Sunday, August 30, 2015

The Cornelius Chronicle
August 28, 2015


You survived Preservice Week and now it’s time to welcome the students!




Monday, August 31st—Teacher Prep Day & Back to School Night  *This night is one of the evening events that teachers are asked to attend this year, 5:30 - 7:00 pm.  Don’t forget to bring your school uniform outfit to change into that night!


The theme for this year’s Back to School Night is a Grand Re-Opening of Cornelius Elementary!  We are inviting our families and community members to participate in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony and an ice cream social - ice cream provided by Sonrise Church!  All teachers need to be present to greet their students and families.  Any staff members are invited to attend, but it will be a voluntary event.  We won’t have classrooms open.  If you want to put a box outside your room for supplies to be dropped off, you can.  Sonrise Church will serve ice cream in the cafeteria and we will have our social in the cafeteria and gym and students are welcome to play on the playground.  I’ve also invited the Cornelius Mayor, Jef Dalin, School Board members, District leadership, and the media to attend.


Tuesday, September 1st—1st day of school! (1st -4th grades)
Ready or not, here they come!  Remember to wear your school uniform for the first day of school also!


Wednesday, September 2nd is NOT a late start day!




PBiS
We didn’t have a lot of time to discuss PBiS at our meeting last Thursday, so please take a moment to read that section in your staff handbook.  Our next staff meeting isn’t until the end of September.  Please be sure to teach all of the lessons in your PBiS binder by the end of your first week of school, except assemblies (by 9/11) and after school activities (by the time we start an after school activity) and Fun Fridays (by Oct. 2nd when we begin Fun Fridays).  


Please pay special attention to the Buddy Room list after the lessons (each classroom is assigned a buddy room to send students who need an intervention before sending them to the office/stop and think room).  Also be sure to read the Fun Fridays and Student Store one-page description - since that is all new!  We won’t start handing out positive tickets until kindergartners are here.  We need to stick to the suggested range of tickets to distribute because the tickets will have a monetary value when students use them at the school store.  Please ask a PBiS Team member if you have any questions: Daisy, Chelsea, Janelly, Cheryl R, Merry, Alex, Kathy, Alondra, or myself.


Feel free to copy and paste this into an email or Facebook post for your friends and family! Also feel free to donate any uniform-specific clothing! We need hangers, racks, shelves, size labels, etc.
If anyone has any outgrown clothing or wants to pick up a piece that fits our school uniform, I would love to accept any donations for the clothing closet I'm trying to start at our school. Cornelius Elementary is 85% English Language Learners, 95% Hispanic, and 100% Free & Reduced Lunch (how we measure poverty status).
We have our public school kids wear uniforms so that everyone feels like they belong, no matter how much or little their parents earn!
Our uniform is navy or khaki pants, shorts, skirts, dresses; white or navy collared shirts or sweaters/sweatshirts. New underwear or socks would also be welcome! Any sizes kids size 5 - 12!

Please share with your friends and family! You can contact me at agraves@fgsd.k12.or.us
Thank you in advance! Our students definitely appreciate your donations!
Gracias!
Angella Graves
Cornelius Principal


Staff Room Clean Up
I’m posting a sign up in the staff lounge this week.  Please sign up for one week of the year to take care of the staff lounge.  If each of us sign up for one week, the entire school year will be covered.  When it is your week, you tidy up the kitchen, clean counters and tables, and put dry dishes away…..you don’t do other people’s dishes!  Plus, you can bring treats for the staff, if you want!

Reminders:
  • On-line trainings must be completed by Oct. 1st (you will be given time to complete these during our late start on 9/9, but you can complete them whenever).  An email will be sent to you from Public Works with a link to the trainings/quizzes.  My recommendation is that you try to take the quiz first and watch the videos only if needed.  Most are pretty much common sense and no new info from previous years.  If you were to watch all of the videos, it would take you a couple of hours.  If you take the quizzes only, it should take no more than 30 minutes.
  • Everyone needs to re-enroll for insurance this year online by Sept. 15th!


Bus Duty: 4th & 2nd grade teachers, and the “regulars”!


Calendar:
8/31 Teacher Prep Day
8/31 2-5 pm AmeriCorps Training (Manuel, Cesar, and Angella)
8/31 5:30 pm Back to School Night (all certified staff)
9/1 9:00 am 1st Day of School - 1st -4th grades!
9/2 Elizabeth’s birthday!
9/2 6:30 pm Parents in Action Meeting (AKA Parent Club)
Looking ahead:
9/7 Labor Day - No School!
9/9 10:00 am 1st Day of School - Kinder and 1st day of late start!
9/11 9:15 -10:00 PBiS Assembly - in the gym - remember to dress as a book character!



Friday, August 21, 2015

The Cornelius Chronicle
August 21, 2015


Welcome to the Cornelius Chronicle!
Each week (usually on Friday afternoons), I will update the Cornelius Chronicle blog and send you all of the news of what is happening the following week.  I will also share via google doc with you so that you can print it, if you prefer.  




Here is your schedule for Preservice Week
We will start with our staff retreat on August 24th.  SPED IAs-this is already a work day for you. (Work days: (Mon 24th, Tues 25th, Thurs 27th).  Non-SPED IAs-I would like you to trade out your Wednesday to work on Monday instead (Work days: Mon 24th, Tues 25th, Thurs 27th).  Certified staff-Monday is a teacher prep day and I will be trading that day with you for another day to prep in your rooms (Tuesday and Thursday afternoons).  I previously stated that I would be buying your prep time for you to prep for 8 hours another day of your choice, but I was NOT able to do that - instead I’m giving you Tuesday and Thursday afternoons to prep in your rooms and will NOT be able to pay you on blue time sheet for additional hours! I hope your week will NOT embody the quote below! :)




Monday, August 24th (1st day back for staff)—Staff Retreat
Be at the school at 8 am to work on a historical walk down memory lane, defining our culture and goals at Cornelius, and determining how we are going to reach those goals.  We will also get to know each other as people and have fun!  Classified staff - please plan on working from 8 am - 4 pm and adjusting your hours on Tuesday, Thursday, and the following Monday to make up for staying beyond your regular hours.  We will be incorporating equity into our work together during our staff retreat.


Tuesday, August 25th (all staff)—District day
AM – District Inservice at Forest Grove High School cafeteria for all staff – 7:30 am for breakfast and 8:00 am for District Welcome. Technology trainings to follow - it turns out you can’t sign up in advance.  There is a required KRA training  at the HS during the tech trainings - Daisy, Dora, Elizabeth, and Janelly -please attend the KRA training.
PM—Prep time


Wednesday, August 26th (certified staff only) —District day
AM – Gomez and Gomez & Math PD (Shannon McCaw)
PM—CORE (Center on Reaching Excellence) Training & SPED certified staff training


Thursday, August 27th —Building Day
AM—Staff Meeting (CO library)—all staff
PM—Prep time
*Staff Potluck at Angella’s house after school!


Friday, August 28th—Non-contract Day (the building will be accessible with your key card, but the office is closed)


Monday, August 31st—Teacher Prep Day/Back to School Night  *This night is one of the evening events that teachers are asked to attend this year.  


Tuesday, September 1st—1st day of school! (1st -4th grades)


Wednesday, September 9th—1st day of school for kinders



Preservice Technology Training Opportunities
August 25, 2015




  1. Dana Long - Kahoot! - Learn how to use this program as a formative assessment tool and a strategy for active engagement (Room 1109)
  2. Julliana Kelly - Nearpod - Learn how to use the application to create, present and assess lessons (Room 1509)
  3. Ehleeza Tionquiao - Calendly - Learn how to communicate with parents and students using Calendly (for scheduling) as well as other communication apps. (Room 2706)
  4. Deb Grimes - ThingLink app - Learn how to make images interactive for students to facilitate webquests. (Room 2500)
  5. Shawn Palmer - Classroom Management - Using technology to support parent communication using ClassDojo, as well as other useful management apps. (Room 1112)
  6. Nicole Christopherson - Kidblog (K-2)- Use Kidblog along with other apps to enhance writing skills in students. (Room 1719)
  7. Colin Hawkins and Brody Everett - Data Gathering - We will be using Vernier technology. (1717)
  8. Marshall Cook - QR codes and google forms - Use Google Forms for real time, automatically scored formative assessments.  I’ll focus on creating a Google form that tracks student growth from day to day throughout a unit, and make it calculate the percentage of students correctly answering a question correctly on a daily basis.  I’ll include some templates that can be used. (2705)
  9. Jessica Lunceford and Anna Gamble - Use Schoology to streamline grading and collaboration - Learn how to use/create rubrics, completion rules, and individually assign to students for differentiation. (Room 2708)
  10. Nichole Carter - Google Docs 101 (good for all grade levels) - Learn how to make professional looking google docs to use in your classroom. Basic usage of tables, table of contents, page setup, fonts, images & drawings. We will also go over how to use google docs in the classroom as a live collaborative document, including some of the best extensions and add-ons for docs. (Room 2502)
  11. James Grimes - Curriculum Design for the Gamer Student - Learn how tailoring curriculum and assignments to a student's gaming style may influence student success in the classroom. (1114)
  12. Dee Maderos - Google Templates, SIMPLE AND EASY - Brochures, Posters, Newspapers, SPED Forms, or your own Templates. Come see how to easily use templates in Google Drive. (Room 1116)
  13. Nikki Hartman - Screencasting - Learn how students and teachers can create videos to showcase/and teach knowledge of classroom concepts. (Room 1111)
  14. Jomae Sica - GoFormative.com - Develop and use formative assessments with live views of the students as they complete the assessment. (Room 2505)
  15. Mike Wanner - Programs and Apps to Enhance Math Instruction 6 thru 12 - Explore the apps Mike has been using along with chromebook apps. (Room 1508)
  16. Lisa Wence and Brenda Lindsay - Chromes for Elementary Grades: Google slides and more - Learn how to use Chromebooks to build presentation that support instruction and learning. (Room 1504)
  17. Barbara Barker - Haiku Deck and SeeSaw apps - Explore Haiku Deck as a means for presenting information to students. (Room 1705)
  18. Stephanie Owens - Google Drawing - See how one can use Google Drawing to enhance instruction and to assess student learning. (Room 1716)
  19. JD Gates - Google Calendar and Gmail introduction - See the basics of the new email and calendar system that will be used throughout the district. (Room 2707)
  20. Enrique Pinon - Google Calendar and Gmail introduction See the basics of the new email and calendar system that will be used throughout the district. (Room 1211)
  21. Ivan Zirdum - Google Drive introduction - Learn how to use GDrive storage and how to work with the documents stored there. (Room 1216)
  22. Deb Thrush - Google Calendar and Gmail introduction - See the basics of the new email and calendar system that will be used throughout the district. (Room 2210)
  23. Krissi Carson - Elements of Google Drive - Effectively utilize the (docs, slides, etc.) in your classroom.  This would be specifically focused for K-4 (Room 2205)
  24. Brigetta Martell - Accelerated Reader/STAR Reading Renaissance Training - Learn how to maximize the effectiveness of using AR. (especially for new users, refresher for experienced users) (Library)
  25. Bryan Gamble - Basic Google forms and sharing/managing Google docs - Learn how to use forms and docs to enhance instruction in the classroom. (Room 2206)
  26. Machelle Childers - Weebly - Build a class website. (Room 1117)
  27. John Colgan - SMART Notebook - Using the new SMART Notebook including math tools suite (Room 1503)
  28. Erin Linhares - How I use Schoology in my classroom - Come see how it is used in my classroom and how it has supported and enhanced my instruction. (Room 1204)
  29. Brian Hawkins - Configure elementary grade books in Synergy - Learn how you can create assignments and assign assignments to report card rows so that marks are pre-filled when you go to complete your report card. (Room 2211)

Wednesday, August 26th Certified Staff Professional Development Day


Who?
8:00-9:45 am
10:00-11:30 am
12:30-4:00 pm
K-2 Teachers
Math Training by Shannon McCaw

Location: Tom McCall East Library
Gomez and Gomez Strategies by Perla Rodriguez

Location: Echo Shaw Library
CORE Training
Location: Grove Room, District Office
3-4 Teachers
Gomez and Gomez Training by Perla Rodriguez


Location: Echo Shaw Library
Math Training by Shannon McCaw

Location: Tom McCall East Library
CORE Training
Location: Joseph Gale Library
Intervention Specialists (Title/ELD)
Gomez and Gomez Training by Perla Rodriguez


Location: Echo Shaw Library
Math Training by Shannon McCaw

Location: Tom McCall East Library
CORE Training
Location: Grove Room for K-2 focus; JG Library for 3-4 focus
PE/Music
Collaboration Time
with HR

Location: NAMS Band Room
Collaboration Time with HR


Location: NAMS Band Room
Time to work in buildings
Counselors
Gomez and Gomez Training by Perla Rodriguez


Location: Echo Shaw Library
Time to work in buildings
Time to work in buildings
SPED
Gomez and Gomez Training by Perla Rodriguez


Location: Echo Shaw Library
Math Training by Shannon McCaw

Location: Tom McCall East Library
SPED Training

Location: FG Community Auditorium

Important Info:
  • AESOP - new sub finder system.  It is very similar to the past system.  Secretaries will be trained on this.  All absences (whether you need a sub or not) need to be noted in AESOP.
  • I Love You Guys! Safety Training.  We will be using a district-wide safety protocol that you will be presented during our staff meeting on 8/27.  The idea is to simplify our safety protocols so that they will become automatic.  Here is the short version:
    • Lockout - secure the perimeter (outside of building)
    • Lockdown - Locks, lights, out of sight
    • Evacuate - to the announce location
    • Shelter - using announce type and method
  • Drill Requirements:
    • Fire Drill 1x/mo
    • Fire Drill in the 1st 10 days of school year
    • Earthquake drill - Oct. 15th for the Great Shakeout of Oregon 10:15 on 10/15
    • Lockdown drill 2x/yr
    • Lockout drill 2x/yr
  • We will be getting “go” kits for our classrooms for drills/real events: student roster, response card, clipboard and pen.  
  • Admission to District Events--new board policy:
    • Any staff member attending any district event where there is a charge involved, staff should wear their district ID, and they will get in free of charge with their guest/family.  Staff may be called upon for supervision assistance as needed.  This is to encourage our staff to attend district events, and includes plays and sporting events.
  • Expenditures for Meals, Refreshments, and Gifts--new board policy:
    • We cannot pay for staff lunchtime or their actual lunch if we give them time for lunch.
    • We can pay for working lunch & lunchtime, if we schedule a working lunch and have an agenda topic during lunch.
    • We can provide refreshments for staff, parents, or others at meetings, in-service programs or similar district sponsored events in the most economically responsible way.  
    • The purchase of alcoholic beverages with district funds is strictly prohibited.
    • Per diem checks will be issued in advance for meals when traveling for district business.  No receipts accepted for meals.  Receipts for taxis, etc. can be reimbursed.
  • Tech problems need to go to front office secretary - not directly to technology - so that they can get picked up during Sweep Week (beginning next Tuesday afternoon, a schedule will be sent out by tech).  First thing teachers should do is set up their technology to determine if there are any issues and then let Irene know.  Irene will keep a master list and get that list to technology.


Reminders:
  • On-line trainings must be completed by Oct. 1st (you will be given time to complete these during our late start on 9/9, but you can complete them whenever).  An email will be sent to you from Public Works with a link to the trainings/quizzes.  My recommendation is that you try to take the quiz first and watch the videos only if needed.  Most are pretty much common sense and no new info from previous years.  If you were to watch all of the videos, it would take you a couple of hours.  If you take the quizzes only, it should take no more than 30 minutes.


Bus Duty: None


Calendar:
8/24 8 am - 4 pm Staff Retreat (all staff)
8/25 8 am - 12 pm District Welcome/Trainings (all staff)
8/26 8 am - 4pm District PD for certified (non-work day for classified)
8/27 8 am -12 pm Staff Meeting/training (all staff)
8/27 5:00 pm Staff Potluck at Angella’s house
8/28 Non-contract Day
8/31 Teacher Prep Day
8/31 2-5 pm AmeriCorps Training (Manuel, Cesar, and Angella)
8/31 5:30 pm Back to School Night (all certified staff)
9/1 9:00 am 1st Day of School - 1st -4th grades!
Looking ahead:
9/7 Labor Day - No School!
9/9 10:00 am 1st Day of School - Kinder and 1st day of late start!