https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=12840
Howdy Bolts,
Twenty-four items of note for this week:
• 23-24 Staffing Updates – Two updates:
0.2 MUSIC – I’m happy to announce we have rehired Tracy Zehner as our 0.2 Music teacher for next school year.
OFFICE ASSISTANT – HR has put a hold on this position and there is a possibility they will place a displaced employee into this position. They said they will let us know if we can post or not sometime this week.
• Kendall Subaru AdoptAClassroom Drawing TUESDAY – Kendall Subaru is once again “adopting” Holt and there will be six lucky teachers who will get $500 to spend on their classroom. We’ll stick with our criteria from last year for who is elected, which is one winner from each of the following:
• new teacher (5 years or less)
• switching grades (last 2 years)
• 1 upper
• 1 primary
• SPED (this is a requirement of the grant)
• SpecialistWe’ll also take off winners from the last two years. I’ll spin the Wheel of Names in the library on Tuesday after school to select the lucky winners, and that way folks can keep an eye on me so that I’m not cheating if you’ll like to watch, but you do not need to be present to win. ;)
• ELA and Math Student Consumable Order, DUE TUESDAY – See this email for details, but consumable orders for Math and ELA are due this Tuesday. One rep per grade level should complete the linked Order Form.
• Annual Safety Inspection, WEDNESDAY @10:30 – Our annual safety inspection is this Wednesday at 10:30. Linked here is a handout of the Most Common Classroom Safety Violations. The two main items we got dinged for last time were:
• Combustable items hanging from ceilings
• Door egress width (3 feet) blocked by rolling carts and other items• May Spirt Assembly & Talent Show Combo Assembly, THURSDAY @8:30 – Our combo School Spirit/Talent Show Assembly will be this Thursday, 8:30-9:30 in the cafeteria. Linked here is the Assembly Map and Directions. Stay tuned for additional directions for the performers.
• Friday PD: Double Prep – For the final Friday PD of the year, it’s a double prep to make up for the missed prep on Grading Day next week.
• Fire Drill, June 6 @8:05 – Our final Fire Drill of the year will be Tuesday, June 6th at 8:05. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map.
• Raptor Alert Log-In Issue – If you had trouble logging onto the Raptor Alert app, try deleting the app from your phone or iPad, reinstall it, and then try logging in again. That fixed the issue for everyone who’s tried it so far. I don’t think the rostering issue is fixed yet, but staff can sill poke around the app to see what it looks like during a drill/emergency.
• Sheldon Senior Grad Walk, June 8 – Sheldon HS is planning a Grad Walk, tentatively scheduled for Thursday, June 8th at 9:45. Classes are invited (though not required) to line the halls to clap and cheer (signs are a nice touch) for seniors in their cap and gowns who attended Holt as I lead them through their elementary hallowed halls one final time. See this email for details, but basically it’s a chance for seniors to connect with staff they knew, to be cheered on by kids and staff, and also serve as an inspiration to our elementary kiddos. SHS said they’ll connect with us soon with additional details, but they’re planning on two buses worth of Holt alumni coming to visit!
• Report Card Grading Day Expectations, June 9 – Friday, June 9th is a regular work day for both classified and licensed staff. For licensed staff, HR allows teachers to work from home if you notify your administrator (me) in advance, but be sure to plan ahead if you need to collaborate with any colleagues this day. Also, 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. For classified staff, this is a good day to cash in any accumulated trade time you’ve built up, but remember you need to notify me before you begin accumulating trade time.
• LICENSED: Goals Reflection Due & Sample Language – All licensed staff need to complete their Goals Reflection in TalentEd by the end of the school year. If you used the Optional SMART Goals shared in the fall, linked here is a 2023-2023 SMART Goals Reflection Sample you can cut-and-paste from if that’s helpful to folks. And remember, no shame or blame if you didn’t achieve all of your goals. Let me know if you have any questions on this.
• CLASSIFIED: TalentEd Self Reflection – Most Classified Staff completed the Self Reflection at the start of the year in TalentEd, but if you didn’t do it already, be sure to log onto TalentEd and complete the form as soon as possible. Let me know if you need any help with this.
• Draft Inservice Week Schedule & 4J PD Calendar – District admin shared with principals last week the Draft Inservice Week Schedule (here’s a Detailed Schedule) as well as the 4J PD Calendar for the year. The Calendar is pretty empty at this point, but the inservice week is more fleshed out. I’d asked if they could move the District Back to School Event to Thursday, so we could do our all-staff back to school meeting the day classified staff report back, but was shot down on that.
• 2023-24 Class Lists Review – Linked here are the 2023-24 Class Lists for staff to review and make any suggested revisions if you spot any bad combinations or imbalanced classes. Sending and receiving teams will to discuss students at the June 6th Staff Meeting, so let teams know your suggestions well before then.
• 2023-24 Master Schedule – Linked here is the 2023-24 Master Schedule as it currently stands. Most every grade level was good with this schedule, though we’re still seeing if there are any fixes we can make to help 4th grade that don’t cause issues for other grades.
• 2023-24 Holt Calendar – Leadership last week added a few dates to the Holt Staff Calendar for next year for the Welcome Assembly and Meet Your Teacher. We’ll discuss the proposed date for Curriculum Night (Tues. Sept. 26th) at the June 6th Staff Meeting.
• 2023-24 District Calendars – Staff were emailed next years Employee Work Year Calendars and also the District Calendar. I’ve had a few people ask about the two Mid-Term Grading Days. Principals asked about these at our meeting last week and our directors had not heard either what the plan is for these days. Principals also asked about the three days off for conferences, wondering whether the expectation is there is 16 hours of conference as in the past or if there’s a new expectation of 24 hours of conferences. Elementary directors were left out of the loop on this one too, so we’ll have to wait to hear what upper district admin says the plan for these dates are.
• REPEAT: Licensed IEP/504 Time Log DUE JUNE 8 – I’ve shared this before, but the Licensed IEP/504 Time Log is for licensed staff to record times you’ve attended IEP and 504 meetings during your prep time or beyond regular work hours. The deadline is to complete the form is June 8th and payment would be on your June 30th paystub. Teachers can receive up to 12 hours compensation.
• End of Year Checklist – Linked here is the End of Year Checklist. Once teachers have completed all tasks on this list and have had me or Jeremy sign-off, you are free to start your summer. And that includes if you take care of everything on Thursday, June 15th! I’ll put hardcopies in mailboxes next week.
• Mystery Science Subscription Renewed – There were enough staff wanting Mystery Science for next year, so we will renew the subscription for another year.
• Building Budget Cuts Next Year – If we seemed more free-spending with building funds this year, it’s because we used ESSER funds to cover all the school supplies (paper, materials, copies, etc.), which are what normally eat up most of the building budget. ESSER funds go away next year, so we’ll have to go back to pre-COVID stinginess with the school budget.
• Water Balloon Launch Last Week of School – We have a kind donation from Annie of a ton of waterballoons, so I was thinking we could do something I’ve done in the past. At recess the last week of school, we can have kids stand behind the kickball backstop while any interested staff can come out and hurl water balloons towards waiting students through the chainlink backstop (I have a few water balloon launchers to add to the fun). This way we can control kids not getting too wet. We’ll plan to do this at recesses on Monday the last week of school, so let me know if your grade level would rather we not do this with your classes. All staff are welcome to soak some students if you have a grade level you’d particularly like to get wet!
• REPEAT: Erin’s Law & Second Step Child Safety Unit – All classroom teachers should use the Second Step Child Protection Unit for meeting the state Erin’s Law requirements. For each grade level, there are six lessons, which are to be covered at three points in the school year, with Lessons 1-4 in the fall, lesson 5 right before spring break, and lesson 6 right before summer break (within the last two weeks of school). Each grade level has their own kit, but linked here are Child Protection Unit Scans of the teacher guides if that makes things easier.
• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:
May 29 (M)
No School – Memorial DayMay 30 (T)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #1 Classes
Office/PE/Music Staff Room Duty
ELA and Math Consumable Orders DUE
PE & Music Outside (Gaga Ball)
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
8:15, Allan to Formal Observation
9:15, Allan to Formal Observation
2:45, Adopt A Classroom Drawing (Library)May 31 (W)
8:50-10:45, Final Book Nook, During AM Recesses (Cafeteria)
10:30-12:00, Annual Safety Inspection
1:00-2:15, 4th Grade Storyteller (Classrooms)
2:30-4:00, Talent Show Rehearsal (Music Room)June 1 (H)
6:00-7:45, Talent Show Assembly (Cafeteria)June 2 (F)
Alex Returns!
8:10-8:45, 3rd Grade Playground, “Walk the Trail” Pioneer Activity
1:30-2:30, Friday PD -Double Prep
3:30-5:00, 4J 2023 Retiree Celebration (Ed Center)June 5 (M)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #2 Classes
Title Staff Room Duty
PE & Music Outside (Kickball Field)
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)June 6 (T)
Birthday Drinks & Goodies in Staff Room:
8:05, Fire Drill
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting – Class List Transitions (Library)June 7 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)June 8 (H)
Last Day for Dynamos / Title 1 Groups
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
9:30, Sheldon Senior Grad Walk
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
5:00-6:00, Site Council Meeting (Library)
6:00-7:00, PAHS Meeting (Library)June 9 (F)
No School – Grading Day
8:00-1100, Allan to Admin LETRS Training (Zoom)
1:00, Allan to IEP Meeting (Zoom)June 10 (SA)
7:00-9:00, Sheldon HS Graduation (Hult Center)June 12 (M)
Spring Benchmarking Window Continues
Library Week #1 Classes
Kindergarten Staff Room Duty
PE & Music Both in Gym
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Class Sign-Up
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)June 13 (T)
8:45-10:15, Field Day, Grades 3-512:00-1:30, Field Day, Grades K-2
1:30-3:00, Kona Ice Fundraiser (Hard Play)
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL/Equity Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)June 14 (W)
PE & Music Both in Gym
8:30-10:30, KG Walking Field Trip (Country Lane Park)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
1:30, Kona Shave Ice Fundraiser (Hard Play)June 15 (H)
Last Day for Students – Release Time 11:10
Last Day for Classified Staff
PE & Music Both in Gym
8:30-10:00, 5th Grade Breakfast & Celebration (Cafeteria)
9:00-10:00, Kinder Magic Show (TBD)
Grab-and-Go Lunches-10:25 – Kinder
-10:30 – 1st
-10:35 – 2nd
-10:40 – 3rd
-10:45 – 4th
-10:50 – 5th11:10 – Early Dismissal
11:30-12:30, Annual End-of-Year BBQ (Cafeteria)June 16 (F)
Last Day for Licensed Staff
7:30-9:00, Allan to MAPS Board Meeting
Eleven and a half days to go!
Allan
