Month: April 2023

It’s May, yahoo!!!!
I hope you enjoyed the glorious weekend, it really feels like we’ve finally dropped into Spring!

Big thanks to Haley, Brian, and Sara for arranging our staff get together last Friday–I always love hanging out with all of you! A really good reminder that we need to get together more often!

A few notes to get you going:
1) Eval/Goal reflection meetings: I met with each of you (teachers) a few months ago to look at our school wide goals and talk about your goals. It’s time for a follow up meeting. Many of you have already signed up–thank you! If you haven’t signed up follow this link to do so: Eval/goals meeting

2) Lunch on Thursday and Friday: With 3 classes each day going to Summit for the play, we will eat in two shifts. The group here on campus will eat at the regular time, and the group returning from the play will eat at 11:15. This means we will have an extended lunch recess those days–until 11:55. EAs are done at 11:45 so I will need help on the playground those last 10 minutes–thanks in advance for helping out! We’ll be starting to eat outside very soon, I’ll let you know!

3) For SIW this week we’ll have a short meeting and then you’ll have time to work on a variety of things-Memory Books, Updating Theme Doc, Prep for you Eval/Goals meeting, get started on Glows and Grows, etc-really, whatever you feel needs your immediate attention.

4) We’re bringing Cafe Amity back–May 17 and 31 (Wednesdays). We’re going to have Grade 4 and 5 host these two and next year we’ll share the wealth. More details coming soon.

5) Memory Book Nights: We’ll revisit this at SIW this week. We were headed towards a couple of evenings in late May/early June, but several of you have now expressed hesitations. Ideally it would be great if we were all in agreement, however it may be that several of you pilot the family night approach this year and others stick to the traditional process. Please come to the meeting clear on what you’d like to do so we can move forward.
*Do you need help with photos for Memory Books? Please reach out to Patti ASAP!
*Covers should be ready to go by the week of May 22 if you want plenty of time to work on the books. We will be working with Diane, Kelli, and Karima to add some extra hours between now and then to help out.

6) June 13 has been set as out Family BBQ Night, 5-7pm (a little earlier to help with prep). More info coming soon.

Upcoming:
May 1: Grade 3 Metolius River
May 1-3: Grade 5 Camp Tamarack
May 3: SIW School based
May 4: Grade 1 Benham Falls
May 4: K, 4, 5 Beat Theater @Summit High
May 5: Grade 4 Tumalo Falls
May 5: Grades 1, 2, 3 Beat Theater @Summit High
May 8-12: Teacher Appreciation Week! Be ready to be appreciated!
May 9: Teacher Appreciation Lunch, hosted by FOA
May 11: Teacher Appreciation Bfast, hosted by EAs and Andy
May 10: DIBELS
May 10: SIW Teacher directed
May 10-12: Grade 5 Newport Trip
May 17: Teacher directed
May 17-19: Grade 4 Klamath Outdoor Science School
May 23: Fire Drill, 9:20am
May 24: SIW School based
May 26: Summit Theater “How I Became A Pirate”, 8:45am-ALL Classes
May 29: No School
June 5/6: Camp Amity
June 7: SIW Teacher directed
June 13: Family BBQ, 5-7pm. (Kinder Orientation 4-5pm)
June 15: Grade 5 Graduation
June 16: Last Day!

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Greetings All!
I hope that Thursday and Friday went well for everyone. I missed you all, but it was pretty darn nice to be in the 70 degree weather! Some Vitamin D and time at the ocean makes a world of difference!

A few notes for this week (not too many!):
1) SIW this week–1:30 in Brian’s room. I’ll send out an agenda on Monday. In the meantime, be thinking of a favorite quote and why it’s your favorite–bring it with you to the meeting to share. (Yup, homework!)

2) I have an admin meeting on Tuesday and will be leaving right after school.

3) Fire Drill on Thursday at 9:20am

4) At the moment I am leaning towards having the Family BBQ on Tuesday, June 13. Last chance to voice opposition to this date–anyone?

Since this week’s notes are very few, take a moment to read this very short article–it brought tears to my eyes! Seriously, just take a moment.
Babemba Tribe

Upcoming:
April 25: Grade 5 Benham Falls East
April 26: SIW school based
April 27: Fire Drill, 9:20am
April 28: Grade 1 Smokey the Bear, 1:30pm
May 1: Grade 3 Metolius River
May 1-3: Grade 5 Camp Tamarack
May 3: SIW School based
May 4: Grade 1 Benham Falls
May 4: K, 4, 5 Beat Theater @Summit High
May 5: Grade 4 Tumalo Falls
May 5: Grades 1, 2, 3 Beat Theater @Summit High
May 10: DIBELS
May 10: SIW Teacher directed
May 10-12: Grade 5 Newport Trip
May 17: Teacher directed
May 17-19: Grade 4 Klamath Outdoor Science School
May 23: Fire Drill, 9:20am
May 24: SIW School based
May 26: Summit Theater “How I Became A Pirate”, 8:45am-ALL Classes
May 29: No School
June 5/6: Camp Amity
June 7: SIW Teacher directed
June 13?: Family BBQ, 5-7pm. (Kinder Orientation 4-5pm)
June 15: Grade 5 Graduation
June 16: Last Day!

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

A Very Happy Monday!
I hope that all your Conversations went well and that you got to fully enjoy the very well deserved 3 day weekend! (and happy Tax Day 🤑)

Before I share the notes for this week I wanted to share an email we received through our website–I think it says a lot about Amity!

Hello, I’m not sure who reads these emails, but if it’s Andy, hi Andy! If it’s not Andy, I’ll provide some context. I attended Amity throughout Kindergarten and all of elementary school, and Amity made an immense impact on me. Now, I’m at Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington, studying early childhood education, and I’ve been working in preschools for the past three years. Working in preschools and studying early childhood education has given me even more appreciation for the education I received at Amity, because it went beyond education, beyond prep for middle school. Amity was doing something right by creating a community for children to play and feel safe, and I am so grateful for all the love Amity gave me. Maybe in the future I could come back to Amity to volunteer, or be a teacher’s aide, but for now I wanted to express my huge gratitude for everyone that taught me. I know a lot of the teachers have moved on, but in case any of them still remain, please tell Lindsey, Jean, Franz, Wendy, Matt and Mr. Z I say hi, and thank you! Thank you again, Lilah Beck

The work we do, and the love we share carries on!

A few notes to get you going:
1) As mentioned during our short staff meeting last week, please think of 5 or 6 families to share a Conversations follow up email with–this is a great way to make sure there was good clarity during your meeting, be sure all involved know what they committed to, and it’s a great form of accountability. Parent partnerships are so vital to our Amity community!

2) Just revisiting this one last time–stress talk anyone? If you are interested in carving out some time to meet with Jonathan, please let me know.
Looking ahead, Perseverance will be our theme for May. I have ordered some great new books!

3) SIW this week is Educator Network. Check your email for sign ups.

4) I will gone Thursday and Friday of this week. Brad will be here to support the cause. You can also have Patti reach out to Skip if something significant comes up.

5) Fire Drill next Thursday (27th) at 9:15am

6) I have an admin meeting today so will be headed out as soon as school gets out.

The upcoming events listed below also include important dates for May and June–it’s a long list! It’s a good idea to get these on your calendar now as we move into this last part of the year. If you have dates for other events, please let me and Patti know so we can update everyone.

Upcoming
April 19: SIW Educator Network
April 25: Grade 5 Benham Falls East
April 26: SIW school based
April 27: Fire Drill, 9:20am
April 28: Grade 1 Smokey the Bear, 1:30pm
May 1: Grade 3 Metolius River
May 1-3: Grade 5 Camp Tamarack
May 3: SIW School based
May 4: Grade 1 Benham Falls
May 4: K, 4, 5 Beat Theater @Summit High
May 5: Grade 4 Tumalo Falls
May 5: Grades 1, 2, 3 Beat Theater @Summit High
May 10: DIBELS
May 10: SIW Teacher directed
May 10-12: Grade 5 Newport Trip
May 17: Teacher directed
May 17-19: Grade 4 Klamath Outdoor Science School
May 23: Fire Drill, 9:20am
May 24: SIW School based
May 26: Summit Theater “How I Became A Pirate”, 8:45am-ALL Classes
May 29: No School
June 5/6: Camp Amity
June 7: SIW Teacher directed
June 8: Family BBQ, 5-7pm. (Kinder Orientation 4-5pm)
June 15: Grade 5 Graduation
June 16: Last Day!

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

A Happy Monday to you!
Hoping you made the most of the weekend. I was fortunate to stay at Brad’s cabin on the McKenzie this weekend and it was positively phenomenal!

A few notes to get you going:
1) Quick wish list items for Community Time:
*It’s really great when there is a physical activity for the audience, it’s such a good way for kiddos (and adults) to get some energy out before they head back to class. Please consider adding a little activity to your CT.
*I miss the singing at CT and would love to see more or it–new songs or some of our old favorites (Unwritten, Amity Song, Count on Me, etc).

2) Conversations this week! If there are families that have not signed up or contacted you, please reach out early this week to see if you can get them signed up. PS: 3 day weekend coming up!

3) Staff Meeting on Tuesday at 2:45pm. Any items you’d like to have on the agenda?

4) Jonathan Dunnaway (Noah and Laila’s dad) came to chat with us about managing stress a while back. If you are interested in digging deeper with Jonathan on this topic please let me know. If there are a few of us interested Jonathan will make time to meet!

5) No SIW this week due to Conversations, and next week is Educator Network.

6) An IMPORTANT note about supervision on the playground–please read carefully! In the Spring, staff energy tends to begin a slight downward slide, while student energy tends to begin a noticeable upward climb. One of the side effects of this mismatch of energy is that supervision on the playground tends to suffer a bit. What this looks like in terms of supervision is the adults paying closer attention to each other and not as much attention to students. When we are not paying close attention to students on the playground we can end up having more (preventable) injuries and conflicts. I think we can agree that this is not what we want. I alway say that good playground supervision is 90% prevention, 10% reaction–I’d like all of us to embrace this as we head into this last part of the year. A few reminders that will help us keep children as safe as possible:
*There are 3 main areas on the playground that should always be supervised: field, blacktop/gaga ball court, slide/swing/climbing area. Let’s be sure that there is at least one adult covering each area. This means staying spread out.
*Try to notice and anticipate problem situations or potential conflicts and use proximity to minimize the actualization of these issues.
*Always have your phone and keys with you.
*If you are fist adult out be sure to unlock the door. If you are the last adult in please lock the door behind you.
*If you see the red bag hanging when you get your lovely hellow vest, please grab it.

7) I will be away from school on April 20 and 21. Brad will be here to help out.

Upcoming
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