Week of April 22, 2019
Hi Shining Stars,
This Wednesday is Administrative Professionals’ Day. I’d like to recognize the hard work of El Camino’s excellent office staff, Yasmin and MariCarmen who manage so much each day. Yasmin is responsible for improving our attendance rates. MariCarmen is the most organized secretary in the district. Thank you for delivering messages, wiping bloody noses, talking down frantic parents, helping new students get to class, checking for head lice, and that’s all before 8:30am! Did I mention that we are the only 100% bilingual school office in 4j? Thank you for all you do! They both have the best smiles.
Here are some items of note for the week:
• May 3rd offerings for EAs – Classified Staff were sent an email about the various workshop they are to attend on Friday, May 3rd. Go back to your email and reread the Transition Day email for details as well as the Workshop Registration Directions that were included in the original email and will direct you to 4jpd.net
• Staffing update- We have made two new teacher hires for school next year. Our own, Antonio Salgado Cruz will become a 1st-grade teacher next fall. Antonio will be in a teaching program but the district has given the go-ahead to allow him to teach in Fall 2019 with an emergency license. We are thrilled to have him in this new role. In 2nd Grade, we welcome Alison Ramirez. She is coming from Northern California, Santa Cruz to become a teacher at our school. She just completed her 1st year teaching in Sonoma California in a dual languge classroom in 4th grade. At this point, we are fully staffed in licensed positions. Now, we have to begin to hire classified staff. We will need to hire two bilingual EA’s and I will be posting those requisitions next week. Spread the word to your bilingual friends of this wonderful opportunity.
Alison Ramirez Byers
• EEF Grants Due MONDAY – If you have any grant ideas, get them to me by this Friday! Site Council will rank order all grant proposals at that time. See prior announcements for details, but you don’t need to write the entire grant at this point. Just tell me your title and general idea.
• District Admin Updates – Kat Lange has been hired as the new Director Student Services Department (SSD), starting in July, taking the place of Cheryl Linder who is retiring. Kat has been serving as one of our SSD administrators since January 2018 at the high school level. Before coming to 4J, Kat worked in Colorado, where she was a special education director and college adjunct professor in a smaller school district. She previously served as a principal, assistant principal, and special education teacher.
• Tackling the Stress of Testing Season – For many of our students, academic preparation isn’t enough to ensure a smooth testing season. In this edition of Teaching Tolerance’s The Moment, they offer tips for dealing with this stressful time of year—including resources for understanding and countering stereotype threat and affirming all our students.
• How a Literacy-First Program Revived a School- A Title I school in the Bronx is dramatically improving student outcomes—one book at a time. The article is here.
Here are the main events at school through the end of May:
April 22 (M)
OSAS TESTING Begins
National School Volunteer Week
Newsletter Office Check-in
5th Grade at Outdoor School
April 23 (Tu)
Joel will be at the Elementary Principal Meeting in the AM
2:10-3:00, Assembly 123 Andres Music Group, bring backpacks.
6:00-Evening 123 Andres Parent Engagement Assembly
5th Grade at Outdoor School
April 24 (W)
Administrative Professionals Day-( 😉 Yasmin and MariCarmen)
3:15-4:00, PLT
5th Grade at Outdoor School
April 25 (Th)
3:15-4:00, Equity Meeting in A200
April 26 (F)
No Friday assembly.
New Choice time begins. – 12:45- Beginning in the gym to organize classes.
2:00-3:00, Math PLC Time
3:00-4:00, Teacher Prep
April 29 (M)
Newsletter Check-in
April 30 (Tu)
8:30-12:30, LCC dental clinic-10 Students- Ann Anderson
6:00-7:30, El Dia de Los Libros
May 1 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT
May 2 (Th)
North Region El Camino Team observing @ El Camino in the AM
5:30-7:30, ACE Awards Celebration
May 3 (F)
Transition Day- No meetings set by Joel.
Joel at Mandt Training 8:00-5:00
May 6 (M)
Newsletter Check-in
PLC time with Reid
May 7 (Tu)
PLC Time with Reid
3:15-4:00, Staff Meeting (A210) IDEA and 504 Movie Video with Popcorn and Licorice
May 8 (W)
OEA Teacher Walkout- No School
May 9 (Th)
Regular Day
May 10 (F)
2:00-3:00, Restorative Practices Article Study
3:00-4:00, Teacher Prep Time
May 13 (M)
Newsletter Check-in
May 14 (Tu)
4:45-5:45, Site Council
6:00-7:15, Parent Group
May 15 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT
May 16 (Th)
The gym is not available after school.
May 17 (F)
2:00-3:00, Restorative Practice/Disrupted Learning Conversation
6:00-8:00, Viaje Musical (Gym)
May 20 (M)
Newsletter Check-in
May 21 (Tu)
3:15-4:00, Staff Meeting PBIS (A210)
May 22 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT (Conference Room)
May 23 (Th)
3:15-4:00, Equity Meeting (A200)
May 24 (F)
2:15-3:00, Math PLC (A210)
3:00-4:00, Teacher Prep
May 27 (M)
No School – Memorial Day
May 28 (Tu)
Newsletter Check-in
Joel at the Elementary Principal Meeting
May 29 (W)
4th and 5th Grade Field Trip to OMSI (All Day)
3:15-4:00, PLT
May 30 (Th)
Regular Day
May 31 (F)
2:00-4:00, Teacher Double Prep Time
Have a good week everyone! You’ve got this! Have an amazing week with your students! Make every moment count.
Joel
Uncategorized | Comment (0)Week of April 15, 2019
April Inspiration
Dear Shining Stars,
I am so extremely proud of our work on a very successful Noche Cultural. So many hours of work were represented there. Zelene, David, Nikita, and many other teachers put in the times to make this a very rich event. Fernel and his wife also put in many hours to help make this happen. Alicia and the Latinx Leadership group was also very instrumental in bringing educational experiences to this event.
Noche Cultural was born out of adversity in our community but last Friday night was all about being together, learning together, and culturally aware students. Seeing students dressed to dance together from multiple cultures and ethnicities is what really hit me. Our students HAVE become cross-culturally aware in our school. We cannot measure this with a test, but we can see it in how students develop relationships, how they work together to perform a dance, or how they interact in our community. Thank you to all the volunteers, sponsors, classified staff, parents, community members, and families who made this such a successful event. I hope that this remains a k-8 program or even becomes a k-12 event.
Here are some news items of importance for the week:
• Teacher Registration for New ELL Program – Ellevation (click link here)- The ELD Program recently purchased Ellevation, a data, reporting, and collaboration platform designed to support ELs and their teachers. This program is available to all administrators, specialists, and teachers, and will allow all certified educators access to longitudinal data of their current and former EL students. This data is critical when addressing instructional decision-making and program placement. All licensed staff should follow this Ellevation Registration Link to sign-up (only takes about a minute). I’ll also put hard copies of the letter in your mailbox Monday. For additional information, (1) Ellevation Teacher Letter and 2) Ellevation Information for Classroom Teachers PowerPoint.
• Ballet Folklorico Tour with Nikita on Monday, April 15
• Doddle Buddy App Removed – It recently came to the Tech Department’s attention that Doodle Buddy contained advertising that may not be appropriate for students. The app is being removed from student iPads this week and will be replaced with replacement apps, like Book Creator, Keynote, Notability, Seesaw, and Notes.
• School Websites – Classroom websites are a great way to communicate with families and keep them connected to what’s happening here at school. You may not know it, but our TSS, Peggy, besides supporting Howard and River Road/ El Camino del Rio also works 12-15 hours a week helping to make the school websites across the district. If you’d like help building a class website or improving your current website, send in a ticket to 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu
Here are the main events for April and May:
April 15 (M)
8:30-9:10, Peruvian Assembly
3:15-6:15, ESSA Goal Setting Meeting
April 16 (Tu)
3:15-4:00, PBIS Staff Meeting (A210)
April 17 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT
April 18 (Th)
3:15-4:00, GOTG B
April 19 (F)
No Friday Assembly
No Choice time this Friday.
2:00-3:00, Disrupted Learning Discussion #2
3:00-4:00, Teacher Prep
April 22 (M)
National School Volunteer Week
Newsletter Check-in
5th Grade at Outdoor School
April 23 (Tu)
Joel will be at the Elementary Principal Meeting in the AM
2:10-3:00, Assembly 123 Andres Music Group, bring backpacks.
6:00-Evening 123 Andres Parent Engagement Assembly
5th Grade at Outdoor School
April 24 (W)
Administrative Professionals Day-( 😉 Yasmin and MariCarmen)
3:15-4:00, PLT
5th Grade at Outdoor School
April 25 (Th)
3:15-4:00, Equity Meeting in A200
April 26 (F)
No Friday assembly.
New Choice time begins. – 12:45- Beginning in the gym to organize classes.
2:00-3:00, Math PLC Time
3:00-4:00, Teacher Prep
April 29 (M)
Newsletter Check-in
April 30 (Tu)
8:30-12:30, LCC dental clinic-10 Students- Ann Anderson
6:00-7:30, El Dia de Los Libros
May 1 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT
May 2 (Th)
Kelly Middle School Teachers observe our classrooms.
5:30-7:30, ACE Awards Celebration
May 3 (F)
Transition Day- No meetings set by Joel.
Joel at Mandt Training 8:00-5:00
May 6 (M)
Newsletter Check-in
PLC time with Reid
May 7 (Tu)
PLC Time with Reid
3:15-4:00, Staff Meeting (A210) IDEA and 504 Movie Video with Popcorn and Licorice
May 8 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT
May 9 (Th)
Regular Day
May 10 (F)
2:00-3:00, Restorative Practices Article Study
3:00-4:00, Teacher Prep Time
May 13 (M)
Newsletter Check-in
May 14 (Tu)
4:45-5:45, Site Council
6:00-7:15, Parent Group
May 15 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT
May 16 (Th)
The gym is not available after school.
May 17 (F)
2:00-3:00, Restorative Practice/Disrupted Learning Conversation
6:00-8:00, Viaje Musical (Gym)
May 20 (M)
Newsletter Check-in
May 21 (Tu)
3:15-4:00, Staff Meeting PBIS (A210)
May 22 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT (Conference Room)
May 23 (Th)
3:15-4:00, Equity Meeting (A200)
May 24 (F)
2:15-3:00, Math PLC (A210)
3:00-4:00, Teacher Prep
May 27 (M)
No School – Memorial Day
May 28 (Tu)
Newsletter Check-in
Joel at the Elementary Principal Meeting
May 29 (W)
4th and 5th Grade Field Trip to OMSI (All Day)
3:15-4:00, PLT
May 30 (Th)
Regular Day
May 31 (F)
2:00-4:00, Teacher Double Prep Time
Have a good week everyone! You’ve got this! Have an amazing week with your students! Make every moment count.
Week of April 8, 2018
Dear Shining Stars,
Congratulations to El Camino’s 3 ACE Awards Nominees, licensed staff members David Adee, Dene Eller, and classified staff member Yasmin Aguilar! You are all well deserving of your nominations and you show the community what an amazing staff we have here at El Camino!
ACE Award “Champions” will be selected in four categories: Teachers & Licensed Specialists, Classified Staff, Administrators & Supervisors, and Volunteers. Each champion will receive a $250 grant from the Eugene Education Foundation for a school or program of their choosing. A special Lifetime Achievement Award also will be announced.
All nominees will be honored and champions will be announced at the awards celebration at North Eugene High School on Thursday, May 2, 5:30–7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Please join me to celebrate with them on May 2.
SELF CARE APRIL: We all know that there are no non-school days in April. Sometimes, this month can seem so stressful with so much to complete and of course, testing. I found this handy self-care calendar that you might want to try. I have also heard that some staff have made some healthy choices and are supporting each other to meet their personal self-care goals. Way to go! Do what you can to support each other.
Motivation Monday #2- As many of you know, Dene Eller is helping remind students about being all they can be. Monday in the cafeteria will be out the next installment of the Kid President. Watch this video and try to include some of the messaging in your morning meeting. It will help us build a strong climate with the students. It is also a good reminder for all of us.
Staffing Updates- Let’s do some interviews! We have two teachers to hire. I have set the interview schedule to be this Thursday. We need two teachers to get a substitute for the day to help us run interviews. We have about 9 candidates in the screening pool right now. We need to hire a 2nd and 1st-grade teacher. I need one primary teacher to help out. Ana Hansen has already volunteered to help us. Send me an email Monday if you are willing to help. Interviews will run from 10:00-2:30 with processing and ranking after school that day.
EEF Grants Due to Joel by May 2 – EEF Grant Applications are now open and grants need to be given to me by May 2 for Site Council to rank order our grant submissions. I don’t need the grant completely written out, but if you can give me a title and general idea of the grant, that’s enough for us to rank order them. The date to submit the completed grants is May 17th, but our May Site Council date falls after that date. Linked here is the 2019-2020 EEF Grant Application Announcement. We can submit up to five grants in any amount up to $5,000. EEF puts a higher priority on grants related to Arts, Literacy, and STEM. The application is very straightforward and I am happy to help out.
• District Admin Updates – If your’e interested, downtown is restructuring the Instructional Department, not adding any new positions, but reshuffling current positions and duties. Susan Penrod’s curriculum administrator position is being changed into a new K8 director position and Brooke’s Elementary Director position also becoming a K8 Director position, so there will be two K8 Directors. This model of a K8 Director and a High School Director is what was in place over 10 years ago. Sue Wilson will take over Susan Penrod’s ELA and Humanities duties becoming Director of Curriculum. Also, Karen Pérez of the Office of Equity, Instruction, and Partnerships is taking over the Title III (English Language Learners), Title IC (Migrant Education), and dual language programs. Lastly, they are shifting and revising TOSA positions to both support the upcoming curriculum adoptions and to support the Curriculum Director across content areas.
• National Poetry Month – April is National Poetry Month and here are a few useful links from WeAreTeachers of 50 Must Share Poems for Elementary Students, Teaching Tolerance on using Maya Angelou poems to celebrate National Poetry Month, from ReadWriteThink.org, and Edutopia.
Here are some of the upcoming events in the school:
April 8 (M)
PLC Day 1
|
DAY 1 8:45-12:45
|
SCHEDULE | 3 SUBS |
| 9:00-10:00 | 2ND | |
| 10:00-11:00 | 3RD | |
| 11:40-12:40 | 1ST |
April 9 (Tu)
Joel at the All Admin Meeting until 12:00 PM
PLC Day 2
|
DAY 2 8:30-12:30
|
SCHEDULE | 4 SUBS |
| 8:45-9:45 | 4 TH/ 5th | |
| 10:00-11:00 | KINDER | |
| 11:00-12:00 | Joel/ Reid Check in |
3:15-4:00, Staff Meeting-Benito Juarez Communication Meeting
April 10 (W)
3:15-4:00, PLT- Focus is on Master Schedule Planning and Classroom Placement Decision Process
April 11 (Th)
10:00-2:30, Interviews for 1st and 2nd-grade positions
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
ESSA Goal Setting Meeting
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
