Week of February 26, 2018
Dear Shining Star Staff,
Most educators have been thinking about the tragedy in Parkland Florida. I know it has been difficult and sad for me. In addition, I am aware that teachers are especially sensitive to the fact that our school is very transparent. I know that this causes some teachers stress as they consider whether the school’s curtains work, how the glass does or does not protect students, etc. Please do make sure your curtain systems work well and keep those areas clear. Please do think about how to keep students safe. And please do respond to student mental health needs as they come up. Please do support each other in these times. This national event triggers some staff in previous trauma. Recognize that. We need to be mindful of how sensitive some are when these things occur and how important it is to be kind to each other and show love and support in our community.
Here is an excerpt for a teaching tolerance article called When Bad Things Happen by Sean McCollum. The full article is here. You may have to use this tool for a variety of circumstances.
Psychological First Aid
Psychological First Aid (PFA) frameworks, like the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s “Listen, Protect, Connect—Model & Teach” program, can help educators promote healing in the face of community violence.
Step 1 LISTEN
Teachers or staff should facilitate opportunities for students to share their experiences and understanding of what happened, and also express their feelings. Younger children may be encouraged to draw, perhaps with an indirect prompt to avoid introducing unpleasant thoughts that a child may not have, suggests clinical psychotherapist Marlene Husson.
Step 2 PROTECT
Adults should work to reestablish students’ feelings of physical and emotional safety. Returning to regular school and classroom routines can contribute to this. School staff can advise students and families to avoid news coverage, violent films and other stimuli that may trigger children.
Step 3 CONNECT
As needed, teachers and staff can encourage students to reestablish normal social connections, both in and out of school. Self-isolating is one of the common reactions to trauma. If this behavior lasts beyond an expected period, it may suggest the need for intervention.
Step 4 MODEL
At home and at school, students look for behavioral cues from adults they respect and trust. Adults in the school community should model calm and optimistic behavior. This sets an example and sends the signal that, as anxious or sad as students may feel, it is necessary and possible to carry on.
Step 5 TEACH
Psychologists, social workers or counselors can present information to students and parents about common reactions to stress, which may include changes in appetite and sleep patterns, as well as temporary difficulties with concentration and memory. These professionals can also reinforce the idea that seeking help is admirable, not something to shy away from.
• Staffing Information Update – I shared information last Tuesday in an email, but for a quick update we are still waiting to get our staffing for classified SPED, PE, Music, TSS, and BEST allocations.
There will be an optional staffing scenario session on Tuesday and Wednesday this week at 7:30 in the Conference Room to discuss potential scenarios.
We will have a final recommendation staffing meeting on March 7th. The staffing will be submitted on March 15. I will also be sharing scenarios I have created so far on Monday via email.
• Earthquake/Fire Drill Tuesday at 1:30 –We are holding the drill this Tuesday at 1:30. I’ll announce the drill ahead of time for students. If you send information with classroom dojo or email, please let them know ahead of time about the drill. Remember there are many resources for teaching Drop, Cover, Hold at The Great Oregon Shakeout.
•Wednesday versus Friday Assemblies- There are two main times for running our weekly assembly. Wednesday at 1:10 and Friday at 8:10. There are some differences. PLT already made a decision to not do Wednesday in early February but I feel we need more input given some of the concerns brought up.
1. If we are to try to run a specials program the Wednesday time will not work and we will have to abandon that idea this year.
2. It disrupts Ronny’s prep time before PE on Friday mornings to run it on Friday.
3. There is some food still snuck in from the cafeteria on Friday mornings. A Wednesday session is probably less sticky in the floor.
4. Parents have an easier time making it to the Friday morning assembly than the Wednesday assembly if their child is receiving a recognition.
Here is the survey to get your recommendation for my decision: survey link here.
Please respond by Wednesday at 4 this week. We will decide on this Friday in PLT.
This next week we will have our assembly at 8:10 AM on Friday.
•Noche Cultural will be on March 14 from 5:30-8:30- Thanks to Chavo, Lily, and David, this event is turning out to be very exciting. We have several vendors and donors coming to help out already. In a addition, some speakers, dancers and artists are also going to be there. A Flier will be out next week for you to share with students.
That is all for the week. Here are some of the upcoming events:
February 26 (M)
9:00-11:00, Joel in classrooms
4:00-5:30, Joel at All Admin Meeting
February 27 (T)
7:30-8:00, Optional session on Staffing (Conference Room)
9:00-11:00, Joel in classrooms
1:30-1:45, Earthquake Drill and Evacuation- A special announcement will be made to families ahead of this announcement.
3:00-4:00, Racism Free Zone Meeting (5th grade Commons)
7:00-8:30, Building 4J’s Future: Bond Community Forum (Kelly MS)
February 28 (W)
7:30-8:00, Optional session on Staffing (Conference Room)
9:00-11:00, Joel in classrooms
2:00-3:00- Grade Level Planning for Math Instruction- Teachers expected to work together by grade level on planning. Prepare for the Data team on Friday.
3:00-4:00, Optional session on staffing if you choose you use your prep to provide me input. (Library)
2:30-3:30, Student Care Team Meeting (Conference Room at Howard, Jennifer attends)
March 1 (Th)
8:00-4:00, Joel at the TAG Training at Lane ESD
March 2 (F)
Assembly Friday AM
8:00-2:30- Data Team in A209 (Karen will send details.)
March 5 (M)
Classified Employees Appreciation Week
3:00-3:45, Optional Work Session on Staffing (Library)
March 6 (T)
8:00-11:30, Joel at Principal’s Meeting (Ed Center)
11:50-1:30, Joel in classrooms. (1st Floor)
3:00-4:00, Racism Free Zone Meeting (5th grade Commons)
March 7 (W)
2:00-3:00, Staff Meeting
Agenda will include the final recommendation for staffing from teachers and classified staff and a short training on restraint and seclusion.
March 8 (Th)
8:00-2:30, ELL Conference- Jaime and Nancy out. Joel in and out.
3:00-4:00, Equity Meeting (David Barnes Classroom)
March 9 (F)
Assembly Friday AM
8:00-2:30, ELL Conference- Day 2
5:30-8:30, Kelly MS, Benito Juarez Celebration
March 14 (W)
5:30-8:00, Noche Cultural (El Camino del Río)
That is all for the week.
Don’t forget to read something fun on March 2.
Saludos cordiales,
Joel
Uncategorized | Comment (0)Week of February 19th, 2018
Dear Shining Star Staff,
This week is National Custodian Appreciation Week. Craig Young and Dan O’Donnell have done an amazing job to transition us into this new beautiful building. Each day, I am in awe at how they have managed to keep the place looking beautiful and shiny. The budget for window cleaner is definitely going up! The school is bigger and different to clean than the old building. They are doing an incredible job. In addition, their friendliness and care for students carries on a long tradition at River Road/ El Camino del Río. Kindness and cleaning do go hand in hand. Dan and Craig are experts at this combination. Thank you both for your hard work and care for our students! The El Camino del Río community loves you!
• Making Every Classroom a Racism Free Zone- This week will be the 2nd meeting of the RFZ team. We will begin to fine tune the school wide language for our RFZ. In addition, we will begin to make plans for encouraging teachers in every classroom to establish their own RFZ. Student voice is very important in this process. We want each classroom to have a student written RFZ in each room. 100% of our classrooms!
Here is the current ATA RFZ declaration based on the RFZ of Jefferson and Magnet Arts Schools:
Arts & Technology Academy’s Racism Free Zone Declaration
We, the students of Arts and Technology Academy declare our school to be a Racism Free Zone.
- Our school will be free and open to all people without regard to cultural or color differences.
- No racist remark or harassment will be allowed.
- Any such actions will result in serious consequences and educational opportunities.
- Our school will be respectful to people of all races and cultures.
- All people will be welcomed here.
- We will do our very best to get rid of racism from our school and the world.
Consider modifying this to fit your students developmental level and share it with staff if you have created a declaration early. This can be a class wide writing activity.
• Mid Term Goals Meeting and Mid Term Goals Reports – I have been chipping away at mid term goals meetings this last week. We are about half way done. This year, I hope to meet with each teacher to see not just how you are doing on the academic goals set, but to find out how you are doing as a professional. This meeting is an opportunity for you to tell me more about how the year is going for you and if there is anything I might want to adjust in my leadership to support you. So please come with one thing I can change to be a better leader for you.
• District Report Card Revision Group – Instruction Department Leaders and EEA are putting together a group to work on revising elementary report cards, with the goal of condensing the report card, while keeping it meaningful. For the committee they want 6 reps per grade level from across the district, so let me know by the end of the week if any of you are interested in me forwarding your name to Brooke. Lilliana Chaves already wants to do this work. I will be checking in with her on Tuesday.
• EEF Grants Coming – It’s time to start preparing for EEF’s grant applications for next school year. This year, the application process will open on April 1st, and applications will be due on May 15th. The application form, details about the timeline, process, and many other helpful hints will be posted soon on the EEF Grants webpage. These grants have made a HUGE difference in developing our program and our library.
• Free Hult Center Field Trip: The Orchestra Swings – The Eugene Symphony will be featuring River Road students participating in the BEST After School program, onstage, at an upcoming youth concert:,The Orchestra Swings on Tuesday, March 13 at the Hult Center, with two performances, 10:30 AM & 12:30 PM. Buses are free and ticket prices for students were waived for River Road/ El Camino de Río (they are asking for $5 per adult, but the building can cover that). I plan on sending the 3rd grade to this and here is the link Online Field Trip Register Form. Perhaps another grade wants to go.
• Earthquake/Fire Drill Tuesday, February 27 at 1:30 – Next Tuesday at 1:30 will be our February Fire Drill and also our second and final required earthquake drill of the school year. Given the recent school shooting in Florida, I’m going to announce the drills ahead of time for students during morning announcements and also right before the drill. Parents will also be informed in the weekly newsletter.
• District Admin Updates – Harlan Coats, Director of Facilities and Transportation, has decided to retire at the end of the school year. If you don’t know Harlan, he’s a great guy and is 4Js very own Horatio Alger story. He was a 4J student, starting out in 1981 as a waste collector back when 4J ran their own garbage service, and worked his way up through the ranks to the Director of Facilities. 4J will be posting the position to find Harlan’s replacement. Harlan’s footprint on the quality of our school facilities is expansive and he will be greatly missed.
Here are some of the main events of the next two weeks.
February 19 (M)
President’s Day- No School
February 20 (T)
8:30-10:00, Classroom Observations and Mid Term Goals
10:15-1:45, Joel at the big staffing meeting
February 21 (W)
2:00-3:00, Staff Meeting-
PD focus on ELL’s and Academic Language Learners and Writing with Lily Gold.
6:00-7:00, Kindergarten Orientation
February 22 (Th)
8:00-4:00, Teachers and Joel at Dual Language Retreat at LCC
February 23 (F)
8:00-4:00, Teachers and Joel at Dual Language Retreat at LCC
6:30-8:30 PM, Movie Night
February 26 (M)
9:00-11:00, Joel in classrooms
4:00-5:30, Joel at All Admin Meeting
February 27 (T)
9:00-11:00, Joel in classrooms
1:30-1:45, Earthquake Drill and Evacuation- A special announcement will be made to families ahead of this announcement.
February 28 (W)
9:00-11:00, Joel in classrooms
2:00-3:00- Grade Level Planning for Math Instruction- Teachers expected to work together by grade level on math planning.
March 1 (Th)
8:00-4:00, Joel at the TAG Training at Lane ESD
March 2 (F)
9:00-11:00, Joel in classrooms
Have a great week everyone!
Best,
Joel
Week of February 12, 2018
Hello Shining Stars,
I just want to take a moment to acknowledge our Special Education educators. This year, we have had an increase in students with higher levels of need to be successful. Every day, I see these students feel positive, content, and challenged in their learning. Katie Hynes Petty has done an especially nice job ensuring that students succeed. The plans she has designed with her IEP teams are impressive and improvements in student success continue to astound me. Katie’s patience and high expectations for her students shines though. Michelle, Nikki, Susan, Justin and more have also created a very welcoming and attentive environment for their students. Thank you all for your great work. It effects us all and inspires us.
• Repeat: 2018-2019 Staff Survey, Due Feb. 19 – With staffing allocations coming out in one week, I’d like staff to complete the linked Google Form Staff Survey. I’d like to know staff members’ individual plans and preferences for the future as well as your thoughts on next year’s staffing plan and master schedule. Please complete the survey by Monday, February 19th. All answers will be kept confidential and please let me know if you have any questions.
• Building Facilities Issues – Three items you can help with:
• Send Me Your Worst Sunlight Pictures – Anyone with a south facing window is well aware that natural light continues to be an issue, so please email or text me your worst pictures of sunlight disrupting instruction by shining in students’ faces, or blowing out anything being projected, or anything else. This will help me to get Dexter to fix this.
• Notify Me of Blinds Issues – Let me know if you ever notice blinds that do not retract all the way, are not going down all the way, coming down too far, or are crooked. They’re still under warranty and we want to get these fixed now before we have to pay to have them fixed later. Alexis continues to have strange ghost-like behavior with your blinds but I know there are other minor issues happening too.
•The District is also designing a new driveway. I will have more details for you soon.
• FOSS Science Survey – Linked here is a FOSS SURVEY for teachers to fill out as to where you are in meeting your goal of teaching the first investigation of your second science kit by March 1st. If teachers need support, Allison Krieder and Sue Wilson, folks are here to help and can arrange for support in anyway teachers need.
• Earthquake/Fire Drill February 27 – Tuesday, February 27 at 1:30 will be our February Fire Drill and also our second and final required earthquake drill of the school year. For the earthquake drill, there are many resource on The Great Oregon Shake Out website to help you teach students about Drop, Cover, Hold and about earthquake preparedness. The video below provides a great practice tool. We will use the same Fire Drill Lines once we give an all clear from the office to evacuate.
• Report Card Notes – Two items of note regarding report cards going home this Friday:
• I apologize if you did not get report cards done before the lockout on Friday the 9th at midnight. We will be resetting the window to be off next Friday. You should have plenty of time for completion by then. Please remember to stuff your own report card envelopes if you are new to the building.
• Email MariCarmen when Report Cards Completed – Teachers, let her know when you are finished with your report cards. She has to run a report that saves the report cards to the student information in Synergy, but it would lock teachers out if she does it before you’re done.
• Dismissal Duty Changes:
There will be a full set of instructions about dismissal duties in your box on Monday. We are switching roles this week (mostly). Here is the new schedule. Please show up to your duty location each school day. Thanks!
Dismissal Duties 2nd Semester 2018
| Gym
2nd Semester |
Bus Loop/ Rover | Pick Up 1st -5th | Pick Up kindergarten
(library or outside in front) |
Unlock the Gates/ Check on walkers/ bikes west side. | Crossing Guard /Traffic |
| David Adee
Hernandez (2nd) Peggy Lima Nikita Brougher (K) Erin Piper (3rd) Chaves (1st) Garcia (5th) Ramirez- Tate (2nd) Baissac – Catching readers/ PBIS Flores (3rd) |
Jones (radio)
Gomez (4th)
|
Reckers ( 3rd)
Hellman (1/2nd) Screen (5th) David Barnes (1st) |
Erin Skoubo (radio) (K)
Erin Bucklew (K) Karen Ramirez Guitierrez Jennifer Harris (post check out) |
Volunteer/Dan or Craig | Nancy Schaal McHarry- Crossing guard
Ronny Mason – traffic Joel Lavin- driveway Janely Becerra- crossing Ed Rauscher- Volunteer |
Breakfast Routine Improvements:
Aline, Nancy and I worked on a draft for the breakfast routine to make it more orderly. This new plan will also be in your box. We will begin implementing this plan on Wednesday after some details have been communicated to all involved.
Here is the Plan:
Plan for Morning Cafeteria
Students will start seating by grade levels based on seating plan
At 8 AM students who have eaten will ask to be dismissed to the gym or outside
4/5 students can go outside
2/3 can go to the gym
k/1 will stay in the cafeteriaIn order to earn the privilege to go outside, students have to do the following:
- Be seated and have eaten.
- Either reading or talking quietly.
- Raise their hands to be excused.
- Students may not use the bathroom when outside or in the gym.
Margarita will excuse ⅔ students with a stamp.
Aline will excuse ⅘ students with a stamp.
Rita will do outside supervision.
Burgundee will be in the gym.
Antonio will supervise the kindergarten.
Craig will set up the grade level tents.
At 8:15 third grade students will go to the cafeteria.
Second grade students will exit through the lobby doors to go outside.
Students without a stamp who go outside or the gym will receive AyAyAy’s.
Here is the calendar for the next two weeks:
February 12 (M)
Mid Term Goals Meetings
11:45-3:45- Interviews for Bilingual EA Job (Conference Room)
February 13 (T)
8:00-11:45, Joel to Elementary Principal Meeting
Mid Term Goals Meetings in the afternoon
3:00-4:15, Racism Free Zone Meeting- Staff, Community and Parents Welcome
5:00-6:00, Site Council in the Library
6:00-7:30, Parent Group Meeting in the Library
February 14 (W)
9:00, Joel in phone conference.
2:00-3:00, PBIS Meeting
February 15 (Th)
Joel in early meeting off site.
3:00-3:45, GOTG, Guardians of The Galaxy – IPBS
February 16 (F)
West Linn Wilsonville District Visits to our school for architectural and dual immersion ideas.
3:00-3:30, PLT in Conference Room
February 19 (M)
President’s Day- No School
February 20 (T)
8:30-10:00, Classroom Observations
10:15-1:45, Joel at the big staffing meeting
February 21 (W)
3:00-4:00, Staff Meeting
6:00-7:00, Kindergarten Orientation
February 22 (Th)
8:00-4:00, Teachers and Joel at Dual Language Retreat at LCC
February 23 (F)
8:00-4:00, Teachers and Joel at Dual Language Retreat at LCC
6:00-8:00 PM, Movie Night
Have a great week everyone!
Best,
Joel
Uncategorized | Comment (0)Week of February 5th, 2018
Hello El Camino del Rio Family,
No note today. Please watch this video.
Here are a few items of note:
Let’s Celebrate! National School Counseling Week- This year’s celebration takes place February 5-9, 2018 and focuses public attention on the unique contribution of School Counselors within U.S. school systems, and how students are different as a result of School Counselor’s work. School Counselors across the nation celebrate National School Counseling Week with the American School Counselor Association, and this is the perfect opportunity to shed light on their role and significance with the educational setting. Since School Counselors typically don’t like to pat themselves on the back, or are giving pats to others, please take this time to recognize the work they do and the benefits provided to students through the school counseling program. Teachers and classified staff, Jennifer is an amazing counselor. Her skill and expertise for supporting our students is unparalleled across the district. Consider writing a card, recognizing her work, or just getting her a special coffee drink this week. She definitely deserves recognition for her hard work. There is no doubt that she has made a difference in children’s lives at our school.
Green Power Grant– See below for an excellent grant opportunity ($50,000.00!) from EWEB for projects that involve increasing renewable energy use, adoption of emerging technologies and/or reducing our community’s carbon footprint. Buena Vista is a past recipient for their solar project. I have attached the application, which provides all the details. The deadline is March 7th. 2018 Greenpower Grant Guidelines_Application
Shortened ELA Smarter Balance Assessment– The ELA test for all grades will be one hour shorter this year. Attached: a one-page document with the details. Hand-scored questions (requiring short written response) on the CAT portion of the test – have been replaced with items that can be scored by machine (multiple choice, click on an answer, etc.)The Performance Task will only have one question instead of three.
•FOSS Science Survey – Linked here is a FOSS Survey for teachers to fill out on where you are in meeting your goal of teaching the first investigation of your 2nd kit by March 1st. If teachers need support, Allison and Instruction Department folks are here to help and can arrange for support in anyway teachers need.
https://goo.gl/forms/na81NsVs4uGbMzAg2
•2018-2019 Staffing Timeline – Principals will receive staffing for next school year on Tuesday, February 20th at 10:00. I’ll send an email to staff later that day to let folks know where we stand. In terms of overall enrollment, El Camino del Rio is currently at projection of 363 for 16-17. We are currently at 361 and we surpassed 365 in the last month. I expect that our projection will be more than last year. We have close to 80 kindergarteners. I expect the district to increase projections to 386 for 18-19.
• FOSS Science Survey – Linked here is a FOSS Survey for teachers to fill out as to where you are in meeting your goal of teaching the first investigation of your second science kit by March 1st. If teachers need support, Allison and Instruction Department folks are here to help and can arrange for support in anyway teachers need.
• 2018-2019 Staff Survey, Due Feb. 19 – With staffing allocations coming out in two weeks, I’d like staff to complete the linked Google Form Staff Survey. I’d like to know staff members’ individual plans and preferences for the future as well as your thoughts on next year’s staffing plan and master schedule. Please complete the survey by Monday, February 19th. All answers will be kept confidential and please let me know if you have any questions.
• Easy CBM Parent Reports Coming – The new parent reports for K-1 were sent to principals late Friday, so I’ll print those and place in the mailbox area for K-1 teachers on Monday. Downtown is having technical issue with the reports for grades 2-5, but said they are working on it over the weekend. There’s a separate explanation sheet (English & Spanish) about the easyCBM and OAKS scores.
• Restraint and Seclusion – Falling under Board Policy JGAB, this linked document covers the procedures regarding Use of Restraint and Seclusion. EEA has shared concerns that staff who are not trained in restraint and seclusion (OIS or MANDT) are not fully aware of the procedures and expectations, so principals have been asked to review the policy and procedures regarding restraint and seclusion before Spring Break, along with training staff regarding the escalation cycle. We’ll plan to do this at our first staff meeting in March.
• Building Visitors – Per Board Policy KK, all visitors and all visiting district staff must sign in with the front office at all times. If you have a large group come, have the leader sign in and provide you a list of all participants attending with them. And if you see a visitor without a sticker, please direct them back to the office to sign in. This INCLUDES construction workers, community members, Head Start families, and parents.
• District Admin Updates – BJ Blake, 4J Director of Secondary Education, will be retiring at the end of the school year. BJ was principal of Buena Vista and Meadowlark, Spencer Butte Middle School, and Churchill High School, and most recently as the district’s secondary education director. Downtown will post the position and undertake a search process to select the next secondary education director.
February 5 (M)
Second Semester Begins
National School Counseling Week- This means we need to show the love to Ms. Jennifer.
9:00-11:00, Joel in Classrooms
February 6 (T)
8:00-3:30, Joel, Erin Bucklew, and Alexis Screen at LEL B (Buena Vista Elementary)
February 7 (W)
February Walk and Roll to School Day
2:00-3:00, Staff Meeting- (Nancy’s Classroom A 211)
Agenda:
Head Start Information
Initial Staffing Conversations
Library Rules established by Pilar Zentz
Immigrants Welcome Event
RFZ Planning
4:00-5:00, Joel to North Region Admin Meeting (NEHS)
6:00-7:30, Craft Night for Loved Ones (Cafeteria)
February 8 (H)
Regular Day
February 9 (F)
1:30-3:00, OPTIONAL: 4J Elementary EA Behavior Workshop (Ed Center)
3:00-3:30, PLT in Conference Room
February 12 (M)
Regular Day
February 13 (T)
5:00-6:00, Site Council in the Library
6:00-7:30, Parent Group Meeting in the Library
February 14 (W)
2:00-3:00, PBIS Meeting
February 15 (Th)
3:00-3:45, GOTG, Guardians of The Galaxy – IPBS
February 16 (F)
West Linn Wilsonville District Visits to our school for architectural and dual immersion ideas.
3:00-3:30, PLT in Conference Room
Have a great week everyone!
Best,
Joel
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