https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=827
Happy New Year, Everyone!
Hope you all have had a refreshing and relaxing break. I spent my break getting ready for baby girl #2. Kim was doing a lot of “nesting”, so I did a lot of rearranging of furniture and reorganizing of the house over the break.
2011 was certainly a challenging and exciting year. My wish for us is that 2012 will hold less volatility of funding and new beginnings. You all are the backbone of our schools and you not only expect the best for your students, you insist on it. Keep your spirits high and your chin up. The road ahead of us holds promise and no matter what 2012 may bring, we have each other to lean on!
Seven items of note for this week.
• Jan. 3 Professional Development, 9:30-11:00 at Howard & 2 Hour Furlough Reminder – Just in case you were super relaxed and forgot what we’re doing our first day back, we’re doing a joint TAG training with Howard and Twin Oaks (taking the place of River Road) from 9:30-11:00 in the Howard cafeteria. The rest of the day is planning time, but teachers should remember to leave 2 hours early this day, as there is a 2 hour furlough this day for certified staff.
• IIPM Data Meeting Potential Date Change – A Superintendent’s Cabinet meeting has been called for Thursday, January 12th, which I’ll need to attend, the same date as our next IIPM Data Team meeting, so I wanted to give people a head’s up I will likely have to reschedule our IIPM meeting date. It might change to an earlier date on Tuesday, January 10th, but it might also be changed to later in the month. I’ll keep you all posted. Normally, I’d probably blow off the Sup Cabinet meeting, but this meeting will be regarding next year’s staffing and budget allocations, so it’s kind of an important one.
• Taking It Up Opportunity in February – 4J is again paying for us to send up to two staff members from each school to this excellent two day workshop, which also offers graduate credit, on February 16 and 17th. Taking It Up is a provocative seminar focused on helping educators, school board leaders, and community members deepen their understanding of the institutionalized racist barriers that hinder elimination of Oregon’s racial achievement gap. This focus on working from the inside out will challenge participants to step out of their comfort zone and create new entry points for becoming aware of, understanding, and interrupting inequitable policies and practices in our schools. It’s a great workshop. Several teachers from each school have previously attended and can tell you about their experience. Logistical information is below. Please let me know by the end of next week if you would like to attend this fabulous and challenging workshop or have any questions.
DATES: February 16th and 17th, 2012
SCHEDULE: Breakfast will be served at 7:30 am each morning and we will start PROMPTLY at 8:00 a.m. Thursday and Friday: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm (breakfast at 7:30 am, lunch inclusive)
LOCATION: 4J Education Center Auditorium, 200 N. Monroe St, Eugene, OR 97402
GRADUATE CREDIT: One semester of graduate credit is available for this seminar.
• Upcoming Facilities Assessment – 4J is doing some long range facilities planning for when they go out for school bonds in the future. The plan is for every open school building to be reviewed and rated with respect to four areas – site conditions, building physical condition, technology readiness, and educational suitability. The educational suitability assessment has never been done as part of an an evaluation of our school facilities in 4J, which should be interesting (meaning some older schools like Howard may actually score better than some newer buildings, like Awbrey Park, that have unusual layouts). The consulting team, MGT of America, Inc. specializes in performing this type of work for educational agencies in order to provide the necessary information for long range planning purposes. You can learn more about MGT by going to their website. The evaluators will be in our building on Thursday, February 2nd, so don’t be surprised if you see a team of folks going through the building or peeking into your classroom.
• “AmeriHeart”Free Heart Health Field Trip – Sacred Heart is offering a free, interactive, educational field trip coming up Friday, Feb. 10th. They are bringing a gigantic, inflatable human heart to Valley River Center as part of Oregon Heart & Vascular Institute’s annual Heart Fair that educates visitors on common heart diseases and anatomical features. See the attached letter for details and contact information if you are interested in attending. Space is limited to act soon.
• YouTube for Schools keeps YouTube educational – In the article, Google is aiming to provide educators and students access to educational content through a network called YouTube for Schools. The site is designed to link participating schools to educational videos from more than 600 partners such as the Smithsonian Institution and TED. Users also can access some 300 playlists created by teachers and organized by subject and grade level.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NegRGfGYOwQ[/youtube]
• Allan’s Personal Leave – It’s a few months away and I’ve already told people here and there, but to let everyone know, when my wife gives birth to our second baby girl, I’m planning to take three weeks off and have Carolynne Hopkins fill in for me. Kim’s due date is March 31st, so I’m hoping the baby will wait until Spring Break, but Gracie came three weeks early, so if I were a betting man, I’m not so sure I’d bet on the the baby waiting until Spring vacation.
Welcome back and have a great four day week!
Allan