https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=1024
Hi Everyone,
Summer is almost here and there are a bunch of items of note for this week.
• End-of-Year Staff Salad Themed Pot-Luck, Tuesday, June 12th at 11:30 – Last year’s end-of-year staff pot-luck was a nice way to end the year, so I’d like to do that again this year on the last day of school after students have gone. Besides being a nice way to end the school year, it’s also an opportunity for us to collectively to say goodbye to staff who will be leaving us. So after kids leave, we’ll have a get together where staff should bring a favorite type of salad to share. I’ll put a sign-up in each staff room. We’ll also need some folks to bring chips, drinks and desserts too.
• Year End Check Lists – A repeat from last week, be sure you have completed everything on the attached Year End Check List before you leave for the summer. Make sure that everything in your room is boxed or stored in a manner that can easily moved into the hallway during summer cleaning.
• Fire Drill, Wednesday at 8:45 – Our final fire drill of the year will be this Wednesday at 8:40. Please plan accordingly.
• Building Use Team Meeting, Wednesday, June 6th, 7:30 – We’ll be holding our final Building Use Team Meeting this Wednesday at 7:30 in the Corridor library to make a final decision around gym and cafeteria times for next year. Attached is the draft schedule we will decide wether or not to go with. Both schools want the him in the afternoons, so the draft schedule evenly splits that time and also always gives each school access to either the gym or cafeteria.
• Grading Day – It is the school district’s expectation that teachers will report to school on grading days. Working from home on report cards is not allowed. Sorry. : (
• easyCBM Spring Benchmark Testing Ending – The Spring Benchmark easyCBM testing window is closing this Friday. That means all students must be tested and all scores entered by 4:00 PM on Friday, June 11th.• Quickbase Student Reports for Report Cards – Related to the above item, as I did at the last grading period, I will print a class set of the Quickbase parent reports to send home with report cards. The Spring easyCBM scores are not yet uploaded to Quickbase and may not be there until grading day, so teachers will have to look up scores up off of the 4J easyCBM website and OAKS website. If you’d prefer a spreadsheet will all of your student scores, minus the Spring easyCBM scores, let me know and I can send you a copy. Also, all of the percentiles on the easyCBM site are accurate except for vocabulary, which will be normed over the summer.
• Energy Usage and Keeping it Green at School – Facilities is asking staff around the district to help reduce energy consumption. 4J recently conducted a “plug load” survey of personal appliances in buildings. 4J spends over $1.1 million per year for electric power consumption. If we could cut our plug load modestly, by reducing the use of personal devices and appliances, it is estimated that the district would save between $30,000 and $50,000 per year. They are asking (not requiring) staff to take home personal appliances and devices when closing down your work areas for the summer. Specifically, they are attempting to target items such as refrigerators (I’ll be taking home my mini-fridge), microwave ovens, toaster ovens, hot plates (these are a safety concern), hot tea pots, coffee makers, and the like. They are not asking for removal of items that are used for instruction. They are also asking staff to unplug devices such as printers, copiers, battery charging devices, clock radios, and such other devices that create “standby” or “phantom” loads even when not in use. Please see the attached email for further information that was sent to principals and secretaries.
• Remember to Close Your Windows at the End of the Day – With the weather getting warmer, more windows are being opening during the day. For security reasons, please remember to close your windows before you leave for the day. With Dan’s hours reduced this year, he doesn’t come over to our building from North until 4:30, which leaves easy access for anyone walking by to potentially steal school equipment out an open window.
• String Academy Reprieve and Reminder for 3/4/5 Assembly Monday, June 4th, 8:45 – The Arts Umbrella Strings Academy at our building has gotten a reprieve and will be back next year. Art Umbrella has decided to instead close the Awbrey Park program, who have only slightly more students, but does not have a strings program at their feeder middle school, whereas Kelly MS does have a strings program. And as a reminder, the Strings Academy is holding an end of the year assembly for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders on Monday, June 4th at 8:45 in the cafeteria. They want to celebrate what they’ve learned and also hopefully drum up interest in other students who might want to join the program.
• Year End Check Lists – A repeat from last week, be sure you have completed everything on the attached Year End Check List before you leave for the summer. Make sure that everything in your room is boxed or stored in a manner that can easily moved into the hallway during summer cleaning.
• Education experts share antidotes for summer brain drain – Summer slide. Brain drain. Amnesia. It’s called different things but this article offer strategies on helping to prevent summer learning loss among students.
• Teacher uses technology to solve classroom split – There are a few good idea in the article about a teacher who used technology to help teach his blended 5th and 6th grade class. I though this one might be of interest for the staff who will be teaching blends next year.
Five and a half more kid days! Have a great week!
Allan