https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=13600
Howdy Everyone,
Hope you have a good spring break. I mostly stayed around town, but did go to the coast for a few days and found a novelization of Shafts Big Score and Zardoz at a funky Lincoln City used bookstore, so that was $3 well spent. Also picked up the out-of-print autobiographies of Mary Pickford and Ingrid Bergman and a first edition of Myrna Loy’s autobiography. And if you don’t recognize those names, do I have some movie recommendations for you!
Twenty-one items of note for this week:
• Library Restored to Full-Time – The school board is requiring district admin to reinstate the 3 full-time librarians at the pilot schools, which means Robbie will be full-time again next school year instead of being part-time at Holt and part-time at Chinese Immersion.
• April 1 PD Info – Here’s all the info for the Monday, April 1 PD:
Classified Staff:
BBSAs – Join SSCs from 8:30-1:00 at Holt Library
Kinder & Gen Ed EAs – Gen Ed EAs are invited to join SPED EAs at a screening of “The R Word” a Churchill HS, 8:30-10:00, but can also assist with prep work on the sign-up sheet linked HERE.
SPED EAs – Attend either the Mental Health and Learning Strategies (registration is closed, so only if you already registered) or attend a screening of “The R Word” at Churchill HS, 8:30-10:00.
Title EAs – Join Title Coordinators from 8:30-1:00 at Chavez.EAs can also use some of this time to complete Vector trainings and/or the Self-Assessments in TalentEd if you haven’t already.
Licensed Staff:
Classroom & Instructional Coaches – Howard, starting at 8:30 (Info Here)Schedule for April 1 for Classroom Teachers & Coaches:
8:00 – Meet at your building and get into carpool groups.
8:20 – Arrive at Howard Elementary
8:30 – 9:50 – Session #1
9:50-10:05 – Break/Transition
10:05-11:25 – Session #2
11:25-11:40- Break/Transition
11:40-1:00 – Session #3
1:00-2:00 – Travel back to your building and lunch on your own
2:00-4:00 – Planning TimeElementary Licensed Specialists – Various locations, starting at 8:30 (Info Here)
• EA Assistance April 1 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.
• Title 1 EA Interviews, 4/1 @1:30 – Jackie, Jenny, Lisa and I are holding interviews on Monday at 1:30 if anyone is interested in volunteering their time to help. Let me know if you are interested and I will email the interview materials.
• 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 4/1 – The April SST meeting will be on Tuesday, April 2nd, 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.
• Wednesday PD: Equity & Inclusion – Wednesday at 1:30 in the library will be the Equity & Inclusion Team’s follow-up to last month’s PD.
• Spirit Assembly 4/5 @8:20 – The April School Spirit Assembly is on Friday, April 5th 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!
• Electronics Recycling Competition Drop-Off Week – Remind students and get them pumped for the annual BRING Recycling Electronics Recycling Competition. They can drop off old electronics (Anything with a plug or that takes batteries. Cell phones, monitors, computers, phones, cables, etc. They’ll take it all!) at NextStep (245 Jackson St. now until April 30 (making sure they tell them it’s for Holt) or drop them off at the collection site in front of the office the week of April 8 – 12. The school with the most “e-waste” collected wins a $500 gift certificate and a Next Step Robot made by a local artist.
• Solar Eclipse April 8th at 10:30 – We get a rare opportunity to observe a solar eclipse (it’s actually a partial eclipse) during school hours on Monday, April 8, starting at 10:30, peaking at 11:20 or 11:30, and ending at 12:15. Linked here are Directions for Making a Solar Eclipse Viewer and some notes about Eye Safety During an Eclipse.
• Data Team Meeting K-5, 4/9 – We’ll hold grade-level Data Team Meetings this day with roving subs. Watch for details coming soon from Carla.
• Wednesday PD: Science OSAS & Accommodations – Wednesday at 1:30 in the library we’ll review the Science standards and assessment, as well as go over how to input student accommodations into TIDE.
• Holt Night Out, Bangers & Brews, 4/10 – Wednesday, April 10th is a Holt Night Out at Bangers & Brews! Remind kids to stop by Bangers & Brews at 2506 Willakenzie Road, across from Sheldon High School, between 3:00-8:00 pm, and just mention Holt when ordering for our school to get a percentage of all sales.
• Accessible Education Parent Group, 4/11 @5:30 – Emily and Carla have started up an Accessible Education Parent Group to give families of students with IEPs voice and support, which will meet for the first time on April 11 at 5:30 in the library.
• Midterm Grading Day, 4/12 – This is a non-student day and the expectation from downtown is staff are to report to the building and be available to colleagues on this day. For classroom teachers, 3.75 hours is dedicated to ELA planning and 3.75 hours is for “Strategic Family Outreach.” Downtown hasn’t given guidance on what this outreach is supposed to be, but I’d suggest using this time to call, email, or text families you need to connect with for various reasons; improvements, progress, and/or struggles with attendance, academics, behavior, relationships, etc.
• EEF Grants Open 4/8 – EEF Grants are opening soon. They have not announced a deadline for applications, but usually, it’s about a month-long window. EEF prioritizes grants that focus on Enrichment (ex. STEM, arts, experimental learning), Ready to Learn (ex. literacy, SEL, accessibility solutions), and Pathways (ex. CTE, SPED, TAG). The application link is not live yet, but linked here is a PDF I made of the form from earlier this year.
Schools can submit as many grants as they want, so feel free to start writing! I saved a PDF version of Last Year’s EEF Grant Application if you want to start now. And remember that AI (MagicSchool.AI and ChatGPT) can save time doing a lot of the writing for you!
• Penny War Results – This was announced over the PA, but here are the final results of the Penny War:
• Vanilla Crunchies in Workrooms – I signed Holt up for the free cereal program offered by Food for Lane County, where schools can get free cereal snack packages of Vanilla Crunches to give students. There are two boxes in each of the workrooms, so feel free to grab what you want for your classrooms (specialists too). I remembered the boxes being larger, so I only ordered four, but for our April order, I’ll order a lot more.
• 6th Place on Walker Tracker Challenge – Did you see Holt got 6th place on the Walker Tracker Challenge out of 60 teams? We’re moving up the ranks! Download the app and start tracking your daily steps to help the Holt team with the next challenge!
• HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHT: Cafeteria Expectations – This week’s highlight from the Holt Staff Handbook, is on Cafeteria Expectations:
Cafeteria Expectations:
Staff members will supervise students while entering the cafeteria, walking them along the stage or the window side. Do not release students at the doors. Grade levels sharing lunch periods may employ other structures to help the flow (example: 2 classes use the stage side & 2 other classes use the window side). Staff is expected to supervise for 5 minutes following the official start of the lunch period, or until their students are settled.I would add, now that we are having students enter Lunch PINs, for teachers to help students enter their numbers until they have it down.
•Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Holt Staff Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:
April 1 (M)
April Fool’s Day!
No School – Professional Development/Planning Day
8:00 – 1:00, PD Sessions (Various Locations)
1:30, Title 1 EA Interviews
2:00-4:00 – Planning TimeApril 2 (T)
Classes Resume
3rd Grade Staff Room Duty
K-3 Clay Artist in Residence Continues
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
10:15, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
2:45-3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
2:45-3:30, SST Meeting (Calming Room)April 3 (W)
Monthly Walk+Roll to School Day
10:40, 4th Grade Storyteller
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – Equity & Inclusion Team (Library)
1:30-3:00, Girls on the Run
7:00-9:00, School Board Meeting (Zoom)April 4 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
9:00, Safety Committee Meeting (Office)
2:45, Equity & Inclusion Team Meeting, Rob Hess attending (Kelsey’s Room)
5:00-6:00, Site Council (Library) 6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Library & Zoom)April 5 (F)
Holt Spirit Day – Sports Day
8:20-8:40, School Spirit Assembly (Gym)
9:30-1:30, 3rd Grade Eugene Science Center Field TripApril 8 (M)
SPED/Inst. Coach Staff Room Duty
Electronics Recycling Competition Drop-Off Week
8:00, Morning Announcements (Zoom) Pledge Sign-Up
7:30, Allan Monthly Meeting w/Jeff Johnson (Office)
9:00-10;30, Allan to 4J BAT Meeting (Zoom)
2:30-4:00, Girls on the Run
3:30-5:30, Allan to Elem. Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)April 9 (T)
Talent Show Application Due
Birthday Drinks & Goodies in Staff Room
Data Team Meeting K-5
10:15, Student Council (Reich’s Room)
2:45-3:30, PBIS/SEL Meeting (Calming Room)
6:30-7:30, 3rd Grade Cultural Heritage Night (Gym & Cafeteria)April 10 (W)
Holt Night Out – Bangers & Brews
7:30, Allan to 4J MAPS Meeting (Zoom)
1:30-2:30, Wed. PD – OSAS Science & Accommodations PD (Library)
1:30-3:00, Girls on the RunApril 11 (H)
8:50-10:35, Book Nook (Cafeteria)
2:45-3:30, Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Room)
5:30-6:30, Accessible Education Parent Group (Library)April 12 (F)
No School – Mid-Term Grading Day
8:30-11:30, EA Pathways PD
4;30-6:30, Allan to 4J BIPOC Staff Affinity Meeting
Aren’t we lucky this year that April Fool’s Day doesn’t fall on a school day?
Allan
