https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=315
Hi Everyone,
Hope you all had a pleasant, sunny weekend. My weekend was certainly not what I’d expected. My wife, Kim, had to go to the ER Friday, right after school, and ended up having surgery. Everything is fine, but it was not the restful weekend I was planning. She’d gotten a sub Friday morning because of nausea and abdominal pains. The pains got worse over the course of the day and she called me after school to tell me her doctor wanted her to go to the ER. At the ER, they determined that she needed to have her appendix removed. She finally got into the OR at 11:40 PM. Surgery went fine, but it turned out it wasn’t her appendix, it was her gallbladder, so they ended up removing both that and her appendix. Kim is came home Sunday afternoon and is going to take all of next week off to recover. And if you’re wondering where baby Grace was during all of this, she spent Friday and Saturday at my parents. So the moral of this story is, hug your loved ones and never take a moment for granted.
Six items of note for this week:
• Differentiation Resources – Attached is a nice collection of links to WebQuest activities for students are various grade levels. This was shared at one of the differentiation a handful of teachers attended recently. You might also want to bookmark this webpage for future reference, which will be periodically updated with differentiation resources.
• 2010-2011 Calendar – The School Board has approved next school year’s calendar. Attached is the Elementary Calendar for next year. HR is currently developing the employee pay and holiday calendar, which should be available in about two weeks. It should be noted that the day after Thanksgiving (November 26) is a paid day for all holiday eligible classified employees. The notation that states “Non-paid holiday” is incorrect.
• Last Day of School Change – HR has just announced that the last day of school for students this year will be a full day of school. The reasoning is that given the need to cut days from the calendar this school year and the District’s commitment to not cutting instructional time, it was not possible to schedule the last day for students as half day. See the attached email I received from HR this week if you’d like further details..
• IEP Meeting Compensation – Many teachers attend IEP meetings during planning times or outside the workday. EEA contract entitles classroom teachers to be compensated for up to four hours additional pay. Forms will be accepted between 5/1 and 6/7 and can be found here
• Free Science Factory Program for Teachers – April 28th at 3:00, and again at 4:30, all grade level and interested teachers may come to see the new features of the “Exploration Dome”, see where three planets wil be visible int eh current sky, and learn about the 2012 hoax. Refreshments and PDUs are available courtesy of the Lane ESD. Check their website for all that’s going on there now.
• Political Activities Reminder – A measure that would affect schools is on the May 18 statewide primary ballot. Voters’ pamphlets are arriving in mailboxes this week, and ballots will be mailed beginning April 30. Attached are the district guidelines around the “Do’s and don’ts” of political activities by school employees.
Have a great week!
Allan