Welcome to Week 25! The first full week of March...March 5th through March 9th.  The weeks leading up to Spring break tend to ramp up, as students anticipate their upcoming vacation.  With any luck, the weather will begin to moderate and we will all be dealing with Spring Fever.  Please be vigilant out on the playground and in the lunchroom.

COMMUNITY

Trudy Ludwig’s Visit
We will discuss Trudy’s visit at Leadership Team on Thursday.  Communicate with your LSLT representative if you have feedback.

OES Auction on Saturday
A portion of auction proceeds goes to our professional development fund...we all benefit from this big fundraising event!
If you want to have a good time, volunteer for a good cause and hang out with colleagues and parents from all three divisions- log on to Volunteer Spot and sign up to help out at the auction. 

Hiring
David was up at NAIS interviewing Thursday and Friday and returned with 3 strong candidates to consider.  Hiring Committees are beginning phone interviews.

Math Specialist
We are very pleased to announce that Tracy Arensberg has accepted the Math Specialist position for next year.  Please join me in congratulating Tracy on his new position.  We have begun the search for a new 5th Grade Teacher.


PROGRAM

Fifth Grade Writing Assessment
Please be especially quiet in the Fourth and Fifth Grade wings on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Laura Benson Visit
We will be checking in with Laura on this week to finalize plans for her visit on April 2nd and 3rd.  Our original plan was to have Laura work with teams on use of the Reading Continuum on Monday and then to continue with reading coaching sessions on Tuesday.  LSCTF members please let us know your grade level plan and we will coordinate.

AS Faculty Meeting Monday
Meet in Dining Hall at 3:15.

Thursday Morning Meeting:  K-12 Departments & LS curriculum
The faculty meeting on Thursday is a K-12 Department and LS Curriculum meeting.  Specialists will be meeting with K-12 departments, but the LS meeting will be dedicated to the Self Study work.  We will not gather as a group, but have you meet in usual locations to continue the work.  Let Chris or David know if your group has particular quesitons.

TH, 3/8

LS Vertical Groups

Discuss questions, take notes, determine research. Revisit questions, refine response.

Cadwell Collaborative
Division Heads and Academic Dean will be meeting with Cadwell Collaborative on Thursday to discuss inquiry based project as PreK-12 focus for next year. Look for an update in next weeks Weekly Memo post.

OPERATIONS

Assistant Teachers Supervision and Evaluation
Assistant Teachers supervision and evaluations should be completed before spring break, early at the latest. Our aim is to have all evaluations completed and letters of employment issued in May.

Benefits Committee
The Benefits Committee will be meeting with 4 insurance providers on Tuesday to hear each provider’s new health care benefit proposal. David will be representing the Lower School.  Please contact him if you have questions you would liek him to pursue with the different providers.

Recess Equipment
We need to have a better recess equipment managmeent plan so we do not lose so many recess items.  If you have ideas let your LSLT representative know as we will be discuss ing this at Leadarship Team.

LSLT - 3:15 on 3-8 in Marty’s Room
We will be addressing the following topics:

Trudy Ludwig visit
Recess Equipment Management
Portfolios - what gets past up to the next grade

Stay healthy and well and have a great week! 

Welcome to Week 24, February 27th though March 2nd. Four more weeks to Spring Break. It promises to be a busy week, with a number of special events.  Be sure to check calendars for details.

COMMUNITY

Arts Week
Take time to explore the art displays around campus this week. It will be truly inspiring! Thanks Shelley and Margaret for highlighting our talented students’ work!

Hiring
With Admissions season almost behind us, Chris and David’s attention is shifting to hiring the four positions for next year; Math Specialist, Beginning School Atilierista, 1st and 3rd Grade Teachers. Thank you to the many internal candidates who have expressed interest and presented themselves so well.  Thank you in advance to the hiring committees as we begin scheduling interviews and eventually visits.

Recess Duty Asthma Attack
Last week a student had a significant accident induced asthma attack during recess.  At the time there was only a single person on duty.  The duty teacher did the right thing by sending students in to get help.  The event serves as reminder to all of us how important being on duty and on time can be. The student was fine after being calmed down and using an inhaler.  We will now have a school issued inhaler available in the Lower School Office.

Tonya and Claire
Claire and Tonya will continue to partner in class this week, with Tonya having her first full solo day on Friday.

Trudy Ludwig Visits Friday, March 2nd
Trudy will have a full day of presentations to parents and then students. Check the YAAG for presentation times. Trudy will meet with teachers over lunch in the library. We hope to discuss how we can implement strategies which will promote healthy social lives of our children.

PROGRAM

Work on the Reading and Writing Continuum
First and Second Grade teams met on Friday to delve into how to use the reading and writing continuum as a reporting tool.  They did exciting work connecting the reading continuum to CAFE strategies and the writing continuum to Lucy Caulkin’s Writers Workshop lessons.  
We are hoping that 3rd through 5th Grade teams will (not simultaneously please) take time to come to agreement on how to use the reading and writing continuum next year.

LS Faculty Meetings
The faculty meetings on both 2/27 and 3/1 will be dedicated to self-study work.  Plan on using both sessions to meet in your vertical groups; Beginning School, Math, English and Social Studies, to discuss the self-study questions. Record notes from your conversation in your Google doc.

Lower School Curriculum Task Force Meeting, Mar. 1st
First through Fifth Grade LSCTF members meet in Chris Thompson’s room to talk about recent Literacy work and plans for Laura Benson’s visit April 2nd and 3rd. BS teachers do not need to attend. BS teachers may use the time to work on Self Study documents or plans for our meeting with Judy on April 2nd.  Neither Chris nor David will be in attendance.
 
Professional Development
This May's Learning and the Brain Conference is focused on "Web-Connected Minds: How Technology Transforms Brains, Teaching and Attention."  This seems like an interesting opportunity as we explore more ways of integrating technology into the classroom. Please let me know if you're interested in attending.

A few of you have expressed interest in the Reading and Writing Workshop Institutes for this summer. You can download the brochure from the following webpage: http://readingandwritingproject.com/institutes/tc-summer-institutes


Fifth Grade Writing Assessment
On Thursday and Friday the Fifth Grade will assess student’s writing ability using an “in-house” five paragraph essay exercise.  Please be mindful of their need for quiet focused work during the early morning hours.

OPERATIONS

Admissions Decisions
This week we wrap up our admissions season.  Our thanks to all for your time and efforts, especially our Pre-K friends who gave up a Saturday in early February.  They even greeted a small group of candidates at the bewitching hour after school last Friday.  
Our thanks to Marty, Jackie, Kiah, Asha, Ari and Patti for taking time to read admissions files last week.  It was a really great exercise.  They came away with lots of suggestions on how we could improve the admissions process next year.  
We have a fine group of prospective candidates.  Sarah, Susie Gundle, David and Chris will review candidates Monday through Wednesday.  Letters will go out to new families early next week.

David and Chris Off Campus This Week
David will be in Seattle Thursday and Friday March 1st and 2nd  interviewing teaching candidates. On Thursday March 1st Chris will be off campus taking a personal day.  Jenny Cleveland and Ari Sternberg will serve as administrators on duty.  Seek them out if you need assistance.

Lunch
Be sure to notify the Kitchen at least 72 hours ahead of time if your class will not be eating in the dining hall. Bon Appetite will credit the Lower School for the lunch expense.

Google Docs
You should all have access to the shared collection of Self Study documents. For future reference, when a document or collection is shared with you, open the email notifying you about the documents and open the Google document.  Once you open the document it will appear in your Google Docs Titles list.

Enjoy one of the first full five-day week after a jumble of short weeks.  January through February are intensely packed with time-soaking demands. Relax and breathe.

February 21- 24
Welcome to Week 23.  Congratulations, you made it through the demanding weeks between assessments, report writing, admissions and conferences. We truly appreciate all of the hard work that went into this sprint of intense demands. Now on to Spring. Daffodils are beginning to bloom on campus!

Community

Hiring Season
We will begin interviewing semifinalists for the four Lower School positions.  Hiring committees, look for communications from Lyn concerning dates and times.

We know that scheduling interviews and observations are challenging, especially for Lyn.  Please be flexible, rearrange teaching schedules and get duties covered.

Contracts Due- Students not Returning?
Wondering, if in your conference discussions you learned about  students who are not returning next year. If so, please let David or Chris know.

Ash Wednesday,  February 22nd
See Jenny Cleveland’s article in the Wednesday Express for details.

Program

LS Faculty Meeting
We will carry on with Self Study work on Thursday morning. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.  

1st/ 2nd Grade Literacy Work
First and Second Grade teams will take time next week to review the  progress  made thus far and set new goals and objectives for the remainder of this year.

First through Fifth Grade Literacy Work with Laura Benson
David and I plan to chat with Laura Benson some time in the coming week to develop plans for her possible return on April 2nd and 3rd.  We can talk further about plans at next week’s Curriculum Task Force meeting.

Aardvark Science Fair
Great news!  For the very first time, Lower School students can visit the Aardvark Science Fair at SPARC.  The Science Fair is open to the public this week from 8am-5pm on Thursday the 23rd and 6:30-7:30pm on Friday the 24th. We hope you will consider taking your class or visiting the research of some of your former students.

Trudy Ludwig’s Visit on March 2nd
Here’s Trudy’s schedule:

PAL Meets with Trudy- 8-9:30 in the Common Hall
Kindergarten and First Grade Meet with Trudy 9:55-10:40 in the Library
Faculty who signed up for lunch with Trudy- 11-11:45 in the Library
Second and Third Grade Meet with Trudy- 12-12:45
Fourth and Fifth Grade  Meet with Trudy- 1:00-1:50

Another Chance to See the The Finland Phenomenon, Monday, March 5th 6:35-8:45
City Club of Portland is sponsoring a presentation of Finland Phenomenon at the Hollywood Theater.  If you are interested in reserving a seat, follow the link below.  There will be a panel discussion following the film.  
http://pdxcityclub.org/content/schools-making-difference-portraits-excellence-engagement-and-equity

Operations

Calendar Check for the Remainder of 2011-2012 School Year
On Friday Angela, Lyn and Chris reviewed three calendars: the LS Parent event calendar (the one seen on your web sites), the BS and LS Year at a Glance calendar and the AS calendar maintained by Anne Weston.  We got as far as the end of April, and will make time to review May and June some time in the coming week. They all should be in sync now. If you happen to come upon some type of glitch, please let us know so we can adjust.  

2012-13 Calendar Items
It is that time of year...time to think about the AS calendar.  If you can, please forecast when your big events like overnight field trips, plays and parent events, will take place.  

PCR Progress Report Survey
Please take time to complete Angela’s progress report survey. The information she yields will help us improve the reporting process in the future.

LS Leadership Team, 2/23, 3:15-4:15
2/23/2012
New snack options
Conference debrief
Calendar check - 2012-13

Admissions on 2/24
We will greet a small group of children at 3pm on Friday. Sarah will fill us in on the details early this week and be in contact with Pre-K and K teachers about the process.

NO ADMISSIONS Saturday, February 25th
Thanks, Sarah, for juggling schedules so that we do not have to come in on a Saturday.  
Creative thinking!

NAIS
David will be away at NAIS on 3/1 and 3/2 interviewing teaching candidates.

We hope you enjoyed this glorious long weekend with family and friends.

David and Chris

Welcome to Week 22,  February 13th - February 17th
Thanks to all for helping out with Friday’s Admission Day.  It seemed to go off without a hitch, thanks to Sarah’s meticulous planning and preparation.
Now on to a short week and winter conferences.


COMMUNITY

Pajama Day on Valentine’s Day
Per students’ request, David declared Tuesday, Feb. 14th, Valentine’s Day, a Beginning and Lower School Pajama Day. Students may wear pajamas, robes or sweats, and slippers, but must bring the appropriate footwear and jackets to wear outdoors and at PE. Teachers, have fun too... wear your best snuggly sleep wear.

Birthday Celebration Tuesday Morning
Lyn and Jenny, our Sunshine Committee, invite you all to the Faculty Lounge at 7:20 on Tuesday, to celebrate colleague’s December, January and February birthdays.  Come sing Happy Birthday and enjoy breakfast treats.

Tonya Griffin’s Return
Tonya Griffin will be easing back into work this week.  She will attend her students’ conferences with Claire Kucera on 2/16 and 2/17. Then she will work half days 2/22 to 3/1.  Her first solo day will be 3/2.  Welcome back Tonya and thank you Claire for your wonderful work during Tonya’s leave.


PROGRAM

Self Study
Thanks to all for getting a jump on our self study work.  If you have any questions see David or Chris.  Our next scheduled meeting is on Thursday, 2/23 at 7:30am where we will get oriented to the questions we need to answer and begin discussions and reflections. I have created a Google Doc containing the questions for each subject.  They can be found in the Self Study collection.  The questions fro each discipline are the same.

Hiring
Chris and David have begun the hiring process for four Lower School positions.  The faculty and staff listed below are being invited to serve on the search committee for each position.  Please let me know if you do not want to serve on the designated search committee.

Beginning School Atilierista (Integrated Arts Specialist)
Lauren Erickson, Deborah Bridgnell, Dori King, Art Department Chair, Margaret Synan-Russell
Math Specialist
Math Department Chair, Sandi Lillevik, Kirstin McAuley, Jackie Blake, Asha Sathyaraj, Ari Sternberg
1st Grade Teacher
Marty Eastman-Brown, Doug Whitmore, Ari Sternberg, Patti Beyer, Jenny Cleveland
3rd Grade Teacher
Paula Hunger, Kiah Mounsey, Ari Sternberg, Patti Beyer, Jenny Cleveland


OPERATIONS

No Faculty Meeting Monday
You can use the time to prep for conferences.

Conferences Thursday and Friday
If you would like either David or Chris to attend a conference, please let Lyn know.  If possible we will rearrange our schedules to accommodate your requests.  Be sure to communicate with parents that one of us will be attending.

Specialist Conferences
Specialists will be in the Lower School Library from 7:30 - 3:30 on both Thursday and Friday. Please remind parents.

Student Supervision
Assistant Teahers will supervise all students in the gym and Rainbow Room on Thursday from 7am-5pm and Friday, 7am-3pm. From 3pm-5pm, students will be in the Lower School library.

Conference Notes
As discussed, you will use the progress report for talking points at this conference.  If, however, a student is experiencing challenges and specific plans need to be addressed, please document this discussion. Take notes during the conference and send a follow up email summary to the parents.  Please cc Chris and David on the communication.

Auction Volunteers
The OES Auction is Saturday, March 10. They need volunteers.  Contact Jenny Shotts or Michele Ackerman.

Welcome to Week  21! 
Welcome to the LS Blog.  Just to keep you on your technological toes we are now going to be delivering the Weekly Memo to you via blog. We look forward to your feedback about the new format.  Thanks to Debra and Angela for another technological miracle. 

Hopefully you’ve all had a chance to get some rest and renewal over the weekend.  On into February we go.

Community

OBOB
Our thanks to Lara and Heidi for organizing this event and the Fourth and Fifth Grade  team’s support of students. I know that students were encouraged to read voraciously, take risks and work collaboratively on teams...what great life lessons!

Progress Report Thank You!
Our thanks to Angela and Debra for tirelessly working through progress report challenges.
Thank you, classroom teachers and specialists, for your countless hours of report and comment writing. Thanks to colleagues who took on the new challenge of reading team member’s reports.  We will have a chance to debrief on this process at an upcoming meeting.
In the meantime, we hope you had a chance to catch your breath this sunny weekend!

Complete Our Round of Winter Coffees This Week
Winter Coffees were well attended this year. Our thanks to faculty who participated, and to those who covered classrooms so faculty could attend. Parents appreciate this opportunity to hear about your good work and ask important questions.

PAL Meeting Thank You
Thanks to specialists Margaret, Kelola, Kristen, Scott and Jane who stepped up to speak to parents at Friday’s PAL meeting.  You all did a fabulous job.

Birthday Celebrations – 2/14 at 7:20
A week from Tuesday we will gather in the Lower School Faculty Room to celebrate faculty and staff’s December, January and February birthdays.  Thanks, Lyn and Jenny, for organizing this special celebration.

Program

All School Self Study 2/6
Specialist teachers will meet in PreK-12 groups.  Classroom teachers will meet in LS Art Room for orientation to Self Study and then split off groups.

Reports Posted to Parent Portal
The Tech Team will be working on posting report cards to the Parent Portal Monday afternoon.  If anyone has remaining issues with their reports please see me ASAP.


Operations

PreK Admissions Day- 2/4 A Huge Success
On Saturday, Colesie,  Lauren, Patti, Kristen and Chris O’T met with 3 groups of darling Pre-K candidates. Thank you Sarah, Colesie and Lauren for putting together seamless visits for these little ones.   While they met with the students, three Lower School parents, Jenny Cleveland, Mo Copeland, Tom Wheelock and David met with the prospective parents. We have a great crop of candidates.  Thanks to all who gave up your precious Saturday.

Lower School Admissions Day- 2/10
The big day approaches. We need everyone's help. Sarah will get us all up to speed on the roles we will play at Thursday morning’s faculty meeting.

LS Leadership Team Agenda
2/9/2012
Report Card Debrief
Conferences Check in
Calendar Review
Self Study Check in
Open Items

Conferences February 16th and 17th
Be sure to keep Jenny Strode  informed of any changes to your conference schedule so we have an accurate record in the office and adequate coverage in the gym.
Full time specialists should plan on being in the LS Library 7:30 – 3:30 on both days.  Part time specialist will need to inform Jenny Strode of your schedule  Shelley and Margaret will be in the Art Room so they can share art work.
To enable Teaching Assistants to be available for more conferences we are going to offer supervision of students in the Gym and Rainbow Room on Thursday from 7am - 5pm and on Friday from 7am to 3pm.

Library and Recess
Lara and Heidi are going to offer consistent Lunch Recess access to the library every Monday and Friday from 10:50 - 11:50. Students in the library will need to engage in quiet library related activities.  A maximum of 20 students will be allowed into library recess at a time.  The Library will continue to be open during Lunch Recess during inclement weather.

Opening of the Gym
On cold wet mornings before school and during inclement weather duing lunch recess I encourage duty teachers to open the gym for student use.  

Competitive Fourth and Fifth Grade Boys
If you have lunch recess duty or afternoon recess duty, please be especially vigilant. We’ve had a number of conflicts arise lately that required problem solving with students and their parents. Provide close supervision of football or soccer on the field and of basketball under the covered area

Fifth Grade Boys
We’re keeping a close eye on a number of boys. If you are on lunch duty, please be up and circulating about the dining hall so you can be proactive if issues arise. See Natasha, Tracy or Alysa for details.