January 4, 2021

By Allan  

 

Happy New Year!

Hope you all had a pleasant break and are ready for lots of uncertainty in our near future as downtown figures out the logistics and timing for hybrid. It all super up in the air and even ODE hasn’t given clear guidance on many critical points.

This is an oldie-but-a-goodie, but here’s one of my favorite reminders to myself for managing stress and not stewing over things I can’t control:

Thirteen items of note for this week:

• Hybrid Notes – See my Prior Hybrid Emails for details, but the short version is all 4J elementary schools are preparing for the shift to hybrid. We do not know the timeline for when students will move into hybrid, but downtown is having staff and students shift into their hybrid and same school online (SSO) classes at the semester break, February 1. Holt will create a SSO K/1, 2/3, 3/4, and 4/5 blend by eliminating a KG, 1st, and 4th grade classroom, and also hiring one additional teacher. Schools have to notify HR by the end of this week which staff will teach the SSO blends. There have not been any district updates over the break, so the plan is unchanged.

I haven’t heard of any alternate class configurations for the SSO classes, which make sense, because I do think the above blends are the best option for a bad situation.

• Volunteers for Blends – I have heard from a 1st and 4th grade teacher willing to teach a SSO blend, which leave one additional teacher needed to to teach a SSO blend. Please let me know if any of your are intereste and/or willing to teach a blend or if you’d like to simply like talk or have questions. I know it’s hard to commit when we don’t know all the information on how the blends will function, but it does sound like Seesaw math lessons will continue to be provided and teachers may have the option to do synchronous teaching for each grade level separate (that will be decided by a joint committee between downtown admin and EEA, but that seems like a very likely candidate in my mind).

• Jan. 4 PD/Planning Schedule – Linked here is the January 4th PD/Planning Day Schedule. This information as well as Zoom links are on the Holt Staff Zimbra Calendar.

8:00 – 9:00 – Mindfulness Webinar – Licensed Staff (Zoom)
9:00 – 12:00 – Hybrid Planning & Student Engagement, Building Led – All Staff (Zoom)
12:00 – 12:30 – Lunch
12:30 – 2:00 – Trauma Informed Instruction – All Staff (Zoom)

If you follow the above link, the original plan was for the 9:00-12:00 to be a discussion around student engagement strategies, but I’m changing that to inlcude time to discuss hybrid related topics. There are more unknowns than knows at this point, but I did want to give staff an opportunity to discuss and ask questions. I will plan to do a short share out of “What’s your best teaching move for student engagement during CDL?” so folks should come prepared to share what’s worked well for you.

For part-time staff, please prioritize attending the Hybrid Planning & Student Engagement portion of the day.

And for Classified Staff, please not you will receive the Mindfulness Webinar PD on January 29th, Grading Day.

• Wednesday PD/PLC Time, 2:40-4:00 – The 4J PD Calendar for Wednesdays lists “Hybrid Planning” for Wednesday all this month, with the exception of January 27th, which will be focused on report cards. There’s a lot of details that still need to come from ODE and to be negotiated between downtown and EEA, so I’ll wait to see what direction we get from downtown about what is to happen this day. In the absence of any direction and if there isn’t anything else that wasn’t covered on January 4th, I may cancel this meeting, so stay tuned.

 

 

• Thursday Supply Distribution Sign-Up & Info – The January Supply Distribution is this Thursday from 8:00-3:00. If you are available, please add your name to the Supply Distribution Sign-Up Sheet to help between 8:00-3:00. Staff can utilize trade time if you work beyond your normal hours this day.

Teachers, please note that we’ll plan to pass out the district math packets for all grade levels unless I hear otherwise from grade level teams. Also, the office will make available the same uniform bags for student supplies, which will make it easier to adding items rom from specialists, last minute flyers, and other sources, Lastly, the office will provide student labels if teachers are not making their own.

• Report Card Feedback – Know that for teams who sent me your feedback on the Elementary Report Card, downtown has collated feedback from all schools and Brooke, Jeff, and Eric will send out updates as well as synthesized answers to different questions.

• Process for Student Teacher Account Setup – HR now has a process for student teachers to get a 4J email and access to various district accounts. For complete details, see the linked Email and Clever/Seesaw/Synergy Doc, but the short version is student teachers complete the 4J Background Check, Safe Schools, FERPA ,and Confidentiality Agreement, and the mentor teacher emails me what district apps/websites you’d like them to have access.

• School Choice Info – School Choice season has begun but there will be no on-site tours this year or the School Showcase at the Ed Center. Instead, principals will lead virtual school choices tours and presentations.

I’ll hold virtual school presentations and tours on Jan. 12th (12:30PM), Jan. 21st (6:00PM), and Jan. 26th (12:30PM). Much like my last school, Holt is closed to most students, so these tours serve more to retain neighborhood families who are considering trying to lottery into other schools. I’ll reach out to PAHS this week to see if a parent rep would be willing to share about the parent group and about Holt from a paren perspective. If there are any staff who are interested/will to join me in the presentations, I’d love to have more voices than just myself. You could share as little or as much as you’d like. Staff merely being present during these Zooms help give a more complete picture of Holt.

I’ll plan to share a draft of my tour presentation at Tuesday’s Staff Meeting for feedback, which was adapted from one made by the kindergarten team for the Kindergarten Parent Orientation.

• School Choice Window, Jan 1-31 – The deadline for school choice applications is at the end of the month, January 31st. Students who live outside of 4J may apply March 1–31. Holt has been closed to out-of-district transfers in the past, but with enrollment down across the district, I wonder if downtown might open up previously closed schools this year. More details on all of this can be found on the 4J School Choice Webpages.

• Essential Visitors and Technology Drop Offs – HR shared with principals the linked email reminding staff that we cannot let anyone into the building unless they are Holt or district staff. Additionally, be aware of the process for accepting dropped off technology or other items. If no one is in the office, you’ll need to follow the outline protocol.

• When accepting items from anyone, please wear a pair of gloves (located by the sign in table).
• There is a Carter items in the security vestibule
• If possible all items should be placed by the person delivering them onto the cart.
• All items require quarantine for 72 hours before being handled.

• United Way Campaign Pledges Due Jan. 8 – Downtown emailed staff last month about the annual United Way Campaign. Follow this link to make Online Pledges. Your User ID is your Eugene 4J Employee ID# and your Password is the first initial of your first name (upper case) and your complete last name (case sensitive, no spaces). Pledges are due this Friday.

• Good Teaching Is Not Just About the Right Practices – In a series of interviews with master teachers, a reporter finds that certain intangible qualities matter more than the best tactics. I love this Edutopia Article because it validates one of my core beliefs, that taking time to build relationships leads to better academic outcomes. Other key intangibles are taking time to reflect on practice and learning from colleagues.

• 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 4 (M)
No School – PD/Planning day
8:00 – 9:00 – Mindfulness Webinar – Licensed Staff (Zoom)
9:00 – 12:00 – Hybrid Planning & Student Engagement, Building Led – All Staff (Zoom)
12:00 – 12:30 – Lunch
12:30 – 2:00 – Trauma Informed Instruction – All Staff (Zoom)
2:00-4:00, Planning & Prep

January 5 (T)
Classes Resume
3:00-4:00, Staff Meeting (Zoom)

January 6 (W)
8:40, Allan Reading to Kindergarten (Zoom)
9:30-10:00, KG Data Team – Tier 3
10:40-11:10, 1st Grade Data Team – Tier 3
12:00-12:30, 2nd Grade Data Team – Tier 3
2:40-4:00, PD/PLC Time – Hybrid Planning (Zoom)

January 7 (H)
8:00-3:00, Supply Distribution

January 8 (F)
9:00-10:00, Allan to Physical Distancing Monthly Meeting (Zoom)
1:00-3:00, Allan to PLC Admin Training (Zoom)

January 11 (M)
4:00-5:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

January 12 (T)
12:30-1:30, School Choice Presentation & Tour (Zoom)
2:00-3:00, Leadership Meeting (Zoom)
6:00-6:30, Talking With Books – Title 1 Family Event! (Zoom)

January 13 (W)
9:30-10:00, 3rd Grade Data Team – Tier 3
10:40-11:10, 4th Grade Data Team – Tier 3
12:00-12:30, 5th Grade Data Team – Tier 3
2:40-4:00, PD/PLC Time – Hybrid Planning (Zoom)

January 14 (H)
2:30-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Zoom)
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Zoom)
6:00-7:00, PAHS Meeting (Zoom)

January 15 (F)
1:00-3:00, Allan to PLC Admin Training (Zoom)

See you all soon!

Allan