Week at a Glance

Happenings Next Week (Year?) at Lava Ridge:

• Wednesday:  SST Meeting@ 8:00 in C5; EA Meeting @ 10:30 in A6; SIW: Report Card Training & Magic School A1 Training @ 1:45 in the Media Center
• Thursday: Lion Pride Drawing @ Lunches; PTO Meeting @ 2:30 in the Media Center; Lava Teams Meeting (as needed by your team) @ 2:30
• Friday:  Fun Friend Friday @ Lunches

At the PTO Meeting on Thursday we are planning again to have grade level reports shared by a teacher from each team. If the members of your grade level need to meet with Lava Teams during this time, just let me know and I can share an update.

Welcome to Cassidy Schutz who will be joining our staff to provide educational assistant support in the Den! Cassidy has substituted in the Den in the past and was selected as the finalist this week by our interview team.

This year we have had a significant increase in the number of ELL students we serve and the number of these students who are newcomers (students with little or no knowledge yet of English) Jessica and all of you have done a fantastic job welcoming these Lions to Lava Ridge and helping them to grow as learners! To assist us in meeting the needs of these students, the department of Multilingual Services has decided to add certified FTE to Lava Ridge beginning January 6th. Sheri Schneider who has been teaching at Ponderosa (and will continue to do so), will be joining our faculty and teaching daily from 9:00-11:55.  Sheri’s instructional schedule is in the developmental stages and Jessica or Sheri will be in touch with you and families of your ELL students if this addition impacts the ELL supports for your class. 

From Lisa Birk: We would like all staff  to participate in a survey to describe their professional development interests. COREN supports many learning opportunities within BLP, and this information benefits both their organization and ours in the sense that it gives us access to supports for our current needs. Professional Development Survey for COREN.

Staff Room Tidy Team:  4^th grade

Next Week is a B week

Happenings Next Week at Lava Ridge:

• Monday:  ICCL Meeting @ 2:30 in C5
• Tuesday:  Staff Meeting @ 2:30 in the Media Center
• Wednesday:  SST Meeting @ 8:00 in C5; SIW: Trauma Informed Practices @ 1:45 in the Media Center
• Thursday: Lion Pride Drawing @ Lunches; Holiday Party and Celebration in the Media Center @ 2:30
• Friday:  Holiday Social @ Bridge 99 @ 3:16

We will be announcing Belonging trait awards during the announcements Tuesday-Friday

From Julie Richards: The Math Curriculum Review Team has been actively engaged in the curriculum review process since the fall of 2022. We want to take a moment to thank them for their dedication to this important work.

This year, the Math Curriculum Review Team and field testers have been involved in evaluating various math materials as part of the ongoing review process. After field testing a set of materials, STEMScopes, the team determined that it did not meet the criteria established in our rubric. Consequently, information about this program will not be shared at your school. However, if you are interested in exploring STEMScopes on your own, you can access it here. Additionally, you can review the detailed results from both the Math Curriculum Review Team and the field testers.

Looking ahead, we are excited to begin our next field test. Starting in early January, the team will be teaching Experience Math and gathering valuable insights. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Julie Richards, Kerry Morton, or any member of the Math Curriculum Review Team.

Staff Room Tidy Team:  3^rd grade

Next Week is an A week

Happenings Next Week at Lava Ridge:

• Tuesday:  Newcomer Learning Lab with Sara @ 11:30-2:45 (C6); ICCL Meeting @ Jewell, 3:00-5:00
• Wednesday:  SIW: Work in Classrooms; Media Manager Meeting @ 1:45
• Thursday: PLC Meetings*  

*Please spend some of your agenda time looking at your progress monitoring data. Skill Development groups have been running for about 6 weeks and we are 6 weeks out from having winter benchmark data.  As you do this, look for general trends instead of focusing on individual students and not on making major group changes, but small manageable tweaks. We will be able to make major changes in early February when teams will have another ½ day of planning with Sara. Don’t forget to celebrate the positives and to always keep Sara in mind for problem solving questions that may arise. Here is a document to support these conversations. 

Thank you for updating the Lava Ridge Instructional Schedule Google Doc if you have made changes recently to your schedule. Laci and I often refer to this doc when coordinating min-observations and other classroom visits.

We are planning to have a secure drill on Friday. Here are slides to review with your class on Thursday or Friday during morning meetings.

Curriculum, Instruction and Systems–Julie Richards. EL additional training opportunity (space limited)We are excited to offer additional support/planning times for Expeditionary Learning.  If you are interested in participating in these first-come first-serve opportunities, please Sign up here. An email will be sent to folks the following week regarding getting subs. Space is limited so please do not get subs until you are notified that there is room for you on the specific dates

Full-day w/sub provided:

• Jan 21st – 4th and 5th only (Education Center boardroom)
• Feb 4th – K and 1st only (Education Center boardroom)
• Feb 12th – 2nd and 3rd only (Education Center boardroom)

After school w/timesheet (curriculum rate)-any grade level welcome

• Feb 3rd     3:30-6:30 (Education Center boardroom)
• Feb 10th  3:30-6:30 (Education Center boardroom)

Staff Room Tidy Team:  2^nd grade

Next Week is an B week

Happenings Next Week at Lava Ridge:

• Monday:  ICCL Meeting @ 2:30 in C5
• Wednesday:  Picture Re-takes; Joy Festival Activity @ Lunch Recess; SIW: Module 2 Review and Planning Time @ 1:45 in the Media Center;  EA Training at Education Center @ 2:00
• Thursday: Joy Festival Activity @ Lunch Recess; Lion Pride Drawing @ Lunches; Lava Teams @ 2:30
• Friday: Joy Festival Activity @ Lunch Recess

The Joy Festival Returns!  During lunch recess Wednesday-Friday, students will be able to complete a fun art project in their Neighborhood.

Save the date! Holiday celebration at Bridge 99 @ 3:16 on December 20th. More details to come!

When asked If we could live in any historical period, here’s what our staff had to say:

• The 1960s
• London 1800s, Colonial America following the Revolutionary War.
• No thank you, I love aspirin and air conditioning too much. Can I choose a utopian Star Trek time of the future?
• The future – so I know if we survive or not.
• The 1920’s
• 1870-1890  Homesteading…Little House on the Prairie Time Period
• The early 1800s (but just the fancy parties and elegant clothes😊)
• 1960’s
• 1930’s because I love the fashion
• The 70s (the MUSIC)
• 1780 with Marie Antoinette
• The Rome times
• I think the 20’s.  It seems like a fun time before things got really hard during the depression.
• Now…we’ve come a long way! We have so much further to go. But going backwards would feel weird to me!
• Too hard to pick

Staff Room Tidy Team: 1^st grade

Next Week is an A week

Canned Food Drive Week!  Cans and non-perishable food can be placed in a barrel at the Main Entrance, or in the north or south hallways through Friday. Thank y0u!

Happenings Next Week at Lava Ridge:

• Monday:  ICCL Meeting @ 2:30 in C5
• Wednesday:  SST Meeting @ 8:00 in C5; SIW: Math curriculum preview with Sara Swedlund for Amplify Desmos Math & Morning and Closing Meeting Resources @ 1:45 in the Media Center
• Thursday: Dress Up Day: Career, Trade School or College; Tammy Doty & Karen Rush Site Visit @ 8:00; Lion Pride Drawing @ Lunches; K MTSS in C5 (Eagle’s Nest) ; PLC 1^st – 5^th  

Grace has started her leave. Emma Hoiness will be serving as the long-term substitute in her class beginning Tuesday.

On Wednesday, 5th grade leaders will be visiting classrooms to discuss College and Career dress-up day with your students.

This week during the announcements we will again be announcing the name of a student from each class that has been excelling with the trait of responsibility. We are planning to call Kindergarten/1st on Tuesday; 2/3rd Wednesday; 4th on Thursday, and 5th Friday.

Thank you for submitting your goals via UKG. Please let me know if I can assist with the uploading of docs or if you need additional time.

Thank you for your input! We will be letting the PTO know that we would prefer to have one schoolwide t-shirt color for the Lion Dash in the spring.

From the Tech Department: Synergy Mail Issue and Resolution-The latest update to our student information system included a change in Synergy Mail, which removed the ability for recipients (families) to reply directly to the sender (teacher). This change was intentional by the vendor but was not communicated to any IT teams or any of their 6,500 school customers nationwide. As a result, we were delayed in communicating the issue and providing a solution.As of today, November 14th, our BLS IT team has implemented an in-house fix that restores the direct reply functionality for recipients of messages sent via Synergy Mail.

Staff Room Tidy Team Kinder

Next Week is an B week

Happenings Next Week at Lava Ridge:

• Monday:  Veteran’s Day Holiday
• Tuesday:  Staff Meeting @ 2:30 in the Media Center
• Wednesday: Belonging Assembly @ 8:30;  Media Manager Meeting @ 1:45 in the Media Center; SIW: Work in Classrooms;  Admin Meeting 3:00-4:30 @ BSHS
• Thursday: 1^st MTSS in C5 (Eagle’s Nest) ; PLC K,  2-5^th

Thank you for submitting your goals via UKG by November 15th. Please let me know if I can assist with the uploading of docs or if you need an extension.

If Laci or I completed a mini-observation with you earlier this year, keep an eye out for a notification from UKG for a “Performance Review” of this observation. The window opened this week for inputting and we hope to have them entered sometime next week.

The holiday season is quickly approaching! As we work to grow a sense of belonging for each Lion, thank you for your thoughtful planning of the activities students might experience during this upcoming time of the year and beyond. Lava Ridge students celebrate a variety of holidays throughout the year, some do not, and some are not able to. Your consideration of every student is appreciated. Here is a reflection tool created the Bend-La Pine Equity Team you may find helpful in your planning.

Next week is an A week

Staff Room Tidy Team: Office Staff

Happenings Next Week at Lava Ridge:

• Monday:  ICCL Meeting @ 2:30 in C5
• Tuesday:  Vision Screening in A3 @ 8:00-11:30 
• Wednesday: SST Meeting @ 8:00 in C5; SIW: Progress Monitoring Training & SLGGs @ 1:45 in the Media Center;  District EA Training @ 2:00
• Thursday: 2^nd MTSS in C5 (Eagle’s Nest) ; PLC K-1^st, 3-5^th
• Friday: Gary @ District Safety Cadre, 1:30

During the morning announcements this week we will be announcing the name of a student from each class that has been excelling with the trait of responsibility. A reminder that we are planning to call Kindergarten/1st on Tuesday; 2/3rd Wednesday; 4th and 5th on Thursday. We will do this again the week of November 18 for an additional student in each class.

We are coordinating a picture of staff from Lava Ridge that are Veteran’s. Please let Kina know if you have served in the United States military, naval, air, or space service and would like to participate.

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.

When Grace begins her leave on November 18 we will be shifting the experience students have in specials from music to Wayfinder. Emma Hoiness, will be serving as the long term substitute for Grace through March 17th and will be teaching lessons from the “collections” section in the curriculum. We are excited for students to have this additional Wayfinder dose and will be communicating this change to students in the upcoming weeks.

Staff Room Tidy Team: EA Team

Next Week is an B week

Happenings Next Week at Lava Ridge:

• Monday: The Book Fair begins!
• Tuesday: Dress Up Day: Halloween Costume or Book Character; Lion Pride Drawings @ Lunches;  Harvest Parties; Conferences 3:15-7:15 (Dinner provided by PTO @ 2:30 in the Staff Room)
• Wednesday: Work in Classrooms 7:15-3:15; Conferences 3:15-7:15 (Dinner: Pizza @ 2:00 in the Staff Room)
• Thursday: Conferences 7:15-3:15
• Friday: Enjoy!

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Laci and I will be stopping by classrooms after 7:15 pm with a friendly reminder that conferences are finished for the day. The goal of this visit is to get you home! To assist with this, please turn off your lights when you leave after your last conference. Thank you!

The week of November 4th during the morning announcements we will be announcing the name of a student from each class that has been excelling with the trait of responsibility. We are are planning to call Kindergarten/1st on Tuesday; 2/3rd Wednesday; 4th and 5th on Thursday. Here is the doc to enter a name for your class. We will do this again the week of November 18 for an additional student in each class.

Fun Friend Friday will begin in December! We are planning to connect this to belonging and that grade levels will be able to earn this through the consistent use of “dinner table voices” throughout the week. More details to come.

Save the date! Wednesday, March 5th from 5:00-6:30 will be the first Lava Ridge Showcase.  Here’s the scoop…Post-COVID we have hosted Art Night each spring to build community with families, especially those that are not able to attend events that occur during the school day.  This week the ICCL Team discussed rebranding this event and expanding the options for what teachers could have families see during their visit to Lava Ridge and our classrooms.  This might include student writing, a scavenger hunt through math workbooks, a project student’s have been working on, art… We are planning that certified staff will attend and that this will be one of the evening events that are part of the new collective bargaining agreement.  In selecting March 5^th, the team felt that scheduling on a teacher-prep Wednesday would be most optimal and that we were best to avoid the busy months of April and May.  We’ll discuss more details after we return from Winter Break.

From Kerry Morton: Math Field Test Materials – October 29-October 31, each elementary school will have all three programs available in their buildings for families and teachers to view.  Reach out to a Math Curriculum Review Team member if you have any questions about the programs: Amplify Math with Desmos, StemScopes Math, and Experience Math. At Lava we will likely have this display in the lobby.

From Scott in Technology: YouTube Access for K-8 Students – Trial of “Allow List” Solution. As you know, we are currently blocking all YouTube content for students in grades K-8. Starting next week, we will be implementing a trial of an “allow list” solution, which will enable students to access a curated set of videos. At present, nearly 1,000 YouTube videos necessary for the SchoolLinks curriculum have been added to this allow list. Why is this important? If this trial proves successful, we can explore expanding the allow list to include additional teacher-requested YouTube content.

Here is a list of items the we couldn’t live without:

• Coffee
• My son
• Espresso Machine
• My dog
• Diet Coke
• Nalgene Water Bottle
• Special people in my life
• A creative outlet
• Access to mountains
• Costco Card
• Chapstick! (mentioned twice by respondents)
• Smiles!
• My car
• Books

Staff Room Tidy Team: Specials

Happenings Next Week at Lava Ridge:

• Monday:  Read A Thon Begins! Read-In @ 1:30 (1^st grade @ 12:30);  ICCL Meeting @ 2:30 in C5
• Tuesday:  ADA Assessment visit by ODE
• Wednesday: Dental Screening in A3; SIW: Work in Classrooms
• Thursday: Dental Screening in A3;  2^nd MTSS in C5 (Eagle’s Nest) ; Lava Teams @ 2:30

Thank you for your time preparing for the October bias lesson! If you haven’t already, please fill-in this Google Doc with the dates for when your students will be learning this content. Here again is a link to the lessons. 

If you are interested in having someone from the PTO come to your Harvest Party on Tuesday, October 29th to lead a directed draw of a book character, please let the PTO-Read A Thon contact at your grade level know.

Celebrate a successful start to the school year at Educators’ Night Out at the High Desert Museum on Thursday, October 24, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Fabulous door prizes from local businesses like Bar Rio, Bend Pet Express, Greg’s Grill, Mountain Supply, and so many more! Register by October 22 here!

Staff Room Tidy Team: 5^th Grade

Next Week is an B week

Happenings Next Week at Lava Ridge:

• Monday:  Indigenous Peoples’ Day; Sibling Conference Scheduling @ 2:30 in the Media Center
• Wednesday: SIW: EL Planning + Time to Complete Cybersecurity Training @ 1:45, Media Center
• Thursday: Earthquake Drill; Tammy Doty Site Visit @ 8:30;  3^rd MTSS in C5 (Eagle’s Nest); PLC Meetings @ K-2^nd, 4-5^th
• Friday:  Picture Day!  Pictures will be in A3

Here are the SRP Earthquake Slides

10/17 PLC Topics:

• Skill Development Planning
• Planning for Waypoints summative assessment (window closes 11/18)
• Discussion/planning of work samples to share at Conferences
• Inputting checkpoint/assessments into Forefront
• Preparing for MTSS

Staff Room Tidy Team: 4^th Grade

Next Week is an A week