December 11, 2017

By Allan  

Hello Awesome Howard Staff,

It’s the last week before winter break, which mean there will be lots of student excitement, anxiety, and other volatile emotions, which can mean an increase in interesting/unusual behaviors. Remember to take the time for lots of pre-teaching of rules and expectations this week because students will likely need the extra reminders.

Thirteen items of note for this week:

• Bus Safety Training Info DUE THURSDAY – If you have not done so already, I shared earlier in the year that all classroom teachers are required by law to provide a bus safety training to all students by the end of December. If you haven’t already, email Lori the date you did your training and the training method you used (showing the video below or a teacher created lesson). Linked here are bus safety information sheets (English and Spanish) classroom teachers can teach from, but to meet the training requirement, the easiest method is by showing the the quaint 1997 bus safety video The Safest Way Out. Info is due to Lori by Thursday!

• Final Number Talks Training, Wednesday – This Wednesday at 2:30 in Ashley’s Room is the final Number Talks training. This time, please bring your laptops or other internet connected device (in addition to your Number Talks book and green spiral notebook), because there is a survey downtown has asked all teachers to complete regarding the Skillful Teaching Modules (i.e. Research for Better Teaching (RBT)/Jon Saphier trainings).

• Artist in Residence Survey & Update – I shared earlier this year that the Eugene Rotary ArtSpark Program is working with downtown to bring Artists in Residence to the ten schools in 4J with the highest poverty. I met with the Rotary last week and they actually want to bring TWO ARTISTS to Howard this year! I’d like to make a decision on the artists and dates at the next staff meeting, so to streamline the process, teachers should complete the short Artist in Residence Google Form and that way we can have a proposal ahead the January meeting. The Rotary folks also clarified that they were less interested in auctioning kid art, though they would like to if possible, but not for that to guide our pick of artist. Please take a look at the Lane Arts Artist in Residence website for details on each artist and let me know if you have any questions.

• January 2nd PD/Planning Day Info Coming – UPDATED – See Allison’s email regarding the FOSS Science training Jan. 2nd. The training will be at River Road 8:00-11:30 for 3-5 teachers and 12:00-3:30 for K-2 teachers. Elementary SSD and Title 1 staff (licensed and classified) will have a separate training on Number Sense. Details on time and location of that training should be coming soon as well.

• Math Teacher Leader Updates – If you’re like to know what our Math Teacher Leaders have been up to, linked here is the latest MTL email from downtown. Some key points included in the email for teachers to keep in mind are:

• Math Discourse (specifically QUESTIONING) is key!
• Planning supports for Conceptual Lessons
• USE TOOLS!!! (some ideas for which ones can be found in the videos or unit planners)
• Plan over a series of days for a KEY CONCEPT. Linked here are Key Concept Overviews by grade level; Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5
• Parent Math Page is up! (https://bit.ly/4jmath and Productive Struggle letter linked in English & Spanish!)
• Reach out! Planning, collaboration, feedback, etc. MTLs and downtown staff are here to help!

• Know Where Your Kids Are At – Classroom teachers, please make sure you know where your students are when they are going to groups or elsewhere. It make us look rather foolish when parents come to pick-up students and teachers don’t know where they’re at (LC? Title 1? CLC? ELD? Elsewhere?).

• No Kids in the Work Room – Please do not sent students to the Work Room to pick-up printing. We’ve caught kids playing around in there a few times and there’s also confidential information on the printer at times. Instead, send students to the front office if you need any printing picked up.

• Winter Break Facilities Work – During winter break there are a number of things going on in the building. Below is the list that was sent to me. I’ve asked for clarification about the work being done regarding curtains and shading because the item below mentions second floor and I know it’s also an issue for first floor classrooms.

1. Furniture installation for several rooms, exact rooms to be determined. This will start on the 19th and run until finished. If all deliveries are on time then it shouldn’t take much past a week, but if not it might be the full break. Preferably we would like to use the cafeteria for staging and assembly.
2. Daylighting issues – this impacts classrooms on the second floor, all of them. This work isn’t 100% a go yet as we are dependent on final pricing approval and support from the manufacturers to produce the shade and materials. We will be installing skylight shades, blackout fabric on 12 small end windows and window film on upper exterior windows that do not have shades. I do not have a schedule for this and it will involve two separate contractors. I’m trying our best to fit this in over the break.
3. Exterior work – some plants, landscape and dirt work over the break.
4. Potentially siding work for improvements
5. Potentially electrical work for improvements
6. Potentially an irrigation well drill and vault installation.

• First Fridays – The First Fridays, Communities of Color and Allies Network (CCAN), meets monthly with the goal to create a safe space to foster friendships and networks for people of color, social justice allies, and equity workers in the local area. If you’d like to attend or want to share with anyone who’d might like to attend, the First Friday schedule for the first part of 2018 is:

Jan. 5, 2018 Lane Council of Governments (LCOG)
Feb. 2, 2018 Eugene 4J School District
Mar. 2, 2018 Lane ESD | Bethel SD
Apr. 6, 2018 Lane Community College
May 4, 2018 EWEB

See their website for details.

• REPEAT: Tail Feather Reward & Activity Sign-Up – We’re still in the midst of our PBIS Tail Feather Reward, so remember to keep an eye out for classes deserving of a tail feather. The reward for classrooms meeting their tail feather goal of 10 new feathers will be a menu of fun activities on Friday, 1:00-1:40 including a Dance Party in the gym. See Rae’s email for details and linked here is the Google Tail Feather Activity Sign-Up Sheet.

• REPEAT: Wacky Wednesday! – Mismatched Clothes Day – This Wednesday is Mismatched Clothes Day, so start planning your colorful, clashing, crazy outfits. Remind your class too, so I’m not the only one looking ridiculous!

• The Future of Coding in Schools – In this Edutopia article, Mitch Resnick, one of the creators of Scratch, shares why he thinks coding should be taught in all schools, and it’s not the reason you’d expect. “Many people embrace coding in schools as a pathway to jobs as computer programmers and computer scientists, and of course they’re right that those opportunities are expanding rapidly. But that’s not a great reason for everyone to learn how to code. Very few people grow up to be professional writers, but we teach everyone to write because it’s a way of communicating with others—of organizing your thoughts and expressing your ideas. I think the reasons for learning to code are the same as the reasons for learning to write. When we learn to write, we are learning how to organize, express, and share ideas. And when we learn to code, we are learning how to organize, express, and share ideas in new ways, in a new medium.” When asked what does that look like in the school system, Resnick repsonded, “These days I talk about our approach in terms of these four words that begin with the letter p: projects, passion, peers, and play. So that’s the approach I would take with coding, but also with any other learning: getting students to work on projects, based on their passion, in collaboration with peers, in a playful spirit. And each of those p’s is important. I think work on projects gives you an understanding of the creative process, how to start with just the inkling of an idea and then to build a prototype, share it with people, experiment with it, and continue to modify and improve it.”

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

December 11 (M)
1:30, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Office)

December 12 (T)
8:15-11:15, Allan to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

December 13 (W)
Wacky Wednesday – Mismatched Clothes Day
1:30, Staff Rip-Stick Practice – Optional (Gym)
2:30-3:30, Team Meeting Time – Number Talks Part 4/4 (Ashley’s Room)

December 14 (H)
8:30, Allan to Observation
12:00-3:00, Allan to ILT Meeting (Ed Center)
3:00-4:00, Allan to Pre-K Transition Planning Meeting (Room 5)

December 15 (F)
8:00-9:30, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting
11:00-1:50, December Birthday Lunches With the Principal (Community Room)
1:00-1:40, PBIS Tail Feather Reward

Dec. 18 – Jan. 1
Winter Break

Dec. 19 – 22
New Furniture Delivery and Installation

January 2 (T)
No School — Professional Development/Planning Day (details coming)
8:00-11:30, 3-5 FOSS Science Training (River Road)
12:00-3:30, K-2 FOSS Science Training (River Road)
2:30, Allan to Principal Goals Meeting (Ed Center)

January 3 (W)
PBIS Monthly Theme – Be Your Best
Classes Resume
easyCBM Benchmark Testing Opens
In-District School Choice Opens (Closes Jan. 31)
2:30-5:00, Allan to Pay Grade Evaluation Meeting (Ed Center)
4:00-5:00, Allan to North Region Principals’ Meeting (NEHS)

January 4 (H)
12:00-3:00, Allan to ILT Meeting (Ed Center)
2:45, Allan to Early Childhood Open House Planning Meeting (Room 21)

January 5 (F)
Regular Day

January 6 (SA)
10:00-12:00, Elementary School Showcase (Ed Center)

Have a good final work week of 2017 and a well deserved winter break!

Allan