LS Weekly Memo
LS Weekly Memo Week 30, 21-24, 2016
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What a week it was! Full of excitement from the surprise water main break and the emergency closure of the school, to the announcement of our new Assistant Heads. Onto a four day week and then Spring Break.
CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
- Thank you Jon. The last tour for 3rd and 4th Grade teams, SST and teachers who have not taken a tour is coming up on Tuesday, March 22nd Sign up here!
- Part of the point of the tours will be to get our heads around furniture. We will need to come up with a prioritized furniture list - need, wish, dream.
- Whiteboard, screen projector decisions need to be made before Spring Break.
- Furniture decisions need to be made by April 15.
- Stop by if you want to look at the plans: floor plan, verticals, utilities.
- June 30 deadline for packing rooms
- The week of August 22nd - the official move in week with the LS Cafe open each morning. We will let you know as soon as moving in is a possibility.
COMMUNITY
David and Lyn Out of Office and Off the Grid, 3/21-3/24
Chris will be in charge. She will be up in Lower School office all week with Miriam and Austin. Be in touch with Chris, Miriam or Austin if you need assistance.
Melanie and Ari will assist.
Assistant Heads of Lower School
Thank you to the Search Committee and all the applicants for their good work.
Congratulations Kirstin McAuley, Beginning years Assistant Head and Chris Thompson, Intermediate Years Assistant Head .
Paula Hunger - Teacher Emeritus
Paula is taking a step toward retirement and has agreed to be our first Lower School Teacher Emeritus. She will work up to 50% time next year, serving a mutually agreed upon teaching function. We are exploring ideas of her working with 3rd - 5th grade students on math enrichment, gardening, science and literacy.
Teacher Searches
1st Grade - internal and external search begins on Monday
Other Grade - the search will begin once we know which grade. We have some internal interests we are working on.
Safety on Campus
The surveillance footage that Rebecca Williams showed was quite sobering and reminded us of things we need to do:
- be sure no doors are propped open
- lock your classroom doors
- be sure adults have name badges, building passes or name tags
- Be aware of strangers on campus. Approach them or contact the Front Desk if you are uncomfortable doing so.
Child Inspired Natural Playgrounds, March 21, 2016 from 3 to 5 p.m.
On Play: https://oregonplay.wordpress.com/
Deborah, Carole, Kirstin, Jackie, Tonya, Chris O’T and Jon von Behren will attend the workshop then gather to brainstorm ways we could implement our own natural space design process with our students. Stay tuned for further details!
Melanie Clark will cover for Chris Monday afternoon. Seek her out if you need support.
Friendly Reminder: Our Bon Appetit Friends Need Our Support
Any effort that OES employees can provide in the Dining Room toward a thoughtful presence with our student community is greatly appreciated. Specifically, please encourage calm behavior, and remind everyone to clean up after themselves. While those endeavors are regularly important, they matter all the more these days."
Thank You, Pre-K Lunch Helpers!
Great news! We have the month of April covered, with the exception of Wed., April 20. Sign up, if you haven’t done so! Your support is greatly appreciated.
Assistant Head Search Process
Thank you finalists, for your thoughtful responses to a myriad of questions and your sharing of ideas about how to support the ongoing evolution of Lower School. We are all excited to work with Kirstin and Chris T. in the years ahead!
Rosetta Lee - Inclusivity in the Younger Years
Here are the links to her presentations:
Faculty Session
Parent and Guardian Session
How to Raise an Adult - Author Julie Lythcott-Haims Speaks on Campus
Monday, April 18th at 7:00 pm in the Chapel
PCL is bringing author to campus.
This was in the New York Times this past week...another point of view!
Admissions Welcome Night on Tuesday Evening
Our thanks to Lauren, Deborah, Beth, Chris T. and Jennie K. for welcoming the parents of all the LS students recently admitted to OES. Parents were genuinely thrilled about the prospects of their children joining the OES learning community.
4th and 5th grade Students
7:49 am – the place for the students to wait is on the covered walkway.
Before 7:49 am – everyone must go to ACP or the library and join their peers
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
- Giving her lots of love and support
- Attending full days again and generally doing well.
- Please keep Carole and Chris in the loop if challenging behavior arises again
- NEW! First Grade Boys Sports- Read if you supervise the field at lunch recess for 1st and 2nd Grade
- First Grade boys are having heated arguments about soccer and football. One person on the field at lunch recess should oversee their games
- Try to be alert, and help problem solve before things escalate
New addition, please be sure to read if you teach or supervise Second Grade
- JB and JP- 2G
- JB has been physically aggressive with JP, threatened retaliation
- JP usually plays on ACP, JB usually plays on the field. Would one person be a designated shadow to keep an eye on each boy? We want to give them lots of support and be proactive whenever possible.
- The boys can now play together if they want to join the same game
- Please let Tonya or Chris know immediately if there are any issues reported to you
- For the foreseeable future these two are to continue giving each other space throughout the school day, with the exception of class time, where Tonya will monitor the behavior closely
- SG - 2 JB
- 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
- Specialists, we value your input and appreciate your feedback. Please input any rating and observations at the end of each day into the weekly googledoc. In addition to the daily communication with his family this document is also sent daily to Sam's outside support team. They appreciate the specific examples we provide and work through them with him (accomplishments and challenges). Thank you.
- Fourth Grade World Cup Soccer Games
- Track and Field Duty People, please continue to keep a close eye on these games. They made a plan:
- Gather at the beginning to organize teams. They will divide into two mixed ability groups with one soccer goal OR play one large game of soccer using two goals
- Teachers out on the field, please continue to monitor this situation. Last week I had to remind them of their agreements.
- SS and LB- 5 TA
- L and S have had challenges of late. Please keep an eye on them and let Tina know if you experience L saying or doing any unkind things- as well, if S is doing anything to annoy L.
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
Monday PM, 3/21 and Thursday AM 3/24- NO MEETINGS, Use the time to enter your Scope and Sequence documents, if you haven’t already done so.
Mt. Hood Climb Service Day
Our thanks to Jennie for leading our plans for a day of service on Wednesday, May 11th. As we discussed at the faculty meeting, the sooner you submit your plans and requests, the more likely you are to get all of your requests granted, including transportation. Mt. Hood Climb Service Day Sign-Up Spreadsheet
Scheduling Task Force
A subgroup of the STF will meet on 4/4 to draft schedules and will present them at the faculty meeting on 4/7.
Lamb Endowment
It is time for the second round of applications for the Lamb Endowment. Attached is the purpose statement. A few examples of the types of project that we have funded before can be seen in the link below. The second round deadline is April 18, 2016. Follow this link to fill out the application.
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Friendly Reminder: Scope and Sequence Work
We had hoped that the pertinent information from your three UbDs would be transferred to the scope and sequence document by the end of February. Please be sure to get this task done in the coming week. Department Chairs will meet soon to look at these Pre-K-12 scope and sequence docs.
Moving Into Spring Coffees
Yes, it is that time again. We’ve had to make some changes due to overnight trips. Plan on MIC planning sessions when we return in April. Thanks to those of you who signed up on the Google doc Moving Into Spring Coffees 2016
Send DRA AND Fountas Pinnell Reading Assessment Data to Lyn
If you haven’t done so, please take a few minutes on Monday (goal was to have them in by Friday) to gather and send your mid-year reading assessments to Lyn. We’d like to review the data and make plans to support students when we return from spring break.
Chaperones
We have a chaperone plan. Trip leaders will be reaching out to you to confirm availability. We are going to need more help than usual as we have some overlapping trips.
OPERATIONS
Evacuation Drill - Quiet and Calm
- Quietly walk to evacuation site
- Sit or Stand in classroom line awaiting instruction
- The older Lower School students need to set a better example
2016-17 Calendar Summit, March 16
We drafted the AS calendar this week and hope to have it updated when you return from Spring Break.
Keep Red Recess Packs Stocked
This week, when I student hit his head on the bleachers and bled profusely (he was fine, didn’t require stitches), I was reminded how important it is to keep your red recess packs with you on duty and well stocked with First Aid supplies (bandaids, disinfectant wipes, gauze, a baggie for used gauze and gloves). First Aid supplies can be found in the Lower School Office Nurse’s Station.
Ants!
Several classrooms are experiencing ant invasions. What you can do:
- Complete a maintenance request and/or contact Rod about your concern. He is on the case in Tonya’s and Erin’s rooms.
- Be sure to eliminate food sources - raisins and crackers crumbs seem to be favorites. Ziplock your snack.
- Track the ant line down and see if you can determine where they are entering the building
Turn Off Overhead Lights, Lamps and Strings of Lights
Be energy and safety conscious by turning off all lights when you leave at the end of the day.
Common Areas: A Friendly Reminder
Please keep Common Areas tidy. Store cardboard boxes and piles of students’ artwork out of sight. If you clean out paint pots in the Common Area sink, please clean up after yourself. Sarah still takes visitors on tours. We want to make a good impression.
Important Safety Issue: Visitors Must Have Visitor Badges or Stickers to Enter the Building
All visitors must sign in and get a visitor badge or sticker (we use them when we run out of key cards).
If you see someone at the door wearing a visitor badge you may let them in. Otherwise, politely say “I’m sorry. You need a visitor’s badge or sticker to enter the building.” David plans to put a friendly reminder in the Wednesday Express.
Recess Equipment Bags Left Out at the Bottom of the Hill
Bags were left out once again this week. Please be sure to have students or a teacher return the bags to the shed. If you are short on time, leave the bags by the shed door, and a kind soul can get them into the shed.
Assistant Teacher Substitutes
I have several new subs in the process of doing their background checks. Please know that we are in a pinch, and we will need everyone to be flexible.
Duty Changes Coming
As expected, as soon as I published the new duty schedules, I got a flurry of emails saying that revisions were needed. Look for the revised documents in your email.
Emergency Drill Substitutes
In the future these people will be the designated helpers if David and Chris are unavailable.
· Scott Corris – in charge of public announcements and dismissal
· Class attendance – Lyn and Tracy
· Faculty & Staff attendance – Ari and Miriam
· Debra Thomas stays with Donna (Schilling’s class)
Friendly Reminder About Calendar Updates
Please remember to get your important dates on the Faculty Google Calendar, and where appropriate, Anne’s All School Calendar when parents need to be notified.
Believe it or not, while there are more than 3.5 months left in the school year, the calendar is filling up quickly with special events.
Before you go on Spring Break, be sure to get your culminating events on the calendar(s). I will create a Google doc that lists all of these important end-of-the-year events.
We hope this type of calendar will help us all make good choices as to when we want to host a culminating event (for families, buddies and other classes), and help plan which culminating events you hope to attend with your classes.
Calendar Updates and Conflicts
Lyn and I reviewed the calendar on Friday and we found a number of issues.
•Learning Celebrations- Please do not schedule when there is a parent meeting (Wednesday and Friday mornings)
•List all events and field trips (with destination and times on the faculty calendar, no destination on Anne’s All School public calendar) on the Google Faculty Event Calendar AND Anne’s All School Calendar.
•If you change the date of an event, be sure to remove the old date from the calendar(s)
Change in Lunch Routine
Kelly needs at least 72 hours notice if you need to change lunch plans (not eat in the dining hall, need sack lunches, etc)
Students on Covered Walkway and Loop Road Pick Up by 2:55
Thanks for the extra effort. It makes a difference.
Friendly Reminder About Sub Requests
Miriam continues to get requests late at night. Please do not text Miriam after 7pm. Contact her:
Evening: Sunday through Thursday 5:00-7:00pm
Morning: Monday through Friday 6-6:15am
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.
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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