Month: March 2026

Hey All!
I hope you had a fantastic Spring Break, always a welcome interlude at this time of year! I had an incredible trip to the eastern Sierras and got my fill of stunning vistas, ice cold streams, and frozen lakes! A few photos:

A HUGE congrats to Haley, Skylar, and Sonny as they welcome baby Jones to the world!

A few notes to get you rolling…
1) Lockdown Drill tomorrow (Tuesday)-9:00am. Please take time on Monday to chat with your class and practice.

2) SIW this week-we’ll dive back into our book study. We’ll also have a Staff Meeting as part of SIW–it’s been a while since we had a nuts and bolts meeting.

3) Local author and musician Dennis McGregor from Sisters will be here on April 2 to entertain K-2. 9:45-10:40am.

4) Reminder that Child Abuse Prevention lessons need to be completed by the end of April. Please remember to notify parents about when you plan to teach the lessons. I’ll resend the link to the lessons in a separate email.

5) Bree from BEAT will be working with Grades 3-5 during Enrichment starting this Friday, April 3.

6) It’s state testing season for Grades 3-5–wish them all luck!

7) The annual auction is May 2, just over a month away. Each class has a parent (or parents) who are in charge of the class art project for the auction. The parent(s) should be reaching out soon to schedule time to work on the project. As always, thanks in advance for your flexibility in finding the time to accommodate the project!

8) Acting Superintendent Lisa Birk (Dr Cook is out for a bit caring for a family member) will host an update for all District staff on Tuesday, March 31, with two 30-minute virtual sessions:
Session 1 – 3:05 – 3:35 p.m. (LINK to join Session 1)–let’s meet in Brian’s room if interested.
Session 2 – 3:50 – 4:20 p.m. (LINK to join Session 2)

9) Last but not least, y’all know that Brad is filling in for Haley for the rest of the year. Huge thanks Brad!

Upcoming
March 31: Lockdown Drill, 9am
April 1: SIW, Book Study and Staff meeting
April 2: Dennis McGregor visits K-2, 9:45am
April 8: SIW, Teacher Work Day
April 17: SIW, Educator Network Day
April 22: SIW, in house
April 23: Grade 5 to Benham East
April 29: SIW, Teacher Work Day
April 29: Kinder Outdoor Ed
May 2: Auction
May 7: Grade 2 to Fall River Tubes
May 8: Grade 1 to Bentham East
May 12: Grade 3 to Caldera Arts

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Greetings!
I hope the weekend was good! We’re just days away from Spring Break, always a great time of the year!

A very BIG Happy 5oth Birthday to our very own Brian on Wednesday!

A few notes to get you rolling…
1) Conversations this week! Please take a look at your sign up sheet and see who hasn’t signed up-let’s reach out to families. This is such an important part of our relationships with parents and sometimes a little nudge can help.

2) Make sure it’s on your calendar: Lockdown Drill on Tuesday (31st) after the break-9:00am. Please take time on that Monday to chat with your class and practice.

3) At our April 1 SIW we’ll dive back into our book study–be on the lookout for more info soon. We’ll also have a Staff Meeting on that Wednesday as part of SIW–it’s been a while since we had a nuts and bolts meeting.

4) Author and musician Dennis McGregor will be here on April 2 to entertain K-2. 9:45-10:40am.

5) Reminder that Child Abuse Prevention lessons need to be completed by the end of April. Please remember to notify parents about when you plan to teach the lessons. I’ll resend the link to the lessons in a separate email.

6) Bree from BEAT will be working with Grades 3-5 during Enrichment starting April 3.

Upcoming
March 18-19: Conversations
March 20-No School
March 23-27: Spring Break
March 31: Lockdown Drill, 9am
April 2: Dennis McGregor visits K-2, 9:45am
April 23: Grade 5 to Benham East
April 29: Kinder Outdoor Ed
May 2: Auction
May 7: Grade 2 to Fall River Tubes
May 8: Grade 1 to Bentham East
May 12: Grade 3 to Caldera Arts

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Howdy all!
Hoping you had a fantastic weekend-incredible weather! Michelle and I actually dusted off our boats and paddled a bit on Saturday–glorious!

Sara returns to full time this week–yahoo!! Brian returns half time starting on Wednesday, it will be great to have him back in the building! Massive shout out to Sid and Brad for helping us keep it all together!

A few notes to get you rolling…
1) Links for Conversations went out last week to all families with multiple kiddos at Amity. You are now free to send yours out to all your families.

2) We have our annual Lottery Info night this Wednesday from 5-6pm. As noted last week, we’ll meet on Wednesday at 1:30pm to go over the plan.

3) SIW this week is a TWD.

4) Cafe Amity this week, Grade 4 Hosts

5) Child Abuse Prevention lessons (for Erin’s Law) need to be completed by the end of April. I will be sending a general note about the lessons to parents first thing Monday and want to give folks a few days to explore the curriculum link and/or contact us with questions/concerns. If you want to start later in the week you are welcome to do so, but we don’t want to do any lessons next week prior to Conversations just in case we have a situation where a kiddo reports something as we want time to follow up if needed. Otherwise, let’s go full steam ahead right after Spring Break. Please be sure to use your weekly note to share lesson dates with your families.

6) We need to have both a Fire/Earthquake drill and Lockdown drill in March:
*This Friday, March 13-Fire/Earthquake Drill at 10:30am
*Tuesday, March 31-Lockdown Drill at 9am

7) The district admin has shared the following for teachers related to upcoming Conversations.

If a family requests a Teams meeting or phone format for their conference, please honor this request.  Here are some details for you and the why behind it:

• A family might request a modified format due to illness, lack of transportation, lack of safety being in public spaces right now, or other personal reasons, like vacation.  Families are not required to disclose personal details of their circumstances in order to access a phone or virtual option. 
  
• Our expectation is that all families are assigned a conference time during the scheduled conference window.  Most will have in-person meetings.  If, according to the above reasons, a family requests a modified format (phone call or a Teams meeting), then that should be honored during the scheduled time. 

• Teachers are not expected to reschedule conferences for families on vacation who don’t make the scheduled time by phone or in a Teams meeting. They can send home conference information to the family on their return, and if the family has any questions, may reach out to ask clarifying questions of the teacher. 

If you feel a family is making an unreasonable request or the request unfairly burdens your time, contact your admin team for support.

8) Reminder, here at the dates for Outdoor Ed Trips. Patti is working on buses and trip slips:
Kinder –  half day walking field trip – April 29th
Grade 1 to Benham East Day Use Area – May 8th
Grade 2 to Fall River Tubes in La Pine State Park – May 7th
Grade 3 to Caldera near the Link Creek Campground – May 12th
Grade 4 to Riley Ranch – May 19th
Grade 5 to Benham East Day Use Area – April 23rd

Upcoming
March 11: Cafe Amity, Grade 4 hosts
March 11: Lottery Info Meeting, 5-6pm
March 13: Fire/Earthquake Drill, 10:30am
March 18-19: Conversations
March 20-No School
March 23-27: Spring Break
March 31: Lockdown Drill, 9am
April 23: Grade 5 to Benham East
April 29: Kinder Outdoor Ed
May 2-Auction
May 7: Grade 2 to Fall River Tubes
May 8: Grade 1 to Bentham East
May 12: Grade 3 to Caldera Arts

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy