LS Weekly Memo
Weekly Memo Week 15/16, November 23- December 4 , 2015
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Kudos to Alysa, Peter and the Fifth Graders for their wonderful production of “What Could Possibly Go Wrong?”. We appreciate all of the hard work and energy that went into this play.
Now on to Grandparents and Special Friends Day. We will need to be “flexible and creative” in our smaller temporary spaces. See below for further details. Thank you also to Tracy organizing such an informative and engaging parent presentation on Math in Lower School. Interested in learning more? Visit Tracy’s Blog.
CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
- The ceiling trusses are being installed. Now, you can get a good sense of the rooms.
- Work has begun on the new covered area. It just might be the best New Year’s gift ever.
- The building continues to be on budget and under time.
- Let me know if you and your class are doing any interesting construction work. We are exploring a possible article in the OES Magazine.
COMMUNITY
Grandparents Day - Tuesday, 11/24
- 8:00 - 8:45 - Reception for Grandparents in Gym
- 8:45 - 9:45 - Grandparents in classrooms
- 9:45 - 10:05 - Recess
- 10:15 - 10:45 - Chapel - Students Pri. - 5th
Plan on a packed Chapel, so arrive around 10:10 for first come, first served seating.
- 10:45 - say good-bye
- Think creatively how to accommodate grandparents in your room or adjacent spaces
- Consider parking in the upper lot so grandparents have more parking near gym
Choirs at GPD
Both the Girls Choir and the Boys Choir will be singing at the GPSF Chapel on Tuesday. Choir kids will come to the chapel at 9:45 (instead of recess). Adam, Sue, and I will meet them there. When they are done singing they will sit with their classes, so save them space to sit!
Student Leaving/ Student Entering
- Withdrawal – Edie Lieberman, 2nd grade – family is relocating to NYC; she will be attending City & Country school. Edie’s last day will be December 18.
- Addition – Kellan Hvizdak (boy) will be enrolling in Kindergarten (Bridgnell) on Monday, Jan 4. Kellen’s family is returning to PDX from Colorado.
Students Who Have Food Issues
Please take these steps if you have parents come to you concerned about students nutrition during the school day:
- Have parents review the menu with their child the morning before, help them find good food choices.
- Encourage the parent to come for lunch to explore good food choices
- Tell the parent to get in touch with Kelly so she can step in to help (for a limited time)
Time for Giving
Giving to Those in Need
Every year, AASK gives each division a couple of families to buy presents and clothes for during the holiday season. This year the Lower School will support 1 family of three. For our family, we have mom and her children's sizes and wish lists. These are organized on a series of "giving tags."
On Monday morning, you can find our LS giving tags on a garland in the LS office. If interested, please grab a tag, buy the requested item, and return the UNWRAPPED gift to the office before Thursday, December 10th. Please let Miriam know what gift tag you are taking.
Giving within our LS Community
It is the time of year when we reach out to our colleagues to offer small gifts of thanks and appreciation. In an effort to bring the whole community together we started a tradition of secret santa giving. Due to our Episcopalian roots, we continue to call this "Secret Santa" and with open arms we invite all faiths, religions, absence of religions to join in the fun and giving.
Quick timeline:
Tuesday Nov 24 between 4-5pm: You will receive your secret santa “assignment” aka your giftee. (This is a quick turn around so people can have a chance to shop over the weekend if necessary.)
Monday-Wednesday December 7-11: Give one small token each day in your giftee, ie a handmade card/note, a piece of candy, fancy post it note pack, etc.
Monday, December 14: Gather in the LS Library for a potluck ( link to Pot Luck Plan here ) and to exchange gifts and discover who your santa was. A merry time will be had by all.
2:55 Pick-up
We are encountering two issues. Pick-up is taking longer. PreK parents are having a harder time finding parking so they can come pick-up their children. You can help.
- Please be sure all students are ready for pick-up at 2:55. That means they need to be out on the walkway or pick-up zone ready to climb into cars at 2:55. Classes that come out late hold up the whole dismissal process.
- If you park in the main lot, please consider parking behind the gym so there are more spaces for PreK pick-up.
OES News - email marketing @oes.edu
With the departure of Marty and Casey the marketing and communication needs our help. If you have interesting stories or pictures to share with them about happenings with your class, please email marketing@oes.edu.
Chapel Schedule
Monday, Nov. 23 - No Chapel
Tuesday, Nov. 24 - Grandparents/Special Friends Day Chapel at 10:15
Monday, Nov. 30 - Theme: Giving Chapel Agency presentation
Wednesday, Dec. 2 - Advent Lessons and Carols, 6:30pm
Giving Chapel 2015- Friday, December 11th
Plan Ahead- Staggered Giving Chapel Arrival Times
- 3rd and 4th Oldest students arrive first at 8:00
- 1st and 2nd Arrive at 8:05
- Beginning School Arrive at 8:10
Students of Concern
- HB - K- CB
- Has difficulty keeping up with the flow of things, can be disruptive. Let Carole and Chris know if he is having difficulties. We want to be consistent in our support.
- OB-K-CB
- Mourning the loss of her father, hasn’t wanted to be at school, has strayed away from the class, needs to be shadowed
- Giving her lots of love and support
- Specialists check in with Carole on how she is doing, we are taking this day by day
- LL- 1 KMcA
- Specialists, refer to the notes Kirstin sent out
- Call the office if he gets stuck and disrupts the class or needs support on the playground
• KM-1 KMcA
Having a particularly difficult time, in a negative place often throughout the day,
can refuse to participate, cooperate with adults. Call Chris if this happens or
contact Lyn. We are working on an intervention plan to support Kianna, Kirstin
and Julie.
- SG - 2 JB
- Working on first time listening, being respectful to adults and students, doing his best, being a flexible thinker, see his plan sent last week.
- Let Jackie or Chris know if he is having difficulty in your class
- If he gets stuck and disrupts the class, let Chris know- call the office
- Chris is sending out his intervention plan to specialists
- Specialists, please keep Jackie informed
- 4th Grade Boys Rough Play at Recess
- Please keep a special eye on them if you are supervising these areas and let Chris or David know if any issues arise. See Chris if you don’t know the backstory on these students.
Major Rules - If a student violates a major rule, Chris and David need to know and need to be part of the determination of consequences and reparations.
- Verbal abuse, physical abuse, bullying, or inappropriate physical touch.
- Lying, deceit, or other dishonest conduct
- Destruction of property belonging to the School, its personnel or another student
- Stealing
- Inappropriate language
- Possession or use of weapons or any object that is used in a threatening manner
PROGRAM
Scheduling Task Force
Thank you to the following folks who have volunteered to serve.
- Tina Akehurst
- Kristen Haferbecker
- Tracy Arensberg
- Ari Sternberg
- Carole Burton
- Tonya Griffin
- Rachel Taylor
- Beth Breiten
- Amy Rheingans
We have our first meeting on 12/7. Our first step will be getting a deep understanding of the scheduling challenges we are facing.
Great Mindfulness Article in a Recent Wall Street Journal
The Family Meditation Session
Two Representatives Come and Share Assessment Systems
We are looking into other literacy assessment tools. We are hoping that Beginning School-Third Grade teachers will attend. Please find coverage in advance so you can attend.
- IRLA, Thurs. Dec. 3rd 10:40-12:10
- Fountas and Pinnel, Tues., Dec. 8th 10:40-12:10
Monday 11/30 FLG @ 3:20
Thursday 12/3 @ 7:35 Teams/Departments - UbD Work
PLEASE SUBMIT REVISED UBD DOCUMENTS TO YOUR TEAM LEADER ON OR BEFORE 12/4
“Mentor for the Day” for Assistant Teacher Substitutes
Wednesday, Dec. 2nd- Our new Assistant Teacher Substitutes will shadow one of our current Assistant Teachers for the day.
Conference recommendation from Ari:
March 11th Collaborative & Proactive Solutions: Understanding and Helping Students with Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Challenges (Dr. Ross Greene - author of the Explosive Child)
- solving problems rather than on modifying behavior,
- emphasizes collaborative rather than unilateral solutions,
- encourages proactive rather than reactive intervention,
- de-emphasizes diagnostic categories,
- provides practical, research-based tools for assessment and intervention.
OPERATIONS
Loop Rd Dismissal Duty
Please bring your cell phones to this duty. Call Miriam if you have questions concerning a student’s after school plans.
Parent Volunteers Must Sign In at the LS Office When They Volunteer
Please remind parents in your next communication about the importance of signing in at the office. This is critical for two reasons:
•For security, our community expects visitors to wear visitor badges (BS lunch helpers
will wear an OES sticker)
•In the event of an emergency- fire, earthquake, lockdown, we need to know who was
in the building.
Please don’t let parents in the building without a pass. Remind them politely that they need to check in at the office.
Emergency Drill Notes
These are more challenging when they are surprises, but that is the point. Let’s practice well.
- Exit quickly, calmly and quietly. You need to maintain the order of your class throughout the drill in case there are directions.
- Remember that there are two entrances to the field now; the stairs onto the JV field and the gravel path by the gym. Choose whichever seems best.
- Students should keep shoes while at school for safety reasons
Oregon Registry- for Teachers and Supervisors of Pre-K Students
When you receive your document from the Oregon Registry please make a copy of the document and give it to Lyn.
Sugar
The US Policy Board is going to work with delegates from MS and 4th/5th grade to make a proposal about how to reduce sugar in the dining hall, starting after Thanksgiving Break. 4th and 5th grade delegates will be contacting 1st-3rd grade teachers to find a time to talk to your class.
Hiring Substitute Teachers
Lyn, Miriam and I had a large group of 11 new subs in Thursday afternoon for a substitute training. Most are in the midst of their background check which will take a few weeks...just in time for cold and flu season!
Calendar Updates- Specifically for December through February
Please be sure to enter your big events- plays, field trips, learning celebrations posted on the faculty event calendar and Anne’s All School calendar. Remember, if an event impacts parents and families, you must get that on the Anne’s calendar.
This is really important! Sarah is scheduling student visits in the coming weeks and doesn’t want to book students on days when special events occur.
We suggest each team designate one “calendar person.” Several teams do this and it is super efficient way of keeping calendars up to date.
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.
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