March 24, 2023

Dear Madison Staff,

No one is more deserving of a week of rest and relaxation! 

Here are this week’s updates:

Mon, Apr 3 Tue, Apr 4 Wed, Apr 5 Thur, Apr 6 Fri, Apr 7
No School – Planning/PD Day

8:00 – Required Social Studies department PD at CHS Cafeteria

10:30 – First Aid/CPR Training

7:45 Climate Team Pesach (Religious Holiday)

8:00 GLT

 Honor Roll Assembly – During Focus 8 – CCE Planning Meeting

LSU, BSU, GSA, APISU

Project Class Field Trip – 8:45 to 11:30


MADISON INFORMATION     

  • Monday – April 3rd: Please watch your emails.  Actually – do not watch your email, please plan on looking at your email at 8am on Monday morning to see if you are being called a different direction.  Things out of my control are moving behind the scenes.  What I know as of Friday afternoon. Some of us will be doing CPR/First Aid training here at Madison.  I only have 12 spots for CPR/First Aid training so all that signed up, might not get in.  If we need, I will try to find an additional time to offer it. I will let you know Monday who is in when I have more information about the different PDs. Classified staff has continued Pathway training at Churchill, more information below.  SS teachers having their own PD, beginning at 8:00am at Churchill, in the cafeteria.
  • Staffing Update: We have made a recommendation for hire to HR for our open SPED EA position, and we are waiting to hear back.
 

DISTRICT INFORMATION        

  • Repeat: ACE Award Nominations: Nominations for this year’s ACE awards are now open. Please visit the link here to nominate a Champion in Education. Nomination categories include Classified Staff, Licensed Staff, Volunteers, and Administrators. Nominations are open until March 31.
         
  • New School Improvement Plans: Gina and I attended a training on Friday about the new school improvement plan process. It feels like a big change from what we do now. One of the biggest change is we’re being asked to target a specific population of students for improvement (ours will be LatinX students) and to ensure our three goals align to the superintendent’s 3 big rocks (communication, achievement of underserved populations, and safety/well-being). We have about a month to rewrite our plan and submit it. 
    • Mission and Vision Statements: Another part of this realignment is to ensure our mission and vision statements reflect the superintendent’s priorities. It’s been a number of years since we revisited ours, so this may be on our agenda for next year.
    • MTSS Focus: The district is in the process of creating an MTSS (Multi Tiered Student Support) plan. More info is coming on how this impacts meeting schedules, data teams, and how students access interventions. 
    • Leadership Plans: There’s also a new, more equitable, process for Leadership Plans. In the past, high schools got stipends, middle schools got percentage of their salaries, and elementary schools got comp days. We’ll use the same system at all levels and leadership plans will tie directly to our school improvement plan (which ours does this year).
           
  • Classified Pathways PD for April 3: Classified staff are expected to attend from 8:30-11:30. If you haven’t yet signed up, the email has that information for you. If you signed up earlier in the year, search your email for one from Reid Shepard that confirmed your selection. You can also visit the Pathways site for more information.
         
  • COVID Updates: Two changes are coming from the state regarding Covid protocols. First, masks in healthcare settings will no longer be required as of April 3rd. Second, staff with religious exemptions to the Covid vaccine are no longer required to mask and participate in weekly testing. 
         
  • Early Release Wednesdays are Back: Next year, early release days will shift back to Wednesdays. 
        
  • Kelly MS Benito Juárez Celebration: Friday, April 7 from 5-8pm is Kelly Middle School’s Benito Juárez Celebration. There will be food and entertainment provided by both students of our local immersion school and community groups. All are invited to attend!
        
  • Free Library Card for 4J Students and Staff: All 4J students and staff are eligible for a free library card even if they don’t live within the city limits. Just bring your school ID to get your free card. I have heard one of the perks is two free streaming services: Hoopla and Kanopy.
  • OEBB Dependent Eligibility Verification: If you have a dependent listed on your insurance, OEBB is requiring everyone to verify dependents meet their criteria for eligibility. Your dependents could lose their insurance coverage without verification. For example, if you have a spouse on your insurance, you’ll need to submit a copy of your marriage certificate and the first page of your most recent tax return. Linked here are the documentation requirements.
    • Licensed Staff: You should have already received an email from OEBB and will receive a 2nd one in early April if you haven’t verified your dependent(s). You have until April 28 to complete their request.
    • Classified Staff: You will get your first email in early May and will have until June 27 to submit your verification.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

  • Using ChatGPT to Enhance Lesson Design: There’s a lot of news about how ChatGPT will impact education primarily with older students, but have you thought about how it might help you? I’ve started using it to help with writing emails or responding to parents. I asked it to write an email to families after our lockdown and I used parts of what it wrote to enhance the email I had already drafted. This article from Edutopia shares different ways teachers can use ChatGPT to improve lessons or find information. 
    • Erin Gaston also used ChatGPT to help me better explain complicated science concepts to my own 8th grader. Have a complicated concept or need to explain it another way to help a kid understand? Ask ChatGPT to explain it to a given age student. I also typed in the prompt she was given in science and used the response it wrote to help her better understand what information her teacher was likely looking for since I couldn’t remember how photosynthesis and cell respiration were similar. 

Looking Ahead:

March 27-31: Spring Break

Mon, April 10 Tue, April 11 Wed, April 12 Thur, April 13 Fri, April 14
Science State Testing Starts 4 pm – Expo Interviews   1st Track Meet NASU – 2nd

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Peter and Gina

In case you’re counting, when we come back from Spring Break, it’s 53 work days until Summer Break! (That’s about 4 fewer days than from Winter Break until Spring Break.)

March 17, 2023

Dear Madison Staff,

It’s been an incredibly challenging few weeks. We hope you know how much I appreciate you and all you do. If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to connect with us.

Here are this week’s updates:

Mon, Mar 20 Tue, Mar 21 Wed, Mar 22 Thur, Mar 23 Fri, Mar 24
First Day of Trimester 3

8:10 Safety Team

4:00 P&G to admin collab.

 

7:45 Climate team and TLC

11:30 – 8th grade AVID mtg.

3:45 Justice League

8am GLT 8:00 CCE Planning Team BSU, LSU and GSA

2:45 – Meeting the day before Spring Break?


MADISON INFORMATION     

  • Staffing Update: 

    • SPED EA: Interviews today (Friday)
               
        
 

DISTRICT INFORMATION        

  • Repeat: ACE Award Nominations: Nominations for this year’s ACE awards are now open. Please visit the link here to nominate a Champion in Education. Nomination categories include Classified Staff, Licensed Staff, Volunteers, and Administrators. Nominations are open until March 31.
       
  • 2023-24 District Calendar: Here’s the calendar being presented to the board for approval for next year.
      
  • 4J TOSA Contacts: Recently added to the 4J Instruction Departments Learning Hub is a list of TOSA contacts. If you’re wondering who to connect with for support and resources, this page can help. We have asked for a more expansive resource that includes mental health supports, equity department contacts, mentors, and behavior specialists. 
        
  • District Admin Updates: Deirdre Pearson, principal of Chavez, took a principal job in Medford and Charlemagne principal Joe Hadley will be leaving 4J at the end of the year. Trinity Welch-Radabaugh will be stepping away from her role as principal at North, but will remain in the district in another, as yet unannounced, role. Mike Ingman, former principal at Sheldon and current HR admin, will return to Sheldon as their principal next year.

Fun Ideas: March is Women’s History Month

Checkout this post with resource from ODE: I’ve included a blurb from the site here:

March is Women’s History Month, a celebration of women’s contributions to events in history, science, and society. The United States has observed it annually since 1987.

The National Women’s History Alliance (NWHA), which led the movement for March being declared National Women’s History Month, has announced the women’s history theme for 2023, “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.”

Throughout 2023, the NWHA will encourage recognition of women, past and present, who have been active in all forms of media and storytelling including print, radio, TV, stage, screen, blogs, podcasts, and more. The timely theme honors women in every community who have devoted their lives and talents to producing art, pursuing truth, and reflecting the human condition decade after decade.

Please explore these Women’s History resources:

Women’s History Month Resources for 6-12 Classrooms

Looking Ahead:

Mon, Apr 3 Tue, Apr 4 Wed, Apr 5 Thur, Apr 6 Fri, Apr 7
No School – Planning/PD Day 7:45 Climate Team Pesach (Religious Holiday)

8:00 GLT

  LSU, BSU, GSA

We hope you have a wonderful week!

Peter and Gina

March 10th, 2023

Dear Madison Family,

Here are this week’s updates:

Mon, Mar 13 Tue, Mar 14 Wed, Mar 15 Thur, Mar 16 Fri, Mar 17
9 am – No Place For Hate Meeting

11am – Peter to Fox Hollow

7:45 TLC Make-up Session

12:20 – Mentor Lunch

  No School – Grading Day No School – Staff Workload Relief Day

AM – Admin at a training (maybe)


MADISON INFORMATION     

  • This Year Staffing Update: 

    • 5.5 EA: Peter and Gina are looking to fill the EA that works mostly with Amy and students on her caseload.
    • 2023-24 Staffing: The staffing deadline was extended as they won’t provide us our SSC, ESC, and other staffing until March 15.
  • Staffing for 23/24: The overall gist for next year is that our certified staff is one less. Our general fund classified staffing was cut by 0.25 hours for general EA staffing and +8.5 hours in special education. Finally, we are a school identified by the state as a school in need of improvement (targeted school), the state is giving us an extra $60,000 to improve instruction. 
    • Certified Allocations
      • We received 18 FTE for classrooms. This is the one less FTE as this year.
      • Our SPED FTE licensed staff remains the same.
      • Our counselor FTE remains the same.
      • ELD staffing have not yet been shared.
    • Classified Allocations
      • We received 32.75 hours which is a reduction of 0.25 hour per day from this year. 
      • Our special education hours were increased from 26.5 to 35 hours. 
    • Next Year Enrollment Projections: 
      • 6th Grade = 137 Students
      • 7th Grade = 145 Students
      • 8th Grade = 137 Students   
  • Love Food, Not Waste: On March 20th, we are going to start a 4 day series during Focus on Food Waste.  We are creating the lessons for you.  Our Food recycling is going to start on 24th.  The other middle schools have started this process with different amount of success.  If this is something you are interested in, please let Peter know.  Here is a link to more information if you are courious what is coming your way.
       
  •  
 

DISTRICT INFORMATION        

  • ACE Award Nominations: Nominations for this year’s ACE awards are now open. Please visit the link here to nominate a Champion in Education. Nomination categories include Classified Staff, Licensed Staff, Volunteers, and Administrators. Nominations are open until March 31.
       
  • March EdTech Newsletter: I know we get a lot of newsletters and I’m guilty of not really looking at them (don’t tell anyone). However, I found some really good resources in this month’s tech newsletter. Some topics you might be interested in include: building augmented reality escape room, a link to a podcast on helping kids with tech addiction, and the link to Novel_Effect’s March read aloud calendar. 
       
  • Repeat: Summer School Job Opportunities: If you’re interested in working summer school or KITS, check out the job postings on the 4J website. There are classified and certified postings up. They’re listed under KITS and SEAL. ESY hasn’t opened their postings other than lead teacher. Summer school will run from June 29-August 15. 

 


PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

  • Novel Effect: If you haven’t checked out the Novel Effect app, and want to spice up your read alouds, take a few minutes to check it out. Novel Effect listens to you as you read and adds music and sound effects to key parts of the story. It has effects for hundred of your favorite read alouds.

Looking Ahead:

Mon, Mar 20 Tue, Mar 21 Wed, Mar 22 Thur, Mar 23 Fri, Mar 24
First Day of Trimester 3

 

7:45 Climate team and TLC

3:45 Justice League

8am GLT   BSU, LSU and GSA

2:45 – Meeting the day before Spring Break?

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Peter and Gina

 

March 3rd, 2023

Dear Madison Staff,

Here are this week’s updates:

Mon, Mar 6 Tues, Mar 7 Wed, Mar 8 Thurs, Mar 9 Fri, Mar 10
Classified Appreciation Week

1:30 Gina to Secondary Admin mtg

Classified Appreciation Week

7:45 Climate Team

9:30 – OSEA Visit

3:45 Justice League

Classified Appreciation Week

8:00 GLT

10:45 Supervision Team

3:45 Optional District Budget Road Show

Classified Appreciation Week

8am CCE Dream Team Meeting

6:30 Winter Band Concert

Classified Appreciation Week

2nd-NASU

3rd – LSU

4th – BSU

6th – GSA


MADISON INFORMATION        

  • Staffing for 23/24: The overall gist for next year is that our certified staff is one less. Our classified staffing was cut by 0.25 hours for general EA staffing and +14 hours in special education. Finally, as we are a school identified by the state as a school in need of improvement (targeted school), the state is giving us an extra $60,000 to improve instruction. 
    • Certified Allocations
      • We received 18 FTE for classrooms. This is the one less FTE as this year.
      • Our SPED FTE licensed staff remains the same.
      • Our counselor FTE remains the same.
      • ELD staffing have not yet been shared.
    • Classified Allocations
      • We received 32.75 hours which is a reduction of 0.25 hour per day from this year. 
      • Our special education hours were increased from 26.5 to 35 hours. 
    • Next Year Enrollment Projections: 
      • 6th Grade = 137 Students
      • 7th Grade = 145 Students
      • 8th Grade = 137 Students
                 
            
  • Safety Inspection this week: Reminder – we will be having our annual safety inspection this Thursday, March 9th. Please see the email from Peter dated February 15th if you need to review the guidelines prior to that.
  • Budget Roadshow: The superintendent is beginning a series of “budget road shows” with the new finance director.  They will be at Madison on Tuesday, March 8 at 3:45ish pm in the Library.  The purpose is to share with regional staff about the budget process in 4j, how decisions are made and with what parameters and goals in mind.  In advance of the staffing season, I strongly encourage everyone to attend to ask questions and achieve a better understanding of 4j operations.
  • OSEA Leadership Visit: An OSEA staffer and one of our OSEA chapter members will be visiting your school on Tuesday, March 7th, at 9:30am. It has been awhile since we have been able to visit and it is our intent to sit in the breakroom area and visit with our members as they take breaks/lunches. We will have benefits information, some fun giveaways to hand out, and want to check in with our members.

DISTRICT INFORMATION        

  • Staffing Timeline: Here is the timeline for finalizing staffing for next year. Due to cuts in SPED classified staffing, it is likely we will see our first bumping process in the last 5 or so years. If you are impacted, I will connect with you in person.
    Feb. 28 – TLC: Staffing Discussion

    March 8 – Staff Displacement Forms Due to HR
    March 15 – Plans Due to HR
    March 24 – Staff notified of displacement
    April 3 – Deadline to notify HR of retirement
    April 11-27 – HR Job Expo for Licensed Staff
        
  • Summer School Job Opportunities: If you’re interested in working summer school or KITS, check out the job postings on the 4J website. There are classified and certified postings up. They’re listed under KITS and SEAL. ESY hasn’t opened their postings other than lead teacher. Summer school will run from June 29-August 15. 

 


PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

  • Small Shifts to Increase Student Engagement: Guiding students to regularly direct their own discussions brings academic rewards as they gain confidence working independently on challenging tasks. This Edutopia article reminds us to:
    • Model what good discussions look like
    • Let students come up with ideas first
    • Focus on all students getting to participate
    • Don’t rush to clarify hard parts 

Looking Ahead:

Mon, Mar 13 Tue, Mar 14 Wed, Mar 15 Thur, Mar 16 Fri, Mar 17
  7:45 TLC Make-up Session   No School – Grading Day No School – Staff Workload Relief Day

We hope you have a wonderful week!

Peter and Gina

February 24, 2023

Dear Madison Staff,

Happy four day week! Oh wait, it is a 5 day week for you. I am going to Alaska on Friday. Here are this week’s updates:

Mon, Feb 27 Tue, Feb 28 Wed, Mar 1 Thur, Mar 2 Fri, March 3
Fire Drill – 5th @ 1:55pm

4:00 P&G to all admin mtg

7:45 Make-up TLC

3:45 Justice League

10:45 Supervision Team EEA Visits Peter in Alaska

SAIL in Per 2 AVID

LSU 3rd

2:45 OSAS Training/Staff Handbook


MADISON INFORMATION               

  • Staffing Update: We received our staffing allocations this week. Our numbers are largely the same as this year. Peter is working on conversations with individual staff members if there are any questions or decisions to be made. Once those conversations are complete, we will share out the final plan with everyone.
        
  • Mike Riplinger – will again be helping out for a few days while Peter is in Alaska. Friday3/3, and Monday(6th) and Tuesday(7th). He will hopefully continue helping out with low stakes very informal observations. Please let Gina know if you have a strong preference not to be observed by Mike.
  • Refocus Room Update – Beginning on Monday, the Refocus Room will be closed during the first 10 minutes of each period, for a variety of reasons.
    • Doing so will allow Zoe and Jeremy to support checking that PASS kids are settled into their classes, and
    • Perhaps more importantly, it will keep kids in class during the those critical first minutes of class, in hopes of encouraging students to engage in the content rather than trying to immediately escape for a break.
    • So, please do not issue passes to the Refocus Room within the first 10 minutes of class.
    • If, on occasion, you have a student for whom something egregious has happened during the passing period and the student just can’t possibly settle in to be calm in your room for ten minutes, just grab any available member of the supervision team from the hallway to assist with the situation.

 

 

  •    
            
 

   


PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

Looking Ahead:

Mon, Mar 6 Tues, Mar 7 Wed, Mar 8 Thurs, Mar 9 Fri, Mar 10
1:30 Gina to Secondary Admin mtg 7:45 Climate Team 8:00 GLT

10:45 Supervision Team

6:30 Winter Band Concert 2nd-NASU

3rd – LSU

4th – BSU

6th – GSA

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Peter and Gina

February 17, 2023

Dear Madison Staff,

It’s short and sweet this week. Thank you to everyone who helped out just a little bit more with Beth out all week. Your efforts do not go unnoticed and they are very much appreciated. We have such a great team at Madison. Here’s a peek at the week ahead:

Mon, Feb 20 Tue, Feb 21 Wed, Feb 22 Thur, Feb 23 Fri, Feb 24
No School – Presidents Day 7:45 TLC

7:45 Climate Team (If Beth 

Staff Pizza Lunch

8:00 GLT

10:45 Supervision Team

  3rd – LSU

4th – BSU

5th – AAPI

6th – GSA

2:45 – Handbook and OSAS Training


MADISON INFORMATION     

  • Staffing Update: 
        

    • SPED EAs: Hopefully the 5.5 hour position will be posted this week
               
        
          
  • LightSpeed: Classrooms at Madison have received LightSpeed voice amplification systems.  These were approved and paid through Bond funds.  It is important that teachers understand the benefits of these new systems as well as how to properly operate them.  This video from Lightspeed (Benefits of Instructional Audio) does a really nice job of explaining how the learning environment is improved by these systems, for students and staff.  It is just under 5 minutes…please share with your staff and encourage them to incorporate Lightspeed into their routine.

    Misty also included a link to training materials and other helpful resources.  If staff are experiencing issues or have questions regarding the use of the equipment, they can submit a help ticket to 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu.

    I appreciate everyone is very busy and one more thing might seem overwhelming, but I think the benefits gained by the daily use of the Lightspeed system is well worth getting in the habit of using.

    Thank you for all you are doing and happy Thursday!

    Misty

    Lightspeed training resources and FAQ

    Lightspeed Instructional Audio training & troubleshooting videos

    Lightspeed Video library on YouTube

           


PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

None 🙂

Looking Ahead:

Mon, Feb 27 Tue, Feb 28 Wed, Mar 1 Thur, Mar 2 Fri, Mar 3
4:00 P&G to all admin mtg 3:45 Justice League 10:45 Supervision Team Gina and Allison to AVID showcase in Portland. Peter in Alaska

2nd per. – SAIL Speaker in AVID

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Gina and Peter

February 3rd, 2023

Dear Madison Staff,

We did it! We hit the halfway mark! I hope you spend a little time looking at our google slide shows each week on the TVs. If you have pictures of your students or student work you want shared on the screen, please email them to Mary and she will gladly add them. Here are this week’s updates:

Mon 2/6 Tues 2/7 Wed 2/8 Thurs 2/9 Fri 2/10
Nat’l School Counseling Week

1:30 P&G to Zoom Admin mtg

Nat’l School Counseling Week

7:45 TLC

7:45 Climate Team

Nat’l School Counseling Week

8:00 GLT

Nat’l School Counseling Week

 

Nat’l School Counseling Week

NPFH Field Trip

LSU 3rd

BSU 4th

AAPO 5th

GSA 6th

2:45 PD or Staff Mtg.

6:30 Activity Night


MADISON INFORMATION     

  • North Eugene HS Pride Festival: Beth is a part of the Rainbow Squad this year and we are planning this year’s Pride Day for 4J North Region students.  If you want to to learn more about it or want to donate there is a link below. If so, here is the link with a description of how donations will be utilized: https://gofund.me/c91e6335 
              
 

DISTRICT INFORMATION        

  • Repeat: Proposed 23/24 District Calendar: Linked here is the proposed 23/24 school year calendar. It includes some significant changes including school starting in August, a transition day for Kinder, 6th, and 9th graders, and conferences during Thanksgiving week. You can provide your feedback at the bottom of the calendar, including questions you may have. One of mine is what the 2 days off in September are for and can we shift one of them to April to help break up that long stretch between Spring Break and Memorial Day.     
                 
  • UpBeat Survey: The district has partnered with UpBeat to learn more about teacher and staff retention, engagement, and satisfaction. 85% of our staff completed the initial survey and I met with the UpBeat coach on Friday to review our results. We’ll meet at an upcoming staff meeting to collaboratively review the results and engage in conversation about how we’d like to use the information from the survey to help improve our school and our systems. All staff will have a chance to complete the survey again in the Spring and next Fall as well. I was dubious at first, but I was encouraged by our results and can see where we can intentionally focus energies to help improve things. I also think it will support the equity work that we are doing. Thank you to everyone who participated in both the survey and this morning’s tough conversation about better serving our students of color at Madison.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

  • Black History Month Resources: While it’s important to honor Black history throughout the year, Black History month in February is a special time to shine a spotlight on this topic. Here are a few resources from WeAreTeachers, with ideas from bulletin boards and posters to activities and books. Amy Page also shared a Sora Link to over 250 eBooks and audio books celebrating black voices. 

Looking Ahead:

Mon 2/13 Tues 2/14 Wed 2/15 Thurs 2/16 Fri 2/17
3:45-5:30 P&G to admin mtg   Immunization Exclusion Day

10:45 Supervision Team mtg

8:00 Safety Team NASU 2nd

AVID to OSU

2:45 PD or Staff Mtg

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Peter and Gina

 

January 27, 2023

Dear Monarchs,

Here are this week’s updates:

Mon, Feb 30 Tue, Jan 31 Wed, Feb 1 Thur, Feb 2 Fri, Feb 3
4:00 P&G to admin meeting 7:45 Optional Climate Team

8:00 Safety Team

3:45 Justice League (Only Dorothy, Beth, and Gina required)

Beginning of Black History Month

10:25 Supervision Team mtg

8:00 Optional College/Career Day Planning meeting No School: Staff at NEHS in the AM and PM doing Progress Reports

MADISON INFORMATION     

  • Mandatory Equity PD/Collaboration – On Friday 2/3, ALL MADISON STAFF MEMBERS are expected to attend our shared session with our north region colleagues, from 8:30-11:30 at NEHS.  As a staff, we will move through three breakout sessions to work on a variety of topics. First, Dr. Johnny Lake will present to us about microagressions; what they are and how to spot them. The second session will be learning strategies on how to build comfort and skill interrupting incidents of racism., and the third session will be time for our Madison staff to make some specific plans related to our own goals to support Madison students.

 

  • Preferred Names Sheet – We have started to update our Preferred Names Spreadsheet that we created last year. The idea is to keep track of our students who are using a different name than what is in Synergy, but also to have an awareness that their families may feel strongly about using one name or the other. Not all students are “out” with their family. If you pop into the document and see that something needs to be added or edited, please feel free to make those adjustments.

 

  • Attendance Punch Card Reminder – It’s been really exciting celebrating with kids that fill their card. This is a gentle reminder that we distributed 40 cards to Focus teacher a week or two before winter break. To date, we have had 14 students come to the office with a filled card. So, either we have a ton of kids who haven’t been here a total of ten days since before winter break…..or sometimes we forget to punch the kids. If you’re not sure which is the case for your remaining punch cards, just take 2 or 3 minutes to pop into the student’s period attendance and double check how many days they’ve been present since 12/6/22. Thanks so much for helping to track their progress. Let me know if there’s anything Donna or I can do to be helpful.

 

  • FOCUS celebration awards slides – During our recent round of celebrating students who have improved in attendance, behavior, academics, our very own Mr. Miller took some time to create an awesome slide show that’s entirely plug and play. If you’d like to kick up your celebration routine a bit, all you need to do is make a copy of the slideshow and enter your own students’ names. Easy peasy way to honor kids’ effort and progress. Our next opportunity to use it will be at the end of Tri 2.

 

  • Printing: Purchasing has been working on a new contract for your printing needs. Starting March 1st we will be switching from InstaPrint over to Central Printing. At that time, everyone should discontinue sending requests to InstaPrint. Please communicate with your school staff regarding this change. Also during this transition, a new process for print orders will be created. We will be following up with more information.

 

  • Based on guidance from 4J’s legal counsel, please use students’ Full Names in emails.  Please do not just use student initials.
    Regardless of what you may have heard in the past, emails within 4J should be referencing full names of students. 
    If you prefer to use only first name and last initial in the subject line, that is acceptable. However, in the body of the mail, please use students’ full names.  There are several reasons for doing this.  Here are a few:
    • Using a full name reduces confusion for staff who may not be very familiar with all of the students you work with (itinerant staff, district-level directors, etc.).
    • Even when we use student initials, those emails are still part of that student’s legal educational record, so it makes sense to just use the full name.
    • When parents (or their lawyers) request a copy of their student’s complete educational records, emails must be included.  That means the Technology Department must comb through several years of emails that reference a student’s initials to determine if it needs to be included in the Records Request.  Using student initials does not make the email anonymous in any way.

 

  • Reimbursements: We have revised our financial policies in regards to what is an allowable employee reimbursement. Reimbursements for employees should only be made if necessary (like mileage reimbursement for travel). All purchasing should be made through purchase cards, purchase requests/orders (PR/PO), or the procurement process. Employees should NOT be using their personal funds for work purchases. If an employee needs reimbursement for mileage or travel, the employee must provide a receipt along with a supervisor’s signature to be turned into Financial Services with 60days of the activity. The same goes for parent reimbursements. Parents should not be using their personal funds to purchase items or services on behalf of the school district. We will be updating our financial policies to include what is an allowable parent reimbursement.

     

 

DISTRICT INFORMATION        

  • Upbeat Survey Results: I will be meeting with an UPBEAT survey coach in the next two weeks to discuss the results of the UPBEAT survey that staff recently completed. We will review the data as a staff on Friday, February 10. There will be another survey in May to help inform our school improvement process and develop goals for next year.       


PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

  • Two Truths and a Fib – Academic Style: The tweet below shows a fun way to review vocabulary or information about a text or concept. Teachers can use it to check understanding and kids can create their own as a way to review information or create a gallery walk to deepen understanding.

Looking Ahead:

Mon, Feb 6 Tue, Feb 7 Wed, Feb 8 Thur, Feb 9 Fri, Feb 10
National School Counseling Week

1:30-3:00 P&G in zoom admin mtg

National School Counseling Week

7:45 TLC 

7:45 Climate Team

National School Counseling Week

8:00 GLT

10:25 Supervision Team

National School Counseling Week National School Counseling Week

NASU – 2nd?

LSU – 3rd

BSU – 4th

GSA – 6th

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Gina and Peter

January 20th, 2023

Dear Madison Staff,

Here are this week’s updates:

Mon, Jan 23 Tue, Jan 24 Wed, Jan 25 Thur, Jan 26 Fri, Jan 27
3:45 P&G to admin mtg 7:45 Climate Team 

7:45 TLC

8:00 – GLT  8am – CCE Planning Meeting Curriculum PD – 2:45

BSU – 4th Period


MADISON INFORMATION     

  • Staffing Update: None – We have everyone hired 🙂
  • 2023–24 PROPOSED School Calendar: Eugene School District 4J has developed a proposed academic calendar for the 2023–24 school year, and we want to hear your thoughts.

    Notably, school would start before the Labor Day weekend, with kindergartners, 6th and 9th graders beginning on Wednesday, August 30, and all other grades returning on Thursday, August 31Thanksgiving break would be extended to three days, from November 22–24. No-school parent-teacher conference days for grades K–8 would occur on November 20–21, with the exact conference schedule varying by school.

    Proposed key dates:
    • NEW First Day of School: August 30 for grades K, 6 and 9; August 31 for all other grades

    • NEW Parent-Teacher Conferences/No School (Grades K–8 only): November 20–22

    • NEW Thanksgiving Break: November 22–24
    • Winter BreakDecember 18January 2
    • Spring BreakMarch 25–29
    • Last Day of SchoolJune 11

 

DISTRICT INFORMATION          

  • EasyCBM Window Open: Please plan on completing your grade level’s EasyCBM assessments over the next few weeks. If you have questions or need support, connect with Jenn Dillon. Linked here is a document of the different assessments by grade level.
        
  • Classified Staff Pathways Training on February 3: Reid sent this email earlier this week to all classified staff. You’ll participate in the district’s Pathways professional development on Friday, February 3 from 8:30-11:30. If you haven’t already selected a pathway for the year, please click here (ensure you’re signed into your 4J Google account) to select a pathway.     

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

  • Increasing Student Talk: One of the ways we can help lessen our load is by giving students the opportunity to do some of the heavy lifting themselves. This article from Edutopia shares ways to help students learn to engage in rich discussions with one another about the texts they’re reading or content they’re learning. This not only increases engagement but also teaches them to persevere when things get hard and not rely on us to “save” them.

Looking Ahead:

Mon, Feb 30 Tue, Jan 31 Wed, Feb 1 Thur, Feb 2 Fri, Feb 3
        No School: Staff at NEHS in the AM and PM doing Progress Reports

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Peter and Gina

January 13th, 2023

Dear Madison Staff,

Mon, Jan 16 Tue, Jan 17 Wed, Jan 18 Thur, Jan 19 Fri, Jan 20
No School – MLK School Choice Tour 6:30pm

Justice League 3:00

School Choice Tour 10:00am Dental Clinic at Madison LSU (3) and GSA (6)

Socratic Seminar – 2:45


MADISON INFORMATION     

  • PASS Update – for those of you who are supporting students on the PASS program, kudos for getting a strong start! This week was a really busy week. We noticed a decline in the number of marks that teachers are inputting, so I wanted to just pump everyone up about it and ask you to really commit to making sure that we have enough data points to ensure that we’re getting an accurate picture of the student’s day, which happens when teachers and supervision staff are consistent about marking students in each time block of the student’s day. 
        
 

DISTRICT INFORMATION        

  • Repeat: School Choice Season is Coming: January brings the school choice season.  We will hold our evening event on Tuesday, January 17 at 6:30 and morning event on the 18th at 10 am. Last year, we had one parent total for our presentations. If you’d like to join, parents love to meet and hear from teachers and staff about how awesome Madison is, but feel ZERO pressure to do it.  Gina and I will be there to sing how awesome Madison is for the students. 
         
               


PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION   

  • Repeat: Teaching Perseverance: One thing we’ve heard from many staff members is that kids are giving up much sooner or not even starting tasks they perceive to be hard or not worth their time. We’re going to talk on Tuesday about a perseverance challenge.
    • Linked here is a blog post from Angie Olson at Lucky Little Learners on teaching students what perseverance is along with a list of books that demonstrate people persevering even when things are hard.
    • Linked here is a blog post from Engaging Literacy on the books she uses for specific mini lessons centered around perseverance including goal setting, making a plan, learning to fail, and working through your fears. 
    • And here’s a list of 20 more books about persistence and perseverance. 
           
  • Be Good People – SEL Resources: This site I learned about from Erin Gaston, from a collaboration of school districts in Minnesota, has a plethora of lessons and activities around all kinds of SEL topics. It includes lessons at all 3 tiers, so I intend to spend some time digging into the tier 2 and 3 lessons to use with kids. It’s meant to work as a curriculum, so the slides aren’t editable or copyable, but they seem to be well written, organized, and easy to use.
        

Looking Ahead:

Mon, Jan 23 Tue, Jan 24 Wed, Jan 25 Thur, Jan 26 Fri, Jan 27
3:45 P&G to admin mtg 7:45 Climate Team  8:00 – GLT   Curriculum PD – 2:45

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Peter and Gina