https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=13262
Hi Everyone,
Just one more full week until a nice short refreshing 3-day week!
Twenty-two items of note for this week:
• Additional SPED EA – SSD gave Holt an additional 7-hour SPED EA, which will make permanent the Temp SPED EA position Tiffany Chambers is currently filling. I’ve submitted a job requisition and hopefully, it will go up later this week.
• Safety Week Info, Oct. 30 – Nov. 3 – We’ll hold our Safety Week this week to practice the various school safety procedures.
• Monday: Evacuation (fire) Drill @1:15
• Tuesday: Room Clear & Hold @teacher choice
• Wednesday: Secure Drill @10:00 & Playground Emergency Whistle
• Thursday: Lockdown @1:15
• Friday: Shelter (earthquake) & Fire Drill @8:20See Last Week’s Announcements for details.
• Halloween Costume Reminder – Remind your students on Monday the rules for costumes:
• NO props
• NO masks (except with teacher permission in class)
• NO especially scary or gory costumes (i.e. no blood, wounds, etc.)
• NO inflatable costumes
• NO dressing as another race, ethnicity, or cultureAnd keep your costume on after school for our annual staff picture!
• Grade Level Team Meetings, TUESDAY – The first two Tuesdays of the month on non-Staff Meeting weeks are dedicated Grade Level Team Meeting times. Teams should:
• Meet in their wing so specialists can connect if needed
• Take care of any needed team business
• Complete the Team Meeting Minutes Form (make a copy) and email it to holt_staf@4j.lane.eduThe Team Meeting Minutes Form can also be found on the Holt Staff Dashboard.
• Wednesday PD, 11/1: Stop, Walk, Talk & Translation Conference Scheduling – Wednesday at 1:30 in the library we will go over Stop, Walk, Talk and how we will roll this out to students. See last week’s announcements for details, but we will also use this time to schedule conferences for families needing Spanish translations. District translation staff said to plan to use Language Link (see item under conferences) for translation of any language besides Spanish. Not on my blog but attached to the email is a list of all the families who indicated Spanish is the parent’s home language. Teachers on this list should plan to stay longer at the Wednesday meeting to schedule double-session conferences. I’m thinking we try to schedule all of them on Monday.
• Title 1 Math Groups Begin THURSDAY – Title 1 Math Groups will begin Thursday, Nov. 2.
• Wednesday PD: 11/8 Staff Meeting – Wednesday at 1:30 will be a Staff Meeting instead of PE since we had to shift the November Leadership Meeting around due to all the non-school days. Let me know if anyone is willing to volunteer their classroom.
• Nov. 9 Mid-Term Grading Day – 3.75 hours will be ELA planning and 3.75 hours of planning for conferences. Downtown said they will provide guidance for teachers, but it’s optional, so do what is most useful for you this day.
• Nov. 9 EA Pathways PD is Optional – The EA Pathways PD Email that went out to classified staff wasn’t super clear, but signing up for this PD appears to be optional, since it says, “If you… would like to register.” The Conscious Discipline PD is probably a good one if you haven’t had it already, though the others look more Life Skills-focused.
• Nov. 9 Assistance Requests (EAs, Add Your Names) – If staff need assistance from EAs with anything on the Nov. 9 PD Mid-Term Grading Day, add those tasks to the EA Assistance Spreadsheet. Last time around, most all EAs ended up being required to attend PD, but this time downtown is not planning any PD for EAs.
• Scientist Guest Speaker – I have a friend from high school, Luke Wackler, who’s in town Nov. 17 and offered to be a guest speaker to any classroom that’s interested. He has a pretty interesting background, having worked on NASA satellites, Mars rover analysis, GPS satellites, communication satellites, and electronics systems, and in the Navy was a nuclear chemist, mechanic, fireman, and medic. Let me know if anyone is interested and can get him scheduled.
• DanceAbility Assembly Dec. 4 – Over a month out, but we’ve scheduled an assembly Dec. 4 (8;30-9:10 for 1/2/3 and 9:30-10:15 for K/4/5) that’s probably one of my all-time favorite assemblies by a local disability advocacy group DanceAbility, who’s mission is to create opportunities for people with and without disabilities to dance and move together.
• Fall Conferences Reminders – Several conference-related items:
• Send Conference Email Wednesday @3:00 – Send your Calendly conference sign-up link to families this Wednesday at 3:00. Below and linked here is a Sample Conference Email (since copying from my blog doesn’t work for some reason) teachers can feel free to use or adapt or ignore completely. If you would like students at the conference or if you would rather they stay home, you can add a sentence about that. Remember to block out lunch (11:00-11:40 – K-2, 2:20-12:00 – 3-5), dinner (5:00-5:40 – 3-5, 5:20-6:00 – K-2), and end of day clean-up/set-up time (7:40-8:00). The above link also has the time blocks for conferences if you need a reminder.
SUBJECT: Fall Conferences Sign-Up
Dear Families,
Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Monday, Nov. 20 and Tuesday, Nov. 21 from 8:00 am-8:00 pm. There will be no school for students this week.
Conferences are in-person and families should sign up for one of the open slots on the link below:
ADD CALENDLY LINK HERE…
Building strong parent-teacher partnerships is important in reaching our common goal: helping your child get the best education possible.
Thank you,
TEACHER NAME• Conference Schedules to Office – Give office staff a list of your conference dates and times. Parents often forget their times and call the office. Teachers should export their times in Calendly by logging onto their account, clicking SCHEDULED EVENTS, and then clicking EXPORT to get an XLS file you can email the office.
• Items to Review at Conferences – Teachers should review the Title 1 Compact, the Annual Permissions Form, the Student Tech Contract (K-2 and 3-5) if you haven’t already, and if you would like, you can also use the Synergy Family Report, which has attendance, benchmark, and OSAS info.
• Language Link Phone Translations – See the 4J Language Link Interpreting Service webpage for step-by-step directions on how to do translations for in-person meetings, phone meetings, or Zoom meetings. The “cost center number” for Holt is 270.
• Conference Confirmation Form – Geoff shared this last year, but linked here is a Conference Confirmation Form I updated for this year, which teachers can use to remind families of their conference time.
• EA Assistance During Conferences Sign-Up – If teachers could use any help with prep or other tasks, add your name and the task to the EA Assistance Spreadsheet. EAs should also add your name to the tasks you’d be willing to take on
• Staff Not in Conferences – Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are regular work days for all staff who are not part of conferences and should work their regular hours at school. However, if you pre-arrange trade time with me to not work Wednesday, email me your plan ahead of time. HR Emailed principals they are also making a one-time exception to allow personal days on Wednesday for classified staff.
• Allan Available to Attend Conferences – Teachers can let me know if you have any tricky conferences you’d like me to attend. Send me a date & time (and a Zoom link if it’s on Zoom) and I’ll be there!
• Resources for Families – Should any families request assistance with food, clothing, housing/rental assistance, hygiene products, SNAP (food stamps) Benefits, Insurance, counseling, and such, please have them fill out the linked Helping Hand Online Form or contact Holt Family Resource Coordinator, Felicia LaCuesta, at lacuesta_f@4j.lane.edu or call her at (541)790-6174.
• Ems Reading Program Assembly – We couldn’t get our first choice of December, but I did book it for right after winter break on Friday, January 5th from 8:10-8:40.
• Fire Marshal Inspection – We got the results of our Fire Marshall Inspection and did pretty well. There were primarily only three things they cited us for, though across multiple rooms:
• Twinkle Lights – Unless they are special models that meet fire code, they are not allowed.
• 3-D paper Decorations – Fold-out snowflakes or paper lanterns and such, which is a new rule to me, are no longer allowed. In the past, it was only if these were hanging from the ceiling or lights they would cite us, but the new rule is all combustibles (i.e. paper, cloth, etc.) need to be flush with the wall.
• 3-Feet Egress – Make sure there is no furniture blocking doors. You should have a clear path where you can easily walk while holding a yardstick.I’ll be connecting with folks next week to make sure violations are corrected. Another new twist to this year’s inspection is schools are being fined if violations are not corrected and it comes out of building funds.
• Elementary Curriculum Updates (Science Kits) – See this week’s 4J Elementary Curriculum Update that was sent to principals, which the main point of this edition was that there are 3 kits for teachers to use during fall, winter, and spring terms (which are located in the custodial hallway) and to free to reach out to Science TOSA Maggie Cline if you need assistance.
• District Admin Updates – Misael Flores Gutierrez, Director of Student Support Services, has accepted a position at ODE. His position not being replaced and his duties are instead being assigned to other district admin.
• School Safety and Emergency Management Transition – Kari Skinner, Director of School Safety and Emergency Management, has accepted a position in Beaverton, and downtown emailed principals they will likely have a temp assigned to her position until a “reimagined role” can be decided on and hired.
• Strategies for Students With Scattered Minds – Teachers can help students strengthen their brain’s executive function with “workouts” in which they practice pausing, prioritizing, improving their working memory, and mapping their options. See this Edutopia Article for details.
• Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:
• Licensed Optional SMART Goals, Due Nov. 3 – Here are Optional Licensed SMART Goals teachers can cut-and-paste into TalentEd if you would like.
• Sunshine Committee Dues – See Elizabeth’s Email for details. Full-Time Licensed Staff: $30.00 and Classified Staff: $20.00. There’s a money envelope in Elizabeth’s mailbox or you can Venmo @elizabethcobb1
• Elementary Inclusive Beliefs Survey – Teachers, if you haven’t already, complete a 10-minute Elementary Inclusive Beliefs Survey. This is a joint 4J and EEA effort.
• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Physically Moving/Restraining Students – This week’s highlight (a repeat from last week because I somehow deleted the into and it ended up in the reminders section) from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Physically Moving/Restraining Students. Restraint should be a last resort required to keep students and adults safe. It should only be done by MANDT Trained staff, but untrained staff are allowed to restrain a student in cases of an immediate threat (i.e. about to run in front of a car):
Physically removing/restraining:
• Physically removing/moving/restraining a student is never allowed unless there is an imminent threat to a person. Should be a trained staff member except in extreme situations. If you need assistance with a student call the office using the intercom on the wall or phoneHow to get help (immediate):
• If available, use a radio to request help. If not, use the intercom button, or use the phone and dial 6100. If a staff member is nearby, you may also request them to get help for student behaviors
• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:
October 30 (M)
Office/PE/Music Staff Room Duty
Safety Week Begins
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
1:15, Fire DrillOctober 31 (T)
Halloween!!!
Room Clear and Hold Drill @Teacher Choice
Kindergarten Hearing Screening
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team MeetingsNovember 1 (W)
Ewok Appreciation Day
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
10:00, Secure Drill
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Stop, Walk, Talk Rollout (Library)
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)November 2 (H)
Title 1 Math Groups Begin
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting
1:15, Lockdown Drill
2:45-3:30, Equity & Inclusion Team Meeting (Volunteer’s Classroom)
6:00-7:00, Holt PTO Meeting (Library)November 3 (F)
8:20, Earthquake & Fire DrillNovember 6 (M)
Title Staff Room Duty
TAG Testing Week
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-UpNovember 7 (T)
11:00-12:00, 4th Grade Garden
1:00-2:00, 4th Grade Garden
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL MeetingNovember 8 (W)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Classroom)November 9 (H)
No School – Mid-Term Grading Day
8:30-11:30, EA Pathways PDNovember 10 (F)
No School – Veterans Day (Observed)
Have a good week, Bolts!
Allan
