https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=11005
Hey Bolts,
I hope everyone enjoyed their 3-day weekend.
Twenty items of note for this week:
• Staffing Updates – Our 6.5-hour Kinder EA, 4-hour EA, and 3-hour EA positions are now posted and close Thursday, June 10th. I’ll plan to conduct interviews the last week of school for these positions. Our 6.5-hour Library position hasn’t posted yet and regarding Katie’s position, HR is not allowing us to post for a second secretary and are only allowing us to post for an 8-hour Office Assistant, but the good news is that Sharon is interested in the position, so we know we have at least one good candidate. Hopefully these positions get posted soon.
Music Teacher interviews will be Tuesday from 1:30-4:00. I have enough volunteers for the committee, but let me know if any of you would like to join. The more the merrier!
• Masks & Vaccination Verification – Please note in the Face Mask & Vaccination Verification Email that staff must continue with current mask protocols until your vaccination status is verified. I’m not sure if that verification will come as an email to staff or if it will come to me first when I pass out the verification stickers to put on your badges (which principals haven’t gotten yet).
• Last Week Plan & Field Day – I shared earlier this linked email with the official plan for the last week of school:
June 14 (M) – Cohort A attends in-person, regular hours
June 15 (T) – Cohort B attends in-person, regular hours
June 16 (W) – Regular Online Wednesday
June 17 (H) – 7:55-10:10, K-4 Async/5th A & B attend in-person
June 18 (F) – 2nd Grade iPad Return, 8:00-2:00Field Day will be Monday (Cohort A) and Tuesday (Cohort B). Linked here is the Field Day Details. We’ll discuss the plan Wednesday’s Staff Meeting, but I did have some questions about the K/1 and 2/3 times overlapping with the recess and also the K/1 lunch time. I’m thinking we will close the field during field day activities and potentially part of hard play area if we need that for field day. For lunches, I’m thinking we can maybe get classes a heartier snack or maybe schedule a second snack time, and then eat lunch after Field Day, but let me know if teams have a better idea or have any questions.
4/5 – 8:10-9:10
2/3 – 9:25- 10:25
K/1 – 10:50 – 11:50• 2021 James Brown Award Nominations – James Brown was one of the first custodians at Bertha Holt. He worked extremely hard to make our school a safe, clean, and beautiful place to be. Throughout his 13 years at Holt, he was a hard-working, dedicated, humble, and kind member of the staff. Each year, a staff member is recognized who exemplifies the characteristics resembling James. We would like your help in awarding this year’s recipient. Use the Google Form to nominate a staff member you think deserves to be the 2021 award recipient.
• Report Card Updates – Downtown has not made a decision how and when these will go home, but word on the street is we will send home report cards with hybrid students Monday for Cohort A and Tuesday for Cohort B, and they will be mailed home by schools for SSO students. There has not been guidance on things like the “completes assignments” line on the report card, whether we consider online work AND in person work or do we focus on in person. My suggestions would be to consider both, using the 1-4 scale accordingly, and then provide any explanation for the grade in the comments.
Four other report card items of note:
When are specialist reports due? The staff agreement according to the Staff Handbook is that specialist reports (PE, Music, Title, SPED, Parent Reports) are due to classroom teachers the Wednesday following grading day, thought that doesn’t work this year since report cards need to go home Monday and Tuesday, so specialists need to make sure classroom teachers have reports by the end of Grading Day. Let me know if anyone has concerns and we can add this to the Staff Meeting Agenda.
Is the Report Card website updated? The 4J Elementary Report Card website has not been updated, but it still has some useful resources including the Report Card Bridge Document, as well as printing instruction and information on Synergy Grade Book. Take special note of the Performance Key for grading students, where a 3 is the target, students consistently meeting grade level expectations (scoring in the 74.88-98.99%) and a 4 represents consistently exceeding grade level expectations (scoring in the 98.99%-100%).
Will there be Parent Reports? I’ve emailed 4J data folks, but haven’t heard back yet.
Can teachers do grading from home? Report card grading day is a regular work day, but HR does allows teachers to work from home if you notify your administrator (me) in advance, but be sure to plan ahead if you need to collaborate with any colleagues on grading. Also, be sure to use this time for grading and not use it to run errands around town. Teachers are highly visible members of the community, so keep in mind public perception. HR has said that if working off-site on grading days is abused, we will not be allowed to continue the practice.
• Journeys Book Collection – Here’s what I’m putting in Monday’s Quick News if you can remind students and families on these dates:
Reading Book Return + FREE BOOKS!
Families may keep the standard school supplies (pencils, crayons, glue, etc.) including headphones, but reading books should returned on the following dates:
Cohort A – Bring books to school Monday, June 7th
Online Students – Bring books to office Wednesday, June 9th, 8-2
Cohort B – Bring books to school Thursday, June 10thTeachers will let students and families know if there are additional items that need returned.
As an incentive to return materials, students will receive a FREE book purchased by our Title 1 program.
• 2nd Grade iPad Collection – Downtown has decided all students will keep their iPads over the summer, except for 2nd grade, who will different iPads in 3rd grade. They will return iPads after the last day of school on Friday, June 18th between 8:00-2:00. If we get the charger and cord, great! If we don’t, the district is not worrying about it. Downtown will notify families about this, but I’ll also include it in the Quick News.
• Wednesday PD/PLC Time (Antiracism PD) – This Wednesday is the next module in the 4J Antiracism PD. This will begin immediately following the 1:40 Staff Meeting.
• Bus Safety Training – The state still wants schools to cover the annual bus safety training, but downtown says we can meet this rule by simply giving students this Bus Safety Handout, which I’ll send as a Seesaw Announcement to students and families on Tuesday.
• Input on ESSER Funding, DUE MONDAY – If you missed the district email, Monday is the deadline to give input on how 4J should spend ESSER funds. Smaller class sizes and facilities to support those smaller classes are options being considered, so let your voice be heard on the ESSER Survey!
• Staff Photos – I’ve updated our website Staff Directory for folks who didn’t have a photo earlier, but if any of you don’t care for your current photo on the webpage, let me know and I can replace it with this year’s LifeTouch photo. (PS: I had some fun with my picture and remove.bg)
• REPEAT: Fire Drill Tuesday & Thursday @8:30 – Our June Fire Drill is on Tuesday and Friday at 8:30 for each cohort. See the linked Evacuation Lines Map for where classes should line up and that will be it for safety drills for the year!
• Send Me Your Summer Reading Picks! – What are you going to read this summer? What should your colleagues read? Send me your picks and maybe a short description if you want and I’ll share them in my final staff announcements for the year. Another one on my list is The Midnight Club by Christopher Pike. I never read any of his books as a kid, but the director of the smart and incredibly scary Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House is adapting this novel, so I want to read the book first.
• REPEAT: 2021-2022 Class Lists, DUE June 11th – Teams should build 2021-2022 Class Lists for next year by Friday, June 11th. This will give past teachers, specialists, and other staff a week to check lists for any potentially bad student combinations or other concerns. See the linked Class List Directions Email for details, but let me know if you have any questions.
• REPEAT: Papa’s Pizza Fundraiser, THURSDAY – The final Holt Night Out Fundraiser of the year is this Thursday at the Coburg Road Papa’s Pizza. Get your kids excited and make sure they have the flier.
• Flyers for Community Resources – Below are some community resources of note that were shared with counselors and principals:
Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program Info File (take a close look, lots of info)
Abbie Lane Rental Listing Flyer (Homes for Good) – please note dates
Looking Glass Parent Support Group (Cafecito en Casa)
BIPOC Support Group through Looking Glass for Young Adults (18-30)
Updated FMR Rental Listings – ENGLISH & SPANISH
Lane County Systems of Care – Tech Resource Flyer
Families Connected (parent advocacy and support)• District Admin Updates – Buena Vista principal Melissa Ibarra is the new temporary Co-Elementary Director (taking over for Brooke, who is taking over for Cydney as assistant sup, so these are all temporary appointments since Cyd is interim sup and has rights back to her old job) and also Language Immersion Administrator. Jeff Johnson is continuing as Co-Elementary Director and will also oversee Federal Programs (i.e. Title 1), taking over for David Jacobsen, who downtown is not replacing. The new principal at Buena Vista will be Stephanie Randall, who has been the assistant principal at Willagillespie and Gilham. For next year, Gilham is getting a full-time assistant principal (I’ll pitch for the same if our numbers are close) and WillaG is getting a full-time Student Success Coordinator. Lastly, the principal positions for both Adams and Charlemagne are now open. See this email for details as well as for some assistant principal shifts.
• NYTimes Education Briefing on Retention – Since there’s been a number of discussions regarding retention of students with chronic absences, this New York Times Education Briefing seemed timely. Research on elementary school students during the pandemic provides some support for Chicago’s promotion plan: An analysis by T.N.T.P., a nonprofit that helps districts improve teaching, and the online math platform Zearn found that students whose teachers began the 2020-21 school year teaching them grade-level content in math — going back to fill in content they had missed in the spring when needed — did better than similar students whose teachers started the year by teaching them the material they had missed from the previous grade. This also falls in line with recommendations from the National Association of School Psychologists.
• JUST FOR FUN: Web-Based Music Toy – Beepster is a website that lets you make synthesizer music through experimentation. It has four tracks. You can change the waveform, speed, volume, pitch, and scale by clicking buttons. It’s configured in such a way that anything you do produces a pleasant tune. It might be fun to share with students.
• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the rest of the school year:
May 31 (M)
No School — Memorial DayJune 1 (T)
Scholastic “Virtual” Book Fair Continues
2/3- Staff Room Duty
8:30, Fire Drill, Cohort A
1:30-4:00, Music Teacher Interviews (Volunteer’s Classroom)June 2 (W)
8:30-9:00, Student Council (Zoom)
9:00-9:45, Virtual Coffee w/the Principal (Zoom)
12:30, Lunch Bunch w/Ms. Darla (Zoom)
1:40-2:40, Staff Meeting (Library & Zoom)
2:40-4:00, PD/PLC Time – Anti-Racism PD, Part II (Library & Zoom)June 3 (H)
Scholastic “Virtual” Book Fair Final Day
9:10, Allan to Formal Observation
11:00-11:00, Holt Night Out – Papa’s Pizza FundraiserJune 4 (F)
8:30, Fire Drill, Cohort B
1:00, Allan to Transition Meeting (Zoom)June 7 (M)
K/1- Staff Room Duty
2:00-3:30, Allan to Elem. Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)June 8 (T)
easyCBM Testing Window ClosesJune 9 (W)
8:00-2:00, School Materials Collection (Front Office)
9:00-9:45, Virtual Coffee w/the Principal (Zoom)
12:30, Lunch Bunch w/Ms. Darla (Zoom)
1:40-2:40, Leadership Team Meeting (Library & Zoom)
2:40-4:00, PD/PLC Time – Learning for All – ACT (Library & Zoom)June 10 (H)
Last Day for Dynamos
Summer Camp Out 2021! – SPIRIT DAY
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting – If Needed (Zoom)
6:00-7:00, PAHS Meeting (Zoom)June 11 (F)
No School – Grading Day
7:30-8:30, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting (Zoom)
9:00-12:00, State Testing – EOA and Make-Up Testing (Locations TBA)
9:00-10:00, Allan to Physical Distancing Monthly Meeting (Zoom)June 14 (M)
ELD/Speech/Title/Counselor- Staff Room Duty
Hybrid Cohort A – Last In-Person Day
8:10-9:10, Field Day, 4/5
9:25-10:25, Field Day 2/3
10:50-11:50, Field Day K/1
12:45, Kona Ice – Holt Shave Ice Fundraiser! (Hard Play)June 15 (T)
Hybrid Cohort B – Last In-Person Day
8:10-9:10, Field Day, 4/5
9:25-10:25, Field Day 2/3
10:50-11:50, Field Day K/1June 16 (W)
Regular Online Wednesday
9:00-9:45, Virtual Coffee w/the Principal (Zoom)
12:30, Lunch Bunch w/Ms. Darla (Zoom)
1:40-2:40, Staff Meeting – If Needed (Library & Zoom)June 17 (H)
Last Day for Students – Early Release
Last Day for 192-Day (most) Classified Staff
7:55-10:10, K-4 Async (Hybrid & SSO)
7:55-10:10, 5th Grade Hybrid Cohort A & B Attend In-PersonJune 18 (F)
Last Day for Licensed Staff
Just 12 more kid day!
Allan
