeteria and parts of the school.

May 26 (F)

Academy Day- No School

Short staff meeting in the AM focused on moving questions and the new building.  PBIS and routines in the new building will be a topic.

Most of the day is allocated for packing boxes and doing moving preparation.

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. 

Have a great week, everyone! 41 days of school left in the old building!

Joel

 

Week of April 17, 2017


April 16th, 2017

Charles Martinez Jr., Ph.D, 2016. Copyright, All Rights Reserved

Hello Shining Stars,

Congratulations to all the staff who received an ACE Award nomination across the district! I want to add that we have an amazing staff who deserve ACE nominations too.  This year no one received one from our school but that does not mean you don’t deserve one! Your work impresses me and many in our community each day.  Families ♥ our school and drive from out of the area to have their children in your classrooms, cafeterias, and hallways. Simply said, the work you do is liberating for them. El Camino del Rio IS an AMAZING SCHOOL thanks to you.

Some items of note for this week:

•Staffing Updates –  This last week Lilliana Forsman went to the Portland job fair to interview for 4J jobs.  She interviewed well and with my recommendation, she was offered a job as classroom teacher at our school.  She accepted. 🙂  Lily will be in a 1st or 2nd grade position next Fall. I want to point out that Lily is an example of an employee who has worked so hard to improve her skills and takes being a teacher so seriously. She loves our school and it shows every day.  In addition, Lily has not acted alone to become a teacher. Erin Skoubo, Karen Ramirez, Megan Murphy, her boys and partner, and many others have provided her lots of support along the way. This is the Camino del Río way: community greatness. 

At expo, we had two vacancies to fill.  No one applied to the positions internally.  Lily has filled one position.  We still have one of these openings to fill.  We have screened applicants to the position and will be interviewing some teacher candidates next Friday. In addition, there will be demo lessons by the candidates in classrooms.  Stay tuned. We could have another hire  next week.

Lastly, I have some sad/happy (bittersweet) news. Megan Murphy applied to expo and will be moving to Adams next school year. As many of you know, Megan is a relentless advocate for our students.  She is very good at math instruction, student leadership, and social studies. She has been a strong advocate for our dual language program for 7 years. She does so many things for our students and these will be greatly missed. This is Megan’s 7th year at El Camino del Río.  She is ready for new opportunities in the district and is excited about what the future will bring. What is our loss is Adams’ gain.    

So, we have two openings to fill before school starts.

Gender Revolution Screening at Camas Ridge, April 27, 6p.m.-8:00 p.m.

     Brianna Stiller wants to make you all aware of an exciting event that will be hosted by Camas Ridge Elementary School.  The event is a showing of the “Gender Revolution” special recently shown on cable (National Geographic, if memory serves) and hosted by Katy Couric.  Camas Ridge has secured a video that will be showing on Thursday, April 27, from 6 pm to 8 pm at Camas Ridge Community School.   The event is free!     This video is super informative and very educational.  It is appropriate for parents and for school staff.  It may be a little too mature for children.  However, we do plan to have child care in place for staff or parents who do not have child care.  We also plan to have some simple refreshments (cookies; popcorn; juice).       I hope each of you will consider attending, and encourage parents of students who express gender diversity to attend as well.

     So that we have an idea of how many to plan for, please RSVP at Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/435141030152502/ More information about the film can be found at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gender-revolution-documentary-screening-and-qa-tickets-33402973192

Eugene 4J School District Candidate Forum in English AND Spanish at El Camino del Río

April 17, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., at Chávez Elementary

The 4J Parent Leaders Network and the League of Women Voters of Lane County are hosting a “Eugene 4J School District Candidate Forum” at César E. Chávez Elementary School, 1510 W. 14th Ave., on Monday, April 17 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The town hall-style forum will allow voters to engage with the candidates and provide an opportunity for the candidates to introduce themselves, their goals and ideas. More information at https://parentleadersnetwork.org/.

We will also be hosting a Spanish  Speaking Forum at El Camino del Río.  All candidates are invited.  It will be hosted by LatinX Alliance of Lane County and GLAD.

Día de los Niños / Día de los Libros (Children’s Day / Book Day)

Spanish version at this link: http://bit.ly/2o19ifc Día de los Niños / Día de los Libros (Children’s Day / Book Day) is an international holiday honoring children, culture, and books. Local families are invited to celebrate at a bilingual festival including live music and dance, hands-on arts activities, library card sign-ups, refreshments, and free books for kids to take home.

EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY – SUNDAY, APRIL 30:
Visit the Downtown Eugene Public Library on Sunday, April 30, between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m., for free events including Nuestro Canto’s show “Legends of Mexico/Leyendas de México”; music and dance with El Taller de Son Jarocho and Chayag; and hands-on art with Eugene Arte Latino. The Downtown Eugene Public Library is located on the corner of 10th Avenue and Olive Street; for more information, call 541-682-5450 (press 5 for Spanish).

     If you would like a PDF of the poster, handouts or online graphics, contact Laura at Laura.A.Philips@ci.eugene.or.us

     Find more information at the Eugene Public Library website www.eugene-or.gov/library, or Springfield Public Library www.wheremindsgrow.org/dia.

• Parent Education Night (Topic: Technology) on April 19th at El Camino del Río Library – This Wednesday there will be a technology and kids session presented by psychologist Judith Castro. The session will focus on how technology effects the young brain and also effects a children’s emotional regulation.   Judith works with bicultural families and children across the community through the Center for Family Development.  This will be a bilingual presentation to parents. Childcare will be provided by Asa Kline from Creative Care.  Also,  there will be snacks and coffee.

Walk and Roll Challenge on May 10th: On Wednesday, May 10, our school is participating in the Walk+Roll to School Challenge. Let’s encourage our students to use active transportation like walking, biking, scooting, or skating to improve their health, gain independence and to help our precious environment! We have great raffle prizes to encourage our students to get active!

• 2017-2018 EEF Grant Applications Due May 1, 2017 – EEF grant applications are due to me byMonday, May 1. Dream big! We can submit up to five grants in any amount up to $5,000! Grants focused on Arts, Literacy, and STEM receive a higher priority. Linked here is the application form and linked here is the EEF Grant Guidelines.

• Care Team Referrals Due this Friday – Referrals for the April Student Care Team meeting are due the Friday. Try to get a parent/guardian signature on the release form (editable PDF and non-editable PDF), but know you can also refer “hypothetical” situations. Let me know if you have any referrals or questions. Jennifer and I will review and submit  this week.

• Physics Professional Development Opportunity, April 26 – Allison Greider, Science TOSA, sent an email to cert_all earlier, but it’s worth highlighting an upcoming science PD that will focus on concepts found in the Physical Science sections of FOSS. The training will take place at South Eugene High School on Wednesday, April 26th from 4-6pm. Follow this link to register.

• Upcoming changes to guest access on 4jwireless – This won’t effect staff much, but if you’re ever helping a non-staff member connect to 4jwireless, the monthly guest passwords are being phased out. David Nelson sent an email to principals, secretaries, and TSS staff that said the new 4jwireless login page will prompt guest users to create an account of their own. Linked here are directions for the new process, which you can feel free to share with anyone who needs it, although it’s pretty straightforward.

• Arts Integration Conference – The Lane Arts Council is offering a conference for educators Saturday, April 29th with an interest or skill in integrating art across the curriculum. Follow this link for details, but pretension topics will include:

• Studio habits Mind
• STEM to STEAM
• Integrating Arts into Core Curriculum
• Visual Thinking Strategies
• Visual Narrative Writing
• Experimental Model
• Playshops: Hands-on Arts Integration Practices

Teaching and Learning with Emerging Bilingual Students

NABE supports April as the National Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month

NABE 

On April 18, 2016 the sun rose brightly over Capitol Hill, shinning a ray of hope as Congressperson Mike Honda submitted H. Res. 690 in the House of Representatives Recognizing and Celebrating April as the first “National Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month.” Ten coalition partner organizations, parents, students, board members and staff were represented and provided statements of support at the congratulatory ceremony held on Capitol Hill. This honor was bestowed on NABE because of the invaluable contributions to the efforts nationally to advance educational equity and excellence for bilingual/multilingual English learners.  READ MORE 

Día Patmora 

Children’s Day, Book Day, in Spanish, El día de los niños, el día de los libros, is a year-long commitment to celebrating all our children and to motivating them and their families to be readers, essential in our democracy. Often known as Día, meaning day for our daily commitment, this literacy initiative is a collaboration of national and state library and literacy organizations, educators, presses and readers creatively striving to share bookjoy and its importance. Culminating April Children’s Day, Book Day celebrations that unite communities, April book fiestas, are held in libraries, schools, homes, parks, etc., often on or near April 30. DIA is also used to mean Diversity In Action.  READ MORE

•  Long-Lost Photos Reveal Life of Mexican Migrant Workers in 1950s America

A photo agency has unearthed images from 1957 that showcase a defunct program that brought laborers from Mexico to work legally in the U.S.

Mexican Braceros (“Helping Hands from Mexico” – The Saturday Evening Post – August 10, 1957 – volume 230, number 6)
1957
© 1978 Sid Avery

by Lily Martin    April 11, 2017

Time Magazine

http://time.com/4711867/bracero-program-sid-avery/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Calendar of Events:

April 17 (M)

SBAC Testing All Week

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

6:00-7:00, Parent Education Night- Technology and Your Child,  How to manage screen time for your child’s wellness. (Library)

April 20 (Th)

8:30-9:30, Cafecito con el Director (FRC)

2:45-3:45, Equity Meeting

April 21 (F)

8:30-9:30-  Cafecito con el Director

2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting

2:45-3:45, Teacher Prep Time

April 24 (M)

SBAC Testing All Week

Regular Day

April 25 (Tu)

Regular Day

April 26 (W) 

9:00-11:15, Joel in Construction Meeting

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) 

Tom Maloney Guest Principal

SBAC Testing All Week- Make Ups and Science

– 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 (Room 18 instead). Boxes will be stored her after library packing is complete.  

CFEE Taking It Up Conference at the Ed Center: Margarita, Lupe, Peggy Lima, Joel, Jennifer out.

May 2 (Tu)

Tom Maloney Guest Principal

CFEE Taking It Up Conference at the Ed Center: Margarita, Lupe, Peggy Lima, Joel, Jennifer out.

Staff meeting Rescheduled to May 9.

May 3 (W)

9:00-11:15, Joel in Construction Meeting

1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Time- Technology Focus- Primary Intermediate- Math Assessment

Also, prepping for the Safety Drill, Review and answer questions.  Joel in Library to review plans.

May 4 (Th)

Safety Drill Lesson in All Classrooms: Lesson done at 12:00 PM

Regular Day

May 5 (F)

Safety Drill across the school: Drill to happen at 12:00 PM

Regular Day- Not a PD day as was previously scheduled.

May 6 (Sa) SATURDAY- Fiesta Community Party 12:00-3:00

May 8 (M)

Regular Day

May 9 (Tu)

Staff Meeting changed from May 2.

2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Room 18)-

  1. Planning Academy Day dates and PD Focus for 2017-2018
  2. Erin’s Law Review and Support
  3. AIM4S3 Expectations from Principal/ Discussion & DreamBox explanation of new features.

May 10 (W)

9:00-11:15, Joel in Construction Meeting

1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Time- Technology Focus- Primary Intermediate- Math Assessment

May 11 (Th)

2:45-3:45, Mod Squad Meeting

May 12 (F)

Regular Day

May 16 (Tu)

3:00-5:00, Two Hour Staff Meeting  on LearnZillion & a session on Dreambox and how to use some new features. 

May 25 (Th)

5:30-7:00, River Road Farewell Event in the cafeteria and parts of the school.

May 26 (F)

Academy Day- No School

Short staff meeting in the AM focused on moving questions and the new building.  PBIS and routines in the new building will be a topic.

Most of the day is allocated for packing boxes and doing moving preparation.

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. 

Have a great week, everyone!

Joel

 

Week of April 10, 2017


April 9th, 2017

Hello Shining Stars,

Last week was a very eventful week weather wise.  I feel so fortunate that we did not have power loss.  Up the road, Kelly and Howard lost power during the school day.  We are predicted to have good old Oregon rain most of the week. 

Here are several items of the week:

• 2017-2018 EEF Grant Applications Due April 24th – The EEF grant application period is now open and are due to me by Monday, May 1st. There has been a significant increase in the amount we can apply for, so start dreaming big! This year schools can submit up to five grants in any amount up to $5,000! In the past it was only two $2,000 grants and two $500 grants. Grants are due to EEF in May, which means the applications are due to me before the May Site Council meeting so we can rank order El Camino del Río’s grant  submissions. EEF puts a higher priority on grants related to Arts, Literacy, and STEM. One additional request from EEF is that if you’ve submitted the same grant for multiple years in a row, that you add in why that particular program is important and should continue. Linked here is the application form and linked here is the EEF Grant Guidelines, which contain all the details and can answer most any question you might have. With the new building, there are many ideas I have but I also want to include your ideas in this process.  Write a grant and get creative!

• Care Team Referrals – The April Student Care Team meeting is approaching and referrals are due Friday next week. If families are in a situation where they looking for help, but don’t know where or how to access resources, they would be good candidates to refer to the team. 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. Please let me know if you have any referrals or questions about any family or student situations or any potential referrals.

• Centro Latino Americano’s Pediatric Clinic – Here is a flyer (in Spanish) regarding free medical services. For children up to 15 years old who do not have medical insurance, there is a free pediatric clinic on the first Wednesday of each month at Centro Latino Americano (944 W 5th Ave). Please share this with anyone who may need this information.

• April is Child Abuse Prevention Month – April is Child Abuse Prevention Month (CAPM) and Parenting Now! is raising awareness about child abuse prevention by sharing the linked toolkits (English & Spanish). Feel free to read and share with others.

• Student Safety Training, April 4th review for those that missed it. –Here is a reminder for this who could not go about the ALICE Safety Training. The training covered teachers should teach students the ALICE classroom safety procedures. Linked here is an information sheet that is being emailed to families regarding the training and also a parent preview of the materials happening this month in April 17th. Remember that all  all classrooms should have received the book I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared to guide the safety drill discussion with students, which must happen within the first two weeks of May. On Thursday, May 4th, after all classes have taught the lesson, we will practice an all-school evacuation, walking to the edge of the property instead of walking to a more distant rally point/reunification site.  The actual drill will occur on May 5th. Classified staff or those who could not attend, please check in if you need more information on this.

• Earth Day is April 22 & Earth Day Poster Contest – Earth Day is observed around the world on April 22nd. The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, and is considered the birth of the modern environmental movement. If you’d like to start planning any related activities to do with students, linked here is the Scholastic Teacher Earth Day website, Education World, NEA, and the EPA website. Also, NuNaturals and Market of Choice are sponsoring an Earth Day poster contest. Entries are due by April 30th and winners will receive a “tree kit” for every student in their classroom. Winners also receive a gift certificate from the National Geographic Society for their teacher to use for learning materials for their class. See the linked flyer for details. This is a great contest. Ron Redding, the organizer came by and shared a full class set of Spanish Oregon Atlases.  He and his company are really doing a great job creating a partnership with schools.

Resources available from the OLN Conference  on April 5th: Some of you may know that I attended the OLN Equity Leadership conference this week in Salem. It was a powerful experience and definitely re-energized my convictions to create a more equitable learning environment at our school and in 4J. There were many high quality presenters. If you’re interested in viewing and downloading the presentation slides and other resources provided by institute presenters, you can find them on the institute resource page. It is a Google Doc that anyone can view. There are many quality resources here.

• April is National Poetry Month – If you didn’t know, April is National Poetry Month. Follow this link on Scholastic.com for loads of ideas how to celebrate this event.

• Keep Packing: Many teachers have been working hard to pack the last few weeks. Some even came in on Spring break.  My message to you is: Don’t letup! There are about 10 week left of school. May 1 the library will close. Soon after that, you will be able to place boxes in there. Wendy and many in the parent group plan to help us out to get the books organized.

• Closing the Library:  I encourage you to begin sending reminders now about getting back books from the library. Since we are closing early, it is a good idea to get books back early so that they can be packed. Contact Wendy if you need help with a list of students who have books out.

•Conference Sign Up Links: These links should work for classroom teachers.  I never got the specialists links from Megan but you can email her if you need one.  They will also go out with the boletín today.

Here are the links for sign-ups:

A repeat from last week but very important:

• Erin’s Law Child Abuse Prevention Teaching Requirement – 4J is continuing to get into compliance with state and federal laws and one is the child abuse prevention law, Erin’s Law. Linked here is an Erin’s Law Info Sheet that we’ll be sending home soon to families. This requires that all classroom teachers annually teach students child abuse prevention strategies, including this school year. In the future, we should plan to add this to our annual Safety Week. The goals at the elementary level are to teach students: 

• How to judge between safe and unsafe touch • How to protect themselves
• Who to go to for help 

Here are links to lessons :Kindergarten1st Grade2nd Grade3rd Grade4th Grade, and 5th Grade. These lessons do require a video from the curriculum, so if no one at your grade level has the DVD to share, let me know and I can get one for you from downtown. Let me know if you have any questions on this.

Teaching and Learning Emerging Bilinguals:

Nearly Half of U.S. States Offer Special Recognition for Bilingual Graduates

Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia are promoting bilingualism among K-12 students by offering the seal of biliteracy—special recognition on high school diplomas for graduates who demonstrate fluency in two or more languages. read more

 

Indigenous Language Immersion schools can lead to better outcomes for Native American students – Shiprock NM by Colton Shone    April 6, 2017  KOB-TV    Albuquerque, NM

Eva B. Stokely Elementary School in Shiprock, N.M. is teaching its students in the Navajo language. School officials say the enrolled children are thriving academically as well as learning their cultural identity. watch more

Calendar of Events:

April 10 (M)

SBAC Testing All Week

9:30-10:00, Attendance Support Meeting

3:30-4:30 PM, Joel at the Immersion Task Force

April 11 (Tu)

3:00, IEP Planning Meeting

5:00-6:00 PM, Site Council- Topics of Discussion, EEF Grants, Planning Dates for 2017-2018, 2016 Survey Results from Audrey Lucero, Some possible adjustments to Site Council in 2017-2018.

6:00-7:00 PM, Parent Group Meeting

April 12 (W)

9:00-11:00, Joel at Construction Meeting

1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Time- Technology Focus with Misty Forsman

2:00-3:00, Joel in Evaluation Meeting

April 13 (Th)

2:45-3:45, Mod Squad

April 14 (F)

9:30-11:30, Joel, Yasmin, and Alicia doing special project in the morning with families.

April 17 (M)

SBAC Testing All Week

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

6:00-7:00, Parent Education Night- Technology and Your Child,  How to manage screen time for your child’s wellness. (Library)

April 20 (Th)

8:30-9:30, Cafecito con el Director (FRC)

2:45-3:45, Equity Meeting

April 21 (F)

8:30-9:30-  Cafecito con el Director

2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting

2:45-3:45, Teacher Prep Time

April 24 (M)

SBAC Testing All Week

Regular Day

April 25 (Tu)

Regular Day

April 26 (W) 

9:00-11:15, Joel in Construction Meeting

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) 

SBAC Testing All Week- Make Ups and Science

– 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 (Room 18 instead). Boxes will be stored her after library packing is complete. 

May 2 (Tu)

2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Room 18)-

  1. Planning Academy Day dates and PD Focus for 2017-2018
  2. Erin’s Law Review and Support
  3. Prepping for the Safety Drill, Review and answer questions.

May 3 (W)

9:00-11:15, Joel in Construction Meeting

1:45-2:45, Wednesday PLC Time- Technology Focus- Primary Intermediate- Math Assessment

May 4 (Th)

Regular Day

May 5 (F)

Regular Day- Not a PD day as was previously scheduled.

May 6 (Sa) SATURDAY- Fiesta Community Party 12:00-3:00

May 25 (Th)

5:30-7:00, River Road Farewell Event in the cafeteria and parts of the school.

May 26 (F)

Academy Day- No School

Short staff meeting in the AM focused on moving questions and the new building.  PBIS and routines in the new building will be a topic.

Most of the day is allocated for packing boxes and doing moving preparation.

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. 

Joel

Week of April 3, 2017


April 2nd, 2017

Welcome Back, Shining Stars! 

I hope you all took time for yourselves over the break and had time to recharge for the last part of the school year! Always remember to take good care of yourself so you’ll be in a good place to take care of others. 

Some items of note for this week: 

• SSD Staffing Update – I’ve already let SPED staff know, but we received our SPED staffing from SSD for licensed and for most classified staff. Michelle and Katie will return will to their same positions and hours next year. For classified staff, we received allocations and job assignments for everyone. Unfortunately, we will have a loss in hours and will lose one EA next year. 

• Job Expo Updates – el Camino will have two positions going to the Job Expo next week, so please tell me if you know of awesome teachers who want to come to our school.The positions will be at 1st grade and 2nd grade.  Please feel free to talk to any teacher friends and colleagues of yours and tell them that el Camino del Río is an awesome place to work! 

• Erin’s Law Child Abuse Prevention Teaching Requirement – 4J is continuing to get into compliance with state and federal laws and one is the child abuse prevention law, Erin’s Law. Linked here is an Erin’s Law Info Sheet that we’ll be sending home soon to families. This requires that all classroom teachers annually teach students child abuse prevention strategies, including this school year. In the future, we should plan to add this to our annual Safety Week. The goals at the elementary level are to teach students: 

• How to judge between safe and unsafe touch • How to protect themselves
• Who to go to for help 

Here are links to lessons :Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, and 5th Grade. These lessons do require a video from the curriculum, so if no one at your grade level has the DVD to share, let me know and I can get one for you from downtown. Let me know if you have any questions on this.

• Playground Rules: No Balls/Toys From Home – We’ve started to see balls, and other items from home make their way out to recesses. Please remind students that balls, games, and toys need to stay home and are definitely not be taken out onto the playground, which too often leads to problems when they get lost, stolen, damaged, or end up on the roof. 

• Monday, April 3rd PD Info – A quick repeat of previously shared information. All licensed staff who teach math (gen ed, Title, SPED) are required to attend the LearnZillion math training. All classified staff who teacher and/or support math instruction should also attend. K-2 will meet at Holt and 3-5 will meet at Howard from 8:00-12:00. 

• Instructional Minutes & Start/End Times Update – I mentioned in prior announcements that as a result of downtown discovering that elementary schools were not meeting required instructional minutes, there was talk of aligning recess, lunch, and start & end times across the district. Discussion on this is not over, but there will be no changes to El Camino or other schools’ start and end times for this coming school year. This means we can plan on classes the same start and end times here at El Camino for next year. 

• School Choice Changes Next Year – The application window for school choice will change next year to just the month of January. This means we’ll have only one month of school choice tours instead of two, so fewer interruptions, and also more solid of school choice numbers before staffing allocations given out. Out-of-district applications would still be the same because those dates are part of the state laws governing inter-district transfers. 

• District Admin Updates – Longtime Kennedy Middle School principal Charlie Smith is retiring at the end of this school year, as is Kennedy assistant principal Mark Bennett. Stepping into the Kennedy principal role will be Morgan Christensen. Morgan taught at Roosevelt Middle School and is currently assistant principal at Churchill High School. Casandra Kamens, current North Eugene High School principal, will move to Churchill to fill Morgan’s position. This leaves vacancies for a principal at North and assistant principal positions at Kennedy and ATA. 

• First Friday Communities of Color Networking Event – The First Friday CCN Event that happens the first Friday of each month. The next one is April 7th, 5:30-7:00 at the Lane ESD. CCN is a safe space to relax, network, catch up, and meet new people of color and allies. All are welcome! See the linked flyer for details. 

• Eugene 4J 6K AVID Strides for Education Run/Walk – The 1st Annual Eugene 4J 6K Strides for Education run/walk to celebrate AVID and fundraise for the program will be on April 9th. This will be a professionally managed 6 kilometer run/walk on the bike path along the banks of the Willamette River. The proceeds will support having college tutors at our school, sending students on college visit field trips, and more. Online registration ($20 for adults; $10 for 4J students) is now available at the above link. 

Many 4J middle and high schools are AVID sites (it’s being piloted at the elementary level this year at Awbrey Park and Spring Creek), a college and career readiness system that stands for “Advancement Via Individual Determination.” Hundreds of 4J teachers have been trained to utilize AVID strategies to improve instructional practice. You can learn more about AVID at avid.org 

Teaching and Learning Emerging Bilingual Students

Do healthy lunches improve student test scores?  

From: The Atlantic 
For more than a decade, standardized-test scores have been the dominant metric for measuring what public-school students know and are able to do. No Child Left Behind, the sweeping federal education law enacted in 2002, ushered in a new era of student testing and school compliance. And in the years that followed—to meet targets and avoid sanctions — education leaders at the local and state levels have sought a variety of ways to boost students’ performance on tests, including extending the school day and giving bonus pay to teachers based on students’ test scores. Even less conventional methods, such as banning cell phones and offering yoga-like exercises, emerged as school administrators pursued the holy grail of high standardized-test scores. READ MORE

Teaching text structure improves reading comprehension  

Psychology Today 
Many children who do not have trouble learning how to read do have trouble understanding what they read. Yet surprisingly, comprehension instruction did not receive much attention from reading professionals until the 1970s, with the arrival of the cognitive revolution. Having renounced behaviorism, psychology’s new cognitive paradigm defined mental activity in terms of information processing and viewed comprehension as the integration of information from a wide variety of sources.  READ MORE

Calendar of Events- Looking Ahead

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- Undocumented Students, ALICE Training, Erin’s Law are all topics.

3:45-4:45, PLT Meeting

April 5 (W)

Joel in Salem at OLN

1:45-2:45, PLC Meetings Focus on Math Planning and Assessment

1:45-2:45, April PBIS 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 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. 

Joel