https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=12493
Hey Bolts,
Ah, a four days week sure sounds good.
Fourteen items of note for this week:
• Staffing Updates – Three staffing Updates:
• New Title 1 EA, Keri Schneider – Keri has been subbing in out vacant Title 1 EA position since Ashton left and this past week was officially hired for the position, so please welcome Keri to the fabulous Holt Team!
• SPED EA Interviews Tuesday – We’ll be interviewing three candidates after school on Tuesday for a new 4-hour SPED EA position we are adding. Let me know if you’d like to join the interview committee and I’ll send you the interview materials.
• REPEAT: Holt Night Out TUESDAY @MOD Pizza – Remind your kids there’s a Holt Night Out Fundraiser at MOD Pizza Tuesday, January 27th all day. I’ll bring flyers around on Monday. Sorry for the tardiness on that.
• Grade Level Team Meetings CANCELLED – I was reminder that no regularly scheduled meetings are supposed to happen the week of Conferneces or Grading Days, so this week’s Grade Level Team Meetings are cancelled.
• REPEAT: Report Card & Grading Day, Feb. 3 – See the Report Card Meeting Slideshow, Checklist, One-Pager, and Grade Level Guidance Sheets shared earlier for details, but note the following dates.
• Elementary Grading Day – Friday, February 3
• Report Cards Sent Home – Monday, February 13Also 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.
• REPEAT: 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).
• Bertha Holt Birthday Celebration, February Plans – The Leadership Team discusses last week a revamp of how we celebrate Bertha Holt’s Birthday. Last year students earning $1 that grade levels pooedl to make a donation through Holt International, but this year we will focus on acts of kindness and service. Here’s the plan:
• Teachers will read the Bertha Holt picture book or show a video about our our school’s namesake
• Second graders get a book to take home
• Students will record acts of kindness and service on cut-out hearts (or something TBD)
• Act will be posted on a hallway display and grow over the course of the monthI’ll plan to put the following article in the Feb. 6th Quick News, but let me know I you have any feedback on the article or plan between now and then. We’re thinking we may do the $1 collection activity every other year.
Bertha Holt Birthday Celebration
On February 5th, Bertha Holt would be 117 years old. To honor the legacy of our school’s namesake, Holt Elementary School is holding a special month-long event where students will think of acts of kindness and service they can do to give back to our community.
Teachers will provide students a Bertha Holt Heart to write their name and act of kindness on, which will be added to our hallway display of how Holt kids are giving back to their community. Acts of kindness and service can be big or small, such as:
• Helping a neighbor
• Picking up litter in a park, playground, or your neighborhood
• Being kind to a friend in need
• Washing someone’s car
• Writing a encouraging or thankful note to someone
• Tell someone why they are special to you
• And so many more!Small acts of kindness can make a big impact and we want to creating kind, compassionate, conscientious kids who want to grow up to make that difference.
• Friday PD, Feb. 10th: Upbeat Survey Results – The Friday PD on February 10th was originally a Building Based PD day, but district admin is having principals review with staff the survey results from the Upbeat Survey staff filled out a few weeks ago. I’m meeting with an Upbeat Coach this Tuesday to get the results and to discuss next steps.
• 4J PD Calendar Updates – Downtown has updated the 4J PD Calendar. I’ve updated the Holt Staff Calendar to reflect these changes, which appear to dropping the SPED Educator Trainings that SSD was originally doing on Building PD days, changing the April 3rd PD Day from 5.5 hours of Language Arts Adoption to 4 hours of Language Arts and 1.5 hours Building Based, changing all of the Friday SEL PD days to Building Based, changing all of the Friday Curriculum PD days to Building Based (except for one in May), and the Friday Staff Choice PD days now have an option for Building Based PD. The few staff who did sign-up for PD have the option of attending the building or district PD these dates.
• Pre-Arranged Student Absence Request Form Now for Elementary – Downtown is now having elementary schools use the same Pre-Arranged Student Absence Request Form that middle and high school use, which I mentioned a few weeks back. Teachers are not required to prove homework and it’s really just extra paperwork office staff have to deal with, but the following message was sent to principals as to their reasoning for adding this for elementary schools and families:
Pre-arranged student absence request form – For some context, this form was created to address the following:
Create a consistent form for families in 4J to use K-12, that way families would know what to fill out regardless of which school their student attends.
Increased communication once the office staff receives this form.
1.Principal signs off (step #2 after the form is received by the office)
2.Then the teacher(s) acknowledges the upcoming pre-arranged student absence.Ensures that families have been communicated what our AR says (e.g. only the first 5 days can be excused absences, teachers are not required to provide homework, etc.)
Thank you for sharing the following in your staff and parent communication: Our 4J Attendance Committee has created a consistent 4J Pre-arranged student absence request form. Parents/guardians thank you for completing this form for all absences that are 3 or more days in length. Parents/guardians only need to complete the first section and then turn into the office. Don’t have your Student’s Perm ID #, our office staff can assist with that once the form is submitted.
• DO Use Student Full Names in Emails – Regardless of what you’ve ben told in the past, DO use student full names in emails. See this SSD Email for full details, but the short version 4J legal council says we need do do this to cover ourselves when there is a student records request (emails are considered part of a student’s record). If you’re using initials, that email may get get missed, leaving you and 4J open to legal liability .
• OHA K-12 iHealth Expiry Extension Update – I shared earlier that the iHealth COVID Tests had expired and not cleared for use, but the FDA has approved their continued use through March 2023 or April 2023, depending on the lot number associated with your school’s testing kits. See this email for details.
• REPEAT: Feedback on 2023–24 Proposed Calendar – If you missed it in the latest 4J Newsletter, downtown is seeking feedback on a proposed 2023–24 Calendar. The biggest changes are the school year starts a week earlier, Thanksgiving Break is now 3 days, and Conferences are the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving Break (schools would still decide their conference schedule). Click the Feedback Survey Link to share your thoughts. My own thoughts are that the early start will work fine for high SES schools, but low SES and high mobility schools are going see a lot of kids enrolling after the school year has started, missing out on the vital start of the year community building and school routines. I’m also not a fan of all the non-school days in September. This month is when school routines are established and having only one week that’s a full 5-day week seems like bad planning. I’m not sure what these days are for, but I’d rather see short weeks in May, or if these dates are for start of the year PD, move them to October instead. I’d encourage staff to weigh in on the proposed calendar before it becomes official.
• More Black History Month Resources – While it’s important to honor Black history throughout the school year, Black History Month in February is a special time to shine a spotlight on this topic. I shared a few resources last week, but here are a few from WeAreTeahcers, with idea from bulletin boards and posters to activities and books. Amy Page also shared a Sora Link to over 250 eBooks and audio books celebrating black voices.
• 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 30 (M)
Winter Benchmarking Continues
Library Week #1 Classes
2nd Grade Staff Room Duty
7:30, Allan Meeting w/Parent (Office)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)January 31 (T)
8:00-8:30, Allan Meeting w/Upbeat Survey Rep (Zoom)
10:30-10:00, Holt Night Out Fundraiser – MOD Pizza
2:35-3:45, SPED EA Interviews (Library)February 1 (W)
Black History Month
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)
2;45, Grade Level Team Meetings CANCELLED
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)February 2 (H)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)February 3 (F)
No School – Grading Day
8:00-11:00, Allan to Admin LETRS Training (Zoom)
8:30-11:30, Educational Assistant PD (Churchill HS)February 6 (M)
Library Week #2 Classes
3rd Grade Room Duty
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)February 7 (T)
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Heinrich)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Ayres)
2:45-3:45, Staff Meeting (Library)February 8 (W)
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Parks)
8:50-10:45, Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Lovato)
12:00-1:00, OBOB Tournament Practice (Library)February 9 (H)
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Heinrich)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Ayres)
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:00, PAHS Meeting (Library)February 10 (F)
8:15-9:15, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Parks)
9:20-10:20, 5th Philosophy with Paul Bodin (Lovato)
1:30-2:30, Friday PD, Upbeat Survey Results (Library)
Enjoy some pictures below from our School Spirit 80s / Neon Day last Friday!
Allan
