https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=6722
Hello Awesome Staff,
Thank you to all the staff who came out Friday night for the Howard Carnival. The PTO made over $5,000 at the event before expenses, so they’ll break even and even have a bit of profit.
Twenty-three items of note for this week:
• Staffing Updates – Over in Life Skills, Rachel Daheln will be leaving us next year to pursue a degree in Communication Disorders and Sciences with the goal of becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist. Hopefully we’ll get to work with her again in the future! Also leaving us next year will be our BEST Coordinator, Shawn Peterson, who has accepted a full time position with Lane County Youth Services starting this summer. The district BEST Coordinator will post the position soon, and for Howard veterans, Kelly Henson is actually interested in coming back to fill the position.
• End of Year Ice Cream Celebration – After kids leave on the last day of school at 11:30, we’ll have our annual end-of-the-year ice cream celebration in the cafeteria. There will be root beer floats, ice cream sundaes with all the fixings, and it will also be a chance for us to wish well those staff members leaving us this summer, which is a fair number of folks this year, with Alisha, Chrisann, Debbie M., Jennifer, Laurel, Linda K., Matt T., Rachel D., Rachel F., Reid, Sarah, and Shawn bidding us farewell. See all you there!
• Class List EA & Specialist Input – Class lists for next year have been enter onto the 2017-2018 Class List Spreadsheet and I’d love for EAs and specialists to take a look at them to see if there is anything you think should be changed. Don’t change anything on the Google Sheet, but please email me if you see something we should look at changing.
• PBIS Team Leader Vote – All of our 2017-2018 Leadership Positions are now filled and we actually have to two sets of folks vying for PBIS Co-Leaders, Lupe & Suzy and Rae & Jill. Since we don’t have any more staff meetings, we’ll do a vote-by-email instead. Email or tell me your vote by Wednesday at 3:30 for who you’d like to lead our PBIS school-wide activities (refresher trainings, PRIDE Awards, Tail Feathers rewards, Level II data entry, spirit days, district PBIS meetings, etc.). I’ll email the results Wednesday evening.
• Perfect Attendance Awards – Not posted here, but attached in my email is a list of student who’ve had perfect attendance all year and a separate attachment for students who had perfect attendance second semester. Let me know if you’d like me to come to your class sometime this week to present a perfect attendance award to your student(s) or if you’d like the award to present yourself, I can put the certificate in your mailbox. If teachers don’t see your name on this list, that means there wasn’t anyone from your class.
• 3-Month Rule Furniture Orders – We didn’t get everything on our furniture wish list, but linked here is a complete list of additional furniture we’ll get next year, which will be delivered over winter break. Some highlights include additional classroom furniture (Facilities originally only furnished four out of five rooms in each wing) a set of large folding tables, step stools for the sink in kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms, and a chair and love seat like the one in Matt’s office for each of the commons areas.
On a related note, it sounds like we now have official permission to bring in outside furniture. When I moaned and groaned about some of the wish list items we didn’t get, the response I got was “We are done ordering furniture to the bond so please coordinate with warehouse if you want additional items.” To me that sounds like the Ugly Test no longer applies.
• Curriculum Night & October PD Date – Our Howard Academy for the Howard/Kelly Google Classroom training is moving around again. It’s now looking like it’ll be on Thursday, October 12th, the day before State In-Service Day. I’ve tentatively moved Curriculum Night to the Wednesday before, but I do want to discuss Curriculum Night at our back-to-school staff meeting regarding a final date (it is kind of late) and format for the event. We had a pretty low turnout for our rather formal, academically focused Curriculum Night this year, but when we did a much more casual of format for Literacy Night, we had an unbelievably huge turnout, so as was suggested earlier, I’d like to discuss a change of format for this event, with the goal of bringing in more families. In the distant past, this was more of an ice cream/watermelon feed type of event. Feel free to share your ideas with me now, but we’ll plan to discuss this at our back-to-school staff meeting.
• LearnZillion End of the Year Reminders – A few reminders from our the district math administrator:
• Website: eugene4j.learnzillion.com will be updated throughout the summer and is accessible throughout the summer.
• Materials Coming: In August: Workbooks, teacher guides, assessment books, Investigation game binders and manipulatives will arrive in buildings.
• Materials Going: Investigations teacher guides and other resources can be removed from classrooms. Investigation games resources can remain but is not necessary (please keep math manipulatives & Investigation game/card sets). Unused Common Core Student workbooks can be sent back Instruction c/o Linda Grape for selling-back. All other Investigations resources should be marked for discard.
• Web Filter Pilot – Network Services is testing out a new web filter here at Howard and a couple other schools (it actually went into effect last Thursday). This filter should be more effective than the current one and can better differentiate between staff and student levels of access. Generally speaking, staff have relatively unfiltered access, but if you happen to come across a site that you need access to that is blocked, there will be a link on filter page that comes up for staff to request a particular site be removed from the filter. Student access is more limited and I did request that YouTube be blocked for students. If there is a site that is blocked for students you need them to have access to, send an email to 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu to request the site be unblocked.
• 17/18 Master Schedule Delay – I’ve mentioned this to a few people who’ve asked, but principals were told not to process master schedules for next school year with staff yet. We have had a draft since March, but right now it looks like we’re going to have to wait until August for admin and staff for work together on the schedule. I’m as annoyed with this as much as I’m sure you all are.
• Howard Summer Work Schedule – I shared earlier there are no dates over the summer the building will be off limits, but there will be times you won’t be able to use the parking lot or have easy access to get into the building. Below is the tentative calendar of activities (tentative due to weather and subcontractor availability):
June 23 (H)
Paving at street by bus loop.June 26-30
Start rain garden repairs, leaning light poles, prepare for work in July.July 3-7
Start landscape rework, including fencingJuly 10-15
Keep going on landscape rework and fencing. Probably start working on the playground rubber under swings. Drum set that replaced the rainbow arch. Might start Head Start sewer revision. Might plan for the irrigation well installation.July 17-26
Wrap up landscape/fence work, sanitary relocate and hopefully wrapping up the well installation.July (in general)
Minor interior punch list items to complete around the building. We are going to investigate the leak in the skylight/roof assembly in A wing on East end. Install card readers (1 for interior slider), 2 for elevator and some motions.• End-of-Year Checklist Clarification – I had a few people ask about clearing off walls and counter tops. That only needs to be done if you are leaving your classroom, so it’ll be ready for the incoming staff. If you are staying in your classroom, you only need to make sure counter tops and desktops have lose items put away and/or stored in boxes to be easily move by custodial staff when they do their summer cleaning. Remember to sign-up for a checkout time on the sign-up sheet in the Staff Room on the white board and remember to fill out the Google Online Equipment Check Out Form for each school device you are taking home over the summer.
• Room Number Changes Feedback – There was overwhelming support for the Revised Classroom Numbers, so we are officially changing the room numbers in Synergy for next year and staff can post a nice big 1-30 outside their classroom instead.
• End of the School Year: Safety/Injury Prevention Message – Risk Management sent the linked email to principals with safety reminders regarding common injuries that happen at the end of the school year. Most on the job injuries are preventable, so they encourage staff to:
1. Use the district safety ladders. Do not use chairs, furniture, boxes, etc to stand on.
2. Use moving tools/equipment such as carts, dollies, furniture movers, or furniture slides to carry or move heavy items.
3. Complete a pre-work warm-up/stretching routine before beginning a task or participating in an activity that involves significant physical exertion or has a high exposure to injury. Warming up may include performing/participating in low impact tasks/activities which will make stretching more effective.
4. If there are no moving tools equipment available to use, ask for help instead of attempting to carry/move heavy item(s) on own.
5. Offer help when someone is attempting to perform a task that maybe safer and more efficient if two people are working together.
6. If there is no one available to help, take two or more trips to carry/move heavy item(s).
7. Consider using the green zone versus yellow/red zones when pushing, pulling, lifting, lowering, carrying heavy item(s).
8. To will help decrease the chance of a collision between two individuals, approach door entrance/exitways/hallway corners with caution to help improve awareness of surroundings.
9. If possible, when talking on the phone, sending a text, or reading a text stop and sit down. This will help decrease the chance of an unintended slip, trip, or fall.
10. To help improve awareness of surroundings, turn off the radio/music when approaching final work destination. Accidents often occur within close proximity of the driver’s final destination.
11. Do not attempt to catch something as it is falling. Instead, let it fall.
12. Consider checking for slip, trip, fall hazards before performing a task.
• REMINDER: June Fire Drill, Monday at 10:15 – Our June Fire Drill will be this Monday at 10:15 (while half the school will be on a field trip). If we’re rained out, we’ll try later in the day when there’s a break in the weather.
• REMINDER: 4th Grade Play, Tuesday, June 20th at 8:30 – The annual 4th grade play is Tuesday at 8:30 in the Gym. See the linked map and directions for details. Be sure to leave early so your class is seated and ready for the play to begin at 8:30.
• REMINDER: 5th Grade Clap Out – The clap out for 5th graders will be the day of their promotion ceremony, next week on Wednesday, June 21st. It will run the same as in the past except for new locations for PreK-4 classes and staff to stand during the event. 5th graders will start their walk in the cafeteria, walk around the courtyard gate to the 1st grade wing, past the library, and out the front entrance. Linked here is the Clap Out Map and Direction (the map isn’t so pretty, so let me know if you have questions where your class should stand). Here are the details:
• Wednesday, June 21st, classes begin lining up in their spots at 12:50.
• At 12:55, 5th graders will begin their final walk through the 1st grade hallway.
• Students should clap and cheer appropriately as the 5th graders walk past.
• Staff members not assigned to students are invited to join and give a final farewell.
• Once the 5th graders have made their way to the end of the clap out line, remaining students can be dismissed.• REMINDER: “Grab & Go” Sack Lunch Schedule, Thursday – For lunches on the last day of school, Thursday, students will enter the cafeteria as usual. They will put together their own sack lunch, assembly line style. As students pass through the line, they should form a new line at the an exit door of the teacher’s choosing (it’s very nice not having as cramps of a cafeteria this year). Once all the students have gotten their lunches, the classes can leave the cafeteria. This process should takes about 5-8 minutes.
10:00 KG grade
10:10 1st grade
10:20 2nd grade
10:30 3rd grade
10:40 4th grade
10:50 5th gradeIf staff not supervising students are available to help during this time, that would be terrific!
• Free Summer Art Program Offered to Kids of All Ages – River Road Park is bringing mobile art bus “Artie” to ten different parks sites in the Eugene/Springfield area this summer. Beginning June 26, free art classes/activities will be offered to K-12 students. See linked flyer for details.
• Northwest Community Credit Union (NWCU) Project Community Mini Grants – Grants to support youth education will be accepted August 1 – October 15. NWCU is asking public school educators and nonprofit organizations to tell them what they need to create meaningful learning experiences for kids. Learn more about the program and how to apply at the Project Community website.
• Studying Skillful Teaching: Module I added for August 17 – An August 17 training for Studying Skillful Teaching, Module 1 has been added to the summer offerings, and is available at the Lane ESD website. Follow the link for additional information.
• District Admin Updates – Larry Williams, the current principal at Edgewood, has been appointed principal at Arts & Technology Academy (ATA). Larry started as a counselor at Churchill High School, then as an administrator at Kelly Middle School and at a K–8 school in Bethel, before becoming principal of Edgewood. Linda O’Shea, who has served as principal at ATA this year, will be moving to another administrative position in the district, to be announced soon. Scott Marsh, current principal at Madison Middle School, will be principal of Edison Elementary School next year. Scott previously served as principal of Parker Elementary School, and before that was assistant principal at Kennedy Middle School, and earlier was a math teacher at Kelly. At the district level, Maddy Ahearn, the district math administrator, will be leaving 4J and has accepted a position with the Lane ESD as a teacher developer and curriculum resource in STEM fields, starting July 1.
• 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:
June 19 (M)
9:15-1:00, SPLASH Field Trip for Grades 3/4/5
10:15, Fire Drill
4:00-5:00, Allan to All Admin MeetingCANCELLEDJune 20 (T)
8:15-11:15, Allan to Elem Principapls’ MeetingCANCELLED
8:30, 4th Grade Play (Gym)
1:15-1:45, PBIS Water Balloon Launch Tail Feather Reward (Softball Field)
2:30-4:00, Allan to Eligibility Meeting (Conference Room)June 21 (W)
12:00-12:45, 5th Grade Graduation (Gym)
12:50-1:05, Clap Out for 5th Grade (Courtyard & Hallways)June 22 (H)
Last Day of School, 11:05 Dismissal
10:10, Grab & Go Sack Lunches“Grab & Go” Sack Lunch Schedule
10:00 Kindergarten
10:10 1st grade
10:20 2nd grade
10:30 3rd grade
10:40 4th grade
10:50 5th grade11:30, Staff Last Day of School Ice Cream Celebration (Cafeteria)
3:30, Allan to IEP Meeting (Conference Room)June 23 (F)
No School Day — Grading Day
Last Day for Licensed StaffJune 26 (M)
Last Day for Classified StaffAugust 29 (T)
Teachers Report BackAugust 30 (W)
192-Day Classified Staff Report Back
Have a great week and an even better summer!
Allan
Staff Summer Book Picks!
Ashley
The Magnolia Story by Chip & Joanna Gaines
Number Talks: Whole Number Computation, Grades K-5: A Multimedia Professional Learning Resource by Sherry Parrish
Carolyn
Literacy Essentials for English Language Learners, Successful Transitions by Maria Uribe and Sally Nathenson-Mejia.
This is a clear, concise (121 pages) literacy resource for effective literacy instruction for ELD students. It addresses the five components of reading and “the order of development that makes sense for English Language Learners, and the implications these aspects and order have for each of the components” and the four cuing systems that proficient readers use.
Why Do English Learners Struggle with Reading? Distinguishing Language Acquisition from Learning Disabilities by John Hoover, Leonard M. Baca, and Janette K. Klingner (2nd edition).
This is an extremely worthwhile, practical resource of only 172 pages that addresses appropriate interventions for ELLS and includes research-based instructional reading methods for ELLs. The following quotations are from the dedication to Janette Klingner: “…a leading researcher, educator, and mentor specializing in the reading education of English learners, with and without disabilities.”
“Janette Klingner’s unique contribution to the field of special education was the bringing together of three key strands related to equity in education: Learning disability, language, and racial/socioeconomic bias. Starting off as a specialist in reading issues facing bilingual learners, Janette bravely confronted the myriad ways in which this apparently simple binary was inextricably bound to the confounding of racial, socioeconomic, and language differences.”
English Language Learners: Differentiating Between Language Acquisition and Learning Disabilities by Janette Klingner and Amy Eppollito
Another concise (104 pages) practical book by Klingner and Eppolito is English Language Learners: Differentiating Between Language Acquisition and Learning Disabilities. This one has many useful, easily accessible charts.
** I have an extra copy of at least two of these if anyone wants to borrow them.
Crystal
Coup! by Gersh Kuntzman & Bill Bramhall
Jill
Classics like The Picture of Dorian Grey, Frankenstein, and Dracula.
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Super boring at first but really interesting in the end
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman
Julie
OBOB Books :)
Rain Reign by Ann Martin
Word of Mouse by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein
Linda K.
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
The Nightengale by Kristin Hannah
The Secret Daughter by Kelly Rimmer
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Lupe
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
A different American tale about a women who has affected all of us, but whose family has suffered so much to get her recognized.
Hidden Figures Young Readers’ Edition by Margot Lee Shetterly
Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone
Got to hear one of these women at an aerospace & aeronautics workshop
White Teacher by Vivian Gussin Paley
Patricia
Finding Our Way: Practical Solutions for Creating a Supportive Home and Community for the Asperger Syndrome Family by Kristi Sakai
I was just given this by a friend of the author last week. The author is a Springfield resident and mom of 3 kids with Asperger.
Rachel F.
The Invisible Wall: A Love Story that Broke Barriers by Harry Bernstein
A wonderfully charming memoir written when the author was ninety-three, The Invisible Wall vibrantly brings to life an all-but-forgotten time and place. It is a moving tale of working-class life, and of the boundaries that can be overcome by love.”
Suzy
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Each chapter in this book follows the descendants of two half sisters who are born to different families on the Gold Coast in Ghana. One is sold into slavery and sent to the US and the other marries an Englishman and stays on the Gold Coast. Each chapter then follows the parallel stories of their following generations. A book I couldn’t put down since every chapter you meet a new character. A great read!!
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
If you want a funny, yet eye-opening, quick read, this is the book for you! Trevor Noah is now the host of The Daily Show, but this book is about his childhood growing up in South Africa to his black Xhosa mother and a Swiss white father, which was illegal during apartheid, hence he was “Born a Crime”. The book is not only about Trevor’s childhood, but the relationship with his mother and what she does to keep him alive and hopefully have him break the cycle of poverty and violence that she has had to endure. Loved it!!
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
A must read for Howard teachers! The author is a former Marine and Yale Law School graduate and this is his memoir about growing up in the Rust Belt of America (Ohio and Kentucky) with his grandparents. He talks about growing up in poverty, around drugs, and endures trauma throughout his entire childhood. He talks about why it is so hard for someone who grew up the way he did to make it in this world.
Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman
Since I love the US and British Virgin Islands, I thought I’d give this book a try and I wasn’t disappointed! The book is set on St. Thomas during the 1800s. It is historic fiction (always one of my favorite genres) and is about Rachel, and later, her son Camille Pissarro who is known as the “Father of Impressionism”. I expected it to be a typical love story, but I was pleasantly surprised how much deeper this book goes with both race and religion as well as gender roles.
Allan
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
H.P. Lovecraft is a hugely influential horror writer, but even by the standards of his day he was wildly racist. This novel uses Lovecraft’s Cthulu mythos, but turns it on it’s head. Lovecraft’s horror usually had racist undertone about race mixing and fear of “others,” so in this version of the Cthulu mythos has instead of racist horror, the horror is racism.
Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi
I’ve seen kids reading these books forever and finally read the first one and it was really good, so I’m going to read the rest of the series.
OBOB Books
My daughter is hitting 3rd grade next year, so we’re going to read this year’s 3-5 OBOB books with her.
Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta L. Hammond
Principals got assigned this one as homework over the summer, but it looks good and the author is presenting at the ESD this fall.
And four I didn’t get around to reading last summer:
Savage Season: A Hap and Leonard Novel #1 by Joe R. Lansdale
Z-Burbia by Jake Bible
A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3) by George R. R. Martin
The Explorers Guild: Volume One: A Passage to Shambhala by Kevin Costner, Jon Baird, Rick Ross
And one final pick from Ashley, Nigel, and Shelley
Golden Girls Forever: An Unauthorized Look Behind the Lanai by Jim Colucci
