February 21- 24
Welcome to Week 23.  Congratulations, you made it through the demanding weeks between assessments, report writing, admissions and conferences. We truly appreciate all of the hard work that went into this sprint of intense demands. Now on to Spring. Daffodils are beginning to bloom on campus!

Community

Hiring Season
We will begin interviewing semifinalists for the four Lower School positions.  Hiring committees, look for communications from Lyn concerning dates and times.

We know that scheduling interviews and observations are challenging, especially for Lyn.  Please be flexible, rearrange teaching schedules and get duties covered.

Contracts Due- Students not Returning?
Wondering, if in your conference discussions you learned about  students who are not returning next year. If so, please let David or Chris know.

Ash Wednesday,  February 22nd
See Jenny Cleveland’s article in the Wednesday Express for details.

Program

LS Faculty Meeting
We will carry on with Self Study work on Thursday morning. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.  

1st/ 2nd Grade Literacy Work
First and Second Grade teams will take time next week to review the  progress  made thus far and set new goals and objectives for the remainder of this year.

First through Fifth Grade Literacy Work with Laura Benson
David and I plan to chat with Laura Benson some time in the coming week to develop plans for her possible return on April 2nd and 3rd.  We can talk further about plans at next week’s Curriculum Task Force meeting.

Aardvark Science Fair
Great news!  For the very first time, Lower School students can visit the Aardvark Science Fair at SPARC.  The Science Fair is open to the public this week from 8am-5pm on Thursday the 23rd and 6:30-7:30pm on Friday the 24th. We hope you will consider taking your class or visiting the research of some of your former students.

Trudy Ludwig’s Visit on March 2nd
Here’s Trudy’s schedule:

PAL Meets with Trudy- 8-9:30 in the Common Hall
Kindergarten and First Grade Meet with Trudy 9:55-10:40 in the Library
Faculty who signed up for lunch with Trudy- 11-11:45 in the Library
Second and Third Grade Meet with Trudy- 12-12:45
Fourth and Fifth Grade  Meet with Trudy- 1:00-1:50

Another Chance to See the The Finland Phenomenon, Monday, March 5th 6:35-8:45
City Club of Portland is sponsoring a presentation of Finland Phenomenon at the Hollywood Theater.  If you are interested in reserving a seat, follow the link below.  There will be a panel discussion following the film.  
http://pdxcityclub.org/content/schools-making-difference-portraits-excellence-engagement-and-equity

Operations

Calendar Check for the Remainder of 2011-2012 School Year
On Friday Angela, Lyn and Chris reviewed three calendars: the LS Parent event calendar (the one seen on your web sites), the BS and LS Year at a Glance calendar and the AS calendar maintained by Anne Weston.  We got as far as the end of April, and will make time to review May and June some time in the coming week. They all should be in sync now. If you happen to come upon some type of glitch, please let us know so we can adjust.  

2012-13 Calendar Items
It is that time of year...time to think about the AS calendar.  If you can, please forecast when your big events like overnight field trips, plays and parent events, will take place.  

PCR Progress Report Survey
Please take time to complete Angela’s progress report survey. The information she yields will help us improve the reporting process in the future.

LS Leadership Team, 2/23, 3:15-4:15
2/23/2012
New snack options
Conference debrief
Calendar check - 2012-13

Admissions on 2/24
We will greet a small group of children at 3pm on Friday. Sarah will fill us in on the details early this week and be in contact with Pre-K and K teachers about the process.

NO ADMISSIONS Saturday, February 25th
Thanks, Sarah, for juggling schedules so that we do not have to come in on a Saturday.  
Creative thinking!

NAIS
David will be away at NAIS on 3/1 and 3/2 interviewing teaching candidates.

We hope you enjoyed this glorious long weekend with family and friends.

David and Chris