The Grass Valley WAG
Week at a Glance: 8/12-8/16
Grass Valley Teacher PD!
Ms. Pierson's Library Showcase
Ms. Heaton's Peace Corner
Day 1 is upon us!
We have made it through all of the prep and are finally ready to begin what promises to be an amazing year at Grass Valley! As we prepare to enter this year, remember the words of Nelson Mandela:
"History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children."
Know that the work you do and the individual actions you take stand to truly build the relationships we know will progress this work through the year. Your relationships with colleagues and families are important, but no relationship is more important than those we build with students. Set the tone for those relationships tomorrow, and the rest will follow with ease.
I am honored to begin the year with each of you and I look forward to seeing the Grass Valley magic and hard work in action tomorrow!
Students' wings return!
Ms. Langman is ready to build students' collaboration skills!
Welcome from Portable D!
Week at a Glance (WAG)
Minimum Day 1:30p for Assessments
Tuesday*
Minimum Day 1:30p for Assessments
Wednesday*
Minimum Day 1:30p for Assessments
Thursday*
Superintendent's Visit to Grass Valley 10:15a
Minimum Day 1:30p for Assessments
Friday*
Beginning of the Year Picnic (11:30a-1:30p) on the Field
Minimum Day 1:30p for Assessments
*Community Circle at 8:30a on the Yard
Nuts & Bolts
Closing Windows - when you leave each day, please be sure your windows are closed and locked!
Morning, Recess & Lunch/Recess & Yard Duty
Procedure: arrival & dismissal
Arrival
Walk orderly to the recess space
Remind students of expectations (safety, snacks, etc)
Release them to recess
Dismissal
Bell rings
Take a knee
Whistle/tell students to line up
Walk to the class line
Agreements for duty
Roaming
Actively looking/monitoring
Teachers on yard duty are last to leave yard
If a student gets injured, send with another responsible student
Spread out: basketball court/bathroom area and front area
No go areas:
Between portables/building
Behind art portable
Outside of building breezeway
Hills
Upper field
Cafeteria
Procedure: arrival & dismissal
Arrival (Lunch first)
Walk to cafeteria
K/1 stays with class for 10
4/5 walks students in to cafeteria line
Arrival (Recess first)
Line up on lines outside
Released to play from there by Noon Sup
Dismiss - From Play
Line up on lines
Walk to cafeteria
End of Day Dismissal
ASP goes directly to the Cafeteria
SDC gets picked up from Dunkirk side up the hill, students exit through gate near breezeway
Coach Colbert supports with students leaving safely
Kinder dismisses from the Kinder yard
Attendance - Attendance is taken at 8:40 as students enter the yard from morning Community Circle
All teachers to complete attendance online by 8:40
New Teachers submit paper attendance by 8:40 until they are given access online
Tardy
Mark a student tardy if they are not in your line as you enter your classroom after morning Community Circle
If a student arrives AFTER you submit attendance (at 8:40), send them to the office, unless they have a pass
Kathy will input ALL tardies after 8:40 and specifically note tardies of 30 minutes or more with an M. She will then give students a pass to come to class after signing in.
Master Calendar
ILT Meetings - 2nd/4th Mondays
Faculty Meetings - 2nd Thursday
Committee Meetings - 4th Thursday
Mice issue
Language around issue
Eradication - OUSD has someone who is coming regularly
Prevention - keep doors to outside closed
Maintenance - keep food out of rooms, clean up after any food consumption, let office know of spills/etc
Staff Lounge - keep it clean!
Upcoming Dates
- August 12 Students return for First Day of School!
- August 12-16 Minimum Days for Assessments
- August 15 Superintendent's Visit to Grass Valley
- August 16 Beginning of the Year Picnic
- August 21 Back to School Night
- August 29 Committee Meetings
Appreciations!
Rasheedah Jones for completing the upper grade yard duty schedule!
I appreciate Monique Parrish for providing the template for the yard duty schedule!
Kudos to Keith for coming in on Saturday AND Sunday to assure the school is ready to open! (and his FAMILY who helped out!)
I appreciate Tahira for ordering food for staff multiple times last week!
Thanks to Paula for working on the Staff Board!
Thanks to Paula and Cindy for setting up free books/manipulative tables to share our plenty with families
Thanks to Zeus, Julie, Darlene, Donte, and Sean (and anyone I missed, sorry!) for helping assure the 3-5 SDC class is ready for Monday!
I appreciate Kathy and Darlene for cleaning out the Staff Room!
Kudos to the members of the ILT for helping to plan Wednesday PD!
Thanks to Julie for letting us use her room!
Thanks to Sig for signing up for morning yard duty already!
Kudos to Tammy, Elizabeth, Rasheedah, Monique, Julie, Chris, and Llaima for taking on additional roles this year!
Want to include an appreciation for a colleague in the next WAG? Add it HERE!
Items to Complete
- Staff Survey If you have not yet, please take the Staff Survey! I am so appreciative to those of you who have taken the survey already and have shared so many amazing parts of yourself with me. I feel so honored to be a part of this community!
- Ask Casey Anything Sign up for a "Ask Me Anything" with Casey HERE! This is an informal, but very important, opportunity for us to get to know one another and for you to literally...ask me anything! I also really value the input I receive from this space in planning for a productive school year for everyone.
A bit about Casey...
After meeting my partner, Alex, in DC, we decided to move to the Bay to be closer to his family, so we embarked upon a 3,500 mile road trip with our beagle, Bailey, and made our way westward. I continued teaching, this time in Oakland. Eventually, I moved into teacher leadership here in OUSD at Korematsu Discovery Academy in East Oakland. Recently, I went back to school (which was so much harder than I expected - kudos to our kids who do it every day!) and earned my Master's in Educational Leadership and Administrative Service Credential from UC Berkeley.
Back in January, we added to our family with a little boy, Riley, who we believe is quite perfect:) He will make an appearance at school as soon as possible!
I feel so excited and honored to have the opportunity to lead as a member of the Grass Valley staff! This is such a vibrant and tight knit community and I look forward to getting to know the many facets of it. As you get to know me, you will learn that I am very transparent, so please reach out with questions and communicate your needs, so that I can do everything in my control to support you in meeting the needs of the incredible young people we serve.
Email: casey.beckner@ousd.org
Phone: (804)922-7728