Friday, June 16, 2017



Weekly Memo
Weekly Memo 43, June 19-23, 2017

Congratulations on completing our year of great change. We have worked through a lot this year. Your students have done amazing things. On to the final push of reports, recognitions and closing meetings. Best of luck.

As a collaborative professional community Lower Faculty Employees will strive to:
  • 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

Students Not Returning for 2017-18
  • Olivia Barron
  • Gregory Carney
  • Renee Flavell
  • Blake Hardy
  • Cade Hardy
  • Declan Kail
  • Kai Nozaki
  • JaSier Ramsey
  • Lily Achse
  • Alice Thomas
  • Patrick Thomas

GaGa Pit on ACP
A big thank you to the 5th graders and teachers who have helped support and teach Gaga to the LS. It has been a joy to see the excitement and sportsmanship around the game this week.  We will review some supervision and support to help the game get off to a good and consistent start in the beginning of next year. Meanwhile, there has been a call for a faculty game...look out on the 20th and 21 for some challenges to be thrown!

Summer Building Use
Kati has figured out which spaces will be use for what camps this summer. She is spreading use around the whole campus. Review the spreadsheet link and let Kati or David know if you have any questions. She tried to let teachers teach camp in their own rooms.

Packing Up for Summer
While many rooms are not planned to be used this summer, everyone should do some basic packing as it is possible that additional rooms may be needed as the summer progresses.
  • Electronics secures
  • Personal items stored away
  • With only one lockable closet in each room, we can supply zip ties if you need to secure additional closets.
  • Take home your plants or make arrangements with your teammates about any plants in your affinity commons that you are planning to leave here--you’ll need a watering plan!

Storage Space
Please take some time during closing meetings or stipend days to review your storage space. Items should in on the shelves and stored neatly. Excess or old items should be removed. Let’s keep this space neat. There will be some reshuffling of office and supply storage this summer.
  • Items left on the floor will be removed over the summer.


PROGRAM

  • Tuesday, 6/20 - LS Faculty Meeting 8:00am - 12:30pm. LS Library
  • Wednesday, 6/21 - All School Meeting 11:00am - 3:00pm

EOY Faculty Meeting Agenda - posted in the faculty lounge

EOY Checklist - More details below
  • submit tech survey assessing readiness to turn-in laptop: All Laptops are required to be turned in Wednesday 6/21. Other machines can be loaned if the survey has indicated you need one.
  • enter DRA/ F&P scores
  • place your order for your EOY APPRECIATION BREAKFAST
  • organize end-of-year assessments to pass up to next year's teacher
    • Reading Assessment
    • Writing Sample
    • Grade level agreed upon Bridges Assessment
    • Spelling Inventory
  • back up your computer
  • next year's duty schedule form
  • Fill out form indicating completed comments and reports loaded into PCR
  • Talk with affinity common team about plants. Take your classroom plants home.

Technology End of Year 2017

Classroom Tech
Location
Document Cameras, Speakers, Stands etc.
Lockable Cabinet
Chromebooks
Leave Charging in Lockable Cabinet
Teacher/Student iOS devices (iPads, iTouch)
Leave Charging in Lockable Cabinet

**LS Tech staff will go around and collect devices for repair or processing and inventory
Laptop Turn-in Day 6/21 8:00am - 10:30am
Faculty proceed through the following steps to turn-in Laptops

Steps
Location
Person
Laptop Cleaning Stations
LS Lobby
self-serve
Turn-in Laptop and Charger
Library/Tech Office Lobby
Debra
Get Loaner Laptop and Charger/Sign Out
Tech Office
Jeffrey

Open Space--End of Year Meeting
You may have noticed the sign-up sheets in the LS Faculty Lounge.  These are for an Open Space time during our LS Meeting on 6/20.  8:45-10:00 will be a time for teachers and Assistant Teachers to learn from and dialogue with each other in two 30-min. sessions.  There will be 8 offerings to choose from during each of the two rotations. Please consider hosting a 30 min. session by writing your topic/question up on the Marketplace Wall in the Faculty Lounge. We have five spots left!

End of Year Assessments to Pass up
Please only pass out these assessments. All other student work should go home.
  • A grade level agreed upon EoY math assessment
  • DRA/F&P reading assessment
  • Writing Sample--unedited. If edited, please attach 1st draft.
  • Words Their Way Spelling Inventory (grades 1-4)

DRA/Fountas-Pinnell Assessment Entries
When you are done with the spring DRA (and Fountas and Pinnell) assessment, kindly enter your students’ DRA & Fountas & Pinnell Scores - spring 2017  in the specified entry sheet with your name on it. Find your name by scrolling the arrow to the left or to the right.

Report Process
  • Support long term subs
  • We will have to turn in laptops on Wednesday morning - complete your laptop survey
  • Jeffrey needs to review PCR formatting beginning at 9:00 am
  • Jeffrey, Chris, Kirstin and David will need to have access to your original reports (in Google) and contact information in case there are corrections to be made. Please fill out this form when your reports are loaded into PCR.

Report Proofing Plan
PCR locks at 9 am on Wed. 6/21, so please make sure your reports have been submitted and double checked to make sure each child has the correct information.
  • Grade Level Classroom Teachers - proof each others
  • Primary - Shelley proofs Chris O's
  • Art - Chris proofs Margaret’s grades 3-5, Kirstin proofs Laura’s and Margaret grades 1-2
  • Music - Kristen and Amy proof each others
  • PE - Proof each others
  • Spanish - Kelola proofs Alfredo’s. Chris proofs Kelola's.
  • Science - David proofs Jane’s
  • Look for a reporting checklist form to come from Jeffrey to guide you in your reporting deadlines.
  • PreK, K, P, you will email your reports to parents between 4-5 pm on Friday 6/23.  You will need to note the need for a loaner on your tech survey since laptops are due before that day. Tablets will also need to be turned in.

Curriculum Order
Chris is preparing an order for handwriting and math curriculum materials. She is planning on ordering the materials listed below. If your team wants other curriculum materials, please let her know.
  • Handwriting without Tears for grades 1-4. 55 copies for each grade level.
  • Bridges Student books v. 1& 2 55 copies for each grade level.
    • Home Connection: Grades K-5
    • Student Bridges: Grades K-5
    • Number Corner: Grade 2

Summer Reading
We’ve ordered copies of Creating Cultures of Thinking by Ron Ritchhart for all LS Faculty and staff. We will use this book in the opening meetings as well as throughout the year as we explore the question “How do we create a culture of curiosity?”  Books will be delivered Tues. or Wed. Enjoy reading this book over the summer and remember to highlight or note your own questions, wonderings and insights!

Fountas and Pinnell
Ari is scheduling two full day trainings (K-2, 3-5) with with Fountas and Pinnell trainers so K-5 have consistent training with the new Fountas and Pinnell Reading Assessment system: the implementation as well as the implications for instruction. This training will happen during the day (with sub coverage) in late September. Ari and Chris are buying and distributing kits this summer for assessments after the training. If your team currently has a kit, any addition, please bring to Chris’ office before the end of the day 6/21. Thank you!

Summer Stipends have been assigned. As you schedule, please enter your schedule for your summer stipends in the linked spreadsheet: Summer Stipend Scheduling. There are two documents you will need to submit to Lyn when you return in August in order to be paid for your time:

Summer Stipends
During your stipend time, we ask grades 1-5 create Year At A Glance (YaaG) plan. A YaaG document helps to think about unit planning and timing for the school year. This is helpful as many of us have experienced a year in Bridges, we can see how the timing has worked and areas where we struggled to stay on target. Hopefully outlining a timeline for the year can help us hit and align all of our academic units and project highlights/milestones as best we see fit. Here are 2 examples of YaaG planning documents I have used: YaaG 1 and YaaG 2.

Your team may also find the Purpose to Practice planning sheet helpful during your stipend.  BY began with this form at their last meeting: its intent is to help you distill the most important focus/priorities for your grade level and then to plan for your principles, structures and practices around those priorities. Send a copy/photo to your Assistant Heads when you complete one so they know about your thinking and can support your work!

If you missed it or need the link for the resource slides that Kirstin shared at the May LS Faculty meeting, you can access it here.

End of the Year Library Info
  • Everyone can check out for the summer during the week of June 12-16.

Duty Schedule 2017-2018
Chris is playing with a possible new duty schedule that could increase consistency and reduce the amount of duties. One duty everyday. Please fill out the form to let her know your choice of duties and feedback.


OPERATIONS

Schedule for Days After School Closes
Monday, 6/19
  • Reports Writing/ Proofing Day
Tuesday, 6/20
  • Reports Due 8:00 am
  • LS Faculty Meeting - 8:00 - 12:30pm
  • Report Proofing - 1:00 - 4:00pm
Wednesday, 6/21
  • Reports loaded into PCR by 9:00 am
  • AS Chapel 11:00
  • AS Closing Lunch, 12:30 - 3:00

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

Your Announcements
Send any announcements you have for faculty to Kirstin, Chris or David 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 maximize our time to collaborate during meetings.

A helpful tool is created 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.