Technology

March 18, 2024

By Allan | 2024/03/16 21:32 Posted in Announcements, Arts, P.D., Technology | Comments Off

Hello Everyone,

Just 5 days until Spring Break!

Sixteen items of note for this week:

• Erin’s Law & Second Step Child Safety Unit, Lesson #5 – All classroom teachers should use the Second Step Child Protection Unit to meet 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. 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.

• PTO Penny War Begins, MONDAY – The PTO is trying a penny war fundraiser. Grades will compete against each other and the winning grade will receive a popcorn party!

Rules:
1. All grades will have a separate jar and placed in the hallway by the front office.
2. There will be a Rainbow tracker with Leprechauns racing to the pot of gold in the hallway to let grades know where they stand after each count.
3. Money will be counted daily and points updated.
4. All money must be placed in the designated jars by 8am on Friday, March 22 to allow for a final count and announcement of winner. Popcorn party will be awarded to the winning grade that afternoon, prior to the end of school day.

Earn (+) points: Place pennies and dollar bills in your grade’s jar to earn points for your grade:

Penny = +1
$1 bill = +100
$5 bill = +500
$10 bill = +1000
$20 bill = +2000

Lose (-) points: Place silver coins (nickel, dimes, quarters, half dollars, and silver dollars) in other grades’ jars to make them lose points:

Nickel = -5
Dime = -10
Quarter = -25
Half Dollar = -50
Silver Dollar = -100

• Girls on the Run Begins, MONDAY – Girls on the Run begins this week, and will be on Mondays (2:30-4:00) and Wednesdays (1:30-3:00), ending May 27th. See the linked Holt Girls on the Run Info for details.

• Music Dress Rehearsal, MONDAY & TUESDAY – Monday and Tuesday from 1:00-1:45 will be the music performance rehearsal. Monday is for 1st, 2nd, and 4th grade and Tuesday is for KG, 3rd, and 5th grade (5th will be at recess until 12:05). This falls right in the middle of kinder and 1st grade music times, so teachers missing your regular music can take your kids out to the playground for a 30-minute recess during your regular music time instead. See Ashley’s Email for details.

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

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

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

• Wed. PD: – 24-25 Staffing Plan Announcement & Team Collaboration Time – Wednesday at 1:30 in the library I will announce the 24-25 Staffing Plan I’ve submitted to HR. Following the announcement will be grade-level collaboration time.

• CORRECTION: Holt Spirit Day – Sports Day, FRIDAY – This Friday is a Holt Spirit Day and this time it’s Sports Day! Wear your favorite team gear, sports gear, or simply wear your Holt spirit gear. Movie nerd point to anyone who knows the movie reference to what I’ll be wearing below:

• April 1 PD for SPED EAs – SSD has scheduled PD for SPED EAs at Churchill High School Auditorium, 8:30-10:00, showing the film “R Word.” The “R-Word” unravels the history and lasting effect of this word, ultimately making the case for why the conversation surrounding people with intellectual and developmental disabilities needs to change. When not in the “R Word” showing, please finish your vector trainings.

• Links for April 1 PD Day – Please review the session offerings here and sign up for your top 3 choices here. All other licensed staff: Please review your PD plan for April 1st here.

Classroom EAs will not have PD this day, but Title EAs, SPED EAs, and BBSAs will have a job-alike meeting.

• EA Assistance April 1 Sign-Up – If teachers could use any help with prep or other tasks, add your name and the task to the EA Assistance Spreadsheet. EAs should also add your name to the tasks you’d be willing to take on.

• Title 1 EA Interviews, 4/1 @1:30 – Jenny and I are holding interviews on Monday, April 1st at 1:30 if anyone is interested in volunteering their time to help with interviews. Let me know if you are interested and I will email the interview materials.

• Spirit Assembly 4/5 @8:20 – The April School Spirit Assembly is on Friday, April 5th in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:20, but all classes should be in the gym by 8:15. Stay tuned for details!

• 4J Grow Your Own Program – Application is NOW OPEN! The application window is from March 1, 2024 – April 5, 2024. To learn more about the Grow Your Own Program and 4J’s commitment to providing pathways to licensure please visit the Grow Your Own webpage by clicking HERE. To apply for the Grow Your Own program click HERE. If you have any questions you can reach out to: Chemika S. Bolden

• Lightspeed Flexmike Mute Button Damage – The Tech Department is seeing a spike in tickets about damaged Lightspeed Flexmike mute buttons, so they asked principals to forward the linked Email and Microphone Quick Start Guide. The short version is on the top of the Flexmike there is a small white button that is technically labeled as a Power button but in reality, the Flexmike doesn’t need to be powered on and off. This button should be thought of and used as the Mute/Unmute button.

• New Walker Tracker Challenge – “Put Some Spring Into Your Steps” challenge in the Walker Tracker app for a chance for our team to walk away with $300 or, for the four highest stepping individuals, an annual Oregon State Parks pass. The goal is for each individual on a team is to reach 49,000 steps (or 7,000 each day). Three teams also can win a $300 prize by accumulating:

1. Most steps through walking or physical activities.
2. Highest average steps through walking or physical activities.
3. Most picture points through uploading photos into the app that capture the spirit of spring. Teams receive one point for each photo that includes at least one team member, and three points for each photo with three or more team members.

•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 17 (M)
St Patrick’s Day

March 18 (M)
K-3 Clay Artist in Residence Continues
5th Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
1:00-1:45, Music Dress Rehearsal – 1st, 2nd, 4th (Cafeteria)
2:30-4:00, Girls on the Run
3:30-5:30, Allan to Elem. Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

March 19 (T)
10:15, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
11:00-12:00, 4th School Garden Lesson
1:00-1:45, Music Dress Rehearsal – KG, 3rd, 5th (Cafeteria)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
5:00, PERS OPSRP (Tier 3) Info Session
5:30, Feed Hope Food Box Prep (Gym)
6:00, 5th Grade Outdoor School Parent Night (Library)

March 20 (W)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – 24-25 Staffing Plan Decision & Team Collaboration Time (Library)
1:30-3:00, Girls on the Run
1:40, Allan & SPED Team Meeting w/Seth & Jeff
3:30, Allan to Admin Mentor Meeting
6:00, 1/2/4 Music Performance (Cafeteria)
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

March 21 (H)
Building Staffing Plans DUE
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
2:45-3:30, Leadership Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
6:00, K/3/5 Music Performance (Cafeteria)

March 22 (F)
Regular Day

March 25-29
Spring Break

April 1 (M)
April Fool’s Day!
No School – Professional Development/Planning Day

8:00 – Meet at your building and get into carpool groups.
8:20 – Arrive at Howard Elementary
8:30 – 9:50 – Session #1
9:50-10:05 – Break/Transition
10:05-11:25 – Session #2
11:25-11:40- Break/Transition
11:40-1:00 – Session #3
1:00-2:00 – Travel back to your building and lunch on your own
1:30, Title 1 EA Interviews
2:00-4:00 – Planning Time

April 2 (T)
Classes Resume
3rd Grade Staff Room Duty
K-3 Clay Artist in Residence Continues
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
10:15, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
2:45-3:30, SST Meeting (Calming Room)

April 3 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
10:40, 4th Grade Storyteller
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Equity & Inclusion Team (Library)
1:30-3:00, Girls on the Run
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

April 4 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
2:45, Equity & Inclusion Team Meeting, Rob Hess attending (Kelsey’s Room)
5:00-6:00, Site Council (Library) 6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Library & Zoom)

April 5 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Sports Day
8:20-8:40, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
9:30-1:30, 3rd Grade Eugene Science Center Field Trip

It’s practically just two months until summer!

Allan

February 19, 2024

By Allan | 2024/02/17 21:55 Posted in Announcements, Equity, P.D., Technology | Comments Off

Hi Everyone,

I attended an excellent professional development this weekend. I originally only went because there was extended contract offered and I figured I could use the time to work on this week’s staff announcements (which I also did), but it was a really energizing and engaging experience. The keynote speaker, Jimmy Casas, was a bit of a motivational speaker, but I really liked how he talked about school culture, which I think Holt is doing pretty darn well on. Not to get too mushy, but I’m super glad to be working with you all here.

Twenty-two items of note for this week:

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

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

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

• Wednesday PD: SAEBRS SEL Student Screener – I reshuffled Wednesday PD topics and this Wednesday at 1:30 in the library will be on the new SEL student screener all schools are now starting. I will give staff an overview of how it works (the short version is K-5 teachers complete a short checklist on each of your students and grades 2-5 have students complete an online survey form), but most of the PD time will be for teachers to complete the teacher-student screener. See my Feb. 5 Announcements for additional information on SAEBRS.

• Fire Drill, THURSDAY @1:15 – We’ll reschedule our missed fire drill this Thursday at 1:15. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map. I’m also considering if there are a TON of kids gone on Monday, I might do a surprise drill that day.

• Holt Spirit Day – Animal Day, FRIDAY– Friday, Feb. 23 is a Holt Spirit Day and this time it’s Animal Day! Tell your kids to dress up as an animal, wear some animal print, a shirt with animals on it, make some ears, or just wear some spirit gear!

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

• Holt Night Out – McMenamins on 19th, 2/27 – Tuesday, Feb 27th is the February Holt Night Out Fundraiser, which is at McMenamins on 19th. The PTO is getting a good percentage on this one, with 50% of purchases, but pump this one up. Dine-in or pick-up. Just mention the fundraiser!

• Student Climate & Culture Survey, DUE 2/28 – Our Equity Team leaders emailed teachers the linked K-2 Climate Survey and 3-5 Climate Survey. The target completion date is Wednesday, February. 28, when we will have our next Equity & Inclusion PD. We will look at the data to help guide our next steps. When completed, feel free to put them in Carla’s mailbox for safekeeping or keep them yourself and bring them on the 28th.

• Wednesday PD: Equity & Inclusion Team, 2/28 – Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 1:30 in the library will be an Equity &. Inclusion Team meeting to review the above survey data and plan next steps.

• Dental Clinics 2/28 and 2/29 – These clinics were set up by our prior school nurse, but I just noticed this on the calendar and haven’t checked in with our school new school nurse, Hannah Green, to make sure this is still happening. The original plan was for these to be on Feb. 28 and 29, starting at 9:00 and running through the end of the day in the Lost & Found Area. Stay tuned for more info.

• Read Across America – Buddy Reading Event, 3/1 – I’ll put this on this Thursday’s Leadership Team Agenda to solidify a plan for this year, but this is on the calendar not this week but next week, so stay tuned.

• Women’s History Month – March is Women’s History Month. Here’s a WeAreTeachers Article with activities and ideas to celebrate this month. If you know of other good resources, let me know and I can share them in future announcements.

• PTO Meeting Updates– I forgot to include this last week, but linked here is the February PTO Meeting Slideshow if you’d like to know what the PTO is up to; updates on budget, non-profit status, future Holt Night Outs, spring carnival (April 19), and Holt Bolt (May 17).

• Reteach with STOP, WALK, TALK – A reminder to folks when you are processing and reteaching with students to coach them to use Stop, Walk, Talk.

Student reports a problem:
“Did you ask them to stop?”
Yes. “Did you try walking away?”
No. “You need to first tell them to STOP so they know you don’t like what they are doing.”

Student reports saying STOP did not stop the problem:
“Did you try walking away?
Yes. “Good job telling them to STOP and trying to WALK AWAY. Let’s go take care of ___________.”
No. “Remember that walking away also usually fixes the problem.”

It’s also important to remind students when not to use STOP, WALK, TALK if an incident involves safety issues, physical aggression, or discriminatory remarks (i.e. racist, sexist, etc.) and instead IMMEDIATELY tell an adult.

• MFA with Google Authenticator – To head off more hacking, the 4J Tech Department is upgrading email security with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Principals all now have to use it and it will be rolled out to all staff in the coming weeks. You’ll log in just as you do now with your username and password, but will then also have to enter a one-time 6-digit code from a Google Authenticator App you’ll need to download to your phone or tablet. Linked here is an MFA with Google Authenticator Quick Sheet, which I also put on the Staff Google Drive in the Tech folder.

• Free Class Snacks! – Several classes already do this, but send your kids to the office in the morning for a grab-and-go breakfast (who didn’t get breakfast earlier that morning), which is a great way to build up your supply of snacks for kids. Keep them from getting hangry!

• First Aid/CPR Training – Downtown is scheduling First Aid/CPR training for staff who are required to be trained (which is 5th grade teachers for Outdoor School) and are asking if there are additional staff who’d like to be trained. Let me know by Wednesday if you’d like to be trained and I’ll add you to the list.

• Free Bike Locks, Helmets, & Replacement Bikes – 4J Safe Routes to School received a grant for bike locks, helmets, and replacements for bikes stolen from school for students. Any staff member can fill out the Lock, Helmet & Replacement Bike Request Form to request on behalf of students you work with.

• Teaching Children to Save Lessons with Banner Bank – The Eugene Downtown Banner Bank emailed me offering a free 30-minute lesson for elementary students on the importance of saving and having safe savings spaces. They are available anytime after March 5th, so if you are interested, let me know or email Daniella Zapien Flores <Daniella.ZapienFlores@bannerbank.com> directly.

•Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:

• 24/25 Staffing Survey – Please complete the linked 2024-2025 Staffing Survey to help me prep for next year’s staffing plan. I’d like to hear from both classified and licensed staff. I’d like to know staff members’ plans and preferences for the future as well as your thoughts on next year’s staffing plan, master schedule, or any other thoughts or feedback.

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

• Equity and Inclusion Student Team – There are a few names already added, but if you have students who would like to participate in the Student Equity & Inclusion Team, please add their names to the Student Equity & Inclusion Team Spreadsheet.

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Translating – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook is on Translating. Most school-wide communication falls on me, but for those occasions, when anyone needs to translate something, DeepL is a more accurate translation service than Google Translate.

Translating:
We will translate school-wide correspondence into Spanish, if possible

•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 19 (M)
1st Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
2:45, Allan Meeting w/SSD Admin (Office)

February 20 (T)
8:45-9:20, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Parks) 9:20-10:00, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Ayres) 10:15-10:45, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
10:40-11:10, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Henrich)
1:40, 3rd Grade Delgani Strings Assembly (Cafeteria)
10:15, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
6:00-7:30, Conscious Discipline Parent Course (Library & Cafeteria)

February 21 (W)
Girls on the Run Registration Opens
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – SAEBRS Screener (Library)
7:00, School Executive or Regular Board Meeting (Zoom)

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

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

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

February 26 (M)
2nd Grade Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (Library)
12:50-1:15, OBOB Battles (Library)
3:30-5:30, Allan to Elem Prinicpals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

February 27 (T)
Holt Night Out – McMenamins on 19th
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
6:00-7:30, Conscious Discipline Parent Course (Library & Cafeteria)

February 28 (W)
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (Library)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Equity & Inclusion Team (Library)

February 29 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
9:00-2:25, Dental Clinics (Lost & Found Area)
2:45, Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Classroom)

February 30 (F)
Women’s History Month
Read Across America – Buddy Reading Event
9:00-2:25, Dental Clinics (Lost & Found Area)

We may have lost our 3-day weekend, but we can make it the next five weeks until spring break, right?

Allan

January 15, 2024

By Allan | 2024/01/13 22:00 Posted in Announcements, Articles, P.D., Technology | Comments Off

Hi Everyone,

My weather hopes were off by a day last week, but keep watching the weather forecast for Monday night and Tuesday morning!

Twenty-four items of note for this week:

• SPED EA Job Posting – HR finally got our 7-hour SPED EA Job Posting up. If you know of anyone good out there, tell them to apply by this Thursday.

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

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

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

• Student Support Team (SST) Meeting TUESDAY – SST will meet this Tuesday to screen potential referrals for SPED evaluations and for SST members to do monthly check-ins on students currently in the evaluation process. Use the Request for Student / Classroom Support Form to make a referral to the team. An agenda was emitted to staff earlier regarding the students who will be discussed.

• Wednesday PD: Equity & Inclusion Team – This Wednesday at 1:30 in the library, our Equity & Inclusion team is preparing a discussion and training for staff.

• School Choice Presentation WEDNESDAY @6:00 (Library & Zoom) – Downtown is having all elementary schools give school choice presentations, one on Zoom, one in person during school, and one in person in the evening. Our first one, on Zoom, will be in two weeks on Wednesday, January 10th, from 6:00-7:00.

Wed., Jan. 17, 6:00-7:00 p.m. (Holt Library & Zoom)
Thurs, Jan. 25, 9:00-10:00 a.m. (Holt Library & Zoom)

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

• Wednesday PD: 100% Data Team Meeting, 1/24 – Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 1:30 in the library we will have our 100% Data Team Meeting to review winter benchmark testing.

• Holt Spirit Day – Wacky Hair Day, 1/26 – Friday, Jan. 26 is a Holt Spirit Day and this time it’s Wacky Hair Day! Tell your kids to create their wackiest and wildest hairdo or just wear their Holt spirit gear!

• Spirit Assembly 1/26 @8:20 – The January School Spirit Assembly is on Friday, Jan. 26 in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:20, but all classes should be in the gym by 8:15. Stay tuned for details!

• 1st, and 2nd Grade Family Math Night, 1/26 – Friday, January 26, 5:30-6:45pm is the 1st and 2nd Grade Family Math Game Night. 5:30-6:10 will be math games in classrooms and 6:15-6:45 will be pizza and a raffle in cafeteria.

• Report Card, Grading Day, and Transition Day Info – Five items of note:

• Report Card Guidance – Linked here are last year’s Report Card Checklist, One Pager, and ELA Grade Level Guidance Sheets. I’ve asked if updated info is coming, though I think it’s only the one-pager that’ll need updating to clarify what I shared earlier about scores, that for mid-year grades a 3 means a student is on-track to meet end-of-year standards, not like last year where a 3 meant they had already met the end-of-year standard.

• Key Dates – Note the following dates:

Feb. 1 (H) – Grading Day
Feb. 1 (H) – EA Pathways PD, 8:30-11:30
Feb. 1 (H) – Classified Staff Meeting at 12:30
Feb. 2 (F) – Transition Day
Feb. 12 (M) – Report Cards Sent Home

• Grading Day Expectations – The Holt Staff Handbook has the following expectations for Report Card Grading Day:

Licensed Staff – Grading day is a regular work day. HR allows teachers to work from home if you notify your administrator in advance, but be sure to plan ahead if you need to collaborate with any colleagues on grading. Please 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.

• Feb. 1 EA Pathways PD – The EA Pathways PD Email appears to be optional, since it says, “If you… would like to register.” The Conscious Discipline PD is probably a good one if you haven’t had it already, though the others look more Life Skills-focused. See LINK for more info.

• Feb. 2 Transition Day – Principals were given the following guidance on the Feb. 2 Transition Day, but the short version is this day is for ELA prep. Also, the Feb. 2 section that was shared with principals was left blank, so you are reading that part below right.

Reminder of No Meetings During the Week of Grading Day – As we are approaching the first Semester Grading Day, please take a moment to review your building meetings calendar and be sure to cancel any meetings you may have scheduled for the week of January 29.

• February 2: Transition Day – Additionally, we have previously shared that there was an acknowledgement during a June 2023 meeting with the Elementary Literacy team and EEA that 4J’s efforts to improve K-5 literacy require a significant amount of teacher prep time. One way the district can support educators in effectively providing this instruction is to communicate explicitly carved out time throughout the school year to prepare for each module. The dates available in the calendar for 2023-24 were/are:

✔️ Half day during August inservice week
✔️ Nov. 9 – 3.75 hours of ELA Planning, 3.75 hours of Assessment and Conference Planning
Feb. 2
Apr. 12 – 3.75 hours of ELA Planning, 3.75 hours of Strategic Family Outreach

• Round 2 of Vector Training – Downtown asked principals to share the linked Vector Modules Email Communication with staff, but the short version is there are 78 minutes worth of online trainings for staff to complete by March 31st, so Licensed Staff will have two Wednesday PD times to complete the modules and classified staff will have feb. 1 and 2 to compete the modules.

• Staff Shout Outs! – We’ll share Staff Shout Outs at the start of Staff Meetings once again, so complete the Staff Shout Out Google Form to recognize or show appreciation for a colleague. The link can always be found on my blog and on the Holt Staff Dashboard.

• Second Step Pacing Guide – As a reminder, I wanted to re-highlight the Second Step Pacing Guide. If you are behind, use the guide to make sure you’re at least hitting each topic area.

• OSHA Cheat Sheet – Some folks asked for an OSHA Cheat Sheet, so there’s one with the key questions that could fit behind your badge that answers the key questions an OSHA Inspector might ask:

• Summer School at Holt – I was emailed last week that Holt will again host SEAL and KITS this summer. KITS needs 4 classrooms and SEAL needs up to 15 classrooms. We’ll decide which rooms will be used in the spring after staffing, once we know if anyone is moving classrooms and such. Doesn’t sound like it’s an option to move it to another school again, but I’ve at least asked for them to consider starting earlier since August is such a time crunch between summer programs ending and regular school starting.

• 4J Discipline Matrix – Downtown is finally ready to roll out the 4J Discipline Matrix, which provides a guide for majors, minor, and guidance on how to respond to different situations. I’ll plan to go over this at a future Wednesday PD, but if you want a preview, linked here is the Holt Discipline Flowchart for Teachers, which is actually a generic district template except for slide #3 where I added some Holt specific information, the 4J Minors/Major Behavior Definitions for Staff, and for lower minor incidents there is the Revisiting/Strengthening Classroom Climate & Practices and Implementing Classroom-level Interventions documents. Here’s a link to the 2023-2024 Behavior Matrix (longer version) that was shared with principals and if you’re interested, here’s the Admin Behavior Matrix Slideshow that was presented to building admins last week. Do note there are a lot of link buried within these documents, but most of them link back and forth between each other and there are also several links that are still locked down and even I don’t have access to them yet, so hopefully that gets fixed soon.

• Principal Focused Upbeat Survey – Thought staff might be interested to know principals were told on Friday we will get to do an Upbeat Survey to give feedback on district administration. Maybe this will be extended to classified and licensed staff at some point?

• New WalkerTracker Challenge – There’s a new WalkerTracker Team Challenge January 21-27 if you want to join the Holt Team. I find it fun to compare how many steps different folks are getting on the team. Download the app (iOS or Android) or go to the 4J WalkerTracker Website to sign up.

• District Admin Updates – Angi Meyer, Associate Director of Risk and Asset Management, emailed principals she has accepted a position in Beaverton working with Keri Skinner. No word whether they will hire someone or will restructure. One restructure emailed is that Karen Apgar will take over 504s and Della Thomas will focus on her South & Churchill SSD ElementaryAdmin position.

• Optional Research Survey ($150 Drawing) – If you’re interested, here’s a University of Washington Study where if teachers fill out their 10-30 minute Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Survey and you’ll be entered into a drawing for $150.

• 4 Ways to Use AI in Implementing Restorative Practices – Artificial intelligence can be an effective tool in implementing restorative practices by tailoring the approach to the situation. See this Edutopia Article for details, but to save you a click, they are:

1. Create Restorative Reflections
2. Compose Customized Social Stories
3. Generate Discussion !uestions for Restorative Circles
4. Build Creative Social and Emotional Learning Lesson Plans

This article suggests using ChatGPT, but I’ve found that MagicSchoolAI is more education focused.

•Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:

• Draft Two-Year Calendar Feedback (2024–25/2025–26) – I’d encourage everyone to do the 24/25 and 25/26 Draft School Calendar Feedback Survey. See last week’s announcements for the feedback I submitted.

• Jan. 2 PD Feedback – If you haven’t already, fill out the Classified PD Feedback and Licensed PD Feedback for the Jan. 2 PD.

• Jan 2 PD Slides – Here’s a link to the Jan. 2nd PD Resources Erin Gaston emailed earlier.

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

January 15 (M)
No School – Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 16 (T)
ELD/Speech/Counselor/Library Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
12:15-12:45, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
2:45-3:30, SST Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
6:00-7:30, Conscious Discipline Parent Course (Library & Cafeteria)

January 17 (W)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Equity & Inclusion Team
6:00-7:00, School Choice Presentation (Library & Zoom)
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

January 18 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
1:15, Fire Drill
2:45-3:30, Leadership Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)

January 19 (F)
11:45, OBOB Practice (Library)
1:15, OBOB Practice (Library)
2:45, Latino Family Night Planning (Ball’s Room)

January 22 (M)
SPED/Inst. Coach, Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
11:00-11:30, OBOB Battles (Library)
11:30-12:00, OBOB Battles (Library)

January 23 (T)
8:45-9:20, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Parks)
9:20-10:00, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Ayres)
10:15-10:45, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
10:40-11:10, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Henrich)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Calming Room)
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)
6:00-7:30, Conscious Discipline Parent Course (Library & Cafeteria)

January 24 (W)
easyCBM Winter Benchmark CLOSES
11:30-12:00, OBOB Battles (Library)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – 100% Data Team Meeting (Library)

January 25 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
9:00-10:00, School Choice Presentation (Library & Zoom)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Room)

January 26 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Wacky Hair Day
8:20, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
11:00-11:30, OBOB Practice (Library)
11:30-12:00, OBOB Practice (Library)
5:30-7:00, 1st and 2nd Family Math Night (Classrooms & Cafeteria)
-5:30-6:10 Math games in classrooms
-6:15-6:45 Dinner & raffle in cafeteria

Think snow, everyone!

Allan

November 20, 2023

By Allan | 2023/11/18 20:34 Posted in Announcements, Articles, SEL, Technology | Comments Off

Hello Bolts,

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

Fourteen items of note for this week:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Erin’s Law and Child Abuse Prevention Lessons

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

•Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:

• Fall Conferences Reminders – Several conference-related items:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November 22 (W)
No School – Conference Comp Day

November 23 (H)
No School – Thanksgiving Holiday

November 24 (F)
No School – Thanksgiving Holiday

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

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

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

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

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

Happy conferencing and enjoy the holiday weekend!

Allan

September 25, 2023

By Allan | 2023/09/23 20:25 Posted in Announcements, Articles, Grants, P.D., Technology, Video | Comments Off

Hi Holt Bolts,

I think the above quote describes Holt’s school culture pretty darn well! This was especially evident this past week with everyone pitching in to help with our many challenging new students. I loved hearing from a first-time sub last week who said, “I love working here. I feel so welcome and feel like I can just be me.” Go, Team Holt!

Twenty-four items of note for this week:

• Curriculum Night, TUESDAY – Holt Curriculum Night and the Title 1 Annual Meeting is this Tuesday, with childcare provided in the gym and free pizza from 5:30-6:30.

5:00-5:25, Grades K/1
5:30-5:55, Grades 2/3
6:00-6:25, Grades 4/5

• Wednesday PD: Leadership Plan – I’m postponing the Stop, Walk, Talk review I’d originally planned and instead this Wednesday at 1:30 in the library we’ll look at our Draft 23-24 Leadership Plan and see if we can come to a 75% agreement on a plan to forward to JCAC for final approval. The above linked doc has a new tab (Draft 9-27) with the feedback from JCAC. The jobs highlighted in green are approved. Those in yellow need revised. Many schools has similar leaderships jobs, so to calibrate duties and compensation, they created a Common Jobs spreadsheet, which I also added to the above spreadsheet.

Most Holt jobs match the 4J Common Jobs, but there were a few where I added additional details to the job description that I think will justify our slightly larger compensation. The only two that I had trouble with were Communications and Girls on the Run, where I wasn’t sure what duties to add to justify our larger allocations, so let me know now or on Wednesday if you have ideas or if you have ideas how to reallocate the difference ($2000) to other positions or have ideas to create new positions (possibly adding collaborator positions?). I added this as an agenda items for Thursday’s Staff Meeting if we need more time. We can also push a final decision to the following Wednesday if needed.

• Leadership Role Sign-Ups – HR said teams for approved positions can start meeting right away once we have people assigned to those positions. I tweaked the Team Sign-Up Sheet (2023-2024) to include the compensated leadership positions if anyone wants to put your name down for any of these positions. There may be some changes in level of compensation and/or job descriptions after we meet this week, but I figured we can get the ball rolling. If more than one person is interested in a position, it’s ultimately the principal’s decision, though I will plan to connect with individual staff to discuss if there are multiple folks really wanting a position. Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions on this.

• DoughMo’s Cookies Fundraiser, THURSDAY – Remind your kids this Thursday is a Holt Night Out Fundraiser at DoughMo’s Cookies. Owned by a Holt family and located in Downtown Eugene at 980 Oak St. under the Overpark Parking Garage (free parking), grab some cookies and just mention Holt when ordering and a percentage of your purchase will go back to Holt!

• Friday Assembly Moved to Next Week – We are postponing this Friday’s assembly until next week, Friday, Oct. 6th. Sorry for the short notice, but stay tuned for assembly details. UPDATE: Ultimate Holt Spirit Day is still this Friday. Will announce this on Monday Zoom announcements.

• Carla’s Instructional Coaching Request Form – Carla has created a Request for Instructional Coaching survey if you are in need of an instructional partner. The survey lists all the ways in which Carla can help with Instructional Practices and Student Learning. The survey is linked here and is on the Holt Dashboard and in the Care Team’s Request for Assistance. Carla is excited to be at Holt and to work with both licensed teachers and Educational Assistants.

• Possible Meetings Next Week – If our teams are in place by next week, we can start some of our regular meetings:

• Team Meetings, Oct. 3 – The first two Tuesday of the month on non-Staff Meeting weeks are dedicated Team Meeting times. If we have our Grade Level Team Leaders in place in time, 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.

• Equity & Inclusion Team Meeting, Oct. 5 – If we have our Coordinators and Collaborators in place by Thursday next week, we’ll plan on Thursday, Oct. 5th at 2:45 in the library.

• Walk+Roll to School Day, Oct. 4 – Remind your kiddos that Wednesday, Oct. 4th is Walk+Roll to School Day, where all students are encouraged to walk, bike, carpool or ride the bus to school. If kids live a long way from school, they could park a ten minute walk from school and walk the rest of the way. Older students can walk on their own. Younger students will need to walk or bike with an adult. The goal of this day is to reduce traffic and pollution around our school and to promote physical activity for our students. Students who ride the bus are doing their part by participating in the biggest carpool of all!

• Book Nook Starts Oct. 4 – The PTO is starting Book Nook Wednesday, October 4. Just like last year it’ll be during first recess on Wednesdays in the cafeteria. For folks new to Holt, “Book Nook” is a book exchange run by our parent group. Kids can bring in a book and trade it for another. They can also bring in 25¢ to buy a book. If kids want to buy or trade a book, they just send them down the hallway to the cafeteria when it’s your morning recess time.

• October 13 PD Day – All classroom teachers will have Wit & Wisdom writing PD from 8:00-1:30. SPED staff (both classified and licensed), Title teachers, counselors, PE/Music, etc. will also have PD this day. The 8:00-1:30 time will include a 30 minute lunch on your own. You’ll have 30 minutes of travel time from 1:30-2:00 and then planning time from 2:00-4:00. Downtown said they will have more specific details about the locations soon.

• Inside Recess Plan – I spoke to some Holt veterans how inside recess was covered for combined 2/3 and 4/5 recesses in the past, which has EAs circulating between classrooms, so the plan will be:

2nd and 3rd Recess
Rabourn / Gullekson – Margaret
Norton / Bemiller – Kelly
Talley/ Harshbarger – Annie
Ball – Lisa P. Sub

4th and 5th Recess
Reich/ Cobb – Margaret
Benavides / Longoria – Annie
Ayres / Parks – Tasha
Heinrich – Carol

There will always be at least four staff members on these recesses, but if additional staff are available, we may be able to get more coverage.

• Licensed Optional SMART Goals – Here are some Optional Licensed SMART Goals related to class morning meetings teachers can feel free to cut-and-paste into TalentEd if you would like. The target population for one goal must be for ALL students in your class and the second goal can be for a subgroup of students (i.e. students with IEPs, BIPOC students, student in Title, etc.). This means your goals to be exactly the same, but only change the target population on the second goal. Teachers can also choose to have two different goals. There are also two choices of professional goals. One is related to morning meeting and the other is a more general of SEL goal (the same we used last year). Feel free to cut-and-paste, make changes, or to come up your goals.

• COVID Protocols Really are Gone – I shared earlier that COVID protocol are gone (no quarantine, no notifications, etc.) and we are back to it simply being if staff feel ill, stay home. HR clarified with principals this means COVID positive staff can come to work as long as they do not have a fever or are vomiting and may return when they are fever-free (greater than 100.5) and have not thrown up for 24 hours without medication.

• Golden Ticket Table, Thursday & Fridays – The Cafeteria “Golden Ticket Table” will be out on Thursday and Fridays for students who win this reward or who earned it by saving up 10 Zaps.

• BEST Academic Coordinator (Classified or Licensed) – If you missed it in Levi’s BEST Email, Jenny agreed to take on the data coordination portion of the Academic Coordinator, but were still looking for the day-to-day small group coaching portion of the Academic Coordinator position, which can be filled by either classified or licensed staff. The position is 1.5 hours a day, but only requires consistent physical attendance at BEST from 3:15-4:15 Monday through Thursday to oversee small group instruction. Let me or Levi know if you might be interested or have any questions.

• Mandt Training Opportunity – The Mandt Training are being held each month this year, both the 1-day recertification and the initial 2-day training. This is open to any staff who are in need of Mandt Training (SPED staff, EAs, teachers, etc.). Here is the 2-day Initial Mandt Training Sign-Up. The link will allow you to chose a date that works for you. Subs will be provided and if you have any questions about the training let me know.

• Fire Drill Reminder, Close Classroom Doors – Remember to close you classroom and office doors when we have a fire drill. When we swept the hall for any stragglers, we found a few rooms with open doors.

• EEF Grants Now Open – EEF grants are now open with an Oct. 13 deadline. EEF prioritizes grants that focus on Enrichment (ex. STEM, arts, experimental learning), Ready to Learn (ex. literacy, SEL, accessibility solutions), and Pathways (ex. CTE, SPED, TAG). They do have a new online application that requires you to set up an account, but it looks like they’re asking for pretty much the same info they have asked for in the past. Linked here is PDF I made of the form if you want to take a peek. Schools can submit as many grants as they want, so feel free to start writing! See the EEF 2023-24 Grant Application Webpage for details.

• Social Studies Materials Coming Late Fall – As part of a grant from ODE, downtown has social studies materials that will be coming to buildings soon. Downtown said they know that for some teachers, this is a welcome addition to their instructional materials while for others this might bring with it some concerns about when to make space for these materials. For now, they want people to have the materials and those who want to use them can and those who don’t can set them aside for now. Teachers will receive an email in late fall with more information about the materials. Downtown is also working on creating PD for January related to implementing the materials. For K-3, there are 5-10 lessons throughout the entire year while for 4th and 5th there are more resources and lessons.

• OSHA Inspections – The Feds made a substantial investment of over $16 million into OSHA and workplace safety, underscoring his commitment to employee safety. This commitment is becoming increasingly evident as there have been hefty fines imposed on major corporations for safety violations just this month. What’s more, it has come to 4J’s attention that Oregon OSHA has been undercharging, and we’ve heard from Brown and Brown that OSHA fines are set to surge by a staggering 3000%—yes, you read that correctly.

Brown and Brown anticipates that OSHA will be conducting inspections in every city with an OSHA office, including Eugene, and any city housing sizable businesses, such as 4J. To proactively mitigate risk and safeguard district finances, downtown is planning to participate in as many site-based safety committee meetings as possible, to provide support tailored to each building’s specific needs. Furthermore, downtown is taking proactive steps to ensure that all secretaries are well-prepared in the event of an OSHA visit and will have access to a concise 16-minute video that guides them on the appropriate actions to take when OSHA inspectors arrive.

• Teacher uses AI for conversations with historical figures – This WGBH Article shares how some educators are embracing artificial intelligence tools in the classroom, including Character.AI, an app that allows students to have simulated conversations with notable figures. I set up a free account and think could be a pretty engaging way for teachers to let your class to “interact” with a historical characters (Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King), fictional characters (Hermione Granger, Super Mario), and other personalities (Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey).

On a related note, the AI I shared last week, MagicSchool.ai, added a new tool where you can paste in a YouTube link and it’ll give you a one paragraph summary of the video!

• Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:

• TalentEd Self-Assessment Due FRIDAY – All staff, both classified and licensed staff, need to complete the Self-Assessment/reflection in TalentEd by this Friday.

• SELCO’s Educator Grants, Due FRIDAY – SELCO’s SPARK! Creative Learning Grant Program offers grants up to $1,000, which are due Sept. 30th.

• Kid Art for CASA of Lane County – Email Jacque Barton <jacqueb@casa-lane.org> or she can pick-up kid artwork CASA of Lane County would like to use for thank you and holiday cards . See Jacque’s Email for details.

• Holt Resource Map (add your info) – Add your info to the Holt Staff Resource Map, which Downtown wants all school to complete, listing all licensed staffs’ degree, endorsements, certifications, areas of expertise, etc.

• Principal Visits to Classrooms – Let me know a 5-10 minute block of time I can come visit sometime this month to introduce myself and read a story to your class.

• Rainy/Smokey Arrival Plan – We have rain in the forecast, so take note that our Rainy Arrival Plan is:

KG & 1st in Cafeteria
2nd & 3rd in the Gym
4th graders Library
5th under covered play area (or Library if smokey)

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Staff Room Agreements – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Staff Room Agreements. I’ll plan to add who has Staff Room Duty to the Zimbra Calendar later this week, but the rotation for the year is posted in the Staff Room now.

Staff Room:
The staff room is available for teachers, guest teachers, and visiting volunteers. Students should not eat or be in the staff room.

Cleaning schedule:
The communications leadership member will create a staffroom duty schedule. The schedule is posted and emailed at the beginning of the school year. Cleaning the staff room involves wiping tables, loading, starting, and unloading the dishwasher daily, cleaning the microwaves and sink. Notify office staff if cleaning supplies are low. The team in charge will be responsible for a 1 week period.

Agreements:
• Everyone should assist in keeping the staff room areas clean by:
• Staff should rinse their own dishware and add to the dishwasher
• Grey bucket upside down means the washer is ready for loading; grey bucket right side up means washer is running and dishes may be rinsed and added
• Covering food in microwave; wipe up own spills
• Remove their own leftover food and drink from the refrigerator before it spoils
• Teachers may use the outer tables to display unwanted materials. They may be displayed for 1 week, after which the teacher is required to remove all leftover items. (Discuss this policy)

• 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 25 (M)
Dynamos/Title 1 Groups Begin (tentative)
8:00, Morning Announcements Begin (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
8:15, Allan Reading to Class
3:30-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

September 26 (T)
Dynamos/Title 1st & 2nd Reading Groups Begin
5:00-6:30, Curriculum Night
⁃ 5:00-5:25, Grades K/1
⁃ 5:30-5:55, Grades 2/3
⁃ 6:00-6:25, Grades 4/5
⁃ 5:30-6:30, Pizza in the Cafeteria

September 27 (W)
Happy Birthday to Me!
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Leadership Plan (Library)

September 28 (H)
Dynamos/Title 3rd-5th Reading Groups Begin
Holt Night Out – DoughMo Cookies
10:15, Monday Announcer Tryouts (Reich’s Room)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Library)

September 29 (F)
8:00, Allan Reading to Class
2:45, Allan & SPED Team Meeting w/SSD Admin

October 2 (M)
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up

October 3 (T)
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meeting

October 4 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – SafeSchools/Vector Modules
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

October 5 (H)
Picture Day (Gym)
Health Screening (time is TBA)
2:45-3:30, Equity & Inclusion Team Meeting (Library)
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Library)

October 6 (F)
Fall Benchmarking Window Closes
8:05, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)

Here we go, team!

Allan

August 28, 2023

By Allan | 2023/08/26 19:40 Posted in Announcements, Articles, P.D., Technology, Video | Comments Off

Greetings Holt Bolts,

It was great seeing licensed staff last Friday and I’m looking forward to seeing the whole team back together again later this week!

Sixteen items of note for this week:

• Behavior EAs TBA – We have two strong candidates we’re waiting on HR to make a job offer. Hopefully our new folks can start soon!

• ALL Licensed Staff to Conscious Discipline PD – Downtown asked principals to clarify that all licensed staff (counselors, PE, Music, SPED, Title, SSC, Library, Coaches, etc) and not just classroom teachers are supposed to attend.

• Snacks to Expect at Meetings – Monday we will have snackey types of food and coffee. Thursday we’ll have breakfast burritos, coffee, and my usual assortment of breakfast snacks. Friday is a shorter meeting will be leftover snacks.

• Master Schedule Notes – Two items on the 23-24 Master Schedule.

• EA Schedules – The 2023-2024 Master Schedule now includes the EA Schedule, though if folks spot anything that looks off, we can adjust.

• Specialist Schedule Corrections – We noticed the PE/Music/Library Specialist tab on the 23-24 Master Schedule is off for a few grades, so we’ll be working this week to make sure the specialist tab matches the times on the main tab.

• ParentSquare Info – If you were taken aback and surprised by the 4J Email and 4J Staff Update that went out to staff and families saying “All district and school, grade level and classroom information” will now come via ParentSquare, principals and Elementary Directors were also taking by surprise. We haven’t heard a training timeline or rollout plan yet, but it is live now if staff want to try it out. The Tech Department linked to resources below, but it’s pretty intuitive and user friendly, so I was able to figure it out without reading any directions and will use it from now on for parent and family communications. It really is a pretty slick app and gives you all sorts of information views, languages selected, types of devices, and other stats. Teachers don’t have to use it yet until we get rollout information, but you can feel free to try it if you’d like.

ParentSquare Training Videos
ParentSquare Training Materials
ParentSquare Teacher Guide

• Classroom Newsletters to Allan – I’d like to have copies of classroom newsletters when teachers send them out to families. I’m not positive you can CC on ParentSquare, but you can in Synergy. This helps me keep up to date on what’s happening or going to happen in classes when families ask and it also lets me know details of any class activities that I might be able to get local media to come out and cover. I love promoting our school! Let me know if anyone tries ParentSquare. I may be able to see posts as the building admin on the app.

• Principal Visits to Classrooms – As teachers start planning, I’d like to do my annual visit every classroom sometime during the first few weeks of school to greet students and introduce myself. I’ll read a favorite story to your class and chat with the kids a bit. Teachers, please let me know a 10 minutes block of time I can come and visit sometime this month. Thank you!

• easyCBM Assessment Windows – The current easyCBM windows have been 6 weeks at each benchmark assessment. There has been some discussion on a district team that this is too wide of a window and measurable growth happens in that 6 week window, so downtown is shortening that window to 3 weeks and will bring us a draft schedule soon. Stay tuned for more info.

• TalentEd Self-Assessment & Goals – All staff, both classified and licensed staff, need to complete the Self-Assessment/reflection in TalentEd by Sept. 30. Licensed Staff need to complete the Goals Development Form by Oct. 30. Once school gets started I’ll plan to again put a team together to create some optional building goals licensed staff can use if they would like.

• Self-Evaluation and Goals Guidance – 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 planning to work on. Licensed staff need to come up with a measurable SMART Goal, but for classified staff pick something like committing to trying Conscious Discipline practices or working on learning more kids names or working to keep your small group materials better organized. Essentially, make it a practical goal.

• BIPOC Mental Health Support – If you know of any BIPOC students in needs of counseling or mental health support, Looking Glass is now offering free services to families. I’ll put this in the Quick News, but keep this in the back of your mind for students who might benefit. See Megan, Kim, or Allan to make a referral or use the CARE Team Request Form.

• Ed Tech Update Highlights – I wanted to highlight an EdSurge Article in the latest 4J Ed Tech Update about using ChatGPT. Make a free account with your 4J or personal email and try it out! Use it to answer a tricky parent email (“Write an email reply saying why elementary kids should not wear Crocs to PE.” or “Write a lesson plan for a hands on activity teaching double digit subtraction.” or “Write an elementary parent newsletter article telling them only heathy snacks are allowed.” I started trying it last spring and it was a great timesaver. I always had to edit what it somewhat, but AI did most of the heavy lifting. Also noteworthy in the update, the Back to School Resources from ShakeUpLearning looked worth checking out.

• Beginning of the School Year: Safety/Injury Prevention Message – Risk Management asked principals to remind staff to stay safe while setting up your classroom; using safety ladders instead of chairs, using carts or hand trucks to move heavy items, consider stretching first, and using the “Green Zone” versus yellow or red zones for lifing heavy items. See the Risk Management Email for details.

• On the Road w/Steve Hartman: Kindness 101 – Here’s a cool news story about a 5th grade teacher who for 15 years has tried to promote kindness by showing a different On the Road with Steve Hartman segment each day (a revival of the old old Charles Kuralt segment us old timers might remember). This prompted CBS to create a Kindness 101 Facebook Group for Teachers. If you want to check out some of the segments or possibly show them to your students, here’s a CBS Evening News YouTube Playlist, which has over 500 segments, and a CBS Sunday Morning YouTube Playlist, with nearly 300 more. Segments are only 2-3 minutes and could be an easy way to show kids stories of kids and adults working to make the world a better place.

• Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details, but take note of:

• Holt Spirit Gear Sale Deadline, Sept. 20 – See Ashely’s Email for details, but the limited edition Holt Spirit Gear Sale ends September 20th.

• Inservice Week Schedule – Linked here is the 4J Elementary Inservice Week Schedule.

• Team Sign-Ups – Feel free to add you name to the Team Sign-Ups Spreadsheet.

• Staff Walk-Up Songs – Add your “Walk-Up Song” to the Staff Walk-Up Song Survey.

• Holt Staff Fun Facts – Add or update your info to the Holt Staff Fun Facts Spreadsheet.

• Breakfast Burrito Orders Due MONDAY – Fill out the Breakfast Burrito Google Form by 12:00am, Monday, August 28th to get one at the 8/31 Staff Meeting.

• Make Sure Your Voicemail is Set Up – All teachers should ensure your 4J voicemail is set up and working. See the Quick Start Voice Mail User Guide for how to set it up.

• Class List Email Friday Afternoon, Sept. 1 after 3:00 – Teachers should plan on message families through Synergy or ParentSquare a welcome letter to families of all students in your class on Friday, September 1st after 3:00.

• Elementary Testing Coordinator – Anyone interested in taking over as the testing coordinator (easyCBM & OSAS) for a 2% salary stipend? Let me know if you are interested or have any questions. I’ve done testing coordination before and can help whoever takes on this duty.

• SPED EA Professional Development – SPED EAs will attend a Zoom PD session this Friday from 12:30-2:30 to learn about a new intervention curriculum, UFLI Foundations. If this is outside of anyone’s normal work hours, balance your hours over the course of this week. The Zoom link will likely come in an email and/or will be posted on the Inservice Week Schedule.

• Insurance Open Enrollment Deadline, Sept. 15 – Choose your insurance plan by September 15th or else you will lose your health insurance benefits for this year. See the 4J Open Enrollment 2022-23 Website for details.

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

August 28 (M)
8:00-11:00 – Building PD – Leadership Plan, Licensed Staff Nuts & Bolts
12:00, Breakfast Burrito Orders Due
12:30-4:00 – Conscious Discipline PD (Holt Gym/Cafeteria)

August 29 (T)
8:00-11:30 – Teacher Prep
12:30-4:00 – Conscious Discipline PD (Holt Gym/Cafeteria)
6:00-7:00 – Holt PTO Board Meeting (Library)

August 30 (W)
Classified Staff Report Back
9:00-11:00 – 4J Welcome Back Event (Sheldon HS Track)
11:00-12:00, Lunch and Transition Time
12:00-4:00 – Grade Level & Specialist PD (See LINK for locations)

August 31 (H)
7:30-11:15 – Building PD – SCIP, Equity, Nuts & Bolts (All Staff, Cafeteria)
7:30-8:00, Snacks and Socializing
8:00-11:15, Meeting Time
11:45-3:30 – Building PD – Structured Collaboration

September 1 (F)
8:00-10:00 – Building PD – BEPA, SEL (Licensed Staff, Library)
10:00-11:00, Classified Staff Meeting (Library)
11:00-12:00, Optional New Staff Orientation and Q&A (Library)
12:30-2:30, SPED EA Training (Zoom)
12:30-3:30 – Teacher Prep

September 4 (M)
Labor Day – No School

September 5 (T)
7:30-9:00 – Staff Meeting, If Needed (Library)
2:00-3:00, Meet Your Teacher (Classrooms)
2:30-3:30, Kona Ice Fundraiser (Playground)

September 6 (W)
Kinder Starts
Grades 1-5 Structured Collaboration & Support of Kinder Smart Start

September 7 (H)
All Grade Levels Start

September 8 (F)
1:30-2:00, Welcome Back Assembly (Gym or Outside)

See you, all, soon!

Allan

June 12, 2023

By Allan | 2023/06/09 22:02 Posted in Announcements, Literacy, Math, Science, Technology | Comments Off

Hello Holt Bolts,

We made it! Another year down and I can’t think of another group I’d rather have spent it with!

Nineteen items of note for this week:

• Water Balloon Launch AM Recess, MONDAY – AM Recess Monday we are going to have some wet fun if any of you want to join. Kids will stand behind the kickball backstop while any interested staff can come out to hurl water balloons towards waiting students through the chainlink backstop (I have a few water balloon launchers to add to the fun).

• Field Day, TUESDAY – Field Day is this Tuesday. Grades 3-5 will be 8:45-10:15 and grade K-2 will be 12:00-1:30. See the linked Short-Version Field Day Doc for details, but the main things teachers need to prep for is to divide students into 4 color groups before field day, Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow. Two related items:

• Missed PE/Music Prep – If teachers want their PE/Music prep time, let me know and we will work to have someone cover your class for a 30-minutes during your field day time.

• Recess Still Happening (Hard Play & Field Closed) – Recesses will still take place during their usual times, but only soft play will be open while Field Day is in progress.

• Kona Ice Fundraiser, TUESDAY @1:30 – Kona Ice will be here TUESDAY at 1:30. Teachers should send bus riders who have money to hard play at 1:30. And remember, all staff get a free shave ice! Just show your badge!

• Team Meetings, CANCELLED – Team Meetings are on the calendar for Wednesday, but since it’s the last week of school, teams do not need to meet or send out minutes unless you have info you think is important to be communicated out.

• Holt Spirit Day – Summertime Tie-Dye Day, THURSDAY – Student Council didn’t set a firm date, but we’re calling the last day of school Summer Tie-Dye Day!

• Last Day Lunch Plan, THURSDAY – Grade levels will come to the cafeteria to pick up a sack lunch on a 5-minute rotating basis. Kids will put lunches in their backpacks to take home (bus riders included).

10:25 – KG
10:30 – 1st
10:35 – 2nd
10:40 – 3rd
10:45 – 4th
11:10 – Early Dismissal
*5th Delivered to classrooms

See the next item why we could use some help from any available staff to deliver lunches to 5th grade classrooms.

• 5th Grade Clap Out, THURSDAY @11:00 – This came up at Site Council, but let’s try a “Clap Out” for this year’s 5th graders on the last day of school at dismissal. The plan will be for classes on Thursday at 10:55 to line the hallways, and starting at 11:00, the 5th grade will parade through our hallowed halls one final time while staff and students clap and cheer them on. See the linked Clap Out Map for the path, which will be D > C > B wing, and when the parade is over, all grade levels can dismiss students.

• Office Assistant Interviews 6/22 @10:30 – I’ve tentatively scheduled interviews for Sharon’s replacement on Thursday, June 22nd, 10:30-12:00. If anyone would like volunteer their time to help with interviews, let me know and I will send you the interview materials.

• Technology Summer Checkout Form – If staff are planning to take home any school technology (laptop, iPad, doc cam, etc.), complete the linked Technology Summer Checkout Form 2023-24.

• iPad Configuration Proposal – Our excellent TSS, Rob, is hoping to create a K-2 and 3-5 iPad configurations, which would make iPad setups easier and would pretty much eliminate the possibility of an iPad having the wrong configuration. Rob crated a Google Sheet listing all the apps what would appear in the two configurations. No one would lose apps you currently use, but you might see some additional apps (6 at most) you don’t currently have. Let me know by the end of the week if you think this should be a staff conversation in the fall. If I don’t hear from anyone, I’ll tell Rob to go ahead with this plan.

• PAHS Updates – Linked here is the PAHS Draft Calendar of Events for next year. I’ve also added these to the Staff Zimbra Calendar. The main dates of note are that they want to have the school carnival and the Holt Bolt both in the spring. They’ll still do the October Costume BINGO Event, which can say is the opportunity for kids to dress up at school if we don’t want to do a Halloween/Dress-Up Day during the school day. Also of note, Kimberly Brown and Amanda Knight are the new Co-Facilitators (both kinder parents, so we’ll get them for a while!), who are looking into making PAHS their own 501(3)c, which I think is a good move. They’re also rebranding PAHS the Holt Parent Group, since they heard from a number of parent they were confused by the name PAHS.

• Summer School Dates – These are also on the Zimbra Staff Calendar, but these are the dates and times summer school will be in session:

KITS: June 27 – August 18, Tuesday – Thursday, 7:30-3:30
SEAL: July 10 – August 15. Monday – Friday, 7:30-3:30

• Leadership Plans for 2023/24 School Year – Principals on Friday were given supporting documents for the New Leadership Plans. I’m not sure if these are final or are still being negotiated, but figured I’d share for anyone interested.

• New Kinderzone Format – I already shared this with the kinder team, but the linked Kindergarten Smart Start Proposal (i.e. the new Kinderzone) was shared with principals, which will go to the school board for input next month.

• Suggested Elementary Content Minutes – Linked here are the 23-24 Elementary Content Minutes and Schedules Guidelines. This has the suggested minutes for each content area, although downtown did acknowledge that the suggested minutes exceed the available minutes in the days, so this is merely information for us to consider.

• 23-24 Elementary PE Info – Linked here is an email that was sent to PE teachers regarding the new PE minutes expectations. I shared this information earlier at a staff meeting, but here it is all in writing.

• Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details, but eight reminders:

Report Cards Sent Home Last Day – Report cards are to go home with students on Thursday.

LICENSED: Goals Reflection Due & Sample Language – Complete your Goals Reflection in TalentEd if you haven’t already . You can use the 2023-2023 SMART Goals Reflection Sample Language if you’d like.

CLASSIFIED: TalentEd Self Reflection Due – Completed the Self Reflection in TalentEd, if you haven’t already.

End of Year Checklist – Linked here is the End of Year Checklist. Turn it in at the office when you are done.

Erin’s Law & Second Step Child Safety Unit – Teach Lesson 6 of the Child Protection Unit if you haven’t already.

End-of-Year Pizza Party Sign-Up – Don’t forget to add your name to the End-of-Year Staff Pizza Party Sign-Up Sheet.

Science: End of Year Wrap-Up – From the June Science Update, see the guidelines for Restocking & Storing Science Kits and the End of Year Science Survey.

End of Year 1 Implementation Survey ELA – Share your thoughts on the ELA Implementation.

• JUST FOR FUN: Mac Emulators Through the Ages – Infinite Mac is a website that takes you on a nostalgic journey through Macintosh software from the years 1984 to 2000. The entire Macintosh experience runs seamlessly in your browser. I’m so old I wrote all my college papers on a typewriter and it was in my masters program I used a Macintosh LC II to write my thesis. I had some serious geek nostalgia visiting this website.

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

June 12 (M)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
1st Grade 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)
No PE or Music Classes
8:45-10:15, Field Day, Grades 3-5
12:00-1:30, Field Day, Grades K-2
1:30-3:00, Kona Ice Fundraiser (Hard Play)

June 14 (W)
PE & Music Both in Gym
8:30-10:30, KG Walking Field Trip (Country Lane Park)
9:00-11:30, 5th Grade Walking Field Trip (N. Park Church)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings

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
10:55, Grades K-4 Line the Hallways
11:00, 5th grade Clap Out
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

June 22 (H)
10:30-12:00, Office Assistant Interviews (Staff Room)

June 27 – August 18
KITS at Holt, 7:30-3:30 (TWH)

July 10 – August 15
SEAL at Holt, 7:30-3:30 (MTWHF)

July 26 (W)
Allan Reports Back (though I’m at SEAL July 10-21)

August 14 (M)
Secretaries Report Back

August 25 (F)
Licensed Staff Report Back

August 30 (W)
Classified Staff Report Back

Three and a half days to go!

Allan

May 29, 2023

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

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

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

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

Allan's Announcements

Technology

March 18, 2024

February 19, 2024

January 15, 2024

November 20, 2023

September 25, 2023

August 28, 2023

June 12, 2023

May 29, 2023

May 15, 2023

April 3, 2023

Pages

Categories

Archives

Search

District & State Links

Holt Links

RSS Feeds

Meta