Month: February 2022

Greetings All!
I hope you had a fantastic weekend. Michelle and I stole away to Portland for the night to see a concert and enjoy the city life-we saw a great show, ate lots of tasty food, and soaked up the city vibe! Here’s a snippet of the concert (KALEO), a rocking harmonica solo:

The results of the YouthTruth survey (filled out by staff and families) were recently shared with me, and along with lots of super positive comments, the following comment was shared by a parent and I really wanted to share it with you. Priceless!

I dropped out of school in 11th grade, no longer challenged and feeling like my potential and creativity was being caged. Today, I consider myself successful and find myself in a very fortunate place in my life’s journey. That said, if I could go back and do it over, I would want to start off at Amity Creek. I believe the skills that are being taught and learned at Amity would have given me a more substantial and well rounded foundation and I believe I could have experienced a more joyful experience in life with more tools and people skills to achieve the goals I have set for myself.

A few notes to get you going:
1) It’s show time this Wednesday! Our in-person school information night starts at 5:30pm and it would be great if everyone was here at school by 5:15pm. I always look forward to this evening of sharing with perspective parents!

As you begin thinking about what you plan to share at the meeting here is the list of what each person signed up for:
What Amity Means-Jill
History of Amity Creek—Lindsey
Community Time—Ray
Cross Age Learning, Olders and Youngers—Lauren
Invitations, Camp Amity, Community Garden—Frans
Connections with Parents: Volunteering, Café Amity-Lindsey
Celebrating the Journey—Jill
Kinder Program—Lindsey
Outdoor Education—Andy
Our Personal Whys/Why I love teaching at Amity-Everyone!

Please keep in mind that whether or not you have signed up for something specific, we all have lots to share and each of you should be prepared to share when the moment strikes or inspiration moves you speak.

2) As I mentioned to most of you on Friday I’d like to have a short staff meeting today (Mon) at 2:45. Let’s meet in the staff lounge.

3) Haley is out today. There is a sub covering for her.

4) In order to make the morning attendance and lunch count more efficient and less intrusive please be sure you have the small green slip filled out and ready to hand off to Alanna when she arrives (she and Karima are swapping responsibilities). Most of you have been doing a great job with this–thank you! Our goal is to have 100% of these ready to go so that Alanna can get to the Grade 1 class as quickly as possible.

5) HUGE thanks to Lauren and the first grade for the wonderful community time last Friday! The plan is to keep doing Fridays at 1:30pm until we are ready to do it more often. At this point no one has stepped forward to do this Friday-do we have a volunteer? Please let me know by the end of the day Monday. We’ll take volunteers for the next few weeks and then we can start committing to a regular schedule.

6) We have warmer temperatures this week, but the forecast is also showing rain nearly every day. Let’s continue to offer students the opportunity to stay inside during recess when possible. It would be very helpful if you would spend a few minutes to clarify with students that when they stay in they need to stay in the classroom and not roam around. We’re still not quite ready to lift all the mitigation efforts in place. ALSO, a few minutes before the end of recess it’s a good idea to get all the students out of the classroom for some fresh air when you head out to pick up students on the playground. Please don’t leave a classroom full of students unattended.

7) I will be away from school Thursday and Friday. If you need help or there is an emergency please reach out to Sara. Big thanks to Sara for being willing to be the go-to while I am away!

Upcoming
February 28: staff Meeting, 2:45pm in staff lounge
March 2: Lottery Info Night, in person-5:30pm
March 8: Lottery Info Night, virtual-5:30pm
March 16/17: Next Student Support Meetings
March 21-25: Spring Break!
April 13/14: Conversations

Here’s a fantastic week ahead!
Andy

Happy Monday (or Tuesday),
I hope the extra weekend day was amazing, you certainly all earned it after a full afternoon of Olympic events on Friday! Speaking of the Olympics, I wanted to share a note I received from Walt and Sam’s mom, Lily, over the weekend:

I want you to know that Sam and Walt came home on Friday practically floating on air from the Amity Olympics. They had a ridiculous amount of fun, there’s no other way to put it. I love that this school not only teaches academic subjects and emphasizes social emotional learning but also makes time for the very important work of having silly, messy, ridiculous school-wide fun. Our family is so lucky that our kids get to go to Amity.

Thanks for making Amity a school that our kids can’t wait to wake up and go to each morning. Walt is already counting down until the next winter Olympics.

Thanks again,
Lily

It is indisputable that the work you do, and the people you are, make our kiddos want to be at school! Thank you!

A few notes to get you going:
1) This week’s mind blows-
*More people drown in the desert than die of thirst!
*The world’s population has more than doubled since the late 1960’s

2) The cold front has arrived and temperatures will be in the single digits and low double digits for much of the week. With the cold weather it’s likely we will need to eat inside all week, and it may be too cold for AM recess outside (possibly afternoon, too, on some days). With this in mind, please help out by offering choice time in your classrooms at recess. Alanna, Karima, Maya, and I will be circulating to cover your classroom so you can have breaks as needed. Thanks for your help!

3) Staff meeting Tuesday, at 2:45 in Ray’s room. We’ll use the time to plan for the Magnet Information meetings coming up next week (March 2).

4) It’s all about 2’s on Tuesday–2/22/22 (Tuesday tu/tutu/tutu). Some fun to be had?

5) SIW this week will continue to focus on our SEL/Inclusion/Diversity book collection. Lauren has volunteered to lead the group this week (thanks Lauren!). Please meet at 1:30 in Brian’s room. As a reminder I have a district meeting during this time so unfortunately I won’t be able to join you.

6) We’re firing up Community Time again! Grade 1 will host this Friday (once again, thank you Lauren!). For now the plan is to do this in the gym at 1:30pm. Who will be next? In the coming weeks I’d like to start doing multiple days each week. We’ll see how things are looking and decide when the time feels right. I have put in a request to allow us to host CT outside with parents and I am waiting to hear back from the district. Fingers crossed.

7) A few housekeeping notes:
*Please be sure students are taking their jackets with them when they go outside for recess and lunch. We have lots of kiddos wanting to get back in the classrooms during these times.
*Please make it very clear to students that they MUST raise their hand to order hot lunch if they want lunch. Our counts have been a little off lately and this means some students are left without any choice of meal.
*We likely only have a few more weeks of dealing with masks, but we could use your help with this one–please reiterate to students that when outside masks need to be on their wrists or in their pocket, not left on the ground. We’re just seeing more and more discarded masks on the playground and I think a reminder will be helpful.
*Please continue to lock your doors during break times.

8) I notice that a lot of the weekly art being done is pilling up. Let’s try to get the new stuff up in the hallways, or send the pieces home. We also have room up near the top of the hallway. Alanna has time in the afternoons to help get new art up if you’d like her help.

9) The water fountain is back on! Once the cold snap passes I’ll get the portable drinking fountain back in operation outside.

10) I have to leave a little early on Friday, likely around 2pm.

Upcoming
February 22: Staff Meeting, 2:45pm. Lottery Info night prep.
February 23: SIW
March 2: Lottery Info Night, in person-5:30pm
March 8: Lottery Info Night, virtual-5:30pm
March 16/17: Next Student Support Meetings
March 21-25: Spring Break!
April 13/14: Conversations

Here’s a fantastic week ahead!
Andy

Happy Valentine’s Day!
I hope you enjoyed another beautiful weekend. My daughter Arielle and 16- month-old grand daughter Aurelia came for a visit this weekend and it was a real treat!

I heard an interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson (astrophysicist, planetary scientist, author, and science communicator) over the weekend (on Smartless podcast) and he said you should have your mind blown at least once a week. I decided I’m going to help you this week by sharing a few mind-blowing bits of information:
1) Armadillos almost always give birth to identical quadruplets
2) On average, clouds weigh about 1 million pounds
3) Every word used to define a word in the dictionary is in the dictionary. Hmmm…😳

A few notes to get you going:
1) Olympics on Friday starting at noon! Details to be ironed out at our staff meeting. For now you should be working on your event, a team name, and a flag.

2) Staff meeting this Tuesday at 2:45. We’ll use this time to do some Olympic planning, and Sara will give us update about the foundational skills adoption timeline. Also, we’ll check in about starting Buddies again.

We’ll also have a staff meeting next Tuesday, Feb 22 at 2:45. We’ll use the time to plan for the Lottery Information meetings coming up. I would have done this at the SIW on the 23rd but I have to attend a district meeting during the that time.

3) SIW this week is Teacher Prep. Enjoy the time! At the following SIW we will continue to focus on our SEL/Inclusion/Diversity book collection. I am still looking for a volunteer to help host this meeting by sharing a diversity or inclusion book you have read with your class and then lead a discussion. Please let me know if you are willing to do this. Great time to step up!

4) We’re firing up Community Time again! Grade 1 will host next Friday, February 25-thank you Lauren! For now the plan is to do this in the gym. Who will be next? In the coming weeks I’d like to start doing multiple days each week. We’ll see how things are looking and decide when the time feels right.

5) We have a 3 day weekend coming up!

Upcoming
February 15: Staff Meeting, 2:45pm. Olympics!
February 16: SIW-teacher prep
February 18: Olympics!
February 18: NO Art
February 21: No school, President’s day
February 22: Staff Meeting, 2:45pm. Lottery Info night prep
February 23: SIW, school based. Who will help lead this?
March 2: Lottery Info Night, in person-5:30pm
March 8: Lottery Info Night, virtual-5:30pm
March 16/17: Next Student Support Meetings

Here’s a fantastic week ahead!
Andy

Greetings Team!
I hope the weekend was wonderful. I was able to take advantage of the amazing weather both days–a nice skate ski on Saturday, and a great ride at Maston on Sunday. It was my first ride at Maston and I loved it–like riding out east of Bend but without any funky vibe and no gunshots!

A few notes to get you going…

1) We should be finished up with DIBELS data input by the end of the week and I’ll share the benchmark tables with you once they’re ready. We still have a few students to assess (absent last week).

2) As discussed, let’s host our very own Amity Olympics! Below is the news clip from our last Olympics back in 2018. I am tentatively setting Friday, February 18 as our day. This is tentative to allow you to weigh in and let me know if this date works for you. I’ll be checking with each of you in the next day or two, or you can simply email me and let me know. If we are a go I’d like to have planning time on this Wednesday, February 9 (see SIW note below) and next Tuesday, February 15 (staff meeting). I’m super excited about this!

Olympics video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1400807553357761

3) Upcoming SIWS:
*February 9 and 16 are designated as Teacher Prep. I’d greatly appreciate 20-30 minutes of your time this Wednesday to initiate the Olympics planning. While I can’t require you to attend it would be most appreciated if you could. We’ll meet in the staff room at 3:00pm this Wednesday (after K-2 foundational skills training). The second meeting will take place next Tuesday, Feb 15th during a staff meeting.
*February 23 is designated as school based. While I will not be able to be part of the meeting (they scheduled an admin meeting at the same time!) I would like to continue with the theme of our SEL/equity/inclusion books. For this meeting I am looking for some one to host the meeting by sharing a book they have used with their class that focusses on equity or inclusion and guide the staff in discussion (much like Sara did last week). Please let me know if you are interested in hosting. A really great opportunity to step up, share, and inspire.

4) Now that things are slowing down in terms of sub coverage, Anna (our instructional coach) will be around Amity on Tuesdays. You should start seeing her at school this week, visiting classes, and being available to support. If you have anything you’d like support with (across the academic spectrum) please reach out to her when you see her or via email (Anna Schmitt).

5) I’m sharing this one again–thanks to those that are already doing this! With colder temps in the AM (and at times in the PM), I’d like to encourage all of you to consider shifting to Choice Time (allowing students to stay in the classroom) at least a few days each week. The kids really appreciate this! Note: Please only host your own students for now-hopefully we’ll be able to mix and match soon!

6) We have Lottery Information nights coming up in March. We are required to offer at least one virtual meeting, and we are able to host one in-person meeting as well. Our virtual meeting will be on Tuesday, March 8 at 5:30pm. After speaking with a few of you I have decided we should also offer an in-person meeting-this will be Wednesday, March 2 at 5:30pm. More details to come in the next few weeks, but please block both of these dates/times on your calendar.

7) I’ll include this one last time–I promise if you promise. As requested, please, please, please keep a closer eye on your students during the end of day dismissal. We still have students running all over the place which indicates they’re not being supervised. It’s ok to loosen up a little once the initial surge of parents come through, but during the first few minutes please continue to keep your students close by.

8) I will be off campus Tuesday morning from 7:30-9am. You can call or text me if you need me.

Upcoming
February 9: SIW, Teacher Prep. K-2 Foundational Skills training 1:30-3pm.
February 15: Staff Meeting, 2:45pm. Olympics!
February 18: Olympics! (Tentative)
February 18: NO Art
February 16: SIW, Teacher Prep
February 21: No school, President’s day
February 23: SIW, school based
March 2: Lottery Info Night, in person-5:30pm
March 8: Lottery Info Night, virtual-5:30pm

Here’s to a great, and healthy, week ahead!
Andy