https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=13441
Howdy Everyone,
Was it just me or was it really weird to start the weekend after working just one day in the building?
Anyhow, a few changes in meeting schedules are below (SST Tuesday instead of IPBS, pushed out the 100% Data Team Meeting Wednesday PD, rescheduled the Fire Drill, and rescheduled a School Choice Tour).
Twenty-one items of note for this week:
• Swings and School Garden Closed – Until Facilities staff trim the broken tree limbs on sofe play, the swings by the tree will be closed, as is the school garden for the same reason. Jeremy has already taped off the school garden area and will tape off the swings on Monday.
• New Winter Benchmark Deadline, 1/31 – Wednesday, Jan. 31 will be the new deadline to complete Winter easyCBM Benchmarking.
• Student Support Team (SST) Meeting TUESDAY – Rescheduling our missed SST meeting from last week, we will this Tuesday to screen potential referrals for SPED evaluations and for SST members to do a monthly check-ins on students currently in the evaluation process. Use the Request for Student / Classroom Support Form to make a referral to the team. An agenda was emailed to staff earlier regarding the students who will be discussed.
• Wednesday PD: Equity & Inclusion Team – The winter benchmark deadline has been moved to Jan 31 (see email for details if you’re interested), so we are rescheduling the 100% Data Team Meeting. Instead, this Wednesday at 1:30 in the library, will be our Equity & Inclusion Team PD that got iced out last week.
• School Choice Presentation THURSDAY @9:00 (Library & Zoom) – Downtown wants all elementary schools to reschedule any missed tours due to the ice storm, so I added one to this Friday right before the 1st and 2nd Grade Family Math Night.
Thurs, Jan. 25, 9:00-10:00 a.m. (Holt Library & Zoom)
Fri., Jan. 26, 4:00-5:00 p.m. (Holt Library & Zoom)
• Fire Drill, THURSDAY @1:15 – We’ll reschedule our missed fire drill for this Thursday at 1:15. Linked here is a copy of the Building Evacuation Map and the Fire Drill Line-Up Map. If we get rained out, I’ll reschedule for early next week.
• Holt Spirit Day – Wacky Hair Day, 1/26 – Friday, Jan. 26 is a Holt Spirit Day and this time it’s Wacky Hair Day! Tell your kids to create their wackiest and wildest hairdo or just wear their Holt spirit gear!
• Spirit Assembly FRIDAY@8:20 – The January School Spirit Assembly is this Friday 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!
• SPED EA Interviews, FRIDAY @2:45 – Our 7-hour SPED EA job posting closed on Thursday, so Emily and I are planning to hold interviews this Friday at 2:45. Let me know if you would like to volunteer your time to help with interviews and I will send you the interview materials.
• 1st, and 2nd Grade Family Math Night, FRIDAY – Friday, January 26, 5:30-6:45pm is the 1st and 2nd Grade Family Math Game Night. 5:30-6:10 will be math games in classrooms and 6:15-6:45 will be pizza and a raffle in cafeteria.
• Holt Night Out @Panera, 1/30, 4:00-8:00 – The January Holt Night Out Fundraiser is at Panera Bread at Gateway on Tuesday, January 30th from 4:00 pm – 8:00 p.m. Dine-in, drive-thru, pick-up, or delivery. For online orders, use the promo code FUND4U. Remind students and get them pumped!
• Wednesday PD: Report Card Collaboration, 1/31 – In addition to the Report Card Grading Day, teachers can use this time to connect, collaborate, and prep for report cards.
• New Report Card, Grading Day, and Transition Day Info – See Erin Gaston’s Report Card Email for info on the new mid-year grade scores, using a score of “1”, and generic vs. individual comments. Key resournce in the email are:
- Report Card One Pager(scoring rubric and tips for best practices)
- Report Card Guidance Sheets for K-5 (ELA & Report Card alignment)
- Elementary Report Card Checklist (How to use Synergy. Links will be updated)
• Feb. 1 EA Pathways PD – The EA Pathways PD Email 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. See LINK for more info.
• Classified Staff Meeting 2/1 @12:30 – I don’t currently have any agenda items for this meeting, so for now it will be a check-in meeting, but do let me know if there are any agenda items you’d like discussed.
• Feb. 2 Transition Day – See last week’s announcemnts for the long verison, but the short version is this day is for ELA prep.
• 24-25 Staffing Timeline (no official info yet) – Several folks have asked, but principals have not been given a timeline for 24-25 Staffing. However, staffing plans are typically due the week before spring break and buildings are given 3 weeks to process staffing scenarios, which means we’ll likely get our staffing allocations the last week of February.
• Black History Month Resources – February is Black History Month, so I wanted to pass along this list as a starting point for resources.
Info on BHM origins:
• Awesome Video: How Black History Went From a Week to a Month
• Article: Black History Themes
• Article: The Man Behind Black History MonthOn Teaching:
• How to Be an Anti-Racist White Educator
• What Anti-Racist Teachers Do DifferentlyBlack Youth Leaders and Activists:
• Past: Youth in the Civil Rights Movement
• Present: Young Black Activists, Young Black Leaders and Creators Making History Today, Amanda GormanFrom 4J District Librarian, Amy Page:
• Libray Connection 2023
• Sora Black History Month Collection
• Black History Month eBooksFrom WeAre Teachers:
• Bulletin Boards
• Posters
• Activities
• BooksKeep in mind that black history and teaching the story of historically of marginalized groups should be a year round-activity and not just a sidebar or novelty to the American history typically taught in U.S. schools. It should be viewed as a central part of the American story.
• WREN Newsletter and PDs – The latest Western Regional Educator Network (WREN) Newsletter lists some new new Zoom PD opportunities that staff are compensated for attending and are pretty nice to do from your home. They also list several other opportunities including affinity spaces and teacher pathways for classified staff of color.
•Repeats & Reminders – See prior announcements for details:
• Draft Two-Year Calendar Feedback (2024–25/2025–26) – I’d encourage everyone to do the 24/25 and 25/26 Draft School Calendar Feedback Survey. See my prior announcements for the feedback I submitted.
• New WalkerTracker Challenge – There’s a new WalkerTracker Team Challenge January 21-27 if you want to join the Holt Team. I have a fun time comparing how many steps I get compared to others on the team. Download the app (iOS or Android) or go to the 4J WalkerTracker Website to sign up.
• Grading Day Expectations – HR allows teachers to work from home if you notify your administrator in advance, but plan ahead if you need to collaborate with any colleagues. 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.
•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 22 (M)
SPED/Inst. Coach, Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (5th Classrooms)
12:50-1:15, OBOB Battles (Library)January 23 (T)
8:45-9:20, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Parks)
9:20-10:00, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Ayres)
10:15-10:45, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
10:40-11:10, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Heinrich)
2:45-3:30, SST Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Zoom)
6:00-7:30, Conscious Discipline Parent Course (Library & Cafeteria)January 24 (W)
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (5th Classrooms)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Wednesday PD – Equity & Inclusion TeamJanuary 25 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
9:00-10:00, School Choice Presentation (Library & Zoom)
1:15, Fire Drill
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Room)January 26 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Wacky Hair Day
8:20, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (5th Classrooms)
12:50-1:15, OBOB Battles (Library)
2:30-4:00, SPED EA Interviews (Emily’s Room)
4:00-5:00, Rescheduled School Choice Tour (Library & Zoom)
5:30-7:00, 1st and 2nd Family Math Night (Classrooms & Cafeteria)
-5:30-6:10 Math games in classrooms
-6:15-6:45 Dinner & raffle in cafeteriaJanuary 29 (M)
Office/PE/Music Staff Room Duty
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (5th Classrooms)
12:50-1:15, OBOB Battles (Library)
3:30-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)January 30 (T)
4:00-8:00, Panera Bread – Holt Night Out
6:00-7:30, Conscious Discipline Parent Course (Library & Cafeteria)January 31 (W)
easyCBM Winter Benchmark CLOSES
12:50-1:15, OBOB Battles (Library)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Report Card Coordination TimeFebruary 1 (H)
Black History Month
No School – Semester Grading Day
8:00-11:30, EA Pathways PD (Churchill HS)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
12:30, Classified Staff Meeting (Library)February 2 (F)
No School – Transition Day
9:30-4:40, Allan to HR Training (Ed Center)
Hopefully, things are back to normal this week for folks. Last week was a rough one!
Allan
