Joel's Journal- A Weekly Bulletin Paulo Freire — Education transforms people. People transform the world.

Week of April 7th, 2014

Hi All,

Here are the Schedule of Events for the Week

April 7 (M)

Joel at AP. I got out of classified bargaining for the day to be in building for most of the day.
8:45-9:45, Joel teaching Kristen’s reading session while she is out at the counseling meeting. (Room 24)
2:00-2:30, Joel to Title 1 Staffing Meeting (Ed Center)
3:00-3:30, Awbrey Park PTO Meeting, Teachers are invited! (Staff Lounge)
2:30-5:00, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)

April 8 (T)
8:30-4:00, Joel to Jon Saphier Training (Ed Center) (leaving early, 2:40)
3:00-4:15,Staff Meeting

• 1. 3:00-3:15,Connections Activity
• 2. 3:15-3:45, Staff Meeting with address by Cheryl Linder and Sara Cramer,
• 3. 3:45-4:00, Look at Staffing Scenarios, I will be available to problem solve on this until 5.

April 9 (W)
2:00-3:30, Optional staffing work session. (Room 13)

April 10 (H)
8:00-11:00, Joel hosting school visits with Saphier, Principals, and Directors (Awbrey Park Room 13) Two teachers have agreed to be observed. Jon, Directors and Principals will not be in classrooms that were not prearranged.
3:00-4:00, IPBS Meeting (Conference Room)

April 11 (F)
Regular Day
3:00-4:00, Joel available for a second work session on staffing in Room 13.

Some items of note this week:

• Staffing Survey Reminder – If you haven’t done so already, please complete the staffing survey, which can be found on Google Survey that you can fill out. I reopened this in case you are interested in sharing your information with me but forgot to in March.I only had 13 responses. I’d also like to know people’s plans for next year and in the long term. Please complete the survey by the end of the week.

Copier Reminder – Not to get into the details, but we are making more copies this year with less students. If you want to find out your copy count or your grade level copy count check in with Kristie.  Please slow down on the copies and be mindful this Earth Month of what you are consuming.  Thanks.

TSS Model Change Error

My information about TSS Staffing in Friday’s email was inaccurate and based on some potential changes I did not know were still unapproved.  We will be hearing from James Grubic officially when staffing for TSS support has been finalized.
Another cost savings measure, CIS is chaining their TSS model from the current regional model to a centralized team approach where they will send out support specialists to building whenever a support ticket is generated. I have not seen all the details of this new model, but CIS believes that buildings will have faster response times by virtue of being able to send out the best staff to match each job and also being able to send a team of staff for larger jobs. How this impacts staffing for us is that we will not have any TSS time allocated to our school next year.

• Test Security Reminder: Untrained Volunteers – A reminder to all staff. OAKS testing will happen starting this week in science. Teachers will have a testing sign on their door during all testing sessions. If you (or your volunteers) have not been trained, and signed a test security assurance form, do not enter the room. This is considered a violation and needs to be reported to ODE. We would like to avoid this at all costs.

• Smarter Balanced Practice Test Website – If you’d like to see for yourself or show your students what next year’s Smarter Balance assessments will look like, you can visit this website. Enter the site on the student interface – the green square at the bottom of the page. The fields are filled in with guest so all you need to do is click sign in. If you want to share this with students, you could project it on the SMART board and completing the test together, which might be a nice way to experience the test without feeling like they have to take a test.

• How project-based learning teaches 21st-century skills – Some educators at a school district in North Carolina are adopting project-based learning in their classrooms. In this commentary, teacher Meredith Licht shines a light on PBL in some of the district’s schools. “PBL is an essential tool educators can use to teach the four C’s of 21st century skills — critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity,” she writes.

• Lane County Science Fair at the Fair – Lane ESD, Lane County Fair and the UO are partnering to highlight student Project Based Learning at the 2014 Lane County Fair. Prizes, Recognition and Fair tickets available! Attached is a flyer with details.

• Article on what influences behavior.

Here is an article that discusses the age old debate on Nature vs. Nurture and how this may effect behavior.  Take a look.

Enjoy this week’s spring-like weather!

Joel

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Joel’s Journal for the Week of March 31, 2014

Schedule of Events for the Week

March 31 (M)

Joel doing walk-throughs all week.
4:00- Joel to All Admin Meeting (Ed Center)

April 1 (T)

1:30- 2:00, Joel in 504 Meeting (Conference Room)
3:00-4:00, Staff Meeting (Room 13)
Agenda:
Connections Activity by Beth and Christina 15 min
Medication Administration Review- by Robin 5 min
School supplies Discussion 2014-2015, by Kristie 10 min
Saphier “Big Rocks” Priority Conversation for 2014-2015- 25 minutes
April 2 (W)
7:30-8:30, Joel meeting with Cheryl Linder and Sara Cramer (Ed Center)
3:00-3:30, Joel in 504 Meeting (Conference Room)
April 3 (H)

Larry Soberman to cover for Joel
Joel in the building completing observations and write ups of observations. (Not available for behavioral support or other duties.)

April 4 (F)

Larry Soberman to cover for Joel
10:00-11:00, Joel at the Staffing Distribution Meeting. I will provide staff with information before Friday is over.
Joel completing observations and write ups. (Unavailable most of the day for behavioral support or other duties.)

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Week of March 17th, 2014

Schedule of Events for the Week

March 17 (M)
St. Patrick’s Day

Mrs. Stock’s Class to the McGowan Old Growth Forest

8:00-4:30, Joel at negotiations. Gregg Marron is at Awbrey Park
2:30-5:00, Joel to Elementary Principal’s Meeting (Ed Center)

March 18 (T)

Mrs. Tait’s Class to the  McGowan Old Growth Forest
8:00-4:00, Joel to Jon Saphier Principal Training (Ed Center) (Joel leaves early to attend CLIC)
3:00-4:00, CLIC Instructional Meeting- Focus, the big rocks list.

March 19 (W)

1:00-1:30, Compassion Assembly (We will begin seating students at 12:45)

March 20 (H)

1:00-2:00, Ultimate Bulldog Recess
3:00-4:00, IPBS Meeting

March 21 (F)
No School — Professional Learning/Planning Day
8:30-12:30, Awbrey Park Professional Learning (Room 13/Classrooms)
8:00-11:35, EA Extravaganza (Ed Center)- If you have already been to these trainings please join us at Awbrey Park for our sessions.

March 31 (M)
Classes Resume

April 1st (T)

Jeremy Boyce returns!
3:00-4:00, Staff Meeting

Hello Everyone,

It’s almost Spring Break and only around 54 days left in the school year! Here we go getting ready for another 4 day school week with our last major professional learning opportunity on the day before break.  This last Saturday I spent the day at the OALA Oregon Association of Latino Administrators.  It was inspiring and motivating. I was seated next to a man named Emilio Hernandez who was my principal when I worked as a tutor at the University of Oregon High School Equivalency Program in 1995-97. He received an honor called DHLEA Award. It was special to see an educator be recognized for working in the state for over 40 years of service to young people.

Have a great week and don’t forget to love the kids you work with. They need your love and compassion. Whether it is a plate of food or a new way to solve a math problem, the work we do every day comes from the bottom of our hearts and it’s why we are here.

Awbrey Park to Host ESY this Summer – Yes, Awbrey Park will once again host ESY.  The good news is that Gregg Marron and Venus Williams will return to direct and administrate in our building. They will ensure your room is left exactly as it was found.  Last year, they took photographs of every room to ensure each space was exactly the same.

Kids in Transition to School Program Description – 4J has been wanting to get involved in Pre-K for quite some time and is taking some first steps with the Kids in Transition to School program. If it takes off, it’s essentially a summer school program for students entering kindergarten in targeted neighborhoods. Attached is a program description. My guess is that this won’t be placed at Awbrey Park since we already have ESY in our building this summer.

ODE Seeks Nominations for 2015 Oregon Teacher of the Year – Downtown asked principals to share the attached information regarding nominations for the Oregon Teacher of the Year. See the email for information.

The Brain’s Best Friend – Science tells us the brain develops and learns best in safe, supportive environments. Does your classroom fit the bill? See this Teaching Tolerance article for specifics.

CIS Director Change – 4J’s CIS Director, Peter Tromba, has accepted a job at the Oregon Education Investment Board. His new job starts immediately, but he will continue to work part-time as Technology Director until June 30. The process of finding a new director will be starting very soon.

Section 504 Q and A – Last week the District was found non-compliant for Child Find under section 504 and IDEA. “Child find” is the process of locating and identifying students with disabilities. Under Section 504, school districts must annually identify and locate all Section 504 qualified children who are not receiving a FAPE and take appropriate steps to notify their parents and guardians. Principals were asked to communicate with staff that that anytime a parent requests an evaluation for 504 or SPED we need to document it. Further, we need to make decisions related to whether we believe a student should be considered, in a planning meeting. Let me know if you have any questions on this as I am the 504 Coordinator currently.

Have a great week and let compassion and humanity drive your work.

Respectfully,

Joel

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Week of March 10th, 2014

Schedule of Events for the Week –

March 10 (M)

Direct Drive Fundraiser is on until April 3rd.

7:40, Student Support Meeting for Student (Joel attends part of meeting before heading to Ed Center)
3-4, Study Group (Room 13)

Joel at OSEA Bargaining at Ed Center. Larry Soberman will cover for Joel.

March 11 (T)
1:00, Fire Drill
3-4, PBIS Meeting (Room 13)

March 12 (W)
3-4, Rescheduled Site Council Meeting (Room 13)

March 13 (H)
3-4, Nuts and Bolts CLIC Meeting (Room 13) –

Agenda:Spring Events/ End of year Planning, Documents/Fall Registration for Fall 2014-2015

March 14 (F)
3-4, Student Support Meeting (Conference Room)

March 15 (S)
11:00, Future Chefs Competition, Habibatou is competing! (Sheldon HS)
“Compassion Music Assembly”- March 18
Added CLIC Meeting with Instructional Focus- March 18
Data Meeting Intermediate- March 19
IPBS Meeting- March 20
Professional Learning Session- March 21– Focus on Equity Work, Collaborative Work and Technology Training-AM Session & PM Planning
Spring Break Begins!- March 21 @4:00

Hi Everyone,

Awbrey Park’s OBOB team, AKDM Bulldogs (Aly, Katie, Delaney, and Maddie) did exceptionally well at Saturday’s regional competition, and advanced to the sweet 16 and then to the Elite 8 finals. We eventually lost to Holt. I heard that Ohara School took first place and Edgewood took second. It’s the top 16 teams with the most points from the “Pool Play” rounds who advance to the finals, but they did a great job representing our school. We did exceptionally well and their coach, Crista Harter has much to be proud of. These kids just rocked it. Next week, some of you might want to go to the Future Chefs Competition to cheer Habibatou on at Sheldon HS.

Some items of note this week:

• United Way Campaign (forms due Thursday!) – As some of you are probably aware, 4J has not started the 2014 United Way of Lane County Campaign. Because of scheduling and time constraints, they decided it would be best to change the campaign cycle going forward from March 2014 to March 2015. They say this works better with their overall schedule and will allow them more time to focus on the work and value that United Way of Lane County provides to our community. This is the first year they are trying this schedule, therefore the timeline will be very short. If you are able to donate, forms and/or donations are due to the office by this Thursday (3/13). I will place them in your box on Monday.

Remember that you can even donate directly to your own classroom, which may be a good thing to do since the “Educator Expenses Tax Deduction” ended this past year, but a donation through United Way is still tax deductible.

Forms will be in staff mailboxes Monday morning. If you are able to donate, forms and/or donations should be put into the United Way envelope located in my office by the door underneath the Direct Drive envelope. We did exceptionally well last year in increasing our donations!  We actually increased by 1560% and participation was through the roof! We were way above district average last year, so let’s see if we can do it again!

 

 

• TSS Updates – James has been hired to take Scott Ehret’s place as the 4J TSS Supervisor. Scott left the district recently for a new position at PacificSource and James was hired last week into the position. I am happy to know that the person now in charge of TSS assignments has a good idea of how much TSS time is really required here at Awbrey Park. David will continue to serve us on Mondays and Wednesdays. Sometimes, David does have responsibilities that keeps him away on Wednesdays and he makes it up another day. Best of wishes to James in his new position!

 

 

March 21st PD Day – (2.5 hours on using the cultural fluency rubric) Jane Waite will be joining us to help us work on examining classroom libraries for cultural fluency.  She will be sharing a rubric to look at texts in our classroom that are non-fiction or fiction.  She will help us learn to analyze these texts and consider their use in instruction. She will also share innovative ways for teachers to talk about texts with students that address race, class and gender in our classrooms and give guidance on facilitating those discussions. This could be especially helpful to teachers looking to increase the quality of discussion during read alouds or during journaling work related to texts in the classroom.

(3 hours of collaboration time) The second part of our morning will be focused on giving teachers time to plan writing units, collaborate on examining mentor texts, and co-create relevant formative assessments to that support your writing work for the year.

(2.5 hours of personal planning time in the afternoon) Teachers are given 2.5 hours of planning time to use as they deem necessary for planning before Spring Break

Lastly, for classified staff, the rescheduled EA Extravaganza is being held this same day from 8:00 to 11:35 at the Ed Center. Information has been sent out earlier, but I did want EAs to know this training is optional. I’ve heard great things about last year’s Extravaganza, but use your discretion as to how best to use your time this day. If you are working in the building, be sure to connect with your primary cooperating teacher for to how you can best help out this day. Also, if you have interest in being a part of our PD time in the morning o learn more about cultural fluency in literacy, you are very welcome to join us in Room 13.

 

Fire Drill, Tuesday at 1:00 – It’s supposed to be dry on Tuesday, so weather pending, we’ll plan to hold our March Fire Drill on Tuesday, March 11th at 1:00. If we’re rained out, I’ll hold the drill during a when it’s dry sometime on Wednesday.

 

2014-2015 Staffing Comes April 4th – Principals found out last week that we will get our staffing allocations on Friday, April 4th. Since negotiations will likely not be settled by this date, downtown will assume a “status quo” contract, which means they will be operating off a budget that assume no furlough days or salary/benefit reductions. How this has played out the last few years is that schools get this first round of staffing and then later, following labor negotiations, get revised allocations with better staffing ratios.

 

National Geographic for Kids FREE! – I heard about this from Allan Chinn and Pam Reynolds. I thought was worth sharing. National Geographic Explorer, the kid version of their magazine, has issues from 2009 to present available for free download, including teacher guides, projectable versions, laptop & tablet versions, and interactive whiteboard lessons. Here is the link to the Pioneer version (grades 2-3) and the Pathfinder version (grades 4-6). To download the PDF version you have to go to “For Teachers” and then to the projectable edition on that page. There you can click to print it and then save it as a PDF.

 

OEA Symposium in Salem– If you have not seen Pedro Noguera, I would highly recommend this workshop.  I have been fortunate to see him once in 4j in 2003.  Here is a link to some of the things he has written. Educators, parents, community leaders and policymakers are encouraged to attend. I realize it is during spring break for many people but if you are around, it is worth spending the day in Salem.

 

63 Black Harvard Students Share Their Experiences In A Powerful Photo Project – The one is a must read! The I, Too, Am Harvard photo campaign explores the diverse experience that black students at Harvard have to face. Here are 21 of the images from an article about the project.

 

Study: Emotional, social learning model boosts test scores – Students in classrooms that operate under the Responsive Classroom model — a socialization technique typically used to help students develop emotional and social skills that’s very similar to Caring for Kids — had the added benefit of higher math and reading test scores, according to a recent study by researchers from several universities. The crux of the program is focused on developing positive classroom relationships, teaching students how to cooperate and encouraging a sense of “community.”

 

PE Schedule – I have spoken with Mike Allen, our PE contractor to run Awbrey Active Kids.  He would like to schedule 6 weeks this Sprin to work with our students.  This will be a challenge given the constraints of our our schedule but he is going to give it a try.  Now that Andrew and Sabrina have completed a schedule for OAKs and most field trips are planned, we have a good idea where the holes are. On Tuesday, Claire will put out a potential schedule for staff to fill in.  There will be references to help you at the sign up sheet like; the master schedule, the OAKs schedule, and the music schedule. Please consider all of these when signing up. The goal is to have 4 slots on Wednesdays and 7 slots each on Tuesday and Thursday.

 

Melissa recovering from her first surgery.– Andrew spoke to Tucker Friday and he gave him some information to pass on to everyone.  Melissa’s Pathology Reports and Tests came back completely negative.   Her major surgery is scheduled for 3/19.  She should be came home from the hospital this weekend.  Tucker said that everything turned out better than they could have hoped for.

This week we were hoping to get another photo of the staff in their tie-die shirts.  I will be calling Tucker and Misty’s family friend, Mike, to come out this Wednesday to take a photo right after bus duty on Wednesday.  Please remember to bring Tye-die shirts this Wednesday so we can make this staff portrait for her. It will mean a lot to her. Melody has some other fun ways planned to support Melissa while she is out. Please check in with her on the details if you are wanting to help but are not sure how.

Also, I am planning on making a “mix tape” for Melissa this week of fun uplifting music for her to listen to.  Please respond to this email with songs you like her to have at home. I’ll “burn a CD” for her next Friday. Please respond  to my email by Thursday at 4:00 so I can get on i tunes to purchase music for her. The theme will be “Good Feeling.” Send anything that relates to that theme.

 

Thanks for reading and have a great week,

 

Joel

 

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Week of March 3rd, 2014

Calendar of Events for the Week

March 3 (M) Wear Red and White
PBIS Focus: Be responsible. Please take time to review how to report to adults on the playground in morning meetings or class meetings.

Dr. Seuss Week!

7:30-8:30, IEP Meeting in the Conference Room
2:00-3:00,  Joel inPhone Conference with Downtown from Office
3:30-5:00, Joel at All Admin Meeting in Auditorium at Ed Center
6:30-8:00, PTO Meeting, Joel  at the meeting by about 6:45

March 4 (T) Wear Green! Green Eggs and Ham Day

7:30-8:30,
3:00-4:00, Staff Meeting (Room 13)
1:00-2:30, District Restraint and Seclusion Committee, Meets in Room 13, 1-2:30

March 5 (W) Wacky Wednesday
8:00-9:00, Joel at District Office meeting.

March 6 (H) Dress up as your favorite Character Day
9:15, Fire Drill
3:00-4:00,  IPBS Meeting
5:30-7:00, Awbrey Park Story and PJ Night

March 7 (F)

Coffee available at 8:00 AM in Room 13.
8:30-11:30, PD Session will run in Room 13.
Professor John Lockhart from Pacific University will train staff on examining instructional materials through and equity lens. Focus will be on nonfiction text such as Scholastic News.
11:30-4:00, Teacher Planning Time and Lunch

March 8 (S)
9:45, Oregon Battle of the Books Regional Competition (Thurston HS)

Coming Up-

Study Group- March 10
PBIS Meeting- March 11
Rescheduled Site Council Meeting- March 12
Nuts and Bolts CLIC Meeting- March 13
“Compassion Music Assembly”- March 18
Added CLIC Meeting with Instructional Focus- March 18
Data Meeting Intermediate- March 19
IPBS Meeting- March 20
Professional Learning Session- March 21– Focus on Equity Work, Collaborative Work and Technology Training-AM Session & PM Planning
Spring Break Begins!- March 21 @4:00

Hi Awbrey Staff,

This week is a shorter student week with so many exciting things happening. Pace yourself and be compassionate with each other. As Melissa reminded us all last Friday “It’s not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” So let’s turn up the music and dance! (with Pharrell Williams)

“Taking it Up” Training Opportunity – There will be an opportunity next month for any staff member interested in attending “Taking it Up” who have not already attended. The two-day seminar will be offered April 17th and 18th. Downtown is paying all of the registration fees and I will pay 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 the end of the month if you would like to attend this high quality and challenging workshop.

OBOB Regional Tournament Saturday, March 8th at 9:45 – If you’d like to cheer on the Awbrey Park Team OBOB finalists at the regional competition, it will be this Saturday at Thurston High School, with the kickoff assembly starting at 9:45. Go Pie!

Title 1 Newsletter – If you’d like to know what’s happening in Title 1 from the district perspective, here is the latest Title 1 Newsletter that went out to all Title 1 Coordinators and principals. This month’s issue includes info on this year’s summer school and a good math article.

The Eugene Concert Choir Outreach Program – ECCO music education program is in its sixth year of bringing choral singing to local schools. They are available to make classroom presentations between March 4 – April 18th. At their presentation, they will teach students to sing “This Land Is Your Land” while introducing musical concepts as part of performance singing. See this letter and application for details, but if you have questions, contact ECCO at choir@eugeneconcertchoir.org or at (541) 687-6865.

Teacher Student Loan Forgiveness Program – If staff are unfamiliar with this, there is a federal program to forgive student loans for teachers/staff who have taught five consecutive years at a low-income school (30% or more students on FARM). To begin a loan forgiveness process, each individual teacher/staff member must contact their lenders directly and ask to begin the process. Staff can begin the process at the end of their fifth year of full-time employment. Here is a link to the ODE website with information about the program and here is another link to a federal website that’s a lot clearer about how the program works.

How diverse is your classroom library? – Libraries that highlight only certain kinds of beauty, protagonists or families send harmful messages to the children whose experiences they exclude. See this article and ensure that your classroom library reflects the diverse voices and perspectives that make up the world we live in. We will be spending more time on this topic on March 21st with the help of Media Specialist Jane Waite.

Staff Meeting Agenda for March 4 from 3:00-4:15

• Connections Activity – Led by Joel
• Presentation by the PTO on the GROW Drive.
• Explanation of the TELL Survey and Incentive Plan
• Technology Update
• Site Council Report
• A Jon Saphier Nugget from Beth and Christina
• Music Announcements from Kenny
• Announcements

I hope everyone has a great week.

All the best,

Joel

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Week of February 24th, 2014

 Calendar of Events for the Week

February 24 (M)
PBIS Focus: Be responsible.
School Choice Visitation Week
8:30-4:00 Joel out of building at Interest Based Bargaining with OSEA
1:30-2:30, Recycling Presentation, 4th Grade in Room 12
2:30-3:30, Joel to Title 1 Coordinator and Principal’s Meeting
4:00-6:00, Joel to North Region Principal’s Meeting

 

February 25 (T)
9:00-10:00, School Choice Tour
3:00-4:00, Site Council Meeting (Room 13)

 

February 26 (W)

6:00-8:00, Joel to Joint Equity Committee Meeting with the School Board

 

February 27 (H)
12:00-1:00, School Choice Tour
3:15-4:15, AP Study Group in room 13
3:00-3:10, Another printer training  by David Nelson for teachers who missed it last week.
3:30-5:30, Joel at the Diverse Workforce – Retention and Recruitment Meeting with Dr. Berman

 

February 28 (F)
2:15-2:30, Bulldog Recess
8:30-2:30, Esther Stutzman- Storyteller Visits

School Choice Visitation Week – This week is School Choice Visitation Week #2. We have a few families already signed up for tours (mostly from the younger grades again), so don’t be surprised if you see me and Alicia Helton walking visitors around the building this week.

Effective Use of Open-Ended Questions in Elementary Classrooms – In this helpful article in The Reading Teacher, Barbara Wasik and Annemarie Hindman (Temple University) say teachers sometimes ask questions that students can answer with a single word – for example, “Did you like the book?” elicits a simple “Yes.” Better for teachers to ask open-ended questions that invite elaborated responses.

Dr. Seuss Week Reminders from Sara Justice

The Power of AVID Video

I have told many of you before about the power of a strong college readiness program in middle and elementary.  AVID- Advancement Via Individual Determination is a program that started in San Diego in 1982. This video is a great example of the power of AVID at all grade levels.  I believe a college readiness climate could effect ALL the students in a school and their parents. I believe elementary college readiness is vital to overall success of sending students to college in a k-12 system.  At higher grades, AVID is more selective and targeted. In elementary, each and every student benefits in a school with AVID.

Try watching this 6 minute video and tell me what you think.

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy at Awbrey Park

Here is another short 4 minute video on Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.

New lock system is complete.

Many of you may still have questions about our new lock system.  We can customize and change the lock system to meet our needs.  Overall, it will make our building a safer place and keep out unsafe individuals in an efficient manner. Currently, we have set up a system to keep the doors locked until 8:15 AM. The doors lock at 8:30.  The gym doors at the west entrance near the building are always open during the school day. We can fine tune the system further to be open for short periods of time if necessary.  Larry and I make these changes using a district issued laptop.

One note:We now have the power to lock down the entire school with the touch of a button. Please do not use door stoppers in the doors leading to the outside at all.  Use of door stoppers basically takes away our power to lock down the whole school at any given time.  This will become a bigger deal as the warm weather comes this spring. In addition, the air conditioning system in our building is marginalized by doors propped open. Please refrain from using stoppers to keep our safety and comfort in mind. I will be planning a lock down practice in April once I am more familiar with the system.

Music Teacher Introduction: Ken Silverman

Ken Silverman Biography Page

Ken Silverman has been teaching music in Eugene for a long time. Ken brings music to our students and will help them get ready for performances this coming Spring. Ken and I will schedule some times for this soon. (Stay tuned.) Ken will be teaching students how to play ukeleles and try several other instruments. Ken is also doing work to clean up our music room. All materials will stay within the district’s music equipment collection at Parker Elementary.  He is working hard to make space so students have more room to dance and practice for some performances. Ken also will be organizing our existing AV system so it is more functional during assemblies like the Dr. Seuss Assembly on March 3rd.

 Fire Drill Recap:

We are doing great in our exit of the building to the fields. We continue to account for students in less than 3:15.  I have listened to many teachers feedback on using the front of the building for exiting to reduce traffic in the gated areas. My concern with this is that it separates our students into different areas and makes it harder to ensure accounting for students in a real life situation. There is also concern that fire trucks would be parked in the front of the school right where we might want to have students line up. I will be getting some advice from Santa Clara Fire Dept. about how to help students exit safely in a real fire and where the BEST location is for them in a real life situation.  We will also work closely with Ryan Massey to evaluate this.  My plan is to make changes next fall if it is deemed necessary.

OIIP (Oregon International Internship Program)

Introduction of  Yingzi Wang  (Cherry)  A message directly from Cherry.

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Week of February 17th, 2014

Hello Awbrey Staff,

• Schedule of Events for the Week

February 17 (M)
President’s Day – No School

February 18 (T)
9:30-11:30, 3rd Grade to the Hult Center, Joel attends.
2:30-5:00, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Ed Center)
3:00-4:00 PBIS Meeting in Lindsay Gietter’s Room

February 19 (W)
Exclusion Day for students without up to date vaccinations
8:30-9:45, Joel in formal observation
2:00-3:00, Classified Staff Meeting on Time Card Procedures in Room 13.

February 20 (H)
8:30-10:00, Joel in walk throughs
3:00-4:00, IPBS Meeting in Conference Room

February 21 (F)
8:30-10:00, Joel in walk throughs.
1:15 Fire Drill, This looks to be the driest and warmest day all week.

• Teacher Rep Needed for District Conversations – Downtown wants to start a dialogue with teachers about how we can best support each other through these hard times and how we might work together to make the stresses more manageable and retain the joy in our work. They are going to start this by facilitating some conversations among teachers. Each elementary school can send one rep who is able to “feel the pulse” of their building and who has a sense of some of what the district has been trying to achieve, and is willing speak honestly. Elementary teacher reps will be divided into two groups and will meet on on March 5th and 10th from 4:00-5:30 at the Ed Center. Teachers will be compensated for their time. Let me know by this Thursday if you are interested in being Awbrey Park’s teacher rep.

• Vision publicity work: I’d love to hear from staff about ways to share our vision in the front office. One or two staff members have shared this interest.  Please send me an email if you want to do some work in the front office to share this work. We have a small amount of funds set aside to do this work.

• UOTeach Student Teachers Placements This Spring – The UOTeach program has 4 student teachers who need placements in classrooms with ELL students for the spring. The only grade they do not need is 2nd. For spring term student teaching, the student would be in your classroom 40 hours per week for 10 weeks, from March 31 – June 13. They would teach full-time for 5 weeks and create a 3-5 week work sample, which could include 4 lessons showing accommodations for the ELL students in the classroom. The student’s UO supervisor would set up a 3-way meeting at the beginning, middle and end of the term and would observe them 4-5 times during the term. The compensation to the cooperating teacher would be $217 and a UO reduced-tuition credit voucher worth 5 credits. This compensation is sent by UOTeach to the district which has a process for the teacher to access it. If you are interested see this email for details and contact Kara Whipple .

• OSPIRG Energy Education Presentations – OSPIRG is a student-directed nonprofit at Lane Community College and they are offering free educational presentations for students of all ages that focus on the value of conserving energy and promoting active environmental stewardship. Sample lessons can be found here and here. If you’re interested in having a presenter, contact Michelle Evans at (541) 505-1582 or .

• A Hidden History Feb 23rd – Have you ever wondered why the Black population in Oregon is so small? Oregon has a history not only of Black exclusion and discrimination, but also of a vibrant Black culture that helped sustain many communities throughout the state-a history that is not taught in schools. On Sunday, February 23, 2:00 p.m., the Downtown Eugene Public Library will host a free community conversation, “Why Aren’t There More Black People in Oregon: A Hidden History.” Author and educator Walidah Imarisha will lead participants through an interactive timeline of Black history in Oregon that speaks to the history of race, identity, and power in this state and the nation. See the Eugene Public Library website for more details.

• Illinois elementary school event teaches math’s role in the Olympics – Here’s an article about a fun way to engage students in math content. Third- and fourth-grade students at an Illinois elementary school recently participated in its first Math Olympics — a competition featuring Olympic-inspired games and math. Students participated in various competitions, including the long jump, and learned how math is used to determine the results of the events.

• Study shows benefits of deeper learning, student-centered instruction – A recent study finds that deeper learning and student-centered practices were shown to improve academic achievement among low-income minority students in four schools. Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education studied the schools, which used Linked Learning Alliance or Envision Schools models, and found that all are committed to personalized learning, strive for positive teacher-student relationships and are based on reflection and revision.

• Teachers tap social media for authentic learning experiences – Educators and advocates say schools increasingly are adapting to new technology and now are beginning to use social media, such as Skype and Twitter, in innovative ways to create authentic learning experiences for students. In this article, one example is a second-grade teacher used Twitter to help students practice their writing, including proper use of grammar and punctuation. Educators are cautioned, however, to ensure social media use is private, education-oriented and secure.

Have a great week! I am already enjoying the longer days of light. Have you noticed that?

Joel

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Joel’s Journal for the Week of February 3rd

February 3 (M)
PBIS Focus: Be Respectful

8:30-9:45, Joel teaches reading for Kristen in 3rd. Kristen at Counseling Meeting

6:30-7:45, PTO Meeting,  Are you coming in February?  Arwen was the first teacher to attend this school year in January. Thank you Arwen.

February 4 (T)

2:30- 5:00, Joel to Elementary Principals’ Meeting (Gilham)

4:00-5:00, Joel at Equity Meeting on Framework for 4J

February 5 (W)
Last Day of PE

8:45-9:45, Joel in Formal Observation

3:00-4:00, Staff Meeting in Room 13

4:00-4:30, Post Observation Meeting
4:00-5:30, 3rd Annual National Digital Learning Day (Chavez)

February 6 (H)
9:00-11:30, 2nd Grade Field Trip to  Science Factory

11:00-1:00, Joel at Resource Principal Meeting in Sara Cramer’s Office

3:00-4:00, IPBS Meeting  Conference Room

February 7 (F)

Report Card Grading Day – No Students

8:00-11:35, 2nd Annual Instructional Extravaganza for Educational Assistants (Ed Center)

12:00-4:00, Do the Math Training for all Awbrey Park EA’s,  (Ed Center)

February 8 (S)

Joel to Corvallis with Carmen Urbina, Juan Cuadros, and Eric Anderson to the OALA Conference.  (Oregon Association of Latino Administrators)

 

Mid Term Goals Meetings and Talent Ed Forms – I think we did a tremendous job getting through the mid Term Goals meetings.  Please make sure that you submit the mid term goals form if we have met. Also, it would be great if all SLGO Goals Forms are submitted this week. There are several that have been saved but not submitted. Now is the time to submit these documents.  Makes those final edits and push the button.  Thanks.

EA Extravaganza – I know information about the EA Extravaganza (Elementary Grading Day, Feb. 7th from 8:00 to 11:35 at the Ed Center) has been sent out earlier, but I did want to let EAs know this training is optional. I’ve heard great things about last year’s Extravaganza, but use your discretion as to how best to use your time this day.

Do the Math Training from 12:00-4:00 at the Ed Center is required for all EA’s teaching any math including kindergarten. The Instruction Dept. will pay for extra hours beyond your normal work day for this training.

Staff Meeting Moved to Wednesday – I moved the staff meeting to Wednesday the 5th this week due to being triple booked on Tuesday. I don’t like to do this Wednesdays, but it is the only day available. Other weeks are fully booked already on Tuesdays.  I also understand that some will leave early for Digital Learning Day. We have less on the agenda and hope  we can adjourn by 3:40.

The agenda is:

Connections with Jamie- 10 minutes -Led by Jamie

Nuts and Bolts (Report Card Kinks and Communications) – 10 minutes – Open

New District Laptops COW Input- 10 minutes, Conversation guided by Joel

Planning Dr. Seuss Week: Teacher Input on Dr. Seuss Week- 10 minutes, Led by Sara Justice

Technology Bond Update & New COW – All 4J schools will be receiving a new COW of 36 student laptops. The catch is that all schools will need to give up 36 of their oldest computers, so if you have any ancient technology hiding in your classroom, please give it to me or David. I’d like to try to hang onto as much of our usable technology as possible. I’d like to get teacher input at the staff meeting about where  this new COW will go.

Report Card Send-Home Date,  2/28  – The normal report card send home day is 2 weeks slower than normal so we can all get used to these new processes. Please let your families know via your newsletter.  I will also be letting them know via E News. Specialists should give their report cards to classroom teachers well before that date, so classroom teachers can build off of any of your comments and also so they have sufficient time to stuff report card envelopes.

PBIS Focus: Be Respectful – The February PBIS monthly focus is Be Caring. There, there are several connections that can be made to CFK Curriculum. If you’d like more help finding these connections, please ask Pam, our CFK Leader.

National School Counselor Week – This week is National School Counselor Week. Awbrey Park is very lucky to have such a rock star counselor in Kristen.  So, if you have a moment, give Kristen a high five!

Young Writers Contest – Wordcrafters of Eugene is hosting the first ever fiction writers conference in Lane County, the weekend of March 7th at the Eugene Hilton. New York Times best selling authors Terry Brooks and Elizabeth George will be keynote speakers. As part of the conference, they are having a young fiction writers contest that includes some great prizes like gift certificates to the University of Oregon Bookstore. The contest is for all school age students in Lane county, with separate elementary, middle and high school categories. See the flyer for details.

Best of 2013 Multicultural Children’s Literature – Here is a book list of the Best Multicultural Children’s Books of 2013! The Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature put together this list of quality literature for teachers and students. The list covers PreK-12 and the levels are listed at the end of each title descriptor.

Title 1 Newsletter – If you’d like to know what’s happening in Title 1 from the district perspective, here is the latest Title 1 Newsletter that went out to all Title 1 Coordinators and principals.

Black History Month Events – Here is a list of great opportunities at the UO for Black History Month, including “Race and Football: Humanities Context for Contemporary Understanding” co-sponsored by Intercollegiate Athletics and the Oregon Historical Society. And don’t forget to stop by the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art to discover the amazing new “Emancipating the Past: Kara Walker’s Tales of Slavery and Power” exhibit.

Kinder Readiness Results – The state has just released the kinder assessment results which we administered last Fall. Here is an article written by the Oregonian about the state’s overall readiness in this critical grade level.

Thanks and have a wonderful week.

Joel

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Week of January 27th, 2014

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Week of January 20th, 2014

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a good three-day weekend.

Schedule of Events for the Week –

January 20 (M)
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – No School
January 21 (T)

7:30, IEP with Fenn, Joel, and Melissa Barbour

9:15, Fire Drill

10:00 -10:30, Joel in PTO Meeting about holding a Direct Drive

11:00-11:25, Joel in Mid Term Goals Meeting

3:00, PBIS Meeting in Room 13

6:30-9:00- 4j School Board Meeting, AP are recognized for Apple Distinguished Program Award.
January 22 (W)

7:30, Joel in Midterm goals meeting

11:30, Joel in Midterm goals meeting

3:00, Primary Data Meeting
January 23 (H)

7:30,  Joel in Midterm goals meeting

9:00-11:30, 4th Grade Field Trip

10:00-1:00, 2nd Grade Pedestrian Safety Class in Room 12

2:10, Joel in Midterm goals meeting

3:00, IPBS in the Conference Room

3:00, Intermediate Data Meeting in Room 13
January 24 (F)

8:00-11:00, 4th Grade Field Trip

1:10, Winter Reading Celebration 3-5

1:25, 3rd Grade Timbre Performance

1:50, Winter Reading Celebration 1-2

3:00-4:00, Synergy Training Session on Grading and Report Cards. Sara Justice and Joel will lead.
January 25 (S)
9:00-12:00, Joel, and ? to School Showcase (Ed Center)

Some items of note for this week:

Report Cards Information:

I attended a training on the 14th for how to work with the new elementary report card in Synergy. Sara Justice will be trained this Thursday. Generally, it has a lot of nice new features and seems more user friendly than eSIS, but it’s still a new system and there will be a learning curve for getting used to it.

We’re planning to hold a a teacher training on Friday, January 24th at 3:00 in the Room 13. The report card grading day is February 7th and my thought is to make the report card send-home date two weeks after that date to give teachers enough time to get used to the new system. I have contacted Sara Cramer about this and she seemed to think this made sense, but said it would likely need to be a decision across the district, so we’ll likely need to wait for a decision on this from the Instruction Department.

If you’d like to preview the report cards before the 29th, you can log onto Synergy and try it for real or you can go into the “Train” database (found on this page: http://www.4j.lane.edu/technology/is/synergy/) where you can safely poke around with the report cards and not worry that you’re ruining anything. Here is the Synergy Report Card Directions from Ruth Mann. (SynElemRepCardTchrs) I recommend that you download it and play with the directions on “train” this week as time permits.

“The Window”- Here is the information that Ruth Mann sent Friday about the Report Card Window:

“We wanted to let you know that all teachers should have access to the Elementary Report card area in Synergy production at this time. Due to popular demand we opened the window of access to 30 days before and 10 days after grading day for teachers to get in and begin their work, if they choose to do so. Please be sure that your staff are trained before letting them know about this change. We want to be sure that folks have the necessary information in order to have a successful grading period. The training document used at the Train the Trainer sessions is now posted on the Synergy home page.”

My last bit of advice on the report cards is to take look at the report cards on the 4J Curriculum website (use VPN if you’re logging on from home). Many of you remember this information from Reid Shepard’s Presentation at the last staff meeting on the 14th.
Go to http://www.curriculum.4j.lane.edu/math/

Be sure to also look at not just the report card, but also the “Math Report Card Supplement” because this document provides more detail on what the cluster headings on the math report card actually mean. For example, on the 2nd grade report card where students receive a grade for “Work with time and money,” it really means:

2.MD.7 Accurately read and represent the time display to the hour and half hour on an analog clock and digital clock, using a.m. and p.m.

2.MD.8 Identify values of dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies and use $ and ¢ symbols appropriately. Solve simple expressions involving money

CLIC Meeting–  Last week CLIC Team had a great discussion about the Parent Involvement Ativities at AP, our Blended classroom philosophy and the CFK initiative.  Read the minutes (CLIC Minutes January 2014) to find out more details on our discussion.

January 31st PD Day – On our Awbrey Park PD day later this month, our main focus will be to begin a school wide focus on Writing. Robert Young will return to do more in depth work with the primary grades on mentor texts and non-fiction (fact-tion!) writing. Our intermediate grades will focus on close reading. Lindsay Gietter will lead the 3-5 grades in this work. Robert Young will teach in Room 12 and Lindsay will teach in Room 13.

Coffee and a little food will be available at 8:00 in Room 13.

The session will begin at 8:30 together. Classified employees are encouraged to participate in all the instructional training we do on this day.

We will run a connections activity to energize us and get the day begun. (If you have any announcements to the whole staff, please make them here.)

At 9:00, Robert Young and Lindsay will split up the teams and staff will begin their learning for the day.

The PD will run from 9:00-11:30 in both sessions.

Here is a message from Lindsay about the morning for 3-5th:

Robin Wellwood may also be running a medical training on this day, but I do not recall the time for that.

More Grants for Awbrey Park From Eugene Education Foundation! – EEF has let us know that the grant request that Awbrey Park Elementary put out authored by Joel Lavin; “EEF-Funded Multicultural Storyteller” has been fully funded to the requested amount of $2000. Additionally, “EEF-Funded College and Career Fair in Elementary” has been fully funded to the requested amount of $500. The Awbrey Active Kids Grant was fully funded in December. This program (Awbrey Active Kids)  will begin in February and will provide activity for our students at least one day a week through track season.

Study: Electronic books improve students’ literacy skills – Young students’ literacy skills may benefit from the use of electronic books — viewed on iPads and other devices, according to a recent study that found students respond to the ability to see, hear and touch texts using the devices. Researchers reported finding the type of device students use may have an effect. They write that “the larger desktop touch screen, it appears, supports different modalities than the smallest device, the iPod, while the iPad support comparable behaviors.”

Have a great week, everyone!

Joel

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