Month: January 2023

Greetings!
I hope the cold, beautiful weekend treated you very well. February arrives this week–what?!

A bit thanks to you all for the very productive Student Support meetings last week. Sara and Haley are busy tweeting their schedules to create the support opportunities needed.

FIRE DRILL MONDAY AT 9:15am

A few notes to get you going:
1) It’s Lindsey’s birthday on Wednesday…

2) Our beloved Patti is still away from school and will be returning on Thursday. In the meantime, the incredible Diane and Kelli duo will continue to cover the front office. A HUGE thank you to these two for keeping things running smoothly in Patti’s absence!

3) Staff Meeting on Tuesday, January 31st. Noah and Laina’s dad, Jonathan, will be here to share information about the work he does with people needing help managing their stress. 2:45pm in Brian’s room.

4) SIW this week is Teacher directed

5) The YouthTruth survey window has been extended. There are still 5 of you who haven’t done the survey–if you are one of the 5 please take a few minutes to do the survey early this week. Here’s the link: ytsurvey.org/acestaff23

6) We’ll meet from 9-11 on Thursday and then you will have the rest of the day as a work day. Please remember that Friday is a day for you to connect with some families.

7) We’ll be leaving school at 2pm on Thursday and heading up to Meissner for Brad’s celebration. Please remember to sign up to bring some food.

8) The Auction has been set for Saturday, March 18. In preparation we have some parents who are volunteering to help with the class art projects. Please be on the lookout for emails from parents connecting with you to set up times to come into your classrooms.

9) Camp Amity is coming soon–February 9!!

10) Next week: We’re having some drop down mics installed on the stage on Feb 10-the stage will be off limits for the entire day beginning after Community Time.

Upcoming
January 30: Fire Drill, 9:15am
February 2: Work day, no students. We’ll split this day–part team time, part your time. We’ll meet from 9-11am.
February 3: Work day, no students. Must be on campus this day.
February 9: Camp Amity!
February 9: Parent Listening Sessions, 8:30am
February 10: First AM Grade 5 Community Time
February 10: Parent Listening Sessions, 5:30pm
February 15: Educator Network for SIW–sign ups coming soon
February 22: Amity info meetings for lottery, 2:00 and 5:30pm
February 23: FORA Fundraiser at MOD Pizza
March 1: Variety Show!
March 18: Auction

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Good Morning Team,
I hope you had a wonderful weekend after that very long, short week we had!

It’s Brad’s last week…😢 We have a special Community Time today at 8am. Please bring any cards, posters, and/or gifts with you to CT. Plan on about 45 minutes–Blaze says the video will be about 30 minutes. We’ll also do a group sing along to “You Can Count On Me”. Bring tissues…

A few notes to get you going:
1) Trial run of all parents being invited to attend Community Time this week! If you haven’t shared this with parents in your communications, please do!

2) SIW this week, 1:30pm in Brian’s room.

3) Student Success Meetings on Thursday! Please don’t forget to fill out the SSM prep form

Here is the schedule:
8:30-9:15-Grade 3
9:15-10:00-Grade 2
10:00-10:45-Grade 5
12:00-12:45-Kinder
12:45-1:30-Grade 1
(Grade 4 to be done on another day–Brian is out that day)

4) We officially launch the Variety Show this week. Today we will show clips from previous shows and begin the sign-up process. On Thursday we’ll start with rehearsals–we’ll meet in the gym to go over the sign ups, share some advice, and let kiddos know where they will be rehearsing. Remember that we will add in an additional rehearsal time on Fridays starting February 10.

5) PLEASE…have a conversation with your classes about the difference between Choice Time and lunch recess. Many, many kiddos are trying to come in at lunch recess thinking they can come and go like Choice Time. It’s causing a lot of issues and making supervision tough. The EAs and I would greatly appreciate your support!

5) We talked last Wednesday about using Friday, February 3 as a time to connect with 4-5 families. Please reach out this week to set up those times.

7) I will be leaving school shortly after lunch on Monday–call or text if you need anything.

8) Staff meeting on Tuesday, January 31st. Noah and Laina’s dad, Jonathan, will be here to share information about the work he does with people needing help managing their stress. 2:45pm in Brian’s room.

Upcoming
January 26: Student Success Meetings
January 30: Fire Drill, 9:15am
February 2: Work day, no students. We’ll split this day–part team time, part your time. We’ll meet from 9-11am.
February 3: Work day, no students. Must be on campus this day.
February 10: First AM Grade 5 Community Time
February 22: Amity info meetings for lottery, 2:00 and 5:30pm
March 1: Variety Show!

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Greetings Team!
I hope the long weekend treats you well. I’m sending this out early as we have a short, but very busy week next week and wanted to be sure you had all the info you needed as soon as possible.

A few notes to get you going:
1) No School Monday! MLK Day. I hope everyone is planning to honor Dr King this coming week, and it’s such a great connection to many of our themes this year–integrity, kindness, community, and so much more! Here are a few website that may be helpful:
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/martin-luther-king-jr
http://www.ducksters.com/biography/martin_luther_king_jr.php
http://www.blackenterprise.com/the-best-online-resources-for-learning-about-mlk/

This from Kid President: Kid Prez

2) SIW this week is Teacher prep. I would appreciate a few minutes of your time that day to talk about preparing for the Variety show on March 1. Can we gather at 3:15?

3) BINGO on Wednesday night starting at 5:30pm. We’ll need help setting up around 5:15–tables, etc. Dinner from 5:30-6, then BINGO from 6-7pm.

4) DIBELS on Wednesday morning. You know the drill, we’ll be pulling kids all morning.

5) A big thanks to all who have already taken the YouthTruth survey! If you haven’t done so yet, please do:  ytsurvey.org/acestaff23

6) Thank you for your efforts to stay after community times with your classes to make sure the stage gets cleaned up. We’re still not 100% in this area and would appreciate everyone being mindful of this. Thanks!

7) Please remember to fill out your Eval/Goal setting document before we meet–thanks!

8) Trial run for inviting all parents to attend Community Time. During the week of January 23-27 we are going to do a trial run and see how things go. We will invite any and all parents to attend CT on any day they wish and we’ll see how we are able to accommodate this in the office with Raptor. It’s a trial run and we’re super hopeful it will go smoothly so we can include all parents, all the time. I will send out info to parents next week. Fingers crossed!

9) Haley returns next Tuesday, January 24 and will be here on Monday, January 23 in the afternoon to overlap with with Brad a little. Brad will also be here on Tuesday.

Upcoming
January 16: MLK Day, NO SCHOOL
January 18: Winter DIBELS
January 18: SIW-teacher directed
January 18: Family BINGO Night! Please arrive by 5:15 to help set up
January 26: Student Success Meetings
February 2: Work day, no students. We’ll split this day–part team time, part your time
February 3: Work day, no students. Must be on campus this day.
February 22: Amity info meetings for lottery, 2:00 and 5:30pm
March 1: Variety Show!

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Good Morning To Ya!
I hope you had a fantastic weekend and are ready for the first full week of 2023-it feels like we are off to a great start!

A few notes to get you rolling:
1) If you haven’t already done so, please remember to sign up for your eval/goal setting meeting: Eval/Goal Setting Mtg

Also, please be sure to fill out the document ahead of the meeting–I sent each of you a link to your document. Thanks!

2) SIW this week is Educator Network. The meetings are at Elk Meadow beginning at 2pm.

3) Short meeting with Anna regarding the new Language Arts adoption on Monday at 2:45pm. Ray’s room.

4) BINGO Night next Wednesday! Please include info in your communications with families this week and next. Here’s what I sent last week:
We’re excited for BINGO Night on Wednesday, January 18 starting at 5:30pm. Dinner will be from 5:30-6pm and you are encouraged to bring your own food or pre-order pizza from Friends of Amity. Here’s the link: https://www.friendsofamitycreek.com/product/game-night-pizza/. We will do BINGO from 6-7pm. This is always a really fun night, we hope you can join us!

5) I shared with you recently that we would be offering tours for families interested in applying to Amity Creek (as we have for eternity) but we have been instructed by the district office that we are not allowed to do tours during school hours. So, scratch the tour dates I recently shared, we will include a short tour as part of the info sessions on Feb 22.

6) Friday Community Time–possible change. For some time now there has been some interest expressed in moving CT on Fridays to the morning. I am very open to this idea but would like all of you to consider the option, how it will impact your schedule, and whether or not you are in support of the idea. I’ll check in with each of you by the end of the week and then make a final decision. If there is going to be a change we’ll inform Grade 5 parents to give then time to adjust. Thanks for considering the option.

Upcoming
January 11: SIW-Educator Network, at Elk Meadow 2-3:15pm
January 16: MLK Day, NO SCHOOL
January 18: Winter DIBELS
January 18: SIW-teacher directed
January 18: Family BINGO Night! Details to follow…
January 26: Student Success Meetings
February 2: Work day, no students. We’ll split this day–part team time, part your time
February 3: Work day, no students. Must be on campus this day.
February 22: Amity info meetings for lottery, 2:00 and 5:30pm
March 1: Variety Show!

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

A very Happy New Year to all! I hope you had an amazing break and I look forward to hearing what you’ve all been up to! And, I am really looking forward to a great 2023 with all you incredible people!

A few notes to get us rolling in 2023:
1) SIW this week: Roll our of our theme(s) for January–Integrity and Responsibility. 1:30pm in Brian’s room.

Resources for Integrity and Responsibility are on the shared drive (School Wide Themes and Community Events): Resources

2) BINGO Night on Wednesday, January 8 starting at 5:30pm. Dinner will be from 5:30-6pm and families will be bringing their own food or pre-ordering pizza from Friends of Amity (I will send info and link to families). We will do BINGO from 6-7pm. This is always a really fun, easy night!

3) Brian and I are putting the final touches on the evaluation and goal setting document and it will be shared with you soon. You will use the document to prepare for individual meetings this month–be on the look out for an email with more details.

4) After some super productive conversations with the football crew, we will be reinstating football this week–but only after one more meeting with the group to clarify the new agreements. If you are interested, here are the new agreements:

Amity Football Agreements
1) Games will be played at first Choice Time and Lunch recess only, except for Tuesday AM and Thursday Lunch (no football).
2) Friday Lunch will be a “Competitive” Game for advanced players
3) Skill practice will be available at afternoon Choice Time each day
4) Picking of teams
*Captains will be either 4^th or 5^th Graders (weekly rotation)
*Player selection will happen on a rotation (except Friday) starting with either 3^rd, 4^th, or 5^th grade—see rotation below:

	Mon	Tues	Weds.	Thurs	Fri
Morning Choice Time	3, 4, 5	NO Football	4, 5, 3	5, 3, 4	No rotation
Lunch	4, 5, 3	5, 3, 4	3, 4, 5	NO Football	Competitive

5) Safety is extremely important, so when there is play that is not safe it is the responsibility of those playing to notify an adult.  

6) When the bell rings and there is a play in progress, the play is allowed to finish and then the game is over.  If there is not a play in progress, then the game is over.

5) I assume this information is being communicated to you from the district but just in case–there has been a small adjustment to the last week of school. Here is the note I received:

June 20^th Teacher Work Day  The last day for students has been moved from Thursday, 6/15, to Friday, 6/16. The district needed to push back the teacher workday to Tuesday, June 20^th, because of Juneteenth. Certified staff who have completed check out do not need to report on the 20^th. This is consistent with past practice when we have had to extend the school year due to unexpected circumstances (i.e. snowmaggedon).

6) From the Bend Science Station for our k-5 teachers – Announcing an exciting professional development opportunity at the Science Station! Over the past few years, they realigned the Amplify curriculum for grades 2-5 to make it manageable and relevant for Bend-La Pine teachers. In addition, they designed POP Science, which includes a short sequence of NGSS-aligned, hands-on science lessons for each grade level. This January, they will conduct teacher “refresher” trainings on 2^nd-5^th grade modified Amplify units and on K-1 POP Science lessons. These HANDS-ON workshops combine interactive instruction and time to collaborate with grade-level peers. You will practice and walk away with specific lessons for your classroom. Even if you’ve done these workshops before, we encourage you to participate again.

Sessions run from 3-6 pm and will take place at the Bend Science Station on the OSU-C campus. You will be compensated by the district at the curriculum rate for your time. In addition, the Science Station will be offering food and drinks. Click here for a list of the sessions and dates then follow this link to up:  Bend Science Station Amplify + POP Science Training – Google Sheets

Upcoming
January 4: SIW-Integrity and Responsibility roll out
January 11: SIW-Educator Network (at Elk Meadow again)
January 16: MLK Day, NO SCHOOL
January 18: Winter DIBELS
January 18: SIW-teacher directed
January 18: Family BINGO Night! Details to follow…
January 26: Student Success Meetings
February 2: Work day, no students. We’ll split this day–part team time, part your time
February 22: Amity info meetings for lottery, 2:00 and 5:30pm
February 28/March 2: Tours for perspective families
March 1: Variety Show!

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