https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=6441
Greetings Roadrunners,
Nice work, everyone, dealing with the unexpected power outage on Friday. That was certainly an unusual way to end the week. On a related note, if possible, Facilities is planning to connect the blinds to the back-up generators, so in the future we should be able to get more natural light into classrooms during a power outage.
Eighteen items of note for this week:
• 2017-2018 EEF Grant Applications Due April 24th – The EEF grant application period is now open and are due to me by Monday, April 24th. There has been a significant increase in the amount we can apply for, so start dreaming big! This year schools can submit up to five grants in any amount up to $5,000! In the past it was only two $2,000 grants and two $500 grants. Grants are due to EEF in May, which means the applications are due to me before the April 24th Site Council meeting so we can rank order Howard’s grand submissions. EEF puts a higher priority on grants related to Arts, Literacy, and STEM. One additional request from EEF is that if you’ve submitted the same grant for multiple years in a row, that you add in why that particular program is important and should continue. Linked here is the application form and linked here is the EEF Grant Guidelines, which contain all the details and can answer most any question you might have.
• Care Team Referrals – The April Student Care Team meeting is approaching and referrals are due Friday next week. If families are in a situation where they looking for help, but don’t know where or how to access resources, they would be good candidates to refer to the team. Try to get a parent/guardian signature on the release form (editable PDF and non-editable PDF), but know that you can also refer “hypothetical” situations. Please let me know if you have any referrals or questions about any family or student situations or any potential referrals.
• Centro Latino Americano’s Pediatric Clinic – Jill forwarded to me the linked flyer (in Spanish) regarding free medical services. For children up to 15 years old who do not have medical insurance, there is a free pediatric clinic on the first Wednesday of each month at Centro Latino Americano (944 W 5th Ave). Please share this with anyone who may need this information.
• April is Child Abuse Prevention Month – April is Child Abuse Prevention Month (CAPM) and Parenting Now! is raising awareness about child abuse prevention by sharing the linked toolkits (English & Spanish). Feel free to read and share with others.
• Time to be Frugal – We have 10 weeks of school left (but who’s counting) and only about $2,500 for supplies for the remainder of the school year. Purchases of supplies and copy orders should at this point be held to a minimum. We are very likely to go over our copy budget and are going to need to save most all of the $2,500 to cover those overages.
• Wacky Wednesday, Mismatched Clothes Day – Set your outfits out for this Wednesday for Mismatched Clothes Day! Who will get bragging rights for having the wildest outfit this month?
• Student Safety Training, April 26th at 1:30 – I’m having to again repurpose this month’s Grade Level Meeting time for a different required training. This time the training is to go over how teachers should teach students the ALICE classroom safety procedures. Linked here is an information sheet that is being emailed to families regarding the training and also a parent preview of the materials happening this month. All staff are invited to attend the training, but licensed staff are required to attend. The short version of how the student training will work is that all classrooms will receive the book I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared to guide the safety drill discussion with students, which must happen within the first two weeks of May. On Thursday, May 11th, after all classes have taught the lesson, we will practice an all-school evacuation, walking to the edge of the property instead of walking to a more distant rally point/reunification site. More details will be at the April 26 training, but please let me know if you have any questions.
• ODE Family Survey’s Due Wednesday – If you have any of the ODE surveys sitting on your desk that were sent out in anticipation of 4J’s impending Title 1 state audit, please turn those in to the office by this Wednesday.
• Invite to River Road Community Organization – The River Road Community Organization (RCCO) invited myself and up to three teachers to their general meeting, Monday, May 8th at 7 pm. The invite is to support volunteer interest in the community to support Howard. The RRCO board a few months ago met with Dr. Balderas to discuss getting the community to volunteer in schools. Let me know if anyone can join me.
• Ems Emazing Readers Incentive Kick-Off Assembly Thursday – A quick repeat from last week, this Thursday is the kickoff for the Eugene Emeralds’ Reading Incentive program. The 3-5 assembly is 9:00-9:25 and the K-2 assembly is 10:00-10:25. See the linked assembly map and directions for details.
• PRIDE Awards Assemblies Next Week – Friday next week is our third PRIDE Award assembly and this time we’ll try holding the assembly later in the day. Grades K-2 will be 12:30-12:55 and Grades 3-5 will be 1:05-1:30 . See the linked assembly map and directions for details. Classroom teachers should pick 2-3 students who demonstrate the characteristic of Integrity (“Be Honest”). Parent invitations and PRIDE Awards are located in the filing cabinet by Bianca’s desk and be sure to get your completed PRIDE Awards to me by Thursday so I can add my signature. We’ll also have a short presentation by the Jump Rope for Heart folks at this assembly. If you’d like to review what Integrity means before the assembly, below is a fairly entertaining PBIS video on the topic, though you’ll need to remind kids our three school rules are Safe, Kind, & Responsible and not Safe, Respectful, & Responsible.
• Natives Program Assembly, April 27 – We’d been trying to schedule an assembly with the Natives Program folks for quite some time, but the date they can come happens to come hot on the heels of the above two assemblies, so I’ll understand if some classes do not attend, but this assembly will be Thursday, April 27th, with the 3-5 assembly 9:00-9:30 and the K-3 assembly 9:40-10:10. See the linked assembly map and directions for details.
• PDUs for Math Training – Last week Lori placed PDU certificates in mailboxes for all licensed staff member who signed in at the April 3rd Math Training. If you somehow got missed and did attend, please let me know and I’ll get you your certificate.
• Earth Day is April 22 & Earth Day Poster Contest – Earth Day is observed around the world on April 22nd. The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, and is considered the birth of the modern environmental movement. If you’d like to start planning any related activities to do with students, linked here is the Scholastic Teacher Earth Day website, Education World, NEA, and the EPA website. Also, NuNaturals and Market of Choice are sponsoring an Earth Day poster contest. Entries are due by April 30th and winners will receive a “tree kit” for every student in their classroom. Winners also receive a gift certificate from the National Geographic Society for their teacher to use for learning materials for their class. See the linked flyer for details.
• April is National Poetry Month – If you didn’t know, April is National Poetry Month. Follow this link on Scholastic.com for loads of ideas how to celebrate this event.
• PD Café: ELL 101 – How much do you know about the rights of English language learners? Take this quiz from Teaching Tolerance to brush up on vocabulary—including inappropriate terms—and familiarize yourself with relevant laws in the latest edition of Teaching Tolerance’s PD Café.
• Why do people get so anxious about math? – Have you ever sat down to take a math test and immediately felt your heart beat faster and your palms start to sweat? This is called math anxiety, and if it happens to you, you’re not alone: Researchers think about 20 percent of the population suffers from it. So what’s going on? And can it be fixed? Orly Rubinsten explores the current research and suggests ways to increase math performance in this TED-Ed Original video below:
• 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:
April 10 (M)
3:00, Allan to IEP Meeting (Conference Room)April 11 (T)
Lori Possibly Out for Jury Duty
8:00-1:00, LCC Dental Clinic with Robin Wellwood
2:30-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Mellissa’s Room, B203)
3:30-5:00, Kindergarten Task Force Meeting (Ed Center)April 12 (W)
Wacky Wednesday – Mismatch Day
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
ODE Family Survey’s Due
8:30, Allan Care Team Expansion Meeting with DHS and Brooke (Office)
9:30, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Office)
1:30, Allan to Review Diastat Training
2:30-3:30, PBIS Meeting (Rae’s Room, A101)April 13 (H)
9:00-9:30, 3-5 Ems Amazing Reading Assembly (Gym)10:00-10:30, K-2 Ems Amazing Reading Assembly (Gym)
4:00-6:00, Allan to Elem. Job Expo (Ed Center)April 14 (F)
2:30, Allan to IEP Meeting (Conference Room)April 17 (M)
Regular DayApril 18 (T)
8:15-11:15, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
2:30, Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Room)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Community Room)April 19 (W)
Fluoride Varnish (Community Room)April 20 (H)
9:00-11:00, Allan to ILT Meeting (Ed Center)
4:00-6:00, Allan Potentially to Elem. Job Expo (Ed Center)April 21 (F)
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting
12:30-12:55, K-2 Pride Assembly – Integrity (Gym)1:05-1:30, 3-5 Pride Assembly – Integrity (Gym)
Have a good one!
Allan
