LS Weekly Memo Week 22: January 5 - 9, 2015

I hope you all enjoyed a restorative and enjoyable break.  January and February fly by with parent coffees, progress reports, admissions visits and conferences.  2015 here we come.  

COMMUNITY

Jenny Strode Reception and Chapel

This is our last week with Jenny before she sets out on her new adventure in Boulder, Colorado.  We are hosting a farewell reception for her on Wednesday, 3:00 - 4:15 in the LS Library and she will be our guest of honor at Friday Chapel, 8:10 - 8:40.  PreK - 5th grade are all invited to the chapel.

Plans for 2015-16

Please let David know if you have plans to pursue other professional opportunities for the 2015-16 school year.  He will begin the hiring process shortly after the break.

Students Bringing in Food from Home

Please email Elaine Elliott, school nurse, if you have a student who is bringing in food from home.  We want to be sure to have an accurate record of students and that parents are well aware of the food practices they need to follow.  Going forward we will ask parents to request permission from the nurse and Head of Lower School for their child to bring in food.

Admissions Information Night, Wednesday, January 7th from 7:00-8:30

Our next admissions event comes up our first week back.  This year the format has changed and Beginning School classrooms will be open for parents to tour.  Our thanks to the teachers   who offered to be there to greet touring parents and answer their questions.

Beginning School teachers- knowing that many of you  come in during Winter Break to freshen up your  classroom environments, please be sure to leave up the wonderful documentation and student work from your learning celebrations.  We wants students’ learning visible for our visitors.

Parent Winter Coffee

We begin our next round of coffees.

Beginning School Tues., Jan. 13th

First and Second Grade Tues., Jan. 20th

Third through Fifth Grade Tues., Feb., 3rd

Check with team leaders on agenda and who will participate. If you are asked to participate, please find someone to cover your class. If you have trouble finding someone, let Chris know.

Sophia Mottern

Sophia Mottern returns this week after an extended leave.  She is going to start out attending school Monday, Wednesday and Friday with the expectation that she fully participate in the day.  The family has put together and extensive support plan for her and are optimistic about her readiness to return to school.  Look for an email from Melanie with details

Safety Reminder

Heidi is the LS Representative for the Safety Committee.  Send her a quick note when you have any safety concerns or near-accidents.  The Safety Committee wants to know about potential safety hazards so they can work to prevent injuries.   If you have any kind of injury at school please fill out an incident form (located in the form organizer by David’s office).

Lunch Planning - 1st - 3rd Grades

1st and 2nd grade would like to follow these common practices at lunch dismissal to increase safety:

• Students dismissed by table by grade level - 1st grade goes down 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd
• Students line up in dining hall
• Dismissing teacher guides students to stairs and stays at top of stairs to monitor
• Students walk down steps in single file holding the railing
• Students wait at bench outside for everyone to get down the stairs
• Dismissing teacher walks group down to recess and has children go down recess stairs single file.

3rd grade - let Chris and David know when you would like 3rd grade to follow a similar procedure and we will let duty teachers know.

5th graders

How can the 5th graders help set the example in community and transition times: between classes, recess and lunch?  Younger students are looking to them to help show the way.

SST Support in the New Year

If, when you return, you have concerns about students who did not make the progress you had hoped, let Ari know and we’ll get you on the SST agenda.  Look for a Google doc sign-up sheet from Ari when we return.

Student Who Needs Extra Support

All students can use extra help returning to the routines of school after 2 weeks away.  Let’s all help them start the 2015 well.  Ask for help from SST if any students have a particularly difficult transition back to school.

Supervision of Students in Chapel

Maintain supervision of students during transition.  4th and 5th grade students need to walk to and from Chapel and set a good example

Students who choose not to pray or sing are choosing to quietly observe

Substitute teachers need clear directions on where they should sit for optimal supervision

First Assembly of the New Year- MLK Remembrance, Fri., Jan. 16th

Thanks to Fourth Grade for planning a meaningful gathering  for us all.

PROGRAM

Faculty Meetings

• Monday, Jan 5 - No Meeting
• Thursday, Jan 8 - 7:40 - Departments/ Teams
• Monday, Jan 12 - 3:15 - John Medina
• Thursday, Jan 15 - 7:40 - Department/ Team

Lower School Curriculum Task Force

Meeting has been moved from Jan. 7th  to Thurs., Jan. 15th.  We will focus on our writer’s workshop practices. Talk about this with your grade level team when you return so you can be prepared when we gather the following week.

Assistant Teachers Meeting

We planned to meet on Wed., Jan. 21st, but had to move the meeting to Wed., Jan. 28th.  We’ll discuss Assistant’s roles in the second half of the year and give an update on our potential move to temporary spaces.

Report Cards

Angela has created a Google Doc with every child’s name listed in alphabetical order by homeroom and put them in the shared document where she keeps all Report Card Help files.  To get to the folder of student names click on this link: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B4o439XWoXmcMXJoNVV3MmdXNHc&usp=sharing

David Loitz

David will be available as a super substitute on Fridays starting in January.  Subbing will take priority over projects. If requesting release time please plan on using Fridays.  When not needed as a substitute David will be available for special projects.

• Sign up to request Project Support from David.

Team Leaders - Topics Discussed 12/15

• LS Building
• David Loitz - Super Sub
• Admissions File Reading

 

Professional Development Opportunities 2014-15

I have launched the PGD opportunities for 2014-15.  Express your interest. Indicate your preference.  Add additional possibilities.  

OPERATIONS

Supervision of Children Transitioning to Special Classes

Before the break I received some reports from faculty about students transitioning between classes unsupervised. Review supervision plans for students between classes with classroom and specialist teachers.

Drop Off in the Morning

Please send out a friendly reminder to your families that supervision for children begins at 7:30. This past week we had a parent drop children off at 7:15 and drive away. Luckily Paula intervened and got the children into the building.

Food Handler’s License

Do you prepare sandwiches for children?  Do your parent volunteers prepare sandwiches for children? If the answers are “yes,” you should have a Food Handler’s License issued through Washington County.  FH licenses can be obtained on-line for a $10 fee.  Submit FH License receipts to Lyn for reimbursement.  Parents will need to obtain their own FH License.

Extra hours for Teaching Assistants

I need to pre-approve extra hours for teaching assistants to ensure we stay within budget.

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.