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Captured at Ash Creek XC meet at Ash Creek Preserve on September 08, 2018 by Matthew Lasala<\/p><\/div>\n
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Inspiration<\/b><\/p>\n
Please allow me to be a proud papa and share this image of my son, Mason, running his XC race last weekend in Monmouth. \u00a0Each week I am more and more inspired by Mason as he finds his place in this big high school environment. We are really fortunate to have a fellow parent with a fantastic eye for photography and he snapped this great pic. \u00a0Even if this had not been Mason in the picture, I think the image is pretty spectacular and worth sharing so I hope you can enjoy it as much as I do. Thank you for indulging me.<\/span><\/p>\n Fire Drill<\/b><\/p>\n We will conduct our first fire drill on Monday morning, ideally before the 10:00 recess. \u00a0I will make a PA announcement first and then give you a couple minutes to provide instructions before we pull the alarm. \u00a0When the alarm sounds then you may start the evacuation. For this first drill, we will use only the back doors for egress. \u00a0The line up area will be back to our original location prior to the tent.<\/span><\/p>\n Kinder Assessments<\/b><\/p>\n Thank you to everyone who is helping get these Kinder Assessments completed. \u00a0I know this can amount to quite a bit of work (without any reward) which can interfere with your efforts to bond with your students and establish those routines that impact the rest of the year. \u00a0Please know it is appreciated and I am sorry this is a requirement.<\/span><\/p>\n Kinder\/1st Grade iPads<\/b><\/p>\n We placed a purchase for 22 iPads for our Kinder and 1st grade carts. \u00a0This will be a huge stretch on the budget, especially this early in the year. \u00a0You can all help by making an extra effort to utilize print shop as much as possible as this cost often drains our accounts without much warning periodically throughout the year. \u00a0This also means I won\u2019t be able to say \u201cyes\u201d as often I usually do to requests for funding so I do apologize for that ahead of time.<\/span><\/p>\n Parking, Gates and Building Entry<\/b><\/p>\n As we get more and more accustomed to our new surroundings, I want to point out that the back gates are not intended for frequent use, especially during school hours. \u00a0The back doors, especially Brad\u2019s door, are not considered the building entry or exit. Those sliding gates are primarily meant to provide access for deliveries. The design is intended to drive people via the official path of access around the gym to the front office of the school and discourage entry through the back. \u00a0Please adjust your expectations and habits to be prepared for this change. Also, I\u2019ve noticed we have had 2 to 3 open parking spaces each day in the angled parking area.<\/span><\/p>\n Storage\/Shelving<\/b><\/p>\n Unfortunately I am still struggling to get shelving for our storage rooms covered under the insurance claim. \u00a0I think we are all aware of how important it will be to maximize our storage safely. If I cannot make any more headway with the insurance claim, I plan to invest some furniture funds over the next few years into heavy duty shelving for these rooms each year to make everything more easily accessible in the long term. \u00a0Until we get more shelving in place, we will just have to make it work. We are also waiting on some finish work on the under-stage cabinets which will help tremendously.<\/span><\/p>\n Design Team Updates<\/b><\/p>\n Thank you for all your effort during these initial meetings. \u00a0From what I gathered, we all some highly productive conversations and planning. \u00a0Although we will need to do our best to communicate with our teammates about the agendas and upcoming events, it\u2019s not a bad idea to take a quick peek at the different agendas\/meeting notes (each linked below) to keep yourself informed.<\/span><\/p>\n Academic Excellence<\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1gIX5xASbuI-HJ7TnS0v2X0OjF7gKWlC7yWQESVK61EI\/edit?usp=sharing<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Thriving Citizen<\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1GIYh-TzCfV-7swUfiq6bPWazeFz-AgBUDD360QnbgEY<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Future Ready<\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/drive.google.com\/open?id=1idNZUUufycECXwzs90vXetuSqClEGJtmmAR1kn-zvZU<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Based on the outcomes of these meetings we should be able to start locking in our SIWs for the year. \u00a0Your next SIW will be \u201chosted\u201d by the Thriving Citizen Team. We will be hammering out our \u201cfirst draft\u201d for our school wide K-5 Social Emotional Learning effort.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kids Inc. Rec Zone<\/b><\/p>\n If and when parents ask about where to go for picking up kids at Rec Zone\/Kids. Inc please direct them to the westside door (nearest the angled parking spaces).<\/span><\/p>\n We \u00a0also will have After School Enrichment classes by Bend Parks & Rec primarily in rooms 14 and 17 on Wednesdays. \u00a0Although we will need to do some work to regrade the field in the near future, the field is now open after school for sports practices.<\/span><\/p>\n Mini-Observations, SLGGs and Evaluations<\/b><\/p>\n I started getting my classroom rounds in this week . \u00a0I am sure we (principals) will be given another update on any changes to the requirements on minis, SLGGS and evals, but for now I operate under the assumption we have similar requirements to last year which were the following;<\/span><\/p>\n If any of these requirements change, I will be sure to share those changes with you in an update.<\/span><\/p>\n I will be spending approximately 2 to 3 full days a week in classrooms. \u00a0These initial days are meant to get the kids accustomed to me moving in and out of the classroom without disrupting the flow (easier said than done for our Kinder classes). \u00a0Not every classroom visit will equate to a mini-observation, as the visit needs to have a follow up conversation to count as a mini. As always, I really appreciate your assistance in making those follow up conversations happen when they work for your schedule. \u00a0These follow conversations are meant to prompt you to reflect on the lesson or practices you are putting in place.<\/span><\/p>\n Recess Duty<\/b><\/p>\n I saw some improvement in this area but it never hurts to keep the friendly reminder; \u00a0Please remember to be as prompt as possible with your recess duty. Thanks for being there for each other – keep up the great work. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n PTO Meeting<\/b><\/p>\n The first general meeting was well-attended. \u00a0The budget was explained and passed unanimously. \u00a0Some parents asked out of curiosity about the Mindful Educator Course, Mind & Body\/Motion (Amy Nary), and the Artist in Residence. \u00a0I provided explanations for these. The rest of the time was spent explaining the different roles (recruitment for future), Giving Campaign and Fall Festival planning.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2018-2019 \u00a0SIW Call for Proposals!!!<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Here are the District SIW series dates:<\/b><\/p>\n We will not have a District SIW until October 10th.<\/b><\/p>\n We hope to offer<\/span> 20-25 different options for teachers to choose from. \u00a0The topics for these options will fit into five categories that are considered to be areas of high-leverage instructional focus.<\/span><\/p>\n In order to provide choice, your assistance is needed. Teacher expertise is an important part of our district professional learning. \u00a0\u00a0If a proposal is accepted, teachers will be compensated for 14 hours at the curriculum rate to prepare and plan for sessions. <\/b><\/p>\n Proposals must be submitted by September 14th.<\/b><\/p>\n Click here to fill out a proposal!!!<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Click below to see the Highland Staff Calendar.<\/p>\n Google Calendar<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Inspiration Please allow me to be a proud papa and share this image of my son, Mason, running his XC race last weekend in Monmouth. \u00a0Each week I am more and more inspired by Mason as he finds … Continue reading \n
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