El 15 de enero, 2018
Hello El Camino Educators,
The last week was definitely an intense week for us. Being in the news and feeling like we are under the microscope for our support of immigrant students/ families has been on many peoples minds. In addition, on Friday we sent many teachers to the OABE conference, we presented on FLOSEM, and on our school transformation. It was a powerful week. There are many things to be proud of from our hard work and learning last week. In addition, I want to emphasize that we are not alone in supporting each other. Our unity as a staff has mattered greatly in this time. I want to commend you all for how you have stuck together and provided positive words and thoughts for each other. I received many messages from schools who stand with us. Twin Rivers Charter school is making posters in support of us. Guy Lee Elementary in Springfield is also showing solidarity with us during this time. The graphic above is from an article in time that came out a year and a half ago, titled” The immigrants fate is everyone’s fate.” Please stand together to keep this hate out of our school.
These three rocked their presentation on Friday. I am a super proud principal for seeing their teacher leadership come out to the world.
• Science Investigation #1 by March – The district has set a goal for all 4J elementary students to complete Investigation #1 before March 1st. During PD you might have heard Sue explain this as her new year’s resolution. Sue Wilson and Brooke Wagner will follow up with principals to measure Kit #2 implementation, as well as scheduling some times for school walk-throughs. Please let me know if there are supports that will help you with science implementation. I have planning days as substitutes to provide for you if you need to sit down with Allison Kreider to figure out how to use the materials.
• PE/Music Semester Transition – Good news! Our staff has two amazing teachers that get to STAY with us. There is no teacher transition, no change in routine. There will be adjustments to the schedule but it is mainly unchanged. Second Semester we will not have PE on Wednesdays. This means that we will not have to squeeze in PE on other days or swap out other academics on certain days like we did last year. Really, the only change is that the toothpaste tube squeezes to the PE side of things. This is great for kids and teachers. They know the students and know the rules. It should mean less difficulty for the kids with behaviors after February begins.
• Major-Minor Behavior Matrix – Linked here is the 4J Elementary Behavior Matrix, which includes a handy grid on pages three and four with guidelines on when we should respond to misbehavior with a Redirect/Reteach (Uh-Oh/Level 1), a Minor Referral (Level 2), or a Major Referral (Level 3). For example, for Disrespect/Noncompliance, a Level 1 is appropriate for passive refusal to participate, with very slow response to request, a Level 2 is appropriate for ignoring a reasonable request with a prolonged refusal to participate, and a Level 3 would be appropriate for repeated refusal that leads to substantial and ongoing disruption. Other guidelines are for Disruption, Inappropriate Language, Fighting/Aggression, Teasing/Harassment, Property Damage, and Lying/Cheating/Theft. And as we all know, the referral forms mean nothing and it’s all in our reteaching, reinforcing, and consistency that helps to improve student behavior.
• 19 Big and Small Classroom Management Strategies – Related to the above, this Edutopia article has some excellent behavior management reminders (even if it was written by a 12th grade English teacher). A good reminder I know I sometimes forget is #2, which said, “Keep your consequences as minimal as possible – When a rule is broken, assign the smallest consequence possible and see if that gets the job done. Don’t use up big consequences too fast.” There’s also plenty of good small reminders, like never punish an entire class or give students choices or publicly announce classroom management goals. Read on for more!
• TeacherVUE Synergy App for Attendance – The TeacherVUE Synergy app (iOS and Android) a few years ago was discouraged from being used to take attendance because of reliability issues, but some 4j teachers have tried and it seems to be working now. Using the app on your phone or tablet can be easier for taking attendance than on your computer if teachers want to download and use it. In setting it up, just use the URL https://sis.4j.lane.edu/
▪ District Admin Updates – Cydney Vandercar, Director of HR, is assuming additional leadership responsibilities for the district’s operational departments in the reinstated role of Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services. As Assistant Superintendent, Cydney now oversees the district’s operational departments and services, including human resources, business services, financial operations, food services, technology, transportation, and facilities, while the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, Dr. Charis McGaughy, oversees instructional services. Another change down the road from us is Spring Creek Elementary School’s principal, Raquel Gwynn, has accepted a position with the Oregon Department of Education and will be leaving 4J in early February. Larry Sullivan, 4J’s prior special education director, will step in as interim principal at Spring Creek for the remainder of the school year.
• Care Team Referrals Due Friday – The January Student Care Team is next week, so any new referrals are due to me this Friday. Linked here is the 4J Release Form to get signed, but you can also refer “hypothetical” student or family situations. Let me know if you have any questions.
• One More MLK Resource- I know that most of you spent time working on the message of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Last week but I thought I would share one of his most important letters with you. It is titled A Letter from a Birmingham Jail. This link is from the Stanford University Library. It includes an audio version with Dr. King’s voice in the background too. It is a good read and helpful for us to re-read as educators when we teach about his legacy.
Schedule of Upcoming Events at School
January 15 (M)
Martin Luther King Jr. Day – No SchoolJanuary 16 (T)
8:00-12:00, Kinder Number Talks Peer Observations
January 17 (W)
8:00-12:00, 1st Grade and 1/2 Number Talks Peer Observations
2:00-3:00, Staff Meeting We will be in Nancy’s Room, A211 (EA’s and All Teachers attend, others welcome)
Agenda:
Connections- 5 min
Poster Evaluation- 15 minutes
Next Steps & Actions- 40 minutesJanuary 18 (H)
Joel in classrooms
2:40-3:45, Guardians of the Galaxy
January 19 (F)
8:00-2:30, Data Team Meeting #3
3:00-5:30, Produce Plus Program by Alicia for all 4j families in Lobby
January 22 (M)
School Choice Week #29:00-10:00, School Choice Tour
3:00-4:00, IEP in the Conference Room
January 23 (T)
8:00-12:00- Fluoride Varnish Clinic (Gym)
8:00-12:00, Peer Observation for 2nd Grade including Jaime Jones
8:15-11:15, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)January 24 (W)
8:00-12:00, Peer Observation for 3rd Grade
2:00-3:00, Grade Level PLC Planning Meetings- Teachers meet to review math / literacy units and assessments.
2:30-3:30, Student Care Team Meeting (Howard Conference Room)
5:30-6:30- Evening Presentation for School Choice
6:00-7:15- Engineering Night
January 25 (H)
8:00-12:00, Peer Observation for 4th and 5th Grade
12:00-1:00, Final School Choice Tour
January 26 (F)
Academy Day- All Specialists, Classroom Teachers, and EA’s should be present.
7:45, Coffee, donuts, and fruit available
8:00-11:30, AM Focus will be deepening understanding of FLOSEM Assessment and aligning assessment procedures.
Lunch provided.
12:00-3:30, PM Focus- will be an equity conversation with Karen Perez Da Silva.
Have a great week, everyone!
Joel
