LS Weekly Memo October  29 - November 2 Week 10

Welcome to Week 10. Good luck with conferences.  Let us know if you have questions or need support of any kind.

Community

Welcome back Marty Eastman-Brown
Marty is back full time starting on Monday and full of enthusiasm and ideas about the year.  She has done a wonderful job managing the transition of the class from Kathie to her and is ready to take the class forward through to the end of the year.

Thank you Kathie Kimmy
Kathie Kimmy has completed her long term substituting in Marty’s class.  She will return on Thursday and Friday to conduct conferences with Marty and then will be ready to substitute in classes.  Marty’s class sent her off with a thank you party on Friday. I thank Kathie for her incredible work getting the class off to a good start and managing a graceful transition of the class to Marty.

Trustee Day
Trustee Day will look a little different this year.  Mo and the Division Heads will be talking with the Trustees about major initiatives in the school.  I will be talking about the PreK -12 Inquiry work and the LS Building Project.  The Trustees do not plan to tour the Lower School.


Program
LS Conferences – Even at this late date you are welcome to invite SST members into conference.  You need to be sure to inform parents before the conference who will be
attending.  Let us know if you have a challenging conference.

Specialists will be in the library and the art room. Encourage parents to visit specialists.  If you can, encourage parents to email specialist ahead of time, letting the specialists know when they would like to stop by.

Lower School Building Project
The Building Committee had its first meeting on Thursday and developed an aggressive timeline for developing initial building plans. The Lower School faculty will be engaged in several design sessions both with the Cadwell Collaborative and OES parent, Suzy Cessor, an experienced design-thinking director at Nike. I will be scheduling the workshops this week, targeting the week of November 12 for initial design work with Suzy and the week of December 10 with the Cadwell Collaborative. Be prepared to be flexible during those weeks so we can be sure to have opportunities for everyone’s input. Kirstin McAuley and I will be representing the Lower School on the Building Committee.


Faculty Meeting
Thank you Tracy, for sharing your thoughts and priorities on your new position, as well as for asking for feedback on the needs the faculty see.  I hope the final conversations about self-study were productive.  If there is additional work needed to finalize a self-study section, I will ask the team leaders and Tracy to take that on:
Janet – Social Studies
Alysa – English
Tracy – Math
Chris – Beginning School

No Meetings During Conferences
There are no faculty meetings during conference week.

LSCTF -
Monday, 11/5 at 3:15 in Tonya’s Room - Reading Continuum Appreciative Inquiry.

How Children Succeed Book Group-
Thursday, Nov. 15th, LS Art Room 10:50 – 11:50
Read Chapters 2-How to Build Character, Chapter 3- How to Think (No SST that day)

Operations

Fourth and Fifth Grade Pre-K Helpers
We have a group of Fifth Graders (one on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday), and now a few Fourth Graders, (Tuesday and Thursday) who choose to spend their recess with the Pre-K class; helping in the lunchroom and playing on the Beginning School playground.  Colesie and Lauren have given the okay to both groups, so if they come knocking on the Common Hall door, please allow them to enter.

NO LSLT in November
Please be sure to keep your grade level’s dates current on the faulty events Google calendar.

Faculty Lounge
While I appreciate the effort to find a private space for important conversation, please do not conduct those in the Faculty Lounge.  I would be happy to let you use my office, and offer the Nurse’s Station and Chris’ Office as other possible locations for these conversations.  The Faculty Lounge needs to be available for faculty during the school day.

Fourth and Fifth Grade PM Recess
We’ve noticed that some teachers are keeping students on Aardvark Community Park at the late afternoon recess, while others are allowing students to go out on the field.  If you choose to take students out on the field, be sure to take a cell phone out with you (with Jenny or Lyn’s number on your contacts list for easy calling).  In case the of emergency, you may want to call the office to get immediate assistance.

Kudos on Recess Equipment
We understand from the PE team that very few pieces of equipment are left out or have gone missing.  It seems that the Fifth grade has the greatest number of items left out and retrieved by the PE teachers.  These items will likely be kept out of use for not just one week, but two.  If you have a 4th and 5th Grade duty, please be extra vigilant and remind students to be responsible citizens and put away equipment.

Benefits Reminder - 11/16 enrollment forms due.

ERB’s 11/5/ - 11/8
Fourth and Fifth Grade students begin ERB testing on Monday, November 5th from 8:15-10:30, with a recess break mid-way around 9:40-9:45. Specialist will supervise this recess duty.  Specialists, please sign up for duties. The sign-up sheet is posted on the bulletin board by the sub’s clipboard.

Substitutes
In an effort to help us all know who is on campus, Jenny will be emailing All LS Faculty to let you know which faculty are absent and who is subbing for them.

Professional Development

Meeting the Needs of All Learners Through Differentiated Instruction
9:00am - 3:00pm, December 3, 2012  ~ Bertschi School, Seattle, WA
PNAIS has a number of other interesting conferences scheduled.  Let me know if you are interested.

Let’s Take Life Skills Learning Seriously
That’s the title of Mind in the Making’s feature article. Great food for thought. He takes issue with some of Paul Tough’s positions in How Children Succeed
http://mindinthemaking.org/
 

LS Weekly Memo October  22-26 Week 9

Welcome to Week 9!
What a glorious way to start the day on Friday... DEAR was truly delightful.  So great to see children of all ages and stages of reading, enjoying great books together.  When the 30 minutes of book bliss passed, children and adults alike, groaned, clearly wishing for more.  We’ll talk more about our new community events, and possibly consider more DEAR events. Our thanks to Jenny Cleveland and Kristen Haferbecker for launching our new year of community gatherings!


Community
 
Spooktacular
Spooktacular is coming on Saturday, October 27.  Once again there will be a faculty and staff costume contest.  You can help prepare for the excitement by reminding students about costume guidelines – No weapons or gory masks. Costumes should be appropriate for a PreK – 5th grade event.

Pumpkin Display, Friday, Oct. 26th
As in the past, students will bring in pumpkins to display in and around the school. Beginning School children display theirs in the hallway (we’ll need to get creative with space now that the studio takes up a third of the hall), First and Second Grade in the Common Area, and Third through Fifth Grade in the library.  
Remind parents that they need to drop them off and pick them up if they are too large for children to transport themselves.

Grandparents Day - Tuesday, November 20
Our annual Grandparents and Special Friends Day is the day before Thanksgiving Break. Plan to have your children in class from 8:45 - 10:15 so grandparents can find their grandchildren.

Trustee Day - Monday, October 29
Trustees will be on tour in the Lower School from 9:00 - 10:00 am.  5th grade guides will lead the trustees from PreK to 5th grade.

Please Post Your Class Agreements on your Website
Earlier this week Chris and David met with the PAL Grade Representatives.  In discussing parent partnership, one idea that emerged out of the conversation was the idea of classroom teachers posting classroom agreements on the classroom website. Parents really want to be able to use the agreements at home to support our work at school.

Parents are also eager to learn more about the Peaceful Playground initiative launched by the PE team and Patti.  Parents would love to see these agreements. Please share this with the classroom teachers, PE team, so they can post these for parents to see.

Program
AS Faculty Meeting, 10/22
We will hear from the Chair of the Accreditation Visiting Team, Mission and Vision and learn about the benefits offered in the coming year.  Assistant Teachers should plan to attend this meeting and record it on your time sheets.

LS Faculty Meeting, 10/18
I appreciate your promptness and presence at the faculty meeting. Results of the faculty meeting:
1. Having in person transitions among specialists and classroom teachers for the next month until our November 29 faculty meeting.  Exceptions will need to be made to ensure team planning time is not interrupted.
2. Consider the new assembly structure and provide feedback to Kirsten, Scott, Chris or David.  We are looking to construct each assembly around a single focus and use the Essential Competencies as our guide. We are proposing that the assemblies no longer focus on the 6 Pillars of Character and classroom/ grade level performances.  You suggestions fro assembly themes are welcome.
3. Open House, Wednesday, November 7. Required attendance by all faculty
4. Service Learning Support Team.   Thank you to Jenny Cleveland and Laurie Price for the creation of the new SLST.  Start thinking how you can put your students learning into action through service.

LS Faculty Meeting, 10/25
Appreciations
Math Specialist update
Self Study Read

New Marketing Materials Meeting - Thursday, October 25 at 3:15
There is an optional All School Faculty and Staff Meeting in the dining hall. Marty Jones and Mo Copeland will be presenting the creative representations of the new OES brand statement you saw last spring. Your presence is requested, as you are a critical audience to truth test the new approach.  Treats will be served.


Operations

Lock Down Update
During a recent safety discussion at Administrative Team, we decided to add a new safety procedure, the Quiet Lock-in.  This action would be taken as a precaution in the face of an uncertain threat.

1. The LS Office would be contacted

2. LS Office will call Jon von Behren to secure LS electronic doors

3. LS Office will call 911 if necessary

4. LS will begin quiet lock-in by visiting classrooms and quietly informing the teachers that it is “Time to shut the Doors”.  This phrase will be the code to have you lock your doors.

In a situation of immediate threat the announcement would be broadcast to allow for a faster response.

LSLT - We were a small group, due to other conflicts.  We debriefed about Homecoming, what worked, what we could do better, 5th Grade Leadership opportunities (see the Google doc Alysa shared mid-week) and the Heifer project.  We talked at length about lunch and recess duty procedures (see the mid-week email from Chris).

Lunch Procedure Changes
I understand that plans have been tweaked a bit and tables are excused and brought down to recess by grade, beginning with First Grade. Let us know how this is going in the coming week.
       
Open House - 6:00 - 8:00pm, November 7
As you may recall, Open House is happening this fall, due to the late Winter Break.  All faculty should plan on being present for the entire Open House, 6:00 – 8:00 pm.  Sarah Ross Bailey will be sending out details in the near future.  Dinner will be provided before the event.

Last Week’s Earthquake Drill
We know that your were totally caught off guard...that was Jon von Behren’s intent. He wanted to see how we would fare in an  unannounced earthquake  drill.  As you could see, it was a bit rough around the edges.
Please remind your children to:
•Remain silent throughout the drill- be ready to listen to directions
•Line up by class/grade, from the youngest to the oldest
Teachers, please be sure to:
Use the safest route to the field.  The covered walkway and covered area are likely to be unsafe after a significant quake.
•Take accurate head counts, double check that all are accounted for

Recess- Friendly Reminders
•Please be on time for duty
•Double check that there are people on duty before you dismiss your students.  Students are going out on the playground before adults are on duty.  It would be best if you escorted them down to recess, so you could verify that someone is on duty.
•Remind students that they are to wait at the top of the stairs (ist and 2nd Grade)  or by the
gym’s covered area (3rd Grade) until an adult is on duty.

Important Recess Reminder- Please read if you have a First Grade recess duty
There have been a number of problems in the past week involving First Graders and tetherball.  
We are now limiting them to “two specials” a week.  First Graders decided at Friday’s Together Time that they will allow ropes and holds will be used in the coming week 10/22-10/26.  This may be a bit tough the first week or so, as they get used to focusing in on two at a time.  They just can’t handle having multiple rules. It leads to flared tempers and sometimes physical outbursts.

Dress Code Reminders- Nail Polish and Other Embellishments
Just recently a parent asked Asha if there were any dress code restrictions on nail polish, custom manicures with nail painting, etc.  There is nothing stated in the dress code about nail adornment, or hair color, for example.  The bottom line is that if nail polish or any other special grooming, causes undue attention or distraction, you can contact the parent and have it stopped.  If you need support doing so from us, let us know. We will gladly assist!

HAC
The Head’s Advisory Counsel has been doing great work.  Thank you Asha for leading the group. The minutes from the HAC meetings are sent out to you for your review.

Curriculum
Just for Fun- October is National Squirrel Awareness Month
Here’s a link to an article about our furry friends!
http://mansfield.patch.com/articles/october-16-2011-national-squirrel-awareness-month

LS Weekly Memo October 15 - 19 Week 8

Welcome to Week 8, the week that Pacific Northwest fall rains returned. We hope you all enjoyed your day of professional development, whether you were on campus or a more distant locale. The Beginning School teachers, Chris, and April, our trusted assistant, spent the morning with Judy Graves in Colesie and Peter’s cozy apartment. Listening to the rain on her rooftop was soothing and centering.

Community

PGD Day
We hope you all had a productive and renewing day of professional development. We will look forward to hearing about your experiences at an upcoming faculty meeting.

Unassembled Assembly - 10/19
Kristen Haferbecker will be talking with us at the faculty meeting about new assembly ideas.  The first of which will occur this Friday at our non-assembling assembly focused and reading as we all have DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time.  Look for details in the near future.  The basics – everyone will be reading somewhere and with someone across the Lower School and beyond from 8:10 – 8:40, our usual assembly time.

Spooktacular
Spooktacular is coming on Saturday, October 27.  Once again there will be a faculty and staff costume contest.  You can help prepare fro the excitement by reminding students about costume guidelines – No weapons or gory mask, costumes should be appropriate for a PreK – 5th grade event.

Invite Me In
Invite Chris or David in if you have a special event, project, or discussion that you would like us to experience or participate in.

Program

LS Faculty Meeting, Thursday, October 18; 7:30 – 8:30 am
We have a really full agenda so please arrive on time.
Transitions – discussion on how to ensure supervised transitions between classroom and specialist teachers
Assembly – Kristen H will share new ideas
Open House – Sarah is coming to answer questions about LS Open House, Wednesday, November 7
Service Learning – Jenny Cleveland and Laurie Price will be coming to discuss service earning in LS

AS Faculty Meeting, 10/22
We will hear from the Chair of the Accreditation Visiting Team and learn about the benefits offered in the coming year.  Assistant Teachers should plan to attend this meeting and record it on your time sheets.

Operations

Faculty Meeting, 10-11-12
I hope the faculty meeting last Thursday was helpful in preparing you for your professional development day.  The Specialists met , shared appreciations and successes, then discussed communications about Students of Interest.  We reached the conclusion that two efforts would help tremendously. First, the specials agreed it was incredibly helpful to have a teacher to teacher hand-off of students between specialists and classroom teachers to provide the opportunity for the quick exchange about how things went/are going with the class. Secondly, the specialist agreed the new SOI Google form could be a very useful tool.

LSLT -
Monday, 10/15 at 3:15 Chris will meet with teachers. David begins his Inquiry into Inquiry with Department Chairs, and will be unable to attend.  Would one of the team members offer to host the meeting in his/her class?
Here’s our agenda:
- Appreciative Inquiry into this year’s Homecoming Celebration
- 5th Grade Leadership Opportunities on Friday Afternoons
- Heifer Project- Read to Feed Kick Off Friday at the Unassembled DEAR Event
- Review lunch dismissal procedures, are they working?
- Check in About Next Month’s Meeting
- Calendar check- please be sure to update calendars before hand if you can and bring your laptops

Recess and Imaginative Play with Natural Spaces and Materials
Three issues have arisen on the playground that are wonderful examples of creative play, but unfortunately include some unsafe practices and will need to stop.
1. The great excavation by the LS Loading Dock that has been a dinosaur bone dig, mining operation, and general excavation site is getting unsafe.  Chris will work with the prime diggers and Mark Henningsen to set a time for closing the pit and get the boys involved in restoring the area.  The digging will be redirected to one of our sandboxes.
2. The wood shaving mounds will need to be redistributed so the safety surface is where it needs to be. The second hut by mini-Aardvark will be the bark chip construction zone.  Chris will work with Mark to see about getting additional chips for that area.
3. Rock Mosaics and paths by the yew trees will have to be dismantled.  Rocks must be left at Waterworks.  We’ll need to designate an area for mosaic work next week.  Look for an email on new designated area. Chris will buy some rocks and possibly other materials for their projects.

Lunch Dismissal
Please review safe and respectable practices with your students about entering and exiting the dining hall. We will need to post an additional faculty member in the lobby if students can’t self monitor better.       
       
Open House - 6:00 - 8:00pm, November 7
As you may recall, Open House is happening this fall, due to the late Winter Break.  All faculty should plan on being present for the entire Open House, 6:00 – 8:00 pm.  Sarah Ross Bailey will be sending out details in the near future.  Dinner will be provided before the event.
       

LS Weekly Memo October 8 - 12 Week 7

Welcome to Week 7. There must be something about an east wind in Oregon, as our students’ energy seemed to increase with the wind speed.  We saw more bumps, scrapes and bruises, tears, anger and distress coming into the office last week.  I hope you and your colleagues have a productive and inspiring Professional Development Day on Friday.  I will be heading up to the PNAIS Conference in search of inquiry and LS building inspirations.

Community

Marty Eastman-Brown Returns
Marty is well on the road to a full recovery and is easing back into the classroom.  She was on campus last Thursday to meet her class and be in the class picture.  She returns to campus this Friday to work with the 1st Grade team and will begin coming in for partial days starting on 10/15. She is planning to return full time after conferences.

Kudos to PE Team’s Success with New Recess Equipment System
Thanks to the PE Team’s efforts to make our playground more peaceful and student more accountable. The new recess equipment plan is working well for most grades.  Little equipment is being lost, and students are returning equipment to the bins at the end of each recess.

Friendly Reminder- Chris Needs Duty Support Monday through Wednesday Next Week
Thanks to Doug and Ari for covering two of the four duties.  There is a Four/Five lunch recess left on Tuesday, and a Primary and First Grade dismissal duty on Wednesday.  Can two friends step up and fill these duties?

Buddy Classes
Hope all of the new and returning buddy classes are connecting.  Let us know if you have any questions about our rearrangement.

Program

No Faculty Meeting on Monday

LS Faculty Meeting
Thursday, 10/11/2012    
We will be meeting in teams during the faculty meeting on Thursday.
·  1st - 5th will be working together on the reading continuum to come up with common agreements for usage.
·  BS will be preparing for their work with Judy Graves on 10/12
·  Specialists will be meeting to return to specialist agenda and discussing student of interest

Faculty Meeting, 10/4
I hope you all made good progress on reviewing and editing the commendations and recommendations for the self study.  I will ask one person in each committee to do a final edit o f the sections:
Chris – BS
Janet – Social Studies
Alysa – English
Tracy – Math

The specialist meeting last week was a tremendously helpful exploration of the how we might better communicate about our students of interest.

PGD Day, Friday, October 12
Enjoy the day.  We will have time to share experiences at a future faculty meeting.  Take a look at the different projects and workshops teachers are attending in case you want them to keep eyes and ears open about a topic of interest to you.

Reading Continuum
We have been introducing the reading continuum at the parent coffees, explaining why we are using it and how. 1st and 2nd are well on the way toward determining how they will use it both as a communication device and as a reporting tool.  As we agreed, 3rd – 5th will only be using the continuum as a communication tool during conferences, recording student progress, but not sending the continuum home.

Faculty Meeting Clarification
Questions about faculty meetings? Be sure to check the AS Faculty Meeting Schedule google document.


Operations

Student of Interests
When discussing students with colleagues or with parents, remember to include interests, strengths along with the challenges. Ask fro help if you are having particular difficulty with a student.

Duties - Be on Time
Please renew your efforts to be on time for your duties.  We face a safety challenge if students are piled up on the covered landing waiting for a duty teacher to appear.

Duty Schedule Task Force
Debra Thomas and Shelley Weiller stepped up to help with this initiative. We will meet from 12-12:30 Wednesday, October 17th. We’ll meet in David’s office.

TGIH
I would welcome more representation on the TGIH (Thank Goodness It is Happening) group.  I would like to have a representative from each teaching team. So far someone from BS and 4/5 have stepped up. 1st – 3rd and a Specialist?

Calendar
In an ongoing effort to simplify our calendar situation Angela will embedding the OES School Calendar in your websites. When you input an event on the LS Faculty Calendar you will need to decide if it is an event that is relevant for parents.  If so you will also need to enter it into the OES School Calendar.
Lyn and Chris will continue to meet regularly to review of calendars.