https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/howardstaff/2023/09/17/september-18/
Hello Road Runners!
I hope this bulletin finds you relaxing this weekend after our adventurous first week of school. You ALL have done an amazing job welcoming our students to school, making them feel included and developing those trusting relationships that help them feel they belong at school. It’s been great observing a few morning meetings and seeing engaging activities, and warm, comfortable classroom environments! Big thanks to those I’ve visited! I am excited to eventually get around to all classrooms.
This next week we can begin to increase academic expectations with our students and fully commence our fall assessments and screeners. I’m looking forward to seeing how our students perform at their fall baseline levels!
Have a wonderful week, everyone! Please remember to keep a healthy work/life balance. Please do something that brings you joy! Thank you for all you do every day for our students and families!
Warmly,
Charlie
BUILDING LEVEL SPECIFIC INFORMATION
Morning Announcements for Monday, September 18th:
Open House format on Thursday, October 5th at 5:30pm – Thank you, everyone, for your input on deciding on an open house format for our back-to-school night on 10/5. In brief, we decided that from 5:30-6:30pm on this night. We will provide each student with a “passport” they will get stamped as they visit specific teachers and locations. When they finalize the completed passport, they will hand it in as a raffle ticket for some prizes! Grade level teams and specialists will decide and plan for what little activities, or displays will be available to students and families in their respective classrooms. Students and families will be offered a pizza dinner in the gym after the a self-guided tour of the school to see their classrooms, meet teachers, including specialists.
Complete the MTSS Resource Map for Howard Personnel – Everyone, if you haven’t already, please fill out this GOOGLE FORM, which is an important step for us as a staff identifying our collective talents we can use to further reach, inspire and instruct our students. Every school is completing this important resource form. Please complete it this week.
School Site Council – At our early release meeting on 9/13, consensus was that this monthly meeting should take place either after school, or right after contract hours on a particular day to avoid having to return to school for later meeting.
Please fill out the GOOGLE FORM LINKED HERE if you are willing and interested in participating on School Site Council. Please remember, this is a decision-making team that includes PARENT & FAMILY members. We want at least the minimum of licensed and classified staff participating in these meetings: 4 licensed staff + 1 licensed specialist (5), 3 classified staff, and 2 family members.
If day and time do not matter to you, you may sign up on the spreadsheet LINKED HERE. Please go to the tab labeled ‘Team Sign Up’ and type your name into the appropriate job classification in the PINK column for Site Council.
Charlie will review the results and reach out to interested staff who have expressed similar day/time preferences and then arrange the schedule. Thank you!
School Testing Coordinator – We are in need of a licensed staff member to assume the role of School Testing Coordinator for this year. There is a 2% Stipend for this position. Here is the document that clarifies the role of the testing coordinator covered by the extra duty assignment. This stipend is for OSAS coordination and training requirements. Please contact Charlie if you have any questions, or are interested in the position.
Howard Shirt Orders! – Our PBIS team met on 9/12 and decided to order traditional Howard shirts for the whole school! PTO will split the cost with us, which is great! The goal is to have new shirts for all students and staff available by the first Community Day and Awards Assembly on Friday, October 27th. Teachers, please ENTER STUDENT SHIRT SIZES INTO THE GOOGLE FORM LINKED HERE by the end of this week, 9/22. We need to start the ordering process now to get the shirts in time. Thanks!
Request for Assistance Form (For Behavior Support) – Teachers, if you are in need of support for a student exhibiting challenging behavior, please complete the GOOGLE FORM LINKED HERE.
District Care and Advocacy Update – Based on current needs, our district is prioritizing elementary schools for our Care & Advocacy (C&A) efforts to provide direct, on-site, mental health support one day a week. Our C&A team will be providing mental health case consultation with administrators and counselors, meeting with referred students up to 3 times to help them build skills and strategies that will support their return to learning, and advocating for community resources as needed.
Vector Training – the links for the required Vector training modules should be arriving in your email this week. If it doesn’t arrive, a work around is to go to the link here: https://4j-or.safeschools.com/ and enter your employee number as your login. There will be time provided to complete the modules in place of several meetings over the next month and a half. The modules must be completed by mid-November.
Safety Team – Our building’s safety team had its first meeting on Thursday morning, 9/14. The meeting agenda and notes are LINKED HERE, and also posted in the lounge under the header, “Workplace Safety.” This first meeting was an annual training presentation from Dennis Hughes from SAIF. There is an image linked here of where the agenda and notes are posted:
Walk and Roll to School (Safe Routes) Week Event, October 2nd-6th – We will be recognizing and celebrating Walk and Roll to School Week the first week of October! This is a fun event where we promote safe routes to school. We will collect tallies (data) each day from students on how they came to school, and enter them into a fun raffle for exciting prizes we will give out. Grade levels may choose to engage in friendly competition to further hype up the event. We will conduct the raffle drawing early the following week to give out the prizes. If anyone is willing to help champion this event – prepare the flyers for students (a simple cut & paste of our school name and information over some templates, print tally sheets, and provide classes with raffle tickets), please levae me know! I have more details I can share to interested folks willing to champion this event, and we’ll provide them in the coming weeks leading up to the event.
Music Video Class Sign-Ups – Cameras are rolling on our fall music video! All teachers, please SIGN UP ON THE SPREADSHEET CALENDAR LINKED HERE for one 15 minute slot sometime between now and the end of October 20th. Just write your last name in one cell on a particular day/time to sign up. During this short time, I will come to lead what will feel like a BEPA Toolkit type of movement activity. We will do some stretching, choreography, and film several, quick seconds-long segments for the music video.
Everyone should participate in the movement activity, but those not wanting to (or unable due to publicity parent preferences), be on camera will stand in a location of the classrooms out of the frame. The goal is to showcase our entire school. We will film whole class wide shots, and small groups and close ups of students and adults who are willing to be featured belting out rockin’ lyrics in the style of Aretha Franklin. We want to feature our entire school community – students AND staff. If you haven’t yet filled out the GOOGLE FORM LINKED HERE, please do so this week. It is for students and staff.
This activity is more about me getting to interact with and meet the students than it is about the video product we will end up producing. Having a shared experience where we can laugh and have some fun builds and strengthens relationships and community. Please try and spread the activity times around, although also earlier the better so I can get to interact with students sooner rather than later. Another round will most likely take place between October 23rd and December 10th. Thanks in advance for signing up! PLEASE NOTE THE BLACKED OUT TIMES! THOSE ARE UNAVAILABLE.
PTO Road Runner Run Fundraiser Schedule – Our terrific PTO is organizing the 2023 Road Runner Run. It’s apparent now that this event will need to take place on a full day of school rather than an early release day because of conflicts with our specials and lunches times. With that in mind, here is the schedule with grades running in 45 minute separate increments on the track. These times also allow for student transitions, brief set up, and announcements:
8:00am – Kindergarten and Pre-K
8:45am – 1st grade
9:30am – 4th grade
10:15am – 5th grade
12:00pm – 3rd grade
12:45pm – 2nd grade
From our Nurse, Eden: Please be sure to see the email sent by Eden on Wednesday, 9/13. It includes important health information about specific students that can’t be linked on this public bulletin because of student confidentiality. LINKED HERE, however, are usual procedures for common health problems some of our students are experiencing. Please take time to review them.
Below is other pertinent information from Eden:
- FIRST AID VIDEO
- I wanted to share this 30-minute First Aid Video, that goes over how to respond to common health emergencies that may occur in your classrooms. It is not required, but I want each of you to feel empowered to help your students if I’m not on site. My 4J cell phone number is 541-735-1420 – staff are welcome to call or text me with student needs, but I ask that you don’t share this number out with families.
- FIELD TRIPS – Please give Eden, and the front office, 2 weeks notice if you’re planning a field trip!! Teachers and staff are responsible for the students they take off school grounds. It is very important that you print and read the class health report from Synergy prior to taking students on a field trip. Most of the students in the attached document require special training from the nurse prior to taking them with you off campus. Please check with me prior to any field trip.
- EMERGENCIES – Emergencies do occur at school. Severely ill or injured students should never be sent to the office alone. Please call the office at x4900 if you need to send a severely ill or injured student. Some students may be so ill that care must come to them. Do not be afraid to call 911.
- CPR/EpiPen/Glucagon Trained Staff: I am working on compiling a document that shows who our staff with current medical certifications are in the building. I will send this out once I have checked my list against a list of current/returning staff.
- Health instructions for teachers using Synergy: To see all students with health concerns – From your seating chart, go to preferences on the left hand column. Activate checkbox “show notifications.” You will now see a red and white or blue and white cross on any student with a health alert.
- To run a class health report choose reports HLT401 or HLT404.
Please use the Individual Health Plans that Eden sends out for student-specific care. Otherwise, refer to the Usual Procedures for Common Health Conditions handout attached here. DO feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
CPR Training on Friday, October 13th – If any one is in need of renewing their CPR certification, Eden will hold a training on Friday, 10/13, from 8:00am-12:00pm in the cafeteria. We anticipate some teachers from Kelly and YG to attend as well. Please let me or Eden know if you’re interested in attending.
Week Ahead Calendar, September 11-15th (Also on “NEW Howard Meetings and Events” Zimbra Calendar)
Monday, 18th
- No Scheduled School Meetings
Tuesday, 19th
- IPBIS during school (TBD)
- 2:45pm – No Staff Meeting (Time to complete Vector online safety courses)
Wednesday, 20th
- 1:30pm – Professional Learning / Collaboration Time
- 2:30pm – Teacher Prep Time
- 7:00pm – 4J Board Meeting (Optional)
Thursday, 21st
- 2:45pm – Grade Level Team Meetings
Friday, 22nd
- (Charlie Out)
- PTO Popcorn Friday
Week Ahead Calendar, September 25th-22nd
Monday, 25th
- No Scheduled School Meetings
Tuesday, 26th
- 2:45pm – PBIS Tier 1 Meeting in the Nest
Wednesday, 27th
- ANNUAL HEALTH SCREENING THIS DAY (Schedule TBD)
- 1:30pm – Professional Learning / Collaboration Time
- 2:30pm – Teacher Prep Time
- PTO Papa’s Pizza Fundraiser – West 11th Papa’s Pizza!
Thursday, 28th
- 10:00am – FIRE DRILL (rescheduled to not interfere with health screen Wednesday).
- 2:45pm – Grade Level Team Meetings
Friday, 29th
- No scheduled meetings
DISTRICT INFORMATION
EEF 5K Fun Run – The 5K and Fun Run is an opportunity for all schools and grade levels to run, skip, or roll alongside friends and family, fundraise for the future of education, and get to know the community organizations working to ensure 4J students are On Track for Success! The Eugene Education Foundation’s Community-Wide 5K for 4J will be on Saturday, October 14th at Alton Baker Park. The Fun Run begins @ 10:00 AM. The 5K begins @ 10:30 AM. We invite you to register today! It would be awesome to have a Howard team wearing our school shirts or Road Runner shirts! Please let me know if you’re interested in creating a team, and I’ll start one! I hope you will attend! Here are some FAQ. Here is an image of the flier for the event!
PE In-Service Feedback (for our district) – During inservice week, classroom teachers were introduced to 4j’s plan around meeting the state mandate for elementary PE minutes. One of the goals as we implement this plan is to collect feedback along the way. It appears our first survey did not get shared with all of you during that introduction. If you could take 5 minutes to complete the survey for our post-implementation data, we would greatly appreciate it. If you are one of the 52 who already completed it, you do not have to do it again. 😎 CLICK HERE
AND FOR THE RECORD – COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 3:
MICHIGAN (#2): 3-0
OHIO STATE (#6): 3-0
OREGON (#10): 3-0
OREGON STATE (#13): 3-0
