Week of March 30
This Venn Diagram reminds me of our staff!
What is happening this week and next?
March 30 (M)
2:30-5:00, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
2:45-3:45, Site Council Meeting (Conference Room)
March 31 (T)
STAMP Testing practice in 3rd and 5th Grade.
1:00-2:30, Senderos Consultation Meeting with Zulma Cifuentes (Conference Room)
2:45-4:45, Staff Meeting
2 hour meeting focused on 2 items:
1st hour: Senderos discussion and decision.
2nd hour: Math Practices Review and planning PD for Spring and next year.
Also: Updates on curriculum analysis from a culturally relevant lens and staffing.
April 1 (W)
April Fool’s Day
9:00-9:35- 3rd, 4th, 5th Grade Assembly for Spelling Bee in the Gym
4:00-5:00, Joel to North Region Principals’ Meeting (NEHS)
April 2 (H)
3:30-5:00, Joel to North Region Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
April 3 (F)
IIPM Data Meeting- Artist in Residence to provide activities for students during your hour. Subs wil escort them to the learning spaces.
April 6 (M)
Regular Day
April 7 (T)
2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting
3:45-5:15, Full day Kinder Meeting for all K teachers and principals
April 8 (W)
1:45-2:45, Collaborative Planning Time- Math Focus- Please complete the PLC form.
No other meetings.
April 9 (H)
2:45-3:30- TLT Meeting
4:00-7:00, Joel to Job EXPO (Ed Center)
April 10 (F)
Regular Day
Coming up:
April 15 (W) Guanajuato Teacher Student Exchange Visit to El Camino del Rio- This exchange will bring Mexican students and teachers into every classroom for one day. They want to see how our program is designed and how we teach and support students. It will be a day of learning and cultural exchange.
April 17 (F) Peace Jam Marimba Performance for Rigoberta Menchu Tum at University of Oregon
Some items for the week:
• Formal Teacher Observations – I’ll be back at it with the formal observations and informal observations this week. Some teachers still need a second formal observation. I will contact you if that is necessary.
• Staffing Updates –
SPED- We received 0.5 FTE for Sped teacher staffing for next year. We received 4.5 hours of Sped EA hours.
Grade Level placements changes:
I have placed Marcy Hellman in Kindergarten for next year.
I have placed Jaime Jones in 2nd grade for next year.
I have placed Sarah Knudsen in 5th grade at 0.5 for next year.
We will have vacancies at the EXPO for 1st grade 1.0 and 0.5 FTE in 5th grade.
• Wednesday Meetings such as PBIS switched to Thursday for the rest of the year.
To reduce the amount of time teachers are spending in meetings on Wednesdays, I have moved all of the scheduled PBIS, TLT, and IPBS meetings to Thursdays. This also makes it easier for Jennifer to make it to all our meetings. This will guarantee a full hour of preparation time for all teachers regardless of their responsibilities on other teams. 2:45-3:45 should be free for all teachers to work together or on their own. PLC Math Collaboration will continue from 1:45-2:45.
• Prep Time Update for 2015-2016 – Details on this will be worked on over the coming months, but downtown let principals know that the current plan for meeting the 90 minute weekly prep requirement for next year is most likely going to be done through additional PE and Music classes, which will equate to a third prep section for each teacher. This is different from what was shared with principals earlier, but the reason for this is 4Js attempt to make headway with the upcoming PE requirement for 2017, which is for 150 minutes of PE a week. More to come on this one since we’ll need to know 4Js plan in order to finalize a building master schedule.
• Title 1 Newsletter – Here is the latest district level Title 1 Newsletter that went out to all Title 1 Coordinators and principals. This month’s issue is again mostly coordinator specific information and tasks, but there is a nice infographic titled “7 Things to Remember About Feedback” and an excellent 4 minute video from Jay Smooth titled “Moving the Race Conversation Forward.”
• PDUs from Journeys Training – Linked here is a PDU Certificate for teachers who attended the Journeys trainings on March 13th. And FYI, you don’t actually need to have a paper copy of this form. You just need to keep track of your training name and it’s PDU hours on your Log of Professional Development Activities form, which can be found on the 4J HR Forms webpage.
• Job EXPO Information – FAQs – Since Camino del Río is growing and adding licensed teaching positions next year , I thought people might be interested to know the details on this year’s Job EXPO which may fill these vacancies.
• Job EXPO Openings & Process – Vacancies included on building staffing plans will generate openings for Round 1 of the EXPO. HR will post all increments of FTE at the EXPO (per agreement with EEA). Any new vacancies created by hires from the Round 1 of the EXPO will go to a 2nd and then 3rd Round. EXPO dates will be Thursday, April 9, Tuesday, April 14 and Tuesday, April 21, all from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
• Temp Employees – Recently EEA and HR met to discuss allowing Temporary Employees access to the first round of the EXPO. The two groups agreed that Temporary Employees could participate in all three rounds with the understanding that Contract employees are guaranteed an interview (temps are not guaranteed an interview) and Contract employees have priority over temporaries in most situations (i.e. displaced teachers with job rights).
And feel free to let your colleagues around 4J know about our openings if you think they’d be interested and a good match for our school!
• NAACP Family and Youth Conference! April 11th – Please take note that the 8th annual NAACP Family and Youth Conference will be held Saturday, April 11th at the Downtown LCC meeting and learning center from 10-to 4pm. This free event is meant to assist parents and youth navigate the education and community resources available for student success. There will be two parent workshops and two youth workshops, free lunch and a guided tour of local African American historic sites, including the first African American Church in Eugene.
• District Admin Update – HR announced that Dr. J. Andrew Dey, Ed. D. has accepted the position of Principal at South Eugene High School beginning July 1, 2015. For the past five years Andy has served as Director of K-12 Curriculum and Professional Development at the The International School Nido de Aguilas in Santiago, Chile, but has roots here in Eugene. He taught science at Roosevelt Middle School (3 years) before becoming an assistant principal at Thurston High School (3 years). Andy then served as principal at Agnes Stewart Middle School (2 years).
• Convergences of Practices between CCSS/NGSS in support of Language Development (Venn Diagram) – Here is a a venn diagram that’s worth checking out which compares the high leverage practices that support Math/ELA/NGSS and language development.
•Are you going to share anything about Cesar Chavez Birthday this week? Here is a little to help you out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgMkX4eE3bs
That is it for the week!
All the best, Joel
Announcements, Equity, Staff Meeting Agenda, Staffing, STAMP, Teacher Evaluation/ Observations, Two Way Immersion, Uncategorized | Comment (0)Week of March 16
Hi Everyone,
Congratulations to our OBOB Team! Although they didn’t advance to the next round, they did get to the elite 8 of 52 Lane County teams participating at this year’s competition. A big thanks to this spirited team and the great coaching efforts of Megan Murphy. It has benefited all our students. Also, a big thank you to parent Sabrina Gordon for volunteering to help our students this winter.
March 16 (M)
2:30-5:00, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
March 17 (T)
Picture Day for all grades in the Library
12:00-4:00, Kinder Teachers Meeting with Reid and Maddy.
1:00, Joel in NERA Meeting with Retired Educator volunteers for homeless youth.
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting- Agenda,
a. Approve staffing plan, discuss intervention needs for 2015-16.
b. Senderos discussion and listing of pros and cons
2:45-4:45, PLT Meeting- Planning and Parent Handbook Work
March 18 (W)
1:00-1:30, Eugene Emeralds Assembly (All Classes)
1:45-2:45, Grade Level Collaboration Time – Math PLC meets in Library. Please enter on your Google form.
2:45-3:45, Joel, Karen, and Nancy go to STAMP TEST Planning Meeting (Ed Center)
March 19 (H)
8:30,Virtudes Assembly
2:45-4:15, Taking it UP Meeting in the Library with Carmen and John Lockhart
4:30-6:30, Joel to the Equity Committee at the Ed Center
March 20 (F)
12:30-2:00, Movie Award Day in Classrooms
2:00, BEST Field Trip leaves for lunch and boarding the bus.
11:00-2:00, Joel and Jessica Zapata to meet with the Mexican Consulate
March 23-27
Spring Break – No School
12:00-1:00, Spring Break Fun Time – Lunch & Activity (Cafeteria at Howard)
March 30 (M)
2:30-5:00, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
March 31 (T)
STAMP Testing begins in 3rd and 5th Grade.
1:00-2:30, Senderos Consultation Meeting with Zulma Cifuentes (Conference Room)
2:45-4:45, Staff Meeting, 2 hour meeting focused on Math Practices and Maddy and Reid’s work with grade Level Teams. (Library)
April 1 (W)
April Fool’s Day
4:00-5:00, Joel to North Region Principals’ Meeting (NEHS)
April 2 (H)
3:30-5:00, Joel to North Region Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
April 3 (F)
Regular Day
Coming up:
April 15 (W) Guanajuato Teacher Student Exchange Visit to El Camino del Rio- This exchange will bring Mexican students and teachers into every classroom for one day. They want to see how our program is designed and how we teach and support students. It will be a day of learning and cultural exchange.
April 17 (F) Peace Jam Marimba Performance for Rigoberta Menchu Tum at University of Oregon
Here are some of the items of the week:
•Irma De La Guardia wins National Bilingual Teacher of the Year
• HM Journeys/ Senderos and ThinkCentral – In our staff meeting on Tuesday, we will discuss and decide on Journeys and Senderos. After listening to different perspectives on this idea, I will say that I still strongly support a move to have both Senderos and Journeys. I believe that in the long run, we will be able to provide adequate supplementation to these materials in order to avoid redundancy and directly translatable texts. I believe there is more than enough material to use in both languages to support our students with out having issues of redundancy. The value of having curriculum mapping done for use across languages is very important. We will make our decision about Senderos on Tuesday this week after the staffing decision.
On the practical end of things:
Since we had our HM Journeys/ Senderos training last Friday, let me know if you’d like the upgraded HM Journeys materials delivered to your grade level and I’ll put Craig to work bringing them down. Remember, regardless of a Senderos decision, we will be replacing Journeys Materials. And if you misplaced the trainer’s email, it was “Cifuentes, Zulma” <Zulma.Cifuentes@hmhco.com>. Also, all licensed staff should now have access to ThinkCentral if you’d like to check that out. If you’d like to use it with your students this year, let me know and I’ll load your students into the system as well.
And regarding old HM materials, Craig can cart away any materials you don’t want to keep. I’ll probably try to sell our old materials to Follett in Summer, but feel free to keep any leveled readers, big books or others materials from the old curriculum that you still have a use for.
• SLUGGO READING Assembly at 1:00 PM WEDNESDAY– The annual SLUGGO assembly will be on Wednesday. I rescheduled our VIRTUDES assembly forThursday to give teachers one more day to get the awards written and communicated to families. In addition, it seemed like too much to have two assemblies in one day. Please review assembly expectations for both asemblies with your students.
• Virtudes/ Virtues Awards THURSDAY, March. 18th @ 8:30 – This Wednesday is the March Virdudes Awards. Virtudes certificates are located in the office in your boxes. When you turn in your Virtudes nominations, be sure that you let Edna/Yasmin know who and why each student is being recognized so she can put their name up on the board. Also, you are encouraged to communicate with families to invite them to the assembly.
• Employee reimbursement limit increase to $250.00 – The employee reimbursement limit has been increased from $100.00 to $250.00 per reimbursement, subject to the usual criteria of the spending qualifying for reimbursement and timely receipt of the request, which are:
• Should be for small purchases. The district provides contracts for most supplies, so please check first before purchasing supplies with personal funds.
• Have a limit of $250 per reimbursement.
• Must comply with district purchase guidelines including reimbursement amounts and documentation such as copies of detailed invoices.
• Completed reimbursement requests, including mileage, should be received by Financial Services within 60 days of when the expenditure was incurred.
• Smarter Balanced assessment and testing exemption (“opt out”) — process, form and information – With the Smarter Balanced assessment testing window opening last week, you may get inquiries from parents about the Smarter Balanced tests, state testing in general, and/or about opting out of state tests. This is a reminder that the district has created a process and published an exemption request form and accompanying frequently asked questions document. If a parent asks for information or tells you they want to to opt their student out of state tests, you can direct them to me or to the State testing opt out FAQ and request form, the FAQ about the Common Core State Standards and Smarter Balanced assessments or the district information webpage about the Smarter Balanced assessments.
• Concussion – What Teachers Should Know – Attached you will find a one page document called Concussion-What Teachers Should Know. This was shared with principals and we were asked to encourage teachers to post this in their classrooms, for easy reference.
• Lessons for successful maker programs – Students are natural makers, and maker programs can help take learning beyond students’ comfort zones, according to Guatemala-based educators Adrian Catalan and Ceci Castillo. The pair shared four tips to help educators launch successful maker initiatives during their SXSWEdu session, Making Makers: From Guatemala to the World.
Five days until our nine day Spring Break!
Best,
Joel
Announcements, English Language Learners, Math Training, Opt Out, PLC time, Staff Meeting Agenda, STAMP, Two Way Immersion | Comment (0)Week of March 9
Hello Camino del Rio Staff,
I am apologize that my blog went out so late. I spent much of the weekend having fun at the beach with Lila, Solomon, and Anna. It was worth it!! The beach was amazing and I feel very rejuvenated. Therefore, I am sending it out now!
What is coming up?
March 9 (M)
10:00-11:30, Joel to 15/16 Staffing Allocation Meeting (Ed Center) 8:00-12:00, 3rd Grade Math Planning Session with Reid
March 10 (T)
8:00-12:00, 2nd Grade Math Planning Session with Reid and Maddy.
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting, main focus will be StaffingMarch 11 (W)
1:45-2:45, Grade Level Math PLC in the Library ( All K-5 grades, please fill out your PLC form)
2:45-3:45, IPBS Meeting in Recker’s Room1:45-9:45, Joel, Karen, Nancy, Alexis to Portland for a session on push-in ELL Programs in the Douglas Garden’s School District. (Marylhurst University)
March 12 (H)
8:30-9:10,PRIDE Assembly-for all students. (Don’t forget to fill out your Pride Awards!)
9:30-12:00, Joel to CLLAS Conference at UO
12:00-4:00, 1st Grade Math Planning Session with Reid
1:00, Joel meets with North Eugene Retiree Association Meeting to support Camino del Rio (Joel’s office)
3:00-5:00, Design Committee
March 13 (F)
8:00-12:00, Senderos PD at Camino del Rio K-2 Primary
12:00-4:00, Senderos PD at Camino del Rio 3-5 Intermediate
4:00-5:30, Hey staff, let’s go bowling! at Firs Bowl on River Road by Bimart.
5:30-10:30, Benito Juárez Birthday Celebration at KellyMarch 16 (M)
2:30-5:00, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)March 17 (T)
Picture Day for all grades in the Gym.
12:00-4:00, Kinder Teachers Meeting with Reid and Maddy.
2:45-4:45, PLT Meeting- Planning and Parent Handbook Work
March 18 (W)1:00-1:30, Eugene Emeralds Assembly (All Classes)
1:45-2:45, Grade Level Collaboration Time – Math PLC meets in Library.
2:45-3:45, Joel and Karen go to STAMP TEST Planning Meeting
March 19 (H)2:45-4:15, Taking it UP Meeting in the Library
4:30-6:30, Joel to the Equity Committee at the Ed Center
March 20 (F)1:00-2:40, Movie Award Day in Classrooms
11:00-2:30, Joel to meet with the Mexican Consulate
March 23-27
Spring Break – No School
12:00-1:00, Spring Break Fun Time – Lunch & Activity (Cafeteria at Howard)
Here are some items of note for the week:
•PBIS Movie Award Day on March 20th from 1:00-2:40
Each class will earn 10-15 big green slips to attend the whole school movie party. Each grade and ELL will show a G rated movie from 1:00-2:40 on March 20th. Kids will sign up from the list of movies available which we will send home next week. Any students with level 3 referrals for the month of march who do not have behavior plans will do a quiet calm activity in title or the library such as read to self or coloring. Let me know which movie your grade wants to show and I will make a list to send home. This should be super fun and a nice way to build school community by combining grades. Please tell your students about this opportunity today and begin the challenge. We will provide snacks for each kid during movie.
• Surprise Assembly on Wednesday, March 11th at 12:45 PM
There is a surprise assembly this Wednesday due to the support of Jill Switzer and her connections to the UO. We will be hearing and watching this special concert with the whole school on Wednesday afternoon to experience the rich culture of Puerto Rico and learn more about Bomba. The concert should last about 45 minutes. All PE will be cancelled the last hour.
Pablo Luis Rivera presents a Concert of Puerto Rican Bomba with Proyecto Unión
An interactive performance by the director of the non-governmental organization Restauración Cultural and affiliated musicians. Rivera, who holds a PhD from the Center for Advanced Studies on Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, will lead an ensemble exploring the world of bomba music. Bomba is an Afro-Puerto Rican drum and vocal music that features the interaction between dancers and the drums. The event will include music-dance performance, a narrative explanation of bomba, and an open invitation at the end for students and the public to enter the arena and improvise with the lead drum. Since 1998, the Restauración Cultural has undertaken the task of preserving the music and dance traditions of Puerto Rico. Through workshops, musical performances, and cultural exchange, the ensemble has traveled throughout Puerto Rico and the world, sharing both Bomba and a message of the importance in keeping the arts in education.
• HM Journeys/Senderos Training, March 13th, Reminder –The training for grades K-2 will be from 8:00-11:00 and the training for grades 3-5 will be from 12:00-3:00. It will all occur in the library. The rest of the day will be planning time. They will be going over all the hard copy materials as well as getting everyone online access to the digital materials in ThinkCentral. They are asking that teachers bring your Journeys Teacher Edition Vol. 1, the Student Edition (text) and your laptop. I believe all of our materials have been delivered, so teachers can feel free to gather materials. Ask Craig to help you find the TE Editions. And if teachers would rather I grab your teacher guide and student text, just let me know and I’ll put them in your mailbox.
What: Senderos Training for Spanish teaching buildings (Camino del Rio y BV)
Where: Camino del Rio
When: March 13th
K-2nd 8-11:00 am
3-5th 12-3:00 pm
Bring: Your Teacher Edition volume 1, the student edition (text) to go with it, and your computer. (I will work with Craig to pull these our for you. They are in the building.)
• ELA CCSS 6 Shifts Workshops: Instructional Strategies for the Common Core REMINDER – Gretta Sagolla sent an email reminder last week, but teachers should remember to sign up for Session 3 of the ELA CCSS Workshops on the 4J Workshop Page. The K-2 sessions will be offered March 10th, 12:00pm-3:00pm, March 11th, 8:00am-11:00am or March 12th, 8:00am-11:00am. The 3-5 session are offered March 9th, 12:00pm-3:00pm, March 10th, 8:00am-11:00am or March 12th, 12:00pm-3:00pm. And remember to bring a piece of text you plan on teaching in your next unit (or perhaps your next unit teachers manual) and your laptop.
Resident Storyteller at Camino del Rio: In April, Thaston Riklon will begin a storytelling series for 4th and 5th grade. On April 8th and 15th Thaston will tell some sacred stories from his home country, the Marshall Islands. These are indigenous stories from the Marshall Islands that he has permission to tell from his tribal leader in his country. Thaston will be coming to share with other classes too if you have interest. Thaston will share in full Marshall Island
• Spring Break Lunch/Activity Flyer – I mentioned a couple weeks ago that Nutrition Services is holding a free lunch and activity program at Howard for area students 1-18 years old living in our area. Attached is a flyer for the event. We received hard copies of the flyer last week, which should go home with student if you didn’t send them home already. And let me know if any of you are interested in volunteering 12:00-1:00 one day over the break to lead an activity (coloring books, showing a video, singing songs, open gym, free choice on the playground, etc.) one of the days.
• Can learning through play benefit all students? – Educators in early grades — and more recently middle grades — are incorporating play in learning, writes Hilary Conklin, an associate professor at DePaul University and fellow with the OpEd Project. She notes in this article that recent research supports learning through play for all students, even high-schoolers.
• Spanish-language books for kids have a new LA home– Here is an article about a couple of women who started a Spanish Language bookstore in LA. As many of you know, finding authentic Spanish language literature is difficult,. This business is working to make it easier on the West Coast. I also know of one bookstore on the East Coast called La Casa Azul Bookstore in East Harlem. You should read more about these bookstores as they promote literacy for the love of reading Spanish literature. That is a good thing.
2 weeks (9 student days) until Spring Break!
Joel
Week of March 2
What is ahead?
March 2 (M)
Dr. Seuss Week Begins
Pajama Day
Maria de Pilar Zentz begins on Monday 1:30-3:00,
1:00-2:30,Immersion Principals Meeting- Joel at Fox Hollow
6:30-8:00,Spanish Smarter Balanced Info Night for Parents
March 3 (T)
Crazy Hair Day 4th Grade Math Planning Session with Reid
2:00, Parent Advisory Board with Alicia, Edna, Joel, and parents.
2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting
March 4 (W)
Hat Day-
Eat (and contribute to) at the Classified Staff Celebration at lunch beginning at 11:00 AM in the Staff Lounge.
8:00-11:00 Joel at Skillful Teacher Co-observations-(Corridor)
12:30, Fire Drill
1:45-2:45, Grade Level Collaboration Meeting (in Library)
2:45-3:45, IPBS Meeting
4:00-5:00, North Region Principal Meeting
6:00-8:00, Dr. Seuss Night
March 5 (H)
Crazy Socks Day 8:00-12:00, 5th Grade Math Planning Session with Reid 5:00-6:00, Superintendent Candidates Public Forum
March 6 (F)
Favorite Book Character Day
March 9 (M)
10:00-11:30, Joel to 15/16 Staffing Allocation Meeting (Ed Center) 8:00-12:00, 3rd Grade Math Planning Session with Reid
March 10 (T)
8:00-12:00, 2nd Grade Math Planning Session with Reid
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting, main focus will be Staffing
March 11 (W)
1:45-2:45, Grade Level Math PLC in the Library ( All K-5 grades, please fill out your PLC form)
2:45-3:45, IPBS Meeting in Recker’s Room
March 12 (H)
8:30-9:10,PRIDE Assembly-for all students.
9:30-12:00, Joel to CLLAS Conference at UO
12:00-4:00, 1st Grade Math Planning Session with Reid
March 13 (F)
8:00-12:00, Senderos PD at Camino del Rio K-2 Primary
12:00-4:00, Senderos PD at Camino del Rio 3-5 Intermediate
4:00-5:30, Hey staff, let’s go bowling! Firs Bowl
5:30-10:30, Benito Juárez Birthday Celebration at Kelly
What is going on?
Hi Everyone,
Monday, March 2nd through Friday, March 6th marks the celebration of Classified Employees Appreciation Week! Contributions by classified staff to our school, students and families are immeasurable! Not only would our school be unable to operate without our classified staff, our school is by far a better place for the classified folks we have here at Camino del Río. Your dedication and hard work, whether it’s going that extra mile for a student or taking over a classroom or taking over a group in a pinch, know that your efforts have not gone unnoticed. Camino del Río is a better place for having you all here!
• Teacher Pathways Program – 4J is participating in the Lane County Teacher Pathways Program, which will pay tuition costs for the licensure program on a Pay-It-Forward, Pay-It-Back system. The Pathways program is working to diversify the teaching force in three ways: linguistically, culturally, and socio-economically. They are actively seeking people who speak multiple languages, are culturally-diverse, and/or are first-generation college students. Meeting one of these descriptors is a bonus but not a requirement. Please share this information with anyone who you think would be a good candidate for the program. Attached is the Lane County Teacher Pathways Program brochure and applications. The deadline to apply is March 13th, so it’s a fast timeline if there is anyone you plan to share this with.
• TalentEd Password & Login Update – HR let principals know that Netchemia, the organization that provides TalentEd Perform, made upgrades to the system last week. As a result, when you log into TalentEd for the first time since then, it will look different. The different systems available for purchase within TalentEd are Discover, Recruit & Hire, Perform, and Records. Netchemia has now made it possible for their customers who use more than one system to log in using one password, though 4J only uses Perform and not the other systems. So the next time you log onto TalentEd, follow the directions given to you when you login and remember the following:
1) You are not required to change your password, necessarily. You will be prompted to change your password, but can “change” it to the same one you were using before IF that password had a “special character” in it and meets all other requirements they set up for passwords.
2) Put at least one “special character” in your password. These are such symbols as: @ # $ % ! …etc.
3) To make your password more secure, you may want to create one that has at least eight (8) characters in it and has a combination of lower case letters, upper case letters, and numbers.
4) If your attempts to log in don’t work – PLEASE CALL HR AND THEY WILL CONFIGURE YOUR PASSWORD ON THE SPOT TO GET YOU IN. The “Forgot your password?” feature doesn’t seem to be working too well since the upgrade. Please don’t keep trying and end up frustrated.
• New Nutrition Services General Manager – 4J has a new Nutrition Services General Manager and is the Howard PTO President, Kaylynn Olney. Some of you know Kaylynn has worked in 4J as the Operations Manager since 2012 and worked for Oregon State University Catering for six years before coming here. If she comes by to check in, please say hello and congratulate her.
• Math PD Sessions with Maddy and Reid – As some of you may know, grade level teams are meeting with Reid and Maddy between now and Spring Break. This will be a tremendous opportunity for finding the gaps in the math program and sharing common strategies. Here is the agenda.
• Complete the staffing survey by March 9th –Don’t forget to complete the staffing survey. This is for all classified and certified staff.
The Staffing Survey– Click on this form to begin.
• Ems Emazing Readers Assembly Incentive Assembly, 3/18 at 1:00 – This is a fun assembly kickoff for the Eugene Emeralds’ Reading Incentive program. The program will run the like previous years, but Aline will distribute information to classroom teachers on how the program works, which is essentially classroom teachers set a reading goal for students and if students meet that goal they get two free tickets to attend an Em’s baseball game this summer. For the assembly, we will meet in the gym at 1:00 so Sluggo can motivate kids to meet their reading goals.
• Proficient bilinguals see higher earnings, research shows– Patricia Gándara shares important research on the economic advantages of being bilingual. The work you do with children gives them an immense economic advantage in the workplace of the future.
Have a great week everyone and enjoy the festivities of the week!
Best,
Joel
Announcements, Math Training, Parent Involvement, PLC Collaboration Time, PLC time, Staff Meeting Agenda, Staffing, Two Way Immersion | Comment (0)Week of January 26
Dear Staff,
This last week was another impressive week for me at El Camino del Rio. I really enjoyed teaching in the Engineering Night. Our team once again did an amazing job. It was so encouraging to see parents and students working together to do science and engineering. Aline and Alicia did a tremendous job teaming up to organize this event. Thank you both for your hard work. Also thank you to all the teachers who took time out of their evening to support this important work. We continue to build a strong bi-cultural community and that’s exciting! Lastly, as we enter school choice season Edna and Nikita have gone the extra mile to help us look strong out there in the expo and with our new flier. We will be posting our new information in the lobby for incoming parents to read. Come by and check it out so you have a good feel for what we are sharing with the public.
What’s coming up?
January 26 (M)
8:20-9:45, Joel in formal observation
9:00-10:00, Early Learning Meeting
10:30-11:00- Design Debrief Meeting
1:00-2:00, School Choice Tour
2:30-4:00, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
2:45-3:45, Site Council Meeting (Conference Room) (Joel cannot attend- Olivia facilitates.)
January 27 (T)
8:00-3:00, Joel and Karen at Charlemagne for Learning about Learning Network
9:00-10:00, School Tours- Alicia/ Edna conduct the tour.
2:00-2:35, Final Music Assembly (Gym)
Staff Meeting cancelled due to grading week.
7:00- 9:00, Forum with Rob Saxton Asst. Superintendent from ODE, North Eugene HS- This is guaranteed to be an informative (and lively) event.
January 28 (W)
8:30-9:30, Joel in formal observation
10:15-11:30, Joel in formal observation
1:45-2:45, PLC Time- Main focus Mathematics Report Card Reporting, use time for peer support and communication. Report using the PLC Form.
January 29 (H)
12:00-3:30, Joel and Karen to Smarter Balanced Test Administration Training (Ed Center)
3:00-5:00, Design Meeting
January 30 (F)
Grading Day – No School
9:00-11:00, Edna, Yasmin, Joel meet with Kevin Boling to pilot the new 4J attendance system.
1:00-2:00, IEP Meeting Joel attends.
2:30-3:30, Joel attends second IEP Meeting
6:30-7:30, Ballet Folklórico Introductory Session in the cafeteria. All students invited.
February 2 (M)
Second Semester Begins
National School Counseling (We love Jennifer! 😀 ) Week
February 3 (T)
8:00-12:00, Joel out in the AM for HR Training and speaking event at UO.
12:30, Earthquake and Evacuation (Fire Drill)
2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting
February 4 (W)
8:20-9:30 Joel in Formal Observation
1:45-2:45, PLC Time – Please get back to using math formative assessments and document this using the PLC Form.
4:00-6:00, Digital Learning Day (Ed Center)
4:00-5:00, Joel to North Region Principals’ Meeting (NEHS)
February 5 (H)
Last day to submit grades so we can print and send in Monday folders on February 8th.
8:00-2:30, IIPM Consult Data Team Meeting
2:45-3:05, Joel in pre conference meeting
3:00-5:00, Design Committee
February 6 (F)
8:40-10:00, Joel in Formal Observation
4:00-6:30,Winter Social at Eugene Wine Cellars
This week’s announcements
• School Choice Visitation Week – Just a reminder that this week is School Choice Visitation Week #1. We have a few families already signed up for tours (mostly at the younger grades), so don’t be surprised if you see me walking visitors around the building and into classrooms this week. The Showcase was excellent. We had a great turnout from families as well as staff to assist. I want to give a big thank you to Edna, Nikita, Karen, Jill, Nancy, Jessica and many others who either showed up to help or put in many hours to create our fabulous new posters. It really showed Estrella Pride!
• January 30 Grading Day Staff Expectations – Taking classified staff first, this is a regular work day for most classified folks, so remember there are many workshops available this same day at the EA Extravaganza, but if you have any comp time coming, this would also be a good day to pay back extra time that’s owed to you. For licensed staff, HR has gone back to being more flexible about grading day expectations. The following rules were sent out to principals, which now allow teachers to request to work from home on grading days:
Unlike a planning or PD day, where the District has a firm expectation that all teachers report and be physically present throughout the work day, we have exercised greater flexibility for grading days in recognition of teachers’ professional status. On grading/ report days, principals have discretion to require that all teachers report and work on their grades at the building, or alternatively, to allow teachers to request permission to work from home, and report to the building when grades are completed. In exercising this discretion, please consider the following:
(1) Would allowing a teacher to work from home on this day interfere with work that needs to be done? For example, do you have teachers who need to collaborate with each other in order to prepare reports? — if so, it does not make sense to allow them to work in isolation;
(2) Grading day is a work day. It costs the district about $480,000, and it is not intended to be a vacation day.
(3) Teachers are highly visible members of the community, and part of our expectation of them as professionals is to be good stewards of public resources. If you do allow teachers to work off site this day, please remind them public perception issues and work to protect them. This means that if we grant flexibility to work off-site, it is critical that they work during work time. We grant flexibility to principals to allow teachers to work off-site on grading day, but if it is abused, we will not be able to continue to do so.
(4) The flexibility to work off-site is a privilege, and not an entitlement. Whether you allow any teacher to work off-site is within your discretion. I believe the best practice is to communicate to teachers is that you expect them to work in the building on this day, unless they have requested and received your advance permission to work from home.
So in short, if teachers would like to work from home this day, let me me know, 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.
• Winter Social at Eugene Wine Cellars on February 6th– Come have a glass of wine and bring a little cheese to this social event on the Friday after grading as we mark 1/2 way through the school year. We will be there from 4:00-6:30.
• Synergy Attendance Reminder from CIS –We received an email from CIS asking us to remind teachers to mark student attendance every day for both AM and PM sessions. If you are using the “Take Attendance by List” option in Synergy instead of the seating chart option, you are most likely correctly marking both the AM and PM absences. Please see the above directions if you are not using the list view option to begin using this attendance screen. Edna or Yasmin will adjust attendance for those students who arrive late after 8:00 and for students who leave early. For students who arrive tardy before 8:00, teachers should only mark the tardy for AM and not PM. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like any help with this.
• Mid Year Check-In Meetings & Observations – This is the time of year principals are supposed to begin conducting our mid-year check meetings with licensed staff regarding educator goals. I am continuing to try to see all staff in a formal observation. I will do my best to contact each of you to make these appointments. The mid-year check in process will begin in early February. Please bear with me as I try to see each of you teach and provide feedback. It is a priority for me to make sure I observe everyone. If you want to combine your mid goal meeting with the pre-conference or post conference, let me know. That will make things easier for all of us. Make sure you have your SLGO smart goals ready to analyze at the mid term meeting.
• Feb. 13 Camino del Rio PD/Planning Day – We will be continuing the work with Edward and Audrey on February 13th. This session will more specifically address how assessment fits in to the instructional cycle. Audrey and Edward will continue to weave in components of the Skillful Teacher work so we can address each of these issues.
• Denver Public Schools Series on Dual Language Videos – It is always good to see examples of what other schools are doing. Take a look at this video series if you have time.
• PLC time this week – All teams are expected to continue to meet in the library each Wednesday. Also, continue to use the PLC form each time that we meet. It is important that we document how our PLC time is going for the state and so I can monitor progress in this area. This information is submitted to the priority schools SST team and the Office of school improvement. Please complete it for each grade level. This week, I encourage you to use your PLC time for familiarizing your self with math report cards, especially if you are new. You could even collaborate and help each other record progress of students on the report cards together during this time. This falls closely in line with our math assessment focus of PLCs.
• Concussion Policy – Attached is the final district concussion policy. This document represents the collaboration of 4J Athletic Trainers, Nurses, and the Regional Traumatic Brain Injury Liaison. It has also been reviewed and approved by our Insurer. School nurses have offered to present the document at staff meetings, which we will likely do at a future staff meeting, but I thought I’d share the policy now if staff wanted to get a preview.
• Full-Day Kindergarten Updates – Attached is an informational flyer about full-day kindergarten that was shared with families at the School Showcase by district staff. Also, Sara Green shared with principals this week in her newsletter, though nothing is definite at this point, that she’s proposing a 23:1 ratio for full-day Kinder. Keep in mind that it is a proposal and where we end up may be somewhat different, but this would be significantly better than the current district elementary average of 28:1. Sara’s been advocating for less than 23, but there are a number of competing interests and it’s challenging to put all the budget eggs in one basket.
• Key multimedia skills all educators should have – Educators provided input about multimedia skills that help in the classroom as part of a recent national survey conducted by T.H.E. Journal. The following are the top five skills that teachers should master, according to the results: troubleshooting technology, embracing curiosity, incorporating video, using multiple display devices and using technology to create presentations.
• How Integrating Arts Into Other Subjects Makes Learning Come Alive – Here’s a good article from Mind/Shift on the value of including the arts in core instruction and not viewing it as an elective or add-on. The main crux of the article is viewing art not as an extra, but as integral to learning.
Thanks and have a good week!
Joel
Announcements, Parent Involvement, PLC Collaboration Time, School Choice, Skillful Teacher, Staff Meeting Agenda, Teacher Evaluation/ Observations, Technology Integration, Two Way Immersion | Comment (0)
Week of January 19
What’s Coming Up?
January 19 (M)
No School – Martin Luther King Jr. DayJanuary 20 (T)
8:30-9:45, Joel in Formal Observation
11:30, Design debrief conference call
1:25-1:45, Joel in post conference meeting with teacher
2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting (Agenda items include: Taking it up debrief, math PD ideas, other issues, new PE schedule)January 21 (W)
8:15-9:40, Joel in Formal Observation.
10:00-3:00, Joel to Priority Schools Network meeting.
1:45-2:45, Grade Level PLC Meetings (Focus is on math assessment)
2:45-3:45, IPBS (Will review truancy concerns, please refer students.)
6:00-8:00, Engineering NightJanuary 22 (H)
7:30-8:00, Joel and Megan in meeting with parent.
2:45-3:10, Joel in Post conference
3:00-5:00, Design Meeting- Focus is on budget and moving into the next phase.
4:30-6:30, Joel at 4j Equity Committee (Parr Room)January 23 (F)
7:30-8:00, Taking It UP Debrief- Equity Meeting (all are welcome) (Conference Room)
3:30, Joel in a parent meetingJanuary 24 (S)
9:00-12:00, Elementary School Showcase (Ed Center)January 26 (M)
9:00-10:00, Early Learning Meeting
1:00-2:00, School Choice Tour
2:30-3:30, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
2:45-3:45, Site Council Meeting (Conference Room) (Joel cannot attend)
January 27 (T)8:00-3:00, Joel and Karen at Charlemagne for Learning about Learning Network
9:00-10:00, School Tours
2:00-2:35, Final Music Assembly (Gym)January 28 (W)
8:30-9:30, Joel in formal observation
January 29 (H)
12:00-3:30, Joel and Karen to Smarter Balanced Test Administration Training (Ed Center)
3:00-5:00, Design MeetingJanuary 30 (F)
1:00-2:00, IEP Meeting
Grading Day – No SchoolThis week’s announcements
• Article of the Week – After reflecting on the past week, I recalled an important document which I believe all educators should read read. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” , is an open letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King which still holds true when we are seeking social justice and freedom for the students we educate. I have included the link to the scanned original document which Dr. King sent from Birmingham to an editor. The document is found on the The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute Website. This is a highly recommended space to find resources on Dr. King that are authentic and helpful for teaching.
• Equity Meeting This Week – This upcoming Friday the 23rd we will have another equity meeting in the morning in the conference room. All who are interested are invited. The idea is to meet and discuss the Taking It Up Seminar and how it has effected current staff. We will also discuss further action if we have time and set a future date to talk again. I would like to thank all those who have attended TIU and or CFEE this year. It really feels like we have a critical mass to support our students and staff on issues of racial identity and discrimination. Thank you all for your dedication to this very important topic in education.
• Spanish Spelling Bee Competition in April – Here is an opportunity I do not want to pass up! This Spring there will be a Spelling Bee up in Forest Grove. Perla Rodríguez, principal extraordinaire, is the organizer. This is a great opportunity for us to show Eugene and Oregon how well our students know Spanish and to excite our students that the Spanish language is a special talent and skill. A professor friend of mine named David Wacks also shares the enthusiasm for Spanish language. He teaches medieval Spanish and Sephardic literature at University of Oregon. David has helped us enlist a university student who would like to help us coach some 4th and 5th graders to go to the Spanish Spelling Bee! Hannah Golden is the student’s name. She will be able to meet with the students after school once a week to practice for the competition. I am happy to cover the registration costs. Now all we need are the participants! 4th and 5th grade teachers, can I count on you to enlist your students in this competition?
Spanish Spelling Bee Registration Link
• App Purchases and iPads are coming soon to 4th Grade and beyond – This week Edna and Misty Forsman will be working on imaging the incoming iPads. Edna will be assisting Misty in the iPad volume purchasing and will get the proper licenses for a variety of effective creation and productivity apps. The image will be prepared downtown and delivered sometime in early February. Our tech plan was approved. This means we qualified to receive 35 X 2 iPads on COWS that will be in the building before February 9th. These iPads will be used mainly in 4th grade. The surplus iPads will be available to pilot using in 1st grade. Erin S. and Alexis will experiment with using the iPads in creative ways and also to see how effective our web based programs such as RAZ Kids & Maravillas function on the iPad. This means you should have greater access to the lab and the MacBook Airs as they become freed up by 4th grade for more widespread use. I am hoping to get approval on further purchases this year of iPads for use in another grade. Stay tuned on that one.
• Classroom design meeting debrief – The classroom design meeting was frustrating yet predictable. There were two things that teachers walked away with unhappy about. There will be cubbies inside the classroom and there will remain to be full windows into the commons. On a good note, the architects were able to increase the amount of tack-able space for the classrooms and we will have more than any new building in the district. We chose a classroom layout that included a combination of carpet and concrete flooring. We also spent time looking at furniture configurations to get a feel for how the layouts of classroom would work.
• New Director of Technology – Steve Menachemson is the new Director of Technology and will begin on Feb. 2nd. Steve has been with Symantec since 2008, and for the last three years has worked as a Senior Manager with Global Support Delivery. Before working with Symantec Steve worked eight years as the Vice President for TechNet Group (consulting services) in Santa Monica, California. Steve also worked two years as a project manager and senior consultant for an firm that provided hardware and software sales and technical support as well as project management services to the Santa Monica community (1998-2000). Steve will also be bringing global perspective to 4J. He began his career in Cape Town, South Africa as a project manager and senior support engineer before being advanced to a regional manager for the same company in Windhoek, Namibia.
• ELL Position Filled – I am happy to announce that we have selected our replacement for Sarah Lauer. James Longoria will take over the 6 hour ELL position. This will begin immediately on Tuesday. We will need to begin to look for a replacement for the 4 hour title position very soon. I will be working with Karen Hardin to post the 4 hour title position in the coming week.
Have a nice 4 day week next week.
Joel
Announcements, Back to School, English Language Learners, Equity, Maravillas- McGraw Hill | Comment (0)Week of January 12
Queridos maestros e empleados,
Last week was a good week. It was good to see how quickly teachers helped students get back into routines. So many of our students need the structure of school and you provide it! We are quickly approaching school choice season. If you want to help out in any way with the showcase event on Saturday let me know. It is so important to our program that people know how amazing our program is.
On a bittersweet note, I wanted to briefly share how much I will miss having Sarah Lauer on our team. She is an amazing educator and so dedicated to the work we do with all our students. Sarah’s work with kids for the past 13 years and her work within the equity committee will not be forgotten. I hope she comes back to visit us in the future from Minneapolis. She is an example of how we as educators make a huge difference in the lives of children and their families. Thank you for your service Sarah. Best of luck in your new life in the Midwest.
What is coming up?
- January 12 (M)
Wear green and gold!
Reading and Math Winter Benchmark Testing Week, EDL Continues
7:30-9:45, Joel at Latino Community Breakfast (Ed Center)
10:00-10:45, Joel and Monica Olvera discuss Ballet Folklórico practices in the building. Potential access for students after school.
11:30-12:00, Design Debrief in Joel’s office.
3:30-5:30, Joel at the TIU Planning meeting.
- January 13 (T)
Joel and Jennifer out. Kathy Larson will support and call me if discipline needs to be addressed.
8:00-3:30- Taking it Up Training Day 1 (8 staff attend at Auditorium)
2:45-4:45, Staff Meeting- Professional Development with Edward Olivos and Audrey Lucero, Zone of Proximal Development and tying assessment in to the instructional cycle.
6:00-7:00, Grupo de Padres/ Parent Group Meeting (Library)
- January 14 (W)
Joel and Jennifer out. Karen Ramirez Gutierrez will support and call me if discipline needs to be addressed.
8:00-3:30- Taking it Up Training Day 2 (8 staff attend in Auditorium)
1:45-2:45- PLC teams in the library. (Focus is still formative math assessments.) Please fill out the form each week, thanks.
2:45-3:45, PBIS Meeting (Erin Piper’s Room)
- January 15 (H)
1:30-2:15, Hat Speeches in conference room 1:30-2:15, Note the change in day. PBIS team attends if possible.
3:00-5:00, Joel, Karen, Marcy, Alexis to Design Committee (Classroom Focus group session.) Please come if you want to give input.
- January 16 (F)
8:30-9:00, Joel meets with Roscoe Caron
12:00-1:00, Joel in Formal Observation
1:30-3:30, Joel to Super Boundary Meeting (Ed Center)
4:00-?, Mystery event.
- January 19 (M)
No School – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Joel to MLK March at John Serbu Campus. Come join me if you like. There is no official Camino del Rio participation but I’d love to march with any colleagues that want to walk in solidarity.
Parking is available at Serbu Youth Center (2727 MLK Blvd) then we are gathering in front of PK Park. We will start gathering at 9am and then we will start the March at 10am. We will head down MLK Blvd. to the Shedd Institute where there will be a short program of speakers.
- January 20 (T)
8:30-9:45, Joel in Formal Observation
2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting (Conference Room)
- January 21 (W)
8:30-3:30, Joel at Principal’s Network Priority Schools Meeting (Lane ESD)
1:45-2:45- PLC teams in the library. (Focus is still formative math assessments.) Please fill out the form each week, thanks.
2:45-3:45, IPBS in Erin Recker’s Room
- January 22 (H)
8:00-9:00, Joel to Super Boundary Meeting (Ed Center)
3:00-5:00, Design Committee (Library)
4:30-6:30, 4J Equity Committee (Parr Room)
- January 23 (F)
9:00, Lockdown Drill
10:00-11:30, Joel in Pre conference and formal observation
- January 24 (S)
9:00-12:00, Elementary School Showcase (Ed Center)
Some items of note for the week:
• The Reinvention of Bilingual Education in America’s Schools Here is the my article pick of the week. It describes the trends well in dual language programs today.
A New Mexico student at the state Spanish Spelling Bee in April 2011.
• HM Journeys CCSS Updated Materials – The updated Houghton Mifflin reading materials will be delivered sometime this week. For those not on PLT, the district got a highly discounted offer from HM to upgrade our old HM reading materials to their current CCSS aligned version. This also came with a 6 year subscription to the online version of the curriculum, which can be accessed from laptops or iPads and includes the leveled readers. We purchased the English version only to support and better align materials to Common Core. The materials are going to be stored in the Craig’s shed next week and will stay there until the district organizes their the teacher trainings, though teachers can get them earlier if you’d like.
• Schools Showcase Volunteers, Sat. Jan. 24th, 10:00-12:00 – The School Showcase will be held again this year on Saturday Jan. 24th at the Ed Center, 9:00-12:00. It is also an elementary only event this year. Last year there was an informational presentation about the school choice process from 9-10 and then the showcase from 10-12. This event is for interested families to learn about all 4J schools in one place at the same time. Last year they provided breakfast, including a vegetarian option, for staff helping at the event. Let me know if any of you are willing to help me promote Camino del Rio and tell families why they should come to our school. You are the best marketing tool for our school.
• Superintendent Search Updates – We should know who our new superintendent will be by spring break. The school board had a work session last Wednesday to review all of the staff, students, families and public input. They plan to do a first round screening of candidates soon and will then do site visitations. In March, they will have different stakeholder groups conduct interviews with the finalists. That input will then go back to the board who will announce the new superintendent by spring break.
• Process for Requesting District Behavior Support – Camino del Rio staff are already good about going through the building IPBS process for challenging students before calling in ESS behavior consultants for, but ESS has now created a Tiered Intervention Flow Chart of steps that are to be followed before calling in one of the behavior consultants. “The Mod Squad” IPBS Team already follows these steps, but feel free to look at the chart if you’d like.
• Call for Student Presenters on Digital Learning Day! (Feb. 4th, 2015) – Ketterer send something out to cert_all, but Kellyclare Gardner sent a Digital Learning Day flyer to principals specifically calling for student presenters for Digital Learning Day that I thought I would forward. If you have any trouble accessing the link to our online sign up form through the PDF, here you can follow this link if you want to represent Camino del Rio at this event.
• Jan. 30 Educational Assistant (Professional Learning) Extravaganza – Back by popular demand, downtown will be hosting a variety of instructional workshops for all educational assistants who wish to participate. This all day event (8:00-3:30 at the Ed Center) allows for classified staff to choose presentations within your scheduled work day while teachers are working on report cards. They will be presenting multiple workshops at at time, in order to give you choice and flexibility to fit within your daily schedule. A schedule of the workshops and more details will be sent out soon.
• DonorsChoose.org Opportunity – Most of you are probably familiar with DonorsChoose.org, but it’s an on-line charity that connects the public to easily fund grants for public schools. For the College Football National Championship game, all attendees at the game will receive a $25 DonorsChoose.org gift card to use on a classroom project that inspires them. While there’s no way to predict how many recipients will use the funds, there will likely be a bunch of folks from our community looking to support a classroom, so it this may be a good time to put up a low cost grant (headphones, curriculum materials, class supplies, etc.) on their website. Here’s a link to the teacher section of DonorsChoose.org to submit a grant if you’ve never put one up before.
• Title 1 Newsletter – Here is the latest district level Title 1 Newsletter that went out to all Title 1 Coordinators and principals. This month’s issue is again mostly coordinator specific information and tasks, but there is some information about summer school for staff who work there and are wondering when it will be this year.
Have a great 5 day week.
Saludos cordiales,
Joel
Announcements, Equity, Evacuation Drills, Parent Involvement, Staff Meeting Agenda, Teacher Evaluation/ Observations, Title 1, Two Way Immersion, Uncategorized | Comment (0)Week of December 1
Calendar of Events for December
(No Site Council in December)
December 1 (M)
8:00-2:00, PD 5.5 hours with Rosa Molina (Library) 2 hours prep time.
10:30-11:00, Joel, Bryan,and Jennifer at IEP Meeting in Conference Room
3:45- 4:45, PLT Meeting- PLC Proposal and Debrief of Rosa Molina visit.
December 2 (T)
2:45-3:45, TLT Meeting (Conference Room)
December 3 (W)
2:45-3:45, PBIS Meeting (Piper’s Room)
4:00-5:00, North Eugene Principal Meeting at NEHS
December 4 (H)
1:00-2:00, Teatro Assembly -Pride Assembly Rescheduled for Thursday December 11.
3:00-5:00, Design Committee (Library)- Focus Groups attend.
5:30-6:00, 5th Grade Outdoor School Meeting
6:30-8:00, David Adee 4/5 Teatro Espectaculo in the Gym
December 5 (F)
5:30-6:00, 5th Grade Outdoor School Meeting
6:30-8:00, David Adee 4/5 Teatro Espectaculo in the Gym
December 8 (M)
10:00, Fire Drill and Lock Down Practice
2:00-5:00, Joel at Principal’s Meeting Parr Room- Ed Center
December 9 (T)
2:45-4:45, 2 Hour Staff Meeting with Edward Olivos and Audrey Lucero on Dual Language Instructional Delivery Practices
6:00-7:30, Parent Group Meeting- You are encouraged to attend! (Library)
December 10 (W)
7:30-9:30, Joel to Latino Breakfast at Ed Center (Parr Room)
9:30-11:00, Joel at Corridor for Skillful Teacher Co-observations. (Corridor)
2:45-3:45, PLT in the Conference Room
December 11 (H)
8:00-3:00, Being a Writer Meeting all day at the Ed Center (Joel and Jaime Jones attend)
Design Committee- Cancelled
6:30-7:30, River Road New Building Design Open House to Public in the Cafeteria
December 12 (F)
1:00-2:45, Joel at the Late Entry Policy Meeting at Corridor
December 15 (M)
8:00-3:00, Data Team Meeting
December 16 (T)
SST Meeting, 8:00-11:00
4:00-8:00, Joel to First Aid Training
December 17 (W)
2:45-3:45, IPBS Meeting
December 18 (H)
1:00-1:35, Pride Assembly Rescheduled from December 4
3:00-5:00, Design Committee Meeting
December 19 (F)
Last day of school before Winter Break!
A list of some items of note for the week:
Reading Assignment for December 9th– Please read Chapter 2 from Dual Language A-Z for the meeting with Edward Olivos and Audrey Lucero on December 9th. I also encourage you to skim Chapter 3 again since it is very closely related to our work with these consultants on that day.
December 1 PD Outline– Here is a rough schedule of our day together. (If there is a snow/weather day, this could be cancelled or delayed.)
Professional development and mapping will all occur in the library. Please bring all materials you need (Maravillas/HM) to the space in the morning including iPads and computers. The focus of this work is SLA and ELA curriculum mapping for vertical and horizontal articulation. The main outcome is to become more familiar with this process, align materials to the CCSS, to map curriculum for the last 3 months (possibly + future months), and to establish common objectives and themes for each grade level.
Coffee and snacks will be available.
We will begin promptly at 8:00. Please be on time.
8:00-8:30- Coffee and Introductions
8:30-9:00- Rosa and Kathy explain the use of the map.
9:00-10:15- Staff work on using materials to begin the process of looking back at previous months.
10:15-10:30- A break
10:30-12:00 More work on mapping
12:00-12:30- Lunch- (on your own)
12:30-2:00 – Work on mapping more.
2:00-4:00 PM Teacher protected planning time
4:00-5:00- PLT Meets to debrief the visit and discuss professional learning communities proposal. (compensated with CAP funds for extra duty beyond the work day.
Here are some helpful links for Monday. Also, see the email from Wednesday with the documents for curriculum mapping and depth of knowledge chart.
California Spanish Literacy CCSS Standards
•One iPad? No problem!- Here is a great way to use the iPad in the classroom for instruction that increases student collaboration in mathematics, or any subject.
•December Holidays – Here is a list of the major religious holidays of December 2014. If you are planning on describing or discussing winter holidays in your curriculum, please include a wide variety of cultures in your winter holidays unit.
December 1 is World AIDS Day, which was created to commemorate those who have died of AIDS, and to acknowledge the need for a continued commitment to all those affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
December 8 is Bodhi Day, a holiday observed by Buddhists to commemorate Gautama’s enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Bodhgaya, India.
December 10 is International Human Rights Day, established by the United Nations in 1948 to commemorate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
December 12 is Feast Day at Our Lady of Guadalupe. This day commemorates the appearance of the Virgin Mary near Mexico City in 1531.
December 16-24 is Las Posadas, a nine-day celebration in Mexico commemorating the trials Mary and Joseph endured during their journey to Bethlehem.
December 16 (sunset) – December 24 (sunset) is Hanukkah (Chanukah). Also known as the Festival of Lights, it is an eight-day Jewish holiday recognizing the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. It is observed by lighting candles on a Menorah—one for each day of the festival.
December 25 is Christmas, the day that Christians associate with Jesus’ birth.
December 26 – January 1 is Kwanzaa, an African-American holiday started by Maulana Karenga in 1966 to celebrate universal African-American heritage. It is observed by lighting candles to represent each of the holiday’s seven principles, libations, feasting, and gift giving.
• Furlough Days? – The School Board has not made a decision about the two furlough days, but the word on the street is that downtown expects there two be hazardous weather days between now and Spring Break. Those snow days will become the furlough days, but if we don’t have any hazardous weather days this year, one of the furlough dates is likely going to be the March 13th PD/Planning Day. Who knows, as of writing this, there’s a chance of snow and ice being predicted for Sunday night and Monday morning.
• Teatro Espectáculo Assembly this Thursday, Dec. 4 – This Thursday is the Music Assembly by David Adee. The students are extremely excited to share their musical talents with the whole school. Please review assembly expectations with your students.
• Design Focus Groups Meeting this Thursday, Dec. 4 – We will have enlarged plans for each area. An architect will be assigned to help facilitate the individual session. Staff members who have expertise and interest in a particular area will provide input. The following are the Focus Group Areas and a schedule for Thursday, December 4th. Many of you signed up already but some have not. We have plenty of representation in Pr-k and general classroom. If you cannot come to this meeting but have an area to look at, please send me an email with the ideal time for you. I might be able to arrange a “go to” online meeting with the architects at that time.
- General Classroom 3-3:45pm
- Pre K Classroom 3-3:45pm
- Admin Area 3-4pm
- Gym/Music 3-3:45pm
- Library/Media 3:45-4:30pm
- Cafeteria 3:45-4:30pm
- Community Room/Family Resource Room 3:45-4:30pm
• Preparing for Full Day Kindergarten in 15-16 – It was exciting to hear from the superintendent that we will be able to move forward on a full day kindergarten next year and that the board is gong to fund it. I asked HR to begin working hard on Spanish language elementary pool openings and they have created that now! In the next week, I will post a requisition for Dual Language Elementary Teacher. Please let me know if you have interest in remaining a kinder teacher or becoming the 3rd (maybe even 4th) kinder teacher.
• Rethinking Schools Articles on White Teachers in Spanish and English-
Dear White Teachers…. by Chrysanthius Lathan
Have a great school week! I believe in you and the kids do too.
Saludos cordiales,
Joel
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Week of November 24
Si un niño no puede aprender de la manera que enseñamos, quizá debemos enseñarles de la manera que ellos aprenden.
—Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Estrada
Weekly Calendar of Events
November 24 (M)
Fluoride Rinse Day
8:00-9:30, Joel at Charlemagne to work on Late Entry Policy
11:30-12:00, Joel in design phone call.
2:00, Joel phone appointment.
2:45-3:45, Site Council Meeting- Main topic: Late Entry Policy and it’s effects on our school and the region.
4:00-5:00, Early Learning Meeting in Family Resource Center
5:00-7:00, Joel at Lane ESD to present on working to increase equity and inclusion in schools.
7:00-9:00, Joel at the Common Core Standards Spanish Language Meeting in Ed Center.
November 25 (T)
Staff Meeting- PD with Reid Sheppard and Maddy Ahearn- Please come on time! Our guests Maddy and Reid will begin the meeting promptly at 2:45. 2:45-4:45
1. 8 Mathematical Practices Professional Development (Continued) 2:45-3:45
2. Leadership Plan Explanation and Possible Vote, 3:45-4:15
3. New Building Design Update for Teachers and Time for Input, 4:15-4:45.
November 26 (W)
No meetings.
November 27 (H)
Thanksgiving Holiday- No School
November 28 (F)
No School
December 1 (M)
8:00-2:00, PD 5.5 hours with Rosa Molina (Library) 2 hours prep time.
3:45- 4:45, PLT Meeting- Rescheduled.
December 2 (T)
2:45-3:45, TLT Meeting (Conference Room)
December 3 (W)
2:45-3:45, PBIS Meeting (Piper’s Room)
December 4 (H)
1:00-2:00, Teatro Assembly -Pride Assembly Rescheduled for Thursday December 11.
3:00-5:00, Design Committee (Library)
6:30-8:00, David Adee 4/5 Teatro Espectaculo in the Gym
December 5 (F)
6:30-8:00, David Adee 4/5 Teatro Espectaculo in the Gym
December 8 (M)
2:00-5:00, Joel at Principal’s Meeting Parr Room- Ed Center
December 9 (T)
2:45-4:45, 2 Hour Staff Meeting with Edward Olivos and Audrey Lucero on Dual Language Instructional Delivery Practices
December 10 (W)
7:30-9:30, Joel to Latino Breakfast at Ed Center
2:45-3:45, PLT in the Conference Room
December 11 (H)
8:00-3:00, Being a Writer Meeting all day at the Ed Center (We still need a rep for this!)
1:00-1:35, Pride Assembly
Design Committee- Cancelled
6:30-7:30, River Road Open House to Public in the Cafeteria
December 12 (F)
1:00-2:45, Joel at the Late Entry Policy Meeting at Corridor
Here are some of the main items of the week:
• We STILL need a Being a Writer Rep. : Could someone please step up to be a rep for this. I have tried three weeks in a row and no one has volunteered. If you do not have any extra responsibilities in the building please consider adding this. We really need someone there to help us learn about this new curriculum.
• December 1 PD- Two Way Immersion Literacy Curriculum Mapping with Rosa Molina
You may recall that on December 1st Rosa Molina is returning to work with our staff. The main outcome of this visit is to spend time mapping our literacy units completed this fall and to do some planning ahead. The last 8 weeks or so, you have spent time getting familiar with your new Maravillas Materials and have tried to implement some of the concepts that both Audrey Lucero and Edward Olivos taught us in August. The December 1st PD session will give you time to organize these units and align to the CCSS. Kathy Larson, Karen Ramirez and Rosa Molina have contributed to a new curriculum mapping tool that you and your grade level team will use on December 1. Ultimately, we hope you will be able to map what you completed and consider what you might have been able to accomplish for the year had these materials not been brand new. The ideas is that you will have a road map for next year that will make your planning more efficient for next school year and that this will help us solidify our program further. In addition, if you and your team are efficient, you may have some opportunities to plan ahead for January, February, and beyond.
Please bring all literacy materials to the work session that you use. Spanish AND English. Also bring your laptop or iPad to access online Maravillas materials.
Our December 1 Schedule:
Coffee and fruit and donuts provided. Something gluten free too but I am not sure what yet.
We begin PROMPTLY @ 8:00-12:00 will be the main mapping session.
There will be time for lunch on December 1 at 12:00.You are on your own.
It will run from 12:00-12:30. 12:30-2:00 you will continue to work with your team.
After 2:00 PM, you will have time to plan independently or in teams.
The end of the work day is 4:00 PM on December 1.
• Smarter Balanced Sample Tests & Accommodations – Kerri Sage said she’d send these, but I haven’t seen the email yet, so here is a link to the 4J Curriculum website, which contains the CCSS and assessment information she shared (install VPN on your laptop if you’re accessing this website from home or outside the 4J network). Also, here is a link to the Smarter Balanced website if you’d like take your students though the practice tests or look at it yourself. A number of folks also asked about testing accommodations. I’m sure 4J will put their own spin on these in terms of what is acceptable, but here is a link to the ODE webpage regarding the statewide assessment accessibility supports (formerly the Accommodations Tables).
• District PBIS Newsletter – 4J Behavior Consultants, have started putting out a newsletter that was shared with ESS licensed staff and principals. The November Newsletter is attached, and it has some good information that that I thought staff might be interested in reading as well. There are some excellent behavior ideas, especially for those difficult to support kiddos.
•Dual Language Program Bridges Home and School– This is an article about making literacy connections in the home in Racine, Wisconsin. In this school, the teachers have been doing some innovative work to help improve dual language literacy in their school. The parents are a part of the team.
•Derek Redmond: A relentless athlete to inspire us. Here is a video I saw last week at the Principal Network Meeting about perseverance and relentless effort. It is powerful and fitting. We will work together to help our students succeed. We will not do this alone.
Have a fabulous (though I’m sure a little wild) three-day week!
Joel
An activity from Alexis’ Class
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Week of November 17
Weekly Calendar of Events
November 17 (M) –
9:00-9:30, PSS Meeting to discuss progress in implementation of Green School curriculum.
9:30-1:00, Joel doing walk through observations through out the building.
(Focus: Objectives and Student Awareness of Objectives)
Fire Drill at 1:00- Pending Weather
1:45-5:00 Joel at Principal’s Meeting
November 18 (T)
More walk through observations through out the day.
2:45-4:45, Staff Meeting-
1. Anne doing general medical information awareness and nursing supports.
2. PBIS Climate Update- Cafeteria Plan
3. United Way Update
4. CAP Update for Staff
5. Dual Language A-Z Book Discussion- Please come prepared to discuss dual language a-z Chapter 1.
6:00-8:00, Parent Group Meeting
November 19 (W)
10:00-3:30, Joel at Principal Network Meeting ( Lane ESD)
2:45-3:45, IPBS Meeting (Recker’s Classroom)
November 20 (H)
8:30-11:30, OIEB Tour and Visit of our School- Tour of classrooms and conversations about our work.
3:00-5:00, Design Committee (Library)
4:30-6:30, Joel to Equity Committee (Ed Center)
November 21 (F)
Regular Day
November 24 (M)
Fluoride Rinse Day
2:45-3:45, Site Council Meeting
November 25 (T)
Staff Meeting- PD with Reid Sheppard and Maddy Ahearn
1. 8 Mathematical Practices Professional Development (Continued) 2:45-3:45
2. Parent Involvement and Early Learning Vision 3:45-4:05
3. New Building Design Update for Teachers and Time for Input, 4:05-4:45.
November 26 (W)
2:45-3:45, PLT Meeting- Shorter Meeting due to the holiday.
November 27 (H)
Thanksgiving Holiday- No School
November 28 (F)
No School
December 1 (M)
8:00-2:00, PD 5.5 hours with Rosa Molina (Library)
December 2 (T)
2:45-3:45, TLT Meeting (Conference Room)
December 3 (W)
2:45-3:45, PBIS Meeting (Piper’s Room)
December 4 (H)
1:00-1:35, PRIDE Assembly- (Gym)- Tentative
3:00-5:00, Design Committee (Library)
6:30-8:00, David Adee 4/5 Teatro Espectaculo
December 5 (F)
6:30-8:00, David Adee 4/5 Teatro Espectaculo
Hi staff,
Here are several items of note for the week. Please know that you are appreciated by so many young people. Perhaps this video from Kid President will remind you of the HUGE impact you have on on all of us. Thank you teachers and all of you for your amazing work!
• Action required of Teachers:
First assignment for Dual Language Instruction from A to Z, due November 18th.
Read Chapter 1, pages 1-42.
Do a review of the checklist in the last part of the chapter. Make your own self assessment of our program based on the checklist and be ready to converse with a partner about it.
Write a short reflection on “how we are doing” according to the standards laid out by Hamayan, Gennessee and Cloud. ( 1 page or 1/2 page) Be prepared to share it with a partner at the November 18th staff meeting.
• Action required of Teachers
Math Survey:
To guide our work with Reid Sheppard and Maddy Ahearn in math professional development this year Karen helped us by creating a survey. In SST, it was decided that this was a task that needs to be completed before we move into doing more in depth PD. Please complete the survey by our staff meeting on November 18th.
PLEASE COMPLETE BY TUESDAY!
• Fire Drill, Monday 17th at 1:00 – Weather dependent, we’ll plan to hold our November Fire Drill on Monday, November 17th at 1:00. If we’re rained out, we’ll try Tuesday morning at 9:10. It is our third try. I hope this time is a charm!
• PTO Meeting, Tuesday at 6:00 – The November PTO meeting will be this Tuesday, 6:00-7:00 PM in the library if any staff are able to attend. We had a big turnout at the last meeting, which was a great show of support for the PTO’s work. Hope to see you there!
• 3-5 Being A Writer Teacher Leader Rep – Last call for a 3-5 Being a Writer rep. The Developmental Studies Center staff will be here in December to meet with Being a Writer (BAW) Teacher Leaders by region. This is chance to see Being A Writer taught by a master teacher and ask all the questions you might have. The North Region meeting will be Thursday, December 11th, 8:00-3:00. See the attached document for details and let me know if anyone is willing to be the 3-5 BAW Teacher Rep.
• Rosa Molina returns on December 1 PD Day – Rosa will be back to help us with SLA/ELA curriculum mapping on December 1st. The schedule will include time to collect all your lesson plans and reading instruction materials in order to lay out what has been covered in your classroom thus far. She will work with us to help write out curriculum maps for each grade level for the last three months. She will also give us some ideas for how to forcast what remains in the year and how to capture those lessons. This will have a very strong bent towards aligning our SLA/ELA time to Common Core Standards. Rosa’s session will run from 8:00-12:00, Lunch, then 13:30-2:00. 2:00-4:00 will be teacher’s designated prep time.
• Request From Guest Teachers – HR meets once a month the the substitute teacher union, EAST, and EAST leadership asked HR to communicate the following to licensed staff regarding the best way to communicate sub plans to guest teachers:
Dear Building Administrators:
Every month I have the opportunity to meet with the leadership team from E.A.S.T., our licensed guest teacher union. At our recent meeting, they requested that we communicate with licensed staff about the best ways to electronically communicate lesson plans and sub notes so that our guest teachers are well prepared and most effective.
Could you please share with your staff that if they want to send plans electronically, the best way to do so would be to attach it to the absence request in AESOP? This will ensure that the teacher accepting the assignment has access to the plans. The other sure fire strategy would be to email them to someone in the school office, and share so that they can be printed and given to the Guest Teacher.
Some teachers are being very cleaver and emailing them to the Guest Teacher directly. Sometimes the timeline is so tight that the Guest Teacher doesn’t have the chance to check their district email and print the plans before arriving for the position.
I so appreciate any conversation or communication you can have about this request from E.A.S.T.
Let me know if you have any questions.
~ Karen Hardin
• Thanksgiving Classroom Reminder – Keep in mind that student conceptions of Native Americans often come from classroom activities around the First Thanksgiving. The conception of Native Americans gained from such early exposure is often both inaccurate and potentially damaging. When planning activities, be aware that what most of us learned in school about the “Pilgrims” and “Squanto” and the “First Thanksgiving” is a mixture of both history and myth. Thanksgiving activities should avoid reinforcing historical myths and should avoid stereotypes (ie. NO warbonnets). It’s best to shift the focus away from the “First Thanksgiving” and instead focus on items children can be thankful for in their own lives and on their families’ celebrations of Thanksgiving. Some resources on what to avoid and what to teach can be found at Teaching Tolerance and Education World. Here is a good article with a Native American perspective on Thanksgiving. Also, the 4J Natives Program is a resource that is available for classroom presentations and can offer an accurate picture of Native American culture.
Winter looks like it’s come early. Stay warm this week!
Joel
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