Charlemagne eNews
November 24, 2019
Dear Charlemagne Families:
Happy holiday week... may the days off this week be filled with things you are grateful for and happy family time. We are incredibly thankful for our Charlemagne community and all of your endless support!
Read-a-Thon
Thanks to all of our students and their families who made our Read-a-Thon a success! Together we raised over $13,000 to support our Amity intern and EA program. Great job to all these students for bringing their love of reading to our school Read-a-Thon! We had such a fun celebration during lunch recess Friday and are excited to see Mme Courtney's new hair color. Huge thank you to our incredible co-chairs, Claire Matisse and Julia Anderson for their creativity and fun ideas this year and hours of hard work!
Oregon Battle of the Books
For any students interested in participating in Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB), the registration form is attached to this newsletter. Please fill it out and turn it in by Monday, December 2. We’d love to have your students join!
Students can form teams of 3-5 students, and students without a team can still fill out the form and our OBOB coordinator will match students to a team. There are 16 books on the OBOB list, but students are not required to read all 16 books - usually, the books are divided amongst the team members. The battles will take place at the end of February with practice sessions beginning in January. The winning team at the school will go on to represent Charlemagne in the regional OBOB battle.
Any questions can be directed to Kim Reeder, our wonderful OBOB coordinator, at kimcooleyreeder@gmail.com or 541-525-4633.
Using the Downstairs Gates
Please note... the only downstairs gate available to students and families to use is the large corner gate closest to the parking lot. Students may park their bikes, skateboards and scooters downstairs in the morning when the gate is opened. For better security, please do not use either of the gates in front of 4th or 5th grade classrooms and instead use the main downstairs gate or enter into the main building.
Upcoming Events in December
December is an exciting month at Charlemagne with three special events planned:
The week of December 2 will kick off a canned food drive in collaboration with Food for Lane County. We will engage in a school wide competition to raise 1000 pounds of food and will work to increase awareness about hunger, giving, and compassion in our community. The canned food drive ends December 13 with a culminating event during Winter Market. Students have two weeks to bring in cans of food to fill classroom boxes.
December 3 kicks off our Direct Drive, which coincides with GivingTuesday, a global generosity movement designed to encourage people to invest in their local communities. It's a day that encourages people to do good works, collaborate together, and celebrate generosity and kindness. We hope you will consider making a donation to Charlemagne in the spirit of thinking globally and acting locally.
The Winter Market, formerly Holiday Market, will be Friday, December 13 from 1:45-3:00 pm in the gym. All students are invited to participate. Students can show off their handiwork by selling handmade crafts, homemade baked goods and comic books. Participants have also enjoyed selling collectibles like Pokemon cards and stuffed toys in the past. Families are welcome to stop in and shop as well. Many children choose to trade with each other. Any money raised is for each individual to choose what they would like to do with. Participants need to sign up for a table at the Winter Market on the signup list in the office. To volunteer to help set up or tear down or if you have any questions, email Kristin Bartus—kristinbartus@yahoo.com
In conjunction with the Winter Market, Charlemagne will be hosting its Winter Warmth Drive to benefit First Place Family Shelter. Everyone is encouraged to bring hats, gloves, socks and coats to donate at the market. We will also have a table for making cards to send to Meals on Wheels.
Please see the attached flyer below for more information!
Class Reps
We are still looking for parents willing to volunteer as representatives for your child’s class to liaison with the PTO at our monthly meetings. This will ensure families in each classroom are connected with the whole school community. Please email frenchiepto@gmail.com if you’re willing to volunteer. We currently need reps for:
First Grade - Mme. Roadman
Second Grade - Mme. Sion & Mme. Kim
Third Grade - Mme. Ariel
Fourth Grade - Mme. Shelli & Mme. Jana
Fifth Grade - Mme. Grabowski
Next Parent Equity Team
The next parent equity team meeting will be tomorrow, Monday, November 25 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 1. Our first meeting centered on our “why,” our vision for the team, and deepening our equity conversations. The purpose of the group is to encourage conversations about equity and social justice, examine inequities and disparities in student achievement and experiences in schools, foster a safe and healthy school climate, promote an inclusive culture that engages and draws on the assets of students, families, staff and community members and foster leadership in families, students and staff. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Love Food Not Waste
Prior to winter break, Charlemagne will start composting food in classrooms and in the cafeteria. This is part of a larger District effort to practice sustainability and responsibility. We will have a special presentation in the lunchroom on December 6 and composting will start directly after that. We know many of your students have already developed an excellent awareness around composting and we hope their expertise will ease our transition into this endeavor.
Swag
In need of some Charlemagne gear? You can find youth and adult sweatshirts and t-shirts in the display case across from the front office. Help yourself by finding your size and putting payment in the grey PTO cash/check box to the right of the library door. Prices are posted next to the swag.
Next Campus Clean-up Planned
Please join us after school on Monday, December 16 for our next campus clean-up! If the weather cooperates, we will find some more outside projects. Most likely, we will be inside working on some room moves and materials organization.
Upcoming Charlemagne School Dates
November 25 Parent Equity Team @ 6:30 pm
November 28 No school (Thanksgiving holiday)
November 29 No school
December 2 Last Day to turn in OBOB forms
December 2 Canned Food Drive Kick-Off
December 3 GivingTuesday and kick-off to Direct Drive
December 13 Winter Market (after school)
December 16 Campus Clean-up (after school)
December 23-Jan 6 Winter break
Have a great Thanksgiving this week and enjoy the long weekend!
ErinMarie Langsdorf and Jenny Jonak
PTO Co-Chairs
Cross-Country Champions!
Weigh In: Investments for Student Success
Checkout What's New in the Cafeteria!
Technology Updates for Charlemagne
I'm writing to announce the implementation of 1:1 technology at Charlemagne and explain the reasons we are doing this in our school and district.
Beginning sometime after January 1, 2020, we will be issuing an iPad to each student in grades 3-5. In addition, all students in K-2 will have new devices assigned to them. The iPads for 3rd - 5th have a heavy case with an attached keyboard. When needed during instruction, students will pick up their iPad from a designated area and use them in their classrooms. At present, we do not have plans to send any devices home.
Why are we doing this? Put simply, we can leverage our strong teaching staff to use this powerful computing and communication technology to improve student learning. We see this happening in three ways:
1. Teachers will individually and in teams begin to use applications on the tablets tailored to their goals in the classroom. Our staff is currently learning how to use some of the existing applications supported by the district and professional learning will be on-going. As a staff, we are reticent to change for change’s sake. We are looking for ways to lower accessibility barriers, promote critical thinking, and find new ways for students to demonstrate their learning.
2. We will begin to standardize some building-wide practices, procedures, and communications because we know the default platforms students are using. As for the future, it is hard to predict right now how this could shape work moving forward. For example, as I write this after just completing conferences, I wonder if what might be shared on a tablet with pictures of student work instead of paper portfolios!
3. We will bring a critical lens as a learning organization to the technology at our fingertips and begin conversations about digital citizenship. I observe adults, including myself, question youth about their technology use just as we find reasons to use our own. Our role as educators is to encourage student thinking and reasoning as tools to responsibly and effectively use technology resources.
Technology can be a powerful tool for learners and while I am cautious about the intense cultural shift towards technology use in schools, we also have an obligation to teach responsibility and discernment as we all navigate the future.
Please don't hesitate to be in touch with questions or concerns-- it's an interesting conversation to entertain!
My best,
Courtney
Erin's Law: Information for Families
State law requires every school, K-12, to provide information about preventing child abuse. Four times a year at Charlemagne, teachers provide instruction on safety and security for every student. Teachers will reach out to families when instruction occurs and parents are welcome to preview the materials or opt their students out of lessons. We use our social-emotional curriculum Second Steps to help guide our planning.
What is Erin’s Law?
Erin Merryn is a woman who was abused as a child. She has advocated and helped create legislation to ensure that all students be educated about child abuse and what to do if it is happening to them or someone they know. For more information about Erin’s Law you can watch her video at https://youtu.be/q-9W2Bc9Z1w.
Who should report child abuse or suspected child abuse?
Anyone can report child abuse or suspected child abuse. You need to report when: you have a reason to suspect, you have observed the abuse, and you know or have a reasonable cause to believe. You don’t have to prove it to make the call. Make the report right away. Agencies are available 24/7.
To whom do I report abuse?
You can report it to local law enforcement, Department of Human Services - Child Protective Services, a teacher, or your school’s building administrator. Ideally, the person that suspects or has firsthand knowledge should make the call directly to Child Protective Services. Here are our local phone numbers:
Agency Phone Numbers
Oregon Department of Human Services – Child Protective Services
541-349-4444
866-300-2782
Eugene Police Department
541-682-5111
Springfield Police Department
541-726-3714
School Resource Officer
- Located at each high school
Churchill High School
541-790-5100
Sheldon High School
541-790-6600
North Eugene High School
541-790-4500
South Eugene High School
541-790-8000
When immediate threat presents - CALL 911
Where can I get more information about child abuse identification and intervention?
As part of our commitment to keeping our students safe, Eugene 4J School District in collaboration with SafeSchools, has created access for parents and community members to learn more about how to help.
For more information go to: http://4j.or.safeschools.com/
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