Weekly Memo
WM 22, January 22-26, 2018
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We begin disruptions to the regular school calendar next week, starting with the PreK Visit Day on Saturday, 2/3. The following week includes K, P and 1st Visit Day on Thursday, 2/8 and report writing day on 2/9.
Monday afternoon Mo kicks off the State of the School season with the Admin Team present the annual State of the School address Monday afternoon. Attendance is required.
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
COMMUNITY
Gathering and Chapel - Please be seated and ready at 8:10.
Lower School Chapel Schedule for 2017-2018
Chapel: 1/23
Gathering: 1/26
Winter Coffees - Last one! - 4th/5th - Jan 22
Safety: AEDs on Campus
See Rebecca's email with a map showing the location of each AED on campus
Safety: Emergency Procedures Meeting: Notes from Tuesday, January, 16 at 3:15, LS Library
- Have your phone, keycard and keys at all times.
- See Rebecca if you don’t have the keys you need.
- Honeywell Alert will go into effect for emergency situations.
- Check your shades and locks, know how to operate them well, and submit a maintenance request if they need fixing.
- Use your new orange Emergency guide (multiple pages for this section) to learn the difference between Lockout and Lockdown.
- If you don’t know which/what to do, go for the safest position and precautions.
- Use the communications from the school to guide conversations--do not share information from the outside.
- Always assume it’s a real situation, not a drill.
- Let the office know where you are, if you’re safe, who is with you. Email or text works.
- Schedules will be adjusted after emergencies. Student care comes first, schedule comes second.
- We will plan follow-up after events (communication from Jon, may gather together afterward, student conversations, etc.)
Familiarize yourself with it so you know basic first steps
Re-enrollment Contracts
They go out on Tuesday and are due back 2/6. Have families contact Jen Bash with Financial Aid questions.
Stephanie Rankin on leave
She is planning to return next week
Midwinter Madness
The Midwinter Madness committee in the Upper School is hosting Lower School Parent’s Night Out again this year! This year, we are taking the kids to Pump It Up. On Friday, January 2nd, parents will drop their children off after school and a bus will take them to Pump it Up (with adult supervision). We would like 3-4 faculty members to help us supervise the kids. They will get to jump around and have fun for 80 minutes, and then come back to OES to debrief and play some games before parents pick them up. The whole experience will be from 4-8. Please let me know if you are interested!
Patricia Polacco Cards
Chris mentioned the opportunity at Gathering. Cards will be collected in the Library and at Extension.
Jeffrey will be working reduced hours for the month of January, leaving between 1:30 and 2:30 each day, with a late start on Mondays at 8:30. As always oeshelp@oes.edu is the best way to get urgent Technology help.
Admissions
Next events are:
Saturday, 2/03 - PreK Visit Day
Thursday, 2/08 - K/P/1 visit day
Admissions visits dates 2nd - 4th grades, are set for January and February. Please be sure they work for your class.
Your observations are critical for candidate rating and decisions:
Classroom Teacher Observation Guidelines for Student Visit
Specialist Observation Form
Playground Update
Getting closer
Occupational Therapist
We have a new Lower School collaboration with independent Occupational Therapist Sally Stauffer. Please see these detailed notes from Ari about Sally’s experience as well as how you might access her services in the future for children who need support, including on-campus screenings and evaluations. All referrals are made through Ari.
Student Updates
The SST Agenda, includes the names of students that we have discussed. Please review each week.
The SST Site holds lots of valuable information which is helpful as we learn student’s history and as a way of communicating student action plans as we move forward. The SST Site is linked in the Weekly Memo and can only be accessed on campus.
PROGRAM
Faculty Meetings
Monday, 01/22 - State of the School (Required for All)
Thursday, 01/25 - ICC Un-conference (See email from Dori fro details)
Report Timeline
The revised calendar is intended to give you more consistent time in class in January and more time for your students to settle into the new year before you need to complete assessments. The reporting timeline looks like this:
2/9 – Report Writing Day
2/12 - Reports Due. Proofing begins.
2/14 - End of day all posted in PCR
2/16 – All Reports posted to Parent Portal/ ERB’s mailed
2/19 - Holiday
3/1 & 3/2 - Conferences
Report Card Reading Continuum Reminders
These two documents might be helpful as we work on report cards. The Fountas and Pinnell Instructional Reading level expectations is a document which highlights the instructional reading level expectations for every grade level. This is helpful just as you are tracking your students and making sure they are meeting expectations.
The Correlation of Continuum Stages and Text Levels document highlights reading levels and matches them with the continuum stages. This can help you start in one stage and review the skills to see which stage the student fits into as well as skills and strategies for the narrative comments.
3 PGD Opportunities
To-Do At Your Next Team Meeting...
Brain-based Strategies for Children and Adolescents
Grade level teams, we are pleased to offer participation to one teacher per grade level to attend a full-day webinar by the author of The Yes Brain Tina Payne Bryson on Wednesday, March 7th. The workshop is titled Brain-based Strategies for Children and Adolescents: Anxiety, ADHD, Emotional Regulation, Executive Function and other Challenging Behaviors. Workshop details are available here. Please RSVP no more than one person per grade level to Kirstin: Lauren will attend for Kindergarten. Any specialists who feel strongly about attending should also contact Kirstin.
Library of Congress Teacher Institute
Applications for the 2018 Library of Congress Teacher Institutes have just opened-if you have any interest in primary sources and having the chance to explore the LOC holdings while learning new ways to integrate primary documents into your teaching, this is might be a great PGD opportunity for you. If you have any questions about the experience, I am happy to talk with you.
gcLi Leadership Lab
Week long conference in Colorado focused on teaching teachers about teaching leadership. Let David know if you re interested.
Midyear Check-ins
David has scheduled meetings with any LS employee who expressed interest in new possibilities fro 2018-19. Let him know if you would like a mid year check-in even if you did not enter comments about 2018-19.
Lamb Endowment to support science research and program development
See Erin’s email about it. Deadline for applications is January 22.
Mindfulness Resources
Claire has compiled a collection of mindfulness resources she’d like to share with you: you can access them here, including the video Why Mindfulness is a Superpower and other wry animated animal wisdom.
Yes Brain
Dates: Tuesday evenings January 30, February 20 and March 6, 2018
Time: 7:30-9pm
Location: Lower School Library
First Session: Chapters 1 and 2: Introduction and Balance
We hope you can join us!
Videos
Jeffrey has prepared a folder for us for LS Professional Development videos. Currently you can access videos of the Purpose to Practice Fishbowl from our Faculty meeting as well as Patricia Polacco’s BY Library visit from last year.
Lesson Plan Reminder
When you leave lesson plans for Guest Teachers, please note that their day ends at 3:15. Your plans should indicate this--Guest Teachers are expected to work on brief notes to you about your class during non-student contact time in the day or in the moments after dismissal, but they should check out from the office at 3:15 pm. Thank you for your help with this detail!
OES Google 2 Factor Authentication requirement
Deadline, Thursday, January 24
OES Requires the use of 2-factor authentication for all of our Google accounts.
The Link to get you started
The Link to show the different ways of getting your personal codes.
After your initial authorization all users will be required to re-verify every 30 days through:
OPERATIONS
ALL LS Employees: Time Cards need to be approved twice a month.
Yearbook Pictures
Austin is looking for photos for the yearbook. You can either share them (or where you post them) with him, or add them to the appropriate Google Drive folders. I already have a plethora to dive through, and he is excited to see what you all add.
School Closure Procedure
We generally make a decision—school as usual, two hour delay, or no school—shortly after 5:00 AM.
Decisions are announced to employees and families using the Honeywell Instant Alert system. If you have not signed up for this service, or if you want to change the details of your subscription, here is the link to the instructions : https://www.oes.edu/uploaded/contacts/enrollment-instructions.pdf. If you need help troubleshooting your account, please contact Rebecca Williams
Most of us have some work responsibilities on days when school is cancelled. If you are unsure what these are, please check with your supervisor and consult the Employee Handbook (Section 3.7, School Closure Due to Inclement Weather).
Accident/Incident Form
We have a NEW Incident/Accident Report Form created by Brad K. It is posted on the employees’ website. The responses/data will go automatically to Rebecca and Elaine. No more handwriting and scanning, etc…We will pull the hard copies out in the office. Please begin filling the I/A form online starting next week. The link is also included under “Lower School Common Forms and Relevant Information” (in the right sidebar of the WM).
Three SubFinder Reminders
Be sure your regular sub hours are set for 7:30 - 3:15
Specialists, be sure your regular hours match your schedule with 20 minutes of prep time before the day begins and 20 minutes after the day is done for clean-up and communication
Request planned sick days at least 3 days in advance.
Bus Cost: $50/hr or $2.75/mi
Information Organization
LS Common Forms & other Relevant Information in LS Important Documents
Calendar Manager - LS Calendar information.
Lice Policy - There have been some changes
Field Trips- use the Field Trip Checklist and forms
Ordering materials and supplies - use this Order Form and Order Tracking List
Amazon orders - OES Amazon Business Account
Curriculum, Furniture and Students Services Supplies - Contact your divison Assistant Head Trips around and off campus - be sure Ls Office knows where you areDisease Prevention - health department predicting an early and heavy influenza outbreak
SmartFind Express Reminders - Use SmartFind Express to report all absences
Field Trip Budgets - approximately $1500 per grade.
Food From Home - must have approval from the nurse
TIME SHEET -Fill out your timesheet digitally in ADP and approve it twice a month
We hope you can join us!
Videos
Jeffrey has prepared a folder for us for LS Professional Development videos. Currently you can access videos of the Purpose to Practice Fishbowl from our Faculty meeting as well as Patricia Polacco’s BY Library visit from last year.
Lesson Plan Reminder
When you leave lesson plans for Guest Teachers, please note that their day ends at 3:15. Your plans should indicate this--Guest Teachers are expected to work on brief notes to you about your class during non-student contact time in the day or in the moments after dismissal, but they should check out from the office at 3:15 pm. Thank you for your help with this detail!
OES Google 2 Factor Authentication requirement
Deadline, Thursday, January 24
OES Requires the use of 2-factor authentication for all of our Google accounts.
The Link to get you started
The Link to show the different ways of getting your personal codes.
After your initial authorization all users will be required to re-verify every 30 days through:
- a smartphone with an app
- a phone that can receive a text or
- one-time login codes for your account
OPERATIONS
ALL LS Employees: Time Cards need to be approved twice a month.
Yearbook Pictures
Austin is looking for photos for the yearbook. You can either share them (or where you post them) with him, or add them to the appropriate Google Drive folders. I already have a plethora to dive through, and he is excited to see what you all add.
School Closure Procedure
We generally make a decision—school as usual, two hour delay, or no school—shortly after 5:00 AM.
Decisions are announced to employees and families using the Honeywell Instant Alert system. If you have not signed up for this service, or if you want to change the details of your subscription, here is the link to the instructions : https://www.oes.edu/uploaded/contacts/enrollment-instructions.pdf. If you need help troubleshooting your account, please contact Rebecca Williams
Most of us have some work responsibilities on days when school is cancelled. If you are unsure what these are, please check with your supervisor and consult the Employee Handbook (Section 3.7, School Closure Due to Inclement Weather).
Accident/Incident Form
We have a NEW Incident/Accident Report Form created by Brad K. It is posted on the employees’ website. The responses/data will go automatically to Rebecca and Elaine. No more handwriting and scanning, etc…We will pull the hard copies out in the office. Please begin filling the I/A form online starting next week. The link is also included under “Lower School Common Forms and Relevant Information” (in the right sidebar of the WM).
Three SubFinder Reminders
Be sure your regular sub hours are set for 7:30 - 3:15
Specialists, be sure your regular hours match your schedule with 20 minutes of prep time before the day begins and 20 minutes after the day is done for clean-up and communication
Request planned sick days at least 3 days in advance.
Bus Cost: $50/hr or $2.75/mi
Information Organization
LS Common Forms & other Relevant Information in LS Important Documents
Calendar Manager - LS Calendar information.
Lice Policy - There have been some changes
Field Trips- use the Field Trip Checklist and forms
Ordering materials and supplies - use this Order Form and Order Tracking List
Amazon orders - OES Amazon Business Account
Curriculum, Furniture and Students Services Supplies - Contact your divison Assistant Head Trips around and off campus - be sure Ls Office knows where you areDisease Prevention - health department predicting an early and heavy influenza outbreak
SmartFind Express Reminders - Use SmartFind Express to report all absences
Field Trip Budgets - approximately $1500 per grade.
Food From Home - must have approval from the nurse
TIME SHEET -Fill out your timesheet digitally in ADP and approve it twice a month
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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