Joel’s Journal for May 12th, 2014
Schedule of Events for the Week
OAKS Testing Continues.
May 12 (M)
Joel in building.
1:00 PM Fire Drill
5:00-8:00 PM Joel to Equity Committee Presentation to the Board (Ed Center Auditorium)
May 13 (T)
Joel in building.
10:30-1:00, K-5 Spring Individual Photos (Room 13)
May 14 (W)
Joel in building.
Regular Day
May 15 (H)
Joel in the building until 2. Saphier cancelled due to Jon getting a cold.
1:00- 1:30, Save The Earth Assembly (GYM)
2:00-4:00, Joel at the UO for the BRT “my iLogs” research project. (UO BRT)
May 16 (F)
8:00-12:15, Flouride Varnish Treatments (Room 13)
2:00- Joel leaves to Teach Out Conference at the Unitarian Church
Hello Bulldogs,
It sure was rainy last week but the weather this week looks like it should make up for it. Summer is fast approaching! There are 25 school days left.
Some items of note this week:
• Work Sample Entry IT: This is a reminder that work samples for 3rd, 4th & 5th grade Writing, Speaking, Mathematics Problem Solving need to be entered into Synergy. I am asking that you not enter the Scientific Inquiry into Synergy but that you implement the inquiry lesson and include it in your grade book as a simple pass/no pass. The math WS can be an embedded unit that you have already completed in order to save some time in your math sequencing. Previous WS attempts in your scope and sequence can be used for entry. I also wanted to remind teachers that the contract allows you 12 hours sub time for “record keeping, assessment or planning related to standards based instruction.” Attached are TeacherVue directions Marlee emailed earlier on how to enter work sample information into Synergy.
• Kitchen Staffing Update – We’ve received our kitchen staffing for next year. Donna Marquez will not be returning as our Head Cook. In fact, she recently resigned. Meagan will finish out the year with us as the Head Cook and the position will open up this Summer as a vacancy. Tracy will continue on as the four hour cook. Pat will be moving to Camas Ridge. Her smile and hard work with our kids will certainly be missed.
• Awbrey Park OAKS Scores –I have contacted downtown about the lower scores and potential reasons for these issues. Since testing isn’t finished, our scores and the state and district averages will likely fluctuate some, but for now we’re pretty much right in the middle of the bell curve for our overall passing rate across the district. Andrew, Sara, Justice, Charlotte, and Becki/Cindy will be supporting 3,4,5 teachers in retakes in the coming days. Andrew is still working hard to create this plan which will be published early next week.
• Fire Drill, Monday at 1:00 PM – With good weather in the forecast, we’ll plan to do our May fire drill on Monday, May 12.
• 2014-2015 Class Lists due June 6th – Remember you can find the class lists in the staff lounge. Class lists will be due to the office by Grading Day on Friday, June 6th.
• End of the Year Financial Dates –
- This Year’s Print Orders – May 13th
- All receipts for reimburse turned in – May 20th
- Next Year’s Print Orders June 11th
There is an “End of Year Timeline” and a Checklist for Closing” that will be in your boxes next week.
• Writing Curriculum Adoption – The school district is adopting the writing program that is currently being piloted around the district and by several teachers across the district, Being a Writer, which is by the same folks who made Caring for Kids. More details on how it will roll out will be coming soon, but I did want to give teachers a heads-up that downtown has tentatively scheduled a half day training for teachers to attend on either June 23rd, 24th or 25th. They are working to be flexible within those days and will try and have options available for teachers who cannot attend.
• Non-ESS Licensed IEP Time Meeting Compensation – Many teachers attend IEP meetings during planning times or outside the workday. The EEA contract entitles classroom teachers to be compensated for up to four hours of additional pay. I wanted to remind teachers that the Non-ESS Licensed IEP Time Log will be accepted between now and June 6th, and can be found on the HR Forms section of the 4J website.
• More District Admin Updates – More changes downtown. Suzy Price has accepted a position in Springfield to be the Director of Elementary Eduction, which leave her Federal Programs Coordinator position vacant. I will miss Suzy and her deep understanding of Title 1 schools and instruction.
• U.S. Department of Education study about Data-Driven Instruction – I know Awbrey has a history of piloting everything that comes down the pipe, but I’m inclined to decline participation given that we’re already pretty maxed out. The short version is this is a DOE study focusing on supporting schools to use data driven instruction. Highlights include:
• Funding for a half time data coach in each building
• Paid professional development and technical assistance
• Opportunity to establish an ongoing culture of data use.
Although my sense is staff are busy enough, I did want to present the opportunity. For 4J to participate, they will need 8 schools to be a part of the study. Let me know if you have questions or if you think our school should participate, but I’ll plan on saying “no” unless folks tell me otherwise.
• Tech tools that are used to motivate student participation – Student engagement can be increased by combining meaningful instruction and motivational technology tools that are innovative, user-friendly and applicable to real-world situations, Nicolas Pino James, a teacher researcher and trainer, writes in this blog post. He describes four free Web-based tools that can be used to boost student engagement, including PosterMyWall, which enables students to create artistic, high-quality posters to be shared online or printed, and Screencast-o-matic, a tool that allows users to record their computer screens.
Thanks for reading and have a great week,
Joel