LS Weekly Memo Week 5: September 8 -12, 2014

Congratulations on a great first week.  I so enjoy watching the transformation of students from ones who were not sure they were ready for summer to end to those who were eager for the new school day to begin.  This week we start with our first Chapel and end with the Back to School Picnic on Friday.

COMMUNITY

Recess Agreements for Primary through Fifth Grade

• Walk, Talk or Rock
• Be aware, walk around
• Do not play gender vs. gender nor grade vs. grade.
• Use the Incident Reports
• Follow  Recess Agreements - Be Safe, Kind, Fair and Fun
• SST referrals
• Recess Google Folder for additional details

Recess Reminders

• The boat is looking quite sorry these days and needs some repair. Keep an eye on how that is being used. We will either have it repaired or removed in the coming week.
• Be vigilant at recess. Move around, avoid conversations with colleagues (we know it is tempting).  We have had several incidents of rough inappropriate play with First Graders and Fifth Graders.
• Report First through Fifth Grade behavioral issues to Chris or Melanie and submit a student incident report.  
• Beginning School colleagues, please let Chris or Melanie know if  children develop a pattern of   rough or unkind play.  We really want to support students early on and help them get on a better path.

Student Support Team (SST)

Student Support Team will meet three times a week this year.

Mondays, 9-10 am to discuss students who need our support.

Thursdays 10:50-11:50 and 3:10-3:45 for teachers and specialists to meet with SST.  Contact Ari if you would like to attend.

Yellow Jackets

If you are visiting the lake with your class please be aware of an underground wasp (or yellow jacket?) nest near the dock.  It is just a few feet from the new platform, to the left as you face the water.  Yellow jackets are hungry and ornery at this time of year so be observant.

Citizenship and Discipline

Please review the Citizenship and Discipline section of the Student Handbook before the opening of school so you are aware of our stated practices. There are seven sections to review.  We will discuss at the faculty meeting on Thursday

 

Andy Shotts - father of Elwin Shotts, 3rd Grade

Elwin will the ride bus to and from school when visiting with Andy.

Andy needs to request access to campus 72 hours in advance.

I will communicate out when permission is granted.

Senior Entrance

One of the great OES traditions is the annual Senior Entrance, where seniors unveil their theme for their class.  The entrance occurs around 8:10 at the Belltower circle.  All are invited to watch, though it may be most appropriate for 3rd - 5th grades.  For safety reasons please keep your students on the sidewalk.

Campus Explore

If you are exploring the campus be sure to:

• Let the LS Office know where you are going and for how long
• Take a cellphone and 1st Aid kit
• Take what you need for students with medical issues

Back-to-School Picnic (BTSP)

As in the past, PAL will provide a dinner before the BTSP.  We are doing something slightly different this year.  In an effort to better manage food waste and cost the pre-picnic dinner will be the same barbeque-style meal served at the pinic

• If you plan to eat here, please RSVP using this BACK TO SCHOOL PICNIC SIGN UP.
• Dinner will be available for you starting at 4:00 pm so you can eat before the picnic begins. Come down to the covered area, serve your self.
• The library will be open for you to enjoy your food before socializing at the picnic.

PROGRAM

Faculty Meetings

Plan on being available each Monday from 3:15 - 4:30 and each Thursday from 7:40 - 8:40 for faculty meetings.  See the LS Faculty Meeting Schedule for details.

Faculty Meeting - Thursday, 9/11 - Lower School Meeting

7:40 - 8:40, LS Art Room

Faculty Meeting Agenda 2014-15

Volunteer Spreadsheet

If you have already met with your room parent and reduced your volunteer requests you may be fine.  I will meet with Mary Lou and Mari on Monday to clarify.

If you have not met with your room parent yet, please edit the Volunteer Excel spreadsheet and send it to your Room Patent by the end of the day Monday.  You only need to edit the volunteer requests.  Do not worry about dates. CC me on your email so I know when they are all done.  It is quite a process for the Room Parents to enter the volunteer needs into Volunteer Spot.  They need this week to get it all inputted and ready fro BTSN.

• Each grade level should have about 200 (or 67/ class) volunteer opportunities.
• No more than 100 of the requests should be for science
• Edit the attached spreadsheet, using BOTH tabs of the spreadsheet
• Send the edited spreadsheet to your room parent by the end of the day Monday

NWAIS Fall Educator Conference - We are hosting the NWAIS Conference on our campus this year on October 10.  I would like all LS faculty to attending.  Let me know if you have other preferences fro PGD on 10/10.

The deadline for discounted NWAIS registration is September 10.  We are registering as a group – please sign-up by filling out the google form below – sign up is due by Monday, September 8th!   NWAIS PGD Sign up

 

Specialist classes

• All specialist classes meet this week

       

Classroom Website Updated?

 

Building Conversations

One of the significant sustainability questions we will be addressing before the end of September is the comfort range of the new building.  The broader the comfort range we can work with the more sustainable the building can be.  Let me know what temperature range seems manageable for your students.

THA Meetings

We are working though the final details of the building.  Most of this work will be done with the Team Leaders; Janet, Alysa, Debra and Chris.  Kirstin will also participate as Building Committee Member.

OPERATIONS

Walkway Duty

Thank you to the classroom teachers for helping out with walkway duty at the end of the day.    Helping students learn our expectations during pick-up is key:

• Where to be
• Looking for their ride
• Calm bodies
• No cellphones

We could use some help from specialists during drop off (7:30 – 7:50) this week.

• Pull ahead along the curb, even past the curve
• Drop-off at curbside
• Adult stays with car at the curb
• 1st – 5th grade students down to the playground, PK – P to LSCH

All School Earthquake Drill, Thursday, September 11th at 1:20

• By law, Rebecca Williams needs to schedule emergency drills the first week of school.  We will have our first drill on Sept. 11th.  This will be a duck and cover and an evacuation drill for all three divisions.  We should remember to line up on the left third of the field, leaving space for the Middle and Upper School.
• We also need to have emergency bus safety drills before students go on field trips.  We will discuss when to have our bus safety drill at our first Team Leader meeting Sept. 8th. Look for more details in an upcoming Weekly Memo.

       

Specialists' Sign Up- Lunch Recess Coverage Opening Days

Classroom  teachers will eat lunch with their students the first eight days and will need a midday break. Specialists, we’d like your support covering lunch recess duties the first eight days of school. Please click the link below to sign up for a duty or two. Please take a look.  There are a number of duties yet to be covered, particularly First-Third Grade lunch recess on the first day.

Sunscreen Application

This past week I noticed that a number of  students had  sunscreen stored in their cubbies. I was curious about this development and had  several conversations with Jenny Strode and Elaine Elliott. Here’s what  I learned.  

•Sunscreen, which has a variety of ingredients and varying levels of sun protection, can cause allergic reactions. It should be considered a form of over the counter medication.

•Parents who have young children should apply sunscreen brought from home in the morning.

•If parents want a second application during the day, they need to come in and do so.

•Older students may apply their own sunscreen, as requested by parents.

•Once applied, hands should be thoroughly washed.

•Sunscreen should not be stored openly in cubbies.  It should be tucked away in backpacks or in another safe location.

•Teachers, (and I know this will be hard for Beginning School teachers) you should not apply sunscreen.   

Uniforms - Have you looked for logos yet?

Please read and be familiar with the LS Uniform Policy.

All upper wear worn inside must have OES logo and must be uniform wear.

Changes to Class Schedules

Class schedules have been uploaded in the LS Important Docs.  If changes need to be made to the class schedules you need to notify Lyn. She will be the one to make changes in the excel spreadsheet – this is with an understanding that you have already approved of the changes beforehand.

Recess Bells and Electronic Doors

We know these have not been working properly. The library door remained lock during morning drop off and the bells were not functioning properly during the day. We’ll get this fixed early this week.

Your Announcements

Send any announcements you have for faculty to Chris or me by Thursday each week and we will include them in the Weekly memo.  This should help reduce the number of emails we are receiving, and to maximize our time to collaborate during meetings.