Introduction

YG Staff Newsletter – May 24, 2021

YG Staff Newsletter – May 24, 2021

Dear YG staff,

I spent a lazy Saturday morning recovering from a very long week, and I suspect many of you needed a well-deserved break this weekend. We are heading into what is effectively the last week in May (since the Memorial Day is a holiday).

I expect this week to be a busy one for some staff with state testing coming up on Wednesday and with the in-person learning at River Road starting Tuesday afternoon. With Memorial Day and Grading Day coming up, this week will be our last 5-day week.

Items of Note for This Week

Student Climate Surveys for Grades 3-5!

The 4J student surveys are open and will be available until the end of the school year. We are asked to give the survey to all students in grades 3-5. This year the surveys have between 32 and 34 questions and combine four components: (1) a significantly reduced version of our annual climate survey, (2) a mental health screener, (3) questions related to the All Students Belong initiative, and (4) questions about student experiences with distance learning.

These are the links:

Elementary grades in English:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/4jelementarysurvey

Elementary grades in Spanish:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/4jencuestaprimaria

As in previous years, our goal for these surveys is full student participation, but something different this year is that students can complete them either synchronously or asynchronously.

Meeting For EAs Supporting In-Person

Monday, I will be meeting with EAs who will be supporting the In-Person learning opportunities. The meeting will be at 1PM in the music room. The purpose of the meeting is to prepare for the first day of instruction/learning that starts Tuesday afternoon. We will also discuss logistics (entry points, classrooms), need to cover walls Tuesday afternoon in preparation for state testing, and what items need to be taken to El Camino del Rio.

TalentEd Tasks

Classified Staff: I will be completing the end of year evaluations and scheduling time to meet with you. You should be receiving an email notification that I have shared a TalentEd task with you. As I write your evaluations, I will share the form with you and you will need to add your a goal for next year.

Licensed Staff: Last week, I asked licensed staff to complete their end-of-year goals reflection. I met with Rob Hess last Thursday, and he informed me that  Cydney Vandercar asked him to streamline the TalentEd tasks for YG in response to requests from YG teachers. We are streamlining as follows:

  • Teachers on the formative cycle: These teachers have already had their TalentEd tasks closed out, and they do not need to do anything.
  • Teachers on summative cycle: These teachers will need to have an abbreviated evaluation. I will contact these teachers to schedule a brief evaluation conference, which can be done by email if teachers prefer.

Schedules for the Rest of the Year

Teachers were asked to send copies of their schedules to Laura and me. Monday, Laura and I will work to put the schedules together into one location so anyone can see all the schedules. We will also:

  • Adjust EA schedules so they can support instruction.
  • The time EAs were supervising recess will be supporting instruction.
  • Determine what EAs will be doing between 12:30 and 1:45 now that this time is asynchronous.

If you have not sent a copy of your schedule yet to Laura and me, please do so ASAP.

Library Connection – Amy Page sent this week’s Library Connection  to teachers in Friday’s email.

Class Lists for 2021-2022

Teacher teams should start to create their suggestions for class lists next year. Please use the linked YG Class Lists 2021-2022 sheet to enter the information for the next grade’s team to suggest class configurations based on what you know of the students’ performance this year. In this year’s list, some teachers added information about students whose parents were volunteers. I did not include a column for that information, but teachers are free to edit their sheets.

We will be discussing these at our next teacher meeting. I’m not sure we will be holding a meeting this Wednesday, so it would be a good time to get started.

Oregon State Assessment Testing Updates

Jennie sent information for those who wish to share OSAS testing updates in their classroom newsletters:

OSAS testing will take place at El Camino del Río/River Road School this Wed. May 26. Students should be dropped off in front of the school at 12:30. There will be other events occurring when families arrive. Look for Signs labeled YG in the area to the right of the school’s front doors.

Testing ends for the day at 3:45.  Pickup will also be in front of the school. There will be a break for the testers at approximately 1:45.  Any testers that are done at that time can call home to be picked up earlier. Students should bring their CHARGED tablet, a jacket and a water bottle. Paper and pencils will be provided.

Students of families who requested it will be provided with lunch to eat from 12:30-1:00.

Any testers who are absent or who do not finish can test on Fri 6/11.

Administrator Staffing Update

We have a few more changes coming to our administrator team next year. Arthur Hart, who has worked in 4J for 15 years, will be the Transportation Director. Angela Crum, who was the Special Education Director in the Brookings-Harbor School District, will join us as the newest Student Services Administrator. See

Admin Update Email for more information.

EasyCBM: How to Sign in for Students
Here are the steps to remind students how to find EasyCBM on their iPads and how to sign in.
To save even more time, you can share a link on Seesaw directly to EasyCBM with your name pre-added. Just click on “Students”, type in your teacher username and click “go”. Copy the address of the page that shows your username at the top and share it with students as a post in Seesaw. The link will take students directly to the page on their iPads with your name added
Epic: How to Turn off Student Made Account Setting
A new feature in Epic allows students to create their own accounts once they type in your class code. This can be a fast way to have students jump into Epic with little setup at the start of the year, but can also create confusion when students use silly names or end up with multiple accounts. See how you can turn that feature off inside your teacher page on Epic.
Epic: Transferring students to new classes
If you know where students are going next, you can send their profiles to their next teacher in Epic. To send them you will only need to know the teacher’s email address. Once there, the new teacher can merge any accounts if they have made one for students already. Sending them makes it easy for students to keep their books and points.
(How to Transfer) (How to accept transfer request) (Merging student profiles)
Epic: New Features: Hiding content, scheduling assignments and creating Groups
You can customize what students will see in their Epic accounts by “Hiding Content” if there are any types of clips or books that you’d prefer not to show in their Epic library. You can also create “Groups” inside your roster to quickly share collections and assignments that are a perfect fit for students. You can even set when assignments appear to save time and planning.
(Creating Groups) (Hiding Content) (All three tips)
Epic Teacher Resources: Videos for Teachers
Archiving your class at the end of the year, adding in new students, creating collections with quizzes, using the built in dictionary and more… Epic Educator Resources is a great page to bookmark, to save time and be able to find the answers and examples you’re looking for.
20 Zoom Tips and Tricks:
See how to get the most out of your Zoom session settings with this clip. It includes how to customize your background, show clicks, using filters and more.
This is where all of my technology clips and resources can be found. (4J sign in required to protect links with data and curriculum content)
 
Family-facing handouts and helpful tutorials to support students and families at home. (Feel free to share any resources with Famililies) *No sign in needed*
Your Teacher Resource Center for K-5 curriculum resources.
(K-5 Teacher Tech Resources available in top right corner of page)
 
This is a comprehensive list of online resources available to staff and students including usernames and passwords for district-wide tools from our District Librarian Amy Page.
Handouts and troubleshooting guides to support families with issues with technology. There is even a form to request help directly on the page (in the top right corner). Please remind families to include their student’s device asset number in their request as well to speed up providing support.

Jarrett Lerner Website

Robin found a website that’s super cool. Everything is downloadable for free. Many super fun activities that could make easy great Seesaw activities that I think kids would love.

Jarrett Lerner is an author of kid books.  He has great free activities on his website: https://jarrettlerner.com/activities/

Schedule of Upcoming Events

We have 16-and-a-half school days remaining.

1:30-2:00, Tom meeting with EAs to prepare for in-person learning
2:00-3:30, Tom to Elementary Principals Meeting

May 25 (T) – Cyndi Norwood out in the AM for Appointment

May 26 (W) – Spirit Wednesday – Wild Hat/Hair Day
National Paper Airplane Day
1:00-4:00, State Assessment for Cohort B – Cancelled
2:40-4:00, Building Goals and Planning Meeting – Agenda to TBD

May 27 (Th) –

May 28 (F) – National Hamburger Day

May 31 (M) – Memorial Day – No School

June 1-4 – 5th Grade to Outdoor School

June 1 (T)
1:00-3:00, Laura Whitney to Year-End School Finance Meeting

June 2 (W)
2:00-4:00, 4J Anti-Racism Training

June 3 (Th)
3:00-4:00, Site Council Meeting
6:30-8:00, 5th Grade Parent Information Night

June 4 (F)

June 15 (T) – Mark Your Calendars for 5th Grade Promotion, Time TBD

 

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