October 5, 2015

By Allan  

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Hello Howard Staff,

Rachel just let me know that this past Friday was “Custodial Worker Day,” an annual celebration where we pay tribute to those women and men who work tirelessly to clean and maintain our buildings on a daily basis. Howard is lucky to have a very hardworking custodial team with Crystal and Mike, so I want to give them a belated recognition of all their hard work to make our old building look great!

Fifteen items of note this week:

• ALICE Training Next Steps – I want to thank everyone for attending last Friday’s ALICE training (and for making Howard again a trailblazer as the first elementary school in 4J to go through the training). I know it was not an easy topic to face by any means, especially in light of the tragedy at UCC happening so close, but I was glad to hear so many staff members found it useful and empowering. I know I certainly did. In terms of next steps, the training highlighted the need for us to update our current (and outdated) lockdown procedures, so like I said at the training, I would like to form a Safety Committee to look at updating our safety procedures for both our current building and the new one, looking at exit plans, reunification points and other related topics.

A few people asked me individually about safety features of the new building and a couple of the most important ones that I recall are a security vestibule that forces all visitors to come through the office before entering the building and also a lockdown button located in the office that will lock all exterior and interior hallway doors throughout the building. All the interior hallway doors of the new building, including the ones at the entrance of each wing, can be propped open by pushing them against a magnet attached to the wall. The button in the office releases the magnet and locks all the doors.

Lastly, I wanted to solicit feedback from staff about the training, which I’ll plan to share with Risk Management. My own thoughts are that it was overall a very good training, but I would have liked a more detailed written description about the practice portion of the training beforehand, which I could have shared with staff before the training and I think may have relieved some anxiety. I also felt that the Columbine 911 call wasn’t really necessary. But let me know if any of you have feedback, both good and bad, that you’d like me to pass along.

It’s very sad that we live in a world where trainings such as these are even offered, but, at least for myself, I feel better having done it.

• School-Wide SMART Goals Development Meeting – Now that we have some clarification from ODE on SMART Goals requirements, I’ll be holding an optional meeting this Wednesday at 2:30 in the library for anyone who’d like to help craft our school-wide goals. There will be three goals total; two Student Learning and Growth Goals (likely one reading and one math using easyCBM) and one Professional Goal (likely technology integration).

• Licensed Educator Effectiveness Resources & Self Assessment – Since we’re now starting the goals process and the Effectiveness and Growth cycle for licensed staff, I wanted to share some resources on the 4J Educator Effectiveness website:

Rubric at a Glance
Performance Standards
Updated (and much shorter) Rubric
Processes & Timelines

Licensed Specialists have a separate page and a separate set of Performance Standards.

The Self Assessment was due on September 30th, but since we’re starting later, I’ll say it’s due Oct. 31st. The self assessment is based on your own perception of your performance based on the Performance Standards. This is a process that you will initiate in TalentEd on your own. I will not be able to view the document. Let me know if you have any questions about any of this.

• October PBIS Focus: Bully Proofing – The October PBIS monthly focus is Bully Proofing. The PBIS team created a PBIS/CFK Cheat Sheet that matches our monthly themes with corresponding Caring for Kids class meeting lessons. Bully Proofing actually has more corresponding CFK lessons than any of the other monthly themes for both primary and intermediate grades, so you’ll have plenty to choose from!

• Hour of Code, December 7-13! – Quite a few Howard classes participated in this last year. If you’d like your class to participate, you can register on Code.org’s the Hour of Code website, where you’ll find resources including self guided tutorials (K-5) that you can simply have your students start these tutorials and you’ll have your students coding! Every participating classroom will receive a thank-you gift and you can win $10,000 for our school. Sign up now to hear first about more prizes and new Hour of Code tutorials coming soon!

• Golden Beep, Beep Returns! – Popcorn Sales are scheduled to return this Wednesday. For new staff, we do something called “The Golden Beep, Beep,” which is a big bag will a class set of popcorn to reward a classroom that has done a extra good job that day. If you think your classroom has been doing an extra good job at something this Wednesday, send me a text or let me know in person and your class may be the lucky winner!

• EEF Grant Applications Due Oct. 26th – The timeline is a bit later than in the past, but the EEF grant application process is now posted on the EEF website. EEF aims to award $5,000 to each school, but every year the amount available in their grants fund varies so they cannot guarantee award amounts. Schools can submit two $2,000 and two $500 grants, or they can combine grants to create one $5,000 grant. We’d just need to divide the project into segments and prioritize in such a way that the money awarded would still be useful if EEF was are unable to grant the total $5000. Grants are due to EEF by November 1st, but grants will actually need to be ready to be shared at Site Council on October 26th, where we will approve and rank order the grants we are submitting.

In terms of the type of grants EEF is looking to fund, the money for school grants falls into three big pots based on donor intent. They are Arts, Literacy, and STEM. Grants are often made for equipment, supplies, stipends for arts residencies, etc. The plan should serve the greatest number of students possible. A thorough description of the application process can be found at the EEF website, so start thinking about grant ideas and please let me know if you are planning on submitting a grant proposal to Site Council.

• Bus Safety Training Requirement – Lori sent this information out earlier, but the state requires all students to receive instruction on bus safety by the end of December. To meet the requirement, teachers can order a bus and driver to come out one day to provide instruction to classes or teachers can also meet the requirement by showing the bus safety video The Safest Way Out. Once you have completed your chosen method of meeting the requirement, please let Lori know the date and the training method used. On a side note, I’m slightly amused the Transportation Department just this year took off the VHS and 16mm bus safety films recommendations.

• 4/5 Part-Time Job Posted – The job posting for the other half of our 4/5 blend is now on the 4J Jobs website, so if you know of anyone who you think would be a good match for Howard (and for Stephanie), be sure to let me know and encourage them to apply. The posting is set to close this Tuesday, October 6th.

• Updated Master Schedule – Here is an updated master schedule that includes an new column for our 4/5 classroom.

• New Building Updates – Attached are the minutes from the last Owner/Architect/General Contractor (OAC) Meeting and below are a few items of note related to packing and moving.

• Spring Break Boxes – Facilities now knows that most teachers want to send some boxes into their new classrooms over spring break, so they are planning to check back in with us the first part of March to see how things are progressing; meaning the new furniture is already placed in the classrooms, the punch list items have been noted, and that the 4J warehouse staff are available to make the move.

• Answers to Questions from Last Week – Pam Wescott from Facilities got back to me with answers (in italics) to the questions I asked last week, which were; Will Title 1 EAs also be given days to pack and unpack? (Yes) For Licensed Staff, do these days apply to itinerant staff (school psych, occupational therapist, school nurse, etc.) who all have spaces in the building but who work in multiple schools? (Facilities wants clarification on how much stuff itinerant staff have in the building and if it warrants the same number days. School Nurse does get 2 days to pack and 2 to unpack.) Do the Office days include our office assistant or just the secretary? (No, but the days given to the secretary can be shared with the office assistant) Do the Food Services days include Food Services Assistants or just Joan? (The 2 days can be split between all of them or just one of them. There are 16 hours to pack and 16 hours to unpack.) Will they move Lynn Booth’s items, our Looking Glass Counselor who works on-site, but who is not a school district employee. (Yes) I’d also asked about how many days BEST staff would have to pack and unpack since we’re the first BEST program to be part of a school move. BEST will have two classrooms in the new building. (The BEST Coordinator will have 2 days to pack and 2 to unpack. 1 EA per classroom will have 2 days to pack and 2 to unpack. If we want to split the EA time amongst more we can, but can’t go over the total 2 days to pack or 2 to unpack.)

The answer to my library questions was a bit longer. Since Julie’s time in the library is less than 3 hours a day, I’m worried that three weeks is not enough time to pack and weed the library, so I’m seeing if Julie can get additional extended contact instead of having to close the library for longer than three weeks, which is what we may end up having to do. (Close the Library May 23rd. [week 5/23 through 5/27]. Give Julie’s 2 hour assignment (not Library Asst.) to another EA [funded from moving budget. 5 days x 2 hours = 10 hours]. Give Julie 5 hours additional [funded from moving budget] along with her Library Asst. time funded from the school. 5 days x 5 hours = 25 hours. Give another EA an additional 5 hours for this week [funded from moving budget] = 5 hours. TOTAL for this week is 40 hours to weed the library funded from the moving budget. May 31 the movers will come in and pack the library on carts and wheel them over to the new library. Now we do the same process as above for unpacking. 40 hours to unpack.)

• Full-time Spring Student Teachers from Oregon International Internship Program – A repeat from a couple weeks ago, the UO Oregon International Internship Program (OIIP) is still looking for placements in 4J for student teachers from China. Interns would work full-time, beginning in February through the end of the year, and can provide classroom management support, individual instruction to students, lead group activities, or other assigned tasks. If any of you are interested in having an extra hand in your classroom second semester, see the attached flyer and contact Mandy Gettler at the UO by phone (541) 346-1773 or by email mandyl@uoregon.edu.

• Title 1 Newsletter – Here is the latest district level Title 1 Newsletter that went out to Title 1 Coordinators and principals. This month’s newsletter is all coordinator specific information and tasks, but feel free to check it out if you’d like to see what Robin is up to.

• 17 Ways to Help Students With ADHD Concentrate – Research shows that students with ADHD can concentrate better when they’re allowed to fidget (here’s that study). But what if this becomes a distraction for the rest of the class? Edutopia received hundreds of Facebook comments from teachers, parents, and students with great ideas for letting students quietly fidget, and here are some of their favorites.

• Schedule of Events for the Week – See the Google Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:

October 5 (M)
Progress Monitoring Week 1
Fire Prevention Week
8:00-11:00, Allan to TAG Coordinator Workshop (Ed Center)
2;30-5:00, Allan to Pay Grad Evaluation Committee (Ed Center)

October 6 (T)
9:00-9:30, Allan Meeting w/Assistance League RE: Food Drop for Families
2:30-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Room 1)

October 7 (W)
International Walk and Bike to School Day
11:40-11:10, 4/5 Strings Recruitment Assembly (Gym)
1:30, Allan to BEST Meeting (Room 9)
2:30, Optional SMART Goals Committee Meeting (Library)

October 8 (H)
Cookie Dough Orders Due
Kelly MS Reserving Track All-Day
8:30, Allan Meeting Marc Seals from Pacific University (Office)

October 9 (F)
Licensed Staff – Non-Contract Day
Classified Staff – Regular Work Day

October 12 (M)
National School Lunch Week

October 13 (T)
Regular Day

October 14 (W)
9:00-11:00, Allan to OAC Meeting (Construction Trailer)
9:00-3:00?, Allan to Testify at Custody Hearing (Courthouse)
4:00-5:00, Allan to North Region Principal’s Meeting (Awbrey Park)

October 15 (H)
Sara Green Visiting North Region Schools

October 16 (F)
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting

Have a good week, everyone!

Allan

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