Week of October 29th, 2012
Hello staff,
I want to take a moment to recognize how hard you are all working. I know it was difficult to shift our collaborative practice/ PE/ Music time to April. I appreciate everyone’s positive attitude and flexibility on this. I know that student behaviors are up too. The grace and patience you all use with our neediest students continues to amaze me. Thank you all for your hard work with our little bulldogs! It has not gone unnoticed. As we prepare for the week ahead do no hesitate to give a fellow teacher or staff member a nice thought about their hard work. We are a great team. Take the time to recognize each other for our amazing work.
Schedule of Events for the Week
Here are the events of note for the week:
Oct. 29 (M)
7:30-8:30 IEP Meeting in the Conference Room
9:30-9:45 Office Meeting
10:15- 11:30 Kristen going on 5th Grade Field Trip to Lone Pine
10:30- 12:00 Joel meeting with Sara Cramer at District Office
Oct. 30 (T)
10:30-11:15 Joel teaching in Christina’s class.
3:00-4:00 Optional WordPress Blog Training by James and Joel in Room 13
3:00-4:00 IEP Meeting in Jason’s Room in Room 26
Oct. 31 (W)
11:15 Joel in meeting with Brianna Stiller and team about First Steps Program for a student.
Nov. 1 (H)
8:30- 12:30 Joel at 504 Training Meeting in the 4j Auditorium
1:00-2:00 Joel meeting with Allan Chinn at Awbrey Park
2:30-3:45 Joel to Camas Ridge for ESS meeting on regional programs.
4:00-5:30, Joel to All Admin Meeting with Greg Darnieder, Sr. Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
Nov. 2 (F)
3:00-4:00 Data Meeting Consults in Room 13.
Thank you to the CLCB team and supporting classroom teachers!
The past few weeks many of our students have needed high levels of support. Our CLCB staff has risen to the challenge. They have been very creative and innovative in how they have helped some of our neediest students get access to their learning. I wanted to take a moment to give Jason, Brenda, Jeremy, Jill, Kristen, Didi, Barb, Terri, Cathy, Christina, Arwen, and our office staff a big thank you. Your patience and ingenuity helps our neediest students make incremental progress each day. Thank you for believing in them!
Joel available to teach
The district might have shifted our collaborative time to April, but that won’t stop me from helping you support each other’s learning! To gain a deeper understanding of teaching in elementary, I would like to volunteer to teach in your classroom for 30-40 minutes. I have done one lesson in Christina’s classroom and am planning another this Tuesday. Would you like to spend 30 minutes observing another teacher or planning one of your own lessons using John Saphier methods? Would you like to watch a math lesson taught by one of our math leaders? I am happy to teach for you so you can do this kind of work. Send me a date and time that may work or you. And yes, this is k-5. Bring it on kindergarten!
WordPress Training
James and I will lead a WordPress training for staff on Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 in Room 13. We will go over the basics of how to create a blog and the simplicity of this web based program. We will help you understand the differences between WordPress and iWeb to help you decide on using one or both systems.
Planning Parent – Teacher Conferences
Some reminders for Parent/Teacher Conferences next week:
• Free & Reduced Meals Applications – We can still remind families about renewing and resubmitting the free & reduced meals applications if they have not done so already. Due to NCLB laws, we cannot know which students are and are not currently enrolled in the program, so it would be very helpful if teachers can remind all families about renewing and/or signing up, which will help our school and district receive more Title 1 funds in the future. Applications are available in the office if you want to have some on hand during conferences. Right now we are hovering around 60% of students that served in the cafeteria under the lunch program.
• Parent/Student/Teacher Compacts – If you have not done so already, be sure to complete your Parent/Student/Teacher Compacts for all students. These are available in the office. Each student must have a completed compact kept on file with Melissa.
• TAG Plans – For teachers with TAG identified students, conferences are the best time to review TAG plans with families and have them sign off of on this year’s plan. Please see me if you have any questions regarding TAG plans.
• Joel Available at Conferences – It’s not for another week, but I wanted to let teachers know that I am available to sit in on any conferences that you’d like me to attend. Just let me know a date and time and I’ll get it on my calendar. A couple of teachers have already expressed interest in this.
• Parent Teacher Conference Tips – With conferences coming up soon, here’s a good, though rather thick article from ASCD about parent/teacher conferences. If you wade through the article it does have some nice tips for teachers to keep in mind when conducting conferences. I listed the main points here for you to save time.
• Listen well, regardless of the situation.
• Balance constructive critiques with positive comments about the student.
• Make parents feel welcomed and relaxed. Parents are not on their turf; they may feel anxious or nervous.
• Inform parents that you, the teacher, will take notes during the conference so you can carefully address each of their concerns.
• Be cool and calm in everything you say and do. Your tone of voice and mannerisms can escalate or deescalate parent-teacher interactions.
• Be deliberate and realistic in what you promise a parent. Remember that you cannot feasibly call or e-mail several parents or caregivers every day.
• Collect data on what you say. Take note of how many questions you ask, how often you offer the parent encouragement, and how often you emphasize the ideas or suggestions that the parent brings to the conference.
• At all costs, do not use your authority as a teacher as a means of forcing your point of view.
• Interact with parents or caregivers to learn more about the student and to understand how the parent has been successful or unsuccessful with that student at home.
• Understand your role as a teacher and have a working knowledge of how other school professionals can support parents and students. Generic referrals to “seeing a guidance counselor” are not always necessary or appropriate.
• Conduct the conference in a warm, enthusiastic, and professional way. Teachers who appear apathetic, aloof, or begrudging will seldom foster successful relationships with parents and caregivers.
Jog-a-thon Assembly Celebration
We need to have a planning meeting for an upcoming assembly to celebrate the jog-a-thon. Believe it or not, our school has raised over $7600 with the pledges. This is an amazing feat. It may seem late, but this event could also be combined with some PBIS recognition of students. There will be an assembly planning meeting at 7:30 on Tuesday the 30th. In this brief meeting we will lay out the date and what students to we plan to recognize. It should not take more than 20 minutes. If you cannot make the meeting please send me input on the date and time of the assembly.
Eugene Symphony Opportunity
The Orchestra Sings – As part of Link Up, a national program of the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, the Eugene Symphony will be offering an elementary youth concert that guides students through an interactive exploration of melody in music, singing along with the Eugene Symphony on tunes such as “Ode to Joy” and “Simple Gifts”. Registered classroom teachers will receive curriculum materials created by Carnegie Hall to assist in preparing students for the concert. There is a per student fee to attend. classes at Awbrey Park should qualify for a scholarship and we should also qualify for free transportation. If you are interested in attending, register by calling (541) 687-9487 ext. 116.
“Taking it Up” Staff Opportunity
There will be an opportunity coming soon for any staff members interested in attending “Taking it Up” who have not already attended. The two-day seminar will be offered twice this year; November 29th & 30th and February 21st & 22nd. Downtown is paying all of the registration fees and I will be paying for substitutes if any of you would like to attend this excellent two-day experience. Two graduate credits will also be available. For those not familiar with “Taking it Up”, it is a provocative seminar focused on helping educators, school board leaders, and community members deepen their understanding of the institutionalized racist barriers that hinder elimination of Oregon’s racial achievement gap. This focus on working from the inside out will challenge participants to step out of their comfort zone and create new entry points for becoming aware of, understanding, and interrupting inequitable policies and practices in our schools. Please let me know by November 9th if you would like to attend this high quality and challenging workshop. We can commit to two or more staff members to go this Fall and the building will cover your substitutes.
Happy Halloween!
Joel