SEL

February 12, 2024

Hi Everyone,

Man, I was really looking forward to that 3-day weekend.

Sixteen items of note for this week:

• Title EA Job Posting – Holt’s Title 1 EA Job Posting to find a replacement for Annie is now up. I’m asking HR to extend the closing date to be closer to when we get staffing allocations, so applicants would have a better idea about the stability of the position beyond this school year.

 

• Report Card Send-Home Day, MONDAY – Reports cards and inserts will go home in Monday Mailers this Monday.

 

• Friendship Day, WEDNESDAY – Teachers and teams should communicate to families your plan for Friendship Day. The staff agreement is to do Friendship Day as opposed to celebrating Valentine’s Day, though some grade levels did traditional card exchanges. February 14th should be referred to as “Friendship Day.” Grade levels need to have general agreement around what they will do, bring, create, etc. and arebe responsible for communicating expectations to families.

 

• All-School La Bomba Dance Party – WEDNESDAY @9:28 – Kids will receive a FREE pair of Bombas Socks on Wednesday to celebrate thanks to our friends at Hope Project and Bombas! Socks will be delivered to all classrooms this week. On Wednesday morning, you can hand out the socks. Kids can put them on right away or save them for later. At 9:28, I will announce it’s LaBOMBAS time, where can join in on an all-school dance party.If you need to swap out a size, text or call Ashley and will have students ready to deliver.

 

• Staff Pet Kahoot – To add onto the Friendship Day fun, Elizabeth made Holt Bolt’s Friends (Pet Kahoot!!) you can do with kids on Wednesday if you’d like. Let Elizabeth know if she missed anyone’s pet.

 

• Wednesday PD: Vector Training Time – This Wednesday will be one of two times for teachers to complete the second rounds of Vector trainings. If you’re wondering why there were new trainings, HR told principals the state and their insurance carrier mandated additional trainings this school year, which these cover.

 

• Fire Drill, THURSDAY @1:15 – We’ll reschedule our missed fire drill this Thursday at 1:15. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map. If we get rained out, I’ll reschedule for early next week.

 

• Grade Level Team Meetings, 2/20 – The first two Tuesdays of the month on non-Staff Meeting weeks are dedicated Grade Level Team Meeting times. Teams should:

• Meet in their wing so specialists can connect if needed
• Take care of any needed team business
• Complete the Team Meeting Minutes Form (make a copy) and email it to holt_staf@4j.lane.edu

The Team Meeting Minutes Form can also be found on the Holt Staff Dashboard.

 

• Wednesday PD: Equity & Inclusion Team, 2/21 – Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 1:30 in the library will be an Equity &. Inclusion Team focused meeting. Stay tuned for details and if you didn’t get a chance to read it before, check out Emily’s email on Encouraging High Standards.

 

• Holt Spirit Day – Animal Day, 2/23 – Friday, Feb. 23 is a Holt Spirit Day and this time it’s Animal Day! Tell your kids to dress up as an animal, wear some animal print, a shirt with animals on it, make some ears, or just wear some spirit gear! And if you want to be secretly funny, feel free to do a Where the Wild Things Are theme in your classroom this day. “Let the wild rumpus start!” 😉

 

• Spirit Assembly 2/23 @8:20 – The February School Spirit Assembly is on Friday, Feb. 23 in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:20, but all classes should be in the gym by 8:15. Stay tuned for details!

 

• 24-25 Staffing Timeline – Downtown is promising to give schools all of our allocations at once this year; licensed and classified, SSD, ELD, and SIA, but did not mention Title, which I’m following up on. They are only giving us 1 week and 3 days to process our staffing plan. Last year we had 4 weeks. This seems way too short and I also plan to follow up with district admin about this, either giving more time to process or at least giving us classroom FTE ahead of time. However, if these dates stand, below is the timeline I’ll follow for the staffing process. I’ll plan to run this past staff for approval, but feedback beforehand is welcome.

Feb. 29 – Staff Meeting: Staffing Priorities & Grade Level Needs
Mar. 8 – HR gives principals 24-25 allocations
Mar. 8 – Allan emails allocations & draft scenarios
Mar. 13 – Wed. PD: Staffing Discussion #1
Mar. 14 – Staff Meeting: Staffing Discussion #2
Mar. 14 – Mar. 19 – Anonymous Google Survey
Mar. 20 – Wed. PD: Final Discussion
Mar. 20 – Staffing Plans Due to HR

 

• 24-25 School Supply Suggestions – Downtown is planning to provide school supplies again. This is the district’s Elementary School Supply List. Let me know by the end of the week if there are any other items you think should be on this list. Headphones are one I’m adding. If there are item we want that don’t make the list we are allowed to ask families to provide them.

 

• SSD January Newsletter – If you’re interested here is the February SSD Newsletter. Topics include the Neurodiversity Town Hall, Job Expo, IEP Amendments, and more. The SSD Newsletter Archives has all prior newsletters.

 

•Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:

• 22/23 Staffing Survey – To help me with next year’s staffing plan, I’d like staff, both classified and licensed, to complete the linked 2024-2025 Staffing Survey. I’d like to know staff members’ individual plans and preferences for the future as well as your thoughts on next year’s staffing plan, master schedule, or other thoughts. All answers will be kept confidential and let me know if you have any questions.

• Random Act of Kindness Week – Celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week February 11-17! If you’d like to do something with kids, HERE, HERE, and HERE are some activity ideas.

 

•Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

February 12 (M)
Kindergarten Staff Room Duty
Random Act of Kindness Week
Artist in Residence – Larry Meyers (4th & 5th Grade)
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
Report Cards Sent Home
7:30, Allan Monthly Meeting w/Jeff Johnson (Office)
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (Library)
12:50-1:15, OBOB Battles (Library)
3:30-5:30, Allan to SCIP Meeting (Ed Center)

February 13 (T)
Birthday Drinks & Goodies in Staff Room
8:45-9:20, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Parks)
9:20-10:00, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Ayres)
10:40-11:10, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Henrich)
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL Team Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
6:00-7:30, Conscious Discipline Parent Course (Library & Cafeteria)

February 14 (W)
Holt Friendship Day – Bomba Sock Day
9:28, All-School La Bomba Dance Party
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Vector Training Time (Library)

February 15 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
9:00-11:40, 2nd Grade (Bemiller/Rabourn) Jordan Schnitzer Field Trip
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (Library)
12:50-1:15, OBOB Battles (Library)
1:15, Fire Drill
2:45, Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Classroom)
6:30-7:30, 4th Grade Invention Project Night (Gym)

February 16 (F)
9:00-11:40, 2nd Grade (Norton/Gulleckson) Jordan Schnitzer Field Trip
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (Library)
12:50-1:15, OBOB Battles (Library)
4:30, Allan to 4J BIPoC Staff Affinity Meeting (Churchill)

February 19 (M)
1st Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
10:15, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (Library)
12:50-1:15, OBOB Battles (Library)

February 20 (T)
10:15-10:45, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
1:40, 3rd Grade Delgani Strings Assembly (Cafeteria)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
6:00-7:30, Conscious Discipline Parent Course (Library & Cafeteria)

February 21 (W)
Girls on the Run Registration Opens
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Equity & Inclusion Team (Library)
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

February 22 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (Library)
12:50-1:15, OBOB Battles (Library)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Meeting (Volunteer’s Classroom)

February 23 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Animal Day!
8:20-8:40, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (Library)
12:50-1:15, OBOB Battles (Library)

February 24 (SA)
10:00-1:00, Eugene Youth Math Festival (Mac Court @UO)

 

30 school days until spring break! [grits teeth]

Allan

 

November 27, 2023

Howdy Bolts,

I hope everyone had a restful holiday weekend. I know I enjoyed my downtime!

But be ready to do lots of pre-teaching and re-teaching of rules and expectations. Between kids having 9 days off of school and rising excitement/stress with the coming holidays, kids are going to need LOTS of reminders over the next few weeks. 

Twenty items of note for this week:

• New SPED EA, Tiffany Chambers – Please welcome Tiffany Chambers to the team as our newest SPED EA! Tiffany has been working as a long term sub in this position and been a fabulous addition to the primary SPED team. Tiffany is also a Holt parent of a 1st grader, adding to our club of Holt Staff/Parents, which by my count is now up to thirteen!

 

• Grade Level Team Meetings, TUESDAY – The first two Tuesdays of the month on non-Staff Meeting weeks are dedicated Grade Level Team Meeting times. Teams should:

• Meet in their wing so specialists can connect if needed
• Take care of any needed team business
• Complete the Team Meeting Minutes Form (make a copy) and email it to holt_staf@4j.lane.edu

The Team Meeting Minutes Form can also be found on the Holt Staff Dashboard.

 

• Wednesday PD, 11/29: Conferences Feedback – Principals were asked to dedicate some time for staff to provide feedback regarding conferences, which were somewhat different this year. We’ll plan to do this Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 1:30 in the library during our Wednesday PD time. Kim also has a post-winter break PBIS proposal, and after the meeting EEA reps asked for time.
 

• Dental Sealants Clinic, FRIDAY – Stay turned for detail from Nurse Haley, but this Friday will be the Dental Sealants Clinic for certain grade levels.

 

• Danceability Assembly, 12/4 – We have a K-2 and 3-5 assembly schedule on Monday, Dec. 4 in the gym for DanceAbility, a local disability advocacy group who’s mission is to create opportunities for people with and without disabilities to dance and move together. They have a great message and this is probably one of my all-time favorite assemblies. We’ll put out grade level cones for where to site and times are:

8:30-9:10, K-2 Danceability Assembly
9:30-10:10, 3-5 Danceability Assembly

 

• Data Team Meetings 11/5 & 11/7 – Data Team Meetings are in two weeks, but I had kinder and 5th grade times flipped, so the correct dates/times are:

Tuesday, Dec. 5:
4th – 10:55-11:55
2nd – 12:05-1:05
KG- 1:15-2:15

Thursday, Dec. 7:
1st – 8:00-9:00
5th – 9:10-10:10
3rd – 10:45-11:45

 

• Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day, 11/6 – The first Wednesday of each month is Walk & Roll Day, so encourage students to walk, bike, carpool or ride the bus to school.

 

• Wednesday PD, 12/6: Building System – Wednesday, Nov. 6 will be to review building systems and structures (requests for assistance, team structures, referral processes, etc). Principals got information about the “Intervention Team” (see item below) which is somewhat different from the past. My general thinking is we hold monthly IPBS meetings for Tier 2 and 3 behavior discussions as we have in the past (now compensated), PBIS meetings to address Tier 1 school wide behavior, Data Team for Tier 1 & 2 academics, and possibly look at creating an old school SST team to specifically manage and track SPED referrals, with changes in Tier 3 services (Title and SPED) being discussed during Grade Level Team meetings, connecting with appropriate staff during those times. If there are specific systems you want to make sure we discuss, let me know ahead of time, but I think this is the main one we want to get agreement around. The following Wednesday PD, the last one before winter break, will be a review of the Upbeat Survey Results.

 

• Fire Drill, 11/7 @1:15 – Our final Fire Drill of the year will be Thursday at 1:15. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map.

 

• Holt Staff Annual Gingerbread House Event, 11/7 @5:30 – See Debbi’s Email for details, but mark your calendars for Thursday, Nov. 7 at 5:30 for the annual Staff Holiday Party. One person from each team should let Debbi know by Dec. 1 how many team members you have so Katie and Melanie can plan.

 

• Artist in Residence Update – I realized last week I never heard back from LaneArts regarding our Artist in Residence request, so I called them to get that going. We can’t get our first of December, since that’s too fast, but they said we should be able to get our first choice of artists. However, they said Larry Meyer’s Mask Making is for older grades, so we’ll have Mask Making for 4th and 5th grade Feb. 5 – 16, and Five Clay Friends with Lily Hamilton for grades K-3 at a date to-be-determined. LaneArts is still getting back to be about a date for Clay with K-2 and Fiddling with Kelly Thibodeaux for K-5, but they know we want to avoid the end of the school year when schedules start to get complicated.

 

• Intervention Team Meetings – The following was sent to principals about “Intervention Teams” which downtown gave conflicting messages whether it was for academics or behavior or both:

Ideally, you should be engaging your staff in intervention team meetings to address academic and behavior concerns for students requiring Tier 2 and 3 interventions. This should be prioritized into your building meeting schedule and data team reviews (you have already been provided release time for data team). However, if you are finding it difficult to fit these meetings into your regular cycle of meetings, you can provide extended contract time. In order to be eligible for extended contract, staff would have already have attended a weekly meeting. Ex. Teacher A attended a grade level team meeting on Tuesday and also needs to attend an intervention team meeting (iPBS) on Thursday. This staff member would be eligible to fill out the extended contract form. Teacher B does not have a building scheduled meeting this week and needs to attend the intervention team meeting (iPBS) on Thursday. This staff member is not eligible for extended contract. Please let us know if you have any questions.

So this means we will be able to compensate staff who attend IPBS meetings, because there’s other required meetings most every week. We can discuss at the Wednesday PD who we thing should attend these meetings, though I imagine there will be core members at every meeting and other staff who attend as needed.

 

• Winter Break Food Assistance 2023 – Goign out in the Quick News is a link for families to sing up for food boxes over winter break. We have paper copies to go home in Monday Mailers and here is a blurb teachers can feel free to cut-and-paste into your classroom newsletters:

 

Winter Break Food Assistance 2023

If your family depends on school-provided breakfasts and lunches, Harlow Serves would like to provide your child with food assistance over Winter Break. This program is for students currently enrolled at Holt Elementary. Food Boxes need to be picked up from Holt Elementary School on Wednesday, Dec. 13, or Thursday, Dec. 14, 7:30 am – 3:00 pm. The deadline is Wednesday, Dec. 8 for returning paper applications to the Holt office OR signing-up at https://bit.ly/feedhope2023

✶Any food not picked up by 3:00 pm Thursday will be reallocated for other programs.✶ 

 

• Field Trip Process Update – Principals got to meet with the person in charge of Field Trips and they scaled back on one step, no longer requiring teachers to upload scans of signed permission slips and instead only require one copy of the permission slip be submitted before sending them home with students. Students will still need to have permission slip turned in two weeks before the trip for Low Risk/Day trips, so there is sufficient time for the school nurse to adjust medical plans as needed. Linked here are the latest version of the permission slip (English and Spanish), which are also linked on the Field Trip Info Page.

 

• Check Lost & Found – Remind kids to check the Lost & Found because everything will go after winter break. I’ll put a reminder in the Quick News about this as well. 

 

• Retirement Planning Seminar – Shiloh Powers, a Financial Advisor at Edward Jones who left us a bunch of scones in the Staff Room a couple weeks ago emailed me about a free retirement panning seminar happening Jan. 23 at 4:30pm. Click the Registration Link to sign-up.

 

• Professor says coding, SEL boosts elementary-school math – Introducing coding principles and social-emotional learning into third- through fifth-grade math lessons helped enhance student interest in the academic subject, according to Lindsay Gold, an associate professor at the University of Dayton. Gold shares research that found coding and SEL helped increase engagement, improve understanding of math concepts and enhance problem-solving skills among students See this EdWeek Article for details. 

 

•Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:

• Erin’s Law & Second Step Child Safety Unit – All classroom teachers should teach lesssongs 1-4 of the Second Step Child Protection Unit to the state Erin’s Law requirement. See Erin Gaston’s Email for details, but each grade level has their own kit and linked here are Child Protection Unit Scans of the teacher guides (here’s a District Link that has additional files).

• Computer Science Education Week Dec. 4-8 – Resources for Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code  include The Hour of Code Games, Minecraft, Star Wars, Frozen, Angry Birds, The Grinch, Google Hour of Code Activities, Microsoft MakeCode Arcade, Minecraft Education Edition Hour of Code Escape Estate, and Khan Academy.

• Mandatory Bus Training – The Annual Bus Safety Training is due by the end of December. Teachers should review the following two handouts:

Riding the School Bus Safely in English and Spanish
Emergency Exits Handout

Let me know the date you reviewed the handouts, so I can add it to the completion form I need to submit downtown. There are videos teachers can show in addition to the handouts.

 

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Classroom Buddies – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Classroom Buddies:

Buddies:
Each year classes from different grade levels are matched as buddy classes. This goes along with our Caring for Kids (Caring School Community) curriculum. Once classes are matched, it is up to them to determine when to meet and what activities do. The goal is for classes to meet at least once a month, but you are welcome to meet more frequently if you and your buddy wish. You also may use ideas from Caring for Kids (Caring School Community) Cross Grade Book and/or do whatever works best for your classrooms and buddies.

 

•Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

November 27 (M)
1st Grade, Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
2:45, IPBS Meeting (Calming Room)
3:00-5:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)

November 28 (T)
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
12:00, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings

November 29 (W)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Upbeat Survey Results

November 30 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
2:45-3:30, Equity & Inclusion Team Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

December 1 (F)
Dental Sealants Clinic (time is TBA)

December 4 (M)
2nd Grade, Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
8:30-9:10, K-2 Danceability Assembly (Gym)
9:30-10:10, 3-5 Danceability Assembly (Gym)

December 5 (T)
10:30-2:30, Data Team Meetings (4th, 2nd, KG)
4th – 10:55-11:55
2nd – 12:05-1:05
KG- 1:15-2:15
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
12:00, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL Meeting (Calming Room)

December 6 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
8:00-8:30, Allan to Upbeat Meeting (Zoom)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Building Systems
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

December 7 (H)
8:00-11:45, Data Team Meetings
1st – 8:00-9:00
5th – 9:10-10:10
3rd – 10:45-11:45
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
9:00-9:40, Safety Committee OSHA Training (Office)
1:15, Fire Drill
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Room)
4:30-6:00, BEST Open House
5:30-7:00, Holt Staff Annual Gingerbread House Event (Katie’s House)

December 8 (F)
National Pretend to be a Time Traveller Day

Here we go! Just three weeks until winter break!

Allan

@schooledbyarturo

Teacher CD Compilation #teachersoftiktok #teachertok #teacherlife #teacherproblems #teachersbelike #teacher #fyp

♬ original sound – Schooled By Arturo

November 20, 2023

 

Hello Bolts,

The best conference advice I have is to convey to parents that you know their child (share a story or two) and that you care about their child (speak well of them and that you believe in them), which makes it far easier for parents hear about areas for improvement. My other favorite tip is to start conferences by asking parents, “How do things look from your end?” which ensures you have enough time to talk about anything on their mind. 

Fourteen items of note for this week:

• PTO Conference Pot Luck – The PTO is providing meals for staff Monday and Tuesday. They will load up food at lunch and then leftovers for dinner. Looking at the PTO Potluck SignUpGenius it looks like a Taco Bar Monday and Soup & Salad Tuesday.

 

• Fire Marshall Re-Inspection, WEDNESDAY – The Fire Marshall will be back this Wednesday to make sure all areas of concern have been fixed. The three main areas cited were:

• Twinkle Lights – Unless they are special models that meet fire code, they are not allowed.
• 3-D paper Decorations – Fold-out snowflakes or paper lanterns and such, which is a new rule to me, are no longer allowed. In the past, it was only if these were hanging from the ceiling or lights they would cite us, but the new rule is all combustibles (i.e. paper, cloth, etc.) need to be flush with the wall.
• 3-Feet Egress – Make sure there is no furniture blocking doors. You should have a clear path where you can easily walk while holding a yardstick.

If Jeremy or I spoke with you earlier, make sure your areas have been corrected.

 

• Wednesday PD, 11/29: Conferences Feedback – Principals were asked to dedicate some time for staff to provide feedback regarding conferences, which were somewhat different this year. We’ll plan to do this Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 1:30 in the library during our Wednesday PD time. 

 

• Erin’s Law & Second Step Child Safety Unit – All classroom teachers should use the Second Step Child Protection Unit for meeting the state Erin’s Law requirements. For each grade level, there are six lessons, which are to be covered at three points in the school year, with lessons 1-4 before winter break, lesson 5 right before spring break, and lesson 6 right before summer break. Each grade level has their own kit, but linked here are Child Protection Unit Scans of the teacher guides (here’s a District Link that has additional files)  if that makes things easier.

 

• Erin’s Law Parent Notification – Not this week, but next week I will send the following notification to families about Erin’s Law:

Erin’s Law and Child Abuse Prevention Lessons

Oregon law requires all students are educated about child abuse and what to do if it is happening to them or someone they know. All students participate in 4-6 developmentally appropriate lessons each year regarding personal safety. This includes lessons in general safety and specific information about recognizing, responding to, and reporting child sexual abuse. The lessons are spread out across the year to ensure students consistently receive messaging about keeping themselves safe. See the linked Erin’s Law Parent Information for additional informaiton. 

 

• Second Step Pacing Guide – Related to the above, I wanted to re-highlight the Second Step Pacing Guide, but don’t fee bad if you’re behind. The guide is good to make sure you’re hitting each topic area.

 

• Data Team Meetings – Data Team Meetings are coming soon and this year downtown is having them focus on Tier 1 classroom whole group instruction and Tier 2 classroom level groups. We’ll have roving subs on the following dates:

Tuesday, Dec. 5:
4th – 10:55-11:55
2nd – 12:05-1:05
KG – 1:15-2:15

Thursday, Dec. 7:
1st – 8:00-9:00
5th – 9:10-10:10
3rd – 10:45-11:45

 

• Computer Science Education Week Dec. 4-8Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code  is in a couple weeks, Dec. 4 – 8. This is an annual call to action to inspire students to learn computer science and here are a few resources you could use with kids that week:

The Hour of Code Games
Minecraft
Star Wars
Frozen
Angry Birds
The Grinch
Google Hour of Code Activities
• Microsoft MakeCode Arcade
Minecraft Education Edition Hour of Code Escape Estate
Khan Academy

 

 

• Holt PBIS Incentive Programs – A reminder, linked here is an explanation of Holt’s Positive Incentives, which includes ZAPs, Orange Tickets, Spirit Tickets, the ZAP Fairy, and prize explanations. See the Holt Staff Dashboard Behavior Column for more info, including the ZAP Prize List, the ZAP Drawing Nomination Sheet, and others. There’s also Incentives info in the Holt Staff Handbook.

 

• Spanish Versions of Major Referrals – It’s not a frequent occurrence, but know that we have Major Referrals in Spanish in the office if you have to write a referral for a student where the home language is Spanish.

 

• WREN Newsletter & Paid Zoom PDs – The latest Western Regional Educator Network (WREN) Newsletter has some new Zoom PDs. I signed up for one titled “Regulate, Relate, Reason” in January that’ll pay you $260 to attend all three 2-hour Zooms. See the above linked newsletter for how to sign up!

 

• Schools “Can’t Sit Out” AI – Assistant Secretary  at the US Department of Education Roberto Rodriguez emphasizes that school districts should integrate artificial intelligence into education because avoiding it could disadvantage students in a future dominated by technology. Rodriguez highlighted the importance of teacher-led decision-making and collaboration between AI developers and educators. See this EdWeek Article for details. 

 

•Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:

• Fall Conferences Reminders – Several conference-related items:

• Share w/Families “Conscious Discipline Parent Nights” – If it comes up at conferences that parents are struggling with behavior at home, share with them the parent education series, “School to Heart to Home – Conscious Discipline Parent Nights.” It will be every Tuesday for 8 weeks, Jan. 9 – Feb. 27. Parents should reserve a spot by contacting Jenny at (541) 790-6173 or potter_je@4j.lane.edu or teachers can pass parent contact info to Jenny as well.

• Items to Review at Conferences – Teachers should review the Title 1 Compact, the Annual Permissions Form, the Student Tech Contract (K-2 and 3-5) if you haven’t already, and if you would like, you can also use the Synergy Family Report, which has attendance, benchmark, and OSAS info.

• Language Link Phone Translations – See the 4J Language Link Interpreting Service webpage for step-by-step directions on how to do translations for in-person meetings, phone meetings, or Zoom meetings. The “cost center number” for Holt is 270.

• EA Assistance During Conferences Sign-Up – If teachers could use any help with prep or other tasks, add your name and the task to the EA Assistance Spreadsheet. EAs should also add your name to the tasks you’d be willing to take on

• Staff Not in Conferences – Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are regular work days for all staff who are not part of conferences and should work their regular hours at school. However, if you pre-arrange trade time with me to not work Wednesday, email me your plan ahead of time. HR Emailed principals they are also making a one-time exception to allow personal days on Wednesday for classified staff.

• Resources for Families – Should any families request assistance with food, clothing, housing/rental assistance, hygiene products, SNAP (food stamps) Benefits, Insurance, counseling, and such, please have them fill out the linked Helping Hand Online Form or contact Holt Family Resource Coordinator, Felicia LaCuesta, at lacuesta_f@4j.lane.edu or call her at (541)790-6174.

• Mandatory Bus Training – The Annual Bus Safety Training is due by the end of December. Teachers should review the following two handouts:

Riding the School Bus Safely in English and Spanish
Emergency Exits Handout

Let me know the date you reviewed the handouts, so I can add it to the completion form I need to submit downtown. There are videos teachers can show in addition to the handouts.

 

•Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

November 20 (M)
ALL STAFF, Staff Room Duty
8:00-8:00, No School – Conferences
11:00-11:40, K-2 Lunch
11::20-12:00, 3-5 Lunch
5:00-5:40, 3-5 Dinner
5:20-6:00, K-2 Dinner

November 21 (T)
8:00-8:00, No School – Conferences
11:00-11:40, K-2 Lunch
11::20-12:00, 3-5 Lunch
5:00-5:40, 3-5 Dinner
5:20-6:00, K-2 Dinner

November 22 (W)
No School – Conference Comp Day

November 23 (H)
No School – Thanksgiving Holiday

November 24 (F)
No School – Thanksgiving Holiday

November 27 (M)
1st Grade, Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
2:45, IPBS Meeting (Calming Room)
3:00-5:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)

November 28 (T)
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
12:00, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings

November 29 (W)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Upbeat Survey Results

November 30 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
2:45-3:30, Equity & Inclusion Team Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

December 1 (F)
Dental Sealants (time is TBA)

 

Happy conferencing and enjoy the holiday weekend!

Allan

 

October 23, 2023

 

Hello Bolts,

Twenty-five items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Two staffing updates:

• 4-hour Title EA Interviews – We’ll hold interviews for our 4-hour Title 1 EA this Friday after school. Let me know if you are interested and I’ll send you the interview materials. We had 18 applicants, which is pretty darn good for a 4-hour position.

• 6.5-hour Title EA (Stephanie Chan) – I’m pleased to announce we’ve hired Stephanie Chan as our newest Title 1 EA, taking Lisa Phillips’ position, which Adrian Monty has been filling the past few weeks. Stephanie was previously a Life Skills EA as Gilham, but took time off to raise her kids, who are Holt kiddos in 3rd and 5th grade. Please welcome Stephanie to the Holt Team!

 

• Scholastic Book Fair THIS WEEK – Starting Monday, the book sale will be open from 7:30 to 7:50 in the morning and after school from 2:30 – 3:30. During the day, students can come down during recess or anytime there is free time during class. Robbie will continue to teach Library Lessons this week in classrooms.

 

• Wednesday PD, 10/25: SafeSchools/Vector Modules & Elementary Inclusive Beliefs Survey – I owe staff one more Wednesday to complete your SafeSchools/Vector Modules, which are due next week on Nov. 1. Principals were also tasked with giving staff time to complete a 10-minute Elementary Inclusive Beliefs Survey.

The Inclusive Beliefes Survey is a joint 4J and EEA survey intended to gather baseline data on current staff beliefs surrounding inclusive education in our district. In order to better develop guidance and training around what inclusion should look like in 4J, district and union leadership have agreed that it is necessary to have a current and comprehensive picture of the current state of inclusion in the district. In my opinion, I love the collaborative relationship between general education and special education staff here at Holt, which is not something you see in all buildings.

 

• Holt PTO Costume Bingo & Trunk-or-Treat, THURSDAY – The Holt PTO’s  Trunk-or-Treat Event (5:30-6:15 on the blacktop) and Costume Bingo Night (6:15-7:30 in the Cafeteria) is this Thursday, so get kids pumped and feel free to join yourselves!

 

• Spirit Assembly FRIDAY @8:20 & Thriller Flash Mob Sign-Up – Our monthly School Spirit Assembly is this Friday in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:20, but all classes should be in the gym by 8:15. See the Assembly Map and Directions for details, but get your kids excited for prizes, games, and fun! And don’t forget to add your name to the Thriller Flash Mob Sign-Up if you’d like to join in a little extra fun.

 

• Holt Spirit Day, FRIDAY, Wacky Hat Day! – This Friday is a Holt Spirit Day and this time it’s Wacky Hat Day! Dig out your favorite or wildest hat or headwear this day to show your school spirit!

 

• Safety Week Info, Oct. 30 – Nov. 3 – Next week we’ll hold our Safety Week, which is a good way to bring awareness to staff, students, and families about the various school safety procedures.

Monday: Evacuation (fire) Drill
Tuesday: Room Clear & Hold
Wednesday: Secure Drill & Playground Emergency Whistle
Thursday: Lockdown
Friday: Shelter (earthquake) & Fire Drill

Teachers should pre-teach the drills to students ahead of time and can either use the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) Poster, which should be posted in every classroom (let me know if you don’t have one and I’ll get you one) or you could use the linked Safety Week Slide Show, which I plagiarized from another school. For your own edification, here is a link to the Complete SRP Guide and the SRP Folder on the Staff Google Drive. With the exception of Monday’s Fire Drill, I will plan to get on the intercom to give a brief overview of each drill.

MONDAY @1:15 – Evacuation Drill (fire drill): We’ve already done one Fire Drill this year and I will simply pull the alarm to start the drill. Linked here is the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line Map. Teachers should explain that an Evacuation Drill can be more than a fire drill and that there are times we might need to evacuate to a specific locations, such as an announcement saying, “Evacuate! To the church across the street.” or to another location or part of the building. Staff should remember to lock and close doors behind you.

TUESDAY (or any day this week teachers choose) – Room Clear (for a danger in the classroom) & Hold (for when students need to stay in classroom for minor issue outside): These drill will be pracitced and reviewed with students anytime this week, but there are no other drill scheduled for Tuesday. Room Clear Drills will happen at a time determined by classroom teachers. Students should know where to go in the event of a situation requiring a room clear, either another classroom, the commons areas, the library, or other nearby space, preferably supervised, since in most cases the teacher would need to remain in the classroom while the rest of the students move out of the room.

A Hold is used when there is a situation in the hallway, such as a medical emergency or an escalated student, and we want students to remain in their classroom continuing business as usual. 

WEDNESDAY @10:00 – Secure Drill (for a danger outside the building) and Emergency Playground Whistle: For the Secure Drill (formerly knows as a “lockout”), I will announce “Secure! Get Inside, Lock outside doors.” All exterior doors are to be locked. No one will be let in or out of building. It will be business as usual inside the building until the all-clear signal is given, which I will do 5 minutes into the drill. This drill is done if there was something unsafe in the neighborhood.

For the Emergency Playground Whistle, cafeteria supervisors at lunchtime will remind students if they hear one long continuous whistle at recess, they need to FREEZE and then LOOK AT AN ADULT for directions. This will be practiced at lunch recess. 

THURSDAY @1:15 – Lockdown Drill (for a danger inside the building): I will announce, “Lockdown! Locks, Lights, Out of Sight.” Classroom doors are to be locked, curtains closed, lights turned out, and students moved out of sight. Classrooms should appear unoccupied and remain locked until a first responders unlock doors. For the drill, myself or staff will unlock classroom doors to announce all clear. In a real emergency situation where there is an immediate threat, staff and students would in almost all situation want to self-evacuate.

FRIDAY – Shelter (earthquake) & Fire Drill @8:20: For the Shelter/Earthquake Drill, teach students to “Drop, Cover, Hold,” meaning drop to the ground (so you don’t fall over), cover yourself by going under a desk (to protect yourself from falling objects), and hold onto the desk legs (so you stay under cover and don’t get bounced out). There are many resource on The Great Oregon Shake Out website for you to teach students about Drop, Cover, Hold and earthquake preparedness. See the above linked Evacuation Map & Lines for where classes should line up for the Fire Drill following the Earthquake Drill when you hear the fire alarm go off.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

 

• Wednesday PD, 11/1: Stop, Walk, Talk Rollout – Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 1:30 in the library go over Stop, Walk, Talk and how we will roll this out to students. Last year staff decided last spring to teach Stop, Walk, Talk for common language for kids to solve minor (non-physical) problems on their own, but if people want to teach this to student earlier, we we agreed to use lessons 1 and 2 of the Stop, Walk, Talk Bully Prevention Lessons. Lesson 1 takes about 50 minutes and lesson 2 takes about 30 minutes. Lessons 3, 4, and 5 offer additional practice for specific situations (Gossip, Inappropriate Remarks, and Cyberbullying) if teachers would like to cover these as well.

I’m also a fan of this short Stop, Walk, Talk YouTube Video done in the style of a silent film to teach kids how to use it. 

 

• Title 1 Math Groups Being 11/2 – Title 1 Math Groups will begin Thursday, Nov. 2.

 

• Formal Observations – I’m going to start making the rounds for Formal Observations, so if you are probationary or are a contract teacher on an observation year, watch for an email later this week to set up a time to observe a Wit & Wisdom lesson.

 

• Assisting Escalated Students (ask if they need assistance first) – Walking down that hall and spotting a staff member working with an escalated student is not uncommon, and while we appreciate folks willingness to help, we ask folks to first check with the staff member working with the escalated student if they need help before intervening. Giving the staff member a silent thumbs-up to ask if they need help is a good unobtrusive way check if they need help or not.

 

• Grab-and-Go Breakfasts Available – If students did not get breakfast in the cafeteria in the morning, they are welcome to walk to the office between 7:55-8:00 to get a Grab-and-Go Breakfast. Even if the kids who grab one of these don’t eat them, it can be a nice way to build up a classroom stash of extra snacks.

 

• Leadership Team Minutes – Linked here are last week’s Leadership Team Meeting Minutes. Several items will be brought to this week’s Staff Meeting to be decided on, including Gingerbread Houses Holiday Party, Student Technology Agreements, Conference Logistics, and Hallways & Pod Expectations.

 

• Monday Morning Announcement Recordings – Leadership discussed whether we wanted to continue doing Monday Morning Announcements on Zoom or switch to pre-recorded announcements or switch back to using the PA system. It’s nice to see all the classes, so for now we’ll continue Zoom, though I’ll also drop a recording of the Zoom into the Staff Google Drive in a folder labeled Monday Morning Announcements (if I remember to hit record).

 

• HEPA Filters Off at Night – I recently learned that the HEPA Filters are not meant to be turned off at the end of the day, so staff who have one of these in your room should turn them off before you leave each day.

 

• Student Tech Contract (K-2 and 3-5) – If you haven’t already gone over these with students, linked here and on the Holt Staff Dashboard are the K-2 Holt Student Technology Contract and the 3-5 Holt Student Technology Contract. Teachers should review this document with students, using it as a teaching tool, and then have students and parents/guardians sign the agreement (conferences are a good time for that).

 

• Staff Photos – Anyone hate their school picture on the Holt Staff Webpage? If you do, I have access to digital versions of this year’s schools photo if you’d like me to update your picture or if you want to first take a peek at this this year’s photo.

 

• Grant Approval Form Update (only for $5,000+ grants again) – Downtown thankfully saw reason, and we are going back to only using the Grant Approval Form for larger grants, which according to the 4J Grants Webpage is for grants $5,000 or more.

 

• 4J SEL Resources – Three resources that have been shared before, but I wanted to re-highlight are the Second Step Pacing Guide (don’t fee bad if you’re behind, but it is a good way to make sure you’re hitting each topic area), Morning Meeting, Engagement Strategies, and Closing Activities on the 4J Learning Hub, and also the 4J SEL PE Booster Plan & Resources 2023-2024, which has a bunch of links on Morning Meetings, Closing Meetings, and other class SEL resources.

 

• Elementary Curriculum Updates – The Elementary Curriculum Update sent to principals didn’t have anything too critical, but if you are interested it has info about 504 Meetings and Conferences, the Elementary Teacher VOICE Survey on the math adoption, Math Workbook print orders, Eugene Science Center opportunites for 3rd and 5th grade, Library Resources, and MANDT trianing opportunities.

 

• Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) PD Opportunity – See the ASIST Outreach Letter if there are any licensed or classified staff are interested in attending this 2-day training Nov. 2 and 3. Registration is first come, first serve and space is limited.

 

• WREN Newsletter & Paid PD Equity Zooms – The latest WREN Newsletter has a Zoom PD titled “Bystander Intervention for Educator” in December. I attended two Zoom PDs this month and it was kind of like listening to a good podcast, except you got paid $60 at the end! See the above linked newsletter for how to sign up!

 

• Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day Resources – It’s not until Nov. 14, but the Day of Dialogue Teachers’ Project Guide to Supporting Changemakers has lessons teachers can use to coincide with Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day.

 

• JUST FOR FUN: New Words – The online Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary regularly adds new words based on usage and 690 words were recently added. Here is just a sample list of them, including new slang and words made popular by online culture, like edgelord noun, slang : someone who makes wildly dark and exaggerated statements (as on an internet forum) with the intent of shocking others. Also the word “hallucination” has an new definition meaning “a plausible but false or misleading response generated by an artificial intelligence algorithm.” Worth checking out to stay in the know, especially if you’re an aging uncool Gen-Xer like me.

 

• Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:

• Licensed Optional SMART Goals, Due Nov. 3 – Here are Optional Licensed SMART Goals teachers can cut-and-paste into TalentEd if you would like.

• Sunshine Committee Dues – See Elizabeth’s Email for details. Full-Time Licensed Staff: $30.00 and Classified Staff: $20.00. There’s a money envelope in Elizabeth’s mailbox or you can Venmo @elizabethcobb1

• Sunshine Requests – Please take a second to fill out the Sunshine Requests Form if you have drink/snack requests for the staff room!

 

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Physically Moving/Restraining Students – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Physically Moving/Restraining Students. Restraint should be a last resort required to keep students and adults safe. It should only be done by MANDT Trained staff, but untrained staff are allowed to restrain a student in cases of an immediate threat (i.e. about to run in front of a car):

Physically removing/restraining:
• Physically removing/moving/restraining a student is never allowed unless there is an imminent threat to a person. Should be a trained staff member except in extreme situations. If you need assistance with a student call the office using the intercom on the wall or phone

How to get help (immediate):
• If available, use a radio to request help. If not, use the intercom button, or use the phone and dial 6100. If a staff another member is nearby, you may also request them to get help for students behaviors

 

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

October 23 (M)
SPED/Inst. Coach Staff Room Duty Staff Room Duty
Scholastic Book Fair Begins
8:00, Morning Announcements Begin (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
1:00-2:00, Allan to Synergy Training (Zoom)
2:45, Allan to Parent Meeting
3:30-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

October 24 (T)
9:15-1:00, KG Pumpkin Patch Field Trip
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden

October 25 (W)
7:30-8:30, Allan to MAPS Meeting
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – SafeSchools & Elem Inclusive Beliefs Survey
4:30-6:30, SPED Parent Info Session (Ed Center)

October 26 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Classroom)
5:30-6:15, PTO Trunk or Treat (Blacktop)
6:15-7:30, PTO Costume Bingo (Cafeteria)

October 26 (F)
8:00-11:00, OSEA Membership Drive (Staff Room)
8:20, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)

October 30 (M)
Office/PE/Music Staff Room Duty
Safety Week Begins
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
1:15, Fire Drill

October 31 (T)
This is Halloween!!!
Room Clear and Hold Drill @Teacher Choice
Kindergarten Hearing Screening
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings

November 1 (W)
Ewok Appreciation Day
10:00, Secure Drill
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Stop, Walk, Talk Rollout (Library)
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

November 2 (H)
Title 1 Math Groups Begin
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting
1:15, Lockdown Drill
2:45-3:30, Equity & Inclusion Team Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:00, Holt PTO Meeting (Library)

November 3 (F)
8:20, Earthquake & Fire Drill

 

Just one more 5-day week after this week and then we get a nice 3-day week to look forward to!

Allan

 

May 22, 2023

Hi Everyone,

The Spring Carnival was a ton of fun! My favorite moment was when a 2nd grader at the car bash paused whacking the car with a baseball bat for a moment to yell out, “I’ve been waiting my whole life to do this!”

With just four short weeks left in the school year, I wanted to remind everyone to do your best to stay positive when working with challenging students and situations. I know I’ve caught myself being short with students I could have handled differently. Remember to take the extra time to pre-teach the behaviors you expect, acknowledge positive behaviors when students are following expectations, and when students are not following expectations, start with a reteach, giving students a chance to turn things around before jumping to a consequence. We’re all tired at this point in the year, so it’s important we remember the teaching component when handling misbehaviors (myself included).

Twenty items of note for this week:

• 23-24 Staffing Updates – Three staffing updates:

SECRETARY, Sharon Alberts! – I’m pleased to announce that Sharon has been hired as our secretary for next school year! This means we’ll be hiring for her office assistant position, which I hope will get posted this week. We’re glad you’ll be in this role to take care of us next year, Sharon!

0.2 PE POSTING PULLED – HR pulled our PE job posting because they may be placing someone into this position. 

0.2 MUSIC INTERVIEWS – Ashely and I will conduct interviews for this position after school on Zoom, 2:35-3:45. If anyone would like to be part of interviews, let me know and I will send you the interview materials.

• Team Meetings, WEDNESDAY, Class Lists Due – Grade level teams should complete your 23-24 Class Lists by this Wednesday. After Team Meetings, lists will be available for classified and licensed staff to review and share feedback ahead of the June 6th Staff Meeting were grade levels will meet to share individual student information.

• Fundations + Math Student Consumable Order Due FRIDAY – See this email for details, but remember that consumable orders for Fundations and Math are due Friday, May 26th. One person from each grade level should place your order.

• Holt Spirit Day – Vacation Day, FRIDAY – This Friday is a Holt Spirit Day and this time it’s Vacation Day. Show your school spirt by dressing up as if you’re going on vacation (tropical shirts, sunglasses, tourist gear, etc.) or simply wear your Holt spirit gear! Get your students pumped!

• Final Friday PD: Staff Choice – This Friday is Staff Choice. I plan to ask at Monday’s principal meeting if the Zoom trainings are still happening. Seems the last few times they did not share out the Zoom links and I’m not sure they’re actually happening.

On a related note, this is the last Friday PD of the year. Next week (6/2) is a double prep to make up for Grading Day (6/9), and the final Friday of the year (6/16) is the last day of school for licensed staff.

• Staff Social! Friday @4:00 at Beer Garden! – Mark your calendar for our final Friday at 4:00 of the school year, which will be at The Beer Garden. See you there!

• Last Book Nook, May 31 – Let your kiddos know that Wednesday, May 31st will be the last Book Nook for the school year.

• Annual Safety Inspection, May 31st @10:30 – Third time’s the charm. 4J’s liability insurance agent and members of 4J Risk Management are scheduled to conduct a safety walkthrough inspection next week on Wednesday, May 31st around 10:30. Linked here is a handout of the Most Common Classroom Safety Violations. The two main items we got dinged for last time were:

• Combustable items hanging from ceilings
• Door egress width (3 feet) blocked by rolling carts and other items

• May Spirt Assembly & Talent Show Combo Assembly, June 1 – Rather than hold two separate assemblies so close to one another, we’ll combine the May School Spirit Assembly and the Talent Show Assembly for Thursday, June 1st, 8:30-9:30 in the cafeteria. Linked here is the Assembly Map and Directions. Stay tuned for additional directions for the performers.

• Erin’s Law & Second Step Child Safety Unit – All classroom teachers should use the Second Step Child Protection Unit for meeting the state Erin’s Law requirements. For each grade level, there are six lessons, which are to be covered at three points in the school year, with Lessons 1-4 in the fall, lesson 5 right before spring break, and lesson 6 right before summer break (within the last two weeks of school). Each grade level has their own kit, but linked here are Child Protection Unit Scans of the teacher guides if that makes things easier.

• Lockdown Magnets Are Here & Please Give Feedback – I shared earlier I’d volunteered us to try using the lockdown door magnets, which the plan for is that doors will always be locked and the magnets will be placed over the latch plate on the door jam, which allows the door to remain unlocked, but in the case of an emergency, the magnet can simply be pulled off by anyone to secure a classroom instead of staff having to fumble for keys. For teachers who currently keep your doors locked and closed, you are welcome to continue this practice if you choose. We will deliver magnets to staff for use on interior doors, and since this is a pilot, be sure to share with me any feedback once you start using them.

 

• Raptor Tech Issue and Rosters Not Synced – Risk Management emailed principals they are having tech issues syncing student rosters in Raptor Alert, so if you didn’t see your class during last week’s Fire Drill in the Raptor app, it wasn’t you, it was a district tech issue, which they are working towards resolving.

• 4J COVID Protocol Updates – 4J is changing three COVID protocols to align with changes in state policy. One, COVID positive staff and students are no longer required to quarantine for 5 days and instead just need to be fever free for 24 hours without meds. Two, schools recieve new testing kits in the fall to have on-hand. Three, effective June 17th, the vaccination and religious or medical exemption requirement for staff, visitors, and volunteers will end. See this email for details.

• Ems Tickets for Sluggo’s Reading Challenge – Ems Tickets are here. They are sorted by class. There are also free staff tickets, two per staff member. Come get your tickets from Melanie by the end of the week and any tickets left after that can be claimed by staff wanting more than just the two tickets.

• Free Moving Boxes – Melanie ordered boxes for staff who are moving classrooms or schools, but the warehouse dropped off twice as many as we’d asked for (we think they’re trying to get rid of them), so staff are welcome to take what you want. The boxes are on a pallet next to lost and found. The sooner you can take them the better.

• Mystery Science Subscription? – 4J has cancelled the district license for Mystery Science due to low usage rates. It’s $1,695 for a site license if there are enough teachers who want it. Let me know by the end of the week if you and/or your grade level regularly use this and would want it for next year.

• UO Field Study Volunteers for Your Classroom – Are you looking for extra support in the classroom next year? If so, there are UO Education undergrads hoping to complete their required Field Study in classrooms with teachers. See this email for additional info, but if you would like to host an intern, RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/UOHostFieldStudy

• District Admin Updates – Eight district admin updates for next year. Erin Gaston, the current Howard principal, is the new Elementary Curriculum and MTSS Administrator. Replacing Erin at Howard is Charlie Jett, principal at Twin Rivers/Dos Rios in Springfield. Adrienne Pierce, current Elementary Curriculum Administrator, is the new Secondary Curriculum and MTSS Administrator. Nadira Rizkallah, former HR/Equity Director in South Lane, is the new principal at Edgewood Elementary. Kimberly Ingram, and elementary prinicpal in Salem-Keizer, is the new principal at Yujin Gakuen. Justin Corey, current principal at Junction City High School, will be the principal at Madison Middle School. Morgan Christensen, the current 4J Title IX Coordinator, is the new HR Licensed Administrator, taking Mike Ingram’s place, who is returning as the Sheldon principal. Lastly, Megan Russell, current AP at Gilham, is the new assistant principal at Monroe and taking her AP job at Gilham is Tom Piowaty, the current Yujin Gakuen principal (who Lavinia used to be his AP at Corridor/YG). See these emails (one and two) for details.

• 24 Morning Message Ideas To Get Your Day Started on the Right Foot – A morning message is the perfect way to engage your students the minute they walk through the door. Answering a question with no right or wrong answer allows learners to discover and articulate what’s important to them and supports their social-emotional growth. Not only that, the questions can spark important conversations that bring your community together on a deeper level. Here are some of WeAreTeachers Favorite Morning Message Ideas teachers are using to connect with their students.

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the rest of the year:

May 22 (M)
Upbeat Survey Closes
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #2 Classes
SPED Staff Room Duty
Scholastic Book Fair BOGO Sale
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

May 23 (T)
10:45-11:45, Math Acceleration Testing (TBA)
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meetings (Kelsey’s Room)

May 24 (W)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
10:45-11:45, Math Acceleration Testing (TBA)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:45-3:30, Team Meetings – Class Lists Deadline
2:35-3:45, 0.2 Music Teacher Interviews (Zoom)

May 25 (H)
Towel Day
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Garden Project (Garden)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Team Meeting (Library)

May 26 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Vacation Day!
Fundations + Math Student Consumable Order Due
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting
9:15-9:45, 4/5 Monroe Victory Tour Performance (tentative)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Staff Choice
1:30-2:30, Classified Staff Meeting (Library)
4:00, Holt Friday at 4:00! (Beer Garden)

May 29 (M)
No School – Memorial Day

May 30 (T)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #1 Classes
Office/PE/Music Staff Room Duty
PE & Music Outside (Gaga Ball)
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
2:45, Allan to Parent Meeting

May 31 (W)
8:50-10:45, Final Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:30-4:00, Talent Show Rehearsal (Music Room)

June 1 (H)
6:00-7:45, Talent Show (Cafeteria)

June 2 (F)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD -Double Prep

June 5 (M)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #2 Classes
Title Staff Room Duty
PE & Music Outside (Kickball Field)
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

June 6 (T)
Birthday Drinks & Goodies in Staff Room:
8:05, Fire Drill
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting – Class List Transitions (Library)

June 7 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:45-3:30, Team Meetings – Class Lists Deadline
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

June 8 (H)
Last Day for Dynamos / Title 1 Groups
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:00, PAHS Meeting (Library)

June 9 (F)
No School – Grading Day
8:00-1100, Allan to Admin LETRS Training (Zoom)

June 10 (SA)
7:00-9:00, Sheldon HS Graduation (Hult Center)

June 12 (M)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #1 Classes
Kindergarten Staff Room Duty
PE & Music Outside (Kickball Field)
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

June 13 (T)
8:45-10:15, Field Day, Grades 3-5
12:00-1:30, Field Day, Grades K-2
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

June 14 (W)
8:30-10:30, KG Walking Field Trip (Country Lane Park)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
1:30, Kona Shave Ice Fundraiser (Hard Play)

June 15 (H)
Last Day for Students – Release Time 11:10
Last Day for Classified Staff
8:30-10:00, 5th Grade Breakfast & Celebration (Cafeteria)
9:00-10:00, Kinder Magic Show (TBD)
Grab-and-Go Lunches
     10:25 – Kinder
     10:30 – 1st
     10:35 – 2nd
     10:40 – 3rd
     10:45 – 4th
     10:50 – 5th
11:10 – Early Dismissal
11:30-12:30, Annual End-of-Year BBQ (Cafeteria)
June 16 (F)
Last Day for Licensed Staff
7:30-9:00, Allan to MAPS Board Meeting

 

It’s our last 5-day week of the year, ending with a 3-day weekend!

Allan

 

May 15, 2023

Greetings Bolts,

This Monday is National Speech Pathologist Day, so a big shout out to our awesome SLP, Katharine, who we are so lucky to have here at Holt!

Twenty-five items of note for this week:

• 23-24 Staffing Updates – Two updates:

0.5 SPED TEACHER VACANCY – After previously changing their mind, SSD is once again moving Sheryl Carroll to Holt, where she will be 0.5 at Holt and 0.5 at YG. Sheryl is currently a SPED teacher at Edison.

SECRETARY & 0.2 PE/MUSIC – We held secretary interviews last Thursday and are waiting on HR to make a job offer. The part-time PE and Music Job Postings are now up and we have at least one solid candidate applying for each position, so we should be good for next year!

• Raptor & Fire Drill, THURSDAY @8:05 – Staff should now be able to log onto the Raptor app (iOS and Android) with your 4J email and password. Staff are not required to use the app for the May 18th fire drill at 8:05, but I’m going to initiate an evacuation on the app so staff can see how the app works during an emergency. Do note that staff are not required to install this app on your personal devices, but may do so if you choose. Next year, I think we should have all teachers use the app to account for students, so we are practiced using the app if there ever were a real emergency, especially for evacuation/reunification situation such at what happened at SEHS last week. Teachers not wanting to install the app on a personal device could install it on their district issued iPad and if you were out of wifi range could have a colleague mark your students accounted-for for you. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map.

• Holt Spring Carnival, FRIDAY, 6:00-8:00 – Remind your kids to bring the whole family (adult must be present with kids) to the Holt Spring Carnival this Friday from 6:00-8:00. There will be games, a cake walk, food trucks, free pizza (one slice per person), and a car bash! This is a free event.

• Friday PD: Curriculum – The 4J PD Calendar lists “Curriculum” and “SPED Educator Training” as the topic for this Friday’s PD, but nothing else has been shared with principals. If downtown doesn’t pull anything together, plan on this being additional individual and team prep time.

• Class Lists Due May 24th – Grade level teams should complete your 23-24 Class Lists by Wednesday, May 24th. After Team Meetings that day, lists will be available for classified and licensed staff to review and share feedback ahead of the June 6th Staff Meeting were grade levels will meet to share individual student information.

• Fundations + Math Student Consumable Order Due, May 26 – See this email for details, but remember that consumable orders for Fundations and Math are due Friday, May 26th. One person from each grade level should place your order.

• Holt Spirit Day, May 26th – Friday, May 26th is a Holt Spirit Day. We stole Wacky Hat Day for last month’s Spirit Day since Recycle Day didn’t quite play out, so stay tuned for the official theme. How about Mix-Up / Clash Day, where kids wear crazy mismatched clothes? That’s an easy one for all kids to participate. Stay tuned!

• 4th & 5th Assembly Monroe Victory Tour Performance – Monroe Middle School Band and Choir are performing for feeder school 4th and 5th graders. We’re waiting for confirmation, but we’re tentatively expecting the assembly to happen Friday, May 26th, 9:15-9:45 in the gym.

• Friday PD: Staff Choice – Friday, May 26th is Staff Choice. I plan to ask at the next prinicpal meeting if the ULD trainings are still happening. Seems the last few times they did not share out the Zoom links and I’m not sure they actually happening.

• Staff Social! Friday @4:00 on May 26th! – Location is TBA (don’t ask me to choose or else we’ll end up at The Embers on HWY99), but mark your calendar for our final Friday at 4:00 of the school year!

• May Spirt Assembly & Talent Show Combo Assembly, June 1 – Rather than hold two separate assemblies so close to one another, we’ll combine the May School Spirit Assembly and the Talent Show Assembly. May 26th will still be a spirit day (stay tuned on the theme since we moved up Wacky Hat Day), but we won’t have an assembly that day and will shift it to the Talent Show Assembly Date on Thursday, June 1st, doing drawing between acts and such.

• Responding to Racial Slurs Follow-Up – On the Zimbra Calendar, the Google Drive, The Staff Dashboard, and linked here is the Responding to Racial Slurs Slideshow. This slideshow contains a lot of ready-to-go activities and slides teachers can use. There’s also several links embedded in the slideshow including the Little Spot SEL Books, Indigenous People’s Day Resources, and videos of Don’t Touch My Hair by Sharee Miller and Marvelous Max – Autism Awareness for Kids. A future PD following next fall might be looking at what are the words and common language we might use for bias incidents.

On a related note, the 4J Equity Department added a page containing Specific Topic Resources for responding to issues of hate and bias.

• 23-24 Master Schedule Updates – Reps met last week and although it may not be a “Dream Schedule” it seems to at least be an “I Can Live with this Schedule.” This will be on the agenda for Tuesday’s Staff Meeting, but linked here is the Draft 23-24 Master Schedule. A couple caveats on the schedule are one, Title & SPED need to make sure Tier 3 times when there are two grade levels being served at the same time that they are not both heavy caseloads, and two, we are continuing to look at changing around the library schedule where we would do weekly 30-minute Library lessons and weekly 15-minute checkout time (most classes checking out on Wednesdays and a few on other days). Feel free to let me know ahead of Tuesday’s Staff Meeting if you have any questions.

• SEAL (i.e.Summer School) Classroom Use – Downtown needs 4 classrooms for KITS, and for SEAL needs 2 classrooms at each grade for rising 1st through 5th (this year’s 5th graders will go to the middle school program). I think we should exempt any classrooms from hosting if there is a new classroom teacher moving into that space. I also tried to rotate out teachers who hosted last year when possible (kinder classes and a few other don’t get a break). I’ve put this on the staff meeting agenda as a discussion/decision item, but linked here is my Proposed Summer School Map as a starting place and for reference here is Last Year’s Summer School Map.

• Playground Supervisor Reminders – Two Playground Rules reminders:

• No Pushing Kids on Swings – Students need to swing themselves and should not be pushed by other students or staff.

• No Tag/Chase/Monster Games – Tag and other chase games are not allowed, which can too easily lead to unintentional injuries and student conflicts.

• No Sidewalk Chalk on Building – If you are doing any sidewalk chalk activities with students, do not allow them to write on the building. Rain does not wash it off, so it’s pretty much there for good when kids do this. The same happens when kids do sidewalk chalk underneath covered areas, though foot traffic will eventually remove them, but it takes much longer than one good rain, so covered areas should be avoided too.

• Check That Exterior Doors Latch – It’s that time of year when there are air pressure changes and the doors don’t always latch. It’s important that all exterior doors remain locked and are secure, so when going in or out of the building, make sure the is latched shut. Jeremy has put in a work order to have the doors adjusted by the kinder wing and by the bike cage, so let me know if you notice any other doors that need fixed.

• Last Day Lunch Plan – Deb is already planning our last day of meal service, which will have grade levels coming to the cafeteria to simply pick up a sack lunch on a 5-minute rotating basis, which they will put in their backpacks to take home (bus riders included).

10:25 – Kinder
10:30 – 1st
10:35 – 2nd
10:40 – 3rd
10:45 – 4th
10:50 – 5th
11:10 – Early Dismissal

• Seesaw Renewed for 3-Years – I learned on Friday that 4J has renewed the Seesaw district license for 3 more years. I’ll put on a future Friday or Staff Meeting agenda whether we want to use Seesaw or another common communication tool with families next year.

• Volunteers Policy Change – One small change in the 4J communicable disease management plan is that individuals with a vaccine exemption are no longer required to wear a mask. I’ll let downtown communicate this out to families, but I thought staff would want to know.

• Free Bike Locks, Lights, and Helmets – If you know of any students in need, Safe Routes to School is offering free bike locks, lights, and helmets. Just let Felicia know you need any. See this email for details.

• Safety Inspection Rescheduled Again, May 31st – I was emailed that our annual inspection date got rescheduled again and is now Wednesday, May 31st at 10:30.

• Airblade Hand Dryers – If you haven’t noticed (and I’m sure you have), but the new restroom hand dryers are extremely loud. To help minimize the noise, teachers might show kids how you’re supposed to use the new hand dryers by showing the video below. Kids are often using it wrong and that means they’re using it longer and making more noise for nearby classrooms (not to mention if they’re trying to talk over it).

• District Admin Updates – Three district admin updates for next year. One, Kevin Gordon will be the new principal of Chavez, replacing Deirdre Pearson, who took an admin job out of district. Two, Ed Mendelssohn is the new College and Career Readiness / Career and Technical Education Administrator, replacing Tia Holliday, who is retiring. Three, Eric Anderson, 4J Director of Instruction, has taken a job as assistant superintendent at the LaneESD. See these emails (one and two) for details.

• 38 Awesome Team-Building Games and Activities for Kids – We may be nearing the end of the year, but cooperative team building games are great for SEL and community building any time during the year. This WeAreTeachers Article has 38 fun activities to give you ideas. Feel free to take a break in class or take your kids out in the sun! Some personal favorites on the list that I’ve done or looked fun were #16 Hula-Hoop pass, #22 No-hands cup-stacking challenge (probably more for older kids), #27 Caterpillar, #32 Zip, Zap, Zop, and #34 Newspaper Fashion Show.

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

May 15 (M)
PAHS Can & Bottle Drive – Final Week
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Upbeat Survey Open Until May 22nd
Final Library Checkout Week
Library Week #1 Classes
ELD/Speech/Counselor/Library Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)

May 16 (T)
8:45-12:15, 4th & 5th Holt/WillaG Track Meet (Sheldon Track)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library) Give a Staff Shout Out!

May 17 (W)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:45, Staff Talent Show Video (Reich’s Room)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

May 18 (H)
National Speech Pathologist Day (Title)
8:05, Fire Drill
1:30-2:30, Allan Meeting w/Risk & Safety Dept. (Office)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

May 19 (F)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Curriculum/SPED Training (TBA)
6:00-8:00, Holt Spring Carnival (Hard Play, Cafeteria)

May 22 (M)
Upbeat Survey Closes
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #2 Classes
SPED Staff Room Duty
Scholastic Book Fair BOGO Sale
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

May 23 (T)
10:45-11:45, Math Acceleration Testing (TBA)
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meetings (Kelsey’s Room)

May 24 (W)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
10:45-11:45, Math Acceleration Testing (TBA)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:45-3:30, Team Meetings – Class Lists Deadline

May 25 (H)
Towel Day
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Garden Project (Garden)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Team Meeting (Library)

May 26 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Theme is TBA
Fundations + Math Student Consumable Order Due
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting
9:15-9:45, 4/5 Monroe Victory Tour Performance (tentative)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Staff Choice
1:30-2:30, Classified Staff Meeting (Library)
4:00, Holt Friday at 4:00! (Location TBA)

Just two more 5-day weeks left!

Allan

March 13, 2023

 

Hello Holt Staff,

Congratulations to Robbie and Holt’s OBOB Team who made it to the state tournament at this past Saturday’s Regional OBOB Competition! Holt, along with Buena Vista, Charlemagne, and one other out-of-district school. Way to go, Bolts!

Twenty items of note for this week:

• 23-24 Staffing Allocation Updates – Tthe school board should approve the grant funds for SSC, ESC, Library, Family Resource Coordinator, and SIA EA this Wednesday, so I should hopefully have allocations this Thursday or Friday and will email an update. No word one way or the other regarding additional SPED EA staffing. The remaining timeline for staffing is:

Mar. 8-15 Ask for volunteers to change grade levels
Mar. 17 Notify staff of moves if no volunteers
Mar. 20 Announce staffing moves
Mar. 20 Submit Staffing Plan to HR

• REPEAT: Spirit Day – Sheldon Pride Day, TUESDAY – Tuesday, March 14th is Sheldon Pride Pay. Encourage your students to show their pride for our region high school by wearing green or Sheldon HS gear!

• K-2 Family Math Games Night, TUESDAY – This Tuesday from 5:30-7:00 is Family Math Game Night for K-2 families. The schedule is as follows; 5:30-6:10 Math games in classrooms, 6:15-6:30 Overview of math goals, 6:30-7:00 Dinner & raffle in the cafeteria.

• REPEAT: Fire Drill, WEDNESDAY @8:05 – This Wednesday at 8:05 will be our March Fire Drill. Linked here are the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Lines Map. If we are rained out, we’ll try again next Friday.

• REPEAT: Team Meetings, WEDNESDAY – The first two Wednesdays of the month on non-Staff Meeting weeks are dedicated Team Meeting times. Teams should:

• Meet in their wing so specialists can connect if needed
• Take care of any needed team business
• Complete the Team Meeting Minutes Form (make a copy) and email it to holt_staf@4j.lane.edu

The Team Meeting Minutes Form can also be found on the Holt Staff Dashboard.

• REPEAT: Holt Night Out Fundraiser – Killer Burger, THURSDAY- This Thursday is a Holt Night Out Fundraiser at Killer Burger at Oakway Center! Remind your students to just mention Holt when ordering and Killer Burger will donate a percentage of their family’s purchase to Holt! Take out and dine in only.

 

• REPEAT Staff Workload Relief Day, 3/17 – This Friday is a Staff Workload Relief Day. Licensed staff are allowed to work from home this day as long as you are available to team members and have notified me ahead of time.

• UPDATE: Classified Staff Meeting, FRIDAY @9:00 – We did not have a February Classified Meeting, but we will meet this Friday at 9:00 in the library. And by WE, I mean Kim will facilitate the meeting because, despite the elementary principal pleading to move our PD to the afternoon so we can meet with classified staff in the morning, downtown is sticking with an inconvenient morning meeting time for principals. Anyhow, we’ll use this time to review individual student plans, like we did earlier in the year, and to also make sure we’re in alignment on recess and school rule expectations. Let me know if you have any additional agenda items for the meeting.

• REPEAT: Erin’s Law & Second Step Child Safety Unit, Lesson #5 – All classroom teachers should use the Second Step Child Protection Unit for meeting the state Erin’s Law requirements. For each grade level, there are six lessons to be covered at three points in the school year, with Lessons 1-4 in the fall, lesson 5 right before spring break, and lesson 6 right before the summer break. 4J purchased only one kit per grade level, but linked here are Child Protection Unit Scans of the teacher guides if that makes things easier. 

• April 3rd PD/Planning Day – A few people have asked, but no detailed plans have been shared by downtown yet, though the 4J PD Calendar says Lang Arts Adoption (4.0 hours) Building Based PD (1.5 hours). Stay tuned! UPDATE: Here’s the t.

• 4J TOSA Contacts – Better late than never. Principals have asked for this since August and (finally) linked here is the 4J TOSA Contacts webpage. This does not include the non-Instruction Dept. TOSAs, mentors, equity coordinators, therapists, behavior consultants, mental health specialists, coaches, etc., which principals continue to ask for.

• Send Extra FFVP Snack Home Daily – If you have any leftover snacks from the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, they should be sent home with kids at the end of the day. It’s totally fine for one kid to take a dozen apples or the entire bag or whatever the snack of the day was, but we are not supposed to accumulate snacks over multiple days and should avoid wasting them and throwing them out.

• Responding to Racial Harassment and Bias Events – At a recent town hall meeting with our communities of color, concerns were elevated that our schools were not following our policies and ARs related to harassment and bias events. The main thing staff needs to be aware of is to immediately report any incidents of racial harassment to me as soon as you become aware of them. From there, I will take action and decide on steps based on the 4J Universal Response Protocol we are to use for major incidents of racial harassment.

• Oregon DHS Reporting Link – As a reminder, staff can now find the Dataport link and Oregon DHS documentation, process, and forms on the 4J website under Staff > MORE STAFF LINKS > in the “Policies, Rules, Forms” section > Instruction and Forms for Reporting to DHS. See image below. This link can also be found on the Holt Staff Dashboard. Do note that you cannot view Dataport unless you are connected to the 4J Network at school or logged on with a 4J VPN from home.

 

• School Calendar for 2023-2024 – I noticed on the next School Board Meeting Agenda is the item “Approve the Academic Calendar for 2023-2024.” No calendar is linked there yet, but I bet it will be soon if you want a preview of what will likely be our calendar for next school year.

• REPEAT: ACE Award Nominations Open – Nominations are due by March 31st. Linked here is the ACE Awards Webpage and the ACE Awards Nomination Form.

• REPEAT: Lost & Found Donated at Spring Break – Remind your class between now and spring break as you pass by the Lost & Found that we are donating anything left behind the last day before spring break.

• District Admin Updates – Chavez principal Deirdre Pearson took a job in Medford School District and Charlemagne principal Joe Hadley is leaving 4J at the end of the year. Also, North Eugene principal Trinity Welch-Radabaugh is stepping away from her role, but will continue working in 4J in a role to be shared at a later time. See this email for details.

• Digital Learning Day, March 15 – District Librarian Amy Page shared a very cool Digital Learning Day Choice Board teachers could use, which has loads of online activities that range from Art to coding to Digital Comic Creating to Music to Robotics to Digital Citizenship. This may be a page to bookmark if you ever find yourself with some time to fill.

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

March 13 (M)
Artist in Residence Continues
Library Week #1 Classes
Office/PE/Music Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)

March 14 (T)
PI Day
Sheldon Pride Day
9:00-12:00, 4th Grade Symphony Field Trip (Holt Center)
10:15-11:45, Allan Covering Music Classes
2:45-3:45, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
5:30-7:00, K-2 Math Games Night (Classroom & Cafeteria)

March 15 (W)
8:05, Fire Drill
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
2:45, Grade Level Team Meetings
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

March 16 (H)
Holt Night Out – Killer Burger
2:45-3:30, Leadership Team Meeting (Library)

March 17 (F)
St Patrick’s Day
No School – Staff Workload Relief Day
8:00-11:30, Allan to Principal PD

March 20 (M)
2022 Electronics Recycling Competition Holt Drop-Off (Front Office)
Artist in Residence Continues
Library Week #2 Classes
Title Staff Room Duty
Staffing Plans Due to HR
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
8:10-9:10, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
9:25-10 :25, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals Meeting (Ed Center)

March 21 (T)
8:10-9:10, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
9:25-10 :25, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Library)
5:00-7:00, Feed Hope Spring Food Packing (Library)

March 22 (W)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
8:10-9:10, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
9:25-10 :25, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
5:30-6:30, 22-23 Kindergarten Orientation (Library & Zoom)

March 23 (H)
8:10-9:10, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
9:25-10 :25, 5th Human Growth & Development (2 Classes)
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Garden Project (Garden)
2:45-3:45, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
5:45-7:15, Conscious Discipline Parent Education Series (Library)

March 24 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Sports Day
8:05-8:40, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Staff Choice

March 27-31 
No School – Spring Break

April 3 (M)
No School — PD/Planning Day

 

10 days until spring break (9 if you don’t include the workload relief day)!

Allan

 

 

December 5, 2022

Hey Everyone,

We are definitely on the countdown to Winter Break. This, of course, means we can expect extra stress among our students and families (and ourselves too), so be prepared for the unexpected and please let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

Eighteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Three staffing Updates:

• Temp 1st Grade Hire, Chastity Doty – We conducted interviews last week and have hired Chastity Doty for our 1st grade vacancy. Chastity has been subbing in this position for the past couple of months, so please OFFICIALLY welcome Chasity to Team Holt!

• PE & Music Update – We interviewed one Music and one PE candidate last Friday. I’m still checking references for our music applicant, but for PE we want to widen our pool of applicants and are reposting. To hopefully attract more candidates, we’re reposting the position as a 0.4 FTE position, pairing our 0.2 position with Howard 0.2 PE position they are also trying to hire for. If you know anyone good, please encourage them to apply!

• Darrin Heffington Leave Extended – Darrin’s leave has been extended through spring break, Abby Parks has agreed to continue subbing in this position, so we are lucky to have a strong reliable sub in the position.

• Computer Science Education Week Dec. 5th-11thComputer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code are this week (it snuck up on me) and there were a few resources shared in the latest Library Lowdown and EdTech Update you could do with kids this week:

The Hour of Code Games
Minecraft
Star Wars
Frozen
Angry Birds
The Grinch
Google Hour of Code Activities
Microsoft Hour of Code 2022 Carnival
Minecraft Education Edition Hour of Code Escape Estate
Khan Academy

• REPEAT: Book Nook Starts WEDNESDAY – See Jenny’s Email for details, but here’s the quick version:

Start: Wednesday, December 7th.
When: Every Wednesday
Where: Cafeteria
How: Send kids at the beginning of morning recess (not before).
How many: Send up to 5 kids each time.
Other info: Please do not send them with a snack (unless it can stay in their pocket)
What next: A Book Nook staff person will walk kids out to recess after they are done choosing a book. The book will be delivered to the table outside your classroom with a sticky note with the child’s name on it.

Make sure they bring a Book Nook Recess Pass, plus their Book Nook currency, which is one of the following:

• 5 Zaps
• 1 Instant Winner
• 1 Book Nook free book coupon
• $0.25
• A used book from home to trade in

• Fire Drill, FRIDAY at 8:20 – This Friday at 8:20 will be our December Fire Drill. Linked here is the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line Map.

• REPEAT: Friday PD, Dec. 9 – Building System – Leadership discussed doing a review of all of our support systems, with a particular focus on behavior support systems. With many new staff members and with systems having changed and morphed over time, here are the system I’m planning on reviewing, but let me know if there are other you think we should go over:

• Major/Minor Referrals
• PBIS Tickets (Zaps, Orange Tickets, Spirit Tickets)
• PBIS Videos & Resources
• Behavior Supports Available
• Voice Levels
• Recess/School Rules
• Request for Support – Academic/Behavior
• Request for Support – Student/Family Needs
• Family Resource Coordinator Supports

• REPEAT: HOLT Cozy Blanket Essay & Drawing Contest, ENTRIES DUE Dec. 12 – In place of the annual Winter Coat Drive, we’re trying a Cozy Blanket Drive. See Ashely’s Email, Staff Flyer, and Entry Form for details, but here’s the short version:

What?
Instead of the yearly coat collection, Holt will be having a fuzzy blanket giveaway for kids who would benefit from a warm and cozy blanket if their own.

When?
Contest forms are due on Monday, December 12. Winners will be announced at the assembly on Friday, December 16th.

How can teachers help?
Put the contest forms in Monday Mailers. If you would like, you can give students time in class to complete the form if they want to enter. Miss Darla has also volunteered to help kids get forms complete in here room.

• Holt Night Out Fundraiser – MOD Pizza, Dec. 14 – Wednesday, December 14th is a Holt Night Out Fundraiser at MOD Pizza on Coburg Road! Remind your students to just bring the MOD Pizza Fundraiser Flyer when they order. To place an online order, use the coupon code MODF16980.

• REPEAT: Elf Jr. Performance, Dec. 15, 9:00-10:00 – Thursday, Dec. 15th from 9:00-10:00 has been confirmed with Upstart Crow for our performance of the Elf Jr. Musical. Upstart Crow will begin setting up at 7:00, which will conflict with 3rd and 4th grade Music times. The 9-10 assembly time will also conflict with Kinder, 1st, 2nd, and 4th grade recesses. Those teachers can take their prep during the assembly and other staff will cover your class. Linked here is an Assembly Map & Directions. If Holt has used a different sating format for performances in the cafeteria, let me know and I can adjust.

 

• School Spirit Assembly, Dec. 16 – We’ll have our monthly School Spirit Assembly on Friday next week in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:15 and all classes should be seated at that time. Winners from the Cozy Blanket Contest will be announced at the assembly. Stay tuned for additional details!

• Friday PD, 12/16: Staff Choice – Principals haven’t gotten any details for Friday’s “Staff Choice” PD time next week on December 16th, but I’m guessing plan on doing whatever it is you signed up for on the Elementary Staff Choice PD Sign-up Form last time. I’ll let you know if anything changes.

• 4J PD Calendar Changes – District admin didn’t say anything (“timely communication”), but I checked the 4J PD Calendar and they have changed a number of the Friday PD Topics, adding a couple building based in January, adding some PD on Fridays for SPED teachers, tentative topics for future Staff Choice Fridays, and removed a couple Friday PD Days for a double prep due to a missed Golden Hour of prep on an adjacent Friday.

• Erin’s Law & Great Body Shop Curriculum – I’ve been asking district admin since the start of the year what we’re supposed to teach to meet the Erin’s Law Requirements and finally got an answer this week. We are no longer using the Second Step Child Protection Unit and district admin has determined that The Great Body Shop lessons will meet the requirement. Teachers are welcome to continue using the Child Protection Unit if you choose, but you’re only expected to teach The Great Body Shop Safety Units, which are spread across the units.

If you do teach the Child Protection Units, you should send home the Parent Notification Letter. A notification about The Great Body Shop was shared with families earlier in the year, which I believe will cover us for notification, but I’ll add this to Tuesday’s Staff Meeting agenda if we want to send a notice about GBS safety lessons school-wide or call it good.

• DRAFT 4J Discipline Process Flowchart Matrix – I shared earlier that downtown is working on an update of their Major/Minor Behavior Matrix with a more comprehensive Discipline Process Flowchart Matrix. This is still in draft form and the goal is to have it finished by the end of the year, but if you’d like a preview or have any thoughts on the draft document you’d like me to pass along, see the above linked doc.

• Transitional Kindergarten Postponed – SSD had planned to start a “Transitional Kindergarten” program focused on students needing significant behavior support, but they are postponing their plans for this program until next school year. Their reasoning is that they were unable to find any viable candidates to teach this classroom (though they didn’t listen to my suggestion of having each of the Regional Behavior Consultants teach a class).

• Emergency Sub Licenses Return – TSPC has reinstated the emergency substitute teaching license option, which only requires a high school diploma, but many requirements of the district including, paying applicant fees, submitting letters of support, and more. If you know someone worth consideration, let me know and I can connect them with HR.

• Free KWANZAA Materials – Lane AABSS recognizes that many winter holidays will be discussed and celebrated in the coming weeks as a way of honoring the diversity in our communities and schools. They are offering FREE materials and resources to educators. To receive these materials, just complete the linked form.

• Winter Break Bingo – From Just Two Teachers, use these bingo cards, whole group, to assist with management before the winter break. Kids complete a class-wide bingo board in the two weeks up to winter break by having good behavior both in class and around the building. Grids are available in several different color schemes. This actually pairs nicely with the December Kindness Calendar if you’re using that. 

 

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

December 5 (M)
Library Week #2 Classes
ELD/Speech/Counselor/Library Staff Room Duty
Artist in Residence Continues
3:45-5:15, Allan to All Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

December 6 (T)
Sunshine December Birthday Coffees & Goodies!
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Library)
4:30-6:00 Allan to Conscious Discipline PD (Zoom)

December 7 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
Winter Break Food Box Sign-Up Deadline
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:50-2:10 KG & 3rd Orange Ticket Recess
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

December 8 (H)
Pretend to be a Time Traveller Day
1:45-2:10, 2nd & 4th Orange Ticket Recess
2:45-3:45, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
5:00-6:00, Site Council (Library)
6:00-7:00, PAHS Meeting (Library)

December 9 (F)
8:20, Fire Drill
9:00-2:00, 4th Grade Salmon Fry Release Field Trip
1:25-2:25, Friday PD – Building Systems Review (Library)
4:00, Holt Friday @4:00 (TBA)

December 12 (M)
Library Week #1 Classes
SPED Staff Room Duty
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Holt Library)

December 13 (T)
National Cocoa Day
2:45-3:45, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
6:30, Feed Hope Food Box Prep (Cafeteria)

December 14 (W)
Holt Night Out – MOD Pizza
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:45-2:10, 1st & 5th Orange Ticket Recess
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

December 15 (H)
9:00-10:00, Elf Jr. Performance (Cafetorium)
2:45-3:45, Leadership Meeting (Library)
4:00-8:30, Holiday Shopping Event

December 16 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Cozy Sweats & Sweater Weather Day
8:15-9:45, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
1:25-2:25, Friday PD – Staff Choice

10 days until winter break (unless we get a surprise snow day)!

Allan

November 21, 2022

Hi Everyone,

Fourteen items of note for this week:

• Temp Job Posting, 1st, Music, PE – Our Temp 1st Grade, Music, and PE Job Posting is now up and close on Tuesday. The specialist jobs are 0.2 FTE jobs to provide some relief for Alex and Ashley now that we’ve added another 1st grade classroom, so if you know any part-time (or maybe retired) Music or PE specialists, please encourage them to apply.

• Book Fair Opens Tuesday – The Book Fair will set-up Monday and will be open for families before school (7:30-7:50) and after school (2:25-3:30). The Book Fair will also be open the evening of Wednesday, November 30th.

• Holt Staff Annual Gingerbread House Event, Dec. 1 – See Debbi’s Email for details, but the Staff Gingerbread House Event is Thursday, December 1st from 5:30-8:00ish. Come if you have a team or if you just want to socialize! The gathering is at Katies’ house. Address is on the Staff Zimbra Calendar.

• Staff Workload Relief Day, Dec. 2 – The following was sent to principals regarding the December 2nd Workload Relief Day (which is referred to as a “transition day” below for some reason), which states that staff may work from home if you notify me ahead of time and also have a plan how you will connect with colleagues if needed.

December 2nd – This transition day should be treated much the same as a grading day. Staff may work from home on this day, but should be available to team members. Any staff that intend to work from an alternate location, will need to let you know their intentions. In that communication staff should also identify how they will communicate with their colleagues on this day. Staff that have not communicated a desire to work from an alternate location will be expected to work on site.

• Friday PD, Dec. 9 – Building System – Leadership discussed last week doing a review of all of our support systems, with a particular focus on behavior support systems. With many new staff members and with systems having changed and morphed over time, here are the system I’m planning on reviewing, but let me know if there are other you think we should go over:

• Major/Minor Referrals
• PBIS Tickets (Zaps, Orange Tickets, Spirit Tickets)
• PBIS Videos & Resources
• Behavior Supports Available
• Voice Levels
• Recess/School Rules
• Request for Support – Academic/Behavior
• Request for Support – Student/Family Needs
• Family Resource Coordinator Supports

• Elf Jr. Performance, Dec. 15 – I checked in with Leadership back in September, but Upstart Crow Youth Theater is offering performances of the Elf Jr. Musical Comedy to schools and finally emailed back last week. Dates and times aren’t confirmed, but they said they are available the last week of December before winter break, and I’ve asked for them to come Thursday, Dec. 15th, 8:30-9:30. I’ll keep you posted once date/times are solid.

• REMINDER: Orange Tickets – Progress is going slow for our school-wide Orange Ticket Reward. As a reminder, these tickets are whole class rewards for positive behavior around the school (i.e. cafeteria, hallways, gym, library, etc.), which are then added to the hallways display near the Calming Room.

• REMINDER: Classroom Buddies – One other PBIS reminder, linked here is the 22-23 Classroom Buddies List for the year. Buddy Classroom should do one activity each month together, which can be as simple a big buddies reading with younger students. If you’d like some ideas, here’s some form TeacherStarter.com and from Teacher.org

• EEF Grant Updates – Two grants were submitted for Holt and we got both of them!. 3rd grade’s “Hands on Art Materials for Third Graders!” and also our bigger $3,000 “Refill the Book Machine!” grant application were approved!

• Holt School Choice Guide – Principals were emailed our 4J School Choice Guide Descriptions last week to be updated by Friday next week. Let me know if you see anything on here you think we should update. Holt is usually closed to students living outside of our neighborhood, but this is our chance to advertise ourselves and retain families who might be looking to lottery into BV or another choice school.

• 2022/2023 Licensed IEP/504 Log – I’ve been asking about this since September and looks like HR finally posted this without telling anyone, but the Licensed IEP/504 Log Google Form is now live. This form is for licensed teachers to request payment for up to twelve hours of additional compensation based on your per diem rate for attending IEP or 504 meetings during your prep and/or outside of your normal workday. This link can be found on the Holt Staff Dashboard and also on the 4J HR Forms webpage.

• Building Behavioral Needs Assessment – If you’re interested, here is the Behavior Tool and Resource Kit that has been shared with the 4 elementary schools that are currently being supported with TOSA teams.

• 22 Videos To Help Kids Understand Gratitude – Just in time for Thanksgiving, here’s a List of Videos from WeAreTeachers for all age groups that will help your students to cultivate an attitude of gratitude.

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

November 21 (M)
Library Week #1 Classes
4th Grade Staff Room Duty
Artist in Residence Continues
4:00-5:30, Allan to All admin Meeting (Ed Center)

November 22 (T)
Book Fair Opens
2:45-3:45, Allan to IEP Meeting

November 23 (W)
Regular Day

November 24 (H)
No School – Thanksgiving Break

November 25 (F)
No School – Thanksgiving Break

November 28 (M)
Library Week #2 Classes
5th Grade Staff Room Duty
Book Fair Continues
Artist in Residence Continues
November 29 (T)
Regular Day

November 30 (W)
Picture Retake Day
PJ Day
Book Fair Evening Event

December 1 (H)
Book Fair Last Day
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
5:30-8:00, Holt Staff Annual Gingerbread House Event (Katie’s House)

December 2 (F)
No School – Staff Workload Relief Day
8:00-11:00, Allan to LTRS Training (Zoom)
1:00-2:30, Allan to SPED Parent Advocacy Group Listening Session (Ed Center)

17 student days until winter break!

Allan

 

October 17, 2022

 

Howdy Holt Bolts,

Twenty-one items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Three staffing updates:

• 1st Grade Long Term Sub – Chastity Doty is taking over for Jacque through winter break while he’s on a leave. Chastity has been a semi-regular sub here at Holt and was actually here all week for Jacque two weeks ago.

• New Kitchen Staff, Amber Sequeira – Nutrition Services originally reduced staff from the Holt Kitchen this school year, but this past week added someone back and we now have Amber Sequeira joining the kitchen team. Please welcome Amber to the team and if your’e keeping score on our Staff Member Same Name Club, it now includes Amber & Amber, Ashley & Ashley, Carol & Carol, Debbi & Deb, Elizabeth & Liz, Jackie & Jacque, Katie, Katherine & Kathy, Kelly & Kelly, Lisa, Lisa & Lisa, Rob & Robbie, and Robin & Robin.

• 1st Grade Interviews – We held interviews last Friday for our fourth 1st grade classroom teacher and are now waiting for HR to finalize the job offer. I’ll keep folks posted once things are official.

• Leadership Plan Positions Still Open – We have TAG and Equity leadership positions still open. Please add your name to the Holt Leadership Positions Spreadsheet if you’re willing to take either of these roles.

• REPEAT: Jog-a-Thon, Holt Bolt WEDNESDAY – See Lesli’s Holt Bolt Email for complete details, but here is the schedule for Wednesday: 

K/1/2
Before going outside – Put on Holt Bolt shirts, fill water bottles (make sure they have names), tie shoelaces, pass out and explain QR codes, review expectations
8:35 Go out to your class’ table on hard play. Have students keep their water bottles at the table (we are not running with bottles). Shortly before the start everyone will be called over to the starting line and grades will be announced to start the race.
8:45 Running begins
9:45 Running will end and kids should go back to their tables to gather their belongings and check in with teachers quickly before getting an otter pop. (Awards will be announced later.)
Approximately 10:00 classes should be headed back inside to give volunteers time to set up for the next group.

3/4/5
Before going outside – Put on Holt Bolt shirts, fill water bottles (make sure they have names), tie shoelaces, pass out and explain QR codes, review expectations
10:20 Go out to your class’ table on hard play. Have students keep their water bottles at the table (we are not running with bottles). Shortly before the start everyone will be called over to the starting line and grades will be announced to start the race.
10:30 Running begins
11:30 Running will end and kids should go back to their tables to gather their belongings and check in with teachers quickly before getting an otter pop. (Awards will be announced later.)
Approximately 11:45 classes should be headed back inside to give volunteers time to set up for the next group.

As we we did last year:

• All morning recesses are canceled. 1st-5th teachers are welcome to take their morning break during their jog-a-thon time.
• KG and 1st lunch recesses will be in the gym. Kids should move through the hallway to the gym. K/1 teachers will pick up from the gym.
• 2nd grade lunch recess will have to be soft play only while things get finished and cleaned up.
• EA support will be limited during the jog-a-thon because of supervision needs. Morning groups MIGHT be canceled. Please keep an eye out for an update as we get closer.

A new prize sheet flyer was given to teachers that should go home in Monday Mailers this week.

Let me know if you have any questions. 

• REPEAT; Vision Screening (K-3) & Dental Screening (K-5), FRIDAY – This Friday from 9:00-12:00 in the gym, is our annual Vision and Dental Screening. All K-5 student will do the dental screening and K-3 students will also do the vision screening. Linked here is the DRAFT Vision & Dental Screening Schedule. Let me or Lesli know if you see anything on there that needs adjusting.

• Friday PD, SEL – The only info downtown has shared so far for Friday’s PD is that it is SEL focused and that we are to all watch it together in a common space, so plan on meeting in the library. No additional details are on the 4J PD Calendar, but I’ll see you all on Friday at 1:25 in the library.

• School Spirit Day, Oct. 28, DRESS-UP DAY! – Friday, October 28th is the monthly Holt Spirit Day and this time it’s Dress-Up Day! Kids can come to school in a favorite costume or fancy outfit. The following costume dress code will be shared with families:

• NO weapons or weapon-like props
• NO masks (except with teacher permission in class)
• NO especially scary or gory costumes
• NO inflatable costumes
• NO dressing as another race, ethnicity, or culture

• School Spirit Assembly, Oct. 28 – We’ll have our monthly School Spirit Assembly on Friday next week in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:15 and all classes should be seated at that time. We’re planning on announcing Holt Bolt jog-a-thon prizes at the assembly, along with some of the usual fun.

• Kona Ice Fundraiser, Oct. 28 @12:30 – Kona Ice is coming to Holt for one last time before they shut down for the season. It worked out well last year spring when teachers sent bus riders who brought money to hard. Play early buy and eat their shave ice before having to get onto the bus, so we’ll try that again. I do realize 4th and 5th grade will be on the playground at that time, but I will be out there to crown control. Get kids excited for our final Shave Ice for a while and remember that all staff get a free shave ice as well! Just show your badge!

• Artist in Residence Update – We got our top two choices during our first choice of timeframes. Alebrijes: Paper Sculptures inspired by the art of Oaxaca, Mexico with Tom Miller will be first term, starting Nov. 14th and will run through winter break. Lesli is already working on a schedule. Our other artist in residence will be Ceramic Tiles with Larry Meyers, which will be second term, between winter break and spring break. Lane Arts is still working to nail down the specific dates for Larry.

• REMINDER: Sub Plans and Notebooks DUE – I didn’t put a deadline on my earlier announcement for this, but if you haven’t already, make sure your Sub Plan Notebook (different from the Emergency Binder) is up to date. Notebooks should include the following:

• Class list
• Student Health Information
• Behavior Support Plans
• IEP and 504 Plan Accommodations
• Emergency generic sub plans with your schedule

There should be a notebook for this in every classroom, but if yours is missing, see Melanie or Sharon.

• Sign Your Zaps! – When giving out Zaps to students, make sure you tell the student why they earned the Zap and check the appropriate box, but also remember to put name or initial on them, so we know a student didn’t just find the Zaps or maybe even swiped them.

• Quiet by Dynamos & Library – Now that both Dynamos and Title lessons are in full swing, staff and students should remember to be quiet in these areas when instruction is occurring.

• Teacher Recess Drop-Off & Pick-Up at Curb – Teachers must drop off and pick up students from the red curb on the playground. Kids manage to get into trouble (injuries and general chaos) when they’re allowed to walk to the playground on their own or walk to their entrance without an an adult escort.

• Music, PE, Cafeteria Hallway Congestion – If you are heading to Music and spot classes coming out of the Music Room, it’s best to hang back by the fire doors near the Counseling Office until that class has completely exited. Traffic gets bad on that corner.

• Remind Late Kids From Recess to Use Office Entrance – If kids need to go back to the playground for a forgotten sweatshirt or other item, tell them to re-enter the building through the office. There’s been a few kids lately found locked out of the building.

• Call office if a student is missing – If teachers do not know where a student is (whether they snuck off to the restroom, Calming Room, office, or other area), let the office know right away so we can locate them. No shame. No blame. We just have some kids who like to sneak off and need to call them on it.

• District Late Student Work Policy – This applies more to middle and high school teachers, but linked here is a 4J Late Work Policy that was shared with 504 Coordinators. It states that all students have the right to turn in any work until the end of a unit. See the above linked email for details, but the only exception is if a student has an accommodation on a 504 Plan or IEP.

• Projector Upgrade – I found out last week the Tech Department is replacing some of our oldest mounted projectors, so don’t be surprised if you spot a new projector in your teaching spaces all of a sudden.

• Talent Ed Goals Due 10/31 and Optional Shared Staff Goals – If you haven’t already, please complete your Self Assessment in TalentEd. Licensed Staff Goals are due at the end of October. If you’d like, you can feel free to cut-and-paste these Optional SEL Shared Staff Building Goals into TalentEd before the Oct. 31 deadline.

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Staff Mailboxes – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Copy Room & Copying. There’s more in the handbook, but I wanted to highlight:

• Save big copy jobs (grade level projects or multi-page packets) for days other than Monday mornings.
• For copies over 100, please use the Riso.
• Please do not put construction paper in the copier, use the Riso instead.
• If the copier jams, do not walk away! It is staff responsibility to fix the machine. Do not leave it for the next person. If you cannot solve the problem, notify the office immediately and put a sign on the copier

• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

October 17 (M)
Library Week #1 Classes
Title Staff Room Duty
Fall Benchmarking Continues
10:00-11:30, Forest Services Speaker (4th Grade)
4:15-5:15, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)

October 18 (T)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)

October 19 (W)
Holt Bolt, K/1/2
8:35, Go Outside
8:45-9:45, Running
9:45, OtterPops
10:00, Go Inside

Holt Bolt, 3/4/5
10:15 Go, Outside
10:25-11:25, Running
11:25, OtterPops
11:40, Go Inside

10:00-12:30, OSEA Visit (Staff Room)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

October 20 (H)
8:05-9:05, Art Docent Guest Speaker (Parks)
9:15-10:15, Art Docent Guest Speaker (Heinrich)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
6:00-9:00 I’m Not Racist… Am I? Film & Discussion (Sheldon HS)

October 21 (F)
8:05-9:05, Art Docent Guest Speaker (Lovato)
9:15-10:15, Art Docent Guest Speaker (Ayres)
9:00-12:00, Health [K-5] & Vision Screening [K-2] (Gym)1:25-2:25, Friday PD – SEL (Library/Zoom)

October 23 (SU)
9:30-2:00, EEF’s District-Wide 5K and Fun Run (Alton Baker Park)
12:00-2:00, Holt Student Match – Oregon Volleyball
October 24 (M)
Library Week #2 Classes
Kindergarten Staff Room Duty
Fall Benchmarking Continues
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

October 25 (T)
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
5:30-7:00, Grand Opening: Edison Elementary School

October 26 (W)
Holt Bolt Fundraiser Envelopes Due
9:00-10:00, Allan Meeting w/Prevention Services (Darla’s Office)
4:00-9:00, Holt Night Out – Bellizzi’s Pizza Fundraiser
October 27 (H)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:30, Holt Costume BINGO Night (Cafeteria)

October 28 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Dress Up Day!
8:15, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
12:30-2:00, Kona Ice – Holt Shave Ice Fundraiser!

 

Hard to believe Halloween in two weeks. Start planning your outfit for Dress Up-Day!

Allan