January 10, 2022

By Allan  


 Hi Everyone,

This is our one and only full 5-day week with students for January.

Fourteen items of note for this week:

• COVID Updates – I did more contact tracing and quarantining of students last week than ever before in a single week. Here are some COVID reminders and updates:

• REMINDER: Keep Seating Charts Updates – Makes sure you’ve given me your most current classroom, cafeteria and/OR specialist seating charts.

• REMINDER: Breakfast & Snack Times – If you can limit breakfast and snack times to less than 15-minutes total per day, then we can avoid most school-based close contacts. I’ve also seen some teachers make different seating charts for breakfast and snack. If a student does test positive, anyone within 6-feet for more than 15 cumulative minutes with their masks off over the course of the day will have to quarantine.

• Quarantine Rule Change – Students and staff now only need to quarantine for 5-days instead of ten. Also, students and staff do not need to be “symptom free” but instead need to have “improving symptoms without meds.”

• School Rapid Tests – Each school has a limited supply of rapid tests. These tests can be given to staff or students who are a close contact due to a school exposure. We cannot use the school rapid tests for an exposure outside of school (i.e. daycare, friend gathering, positive person in the household, etc.).

• Test-to-Stay Only w/School Rapid Test – If someone is a close contact outside of school, they must quarantine for 5-days, even if they receive a negative test from a doctor, clinic, or home test. Test-to-Stay only happens for school based exposures.

• Volunteers for Essential Functions – Volunteers are still allowed in schools for “essential functions,” such as for instruction or safety, but I’m still holding off on advertising this to families since that may change at some point. Still, if you do need volunteers, it is allowable.

• Booster Clinics – If you’re looking for info on where to get your COVID Booster, you can visit Vaccines.gov

• COVID FAQs – Here a few frequently asked questions I’m getting lately:

I’m a close contact. Do I have to quarantine? If you are fully vaccinated and not displaying any symptoms, you are cleared to come to school, even if the positive person is someone living in your household. This is true for both staff and students.

Are masks still optional for staff outdoors? If you can maintain 6-feet distance from students, masks are optional. For myself, I’ve found it impossible to maintain 6-feet distance when kids are around and am just masking-up.

What are the symptoms that require staff and students to stay home? I’ve heard an updated list of symptoms is coming out sometime soon, but for now, this is the official list.

• Fever of 100.4° F or higher
• Sore Throat
• Chills
• Cough (non-persisten, dry coughs are okay, but congested coughs are not)
• Shortness of breath
• Difficulty breathing
• New loss of taste or loss of smell
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting

• Math Benchmarking for 1st – 5th BEST Placements – Teachers, please prioritize completing Math easyCBM Winter Benchmark this week. Our goal is to start BEST in early February and we need this data to help decide which 1st – 5th grade students would be the best match for the math focus in the after school program.

• Report Cards – See the Report Card Email send earlier for details, but please note the following dates.

• Elementary Grading Day – Friday, January 21
• Elementary Staff Work Day – Friday, January 28
• Report Cards Sent Home – Monday, January 31

Also note the following from the Holt Staff Handbook regarding Report Card Grading Day:

Licensed Staff – Grading day is a regular work day. HR allows teachers to work from home if you notify your administrator in advance, but be sure to plan ahead if you need to collaborate with any colleagues on grading. Please 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.

• Official Testing Window Has Been Released – ODE’s official testing windows are March 8th – June 3rd for grades 3-5. In the future, downtown will provide a tighter window for when all elementary schools will be expected to assess students.

• PBIS Meeting Tuesday @2:45 – A reminder to staff that anyone and everyone, classified and licensed, are invited to attend the PBIS Meeting this Tuesday at 2:45 in the library. On the agenda to be discussed are:

• Review and finalize Student Support Charts
• Determine Action Plan & use of $500
• Family Awareness of Discipline process (from PBIS Leaders meeting)
• Fidelity Inventory Results
• Classroom Buddies

• Classified Staff and Delayed Start Days – HR emailed principals regarding expectations for classified staff on days when there is a 2-hour delay. Highlights include:

• All Classified staff should report to work as soon as they can do so safely.
• School-based classified staff should report to work as soon as they can safely and in time to perform assigned duties. This should be no later than 2 hours after their regular reporting time.
• Missed work time can be made up during the workweek in accordance with trade time provisions in the collective bargaining agreement (Article 11.3). If an employee is unable to or is not interested in making up the missed work time during the week, they may use available comp time and/or personal time, if eligible.
• Staff are not be permitted to use paid sick time to make up for time missed from work due to the weather.
• Employees and administrators/supervisors should work collaboratively to resolve questions and concerns.
• Human Resources is available if administrators or supervisors have any follow-up questions.

• Fire Drill, Tuesday, Jan. 18 @1:10 – Not this week, but next week on Tuesday, January 10th at 1:10 will be the January Fire Drill. Linked here is the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line Map. If it’s raining, we’ll reschedule for Tuesday the following week.

• REPEAT: School Choice Tours – I’m holding virtual school presentations and tours starting this Tuesday, Jan. 11th (12:30PM) and later on Jan. 20th (6:00PM), and Jan. 25th (12:30PM), but I did want teachers to know I’m planning a Zoom tour of the school at the end of my presentation, so you may see me walking around hallways and classes Zooming with my iPad or laptop.

• Attendance Incentives – Have any students needing an incentive for regular attendance. 4J got an EEF Grant to purchase incentives. If you need something, let me know and I’ll make a request to the Student Services Department for the funds.

• 4J Superintendent Selection – Fill out the Superintendent Selection Survey by Jan. 25th if you’d like to make your opinions heard. The main point I made on my survey was I want someone from the northwest who might actually stay and not another outsider short-timer who’ll just use 4J as a stepping stone to something else.

There’s also a series of staff and community forums you may want to attend:

Community Forums
Thursday January 13, 5–6:30 p.m. — Online via Zoom
Tuesday, January 18, 7–8:30 p.m. — Online via Zoom
Thursday, January 20, 5–6:30 p.m. — Online via Zoom
Saturday, January 22, 1–2:30 p.m. — Online via Zoom
Tuesday January 25, 7–8:30 p.m. — Online via Zoom

Staff Forums
Friday, January 21, 9–10:30 a.m. — Online via Zoom
Friday, January 21, 3:30–5 p.m. — Online via Zoom

• United Way Annual Giving Deadline, TUESDAY Campaign Forms will be collected through Tuesday, January 11th. See the linked United Way of Lane County Email for details. LPT: You can make a donation directly to your classroom and then you get a tax deduction!

• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Reimbursement Guidelines – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Reimbursement Guidelines:

Reimbursement Guidelines:
• If you’re asking for a reimbursement, the merchandise must be shipped to the school. You’re not allowed to have it shipped to your home.
• If you are asking for a reimbursement, receipts must be dated in the last 60 days and this includes secretary time to submit paperwork to 4J Financial Services. .
• Submit your receipt before the 13th if you want your reimbursement to show up on your next paycheck.
• There is a $250 monthly limit for reimbursements.
• The best bet is to still use the school’s business Amazon account for ordering. If you need an invitation to your Amazon business account, let the secretary know

• MegaMillions Pool? – Want to join me in being a millionaire? MegaMillions is almost at $300 million for Tuesday’s drawing. Cash or Venmo me $2 by 3:30 Monday if you want to join!

• 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 10 (M)
Office/Library/Music Staff Room Duty
Winter Benchmark Testing Continues
2:45-3:30, Allan to IEP Meeting (Zoom)
4:00-5:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)

January 11 (T)
12:30-1:30, School Choice Presentation & Tour (Zoom)
2:45-3:25, PBIS Meeting (Library)

January 12 (W)
9:00-11:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
2:40-4:30, 2.5 Title EA Interviews (Library)
7:00-10:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)

January 13 (H)
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Zoom)
5:00-7:30, 4J/EEA Negotiation Session (Zoom)
5:00-6:30, Superintendent Selection Community Forums (Zoom)
6:00-7:00, PAHS (Parents at Holt School) Meeting (Zoom)

January 14 (F)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD/PLC – SEL

January 17 (M)
No School — Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 18 (T)
KG Staff Room Duty
Winter Benchmark Testing Continues
1:10, Fire Drill
2:45-3:25, Staff Meeting (Zoom)
7:00-8:30, Superintendent Selection Community Forums (Zoom)

January 19 (W)
9:00-10:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)

January 20 (H)
2:45-3:25, Allan to IEP Meeting (Zoom)
5:00-6:30, Superintendent Selection Community Forums (Zoom)
6:00-7:00, School Choice Presentation & Tour (Zoom)

January 21 (F)
No School – Grading Day
9:00-10:30, Superintendent Staff Community Forums (Zoom)
3:30-5:00, Superintendent Staff Community Forums (Zoom)

January 22 (SA)
1:00-2:30, Superintendent Selection Community Forums (Zoom)

I’m normally kind of averse to inspirational feel-good types of things, but I really like this video of National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman sharing a new poem to kick off 2022.

Allan