Week of May 8, 2017


May 7th, 2017

 

Hi Everyone,

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Yes, teachers, this is your week! You deserve a special week dedicated to you. We are all strong educators in our building. However,  teachers have unique and special skills that must be recognized. There is so much you do day in day out.  Each day it is so impressive to see how many things you do to support our students and families. 

Here is a list of characteristics I see in the school each day that need to be outlined:

Knowledge of subject matter: Elementary teachers have a great knowledge of subject matter. Dual language teachers know all that content in BOTH LANGUAGES.  That is impressive.

Patience: You all have an amazing level of patience.  I see how much time  you spend helping students know routines,  learn to help each other, and teach how to build a strong climate.

Intellectual Curiosity:   Your quest to improve learning for your students is moving.  Each time that I see you trying new things or asking questions I develop confidence that you will be constantly improving your practice.

Confidence: Everyone knows it when a classroom teacher is running the show. Time and again, I walk in your classrooms to see all of you guiding students and leading impressive discussions that are not done in most schools.  This confidence is contagious. Students do so well with your support and leadership. 

Compassion:   You love your students and it shows each and every day.

Achievement: Your students are seen in your classrooms.  They learn how to read in TWO languages.  They can  do math problems in Spanish.  They learn to build meaningful relationships. Amazing.

Planning: Student experiences are planned and designed for optimal  learning.  They enjoy  their experiences and learn  amazing amounts thanks to your careful planning.

Awareness: You know so much about your classrooms.  Each day, it is like a complicated ballet dance that you perform  to help your students get to a goal.  This skill is often unrecognized.  Then, we notice how things hesitate when you are gone.

Mentorship: There is so much communication about our program.  Teachers in our building help each other and communicate often to build a better program in our building.  A dual language program is doubly hard.  You help each other and are so collegial. This matters for our kids outcomes and for overall school climate.

Maturity: I believe that maturity is so important in teaching. Students experience emotional ups and downs, and insightful teachers like you are able to sense the changes and respond to them appropriately. Teachers must be pillars, consistently encouraging students to grow as human beings and to develop academically. You do that consistently.

Community Involvement: Maintaining good community relations is part of being a teacher, and teachers’ contact with parents, administrators, and community leaders enhances their effectiveness in the classroom. Seeing how many events you go to and how much time you spend resisting the agenda  that is attacking our students is impressive.  You make this school a safe place for our kids.  

Organization:   Teachers must be able to manage students’ multiple personalities and organize their subject matters so that a maximum number of students benefits from their presentations. You create classrooms that truly customize learning for 25 or more little minds.

Vision:  Teaching encompasses far more than passing information from teachers to students. Teachers should be illuminators who provide their students not only with interesting and useful material, but also with visions of where they might end up if they learn well. You not only achieve this for your students.  You also have been able to create a common vision across the school for our students.

Context: Every subject has a context, and teachers are responsible for providing it to their students. Since no one learns in a vacuum, teachers must show their students how the information they are learning might be used or might lead to the development of some other useful skill. The relevance  you provide for students matters.  And in our school,  this is even more impressive.  You create a context that is bicultural or multicultural across the school. This is so important for our children.

Mission:  Perhaps the most important thing teachers communicate to students and to the community is a sense of satisfaction with their choice of teaching as their life mission. Teaching at its highest level is a calling, and good teachers feel it to their cores.  I see that present in your work each day. Working in a dual language school takes a special individual who must have this characteristic.  

Enthusiasm: Excellent teachers never lose enthusiasm for their profession. They might become temporarily burdened by administrative hassles or isolated problems, but their underlying engagement with their work is unwavering. Students feel this energy, and teachers who project it are much more successful than those who do not.

Watch out for some nice appreciations for staff this week that our fabulous classified and Parent Group have in store for you.

Here are some important items of the week:

• Free Tutoring for KG and 1st Students – The Center for Teaching and Learning’s Clinic at the University of Oregon has openings for their summer reading and math tutoring program for current Kindergarten and 1st Grade students to receive intervention services. Linked here is a flyer and registration packet that you can feel free to share with any interested parents. School staff and families can contact Anna Ingram (annad@uoregon.edu) with questions or to submit an application.

• District Admin Update – Iton Udosenata has accepted the position of principal for North Eugene High School. Iton is currently the principal of Cottage Grove High School, in the South Lane School District. What you may not know is that he is a proud alumnus of North Eugene High School. Prior to his current position, Iton was an assistant principal at Willamette High School, a social studies and alternative education teacher at Thurston High School, and, at the beginning of his career, a middle school history teacher in Los Angeles. Here’s a link to a Register Guard article that ran in the paper last week.

• Conservation Education Talks and Field Trips – The Willamette National Forest will again be offering conservation education talks and field trips. Programs are available for preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools and may be of particular interest to Biology, Science, Conservation Education, and Geography lessons. These programs can be offered at school or as field trips at the Willamette National Forest. See the linked letter and flyer for their education activities which will be offered through September 10, 2017.

• “13 Reasons Why” Netflix Series: Considerations for Educators – Schools have an important role in preventing youth suicide, and being aware of potential risk factors in students’ lives is vital to this responsibility. The trending Netflix series “13 Reasons Why,” based on a young adult novel of the same name, is raising such concerns. The series revolves around 17-year-old Hannah Baker, who takes her own life and leaves behind audio recordings for 13 people who she says in some way were part of why she killed herself. The series, which many youth are binge watching without adult guidance and support, is raising concerns from suicide prevention experts about the potential risks posed by the sensationalized treatment of youth suicide. See the linked resources from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) for information about the series and as well as recommendations for educators and families.

 

• Be a part of the Walk + Roll Challenge Wednesday, May 10th! We have a special event this Wednesday which we are excited to be a part of.  I have included it as a separate email so that it stands out a bit from the blog news for the week. Teachers,  please be aware of this special session of assembly in the morning and encourage  your students to walk or roll on Wednesday!
 
Below is a schedule of the morning’s events for Wednesday, May 10th:

7:45 am – Walking group with Mayor Vinis and Superintendent Balderas leaves 534 Sunnyside to walk towards school (merging with another group on the way). I’ll be leading this group, so we can touch base if you arrive a few minutes early.

8 am – Arrive at school where Mayor Vinis and Superintendent Balderas can greet students as they arrive. Students will receive raffle tickets for biking, walking, skating, etc. or riding the bus. 

8:15-8:30 am – Brief assembly with each guest saying a few words and drawing of one or two raffle prizes before students are dismissed to their classes

 

We’re encouraging as many students as possible to bike, walk, scoot and ride the bus to school on Wednesday, May 10 for the Walk + Roll to School Challenge Day! Do it as family, or join one of the groups below. If you live far away and don’t ride the bus, join a “Park & Stride” group by driving (maybe a carpool?) to one of the spots on the map and walking the rest of the way. Biking and walking groups will be leaving from the times and locations on the map. Students who participate will be eligible for raffle prizes! Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinnis and 4J Superintendent Gustavo Balderas will be there to greet students as they arrive, so let’s show them how we can meet the Walk + Roll Challenge!

 

Teaching and Learning with Emerging Bilinguals:

Learn about this amazing musician Andres 123.  He is  a musician who is giving back to the community with songs and language that have a strong cultural context in DLI programs.  He writes songs that are fun and easy for kids to learn English and Spanish together.    Teachers, expect a special gift related to Andres 123  soon.

http://www.123andres.com

Calendar of Events for the Remainder of the Year:

May 8 (M)

9:00 AM, Fire Drill

7:00 PM- Joel to RRCO  Meeting at the River Road Community Center- Appeal to community members to come help move and also show the drone video.

May 9 (Tu)

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

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

May 10 (W)

8:15-8:35-Walk and Roll Assembly Event-  Gustavo Balderas and Mayor Vinnis at the morning assembly to give our rewards.

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

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

PBIS Meeting Rescheduled.

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)

All day visit to David Douglas School District  Nancy Schaal- McHarry and three other visitors to learn about integrated ELD.

 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.  (Want to go with me?  send me an email.  I can take three teachers along.)

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! 31 days of school left in the old building!

Joel

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