EV Staff News
May 20, 2019
Our vision is to be a Healthy and Literate Community!
Gratitude
I am also grateful for all of you. There are good times and challenging times. I am not perfect and will make mistakes. Sometimes the same ones over again. I am grateful to have the opportunity to try again. Making mistakes is a part of life and how we recover is the mark of who we are and what we value. Reminding myself to approach each day with gratitude is an opportunity for me to grow and learn.
"Thank you for giving the opportunity to be grateful." (quote unknown author)
Our Retirees
Accomplishments this YEAR!
2018-2019
1. All students are being instructed using Readers and Writers Workshop and Bridges Math,
2. All students are being monitored in reading progress using the A-Z assessment & On Demand Writing Prompts,
3. We ran 5,000 laps in the jog a thon,
4. We donated 45 turkeys from the Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa to families,
5. Teachers are receiving excellent professional development in the teaching of reading from Teachers College in NYC and our own EV staff,
5. Plein Air donated $10,000 for art classes and supplies this year,
6. Teachers are working together doing peer to peer observations and talking about instruction in their grade levels,
7. The EV Family Resource Center are serving families with case management, leadership and education. We offer over 20 classes for parents,
8. Children are reading more than ever and want to talk to their friends about the books they are reading,
9. Valley Vibes Orchestra is AMAZING!
10. After school enrichment classes including: art, Zumba, athletic club happen every week,
11. Our preschool serves 48 tiny learners preparing them for kindergarten,
12. EV showed its community strength by showing up in the Vintage Festival Parade.. 100 strong,
13. Families attended Back to School Night because they are interested and fully supportive of their children's education,
14. Redwood Food Bank now offers a Food Pantry at EV on Fridays at 8am,
15. Opera a la Carte performed for the third, fourth and fifth graders,
16. First Congregational Church planted plants for the school on the field
17. Altimira teachers and admin visited EV for learning and collaboration,
18. The FRC is supporting mental health services for over 30 families,
19. We served 600 lunches at our Welcome Back to School BBQ,
20. EV has over 200 volunteers on campus, at events and most importantly supporting their children's learning,
21. Parents requested and learned about LGBTQ communities and Adverse Childhood Effects,
22. We hosted our first every before school BBQ for families,
23. Our students designed bathroom art for a safer feeling,
24. We opened our Wellness Center and Meditation Room,
25. Ballet Folklorico is providing classes to students once a week,
26. Our PTO and ELAC groups are collaborating together on events and fund raising,
27. Local businesses donated gifts for over 100 families during the holidays,
28. Cinco de mayo brought in $3,965 in fund raising,
29. The Golf Tournament raised 20,000 for our programming next year,
30. Valentines Day dance was AWESOME!
Former EV Students
Movie Magic
Book Vending Machine
Beginning next school year we will need to have a positive reward system in place. I was trying to figure out what that could possibly look like, when this fell into my lap one morning. The vending machine operates on tokens. We can work this a number of ways and will have to come up with a plan. This lines up with our vision for literacy!
Working Towards Transparency - Always a Work in Progress (REPEAT)
We are working towards making sure all are informed about the work done in the Restructuring Team. Below are the notes from the meeting. Please checkin with your grade level rep if you have questions. Thank you all for reminding me about the importance of communication. M
Leadership Meeting 05-10-19
- Discussion about what’s working/ what is not working. There was a lot of discussion about EL. After looking at the data, we determined that we want to focus our TC work and site work on ELs and best strategies for supporting ELs
- LLI was talked about and moving forward we need to figure out who it worked for best in that setting; Who will receive LLI moving forward? IN August Leadership will discuss LLI students, the placement of students in LLI and the May A-Z Data that can be used to determine who receives LLI.
- Tier I, II and III supports and what they looked like. There are still unanswered questions
- How to make better use and improve our use of time in PLC and Staff meetings
- Looked A-Z assessments and data over time, by grade level and by cohort, and by sub group
- Looked at schedules for 19-20. We are moving to 2 lunch serves (k-2, 3-5)
- Discussed new approaches for surveys. What is not working/working based on a specific focus area and use post-its/padlet or ??? to gather information
- Looked at what is a PLC (content of PLC) and what it is not and what is talked about/done at a staff meeting. A document was created to differentiate between these meetings. One suggestion was to have Grade Level Specific items be given time during the first 30 minutes of each Staff Meeting. So, from 3:30-4:00 will be dedicated to Grade Level items, and the Staff Meeting will start at 4:00.
- We have been asked to apply for another Cowell grant for the 2019-2020 school year!
Up Coming Events
May
Mon. 20 Staff Meeting
Wed. 22 On your own for Open House
Wed. 22 Open House (on your own)
Thurs. 23 Coffee Day
Fri. 24 Senior Walk About 11:30, Humanidad 6pm
Mon. 27 holiday
Wed. 29 Grd Level meeting 1:55pm - 31, ELAC for all 6pm
Thurs. 30 Sing a long 9am, Social Media for Parents 6pm
Fri. 31 EV Field Day and BBQ, SSC & ELAC
June
Tues. 4 Preschool Grad
Wed. 5 On your own
Wed. 5 Awards Assembly
Thurs 6 Promotion
Fri. 7 Teacher Work day and staff party at Barb and Dan's
Thurs. 13 Elementary Principals
Fri. 14 Principals TK-12
Fri. 21 Leadership Meeting for maite
August
Fri. 9 New Teacher Orientation
Tues. 13 Restructuring Team 9am
Wed. 14 Staff Development, Welcome Back BBQ for Families 6pm
Thurs. 15 Teacher Work Day
Fri. 16 Welcome Back and Planning
Mon. 19 First Day of School - Minimum Day, Staff check in 2pm
Tues. 20 Minimum Day
Wed. 21 Minimum Day, Grade Level (on your own)
Fri. 23 Staff Party 4pm
Mon. 26 Grade Level 3:30, Staff Meeting 4pm
Wed. 28 Grade Level 1:55pm
Fri. 30 Family BBQ, ELAC 6pm