https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=11796
Greetings Bolts,
Hope you all had a good semi-three-day weekend.
Twenty items of note for this week:
• Staffing Updates – Two staffing updates:
• Darrin Update – I know lots of folks are concerned and have been asking about Darrin. He’s asked us not to share too much, but we can share that he will be out the rest of the school year for medical reasons, but that he’s getting better daily and plans to come back in the fall. HR is having us put in for subs for the remainder of the school year.
• School Nurse Update – Martin McCarthy, RN has agreed to stay with Holt to support the current illness outbreak as well as providing nursing coverage. We will continue to have Hallie Ritter, LPN continue to be the one to provide on-site nursing services. SSD has already hired a new RN who starts early May and they’ve asked Maxim for another LPN who could help cover for absences, so we will have more staffing options soon.
• Job Expo Update – I was not notified of any changes from round one of last week’s Job Expo, so as of Saturday night, we still have 1.5 FTE special education teaching positions vacant for next year and no other staffing changes.
• REPEAT: Volunteer Appreciation Week, THIS WEEK – This week is Volunteer Appreciation Week. See the linked Sunshine Committee Volunteer Appreciation Doc for details and sign up on the Treat Table Spreadsheet to celebrate our volunteers and student teachers, bringing teats each day this week!
• REPEAT: Fire Drill, TUESDAY @1:10 – As long as the weather cooperates, this Tuesday at 1:10 will be our April Fire Drill. Linked here is the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line Map.
• Friday PD – Watch for a separate email regarding this Friday’s PD, which will focus on the ACT area of High Leverage Instructional Strategies.
• Allan Out April 25th – Not this week, but Monday next I’m attending a COSA Conference and will be out of the building, but I’ve asked the Monroe principal, Sun Saeteurn, to be on call if anything out of the ordinary comes up.
• 2022–23 School Calendar Dates Pending Approval – If you didn’t catch it in the 4J Family Email shared with staff, the 22-23 School Calendar for next school year is posted online. Key dates include:
• First Day of School (Except Grades 7 & 8): Wed., September 7
• Winter Break: Mon., Dec. 19–Mon., Jan. 2 + Tue., Jan. 3 (staff work day)
• Spring Break: Mon., March 27–Fri., March 31 + Mon., April 3 (staff work day)
• Last Day: Thu., June 15 (or later if weather makeup days are needed)• FRIDAY PD Follow-Up – As a follow-up to Friday’s PD, here are links to the:
• Second Step Training Modules
• Second Step K-5 Pacing Guide
• Kelso’s Choice Slide Show
• Printable Pocket-Sized Kelso’s Wheel
• SB 13 Update for K-5 Slides and Zoom Recording (Passcode: iK56V=S2)
• LETRS Introduction Slides and Zoom Recording (Passcode: iK56V=S2)
• LETRS Sign-up Form
• ELD Adoption FAQ, answering questions from the February ELA Update VideoLastly, please enjoy the cringy Kelso’s Choice music video.
• SSD Learning For All PD – Related to the above, linked here is the SSD Slide Show shared with licensed SSD staff last Friday, as well as a Recording of the Zoom (access code: 8Uyz9i?Q)and the questions/comments from the chat.
• Kindness Rocks! – See the Kindness Rocks Email for details, but show your kids the Student Council Bertha Holt Kindness Rock Project Video to get the excited.
– Grade level rocks are outside Ashley’s room (B5).
– Paint them anytime. Could be a Buddy Activity!
– Give finished rocks and leftover paints & pens to Ashley by May 11th• Bruce Hale Author Visit, May 11th – Also mentioned at Friday PD, we will have an optional Virtual Author Visit from Bruce Hale, author the the Bruce the Shark series among others. If you want to introduce your kids to Bruce Hale before the visit, here are some Fun Actives & Curriculum Tie Ins with the author visit and also s a collection of Bruce Hale Videos on Writing from his website.
• Fiddle Pictures? – Did anyone get good pictures or videos of Kelly fiddling with your class? If you did, can you email them to me?
• iPad Cords & Charger Order Cancelled – Tech Department got wind of our order, so we do not have our off-the-books extra chargers and cords coming. However, the Tech Department is planning to order additional cables and chargers, so hopefully we’ll get those soon. For now, continue to put in tickets to 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu if you need additional chargers so you stay on this list, but eventually, COWs will have a full set of chargers.
• Nut Products at Snack Time – I finally got an answer about how to handle nuts and allergies during snack time. Downtown said teachers should have a nut free space for students that require it. Also wipe down before and after any food break. You can say that a room is nut free, especially in a room where there is a significant medical need. You have to look at medical plans so the messaging will be different for different classrooms. Medical staff should weigh in for students with sensitivities to nut products.
• Summer Job Opportunities w/KITS – KITS emailed that they are looking for KITS Site Supervisors, KITS Lead Educators, and KITS Parent Group Facilitators. Job posting close this Sunday, but if you missed that deadline, let me know and I can reach out to the KITS Coordinator on your behalf.
• Self-Harm Community Event – 4J is hosting a Self-Harm: Suicidal/Non-Suicidal Self Injury Community Event on April 25 from 6-7:30pm in the Sheldon Auditorium to learn what to do when your child exhibits signs of cutting, what it means, and where to seek help.
• April is National Poetry Month – This month is National Poetry Month. If you looking for any classroom resources, you can start at Reading Rockets, Read Write Think, or Edutopia.
• District Admin Updates – Coming from Springfield, David Hulbert has been hired at the new principal for Edison starting next school year. Also, Peter Tromba, principal of Spencer Butte Middle School, has accepted a high school principal position in Asheville, North Carolina. See this email for details.
• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Class Placements – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Class Placements. This topic is going to be revisited at the next Leadership Team Meeting and brought to rest of the staff if we want to tweak or change any parts of this process:
Class Placements
Procedure:
• Each spring our staff works to place students currently in Grades K-4 into balanced classes. Staff uses an electronic matrix to configure classes for the following fall. Point values were assigned to various attributes in an attempt to equalize the classes given a variety of factors. Our Grade 5 teachers work to complete transition paperwork for our middle school. All placements go to the front office and administration at the conclusion of this process. The administrator(s) then review the lists, verifying that there aren’t extenuating variables which need to be considered.
• Kindergarten teachers, along with Administration, meet following the first full week of school in September to configure the classes for the school year.
• Administration makes the final decision on all classroom placements, considering the needs of the teachers, educational assistants, students, parents, and school.Moving students
Prior to school start and during the year:
• Classroom placements are an administrative decision. We do the best to include teacher feedback in all decisions. Requests for classroom changes by families will not be considered until the second full week of school. All requests should be directed to the building administrators. No classroom changes will be considered until Friday of the second full week of school. If a change can be made it will be made the following Monday. Any changes made after the initial two week request are an administrative decision. Medical and Emergency moves are determined as needed.Parents:
• Parents MAY NOT make requests for classroom/teachers through you. If parents have information about their student they feel is important for placement for the following grade, the office has a form that is due at the end of May for them to use. Those forms will be given out by office staff to teachers when placement time comes, to the grade level. Please disregard any emails or notes you may have received from parents regarding placements.Staff Responsibilities:
• Please remember to use neutral comments like “wears glasses”, “seat close to teacher”, or “see me for more information” in the comment section of the grid. Back of the cards are now left blank
• Some students will be assigned to classes based on need (ELD, SPED). These decisions are made by staff in those areas and administration.
• Card comments: please remember anything written on a student card is public record. Please keep comments helpful, but neutral. If you feel you have specific information that a teacher needs to know about a student, mark the “see teacher” field
• Class lists are created using the “green” and “blue” cards, as well as an electronic matrix. As you build each class, it is helpful to keep in mind these characteristics and details:⁃ SPED- CLC, LC, 504,
⁃ Behavior challenges, CICO, and IEPs
⁃ Academic skills, Title, should be in Title but not enough room
⁃ Speech
⁃ Gender
⁃ Parent volunteers
⁃ Personality conflicts between students
⁃ Parental needs (how frequently does parent contact teacher)
⁃ TAG
⁃ Medical issues• When your team has finished creating classes:
⁃ Make a master list (ideally alphabetical by last name) of each class created, wrap it around the cards and secure it with a rubber band. These go to Melanie asap.
⁃ NO information about class placements may be shared with families- not even that they have been created.• A New Resource for Free Digital Field Trips – This Edutopia Article share how the Museums for Digital Learning was developed in partnership with teachers and provides curated material on a variety of subjects. They have resource kits and ebooks sourced from museums across the country. It has materials for kids at all grade levels. Create a free account and check it out!
• 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 18 (M)
Volunteer Appreciation Week
3rd Grade Staff Room Duty
3:00, Allan to IEP Meeting (Zoom)
3:00-5:30, 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
8:15-9:00, Allan to Retention Meeting (Office)
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)
4:00-6:30, School Board Work Session (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 PDApril 25 (M)
4th Grade Staff Room Duty
Allan at COSA Conference
9:15-5:30, 5th Grade to Outdoor School (Camp Lutherwood)April 26 (T)
Allan Potentially Testifying at Custody Hearing
9:15-5:30, 5th Grade to Outdoor School (Camp Lutherwood)
2:45-3:25, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)April 27 (W)
8:00, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Zoom)
9:00-11:00, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Zoom)
9:15-1:45, 5th Grade to Outdoor School (Camp Lutherwood)
12:45-2:25, Storyteller, 4th GradeApril 28 (H)
Max Out, but with Sub Covering
K/1 Hearing Screening
9:10-10:10, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
10:40-11:40, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
12:45-1:45, 4th Grade School Garden Project Lessons (Garden)
2:15-3:00, Kona Ice – Holt Shave Ice Fundraiser! (Hard Play)
2:45-3:25, Leadership Team Meeting (Debbi’s Room)
4:00-7:00, Allan to Job Expo (Zoom)April 28 (F)
Max Out, but with Sub Covering
Holt Spirit Day, Wacky Wear Day
K/1 Hearing Screening
7:40-8:10, Spirit Day Virtual Assembly (Zoom)
1:30-2:25, Friday PD
1:30-2:20, 4th Grade Data Team Meeting
4:00, Friday at 4:00 @Public House
Lots of rain in the forecast this week. Fingers crossed it’s not during school hours!
Allan
