Harmon Johnson Teachers

START FIELDTRIP

2008-03-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

March 14, 2008 START will be going on a fieldtrip to Country Club Bowling Lanes located at 2600 Watt Ave. We will leaving Johnson at 1:00pm and returning back to Johnson at 5:00PM. The fieldtrip includes bowling, bowling shoes & all-u-can eat pizza and soda. Permission Slips are due Wednesday March 12, 08

Spring Break Camp

2008-03-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

City of Sacramento/Children Services is offering a springbreak camp for 1st-6th grade. It includes arts and crafts, sports, games and fieldtrips. Participants provide their own lunch, snack will be provided. Camps are limited in size so first come first served. Locations, dates and times are listed below START is sponsoring 20 at South Natomas and 40 at Clunie these spots are FREE to those who are registered in START(must Bring Flyer to Verify your part of START)

Clunie Community Center
601 Alhambra Blvd
March 17-21
7:30am- 5:30pm
Register Mon- Fri 8:30am-4:00pm@Clunie CC
808-5998

South Natomas Community Center
2921 Truxel Rd
March 24- 28 & April 1-4
Register Mon - Fri 7:30am- 5:30pm
808-6503

Valentine's Day Dance!

2008-02-26T15:06:00.001-08:00

Open Court Vocabulary Picture Binders

2008-02-12T11:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday!

I would like to invite everyone to view the new Open Court vocabulary binders for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade in the staff room. The binders are on the center island behind the cold laminating machine. All other grade levels will be available shortly. These binders have been provided for you convenience. If you would like to use the pictures with your class please do. Have a great day!

Megan

2008-02-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank everyone that I have met with so far on the fantastic workshop planning sessions. We are getting a lot of excellent planning done and teachers are leaving excited about workshop. I want to encourage you to find your meeting time on the chart on the door in the staff lounge. If the time does not work for you, please see me and we will try to work something else out. David has been so kind to provide rovering subs for these meetings.

I have been in gathering books from you to level for the the leveled libraries. I wanted to provide a guide for the color dots for your information.

blue = challenge (above current grade level)
green = on grade level
yellow = easy (one year below grade level)
red = very easy (two + years below grade level)

When I check the level of a book I use the website src.scholastic.com/ecatalog. I type in the title of the book and if the book is in the database it will show a full description of the book. The RL (reading level) is listed on the page. If the reading level is 3.2 and you are a 5th Grade teacher, you would place a red dot on it as it is a very easy book for that level. More to follow at an upcoming grade level or staff meeting. I am happy to level books for you. Please leave me a note or touch base with me and I'll pick the books up from you. Please see me if you have any questions about this.

I will be posting a second sign up sheet next week for the 2nd half of the fluency seminar. Please look for the chart to sign up. Enjoy a fabulous 3-day weekend!

Megan

SACRAMENTO START

2008-02-07T22:19:00.000-08:00

Inside Look at SACRAMENTO START

The Mission:
START believes that children should be given every opportunity to be successful. START fosters enthusiasm for learning by engaging children in fun literacy-focused activities. In a safe and caring environment, START expands the school day and supports district goals.

The Vision:
Sacramento START is a public/private collaboration that is working to build the capacity of all children to succeed academically and socially while reconnecting families and neighborhoods with their schools.

START‘s 3 ½ Daily Components:

1. Academic Support
Homework Assistant
Daily Math Review
Daily Language Review
Journal Writing
KidzLit
KidzMath
I Station
Math Steps

2. Recreation
Speed Stacking
Dodge Ball
4 Square
Kickball
Soccer
Tennis
Flag Football
Chess& Checkers
Softball
Track and Field
Basketball
SPARKS

½. AmeriCorps
Nutrition
5 A DAY PowerPlay
School Gardens
Fitness Activities

3. Enrichment
Science
Geography
Art
Dance
Drama

Cultures/ Countries
Holidays
Cooking/Baking
Animals/Insects
History
CLUBS

Weekly Bulletin

2008-02-06T08:17:00.000-08:00

Harmon Johnson Elementary School
Bulletin
Week of February 4, 2008

Monday
Staff Room Cleanup- Mee Thao
10:00-12:00 Healthy Start Collaborative
12:00 mtg. with parent
12:30 mtg. Megan/David
2:30 Bilingual Teachers mtg.
3:30 mtg. David/Terry/Richard/UCD CRESS Center
Tuesday
Healthy Start Training Terry/Bonita/Mary Lou all day
9:00-12:00 Coaching session, David/Gayle Moore
12:30-1:30 CARE Coaching Anna/Erin
2:30 Student Council
Wednesday
2:30-3:30 Staff/Leadership mtg.
4:00 PM Rio Tierra mtg. David
Thursday
Spelling Bee words to teachers
2:30-3:00 CARE Team mtg. Ana, Erin
Friday
7:00-8:30 Superintendent/Principals mtg.
9:00-11:00 Coffee and Conversation
9:00-11:30 Administrators mtg. David

Notes:
· On April 22 form 8:30 to 10:30 Frank Porter, Patty Smart and Ramona Bishop will be visiting us. They would like to meet with CTA and CSEA reps, as well as staff. I will also be giving them a tour of the school. I will give you more details later.
· Some of you may have seen me visiting classrooms with Gayle Moore, my coach. We have met twice now and I have asked her to help me in developing a professional learning community. She has expertise in this area and has been helpful in giving me some ideas. She has also share a process known as a Cycle of Inquiry. It is a process that keeps the PLC moving forward. I will be sharing this with all of you.
· I have not received all the grade level meeting minutes. If you have not turned them in yet please do so.

Computer Donations

2008-02-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

Dear Johnson Community:
This time we want to express our gratitude for supporting our students by donating used computers. In the last six months people from Sacramento and the surrounding areas have expressed their kindness with us and the environment by donating monitors, speakers, mice (the ones that don't bite but move the bytes), keyboards, and CPUs. We especially want to thank Stefan from Shingle Springs who donated 8 CPUs; Vi, a long-time contributor from Sacramento, who donated about 10 CPUs and monitors; Pablo in Davis, who donated 10 monitors, priters, wires, cables; and Rachael in Sacramento for making the right connections. We are also greatful with our parents who've made an extra effort to purchase an Internet connection.
Mr. C and Ms. Hernandez put the donated parts together, convince parents to subscribe to the Internet, connect to the Internet and show the students and parents how they can benefit from it. For us as teachers this has been an interesting experience. Our strategy to distribute those computers has been to raffle them off, and give them to families with many siblings at our school. Soon we discovered that we were not only reaching our own students, but also students from other schools in the community. In the picture above, we see students from Johnson, Noralto, and Smythe Academy. In the picture below-center, we see students from Grant High School and Martin Luther King Jr. High. In apartments students visit each other and work together using the schools website (www.tinyurl.com/2d4yuz) and other websites.
We also see how parents are learning to use this medium to find jobs, used items for sale, apartments for rent, to learn English, and even to prepare for the citizenship exam. For us teachers this envigors our belief in technology. We certainly trust that when technology is properly used it can complement and enrich instruction in the classrooms and make our community a better place.
We look forward to continuing working with you all and thus perfecting this enterprise. We've barely scratched the surface.
Thank you again,
Mr. C

Healthy Start Collaborate Meeting

2008-01-29T11:09:00.000-08:00

This Monday, February 4, 2008, is our monthly Healthy Start Collaborative meeting in Room 14. Please encourage our parents to attend. Their attendance and vote is very important to us.

A NTI will go out on Thursday, 1/31 and Friday, 2/1 at 5:00 p.m.

Thank you!

Sacramento Museum Day

2008-01-29T11:02:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, February 2, 2008, is Sacramento Museum Day

Twenty-five (25) greater Sacramento area museums will be offering free admission during the Tenth Annual Sacramento Museum Day presented by the Sacramento Association of Museums. Sacramento Museum Day takes place Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (all participating museums close at 5:00 p.m. Free shuttle buses will serve many of the participating museums (all routes begin/end/transfer at the California Museum for History, Women & the Arts, which can be accessed via Regional Transit Light Rail - Archives Plaza station).

Maps will be available at the front office.

Sacramento START

2008-01-28T17:17:00.002-08:00

The Sacramento START Program and a few Harmon Johnson Teachers, will be hosting a Valentines Dance on February 15, 2008 . The dance will be from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Dances are privileges, so your child/ren must have this signed by their teacher acknowledging that they have good behavior and academics. If the permission slip is not signed by parent and teacher by February 13, 2008 then the student will be unable to attend the dance. Last day to purchase tickets is February 13, 2008. No exceptions. Mr. C will be in charge of receiving permission slips and selling tickets. Mr. C will be receiving permission slips and selling tickets AFTERSCHOOL February 12 and 13 ONLY
All START participants are welcome to attend, and that’s 1st -6th Grade. Only 3rd-6th grade non-START participants will be invited from Harmon Johnson Elementary School. No outside guests are allowed other than the participant’s parents.
Reminder, the dance is a fundraiser for Yearbook, so we are selling the tickets to START participants for $2 and non-participants for $3.
Hope To See You There!!!!!

Johnson Bulletin

2008-01-28T14:07:00.000-08:00

Week of January 28, 2008

Monday
Staff Room Cleanup- Patty Fisk
8:00-11:30 Management mtg. David
12:30 mtg. David/Megan
Tuesday
Principals/Coach Summit David/Megan out all day
2:30 Student Council mtg.
Wednesday
2:30-3:30 Grade Level Mtg.
Thursday
2:30-3:00 CARE Team mtg. Ana, Erin
2:30-3:30 Interventions Team mtg.
6:00-8:33 PM Project Choices- David
Friday
TGIF

Note:
Shanda will be visiting classes in grades 3-6 to promote the Valentines Dance to be held on 2/15 from 6:30-8:00 PM. She will need about 30 seconds during the last 30 minutes of school on Friday Feb. 1.
Sixth Graders go to Camp this week. Kathy Salter will stay back with the sixth graders that don’t go.
As you meet in your grade level meetings please remember to give me a copy of your agenda and minutes. Some grade levels have been very good about turning in their minutes. I need all grade levels to turn in their minutes.

I will be out on Tuesday at Reading First training along with Megan. If you need me for something I can be reached by phone. Richard and Jim are available for emergencies. Have a great day.

Different Cultures

2008-01-27T20:45:00.000-08:00

I read Anna's piece about her experiences in the Asian markets with appreciation and interest. Along with being a wonderful writer, she displays sensitivity and guts. In response to Anna's invitation for us to take the risk of getting outside of our cultural comfort zones, I agree that is a good way to better understand students (and even more, parents) from other cultures who are struggling to understand the dominant culture. I first learned about being an outsider when I was the only white person among all of my black friends in junior high school. I did not have to jump the hurdle of language, and as we have been discussing the last couple of years, I also was a representative of the dominant culture. As a college student, I learned about being truly ignorant when Chinese friends took me into parts of San Francisco's Chinatown not visited by the tourists. Now, with Korean children, I find myself going to Asian markets a lot, and especially use my son to help me gain acceptance when I go to places like his barbershop. I guess that it is a minimal risk being the only Caucasian getting a hair cut. The worst thing that can happen is that I won't like the results, and my hair will grow back. I am frustrated that I know no Vietnamese, and communication is so limited. This is a long-winded way for thanking you, Anna, for encouraging all of us to take more risks and to see the world from different perspectives.
Terry

Free Health Care

2008-01-27T20:28:00.000-08:00

I spoke with Minister Glenn Sayers on Friday afternoon (1/25). He informed me of a new health service that will be starting up on Saturday, February 2nd. A doctor from Kaiser and some RNs will be providing free health services to families in need. The health clinic will operate from 2 to 6 p.m. the first Saturday of each month, and follow-up lab work will also be available without cost. The location will be at Glenn's church, which is about 5 miles from Johnson School. This service will help fill a hole for our families that do not have health coverage. We will be getting flyers in English and Spanish to distribute. We will make the information available to our families this week.
Terry

Student Council Spirit Days

2008-01-26T12:38:00.001-08:00

Let's show some school pride. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PUMAS!!!

Pajama Day- Feb. 15th (the day after Valentine’s day)

Anti-Bully Week—Feb.18th-22nd
Week will focus on friendship and anti-bullying. There will be activities every day during lunch. Mr P.D. will not run these activities. We need teacher volunteers to help and supervise student council members running the activities.
For example: Mon. lunch 1________lunch2 __________ lunch 3________
Tues lunch 1________lunch2 __________ lunch 3________
Wed. lunch 1________lunch2 __________ lunch 3________
Thurs. lunch 1________lunch2 __________ lunch 3________
Fri. lunch 1________lunch2 __________ lunch 3________
Information on events/activities plus sign up sheet to come.

Twin Day- March 14th (the Friday before Spring break!)

Crazy hair/hat day-April 11th (the Friday of Parent conference week)

Jump Rope for heart- April 18th-TENTATIVE

Nerd Day (remember Steve Urkle?) May 16th (week after testing)

Talent shows try outs- Monday May 26th
Talent show- Friday May 30th (also a free dress day)

School Vision and Mission

2008-01-24T11:20:00.000-08:00

Harmon Johnson Elementary

Vision

Our vision is to be a safe, respectful, and community-supported learning environment that supports high academic achievement for all.

Mission

Our mission is to create a comprehensive and relevant learning culture that involves all students achieving proficiency based on the state standards.

Our support system will include interventions and will empower the learning community creating goals, understanding assessments, and meeting the standards.

Within a school climate of respect, safety, and positive character trait, we will support all students’ learning while strengthening relationships, and providing tools for success.

School Bulletin Week of January 21

2008-01-23T08:55:00.000-08:00

Monday
Staff Room Cleanup- Susan Straughan
MLK Day No School
Tuesday
9:00 – 10:30 Principals PDD @ Noralto
11:00-1:00 Mtg. Gayle Moore and David
2:15 Student Council mtg. room 9
Wednesday
SST’s all day
12:00-2:30 DLAC Mtg. Karen and Mary Lou
2:30-3:30 Staff Mtg.
Thursday
2:30-3:00 CARE Team mtg. Ana, Erin
2:30-3:30 Interventions Team mtg.
Friday
Free Dress Day

Note:
Sixth Graders go to Camp next week. Kathy Saulter will stay back with the sixth graders that don’t go.
On Tuesday’s Principals PD Day we did walkthroughs at Noralto. We broke up into groups of two and were assigned a grade level to go into. We were looking for :
Active Engagement/Assessment
Nonlinguistic representations, vocabulary pics, graphic organizers being used
Schedules posted with workshop differentiated by need
After we visited the classrooms we came back together to debrief and post up on chart paper what we observed. It was very nice to see how other schools are doing and I am happy to say that the principals would see some good things happening here. At some point we will be doing the same here at Johnson. I’ll let you know when that is.
This week I met with Gayle Moore, a consultant who will be working with me as a coach. She has many years of experience as a principal. She works for an organization called Spring Board. They have been working for a number of years studying effective schools and helping PI schools replicate what those schools are doing. They focus on PLC’s and Cycles of Inquiring. I am excited to have an opportunity to work with her and to bring us an opportunity to grow and become one of those schools that are cited with we speak of effective schools.
At this weeks staff meeting we will work on our School Vision/Mission. We will meet in room 14.
Remember:
What do we want all students to learn?
How will we know when they have?
What will we do when they don’t?

Weird SF market (CARE team)

2008-01-17T20:40:00.000-08:00

So I was at the bar (not all my good stories start off this way) and someone tells me that I can find cheap shrimp at SF Market on Florin Road. So, I went.
First thing I thought when I walked in was "Wow! It really smells like fish or something in here." As I walked past the produce section I noticed no yellow bananas or grapes, but I did see lemon grass in its raw form. Not in the cut and twisty tie style I’d find at my local Safeway. Then I meander down the tea isle looking for a cool box oh Chai Tea, but instead I was surrounded in a sea of Asian characters on boxes I couldn’t read, dried mushrooms, and a box that read, "ground dragon’s teeth, and fungus." Yum. So, after fooling around and laughing at the funny things they had on the shelves I finally make it to the shrimp. I was fascinated by the live fish swimming in the large tank, the frozen fish you could scoop out of the middle isle open freezer, and the butcher’s bare hand on the fish as he struck them with large knives and mallets.
I stood in my perfect Bel-Air formation with my basket in arm and waited for someone to help me. (I didn’t see a line or number system). I stood for some time, before reserving to my other strategy. In my trained La Superior style I made eye contact, pointed down to what I wanted and again waited. Still nothing happened. "Is it because I’m wearing my SJSU rather than my CSUS hoodie?" (Yes, I can be that dense.) I noticed a lady somewhat laughing at me for not getting help. Finally someone approached me and I think he asked me what I needed. I’m not sure, it was difficult to understand his accent. In exaggerated fashion I pointed to the shrimp, and held up 3 fingers as I said, "Three pounds, please."
As if that wasn’t enough, I then ventured into the Chinese Herbalist next store. I figured since I was there I’d look for something to get my mom for her high blood pressure. As I walked in my eyes fluttered as all the different characters on boxes, packages, bags, and walls struck me. The man behind the counter smiled at me, and attempted to speak to me, but neither one of us could understand the other. "Ok" I thought, "I guess I’ll just look around." I smiled at the man, nodded, and walked away. As I walked about the little dark place I found a box with a very provocative woman with the words high blood pressure. I happily picked up the box, took it to the man, and pointed to the words with a broad smile on my face. He nodded and got to work opening drawers with funny characters, smashing ingredients into small pieces, weighing them on some silly scale, and packaging them for me in envelopes. He rang me up on an archaic machine, and gave me some candy.
In my car I thought to myself about my experience. "How weird." Was primarily what I thought with tiny chuckles at how differently they did things.
Then it hit me. "Whoa!" My smile disappeared and I stopped chuckling at the weird Asian market. I realized how stupid I was at assuming my way was the right way, and their way was "weird." They weren’t weird, I was. I was the weirdo. They knew what to do, and how to do it. I didn’t.
Then as a teacher I thought about my students especially my Hmong students. What do I do in my classroom to help my students pick up on our (American standard) cues like hand raising, individual testing, quiet lines, etc.? What can I do to help them communicate (like my ability to laugh at the ground dragon bones because it was the only thing I could read, or the high blood pressure box)? What do I do that seems "weird" to them? Do they give up on me when they can’t understand like I gave up on the man who wanted to help me? What is similar yet different to them (like the raw lemon grass)?
I want to go back to the Asian market, this time with more than shrimp on my shopping list. I want to see, feel and experience what I do to get what I want and need? I want to make my strategies available to my students to help them in any way I can.
Let’s be weird. Let’s get out and experience something different.

School Bulletin Week of January 14, 2008

2008-01-15T21:14:00.000-08:00

Monday
Staff Room Cleanup- Morgozewitz/Eathorne
PDDay

Tuesday
2:15 Student Council mtg. room 9

Wednesday
2:30-3:30 Grade Level mtg.
2:30 – 3:30 K-3 I-station training

Thursday
1:15-2:15 ELAC mtg. Cafeteria
8:00-3:30 CARE training David, Erin, Ana

Friday:
9:00-10:00 mtg. David and Dr. English

Note: The Design Team (leadership) had a very productive day yesterday. We learned about how to strengthen our PLC and build an effective prevention/intervention program at our school. Although we have just begun to learn about the process we are excited to share what we have learned with you at our next staff meeting. We also look forward to hearing from the standards group.

· This Wednesday you the kindergarten, first, second and third grade teachers will be getting training on using the I-station reports. Megan Jeri and Jim will also be joining us in the computer lab.

· I have scheduled a visitation for the kinder, first, second and third grade bilingual teachers to visit Moscone Elementary School in San Francisco. They have a similar program as ours had have had great success over the years. I’ll have more information for you at our bilingual teachers meeting on February 4th.

· I will be giving all staff members the very rough draft of our vision and mission statements for your review and input. In order to help make this a meaningful product I will also be giving you all some information on what good mission statements have in them and some examples of good and not so good mission statements. A vision statement is about what we want to become. A mission is about what how we get there. Please read them and come to the January 23rd staff meeting with your ideas.

· At our Design Team training we were reminded about the three essential questions that a good PLC must answer:
o What do we want all students to learn?
o How will we know when they have?
o What will we do when they don’t?
We will be an effective PLC when we can all answer these questions. Question number three is all about interventions. Question one and two are about what we do in the classroom- prevention.

Yearbook 2008

2008-01-12T21:45:00.000-08:00

Hello Staff,

Just a quick update on the yearbook. This Saturday, Mr C and I, along with 8 students, went around the neighborhood asking for sponsors. We took 2 sixth graders, 3 fifth graders, 1 fourth grader, 1 third grader, and a 7th grader (an older sister who didn't want to stay home). We went to about 20 businesses. We scored! 7-Eleven is making a donation. That brings our sponsor total to 8! So at $180 each that makes $1440!!! We've never done this before, so the kids are ecstatic! At first they were shy, and Mr. C did most of the talking. I was shy, too. But by the end of the afternoon they were making the sales pitch. They were inside the 7-eleven store before we could make it out of the car. I credit them for convincing the owner all by themselves.

(Picture 1: In front of 524 Restaurant. )

We've come so far and we still need lots of help. So I encourage you to slip a $5 bill in the yearbook envelop on the Staff Room table. So far we have 6 donations from teachers. Thank you! We need 30 more teachers to sponsor Pre-School. If you're worried that you don't have cash, we accept checks (made payable to Johnson School).

(Picture 2: Mr C and the kids, standing on the corner of Northgate and W. El Camino, plan a route for the day.)

Thank you to all the teachers who scrambled to finish their yearbook drawings. There are some amazing artists out there. Now for the hard part; choosing the winners. These drawings are going to give our yearbook a personal touch that our kids won't forget.

(Picture 3: Laura and Vianay take a breather at Beto's Taqueria. Sales isn't easy.)

Thanks again,
Teli

School Bulletin Week of January 7, 2008

2008-01-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Harmon Johnson Elementary School
Bulletin
Week of January 7, 2008

Monday
Staff Room Cleanup- Marie Watson
10:00 Healthy Start Collaborative mtg.
11:00 mtg. Maria Elena, Terry, Mary Lou
2:30-3:00 Bilingual Teachers mtg. Room 2
Tuesday
2:15 Student Council mtg.
Wednesday
2:30-3:30 Staff/Leadership mtg.
SST’s all day
Thursday
9:00-10:30 Principals PD mtg.
1;10-1:50 Rosca de Reies PreK-3
2:30-3:00 CARE team mtg.
3:00-4:30 I-station Training Vinland Staff Development Center
Friday

1:30 Yearbook layout workshop

Note: Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
· A note form our friendly ORC, Mr. PD
January 7, 2008

Dear Johnson Staff,

Hopefully your vacation was relaxing and fulfilling, and the New Year has started off well. We know that the next 6 months are going to be busy. In an attempt to maximize communication, the following are tentative dates and activities that I am scheduling for the next few weeks. Terry

· January 7th 10:00 a.m. Healthy Start Collaborative Meeting.

· January 9th 3:30 Teacher training for Nell Soto home visits. The training will last 1 hour, and teachers will be paid for their participation.

· January 10th Notes go home with 4th – 6th graders regarding soccer.

· January 15th Student Council candidates for Treasurer give speeches during the 3rd-4th and 5th-6th grade lunches.

. · Student Council candidates for Secretary give speeches during 3rd-4th and 5th-6th grade lunches.

· January 15th Soccer tryouts begin, weather permitting. Practices will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:30 to 4:30. The soccer season begins on February 29th.

· January 16th Student Council candidates for Vice-President give speeches during the 3rd-4th and 5th-6th grade lunches.

· January 17th Student Council candidates for President give speeches during the 3rd-4th and 5th-6th grade lunches. Voting takes place in classrooms before afternoon ELD.

· January 22nd Class meetings regarding harassment and bullying begin. There will be one meeting for each class, 20 minutes in length for primary grades, 30 minutes for upper grades. The meetings fall under the heading of Social Studies, and two classes may join together. Hopefully, all classes will be covered in a two week period, with a note going home for parents after the meeting.

· January 23rd 5:00 p.m. Evening Nell Soto meeting for parents will be held off campus. Site to be determined. Staff who choose to participate will be paid.