Monday AM Teacher Notes

Good Morning Fine People,
I hope you have enjoyed the warm weather weekend! It feels like we’re finally settling in to some good rhythms and we’re done with the chaos of launching the school year! Thanks for all the amazing work and collaboration over this first month of school, and for working so supportively together–the team feels really good!

A few notes to get you going:
1) I’m heading out with Grade 4 today on their field trip. We’re leaving at 9am and will return at 2pm. In case of emergency please ask Scott for help.

2) SIW this week: You will have team time (K-2, 3-5) but we will also have a short training with Kim to discuss EPI pens, concussions, and seizures. We’ll start at 1:30 so Kim can get to a nursing meeting right after our meeting. Amanda’s room at 1:30pm.

3) Please be sure your students are not taking toys and/or stuffed animals to specialist classes.

4) Field Trips this week:
*Monday–Grade 4 is headed to Soda Creek and Sparks Lake
*Tuesday–Grade 3 heads to the Metolius River

5) As a reminder, please do not leave students alone in classrooms, especially during Choice Time. If you need to leave your room please ask a neighbor to keep an eye on your class or send a kiddo to get support–Patti, Jake, Scott, Brad, Stu, Mindy, or I can cover when needed (and available).

6) Patti is ready to get you set up for Conversations on-line sign ups–if you haven’t connected with her about this please do so early this week and then get the link out to your parents soon.

7) Fire Drill this Wednesday at 9:20am

8) I’m bringing bagels this Friday AM–they’ll be in the staff room, let’s break bread!

9) I’ll be leaving at 3pm today for an admin meeting. Call or text if you need me.

Upcoming
*October 9: Fire Drill, 9:20am
*October 16: EBISS
*October 17: Earth Quake Drill, 10:17
*October 19: Harvest Festival, 4-7pm
*October 23-25: Conversations

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Good Morning!
Fall is officially upon us and I hope it lasts a good long time! How about a good Fall joke to get us started?

What do you call a tree that doubts autumn? Disbe-leaf. 

Some notes to get you going:
1) DIBELS this week on Thursday. Scott will coordinate.

2) Picture Day is also on Thursday. Korey (subbing for Patti) and a parent (or two) will coordinate this.

3) The first Café Amity of the year is this Friday, October 4 from 7:30-8:15. Grade 5 hosts. Community Time will start at 8:15am. If you want to order coffee for home it needs to be done via Friends of Amity website (https://www.friendsofamitycreek.com) by Tuesday afternoon.

4) EasyCBM schedule for this week:
*Grades 1: Wednesday 10-11am, half class at a time
*Grade 2: Wednesday 8:30-9:30am, half class at a time
*Grades 3/4/5 in classrooms before the end of the day Friday (Oct 4)

5) SIW this week will be focussed on Conversations (parent/teacher conferences), discussing the idea of moving towards portfolios, and end of year Narratives (our “report card”). 2pm in Frans’ room.

6) Harvest Festival is coming soon–Saturday, October 19 from 4-7pm. This is a parent run event but we always appreciate teacher’s presence and support for the event.

7) We still have 2 ICCL (Instructional Couch and Curriculum Leader) positions available. From the job description: The ICCL will support and facilitate the school’s work of professional learning communities toward continuous school improvement, teacher effectiveness, and increased student achievement. Do you have an area of focus in which you’d like to take a leadership role (not expertise, but a desire to learn more and share)? A few ideas: Collaborative Problem Solving (a la Ross Green), Multi-cultural education (bringing the wider world to Amity), and Math (diving deeper into Jo Boaler’s work). Just a few ideas. Stipend is $1250. Please let me know if you are interested.

8) Our first EBISS (Effective Behavior and Instructional Support Systems) meeting will be Wednesday, October 16. For those that are new to this it is a time for us to meet (30 minutes) to look at available data and get your input about interventions needed for students in your class. I’ll touch base with those of you that are new. Schedule (sub will cover your class):
8:30-9:00: Kinder
9:00-9:30: Grade 1
10:00-10:30: Grade 2
10:30-11:00: Grade 3
12:00-12:30: Grade 4
12:30-1:00: Grade 5

9) We have a few field trips this week–hoping the weather cooperates!
Friday: Grade 2 to Fall River, Grade 5 to Lava Lands
Next week: Grade 4 heads to Soda Creek/Sparks Lake on Monday, and Grade 3 heads to the Metolius River on Tuesday.

10) Reminder, NO ART next week\, October 10 & 11

11) Our first Family Night will be November 7–BINGO. 5-6:30pm.

Upcoming
October 3: DIBELS
October 3: Picture Day
October 4: Cafe Amity! 7:30-8:15am
October 10: Fire Drill @ 9:20am
October 16: EBISS
October 19: Harvest Festival, 4-7pm
October 23-25: Conversations, no school for kiddos
October 28: K/1/2 to D & D Ranch
November 7: Family Night BINGO, 5-6:30pm

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Good Morning!
It’s always a good day when you wake up and remember it’s Camp Amity! I’m looking forward to spending time with all of you up at camp. A few notes about camp:
*We’ll have Community Time at school both days, regular time
*Between CT and departure time please remind your classes about the boundaries, flowers, sticks in the pond, etc.
*We’ll load buses at 9am
*Once at camp we will likely be met by the resource manager who may want to speak with us before we head out–he indicated he would be around
*Before dismissing students let’s make sure a few of us (me, Stu, Jake, Scott) are outside to guide students in the right direction
*I’ll have the speaker and we’ll play YMCA
*I’ll be away from camp from 11:45-1:30 at a meeting but will return just before you all head for the buses. We should be leaving Aspen Hall close to 1:30pm.

A few notes to get you going:
1) Please continue to work with your kiddos to get the hallway clean at the end of the day. Jim and Andrea are appreciative of the efforts!

2) Math Inventory–have you done it yet? I still have a few folders here in my office. It’s imperative we get these done so we can work with Brad to set up support groups. Please work to get these done by the end of the week or first thing next week. Those that have completed the inventories please share the information with me, specifically which students are most in need of additional support.

3) Lockdown drill on Wednesday at 10:50am (10 minutes). We’ll meet Tuesday after school (3:00) to discuss procedure.

4) Quick staff meeting on Tuesday at 3:00 to discuss Lockdown procedure. Jeff’s room.

5) SIW this week: This week will be an early start SIW. We’ll meet over at the community garden at the environmental center at 1:30 to chat with Denise (Grade 1 Nora’s mom) so she can share some ideas of how we can continue to be involved at the garden. At 2pm we’ll meet Jen Lachman (Abby’s mom) back here at school for a diabetes talk. The remainder of the afternoon will be spent with your team–K-2, 3-5.
Note: October 2 SIW is no longer a district SIW. Instead, on October 16 we’ll engage as a staff in an Equity and Excellence listening session–more details to share later.

6) iPad distribution for Grades 3/4/5 has been rescheduled to this Wednesday starting at 8:15. We’ll do one class at a time between 8:15 and 9:15.

7) Julie (art) will be out this week but Korey (former Amity parent and art teacher) will be here to cover for her–the kids are in good hands!

8) I’ll be headed out around 3pm today for an admin meeting

Upcoming
October 3: Picture Day
October 3: DIBELS
October 4: First Cafe Amity! 7:30-8:15am. Community Time starts at 8:15am.
October 4: Grade 2 to Fall River, Grade 5 to Lava Lands
October 10: Fire Drill, 9:20am
October 10/11: NO ART. Julie will be out these two days and no sub has been secured (will let you know if this changes–fingers crossed!)
October 23-25: Conversations, no school for students

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Good Morning,
Congrats on getting through the first full week of school! I don’t know about you but I was exhausted on Friday night and ready for the weekend.

A few notes to get you going:
1) We have a few required drills this week, one we already knew about and the other added due to time constraint:
*Monday: Fire Drill (TODAY) at 9:20am. Sorry, but we have to get this done in the first 10 school days so today is the day!
*Tuesday: Bus Evacuation Drill, 9:15am. For the last few years this has happened in the museum parking lot across the street and we anticipate it will be the same this year. Please be at the busses by 9:15am.

2) Back to School Night picnic on Wednesday, 5-7pm. 5-6pm picnic on the green, 6-6:15 parent meeting in the gym to discuss Friends of Amity, Site Council, and Volunteering (EAs watching kids on playground). 6:15(ish) to 6:45 meet with parents in classrooms.

*PLAN B: If the weather continues to be wet we will have to cancel the picnic part of the evening and start in the gym with parents at 6pm. Also, if it’s wet we won’t be able to provide childcare. I’ll let you know tomorrow and I’ll send a note to families tomorrow night.

3) SIW this week:
*New Camp Amity guidelines
*Pledge follow-up
*Back to School prep time

4) Related to new Camp Amity guidelines I’d like to schedule 15-20 minutes with Grades 1-5 to do a short presentation this week on Thursday or Friday. I’ll put a sign-up sheet in the staff room–please choose a time that works for you on Thursday or Friday.

5) Ray and I will be out Tuesday AM for a Dreambox (new on-line math program) training. We’ll return shortly after lunch time.

6) Grade 5 will be on a field trip to the Newberry Crater on Friday all day.

7) Grades 3-5 are supposed to have iPad distribution on Thursday but we have yet to get the forms back from the print shop. So, it’s likely we won’t be able to do this until next week. I’ll keep you posted.

8) I will be leaving school around 3pm today (Monday) for an admin meeting.

Upcoming:
September 23/24: Camp Amity! Busses leave at 9am. We’ll do Community Time at school and dance to YMCA at camp.
September 24: Lockdown Drill meeting, 3:15-3:30
September 25: Lockdown Drill, 10:50am (we’ll meet the day before at 3:15 to discuss)
October 3: Picture Day
October 4: First Cafe Amity, Grade 5 hosts (Ray, let’s connect about this)
October 19: Harvest Festival–more info to come

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Good Morning Team,
Thanks for a great first week, it all went so smoothly! Everything feels so positive and the hallways were teaming with joy! I’m looking forward to our first full week and beginning to get into some rhythms.

A few notes (well, quite a few) to get you going:
1) Community activities this week:
*Monday-Get to Know You Bingo in the gym, 1:45-2:15pm. K/5 and 1/4 will buddy up for this activity (2 and 3 on their own). I’ll provide the BINGO sheets.
*Wednesday-Some fun with Petit in the gym, Name that Student (photos), and sing the Amity song, 12-12:45pm.
*Friday–Pancake Breakfast starting at 7am (Sara, Jeff, and Ray we’ll fill you in on this!). We’ll serve cakes until 8:15 and then head out to the playground for 15 minutes. Community Time will start at 8:30.

2) Music and PE start this week, please refer to the schedule below. Music will take place on the stage (due to the Bookfair in the studio). Please remember to walk your kiddos to specialists. Art will start next week.
*No Kinder PE today due to community activity

3) Bookfair runs all this week, culminating on Friday at the Pancake Breakfast. Please remember to visit the fair and pick out some books for your wishlist. Unless you arrange a special time with Autumn to take your class, all sales happen before and after school.
(Autumn: [email protected])

4) Official Community Time Line-up:
Monday: Grade 3
Tuesday: Grade 5
Wednesday: Kinder/Grade 1
Thursday: Grade 4
Friday: Grade 2

5) Thanks for your early Stewardship efforts of working with your classes to clean your rooms at the end of the day and keeping the hallways (and shelves outside your classrooms) clean. Jim and Andrea appreciate your efforts, and so do I!

6) SIW (School Improvement Wednesday) this week. We’ll meet at 2pm (Frans’ room), here’s the agenda:
*First week Check-in (highs, lows, needed support, concerns)
*Discuss development of Take Care of Yourself/Others/Place
~Please take time early this week to begin/continue discussion of what this will look like for your class and be ready to share with the staff
*Revisit Pledge of Allegiance conversation
*Grade 4 Boys
*Meet in teams to discuss use of Running Records (K-2) and IRI (3-5)

7) Math Screeners. Please remember to book time to do the math screener in the next week or two. If you’d like to take a whole day to do this please let me know so we can pick a day and book a sub. Alternatively, Brad could do some of the screening as he is currently not running intervention groups–he is waiting for screeners to be completed. He could do some of the initial screening and then you could follow up with students of concern. I am also happy to do some screening for you. Let me know how I can be helpful. If you don’t already have the screener please stop by and pick it up from me.

8) Outdoor Education Field Trips. Darek and I met on Friday and set some dates for the Fall outdoor education trips. Dates were limited and we needed to get trips on the books so we don’t miss out! Below are dates and trips scheduled–please let me know today or tomorrow if these dates don’t work. I’ll work with Patti to organize buses.
October 4: Grade 2
October 7: Grade 4, Soda Creek/Sparks Lake
October 8: Grade 3
October 28 or Nov 1: Grade 5 Deschutes River (Slough to Ryan Ranch). Ray, Darek has two options, please let me know which day works best.

For Kinder and Grade 1 Darek suggests we look to Children’s Forest to find appropriate options, and I am happy to do this with you.

9) Just a reminder that Campfire will be using your classrooms this week. Please refer to my email from Friday. Thank you for accommodating this request!

10) Pledge of allegiance on Fridays. I’d like to revisit our conversation about the pledge before we move forward with reciting it every Friday. I’ve added it to the SIW agenda for this week.

11) I’ll be heading out at 3pm today for an Admin meeting.

Upcoming
September 13: Pancake Breakfast, 7am start time.
September 18: Back to School Night, 5-7pm. Picnic from 5-6pm, Meeting in gym from 6-6:15pm, classroom meetings from 6:15-6:45pm. We could organize food for the team if you are interested–let’s chat at SIW this week.

That’s more than enough for now. Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Good Morning!
Hard to believe, but happy to say, it’s the last week of school! It’s been another year filled with great growth, plenty of challenges, lots of love, and tons of fun.

I read this quote over the weekend: “There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others.” Thank you for all you do to make life beautiful for the kiddos and their families at Amity! I feel so fortunate to work with such an incredible group of loving people. This week is the last time this particular group of people will be together so let’s make it amazing!

A few notes to get us going for the last time this school year:

1) Schedule for this week:
Monday
*Grade 3 to Black Butte
*Grade 4 Cardboard Regatta

Tuesday
*Egg Drop all morning, groups are organized
~Groups will work until Choice Time, Drop after Chocie until Lunch

Wednesday
*Graduation 1-3pm
~K-2 will stay for first part, 3/4 will stay for entire ceremony
~EAs and parent volunteers will watch K-2 on the playground (reaching out to parents today)

Thursday
*Grade 5 movies and Time Capsules at Community Time
*Staff vs Grade 5 Kickball, after Choice until Lunch
*Memory Books after lunch
~with your class until Choice Time, all school after Choice to end of day

Friday
*Staff hosts Community Time, skit (Scott to organize)
*With your own class until Choice Time
*All School Invitations, 3 rotations: 10:45-11:15/11:15-11:45/12:45-1:15
*Last 45 minutes with your class
Note: I’ve eliminated the movie from the day, I think it’s important that kids are interacting with each other and us rather than watching a movie.

2) PE this week: Please check in with Brad and let him know if you want him to do PE for your class. With so many other things going on please just confirm with him whether or not you want him to do PE

3) Please help: If you bring your class out to play after the afternoon Choice Time please be sure to bring in all equipment that the kids take out. Thanks!

4) Reminder: Wednesday is a FULL school day, Friday we are out at 2pm

5) Please be sure to get your end of year writing scores into the assessment tracking document (use the tabs at the bottom to locate your class): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1o3J-PpNAPnQF2hs05vTJMeXcgudVlm0qj-yW_fTcUsM/edit#gid=1277206489

6) Before you leave school for the summer please be sure your room is ready for Jim and the cleaning crew. Please make it as easy as possible to move things out of your room for cleaning.

7) Staff gathering at 3pm on Friday. Bend Brewing Company.

Here’s to a phenomenal last week!
Andy

Good Monday Morning!
10 days left, and we get to spend the first two of the 10 days at Camp Amity! As usual, the last two weeks are going to be a bit crazy, but lots of good fun ahead.

Just something to keep in mind. As much as we are all excited for summer, summer time is not always something to look forward to for some of our kiddos. For kids that don’t get to take family vacations or go to camp, summer can be a long 10 weeks. For these kids we may see more behavioral challenges in the next two weeks. Please reach out if you feel like you need some extra help or support with any of these kiddos–let’s work together to support them the best we can!

A few notes to get us going:
1) Family BBQ is this Wednesday from 5-7pm. Any and all help needed: set up, working the grill, serving, clean up.

2) Volunteer Tea is Thursday AM immediately following Community Time. We’ll send the kiddos out with the EAs so you can participate for a few minutes. You will have a chance to say something if you want. ALSO, if you haven’t already, please take some time on Wednesday to have your kiddos make some thank you cards for the volunteers from your classroom.

3) Library Summer Reading Assembly Wednesday:
K-2 at 9:15
Grades 3-5 at 9:30.

4) Fire Drill on Friday at 10:10am. Last one of the year!

5) We’ll have a Staff Meeting on Wednesday at 2:30. Heidi’s room.

6) Field Trips this week:
Mon/Tues: Camp Amity
Friday: Kinders to Bend Sci Station

Upcoming
June 3/4: Camp Amity
June 5: End of Year Family BBQ, 5-7pm
June 6: Volunteer Tea, invites have been sent!
June 7: Kinders to Bend Science Station
June 10: Grade 4 Cardboard Regatta at Juniper Fitness
June 10: Grade 3 to Black Butte
June 11: Egg Drop (we’ll discuss details at our Staff Meeting on Wed)
June 11: Grade 5 Art Night (Grade 5 and their families only)
June 12: Grade 5 Graduation, 1-3pm
June 14: Last Day, out at 2pm

Here’s to a fantastic week ahead!
Andy

Good Morning All,
I hope the long weekend was good to you! While I didn’t get to go camping as planned, it sure was nice to have a little extra weekend time at this point in the year!

We’re heading in to the last push of the year–only 3 more weeks to go! It’s going to be a busy, but super fun 3 weeks!

A few notes to get us going:
1) In case you haven’t yet heard, I will be going to Camp Tamarack with the Grade 5 class this week. We leave on Wednesday at 9:15 and return around 11:30 on Friday. If you need support please reach out to Scott and/or Matt. If it is an emergency, you can try my cell phone (unlikely to get through due to poor cell service) or you can ask Patti to call the camp phone and they will get me.

2) Child Resilience Survey is TODAY. I sent you all an email with more details. Grades K-2 will be done 2:30-3:30.

3) EBISS on Wednesday–Jake will lead. Please bring any data that you have, including info from the second math screener.
9:15-9:45—Grade 5
9:45-10:15— Grade 4
10:30-11:00—Grade 2
11:00-11:30—Grade 1
1:00-1:30—Grade 3 (Brad to cover)
*Lindsey, we’ll make time to meet next week.

4) SIW this week–please meet to discuss the Grade 5 gift. 2:30 in Matt’s room.

5) The Volunteer Tea is next Thursday immediately following Community Time. The plan will be to send all the kiddos out to the playground for about 15 minutes with the EAs so that all teachers can be at the tea for a few minutes. You will have an opportunity to say a few words if you want. ALSO, please take some time in the next week to have your kiddos make some thank you cards for the volunteers from your classroom. And, if you haven’t submitted the names of your volunteers please do it today (to Patti)!

6) Wednesday will be the last Cafe Amity of the year. Grade 1 hosts.

7) Field trips this week:
Tuesday: Grade 2 to Skyliner

8) Grade 4 events this week–lots going on:
*Class play is this Wednesday at 1:30pm on the outside stage! All are invited to attend and we hope you are there with your class.
*Oregon Trail campfire at Community Time on Thursday, and Contra Dancing at 2:30pm in the gym!
*Grade 4 Art Show on Friday at 11:15, showcasing art done in partnership with Kinder buddies from Elk Meadow. Please stop in to take a gander with your classes.

9) Camp Amity is next Monday and Tuesday!

10) We’ll have the Summer Reading Program assemblies next week on Wednesday: K-2 at 9:15, Grades 3-5 at 9:30.

Upcoming:
May 29-31: Grade 5 to Tamarack
May 30: Oregon Trail Celebration @Community Time, Contra Dancing (2:30)
June 3/4: Camp Amity
June 5: End of Year Family BBQ, 5-7pm
June 6: Volunteer Tea, invites go out today–please submit names if you haven’t already!
June 10: Grade 4 Cardboard Regatta
June 11: Grade 5 Art Night (Grade 5 and their families only)
June 12: Grade 5 Graduation, 1-3pm
June 14: Last Day, 2pm

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Good Morning,
I hope the weekend was great. I know what April showers bring, but what about May showers? We have 4 more glorious week left in the school year and I’m really looking forward to all the things we still have left!

A few notes to get you going:
1) Yes ladies and gentlemen, the amazing CATS troupe will perform again this week on Tuesday night at 6:30pm!

2) The annual Volunteer Appreciation Tea will be held on June 6 immediately following Community Time. Please send me the names of parent volunteers from your class by the end of this week so we can send out invites. Thanks!

3) Tomorrow is Middle School Move-Up day for our graduating 5th graders! They’ll be gone in the morning visiting their future schools.

4) Field trips this week:
Tuesday: Grade 1 heads to Skyliner

5) Last EBISS of the year will be Wednesday, May 29. Please be sure to do the math screener with the select few students in your class.

6) SIW this week: Inspired by the discussion at the end of our last SIW we will have time to explore accountability, common language and expectations, and overall stewardship at Amity. 2:30pm in Heidi’s room.

7) Our pledge and donation count for the Bowl-a-thon was over $6000! Now we need your help in getting families to secure their pledges and donations and get them back to school. Please include a note in any communications you send home in the next two weeks. I’ll send a note to families as well.

Upcoming:
May 24: Blood Drive
May 27: No school, Memorial Day
May 29: EBISS
May 29: Last Cafe Amity of the year–Grade 1 hosts
May 29: Grade 4 play, 1:30
May 29-31: Grade 5 Tamarack
May 30: Oregon Trail Celebration at Community Time
June 3/4: Camp Amity
June 5: End of year BBQ! 5-7pm
June 6: Volunteer Tea

Here’s to a great week ahead!
Andy

Good Morning!
I hope Mother’s Day weekend was good to you all! Couldn’t resist this really bad Mother’s Day joke: What did the mama spider say to her son? I’m concerned about the amount of time you spending on the web.

Patti will out this week Tuesday to Friday and Korey will be here in her place.

A few notes to get you going:
1) We have a MAC Training this Wednesday at 8:15am. Let’s meet in Matt’s room.

2) DIBLES Wednesday AM. Scott will coordinate.

3) Grade 3 hosts Cafe Amity this week

4) SIW: We’ll continue discussion of our plans for next year. Ray will be with us all day and joining us for the meeting.

5) We missed our drill last week so we’ll have a Fire Drill on Tuesday at 10am.

6) Field trips this week:
*Grade 1 heads to Bend Science Station on Thursday

7) CATS performance this Thursday at 2:30. Please be in the gym and ready for the show by 2:25 (immediately following afternoon Choice Time).

8) Last Bread and Jam of the year is this Friday

9) Dale will be out this week and next, Deb will be here to cover

10) Jake and I will both be out on Friday attending a Ross Greene workshop

11) I have an admin meeting today so will be leaving around 3:30.

12) It’s testing season for Grades 3/4/5-wish them luck!

Here’s to a great week ahead and the 5 weeks we have left!
Andy