Weekly Memo 4, September 7 - 14

Weekly Memo Weekly Memo 4, September 7 - 14, 2018

Congratulations on completing the first week. Kirstin, Chris and David are here to help with any beginning of year challenges o ropportunities that have arisen.  Rest up this weekend and get ready for a full 5 days with Back to School Night right in the middle.

LS Faculty Agreements
*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

New items in BLACK. Repeated items in BLUE.


COMMUNITY

LS Chapel, Tuesday, 9/11

Our first Lower School Chapel is on Tuesday. Look fro an email from Phillip with a seating chart. Please be on time. Chapel starts at 8:10 and ends at 8:40.

September is Faculty/Staff OES Fund Month!

As I mentioned in our opening meetings, I will be the Lower School representative to the OES Fund this year. The OES Fund is the school's most vital and fundamental fundraising effort. In September, the school kicks off the OES Fund by asking Faculty and Staff to donate. The goal is 100% Faculty and Staff participation, and, truly, any donation in any amount is appreciated! 

Your donation to the OES Fund is spent on our highest priorities to meet the immediate needs of students, faculty and staff in many ways, including our Professional Growth and Development program. The tuition for OES only covers about 89% of the cost of the education and so that gap is made up by contributions to the annual fund and by our OES Auction in March.  

This year, you can again choose to designate your OES Fund gift to one of the following areas:

• Greatest Need & Highest Priority
• Financial Aid
• Athletics
• Science & Technology
• Arts & Literature
• Service & Community

Here is the link for the online giving form which will deduct your gift from your paycheck either as a one time gift or over a few months.  You may also donate by cash or check using giving envelopes you can grab from my mailbox. If you have any questions about the OES Fund please feel free to reach out to me or to Annual Giving Manager, Mary Beth Muscarella; we're always happy to answer questions. 

Senior Entrance

Each year the senior class puts together a theme for the year and reveals it during their theatrical entrance. This year the senior entrance will be in the gym, starting at 8:15. The theme is always a mystery and often appropriate for older Lower Schoolers. The choices is yours whether to attend or not.

Open Classroom

Thank you for welcoming our new families early. We heard your feedback. Next year we will coordinate with the other divisions and shorten the LS Open Classroom to 2 hours; 30 minutes for new families and 90 for all.

Dining Hall Health Alerts

Elaine has updated the allergy alert folders in the dining areas. She reminds us to review class allergies so you can check the allergen listing at the front of the line and help students choose safely.

US Student Helpers

This US student group gives support to offices and classrooms at OES during our activity period - Wednesdays 10:15-10:45 and Thursdays 11:00-11:45. Some faculty/staff like having a student each activity period, others just need a hand now and then.

Please let me know if you are interested in having a student helper and I will put you on our list! Our Activity block starts this next Thursday and runs all three trimesters.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Lower School Fall Family Festival & Picnic 
Saturday, September 22, 3-6 pm
Please join our Lower School community for live music, face painting, a pie baking contest, and family-friendly games like lawn bowling, egg spoon races and sack races!  Bring a blanket and picnic dinner for your family, meet new and old friends and enjoy a popsicle from Stellar Pops!
This is really a family event and completely optional for faculty.
Please RSVP to the LS Fall Family Festival & Picnic Invitation 

SST Updates
Each week the Student Support Team (SST) meets to discuss students. Below is the shared agenda so you know who we discussed. We are trying a new format for the agenda which will help us prioritize students and focus on next steps.
SST Agenda

New Student Support Team (SST) Site
Brad B is working with developers to create the new Student Support Site. It will be where we record discussions and plans for students with more details than in the SST agenda.

Teacher Websites and Blogs
The school is moving toward Google Sites as the communication tool for teachers to parents. We are working on a template and training plan for LS.

Plant Update from Austin:
I have one bag of potting soil left, and a few pots. If you have any plants left that you would like me to transplant, please let me know. If I get enough interest I might buy more soil as well.

PROGRAM

LS Faculty Meeting
Monday, 9/10 - no meeting, BTSN preparations
Thursday, 9/13 - no meeting, BTSN recovery. Faculty on campus by 8:15.
Monday, 9/17 @ 3:15 - PGB (Professional Growth Block). This is time to work on school initiatives, goals, committee work
Thursday, 9/20 @ 7:40 - LS Faculty Meeting, LS Library

Wednesday, 9/12, Back to School Night, 6:30 - 8:30pm
We will have a similar format to last year with 3 rotations for all parents: 55 min in classrooms, 25 minutes w/ specialists and 25 minutes for a state of Lower School address.
We all need to be aware of time so folks get to the ir next rotation on time.
Specialists have an improved format for their rotation

The Rotation:

Time	Classroom	Classroom	Specialist	State of LS
	Classroom	Classrooms	Dining Commons	LS Library
6:30-6:55	PK, K, P		1st, 2nd	3rd, 4th, 5th
7:00-7:25	PK, K,P	3rd, 4th, 5th		1st, 2nd
7:30-7:55	1st, 2nd	3rd, 4th, 5th	PK, K, P
8:00-8:25	1st, 2nd		3rd, 4th, 5th	PK, K, P

LS Technology Corner

Debra’s Classes Begin:

Short Rotation Sessions this week and next focus on Introduction to tools and classroom norms around technology. Look for more curriculum updates soon.

Jeffrey’s Schedule
In its simplest form is here: https://goo.gl/7UVxtB
Appointment Calendar for setting appointments: https://goo.gl/Y9Vg1o
Highlights
20min blocks: Take as many as you need if you need more time
Book ahead: Think about events/projects coming up
Delete it from your calendar and it automatically frees up the spot for others

New Chrome User Interface (UI) in Version 69 for 10 year anniversary. This UI change brings the Chrome Browser in-line with recent changes you may have noticed in Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Calendar. Here’s a great “What’s New” article about it.

https://www.blog.google/products/chrome/chromes-turning-10-heres-whats-new/

1to1 iPads in 5th Grade upgraded with Keyboard cases and Apple Pencil Support.

Read more about these cases here (Also being used in the Middle School iPad program)

https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/ruggedcombo2

3rd Grade goes 1to1 iPads with a more lean setup for maximum mobility to maximize their recording and interviewing skills

**Make iPad App (or Chromebook App) requests with this form https://goo.gl/forms/3sQYz721hd9Evhml1

Link to List of Current Technology in Classrooms: this document will be fleshed out in the coming weeks and allow you to see what is available to teachers and students at each grade level

FUN FACT: A LS student has made us a serious trade offer on our Ninjago clock as a trade for his Star Wars clock, the LS Tech team is mulling over this offer.

All School Tech Support? first email OEShelp@oes.edu

Guest Teacher Folders
Make sure that in your Guest Teacher folder you have:
* a copy of your schedule, please add your duties
* a copy of your class health alerts
*a copy of the building operation instructions
*a copy of safety instructions

LS Library Author Visit, Yuyi Morales

The Lower School Library is excited to welcome author and illustrator Yuyi Morales to OES on Monday, October 1st from 10-10:45. Ms. Morales is an award-winning illustrator and author who is the first Latina to win a Caldecott Award. Reviewing Morales's work, School Library Journal contributor Sue Morgan praised her "beautifully rendered earth-tone illustrations," and Kirkus Review calls her newest book “a resplendent masterpiece”. She will share her latest work “Dreamers” or “Sonadores” with our students which tells her own story of immigration from Mexico.

Thanks to Green Bean Books for making this visit possible!

I will be reading her new book to the classes who are attending the visit and also will show her reading "Nino Wrestles the World"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv0NFSQroRU

We need all preorder forms by September 14th (Friday).  Please bring them to the library or put them in my mailbox. As always, book orders are optional. We will deliver the books that are purchased to the classroom on the day of her visit after they are signed.

Summer Stipends

Please complete the Summer Stipend Follow-up Form to share your stipend work and request compensation for your days. Forms need to be completed by this Friday, September 14.

Beginning Years faculty, please continue to check the BY Odds and Ends (see tab at the top of the WM) for ongoing announcements and resources related to Beginning Years. Feel welcome to add your own announcements and questions. 

OPERATIONS

Purchased Materials and Books
Please mark materials and books purchased with school funds with your Room Number
Please mark materials and books purchased with your own funds with your Name
We had some trouble sorting out which was which as people left and changed rooms.

Volunteer Sign-ups

If you have not sent your volunteer needs for the month of September to your room parent, please do it ASAP. They need time to solicit for volunteers. If you do not need volunteers for September, please let your room parent know that as well.

September 4– Teacher Responsibility 

All classroom volunteer needs for the month of September only should be emailed directly to your class room parent.  Please use linked spreadsheet.

September 21 – Teacher Responsibility

All classroom volunteer needs for the remainder of the school year should be emailed directly to your class room parent.  Please use attached spreadsheet.
Room Parents - Here is the list of LS Room Parents

Building Cleaning

Gigi Sanden and Debby Harder will be regularly cleaning the LS Building this year. Introduce yourself when you see them - Employee Directory has their pictures.

Parking

Starting on Open Classroom Day please plan on parking behind the gym or at SPARC. We need to leave the upper lot in front of the LS free for parent parking. See David if you have questions.

Orders

From now on please use the LS Order Form to request new order requests. 

The Order Form can be found in the Weekly Memo. You can also track information on your request through the Order Tracking Form.

LS FORMS are accessible through the Weekly Memo’s “Important Links”: LS Common Forms & other Relevant Information

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.

Employee Resources

A helpful tool can be found  in the OES website for employees to save time searching different sites when you need to access the basic forms like check request, catering, maintenance requests and other resources.

Weekly Memo 3, August 31 - September 7, 2018

Weekly Memo Weekly Memo 3, August 31 - September 7, 2018

Thank you for a great LS Retreat Wednesday. We appreciated your attention, focus and engagement. I left excited about the what this year can be. Thank you Tina for driving the bus and supporting our carpooling initiative! We know the meeting schedule was extra full. We will work to modify the meeting schedule for next year.

We apologize for BY/IY meetings Thursday. We have heard clearly from faculty, that especially with so many new teams, this week felt overwhelming. We welcome your feedback as we make notes for next years opening meetings.

LS Faculty Agreements
*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

Open Classroom

*Early open for new families at 8:30

*Open Classroom 9:00 - 11:00

*Faculty meeting in BDH Art Room at 11:00

Open Classroom Locations

LS LIBRARY

*LS Art

*LS Music

*Librarian

PE - LS Main Lobby by the tall glass windows 

Beginning Studio, Science and Spanish – respective classrooms

Chaplain and Student Support Team – area 36

Opening Day

Bell Tower Ceremony starts at 8:15

Typically it last until 9:00

Opening Day assignments

Specialists and support staff, you can find your Opening Day assignments here. 

Specialists and Our First Week

The first day of school - students do not go to specialist classes, however, your specialist classes that day should check in with you and may join in the class for an activity or read a book.

Thursday and Friday - students will go to specialist classes unless the homeroom teacher and specialist teacher have made other arrangements.

1st Week Lunch

Homeroom teachers are asked to join their class for lunch and recess for the first week.

We ask ALL teachers to help with pick up at the end of the day for the first week. It is a all hands on deck to help make sure students are getting to the right place.

Dining Hall Health Alerts

Elaine has updated the allergy alert folders in the dining areas. She reminds us to review class allergies so you can check the allergen listing at the front of the line and help students choose safely.

Kate McClellan will be out the first 3 weeks of school

Joel Whitmore will work Thursday, 8/30 and Friday, 8/31.

Clara Baker will work 9/4 - 9/14, though on 9/6 she is only available from 7:30 - 10:00.

All school Directory
The All School Employee Directory has names and faces of each OES employee, searchable by name, department or office.

Substitute Teachers - Training Completed

Thanks you Chris, Kirstin, Lyn.
If you know anyone seeking a substitute teaching position, please direct them to the OES Employment page so they can apply.  

Guest Teacher Folders
Make sure that in your Guest Teacher folder you have:
* a copy of your schedule, please add your duties
* a copy of your class health alerts
*a copy of the building operation instructions
*a copy of safety instructions

Teacher Websites and Blogs
We are researching communication tools for teacher sites and the Weekly Memo in hopes of finding a common user friendly platform. We are going to remove access to teacher sites in the parent portal until we have a new tool to use. Please do not spend a lot of time beautifying your current site as it may change. Do share access to your site with parents as needed or simply email them with important information

PROGRAM

LS Faculty Meeting

Monday, 9/3 - Holiday. No Meeting
Tuesday, 9/4 - Meeting in BDH Art Room, 11:00 - 11:45: Check-in on opening week, Recess Rodeo
Thursday, 9/6 - No formal meeting this Thursday. Chris, Kirstin and David will be in LS Conference Room Thursday for open check-in. 
Monday, 9/10 - no meeting, BTSN preparations
Thursday, 9/13 - no meeting, BTSN recovery

Wednesday, 9/12, Back to School Night, 6:30 - 8:30pm
We will have a similar format to last year with 3 rotations for all parents which includes 55 min in classrooms, 25 minutes w/ specialists and 25 minutes for a state of Lower School address.

The Rotation:

Time	Classroom	Classroom	Specialist	State of LS
	Classroom	Classrooms	Dining Commons	LS Library
6:30-6:55	PK, K, P		1st, 2nd	3rd, 4th, 5th
7:00-7:25	PK, K,P	3rd, 4th, 5th		1st, 2nd
7:30-7:55	1st, 2nd	3rd, 4th, 5th	PK, K, P
8:00-8:25	1st, 2nd		3rd, 4th, 5th	PK, K, P

Announcements Summary
Jeffrey's Schedule - M, W, F mornings and T,Th afternoons in Lower School. Inverse in EC3. Sign up to spend some time with Jeffrey.
Building Heating and Cooling - Rod's reminders
EC3 invite - come check it out
Library- Lara's invitation to come during open library times, author visit
Extension - invitation to teach classes, recognition of evolution of program

Ari Announcement

All classroom teachers should have received an email from Ari with information about students with known learning profiles, some diagnosis information if and when appropriate, links to learning and support plans, history and summer information if he knows about it - tutoring, OT and SLP. Kirstin added some notes for her division.

When you can - He does need replies from many of you about collaborating times with and without students. Once he has all 19 teachers desired times he will start scheduling with an eye to begin by the end of September.

Continuing Calendar Fun
Several people have asked for the chapel csv or for Chapel to be added to their classroom google calendar. Please reach out to Chris for support in adding this event. 
Chris can also help you set up a planning calendar by printing directly from your google calendar, if interested.
If you see errors, please let Chris know.

Link to Calendars  

"How to Add Rotating Events" 

LS 6 day Calendar 2018-19

Duty Schedule 18-19

Class / Specialist Schedules 18-19

Intensive Specialist Rotation Schedule 2018-2019  

Classroom Set-up Guidelines

As you begin to set up your classroom, remember the guidelines we created for safety, energy efficiency and program support.

2018-19 Calendar

OES Administrative Calendar is updated.  

PGD Days
As Peter mentioned in his opening remarks, all faculty are expected to be on campus in inquiry and design thinking workshops on October 12 and April 1.

Cultural Forces Inquiry Groups

Thank you for your good work at the retreat last week. Chris, Kirstin and David are taking your feedback and designing our monthly faculty meetings around it.

Summer Stipends

Please complete the Summer Stipend Follow-up Form to share your stipend work and request compensation for your days. Forms need to be completed by September 14.

Beginning Years faculty, please continue to check the BY Odds and Ends (see tab at the top of the WM) for ongoing announcements and resources related to Beginning Years. Feel welcome to add your own announcements and questions. 

OPERATIONS

Emergency Preparedness
Thank you for your participation in Disaster Camp. I am glad to know we all have a better understanding of how to provide fro basic needs in the event a major disaster.

Hanging by your classroom door there should be a orange "Emergency Procedures" booklet with direction for initial emergency response. For emergency drills, you should also have a clipboard with your class list and a laminated green/yellow piece of paper.

Building Cleaning - Requests from Trent:
*Accumulate recycling near recycle bin so it is clear
*Gigi Sanden and Debby Harder will be regularly cleaning the LS Building this year. Introduce yourself when you see them - Employee Directory has their pictures.

Parking

Starting on Open Classroom Day please plan on parking behind the gym or at SPARC. We need to leave the upper lot in front of the LS free for parent parking. See David if you have questions.

Volunteer Sign-ups

Welcome back to school!  LS PAL is working on confirming all of your Room Parents.  We are hoping to have them all secured by early next week.  In the meantime, we would like you to start thinking about your volunteer needs for the year.  April Gilster has sent a spreadsheet that will make it easier for your Room Parent to transfer your classrooms volunteer needs in to Sign Up.  Below is a list of deadlines for submitting volunteer requests that we hope you can honor.  We set the deadlines according to the LS RP Training and Back to School Night.

September 4– Teacher Responsibility 

All classroom volunteer needs for the month of September only should be emailed directly to your class room parent.  Please use linked spreadsheet.

September 21 – Teacher Responsibility

All classroom volunteer needs for the remainder of the school year should be emailed directly to your class room parent.  Please use attached spreadsheet.

Thank you for all you do!  Your Grade Level Reps and Room Parents are here to help in any way they can.  Please let April know if you have any questions. April Gilster, LS PAL Chair 2018-2019, gilstera@icloud.com

Room Parents

Here is the list of LS Room Parents

Orders

From now on please use the LS Order Form to request new order requests. 

The Order Form can be found in the Weekly Memo. You can also track information on your request through the Order Tracking Form.

Budget information
You all have access to your grade level, supplies and new teacher budgets. Please plan your purchases accordingly. Know we also have LS curriculum and LS supplies budgets which are intended for purchases to be used beyond a single grade level.

Furniture Safety Reminders

As you go about rearranging furniture please keep the following in mind:
Shelves and other free-standing vertical elements need to be less than 48” tall.  If an item is 48” or taller
it needs to be secured to a wall to reduce earthquake hazard. Put in a maintrequest to get it done. Know that once maintenance secures the furniture they will not move it.

We need to maintain clear pathway(s) of 42” or more in the commons.  
Be aware of the carpet trip hazards. Any carpeting with curling potential needs to be clearly out of paths of travel.  
Manage your cord tripping hazards carefully 

Cooling the Building

In an effort to realize the energy efficiency of our building, here are the basics of keeping your room cool. Remember that part of the building design is to provide a wider temperature range,  as low as 66 during heating season and as high as 76 degrees in cooling season.

1. Nighttime air flush to cool building down. Automatic, no teacher action required.

2. Open windows in am to cool room further

3. Press green light button, after opening windows, to increase airflow, cooling

4. After green light goes off, close windows and let building manage cooling.
5. Pull blinds on any sun facing windows

Budget – Reimbursement Request Form & Other Financial Information

New - the Business Office released a new reimbursement request (RR) form to be used by all employees this year. Follow the guideline when submitting reimbursement request. Discard all past reimbursement forms. 

Budget Folder – each grade level is assigned to a budget folder in “Team Drives” not “My Drive”. Track your expenses and know your grade’s budget to avoid a negative balance. Each grade budget folder should start with LZ for sorting purposes, for example‘LZ BUDGET – PK’. If you need assistance accessing your budget folder in Team Drives, contact Lyn.

Curriculum Purchases – consult your Division Assistant Head before putting an order for curriculum materials. An approval from Head of Lower School is needed for all curriculum materials order requests.

Ordering materials – order requests are submitted through the ORDER form online.  

LS VISA – ordering items using the LS VISA is done in the LS Office. Always email the confirmation order or receipt to   Lyn. If possible, no paper copy.

PGD – submit a proposal for a professional growth development through the online PGD form.  An approval from the Head of Lower School is necessary before registering for any professional growth development opportunities.

LS FORMS are accessible through the Weekly Memo’s “Important Links”: LS Common Forms & other Relevant Information

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.

Employee Resources

A helpful tool can be found  in the OES website for employees to save time searching different sites when you need to access the basic forms like check request, catering, maintenance requests and other resources.