September 17, 2012

By Allan  

Hello Howard Staff,

Normally I don’t list quite as many items in my announcements as I’ve listed the past few weeks (and this week too), but there’s been a glut of information to pass along lately. Hopefully receiving information in one place is preferable to me flooding your inboxes with forwarded emails throughout the week.

Thirteen items of note for this week:

• Forums On Wednesdays With Jon Saphier – In addition to the trainings he already has scheduled with teachers, Jon will be offering open forums on a variety of topics though out the school year. These are voluntary trainings for which staff will not be compensated, but the forums are free events open to everyone. Each session will be held in the Ed Center auditorium. See the attached flyer for forum topics and dates. The first forum will be held Oct. 24.

• Making Students’ Thinking Visible Cheat Sheet – Speaking of Jon, here’s a handy cheat sheet of 22 strategies teachers can use in class to make students’ thinking visible. My suggestion would be to pick one of these that you don’t use on a regular basis and try focusing on that one for a week or so. After that strategy starts to feel automatic and natural, try taking on another one of the listed strategies.

• EEF Back to School Celebration – EEF is inviting staff to attend the Eugene Education Foundation’s Back to School Celebration on Tuesday, October 9th at the LCC Conference Center. They are inviting two reps from each school to attend as their guests, which means you’d get a delicious free meal for going. I can be one of our reps, but I wanted to invite any staff member willing to also attend. Maybe one of our EEF grant authors or recipients? Let me know if you’d be willing to attend!

• Fire Drill Wednesday at 8:20 – I’ll plan to hold our September fire drill this week on Wednesday at 8:20. Please let Lori or I know if you have any questions about the evacuation procedure.

• Northwest Conference for Teaching Social Justice – If you’ve attended Taking it Up, you’ve already received an email from Carmen, but for everyone else I wanted to let you know about an equity focused conference being held in Portland on Saturday, October 20th. The conference theme this year is “Rethinking Our Classrooms, Organizing for Better Schools”. For more information, you can read Carmen’s email or visit the conference website. The district will be providing bus transportation and I will pay registration fees for anyone who’s interested in attending. This is a voluntary (not required) event for which staff will not be compensated, but the district is hoping schools can send at least two representatives. Please let me know by the end of the week if you are interested in attending this conferences or if you have any questions.

• SELCO Mini Grants – SELCO Community Credit Union accepts Mini-Grant requests each fall from K-12 educators in the 26 counties they serve. Mini-Grants of up to $500 are awarded to educators to implement creative education projects and to help fill in the gaps left by school budget shortfalls. The SELCO Mini-Grant application process is simple, but carefully read the funding criteria to be sure your project is eligible. Use the online application form to apply.

• EEF Grant Site Council Deadline This Week – I’ve heard from the 4/5 team, who are planning a $2,000 grant for an OMSI trip, but I haven’t heard from anyone else regarding EEF grant proposals. Site Council will be meeting next week to approve grants, so let me know by the end of this week if you have a grant idea you’d like to submit. A title and thumbnail description will work fine for Site Council ranking and approval.

• PTO Meeting Tuesday, September 18th, 6:00-7:00 and PTO Meeting Sign-Up – First, a quick reminder there is a PTO meeting this Tuesday at 6:00 in the library. It would be great if we are able to have some staff representatives attend the meeting. Second, I’ve posted a PTO meeting sign-up for at least two staff reps to attend the monthly PTO meetings, which are the third Tuesday of each month. I completely understand people wanting to find balance between home and work, but it’s still nice if we can show support for the parents volunteering their time to support out school. They’ll be discussing fundraising at this meeting, so be sure to come or let a staff rep know if you have any strong feelings about what you do or do not want to see in regards to fundraising activities. Hope to see you there!

• Building 4J’S Future: Community Forums – The district is starting a community conversation about improving the condition and design of our school buildings. District staff and the school board want to hear from staff, parents and community members about their views on how to proceed. They are hoping schools can send 4-5 people (site council members, staff, parent leaders, etc…) to attend at least one community forums. See the attached flyer for details. Attendees are not expected to represent our school, but to share their own viewpoints. I’ll be attending the North Region forum on Monday, October 1st from 7:00-8:30 at the NEHS Auditorium. Principals have been asked to let downtown know who will be attending for our school, so please let me know if you are planning to attend one of the forums. Thank you!

• International Walk and Bike to School Day on October 3, 2012 – Typically this was an event that PE teachers have led, but if there is anyone interested in taking it on, there is a $200 stipend available for prizes and incentives to promote the event. Attached is a flyer on how to get the stipend. More ideas on how to run the event can be found on the Oregon website and also on the International website. The deadline to apply for stipends is Monday, September 24th.

• Emerald Empire Reading Council Professional Development Opportunities – The Emerald Empire Reading Council is offering literacy focused workshops throughout the school year. See the attached flyer for details.

• Get Teaching Tolerance’s ELL Best Practice Collection – Last year in Durham, N.C., English language learners and their parents with limited English proficiency were denied access to interpreters and important school documents. The school district developed a plan of action for creating a climate of inclusion. Teaching Tolerance is offering those best practices to educators. Learn strategies for family engagement, communication and creating a welcoming environment regardless of English proficiency.

• Talk Like a Pirate Day, Wednesday! – Lastly, if you want to inject some ridiculousness into your students’ day, this Wednesday is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! You can almost claim it’s a legitimate holiday when Harcourt creates an activity kit for teachers to use with students.

Aarrr, have a great week, everyone, Gar!

Cap’n Allan