Week of November 18th, 2013
CALENDAR
- (M) November 18
Jon Saphier Training for administrators (8:00-4:00) Joel out of the building.
Elementary Principal Meeting (4:00-5:00)
- (T) November 19
Joel in pre-conference observation meeting with a teacher (8:45-9:15)
3rd Grade Melody Performance at 1:00 PM in the Music Modular
PBIS Meeting at 3:00 PM in Conference Room
- (W) November 20
Joel in Formal Observation (8:30-9:40)
Joel in a meeting with the New PTO President to discuss the direct drive. (11:00-11:45)
Joel in a Post Conference with a Teacher (2:45-3:15)
- (Th) November 21
Bulldog Recess
IPBS Meeting #4 (3:00-4:00) in the Conference Room.
- (F) November 22
Staff gets ready for a week break. (Save energy and lock all office doors.)
- (M) Nov 25 – (W) Nov 27
No School – Furlough Days
- (Th) Nov 28 – (F) Nov 29
No School – Thanksgiving Holiday
- (F) Dec 6
No School: Professional Development
- (M) Dec 9
Awbrey Park PTO Meeting Staff Lounge from 6:30-8:00, Childcare Provided.
Hi Awbrey Park Staff,
In the last week, CLIC, our new leadership team had a very helpful meeting. There was a lot shared about the state of the school and our current school climate. I did a lot of listening. In general, CLIC is designed to discuss instructional leadership issues but there were many other topics that needed to be addressed before we can engage in meaningful conversation about instruction.
First, I want to address the level of stress that office staff, teachers and instructional assistants face in the 2013-2014 school year. There are many demands being put on all of us and I believe you all are doing a tremendous job to keep all of our students safe and learning. Still, this does not come without cost. I know that teachers and all of us are experiencing high levels of stress and exhaustion from the work we are doing. Please do not be afraid to share this with me so I can share it with the district leadership. Some staff members may be giving me anonymous letters expressing the level of concern they have about the high levels of stress and pressure to perform under state and district mandates. Your stories are powerful and meaningful to me. I want our district leadership to know how hard you all are working to help our students learn and be successes.
In addition, I ask that you are patient with our office staff. Claire, Kristie, and I are constantly juggling parents, student behaviors, phone calls, and volunteers in our workspace. The office is a very busy place and also is a challenging environment to learn new things and set up new systems. Kristie has been working hard to learn several systems and do them properly according to district guidelines. She has called in several specialists from finance and gotten support from the 18 other secretaries in elementary schools. In addition, she is learning how to set up her own systems to best support teachers and staff. We are acutely aware of the stumbles we have made with school and production room supplies. Honestly, Kristie, Claire, and I have been trying to build new systems to get the needed materials to you in an efficient and consistent manner. Know that we are working hard to improve these systems and that we are seeking help from parent volunteers to improve it further. Also, we will be hiring a work study volunteer to help us in December.
One big area that I will be working on is communication. Improving the lead time for school wide activities is one area I have stumbled. Some have said that I need to give people more information about school wide activities earlier. I will be working hard to improve this. Also, consistency of communication on times and places of activities will be improved. More importantly, many staff feel that they want more time to converse in staff meetings. I agree. I will be adjusting our staff meetings so that each staff meeting has an open 20 minutes for discussion. Each Monday before a meeting, I will call for open conversation items to be put on the table. I will actively facilitate these discussions in staff meetings. In general, we will still have one staff meeting a month (less than most schools in the district) though I may occasionally call for a second meeting to fulfill the need for staff-wide conversation. In general, we (CLIC and I) have consensus that staff meetings are a way for us to learn together and to reconnect. The reconnect is what has been missing this year.
There is one other change to staff meetings. We will no longer have separate classified meetings and certified meetings. All classified staff are encouraged to come to staff meetings. Occasionally, we may have supervision meetings but not separate classified meetings. We want you to be a part of the communication and problem solving to improve our systems and communication. Office staff, custodial staff, and instructional assistants are encouraged to attend. Awbrey Park is a much smaller school than it was just five years ago. All of your input and teamwork matters more than ever.
Thank you for reading this long post. I will work hard to support all of you in your work and know that you in turn will continue to support our students to have a successful and inclusive elementary school experience.
With care and respect,
Joel
Here are some items of note:
Directions on how to get to the 4J Curriculum Site –
I’ve shared with staff about the 4J Curriculum Site before, but I wanted to highlight it again. Besides having CCSS sample tests, standards and resources, it also contains all of the information that was previous housed on the various district wikis (ELA, Math, Science, TAG, etc.). You can access this site if you are connected to a 4J network or through VPN if you’re not at school. To install VPN on your computer, go to the Network Services VPN page. To get to the 4J Curriculum Site, you can simply bookmark the link in this post, but you can also get to it from the 4J homepage by going to the “Staff” tab and then down to “Curriculum Site.”
Understanding Informational Texts –
In this article, the authors suggest a number of strategies to help students master informational texts (materials that teach about the physical, biological, or social world). What makes informational texts difficult for so many students? Unfamiliar vocabulary, different grammatical structure, and densely packed content. “Teachers need to help students find access points that enable them to gain entry to complex informational text and then trek their way through to a successful conclusion,”
SPLASH! Grant Deadline Dec. 21st
– The deadline for applying for SPLASH! Grant funds is Friday, Dec. 20th. They were also able to increase the amount of the grant per school to $1,250 (not $1,000). See the attached flyer for how to apply.
December 6th, PD/Planning Day
– It’s three weeks away, but it’s also closer than you think since we have next week off. I’m still confirming a couple things, but the tentative plan for the Dec. 6th PD/Planning day is to first have a writing presentation by the Peggy Marconi and our Literacy Leaders. I am also working on providing a math inservice on Tier 2 math instruction.
Health Screening next Friday
-A message from Robin Wellwood:
Homeroom teachers please sign up for a time slot, sign up sheet in staff room on green counter. Music Portable next Friday 9:00.
New Administrative Practicum Student, Niels Pasternak
Hello my name is Niels Pasternak and I am a Special Education Teacher at South Eugene High School. This is my 7th year running the Life Skills program at SEHS and I have taught ESY for 4J for the last six years also. I work with students who have moderate to severe disabilities and I love my work! I started my career in education working at a non-profit child development center. I was an instructional assistant for Lane ESD for three years before I started teaching. Overall, I have been working in the field of education for the last twelve years. I am 32 years old and I have been married to my wife Charu for seven years. We got married in India and my wife is from India and my mother was also from India. We have two children Hanesh who is five and Ashianna who is 15 months old. I have recently started in the Administrative Licensure program at the U of O and your principal, Joel Lavin, has been kind enough to sign up as one of my two site supervisors. My other site supervisor is Randy Bernstein who is the principal at South Eugene High School. I am looking forward to learning and helping at Awbrey Park Elementary and I am looking forward to meeting everyone while I am there! If you have any questions or want to connect with me, my email is npasternak@lesd.k12.or.us. Thanks in advance for helping me to further my education and for providing me with new opportunities to learn!
Equity Resource of the Week:
Why Good Teachers Embrace Culture
I enjoy this article because of the great way it addresses culture in schools. One of the hardest realizations for many teachers in schools is how inflexible our system appears to families who do not fit into the mold of White America. Please take a moment to read this article on how to make a classroom more welcoming to students of color from different cultures. It shares many ideas that fit right in with our asset based thinking discussion we had in September.
Thanks Joel for addressing the concerns that were brought up at our CLIC meeting and for writing a thorough response to the staff.
Thank you Joel for your timely response to our concerns. Your thoughtful response is much appreciated!