LS Weekly Memo Week 25: February  25-29

Thanks to Tracy and Kristen for the 100’s Day Assembly.  How amazing to have all 340 Lower School students involved in multiple math activities at the same time. I apologize for letting assembly run overtime, but wanted everyone had a chance to experience each activity. Get ready to kick off the week with another great assembly, as we launch into Arts Week.  Thank you Margaret and all the performing and visual arts teachers for your efforts in organizing the events. We have a good stretch ahead of us; 4 uninterrupted weeks of school until Spring Break.

COMMUNITY

Welcome Back Chris and Jenny
We look forward to learning about your international travels.

Arts Week Assembly - Monday, 8:05 - 8:45
I know it is early, but let’s try to get everyone in the gym and seated by 8:05.
Habiba will be worth the effort.

Chapel
Chapel occurs at the regular time on both Monday and Friday.

Uniform Optional Day - PJ’s and TV characters - Friday, March 1
A theme day in support of the Auction. Bring your remote in case the volume gets too loud or you need to pause the excitement.


PROGRAM

LSCTF
The Task Force met on Friday and discussed its role in Lower School and the 5 year curriculum plan.

LS Faculty Meeting - 2/28
Department/ LS Team meetings
Teams - continue discussion of 5 year curriculum plan

NWAIS (formerly known as PNAIS) - Accreditation Visit
Sunday April 21 to Wednesday , April 24
As plans are being finalized for the visiting team remember:
4/21 All Faculty and Staff Reception @5:30 pm, Dining Hall
During the days the Visiting Team is here, plan to follow your usual schedule.
Do not plan any field trips or campus explorations, so visiting team members can find you.
4/24 - Closing Faculty and Staff Meeting @ 3:15 pm, Dining Hall

NCCE Conference
Several colleagues are heading to the regional technology conference.  If you have tech questions you would like them to explore contact Debra Thomas.

OPERATIONS

Class Placement
In an attempt to simplify scheduling of class placement meetings we are hoping to use grade level Common Planning TIme for the first round of class placement beginning on April 29.  The Specialist Team Meeting on Thursday, May 9 will be for placement discussions.

Substitute Requests
Please be sure to complete a blue slip whenever you need a substitute.  You are welcome to request a substitute, but do not ask the substitute yourself.  Jenny will do the scheduling

Auction Volunteers - They can still use more
Auction Event Volunteers Needed -- Sign-up
Organizer: Chris Gong

LS Weekly Memo Week 23: February  11-15

I hope you were all able to step out into Friday’s sunshine and enjoy spring for a day. With conferences behind you, the long weekend comes at a great time. Please contact an SST member if issues came up during conferences that you would like help with.

COMMUNITY

Chris in Reggio Emilia
AS you read this know that Chris is touring Reggio Emilia schools, gathering ideas and images to inspire our inquiry and LS Building design work.
Chris will be video conferencing from Reggio Emilia in the Platt Global Classroom on Thursday, Feb. 21st, 7:40-8:20.

Jenny Cleveland in Haiti
Jenny is accompanying her daughter on a service trip to Haiti with representatives from several other Episcopal schools.  While the main focus of the trip is supporting her daughter, I am sure she will be gathering service learning ideas as well.

Jenny and Chris’ Duty Coverage
Please sign up on the list posted in the LS Office.

Assembly - 100’s Day - 2/22 @ 8:10 - Gym
Tracy and Kristen have been planning some great 100’s activities.

Assembly - Arts Week Kick-off - 2/25 @8:10 - Gym
Habiba will put on a smile on your face and a bounce in your step.

SST Meetings
We would like to check in with each grade level after conferences.  We will be working on a schedule.


PROGRAM

LS Faculty Meeting on 2/21 - Teams

Teams will meet

Beginning School - video conference with Chris

1st and 2nd - Review draft of 5 year curriculum plan

3rd - 5th - Review draft of 5 year curriculum plan

Specialists - in LS Art Room. Appreciations, norms, concerns

LSCTF Meeting - 2/22

Restructuring LSCTF

Revist draft of 5 year curriculum plan

OPERATIONS

LS Building Project
I have heard from a few people with ideas of interesting schools to visit virtually or in person.  Any more?  I would like to begin planning.

No Uniform Day - March 1
Please remind your students that this Friday is a regular uniform day.  Friday, March 1 will be a uniform optional day with a PJ’s and TV theme.

Auction - volunteer or attend if you can

No Admissions Make-up Day, Saturday, 2/23

LS Weekly Memo Week 23: February  11-15

Thank you to all for your involvement in Admissions Day.  It is incredibly valuable to have each of your perspectives on our student visitors, even when you find yourself working with an age group you do not usually teach.

Good luck with conferences on Thursday and Friday. Let us know if you need support, have questions or concerns.

COMMUNITY
Project V.O.I.C.E.- Feb. 11th and 12th
Spoken Word Poets Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye, will be on campus Monday and Tuesday.  Monday morning - 5th-8th Grade, 10:50-11:50 in the Chapel
Monday evening - parents, 7-8:30 pm in the Chapel
Tuesday morning 9:00 - 10:00 for half the 5th grade in the LSCH
Tuesday afternoon 12:40-1:40 for half the 5th grade in the LSCH

OBOB, Wednesday, February 13th, 8:30-10
This is our in-house Oregon Battle of the Books competition which will determine which teams will go forward to represent our school at the regional competition.

February Assembly, 100th Day of School and February 22nd
Kristen and Tracy are “cooking up” plans for a math assembly. Stay tuned for details next week. Based on the Team Leader discussion relating perspectives from several faculty, 2/22 will be a regular uniform day. We will have a  uniform optional day on Friday, March 1

Friday, March 1 - Uniform Optional Day -
Come dressed as your favorite TV character or dressed in your most comfortable clothes for watching TV - a “Prime TIme” theme to support the Auction coming up on 3/9.

OES Auction: Prime Time, Saturday, March 9th
Come out and support the OES auction! It is lots of fun, and supports important endeavors, including faculty professional development and financial aid. Sign up for a volunteer opportunity on Volunteer Spot.


PROGRAM

NCCE Conference 2013 in Portland 2/28 and 3/1

Let me know if you are interested in attending.  

Aardvark Science Exhibition

Thursday, February 21st, from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM at SPARC.  This is a great opportunity to review the science research work of students in grades 7 - 12.  THough students will not be there to discuss their boards, hundreds of science research presentation boards will be on display.

Team Leader Meeting - Mondays

Thank you Debra for volunteering to join us.

Topics discussed 2/4

2013-14 Calendar

End of year/ Beginning of year schedule

Assembly and Uniform Optional Day

Topics to be discussed 2/11

Draft 5 year curriculum plan

LS Building Plan - school visits

Faculty Meetings - See AS Faculty Meeting Schedule

2/21 - Team Meetings: BS, 1-2, 3-5, Specialists - Operations

2/28 - Team Meetings: BS, 1-2, 3-5 on Curriculum

Spcialists - Department Meetings

Lower School Curriculum Task Force Meeting, Friday, February 22nd 11-11:50

We will meet in the Science Discovery Room to look at a 5 Year Curriculum Plan. Other topics you want to discuss? Let David know.

Chapel

Be on time, please - 11:55 on Monday. 8:10 on Friday.

Monday, Feb. 11:  Chapel at the regular time with the usual participants (Primary through 5th).

Tuesday, Feb. 12: Fat Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras or Carnival, which means we will have breakfast food for lunch (usually pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs).

Wednesday, Feb. 13:  Ash Wednesday Chapel at 11:55 a.m. for Primary through 5th grade.   BRING YOUR ALLELUIAS that your class made. Remind students that coming forward for ashes is their choice.  If they do so they should be respectful. This is a good reminder for our younger students who tend to get a bit silly.

Arts Week
Artist in Residence (Habiba) that will be performing Monday Feb. 25th at 8:15-9 in the Gym for a special Arts Week LS assembly.


OPERATIONS

Help with Chris O’Toole’s Duties
Please take a look at Chris’ duty schedule for the week of February 19th-February 22nd posted on the bulletin board near the faculty room.  Let Chris know if you would like to swap duties the following week.

Google Calendar
Be sure to keep your calendar current.  AS special events come up that will be our go to calendar for coordinating events.

Scheduling -  Please avoid scheduling special events during Chapel time.

LS Building
The Team Leaders, Kirstin McAuley (member of the Building Committee) and I are beginning to collect images of interesting schools to inform the design of our new LS Building.  Let us know if you know of some school we should investigate.

LS Weekly Memo Week 22: February 4 - 8

Welcome to Week 22: We have three consecutive short weeks ahead as we power through February- Admissions Day, Conferences and then a day to restore on President’s Day.  Thanks for all your hard work with reports.  Due to Angela’s good work, the reports were posted to the Parent Portal on Friday.  At the Admission Day on Saturday, several current parents commented on the positive impact both your reports and the upcoming conferences have on their family’s school experience.


COMMUNITY

Best Wishes to Angela
We wish Angela all the best on her leave.  She will return to Lower School in August. Thank you Debra and Chad for agreeing to tend to her responsibilities in her absence.

Damaged student work
5 students in Kiah’s class have had their work damaged after the work was hung in the hallway outside her classroom. Contact Kiah or David if you have any information or questions related to this.  

Grade Level Coffees - Mid Year
Our thanks to Kiah, Asha, Lara, Ari and Angela for their contributions to Third and Fourth Grade Parent Coffees this past week.  Below you will find a list of possible topics for our last two coffees. Please update/or add topics you wish to discuss at your grade’s mid-year coffee by clicking on the link below.  https://docs.google.com/a/go.oes.edu/document/d/1WNqKkGJ4D7X6LHD0OndQB-bLdvobCXDtLICjqJja1Ro/edit

Grade	Date	Topics
1st Grade- Marty	Monday, February 4	Reading Continuum Assessments
5th grade- Tasha	Tuesday, February 5	ERB’s Plays Competitions OBOB Screen Time

Auction Deadlines and How You Can Help
Monday, February 4th is our deadline for Auction Donations.  Drop a book off at the LS Office if you want to contribute to the Bookself item. Sign up to volunteer on Volunteer Spot. It is a great night to show your support for our generous parents.  Remember a portion of the proceeds goes to our Professional Development fund. Attend dressed up as your favorite TV Character.

Arts Week
You will be hearing more about Arts Week next Thursday....
but here is a link for some Arts Week 2013 ideas and resources  - if you so choose to do something Aard(t)y during a class.

PROGRAM

AS Faculty and Staff Meeting - State of School
3:15 Dining Hall
Mo Copeland - Strategic Initiatives Update
Andrea Bride - School Finances
Susie Gundle - Admissions Update

LS Faculty Meeting - 7:30 DVR
2/7/2013 7:30:00 Appreciations
7:40:00 Technology update
8:00:00 Admissions preparation

Admissions Day - 2/8
See emails from Sarah.  We will be getting admissions groups together Thursday morning during our faculty meeting to review roles and assign tasks. Thank you to Sarah for all her hard work organizing the day.

Tour Beginning School Classrooms
Ashley Cadwell said that beautiful spaces enhance students’ learning. Beginning School Teachers have graciously offered to open their classrooms and studio on Tuesday, February 19th from 7:30- 7:50. Please take time to explore their beautiful and inviting learning environments. We wonder, what would it look like if we had beautiful common spaces and possibly studios in the Beginning and Lower School in which students made their learning visible to the school community?

OPERATIONS

US Study Buddies - Remember that US Students need to be supervised when working with LS students, whether that is before, during or after school.

Tidy Common Areas Before Admissions Day, Friday, Feb. 8th
It is that dark time of year...Common Areas are looking a little rough around the edges. Please take time to tidy your Area before our visitors arrive on Admissions Day this coming Friday.

Admissions Visitors
Thank you for your extr efforts to remind buddies to be in the LS Office waiting for their admissions visitor before the bell rings.  Please match the gender of the visitor to host.  We have had a couple of disappointed

On Campus Adventures
Please remember to have 2 adults present when venturing out on a campus adventure.  We know it is nice to be spontaneous and explore on these days when hints of spring emerge. But please follow these safety procedures:
-Carry a First Aid Fanny pack
-Take at least 2 adults
-Let the office know where you are going, when you plan to leave and when you plan to return.
-Take a cellphone, call the office in an emergency

Calendar
David, Chris and Lyn will have their first go at the Beginning and Lower School Calendar for 2013-2014 academic year next week. Anne Weston expects us to submit a draft of the calendar by March 1st. If you expect to make some significant change to your grade level’s calendar, please let your team leader know.

Playground Safety
You may remember that a Second Grade Basketball ball player broke his arm last week while playing under the covered area. It turned out to be an accident, no reckless play. But it is a reminder that hula hoop games and basketball aren’t really safe in that tight space. Whenever, possible, have them play in separate areas. We recognize that is sometimes hard on rainy days.  

Supervision and Evaluation of Assistant Teachers: A Timeline
Please be sure to meet with your assistant to review goals (hopefully they were established in the fall, if not do so asap) and set dates to complete the supervision and evaluation process.  Third through Fifth Grade, please decide who will support Kate in this process this year. I know you rotate from year-to-year.
You should both complete the supervision and evaluation form and meet to review your individual reflections.  Submit completed forms to Lyn by spring break.
Assistant Teachers, plan to pursue other career adventures in 2013-2014 please let us know by spring break.

LS Weekly Memo Week 21: January 28th -Feb. 1st

Week 21: The 4th grade sent us off into the weekend with an inspiring assembly.  Thank you to the 4th grade teachers, with special help from Ted Morissette, for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tribute.  This week brings the close of report cards and a look forward to admissions days and conferences.

COMMUNITY

Grade Level Coffees - Mid Year
Our thanks to Jackie, Angela and Dori for their contributions to Second Grade and Primary Parent Coffees this past week.  Below you will find a list of possible topics. Please update/or add topics you wish to discuss at your grade’s mid-year coffee by clicking on the link below.  https://docs.google.com/a/go.oes.edu/document/d/1WNqKkGJ4D7X6LHD0OndQB-bLdvobCXDtLICjqJja1Ro/edit

Grade	Date	Topics
3rd Grade- Kiah	Tuesday, January 29	Overnight camp Cafeteria Musical Screen Time
4th Grade- Asha	Wednesday, January 30	ERB’s Competitions OBOB Screen Time
1st Grade- Claire	Monday, February 4	Reading Continuum Assessments
5th grade- Tasha	Tuesday, February 5	ERB’s Plays Competitions OBOB Screen Time

Sensitive Communications - Please be sensitive to the public perception of your comments.  Below is an excerpt of a recommendation written to Admissions by an OES family for a prospective student:
“....we've been told by many parents and OES staff that my child's class (2020) is a bit of a problem class on many levels and that it lacks a certain cohesiveness.  This is of course upsetting and we are hopeful that future admissions can help to rectify the issue, since we've also been told that my (child) and a few of the other new students have helped to assuage this problem already.  I can assure you that both _____ and ______ are excellent citizen students and I would be thrilled to have their positive energy in this class, continuing a trend of improvement .”

Specialist Expectations During Conferences
Lower School conferences are on February 14 and 15.  As in the past, specialists are expected to be in the LS Library for the following hours:
Thursday, February 14 - 7:30am – 3:30pm, the length of a regular school day
Friday, February 15, 8:00am – 2:00pm
Those who are part time may adjust their schedule according to FTE %.
Please reach out to the parents with whom you would like to meet.

Sadri Family
Bella and Sophia Sadri’s parents have decided to withdraw their children from OES for a variety of reasons.  The girls will be attending their local public school, beginning 2/4.  Feb 1st will be their last day.  Bella has already begun sharing this news with her friends, but has not told her teacher.

SST Help Before Conferences?
Let us a member of SST know if you are interested in discussing a student before conferences.


PROGRAM

LS Faculty Meeting
1-31-13, LS Art Room
Appreciations
Announcement - US Helpers
Admissions Preparation for 2/2 and 2/8
Announcements

Report Cards
We will all have time to proof narratives after school on Monday, 1/28.
All report cards need to be loaded into PCR by 8:00 am on Tuesday, 1/29 so Angela can begin uploading them to the parent portal.  Access to report cards will be closed at 11:59 pm on 1/29.
Angela will need 1/30 and 1/31 to post comments and report cards.
Parents have been informed that the reports will available by 2/4.

Proof-Reading Plan
Proof-reading time has been set aside on Monday afternoon, 1/28.  Teachers are to proof-read narratives and comments, checking writing mechanics and clarity.
Grade level teams proof each others.
Art teachers proof each others
Music teachers proof each others
PE teachers proof each others
Kelola proofs Carmen’s
Chris proofs Kelola
David and Chris will proof Science

Learning and the Brain Conference
Executive Skills for School Success:
Enhancing Student Self-Control, Working Memory and Reasoning
May 3-5, 2013, Arlington, VA
Middle School is sending a faculty member or two. Let me know if you are interested.

History Department Chair Search
With John Holloran being appointed the Director of Studies, the search is beginning for the new PreK - 12 Department Chair.  Below is the process that will be followed.  We can discuss at our meeting on Thursday if there are questions.
Process:

• Initial meeting with US and MS departments and LS faculty.
• Share Department Chair job description.
• Teachers interested in being Department Chair are invited to submit a written statement of interest to the Division Heads.  We encourage you to speak to your qualifications for serving in the role described in the job description and outline your vision for the Department.  Due by Monday, February 4.
• We will circulate the written statements to everyone included in this email and ask for written feedback directed to the Division Heads.  Feedback closes on Monday, February 18.
• Division Heads review statements and feedback and make decision.  Decision by end of February.

OPERATIONS

LSLT - Meeting, Tuesday, January 29, 10:50 - 11:50, Janet Schillings Room
Report card check in - Timing, Technology
LSLT - Appreciative Inquiry
Other

Prospective Primary Parent Tours Fill Chris’ Schedule

Calendar - 2013-14
Lyn, Chris and I will be meeting on 2/7 to begin constructing the calendar for 2013-14.  The All School Calendar summit is scheduled for March 5th.

Uniforms, Gum and Cell Phones
The 5th grade teachers have spoken with the students about following school policy related to these three topics:
Uniforms - follow the policy
Gum - not allowed at school
Cell Phones - only allowed with special permission and should not be used on the OES campus.  Please intervene and let the teachers know if a 5th grader is not following these.

Admissions Buddies and Visitors 2nd - 5th grades
Admissions is having a busy season.  Many grades will have many visitors.  If a student in your class is going to be a buddy for a visitor:
1. Have the student come straight to the LS Office when they arrive in the morning
2. Buddies should be in the LS Office by 7:45
I will also be reminding parents about this in the WedX.

Auction Volunteering
The Action is on Saturday, August 9.  As always they are looking for volunteers. Here's the link to the OES site that directs you to where on Volunteer Spot you can sign up to volunteer at the auction.

New Phone System
To access your voicemail on your phone you now need to dial x870.  With the new software update the voicemail speed dial button works only infrequently.  You can also access voice mail remotely by dialing 503.416.9870.