Month: March 2023

Welcome Back!
I hope you had the most amazing break ever and that your bucket is full! We’re entering the homestretch of the school year (granted, a fairly long stretch, but a good one!) and I am really excited! So far it’s been a year of some really amazing highs, and some legitimate challenges–my hope for the rest of the year is that it is packed with highs!

A few notes to get you going:
1) Recently I began sorting through some of the feedback from the parent listening sessions we had about a month or so ago, and I wanted to share some of the celebrations as we begin this last part of the year. I know you are likely in a hurry, scrambling to get ready after the break, but please take a moment to read these comments–parents really see us and value the work we do!

From the listening sessions:
*Amity has a good community feel – keep it up!
*We love the inter-grade buddies & collaborations.
*So grateful for the community & connection.
*I appreciate how hard the staff works and their dedication to student engagement.
*Love community aspect, inter-grade buddies, & everyone knowing (and caring about) my kid. Thank you!
*We love Lindsey and all the teachers. Their dedication & love are so obvious & appreciated!
*I want to be friends with all the teachers 🧡
*Lindsey is a steady rock of love in this school and I appreciate her consistent presence.
*Gina sounds like she’s amazing.  My kids look forward to Friday Enrichment.
*We LOVE that staff know parents & sibs by name!
*We love the emphasis on reading at Amity.
*Ability & flexibility to volunteer.  Focus on community and equality with class crossover.  Bringing in resilience through experiences, a sense of belonging and nature. PE Meditation.
*You are truly the kindest people!
*Staff at this school are not only wonderful, kind humans – they also have such admirable priorities!  I love Amity teachers’ focus on our children’s communication skills, social lives, emotional well being – they are teachers but they aren’t overly focused on academic performance.  They care what matters most.
*Patti (need I say more?)
*Buddies – integrating / olders & youngers
*We love Amity so much!  The teachers, staff, and families create such a positive, learning-rich community.  Amity keeps us in Bend.  Additionally, it has this wonderful, unique way of “seeing” each individual student and their unique humanness.  When someone – especially a young person – is seen – they will blossom and become who they were born to be. I don’t believe there is anything more important than that.
*We love Patti so much.  I feel she is such the heart of Amity.
*My kids wake up each morning excited to go to school.  What a testament to the environment you’ve created at Amity!  This is what I wish for every child in the world to have 🧡
*My kids feel safe, supported, accepted and happy here!
The staff is incredible!  You don’t just say we’re a community, you can feel it.
*Patti!
*Amazing teachers, great front office, Camp Amity, Community Time, Invitations, Cross age buddies!
*I feel all the staff are there for my kiddo 🙂 It is a culture of support & encouragement which helps all the kids grow in many ways, not just academically! 
*I love the staff at Amity, thank you all for being positive role models, your smiles and keeping it real.
*The whole Amity staff and ethos is great. I love that you are trying to be as ‘open door’ as possible. I love the priorities placed on the truly important parts of child development. 
*The way the teachers connect with the kids is remarkable! They truly care and show compassion. So much is required of them at home and at school and they always fulfill 50 different roles with grace and patience.
Patti is irreplaceable. She is so welcoming. Patti rarely gets an uninterrupted moment of time, yet completes an innumerable amount of tasks on a daily basis.
*It’s nice to see the old Amity coming alive again. Bingo, fare, auction, community times.
*The Amity Creek community is a terrific environment for kids to develop their interpersonal and social skills with each other.
*We are so happy with Amity!  Watching my kids come out of their shells and learn so many new things has been amazing.
*I know every day that my daughter is so supported & cared for! 

2) April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and also our time to fulfill our commitment to Erin’s Law. Please be sure you have plans to teach the lessons shared with you in March. If you need help or support, just reach out!

3) SIW this week is Teacher directed.

4) Student Success Meetings this Thursday! Prior to the break I sent you the link for the SSM Prep form. Please take time to fill the form out prior to the meetings this Thursday. Here’s the schedule (we’re doing 30 minute meetings this round):
8:30-9:00-Grade 3
9:00-9:30-Grade 2
10:00-10:30-K
10:30-11:00-Grade 1
12:00-12:30-Grade 4
12:30-1:00-Grade 5

5) Conversations are coming up next week. Be sure to reach out to parents first thing this week to get folks signed up. As we have done in the past, we’ll do Conversations on Wednesday and Thursday, and you need to make sure offer evening slots on at least one of the two days.

6) We spoke a while back about the theme for April being Stewardship and connecting it to Earth Day. I will follow up with another email sharing my thoughts.

7) New Buddies: K/4, 1/2, 3/5

8) As a big thank you for helping support the auction, FOA would like to provide lunch for the team this Friday. El Sancho! Come hungry.

9) Get it on your calendar–Staff Meeting on April 11 at 2:45pm.

Upcoming
April 6: Student Success Meetings
April 11: Staff Meeting, 2:45pm
April 12/13: Conversations
April 14: Day off!
April 20/21: Andy out, Brad here

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Greetings all!
A big thanks to all of you who were able to make it to the auction on Saturday, it was great to see you there! The event was a huge success and folks really seemed to be having a great time. We don’t have a final tally yet, but it looks like monetarily it was also a bug success. The evening was so successful because of all the amazing volunteers and parents who crushed it with securing donations! If you happen to see any of the following people (members of the auction team) please make sure you let them know how much we appreciate all they did to make the event such a success and for helping to raise precious funds for the school: Nate Olson, Morgan Crowell, Cari St Aubin, Angela Spain, Rob Cammelletti, Gina, Christine Bachtel (food!), and your class lead.

Oh, by the way, in case you weren’t keeping track, Spring Break is just a few days away!

A few notes to get you going:
1) SIW is all yours this week. A great opportunity to connect and collaborate! You could also start working on Student Success meeting notes (I’ll send out links before Wednesday).

2) We need to sort out new Buddies for after break. Can you all work together (maybe quickly on Wednesday) to sort out new partners? Thanks!

3) Skip will be around on Monday afternoon as part of a site visit. Nothing you need to do, just letting you know.

4) Grades 3-5 testing meeting after school on Monday. Brian’s room.

5) Student Success meetings were originally scheduled for this Thursday, but I am postponing these meeting until April 6 (the week after break). I’ll send out links to the prep forms soon.

6) Conversations are coming up April 12/13

7) I’ll be a little late on Wednesday morning, should be arriving by 9:30.

Upcoming
March 27-31: Spring Break!
April 6: Student Success Meetings
April 12/13: Conversations

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Hello Team!
Hoping you had a great, wintery weekend. We’re a mere 10 teaching days away from Spring Break–you got this! Shortest Monday note ever coming up…

A few notes to get you going:
1) SIW this week will focus on debriefing the Variety Show and talking about Erin’s Law (sexual abuse prevention). 1::30pm in Brian’s room. Who’s up for leading the warm up? Please let me know–thanks!

2) Auction news: Lots going on this week in preparation for the auction, most of which doesn’t involve any of you! I will be sending an email after this note goes out with some auction links in case you are interested in volunteering and/or pre-registering for the event (should you be interested in bidding on silent auction items or getting a reusable steel Amity cup for drinks).

3) One of our former students, Kashay (Helena’s sister), is currently homeschooling due to some challenges at her middle school. I’d like to offer her the opportunity to volunteer at Amity during the week. She is great with youngers and could be a really good companion for a struggling kiddo. Please let me know if you are open to having Kashay volunteer in your classroom and when the best times would be. I am meeting with Kashay and Katie (mom) on Tuesday morning to explore this idea. This family needs our support!

4) I have an admin meeting Monday right after school so will be leaving around 2:45pm.

Upcoming
March 18: Auction
March 27-31: Spring Break!

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Howdy Campers,
It’s March, the Variety Show was a huge success, and I hope, like me, you are all feeling renewed energy as we head into this last part of the year!

A few notes to get you going:
1) A reminder that Compassion is the theme for March. We have books on order that should be arriving soon. Also, I found what looks like a very useful website called the Compassion Project: Compassion Project
This is a direct link to a lesson plan: Compassion Lesson Plan

2) Please remember that if you are going to be absent:
*Reach out to folks on our sub list (emailed to you by Patti)
*Put the request into Frontline
*Text me and Patti

3) SIW this week is Teacher directed. A good opportunity to take a breath and get caught up on all the things that have been on hold during Variety Show prep.

4) Photocopying: I get a monthly report on our photocopying. At this point about 60% of our photocopying is happening here at school, and 40% is happening at the Print Shop. As a result we are spending nearly 3x what we should be spending on photocopying (11 cents per copy versus 4 cents per copy). This may seem insignificant but it means we will spend in the neighborhood of $1500 more on photocopying that we need to. Like you, I think I’d rather spend that money on something else! Most schools have a 40/60 ratio (school photocopying/Print shop), and I’d like to move in that direction. Whenever possible please plan ahead and send your orders to the Print Shop. Thanks!

5) Auction update: We are under 2 weeks away from the auction. There are a few things we could use your help with as we continue preparations:
*Continue to work with parents who are helping with the art projects
*Promote donations to the class basket in your communications with parents (Class Leads are doing the same)

6) I am taking my daughter Kaila to visit Sonoma State University down in California this week and will be taking Friday off to do so. Brad will be here to help out.

Upcoming
March 18: Auction
March 27-31: Spring Break!

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy