Week of March 18, 2019
Dear Shining Stars,
As we approach the Spring Break, I am seeing a many positive characteristics come through. These are some characteristics many of us are striving for and that we want to achieve together. I see them in the hallways, classrooms, and our staff meetings.
Build strong relationships- I see each and every one of you do this. Keep working at those student, parent and staff relationships.
Teach essential social skills- I know this year more than ever the Second Steps Curriculum has benefitted your students.
Get on the same page- The ongoing conversation we are having with Reid Shepard and with each other is about getting on the same page. We are working on this one. I feel this should be a major area of focus for us as a staff. We must make a meaningful commitment about our school wide agreements on classroom and learn to live with it.
Teach all students problem solving- I see this happening often. It is improving our school culture.
Create meaningful parent involvement- We are very good at this. Every visitor that I guide through our school is impressed with the level of involvement in our school. Our parents make a huge difference in the culture of our school.
Celebrate personal achievement and good behavior- Our weekly school wide meetings are a best practice in building positive culture. Celebrating those students who do the right thing is very important.
Model the behaviors you want to see in your school- We are the solution. No one else will “fix” the problems we face with high intensity behavior. Look within yourself. Look to each other. We are the change, not “the district.” The conversations we have to get on the same page will help us move forward but the work we do daily with young people is what matters most. The way we act in front of them matters too.
• Staffing and classroom placement – I have been trying to figure out ways to place all our classrooms in the building. We definitely have room for all of them but it will be tighter than it is this year. Some staff will have to move classrooms but we also will have to close some rooms to their previous use. For example, A209 will most likely become a regular classroom and Title will now be in one classroom downstairs. Also, the 4J nursing department is staying in our building another year. This was decided by the instruction department and SSD downtown. The tricky part is that I cannot seem to design a classroom arrangement that includes all 2nd grade classes on one floor.
• ESSA Indicator meeting last week – The ESSA indicator meeting was a lot of rating and hard work, but it was not something our staff has not done before. This week we will be prioritizing the areas the team feels we need to do the most work on as a school. We meet Wednesday from 3:15-6:15. Interestingly, there is some work we feel we can do to improve our school but there are many things the team feels are not in our control, but the district’s control. We will discuss this further next week and I will give an update at the post-Spring break staff meeting.
• Looking for Sponsors for Noche Cultural-If you know someone who has a business that would like to support our school, please send me a quick email. I will add their name to the Benito Juarez Noche Cultural Poster.
•Choice Time extended to April 12-This is a reminder that we decided to extend choice time to April 12 so students would have more time to practice dance and do cultural activities together in preparation for the Benito Juarez Noche Cultural Celebration. Nancy will be arranging our final set of choice time selections very soon. Expect an email from her communicating about this. It is important that we have a balance of choices for all grade levels. Communicate with Nancy so our kids have the best selection possible.
• Care Team Referrals due Tuesday-Short notice, but the Student Care Team is meeting this Thursday if staff have any students or family situations they would like to refer to the team. We have a high number of students in difficult situations, so please let me know if you have any families who are looking for help (referral form English and Spanish and English/Spanish Care Team Flyer) or any “hypothetical” situations to bring to the team.
• Movement And Breathing Breaks Help Students Stay Focused On Learning – Research has shown that short movement breaks help students get focused, improving both skill-building and knowledge retention. See thisMind/Shift Article for details (as if you didn’t already know this was a good idea).
Here are some of the upcoming events in the school:
March 18(M)
All Day Dual Language Observations (Previously cancelled due to snow days.) Reset the substitutes using Immersion Task Force code. We will go to North Eugene and Kelly. The observations begin at Kelly.
March 19 (Tu)
3:00-4:00, Staff Meeting-PBIS
4:00-5:00, Noche Cultural Meeting
March 20 (W)
3:00-4:00, PLT
3:15-6:15, PLT ESSA Planning Part Deux
March 21 (Th)
3:00-4:00, GOTG
March 22 (F)
Double Prep
March 25 (M)
Spring Break
March 26 (Tu)
Spring Break
March 27 (W)
Spring Break
March 28 (Th)
Spring Break
March 29 (F)
April 1 (M)
Regular Day
2:20 PM Fire Drill
April 2 (Tu)
Staff Meeting on Noche Cultural
April 3 (W)
3:00-4:00, PLT
April 4 (Th)
3:00-4:00, GOTG
April 5 (F)
2:15-3:00-Progress Monitoring #2
3:00-4:00, Teacher Prep
April 8 (M)
PLC Day 1
April 9 (Tu)
Joel at the All Admin Meeting
PLC Day 2
3:15-4:00, Staff Meeting-Benito Juarez Communication Meeting
April 10 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT
April 11 (Th)
3:15-4:00, Noche Cultural Last Minute Check-in
April 12 (F)
2:00-4:00, Friday Everyone Collaborates to support Noche Cultural
5:00-8:00 PM, Benito Juarez/ Noche Cultural
April 15 (M)
Regular Day
April 16 (Tu)
PBIS Staff Meeting
April 17 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT
April 18 (Th)
3:15-4:00, GOTG B
April 19 (F)
2:00-3:00, Disrupted Learning Discussion #2
3:00-4:00, Teacher Prep
April 22 (M)
National School Volunteer Week
April 23 (Tu)
Joel will be at the Elementary Principal Meeting in the AM
April 24 (W)
Administrative Professionals Day-( 😉 Yasmin and MariCarmen)
April 25 (Th)
3:15-4:00, Equity Meeting in A200
April 26 (F)
2:00-3:00, Math PLC Time
3:00-4:00, Teacher Prep
Other big evening events coming soon:
April 12, Noche Cultural
April 23, 123 Andres Assembly and Parent Engagement Night
April 30, El Dia de Los Libros Literacy Night
May 3, No School-Transition Day-Class List Making and 5/6 transition work
May 17, Viaje Musical
Have a good week everyone! You’ve got this! Have an amazing week with your students! Make every moment count.
Joel
Dr. Dene Eller is a master at these. We all should work on adding some of these compliments to our repertoire.
Week of March 11, 2019
•Benito Juarez / Noche Cultural News- We have joined forces with Kelly to provide a Benito Juarez night at EL Camino. There will be some joint activity between schools to make it run smoothly. Fernell, Zelene, Nikita, Alexis, David B, David A., and I met on Friday to make some adjustments. It is going to be so much fun to do this together.
• Document Room Clears on Level IIIs– I believe I’ve said this before, but if there is EVER a room clear as a result of student behavior, alway check the Room Clear checkbox under the consequences section on Level III referral forms. Downtown is wanting to track this data across the district. Older forms did not have this checkbox, so if you happen to have an older form, just write in Room Clear.
• Child Protection Unit (CPU) Update and Posters– More information should be coming, but as a heads-up to teachers, principals were told that Child Protection Unit teaching materials and posters are being shipped out to schools which I’m assuming are going to be expected to be taught sometime this year. These are Erin’s Law materials and help us fulfill that state law requirement. There is one book per grade level per school. The books have an online access code on the first page, which can be shared between teachers. Posters will be provided for each classroom. Read more about it here: https://www.cfchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/programs/docs/Second-Step_White-Paper_Child-Protection-in-Schools_FA18.pdf
• 2019 ACE Awards – Nominate Today!– It’s ACE Awards season! El Camino del Río has exceptional staff and volunteers who make a difference for students every day and are worthy of recognition. Now is the time to recognize them! Nominations can be made in five categories: teachers and licensed specialists, administrators and supervisors, classified staff, volunteers, and a special lifetime achievement award. Nominations are due by March 31st. Going by past experience, winners are usually selected when a staff gets together to nominate an individual, so let me know if staff want to coordinate anything.
• STEaM Eugene newsletter invitation– Sue Wilson might email staff about STEaM Eugene – a free community event celebrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics happening on Wednesday, March 20th from 4:30-8:00 pm at Churchill High School. If you have awesome student work and/or an interactive activity you have created, they would love to showcase your work. Students can be present to share their work, but are not required. If you have questions, please contact Sue Wilson and if you have a project to showcase, respond to this short Google Form.
• District Admin Updates– First, Sheldon’s longtime principal, Bob Bolden, is moving next year to a role at the district office, supporting key district-wide efforts to improve graduation rates, including re-establishing credit recovery opportunities in high schools and increasing the number of historically underserved students participating in college-level and career technical education courses. Dr. Bob will also aid in supporting efforts to broaden workforce diversity, and contribute to equity and community partnership initiatives. Second, Susan Penrod, 4J’s curriculum administrator for ELA & humanities, pending approval by the Seaside school board later this month, will be the assistant superintendent next year, and will take over as superintendent when its current superintendent retires in 2020.
Here are some of the upcoming events before and after Spring Break:
March 11 (M)
PLC Day 1 Rescheduled
|
DAY 1 8:45-12:45
|
SCHEDULE | 3 SUBS |
| 9:00-10:00 | 2ND | |
| 10:00-11:00 | 3RD | |
| 11:40-12:40 | 1ST |
March 12 (Tu)
PLC Day 2 Rescheduled
|
DAY 2 8:30-12:30
|
SCHEDULE | 4 SUBS |
| 8:45-9:45 | 4 TH | |
| 10:00-11:00 | KINDER
|
|
| TBD- will be working with Reid on this. | 5th |
3:15-4:00, Noche Cultural Meeting
4:45-5:45, Site Council
6:00-7:15, Parent Group
March 13 (W)
3:15-6:00, PLT Special ESSA ORIS Indicator Assessment Meeting- PLT team plus Aline B.
March 14 (Th)
4th Grade Oregon Coast Aquarium Trip
March 15 (F)
Regular Early Day
2:00-3:00, Disrupted Learning Conversation
3:00-4:00, Prep Time
March 18(M)
All Day Dual Language Observations (Previously cancelled due to snow days.) Reset the substitutes using Immersion Task Force code. We will go to North Eugene and Kelly. The observations begin at Kelly.
March 19 (Tu)
3:00-4:00, Staff Meeting- PBIS
4:00-5:00, Noche Cultural Meeting
March 20 (W)
3:00-4:00, PLT
3:15-6:15, PLT ESSA Planning Part Deux
March 21 (Th)
3:00-4:00, GOTG
March 22 (F)
Double Prep
March 25 (M)
Spring Break
March 26 (Tu)
Spring Break
March 27 (W)
Spring Break
March 28 (Th)
Spring Break
March 29 (F)
April 1 (M)
Regular Day
2:20 PM Fire Drill
April 2 (Tu)
Staff Meeting on Noche Cultural
April 3 (W)
3:00-4:00, PLT
April 4 (Th)
3:00-4:00, GOTG
April 5 (F)
2:15-3:00- Progress Monitoring #2
3:00-4:00, Teacher Prep
April 8 (M)
PLC Day 1
April 9 (Tu)
Joel at the All Admin Meeting
PLC Day 2
3:15-4:00, Staff Meeting- Benito Juarez Communication Meeting
April 10 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT
April 11 (Th)
3:15-4:00, Noche Cultural Last Minute Check-in
April 12 (F)
2:00-4:00, Friday Everyone Collaborates to support Noche Cultural
5:00-8:00 PM, Benito Juarez/ Noche Cultural
April 15 (M)
Regular Day
April 16 (Tu)
PBIS Staff Meeting
April 17 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT
April 18 (Th)
3:15-4:00, GOTG B
April 19 (F)
2:00-3:00, Disrupted Learning Discussion
3:00-4:00, Teacher Prep
Other big evening events coming soon:
April 12, Noche Cultural
April 23, 123 Andres Assembly and Parent Engagement Night
April 30, El Dia de Los Libros Literacy Night
May 3, No School- Transition Day- Class List Making and 5/6 transition work
May 17, Viaje Musical
And congratulations to, our 5th grade team OBOB team who did a fine job representing El Camino at the Lane County Regional competition, and a big thank you to Alexis for encouraging reading by organizing this annual event for El Camino kids!
Have a good week everyone! You’ve got this! Have an amazing 10 days with your students! Make every moment count.
Joel
Uncategorized | Comment (0)Week of March 4, 2019
“I am a woman, and I am a Latina. Those are the things that make my writing distinctive. Those are the things that give my writing power.” – Sandra Cisneros
Hi Shining Stars,
Well, that was a strange and unexpected short week, but this week looks like it’ll be back to normal. However, there is one special thing about this week. It’s Classified Employee Appreciation Week! El Camino is very lucky to have a stellar team of classified staff, from educational assistants, to library, to office, to kitchen, to technology support, to our amazing custodial staff, we have a stupendous team of people who help support students and families each and every day. Thank you, all, for being such a talented and dedicated group of people. We couldn’t do things without you! And please look for some treats in your mailboxes each day this week. It’s the least we can do for you!
• This Friday is Early Release PD MATH PLC – The union agreed to change to a double prep last Friday so teachers have a chance to catch up with the wacky week and adjust lessons. March 22 will not be a double prep day. I am guessing that it will be a progress monitoring day but will let you know after our principal meeting this Tuesday. This upcoming Friday will be a Math PLC day. You will have one hour in Room A210 to work on math planning and assessments together. Licensed teachers should attend. Specialist and classified staff so not need to attend this session. Also, the Math PLC’s with Reid have been rescheduled.
• Student Teacher Celebration– 4J is doing something new this year. HR is hosting a Student Teacher CelebrationMarch 4th at the Ed Center Auditorium, 4:00-5:00. Please, share the above linked flyer with your student teachers. If you know you will have a student teacher this spring, they are also invited and you are welcome to join the event as well. Thank you in advance for helping spread the word.
No School Professional Development Day: March 15th PD Day is a required STAMP Training for ELD, Special Education, Title 1, and classroom teachers. You will need to sign up with the Talent Ed system soon. Look up Avant Testing within your Talent Ed PD login. This is required training for all licensed staff. The training will be at North Eugene. It will be a full (5.5 hour) day training, and 2 hours of prep for teachers. Classified staff should check in with me about the day to decide on what to work on in the building.
Women’s History Month is here. Last month, I was greatly appreciative of the materials that Erin Reckers shared for Black History Month. The Black Lives Matter curriculum she shared was very in depth and had many things to discuss within it. Sadly, February was cut short by the snow. (BTW, you can still keep using that resource even though Black History month is over.) This month, I found a poster resource that you might enjoy and find helpful. It is from a website called ” A Mighty Girl: The world’s largest collection of books, toys and movies for smart, confident, and courageous girls.” If you want lots of free posters to decorate your room and teach from, please click here. And do be sure to include Women of Color, LGBT, Trans Women, and the physically challenged, and all types of women in your discussion of great female figures in history. That is the point of this collection. Also, I will print any of these posters from the office for staff who want them in color. Just ask!
March 4 (M) Classified Appreciation Week
2:15 PM, Fire Drill
March 5 (Tu)
3:15-4:00, Staff Meeting- Staffing Final Recommendation and Technology Updates
4:00-5:00, Noche Cultural Meeting
March 6 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT Meeting
March 7 (Th)
3:15-4:00, GOTG
Kindergarten Orientation Reschedule
March 8 (F)
2:15-3:00, Reading Progress Monitoring Data Team (All Classroom Teachers)
3:00-4:00, Prep
March 11 (M)
PLC Day 1 Rescheduled
|
DAY 1 8:45-12:45
|
SCHEDULE | 3 SUBS |
| 9:00-10:00 | 2ND | |
| 10:00-11:00 | 3RD | |
| 11:40-12:40 | 1ST |
March 12 (Tu)
PLC Day 2 Rescheduled
|
DAY 2 8:30-12:30
|
SCHEDULE | 4 SUBS |
| 8:45-9:45 | 4 TH | |
| 10:00-11:00 | KINDER
|
|
| TBD- will be working with Reid on this. | 5th |
3:15-4:00, Noche Cultural Meeting
4:45-5:45, Site Council
6:00-7:15, Parent Group
March 13 (W)
3:15-6:00, PLT Special ESSA ORIS Indicator Assessment Meeting- PLT team plus Aline B.
March 14 (Th)
4th Grade Oregon Coast Aquarium Trip
March 15 (F)
No School
Professional Development Day- All classroom staff will be at Immersion PD. North Eugene HS. Sign up using the talent Ed system.
March 18(M)
Regular Day
March 19 (Tu)
3:00-4:00, Staff Meeting- PBIS
4:00-5:00, Noche Cultural Meeting
March 20 (W)
3:00-4:00, PLT
3:00-6:00, Viaje Musical Set Up
March 21 (Th)
3:00-4:00, GOTG
Viaje Musical event
March 22 (F)
2:00-3:00, Math PLC time
March 25 (M)
Spring Break
March 26 (Tu)
Spring Break
March 27 (W)
Spring Break
March 28 (Th)
Spring Break
March 29 (F)
April 1 (M)
Regular Day
9:00 AM Fire Drill
April 2 (Tu)
Staff Meeting on Noche Cultural
April 3 (W)
3:00-4:00, PLT
April 4 (Th)
3:00-4:00, GOTG
April 5 (F)
2:00-4:00- Double prep for teachers
Have a good week everyone! You’ve got this!
Joel
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