Weekly Memo Week 34, April 17-21, 2017

I hope you got out and enjoyed some of the sun this weekend. Thanks to the Music Department for the Music Gathering on Friday. This week culminating project preparation continues in 2nd, 3rd and 5th. The week ends with Teacher Appreciation Day.

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

Phillip Craig, LS Chaplain Candidate, Visit 4/24

Phillip is visiting next Monday and will go through a similar process to the other two finalists. Look for an email from Lyn with visit schedule details.

Kimie Fukuda, PreK Candidate, visit 4/18

Kimie, PreK finalist, is visiting Tuesday. See email from Lyn with visit schedule details.

Chris, Kirstin, David - Off Campus on Thursday

We will be on a retreat starting after the BY Movement Program, available through Lyn if needed. Ari and Melanie will be in charge.

Teacher Appreciation Day, 4/21

Hot beverage in the morning

Massage mid morning

Feast with prizes midday

Not to be missed

DEAR, Friday, April 21

Looking forward to our second joint DEAR of the year with our Middle School on Friday, April 21st. This is a simple opportunity for us to come together and read quietly as a community.  There are a few logistics to know about for the morning.  

DEAR will begin at 8:10 and end at 8:40.  Middle Schoolers will join each classroom to read together with our students.  This means that each Lower Schooler will need a book to read. For independent readers,  this can be a chapter book they are currently reading and for our emergent readers, favorite picture books to share. Once our Middle and Lower Schoolers are partnered up, they can decide who will read to whom.

Lara will pull two carts of picture books.  One cart will be in the Affinity Commons on the ground floor and the other will be at the entrance on the main floor. Students are also welcome to borrow materials from our Library prior to DEAR.  As soon as everyone has their reading material (done quickly!) we will settle into (quiet) shared reading.

Mount Hood Climb Service Day coming up!

In the next several weeks there will be increased communication about Mount Hood Climb Service Day, which is coming up on Wednesday, May 10. Here is what to know now:

• As in the past few years, all students will have sack lunches. I will be going over some changes to the sack lunch procedure at our faculty meeting on Thursday.
• Specialists who are assigned to a classroom project should plan to stay with the class through lunch and lunch recess to serve alongside the classroom teacher through the entire morning.
• There will be no recess coverage on Mount Hood Climb Service Day. Rather, in the spirit of our day of service, specialist teachers will be offering afternoon community or reflection sessions. I will be going over these sessions at our faculty meeting on Thursday and the sign ups will be available after that meeting.

Thank you for your service!

Employee Awards - see email from Sage

• The OES Staff Excellence Award - The Staff Excellence Award is awarded annually to a non-faculty employee who has exemplified the highest standards of mission-minded performance in her/his position.  
• Grant for Graduate Studies for Faculty - A faculty member who wishes to pursue any graduate program leading to an advanced degree, may receive 50 percent of tuition costs, up to a program cap of $10,000 subject to the limitations
• The Mary Stephenson Award - Annual award to the OES faculty member or members who has or have excelled in challenging and inspiring students to question, to think, to speak out, and to care.

FOESL & GOBS UPDATE

GOBS is scheduled for the week of April 24th at the UPPER SCHOOL LIBRARY!

* * * please note new location * * *

Kids will visit GOBS during the school day on Wednesday, April 26th.  Families who have donated books are also invited to an early browsing session before school on Wednesday from 7:30 to 7:50 AM.

Book donation drop-off begins Monday 4/17.  Please bring books to the Upper School Library any time that week.  We'll also do curbside collection on Mon 4/24 (AM drop-off and PM pickup lines), and Tues 4/25 (AM drop-off line only).  Please separate into adults' and children's titles for ease of sorting.  

Email Rebecca Thompson at rebecca.n.thompson@gmail.com if you'd like some help to transport/unload your books the week of 4/17, or with questions.

Also please get in touch if you can spare a few minutes at dropoff/pickup times on Mon or Tues of the week of 4/24 to collect curbside donations and bring up to Upper School.  

Please sign-up for your class visit time as soon as you can.  If you are new and have any questions about GOBS please don't hesitate to check in with Lara.

Playground Update

We are working on the hiring of a contractor. Playground work may get pushed out to the fall. This week Chris, Kirstin and David review refined design drawings

Reserving Rooms - Performance Commons

Be sure to check that the Performance Commons is available before planning on using it. Yoga is regularly being taught in the space.

Teacher Searches

LS Chaplain - Finalist candidate visits 4/24

PreK Teacher - Finalist candidate visits 4/18

5th Grade Teacher - re-opening search

Candidate Feedback

Send your candidate feedback to David. PreK search team will be convening this week. Chaplain search committee will convene during week of 4/24. See Lyn’s email for form.

Student Support

• First Grade - We appreciate your help at First Grade recesses keeping an eye out for Andy B, Juliette B., Aaron S., Alex J. and friends. They may need support navigating social issues and particularly in using kind and inclusive language together.
• Neal Family - Alexa, 2nd, and Mark, PreK, family is going through a difficult transition. If either needs support, let Melanie know.

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

Faculty Meetings: Faculty Meeting Schedule, Faculty Meeting Agenda

• Monday, April 18 - FLG
• Thursday, April 20 - Fariss Hall, AS Honor Code, MHCSD

School Calendar Task Force

Representatives:

LS Budget - Thank you for your ideas.

LS Envisioning - Chris, Kirstin, David to use ideas at retreat on 4/20.

Lamb Endowment Applications due Monday, April 24th

The William G. Lamb Endowment Award celebrates inquiry-driven and research-related pursuits. This is a call for proposals for the second round of applications in the 2016-17 school year. Award recipients will get their award after the end of this fiscal year, on July 1.

If you have any questions, please contact any member of the Award committee: Brad Baugher, Erin Moulton, Ryan Holland, or Peter Langley.

Summer Stipends - launch on April 19

We will open requests for summer stipends on April 19. Starting talking with your teams about possibilities.

Mandatory emergency training meetings

April 24th and May 1st from 3:15 - 4:45pm

All employees will gather in the dining hall for mandatory emergency training meetings.  

The OES Emergency Operations Plan is now complete and will be rolled out to all employees

during these training meetings. Come ready to learn about the organization and jobs designed for you to keep employees and students as safe as possible during an emergency.

These meetings are required as every employee on campus will have a role.

Thank you, in advance, for your time and attention to these trainings.

Sub Requests

Whenever possible please call in the night. More notice increases your chances of having adequate staffing for your classroom. Thank you!

Harvard Project Zero Class

The Project Zero teachers receive feedback from their coach frequently and from one of the course designers biweekly.  In the last feedback summary there was a great list of filter questions to use when designing projects. Our coach, Jane Jessop, tells us:

“One of the ways we can ensure success of learning groups is to make sure what we ask them to do will be best served by learning in a collaborative way, not as an individual.” When designing a project, we might ask ourselves:

• Is the topic open-ended?

• Does the topic have multiple entry points?

• Does this topic benefit from different perspectives to reach solutions?

• Can exploring this topic foster a sense of purpose in the group?

• Does exploring this topic extend well beyond the individual mastery of skills to individuals becoming part of something bigger than themselves?

• Can this topic – and project - contribute to their communities?

• Is the topic meaningful for children and adults and have potential to engage many learners?

We continue to value these resources:

• If You Only Have Five Minutes...short documentation moves (most are self-explanatory but all the Project Zero participants have the book referred to if you want more details)
• Entry Points Chart for planning learning groups
• Ladder of Feedback for helping students give effective peer feedback and a brief video about how teachers use it with students
• Article on ‘Zooms,’ ways to engage in documentation about a shared inquiry idea

Yoga Offerings

Please contact Kathleen if you are interested; hickska@oes.edu

SST on Thursdays

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.

OPERATIONS

Recess Duty

A reminder that during recess duty, make sure you are spread around the playground watching kids, especially around the lincoln logs, 4 square game, and football. These areas have had a surge of rough play and disagreements.

Cell Phones and Toys

• Please avoid using you cell phones during duty, unless absolutely necessary
• Students should not be using cellphones while on campus
• Toys from home require special permission to come to school
• From the LS Handbook
• In general, toys from home are not allowed at school. If there is a toy which a student feels may be appropriate to bring to school, he or she should ask for permission from the Head of Lower School before bringing the toy to school.
• Children should not bring candy or money to school, except for special events when the classroom teacher has granted permission, e.g.: book fair, a party, or a field trip. Use of a cell phone is not permitted when at school or on a school function; in special situations, exceptions may be granted by the Head of Lower School.

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.

Dress Code

Students are starting to get creative with the dress code. Perhaps a review of the Dress Code is in order for your class. Uggs are not PE appropriate footwear.

Performance Commons - check to be sure it is available

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.

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

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 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

Schedule feedback - we’ve created this document for ongoing schedule feedback.

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.

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.