https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=9277
Hello Crazy Busy Staff,
We only have three days with students, but this is shaping up to be a pretty busy week!
Thirteen items of note for this week:
• Staffing Updates – I emailed staff last week that Howard received 2.0 FTE for a fourth kindergarten teacher and for a 4/5 blend. We’ll conduct joint interviews for both positions this Thursday from 1:30-4:00 if anyone wants to help with interviews. We’ll have subs starting Monday helping out until someone is hired, but will wait to change classrooms until someone is officially hired, which we home will by sometime next week if HR moves quickly for us. I will personally call all students changing classrooms once we have a teacher hired. KG teachers will each move 6-7 students from each classroom to the new kindergarten teacher. Each 5th grade class will move 6 students and each 4th grade class will move 2 students to the 4/5 blend. The 4/5 blend will most likely follow the 5th grade schedule since it is almost entirely 5th graders. See the linked email to KG and 4/5 teachers for all the nitty gritty details of furniture, curriculum, and other minutia if your’e interested.
We’re also conducting KG EA interviews Tuesday, 2:35-4:00, 3-hour LC EA interviews Wednesday, 2:45-4:00, and Night Custodian interviews Friday, 2:45-4:00 if anyone would like to volunteer their time for those interviews as well.
• Busy Week’s Details! – See below for the quick version fo this week’s many events:
• Bike Rodeo, TUESDAY – After school on Tuesday on the playground from 2:25-4:00 will be the Bike Rodeo, where students are invited to learn about bike safety.
• Walk+Roll to School Day, WEDNESDAY – The first Walk + Roll to School Day THIS Wednesday, which will include the usual incentives for participation. Remember to encourage kiddos to participate!
• Tech Trot, WEDNESDAY – The PTO Tech Trot will run similarly as to in the past. Kids will run the track for 30 minutes and will collect colorful bands to keep count of their laps. Drinks and snacks will be provided at the end of each run. At the start of the run, grade levels should gather behind the balloon arch so we can start the times below:
• 8:30-9:15, Grades 2/3
• 9:30-10:15, Grades K/1
• 10:30-11:15, Grades 4/5The PTO is also planning to distribute capes for all students, so stay tuned for details on that, and they are also seeing if a local Marvel Comics themed cosplay group will send some of their members to the event!
• Open House (formerly Curriculum Night), WEDNESDAY – Open House, formerly known as Curriculum Night, is Wednesday. Classroom and specialist areas will open 5:45-6:45, where families will collect their Pizza Tickets to redeem in the cafeteria for pizza, which will be open 6:15-7:00. There will be a Title 1 Presentation in the library at 6:00 and any families who attend will get a special Ice Cream Coupon.
• 5:45 Classrooms Open
• 6:00 Title 1 Presentation (Library)
• 6:15 Pizza Served in Cafeteria
• 6:45 Classrooms Close
• 7:00 Pizza Dinner in Cafeteria Closes• Volunteers for Open House? – Mentioned above, any classified staff interested in accumulating trade time so you don’t have to work on Thursday or Friday, we can use folks to help set-up, serve, and clean-up at Open House 5:15-7:15. We could also use help from non-classroom licenses staff as well
• PD/Planning Day, THURSDAY – See the linked Elementary PD Oct 10 & 11 Email for details, but the schedule this day will be:
8:00-11:00, Teacher Tech Training – Licensed Only
8:00-9:00, Keynote in Gym
9:00-11:00, Breakout Sessions
11:00-12:00, Lunch & Drive Time
12:00-2:00, Behavior Framework – Classified & Licensed (Cafeteria)Some classified staff may need to adjust your hours to attend the Behavior Framework PD from 12:00-2:00, which may be a good idea since the parking lot will be a madhouse in the morning.
Licensed staff will need to register for breakout sessions at: https://4jlane.truenorthlogic.com
• Classified Professional Learning, FRIDAY – This is a non-contract day for licensed staff, but is a regular work day for classified staff, who have a few options this day.
• Collaborative Problem Solving PD, 8:30-10:30 – Intended for elementary and middle school EAs who work with students who display behaviors that can disrupt learning (for themselves or others). If you are interested, this training requires pre-registration at: https://4jlane.truenorthlogic.com
• SafeSchools/TalentEd – Classified staff can use this time to access technology to complete SafeSchools trainings and the Self Evaluation and Goal Setting Form in TalentEd. You’ll need a newer device to use this submit your TalentEd forms, so I’d suggest borrowing one of the newer 3/4/5 student iPads.
Let me know if you have any questions on our crazy week!
• Oct. 10th Classroom Use – Below are the classrooms that will be used for Thursday’s District PD Day. Folks in these rooms should be sure to leave out your HMDI cables, audio cables, and video adapters (i.e. dongles).
Gym – For main presentation
Room 7 – Jordan Gentzkow
Room 8 – Justin Huntley
Room 9 – Kelley Wilson
Room 11 – Kalil Kantara
Room 15 – Jacque Barton
Room 16 – Geoff Parks and Liz Ayres
Room 17 – Apple presenter
Room 18 – Apple presenter
Room 19 – Apple presenter
Room 20 – Apple presenterRoom 14 – Jenny Kneale
Room 22 – Misty Jackson
Room 24 – Angela & Sarah S.
Room 25 – Kellyclare & Carly
Room 27 – Nick van Bloem
Room 28 – Jenny Groshong
Room 29 – Allan Chinn• EA Supervisors Meeting Notes – Three items of note from last Friday’s EA Supervisors’ Meeting:
• Trade Time, Comp Time, Over Time – HR has standardized the process for approval and tracking of Trade Time and Comp Time. The process is:
1. Get Approval Before Working Over Regular Work Hours – Get administrator approval by email or in person before working over your normal work hours. If it’s an unforeseen event that made you to work over (i.e. late bus, late parent pick-up, etc.) notify administrator by the next day and document it on the new forms.
2. Complete Trade or Comp Time Form – Complete the linked Classified Trade Time Form or the separate Comp Time Form posted on the HR Forms webpage. In most cases, classified staff will use the Trade Time form (comp time is only used if you’ve been approved to work over 40 hours within the same week, which earns you time and a half). Use the above linked form to track trade hours within the same workweek.
3. Submit Form to Allan Within One Week – Forms must be submitted to me within one week of using the pre-approved trade time hours. Trade time is equal time that is intended to be exchanged within the same workweek, but if there is mutual agreement between staff and admin, trade time may be used at a later date outside of the same workweek.
More information can be found on page two of the above linked forms, but let me know if you have any questions.
• October 10th Volunteers – Mentioned above, we can still use volunteers to help serve pizza and ice cream. Families will get their pizza coupon from the classroom and ice cream coupons will be given out at the Title 1 presentation. Allan will also make sure multiple large signs are posted about attending the Title 1 Presentation for getting ice cream to hopefully avoid annoyed people wanting ice cream who didn’t attend the presentation.
• Secure Courtyard Gates After Recess – Teachers, when walking kids back to class from the playground, please remind the last student in line to make sure the courtyard gate is closed. The gate is not closing all the way on its own and we’ve had a work order in at Facilities for about a month, but they’re being incredibly slow about coming out to fix it, so in the meantime we need to make sure we’re securing the courtyard area.
• Roadrunner Award Assembly, 10/18 – Our first round of Roadrunner Awards (Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Responsible) is on October 18th, K-5. Each teacher will choose one student for each of the 3 PBIS expectations. We will present half of the awards, have a “halftime” show where teachers that want to will do a fun relay, and then present the rest of the awards. The PBIS team is meeting next week to work out details, but see the linked Assembly Map & Directions for times and where classes should be seated.
• PTO Meeting Tuesday @6:00 – The October PTO meeting is this Tuesday if any staff are able to volunteer their time to come show support for the work of this year’s parent group. So far they’ve been able to keep popcorn alive, run a well attendented movie night, and have their first big fundraiser of the year this week with the Tech Trot. Hope to see some of your Tuesday at 6:00 in the cafeteria.
• Artist in Residence Updates – We were able to get our top choices for Artist in Residence on our preferred dates. We’ll have Glass-Fusing Fun! with Rachell Jarvis November 4 – December 13 and Bugs, Bones, & Botany: Exploring the Natural World Through Arts with Jess Graff May 4 – June 5. The artists are scheduled to work with 22 classrooms (this includes Life Skills and our new KG & 4/5 classrooms) where they will meet 4 times for 45 minutes session with 15-minutes of set-up and clean-up between sessions. I’ll draft a schedule in the next couple weeks and share it in the near future.
• Fun Friday! – Favorite Color Day, 10/18 – Our first School Spirit Days is next week on Friday, October 18th and it’s Favorite Color Day! Get kids pumped and encourage them to deck themselves out in their all-time favorite color(s)!
• Howard Family Donation Site – If you didn’t see it in the news last week, one of the two bodies discovered in the river was the father of two current Howard students and one former student now in middle school. Donation info can be found on the above linked website. This mom was actually a former student when I did an undergraduate practicum at Howard.
• UO International Cultural Service Program (ICSP) – ICSP offers free presentations and classroom visits by specially trained international UO students. They can give educational and cultural presentations, participate in panel discussions, and introduce a wide array of activities such as music, dancing, storytelling, religious ceremonies, and martial arts. This year, they have 33 students from 27 different countries. You can request ICSP students to do presentations through this their Registration Website or send an email to icsp@uoregon.edu. For more information, please visit the ICSP website.
• Why fan fiction is a great tool for young writers – Students who resist creative-writing prompts in class might enjoy writing in someone else’s fictional world, a genre known as fan fiction. Researchers say the positive feedback and mentoring often present in online fan fiction communities encourage novice writers of all ages to polish their skills, while engaging in an activity that feels like play rather than work. See this Atlantic Article for more.
• The Irrefutable Case for Taking Class Outside – “Research suggests that regular contact with nature… can improve students’ physical fitness, mental health, academic achievement, and cognitive, social-emotional and motor functions.” See this EdWeek Article for details!
• Schedule of Upcoming Events – See the Google Calendar for future events, but here are the events for the next two weeks:
October 7 (M)
8:30-3:30, Allan to Leadership Training (LaneESD)
3:45-5:15, Allan to Elementary Principal Meeting (Ed Center)October 8 (T)
Title 1 Groups Begin
9:00-10:30, Allan to All Administrator Meeting (Ed Center)
10:30, Jim Torrey Visiting Kreider’s Class
11:30, Allan to Formal Observation
2:25-4:00, Bike Rodeo (Playground)
2:45-3:30, PBIS Meeting (RM23)
2:45-5:30, Kindergarten EA Interviews (Conference Room)
6:00-7:00, PTO Meeting (Cafeteria)October 9 (W)
Walk+Roll to School Day
Tech Trot8:30-9:15, Grades 2/3
9:30-10:15, Grades K/1
10:30-11:15, Grades 4/58:10, Native Presentation – Cortez (STEAM Room)
9:25, Native Presentation – Rock/Callihan (STEAM Room)
1:40-2:00, 5th Grade Make-Up Recess
2:45-4:00, LC 3-Hour EA Interviews (Conference Room)
5:45-7:00, Open House (formerly Curriculum Night)5:45 Classrooms Open
6:00 Title 1 Presentation (Library)
6:15 Pizza & Ice Cream Served in Cafeteria
6:45 Classrooms Close
7:00 Pizza Dinner in Cafeteria ClosesOctober 10 (H)
No School – PD/Planning Day
8:00-11:00, District Teacher Tech Training (Howard)
12:00-1:30, All Staff Behavior Framework (Cafeteria)
1:30-4:00, KG & 4/5 Interviews (Conference Room)
3:00-5:30, 4J Flu Shot Clinics (Ed Center)October 11 (F)
No School — Statewide In-Service Day (regular work day for classified and admin)
2:30-4:15, Night Custodian Interviews (Conference Room)October 14 (M)
Digital Citizenship Week
9:00-12:45, Kerins to Mt. PisgahOctober 15 (T)
11:15, Allan to Formal Observation
2:45-3:30, IPBS Meeting (RM23)October 16 (W)
Title 1 Progress Monitoring Day – No Groups
11:15, Allan to Formal Observation
3:00-5:30, 4J Flu Shot Clinics (Ed Center)
5:45-8:45, EEA Listening Session (Library)October 17 (H)
School PicturesOctober 18 (F)
Fun Friday! – Favorite Color Day
8:10-8:35, K-5 Roadrunner Award Assembly (Gym)
9:10, Allan to Formal Observation
2:30, Early Release PD – PLC
Hope it’s a good 3-day student week for everyone!
Allan
