Chief Joseph/Ockley Green Newsletter
April 2014
Dear Chief Joseph/Ockley Green Families,
This week I was able to complete staffing for the 2014-2015 school year. We will continue to support four
classrooms per grade level on the K-3 campus. On the 4-8 campus our staffing level will remain the same as well.
Most teachers will remain in their current positions. The changes for next year are the result of the development
of school programs. Those changes are as follows: Trish Janson will become our Reading Specialist on the K-3
campus. She will provide support for K-3 students needing extra help in reading. I am very excited that we will be
able to provide our youngest students with support in line with our district third grade milestone, of all third
graders meeting benchmark. Cori Donald will no longer teach Drama on the K-3 campus next year. She has shown
great initiative developing the Drama curriculum this year; however, we will be replacing Drama with Visual Arts.
Beth Bundy, our Art specialist, will now support both campuses with Art instruction. Drama and Music, as well as
other Art programs, will be supported by our Right Brain Initiative artist-in-residency next year. Our K-3 Special
Education Learning Center will be a full-time position next year. Ellen Brotherson is a half-time employee and she
will be looking in round one for a .5 position. Our media center on the K-3 campus will be supported by Kirsten
Truman, who is our Media Specialist on the 4-8 campus. Kristen is a certified Media Specialist; this change will
provide both campuses with greater flexibility in developing program, especially in the area of Inquiry and STEAM.
Kate Fleming has done much to develop our K-3 library and will continue to do so in her next assignment
On the 4-8 campus, Kristin Moon will be moving into the role of STEAM instructional specialist. I am very excited
to have her expertise supporting both campuses with a focus on Math instruction, in addition to helping us to
move the STEAM work forward K-8. Amy Wood will now be teaching seventh and eighth grade Science. Alvin
Johnson will move to fifth grade taking over for Amy Sands who is retiring this year. All other 4-8 campus teachers
will remain in their current positions.
Next year, our Art and enrichment programs will be consistent on both campuses. Those programs are as follows:
full time PE on both campuses, Visual Arts/Design Thinking on both campuses, Dance on both campuses, and
Media/Library on both campuses. Mary Peake will remain as our School Improvement specialist working with
Kristin Moon to provide comprehensive support for all teachers. The Right Brain Initiative will be supported by
Beth Bundy, Damon Keller and Kirsten Truman.
Two additional programs that we are hoping to bring to our Chief Joseph/Ockley Green School, are Mandarin and
Playworks. All Jefferson Cluster schools have been informed that there is a very strong possibility that we will be
offering Mandarin next year. This initiative will support the King School Mandarin Immersion program and
Jefferson Mandarin H.S. credits. We will know soon the status of this program. On the K-3 campus, we have
secured funding for the Playworks Program. Playworks supports students in recess play, including learning games
and conflict mediation. We are very hopeful that Playworks will be able to expand their programming to support
our K-3 campus.
A team of teachers and administrators will be interviewing teachers to fill our second grade, and two sixth grade
positions in the next few weeks. I want to thank Kate Fleming, Ellen Brotherson, Cori Donald and Amy Sands for
their years of service. We appreciate them so much and wish them all the very best.
The following are important dates for school events coming this spring:
April 15 1:45 3rd Grade Play K-3 campus cafeteria, Michels and Martinez classes
April 16 K-8 Late Opening
5:30 Talent Show auditions-4-8 auditorium
April 17 1:45 3rd Grade Play K-3 campus cafeteria, Walker and Brislin classes
5:30 Talent Show auditions- 4-8 auditorium
6:00 Kindergarten connect for prospective kindergarten parents in the K-3 Library
April 18 6:00 PTA Movie Night on 4-8 campus
April 23 10:00 a.m. Recognition Assembly 4-8 campus
April 25 8:30 Coffee with Molly and Amber K-3 campus
1:45 Recognition Assembly K-3 campus
April 26 5:00 p.m. Luck Be A Lady School auction at Portland Meadows
April 29 9:00 a.m. Grandparents Raising Grandchildren meeting on 4-8 campus
Spring is always a busy season and there are many opportunities for you to be involved in school activities. Thank
you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Molly Chun
Principal