Week of October 14th 2013
Hello Awbrey Park Staff,
Enrollment and Awbrey Park Staffing Stabilized: Currently, the total Awbrey Park enrollment is above 406. We continue to accept new enrollment packets in the office and have lost very few students over the last week. We were projected to have 425 students with kindergarteners counted full time. I spoke with Sara Cramer on Friday. She stated that there will be no changes in our staffing this school year. No FTE will be taken away or added. This is positive news for us. I am sorry it took so long to help teachers feel at ease about this. The special session and other factors seemed to slow down the decisions made about staffing downtown.
State Report Cards – Here is the link to the latest state report cards. Awbrey Park improved in reading last year by about .3% and math rose by a little more than 5%. Science continued to rise by 3 % over the previous year. The report card includes a lot of new information if you are interested. The state is trying to show growth in schools using newer formulas. Awbrey Park shines with these numbers. They considered us as a growth level 4 in academic achievement, academic growth, and subgroup growth. The highest level of growth is Level 5. I see these numbers as positive and encouraging. Last year, our hard work paid off. This is especially true in mathematics school-wide. Teachers and EA’s: We are doing an excellent job supporting our students. This report card gives us much to be proud of.
TED Talk from Rita Pierson:
Here is a TED Talk that is about 7 minutes that I find inspirational. Perhaps you will too.
Jog-A-Thon Collection on Tuesday and some other PTO News: There will be one more Jog a Thon turn-in on Tuesday. So far we have raised about $5000 with the envelopes turned in last week. The PTO goal was $10,000 so we are a bit short. This year, the PTO have three fundraisers planned. Jog-a-thon, Cookie dough/ Wrapping Paper in late October, and a Direct Drive Fundraiser in March. I asked that the PTO limit the fundraisers to three total for the year. PTO elections will be in November this year if you want to encourage one of your classroom parents to get more involved.
Study Group Dates and CLIC Team Dates orchestrated: Christina and I met last week to organize the Study Group Sessions and the CLIC Meeting dates to not conflict. Check the Zimbra Cal for all the dates of both groups. The first CLIC (Collaboration and Learning Instructional Council) meeting will be this upcoming Thursday at 3:00 in Room 13.
On our first agenda:
1. Group norms: Joel shares a possible list.
2. ELA Common Core Planning and Communication- Sara and Lindsay report out on planning from Peggy Marconi Meeting.
3. Key Instructional Questions to discuss?
A. How do we continue to build “asset knowledge” and move away from “deficit thinking” of our students? How would the team like to make this happen?
B. How do we infuse equity into the Teacher Effectiveness and Growth Model or other school activities?
Nice Job on the Fire Drill: Our October Fire Drill was very efficient. We went from 4:31 in September to 3:39 last Thursday. Teachers are doing a great job helping students get to their line efficiently and quietly. Thank you!
Background Checks and the New Online System: Many parents have been interested in volunteering but have hit barriers to volunteering. Our new background check system is designed to be faster than the paper system. Still, it is a learning curve for many. The district will be using both the paper and online system during this school year. Encourage families to use the online system to do background checks and the times to process should be shortened.
Parent Conferences: This week I completed setting up translation appointments with Spanish speaking families who need a translator. At this time, all of these interpreting meetings will occur on Tuesday evening. Jose Torres will be returning to do our interpreting.
Copiers Update: Please be gentle with the copiers. Our copy machines are pretty fragile these days. Soon, the district will be replacing our copiers but the date has not been set. You may want to use print shop for more complex jobs until replacement of the copiers.
BRING Education Program in your Classroom – BRING Recycling works under contract with Lane County to provide free educational outreach to all Lane County schools. They have a licensed science teacher who will come to your classroom to show students how the stuff we use shapes the planet we share. If you’re interested, see the attached letter for details and then contact Brett Jacobs at brettj@bringrecycling.org Last year Brett did an excellent job teaching our students about recycling.
Looking for Lessons to Try in the Common Core ELA or Math? Try this quality site.
David Coleman is considered the main architect of the new Common Core Standards. He and the College Board have banded together to create a resource rich website for teachers and educators called: Achieve The Core Check it out and discuss one of the lessons with your grade level team.
Calendar for the Week
Monday, 10/14:
9:00-1:00, 2nd Grade Nearby Nature Field Trip,
11:00-3:00, SEED 2 Planning Meeting with Lindsay and Sarah in Room 13
Tuesday, 10/15:
8:00-4:30, Joel at Jon Saphier Training all day.
Wednesday, 10/16:
8:30- Joel in Goals Meeting
9:00- Joel doing informal observations.
Thursday, 10/17:
8:00 AM- Joel in SRO Support and Safety Meeting with Sgt. Carl Stubbs in office.
9:00 AM- Joel doing informal observations.
11:00 AM- Joel in meeting with teacher on SMART goals.
Friday, 10/18:
Two kindergarten Trips to Hentze Farms (my favorite farm!) One AM and One PM.
Thanks for reading and have a great week.
Joel