https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=10000
Hello Howard Roadrunners,
Just two short weeks left of distance learning left and twenty-one items of note for this week as well as notes from Thursday’s Staff Meeting:
• 2020-2021 Staffing Updates – Our three vacancies have been filled from the 4J Early Hire Pool. Joining Jenny and Justine at 4th grade will be Bryan Varga and Quin Nelson. Bryan student taught with Jenny and Ashley and also worked as a BEST EA here at Howard. Quin is coming to us from the Portland area. He graduated from Lewis & Clark and did student teaching in Gresham in a 3rd grade classroom as well as in ESOL. (WOW! Three male teachers at 4/5 this year! Related Video). Joining Robin and Shelly at Kindergarten will be Jennifer Dillon, who is a veteran teacher coming out of Virginia and Florida. She taught preschool the last five years and before that taught 5th grade for ten years. Please welcome these fine folks to the AMAZING Howard Team!
For everyone’s reference, linked here is 19-20 Staffing Plan Spreadsheet, which has everyones FTE/hours and positions. If that looks too messy, on the Howard Staff Shared Google Drive is a simple 2020-2021 Staff List.
And if you’re keeping score for Howard’s infamous same-name club, we now have Jennifer, Jennifer, Jenefer & Jenny, Shelly & Shelley, Robin & Robin, Crystal & Crystal, Bryan & Bryan, Kim & Kimberly, Tami & Tami, Debbie & Deby, Rebecca, Becca & Rebecca, Rhonda & Rhonda, Chris & Christine, Kristi & Kristine, and also Justin & Justine if you want to include them.
• End-of-Year Technology & Library Book Return – We will collect devices Tuesday, June 9th for 5th graders during their Drive Thru Clap-Out Celebration (see next item for details) and Wednesday & Thursday, June 10 & 11 for grades K-4. Linked here are the District Collection Process Guidelines, but we’ll essentially do the reverse of our device distribution. Here’s how it will work:
• Return Process – As with distribution, this will be done out of the gym side door near the Music Room ramp. We’ll have some staff working behind a table at the gym door and others working out of the gym organizing and tracking items returned on a Google Spreadsheet (Y/N if device, hotspot, chargers were returned, and any notes on the device condition).
• Lost & Found – Though we’ve been doing this different at lunches, for these two days we’ll have one staff member in charge of the Lost & Found, to ensure social distancing guidelines are followed and that items are not touched except when it is being picked up and taken.
• Kindergarten Registration Forms – We’ll have a box available for families in case they need to pick-up or turn in a kindergarten registration forms.
• End-of-Year Materials Return Sign-Up – If you’re able to help with device collection on any of these days, June 9, 10, and/or 11, please sign-up on the linked End-of-Year Materials Return Sign-Up.
• 5th Grade Drive Thru Promotion & Clap-Out – Howard hosts a 5th Grade Promotion Celebration each year, complete with certificates and a “Clap-Out,” but due to the school closure we cannot hold our usual event, so instead we are holding a “Drive Thru Clap-Out” for 5th graders and families. Staff are invited to line the sidewalk and bus loop to give our 5th graders a final send off, cheering and/or holding signs with well wishes (while social distancing) on Tuesday, June 9th from 11:00-1:00.
What: 5th Grade Drive Thru Clap-Out
When: Tuesday, June 9th (see class times)
11:00-11:30, Carpenter
11:30-12:00, Rock
12:00-12:30, Cortez
12:30-1:00, Callihan
Where: Howard Bus Loop (see map)This is also the time for 5th graders to return borrowed iPads, hotspots, chargers, and library books, so I can use volunteers to help at a device/book return station and volunteers at a separate station to pass out certificates, t-shirts, and belonging if they hadn’t already been picked up. I’ll make signs for each station so it should hopefully be clear for families. I’ll have a bullhorn to announce students as they collect their certificates and shirts as staff cheer them on.
Families may go through the bus loop in a car, on a bike, or walking, but we will want to remind families about social distancing guidelines:
• Stay 6-feet apart from others
• No high-fives, fist-bumps, etc.
• Staff collecting or passing out items will wear masks and glovesWe can do this PBIS-style, modeling it ourselves and using language such as: “Thank you for staying in your car” “Thank you for doing an air hug.”
If a family cannot come at their classroom’s assigned time, they will contact their teacher about an alternate time.
• BEST Goodie Bags – BEST is assembling bags for our 79 BEST students. Linked here is the list of what’s going in the BEST Goodie Bag. These will be distributed by BEST Staff during our K-4 Device Collection Days, June 10 & 11.
• Distance Learning Guidance for Final Week – There’s no official guidance on the last week of school, but my suggestion is for teacher to do a farewell Zoom on Monday. Then push out supplemental types of actives (one’s that don’t require students to submit anything or for you to provide feedback) for the rest of the week on Monday for 5th Grade and on Tuesday for K-4 since we’ll start collecting devices and hotspots the next day.
• June 4th Transition Day – June 4th is the new transition day. An email will be forthcoming from downtown regarding options for this day, which will be similar to last year’s options. Teachers are welcome to meet, but activities this day are teacher directed and not directed by admin.
• Licensed Staff Summative Evals – Rob Hess emailed teachers the agreement negotiated with EEA regarding summative evaluations for licensed staff. Probationary teachers will have their summative evaluations completed by the end of the school year based on the information principals have collected prior to March 16th. Contract teachers and principals can come to a mutual agreement if the summative evaluation will be completed before summer or by the end of September. I’ll be available by phone or Zoom if any teachers would like to discuss their evaluations.
• Licensed End-of-Cycle Goals Reflection DUE – Teachers will be required to submit a goal reflection document in Talent Ed, but are not required to reflect upon their original goal, which may not be possible now due to the statewide school closure. Teachers may: (a) provide a reflection on either their original goal or distance learning, or (b) state that “Due to the pandemic in 2020, the district did not require completion of the goal reflection.”
• REQUIRED Staff Meeting, Wednesday @12:30 – Due to the added furlough days, I’m moving our required June Staff Meeting to this Wednesday at 12:30 instead of Thursday. I’ll also move next week’s Optional Staff Meeting to Wednesday as well. On my email and on a forthcoming Zimbra calendar invite, but not on my blog, are the Zoom Meeting Invite links.
• Corridor Updates – No decision has been made whether Corridor is closing or not, but last week’s School Board Work Session made it sound like they are most likely closing (I’ve already gotten emails from a number of parents), which will mean some of those students will be coming to Howard. Linked here is a breakdown of Corridor Neighborhood Schools of Residence, which includes a grade level breakdown. Howard has 43 students and River Road has 11 who are set to attend Corridor next year, so there there is a strong possibility we’ll add a classroom or two next year, but we’ll have to wait to see at which grade levels they actually enroll before we make any decisions about staffing and where these new classrooms would go.
• ACE Awards Tuesday @6:00 – Howard has quite a few ACE Aware nominees this year (Charissa, Justine, Jessy, Allison, Linda, Ashley, Rebecca H., Bruce the Gardener, and me). Watch the 2020 ACE Awards Ceremony live on the 4J Facebook Page Tuesday, June 2nd at 6:00PM. Linked here is the ACE Awards Ceremony Program.
• REPEAT: 2020-2021 Leadership/Building Rep. Positions – Don’t be bashful. Sign-up to be a leader or a team member on the 2020-2021 Leadership/Building Rep. Positions Google Sheet!
• REPEAT: Summer Reading Staff Picks! – Don’t be bashful on this either. What are you reading this summer? Email or text me your summer reading plans or suggestions and I’ll share them in my final staff announcements of the year next week. Another book on my list is what I’m guessing is a nasty piece of crime fiction, Mean Business on North Ganson Street by S. Craig Zahler. I haven’t read any of his books, but he’s subsequently become a filmmaker of some shockingly original films (though not for all tastes), including Bone Tomahawk, Brawl in Cell Block 99, and Dragged Across Concrete. Send me your book picks and I’ll share them next week!
• REPEAT: Class Lists – Make sure that your team connects to create balanced classrooms for next school year, preferably sometime this week so support staff have time to review class lists to provide input. Linked here is a view only version of the 2020-2021 Class Lists.
• REPEAT: Supply Lists – Classroom teachers, connect with you 2020-2021 teams to decide on your supply list and email any updates to Lori by the end of the school year. Linked here is the 2019-2020 Supply List.
• JUNE/JULY Birthday Zoom Lunches With the Principal – Wednesday, June 3rd at 12:00 will be the virtual June & July Birthday Lunches with the Principal. August birthday will be celebrated in September. In my email, but not on my blog, are the Zoom links and a short blurb for teachers to send to families. Also in my email and not on my blog are a list of the June & July birthdays. And feel free to drop in as a Special Guest! The kids love that.
June/July Birthday Lunches with the Principal
Each month, Mr. Chinn celebrates student birthdays with Birthday Lunches with the Principal. Students with birthdays in June and July (August birthdays will be celebrated in September) are invited to join Mr. Chinn for a Zoom birthday lunch celebration on Friday, June 5th,12:00-12:15. Enjoy some corny jokes, magic tricks, and special guests!
• SSD Newsletter – If you’re interested, linked here is the latest Student Service Newsletter. The main point of interest is a note about ESY being a continuation of distance learning, which means ESY will not be teaching out of Howard this year, although teachers may be using some of our spaces to prep. I’ll share updates regarding that as I get more info.
• Registration Reboot – Schools are not currently open for enrollment, but if parents ask you about enrolling for next year, you can direct them to the 4J Enrollment Webpage, which is still a work in progress. There will soon be a district registrar who will take care of registrations, with paperwork dropped off at the Ed Center.
• Oregon Learning Hub – I attended an ODE webinar last week about the a new resource, the Oregon Learning Hub, which is an ODE Teachers Pay Teachers free website of sorts. Educators can find and share open educational resources (OER) that are curated and created for and by Oregon educators. If you’re working on a project, think about exploring or sharing something here.
• “Clean” Text Paste (Command + V + Shift + Option) – Another tech nerd tip I recently learned. Everyone knows the paste keyboard shortcut Command + V, but not as well known, though it should be, is that if you do Command + V + Shift + Option, you will paste plain text and wipe clean any formatting it might carry from its source. Okay, super nerdy, but I was super excited to learn this.
• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Google Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:
June 1 (M)
PBIS Monthly Theme – Celebrating Your Success
11:00-12:00, Free Meals & Meal Deliver for M-V FamiliesJune 2 (T)
11:00-12:00, Free Meals
11:00-12:00, Kelly MS 6th Grade Parent/Student Orientation Zoom
6:00, ACE Awards Ceremony (live on Facebook)June 3 (W)
11:00-12:00, Free Meals & Meal Deliver for M-V Families
12:00-12:15, June/July Birthday Lunches With the Principal
12:30-1:00, REQUIRED Howard Staff Meeting
12:30-4:00, Classroom teachers take attendanceJune 4 (H)
No School – Transition Day
Last Day for Preschool
11:00-12:00, Free Meals
7:00-8:00, Kelly MS 6th Grade Parent/Student Orientation ZoomJune 5 (F)
No School – Furlough Day (Classified, Licensed, Admin)
Happy “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” Day (video)June 8 (M)
Furlough Day (192 & 196-Day Classified Staff)
11:00-12:00, Free Meals & Meal Deliver for M-V FamiliesJune 9 (T)
11:00-12:00, Free Meals
11:00-1:00, 5th Grade Drive Thru Promotion/Clap-Out and Device & Book Return11:00-11:30, Carpenter
11:30-12:00, Rock
12:00-12:30, Cortez
12:30-1:00, CallihanJune 10 (W)
Last Day for Students
8:00-4:00, End-of-Year Technology & Library Book Return (Gym)
11:00-12:00, Free Meals & Meal Deliver for M-V Families
12:00-12:15, May Birthday Lunches With the Principal (Zoom!)
12:30-1:00, Optional Howard Check-In Meeting
12:30-4:00, Classroom teachers take attendance
2:45-5:00, Allan to Pay Grade Evaluation Committee MeetingJune 11 (H)
Grading Day/Last Day for Teachers & Classified Staff
Nutrition Services Furlough Day
8:00-4:00, End-of-Year Technology & Library Book Return (Gym)June 12 (F)
No School – Furlough Day (Licensed, Admin, Classified 10, 11, & 12-month)
11:00-12:00, Free Meals – Nutrition Services Takes Over
Six more student days of distance learning!
Allan
