Technology

May 29, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/05/27 21:14 Posted in Announcements, Science, Technology  |  Comments (0)

 

Howdy Bolts,

Twenty-four items of note for this week:

• 23-24 Staffing Updates – Two updates:

0.2 MUSIC – I’m happy to announce we have rehired Tracy Zehner as our 0.2 Music teacher for next school year.

OFFICE ASSISTANT – HR has put a hold on this position and there is a possibility they will place a displaced employee into this position. They said they will let us know if we can post or not sometime this week.

• Kendall Subaru AdoptAClassroom Drawing TUESDAY – Kendall Subaru is once again “adopting” Holt and there will be six lucky teachers who will get $500 to spend on their classroom. We’ll stick with our criteria from last year for who is elected, which is one winner from each of the following:

• new teacher (5 years or less)
• switching grades (last 2 years)
• 1 upper
• 1 primary
• SPED (this is a requirement of the grant)
• Specialist

We’ll also take off winners from the last two years. I’ll spin the Wheel of Names in the library on Tuesday after school to select the lucky winners, and that way folks can keep an eye on me so that I’m not cheating if you’ll like to watch, but you do not need to be present to win. ;)

• ELA and Math Student Consumable Order, DUE TUESDAY – See this email for details, but consumable orders for Math and ELA are due this Tuesday. One rep per grade level should complete the linked Order Form.

• Annual Safety Inspection, WEDNESDAY @10:30 – Our annual safety inspection is this Wednesday at 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, THURSDAY @8:30 – Our combo School Spirit/Talent Show Assembly will be this Thursday, 8:30-9:30 in the cafeteria. Linked here is the Assembly Map and Directions. Stay tuned for additional directions for the performers.

• Friday PD: Double Prep – For the final Friday PD of the year, it’s a double prep to make up for the missed prep on Grading Day next week.

• Fire Drill, June 6 @8:05 – Our final Fire Drill of the year will be Tuesday, June 6th at 8:05. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map.

• Raptor Alert Log-In Issue – If you had trouble logging onto the Raptor Alert app, try deleting the app from your phone or iPad, reinstall it, and then try logging in again. That fixed the issue for everyone who’s tried it so far. I don’t think the rostering issue is fixed yet, but staff can sill poke around the app to see what it looks like during a drill/emergency.

• Sheldon Senior Grad Walk, June 8 – Sheldon HS is planning a Grad Walk, tentatively scheduled for Thursday, June 8th at 9:45. Classes are invited (though not required) to line the halls to clap and cheer (signs are a nice touch) for seniors in their cap and gowns who attended Holt as I lead them through their elementary hallowed halls one final time. See this email for details, but basically it’s a chance for seniors to connect with staff they knew, to be cheered on by kids and staff, and also serve as an inspiration to our elementary kiddos. SHS said they’ll connect with us soon with additional details, but they’re planning on two buses worth of Holt alumni coming to visit!

• Report Card Grading Day Expectations, June 9 – Friday, June 9th is a regular work day for both classified and licensed staff. For licensed staff, HR allows teachers to work from home if you notify your administrator (me) in advance, but be sure to plan ahead if you need to collaborate with any colleagues this day. Also, be sure to use this time for grading and not use it to run errands around town. Teachers are highly visible members of the community, so keep in mind public perception. HR has said that if working off-site on grading days is abused, we will not be allowed to continue the practice. For classified staff, this is a good day to cash in any accumulated trade time you’ve built up, but remember you need to notify me before you begin accumulating trade time.

• LICENSED: Goals Reflection Due & Sample Language – All licensed staff need to complete their Goals Reflection in TalentEd by the end of the school year. If you used the Optional SMART Goals shared in the fall, linked here is a 2023-2023 SMART Goals Reflection Sample you can cut-and-paste from if that’s helpful to folks. And remember, no shame or blame if you didn’t achieve all of your goals. Let me know if you have any questions on this.

• CLASSIFIED: TalentEd Self Reflection – Most Classified Staff completed the Self Reflection at the start of the year in TalentEd, but if you didn’t do it already, be sure to log onto TalentEd and complete the form as soon as possible. Let me know if you need any help with this.

• Draft Inservice Week Schedule & 4J PD Calendar – District admin shared with principals last week the Draft Inservice Week Schedule (here’s a Detailed Schedule) as well as the 4J PD Calendar for the year. The Calendar is pretty empty at this point, but the inservice week is more fleshed out. I’d asked if they could move the District Back to School Event to Thursday, so we could do our all-staff back to school meeting the day classified staff report back, but was shot down on that.

• 2023-24 Class Lists Review – Linked here are the 2023-24 Class Lists for staff to review and make any suggested revisions if you spot any bad combinations or imbalanced classes. Sending and receiving teams will to discuss students at the June 6th Staff Meeting, so let teams know your suggestions well before then.

• 2023-24 Master Schedule – Linked here is the 2023-24 Master Schedule as it currently stands. Most every grade level was good with this schedule, though we’re still seeing if there are any fixes we can make to help 4th grade that don’t cause issues for other grades.

• 2023-24 Holt Calendar – Leadership last week added a few dates to the Holt Staff Calendar for next year for the Welcome Assembly and Meet Your Teacher. We’ll discuss the proposed date for Curriculum Night (Tues. Sept. 26th) at the June 6th Staff Meeting.

• 2023-24 District Calendars – Staff were emailed next years Employee Work Year Calendars and also the District Calendar. I’ve had a few people ask about the two Mid-Term Grading Days. Principals asked about these at our meeting last week and our directors had not heard either what the plan is for these days. Principals also asked about the three days off for conferences, wondering whether the expectation is there is 16 hours of conference as in the past or if there’s a new expectation of 24 hours of conferences. Elementary directors were left out of the loop on this one too, so we’ll have to wait to hear what upper district admin says the plan for these dates are.

• REPEAT: Licensed IEP/504 Time Log DUE JUNE 8 – I’ve shared this before, but the Licensed IEP/504 Time Log is for licensed staff to record times you’ve attended IEP and 504 meetings during your prep time or beyond regular work hours. The deadline is to complete the form is June 8th and payment would be on your June 30th paystub. Teachers can receive up to 12 hours compensation.

• End of Year Checklist – Linked here is the End of Year Checklist. Once teachers have completed all tasks on this list and have had me or Jeremy sign-off, you are free to start your summer. And that includes if you take care of everything on Thursday, June 15th! I’ll put hardcopies in mailboxes next week.

• Mystery Science Subscription Renewed – There were enough staff wanting Mystery Science for next year, so we will renew the subscription for another year.

• Building Budget Cuts Next Year – If we seemed more free-spending with building funds this year, it’s because we used ESSER funds to cover all the school supplies (paper, materials, copies, etc.), which are what normally eat up most of the building budget. ESSER funds go away next year, so we’ll have to go back to pre-COVID stinginess with the school budget.

• Water Balloon Launch Last Week of School – We have a kind donation from Annie of a ton of waterballoons, so I was thinking we could do something I’ve done in the past. At recess the last week of school, we can have kids stand behind the kickball backstop while any interested staff can come out and hurl water balloons towards waiting students through the chainlink backstop (I have a few water balloon launchers to add to the fun). This way we can control kids not getting too wet. We’ll plan to do this at recesses on Monday the last week of school, so let me know if your grade level would rather we not do this with your classes. All staff are welcome to soak some students if you have a grade level you’d particularly like to get wet!

• REPEAT: 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.

• 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 29 (M)
No School – Memorial Day

May 30 (T)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #1 Classes
Office/PE/Music Staff Room Duty
ELA and Math Consumable Orders DUE
PE & Music Outside (Gaga Ball)
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
8:15, Allan to Formal Observation
9:15, Allan to Formal Observation
2:45, Adopt A Classroom Drawing (Library)

May 31 (W)
8:50-10:45, Final Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
10:30-12:00, Annual Safety Inspection
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 Assembly (Cafeteria)

June 2 (F)
Alex Returns!
8:10-8:45, 3rd Grade Playground, “Walk the Trail” Pioneer Activity
1:30-2:30, Friday PD -Double Prep
3:30-5:00, 4J 2023 Retiree Celebration (Ed Center)

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
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

June 8 (H)
Last Day for Dynamos / Title 1 Groups
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
9:30, Sheldon Senior Grad Walk
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)
1:00, Allan to IEP Meeting (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 Both in Gym
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 3-512:00-1:30, Field Day, Grades K-2
1:30-3:00, Kona Ice Fundraiser (Hard Play)
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

June 14 (W)
PE & Music Both in Gym
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
PE & Music Both in Gym
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

Eleven and a half days to go!

Allan

 

 

May 15, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/05/13 20:53 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Equity, P.D., SEL, Technology, Video  |  Comments Off on 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

April 3, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/03/31 19:26 Posted in Announcements, P.D., Technology  |  Comments Off on April 3, 2023

 

Welcome back, everyone!

Hope you all had a restful spring break.

Twenty-one items of note for this week:

• 23-24 Staffing Updates – Three updates:

• SPED EA Staffing Update – SSD is evaluating requests for additional staffing next week, but HR added back 2 hours of SPED EA time, which brings Molly back up to her same hours as this year. This is not in response to our request for additional EA time, but I believe it’s downtown using “fix-it” funds to avoid unnecessary bumping.

• Darla Moving to EOA Next Year – Darla was officially placed at EOA for next year, which leaves us with a counseling vacancy for the Job Expo. HR and EEA made an agreement a few years ago giving principals an option to officially hire temp licensed staff ahead of the Job Expo, rather than holding disingenuous interviews. Bummer for us, but good for Darla and EOA. We will miss you, Darla!

• Whitney Moving to Gilham Next Year – SSD has placed Whitney into a full-time SPED position at Gilham for next year. One of Gilham’s SPED teachers is retiring at the end of the year, leaving them with a vacancy. We’ll miss you, Whitney!

• 23-24 Vacancies Summary – Below is a list of the openings we’ll take to the Job Expo later in April:

0.2 FTE PE
0.2 FTE Music
0.5 FTE 1st Grade Classroom (job share w/Gloria)
0.5 FTE Special Education
1.0 FTE Counselor

Downtown is planning to combine the 0.2 PE position with other 0.2 PE positions around the district instead of sending n 0.2 vacancies to the Job Expo, but I’ve let HR know Tracy is interested in continuing as our 0.2 Music specialist next year.

If you know any good current 4J folks out there interested in being our counselor, part-time SPED teacher, or a 1st grade job share, tell them Holt Staff are a SUPER RAD group of people to work with!

• MONDAY PD Info: LICENSED – For complete details, see the linked PD Email or  April 3 PD Info for Teachers Google Doc, but below are the basics:

Locations:
Holt: K-1 teachers and support staff (Cafeteria, Gym & Library)
ATA: 2-3 teachers and support staff (Cafeteria, Library & STEM lab)
Roosevelt: 4-5 teachers and support staff (Cafeteria & Library)

What to bring:
• Charged laptop
• Charging cord
• Printed teacher guides (Wit and Wisdom and Fundations) if you prefer printed versions over using digital versions.
• Water bottle
• 3rd Grade Specific: You will have an opportunity to look at Level 3 Fundations. You will need to bring your Level 3 Fundations book OR use the code on the front cover to gain access, as you have not used this book yet.

SPED teachers are meeting at Sheldon HS from 8:30-11:30 in Room C-9. Music teachers are meeting at Roosevelt in their Music Room, 8:00-12:00. ELD is 9:00-12:00 at ATA. I haven’t heard of plans for other licensed specialists. If you haven’t heard from your district TOSA or admin, let me know and we can make a plan for this day.

For the building-based PD time, we decided as a staff to use this time for team collaboration.

@devincomedy

Every PD for teachers is the same.

♬ original sound – Devin Siebold

• REPEAT MONDAY PD Info: CLASSIFIED – The final day of the Classified Pathways PD is April 3rd at Churchill High School at the same times (8:30 – 11:30) and in the same rooms as the previous session. If you’re having trouble remembering which Pathway you’re in, look in your inbox for an email from Reid Shepard (type in the Zimbra search bar “from:reid”) which may have the subject line of “Pathway Cohort.” If you are a new employee, still having trouble finding your cohort, or have any other questions, please CLICK HERE or use the question link on the Pathways Webpage to let organizers know.

• Classified Staff Meeting April 3rd @12:30 – I’d like to meet with classified staff on Monday, April 3rd at 12:30 in the library to review Stop, Walk, Talk and how to use this with students. You got a bit of an overview a couple weeks ago, but we are rolling this out after spring break. See the STOP, WALK, TALK items a few bullets further down for details.

• REPEAT: NED Mindset Mission (i.e. Yo-Yo) Assembly, TUESDAY, 1:20-2:05 – We talked last week at the staff meeting about the NED Mindset Mission (Yo-Yo) Assembly, and the only date left was the first day back on Tuesday, April 4th in the afternoon, which I scheduled for 1:20-2:05. We’ll hold the assembly in the Cafeteria and classes should plan on arriving in the gym at 1:15 so we can start promptly at 1:20. Linked here is an Assembly Map & Directions.

• REPEAT: Staff Shout Outs! – We’ll share Staff Shout Outs at the start of Tuesday’s Staff Meeting. The link can always be found on my blog and also on the Holt Staff Dashboard.

• Friday PD: Double Prep – The 4J PD Calendar lists “Building Based” as the topic for this Friday’s PD, but for Holt, this is a payback day for a missed “Staff Choice” Friday when I instead held a meeting to discuss 23-24 staffing.

• Holt Friday at 4:00 – Come blow off some steam at our APRIL Friday at 4:00! The location is TBA, but I’ll connect with Sunshine folks and make an announcement at Tuesday’s Staff Meeting. Mark your calendars and see you there!

• REPEAT: Stop, Walk, Talk Rollout – Staff decided we will use lessons 1 and 2 of the Stop, Walk, Talk Bully Prevention Lessons. Teachers will teach the first two lessons during the first week back from spring break. 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’ll also start papering the hallway and other common areas with Stop, Walk, Talk posters to reinforce. I’ll also put a few out on the playground, though I know they won’t last long due to the weather and busy little hands.

 

• Holt Night Out Fundraiser – DoughMo Cookies, Tuesday, April 11th – Tuesday, April 11th is a Holt Night Out Fundraiser at DoughMo Cookies! Owned by a Holt family and located in Downtown Eugene at 980 Oak St. under the Overpark Parking Garage (free parking the first hour). Grab some coffee & Lattes for friends and co-workers or bring the fam for big & thick cookies and soft serve! Just mention Holt when ordering and DoughMo will donate a percentage of your purchase to Holt!

 

• Team Meetings, 4/12 – 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.

• DATES UPDATED, 4/4: Master Schedule Committee Reps & Prompts – At Tuesday‘s Staff meeting, we discussed a master schedule development process that involved one grade-level rep per level, a specialist rep, and an interventionist rep meeting to help develop next year’s master schedule. The plan will be:

April 14 – Reps Meet
April 12-26 – Teams Build Dream Schedule
April 25 – Reps Meet to combine schedule and plan next steps
May 2 – Staff Meeting Discussion
Before the April 12th meeting, teams should decide their preferences regarding the following areas for their reps to bring to the first meeting:
• Subject Area Times – How much time do you want for reading, writing, math, science, SEL, etc? For reference, linked here is the District Elementary Content Minutes Schedule Guide from last year.
 
• Recesses – Do you want to stick with single grade levels or do you want to try doubling grade levels for AM recesses? If doubling recesses, which grade levels? Also, would you be interested in doing 15-minute recesses Monday through Thursday and longer recesses the last day of the week (Thursdays if Friday is a non-school day). 
 
• Morning Meeting – Should we keep the 20-minute Morning Meeting time or change it?
 
• Closing Meeting – Continue 15 minutes for a closing meeting or change it?
 
• ELD Pullout Time – Continue pullout time during Tier III reading? If not, what time should pullout happen?
 
• Afternoon SSHA Time – Continue the afternoon SSHA (Science, Social Studies, Health, Art) time or change it?  
 
• PE / Music Morning Preference – Most prefer afternoon PE & Music times, but are there any grades who prefer a morning time?
 
• Library Times – We’ll assume most folks prefer their weekly library time to be opposite their PE/Music time, but do you have a preference for your second (every other week) library time?

Please let me know if there are other considerations you think teams should discuss and let me know ahead of time so I can share those with teams ahead of time. 

• Tech Subscriptions Follow-Up – A follow-up to my prior announcement that we had to eliminate Technology Subscriptions from the Title 1 Budget in order to minimize staff cuts, but a few folks asked about what exactly are the 22-23 Technology Subscriptions, which are Scholastic News (K/1), Time for Kids (2/3/4), and Learning A-Z (4/5).

• No Kurig Cups Next Year – More sad budget cuts, but we had some extra funds that were paying for Kruig Cups in the Staff Room, but these funds are also disappearing next year, so folks will want to have your own stash up cups for next year.

• Sidewalk Bark Chip Update (Now Grass Re-Seed) – Facilities changed their mind and said they are now going to re-seed the grass the muddy path along the sidewalk between soft-play and hard-play instead of laying down bark chips. Never mind that there used to be grass there and it will only get stomped out again into dirt and mud, but that is their response at this point.

• 4J Attendance Data – Principals received the linked District-Wide Attendance Data to help write our updated School Continuous Improvement Plans (SCIP). Holt’s Site Council already reviewed this data last year, but what we didn’t have access to before was comparison data to other schools. I don’t believe this changes anything for our SCIP, but it is interesting to see how we compare to other schools, which is generally better than most comparison schools.

• REPEAT: Recess Reminders for Teachers – I shared this at last week’s Staff Meeting, but wanted to remind teachers of the items came up at the last Classified Staff Meeting:

Teachers Meet Class at Red Curb – Teachers should pick up their class at the red curb and should not stand ATA a distance and wave them over.

No Riding in Wagons – For safety reasons, students are not allowed to ride in wagons (for the classes who use wagons for lunch boxes).

Warn Class No Eating on Playground – Warn kids that eating or litter on playground is automatic referral and will sit out the remainder of recess. Kids should only eat on the sidewalk at morning recess. There should be no eating at lunch recess, but kids can keep an orange or other shelf stable food in their pocket. If kids at lunch recess still want to eat, they should stay in the cafeteria.

• Behavior Referral Reminder – For all staff, be sure to document behavior incidents with a referral and also be sure to fill them out competition, particularly the date and time.

• District Admin Update – HR emailed principals that Yujin Gakuen principal Tom Piowaty is stepping away from YG, but will continue in 4J in another role that’s soon to be announced.

• Background Remover – Apple has a built-in “background remover” for images on Macs and IOS devices. It’ll blank out backgrounds behind portraits, people, and figures. Open a photo on a Mac in Preview, then > Tools > Remove Background. Bingo! You can also do it in the finder by right clicking on the image file, then > Quick Actions > Remove Background. The same trick works on photos on an iPad or iPhone. Just press your finger on the figure and you get the option to share a backgroundless version. Great for isolating products, making a headshot photo, or green-screening things to blend into a collage. Just 5 years ago this magic would be considered “AI.” Maybe it is.

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

April 3 (M)
No School — PD/Planning Day
Kindergarten Staff Room Duty
8:00-12:00, Teacher ELA PD (K/1 Holt, 2/3 ATA, 4/5 Roosevelt)
8:30-1130, Classified Pathways PD (Churchill)
12:30, Classified Staff Meeting (Library)

April 4 (T)
School Librarians’ Day
Birthday Drinks & Goodies in Staff Room:
Library Week #1 Classes
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
1:20-2:05, NED’s Mindset Mission Assembly (Cafeteria)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)

April 5 (W)
Pesach, First Days of Passover (Jewish) – April 5-13
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)

April 6 (H)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:00, PAHS Meeting (Library)

April 7 (F)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Payback day for missed Staff Choice 3/4
4:00, Holt Friday at 4:00 (Location TBA)

April 10 (M)
Pesach, First Days of Passover (Jewish) – April 5-13
Library Week #2 Classes
1st Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)

April 11 (T)
Holt Night Out Fundraiser – DoughMo Cookies
8:45-5:15, 5th Grade Outdoor School (Camp Wilani)
2:45-3:45, PBIS/Equity/SEL Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

April 12 (W)
8:45-5:15, 5th Grade Outdoor School (Camp Wilani)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
2:45-3:30, Master Schedule Committee Rep Meeting (Library)

April 13 (H)
8:45-5:15, 5th Grade Outdoor School (Camp Wilani)
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Garden Project (Garden)
2:45-3:30, Allan to Evaluation Planning Meeting (Zoom)
4:00-7:00, Allan to Elem Job Expo Round #1 (Zoom)

April 14 (F)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD – Building Based (Equity)

Have a good week, Bolts!

Allan

 

March 13, 2023

By Allan  |  2023/03/11 22:40 Posted in Announcements, Articles, P.D., SEL, Technology  |  Comments Off on 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

 

 

February 21, 2022

By Allan  |  2023/02/18 15:59 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Arts, P.D., Technology, Video  |  Comments Off on February 21, 2022

 

Hello Holt Staff,

Hope you’re all having a restful three-day weekend!

Twenty-two items of note for this week:

• REPEAT: Artist in Residence Starts TUESDAY – OUR Artist in Residence, Larry Meyers, starts on Tuesday. Linked here is the Schedule.

• 4J Board Member Visit, TUESDAY – Geoff is on a district committee looking at elementary libraries and 4J Board member Michelle Hsu was interested in visiting one of the schools piloting licensed librarians. She’ll be visiting Holt this Tuesday at 10:45.

• REPEAT: Holt Spirit Day – Wacky Dress-Up Day, FRIDAY  – Not this week but next week is a Holt Spirit Day and it’s Wacky Dress-Up Day! Start planning your outfit now and let your kids know how they can participate, wearing mismatched closthes, bright color, crazy outfits, crazy attire, or simply wearing their Holt gear or Holt school colors!

• REPEAT: School Spirit Assembly, FRIDAY @8:05 – Note that we are starting earlier for our monthly School Spirit Assembly this Friday in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:10, but all classes should be in the gym seated by 8:05.

 

• Holt Friday at 4:00, @Beer Garden! – Get ready for some bangers and brews at The Beer Garden this Friday for the February Holt Staff Friday at 4:00! See you there!

• Informal Observations this Week – I’ve said this before, but for probationary folks, I’m going to try to get around to do informal observations this week, so don’t be surprised if I pop in for 10-15 minutes at some point for a short observation.

• Optional Meeting w/UO Interior Architecture Student, Feb. 27 – A UO Interior Architecture student contacted me, wishing to speak with and/or a tour the school to better understand different types of students and faculty needs. They’re hoping to talk with teachers and educational assistants to understand unique opportunities that may benefit a variety of user groups. If you’re interested in helping this UO student, I’ll be meeting with them Monday, February 27th at 2:45 in the library.

• Holt Night Out – Pegasus Pizza, Feb. 28th – Not this week, but next week on Tuesday, February 28th is a Holt Night Out Fundraiser at Pegasus Pizza at Oakway Center! Just mention Holt when ordering and Pegasus will donate a percentage of your purchase to Holt. Take out and dine in only.

 

• REPEAT: 22/23 Staffing Survey – To help me with next year’s staffing plan, I’d like staff to complete the linked 2023-2024 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.

• Read Across America, March 2nd – NEA’s Read Across America is next week on Thursday, March 2nd. This is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading. For some ideas and resources, check out NEA (National Education Association) or Reading Rockets, or Discovery Education. Or just read aloud high-quality books, invite guest speakers, read with buddies, or any other fun celebration of reading and literacy!

• Kona Ice Fundraiser, Friday, March 3rd @12:30 – Kona Ice is coming to Holt for during Read Across America week. Teachers should sent bus riders who brought money to hard play at 12:30, so they have time to buy and eat their shave ice before having to get onto the bus. 4th and 5th grade will still be on the playground at this time, but I will be out there to crown control. And remember, all staff get a free shave ice as well! Just show your badge!

• Voice Amplification Systems – Tech folks emailed that all classrooms have now received new LightSpeed voice amplification systems. Most teachers already use the voice amplification systems, but if you don’t, I’d strongly encourage you to give it a try. Linked here is a short video and also training materials. Linked here are additional LightSpeed Training & Troubleshooting Videos. If you have any trouble with your system, submit a help ticket at 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu

 

• April 3rd District ELA PD Survey – The 4J ELA team emailed principals to ask teachers for input on the April 3rd ELA PD Day. Please complete the linked 5 minutes ELA PD Survey, which is grade-level specific. SPED, Title, and any licensed staff who support literacy are also welcome to fill it out.

• Staff Shout Outs! – We’ll share Staff Shout Outs at the start of Tuesday’s Staff Meeting. The link can always be found on my blog and also on the Holt Staff Dashboard.

• Summer School Dates, June 29 – August 15 – No word yet on summer program locations, but I did get an email that the dates for summer school will be June 29 – August 15. I am pitching for Holt to be given a pass on housing a program, though I don’t think we’ll get our way this year. Edison is the only new building with AC, but it’ll most likely be closed for the summer so the contractor can fix punch list items that would’ve been too disruptive to fix during the school year.

• UPDATE: 4J Grown Your Own Teaching/Counseling Program – HR sent an Email Update  to principals about the 4J Grown Your Own Program that there is additional financial assistance through the Lane ESD for classified staff wanting to get their teaching or counseling degree. I’ve already heard from a few classified staff who are interested but let me know if you are interested and I will get you additional info. The deadline to apply is Feb. 28th.

• 4J Weather Alert Text Set-Up – Every staff member is should be set up in school messenger to receive text alerts if there’s ever a delay or school closure due to weather conditions. If you did not receive a text last week for our 2-hour delay, you should go to https://go.schoolmessenger.com to register for an account. Use your 4J email address and pick a new password. Once in, you can add/delete phone numbers for text messages and limit what notifications go to email or to your phone. And as of Saturday, there’s another chance of snow this Wednesday!

• Input on 4J Budget Priorities – Think more funding should go towards reducing class size than other district positions? The last 4J Educator Newsletter has a section called Integrated Guidance where all staff can give input on where you think district funds should be spent. Downtown identified three areas to focus on and have three different surveys. It’s a rather strange survey format, where you share your thoughts on the strategies for each of the three areas and then you rate the thoughts other staff shared. And FYI, class size is on the third survey, but I’d encourage folks to complete all three surveys to have your say. I do think downtown is genuinely paying attention to survey results, as seen by their revising next year’s proposed school calendar based on feedback.

Engaged Community
Equity Advanced
Well-Rounded Education

• New School Calendar: Classes Begin After Labor Day – Mentioned above, downtown listened to feedback and significantly changed their proposed 23-24 School Calendar. They changed most of my issues with the original draft, with school starting before Labor Day, all the non-school days in September, and also moved the spring break PD day to the Monday following the break instead of the Friday before. Parent teacher conferences are now Nov. 20, 21, and 22, right before Thanksgiving Break, which is more days than in the past, so I’m not sure how this will work, but it’s fine by me (long days 11/20 & 11/21 and a comp day 11/22?). Share your thoughts on the Revised 23-24 School Calendar Survey.

• ​​Abbreviated Day (SB 819) – Not sure if this is on folks radar, but you may have heard some rumor or speculation coming from the state that there will no longer be an option for an Abbreviated Day for students. This comes from Senate Bill 819, but the truth is there are a lot of unknowns. It is highly unlikely the bill would preclude students with IEPs and behavior plans to not have the ability to have an abbreviated day. Downtown is waiting on additional information from the state, but I’ll share more information as soon as we get it.

• Small Shifts to Limit ‘Teacher Talk’ and Increase Engagement – Guiding students to regularly direct their own discussions brings academic rewards as they gain confidence working independently on challenging tasks. This Edutopia Article reminds us to:

• Teach what good discussions look like
• Let students come up with ideas first
• Focus on all students getting to participate
• Don’t rush to clarify the hard parts
• Use video (of yourself teaching) to ensure your strategy is working

• 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 20 (M)
No School – President’s Day

February 21 (T)
Artist in Residence – Ceramic Tiles w/Larry Meyers Begins
Library Week #2 Classes
5th Grade Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Heinrich)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Ayres)
10:45, 4J Board Member Visit – Michelle Hsu
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Library)

February 22 (W)
Bus Appreciation (4th)
Staffing Allocations Distributed to Principals
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Parks)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Lovato)
12:00, Student Council Meeting (Reich’s Room)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)
2:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting w/Sup (Ed Center)
2:40-3:30, Data Team – Kindergarten
3:30-5:30, District MTSS Team Using Library

February 23 (H)
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Heinrich)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Ayres)
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade School Gardening (Garden)
10:30, Allan to HR Staffing Meeting (Zoom)
2:45-3:30, Data Team – 1st Grade
6:30-7:30, 3rd Grade Cultural Heritage Night (Gym/Cafeteria)
6:30-7:15, 4th Grade Expert Project Night (Classrooms)

February 24 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Wacky Dress-Up Day!
8:05-8:40, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Parks)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Lovato)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD, Staffing Discussion #1 (Library)
2:30-3:20, Data Team – 2nd Grade
4:00, Holt Friday at 4:00 (Beer Garden)

February 27 (M)
Artist in Residence Continues
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
Library Week #1 Classes
ELD/Speech/Counselor/Library Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)
2:45, Optional Meeting w/UO Interior Architecture Student (Library)
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

February 28 (T)
Holt Night Out – Pegasus Pizza
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Heinrich)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Ayres)
2:45-3:45, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
5:45-7:15, Conscious Discipline Parent Night (Library)

March 1 (W)
Women’s History Month
Fluoride and Sealant Clinic
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Parks)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Lovato)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)
2;45, Grade Level Team Meetings
2:40-3:30, Data Team – 3rd Grade
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

March 2 (H)
Read Across America Day
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Heinrich)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Ayres)
2:45-3:30, Data Team – 4th Grade

March 3 (F)
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Parks)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Lovato)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD, Staffing Discussion #2 (Library)
2:30-3:20, Data Team – 5th Grade

 

Keep watching for those snowflakes in the forecast!

Allan

 

December 5, 2022

By Allan  |  2022/12/03 22:25 Posted in Announcements, Articles, P.D., SEL, Technology  |  Comments Off on 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-11th – Computer 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 7, 2022

By Allan  |  2022/11/05 21:01 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Arts, P.D., Technology  |  Comments Off on November 7, 2022

Hello Bolts,

Hope you enjoyed your extra hour of sleep and also enjoy your impending 4-day weekend. 

Fifteen items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Two staffing updates:

• New SPED EA, Dencie Mellor – Denice has been hired as our new SPED EA, which is an added position to our current SPED Team. Denice is currently a SPED EA at Chavez and before that worked in Springfield as a SPED EA and also a Behavior EA. With EA positions extremely hard to fill right now, Chavez is holding onto Denice until they hire a replacement, so she will mostly likely start with us in about three weeks.

• New 1st Grade Teacher, Megan Gullekson – Megan was supposed to have started this past week, but her principal ended up holding her through the end of the week, so this Monday should be her first day at Holt. She’ll set up her classroom this week, attend conferences with her students and current teacher, and will start teaching next week on Monday, November 14th.

• “Intentional Focus” Details – Linked here is Andy and Sabrina’s Email (along with some additional emails sent to principals) about the district shift to have TOSAs and admins helping in buildings more and what that will look like between now and winter break. TOSAs are now either covering unfilled sub jobs or were deployed to one of four schools determined to be high needs (Chavez, Gilham, Spring Creek, and McCornack). They also said they are pausing district led Friday PD, though between now and winter break there was only one district led PD and the rest were either holidays, work load relief days, building based, or staff choice. They’re also sending district admins to help cover for principals so we can get to observations and other instructional duties currently taking a backseat to student behaviors, though we don’t know yet who or when that will happen.

• Fall Conferences Updates & Reminders – Eleven Conference related items:

• Family Reports – Gloria is going to run the Synergy Family Reports for teachers, containing individual student info on attendance, benchmark testing, and state testing info.

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

• Conference Schedules to Office – Please give office staff a list of your conference dates and times. Parents often forget their times and call the office. You can export your times in Calendly by logging onto your account, clicking SCHEDULED EVENTS, and then clicking EXPORT to get a file you can email the office.

• Conference Confirmation Form – Geoff shared this earlier, but linked here is a Conference Confirmation Form to remind families of their conference time.

• REPEAT: Title 1 Compacts & Conferences – Make sure you have the Title 1 Compacts (English and Spanish) to go with students and families.

• REPEAT: Student Tech Contract (K-2 and 3-5) – Linked here and on the Holt Staff Dashboard is the K-2 Holt Student Technology Contract and the 3-5 Holt Student Technology Contract for teachers to review with students and then have students and parent/guardians sign the agreement.

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

• REPEAT: Staff Not in Conferences – Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are regular work days for all staff who are not part of conferences and should work your regular hours at school. However, if you have pre-arranged trade time with me in order to not work any of these dates, email me your plan ahead of time.

• REPEAT: Allan Available to Attend Conferences – Teachers can let me know if you have any tricky conferences you’d like me to attend. Send me a date & time (and a Zoom link if it’s on Zoom) and I’ll be there!

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

 

• Coffee Run TUESDAY! – The PBIS team is offering a Starbucks run Tuesday @ 3:00 – Here is the LINK. Order by Monday at 12:00. Pick up in the teacher’s lounge Tuesday @ 3:00. Venmo Darla  @Darla-Humbert or bring cash Tuesday morning. Don’t have the funds? No prob – we gotcha covered – so just order. Here’s the MENU. 

• Artist in Residence Beings, Nov. 14th – Not this week, but Monday next week our artist in residence begins; Alebrijes: Paper Sculptures inspired by the art of Oaxaca, Mexico w/Tom Miller. Linked here is the Artist in Residence Schedule.

• Holt Night Out – Bangers & Brews, Nov. 15th – Not this week but next week on Tuesday, November 15th is a Holt Night Out at Bangers & Brews, jsut across from Sheldon High School. Reminder your kids to drop by between 5:00-8:00pm and just mention Holt when ordering.

 

• Holt Spirit Day – Crazy Hair and Socks Day, Nov. 17th – Get kids pumped! The November Holt Spirit Day is a week from Friday and this time it’s Crazy Hair and Sock Day! Stay tuned for Spirit Assembly Details also happening this day.

• Med Administration Training, Friday, Nov. 18th – On our one Building Based Friday PD Day before winter break, each grade level team should send one rep to a med administration training being offered by our fabulous school nurse, Eden. Any staff interested may attend, but this is required for any field trip when there is a student who taks daily meds (usually around lunchtime). See the next items for additional details on working with the school nurse for field trips.

• Field Trip Update & Reminder – Two Field Trip Items:

• Field Trips & Missed Preps – HR is saying teachers do not get a make-up PE or Music classes due to field trips, so be aware of this when planning your trips.

• Notify Nurse Two Weeks in Advance – See Eden’s Email for details, but be sure to let our school nurse know of any upcoming field trips at least two weeks in advance. This is so you can coordinate plans to address allergies, epi-pens, seizure protocols, diabetes management, daily meds, etc.

• Classroom Blinds are to Kept Open – Classroom blinds need to be kept open during the school day. Door windows should also be uncovered. The exception to this is if there is a lockdown or lockdown drill.

• Holt Bolt Class Prizes – Winning classes have already been notified and are selecting their prizes, but below are the results for class prizes from Holt Bolt and who won a class prize of their choice. The winning classes in order were Rabourn, Harmon, Longoria, Lovato, Zluticky, Cobb, Parks, Reich based on these numbers. As of Wednesday, the final total is at the bottom is $21,000!

• Change to Unpaid Leave Process – HR Emailed principals that as a result of staffing shortages this year, when a principal signs their support a Leave Request for Unpaid Leave Form for a staff member (we don’t actually approve them, HR does), this year staff would need approval from HR and also Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, Brooke Wagner. This makes me suspect HR will be stingy about approving these, so be judicious about using your leaves.

• Tech Resources from Apple Learning Specialist – The Apple Specialist who was here last week wanted emailed some resources on Apple Classroom, a link to upcoming virtual support days in case you would like more help, and some other Apple resources.

Apple Classroom
Getting Started with Apple Classroom for Mac Teacher’s Guide – Safari weblink
https://www.apple.com/education/docs/getting-started-with-classroom-mac.pdf

Apple Classroom User Guide for Mac – Apple Support site (always up to date)
https://support.apple.com/guide/classroom/welcome/mac

Apple Classroom User Guide for iPad – Apple Support site (always up to date)
https://support.apple.com/guide/classroom/welcome/ipados

Getting Started with Apple Classroom – Safari weblink
https://www.apple.com/education/docs/getting-started-with-classroom.pdf

Shared Numbers Document for Eugene 4J SD
https://www.icloud.com/numbers/03a5mXt4QEr4VegDZ5Ed0woNQ#Eugene-Fall_2022_Coaching_Support
See the tabs for each day to find the Webex link. Times are flexible.
• Friday, November 4, 2022 – Virtual
• Friday, November 18, 2022 – Virtual
• Monday, November 28, 2022 – Virtual
• Friday, December 16, 2022 – Virtual

Apple Resources
Apple Education Community — NEW!!!
https://education.apple.com
The Apple Teacher Learning Center has evolved into the Apple Education Community which launched in late August 2022. This is a place to connect with other educators across the world, share lesson ideas and resources, and ask questions.

Apple Professional Learning Live
https://apple.co/apl
Explore helpful resources, practice new skills, and reflect on ways Apple technology can support great learning and teaching. Hosted by Apple Professional Learning Specialists, these free hands-on sessions are offered twice daily — Mondays and Thursdays — and run for approximately 60 minutes.

Apple Professional Learning 1:1 Virtual Coaching
Feel free to request a 1:1 coaching session to help with any questions you may have on using Mac or iPad professionally and instructionally.
https://apple.co/askapl

• 15 Inspiring and Informative Veterans Day Videos for Kids – This special day honors those who served in the Armed Forces, past and present. Commemorate the holiday with students by watching a few of these Veterans Day videos. See this WeAreTeachers Article for a collection of videos sorted by level.

• 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 7 (M)
Library Week #2 Classes
School Psychologist Week (PE/Music)
2nd Grade Staff Room Duty
2:45-3:30, Holiday Shopping Meeting (Library)
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

November 8 (T)
3:30-7:30, Conferences
5:30-6:10, Staff Dinner

November 9 (W)
8:00-8:00, Conferences, No School
8:40-8:55, Allan to Conference
9:30, Allan Meeting w/New Elem Curriculum Admin (Office)
10:10-10:45, Allan to Conference
11:30-12:10, Staff Lunch
5:30-6:10, Staff Dinner

November 10 (H)
Teacher Comp Day, No School
Regular Work Day for Classified Staff

November 11 (F)
Veterans Day – No School

November 14 (M)
Library Week #1 Classes
3rd Grade Staff Room Duty
Artist in Residence Begins
Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day
4:00-5:30, Allan to Equity PD (Ed Center)

November 15 (T)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)
5:00-8:00, Holt Night Out – Bangers & Brews (across from Sheldon HS)

November 16 (W)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

November 17 (H)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Team Meeting (Library)
10:00-1:30, 4th Grade in the Garden
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Cafeteria)
6:00-7:00, PAHS (Parents at Holt School) Meeting (Cafeteria)

November 18 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Crazy Hair and Socks Day
8:15-8:45, School Spirit Assembly
1:25-2:25, Medication Administration Training (Library)

Good luck with conferences, everyone!

Allan

 

October 31, 2022

By Allan  |  2022/10/29 20:54 Posted in Announcements, Literacy, P.D., Technology  |  Comments Off on October 31, 2022

 

Happy Halloween, Everyone!

Thirteen items of note for this week:

• 1st Grade Hire – For our new 1st grade classroom we have hired Megan Gullekson, who student taught at Holt last year with Lesli and who is currently teaching 3rd grade in Gresham. Her current school district will release her this Tuesday, which means she can start working at Holt on Wednesday. She’ll get three days to plan and prep for her class and will start with students on Monday, November 7th. We’re lucky to get someone who worked with a number of these student last year and who is already familiar with Holt, so please welcome Megan back to Holt!

And if you’re wondering about parent notification and conferences, we notified families a few weeks ago we’d be adding a fourth classroom and this Monday I will call families of the students changing classrooms. After that we’ll email all 1st grade families of the class change timeline. 1st grade teachers are also planning to do a special lunch or activity for the students changing classes to make them feel special and not feel like cast-offs. Parents will conference with their current teachers and we’re planning to have Megan join those conferences, as long as their aren’t any conflicting times.

• UPDATE: Safety Week, Oct. 31 – Nov. 4 – This week is Safety Week and the times are below and on the Staff Calendar:

  • Monday: Evacuation Drill (i.e. Fire Drill) @8:40
  • Tuesday: Lockdown Drill @1:30
  • Wednesday: Secure Drill & Playground Emergency Whistle @8:30
  • Thursday: Room Clear – Time decided by teachers
  • Friday: Earthquake/Fire Drill 9:40

Teaches should pre-teach the drills to students ahead of time and can either use the Standard Response Protocol Poster, which should be posted in every classrooms (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 in the Staff Google Drive.

MONDAY @8:40 – 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 another location.

TUESDAY @1:30 – Lockdown Drill (for a danger inside the building): I will first announce that we are doing to do a Lockdown Drill, giving a brief explanation how it will work. I will then 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 Lockdown, if there is an immediate threat, staff and students would self-evacuate.

WEDNESDAY @8:30– Secure Drill (for a danger outside the building): 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 then be business as usual inside the building until the all-clear signal is given, which I will do 10 minutes into the drill. This drill is done if there was something unsafe in the neighborhood.

THURSDAY @teacher choice – Room Clear (for a danger in the classroom): Room Clear Drills will happen at a time determined by classroom teachers. In normal times this drill would be done in cooperation with another classroom where students could go in the event of an actual room clear, but for this year because of distancing rules, I’d advise teachers to use their commons areas, the library, or an empty classroom if you have one nearby. The goal of this drill is for students to know where they would room clear to in the event of an actual emergency since in most cases the teacher would need to remain in the classroom when the rest of the students moved out of the room.

FRIDAY @9:40 – Shelter Drill (i.e. Earthquake Drill & Fire Drill): 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 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.

• Apple Learning Specialist Available, WEDNESDAY – Sally Eberhart, an Apple Professional Learning Specialist who is 4J’s Apple Rep, will be here all day this Wednesday for drop-ins. She can provide 1:1 coaching, solve problems, discuss lessons, help set up Apple Classroom, or show folks something new. I’ll have her stationed in the Staff Room for folks to drop by, but here is an Apple Learning Specialist Sign-Up Sheet if there is a certain time you’d like her to come to your room.

• UO Hockey Visit @3/4/5 Lunch, Wednesday – The UO hockey team is coming to visit 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders during their lunch period. They’re promoting a Holt Night Hockey Game this Saturday, which will have a free t-shirt giveaway and on student will win a jersey. I’ve also asked them to reinforce our three school rules all day long, especially at lunch and recess.

 

• Friday PD: Staff Choice – Principals haven’t gotten any details for this Friday’s “Staff Choice” PD time, 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. 

• Fall Conferences Info – 1 update and 5 reminders for conferences:

• UPDATE: Meals for Conferences – PAHS is planning to cover ALL meals during conferences, dinner Wednesday, and lunch & dinner Thursday. It’ll be pot luck, but they are also possibly doing a theme, so stay tuned!

• REPEAT: Title 1 Compacts & Conferences – Title 1 Compacts (English and Spanish) should be reviewed with all families at conferences. For the signatures, the teacher and student should sign the form and for parents review the permission section at conferences. If a parent is on Zoom, just date the form in the parent signature line that the parents agreed to do their part. Title 1 staff will put class sets in teacher mailboxes.

• REPEAT: Language Link Phone Translations – 4J is not providing live translators, so teachers will need to use Language Link. See the 4J Language Link Phone Interpreting Service webpage for step-by-step directions how to do translations for in-person meetings, phone meetings, or Zoom meetings. The directions are pretty straightforward, but when they ask for the “cost center number,” that number is 270. Plan ahead if you are new to using this service, but let me know if you need any help.

• REPEAT: Staff Not in Conferences – Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are regular work days for all staff who are not part of conferences and should work your regular hours at school. However, if you have pre-arranged trade time with me in order to not work any of these dates, email me your plan ahead of time.

• REPEAT: Allan Available to Attend Conferences – Teachers can let me know if you have any tricky conferences you’d like me to attend. Send me a date & time (and a Zoom link if it’s on Zoom) and I’ll be there!

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

• REPEAT: Student Tech Contract (K-2 and 3-5) – Related to conferences, linked here and on the Holt Staff Dashboard is 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 parent/guardians (possibly at conference) sign the agreement.

• Missed Uninterrupted Hour of Prep – EEA and downtown admin have come to an agreement on how missed Friday prep time will be addressed this year and in the future. For the two Fridays missed in November due to holidays, schools not scheduling meetings during these weeks, Nov. 7 and 21. Two more dates are missed due to grading days. The missed hour of preparation on 2/3/2023 and 6/9/23 will be made up by providing 2 hours of uninterrupted prep during the preceding Friday.

• Library Open Times – Robbie is offing to open the library for students needing a space to work or finish a project any time there is not a classroom already in the library or during this lunch and breaks. If you send students, make sure they have a hall pass and that you mark LIBRARY on it. I’m going to update the Library Schedule on the 22-23 Master Schedule later this week to show the available times.

• NOT at School Reminders – Three NO related reminders:

• NO Student Phone or Smart Watches – During the school day, all student phones and smart watches would be turned off and put away. Before school and after school are allowed as long as students are using them appropriately, but students are not allowed to take videos or photos of other students, which is a districtwide rule. A first offense can be a reminder. A second offense should be written up as a minor and the phone or watch held onto and returned at the end of the day. A third offense should be written up as a major and the phone stays in the office until a parent picks it up.

• NO Gum at School – We do allow gum as a special treat during state testing, but outside of that students are not allowed to have gum at school. Now that Halloween is approaching, we’re meeting more and more of it at school, so be sure to make kids spit it out if you spot anyone chewing gum.

• NO Food at Recess (Snack on Sidewalk & No Food at Lunch Recess) – For grade levels who do snack at recess, remind your students they may ONLY eat on the sidewalk. When they are done eating, anything left needs to be thrown away. One other reminder is that students are not allowed to have any food with them during lunch recess. If students are caught eating anywhere besides the sidewalk, I’d advise making them throw away their food in the nearest garbage can.

• Holiday Shopping – This is on the Staff Meeting Agenda for Tuesday, but I wanted to let folks know that we are planning to resume Holt pre-COVID tradition of the Holiday Shopping program for students. For folks new to Holt (including me since I haven’t seen this program in action either), I’m told one or two students in need from each classroom are chosen to go shopping for holiday gifts for their family as well as clothes or other basic needs for themselves. Interested staff members volunteer take the students on their shopping trip and then everyone meets back at school for gift wrapping, hot chocolate, and treats.

• REMINDER: Wit & Wisdom Lamination Limited – A reminder that Wit & Wisdom name tags, posters, and other materials have a film on them that melst and ruins them if you try to laminate them, so know that not everything can be laminated. The Vocabulary Cards can be laminated though.

• 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 31 (M)
Library Week #1 Classes
1st Grade Staff Room Duty
8:40, Fire Drill
8:50, Allan to Class Magic Show
2:45-3:30, Allan to IEP Meeting

November 1 (T)
Sunshine Committee Baked Goods Sharing!
Ewok Appreciation Day
8:30, Lockdown Drill
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)

November 2 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
7:30-3:30, Sally Eberhart, Apple Specialist Drop-In (Staff Room)
8:30, Secure Drill
11:00-1:00, Playground Emergency Whistle Drill (Lunch Recess)
1:15, Attendance Team Meeting (Office)
1:45-2:15, 3rd Grade Delgani Strings Assembly (Cafeteria)
2:45, 5th Grade Outdoor School Meeting (Zoom)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

November 3 (H)
Safety Week – Room Clear Drill (time decided by teachers)
7:45, Allan Meeting w/Parent (Office)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)

November 4 (F)
9:00, Allan Meeting w/New Elem Curriculum Admin (Office)
9:40, Shelter (Earthquake) & Fire Drill
9:00-12:00, Health [K-5] & Vision Screening [K-2] (Gym)
1:25-2:25, Friday PD – Staff Choice
1:25-2:25, Classified Staff Meeting (Library)

November 7 (M)
Library Week #2 Classes
School Psychologist Week (PE/Music)
2nd Grade Staff Room Duty
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

November 8 (T)
3:30-7:30, Conferences
5:30-6:10, Staff Dinner

November 9 (W)
8:00-8:00, Conferences, No School
11:30-12:10, Staff Lunch
5:30-6:10, Staff Dinner

November 10 (H)
Teacher Comp Day, No School
Regular Work Day for Classified Staff

November 11 (F)
Veterans Day – No School

I couldn’t decide on which school related Halloween meme I liked best, so enjoy a plethora of of school/Halloween humor!

Allan

 

 

 

 

 

September 26, 2022

By Allan  |  2022/09/24 20:30 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Grants, P.D., SEL, Technology  |  Comments Off on September 26, 2022

 

Greetings Bolts,

Twenty-five items of note for this week:

• Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program (FFVP) Starts TUESDAY – The Sheldon Region Nutrition Services Food Manager never got back to me about an required procedures for starting the program, so I’m making up my own guidelines:

• Bags of raw fresh fruits or vegetables will be delivered to classrooms each morning in bags.
• Staff or students passing out fruits or vegetables should wash hands or wear gloves.
• Fruits or Vegetables should be served daily (not saved overnight)
• Leftovers may be sent home with students

And if there are any teachers willing to volunteer a 2-4 of your students for deliveries, let me know.

• Gaga Ball Pit Install TUESDAY – Facilites let me know they’re installing the Gaga Ball Pit this Tuesday. They’ll need to cone off part of hard play, but the rest of hard play will be open. They think it will take two days at the most and possibly just one.

The Gaga Ball Pit will be closed until I’ve had a chance to meet with Recess Supervisors (see the item a couple below) and all classes at your grade level have gone over the Gaga Ball Pit Rules.

• Optional Library Schedule Meeting, TUESDAY @2:45 – Downtown Library folks emailed the final word on the library schedule, which is classes will have library twice a week every other week and once a week for checkout on the off week. I’ll plan to hold an optional meeting on Tuesday after school for anyone who wants to help develop a schedule. I’m thinking we’ll do a rotation of K-2 goes twice a week for Week #1 and grades 3-5 go twice a week for Week #2 and then rotate, but I haven’t looked to see if that works yet, though if there are any go-getters out there who want to draft something ahead of time, that would be fabulous! Here’s a link to the current Library Schedule.

• Optional Shared Staff Goals Committee, WEDNESDAY @2:45 – This Tuesday (correction) Wednesday at 2:45 in the library is an optional meeting to develop shared building goals staff can cut-and-paste into TalentEd as your goals for the year if you choose. I drafted a few SEL Related SMART Goals to get the conversation going, but my thinking is to make goals for things we’re already doing, such as teaching Second Step, holding morning meetings, and such. See you Wednesday if you’d like to help!

On a related note, Here are some ODE Sample Goals for teachers and specialists at all grade levels if any staff want to use them.

• REPEAT: Back to School Night, THURSDAY – Back to School Night, is Thursday next week, 5:30-6:30. I’ve included in the Quick News that specialists (SPED, ELD, Music, PE, and Library) will also be available to meet with families. The schedule will be:

5:30-6:00, Free Pizza & Title 1 Presentation (cafeteria)
5:30-6:30, 1st, 2nd, 3rd Class Visits
5:30-6:00, Kinder Meetings
6:00-6:30, Free Pizza & Title 1 Presentation (cafeteria)
6:00-6:30, 4th & 5th Meetings
6:30 Back to School Night Ends

• Holt School Spirit Assembly, FRIDAY @8:15 – This Friday at 8:15 in the gym is the Monthly School Spirit Assembly. Add your name to the Hungry Hungry Hippos Sign-Up Sheet if you’d like to participate! Watch for details coming soon! UPDATE, linked here is the Assembly Map & Directions.

• Classified Meeting Friday @1:30 – This meeting was originally schedule for next week, but I wanted to meet sooner since we have the Gaga Ball Pit coming soon. I’m thinking we should have one supervisors assigned to Gaga Ball, one more for hard play (depending on how many kids are there), and one for soft play, but I want recess supervisor input on this since you’ll be the ones out there each day. I also want to go over the Gaga Ball Pit Rules to make sure we’re all on the same page and if there’s anything we want to change about the rules before we teach them to students.

• Friday PD: K-2 Fundations, 3-5 Wit & Wisdom – Linked here is the Elementary PD Doc for this Friday, which includes Zoom links and other info. Please note the time changed for K-2:

• Grades K-2, Fundations, 2:30-4:00
• Grades 3-5, Wit & Wisdom, 1:25-2:25

• October Staff Potluck, Oct. 3rd – Not this week, but next week is the first Monday of the month, which is when we celebrate that month’s birthdays with cake provided by Sunshine in the Staff Room. Staff are encouraged to bring an item to share if they wish potluck style. If you’d like to bring something, you can add your name to the Potluck Sign-Up Sheet.

• Professional Development Calendar – Related to the above, downtown is now using just one PD calendar to avoid another Friday PD debacle like last week. Linked here and on the Holt Staff Dashboard is the 2022-2023 District PD Calendar for Instructional Staff, which they continue to update, but at least they’re all working off of the same document.

• Leadership Plan Proposal – Linked here is the Proposed 22-23 Holt Leadership Plan. For comparison, last year’s allocations are included, but the only change was to reduce the Equity position to 2 days from 3.5 day and moving that to a new position for assemblies that are not the regular monthly assemblies, such as author visits or other performers. The thinking behind this is that although we all agree the equity position is important, we got pretty minimal support from the district TOSAs when we tried to get some things starts, so the amount of work for this position is still a bit unknown, and for the assembly position, the non-monthly assemblies are more involved since there dealing with finances, coordinating with PAHS, contracts, and working with the assembly folks. Let me know if anyone has other plans you’d like to propose and I can add them to the document. Here’s the remaining steps in our Leadership Plan process:

10/4 – Share plan(s) and discuss at Staff Meeting
10/5 – If needed, subcommittee meets to add/modify plans.
10/18 – Plans (w/out name) discussed and voted on.
10/19-10-22 – Staff sign-up to fill the leadership positions.
11/2 – Staff vote on plan with names attached.

• Classified Self Evaluation and Goals – I heard there’s some questions about the classified self-evaluation and goals, so I wanted to share that for the self evaluation when you score yourself between Ineffective, Area for Growth, Effective, or Exemplary, most people will be in the Area for Growth or Effective range. If you score yourself Exemplary, that’s an area you should be teaching others across the district. It’s also totally fine to mark ineffective if that’s where you think you are. For goals, I would say don’t make extra work for yourself and pick a goal you’re actually working on. So don’t feel obligated to commit to learning sign language or something big, but pick something you’re already doing, such as committing to attend Conscious Discipline PD or working on learning more kids names or working to keep your small group materials better organized. Essentially, make it a practical goal.

• Sub Plans and Notebooks – Germs is staring to work it’s way around the school, so 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.

• Classroom Cleaning Every Other Day – Facilities has still not staffed our 2-hour night custodian, but Richie is still required to do electrostatic cleaning, which is cutting into his time for emptying garbages and sweeping classrooms. Facilities has given Jeremy an hour of overtime to clean classroom each day, so one day he is cleaning A & B wings and the next day cleaning C & D wings. If I remember right, A & B wing is being cleaned this Monday.

• No School Purchases Shipped to Your Home – If you place any online orders for school, DO NOT have them delivered to their home address. 4J Financial Services may potentially deny any reimbursements for purchases if they are shipped to your home instead of school.

• PAHS Printing Parent Volunteer – Holt parent Stephanie Gibson is resuming her role as the Holt Parent Production Assistant. Look for the Copy Order Mailbox in the main workroom for a Copies Form if you have any jobs. I’m not sure which day Stephanie is coming in, but I believe she’s planning to start this week. .

• Non-Essential Volunteers Allowed – Although I announced last week I was willing to go rogue on the above parent volunteer, Risk Management emailed principals later in the week that non-essential volunteers are now allowed. Volunteers still need to complete a background check and must also provide a proof of vaccination, though downtown is checking with legal counsel if that is still required.

• Seesaw Optional, but Great for Family Involvement – I think most teachers know this, but to just put it in writing, teachers are not required to use Seesaw. However, it’s a great way for to involve families and see what their kids are doing at school. You don’t necessarily have to do assignments on Seesaw, though you can, but having kids recording themselves reading something or taking a picture of their work and posting it for their parents to see if a pretty easy way for teachers to involve (and to ingratiate yourself to) parents. Linked here are a number of 4J Seesaw Resources if you’re new to the app or want to review the basics.

• EEF 2022-2023 Grant Applications DUE OCT. 7TH – Applications will due October 7th and EEF did not say anything about Site Council rank ordering grants, so just submit your proposal on the EEF 22-23 Grant Application. Below is a graphic od their funding priorities. Let me know if you have any questions or care to discuss grant ideas.

 

• Comp Time & Trade Time Tracking – HR is asking classified staff to use forms they created for Classified Compensatory Time (PDF or Word) and Classified Trade Time (PDF). Trade Time is what is used most of the time, but to clarify the difference between overtime, comp time, and trade time:

Overtime: When a classified staff member works in excess of 8 hours one day or 40 hours a within a week, they are paid 1.5 times their regular rate for the additional time.

Comp Time: When a classified staff member works in excess of 8 hours one day or 40 hours a within a week, they earn time at 1.5 times amount of time worked in excess that they must track on the Comps Time Form, which can be banked to use at a later date by mutual agreement with their supervisor.

Trade Time: When a classified staff member works in excess of their regularly scheduled time any day, they must track the time on the Trade Time Form, which can be banked to use at a later date by mutual agreement with their supervisor.

Note that staff must notify me prior to accumulating hours.

• BEST Coordinator Job Reposted – Downtown has been unable to hire a new BEST Coordinator for Holt (and for other schools) and are reposting the vacancy, which means our start date for BEST is currently on hold.

• Save Our Schools Opt Out Form – A heads up there’s a Save our Schools Opt-Out Form circulating online and in our community made by Heritage America. If you receive this form, simply thank the parent or guardian and let them know you’ll give it to your principal. The form cites OARs with a loose interpretation of them, but don’t engage in a discussion about the opt-out form or any actions you’ll take regarding the form. If you’re interested, here are Talking Points that were given to principals, though we too were told to not engage parents regarding the form if we get one.

• Red Cross Classroom Presentation – Red Cross is offering free classroom presentations on disaster preparedness for K-5 classrooms. If you’re interested, see the linked Email, Handouts, and Registration Link.

• Relationship Matter More Than Rules – An oldie, but a goodie from Edutopia. Community building in the classroom starts on day one. See this Edutopia Article for strategies to begin forging strong relationships.

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

September 26 (M)
ELD/Speech/Counselor/Library Staff Room Duty
Pastini Fundraiser Continues (Sept. 12 – Oct. 16)Fall Benchmarking Continues
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals Meeting (Ed Center)

September 27 (T)
Title Groups Start, 3rd – 5th
Happy Birthday to Me!
8:10, Allan Reading to Class
2:45-3:30, Optional Library Schedule Meeting (Library)

September 28 (W)
1:00-5:00, 4J Flu Shot Clinic (Ed Center)
2:45-3:15, Optional Building SMART Goals Meeting (Library)

September 29 (H)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Team Meeting (Library)
5:30-6:30, Back to School Night
• 5:30-6:00, Free Pizza & Title 1 Presentation (cafeteria)
• 5:30-6:00, Kinder Meetings
• 5:30-6:30, 1st, 2nd, 3rd Class Visits
• 6:00-6:30, Free Pizza & Title 1 Presentation (cafeteria)
• 6:00-6:30, 4th & 5th Meetings
• 6:30 Back to School Night Ends

September 30 (F)
8:15, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
1:25-2:25, Friday PD, 3-5 Wit & Wisdom (Zoom)
2:30-4:00, Friday PD, Geodes (Zoom)
UPDATED! 4:00, Friday @4:00 (Public House)

October 3 (M)
SPED Staff Room Duty
School Custodian’s Day (ALL)
Pastini Fundraiser Continues (Sept. 12 – Oct. 16)
Fall Benchmarking Continues
10:40-12:40, Staff Potluck Luncheon (Staff Room)
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals Meeting (Ed Center)

October 4 (T)
Title Starts, 1st – 2nd
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)

October 5 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day

October 6 (H)
9:00-9:30, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
6:00, PAHS Holt Bolt Planning Meeting (Cafeteria)

October 7 (F)
10:00, Fire Drill
1:25-2:25, Friday PD – Staff Choice (Zoom)

Go, Bolts!

Allan

September 19, 2022

By Allan  |  2022/09/17 20:51 Posted in Announcements, P.D., Technology  |  Comments Off on September 19, 2022

Howdy Holt Bolts,

Okay, I’m getting my announcements down to a reasonable length this week.

Sixteen items of note for this week:

• Optional Shared Staff Goals Committee, WEDNESDAY @2:45 – This Tuesday at 2:45 in the library is an optional meeting to develop shared building goals staff can cut-and-paste into TalentEd as your goals for the year if you choose. I got permission to make the SMART Goals less data driven and more soft if we want to make them more SEL focused, which is a focus of our school improvement plan. See you Wednesday if you’d like to help draft some goals.

• NEW TIME: Fire Drill, FRIDAY @10:00 – I messed up on the time last week, so the new time will be 10:00 this Friday, which is our shorter day for recesses and will be in the five minutes in between 4th and 3rd grade recess. 4th grade can pick their kids up regular recess lines and after the drill 3rd grade can go straight to recess.

I have this on the Staff Meeting agenda this Tuesday to make sure everyone is on the same page, but see Holt Staff Handbook for complete details on Fire Drill Procedures, but highlights are:

• Students and staff clear the building, following the Evacuation Routes.
• Teachers should take their Emergency Binders (let me know if you do not have one).
• Classes walk single file to their marked spot at soft play/playground (see map).
• Students at specialists (PE, Music, Title, ELD, SPED, etc.) return to their homeroom teacher for attendance
• Teachers take attendance and raise their green card once all children are accounted for.
• Notify the admin or designee or of any missing/additional children in your line by raising the red card.
• Admin or designee running the drill will announce the all-clear when classes may return to the building.

Since this is our first drill of the year, it is fine for teachers let students know when it is happening and to do pre-teaching before the drill happens.

I was also told that A and B wing spots in the past were swapped, since A wing gets to the playground first and B wings second, which makes sense.

 

 

• Friday PD: 4J Policy Memo & Checklist Due Oct. 30 – This Friday’s PD is “Building Based,” so instead of meeting, staff can use this time to review this year’s District Back-to-School Memo. Section 1 is the portion staff are required to review and return to me a singed Staff Orientation Checklist by Oct. 30th. Let me know if you have any questions regarding these policies. Copies of the checklist were put in staff mailboxes and extra copies are in the Staff Work Room.

• REPEAT: Back to Schoo Night (i.e. Curriculum Night) – Back to School Night, is Thursday next week, Sept. 29, 5:30-6:30. I’ve included in the Quick News that specialists (SPED, ELD, Music, PE, and Library) will also be available to meet with families. The schedule will be:

5:30-6:00, Free Pizza & Title 1 Presentation (cafeteria)
5:30-6:30, 1st, 2nd, 3rd Class Visits
5:30-6:30, Kinder Meetings
6:00-6:30, Free Pizza & Title 1 Presentation (cafeteria)
6:00-6:30, 4th & 5th Meetings
6:30 Back to School Night Ends

• PAHS Updates – Our parent group met last week and items of note included planning for the Oct. 19th Holt Bolt (i.e. jog-a-thon). They mostly brainstormed ideas for prizes, so stay stay tuned for more info to come. They are also planning an in-person BINGO Night Oct. 27th at 6:00 in the cafeteria.

• Operation School Bell – Holt was given way more slots for Operation School Bell this year, where families receive vouchers for back to school clothing. Not on my blog, but attached in my email is a list of student already signed up. Let Felicia know if there are families not on the list who you think could use this program.

• Grab-and-Go Breakfasts in Cafeteria Only – Not by our choosing, but Nutrition Services is requiring us to only serve late students grab-and-go breakfasts out of the cafeteria, so please direct any hungry late students in that direction.

• Food at Recess (snack okay, not at lunch) – Kids are allowed to eat snack in their designated areas at recess, but at lunchtime are not allowed to eat at recess. Students need to finish eating in the cafeteria. Students can save any part of their lunch that is “shelf stable,” meaning it comes in a wrapper or is a whole fruit, but students are not allowed to eat these at lunch recess.

• Staff Room Cleaning & Freebies – I now have the Staff Room Duty Schedule added to the calendar, so take note when it’s your turn. On a related note, if you are leaving freebies in the staff room (supplies, curriculum, food, etc.) only leave it in there no more than a week. I’ll plan to clear out all items from last week this Wednesday. 

• Wit & Wisdom Name Tags Can’t Be Laminated – We figured out the Wit & Wisdom name tags have a film on them that melt and ruin them if you try to laminate them, so learn from your colleagues misfortune.

• High Holy Days – Schools should avoid scheduling major events, tests, or assessments of any kind during major religious holiday. I’ve added these dates to the staff calendar, but see the 4J Religious Holidays & Accommodations website for full details.

• No Large Attachments in Synergy Emails – The Technology Department is asking staff not to attach large files (I’m guessing they mean 500MB large videos and such) to email messages sent via Synergy, which is causing problems for the 4J Network. Instead, save the file to your Google Drive and then include a link to the document in your email.

• REPEAT: Leadership Survey, DUE MONDAY – Shared at the back-to-school Staff Meeting is the linked Leadership Plan Survey. This will be on the agenda for Tuesday Staff Meeting and filling out this form will help focus that discussion.

• REPEAT: TalentEd Goals and Self Assessment – All staff, both classified and licensed staff, need to complete the self assessment/reflection in TalentEd by October 1st. The optional shared staff goals will be more geared towards classroom teachers, but ODE posted Sample Goals for Teachers, all grades and specialties, that folks are also welcome to use.

• REPEAT: Principal Visits to Classrooms – Teachers, if you haven’t already, let me know a good 10-minute block of time I can come and visit sometime this month. Thank you!

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

September 19 (M)
5th Grade Staff Room Duty
International Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Pastini Fundraiser Continues
Fall Benchmarking Continues
8:10, Allan Reading to Class
2:45, Optional Eli Pen Training (Library)
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom or Ed Center)

September 20 (T)
School IT Professional’s Day (Speech/ELD)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)

September 21 (W)
2:45-3:15, Optional Building SMART Goals Meeting (Library)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

September 22 (H)
1:00-5:00, 4J Flu Shot Clinic (Ed Center)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
6:00, PAHS Holt Bolt Planning Meeting (Cafeteria)

September 23 (F)
10:00, Fire Drill
1:25-2:25, Friday PD – Building Based (4J Policy Review)

September 26 (M)
ELD/Speech/Counselor/Library Staff Room Duty
Pastini Fundraiser Begins (Sept. 12 – Oct. 16)
Fall Benchmarking Continues
3:00-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals Meeting (Ed Center)

September 27 (T)
Title Groups Start, 3rd – 5th
Happy Birthday to Me!
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

September 28 (W)
1:00-5:00, 4J Flu Shot Clinic (Ed Center)

September 29 (H)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Team Meeting (Library)
5:30-6:30, Back to School Night
• 5:30-6:00, Free Pizza & Title 1 Presentation (cafeteria)
• 5:30-6:30, 1st, 2nd, 3rd Class Visits
• 5:30-6:30, Kinder Meetings
• 6:00-6:30, Free Pizza & Title 1 Presentation (cafeteria)
• 6:00-6:30, 4th & 5th Meetings
• 6:30 Back to School Night Ends

September 30 (F)
8:15, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
1:25-2:25, Friday PD, 3-5 Social Studies / ELA (Zoom)
2:30-4:00, Friday PD, Geodes (Zoom)

FYI, three full weeks of school until our first 4-day week. ;)

Allan