https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=6986
Hello Rockin’ Roadrunners,
Nice job, everyone, making it through our first full week of school, smoke filled indoor recesses and all.
Twenty items of note for this week:
• Staffing Update – Nutrition Services has added Maryann Eggert to our amazing team in the Howard Kitchen, with Joan, Laura, and Diane. Maryann is here all day in a position that last year was split between one person in the morning and another who was here in the afternoon. Please welcome Maryann to the Howard Family!
• LearnZillion Video Troubleshooting – Howard gets credit for solving this problem for the district before the Technology and Instruction Department. Several teachers had problems getting the videos to play last week and we figured out certain necessary websites were being blocked by web browser security preferences that did not “trust” those websites. Network Services is “whitelisting” these websites, so the problem should be fixed for most computers, but some newer computers are going to have to set their web browsers to trust these sites for the videos to work. To find out if your browser is compatible with the LearnZillion site:
1. Go to https://learnzillion.com/troubleshooter
2. It takes about 20 seconds:If your browser is compatible, you’ll get a message saying, “Everything looks good!”
If you browser is not compatible, you’ll get a message saying, “Your browser isn’t able to reach LearnZillion’s video hosts… Your browser needs to be able to reach these URLs”
https://fast.wistia.net/bandwidth_check.png
https://embed-ssl.wistia.com/deliveries/f37fc8935b17ed1114210ef9f13d2531f769bd83.jpg?image_resize=100
https://embedwistia-a.akamaihd.net/bandwidth_check.pngCut and paste these individual URLs into your web browser and then tell your browser to “Trust” these websites. Depending upon which browser you’re using, this process can differ, but Chrome is the recommended browser for LearnZillion, in which case you click “Advanced” to see options that will allow your laptop to always trust these sites.
• Misty’s Tech Tips – Misty Jackson had some important tech info to share after helping folks last week.
• Put Away Your Projector Remotes – The most important one is DO NOT use the projector remotes for anything other than Freeze and AV Mute. Do not source search or turn the projector on and off with the remotes – it will get the 8-button panel and the projector out of sync (including sound).
• Classroom Sound Fix – If teachers are have issues with their sound as a result of using the remote to source search or power the projector on and off, if you cycle through with the wall panel input button several times it will usually clear up the issue and get everything back in sync.
• AMX Panel Input Tip (patience) – One “issues” in a few rooms turned out to be related to people not being patient when using the buttons on the keypad. Do not push Input on the keypad until the blue light is solid on the Display on/off button on the keypad.
• Restart Laptops Weekly – Restart your computer at least once a week. Not restarting the computer will eventually slow down programs but will also start to cause issues with interactivity.
• Interactive Pens – There were quite a few of the interactive pens with dead batteries. The pens work much better for interactivity than a finger. Misty recommends teachers keep those batteries charged and utilize the pens.
• Keep Submitting Tech Help Tickets – If teachers are having any type of technical issue – sound, interactivity, 8-button touch, cables – submit a ticket to 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu Several people reported problems to Misty but there was no ticket in the system.
If you’d like help and/or training on any of this or any other technology topic, Misty will be back again at Howard all day on Monday, September 25th. Just send her an email at jackson_misty@4j.lane.edu with what you’d like to meet about and if there’s a particular time you’d like to meet. You can also always email Peggy at 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu
• Student Pick-Up/Bus Reminder – If a student is a bus rider, they need to ride the bus every day unless they have a note saying they are getting home by other means. DO NOT take the student’s word for it. We had quite a few kids last week tell teachers that “so and so” is picking them up when they were in fact supposed to ride the bus home.
• Cookie Dough Fundraiser Prizes & Info – If you want to get your students excited about the PTO Cookie Dough Fundraiser, let them know:
• The top selling class will receive a bowling field trip with pizza lunch
• The 2nd place class will get a lego themed classroom party
• The 3rd place class will get an ice cream bar during lunch recess
• And if we raise $10,000 dollars total, every student will receive a roadrunner goody bag with a pencil, water bottle, button, sticker, and a toy all with the Howard roadrunner logo.All orders are due Wednesday, September 27th.
• Informal Observations – I’m determined to get observations done earlier this year, so this week I’m going to conduct informal observations for teachers who are Contract – Year 1 or Probationary/Temporary. I’m hoping to come during math instruction and am going to try to get into classes of Contract – Year 2 folks as well.
• Optional Building SMART Goals Meeting Thursday at 2:30 – This Thursday at 2:30 in the Conference Room will be an optional meeting to discuss potential building wide SMART Goals. My current thinking is to continue to use reading and math easyCBM as the two academic goals with adjustments to how we measure growth, and also to change the professional goal to focus on either something around the math adoption or possibly a technology goal around teachers specializing/getting certified in a particular piece of educational software . Teachers are, of course, welcome to create their own goals, but it’s nice to have everyone with the same goals and I know it also saves teachers time of drafting their own. Linked here are last year’s Building SMART Goals.
• Student Care Team Info – Our first Student Care Team meeting is not until the first week of October and we already have on family situation referred to the team, but I did want to extend the offer to staff if you have any student situations you would like brought to the team, please let me know.
For staff new to Howard, The Student Care Team is part of DHS’s Self-Sufficiency Program. Meetings are intended for directing community resources and services to families looking for help, and avoiding families falling through the social services cracks. The goal of the team is to prevent child abuse and neglect by working together as a team to discuss concerns about children/families, problem solve solutions, collaborate, and assist in brokering resources for families. Families typically sign a disclosure form, which allows DHS to do a lot of research before we meet, looking into family history and what types of resources they would or would not qualify for. In addition to situations where families are seeking help, we’re also able to discuss hypothetical situations (not using names) with DHS representatives, which can be very helpful for how to address challenging situations where families will not sign a release. Our partnership with DHS’s Self-Sufficiency Program has been an extremely valuable resource for us and for our families.
Common referrals, though not limited to, are:
• Death of a parent
• Incarcerated parent - concerns about recent incarceration or pending release
• Homeless or impending homelessness
• Unknown if open child welfare case but has concerns that were called in
• Domestic Violence
• Extreme behavior issues – additional supports needed outside of school
• Specific resource needed but unknown where to refer
• Medical concerns about the child or other familyDHS staff have been great about connecting families in difficult situations with various community resources and helping out with difficult situations, so please let me know if you have any students/families you’d like referred to the team. Linked below are the release form that families sign for their situation to be openly discussed by the team. One release form is editable with Adobe and the other is a standard PDF (editable and non-editable).
• 4/5 Strings Recruitment Assembly, Friday at 1:30 – This Friday at 1:30 in the gym is the annual strings recruitment assembly for the BEST/Eugene Springfield Youth Orchestra Program. See the linked Assembly Map & Directions for details.
• Tech Subscription Survey – We were awarded an EEF grant to support our Dreambox subscription this year. This leaves us with some found money to purchase additional online subscriptions. I went ahead and renewed BrainPop, BrainPop Jr., and BrainPop Español, which was far and away the next highest priority from our Tech Subscription Survey last spring. This leaves us with about $2,600 for additional subscriptions. In terms of cost, News-o-matic is $10 per student (or about $2,500 for three grade levels), Spelling City is $2.25 per student (or about $560 for three grade levels), Bookflix is $1,299 for a site license, and TumbleBooks, depending how many books you want access to, Premium is $799 and Deluxe is $599. Please complete the linked Technology Subscription Survey by Thursday if you want to have some say in what subscriptions are purchased. NOTE that you’ll need to log onto your 4J Google Account to complete the survey.
• Tardies Definition – To make sure everyone is on the same page for when to mark a student as tardy, here’s the agreement staff made a couple years ago. Any student not inside the classroom before the 7:55 bell rings is considered tardy. Lori begins giving out tardy passes and recording tardies in Synergy after 8:00. For any students in the building before then who are not yet in class, teachers need to record that as tardy in Synergy.
• Positive Referrals – Remember that we have Positive Office Referrals for students who have a “major” positive behavior you’d like to recognize. Just complete the form and leave it on my desk or in my mailbox!
• Level 2 Forms Coming The new Minor Behavior Referral Forms (Level II) should be delivered by InstaPrint later this week. No update on when the new Major Behavior Referral Forms (Level III) will be finalized and sent out to schools.
• Air Quality Guidelines – I’ve mentioned this to quite a few people, but so everyone knows, the guidelines schools are following in regards to air quality in and whether to allow or not allow outside activities is done by monitoring the Air Quality Index (AQI). If the AQI is above 100, schools are to hold indoor recess and limit any outdoor activities. There is to be NO outside exertion between 100-150. Kids should not be running around or breathing hard until the AQI drops below 100. If you want to monitor the AQI, you can go to the Lane Air Protection Agency website.
• REPEAT: PTO Meeting Tuesday at 6:00 – This Tuesday from 6:00-7:00 will be the September PTO Meeting. It’s typically the best attended meeting of the year by families, so it’s great if any staff can volunteer their evenings to come show support. See you there!
• REPEAT: Howard Handbook & District Policy Review – If you haven’t done so already, please review the updated Howard Staff Handbook and the District Back-to-School Memo (link or PDF). Signed acknowledgement forms (Howard and District) are to my mailbox next week by Friday, September 29th. Copies of the form were put in mailboxes earlier and extras are located on the counter under staff mailboxes.
• Managing Concussion in the Classroom – Principals were asked to share that the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Team for 4J wants to get the word out about a free 3-hour presentation on Tuesday, October 3rd, titled, Community of Care for Managing Concussion In and Out of the Classroom, featuring nationally recognized presenter, Gerry Gioia. The sponsor of this free training for educators is the Center on Brain Injury Research and Training.
• A Classroom Full of Risk Takers – See this Edutopia article for state teachers of the year explaining how they make students feel safe enough to take risks—and then push them to do so. Some of their suggestions include celebrating perseverance, sharing your mistakes, allowing retakes, discovering “the power of yet,” and Failure Fridays.
• Helping Children After a Natural Disaster – Children watching the news about natural disasters can feel anxious and afraid. As an educator, there are a number of ways to support both the students and families immediately impacted, as well as those watching from afar. Linked here are resources offering guidance to families and schools for offering support following a natural disaster.
• 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:
September 18 (M)
Lori’s Birthday!
9:00, Allan Meeting w/Global Delights Rep (Office)
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)September 19 (T)
International Talk Like a Pirate Day
9:00-11:30, Allan to Zaretta Hammond PD (LaneESD)
2:30-3:30, Staff Meeting (Amber/Carla’s Room)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Gym)September 20 (W)
1:30-2:30, Allan to 504 Plan Meeting (Conference Room)
2:30-3:30, Allan to IEP Meeting (Conference Room)September 21 (H)
2:30, Optional Building SMART Goals Meeting (Conference Room)September 22 (F)
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting
1:30, 4/5 Strings Recruitment Assembly (Gym)
4:00, Howard Friday at 4:00 (Blairally Vintage Arcade)September 25 (M)
Misty Jackson from Tech Department Available for TroubleshootingSeptember 26 (T)
8:15-11:15, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
2:30, IPBS Meeting (Mellissa’s Room, Room 23)
3:00-7:00, District First Aid/CPR Class (Library)September 27 (W)
Cookie Dough Fundraiser Envelopes Due
8:45, Fire Drill
10:00-5:00, Allan to Oregon Ed Tech PD (ESD)
4:00-5:00, Allan to North Region Principals’ Meeting (NEHS)September 28 (H)
Data Team Meetings (Conference Room)
8:00-3:00, Allan to Oregon Ed Tech PD (ESD)
11:00, Preschool Office of Child Care Inspection
12:00-3:00, Allan to ILT Meeting (Ed Center)September 29 (F)
First PTO Popcorn Friday!
11:00-12:50, Birthday Lunches with the Principal (Community Room)
8:00, Janet Jackson Concert (Moda Center)
Fingers crossed for a smoke free week!
Allan
