Friday, September 17, 2010

Principal's Newsletter 9/17/20 (part II)

If you're interested in reading about all of the norms, expectations, lines, staircases, bell times, etc., scroll down to Part I or click this link.

Otherwise, if you'd rather read about our fantastic student athletes, mathletes, and coming events like Back-to-School Night, read on.

Math Team to Hold Two Morning Practices Each Week
The RGS Math Team has recently hired Heather Kitada, a talented and enthusiastic junior majoring in Math at Lewis and Clark, to run two practice sessions each week. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 7:30 to 8:30, Heather will work with students to develop their math abilities and prepare them to compete both as individuals and as a team on a variety of in-house, local, and national contests. Students will have opportunities to receive recognition for their successes in competition, and to grow their interest and love for math! In addition to the AMC 8 competition in November and the Mathcounts competition in late February, there will be a variety of events and contests open to students throughout the year. This is a great way to help your student foster a love of math and the skills to excel! Register through the PTC Community School page.

Soccer/Volleyball season is upon us. The boys Division II team with coaches Paine and Morton played yesterday against SW Christian to kick off their season. The Lady Falcon Volleyball team, under Coach Brounstein, started their season in our gym against Forest Hills Lutheran last night. They lost in a very competitive match. Upcoming games are posted below.


I am thrilled to announce that we have a second girls soccer team. The schedule is being posted as I write to the district and district athletic calendars -- the two girls' schedules will be denoted by color, a "blue" team and a "white" team. The job is posted, and if interested, please contact Rob Pridemore, district athletic director. We were able to pull this off because of behind-the-scenes work by Lori Peterson and Rob Pridemore, as well as the incredible turnout of our female athletes -- 30 girls are out for soccer this season. Coupled with a very healthy roster of 12 for volleyball, these are truly impressive numbers.

Back-to-School Night is this coming Tuesday evening. We will return to our regular format, which is a tight time-line but allows us to see as many people as possible without impinging anyone's evening schedule too badly. I encourage those of you close by to walk, if possible, as parking will be at a premium. It is a parent-only event.

The format is as follows:
  • 6:30-7:05 -- Primary (K-4) classroom presentations.
  • 7:10-7:25 -- All parents and staff meet in the commons for brief remarks from the principal, the PTC, and the Foundation.
  • 7:25-8:00 -- Upper (5-8) classroom presentations.

Coming Soon:

Monday:
  • 4th grade to Tryon Creek
  • home volleyball game vs. Life Christian
  • away division I boys soccer game vs. Catlin Gabel
Tuesday:
  • home division II boys soccer game vs. Catlin Gabel
  • away girls soccer "blue" vs. Portland Adventist
  • home girls soccer "white" vs. OES
  • Back to School Night
Wednesday:
  • Picture Day
  • PTC General Meeting in the commons
Thursday:
  • away division II boys soccer game vs. Life Christian
  • home volleyball game vs. Emmaus Christian
  • away girls soccer "blue" vs. Kingsway
  • away girls soccer "white" vs. OES
  • home division I boys soccer game vs. Horizon Christian

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Principal's Newsletter 9/17/20 (part I)

Let the tweaking begin!

We thought it smart to share with the parent community the plans we are making with students for the use of this lovely new building. There are an incredible number of norms that need to be addressed in a new space. These may evolve over time. That said, the intent of posting them here is to inform, as opposed to elicit feedback;)

For your reading pleasure, I've structured this post in FAQ format:

I tried to get into the building, but the door was locked. Why?
We have programmed the building's electronically scheduled locking doors in order to allow maximum security and visibility while still keeping functionality. In short, the north and south entrances on the west side are locked 24 hours a day. They can be opened from inside, but never will anyone without a master key be able to open these doors from the outside. The front and back main door unlocked schedule is weekdays from 8:35 am to 5:00 pm. These are the hours we are able to provide reliably consistent supervision of the two entrances. Entry to the front and rear doors is entirely by electronic card "fob" during locked hours. The same is true for the vestibule and gym entrances. Card fobs can be issued for special events and regularly recurring events, and under very specific conditions.

What other measures are we taking to ensure student safety?
The tragic events of last Spring heightened everyone's attention on the education world. I personally think about poor Kyron and his family every day. We have digital video cameras on site -- twelve in all, that can be monitored from a distance. They cover entrances, play areas, drop-off areas, and other critical areas. In addition, we had been lax in attendance practices, inexcusably so. This is no longer the case. Every day, by 9:00, every student is accounted for, and we begin calling all students for whom we have no information. (It's VERY helpful to have an email or call alerting us of an absence or planned tardiness!)

Which staircase is which?
No this isn't Macy's, but yes, we do have up and down staircases. In the foyer the staircase pointing toward the front door is the "up," while the one pointing out toward the courtyard is "down." 7th and 8th graders use the North staircase almost exclusively; 5th and 6th graders use the South staircase. We are working on what it means to walk on stairs, rather than scamper. We also have school-wide agreements about walking on the right side of halls, and deferring to adults and younger students.

What's up with drop-off and pick-up?
Great question! Drop-off and pick-up both happen on the South side. The big idea is to come into the lot, stay right, and pull as far forward as you are able. Then slowly pull to the left and around the cars. It is critical that we drive slowly in the lot. Students should all exit and enter on the right side of a vehicle. Please never wave a child to cross the lot toward you, nor drop them off when you are still in the pass lane. School parking lots can be like the airport -- if you don't make eye contact, you're not breaking the rules is the attitude that often prevails. I'll not mince words here: I take this very seriously. We cannot afford to rush through the lot; our kids need to trust that this is a safe environment. Please do me the favor of turning off your cell phone in the parking lot while driving.

It seems like we have less parking now, yes?
Yes and no. We lost a total of two spots in the lots, but gained many more on the street-side in what had been reserved for buses only. Please remember that for evening events we are able to use the interior of the two parking lot loops, with notable exception of the cut-aways which are the fire entrances. When parallel parking on Breyman, it helps to leave a small but practical space for another driver to leave. There is no legal parking on the East side of Breyman at all.

Bells?
On their way -- 8:35 and 8:40. That's all. First bell means line up; the second means it's time to take attendance.

What is the idea behind lining up to enter the building?
We have much better potential for supervision outside, rather than inside in the morning. K-4 teachers will meet their classes under the covered play area each morning. 5-6 and 7-8 teachers will meet their students at the South and North entrances, respectively. Outside supervision begins at 8:25. In severe weather it, and the morning lines, may shift to the indoor Commons area.

What happened to the third microwave at lunch?
With three microwaves on a single circuit, we threw a switch. We will relocate the third microwave to an outlet on another circuit.

Remind us why exactly we decided to flip-flop recess and lunch times?
The inspiration behind the switch came from this NY Times article, as well as the anecdotal success stories of several schools. The concept is two-fold. Often, children would rush through or not eat their whole lunch in order to get outside to play earlier. As well, coming in from recess, they were quite wound up. Eating first ostensibly works at both of these concerns. And, in terms of more settled learners settling back into class, it's been a success. However, there has still been a sense of rush. We're reviewing the decision, but need time to get the lunch line logistics ironed out before throwing out the bath water.

I've seen big blue lunch bins. How are they supposed to be used?
K-4 classes bring their lunch bins to and from the commons at lunch time. Older students will retrieve lunch bags from their lockers and place them in the (covered) bins outside the commons until recess is over.

Should kids be walking in the ball-catching swale?
Nope. But occasionally one will need to retrieve an errant ball.

How's the punch-list coming?
We have a long list of finish work to be completed, and are making steady progress on it. There are a couple of projects worth noting, as they are high-impact in nature. The rest of the list consists of dripping faucets and the like.
  • We were required to put plantings and bark up to the roadway on Military, just above the school. This eliminated a few favorite parking spots, put sprinkler heads very close to the roadway, and made walking along that stretch of Military less safe. The fix will be a series of rocks off the road that will demonstrate to folks looking for a space that this is not a spot, keep our sprinkler heads from breaking constantly, and provide a safe place for neighbors to walk. We are working to try to provide a path on the soft side of the rocks for walkers. It is worth noting that Dr. MacNamara identified this as a key issue immediately after the plantings went in. It can be a bit of a maze navigating City and County requirements in our unincorporated area.
  • A similar project is complete in the wooded portion of the property; the path that neighbors have used for decades is now more explicit and safer, with natural steps installed in the steepest portions.
  • The bollards along Breyman and Military will receive an adjustment so that they are neither as distracting to drivers and walkers (for whom they are at eye level) nor as bright. We are waiting on a part internal to the bollards. The exterior and interior lighting schedules are controllable and will continue to be adjusted.

Are dogs allowed on the field?
Luckily, our dog owners are a responsible lot. A group of them, in fact, has researched signage and "stations" which will be posted strategically around the entrances to the field. The longer we are careful with our new lawn, the better it will serve us in the years to come. A dog digging furiously would severely damage the field; that kind of repair would not fall under our warranty. But a dog well supervised will not do damage to the space. Our dog owners have always been very gracious about keeping their pets on leash when children are on the field, and we will continue to ask that they do so.

When does the field open?
It opens on Monday afternoon! It has been "pinned" for soccer, in two directions, marking the field in an East-West orientain on the far South side for games to go on while another team practices on the North side, and also down the middle of the North-South axis for once playoffs have begun.