Our EME Focus
- Tier 1 Instruction
- Belonging
- Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School
Thoughts of the Week
What in the Hallelujah is Going On!!!
One of the hardest songs in the world to explain is Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. You may have not even known that the song was written and first performed by Leonard Cohen. I do believe the version you are probably most familiar with is by Jeff Buckley, who has one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard. Honestly there’s probably a lot of things that most people don’t know about the song Hallelujah. It’s a really deep and interesting song that’s worth understanding. So here goes Ben’s dimestore explanation, or at least what I get out of the song!
Leonard Cohen’s explanation is that many different kinds of hallelujahs do exist and all the perfect and broken hallelujahs have equal value. Hallelujahs are about many things, but a large portion of it is understanding what your hallelujah is and how to express it, and why you should even express it. Obviously the choruses are just hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, and those continue on and on and on. But the verses tell stories that lead into giving those hallelujahs. To make it a little more complicated Leonard Cohen actually wrote over 80 different verses and would switch up which verse he would use at different performances. Even the covers that you listen to have different verses chosen for different covers. On top of that, the fact that the way people sing the song significantly changes the meaning of the song as well.Is it mournful, is it rejoiceful is it just kind of like putting it out there and letting people take it as it is? At the heart of it, hallelujah is a Hebrew word used to praise God, but in this case Leonard Cohen refers to this song as the secular hallelujah. So while God is mentioned a lot and the Bible is as well, it’s not necessarily to God. It’s more about the human side of the hallelujah. So a good question to keep in mind as you’re listening to this song yourself, is why are these people saying hallelujah and what inspires them to do so? This song is widely open for interpretation and there are as many interpretations as there are people who listen to the song.
In verse one we hear, “and I’ve heard there was a secret chord, that David played and it pleased the Lord, but you don’t really care for music do you?” King David is making music, secret music that pleases God but the person that Leonard Cohen’s is talking to doesn’t really care for music even. I believe this may be evidence that everybody’s hallelujah is a little bit different and some people’s hallelujah doesn’t involve secret chords played to the Lord. The first verse ends with, “the baffled King composing hallelujah.” I believe this is Lenard Cohen telling us with all that has gone sideways in King David’s life he is trying to find, or compose, why he is saying hallelujah. Verse two states, “your faith was strong, but you needed proof. You saw her bathing on the roof. Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you. She tied you to a kitchen chair. She broke your throne and she cut your hair, and from your lips she drew the hallelujah.” He’s really alluding to both the story of King David seeing Bathsheba, getting her husband killed and making her his wife, and connecting that to the story of Samson, who was superhumanly strong until this girl named Delilah tricked him into giving her his secret for his strength. Which was his long hair, and so she cut his hair and then he kind of lost the superpowers. Even despite all of that fallen nature, and losing at life, they still say the hallelujah. Is it because their life was so great at that moment? No, it’s because they’re trying to find hallelujah in the midst of their circumstances, their mistakes, their brokenness! Verse three is one of my favorites, “baby I’ve been here before, I know this room I’ve walked to this floor. I used to live alone before I knew you. I’ve seen your flag on the Marble Arch, love is not a victory March, it’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah.
Cohen is saying love isn’t about winning, and loving other people is difficult. He tells us in a later verse,” it’s not somebody who’s seen the light. It’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah. Maybe Cohen is right. Maybe that hallelujah, that finding, that moment tha tests where we see if we really have a hallelujah in our heart. Maybe it is not about finding hallelujahs in those moments when hallelujahs are being shoved at us through a victory March or seeing the light. Relationships that are not working out really, really well may be the test of our hallelujah. Maybe it is when we’re baffled, when we’re tied to the kitchen chair, when we’re cold, and when we’re broken! In a slightly less well-known verse we hear, “and even though it all went wrong, I’ll stand before the Lord of song with nothing on my tongue but hallelujah.” I believe that whatever this life throws at me, I’m going to end it with a Hallelujah! In the end Hallelujah is about finding your Hallelujah no matter what the circumstances are. This is a song you can sing no matter where you’re at and I think that it’s a beautiful backdrop for humans who are trying to find their hallelujah, their joy, the reason for living.
So what is this all about? My goal is to find my Hallelujahs this week and share them with you, even the ones found in cold and broken circumstances…
The Coming Week
- Monday
- Peter Hoover’s Birthday!
- Dibels
- Tuesday
- Lisa Sheldon’s Birthday!
- Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
- Office Staff Meeting 10:00
- District ICCL Meeting 2:15-3:30
- Wednesday
- Kellie Perry’s Birthday!
- Lauren VanCoutren’s Birthday!
- SIW 1:00-2:30
- Thursday
- None
- Friday
- EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
- EME OLYMPICS!
- 3rd – 8:00-9:00
- 5th – 9:00-10:00
- 4th – 10:00-11:00
- 1st and 2nd – 12:00-1:00
- Kindergarten – 1:00-2:–
UPCOMING DATES:
- October 1 – Office Staff Meeting 10:00
- October 2 – SIW 1:00-2:30
- October 4 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
- October 7 – Reading groups begin
- October 7 – Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
- October 8 – Care Teams 7:00-8:00
- October 8 – Kindergarten Field Trip
- October 8 – Office Staff Meeting 10:00
- October 9 – Mary Dean’s Birthday!
- October 9 – SIW Ed Network Focus on EL Planning 1:00-1:30
- October 10 – Fire Drill 8:30
- October 11 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
- October 14 – Union Meeting 2:30-3:00
- October 15 – Picture Day!
- October 15 – Office Staff Meeting 10:00
- October 15 – Elementary Admin Meeting @ LaPine Elementary 3:00-5:00
- October 16 – SIW EL Planning Follow Up 1:00-2:30
- October 17 – BAM Meeting 3:30-4:45
- October 18 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
- October 21 – Committee Meetings 2:30-3:15
- October 22 – Care Teams 7:00-8:00
- October 22 – Office Staff Meeting 10:00
- October 22 – ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
- October 23 – EA Meeting 1:00-1:30
- October 23 – SIW Teacher Prep for Conferences 1:00-2:30
- October 24 – Earthquake Drill 1:30
- October 25 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
- October 26 – Camille White’s Birthday!
- October 26 – Joelle Pearson’s Birthday!
- October 29 – Office Staff Meeting 10:00
- October 29 – Conferences 3:15-7:15
- October 30 – Teacher Prep 7:15-3:15
- October 30 – Ben and Amanda out 8:00-4:00 for Training
- October 30 – Conferences 3:15-7:15
- October 31 – Conferences 7:15-3:15
- October 31 – Melissa Landolt’s Birthday!
- October 31 – Pam Bradbuty’s Birthday!
Updates from Downtown
Cheers to Jesse, Erich, Calah the Office Manager, and their team over at Jewell Elementary—the 50th birthday celebration was an amazing event tonight! I was so amazed at all the former staff and students who came from near and far to check out the school, including the first principal 50 years ago, Bill Scott! (Small world–he was my advisor in my admin program 21 years ago!) It was such a special time for so many people. Nice work Jaguars!
From Tammy
Important Links
Notes from our Team:
Tracy Howk in IT: This is last minute, but we just got work this class is in jeopardy of canceling, so please pass it on to your staff!
HDESD is putting on a free AI conference for educators on October 11. Dean says there’s sub pay available for those who want to attend. They’re looking for more participants to sign up or they’ll have to cancel, which is a bummer because the speaker lineup sounds great. The timing might also be handy as we’re launching MagicSchool AI in BLS. Registration ends OCT 1. Register here!
From Scott Mc in IT: October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and we’re excited to announce Cyber October! Throughout the month, our IT department will be sharing valuable resources to help improve your cyber hygiene and protect our school district from cyber threats.
Here’s what you can expect:
- Weekly Tips and Tricks: Easy-to-follow advice to help safeguard your digital life.
- Scam of the Week Announcements: Stay informed about the latest online threats.
- Cybersecurity Best Practices: Strategies to keep your data and devices safe.
In addition, all staff will receive a link to our annual cybersecurity training. This mandatory training will take approximately 30 minutes to complete and is crucial in helping to protect both personal and district data from cyberattacks. The window to complete the training is October 1st through November 30th. Look for these updates in your inbox each week. Together, we can strengthen our defenses against cyberattacks! Thank you for your continued vigilance and support.
From Dave VanLoo, Director of School Improvement:
2024-25 District Assessment, Testing, & Surveys. Here are two updated support documents summarizing common standardized tests and surveys for the current school year. One is a schedule showing when different assessment activities occur. The other is a general overview of the purpose and logistics of these assessments. Both documents will continue to be updated throughout the year as is beneficial. Please reach out with any questions.
Bus Moments from Kim and Tina:
Students coming back to school. When we need to return a student to school (ex. no parent present at stop in the afternoon), we will be returning the student back to school, but it will be in the bus loop, not the front entrance/parent. Our buses are too big to fit in these front door loops- we did $20,000 + damage trying to get into a school yesterday afternoon 😕. Our routers will call the office and let them know when the buses arrive.
Guest Riders: Students who are not routed on a particular bus, cannot ride that bus. This includes if they bring a note from home saying they can go to Sally’s house for a play date. Caveat, if they ARE routed to the bus, they CAN get off at a different stop with a friend as long as they have a note from the school or from home.
We will be adding these tags to all kinders backpacks within the next 2 weeks. Red for RED kinders (don’t let off without a parent there), green for GREEN kinders (can be let off without a parent). The tags have first name, last initial, stop information and student ID#. We will also be notifying families of this, so they keep it on the backpack.
There may also be a few kiddos (Grades 1-5)that we keep an “extra eye on” that will also have a RED tag. This will just help alert drivers to make sure they are getting off at the correct stop. Schools can expect to see us up in the bus loop putting these on kinders in the afternoons. Hopefully this will be helpful in getting them on the right buses and off at their homes 🙂
From Jennifer Hauth, re: Wayfinder’s Waypoints. Waypoints, the initial summative assessment for students will be live in Wayfinder from September 15th through November 15th. Summative Waypoints allow educators to measure student growth of Wayfinder’s six Core Skills across the school year. By administering the summative Waypoints assessments, educators can understand areas of strength and growth for individual students and the class to make informed, data-driven decisions about instruction. Here is the info on Waypoints, including the new Waypoints Implementation Guides to help teachers set up the reason we are assessing students as well as instructions. The final summative assessment for students will be open May 12th through June 13th for students.
Waypoint Guide K-2. Waypoint Guide 3-5
From Michell Spetic, Nurse on Special Assignment: OHA / ODE has changed the Communicable Disease Guidance for Schoolsguidelines this year for students and staff returning after having vomiting or diarrhea. They may now return to school after 24hrs of no vomiting or no diarrhea (this replaces the previous 48hr guideline)
Here is a copy of the When to Keep Your Student Home. This information has been sent out to office managers
Here is the link to the full Communicable Disease Guidance packet:
Important Dates
- October 1: Admin/ICCL Meeting–Ed Center Board Room, 3:00-4:30
- October 15: Horizontal Meeting at La Pine Elementary, 3:00-5:00 (La Pine and Juniper host) Please allow extra time for travel, depending on where you are located it could take 45 min to get there. Please do your best to be on time.
- Conferences: Oct 29–3:15-7:15, Oct 30–3:15-7:15, Oct 31–7:15-3:15
- Work Day: October 30, 7:15-3:15
- October 30: Administrator EL training–all day, exact time and location TBD
- October 31: Safe School Trainings need to be done by today
- November 11: Veteran’s Day–No School
And finally…click on the diagram below to see the details of how to buffer yourself from burn out.
