https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=10768
Hi Everyone,
Hope folks were able to refresh over the break and are ready for kids to finally return to the building.
Twelve items of note for this week:
• Staffing Updates – Four staffing updates:
• CLC EA Vacancy – Clay has left his position and a posting for his replacement should get posted to 4J Jobs sometime this week. We’ll have a sub in the position until someone is hired, but if you know anyone good looking for a 6-hour position, please encourage them to apply. This is not a temp position, so they would be a permanent hire.
• Hybrid Utility EA Position – Our Hybrid Utility 5.5 hour EA position is still vacant, but it was reposted before spring beak and I’m hoping to get candidate names from HR soon.
• ELD Staff – Holt’s ELD staffing will stay the same for next year.
• 2021-2022 Classified Staffing – Good news and bad news. The bad news is Classified Staffing is not finalized, but good news is it’s not finalized because downtown has given schools additional classified hours to support 1st grade reading from state Student Investment Act (SIA). Holt is getting 12 additional hours from SIA funds and principals on Monday will get more information on the rules for how to include these in our classified staffing plans.
• Week of Mach 29th Notes – Seven notes about this week.
• Badge COVID Sign-In is Ready – All staff have completed the two required forms for staff badges to be reactivated. I’ve let downtown know, but haven’t heard back if they actually reactivated badges for building-wide door access, but even if they haven’t, as of Monday staff no longer need to complete the paper sign-in/sign-out and badging in on a card reader counts as your daily COVID Attestation.
• YMCA After School Beings (tell kids where to go) – Holt’s after school YMCA program surprisingly did not fill up, so it is being combined with Gilham’s program, which also did not fill up. Holt students will be driven by van to Gilham. The YMCA van will park curbside in front of the building on the parking lot corner by the hard play area. Be sure to tell any students attending YMCA this is where they should go. And if this plan causes traffic issues, we’ll change the pick-up spot.
• 2-5 “How Are You Getting Home?” Parent Form for Orientation – Melanie let me know about a Holt form to document how kids plan to get home at the end of each day. She will put copies of the “How are you getting to School?” form in teacher mailboxes. At orientation this week, teachers should give parents the form when they drop kids off and tell them to return it when they return at the end of the orientation.
• Intervention Groups Cancelled this Week– Title, SPED, ELD, and other intervention groups are cancelled this week to focus on the return on K-1 students on-site and for 2-5 orientations. Groups will resume the following week, April 5th.
• 2-5, Async Only on Orientation Day & Sample Lessons – Grade 2-5 teachers are not required to do any synchronous teaching on orientation days, but should provide async lessons, which could be modified versions of the Sample K/1 Hybrid Lessons focused on COVID protocols.
• Grade 2-5 Attendance – On your orientation day, attendance will be taken paper/pencil for students who attend the on-site orientation. Look for an attendance sheet in your mailbox from Melanie.
• Extra Help for K/1 On-Site Students – With intervention groups cancelled this week, any extra staff able to help with arrival, recess, dismissal, and other times requested by K-1 teachers would be much appreciated. Times we could use help would be:
• ARRIVAL, 7:40-8:00 – Helping at buses, at the C and D Wing Entrances, and directing student, adults, and vehicle traffic in front of the building.
• K-1 RECESS, 10:20-10:50 – Reminding students stay 6-feet apart and in their designated hard or soft play areas, as well as helping reinforce the typical recess rules and safety practices.
• DISMISSAL, 12:50-1:10 – Normally we’ll end supervision at 1:05, but things always take longer the first few days of school. We can use help xtra help assisting students to find their buses, finding their adult, and reminding kids and adults to stay 6-feet apart.
• Week of April 5th Notes – Three notes for next week:
• K-5 Full Hybrid Starts & Extra Help Needed – If any EAs with hours shorter than 5 hours are able to extend you day MTHF, helping with arrival and/or dismissal, you could utilize trade time on Wednesday to compensate for working longer other days. Check in with me if you’re able to do this. Also, any non-classroom licensed staff able to help would also be appreciated.
• Intervention Groups Resume – Title, SPED, and ELD groups will resume this week.
Comprehensive Learning Center – Service Focused
ELD – Zoom
Learning Center – Service Focused
Speech – Zoom on off-site days
Title 1 – Service Focused• New Wednesday Meeting Schedule Begins – Building meetings will shift to Wednesdays, 1:40-2:40, starting this week. Staff Meeting will be the 1st and 3rd Wednesday, Leadership the 2nd Wednesday, and PBIS/IPBS the 4th Wednesday of the month.
Wednesday PD/PLC time will continue to be at 2:40-4:00, meaning the workday on Wednesday is continuing with the 8:00-4:00 schedule. The current district Wednesday PD/PLC Calendar has the next three weeks as building based, so unless something comes up that can’t wait for a Staff Meeting, I will plan on not holding any meetings during the Wednesday PD/PLC time until April 21st.
Outside of the morning “Blue” Zoom times and afternoon Staff Meeting times, teams can decide their own Wednesday collaboration times.
• Hybrid-SSO Handbook & Other Hybrid Updates – Nine hybrid updates, including a few updates to the Holt Hybrid-SSO Handbook:
• New 3-Foot Guideline – Are teachers ready to cut those 6-foot PVC pipes in half? If you missed it, the Friday before the break ODE released a revised Ready Schools, Safe Learners that said students only need to be 3-feet apart (it’s still 6-feet for staff-to-student and staff-to-staff). No word yet from downtown on how 4J will respond to this. Right now it’s optional guidance from the state (my sense is downtown wants to avoid any more radical shifts unless it becomes mandatory, but who knows), so stay tuned.
• Lunch Process Update – For the next two weeks, lunches will be delivered to classrooms by kitchen staff in a paper bag with all the food and a separate container for cold milk. After two weeks, we’ll start a lunch count for how many regular meals, vegetarian meals, and gluten free meals are needed each day. This may be a Google Sheet, but I’m checking with other schools to see how they are handling this.
• Recess Restroom Door Change – If a student needs to use the restroom during recess, they will use either the A or D wing doors in front of the building to access their designated cohort restroom, even if it’s not their regular entrance/exit, which will help with supervision.
• Inside Recess Supervision – There will be at least two staff members supervising classes per wing on rainy days, thought my thinking is unless it’s a downpour, kids can deal with a little bit of rain:
K/1 Recess: Barbara, Connie, Lisa G., Lisa P.
2/3 Recess: Connie, Lisa P. SPED EA (plus Hybrid EA)
4/5 Recess: Kelly, Lisa P., Theresa (plus Hybrid EA)• Safety Drills & Evacuations – See the Non-COVID Holt Staff Handbook (which is permanently linked on the left column of my blog) for standard evacuation procedures. Below is what we’ll do different during hybrid:
Room Clears: Same procedure as normal, except room clear into your wing’s designated alternative learning space (A02, B01, C02, D02) and not into another classroom.
Fire Drills: Same drill procedure as normal, except classes should use their designated entrance/exit door and K/1, 2/3, and 4/5 cohorts should do their best to stay separate when lining up. We’ll decide line-up spots for classes/grades at the next staff meeting, but let me know if anyone has a proposal before then.
• Arrival/Dismissal Staff Supervision Assignments – Below is where EAs will be stationed at arrival and dismissal once we are in full hybrid, K-5. At dismissal, classroom teachers will walk their class to their designated area.
For the week after spring break, when it’s just K-1 in the building, EAs stationed at A and B Wing Doors for arrival should help at C and D wing doors or hallways this week.
ARRIVAL
Buses – Lisa
A Wing Door – Connie & Mandy
B Wing Door – Tasha & Hybrid EA
C Wing Door & Bike Cage – Marilyn, Theresa, Kelly
D Wing Door – Lori & Cheryl
Crossing Guard – Barbara & JasonDISMISSAL
Library Hallway Area – Theresa
Buses – Lisa, Cheryl, Lori, Connie, Hybrid EA
Crossing Guard – Barbara & Darrin• No Hand Sanitizer for Classrooms – Schools are now only being provided with the hand sanitizer stands and not sanitizer for individual classrooms. Students in the classroom are now supposed to use the sink for hand sanitizing.
• Separating Classes at Recess Proposal – I mentioned this at the Staff Meeting, but after talking with the district contact tracers, they said keeping classes separate on the playground would not make a difference in terms of potential quarantines, so we will stick with our current plan of just separating grades by soft play and hard play.
• Meals for SSO & Off-Site Students – Since school kitchens are now focused on serving meals to students on-site, 4J is now offering a once-a-week food box delivery on Wednesdays to families. Families can sign up for a free weekly food box delivery for their 4J student or children 18 years old and younger at bit.ly/4Jmealdelivery. More info at 4J Nutrition Services. Feel free to share with families.
• Coffee Run on Monday! – Want a coffee on Monday? Kim is offering to make a coffee run and here are the deets!
WHAT: Drink run to Starbucks
WHEN: Drinks arrive at 10:30 am on Monday
HOW: Sign up here by 9:00 a.m.: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lJ-KHSxJrd50gQIPKoDeaAxrUz79zamyacz_RvulcYQ/edit?usp=sharing
MENU: https://www.starbucks.com/menu
DELIVERY: Drinks will be in the office. Kim will deliver to K-1 teachers and staff who are working with students in the building. You will note that on the sign up:)
PAYMENT:
• You can pay anytime during the day in the office.
• There will be some change in the envelope, but if you can, bring the exact amount
• Short on cash – no worries. One of Kim’s simple pleasure in life is buying a coffee for a friend!WHY: ‘Really – we need a reason:)
• PAHS Welcome Back Breakfast Burrito Orders! – From our FABULOUS parent group:
Welcome to hybrid! The parents at Holt want you all to know how grateful and appreciative we are of your hard work and flexibility this year. They want to offer you a hearty breakfast to get your day started just right. Fill out the Quick PAHS Burrito Survey and PAHS will take care of the rest. Thank you for making Holt such a special place for our children. Orders are due Friday, April 2nd. Your burritos will be waiting for you when you arrive Monday, April 5th at 7:15am!
• Food for Lane County Cereal Update – I called Food for Lane County and they are continuing to offer their Cereal for Youth program for schools, but their program coordinator wanted to connect with 4J Nutrition Services before allowing schools to pick-up cereal, so right now I’m waiting to hear back from them once they have the all clear.
• Earth Day Opportunity – April 22nd is Earth Day and 4J offering a “4J Loves Food Not Waste at Home” project. The 4J Loves Food Not Waste at Home project involves:
-Distributing reusable produce bags with waste reduction educational materials
-Love Food Not Waste Challenge/ PSA art contest with prize drawing with prizes
-Connecting to the 4J Climate Justice Earth Week educational opportunitySee the linked Email and the No Time to Waste website for details, but if your class is interested in participating, let me know by Friday.
• Lenovo Teacher Giveaway – Jacque shared this one with me. Every month, teachers can be entered, by themselves or nominated, to win $1,000 to be used toward their AdoptAClassroom.org classroom fundraiser. At the end of 12 months, 1 grand prize winner will win $2,500 + a Lenovo device of their choosing. Visit Lenovo Teacher Appreciation Giveaways for more information.
• When Young Children Return to the Classroom – This Edutopia Article takes a look at how one first grade teacher created routines and fostered a safe, nurturing environment for her students. Below is the short version of the strategies she found helpful (I especially like the last three):
• Make safety protocols fun
• Offer flexible seating
• Provide individual storage tubs
• Use a long rope for moving as a group
• Create a peaceful learning environment
• Focus on social and emotional connection
• Lower your expectations
• Get outdoors• 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 29 (M)
Grades 2-5 Orientation Week & continue hybrid classes on CDL schedule
7:40, Door Open
7:55, K-1 Begin On-Site Learning (Cohort A)
8:30-10:00, 2nd Grade Orientation (Cohort A)
10:45-12:15, 2nd Grade Orientation (Cohort B)
1:30-3:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
5:30-6:00, This Week in Sports w/Mr. Cole (Zoom)March 30 (T)
9:00-10:00, 3rd Grade Orientation (Cohort A)
10:30-11:30, 3rd Grade Orientation (Cohort B)
3:00-4:00, PBIS Meeting (Zoom)
6:00-7:00, 5th Grade Family Night for ODS (Zoom)March 31 (W)
8:00-8:45, Virtual Coffee w/the Principal (Zoom)
9:00-11:00, Allan to HR Early Hire Interviews (Zoom)April 1 (H)
7:40, Door Open
7:55, K-1 Begin On-Site Learning (Cohort B)
9:30-10:30, 4th Grade Orientation (Cohort A)
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Orientation (Cohort B)
3:00-4:00, Allan to SSD Elem SPED Meeting (Zoom)April 2 (F)
9:00-10:30, 5th Grade Orientation (Cohort A)
1:00-2:30, 5th Grade Orientation (Cohort B)
3:00-4:00, Allan to Outdoor School Meeting (Zoom)April 5 (M)
7:40, Door Open
7:55, All Grades in On-Site Learning (Cohort A)April 6 (T)
School Librarian Appreciation
12:00, Allan to Attendance Meeting (Zoom)April 7 (W)
9:00-9:45, Virtual Coffee w/the Principal (Zoom)
1:40-2:40, Staff Meeting (Library & Zoom)April 8 (H)
7:40, Door Open
7:55, All Grades in On-Site Learning (Cohort A)
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Zoom)
6:00-7:00, PAHS Meeting (Zoom)April 9 (F)
9:00-10:00, Allan to Physical Distancing Coordinator Meeting (Zoom)
And Awaaay We Go!
Allan
