Week of June 19, 2017
Hello Awesome Staff,
Thank you staff who have put so many extra hours in during the last week to pack. It has made a huge difference. When we get to crunch time on June 22 and 23, I am confident we will be ready with moving. Also, I want to put a huge than you out to Craig and Dan who have worked tirelessly to make sure everyone
Several items of note for the week:
• End of Year Popsicle/ Ice Cream Sandwich Respite – After kids leave on the last day of school at 11:50 there will be popsicles and ice cream sandwiches. This will also be a chance to say goodbye to folks leaving such as Megan Murphy and Ingrid Quirke. See all you there!
• Class List Specialist Input – Class lists should be in my box on Monday morning with the placement cards paper clipped to them. I will have Jennifer, Susan, Katie, Aline, and Nancy look at all of them so we have a good balance of all types of students in each class.
• LearnZillion End of the Year Reminders –
Website: eugene4j.learnzillion.com will be updated throughout the summer and is accessible throughout the summer.
Materials Coming: In August: Workbooks, teacher guides, assessment books, Investigation game binders and manipulative materials will arrive in buildings. Materials have been ordered in Spanish.
• 17/18 Master Schedule Delay – I’ve mentioned this to a few people who’ve asked, but principals were told not to process master schedules for next school year with staff yet. We have had a draft since March, but right now it looks like we’re going to have to wait until August for admin and staff for work together on the schedule. I’m as annoyed with this as much as I’m sure you all are.
• End of the School Year: Safety/Injury Prevention Message – Risk Management sent the linked email to principals with safety reminders regarding common injuries that happen at the end of the school year. Most on the job injuries are preventable, so they encourage staff to:
1. Use the district safety ladders. Do not use chairs, furniture, boxes, etc to stand on.
2. Use moving tools/equipment such as carts, dollies, furniture movers, or furniture slides to carry or move heavy items.
3. Complete a pre-work warm-up/stretching routine before beginning a task or participating in an activity that involves significant physical exertion or has a high exposure to injury. Warming up may include performing/participating in low impact tasks/activities which will make stretching more effective.
4. If there are no moving tools equipment available to use, ask for help instead of attempting to carry/move heavy item(s) on own.
5. Offer help when someone is attempting to perform a task that maybe safer and more efficient if two people are working together.
6. If there is no one available to help, take two or more trips to carry/move heavy item(s).
7. Consider using the green zone versus yellow/red zones when pushing, pulling, lifting, lowering, carrying heavy item(s).
8. To will help decrease the chance of a collision between two individuals, approach door entrance/exitways/hallway corners with caution to help improve awareness of surroundings.
9. If possible, when talking on the phone, sending a text, or reading a text stop and sit down. This will help decrease the chance of an unintended slip, trip, or fall.
10. To help improve awareness of surroundings, turn off the radio/music when approaching final work destination. Accidents often occur within close proximity of the driver’s final destination.
11. Do not attempt to catch something as it is falling. Instead, let it fall.
12. Consider checking for slip, trip, fall hazards before performing a task.
• “Grab & Go” Sack Lunch Schedule, Thursday – For lunches on the last day of school, Thursday, students will enter the cafeteria as usual. They will put together their own sack lunch, assembly line style. As students pass through the line, they should form a new line at the an exit door of the teacher’s choosing (it’s very nice not having as cramps of a cafeteria this year). Once all the students have gotten their lunches, the classes can leave the cafeteria. This process should takes about 5-8 minutes.
We will call students down with the flow of students with B’s advice.
• Free Summer Art Program Offered to Kids of All Ages – River Road Park is bringing mobile art bus “Artie” to ten different parks sites in the Eugene/Springfield area this summer. Beginning June 26, free art classes/activities will be offered to K-12 students. See linked flyer for details.
• Northwest Community Credit Union (NWCU) Project Community Mini Grants – Grants to support youth education will be accepted August 1 – October 15. NWCU is asking public school educators and nonprofit organizations to tell them what they need to create meaningful learning experiences for kids. Learn more about the program and how to apply at the Project Community website.
• Studying Skillful Teaching: Module I added for August 17 – An August 17 training for Studying Skillful Teaching, Module 1 has been added to the summer offerings, and is available at the Lane ESD website. Follow the link for additional information.
• District Admin Updates – Larry Williams, the current principal at Edgewood, has been appointed principal at Arts & Technology Academy (ATA). Larry started as a counselor at Churchill High School, then as an administrator at Kelly Middle School and at a K–8 school in Bethel, before becoming principal of Edgewood. Linda O’Shea, who has served as principal at ATA this year, will be moving to another administrative position in the district, to be announced soon. Scott Marsh, current principal at Madison Middle School, will be principal of Edison Elementary School next year. Scott previously served as principal of Parker Elementary School, and before that was assistant principal at Kennedy Middle School, and earlier was a math teacher at Kelly. At the district level, Maddy Ahearn, the district math administrator, will be leaving 4J and has accepted a position with the Lane ESD as a teacher developer and curriculum resource in STEM fields, starting July 1.
• Schedule of Events for the Week and Summer
June 19 (M)
Regular Day
June 20 (Tu)
Regular Day
June 21 (W)
9:00-11:00, Joel at construction meeting.
1:45-2:45- PLC Time- Let’s pack together!
June 22 (Th)
The Last Day of School (Dismissal 11:40)
B will submit a grab and go lunch schedule for us this week.
Permanent Records and Cumulative Files updates due.
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.
June 26- Technically the last day for classified staff (come up with a plan to work before this date)
June 30- Joel’s last day of work.
July 10- Old building torn down.
July 26- Joel back to work. (Ed Center and Starbucks)
July 31 – Potential move in date for Joel. (and my birthday)
August 17- MariCarmen returns to work.
August 21- Potential move in date for all staff. (Construction dependent) Solar Eclipse
September 6- First Day of School in a brand new building!
¡Sí, se puede!
Have a great week and an even better summer!
Joel
Week of June 12, 2017
Hello Shining Stars,
We survived our final 5-day week of the school year! It definitely seemed busy last Friday!
You all are a terrific group to work with and an amazing team , and let’s make the last seven and a half days of school good ones for everybody!
Several items of note for this week:
• First Day of School Team Needed– Allan Chinn, principal at Howard, shared the 1st-Day-of-School plan he used for the First Day in their new building in early September. He said it went very well. Let me know if you want to meet with me to work on a similar plan. I think we will mimic many of Howard’s ideas but we also may want to give it our own twist. What is really important is that we send a message to students about how to treat our brand new building.
• End-of-Year Evaluation Tasks DUE FRIDAY! – All end-of-year self evaluations must be completed by Friday. Licensed staff need to complete their End-of-Cycle Goals Reflection form in TalentEd. Classified Staff, set a time with Yasmin if you have not met with me yet. Teachers, you are also welcome to set up a time.
• REMINDER: Class Lists Due Friday June 16th – I handed out class lists to teachers last week or they downloaded them from last week’s “Diario.” Please submit the new placement cards with the class lists paper clipped on top of the cards.
• REMINDER: End-of-Year Checklist – End-of-Year Checklists were put in staff mailboxes on Friday and need to be completed before teachers and folks in charge of areas can leave for the summer. This year facilities is on your checklist. Dexter Rummel, Kathi Hernandez, or myself will have to sign off on your room before you leave your workspace.
• REMINDER: Staff Technology Summer Checkout – James Grubic sent an email to staff that if you decide to take a laptop and/or iPad home over the summer, you must follow the link to the Google Online Equipment Check Out Form. Be sure to complete the checkout for each of the devices you are taking home for the summer.
• REMINDER: Report Card Grading Day Expectations – This Friday is the elementary report card grading day. This is a regular work day for all staff, with the exception of the very few student-contact-days-only staff. HR has said it is allowable for licensed staff to work from home this day if you notify your administrator (me) in advance, but be sure to make plans ahead of time if you need to collaborate with colleagues for grading. Also, be sure to use this time for grading and not use it to run errands around town. Teachers are highly visible members of the community, so keep in mind public perception. HR has said if working off-site on grading days is abused, we will not be allowed to continue the practice. Classified staff, this is a great day to help teachers pack or to pack other spaces. We need need every ounce of your help to get to our new building.
• District Admin Updates – Tom Horn, the current principal at Edison, has been selected to take on a districtwide role as a student services administrator next year. Before going to Edison, Tom was principal at an alternative high school in South Lane and before that was a special education teacher. This is the first of two SSD (formerly ESS) administrator positions to be announced (Joane Butler is retiring and KC Clark has been appointed to be administrator of the Fox Hollow Campus).
Please share this information with your families.
Teaching and Learning with Emerging Bilingual Learners
A Dream Deferred:
Please read Daniela Arias’ powerful message as she graduates from a high school in Tacoma Washington this week.
Calendar of Events at the School:
June 12 (M)
3:30-5:00, Joel at Immersion Task Force Meeting (Parr Room)
June 13 (Tu)
DATA Team- 8:30-2:30 in Room 18
June 14 (W)
9:00-11:00, Joel at construction meeting.
1:45-2:45- PLC Time- Focus:Aligning report card information across grade levels.
June 15 (Th)
9:00-11:00, Field Day
11:00-12:15, School wide BBQ- B will post a schedule early this week. Expect about 5 minutes longer for lunch per lunch period.
6:00-7:30, 5th Grade Promotion Event (Cafeteria)
June 16 (F)
No School – Grading Day
9:15-10:15- Joel meeting with Shadiin García, PhD on PD plans for 2017-2018
10:30-11:30- Joel, Brooke, and Allan meet to discuss and plan the super boundary enrollment issues for next year.
12:00-1:00- Parent Group Meeting- Planning for next year.
4:00-5:00 New Building Tour, come if you are interested.
Classroom placements due.
June 19 (M)
Regular Day
4:00-5:00, Joel to All Admin meeting.
June 20 (Tu)
Regular Day
June 21 (W)
9:00-11:00, Joel at construction meeting.
1:45-2:45- PLC Time- Let’s pack together!
4:00-5:00, Joel to North Region Principals’ Meeting
June 22 (Th)
The Last Day of School (Dismissal 11:40)
B will submit a grab and go lunch schedule for us this week.
Permanent Records and Cumulative Files updates due.
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.
June 26- Technically the last day for classified staff (come up with a plan to work before this date)
June 30- Joel’s last day of work.
July 10- Old building torn down.
July 26- Joel back to work.
July 31 – Potential move in date for Joel. (and my birthday)
August 17- MariCarmen returns to work.
August 21- Potential move in date for all staff. (Construction dependent)
September 6- First Day of School in a brand new building!
7 and a half days left of school! ¡Sí, se puede!
Joel Lavin
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Week of June 5, 2017
Buenos dias estrellas brillantes,
Summer is approaching and this is our final 5-day week of the school year!
Some items of note for this week:
• Pack!– If you have not made significant progress on packing, this is a warning. You need to pack more! We really need to get this building packed. Please set aside some significant time in the next week to make adequate progress. The library is 100 percent ready to place boxes in it. I encourage you to fill it up with boxes.
• 2017-2018 Music & PE Staffing – Our Music staff for next year will look very familiar, with David Adee coming back Fall and Spring. What is new is that we will have PE with the same teacher all year. We will get to have Ronny Mason back again next year for both semesters. This will be GREAT for our students because they will learn her routines once and keep things consistent for kids all year. We also get Ronny just a little bit more than this year. We plan to use some of that time to start some PBIS incentives for students and possibly other supports.
•Classified Work Day Plan for June 26- Contingent plan: As you may know June 26 is the last contract day for 196 day staff. It is due to the weather make up days.
This means that classified staff should come up with a plan to make up their final hours. One or two of you have already communicated you plan with me. Since no one can be in the building on the 26th, I must have a plan of how you will work that final day. There are a several options. 1. Come and work your shift on a Saturday to help someone pack. 2. Come work your hours spread over 1 week or two. 3. Work an evening event in the next few weeks such as 5th promotion or supporting Alicia in one of here events.
• Student Intent to Return Forms Due Friday – Downtown has created a process for confirming students returning next school year, which involves office staff putting together Returning Student Verification Form Packets (an Intent to Return form and a Student Information form stapled together) and classroom teachers sending them home on Monday. MariCarmen and Yasmin worked super hard on Friday to get these ready for you. Please get them out first thing on Monday with your newsletter packets.
Students should return all forms by this Friday. Teachers should give MariCarmen signed forms as soon as you get them so she can and enter them into a spreadsheet that we have to turn in by next week. The reason for the new process is that downtown wants to have better data for when they decide where to allocate “fix-it” funds for schools with enrollment bulges.
• NEHS Senior Stroll Thursday at 11:15 – North Eugene High School staff has the cool idea of letting their graduating seniors visit their old elementary and middle schools this Thursday. They are first holding a Goodbye Assembly at North and from there will make groups based upon what school graduates want to stroll through. If all goes according to plan, they should get to Madison/River Road/ El Camino del Río/Howard by 11:30, where they will stroll through the schools and load buses to depart by noon. Let me know if you have any questions.
• Report Card Grading Day Expectations – Not this Friday, but Friday next week is the elementary report card grading day. This is a regular work day for all staff, with the exception of the very few student-contact-days-only staff. HR has said it is allowable for licensed staff to work from home this day if they notify their administrator (me) in advance, but be sure to make plans ahead of time if you need to collaborate with colleagues for grading. Also, be sure to use this time for grading and not use it to run errands around town. Teachers are highly visible members of the community, so keep in mind public perception. HR has said if working off-site on grading days is abused, we will not be allowed to continue the practice.
• ODE Summer Academies 2017 – Teachers should let me know if you’re interested in this summer professional development opportunity, so I can put in an application for our school. Focus and Priority schools will automatically qualify and other schools with low growth scores in SBAC- OAKS will get higher priority in getting in. Linked here is a the Summer Academies Flyer. If this opportunity is of interest to you, let me know by the end of the week. I already have 4 interested employees. It’s free to us as a priority school too!
• Reminder: Class Lists Due Friday June 16th – Thank you teachers for working in your PLC last week to complete the placement lists as a draft. Jennifer is completing the Placement Card for all staff. They will be in your boxes on Tuesday. They will not be differentiated by gender this year so please do not expect green and yellow placement cards. Lists and cards need to be completed by the end of next week, Friday, June 16th.
• Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program (Free Books for Kids!) – This is obviously a marketing ploy, but the Barnes & Noble’s Summer Reading Program will give kids a free book if they fill out a Reading Journal (available in both Spanish and English) of what they read over the summer and who they would recommend those book to. They can then redeem their completed journal for one of the free books listed in the journal.
Teaching and learning with the emerging bilinguals:
Calendar for the Remainder of the Year:
June 5 (M)
Regular Day
June 6 (Tu)
8:15-11:15- Joel at Elementary Principal’s Meeting
2:00-2:30- Assembly- School Wide BEST Strings Performance in Cafeteria
3:00-4:00, Final Staff Meeting of the year (Room 18)
June 7 (W)
9:00-11:00, Joel at construction meeting.
1:45-2:45- PBIS Meeting in Room 9
1:45-3:45- PLC Time – Professional Development on Imagine Learning software for 2017/2018. Extended contracts provided.
4:00-5:00- Joel at the North Region Meeting
June 8 (Th)
11:10-11:45, NEHS Graduates’ “Senior Stroll”
8:00-2:30, Final Data Team Meeting #6 (Room 18)
June 9 (F)
Now a REGULAR SCHOOL DAY
4:00-5:00 New Building Tour
June 12 (M)
3:30-5:00, Joel at Immersion Task Force Meeting (Parr Room)
June 13 (Tu)
4:00-5:30, Final Site Council Meeting: Transitions for new members and thank you for old members.
June 14 (W)
9:00-11:00, Joel at construction meeting.
1:45-2:45- PLC Time- Focus:Aligning report card information across grade levels.
June 15 (Th)
9:00-11:00, Field Day
11:00-12:15, School wide BBQ
June 16 (F)
No School – Grading Day
4:00-5:00 New Building Tour
Classroom placements due.
4:00-5:00 New Building Tour
June 19 (M)
Regular Day
4:00-5:00, Joel to All Admin meeting.
June 20 (Tu)
8:15-11:15- Joel at Elementary Principal’s Meeting
Regular Day
June 21 (W)
9:00-11:00, Joel at construction meeting.
1:45-2:45- PLC Time- Let’s pack together!
4:00-5:00, Joel to North Region Principals’ Meeting
June 22 (Th)
The Last Day of School (Dismissal 11:40)
Permanent Records and Cumulative Files updates due.
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.
June 26- Technically the last day for classified staff (come up with a plan to work before this date)
June 30- Joel’s last day of work.
July 10- Old building torn down.
July 26- Joel back to work.
July 31 – Potential move in date for Joel.
August 21- Potential move in date. (Construction dependent)
September 6- First Day of School in a brand new building!
3 weeks to go. ¡Se se puede!
Joel Lavin