LS Weekly Memo Week 26: February 10 -14

Thank you for your extra efforts at the end of the day on Thursday as we worked to ensure all students were picked up.  A special thanks to Kathy Finn-Brennan and the EC staff for staying until all children were united with their parents.

COMMUNITY

Admissions Day Reschedule

Admissions Day will be this Saturday, February 15.  I am sorry to have to schedule it during the long weekend but it is the best of limited options.  The schedule and assignments will be the same.

Birthday Celebrations

Thursday, February 13, along with being a conference day, will be the LS Fac/Staff birthday celebration for Nov., Dec., Jan. & Feb. birthdays.

Incident Reports

Thank you for completing incident reports.  The pattern of incidents is very helpful for supporting our students.If you haven’t done so, click on the Incident Report  link above (the heading in blue)  and create a bookmark in one of your browsers for easy access to the form.

Aggressive Play on Playground

I have received several recent reports of aggressive play on the playground from teachers and parents.  Be vigilant, observant and proactive when you are on duty.  If you have a concern about a student, complete an Incident Report.

4 Students in Need of Support

Gabriel Hayden - increased difficulty managing impulsive physical behavior.  See plan details from Tonya and Patti.

Jasier Ramsey - increased difficulty with competitive games.  See Jackie and Chris fro plan details.

Payton Bogatin - some physical incidents with peers.  See Jenny and Chris for details.

Brielle Korros - very sensitive to treatment by others, particularly by Sylvia Purvis.  See Doug and Patti for plan details.

PROGRAM

ERB’s and Beginning School Reports get sent on Monday, 2/10

Best of Luck to our OBOB participants

Conferences

Thank you for all your hard work preparing progress reports.  The conferences are a great time to check in with parents at the midpoint of the year to share student progress, set goals and make plans for the remainder of the year.  

Keep in mind:

• You are the expert on your grade/ subject and this student

• Be encouraging when sharing difficult news
• Come prepared with a support plan when needed
• Be conscientious of the time so each conference can start and end on time
• Parents should not be hearing about a problem for the first time during conferences surprises
• Refrain from comparative descriptions about this class - “the brilliant” or the “wild” class
• Refrain from using personal technology during the conference and ask the parents to do the same.

SST and Conferences

Let any SST member know if you want support planning for a during conferences.  Be sure parents are informed if you have invited an SST member to join the conference.

LS Faculty Meeting, Thursday 2/6

• Agreements - Thank you for your feedback about the agreements.  The task force will be working on revising the agreements this week
• Admissions - I will be working with Admissions on Wednesday to finalize Admissions Day plans.
• Remember the Auction - donate, attend, volunteer
• Benefits survey - complete it
• Cadwell Collaborative
• Introductory meeting with Louise Cadwell at a faculty meeting on Tuesday, 2/18 @3:15.  Required for all faculty.
• Inquiry based projects workshop all day on Wednesday, June 18.

LS Faculty Meeting

No meeting on 2/13 because of conferences

Meeting on 2/18 with Cadwell Collaborative

FLG, Optional Team Meeting on 2/20.  See Team Leader.

   

Winter Parent Coffees 2014  

Service Learning Affinity Coffee, Tuesday, February 11th 8-9am

Many thanks to jenny Cleveland and Laurie Price for their work preparing for the coffee.

3rd - 5th Grade Coffee

Third through Fifth Grade parents learned about our new online ERB testing.  This coffee was well attended.  Third Grade parents were glad to get a sneak-preview of what their child will experience next year.  Fourth and Fifth Grade parents asked great questions, digging deeply into the actual purpose of the testing.  The last fifteen minutes were devoted to breakout sessions on relevant topics for each grade group.   Thank you Alysa, Jenny, Paula and Ari for your help.

US Students to Help - February 21

See email from Kara Tambellini.

Teacher Visits from Cascade Academy, 2/21/14

Two teachers will be visiting from the school in Bend, observing classes and eager for conversations about teaching and curriculum.

US Students Available to Help during Winterim - March 17 -20

See email from Robin Weitzer

NWAIS All Schools Conference Presentations

We host the NWAIS Conference on October 10, 2014 . Let us know if you or your team have ideas.  Mike Gwaltney, History Department Chair, is on the conference planning committee.  Contact him with questions.  Some Summer Stipends will be available to plan your presentation.

Edutopia Blog on Project Based Learning at Chris Thompson’s School in Mumbai

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/curious-homework-inquiry-project-students-parents-suzie-boss

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-to-build-creative-confidence-students-suzie-boss

OPERATIONS

LS Fire Drill on Tuesday, February 4th at 2pm

At this point in the year you should not give students advanced notice about fire drills .  As you are leaving the classroom, remind them of our expectations:

•no talking

•walk calmly and safely

•line up in grade level groupings silently until called to return to the building

Admissions Buddy Request

Please do not send admissions buddies as  a bathroom buddy. We had a situation last week where an admissions buddy was sent out to be a bathroom buddy for one of our Second Graders.  She was uncomfortable standing alone in  a hallway.  If you do send an admissions buddy out with an additional child, so the visitor is  not left alone.

Custodial Notebook

See Lyn’s email for location of the log in each wing.  Record current needs and any future needs that custodians should be aware of.

LS Weekly Memo Week 25: February 3 - 7

Happy Groundhogs Day.  Thank you to Lauren, Colesie, Lara, Kristen, Patti, Chris and Sarah for their fine work evaluating PreK applicants this weekend.  Admissions work when they are so young takes a lot of thought and keen observation.

My thanks also to Jenny Cleveland, along with current parents and John Holloran, for participating on the panel answering parents’ questions.  I do wish you could have heard some of the personal testimonies from current parents who were on the panel and those who are applying for a sibling. Some of their own stories brought tears of joy to their eyes.  You are doing great work.

COMMUNITY

Incident Reports

The last use of the incident form was before Winter Break. If you have an incident that requires more than the usual intervention remember to complete a form.  This provides us with powerful data to help us best serve the students.

Aggressive Play on Playground

I have received several recent reports of aggressive play on the playground from teachers and parents.  Be vigilant, observant and proactive when you are on duty.  If you have a concern about a student, complete an Incident Report.

SST Meeting

Thank you to those who have already met with SST. It is a great time to check in about your students as you write reports and and prepare for conferences. See link for your time.

https://docs.google.com/a/go.oes.edu/document/d/1mh6AEYMhra7dgGc063mpng7N0EkoL6CclbJ4yQ7wTUA/edit

PROGRAM

Progress Reports Posted Monday

Thank you for your hard work. Angela is wrestling with a few PCR quirks.  Reports should be posted by Monday afternoon.

AS Faculty & Staff Meeting, Monday, 2/3  - State of School

Mo will present about the state of our school including finance, admissions and development at the mandatory faculty and staff meeting (optional for Teaching Assistants).  This is an opportunity for you to become a well informed school community member about the financial health of our school.

LS Faculty Meeting, Thursday 2/6

You may want to review the Faculty Agreements drafted in LSLT before the meeting.  We will break into groups and discuss them at the meeting.

7:40 AM	Appreciations
7:50 AM	Faculty Agreements
8:10 AM	Admissions
8:30 AM	Announcements - Auction (Chris Gong)
	Inclement Weather Policy
	Benefits survey - Reminder

Winter Coffee Format

1st and 2nd Grades, with the help of PE and Patti, presented well received information about social development and problem solving in school.  Thank you.

 

Winter Parent Coffees 2014  

Third through Fifth Grade Coffee - Wednesday, February 5th

Agenda:

     • Standardized Testing at OES

     • Break out sessions for 3rd, 4th and 5th grades

Service Learning Affinity Coffee, Tuesday, February 11th 8-9am

Essential Competencies Poster

The Communications Department, working with Mo and the Division Heads, has developed a new look for the Essential Competencies.  See the attachement.  Let me know if you would like an EC poster as we are preparing to print.  I would like to replace all the old posters at least.

US Students to Help - February 21

On Friday, February 21, the US will host our annual science fair. Most of the senior class does not participate in that event. From 10:00-12:30 on that day Kara Tambelini will have approximately 35 students who are interested in helping out around campus. They especially love being in the Lower School. Contact her if you are interested.

Teacher Visits from Cascade Academy, 2/21/14

Two teachers will be visiting from the school in Bend, observing classes and eager for conversations about teaching and curriculum.

US Students Available to Help during Winterim - March 17 -20

See email from Robin Weitzer

NWAIS All Schools Conference Presentations

We host the NWAIS Conference on October 10, 2014 . Let us know if you or your team have ideas.  Mike Gwaltney, History Department Chair, is on the conference planning committee.  Contact him with questions.  Some Summer Stipends will be available to plan your presentation.

OPERATIONS

Admissions

Lower School Admissions Day, Friday, 2/7, 7:30 - 3:30

All faculty are expected to participate in the Admissions Day and to be on campus for the full day.   See David if you have questions. We will prepare for the day at the LS Faculty Meeting.

Custodial Notebook

See Lyn’s email for location of the log in each wing.  Record current needs and any future needs that custodians should be aware of.

LS Weekly Memo Week 24: January 27-31

Thank you for all your work on reports.  I know it is an incredible commitment of time.  I hope your efforts are paying off with new insights into your students and clearer plans to support their learning in the 2nd semester.

COMMUNITY

Teacher Visits from Cascade Academy, 2/21/14

Two teachers will be visiting from the school in Bend, observing classes and eager for conversations about teaching and curriculum.

SST Meeting

Thank you to those who have already met with SST. It is a great time to check in about your students as you write reports and and prepare for conferences. See link for your time.

Assistant Teacher Meeting, Wednesday, January 29th, 12:05-12:40

Link below takes you to the agenda.

https://docs.google.com/a/go.oes.edu/document/d/1R1EvO2jPadyNUs1BztqaOYhb-Qy-vtgTOHBZxDEetDQ/edit

PROGRAM

No Faculty Meeting this Week - Report Proofing.

No formal gathering

AS Faculty Meeting, Monday, 2/3  - State of School

LS Faculty Meeting, Thursday 2/6

Report Cards

• Reports are due at 8:00 am, Monday, January 27
• Two faculty meetings this week are dedicated  to proofing reports:
• Monday, 1/27 from 3:15 - 5:00pm
• Thursday, 1/30, 7:30 -8:30am
• All changes will need to be made in PCR by 9:00 pm on Thursday, 1/30

• Beginning School reports are due on 2/10 so they can be emailed home before conferences.

Report Writing Support - Debra and Angela will be available on 1/27 and 1/30.

No need to print out report cards for the office

Angela will provide a PDF in Google Docs of all the progress reports.

Report Proofing Plan

• Grade level teams will proof each others reports
• Department members will proof each others
• David will proof Science
• Chris will work with Art and Spanish

US Students Available to Help during Winterim - March 17 -20

See email from Robin Weitzer

Winter Coffee Format

Winter Parent Coffees 2014  

First and Second Grade Coffee - Friday, January 31st

Agenda:

    • Social Emotional Development

    • Grade level breakout sessions for 1st and 2nd

Third through Fifth Grade Coffee - Wednesday, February 5th

Agenda:

     • Standardized Testing at OES

     • Break out sessions for 3rd, 4th and 5th grades

Service Learning Affinity Coffee, Tuesday, February 11th 8-9am

NWAIS All Schools Conference Presentations

We host the NWAIS Conference on October 10, 2014 . Let us know if you or your team have ideas.

Some Summer Stipends will be available to plan your presentation.

OPERATIONS

Admissions

• Pre-kindergarten visit day, Saturday, 2/1, 7:00 am - 3:00 pm
• Thank you to those of you who are volunteering your time to help assess our youngest applicants.
• Lower School Admissions Day, Friday, 2/7, 7:30 - 3:30
• All faculty are expected to participate in the Admissions Day and to be on campus for the full day.   See David if you have questions.

Custodial Notebook

See Lyn’s email for location of the log in each wing.  Record current needs and any future needs that custodians should be aware of.

Scheduling Practice in LSCH

It is a challenge to get things done when events are happening either too early or too late. To be able to set-up properly for lunch, clean up, washing dishes and putting utensils away, Shirley will need the LS Common Hall free* of any events from 9:45 – 1:00.

• Available times for Play performance and meetings:
• 8:00 – 9:30 am
• 1:00 – 2:00 pm
• Available times for Rehearsals only:
• 8:00 – 9:30 – entire LS CH
• 9:30 – 10:30 – stage only*
• 12:00 – 1:00 – stage only*
• 1:00 – 2:00 – entire LS CH

Benefits Committee

David has a Benefits Committee meeting Wednesday.  The main focus of the meeting is the development of a faculty and staff benefits survey looking at satisfaction with and understanding of our benefits.