LS Weekly Memo LS Weekly Memo Week 25, February 15-19, 2016

Congratulations on successfully completing your conferences.  If you need support for an individual, be sure to reach out to SST members.  Enjoy the long weekend.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES

• The pads for the posts have been ordered for the covered area.  Once they are installed we will open the covered area up
• This is what the building is going to look like

COMMUNITY

Wednesday, 2/17 - busy day for visitors

• Visitors from Marin Country Day interested in library and technology collaboration
• Christopher Warner, Education Technology Coordinator
• Stephanie Deitz, Lower School Division Head
• Bobby Bardenhagen, Director of Technology
• Communications Department Tour of LS - 8:00 - 9:50
• Elizabeth Gilmore
• Steph Hartford
• They will be stopping into classes fro short visits
• Sharon Cuttler-Decker - PreK long term substitute candidate. Observing/ teaching in PreK

Friday, 2/19 - DEAR Assembly

• An unassembled assembly. Make a plan with your buddy class. Invite your specialsit buddy too.  What is at the heart of the story?

Rosetta Lee - Inclusivity in the Younger Years

Thursday 3/3

Presentations - Inclusivity in the Younger Years

3:30 - 4:30 pm - Lower School Faculty presentation - Inclusivity in the Younger Years

7:00 - 8:00 pm - Lower School Parent presentation - Inclusivity in the Younger Years

Friday 3/4

7:30 - 3:30 workshops with LS Faculty

4 sessions with different groups of faculty, 6-12 faculty per group

Each session will have two parts. One part focused on conversations with children.  Each teacher could come with an example of a conversation/ question that came up with their students that they want to discuss how to address.  The second part of the session would focus on creating a more inclusive curriculum.  Each grade has a curriculum design document describing their social studies/ project units of understanding that could help orient you to their curriculum work.

8:00 - 9:20 - Specialist Teachers (12 teachers)

9:30 - 10:50 - 2nd & 3rd grades (6 teachers)

10:50 - 11:50 - Lunch

12:00 - 1:20 - 4th and 5th grades (6 teachers)

1:30 - 2:50 - Beginning School & 1st (9 teachers)

How to Raise an Adult - Author Julie Lythcott-Haims Speaks on Campus

Monday, April 18th at 7:00 pm in the Chapel

PCL is bringing author to campus.

NYT Article - Reviewing How to Raise and Adult

This was in the New York Times this past week...another point of view!

How to Raise a Creative Child. Step One: Back Off

Admissions

• We are nearing the end of visitors.  Thank you for all your extra work
• Re-enrollment decision are almost all made
• On to decisions about new students
• Thanks to Ari, Melanie, Janet and Alysa for reading applicant’s files.  We are nearing the end of the process,  with final decisions at the end of next week.  

SST Site

• You have access.  See Ari if you have difficulty accessing the site.
• The information is sensitive. Use professional discretion.
• Questions about content or information to add - see Ari
• Any feedback - let SS

Auction Volunteers

The Auction (Aardy Goes to Hollywood: Lights, Camera, Auction!) is coming up on March 12th.  Please take a few minutes to see if you are able to give some time to the event by checking VolunteerSpot: https://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/287939724066.

LS Art Room

Until further notice please close and lock the LS art studio door when you leave after lunch  or individual project time.

Marketing Department Request

If you'd like to share anything your class is up to, please send it to marketing@oes.edu--that's our catch-all inbox to make sure we're not missing out on any exciting campus happenings

Students of Concern

• HB - K- CB
• Has difficulty keeping up with the flow of things, can be disruptive.  Let Carole and Chris know if he is having difficulties. We want to be consistent in our support.
• OB-K-CB
• Mourning the loss of her father, hasn’t wanted to be at school, has strayed away from the class, needs to be shadowed
• Giving her lots of love and support
• She is doing much better. Had a shortened day, but is now trying two full days, Tuesday and Thursday. We are exploring the possibility of adding a third full day.
• Please keep Carole and Chris in the loop if challenging behavior arises again.

• SG - 2 JB
• Let Jackie or Chris know if he is having difficulty in your class

• If he gets stuck and disrupts the class, let Chris know- call the office
• Specialists, we value your input and appreciate your feedback.  Please input any rating and observations at the end of each day into the weekly googledoc. In addition to the daily communication with his family this document is also sent daily to Sam's outside support team.  They appreciate the specific examples we provide and work through them with him (accomplishments and challenges).  Thank you.

• Fourth Grade World Cup Soccer Games
• Track and Field Duty People, please continue to keep a close eye on these games. They made a plan:
• Gather at the beginning to organize teams.  They will divide into two mixed ability groups with one soccer goal OR play one large game of soccer using two goals
• Teachers out on the field, please continue to monitor this situation. Last week I had to remind them of their agreements.
• SS and LB- 5 TA
• L and S have had challenges of late. Please keep an eye on them and let Tina know if you experience L saying or doing any unkind things- as well, if S is doing anything to annoy L.

Major Rules - If a student violates a major rule, Chris and David need to know and need to be part of the determination of consequences and reparations.

• Verbal abuse, physical abuse, bullying, or inappropriate physical touch.
• Lying, deceit, or other dishonest conduct
• Destruction of property belonging to the School, its personnel or another student
• Stealing
• Inappropriate language
• Possession or use of weapons or any object that is used in a threatening manner

PROGRAM

Progress Reports Posted Friday, February 5

Our thanks to Jeffrey for the getting progress reports out to parents.  He was amazingly calm and efficient, with only a few hiccups!

Conferences

We saw many happy parents leaving their conferences on Thursday and Friday. Thanks for your hard work and dedication. It has been a long six weeks in the making.

ERB Scores

Mailed out. Some parents experienced delays in getting them.

Scheduling Task Force

The next step is developing and playing with Dream Schedules

Faculty Meetings

Monday, 2/15 -  no meeting, President’s Day

Thursday, 2/18 - LS Faculty Meeting

• LS Update
• Admin Roles
• LS Building
• Rosetta Lee presentation and workshops
• Ouch moments
• Schedule Update
• Dream schedule
• Calendar Changes 2016-17

Science Displays and Tours of Science Fair

See Anna Rozzi’s email offering two different science engagement opportunities.

OPERATIONS

Change in  Lunch Routine

Kelly needs at least 72 hours notice if you need to change lunch plans (not eat in the dining hall, need sack lunches, etc)

Cheese Left Out Again!

Please be sure all cheese gets refrigerated asap. Technically, it should not be left out longer than four hours.

Rainy Mud Season at Aardvark Community Park- A few things to keep in mind

• Designated Excavation Area
• Children Must Have Some Type of Footwear on At All Times
• Excavation Tools Cleaned Up at the End of Recess

Emergency Closure Communication

Phone tree -  we are no longer using the phone tree.  We are relying on Instant Alert.

If you encountered any issues with your Instant Alert notifications, contact Rebecca Williams.

Enrollment Instructions

Instant Alert Sign-in Page

Dirty Dishes in Common Areas

Please return your dishes to the the dining hall each day. The Dining Hall is open from 10:45 - 1:15 every day.  In addition, there is a tub outside the dining hall after hours for the collection of dirty dishes.  Though Shirley has been willing to pick-up your dirty dishes, it is not part of her official duties.

Students on Covered Walkway and Loop Road Pick Up by  2:55

Thanks for the extra effort. It makes a difference.

Friendly Reminder About Sub Requests

Miriam continues to get requests late at night. Please do not text Miriam after 7pm. Contact her:

Evening: Sunday through Thursday 5:00-7:00pm

Morning: Monday through Friday 6-6:15am

Parent Volunteers Must Sign In at the LS Office When They Volunteer

Please remind parents in your next communication about the importance of signing in at the office. This is critical for two reasons:

•For security, our community expects visitors to wear visitor badges (BS lunch helpers will wear an OES sticker)

•In the event of an emergency- fire, earthquake, lockdown, we need to know who was in the building.

Please don’t let parents in the building without a pass. Remind them politely that they need to check in at the office.

Calendar Updates-

Please be sure to enter your big events- plays, field trips, learning celebrations posted on the faculty event calendar and Anne’s All School calendar.  Remember, if an event impacts parents and families, you must get that on the AS web calendar.

Your Announcements

Send any announcements you have for faculty to Chris or me by Thursday each week and we will include them in the Weekly Memo.  This should help reduce the number of emails we are receiving, and to maximize our time to collaborate during meetings.

LS Weekly Memo LS Weekly Memo Week 24, February 8-12, 2016

Best of luck with conferences. I have only received a half-dozen or so requests from parents to change dates  and most parents are planning on phone or video conferences. Remember Ash Wednesday Chapel. And then, enjoy the long weekend.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES

• The new covered area will be opening soon. A final blacktop coating, installation of basketball hoops and line painting will have to wait until the weather is warmer. Disappointing.
• With the sun this week, SKANSKA plans to put the roofing on the western half of the building.  Then drying out can begin for real.
• Once all the rooms are roughed out, Jon and I will find dates for faculty tours of the building in groups of 10 or so.
• Though the weather continues to caused a bit of a setback, the building continues to be on budget with a projected completion date of end of July.

COMMUNITY

Auction Volunteers

The Auction (Aardy Goes to Hollywood: Lights, Camera, Auction!) is coming up on March 12th.  This event helps to support our professional development and to fund important programs that connect OES to the community like Aardvarks Advocating for Skills and Knowledge (AASK).

Please take a few minutes to see if you are able to give some time to the event by checking VolunteerSpot: https://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/287939724066.

Rosetta Lee - Inclusivity in the Younger Years

Thursday, March 3 @ 7:00 pm in MS Commons

How to Raise an Adult - Author Julie Lythcott-Haims Speaks on Campus

Monday, April 18th at 7:00 pm in the Chapel

PCL is bringing author to campus.

NYT Article - Reviewing How to Raise and Adult

This was in the New York Times this past week...another point of view!

How to Raise a Creative Child. Step One: Back Off

LS Art Room

Until further notice please close and lock the LS art studio door when you leave after lunch  or individual project time.

Marketing Department Request

If you'd like to share anything your class is up to, please send it to marketing@oes.edu--that's our catch-all inbox to make sure we're not missing out on any exciting campus happenings

Upper School Helpers - see email from Robin Schaufler

Next Thursday and Friday (February 11-12) Upper School students have no classes, and some might be looking for a way to help out and earn On-Campus Service Learning hours. If you have work they could do to help you in any way during those two days, email me and I'll post it. No guarantees, but you might get a few helping hands. Be sure to include the following info:

Description of  of task

Location on campus

Times and day/s it could be done, and amount of time it would take

Your contact info--I don't sign them up, because I don't know their schedules.

Chapel Schedule

2/8 Chapel (2nd-5th)

2/9 Fat Tuesday Breakfast for Lunch

2/10 Ash Wednesday Chapel 11:50-12:30 (Primary-5)

Admissions

• Pre-K Admissions Visit, Saturday, February 6th

Thanks to those who helped us evaluate our youngest applicants on Saturday.

• Admissions Season

We continue to see great interest in 2nd -5th grades.  Classroom teachers, thank you for hosting and providing feedback. Specialists, please take 2-3  minutes out of your day to provide feedback on visitors. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

• Friendly Reminder: Send Admissions Visitors to the Office at 2:00

Send two buddies or an Assistant Teacher at 2:00. We want our guests to avoid the traffic congestion at the end of the day.

Admissions File Readers Will Be Busy in the Coming Weeks

This year, for the first time, admissions file readers will be able to read online. Please be aware that this is a very important and huge task is underway and that David, Chris, Janet, Alysa, Ari and Melanie will be immersed in this process the next two to three weeks. Our schedules will be full, so please be understanding and support one another.

SST Site

• You have access.  See Ari if you have difficulty accessing the site.
• The information is sensitive. Use professional discretion.
• Questions about content or information to add - see Ari

Students of Concern

• HB - K- CB
• Has difficulty keeping up with the flow of things, can be disruptive.  Let Carole and Chris know if he is having difficulties. We want to be consistent in our support.
• OB-K-CB
• Mourning the loss of her father, hasn’t wanted to be at school, has strayed away from the class, needs to be shadowed
• Giving her lots of love and support
• She is doing much better. Had a shortened day, but is now trying two full days, Tuesday and Thursday. We are exploring the possibility of adding a third full day.
• Please keep Carole and Chris in the loop if challenging behavior arises again.

• SG - 2 JB
• Let Jackie or Chris know if he is having difficulty in your class

• If he gets stuck and disrupts the class, let Chris know- call the office
• Specialists, we had a rough week last week and decided to return to the rating system.  We value your input and appreciate your feedback.  Please input any rating and observations at the end of each day into the weekly googledoc. In addition to the daily communication with his family this document is also sent daily to Sam's outside support team.  They appreciate the specific examples we provide and work through them with him (accomplishments and challenges).  Thank you.

• Fourth Grade World Cup Soccer Games
• Track and Field Duty People, please continue to keep a close eye on these games. They made a plan:
• Gather at the beginning to organize teams.  They will divide into two mixed ability groups with one soccer goal OR play one large game of soccer using two goals
• Teachers out on the field, please continue to monitor this situation. Last week I had to remind them of their agreements.
• SS and LB- 5 TA
• L and S have had challenges of late. Please keep an eye on them and let Tina know if you experience L saying or doing any unkind things- as well, if S is doing anything to annoy L.

Major Rules - If a student violates a major rule, Chris and David need to know and need to be part of the determination of consequences and reparations.

• Verbal abuse, physical abuse, bullying, or inappropriate physical touch.
• Lying, deceit, or other dishonest conduct
• Destruction of property belonging to the School, its personnel or another student
• Stealing
• Inappropriate language
• Possession or use of weapons or any object that is used in a threatening manner

PROGRAM

Progress Reports Posted Friday, February 5

• Let Jeffrey know if you encounter any issues
• Our thanks to Jeffrey for his hard work launching progressing reports out to our families.
• Thanks to all for your hard work and dedication! Yeah!

Conferences - 2/11 and 2/12

• Parents must request permission from David to reschedule conferences
• Suggest phone or video conferences on the conference days if parents are away
• David will be understanding if parent absence is due to professional commitments rather than personal travel.

• Be sure to let parents know before conferences if you have significant concerns, or if you have requested a member of SST to attend the conference.

Lunch and Learn - All Things Photo, Monday Feb. 8th.

You will learn how to use Image Capture to download, delete, and manage photos from your iPad/iPod. We will update you on a new sharing setting for Google Photos for your Blogs and Websites.  You will learn about primary source images, stock photos, and public domain photos for use with classroom projects.  Grab your lunch and head on down to the Platt Global Classroom from 11:00-11:40.

Parent Winter Coffees

Thank you Melanie, Ari and all of the teachers who participated in these mid-year coffees.  

Scheduling Task Force

We had a great meeting with the folks from UCDS. Look for updates on the work of the Scheduling Task Force.

Faculty Meetings

Monday, 2/8 - No Meeting - Conference Prep

Thursday, 2/11 - No meeting - Conferences

Science Displays and Tours of Science Fair

See Anna Rozzi’s email offering two different science engagement opportunities.

After School Classes - Kati needs classrooms for after school classes.  Offer what afternoons you can.  See her email for details.

OPERATIONS

Rainy Mud Season at Aardvark Community Park- A few things to keep in mind

Designated Excavation Area

Clearly, children love to play with mud and puddles. Wondering, how can we make this happen and keep our play spaces safe (tripping over deep ditches,etc) and keep children from becoming a wet muddy mess that needs to be dealt with following recess?

Children Must Have Some Type of Footwear on At All Times

I noticed last week that children were walking around barefoot or in socks because their footwear got wet.  For safety reasons, children should have some type of footwear on at all times.

Excavation Tools Cleaned Up at the End of Recess

Shelley put out a bin of 4 buckets and 6 digging tools last week. If you are on duty and put these buckets and digging tools out for children, spend the last few minutes of recess collecting these materials and get them back to the shed. We want to make sure these don’t get lost.

Emergency Closure Communication

Phone tree -  we are no longer using the phone tree.  We are relying on Instant Alert.

If you encountered any issues with your Instant Alert notifications, contact Rebecca Williams.

Enrollment Instructions

Instant Alert Sign-in Page

Dirty Dishes in Common Areas

Please return your dishes to the the dining hall each day. The Dining Hall is open from 10:45 - 1:15 every day.  In addition, there is a tub outside the dining hall after hours for the collection of dirty dishes.  Though Shirley has been willing to pick-up your dirty dishes, it is not part of her official duties.

Students on Covered Walkway and Loop Road Pick Up by  2:55

Thanks for the extra effort. It makes a difference.

Friendly Reminder About Sub Requests

Miriam continues to get requests late at night. Please do not text Miriam after 7pm. Contact her:

Evening: Sunday through Thursday 5:00-7:00pm

Morning: Monday through Friday 6-6:15am

Parent Volunteers Must Sign In at the LS Office When They Volunteer

Please remind parents in your next communication about the importance of signing in at the office. This is critical for two reasons:

•For security, our community expects visitors to wear visitor badges (BS lunch helpers will wear an OES sticker)

•In the event of an emergency- fire, earthquake, lockdown, we need to know who was in the building.

Please don’t let parents in the building without a pass. Remind them politely that they need to check in at the office.

Calendar Updates-

Please be sure to enter your big events- plays, field trips, learning celebrations posted on the faculty event calendar and Anne’s All School calendar.  Remember, if an event impacts parents and families, you must get that on the AS web calendar.

Your Announcements

Send any announcements you have for faculty to Chris or me by Thursday each week and we will include them in the Weekly Memo.  This should help reduce the number of emails we are receiving, and to maximize our time to collaborate during meetings.