https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/madisonstaff/2019/12/02/december-2-2019/
I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing long weekend. I read “The Storyteller” by Jodi Picoult, ate lots of turkey and sweet potatoes, and ventured out for my first Black Friday. It was lovely, but I’m still counting down the three weeks until Winter Break 🙂
- Tri 2 Schedule – The master schedule for trimester 2 is in the Master Schedule folder in the Madison drive. It’s also linked here.
- Grading Day Monday – If you missed the email from Rechelle, there are a few extra steps to get grades in for all kids. Because of all the schedule changes, especially in 8th grade and some in 6th, if you’re inputting grades now, some of your students won’t show up because they technically left that class on November 27. Here’s a note from Rechelle:
Peter and I just discovered another piece to attempting to enter grades after the Leave Date of 11/27, before the Start Date of 12/3 for their new classes/periods: You will have to go to Report Card and post final grades there (after you have done the step, “Show Dropped Students”). Once all have been posted for the students whose names are lined out, you should be able to hit the green “Post” button to finalize.If you think all of your grades are in, please send me an email and I will run a report for you to verify.
- SPLASH! Grants due Friday – The City of Eugene is providing their SPLASH! curriculum this school year along with grant funding for instruction in science. Applications are due this Friday. See this SPLASH email sent to teachers earlier this month or the SPLASH! website for details. To apply, go to the Grant Application Site.
- Repeat: Students of the Month – If you haven’t already, please enter the names of November’s students of the month into the google doc. Thanks!
- Repeat: U of O Basketball Field Trip – U of O has offered a free field trip to see the women’s basketball team play on December 16. We have already sent families a link to the digital permission slip and will send home paper slips after the break. TLC is working out all the details and will communicate those as soon as they are finished. For now we know we will all be seated in the same section and kids can bring in their lunches to eat during the game. They are offering math packets to go with the game if we want to put an academic slant on the field trip. We won’t be gone all day, so kids will return to focus classes when we get back (likely between 2-2:30). More info to come ASAP.
- Repeat: Students Out of Class – We’ve noticed an increase in the number of students out in the halls during class. Many have passes, but aren’t necessarily going where they’re supposed to be going. Some are wandering, others are meeting up at lockers or in the bathrooms. Please consider limiting hall passes to only absolutely essential trips. If it can wait until passing period, please ask kids to wait. Thanks for helping us ensure kids are in class as much as possible!
- Repeat: Bus Videos in Focus– Many thanks to the 7 teachers who have completed this! As required by OAR 581-53-002, all students must receive instructions on bus safety before the end of December. The intent of the rule is to teach the occasional riders who find themselves on a bus because of a field trip, activity trip, etc. Linked here is an updated Bus Training Info Sheet (English and Spanish) sent to principals, but all Focus teachers need to do is show one of the two 12-minute bus safety videos (the Newer Bus Evacuation Training Video or the quaint 1990s relic The Safest Way Out) and then document the date and your initials in this Google sheet.
- What Mr. Rogers taught us about communication – I saw “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” this weekend. It wasn’t quite the movie I expected, but Mr. Roger’s generosity in the time and focus he gave to others really resonated with me. When Fred Rogers talked, people listened and understood because he was always truthful, precise, and gave people time to process his message, writes Chet Wade, a consultant who teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University. “What made Fred so effective was when he talked about bad things, he also talked about how to deal with them,” Wade writes. This Forbes article is about leadership, but I think it also applies to working with children. See the above linked article for the complete list of 10 lessons that can be learned from Mr. Rogers, which includes Speak to Individuals – Not Groups, Appreciate the Power of the Pause, and Be Yourself.
- Schedule of Upcoming Events:
December 2 (M)
No School – Grading Day
10:00, Peter to student safety meeting
11:30, Erin to MS Asst Principal’s meeting (downtown)
December 3 (T)
Trimester 2 Starts
7:45, TLC Meeting
Anne teaching Naviance in 7th grade math classes
December 4 (W)
8:00, Staff Meeting
Peter out all day at Equity Academy
7:00pm, Board Meeting
December 5 (H)
7:30, Justice League
4:00-8:00, CPR/First Aid class at Madison
December 6 (F)
Anne teaching Naviance in 8th grade math classes
2:45, Early Release PD – Behavior Framework
3:30, Grade Level Team Meetings
December 9 (M)
9:00, Honor Roll Assembly
3:45, Peter to MS Principal’s meeting (downtown)
December 10 (T)
7:45, TLC Meeting (conference room)
9:00, Peter and Erin to All Admin Meeting (downtown)
December 11 (W)
3:45, Climate Team Meeting
December 12 (H)
7:30, Justice League (Anne’s office)
December 13 (F)
2:45, Building-based PD – PLCs
3:30, Grade Level Team meetings
