Thursday: Staff Spirit Day-Anything But a Mug/Water Bottle; Staff Holiday Party @ 2:30 in the Media Center
Friday: Staff Spirit Day-PJ Day
PTO has asked to extend the Joy Festival through Monday for a recess scavenger hunt for interested students. Keep an eye out for students in the halls during lunch recesses on Monday. Thank you!
It’s the first ever, Lava Ridge Student Badge Training Week! Next week please plan to take your class outside on the playground for 10 minutes and train them (and let them practice!) how to use the nifty card readers they will use beginning January 5th if they need to come inside at recess. In January, we’re planning that students will see a member of the supervision team for a badge if/when they need to go inside during recess. We’ll have a sign up sheet for you on Monday and sets of badges that can be checked out from the office during your training time.
Connected with this, on Monday during morning meetings, will you please ask your students to make sure the doors coming in from the playground are left slightly propped open if they come inside during recess. The new crash bars do not have an unlock setting and this prevents the supervision team from needing to unlock the doors each time students need to come inside. Thank you!
Coming soon! After Break, weather-willing, we’ll have more winter safety instruction for our Lions.
You are rocking it! It’s exciting to see the impact your foundational skills and extension of core instruction are having for our students who were not yet reading at grade level in September. Thank you for continuing to prioritize foundational skills instruction on those days that are atypical (field trips, class parties) and for all of your time and energy with this work. January 15th is Winter DIBELS and we’ll have details for you regarding which students in your class will be tested in early January.
We’ve posted a 2.5 hour educational assistant position to join our team and assist with lunch recess supervision and provide classroom support. We are funding this position with a portion of our school improvement funds and some discretionary dollars we received due to higher than expected enrollment. If you know of someone who would be a great addition to our team, please encourage them to apply!
Monday: Joy Festival @ Lunch recess; ICCL Meeting @ 2:30 (C5)
Wednesday: Vision Screening; Care Team Meeting @ 8:00 (A3); Joy Festival @ Lunch recess; SIW: Erin’s Law & Wayfinder Reports @ 1:45; 5th Grade Music Concert @ 6:00
Friday: Joy Festival @ Lunch recess; Staff Holiday Celebration @ 3:16 (Craft Brewing)
The PTO Joy Festival lunch-recess activities will be will be Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Thank you so much for your time helping students to understand the details on the orange slips you receive from the office at the end of the day. This is a busy part of the day and your time reading through this information and relaying to students is appreciated!
Lots of fun and smiles at the Belonging Breakfast this morning!
From Julie Richards: Subject: Maintaining Strong Instructional Routines as We Approach Winter Break: As we move into the final three weeks before winter break, we want to thank you for your continued dedication to high-quality instruction and for the warmth, creativity, and care you bring into your classrooms during this season.
These last weeks before break are a critical window for student learning, particularly in reading and mathematics, where consistent, uninterrupted instructional time has a meaningful impact on student growth. Strong routines, clear expectations, and protected instructional minutes help ensure that students continue to make progress right up to the final day.
We fully support engaging, fun, and meaningful seasonal activities and projects that are inclusive of all students and reflect the diverse traditions, backgrounds, and experiences in our school community. At the same time, we ask that core daily routines for reading and math remain intact and that instructional minutes in these areas are not reduced or replaced. When possible, consider ways to integrate literacy, math, and content standards into projects and celebrations, allowing students to learn while engaging in seasonal fun.
Your ability to balance joy with purpose is one of your greatest strengths. By maintaining consistent instructional routines alongside engaging and inclusive activities, we ensure our students continue to thrive academically while feeling valued and connected during this time of year. Thank you for your professionalism, intentional planning, and commitment to maximizing every learning minute for our students.
From the recent Quick Check-In: The TV shows our staff would love to star oninclude…
Ted Lasso
Survivor
Gilligan’s Island
Survivor or the Amazing Race (with Smith!)
Top Gear
Alone
The New Girl
Heartland
Sesame Street
Ted Lasso
Goldbergs (reliving my childhood) or Abbott Elementary
The Amazing Race
Knight Rider
The Price is Right
Physical 100
The Good Place
Wheel of Fortune
From the recent Quick Check-In: The TV shows we would not want to be on…
Tuesday: Staff Appreciation Breakfast @ 7:00 in the Media Center
Wednesday: Picture Re-takes; SIW: Work in Classrooms; 3rd Grade Music Concert @ 6:00
Thursday: Belonging Breakfast @ 8:30 in B1; Lava Team Meetings @ 2:30; 4th Grade Music Concert @ 6:00
Friday: Time and Leave Sheets Due
The week after Fall Break is one of the weeks the Tier 1 Task Force set for re-teaching of classroom and school expectations. Here are the Lava Ridge Expectations
Notes from Kina: A couple things if you plan to come in over break (I hope you don’t 🙂):
KIDS INC Non School Days program has been cancelled due to low enrollment
IT may be here working on installing the badge readers
UPDATED process to setting the alarm before you leave:
Type in your code, press “on” – the keypad will say “FAIL”
Hold “reset” button
Type your code again, press “on” and it should give you the 60 second countdown
WHY THE EXTRA STEPS? The keypad has been a little off during the rewiring process
The theme of the PTO Joy Week this year will be gingerbread houses and gingerbread people. The week of December 8-12 there will be fun activities for students to complete during lunch recess connected with this theme.
Thank you for letting me know in advance (at least a week, please) if you are considering inviting a guest presenter to your classroom. This allows time to determine if the guest will need a background check, a visitor badge, and to make sure office staff are ready to greet them. Thank you!
Wednesday: Care Team Meeting @ 8:00 (C5); SIW: Amplify Desmos Math Focus @ 1:45 (Media Center)
Thursday: Career and College Dress-up Day; Karen Rush Site Visit @ 9:30; Lion Pride Drawing @ Lunches; Kinder MTSS (C5), 1st – 5th PLC Meetings
NeighborImpact is partnering with us again for the Canned Food Drive. Donation barrels will be in the north/south hallways and at the main entrance. Watch for studentflyers for home in your mailbox early Monday.
We will be announcing Character Trait Awards for Belonging on the announcements beginning Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Superintendent Cook and Assistant Superintendent Birk will provide an all-staff 30-minute virtual update at the times below:
Thursday, December 18th @ 2:30 in the Media Center
2025-26Counseling Curriculum Update:
In the coming weeks, Sally will begin teaching the Kelso’s Choice Conflict Management curriculum to 2nd students. This year, elementary counselors will deliver the three lesson Kelso’s Choice curriculum to students in grades K–2.
Later in the year, students in grades 3–5 will continue learning the Sources of Strength curriculum.
Here is the link to the Bend-La Pine Policyfor showing motion pictures. G films/videos can be used in grades K-12 if they are directly linked to curriculum and PG films/videos may be used in grades four and five with permission of the principal and of the parent or guardian.Please let me know if you have any questions.
In the event the need arises to show a motion picture, Brad has developed some information for how we can responsibly and effectively show movies and videos in our classrooms, while staying true to our district’s policy and making use of our new streaming resources:
-To support classroom streaming, we now have access to the streaming service called Swank K-12 Streaming. As highlighted in the Educational Technology blog post, Swank gives us a legal, simple way to show feature films that support learning — it’s available for certified teachers, administrators, and media managers for instructional use, school community events, and classroom contexts. You can access Swank via the district short link: https://bls.fyi/swank (Be sure to open Swank in Safari and use AirPlay to project to your Apple TV)
-If you need to use other streaming services such as Netflix or Disney+, Brad made a helpful tutorial on how to stream from those services.
Thank you for routing a copy of SLGGs my way if you haven’t yet. Thank you!
We are planning to send home a flyer from PTO at the end of next week for the Canned Food Drive, November 17-21.
Thank you for your time coordinating PE activities for your students during 3rd recess. Any teacher directed activity (including walking the running club course!) works. Thank you! Besides the benefits of movement, there is often decreased student issues with this added structure. 🙂
From Payroll: For the November and December payrolls, all employees will receive a paper paystub (or a live check if not enrolled in direct deposit) mailed directly to their home address on file. This change ensures every employee can easily access their pay information during school breaks when most staff are off-site or not connected to the district network. From now on, paystubs and paychecks will no longer be routed to school sites for pickup or distribution.
What to Know:
All employees will automatically receive mailed paystubs in November, December, June, July, and August.
Employees who want paper paystubs in additional months can email Payroll to opt in. (This election resets each year.)
Employees can update their home address in UKG.
Those who need help setting up direct deposit can review the “How To” guide on the Payroll Portal or reach out to Payroll.
Substitute and extra-duty employees will continue to receive paper paystubs automatically every month.
Employees can still view electronic paystubs through Employee Online when using a district device or network connection.
Friday: Leave & Time Sheets Deadline; Fire Department Re-Inspection @ 10:00
Happy Halloween from the greatest staff in the world!
Congratulations to Jenn Hamilton, Matthew Crawmer, and Anissa Wiseman who were awarded grants from the Education Foundation!
It’s time for the annual Mail Call for Honor Flight of Central Oregon. Each year it’s the goal that each of the Veterans in this group receives a package full of cards and letters to open on their flight back home from Washington DC. As you consider this activity keep in mind that letters do not need to be sent to Megan Silvey before Veteran’s Day, anytime this month is great! Here are more details.
From Julie Richards: Interested in learning more about writing and/or supports to meet all learners in your EL (language arts) block? Check out these options for full-day trainings and sign up here by October 31st.
Monday: The Book Fair begins! Staff Book Fair Preview @ 2:15-3:00; ICCL Meeting @ 2:30 in C5
Tuesday: Halloween Dress Up Day! Harvest Parties
Wednesday: Work in Classrooms 7:15-3:15; Conferences 3:15-7:15 (Dinner provided by PTO @ 2:00 in the Staff Room)
Thursday: Conferences 7:15-7:15 (Dinner: Pizza @ 2:00 in the Staff Room)
Friday: Enjoy!
Thank you for your extra efforts this week supporting the Read-A-thon! You’ll see on the Read-a-Thon Weeks at a Glance we have two more days of announcements for $5 Book Fair gift cards and tracking of schoolwide reading minutes via the Reading Minutes Tracker . Families can donate to the Read-A-Thon via FundHub (or a check made out to the PTO) through October 31st.
Thank you PBIS/Tier I Team for this new student recognition event! Each Character Trait Award recipient received an invite to attend the Belonging Breakfast on December 4th.
What are the most useful items purchased this year by the staff at Lava Ridge?
New device to listen to music while swimming
A mop vacuum, 2 jobs in one, whoo!
Rowing Machine
My Cannondale Cargo e-bike!
Digital wall clock for the classroom
New tv
Baskets for organizing supplies
Electric car
Tupperware lid holder/sorter
OBOB books
Hydration vest for running/hiking
My Blackstone grill so I can cook outside
Arts & Crafts Supplies-it is my “ME” unwinding time
Pencil Sharpener
My new dyson submarine cordless vacuum. Its amazing and picks up so much dust and dog hair!
Here are digital copies of the Read-a-Thon Overview and Read-a-Thon Weeks at a Glance. From 10/21-10/28, we will be tracking the number of minutes we read each day as a school. On those days, please enter the number of minutes the students in your class spent reading on the Reading Minutes Tracker . Thank you! We’ll announce school totals on the announcements. Thank you!
We will be announcing Character Trait Awards for Belonging on the announcements beginning Tuesday. Here is the doc for student name entry.
On Thursday a truck from the Bend Fire Department will be on site for our first graders to explore @ 9:30.
With Harvest Parties and Halloween Dress-up Day (10/28) right around the corner, here is a Respect and Halloween resource from the Equity Department to consider sharing with your students. In the October 6th newsletter we let families know that, “If your Lion chooses to wear a costume, please remember that for school celebrations, costumes with weapons, blood, overly scary masks or that present negative stereotypes of any person, gender, or ethnicity are not allowed.”
Thank you for completing any remaining Safe Schools trainings by October 31st.
From Kinsey Martin: As election season approaches, this is a good time to revisit our expectations around political topics in our school and workplace. While this November may not bring the same intensity as a presidential election year, maintaining neutrality in our professional capacity remains essential.
Here is our policy around staff engaging in political activities. This is a great tool outlining boundaries and appropriate use of district equipment, time, and resources in relation to election topics. District leadership asks that each employee read the information in those links carefully. Let me know if you have any questions or need clarification.
In addition, we know students may initiate conversations about politics, candidates, or ballot measures. To help navigate these moments: Here are 10 steps for teachers to prepare, navigate, and respond to sensitive discourse. Our district Advocacy Coaches are also available to support you in facilitating respectful and balanced discussions.
Friday: Thank you for supporting Fire Busters! Please return any worksheets you may have to the office by this date.
On Monday, I’ll be out of the building with our team attending the Tier I pd and planning session.
Thursday is International Shake Out Day and we’re planning to join the millions of other people throughout the world practicing earthquake preparedness. Here are the SRP Earthquake Slides to review with your class. Thank you!
This year each elementary admin team is part of a PLC. Laci and I are teamed with North Star, Ponderosa, Silver Rail and High Lakes. We rotate hosting the meeting and we’ll be in C5 Tuesday after school.
From TLC: Amplify Desmos Math plans to warranty the materials for us so if you have encountered defective items that need to be replaced, please complete this form.
The IT Department and an outside contractor, have begun the process of installing badge readers on some of our outside doors and new security cameras inside/out. This will involve laying additional wires in the ceilings, installing badge-reading stations and cameras. The project is planned for completion around Thanksgiving.
A shout-out of thanks to the staff that met last Friday with PTO to plan the Read A Thon! The theme this year is Alice in Wonderland. We’re having a kick-off assembly on October 20th (time TBD), tracking reading minutes by class this year, and will get more details to you late next week. The Read A Thon goes from 10/20-10/31. Thank you in advance for your support of this event and fundraiser-it takes us all to make it a success!
Thank you for your efforts and time with the ROAR assessment! If your students haven’t participated yet and you need any assistance, please let Laci or I know. We’re hopeful all students will take the assessment by 10/21.
