https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=13478
Hi-Diddily-Ho, Holt Bolts!
This week is National School Counselor Week, so I’d like to take a moment to give a shout-out to Megan. Although new to Holt this year, she’s jumped right in and become a vital part of our team for supporting students, staff, and families! Thank you for all you do, Megan!
Be sure to give Megan a thank you and some appreciation this week!
Twenty-three items of note for this week:
• Staffing Update: SPED EA (Annie Carpenter) – I’m pleased to announce that Annie, who has been subbing in SPED that past few weeks, has been hired as the newest member of the primary grade SPED team. This means we will have a 6-hour Title 1 EA vacancay, which I have sumbitted a requisition to post.
• 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.
• Student Support Team (SST) Meeting 2/6 – The February SST meeting will be on Tuesday, Feb. 6, where the team will screen potential referrals for SPED evaluations and for SST members to do a monthly check-in on students currently in the evaluation process. Use the Request for Student / Classroom Support Form to make a referral to the team. An agenda will be emailed to teachers needing to attend the meeting.
• Wed. PD: 100% Data Team Meeting – This Wednesday at 1:30 in the library will be our 100% Data Team Meeting following winter benchmark scores.
• Myah’s Baby Shower, THURSDAY – Myah’s baby shower is this Thursday after school! See the email from Robin and the Sunshine Committee for details!
• Report Card Reminders – I emailed this earlier, but as a reminder:
Send-Home Date Monday, Feb. 12 – Downtown gave the okay for us to send home report cards on the date we’d originally planned and had on the calendar for parents.
Parent Reports in Mailboxes – Parent Reports from Synergy, with easyCBM, OSAS, and attendance info, are in teacher mailboxes and should be included in report card envelopes.
You May Print Now – Sharon has completed the attendance steps in Synergy, so teachers can print report cards when you are ready.
Use AI to Help with Comments! – Stuck on tricky language for comments for a particular student? AI can give you some very nice language as a starting point. Most folks like ChatGPT, but I prefer the education-focused MagicSchool.ai.
• Random Act of Kindness Week, 2/11 to 2/17 – Celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week February 11-17! If you’d like to do something with kids, HERE, HERE, and HERE are some activity ideas.
• Friendship Day 2/14 – Teachers and teams should communicate to families your plan for Friendship Day. The staff agreement is to do Friendship Day as opposed to celebrating Valentine’s Day, though some grade levels did traditional card exchanges. February 14th should be referred to as “Friendship Day.” Grade levels need to have general agreement around what they will do, bring, create, etc., and are responsible for communicating expectations to families.
• Fire Drill, 2/14 @1:15 – We’ll reschedule our missed fire drill for Thursday, February. 14 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.
• 24/25 Staffing Survey – Principals haven’t gotten a 24/25 staffing timeline yet, but I imagine we’ll get our staffing for next year around the end of this month, so to help me with next year’s staffing plan, I’d like both classified and licensed staff to complete the linked 2024-2025 Staffing Survey. I’d like to know staff members’ plans and preferences for the future as well as your thoughts on next year’s staffing plan, master schedule, or other thoughts. All answers will be kept confidential and let me know if you have any questions.
• Presidents Day/Make-Up (no official update, but likely day off) – District admin said they were going to decide last week if this date would be a make-up day, but nothing has been shared with principals. Since that date is so soon and since there was nothing in the latest 4J Parent News, I’m guessing this will stay a holiday. June, 14, 17, and 18 are still on the calendar for make-up days, so stay tuned for a decision on those dates.
• Equity and Inclustion Student Team – See Emily’s Email for details, but teachers should add the names of 1 student per class who are interested and/or you think would be good representatives on our Equity & Inclusion Student Team. Consider students of color, LGBTQIA+ students, students with disabilities, students with food allergies, students who struggle with mental health, students who are learning English as a second language or whose parents speak another language at home.
• Safety Committee Items – Meeting minutes are in the Staff Google Drive and posted in the Staff Room, but two Items we wanted to highlight for staff:
Fire Drill (close doors) – Doors were left open during the last fire drill. Keeping the doors closed helps prevent a fire from spreading.
Remind Kids DO NOT press ADA Button – Remind your students to NOT press the ADA button near the bike cage exterior door. Tell them this created a safety concern because we do not want to give strangers access to get inside the building. This should also result in a referral. A minor the first time and a major for a repeat.
• Grant Approval Form Required (for awarded grants) – Downtown does not need a Grant Approval Form to approve/disapprove grant applications, but Financial Services does need this form to set up an account for any grant funds you are awarded, so if you are awarded a grant that awards funds (not stuff), complete the above form and give it to Sharon. I’ve added a link to this form on the Holt Staff Dashboard.
• Girls on the Run Preview – Our Girls on the Run Head Coaches, Heidi and Leah, will share info at a future staff meeting, but if you’d like a preview, linked here is the current Holt Girls on the Run Plan, which will be March 18 through May 27 on Mondays and Wednesdays after school for girls in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade.
• SEL Student Screener, SAEBRS – I’m putting this on the next staff meeting agenda, but below is info on a new SEL screener 4J is doing K – 12. Teachers will complete a 2-3 minute screener on each student and then students in grades 2-5 will complete an online version of the same questions. Here is the email sent to principals and below is the text we were asked to share:
Our district will be administering the SAEBRS (Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener) universal screening tool in two windows throughout the 2023–2024 school year. SAEBRS is a brief, norm-referenced tool for screening students to identify areas of potential school-wide growth. This universal screening tool is built to align academic and socio-emotional learning opportunities and interventions to increase well-being and developmental competencies. The initial screening window is between January 3rd, 2024 – February 29th, 2024. SAEBRS is administered by teachers or counselors in grades K–12 and takes approximately 2–3 minutes to complete each student assessment. MySAEBRS is the student version of the same assessment given to students in grades 2-12.
This survey is a valuable tool for schools to identify patterns and opportunities to teach lagging skills, and areas of growth to support social, academic, and emotional outcomes. We will be administering SAEBRS two times in the following windows January 3rd, 2024 – February 29th, 2024 and May 1st – May 31st, 2024. This data should be utilized to inform an understanding of school-wide social and cultural aspects that inform interventions that are not singularly student focused.
There’s a fair amount of info to wade through, which is why we’ll go over this at a Staff Meeting and provide staff a Wednesday to complete the teacher screener portion, but I figured some folks would want a preview ahead of time.
• Elem Principal Meeting Items – I’d added several questions to the meeting “Parking Lot” last week that I thought staff might find interesting, with the answers in blue:
4J Truancy Officer – Has a replacement for Mark Barr been hired? Are we able to submit a request for someone to go out to families of truant students? *No one has been hired. Earlier in the month, Kat and a few others were working on identifying a solution to this current need. We will see if there is an update.
Smart Start Planning – Is there a plan for a team of teachers and admins to plan Kinder Smart Start for next fall? *Plans to launch a K Smart Start team (made up of various stakeholders), will be shared as soon as we solidify a date for February. More details to follow in the coming weeks.
Staffing Timeline – Do we have a timeline for 24/25 staffing? *We hope to have more clarity on this timeline later this week to be able to share with principals.
Enrollment Projections – Can principals be emailed our enrollment projections by grade level for next year that staffing will be based on? *We can bring this up and share with the Data Team and HR as a request for staffing/budget season. [I’ll share this with staff if/when we get it]
• Monday Announcements Videos – A reminder that if you ever forget to log onto the Monday Morning Student Announcements, the videos are on the Staff Google Drive under HOLT STAFF DOCUMENTS > MISC > MONDAY MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS. And don’t forget to sign your class up to lead the Pledge of Allegiance if you have some kiddos who would like to do that.
• ESOL and DL Scholarship for Teachers, FREE! – See this email for details, but it’s an opportunity for teachers to add an ESOL Endorsement and/or Dual Language Specialization at no cost thanks to a grant. All courses are online. The deadline to apply is April 3, 2024.
• More Black History Month Resources – The latest Library Lowdown has some updated Black History Month Resources Slide along with the following links:
• GALE Celebrates Black Artists in History with activities and lesson plans
• NEA K12 Lessons and Activities
• We Are Teachers: 34 Activities for Black History Month
• Black History Month Podcasts
• Black History Month Choice Board
• Discounted Tickets for Ducks Education Day – The annual UO Education Appreciation Day for Men’s and Women’s Basketbal is offering folks who work in schools discounted tickets on on Feb. 10 (men’s basketball) and Feb. 16 (women’s basketball). Click the images below to order your tickets.
• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Housekeeping – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Housekeeping:
Housekeeping:
• Students should pick up scraps, books, pencils, etc. off the floor before being dismissed each afternoon.
• Similarly, chairs should be stacked each afternoon and all trash cans should be placed outside your door.
• No stickers should be placed on desks, chairs, books, cubbies, etc.
• Student work habits often reflect their surroundings. Maintaining a neat and tidy classroom serves as a positive model for children to emulate.
• While seemingly unimportant, housekeeping details can make a difference in school appearance and students’ respect and attitude toward learning.
• Trash cans should be placed outside the room each night.
•Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:
February 5 (M)
Title Staff Room Duty
National School Counselor Week
Artist in Residence – Larry Meyers (4th & 5th Grade)
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (Library)
12:50-1:50, OBOB Battles (Library)
3:30-5:00, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)February 6 (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 (Henrich)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
2:45-3:30, SST Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
4:00-5:30, Allan to District PBIS Meeting (Zoom)
6:00-7:30, Conscious Discipline Parent Course (Library & Cafeteria)February 7 (W)
International Clash Day
Monthly Walk + Roll to School Day
7:30-8:30, Allan to MAPS Meeting (Zoom)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – 100% Data Team Meeting (Library)
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)February 8 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (Library)
12:50-1:50, OBOB Battles (Library)
2:45, Myah’s Baby Shower (Library)
6:00, PTO Meeting (Library)February 9 (F)
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (Library)
12:50-1:50, OBOB Battles (Library)February 12 (M)
Office/PE/Music Staff Room Duty
Random Act of Kindness Week
Artist in Residence – Larry Meyers (4th & 5th Grade)
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
Report Cards Sent Home
7:30, Allan Monthly Meeting w/Jeff Johnson (Office)
11:00-11:30, OBOB Battles (Library)
11:30-11:00, OBOB Battles (Library)
3:30-5:30, Allan to Elem Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)February 13 (T)
Birthday Drinks & Goodies in Staff Room
8:45-9:20, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Parks)
9:20-10:00, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Ayres)
10:40-11:10, Conscious Discipline Guest Speaker (Henrich)
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL Team Meeting (Kelsey’s Room)
6:00-7:30, Conscious Discipline Parent Course (Library & Cafeteria)February 14 (W)
Holt Friendship Day – Bomba Sicks Day
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – 4J Behavior Matrix (Library)February 15 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
9:00-11:40, 2nd Grade (Norton/Gulleckson) Jordan Schnitzer Field Trip
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (Library)
12:50-1:50, OBOB Battles (Library)
1:15, Fire Drill
2:45, Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Classroom)
6:30-7:30, 4th Grade Invention Project Night (Gym)February 16 (F)
9:00-11:40, 2nd Grade (Bemiller/Rabourn) Jordan Schnitzer Field Trip
12:25-12:45, OBOB Battles (Library)
12:50-1:50, OBOB Battles (Library)
4:30, Allan to 4J BIPoC Staff Affinity Meeting (Churchill)February 19 (M)
No School* — Presidents Day (possible school closure makeup day)
7:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)
Two weeks until our next 3-day weekend!
Allan
