April 5, 2021

By Allan  

 

Hi-Diddly-Ho Holt Staff,

The Holt K-5 party begins this week! Last week went surprisingly smooth for K-1, so fingers crossed we have the same this week.

I did the math and we only have 21 days with students left for this year when you break it up by cohorts, so make these precious few days good ones for kids and most importantly help them feel connected and cared for. Go, Team Holt!

And this Sunday was National School Librarian Appreciation Day and April is School Library Month, so be sure to give a shout out to and thank you to our fabulous librarian, Theresa, who even during a pandemic has continued to put books in the hands of students and has even managed to continue the Oregon Battle of the Books for Holt students. You rock, Theresa!

Twelve items of note for this week:

• Staffing Updates – Two staffing updates:

• CLC EA Vacancy – Our CLC EA Job Posting is now up and closes on Wednesday. Tell any excellent people you know that they should apply!

• Part-Time Night Custodian – Our second part-time night custodian who was supposed to start as soon as students returned to in-person learning has been moved to another position and Facilities is working on finding us a replacement.

• Week of April 5th Notes – Four notes for next week:

• Extra Help for On-Site Students – Any and all extra help would be greatly appreciated this week, especially on Monday and Thursday, at the following times next week:

ARRIVAL, 7:40-8:00 – Helping at buses, at the A, B, C, & D Wing Entrances, and directing student, adults, and vehicle traffic in front of the building.

RECESS, 10:20-12:00 – Reminding students stay 6-feet apart and in their designated hard or soft play areas, as well as helping reinforce the usually recess rules and safety practices. Times are:

10:20-10:40, K-1
10:55-11:25, 4/5
11:30-12:00, 2/3

DISMISSAL, 12:50-1:10 – Normally we’ll end supervision at 1:05, but things always take longer the first few days of school, but helping students find their right buses, finding their adult, and reminding kids and adults to stay 6-feet apart.

• PBIS Points to Ponder – Tips from Kim… Help students express their need to have space (especially in our 6ft apart world)

Empower your cohort with an easy phrase like:
K-3
Bubble Trouble
Don’t be a space invader
Be a space saver please
4-5
“Hey, I need my space”
“Let’s spread apart more”
A secret hand signal

Make time to teach and reteach
Even as adults we struggle to maintain our space
Read aloud from the Seesaw lesson (optional)
Seesaw lesson (optional)

Create a culture of acceptance
It can be hard to ask for space, so we have to deliberately teach that acceptance
And, we have to deliberately teach self-advocacy too

• REPEAT: Intervention Groups Resume – Title, SPED, ELD, and other intervention 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

• REPEAT: New Wednesday Meeting Schedule – Building meetings shift to Wednesdays, 1:40-2:40. 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.

• Hybrid & Hybrid-SSO Handbook Updates – Nine hybrid updates and updates made to the Holt Hybrid-SSO Handbook:

• “Badge-In” Reminder – Staff must flash their badge at a card reader upon entry. This is for contact tracing purposes. If you hold the door for a colleague, remind them to still flash their badge.

• Keep Interior Blinds Open – Now that we have student back in classrooms, I wanted to remind staff of the expectation that interior blinds must be open.

• Soft/Hard Play Recess Schedule – My original scheduled for which grade is on soft and hard play was wrong, but here is the corrected one. The youngest grade always starts on the soft play:

• Recess Rules Updates – This was already shared with recess supervisors, but so everyone is in the know:

• Recess Mask Breaks – I’m copying a couple other schools who have designated spots on the playground for mask breaks. There are large circles on the outer edges of the soft and hard play areas where if a kid sees an open circle, they are allowed to sit or stand in that circle without their mask. I don’t think we should start with time limits, but if mask-break-hogs become an issue, then maybe we make a rule.

• Lines for Equipment – After a couple K/1 recesses, we realized we need a rule for lining up to get playground equipment, instead of the standard “crowd around the balls” practice, so kids will line up 6-feet apart to get equipment one person at a time.

• Playground Rules – Just so these everyone is on the same page for recess rules, linked here are the Recess Supervisor PBIS Guidelines and the PLAYGROUND GUIDELINES – General Rules for all. Besides the COVID modifications, let me know if anything on here needs updating. I’ve also added links to these in the Holt Staff Handbook.

• Meals Updates (no count & delivered to classes) – Deb is taking lunch counts off teachers’ plates and will instead plan to deliver enough meals for all students with extra vegetarian meals. Later on, when we get a feel for counts, she’ll scale down. Feel free to send home any extra food with kids who’d like it. Also, teachers preferred breakfast be delivered to classrooms instead of passed out at entry points, so that is the new plan as well.

• PE/Music Schedule – Below is the final PE/Music Schedule, which had the Wednesday Bonus PE & Music Dance Zoom times updated, but the rest is the same. 

• Ventilation Minutiae – If you’re interested, here is a VERY detailed email on air circulation from the 4J Facilities Engineer in charge of the HVAC systems in the new buildings. The short version is more outside fresh air is being pushed into classrooms and opening your windows is a good thing.

• Updated Disinfectant Info – If you’re interested, linked here are Updated Disinfectant Product Info and Use Instructions.

• Random Hybrid Q&A – A few items of interest from last week’s Elementary Principals’ Meeting:

If a hybrid teacher has to quarantine with Cohort A, does Cohort B also quarantine? Does a sub teach Cohort B in-person?
Teacher will not have to quarantine – if they are vaccinated

If a teacher does get COVID and can’t teach on-site, do they have to use their own sick leave or is another leave available?
They use their sick leave, then if they run out and its COVID related, they get the 10 days of temporary leave.

With the change to the 100 cohort limit, do we still have to document when students from different cohorts come into close contact? Can we loosen up who can use which restrooms?
More to come – good question

• North Park Community Church Staff Appreciation – PAHS is delivering breakfast burritos to staff who placed an order this Monday at 7:15 and North Park Community Church is planning to provide an appreciation for staff next week on Monday, April 12th. I’m not sure what they have planned, but will help motivate us the next two Mondays.

 

• ELA PreK-3 4J Team & ELA Adoption Committee – Chelsea Mabie Emailed principals she is still looking for volunteers for the PreK-3 District Literacy Team and also the Language Arts/Social Studies Adoption team. Let me know if any of you are interested.

• Outdoor School Update – The 5th grade team has already seen this, but if you’re interested, linked here is an Outdoor School Update. It will be in-person day trips the week of May 24th, with Cohort A doing on days trips Monday/Tuesday and Cohort B doing day drips Thursday Friday. Both groups have online ODS actives on Wednesday.

• State Testing Update – ODE sent an Amended Assessment Waiver Request Update to school districts. ODE is proposing in their revised waiver for grades to only teach one test and the others would be optional. The required tests would be:

3rd – English Language Arts (ELA)
4th – Mathematics
5th – Science

This 4J OSAS Testing Update Email was sent before the above ODE announcement, but does have some additional information. I sure hope it’s allowed for kids to do testing on off-site days. Why waste the 21 days of in-person learning kids have left this year?

• Oregon College Savings Plan Swag – I’ve ordered free promotional Oregon College Savings Plan folders, pencils, bookmark, sweepstakes flyer, and info packets in English and Spanish to go home with all students, to help kids and families starting thinking about and saving for college.

• Free lecture – Ibram Kendi, in Conversation About How To Be an Anti-Racist – OSU is offering a free lecture featuring Ibram X. Kendi, a National Book Award Winner, historian, and leading anti-racist voice in America on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. Register Here.

• UO Professional Development RSVP – The UO and Washington Ethnic Studies Now is offering a PD series on critical race theory, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and ethnic studies during three class sessions to be offered virtually via Zoom scheduled from 9:00-4:00 June 22, 23, and 24. Teachers will be provided with PDUs and a $1,000 stipend upon completion of the course, and $200 in books and materials for the classroom. The goal will be to actively involve participants in the exploration of race and critical consciousness and to incorporate these new concepts into professional practice. See the linked Email and Flyer for details.

• 3 Phrases That Can Demotivate Students in Math Class – Seemingly innocuous statements can exacerbate math anxiety among learners—and avoiding these phrases can help all students see themselves as “math people.” See this Edutopia Article for details, but SPOILER ALERT: the phrases are:

• This is so easy.
• You’re so smart!
• You should know this already.

• 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 5 (M)
7:15, PAHS Breakfast Burritos Delivered!
7:40, Door Open
7:55, All Grades in On-Site Learning (Cohort A)
2:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)

April 6 (T)
Regular Day

April 7 (W)
9:00-9:45, Virtual Coffee w/the Principal (Zoom)
10:00-10:30, Allan to Student Meeting
12:30, Lunch Bunch w/Ms. Darla (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 B)
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)

April 12 (M)
1:30-3:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)

April 13 (T)
6:30, Holt Kindergarten Orientation for Fall (Zoom)

April 14 (W)
9:00-9:45, Virtual Coffee w/the Principal (Zoom)
12:30, Lunch Bunch w/Ms. Darla (Zoom)
1:40-2:40, Leadership Meeting (Library & Zoom)

April 15 (H)
Regular Day

April 16 (F)
Regular Day

Let’s make this a good week, everyone!

Allan