Week of December 17th
Hello Everyone,
With the recent tragic events that unfolded last Friday, I know this will effect people (students, families and staff) in different ways. As we return from school I’m sure some students and parents may want to talk about the shootings and parents may have new safety concerns in addition to those that came out of the incident at YG/Corridor and the shooting at Clackamas Mall. In regards to safety, you can feel free to refer parents to me.
Last Friday, I shared information on grief and dealing with strong emotional reactions. (Managing Strong Emotional Reactions and Talking to Children About Violence) They contain some excellent advice on how to responds to kids or adults who may come to you with questions or concerns. Donna Somerville, the counselor leader from Instruction, also shared three related documents that might be useful for staff to review; A Guide for Teachers about Grieving Students, Self Nurturing Activities, and What We Need During Grief. It is important we maintain a normal routine, but it is also important we reassure students that they are safe here at school.
When we return from break, I will be introducing new safety routines for lock down procedures.We will be practicing this in the first week of January. For now, I am asking Larry to keep classroom doors locked in the morning. It is my goal to increase traffic flow through the front door of the building. There are two things I need all staff to do beginning next week:
- 1. Please wear your badge so it is visible to parents.
- 2. Please keep your classroom key on you at all times.
I will be adding on other safety measures methodically and carefully with staff input as they are suggested and evaluated. Remember, we must balance security and a sense of community within our building. Most importantly, I want to add that all of the safety measures that we put in place are a good deterrent. Still, our strongest defense comes from caring and knowing our kids and community.
This time of year is always very stressful for kids and adults for a variety of reasons, but this week will likely be even more so. Be prepared for uncharacteristic behaviors and handle situations calmly and reassuringly as they come up.
Take care of our students and families, but also remember to take care of yourself, your family and each other as well.
We will have all students’ transition back to their classrooms at 11:20. DO NOT dismiss students to return to their homeroom until 11:20!!!!
Hazardous Weather and School Closures Memo – Please read over the Hazardous Weather Information for this school year. The short version for building staff is, if there is a snow day, no staff members need to come to school except for lead custodians. And to find out if school is cancelled, besides making announcements via local media and email, downtown is now also announcing school closures over their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Education Without Representation – Although Hispanic students represent a quarter of the nation’s public school enrollment and are the fastest-growing segment of the school population, non-white Latino children seldom see themselves in books for young readers, reports The New York Times. Education experts and teachers who work with Latino populations say the lack of familiar images could be an obstacle as young readers work to build stamina and deepen their understanding of story elements like character motivation. The Cooperative Children’s Book Center, which compiles statistics about the race of authors and characters in children’s books published each year, found that in 2011, only 3 percent of the 3,400 books reviewed were written by or about Latinos, a proportion unchanged in a decade. As schools across the country implement the Common Core State Standards, many are questioning whether nonwhite students are seeing themselves reflected in the required reading.
BRING Green School Presentations
Brett Jacobs will be giving presentations on Tuesday, February 5th, Thursday, February 7th and Friday, February, 8th. There is a sign up sheet in the staff room. Lessons will be about 30 minutes for the older grades and shorter for the primary grades. Since Awbrey Park will be an entry level green school, we thought that it would be a good idea for every teacher to sign up for this opportunity. Brett’s email is below so that you can contact him if you would like his presentation to tie in with what you are teaching in your class. Otherwise it will probably be about recycling and conservation. Here is his email: brettj@bringrecycling.org
January 7th PD/Planning/Furlough Schedule
The return from Winter Break, January 7th is a PD Day
Here is what we have planned:
8:00-11:00 Planning Time
11:00-12:00 WordPress Training with Misty Forsman and James Grubic
12:00-12:30 Lunch provided by Awbrey Park PTO
12:30-2:00 Teacher Led Professional Development
12:30-1:00- Melissa Davies on the Heifer Foundation and our new Read to Feed Literacy Promotion Program
1:00-1:30- Jamie Tait and Beth Shershun share Math Leadership Information and a little about our new math/science/engineering outreach activities.
1:30-1:50- Lindsay Geitter shares the ELA Common Core Links/ Smarter Balance Samples and how to use them.
2:00-4:00 Two Hour Furlough for Licensed Employees, Please leave the building and do not work.
Free Breakfast for Families Opportunity
BREAKFAST, Every Sunday from 8-9 a.m., First Christian Church, 1166 Oak St. Eugene
All are welcome! This institution is an equal opportunity provider., Oregon Faith Roundtable Against Hunger, Representing various faith communities