https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=7716
Hi Everyone,
This week is National Library Week and Tuesday is National Library Workers Day, when we recognize the hard work, dedication, and expertise of all library workers. Howard is very lucky to have such a great librarian in Julie, where she makes our library a warm and welcoming place for student and families to be excited about reading! Thank you for all your work, Julie!
Fourteen items of note for this week:
• 4J School Schedule Updates & Community Forum – At a principals meeting last Friday, principals were asked to let staff know that the draft 2018-2019 schedule shared earlier is very much only a draft and is NOT going to be the schedule we end up using. District staff, in collaboration with EEA, are working on revisions that include looking at revising the dismissal times and also changing for some schools which ones are starting earlier and which ones are starting later (i.e. maybe River Road and Howard swapping start times). Gustavo said everything is on the table at this point. The district is also providing an additional opportunity for community input at a 4J School Schedule Community Forum on Wednesday, April 18 at 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM at the Ed Center. And to keep in perspective why these change are needed, which I whole heartedly agree with, are to ensure equal instructional minutes across the district and to ensure schools are meeting state standards for instructional hours.
• Math PD Survey Closes Monday – This was emailed to staff by downtown last week, but as a reminder, classified and licensed staff who attended last Monday’s Math PD should fill out the linked Math PD Google Survey. This is your chance to provide feedback on the PD and to give input on the May Math PD. The survey will close Monday afternoon.
• EEF Grant Applications Due to Allan APRIL 23rd – I made a mistake on my EEF note last week. Howard Site Council will rank order grant proposals at our April 23rd meeting, so grant ideas are due to me before that meeting. Grant proposals do not need to be completely written out before the 23rd, but at least tell me the title and general idea. May 15th is the deadline to submit the final grant applications to EEF. Take note that EEF prioritizes requests that support educational enrichment, equity and/or access programs, and that impact the largest number of students possible. EEF prioritizes grants that relate to the Arts, Literacy, and STEM. Grant requests may be requested in any amount up to $5000. Schools may submit up to 5 grant requests total. See the linked EEF website or linked email for details.
• ECET2 Oregon Conference Opportunity – Thanks to Erin being one of the organizers, Howard has the opportunity to send a team of 3-4 teachers (possibly more and myself) to the ECET2 Conference in Portland the weekend of May 18-20. This event was held in Eugene last year and I heard great things about it. ECET2 stands for Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers. It was born out of a desire to provide a forum for exceptional teachers to learn from one another and to celebrate the teaching profession. The convening experience is designed to inform and inspire colleagues, develop attendees’ leadership potential, and collaboratively hone their craft. Participation in this event is strictly voluntary and without any monetary compensation, but hotel and some meals are provided. If you attend this event, you’ll be expected to take on a leadership role back at the building to help spearhead some of the work that comes out of the conference. Let me know by Wednesday if you’re interested and let me know if you have any questions.
• Facilities Items – Five unrelated, but important facilities items:
• Furniture Away from Windows – We’ve had a number of interior classroom blinds starting to fray and no longer retracting properly because classroom furniture is left pushed up against the windows, not allowing them to drop down and retract evenly. DO NOT leave any shelves, chairs, desks, beanbags, or other furniture under the curtains. Curtains would be very expensive to replace, so please do this easy fix to prevent unnecessary expenses.
• Fire Marshal & Twinkle Lights – The Fire Marshall clarified a couple points about twinkle lights on her inspection follow-up last week. If you want to use twinkle lights in your classroom, they must be:
• LED
• no more than two stands connected
• not mounted on the ceiling
• not hung up more than 90 daysIf you have questions on this, please let me know.
• Wanted or Unwanted Mushroom Stools? – Family School asked to try out some of our mushroom stools. Is there anyone who has stools they DO NOT want? Also, is there anyone who DOES WANT stools, but doesn’t currently have them, since I don’t want to loan something out staff here are needing. Let me know by the end of the week if you want stools or want to get rid of any.
• Recycling Changes (When in doubt, throw it out!) – Effective Monday, the waste haulers that serve customers within the City of Eugene will begin only accepting a redefined list of items for recycling. The following items will continue to be accepted in commingled recycling bins:
• Newspaper, ads and inserts, direct mail, magazines, and catalogues
• Flattened cardboard boxes
• Cereal, cracker, and shoe boxes (not refrigerated or frozen boxes!)
• Office paper
• Paperboard/cardboard egg-cartons
• Steel and aluminum cans (no lids)
• Certain plastic bottles and jugs will still be accepted: soda bottles, water bottles, milk jugs, and juice bottles (no lids)Items that will no longer be accepted:
• Plastic tubs
• Any plastic item that isn’t a bottle or jug
• Aseptic containers (such as for milk cartons, or shelf stable soy milk)
• Shredded paperPlastic bags, take-out food containers, plant pots, and lids of any kind should never be placed in commingled recycling bins. Any items that are not clearly recyclable should be put in the trash—when in doubt, throw it out. See the linked email and flyer for details.
• EWEB Micro-Grid Project this Summer – 4J and EWEB are working on an agreement that will allow EWEB to install equipment for our school to be a site for public to obtain supplies in the event of an major emergency. The first phase of this project is taking place this summer and they are going to need access to the electrical room, storage area and clouded region outside the building on the linked map.
• 2018-2018 Classroom Moves – Everyone effected by these already knows, but just so everyone knows the current plans… Stephanie and Rhonda will teach their 3rd grade job-share in Rhonda’s Room (Room 17, upstair yellow-wing). The SSD Early Childhood Team (Room 21, upstairs blue-wing) is moving to Becky’s Room (Room 19, upstairs yellow-wing). Becky, who’ll be teaching 4th grade next year, is moving into Erin’s Room (Room 22, upstairs green-wing). Erin, who’ll be teaching 2nd grade next year, is moving into the Early Childhood Team’s Room (Room 21, upstairs blue-wing). Katie (Room 7, downstairs blue-wing) will move next door into Jill’s Room (Room 6, blue-wing) so that her classroom will have closer proximity to Linda’s CLC classroom. If we do get staffing for a fourth 5th grade classroom, the plan would be for it to move into the Family Resource Center (Room 1, downstairs yellow-wing) and would be just across the courtyard from the rest of the 5th grade team, but would displace the Resource Center to another building.
• KITS Summer Job Openings – The preschool to kindergarten summer transition program KITS (Kids in Transition to School) has job postings now up on the 4J Jobs website. If you’re interested in an 8-week summer job, there are openings for Educational Assistants, a Lead Teacher, a Site Supervisor, and Child Care. They prefer to hire 4J employees for these positions, so please apply if you’re interested.
• Confidential Materials – An important reminder to staff not to leave confidential materials (SPED paperpwork, FBAs, contracts, behavior referrals, etc.) out in the open where kids, parents, or other school employees can see them, including leaving items on the copier. The same also goes for staff who come across confidential materials, not to be snoopy.
• REPEAT: Wacky Wednesday – Favorite Animal Day, 4/11 – This Wednesday is Favorite Animal Day, so get kids pumped up for to wear an animal themed shirt, hat, costume, or other animal themed regalia. Be sure to remind students that our Halloween no-mask rule also applies to this day.
• REPEAT: Fire Drill Wednesday, at 8:30 – This Wednesday at 8:30 will be our April Fire Drill. If we get rained out, I’ll reschedule for next week.
• REPEAT: Volunteer Appreciation Week, April 16-20 – Volunteer Appreciation will is NEXT week, so please take time to recognize any volunteers you work with next week.
• Soil and Water Conservation Poster Contest – The Upper Willamette Soil and Water Conservation District is sponsoring a soil and water conservation poster contest, which includes cash prizes for grades K/1, 2/3, and 3-6. The theme for 2018 is “Watersheds – Our Water, Our Home.” The UWSWCD will also award a monetary prize to the top 3 teachers who have the most participants. If interested, email Clarissa at clarissa@uwswcd.org with the number of poster boards desired. You will then receive a follow up email with more details, along with reference materials to help your students with their posters. You will also receive a poster contest entry form that must be signed and attached to each poster. Please email by Friday, April 13, 2018. All posters must be returned to the UWSWCD office by noon on Friday, June 1st. Winners will be notified via email by Friday, June 8th.
• Supporting Students With Chronic Trauma – This Edutopia article is nice compliment to the trauma information I re-shared in last week’s announcements. De-escalation strategies can help prevent students’ emotional outbursts, and aid them and their peers in finding calm after one. Research shows that students with trauma don’t respond to punitive discipline, so it’s important to know strategies that do work. Many educators tend to ignore students’ increasing signs of agitation, hoping they’ll eventually calm down. But when disregarded, these minor behaviors can quickly escalate. Read on for how best to respond and to support students.
• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Google Calendar for future events, but here are the events of note for the next two weeks:
April 9 (M)
National Library Week
2:30, Allan to FBA MeetingApril 10 (T)
Library Worker’s Day
8:15-11:30, Allan to Elem. Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
2:30-3:30, IPBS Meeting (Mellissa/Mariah’s Room, RM23)April 11 (W)
Wacky Wednesday – Favorite Animal Day
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
8:30, Fire Drill
1:15-2:00, Classified EA Supervisors Meeting (Room 26)
2:30-3:30, PBIS Team Meeting (Rae’s Room, RM1)April 12 (H)
7:30-11:30, Data Team Meetings (Conference Room)
12:00-3:00, Allan to ILT Meeting (Ed Center)
2:30-3:30, TLT Meeting (Angela’s Room, RM24)
4:00-7:00, Allan to Elem. Jobs Expo (Ed Center)April 13 (F)
8:00-12:30, Fluoride Varnish (Community Room)April 16 (M)
Volunteer Appreciation Week
8:00, Allan to IEP Meeting (Conference Room)
4:00-5:30, Allan to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)April 17 (T)
8:00, Allan to Truancy Hearing (Office)
2:30-3:30, Staff Meeting (Volunteer’s Classroom)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Community Room)April 18 (W)
5:30-6:30, 4J School Schedule Community Forum (Ed Center)April 19 (H)
5:00-7:00, PTO McTeacher Night Fundraiser (River Ave. McDonalds)April 20 (F)
7:30-9:00, Allan to 4JMAPS Meeting
Have a great week, everyone!
Allan
