Happy Week 4!
I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Mine was especially good because it included a visit from my daughter from Corvallis! I got to spend time with my amazing daughter and her hubby, but more importantly I got to spend time with my adorable granddaughter Aurelia who I haven’t seen in over two months.

Before the we dive into the wildness of the week, I want to say a huge thank you to all of you and acknowledge how much I am loving the way this crew is coming together and how supportive everyone has been these first few weeks. This is an amazing team of people and it feels really good to be at school!
A few notes to get you going, so grab your planner and list of things to do:
1) Thanks for your weekly efforts to keep parents updated on what’s going on at school. I am appreciating the blend of what is going on academically and all the other great things going on–new songs, activities, art, buddies, SEL activities, etc. Feedback from parents is that they LOVE the photos and it’s helping feel more connected–so let’s keep sending photos every week!
2) A few important reminders:
*It’s important that we are keeping windows open and fresh air circulating in the classrooms, even as the temperatures are cooling. Also, please do your best to remember to turn the air purifier on as soon as you arrive in the morning (and turn it off before you leave).
*Please always, always, always have your phone and keys with you when you are on duty on the playground. In the case of an emergency you may need to unlock the gate(s) to get students off campus, and/or you may need to call 911.
*A reminder that there is NO ART again this week. Kinder, Grade 1, Grade 3, and Grade 4 please have a plan ready for this Wednesday during your art time (common planning time). Sadie and Ray, no art this Friday.
*If you have not already done so, please have a look at the Tier 1 LEAD activities and find something as a first step for yourself. Here is the link: resources. All teachers in the district are being asked to take one small step during September, I am interested to know which you are choosing!
3) SIW this week will be math focussed and supported by Anna (instructional coach) and Kerry Morton. Please be sure to do the survey before the end of the day today if you haven’t already done so. Thanks! Math survey for SIW
4) I’m still looking for a few volunteers to continue working on the framework for Take Care of Yourself/Others/Place. I anticipate that this is about 1-2 hours of work and then bringing it back to the group. We’ll start by blocking a 1 hour meeting time in the next few weeks once I know who is interested. Please email or speak with me early this week.
5) Huge thanks to Ray and Grade 5 for hosting Community Time last week–a great kick off! This week Grade 3 hosts on Thursday and Friday. K/2/4 on Thursday, 1/3/5 on Friday. 1:30pm start.
Future dates:
*October 7/8: Grade 4
*October 14/15: Kinder
*October 21/22: Grade 2
*November 4/5: Grade 1
6) FOA is looking for a teacher rep to attend monthly FOA meetings (just one per month). The teacher rep simply brings the teacher perspective to decisions about fundraising and shares ideas from the staff. Please let me know if this is something you could commit to. Meetings are usually the last Thursday of the month at 4pm (but this does vary).
Speaking of fundraising, FOA will soon be launching a pie fundraiser in partnership with Willamette Pie Company. Grade 5 students did this a few years ago and it was very successful. We’ll be sending home information to parents next week. In terms of support needed, we are kindly requesting that you include a reminder in your weekly notes once the info goes home, and we’ll need some help gathering the paperwork when it returns to school. All the hard work will be done by FOA–calculating totals, placing the big order, organizing the distribution when the pies arrive. More details coming next week, thanks in advance for your support. With no in-person fundraising opportunities available to us right now, this one is important!
7) As you all know we are looking for an EA. The posting that has been up for the last week or so has only yielded ONE applicant! If you know anyone you think might be interested please have them contact me–via email or text. Thanks!
8) Camp Amity. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to go to Camp Amity this Fall (fingers crossed for Winter!) so I got to thinking about how we might be able to bring Camp Amity to school. I think it would be really fun to host an afternoon of camp-like activities out on the field. This could include rotations to various activities like fort building, adventure tales (campfire stories), pearler beading, and so much more. I’m thinking late October. We have a staff meeting on October 12 and we could plan during that time. Start your creative engines and let’s start sharing ideas!
9) I’ll be leaving campus right after school gets out today to attend an Elementary Admin meeting at Ensworth. Call or text if you need me.
Upcoming
*September 30/Oct 1: Grade 3 hosts Community Time
*October 7/8: Grade 4 hosts Community Time
*October 14/15: Kinder hosts Community Time
*October 21/22: Grade 2 hosts Community Time
*October 27-29: No School for students, Conversations (conferences)
*November 4/5: Grade 1 hosts Community Time
Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy