HAWK HAPPENINGS
The official newsletter of Hillcrest Elementary Staff
October 28 -- LOOKING AHEAD
MUST READ
BLOCKED EXIT FIRE DRILL
This week (REALLY!!) expect a fire drill with a blocked exit; this means that one of the usual exits will be blocked, causing those who typically take that exit to be re-routed and to find a different exit. You should already know a secondary route you could take, but prepare your students to follow your directions should your exit be the one that is blocked, which could likely be a reality in the event of a real fire emergency.
weekly announcements
This week Ms. Lester and students from Mr. Calabro & Ms. Connor's class are in charge of announcements.
Teachers: when it is your class' turn, please send your 2-3 volunteers to the office right away so they can begin announcements at 8:30.
Sanctuary Follow-up
We had a great visit from Jaye last Wednesday to discuss Safety Plans and how they connect to Zones of Regulation toolkits. Jaye appreciated how consistent we have been with the Sanctuary [ratices we discussed last year, and how engaged you all were during your small group meetings. We look forward to our next Sanctuary training on November 28.
I saw an article on kqed that reminded me of our discussions last year on self-care, and the impact that our students' trauma has on us as caregivers. I'm including the link to the article here -- just click on the title:
Secondary Traumatic Stress for Educators: Understanding and Mitigating the Effects
MATH PD
Thanks for your honest and focused participation in the Math PD on Friday afternoon. I saw this article/video on kqed this weekend and thought it reflected some of the things shared in conversation with Gerald on Friday.
Sparking Curiosity for Fractions with Tasks that Feel Real to Students
Welcome New staff member
A warm welcome to Gladys Fajardo, a new 1:1 aide here at Hillcrest. Gladys started last week and is currently working with a student in Ms. Rossi/Mr. Tama's class. Please welcome Gladys with a smile when you meet her in the hallways, office, or staff room!
PINK OUT -- OCTOBER 25
Thanks to everyone who wore pink on Thursday -- and thanks to everyone who made contributions as part of the Hillcrest Team! They are continuing to collect contributions through Monday, so if you have not yet done so, please see Nurse Deb!
Voluntary Discipline Meeting
Anyone who would like to discuss our discipline practices is invited to attend a voluntary morning meeting on Thursday, November 8 at 7:40. Bring any questions you may have; we will discuss the code of conduct, our systems for recording infractions, and our response to student behavior.
SHOULD READ
Mandated Compliance TRaining
A final reminder -- Wednesday is the deadline! Be sure to complete the mandated compliance trainings by the end of the day on Wednesday, October 31!
Differentiated Instruction Planning Faculty Meeting
Thanks to everyone who responded to the PD survey last week (all 5 of you!). Anyone who would like to review the presentation, the link to the presentation is here.
AIde Lunch coverage
The Special Services department has been working hard to fill the full-time aide vacancies we have had at Hillcrest. While we are awaiting the final positions to be filled, we will need to continue to be creative in solving lunch coverage for our aides. For the 1:1 aides who work in ICT environments, we suggest the classroom Teaching Assistant cover the 1:1 aide for lunch at a time that is mutually convenient. We will try to cover classroom aides and 1:1 aides in non-ICT classes by rotating coverage with Teaching Assistants at other times.