Sunday, September 17, 2017

Weekly Memo
WM 6, September 18-22, 2017-18

Thanks for a great first full week. The students are settling in and sharing more of themselves in school. If you have questions about a student please contact an SST member. Also remember that we have files on each student in the office and access to the admissions files through David.

I heard nothing but positive comments from parents after BTSN. I know the number of parents dwindled as the night wore on, but I think they received the information they need. Thank you for taking BTSN on so early.

I am looking forward to Kathryn Otoshi’s visit on Tuesday and the creation of our own spirit bird. Remember we are switching Gathering to Tuesday and Chapel to Friday this week. Thursday we pick up the big rock work from the start of the school year. Saturday is the first ever Lower School Fall Festival, a family social to be held out on the field.

LS Faculty Norms
  • 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
Expectations for the WM
Some questions have arisen about the Weekly Memo.  
  • We will send it out by 2:00pm Sunday.
  • You are not expected to read it the moment it arrives in your inbox.
  • You are expected to have read it by noon on Monday.
We continue our new Weekly Memo format with repeat items in blue and new items in black.


COMMUNITY

Mindfulness
Claire is offering 20 minutes of mindfulness in her classroom each Wednesday morning, 7:30 - 7:50.

Gymnastics at Recess
A student fractured her wrist while doing gymnastics at recess.  Please follow these guidelines to help the children be safe.
  • Gymnastics on turf field or bark chips. Not on concrete.
  • No student spotters. They are not qualified to do this.
  • Encourage safe choices

Project Zero Course
Participants in the Project Zero course around Creating Cultures of Thinking should have received an initial email from Harvard, and you should expect another this weekend with directions for setting up your Canvas account for your coursework.  If you are participating in the course but are not receiving the PZ emails, please contact Kirstin.

LS CFG Meeting Monday
In Erika Christakis' book The Importance of Being Little she describes how she and her husband had a friend who was a sociologist come over to babysit their 4 month old, and how her skills as a sociologist helped them learn to observe and understand their child differently. She writes:

But it's not necessary to be a famous sociologist to cultivate good observational abilities. First, we need to develop a mental state that a British psychoanalyst once described as having 'no memory, no desire.' This is the art of suspending preconceived expectations and assumptions about a person in order to understand where he is coming from, what he is thinking, and what he is feeling...to see a child fully, we have to allocate the time and space to observe.

In the Lower School Critical Friends Group, we strive to find ways to allocate time for observation in our teaching lives, to practice suspension of judgment together as we learn to listen more deeply to our students and our colleagues, and to nurture habits of reflection with one another. It is ongoing and intentional work, and we hope you consider joining with us in this reflective community.
Each year we hold an introductory gathering where we invite interested faculty to ask questions and learn about the CFG, and to set our calendar for the coming school year.  Whether you are curious about our work or are already a CFG participant, we hope you can join us on Monday, Sept. 18th during the Professional Growth Block (3:15-4:15). Check the LS Faculty Calendar Monday for the location (in a LS Classroom).
If you are interested in the CFG but can't attend Monday’s meeting, please let Kirstin know so she can make sure we have your calendar feedback or know to keep you updated on future meetings.
Are you wondering what a Critical Friends Group is and what it does?  Please visit our FAQ page for more details:

First Assistant Teacher Meeting of the year
Assistant Teachers will gather in the Flex Classroom from 12:30-1:15 this Wednesday, Sept. 20th. Please note this date/time on your calendars--at this gathering we’ll schedule the rest of our meetings for the year so you have further advance notice.  Lunch will be provided in the Flex Classroom at this meeting to make for a smoother transition; Assistant Teachers, please bring your schedules/calendars.

Student Support Team
We meet every Monday morning to check in on students needing support. We will also offer Wednesday afternoon meetings for teachers Check in with an SST member if you have a student you wish to discuss.

Heidi Hackenjos, Farewell on Thursday, 9/21 @ 7:30
Heidi let me know on Friday that she has accepted a job as a Children’s Librarian at West Linn Public Library, her neighborhood library. Her last day at OES will be 9/22. Please join me in thanking Heidi for her years of service to our school and in congratulating her on her new position.

Marty Eastman-Brown Basket
We would like to deliver the basket to Marty next Friday. If interested please add your contribution.

Lower School Fall Festival, Saturday, September 23, 3:00-6:00pm
We are having the first ever PAL hosted LS Fall Festival. You heard from the girls during gathering about some of the offerings; music, games, pie contest. Of course, you are all invited and attendance is optional.

Gathering and Chapel
Chapel and Gathering are required for faculty who teach the grades present at Gathering and Chapel. I want us to set the example for our students about the importance of having a strong and supportive community.

Lower School Gathering: Friday 8:10 - 8:30 Our weekly goal will be to start at 8:10 am sharp.
Lower School Chapel: Tuesday, 8:10 - 8:40 Our weekly goal will be to start at 8:10 am sharp.
For those of you who like to plan ahead, here are links to LS Chapel Resources:
2.  Lower School Chapel Schedule for 2017-2018 (Always a draft / living document).

Phillip Update
After a full (and I mean FULL) week of Lower School, I find myself tremendously grateful to have landed here as LS Chaplain.  Thanks to all you for helping me along as I find my way.
LS Chapel:  
As a reminder, we are moving Chapel next week to Friday (September 22nd), to open space for our special guest author visit on Tuesday.  Our Tuesday schedule is in the capable hands of Lara, and I am very excited to meet and see Kathryn Otoshi.
For your planning purposes, here are two documents:
We plan to honor and celebrate Rosh Hashanah in LS Chapel on Tuesday, September 26th.
In addition, we plan to honor and celebrate Diwali in LS Chapel on Tuesday, October 24th.  More to follow on both of those important celebrations.
Ash Wednesday Chapel
Looking far ahead, please remember our special schedule on Wednesday, February 14th.  That is Ash Wednesday, and we will have Chapel that morning (no Chapel on Tuesday).  Tuesday (February 13th) follows our tradition of Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras with the much anticipated “Breakfast for Lunch” in the Dining Room.  We are also using Ash Wednesday for our second annual “Humble Lunch.”  Much more to follow, including thoughts and context around the unusual one-day blend of Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day.
LS Gathering:  
Lots of very positive feedback with moving LS Gathering down into the LS Dining Room.  It looks like that venue will give us more space, the chance for adults to sit (on benches), and more flexibility with Beginning Years attendance.  With that in mind, let’s go ahead and plan on Gathering in the Lower School Dining Room every Friday.
If you are interested, here is today’s Slide Show (including Olaf):
Please keep constantly on your mental “back burner” opportunities to celebrate what your students (and classes) are doing.  Student presentations are the best part of Gathering.
As always, I welcome your ideas, perspectives and even concerns about our community time of LS Chapel and LS Gathering.  

Upper School Helpers
The on-campus service activity will begin on Thursday, 9/21. Ashley Scates (US senior) will be directing this program with the help of faculty advisor, Sandi Lillevik. Upper school students will be available on Wednesday’s from 10:15 to 10:45 and Thursday’s from 10:50 to 11:45. Typical jobs in the past have included office help, lower school assignment grading, mentoring/tutoring students, copying. Your request should include the type of activity you need help with, the number of students needed, and the day(s) that you could use this help. Requests can range from one day to full-term assignments. We will fill as many requests as we can each week. Please send “help” requests to Sandi Lillevik’s email (lilleviks@oes.edu) and copy Ashley (scatesa@go.oes.edu).

Recess Procedures and Materials
Please assign one member of each recess duty team to make sure the equipment is put away at the end of each recess--it’s important to get the bins back into the shed.  Also review the document that Jessica sent out with ACP, LSP and field recess guidelines. For the South Playground you can access notes here.

Playground Update
Jon von Beheren is working with the contractor about start and finish dates. Start date is delayed. I will let you know once we know or we will all just be surprised.

Author Lunch
Please join us in the flex classroom for a catered lunch (salads, protein, bread) from 11:10-12:00 on Tuesday, September 19th with Kathryn Otoshi.  You are welcome to bring your own lunch from the cafeteria, but I do need to know the number of folks who will be getting their meal from the catered lunch! RSVP here.


Employee Giving to the OES Fund: A Community Endeavor
It is that time of year to consider making a gift to the OES fund. Please know that a gift of any amount is truly valuable as a statement of your support for this school, these students, and this community.  Strong participation in annual giving inspires others to join in, and together we can make a significant investment in the work of OES.
As a new feature this year, you can designate your gift to a specific area, including Financial Aid, Athletics, Arts and Literature, Science and Technology, or Service and Community. If there is a particular focus that is dear to your heart, consider donating a gift to that program area.


The form is entirely online this year. Follow the link below to access it:
Again, your gift of any amount is valued and valuable. Please consider joining in giving to the OES Fund: A Community Endeavor. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out. Thank you!
Kristen, your OES Fund LS representative this year
PROGRAM
Faculty Meetings
Monday, 9/18 - Professional Growth Block (PGB), see email from Peter Kraft for details
Thursday, 9/21 - Division Meeting - Return to Rocks
Monday, 9/25 - Department/ Team meeting
Thursday, 9/28 - Division Meeting
PGD Day, Friday, October 13
You have three choices on our PGD day (See email from Peter Kraft)
  • Equity Informed Dialogue and Team/ Department Work
  • NWAIS All School Conference
  • Discipline specific conference
We will discuss the Teamwork at the faculty meeting on 9/21.
Fountas and Pinnell Training on 9/25 and 9/26
Remember to request a sub for the day you are training. We are requesting all teachers involved in the training day to request a sub through SmartFinder by the end of day Monday. The admin team can review subs who are available, fill holes. Please know that the sub you get through SmartFinder might be moved.
BY Odds and Ends
Now that the dizzying amount of summer information is past, BY Teachers should return to using the BY Odds and Ends tab at the top of the Weekly Memo for BY-specific info. Old info. has been archived, so the tab will take you to 2017-18 information.


IY Odds and Ends
IY teachers should have received notification the document is up and running. IY Odds and Ends is linked at the top of the Weekly Memo, it contains IY specific info not listed in the Weekly Memo as well as a collection of resources shared by all members of the team.
Workshop Organization
As many of you solidify your routines for Readers’, Writers’, Math and Story Workshops, you might find this brief blog post by Nancie Atwell about workshop organization inspiring.


LS Faculty Calendar
  • Please make sure your grade level calendar rep has loaded your grade level events to the LS Faculty Calendar, as we’ll be completing a calendar overview soon.  
  • If you have an all day event, please list it under “all day events” instead of listing a start and end time.


Slight changes from last year, including the hour block for classroom teachers and the event happening a week earlier. Let us know your feedback.
September Author Visit
Author and Illustrator Kathryn Otoshi will visit us in the Lower School Library on Tuesday, September 19th. We will gather around her book "Beautiful Hands" during our Friday, September 15th gathering.  Here is a short article/interview about the book. Once you return to class please have each child trace their hands onto white construction paper (or watercolor paper-NO printer paper).  Each hand should be painted in your grade level color. (Fourth grade, check with Lara). Your parent volunteer should cut them out over the weekend and return them by Monday morning (9/18) to the Library mailbox in the office.
1) THICKNESS OF PAPER: the weight/thickness of white construction paper or watercolor paper or cardstock can work!
Just not thin ordinary printer paper, or it won’t hold the paint well
2) ONE HANDPRINT PER CHILD - yes!
And please cut out the hand print.
If you’d like, the kids can put their name on the front of the handprint. They will put their commitment to do something kind for someone every day on the back.
8-8:50 1st presentation to grades 3-5
9-9:50 2nd presentation to grades 1-2
10-10:30 PreK-Primary
10:30-11:10 Break and Book signing
11:10-12:00 Lunch with Faculty
12-3:30 Spirit Bird Work (with 2 or more volunteers)
A reminder that Library classes will be cancelled on September 19th due to  our author visit. Contact Lara to discuss open library times, if you need them on other days that week.
We will provide you with pre-order forms this week to send home with your students.  As always, this is optional.  They need to be returned to Heidi or Lara by September 11th. Questions, see Lara.
OPERATIONS

Let Office Know When You Go Off Campus
Remember to let the LS Office know if you are going off campus. For safety reasons we need to know who is here throughout the day.

Snacks and Food Handling
Please follow all guidelines from your Food Handling training for serving snacks and lunch.  This means washing your hands first and wearing gloves for all food service.  Shirley sets gloves out in the common areas or they can be found in the dry goods cupboard (you can take a box to your room). Any students serving food should also wash hands first and then wear gloves. Thanks for your help keeping everyone healthy!

Google Sites
If you use Google Sites as your classroom website, please note that Google has changed the sharing settings and Sites is no longer private enough for us to use for student photos and information.  Jeffrey is investigating solutions. If you have a Google Site, please change your settings to OES Only and know this will prevent parents from accessing your site. Google Communities, Blogger and Google Plus are all still okay for use.  Look for more updates soon!

SmartFind Express Guidelines
  • Use SmartFind Express to report all absences, whether a guest teacher is required or not.  This includes leaving for an appointment, arriving late from an appointment, etc. It’s very versatile!
  • If you forget your Access ID or PIN, please contact Lyn or Kathy.
  • Classroom teachers, please make sure you have arranged for a guest teacher for your Fountas and Pinnell training.  If your Assistant Teacher is taking over for you, check to make sure they have submitted their SmartFinder absence and indicated “subbing for lead teacher.”
  • Because we require so many guest teachers for in-house trainings, we may have to switch their assignments around on the Fountas and Pinnell days, so make your plans clear enough for anyone to follow.  Thank you!

Transitions and Timing
A reminder that all teachers are expected to help transitions students to their next class. All students should be walked to their next class so they are at the door of the next class at the start time, not leaving their classroom at that time. This means transitions are covered by specialists and homeroom teachers.
The one exception is when the teacher is needed to move the class and receive a class at the same time. An example of this is the Intensive rotating specialist’s 12:50 switch. Please talk with each other to help solve these bumps and let Chris or Kirstin know if additional support/guidance is needed.

Food From Home
Just a reminder that all food for students is provided by OES in order to support our efforts to be an allergy-aware campus.  Any families hoping to send food for snacks or lunches from home with their child must have approval from the nurse or your Assistant Head.  Please make sure you have obtained such approval before encouraging anyone to bring food from home.

TIME SHEET
  • Time sheet is required for nonexempt employee. Fill out your timesheet digitally in ADP and approve it twice a month: 15th and the 30th
  • Enter your absences in your digital time sheet – this also means these absences were reported in the Smartfinder.
  • If a teacher asks that you work beyond your approved work hours, you need to notify Kirstin (PK – 1 AT) or Chris (2nd – 5thAT) about the request. Kirstin or Chris will submit the Lead teacher request to David for approval. Your division Assistant Head will email you and copy me once the lead teacher request has been approved. The Assistant Heads’ email is my record on file as a proof for the overtime hours I am going to submit for payment to HR.
  • If you were a Lead Sub Teacher – you will need to check in and check out in the Sub time sheet binder in the office.
LUNCH and BREAKS:
  • All nonexempt employees working 6 continuous hours or more in a day are required to take a 30-minute unpaid meal, preferably in the middle of a shift – page 17 in the Employee Handbook
  • All nonexempt employees receive a 10-minute paid rest break for each 4 hours of work time… Break periods may not be used or skipped to extend a lunch period. Work overtime, arrive late
  • 1.0 FTE AT  – may take two 10-minute break: one in mid-morning and one in mid-afternoon
  • .75 FTE AT may take one 10-minute break either in the morning or afternoon.
LS Storage Room - Prevent Tragedy of the Commons
Please take sometime to straighten up you part of the LS Storage Area. It is beginning to suffer the tragedy of the commons.
Budget information
These are your options when you are ready to purchase your classroom supplies:
  • LS Visa – to be used in the LS Office only so bring your laptop and have your order ready. Always email me or print a copy of the confirmation receipts stating the purchase amount.  

Maintenance
As you go about rearranging furniture please keep the following in mind:
  • shelves and other free-standing vertical elements need to be less than 48” tall.  If an item is 48” or tall it needs to be secured to a wall to reduce earthquake hazard.
  • We need to maintain clear pathway(s) of 42” or more in the commons.  
  • Be aware of the carpet trip hazards, so any carpeting with curling potential needs to be clearly out of paths of travel.   
Your Announcements
Send any announcements you have for faculty to Kirstin, Chris or David by Thursday each week August-June 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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