Monday AM Teacher Notes

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

Greetings!
I hope you had wonderful, chilly winter weekend! All the hard work of getting kiddos ready for the big show is coming to fruition this Wednesday! It’s a messy business, but it all comes together! A HUGE thanks on behalf of the kids for all you have done to make this happen, it’s a big moment for all of them!

It was a crazy, busy short week last week and I know we all felt it–BIG TIME! Thanks for all your hard work!

A few notes to get you going:
1) Lindsey and I are feeling pretty confident about most of the acts at this point, and we agree that we don’t really need the rehearsal time on Monday afternoon for the Variety Show–except for groups who had part of their troupe out sick or away last week. So instead of practice, let’s do Invitations and Lindsey and I will pull any groups that may need to do a run through. I’ve updated the Invitations google doc and it’s ready to be filled out at lunch.

2) After Grade 3 Community Time we will have Dress Rehearsal on Tuesday morning. This usually takes most of the morning, so plan accordingly. We’ll share a start time with you on Monday.

Also, let’s have a short meeting after school on Tuesday to sort out responsibilities at the show. 2:45 in Brian’s room.

3) On Wednesday, as soon as students are gone we will load up all the props for the show and shuttle them over to Bend High. We’ll unload them there and then you will all have a few hours to yourselves. We’ll meet back at Bend High at 5pm, and doors open at 5:30pm. We’ll start the show promptly at 6pm.

4) Wheel of Talent on Thursday morning. Grade 4 will lead a mini Community Time and then we’ll spend the first part of the morning enjoying abbreviated versions of the Variety show acts. There’s nothing you need to do to prepare for this, just leave Thursday AM open. It’s a great way to slow roll the day after the show!

5) Reminder about baskets for the auction–your class lead should have reached out to the class AGAIN by now, and it would be great if you share the info in your parent notes for the next few weeks:

For those new to Amity (meaning haven’t been through an auction season yet), each year we assign a theme to each class for the creation of a basket . This doesn’t require much from you other than continuing to promote contributions to the basket by families. Each year this yields really awesome baskets for the auction! I will be asking your Class Lead to support this effort and I will be unveiling the themes to parents early this week. We will provide a collection box for you to keep in your room. Here are the themes for each class:
K: Arts and Crafts
Grade 1: Camping
Grade 2: Pamper yourself
Grade 3: Game night
Grade 4: Keepin’ It Local
Grade 5: Get outside/Sports and games

6) I am being called to several meetings this week so I will be away from school a bit:
*Monday, 8:30-9:30am
*Friday, all day

Upcoming
March 1: Variety Show! 5:30pm at Bend High
March 18: Auction

March arrives this week…yikes! Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Greetings!
I hope you had a great 3 day weekend–seems like the timing was perfect! We’ve got a few busy weeks ahead with the info meetings this week and the Variety Show next week! I know the show prep is taking all the energy you can muster at the moment, and I (on behalf of the kiddos) truly appreciate all you are doing!

A few notes to get you going:
1) Please be sure you have read the email regarding show prep–I sent it on Friday.

2) Lottery Info meetings on Wednesday at 2pm and 5:30pm. Teachers should plan to be at both meetings. If you are not able to be at both meetings please come chat with me.

3) Staff Appreciation Breakfast (hosted by the district) is this Thursday starting at 7:15am. As a small school we are also able to include the kids so I will send out a note to parents letting them know they can join starting at 7:30am.

3) If you haven’t had a chance to take the Oregon Statewide Educator Survey here is a reminder: You all should have received an email from Steve Cook regarding the survey. The district is greatly in need of your feedback as they grapple with lots of very challenging issues in our schools. Also, I know there are a lot of concerns about the state of our schools and this is a really good opportunity to have your input count!

I sent the following link and token in an email on Feb 15:
DIRECT SURVEY LINK: https://rezed.io/1NMPF1
ACCESS TOKEN: 1NMPF1

4) Reminder about baskets for the auction–your class lead should have reached out to the class by now, and it would be great if you share the info in your parent notes for the next few weeks:

For those new to Amity (meaning haven’t been through an auction season yet), each year we assign a theme to each class for the creation of a basket . This doesn’t require much from you other than continuing to promote contributions to the basket by families. Each year this yields really awesome baskets for the auction! I will be asking your Class Lead to support this effort and I will be unveiling the themes to parents early this week. We will provide a collection box for you to keep in your room. Here are the themes for each class:
K: Arts and Crafts
Grade 1: Camping
Grade 2: Pamper yourself
Grade 3: Game night
Grade 4: Keepin’ It Local
Grade 5: Get outside/Sports and games

Upcoming
February 21: Staff Meeting, 2:45pm
February 22: Amity info meetings for lottery, 2:00 and 5:30pm
February 23: Staff Appreciation Breakfast, 7:15am
February 23: FOA Fundraiser at MOD Pizza
March 1: Variety Show! 5:30pm at Bend High
March 18: Auction

Next week is already March…yikes! Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Greetings All!
I hope you had a fantastic weekend. There’s been a lot going on at school these days and I hope the weekend helped you to refuel! It’s looking like it’s going to be a fun-filled, energetic, and busy Spring! Yahoo!

A HUGE congratulations to Frans who got married over the weekend!!! We are so happy for you Frans!

A few notes to get you going:
1) SIW is Educator Network. Have you signed up yet?

2) Basket Themes for the auction: For those new to Amity (meaning haven’t been through an auction season yet), each year we assign a theme to each class for the creation of a basket . This doesn’t require much from you other than continuing to promote contributions to the basket by families. Each year this yields really awesome baskets for the auction! I will be asking your Class Lead to support this effort and I will be unveiling the themes to parents early this week. We will provide a collection box for you to keep in your room. Here are the themes for each class:
K: Arts and Crafts
Grade 1: Camping
Grade 2: Pamper yourself
Grade 3: Game night
Grade 4: Keepin’ It Local
Grade 5: Get outside/Sports and games

3) Oregon Statewide Educator Survey. You all should have received an email from Steve Cook regarding the survey. The district is greatly in need of your feedback as they grapple with lots of very challenging issues in our schools. I will send out tokens for the survey soon, be on the look out!

4) A note from the district: Certified teachers: Interested in getting your ESOL endorsement for free?  Bend-La Pine Schools has a partnership with OSU to cover all tuition and costs associated with ESOL certification.  Our goal is to increase the number of classroom teachers who are highly-trained in supporting culturally- and linguistically-diverse learners and families.  We have had several cohorts of teachers selected for this opportunity in prior years, who have earned their ESOL endorsement with no cost, moved over on the pay scale, and are better equipped to serve our students and families!

If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, you must applyby April 3.  Additional details here.  

5) Variety Show practice continues. We’ve got a little more than 2 weeks to go! We’ll have a dress rehearsal Monday, Feb 27 in the afternoon–I’ll confirm details soon. This will give us that Tuesday to make adjustments and finalize the program.

6) I have an admin meeting on Monday at 3pm so I’ll be leaving shortly after school gets out.

Upcoming
February 15: Educator Network for SIW–sign ups coming soon
February 22: Amity info meetings for lottery, 2:00 and 5:30pm
February 23: FOA Fundraiser at MOD Pizza
March 1: Variety Show! 5:30pm at Bend High
March 18: Auction

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Greetings All!
Hoping you had a great weekend. Last week was a nice “break” from the normal routine–I especially appreciated our conversation on Thursday about Black History Month/diversity and inclusion and how we are striving to find ways to integrate it all together in our daily lives at school. A conversation that will evolve over time–thanks for the open and honest conversation! I also loved being out in the woods with all of you and taking time to celebrate Brad, what a great time!

As I mentioned last week, I may be on jury duty this week. I don’t have to go on Monday and I will keep you in the loop day to day. Fingers crossed I don’t have to do it!

A few notes to get you going:
1) Camp Amity this week! We’ll need to get a sack lunch count to Wendy first thing this AM.

2) As discussed on Thursday, our new theme for February is Belonging! Look for books in the staff room soon.

3) SIW this week is school based. Look for an agenda soon.

4) Grade 5 Community Time is officially moved to Friday mornings starting this week! Also, we are adding Variety Show practice on Friday afternoons from 1:50-2:20pm.

6) Parent Listening sessions on Thursday at 5:30pm, and Friday at 8:30am. We have invited parents in to share celebrations and ideas, and ask questions. The sessions will be lead by Casey (Taran’s mom) and Lily (Sam and Walt’s mom). We did this a few years back and it was really informative, and brought forth some new ideas.

7) Help! Please take a few minutes on Monday to chat with your classes and remind them about a few important things:
*Walking in the hallways. We have lots and lots of kiddos sprinting down the hallways–it’s dangerous. This is primarily happening at the beginning of Choice Times and lunch.
*During lunch recess is not “choice time”–everyone is outside with no indoor option unless it is announced at lunch. Please be sure that everyone has their warm gear outside the classroom ready to put on.

8) Following the incident of someone walking into Amity through the Georgia Street door, a thorough investigation was conducted. This included looking through lots of lots of video of the hallway. One of the things noted by the investigation group is that we have students working and hanging out on the carpeted area by the Georgia Street door–this is considered a danger to exiting the building in case of emergency (materials being used left in the way). A directive following the investigation is that no students are allowed to work or hang out on the carpeted area. I know this is disappointing, but we need to enforce this. Please discuss with your students and share the reasoning with them. Thank you!

Upcoming
February 9: Camp Amity!
February 9: Parent Listening Sessions, 5:30pm
February 10: First AM Grade 5 Community Time
February 10: Parent Listening Sessions, 8:30am
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

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