Sunday, March 12, 2017

Weekly Memo
Weekly Memo Week 30, March 13-17, 2017
Thank you to everyone for your good work during the admissions season. Families were informed of admissions decisions on Friday. See note below with suggestions for how to talk to applicant parents.


The Auction was a great success; the outfits, some of the best ever. Ask those who attended for highlights.
Remember to reset your clocks and "spring ahead". This week we take on the challenge of four days without Lyn. Wish us luck. 4th grade continues the hard work of putting their International Fair together. On  Wednesday night several of us will be welcoming families with students new to OES.  Thursday afternoon the PE Team hosts a Family Fun event; may the weather cooperate.


As a collaborative professional community Lower Faculty Employees will strive to:
  • Do what is best for the students
  • Assume we are all doing our best at the moment and our intentions are positive
  • Be present, participate, contribute, include many voices
  • Create a safe space that encourages sharing different opinions, ideas, perspectives
  • Seek understanding, be curious about what others think
  • Express gratitude, joy and encouragement
  • Communicate with compassion, clarity and effectiveness
  • Demonstrate respect
COMMUNITY
Daylight savings time - Remember to Spring Ahead

Admissions Decisions went out on Friday afternoon
Several siblings and connected families will have applicants in the waitpool. For some families this will be an emotional experience. Here are some tips for navigating those conversations if families approach you with questions about admissions decisions; keeping statements brief and factual seems to work best:
  • Respect the confidentiality of student visits, paperwork, and other admissions components
  • Acknowledge admissions is a difficult and complicated process
  • Encourage families who approach you to contact Sarah Ross Bailey in Admissions with their questions
Admissions Welcome Night  - Wednesday, March 15, 6:30 - 8:00
Acceptances went out. Wednesday we welcome all parents with students new to LS.
Auction
Thanks to all who volunteered, attended and got in the spirit with some fine 80’s fashion statements. We are fortunate to have a parent body that is so supportive of our school. Be sure to thank Hilary O’Hollaren and Diane Jones for making it all happen.

PE Family Fun - Thursday, March 16, 4:00 - 6:00 PM
The PE Team is hosting a family fun event on THursday. Come join in a game if you are looking for a little fun yourself.


New Employees
Long Term PE sub (Jessica) - Jake Evans, former OES student
Long Term 3rd Grade sub (Tonya) -  Jefna Cohen
Long Term 5th Grade sub (Alysa) -  Caley Peterson
3rd Grade Job Share Partner for 2016-17 - Kathie Kimmy
3rd Grade Job Share Partner for 2017-18+ - Suzanne Lee
Alysa Williams to 2nd Grade in 2017-18
Alysa, ready to take on a new challenge, will be moving to 2nd Grade next year. Janet and Jackie are thrilled. We have launched the search for a 5th Grade Teacher.
Teacher Searches
LS Chaplain - reviewing resumes
2nd Grade Long Term Substitute - reviewing resumes
PreK Teacher - reviewing resumes
5th Grade Teacher - posted
2nd Grade Long Term Substitute
The search has begun. Let me know if you have anyone to suggest who could teach Natalie’s class form April 24 - June 16 and then write EOY reports with support from Natalie.
Communications to Kiah and Kathie
Be sure to include both Kiah and Kathie in any school communications.
Student Support Team
Check the SST tab or schedule a a time to meet with the team.
Happy Birthday!
On Thursday, March 16th, we are celebrating our colleagues who were born in February and March with chocolate cake and ice cream!


FEBRUARY
McCrary, Kelola
2/6
Tharp, Colesie
2/20


MARCH
Akehurst, Tina
3/8
McClellan, Kate
3/8
Williams, Alysa
3/10
Bridgnell, Deborah
3/12
Komitor, Donna
3/13
Major Lower School Rules
The following infractions are considered serious and could result in a range of consequences including dismissal from the school. Unless otherwise stated, these rules apply to conduct at all school-related events both on and off campus.
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
Tech Reminders
Please take a minute to run through the Checklist for your Laptop for the week.
If you'd like another printed card like the one I passed out a while back, let me know and I can get you one.
Technology Update
Reminders to make sure your computer is fully updated over the weekend:
  1. Plug your laptop in in a safe place Friday or Saturday evening.
  2. Go to the Apple Menu>App Store
  3. Update All, Yes, Okay, Restart (read what it asks you)
  4. Let it restart and do it's thing (usually a black screen with white Apple logo and a progress bar) DO NOT LOOK AT THE PROGRESS BAR proven to be the biggest waste of time ever :-)
  5. Bake some ziti, have some tea, dessert, grab a book, drift off to sleep and wake up Saturday/Sunday morning knowing that your computer is getting itself together.
  6. If you have questions on how to do this, are nervous about it, or any weird results come see me Monday.
Yoga & Mindfulness offerings!
Kathleen Hicks is doing Yoga Calm classes to grades Pre-K to 1st. Please contact her to discuss possible yoga experiences for your class: kathleenjhicks@gmail.com, hickska@oes.edu (Note the ka. hicksk@oes.edu is Kathleen’s daughters email)    When a teacher requests a yoga class, request it through Kathleen’s google calendar and go into the Performance Commons calendar and reserve the room.
Conversations around Race, Bullying and Trauma
Harvard’s Usable Knowledge Project has created a resource called ‘One and All’ to help teachers navigate difficult conversations with their communities. Through this link you can find articles, videos and reflections around the question How can we welcome diverse perspectives and hard conversations?

 Assistant Teacher Meeting
Assistant Teachers meet this Wednesday, 12:30-1:15 pm. The venue may be updated, but for now plan on the LS Office Conference Room.




Gatherings: Affinity Gathering on Friday
Generative Listening
If you were intrigued by Dori’s introduction to Generative Listening at our staff meeting, The LS Critical Friends’ Group has played around with a related model by Otto Scharmer called Theory U.  Here’s a link to an 8 min. video of Otto explaining the four levels of listening (including generative listening) and how they can enhance our practice.


Harvard Project Zero Class
This week Colesie, Carole, Katherine, Deborah, Chris and Kirstin are planning to document moments in classrooms.  They’re watching this nine-minute video called City of Reggio Emilia: Boys’ City to discuss the kinds of insights that can be gleaned during a project, particularly through observation of the children at work. These are their discussion questions for the video clip:
What makes this not just group work, but also group learning?
 Who are the members of the learning group?
 What do they seem to be learning?
How are they learning with and from each other?
 What assumptions about teaching and learning are challenged by this example?
 What new thoughts, if any, does this example trigger about teaching and learning more
generally?
If you are also interested in an easy starting point for documentation to inform your teaching or to share back with learners,  you may want to save a copy of the Beginning to Document Planning Sheet into your Drive. This planning form may be helpful if members of your grade level team or FLG want to commit to observing learning moments and sharing them with one another.


SST meetings are available on Thursdays from 3:15-4:00 for anyone who would like a whole team approach to supporting a student or students. Please contact your Assistant Head to request a Thursday afternoon SST. Also let us know who you’d like to request to attend.


3 PGD Possibilities
Diversity and Representation in Global Children’s Literature
NCTA and Five Colleges Early Elementary Program: Doors to the World: East Asia Summer Institute. July 9-14, 2017. Priority application deadline: Monday, April 3, 2017. PreK-grade 3 teachers, librarians, and literacy coaches are invited to apply for this institute to be held at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. Participants in this 30-hour program will examine diversity and representation in global children’s literature about and/or from China, Japan, and Korea. Participants will consider the histories and cultures of these nations to contextualize selected children’s books. Sponsored by the Five College Center for East Asian Studies and the Five College Doors to the World Project. For more information, visit the FCCEAS website.
Children, Nature and School Symposium
The Intertwine is organizing a Children and Nature Symposium on March 13th at the Oregon Zoo. Please join us for a day of learning and strategic thinking around this effort. We also invite you to join us for a green schools tour the following day (includes lunch).  You can register for one or both events here.
Event details:
Where: Oregon Zoo // 4001 Southwest Canyon Road, Portland, OR 97221
Cascade Crest ballroom
When:Mon, Mar 13, 2017, 9:00 AM // Tue, Mar 14, 2017, 1:00 PM PDT
Project Based Learning
Ann Sulzer would like to invite you to join the Middle School as we take a deep dive into exploring how to teach through the lens of inquiry. Eighth grade teachers are preparing to launch the Eighth Grade Inquiry Project (more exciting title to come) next year, a year-long research exploration guided by student interest that is cross-curricular. To better acquaint teachers with the protocols and framing that are helpful for student driven work, the Middle School is hosting Steve Barrett, of the Wildwood School in Los Angeles, to host a day long workshop on Saturday, May 20th.

OPERATIONS
Evacuation Drill
At our last evacuation drill Rebecca noted that we did not clear the building within the 3 minutes required by the state. Rebecca is working on the volume of the announcement. If you know of other issues that slowed your class’ departure from the building think through what you can do differently, or ask for help problem solving.
Fariss Hall Construction
For the rest of the year the two parking lot side entrances to Fariss Hall will be used for construction access.  Soon, the only access for students will be the entrance facing the Chapel.

Old Storage Areas to be Cleared
  • Mechanical Room next to old LS Library
Part of the Fariss Hall remodel includes a complete clearing out of the mechanical room. Several classes have material stored in there.  Clear it out this week or the demolition crew will toss it next week.
  • Back Room of old Room 10
Same goes for the storage area in back of Room 10. Clear it out or will be tossed.
Attendance Procedures
1st Grade through 5th Grade
7:50 am – bell rings
8:00 am – start taking attendance and mark all students “Absent Unexcused” who are not physically in your class even if you know they are coming a little later.
Pre-K – Primary
7:50 – 8:10 – Gentle Start
8:10 – start taking attendance and mark all students “Absent Unexcused” who are not physically in your class even if you know they are coming a little later.
Building Care
Ben Starbuck and his team would appreciate your help with two items:


  • It appears that windows are being left open at the end of the day. Our custodial staff is usually fairly good at closing them, but often times they may be left open for longer than intended and throughout rainy weather. It would be quite helpful if teachers closed their own windows at the end of the day.
  • There appears to be some paint being used on the first floor that isn't water soluble. Unfortunately, it made its way onto some a couple of sinks and counters, and also onto the girls bathroom door in the form of hand prints. We'll keep working on getting the stains out, but it's proven to be quite the chore. It would be helpful if paint was either cleaned up before drying, or if water soluble paints were used.


Students are starting to get creative with the dress code. Perhaps a review of the Dress Code is in order for your class.
Duty Consistency
We need people to do their duties and do it on time. Too many teachers are left outside alone with large groups of students. If this happens to you, please send a text or student into Lyn and Kathy. They will send someone out and find the duty people who are needed. Please remember to list your duties (and arrival times!) in your sub plans if you are absent, or to arrange for coverage if you need to miss a duty and have no sub.

Performance Commons
If you are practicing for a performance in the Performance Commons that requires a large setup for an extended period, please do the following:
  • Add this information to the Faculty Calendar under ‘all day events.’ You can see an example on the calendar between now and spring break, where a stage set-up for 4th grade has been noted.
  • Let Chris, Kirstin or David know so they can add the information to the weekly memo.  This will help everyone be aware that Performance Commons usage may be limited by the setup even when the room is not reserved.
Please note that the current stage set-up in the Performance Commons will be in place until spring break.


Food Safety
Shirley has added some boxes of gloves to the grains cupboard on the first floor where snacks are kept.  Please pick up a box to use for snack preparation in the classrooms.
If you have not yet obtained a current food handler’s license, please do so before Tuesday and share a copy with Kirstin (either in print or electronically).  The Thursday 3/16 faculty meeting is set aside for your independent training.  You can take the training online and submit your receipts for reimbursement of the $10 fee. Trainings offered through any county in Oregon are accepted in the other Oregon counties.




Dismissal Duty on Loop Road
Do you know what would make the dismissal duty on the Loop Road work smoothly?
  • Classes would arrive BEFORE 2:55 (the first cars in the P-1 line tend to be Primary and Whitmore). Siblings would also arrive by this time.
  • Duty teachers would arrive AT 2:50
  • No one would send a class outside without a teacher (who could check to make sure duty teachers had arrived)
  • Teachers would stay with their class until at least 2 people were on duty for each gate
  • One teacher would stay with the kids by the windows while two help at the curb
We can do it! :)
Missing
On Friday two of the Walkie-Talkies we use for Loop Road pickup were not returned to their chargers in the Production Room.  If you accidentally put these in your classroom or elsewhere, please return them to the chargers so they’ll be ready for Mon. afternoon. Thank you!
Field Trips on or off Campus
Inform the LS Office when you take your class on a trip out of the building. We need to know where your class is at all times during the school day.  Take with you what you need; cellphone, 1st aid, emergency forms and more as needed.
Calendar Updates
Update grade level events on the faculty calendar and the Finalsite Calendar.  The spring is a very busy time. We want to be sure all know what is happening when with sufficient time to work through conflicts and plan on attending
OES LS Employee Attendance
For any unplanned absences or tardiness, such as illnesses or emergency situations, whether you need a substitute or not, you must notify lssub@oes.edu. We need to track of all Employees who are off campus on a given day. Lyn sends a monthly report to HR about our Division’s attendance.
Early Morning Supervision
Just a reminder to please wait until 7:30 am before allowing students into the building each morning.  Children arriving before 7:30 should wait outside the building with their caregivers until the building opens.


Schedule
Early Dismissal Plan/ Emergency Dismissal Plan
All LS employees are expected to remain for at least 30 minutes after the scheduled dismissal time to help with student management.  We will plan for the dismissal of faculty after assessing how many students we have remaining.
Employee Resources
A helpful tool is created in the OES website for employees to save time searching different sites when you need to access the basic forms like check request, catering, maintenance requests and other resources. Check out this link:
ADP Tutorial
For help on any ADP related matters: login or registration, password retrieval, or time card approval process, please view this beautiful presentation that Ed Cecere put together.  This is a helpful guide and should answer your ADP related questions.   If you still have problems after using Ed’s helpful guide, please let Veena: iyengarve@oes.edu know.  There is a plan to put the ADP resource link in the LS Employee Resource page for future reference. Stay tune.
Your Announcements
Send any announcements you have for faculty to Kirstin, Chris or David 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 maximize our time to collaborate during meetings.


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