NEWS & UPDATES

January 2006

We’re posting a little bit early this month because we have such big doings here in the Substitute Office. The SubFinder system is getting updated and the system will be down for a while during the last week of December. If all goes well (and we anticipate that it will) we should have everything up and running on or about January 1. If (heaven forbid) we should run into problems we’ll record a message on the main Substitute Office phone line to let you know how we are going to proceed.

School is back in session on January 3. Generally January tends to be a slower month for substitute jobs, but there are a couple of large meetings and conferences taking place which indicates that there will be work out there. Mark your calendars for January 16, which is the Martin Luther King Junior holiday, and January 30, which is semester break day. There will be no school on either of these dates.

On the Thursday before winter break Kate got an early morning call from one of our subs to let her know that he’d been in a multiple car accident and would not be able to make it to his assigned job. We are grateful that he wasn’t injured (though his poor car was badly bashed). Please be careful out there folks. The roads in the inland northwest can be treacherous. Your safety is important to us. We want you in one piece and unbruised. Kudos to the sub, though, for making sure we knew he couldn’t make it to the job—that really helped the school from having its own crisis!

Spokane Public Schools rarely close due to severe weather; the final decision for closing schools because of inclement weather is the Superintendent’s. Closure information will be broadcast by the local media beginning at approximately 6:30 a.m. and on the ESD web site at www.esd101.net or School Closure Alert. If you are scheduled to work on a day with a snow closure your job will be canceled.

Substitute orientations for new-hires are held prior to School Board meetings twice a month. Old timers are welcome to come for the first half of the orientation, which is the informational half. The second hour is intended for newly hired substitutes to fill out paperwork.

Orientations are from 4:00-5:30 at 200 N. Bernard in the Administration first floor boardrooms on the following dates:

We wish you all a joyous and renewing winter break and look forward to a bright new year with every one of you!

As the Program Chair for the Spokane Area Council of the International Reading Association (SAC IRA), I would like to invite the guest teachers of Spokane Public Schools to a workshop focusing on reading instruction and the web. This event is sponsored by SAC IRA and is a free event.
Workshop specifics are as follows.
Reading Instruction and the Web
January 31st, 4 to 5:30 pm
Logan Elementary, 1001 E. Montgomery (just off of Hamilton)

Barb Pybus, Director of Special Projects with Mead School district will speak on reading instruction and the web. As an expert on technology integration in the classroom, she will share research on information literacy and its importance in our classroom as well as providing internet based resources that you will be able to use your classroom.

Ms. Pybus is a former trainer for the Teacher Leadership Project (TLP). She trained hundreds of teachers during her five year tenure with TLP. In addition, Ms. Pybus taught teachers from pre-school to high school in 14 different states technology integration with the Teacher Leader Seminar with Intel Corporation.

Please contact Christine Colestock with workshop inquiriesat: colestock@icehouse.net