Sunday, June 14, 2015



LS Weekly Memo
Weekly Memo Week 44 June 15-19, 2015
We are, oh so close to summer.  Best of luck finishing up your reports, culling and packing.

COMMUNITY

Good-bye to Faculty and Staff
Thank you to all who shared appreciations and memories with the faculty and staff who are leaving us this year.  My apologies for the meeting went so long. I felt it as important to have the time for us to say good bye and thank you.

Goodbye to Beginning School Building
You can still tie a ribbon on if you have not said your appreciation and good-bye to the building. Asbestos abatement begins on June 22. If you are interested in salvaging materials or plants before the destruction begins, email Jon von Behren and me.

End of Year Meeting, Recognitions and Lunch
Tuesday from 11:00 - 2:00 is the All School Closing Meeting.  We will share appreciations, hear from Mo, and recognize those who have achieved significant milestones in their service to OES. We start in the Chapel and shift to the dining hall.

Looking Ahead LS Faculty Meeting
We will meet as a LS faculty from 8:00 - 10:30 on Tuesday morning to begin looking at the year ahead.  I hope this will help you with your summer planning, stipends and preparing for the year Creativity and Flexibility.
Hiring Updates
  • Chaplain search – checking references
 

PROGRAM

Professional Book Recommendations
Lara got us started with recommended professional reading
Bring in your own book to recommend and add them to the collection.

Summer Reading
In IDT we decided upon Ron Berger’s book  Ethic of Excellence as the single all Lower School read for this summer. Many of you read this book last year, and should have a copy to reread.  We will engage in a community conversation related to the book when you all return in September. If you need a copy, sign up on here: Ethics of Excellence: I need a copy for summer reading!  

LS Faculty Meeting - Tues., June 16th, 7:30 - 10:30 LSCH
Looking ahead to 2015-16
•7:30 Breakfast (Optional)
•8:00 Inquiry Commitments
•9:00 Student Experiences
•9:45 Draft Calendar 2015-16
•10:30 End
Report Card Clarification
If you want to be a part of the report Angela will run to check for omitted marks in the checklist, you will need to have your checklists completed in PCR by Monday, June 15 at noon.  This is optional and a service that Angela is offering. The deadline for entering your reports into PCR remains the same, 8:00 am Tuesday, June 16.  After the deadline, Angela will produce PDF’s of your reports so you can see how they turned out in PCR.
Report Card Expectation
All reports written by 9:00 am Monday, 6/15
All reports entered into PCR by 8:00 am Tuesday, 6/16
Remember, you are all expected to have a colleague proof-read your report cards. Classroom teachers can exchange among themselves.  Specialists will proof according to the following:
Art - Laura, Margaret and Chris share
Music - Amy and Kristen swap
PE - share within team
Science - David
Spanish - Kelola, Lisset and Chris share

Formatting of Reports
See Angela’s email for details.  The basics:
1.  Upload your document into Google Docs and share it with Angela.
2.  Select all of the text in the document and set the following:
  • Set the Font to be Times New Roman
  • Set the Font size to be 12pt.
  • Add an extra space before a paragraph and then remove the extra space before a paragraph
  • Add an extra space after a paragraph and then remove the extra space after a paragraph
3.  SHARE THE DOCUMENT DIRECTLY WITH ANGELA when it is done.
Finally, when you start putting comments into the child’s report in PCR, remember that you copy and then Right Click and select Paste & Match Style, then save.

All School Calendar
The dates for major events next year have been agreed upon. AS you plan out your year be sure to consult the calendar to reduce conflicts.
Summer Stipends
The Stipends are out.  Thank you Lyn. What you need to remember:
  • BEFORE the summer stipend work begins
    • The Facilitator of the group summer stipend project emails Lyn the proposed dates of the stipend work – these dates are plugged in or posted in David and Chris’ calendars

  • AFTER the summer stipend work
    • Summer stipend payment is contingent to the completion of these two forms – see attached (these forms can also be found in the LS Important Docs in the Summer Stipend Forms folder):
    • Summer Stipend Report – ONE report per Team/Group to be completed by the Facilitator
    • Summer Completion Form – EACH Participant completes and SIGNS this form
Old LS Building - repurposed
With the ground broken for the new building, attention turns to repurposing of the current LS Building.  Team Leaders and Department Chairs have been asked to work with their faculty to make suggestions.  We will discuss at closing meetings.
UBD Reminder
Each grade level should have three units of understanding designed by the start of faculty meetings 2015.

OPERATIONS
Packing
Remember - it is a great time to downsize and offer things up for reuse or donation
You will be packing and unpacking this year and next, so get down to the essentials.
Boxes and Packing Materials
Some of you expressed concerns about having enough boxes. Rod assured me that he checks stacks regularly and will keep supplies replenished.  If you have glass or other fragile items to pack, you will now find bubble wrap stacked with your boxes in your wing.
Moving Clarifications from Rod
Thursday, 6/18 -  The movers move EC, the BS art area, and any large furniture that there is time for – they are only here a few hours.
Friday, 6/19 – The movers start with the 4/5 area commons and then proceed to the 4/5 classrooms.  Once those are moved they will move the 1/2 commons and then the classrooms.  Then on to BS and LS Office
Saturday 6/20 – The movers will finish up classrooms and load their trucks with storage items.
If you need help packing next week, Rod has custodians available.  Further questions or request, please contact Rod.
Thursday, June 18th: Movers begin
Friday, June 19: Movers remove all boxes and remaining items
8:00 - 4th & 5th move
10:00 - 1st & 2nd move
1:00 - BS move
3:00 - LS Office move
Help with Moving: Assistant Teachers and Substitutes
We are asking all assistants to work an additional day to help with moving. Assistants, please let me know if you can help out.  Some assistants have offered to help, others cannot.  Typically, Assistant Teachers work a full day on Wednesday, and one more full day, Thursday, Friday or the following Monday.  Chris has started to put together a plan.  Please click on this link Assistants and Substitutes Help with the Move to find out who has offered to help out thus far.
Moving Maintenance
If you have maintenance related to your move to your new classroom be sure to send the request to maintrequest@oes.edu.
Moving Supplies
Jon and Rod are taking care of moving supplies.  If you need something, please let Rod and Jon know.  They want all of those supplies to flow through them.  Please do not go out and purchase your own.
Room 10
  • Please do not use it as storage during or after the move
  • To maintain the current organization in Room 10, the lock will be changed this week. The new key to gain access in Room 10 will be in the office
  • Approval is needed from the office if you wish to store materials in Room 10
  • Unaccounted items are discarded every Friday
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.

Sunday, June 7, 2015



LS Weekly Memo
Weekly Memo Week 43 June 8-12, 2015
Coffees are done.  The 2015-16 All School calendar is set. Summer stipends are decided.  Field days were great.  Learning celebrations and parties are happening or have happened. 5th graders have visited Middle School and begun practicing for promotion. Two and a half days left.
COMMUNITY
Math Celebration
The second graders of Mrs. Griffin’s class would like to invite you to a celebration of math and the Beginning School. We have published a book to commemorate the building and share about all the math we found "hiding" there throughout the year. You and your students are welcome to come to the 1st and 2nd grade commons and room 17 anytime between 8:15 and 9:25. The authors will be available to talk about their work and guide visitors in using iPads and Chrome Books to view our digital book. We hope you can drop by!
Goodbye to Beginning School Building - Begins Wednesday, June 3 with BS Chapel
Margaret and Laura have a wonderful and simple way for our students to be able to say goodbye to the Beginning School building
  • Create a large, outdoor, colorful installation - a heart of brilliant ribbons, looped through the fence, each with a memory written on it.  A heart full of thoughts and ideas, gathered and grown from all the hands of our community.
  • Laura will use yarn to draw a large shape on the fence…likely a heart  
  • Teachers will be invited to bring their classes down beginning on Wednesday, June 3. There will be materials with in the BS studio or out by the site - baskets of cut ribbons, slews of sharpies.
  • Children and adults can write their memories on the ribbons and loop them through within the confines of the yarn shape.
Last Day of School Logistics
By now you’ve seen Lyn’s email with details on the logistics of the last day of school.  A few reminders:
•Specialists we need your help at the Promotion Ceremony. Please sign up for a special duty in the Lower School office.
•All Teachers, Assistant Teachers and Specialist please help with dismissal duty on the cover walkway or Loop Road.
Field Days
Our thanks to Stephanie, Tyler and Jessica, who out-did themselves with watery games, laughter and all around good time for children of all ages.  Later in the day I heard the children singing Tyler’s rendition of “It’s a 60s Party from a 60’s Movie”. Hilarious.
Hiring Updates
  • Chaplain search – search committee meeting, checking references
 
Moving Into Coffees
Our thanks to all the classroom teachers, specialists and students who participated in our Moving Into Coffees.  Parents love hearing about what lies ahead for their children.
Incident Reports - Incident Reports
Discipline
When students need interventions because of their behavior, we have varying levels of intervention:
●       Teacher on the scene - Incident Reports
●       Classroom Teacher
●       Chris O’Toole
●       LS Office
Remember that Melanie’s role as counselor does not include discipline interventions, unless of course she is the teacher on the scene.  She can play a valuable role in problem solving and proactive skill building.
                   
Students Who Need Extra Support
●  Simon W. and Gabriel H. need swift intervention if they are revving up.  No second chances. Provide place to cool down and reset.  See Chris or Erin for details.
●  Deborah’s K Boys- The boys in Deborah’s class are working on being less physical with each other. Deborah or Chris will provide details.
•Ben K. in Jackie’s room has an agreement that if he gets overwhelmed with big feelings out at recess he will give duty teachers a silent signal of “thumb down,” and go to the office. Once there, Lyn will find him a safe place (Chris’, Melanie’s or Ari’s) to go cool down and problem solve.
A Note from Katie Horton
To the Faculty and Staff of the Lower School:
As some of you may already know I will not be in the LS Library on Friday mornings next year and I wanted to take a moment to let you know how much I’ve enjoyed my time in the LS with all of you. I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of you for welcoming me so warmly into your community, I have truly enjoyed getting to know you all over the past two years and I will miss my fun and chaotic Friday’s with Heidi and the students. I also want to send a special thank you to Lara, Heidi, and David for making my time in the LS possible in the first place. I will still be working in the US Library so please stop by to visit and of course you can also find me at Arlene’s desk at lunch!
Your friend, Katie Horton
PROGRAM
End-of-year Faculty Meetings
LS Faculty Meeting - Thurs., June 11th, 8:00 -12:00 LSCH
8:00 Breakfast (optional)
8:30-12 Meeting – Reflection and Celebration
12-1 Celebration Lunch
LS Faculty Meeting - Tues., June 16th, 7:30 - 10:30 LSCH
7:30-8  Breakfast (optional)
8-10:30 Meeting – Looking ahead to 2015-16
11-2:00  All School Meeting and All School Luncheon
Report Card Clarification
If you want to be a part of the report Angela runs to check for omitted marks in the checklist, you will need to have your checklists completed in PCR by Monday, June 15 at noon.  This is optional and a service that Angela is offering. The deadline for entering your reports into PCR remains the same, 8:00 am Tuesday, June 16.  After the deadline, Angela will produce PDF’s of your reports so you can see how they turned out in PCR.
Report Card Expectation
All reports written by 9:00 am Monday, 6/15
All reports entered into PCR by 8:00 am Tuesday, 6/16
Remember, you are all expected to have a colleague proof-read your report cards. Classroom teachers can exchange among themselves.  Specialists will proof according to the following:
Art - Laura, Margaret and Chris share
Music - Amy and Kristen swap
PE - share within team
Science - David
Spanish - Kelola, Lisset and Chris share
All School Calendar
The dates for major events next year have been agreed upon. Anne Weston will have them loaded on the All School web calendar this week.
Summer Reading
At our faculty meeting Thursday, you are invited to bring in inspirational summer reading books to display.  We will have a chance for folks to browse for possible summer professional reads.  Alternatively, peruse professional reading list from Expeditionary Learning http://elschools.org/educator-resources/recommended-reading
The Inquiry Design Team pondered which book we should all read this summer. We wondered:
What book could we all read together that would push our collective thinking?
What book could help us shape a common understanding of what exemplary work looks like at OES?
We decided upon Ron Berger’s book  Ethic of Excellence. Many of you read this book last year, and should have a copy to reread.  We will engage in a community conversation related to the book when you all return in September. If you need a copy, sign up on here: Ethics of Excellence: I need a copy for summer reading!  
Summer Stipends
Lyn is sending out the list of approved stipends. We have 100 days budgeted and received 153 requests for days.  All requests were granted.  Some had to be shortened.
Old LS Building - repurposed
With the ground broken for the new building, attention turns to repurposing of the current LS Building.  Team Leaders and Department Chairs have been asked to work with their faculty to make suggestions.  We will discuss at closing meetings.
UBD Reminder
Each grade level should have three units of understanding designed by the start of faculty meetings 2015.
Team Leader Agenda
  • Hiring
  • Faculty Meeting Agenda
  • Move
  • Uses of Current LS Building
  • Other
OPERATIONS
Snack on 6/10
Use what have. No fresh fruit will be delivered.
 
Packing
Remember - it is a great time to downsize and offer things up for reuse or donation
You will be packing and unpacking this year and next so get down to the essentials.
Boxes and Packing Materials
Some of you expressed concerns about having enough boxes. Rod assured me that he checks stacks regularly and will keep supplies replenished.
If you have glass or other fragile items to pack, you will now find bubble wrap stacked with your boxes in your wing.
Moving Clarifications from Rod
Thursday, 6/18 -  The movers move EC, the BS art area, and any large furniture that there is time for – they are only here a few hours.
Friday, 6/19 – The movers start with the 4/5 area commons and then proceed to the 4/5 classrooms.  Once those are moved they will move the 1/2 commons and then the classrooms.  Then on to BS and LS Office
Saturday 6/20 – The movers will finish up classrooms and load their trucks with storage items.
If you need help packing next week, Rod has custodians available.  Further questions or request, please contact Rod.
Thursday, June 18th: Movers begin
Friday, June 19: Movers remove all boxes and remaining items
        8:00 - 4th & 5th move
10:00 - 1st & 2nd move
1:00 - BS move
3:00 - LS Office move
Help with Moving: Assistant Teachers and Substitutes
We are asking all assistants to work an additional day to help with moving. Assistants, please let me know if you can help out.  Some assistants have offered to help, others cannot.  Typically, Assistant Teachers work a full day on Wednesday, and one more full day, Thursday, Friday or the following Monday.  Chris has started to put together a plan.  Please click on this link Assistants and Substitutes Help with the Move to find out who has offered to help out thus far.
Moving Maintenance
If you have maintenance related to your move to your new classroom be sure to send the request to maintrequest@oes.edu.
Moving Supplies
Jon and Rod are taking care of moving supplies.  If you need something, please let Rod and Jon know.  They want all of those supplies to flow through them.  Please do not go out and purchase your own.
LS Library Inventory
  • Last full day of regularly scheduled library classes will be Friday, May 29th.
  • Let families know that we will be open June 8-10th for summer check-out.  
Room 10
  • Please do not use it as storage during or after the move
  • To maintain the current organization in Room 10, the lock will be changed this week. The new key to gain access in Room 10 will be in the office
  • Approval is needed from the office if you wish to store materials in Room 10
  • Unaccounted items are discarded every Friday
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.