https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=11781
Hello Everyone,
Although we have many deserving staff members, I wanted to congratulate our Holt ACE Award Nominees; Elizabeth Cobb, Kelsey Hicks, Ashley Reich, Desiree Talley, and Lisa Zluticky. Thank you for making us look good!
Fifteen items of note for this week:
• Staffing Updates – Two staffing updates
• REPEAT: Holt SPED Openings for Job Expo – Spread the word that Holt is the place to be to your teacher friends! Let’s find someone good for our 1.0 and 0.5 SPED jobs for next year!
• School Nurse Update – I’ve honestly lost count of how many school nurses we’ve had this year, but our latest nurse, Awbree Cardwell, has taken another job outside of 4J, but Hallie Ritter is coming back to fill in until SSD can hire another school nurse for us and Martin McCarthy is taking over duties on our suspected Norovirus outbreak. Welcome back, Hallie!
• Caesar the Llama Visit, THURSDAY @12:45– You may have seen this llama on some educator friends’ social media around 4J, but we finally nailed down the owner of Caesar the Llama for a visit at Holt. Cesar will come at 12:45 and will visit each wing for classrooms to come out to pet, visit, and take photos with Cesar. I’m thinking the schedule will be as below, but let me know if you see any issues:
12:45-1:15, D-Wing
1:15-1:40 C Wing
1:40-2:00, B Wing
2:00-2:20, A Wing
• Friday PD/Planning Day – Downtown still doesn’t know the time for the district PD portion of the day or if they do know they haven’t told principals, so watch for a separate email with my guess at what the schedule for this Friday will be. We’ll focus on Second Step, Kelso’s Choice, and I’ll also hold a separate Classified Staff Meeting following the all-staff meeting.
• Kindness Rocks! – I’ll add this to Friday’s agenda, but we received a Kindness Mini Grant for the Kindness Rocks! Holt Rock Project 2022. Participation will be optional since this grant was written before our staff agreement regarding grants that impact the entire staff, but coming out of the Holt Student Council, the idea is to create our very own painted rock garden with messages of kindness. Students will decorate their very own rock with kind words or colorful images. See the above linked file for additional details and we can talk logistics on Friday.
• CPR/AED/First Aid Training Available Friday – If you’d rather attend a CPR/AED/First Aid Training at Edison (the swing school location next to Market of Choice) this Friday, 9:00-2:30, which had 14 last minute cancellations, let me know ASAP before those slots get filled. The training is free of charge. See this email for details.
• 4J Login Change, DUE FRIDAY – Be sure to follow up on 4J Technology’s emails about claiming your 4J account with the new RapidIdentity system. Linked here are the directions. You’ll need to use your 4J email and password to view the file. I’ll add this to the end of the agenda for Friday’s PD so walk anyone through this who may need help. I know it’s tripped up a few people.
• Volunteer Appreciation Week, NEXT WEEK – Not this week but next week is Volunteer Appreciation Week. See the above linked file from the Sunshine Committee for details and sign up on the Treat Table Google Doc to celebrate our volunteers and student teachers!
• Fire Drill, 4/19 @1:10– Not this week, but next week on Tuesday, April 19th at 1:10 will be our April Fire Drill. Linked here is the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line Map.
• Earth Day is April 22nd – Not this week, but next week is Earth Day, which is annually observed around the world on April 22nd. If you’d like ideas for this day, linked here are Edutopia Resources, Education World, the EPA Website, and Tana’s Earth Day Email from last year.
• Suspected Norovirus Updates – It’s still called a “suspected” outbreak until someone ill gets a stool sample tested, but since it quacks like a duck, and acts like a duck… so Lane County Public Health (LCPH) and 4J are treating it as if it were confirmed Norovirus. I shared these updates at the end of our Friday PD Meeting, but to update everyone here is an email summary and here are the highlights:
• Drinking Fountains Closed Again – Any drinking fountains that were uncapped and flushed have to be closed again.
• Additional Cleaning Measures – The short version is custodial staff are doing the types of nightly deep cleaning we did last spring, using electrostatic disinfection nightly, using a stronger disinfectant in restrooms, and replacing and re-testing the sanitizer solution used to wipe down cafeteria tables.
• PE/Music Restroom Re-Opened – LCPH said we can re-open these restrooms as long as common touch points are cleaned twice a day, which Ryan started doing on Friday.
• Student Lunch Service Changes – Student cannot reach into common areas for food, so the mild cooler closed and will be passed out by staff, extra fruit & veggies cannot be out and additional food will be added to trays instead, eating utensils will be provided on trays instead of in a bin, and the “No Thank You” bin is closed.
• COVID Updates – Two COVID related updates:
• Badging In Still? YES! – I asked downtown if we still need to bad since we’re no longer contact tracing and the answer was, yes, we still need to badge in.
• Volunteer Message to Families – Downtown is sending the following message to families about volunteers being allowed in schools again, so heads-up you may have parents reaching out to you:
Volunteers are essential!
In non-pandemic circumstances, thousands of parents and community members volunteer to support 4J schools each year. While visitors and volunteers in schools are limited due to the pandemic, dedicated volunteers are providing a variety of essential supports this school year.
Volunteers are serving in 4J schools to support essential needs for health and safety and critical instructional supports such as small group instruction. Volunteers also are needed to help outdoors with landscape maintenance.
Each school has identified different needs and volunteer opportunities. If you would like to volunteer to provide essential supports, please ask your school about available volunteer opportunities. Volunteers who may have contact with students or may go into a school building must be fully vaccinated and complete a background check process.
• Outdoor School Staff Volunteers – 5th Grade is going on day trips for outdoors school this year (overnight was cancelled when Coyote Outdoor School couldn’t hire enough staff), but we are looking for any interested staff members to help chaperone on Monday, April 25th. Subs are being offered by downtown to help with outdoor school.
• Mental Health Events and Training Opportunities – There are several upcoming events and training opportunities around grief, mental health, and suicide.
• Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) April 12 & 13 – ASIST is a 2-day, in-person, April 12-13th, advanced training appropriate for people responsible for suicide interventions, safety planning and follow-up care within their school or organization. This training is offered by Lane County Public Health and Lane Education Service District.
• Community Resilience Forum, April 14th – Community members are invited to join a conversation about how we navigate losses and strategies for supporting each other. Spanish and ASL interpreters will be available on site. The event will be recorded and can be viewed the following day on preventionlane.org. Child care will also be available.
• Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR)– QPR is a 1.5 hour virtual training for anyone interested in learning more about suicide prevention and how they can play a part in helping others in distress. QPR workshops are facilitated by members of the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Lane County and are appropriate for all audiences. We’re always adding new dates which you can find by going to the Services tab on suicidepreventlane.org.
• Youth Mental Health First Aid Two-Part Course – Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) is a 6 hour virtual training for anyone who would like to learn more about mental health issues among youth and how they can provide support and navigation of services. YMHFA is offered by the Oregon Family Support Network in cooperation with LCPH and is open to all people who live in Lane County. There is an April 27th and June 16th training.
• Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR), June 22 – AMSR provides participants with the core competencies to screen, assess, safety plan and manage the care of people at risk of suicide. No previous training is required, however AMSR provides advanced skills for professionals who have already taken QPR or ASIST. Click flyer or website to learn more about AMSR content and objectives.
• Strategies for Managing Challenging Student Behaviors – Student misbehavior has been particularly agonizing for teachers this year, but this Edutopia Article covers proactive steps educators can take to remedy it, including:
• Taking a closer look
• Displaying curiosity and humility
• Building Connections
⁃ Survey students with academic and nonacademic questions
⁃ Observe more, talk less
⁃ Partner with students
⁃ Compliment students
⁃ Support students
⁃ Elevate students
⁃ Collaborate for students on their behalf
• Celebrating Success• 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 11 (M)
Artist in Residence Final Week
2nd Grade Staff Room Duty
4:00-5:00, Optional SEAL Program Info Meeting (Zoom)April 12 (T)
Allan Potentially Testifying at Custody Hearing
2:45-3:25, PBIS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)April 13 (W)
8:00, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Zoom)
9:00-11:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade
2:40-3:30, 5th Grade Data TeamApril 14 (H)
9:10-10:10, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
10:40-11:40, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
12:20-12:25, Caesar the Llama Visit
12:45-1:45, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
12:30-2:25 Cesar the Llama Visit
4:00-7:00, Allan to Job Expo (Zoom)
6:00-7:00, PAHS (Parents at Holt School) Meeting (Zoom)April 15 (F)
No School — Planning/Professional Development
8:00-1:30, Staff Meeting (Cafeteria)
1:30-2:20, 3rd Grade Data Team Meeting
2:25-3:15, 4th Grade Data Team MeetingApril 18 (M)
Volunteer Appreciation Week
3rd Grade Staff Room Duty
3:00, Allan to IEP Meeting (Zoom)
4:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)April 19 (T)
11:30-12:20, 5th Grade OSAS – Science
1:10, Fire Drill
2:45-3:25, Staff Meeting (Library)
5:30, 22-23 Kindergarten Orientation (Zoom)April 20 (W)
Oingo Boingo Day
9:00-10:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
11:30-12:20, 5th Grade OSAS – Science
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th Grade
3:00-4:00, Allan to IEP Meeting (Zoom)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)April 21 (H)
11:30-12:20, 5th Grade OSAS – Science
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Zoom)April 22 (F)
Earth Day
7:30-8:30, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting (Zoom)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD
And if you’re a snow-watcher like me, stay turned for that unexpected blizzard Sunday night!
Allan
