https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=12464
Hi Everyone,
Hope you’re having a good 3-day weekend.
Nineteen items of note for this week:
• Staffing Updates – Three staffing Updates:
• Title 1 EA Interviews THURSDAY – We had 19 applicants for Ashton’s Title 1 EA position and are holding interviews this Thursday after school, 2:35-3:45. Let me know if you’d like to join, Jenny, Jackie, and me, and I will get you the interview materials.
• PE Interviews FRIDAY and Counselor Position Reposted – We didn’t have any applicants for our Temp Counselor Job Posting and have reposted. Our Temp 0.2 PE Job Posting was also reposted, but Alex was able to find a retired 4J PE teacher who’s interested, so we know we’ll have at least one strong applicant. PE interviews are tentatively scheduled for this Friday at 1:30 if anyone would like to join Alex, Ashley, and me.
• 4-hour SPED EA Job Posting – SSD has given us an additional 4-hours SPED EA. It’s a general SPED EA, but we’re getting it as a result of the level of need of one particular student. If you know anyone good out there, tell them to apply. The posting should go up this week.
• REPEAT: School Choice Tour TUESDAY @12:00 – School Choice Tours will be this Tuesday at 12:00-1:00 and next week on Thursday, Jan. 26th at 6:00PM. If you’re interested or have any input, linked here the School Choice Tour Slide Show touting our school. Usually, it’s mostly kinder parents on the tours, but don’t be surprised if we drop by some older-grade classrooms as well.
• Holt Night Out TUESDAY @BJ’s Resturant & Brewhouse – Remind your kids there’s a Holt Nigth Out Fundraiser at BJ’s REsuraunt & Brewhouse Tuesday, and remember to pass out the flyers for the event.
• Friday PD: Staff Choice – This Friday’s PD time is designate as “Staff Choice.” Plan on doing whatever it is you signed up for on the Elementary Staff Choice PD Sign-up Form last time. Friday the following week is a double prep for the missed prep on the Feb. 3rd Grading Day.
• Classified 403b Information and Help Session, Jan. 23 – The 4J Classified Benefits Coordinator will be in the Staff room on Monday, January 23rd from 8:30-10:30. They will be available to answer questions about your recent changes to your 403b as well as provide information on how to enroll. Feel free to ask any benefit-related questions you may have as well. See the linked email for additional details.
• Holt Spirit Day – 80’s Day/Neon Day, Jan. 27 – Not this week but next week is a Holt Spirit Day it’s 80’s Day/Neon Day! Start planning your Totally Rad outfit now! I’m thinking I’ll ordered myself a Ferris Bueller leopard print vest if anyone else out there wants to wear a Red Wings Jersey and go as Cameron. ;)
• School Spirit Assembly, Jan. 27 @8:15 – We’ll have our monthly School Spirit Assembly on Friday, January 27th in the gym. The assembly will start at 8:20, but all classes should be in the gym by 8:15. Stay tuned for details!
• Holt Bolt Buddy Dance Party, Jan. 27th – Also Friday, January 27th will be our Holt Bolt Buddy Dance Party Reward. This will be in the gym at the following times:
11:50-12:10, 1st/5th
12:15-12:35, K/3rd
12:40-1:00, 2nd/4th• EA PD Feb. 3 – Reid Shepard emailed classified staff that on February 3, EAs are invited to Churchill High School between 8:30-11:30. If classified staff are having trouble remembering which pathway you signed up for, your can reference the past email from Reid with the subject line of “Pathway Cohort.” For new classified staff, still having trouble finding their cohort, or have any other questions, CLICK HERE to get help from the organizers (make sure you’re logged into Google with your 4J email).
• No InstaPrint or Print Orders – For now, hold off placing any new print orders. InstaPrint is no longer doing print orders for 4J and downtown is currently looking at other local vendors. We don’t know what this means for the status of an existing order, but we’re assuming they are still being processed, although teachers could cancel those orders and instead just do them here at school, wait to see if they do get filled, or wait to see who the new vendor is (rumor is it’ll be Central Print).
• Laminating Criteria – Lamination cost have jumped significantly for this year, so I think the criteria for laminating items should be that it’s only for curriculum materials that will be used year-to-year and not for student projects that’ll go home with students. There may be exceptions to this, but come talk to me about those cases.
• Book Nook Cancelled if Sub Shortage – One of our regular Holt parent classified subs is also one of the parents who runs Book Nook, so do know that we may cancel Book Nook at the last minute some weeks if we have any unfilled EA sub jobs.
• Leadership Plan Update – Our leadership plan was approved at the last JCAC meeting. As a reminder, here’s a link to this year’s plan and how days were distributed. I also learned that we do not actually have to vote on who fills the positions in the plan and just need to vote on the duties and days allocations (which I think is different from what we were told in the past, but whatever). Downtown and EEA have been talking about revising the elementary leadership plan process for a few years, so maybe this will be the last year we do it this format anyhow.
• COVID Tests Update – Principals were emailed that the expired BinaxNOW tests are approved for use after their expiration date, but the iHealth test kits we’ve passed out to staff and families are not currently approved for use after their expiration date. The manufacturer has applied for another extension for expired test kits, but the FDA has not yet announced a decision regarding the extension, so they may still be worth hanging on to.
• University Student Placement Process – HR has cleaned up their process for university students working in schools and have a complete University Student Placement Process webpage has all the info you’ll need regarding getting your student teacher a 4J email, access to Synergy, and other 4J resources.
• Second Step Digital Curriculum & Pacing Guide – I’ve shared this before, but on the Holt Staff Dashboard is a link to the Online Second Step Curriculum Materials along with the Second Step Pacing Guide for the year. If you’re not able to log on with your 4J email, let me know and I can resend an invite to connect you to Holt. Codes for your grade level will be in the front of your teacher guides, but let me know if you can’t find them and I can get you right codes.
• January SSD Newsletter – If you’re interested, linked here is the January SSD Newsletter, which has info about IEP writing, recent procedural questions, and the updated SSD Organizational Chart!
• ODE Gender Expansive Guidelines – The Oregon Department of Education published Supporting Gender Expansive Students: Guidance for Schools. This guidance is grounded in the recognition, respect, affirmation, friendship, joy, belonging, and safety every human deserves – including the students, staff, and families that make-up our school communities.
District admin have provided just about zero guidance around these topics for elementary, but this guidance from the state focuses on fostering educational environments that are safe, free from discrimination, and aligned with state and federal laws.
ODE is also releasing a set of Supplemental Resources aligned to the strategies and recommendations outlined in the LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan. These documents outline recommendations, best practices, and resources for districts to consider as they develop policies and programming to support gender expansive students. At the request of students and community members, there are also student and family resource documents that outline the support that can be requested and affirmed within schools and communities.
• 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 16 (M)
No School — Martin Luther King Jr. DayJanuary 17 (T)
Winter Benchmarking Continues
Library Week #1 Classes
Kinder Staff Room Duty
10:15-11:45, 4th Grade Junior Achievement
11:00-11:00, Holt Night Out – BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
12:00-1:00, School Choice Presentation & Tour (Library & Zoom)
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Library)January 18 (W)
8:15, Allan Meeting w/Sheldon Region Behavior Consultant (Office)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)January 19 (H)
2:35-3:30, Title 1 EA Interviews (Library)
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
6:00-7:30, 5th Grade Outdoor School Night (Cafeteria & Library)January 20 (F)
1:25-2:25, Friday PD – Staff ChoiceJanuary 23 (M)
Library Week #2 Classes
1st Grade Room Duty
8:30-10:30, Classified 403b Info & Help Session (Staff Room)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)January 24 (T)
January Birthday Drinks & Goodies in Staff Room:
10:00-11:30, 4th Grade State Capitol Virtual Field Trip (Zoom)
10:15-11:45, 4th Grade Junior Achievement
2:45-3:45, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)January 25 (W)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
12:00, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)January 26 (H)
2:45-3:45, Leadership Team Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:00, School Choice Presentation & Tour (Library & Zoom)January 27 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – 80’s Day/Neon Day
8:15-8:45, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)
11:50-12:10, 1st & 5th Holt Bolt Buddy Dance Party (Gym)
12:15-12:35, KG & 3rd Holt Bolt Buddy Dance Party (Gym)
12:40-1:00, 2nd & 4th Holt Bolt Buddy Dance Party (Gym)
1:25-2:25, Friday PD – Double Prep (for missed prep on 2/3)
Have a good 4-day week!
Allan
