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LS Weekly Memo Dec. 3rd- Dec. 7th

Welcome to Week 15. Best wishes for a relaxing and restoring weekend. We have three busy weeks ahead of us as we head into our much deserved winter break.

COMMUNITY

Giving Chapel
Read communications from Jenny Cleveland. Please be on time.  

Advent Service, Wed., Dec. 12th 6:30-7:30
A lovely service to get us all in the holiday spirit!

No SST Meeting on Monday, Dec. 3rd
Jenny and Chris will be busy sorting bags until 10 or 10:30.  David is away too, see below.

David at Budget Meetings, Monday, Dec. 3rd
David is busy all day on Monday with Department Chair’s budgeting meeting.  If you need immediate assistance, ask Lyn. She will find Chris, Patti, Ari or Jenny.

Board Holiday Party, Saturday, December 15 - RSVP
This year, as the school prepares to ask the board and community members to support our dream of a new LS Building, I would greatly appreciate your attendance at the Holiday Party.  Please be sure to RSVP.  It promises to be lots of fun- and door prizes too.

Secret Holiday Happening (S.H.H., formerly “Secret Santa”), 12/10 - 12/14
If you wish to participate, sign up on the SHH Google doc by Wednesday. Jenny will send out the SHH Google doc on Monday, 12/3.  
Monday through Friday, 12/10 - 12/14, participants will have the opportunity to share three small gifts.  Your call on when you deliver.  We’ll exchange gifts at Monday, 12/17, SHH gathering.

Secret Holiday Happening Party, Monday, Dec. 17th
Lyn will send out a potluck list next week. Be on the lookout!

Shotts Update
Andy Shotts has been cleared to return to campus for special school events and to pick up and drop off the boys on alternate Fridays and Mondays.  See David if you have any questions.

Chris’ Classroom Visits
I visit specialist classes on Monday morning (10-10:50) and BS and LS classrooms on Tuesday morning (8:15-9:25).  Don’t be surprised if I pop in!  I hope to visit 5th and possibly 4th next Tuesday.  Amy and Kirstin, I’ll try to stop by Monday morning.  Know that if an urgent matter arises, I will need to postpone my visits for another time.  

David’s Classroom Visits
I am scheduled to visit classes from 9:45 - 10:45 on Tuesdays and 8:45 - 9:45 on Fridays. Let me know if you have something you would like me to see, and I will get it on my calendar.  Otherwise, I will simply drop in and pay your class a visit.

New Adventures in 2013-2014?
I am anticipating the busy pace of school life after Winter Break, a period of time that includes the hiring season. If you are contemplating professional changes for next year, please schedule a time to meet with me to discuss your plans.

PROGRAM

LSCTF - Monday, December 3 @ 3:15; Tonya’s Room
1. Debrief Reading Continuum use from conferences and determine next steps
2. Discuss DRA data and questions
Are students making the progress we want?
Are we supporting them at the right level?

Thursday Morning’s Faculty Meeting

Team Meeting @ Team Leader’s discretion

LS Building Design Meetings
12/5 @ 3:15 Team Leaders, Jenny Cleveland, Kirstin McAuley, MHCR
12/6 @ 3:15 All LS Faculty and  Specialists, US Room 60
12/11 and 12/12 See Schedule- Teams Meet with Ashley Cadwell, MHCR
12/12 Meet with Building Committee, All LS Faculty and  Specialists @ 3:45-5 in Platt Global Classroom.
See David’s email for additional details.


OPERATIONS

Mark Tardy Students at 8:00 am, not earlier
I know we’ve written about this before, but please try to send your attendance at 8 or shortly after. Jenny has to go through and double check to find students who are marginally late.

Recess Equipment- Slipping a Bit?
We were doing really well, but it appears that the collection of all equipment at the end of recess is getting a bit sloppy, especially for the older students. If you are duty, please remind students to be responsible citizens and collect equipment

Snack -
In an effort to manage our snack costs, plan on providing cheese to your students 3 times a week rather than every day.

Uniform Reminder - The OES Uniform Policy
It is time for the post holiday uniform reminder and a little Grinchiness.
1. Only OES uniform wear is to be worn in the classroom. Other fashionware may be worn outside only.
2. Footwear and socks are meant to be discrete and PE functional.  If they catch your attention they belong at home.
3. Hats are not part of the OES uniform.  Warm hats may be worn outside on cold days and should be taken off upon entering the building.
4.  Santa Hats may be worn on December 20th the last day before Winter Break, but not until then.

LS Weekly Memo Nov. 19th- Nov. 30th

Welcome to Week 13 and looking ahead to Week 14. Thanksgiving Break is almost here.

COMMUNITY

Assembly
Thank you Kristen Haferbecker for the inspiration, organization and execution of a fabulous new assembly format.  Kudos to Margaret and Laura for creating such interest in art for all our students.  As always, our thanks to Dave Hall for sharing his musical talents at our assemblies. We will work on the timing and are looking forward to the next assembly.

Grandparents and Special Friends Day - 11/20
We are anticipating a significant gathering of grandparents and special friends as you may have seen in the latest email from Development.  Take a look at the number of grandparents planning on visiting your class so you can plan accordingly.

Note that :
Guest will start arriving in classrooms at 8:45
1st and 2nd recess is from 9:45 - 10:05
9:45 - All guest are invited to have a break, enjoy coffee in the LS Library or OES Chapel
Chapel is from 10:15 - 10:45
Look for a note from Jenny Cleveland about a seating plan.

Thank You to Parents Who Purchased Wish Lists
A number of  parents generously donated books to Beginning and Lower School classrooms. Travis and Donna Knight were especially generous donating books to multiple classrooms.  
It would be nice to take a minute in the next week or so to send a thank you note to the families that donated book(s) to your classroom.

Secret Santa
Jenny and Lyn, our party mavens, are putting together plans for our holiday party, Monday, December 17th.  Save the date! Dream about the special treats you wish your secret Santa will bring. Make a list. Check it twice. Watch for more details from Jenny about Secret Santa and Lyn regarding the holiday party pot luck in an upcoming WM.

PROGRAM

On-line Reading Subscriptions- Gentle Reminder
Thanks to those of you who responded to Chris’ query about RAZ.  We really need to know about ALL of the online subscriptions you plan to use this year and next (David is drawing up next year’s budget in the next two weeks). I sent out a link in an email today Please fill in your portion by next Tuesday.

Open Block- Tech Team Kudos
Our kudos to the Tech Team for putting together these informative cross-divisional tech workshops.  What a great way to move us along in the ever-changing world of technology.  They even provide snacks to keep brains functioning at the end of a long day.

January Report Writing
Our winter report writing season will approach quickly after winter break. We return to school on January 7 and our report writing day is January 18th, the Friday before MLK Day.

Of course this means that you will have one week less to assess your students.  You may want to think about doing a few assessments before going on break to get a jump on this all-important assessment work.

Budget for 2013-14
David is inthe midst of budget planning for next year.  Let him know if you or a teaching team have ideas that might impact the budget for next year.

LS Building
We have finalized plans for our first foray into the LS Building planning process.

12/5/12, 3:15 - 4:45; Team Leaders will meet with Suzy Cessor to prep for design planning 12/6, 3:15 - 4:45; All LS Faculty will meet to begin design process
12/11, 7:30 - 3:30; Teams will meet with Ashley Cadwell for 1.5 hour sessions to advance design thinking
12/12, 7:30 - 3:30; Teams will meet with Ashley Cadwell for 1.5 hour sessions to advance design thinking
12/12, 3:45 - 5:00; Teams will present design ideas to members of Building Committee

We will start off with a focus on program on 12/6 and then consider how it drives spatial needs.

Questions to consider for discussion on 12/6:
What aspects of the current LS program work really well?
What do you wish to be true of the Lower School program in 3-5 years?
What can you image could be true of the LS program in 20 years?

Faculty Meeting 11/29
Agenda
Self Study Summary -  read and discuss
Financial Aid
Google Drive


OPERATIONS

Special BS Team Meeting, Monday 11/26, 3:15-4:30 to Discuss Assistant’s Schedule
We will gather to discuss possible changes that will meet the needs of our programs and be more assistant teacher-friendly. Assistants, you will be paid for your time. Would someone be willing to host this meeting?

Final Site Calendar- All School Calendar Cancellations
If you remove a date from the Faculty Events Google Calendar, please alert Lyn or Chris.  We want to be sure to get the date removed from Final Site, the All School Calendar Anne Weston maintains.
Every week Lyn and Chris review the calendar. It gets confusing if a date is removed from the Faculty Events Google Calendar, but is left on the Final Site.  Let us know so we can get the calendars in sync.

School Start and Attendance
Just in case there is a lack of clarity:

Bell rings @ 7:50
School Starts @ 7:55
Attendance completed @ 8:00

Buzzers
You may have noticed that our buzzers have not been working this week. Jon von Behren tried to fix the problem but ran into trouble. He hopes to get the buzzers back on schedule next week.

Snack
Shirley is concerned that some people are not picking up their snack, and food is being wasted.  Please be sure to serve students snack in the morning and afternoon. If for some reason you can’t eat your regular snack, be sure to refrigerate it and serve as an extra special snack the following day.  

Snack Reduction
We are currently on track to spend $33,000 on snacks this year, with a budget of only $21,000.  We will be looking at ways to reduce the cost and amount of snack.

Giving Tree is Coming
Jenny Strode is coordinating Giving  Tree with Myra Clark. Giving Tree benefits AASK students and their families.  Look for tags in the faculty room some time in the next few weeks.  

LS Weekly Memo Nov. 12th- Nov. 16th

Welcome to Week 12!  Thanks for all of the time, energy and effort that went into gettig ready for and attending Open House.  Many prosective parents got this look of bliss on their faces as they toured your classrooms.  You could just tell that they were imagining the possibilities, envisioning their child in our thriving learning community.  We had a great turn out.  More reflections to come. We’d love to hear your feedback on what went well and what we could do next year to improve on this year’s Open House.  

COMMUNITY

Grandparents Day - 11/20
Plan on having your students in your class from 8:45 - 10:00 am so grandparents can find their grandchildren.  Extra chairs will be available in the BS Hallway, 1st/ 2nd Grade and 4th/ 5th Grade common areas.

AS FOESL Fall Book Fair, Tuesday, 11/13 - Thursday, 11/15
Have fun selecting books for family, friends and you and support the great work of FOESL.

AS Faculty Meeting, Thursday 11/15 7:45 - 8:40am
We will be updating the faculty on strategic initiatives - Intercultural Competence, Professional Growth Plan and Inquiry.

LS Assembly, Friday, 11/16,  8:10 - 8:40
Following the Essential Competencies themes, the assembly will be about I Create. Kristen and her collaborative crew have another new interactive all community event planned for us. Look for details soon.

PROGRAM

LS Curriculum Task Force Meeting, 11/5, Reading Continuum Appreciative Inquiry
We had a great turn out. In addition to our usual CTF crew, a number of interested faculty joined us to share their thoughts on the use of the continuum at our latest round of parent conferences. Chris will send out the notes she took at the meeting.  

Revised Building Design sessions
Due to a scheduling conflict with Suzy Cessor, we are rescheduling our initial design session to Thursday, December 6 from 3:15 - 4:45, location TBD.  Sessions with the Ashley Cadwell will occur on 12/11 and 12/12. Plan on attending an afternoon faculty meeting on 12/12 to review initial ideas.

How Children Succeed, Ch. 2, 3 Discussion
We will meet in the LS Art Room form 11:00 - 11:50 on 11/15 to reflect on the reading.  All are welcome.

OPERATIONS

Special BS Team Meeting, Monday 11/26, 3:15-4:30 to Discuss Assistant’s Schedule
We will gather to discuss possible changes that will meet the needs of our programs and be more assistant teacher-friendly. Assistants, you will be paid for your time. Would someone be willing to host this meeting?

Field Trips
Be sure to get approval and submit the following paperwork for field trips before committing to payments;

Bus Request

Day Trip Form

Catering

Budget Planning
Next year’s budget is due to the Business Office on December 6. If you are anticipating any significant changes to your program that would have financial implication communicate with David.  This could include:

curriculum supplements - online resources, book sets, manipulatives

additional field trips

major purchases

Benefits Enrollments Due Friday, November 16

Gift Cards
The School is no longer able to distribute gift cards or other items redeemable for cash to employees due to IRS Tax issues.  See David if you have questions.

LS Weekly Memo November 5th - 9th, 2012

Welcome to Week 11.  Thank you for your diligent preparation for conferences.  I continue to be impressed with your understanding of and insights about our students.  Enjoy a restful weekend.

COMMUNITY

Substitutes - We have a number of new substitute teachers whom Jenny will be looking to try out in near future.  If you have a strong preference for a particular substitute clearly communicate that to Jenny Strode on your request form.  Please do not ask the substitute yourself.

Post-Conference Support
Talk with David or Chris if you had particular concerns arise during any of your conferences.  Contact an SST member if the question of support arose during a conference.

PROGRAM

LSCTF - 3:15 - 4:30 in DVR
We will be discussing the reading continuum; rationale, reflections on use during conferences, next steps.

Open House
Be sure to review Sarah’s email about details.  Remember to let maintenance know ASAP if you have issues that need to be addressed before OH.  

New Lower School Building
Over the next month we will be working to develop concepts for the new building.  We will begin the process on the afternoon of Thursday, November 29 with a Design Thinking exercise facilitated by Suzy Cessor, mother of Gracie Mosscrop in 5th grade. We will follow up with more intensive team work with Ashley Cadwell of Cadwell Collaborative on December 11 and 12. Please reserve the afternoons of 11/29, 12/11 and 12/12.
If you want to begin collecting your ideas think about:
What works in our current space
What you wish worked in our current space
What you could imagine in a new PreK - 5 building

OPERATIONS

Classroom Agreements
Thank you to those of you who posted your agreements on your websites. If have not done so yet, please do.

Doors and Attendance -  
In an effort to have more accurate records of student attendance and in hopes we can get more families to arrive at school on time, we are going to begin having the doors lock at 7:55 each morning, except Thursday. We will start this on Monday, November  12.  Please take attendance shortly after 7:55.   Be careful to accurately record each child’s status.  We have had some inaccuracies lately.


Professional Development
Let me know if you are interested or have other ideas.

Introduction to Digging In: Place-Based Food and Garden Education for Teachers
http://graduate.lclark.edu/live/events/13587-introduction-to-digging-in-placebased-food-and

PLAYFUL LITERACY: SUPPORTING THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE ARTS AND LITERACY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

http://www.pnais.org/page.cfm?id=18&start=09/05/2013&verbose=7461

LS Weekly Memo October  29 - November 2 Week 10

Welcome to Week 10. Good luck with conferences.  Let us know if you have questions or need support of any kind.

Community

Welcome back Marty Eastman-Brown
Marty is back full time starting on Monday and full of enthusiasm and ideas about the year.  She has done a wonderful job managing the transition of the class from Kathie to her and is ready to take the class forward through to the end of the year.

Thank you Kathie Kimmy
Kathie Kimmy has completed her long term substituting in Marty’s class.  She will return on Thursday and Friday to conduct conferences with Marty and then will be ready to substitute in classes.  Marty’s class sent her off with a thank you party on Friday. I thank Kathie for her incredible work getting the class off to a good start and managing a graceful transition of the class to Marty.

Trustee Day
Trustee Day will look a little different this year.  Mo and the Division Heads will be talking with the Trustees about major initiatives in the school.  I will be talking about the PreK -12 Inquiry work and the LS Building Project.  The Trustees do not plan to tour the Lower School.


Program
LS Conferences – Even at this late date you are welcome to invite SST members into conference.  You need to be sure to inform parents before the conference who will be
attending.  Let us know if you have a challenging conference.

Specialists will be in the library and the art room. Encourage parents to visit specialists.  If you can, encourage parents to email specialist ahead of time, letting the specialists know when they would like to stop by.

Lower School Building Project
The Building Committee had its first meeting on Thursday and developed an aggressive timeline for developing initial building plans. The Lower School faculty will be engaged in several design sessions both with the Cadwell Collaborative and OES parent, Suzy Cessor, an experienced design-thinking director at Nike. I will be scheduling the workshops this week, targeting the week of November 12 for initial design work with Suzy and the week of December 10 with the Cadwell Collaborative. Be prepared to be flexible during those weeks so we can be sure to have opportunities for everyone’s input. Kirstin McAuley and I will be representing the Lower School on the Building Committee.


Faculty Meeting
Thank you Tracy, for sharing your thoughts and priorities on your new position, as well as for asking for feedback on the needs the faculty see.  I hope the final conversations about self-study were productive.  If there is additional work needed to finalize a self-study section, I will ask the team leaders and Tracy to take that on:
Janet – Social Studies
Alysa – English
Tracy – Math
Chris – Beginning School

No Meetings During Conferences
There are no faculty meetings during conference week.

LSCTF -
Monday, 11/5 at 3:15 in Tonya’s Room - Reading Continuum Appreciative Inquiry.

How Children Succeed Book Group-
Thursday, Nov. 15th, LS Art Room 10:50 – 11:50
Read Chapters 2-How to Build Character, Chapter 3- How to Think (No SST that day)

Operations

Fourth and Fifth Grade Pre-K Helpers
We have a group of Fifth Graders (one on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday), and now a few Fourth Graders, (Tuesday and Thursday) who choose to spend their recess with the Pre-K class; helping in the lunchroom and playing on the Beginning School playground.  Colesie and Lauren have given the okay to both groups, so if they come knocking on the Common Hall door, please allow them to enter.

NO LSLT in November
Please be sure to keep your grade level’s dates current on the faulty events Google calendar.

Faculty Lounge
While I appreciate the effort to find a private space for important conversation, please do not conduct those in the Faculty Lounge.  I would be happy to let you use my office, and offer the Nurse’s Station and Chris’ Office as other possible locations for these conversations.  The Faculty Lounge needs to be available for faculty during the school day.

Fourth and Fifth Grade PM Recess
We’ve noticed that some teachers are keeping students on Aardvark Community Park at the late afternoon recess, while others are allowing students to go out on the field.  If you choose to take students out on the field, be sure to take a cell phone out with you (with Jenny or Lyn’s number on your contacts list for easy calling).  In case the of emergency, you may want to call the office to get immediate assistance.

Kudos on Recess Equipment
We understand from the PE team that very few pieces of equipment are left out or have gone missing.  It seems that the Fifth grade has the greatest number of items left out and retrieved by the PE teachers.  These items will likely be kept out of use for not just one week, but two.  If you have a 4th and 5th Grade duty, please be extra vigilant and remind students to be responsible citizens and put away equipment.

Benefits Reminder - 11/16 enrollment forms due.

ERB’s 11/5/ - 11/8
Fourth and Fifth Grade students begin ERB testing on Monday, November 5th from 8:15-10:30, with a recess break mid-way around 9:40-9:45. Specialist will supervise this recess duty.  Specialists, please sign up for duties. The sign-up sheet is posted on the bulletin board by the sub’s clipboard.

Substitutes
In an effort to help us all know who is on campus, Jenny will be emailing All LS Faculty to let you know which faculty are absent and who is subbing for them.

Professional Development

Meeting the Needs of All Learners Through Differentiated Instruction
9:00am - 3:00pm, December 3, 2012  ~ Bertschi School, Seattle, WA
PNAIS has a number of other interesting conferences scheduled.  Let me know if you are interested.

Let’s Take Life Skills Learning Seriously
That’s the title of Mind in the Making’s feature article. Great food for thought. He takes issue with some of Paul Tough’s positions in How Children Succeed
http://mindinthemaking.org/