4J Parent News

Information for Eugene School District 4J parents and guardians

• Early Release Day: Students will be released early on Wednesdays starting next year

• School Schedule: New middle school schedule in the works, share your thoughts

• School Calendar: Calendar for 2023–24 school year approved; classes begin after Labor Day

• Parent Place: New online community aims to build connections among parents

• Suicide Prevention: Video recording of parent information session now available

• Kindergarten Orientation: Informational sessions for families run through March 22

• Party On: Celebration for existing North Eugene High School building set for May 11

• Kids in Transition: Sign up now for summer program to help get your preschooler ready for school

• ACE Awards: Nominate your champion in education through March 31

• In the News: Book behemoths, pantry partners, fantastical beasts, and more!

• Meet Taylor: Gilham special education teacher helps students gain greater independence

• Work With 4J: Serve local youth and the community—apply for a 4J job today!

All 4J schools will release early on Wednesdays instead of Fridays starting this fall to support collaboration among our educators.

Early-release days on Wednesdays will best support the new schedule that 4J high schools will follow starting this fall. In addition, comments from educators indicated that dedicated time for professional development and collaboration is more impactful during the middle of the workweek rather than at its end. Early-release times will remain unchanged.

Understanding the importance to families of having consistent school schedules, the change to a Wednesday early-release day will apply to all schools.

Wednesday early-release days are not new to our district. Many 4J schools released students early during the middle of the week prior to our district moving to a standard schedule for all schools in 2018, when Friday was selected as the early-release day.

Our district has convened a team of teachers, licensed specialists and district leaders to review new schedule options for middle schools to better serve students in grades 6–8 starting next fall. Your thoughts will help the team with its recommendation to district leaders, who will make a final decision before the end of this school year.

To guide its recommendations, the team has identified the following priorities that will be used to weigh the proposed options under its review:

• Center the unique needs — cognitive, emotional, linguistical, physical, psychological, and social — of middle school students through choice, exploration, and unique class offerings;
• Ensure flexibility during the school day for students that provide choice and access to a variety of supports (curricular extensions plus interventions, Advisory, affinity groups, clubs, activities, enrichment, etc.);
• Focus specifically on social-emotional learning, which is rooted in strong and healthy peer and adult relationships
• Prioritize planning and collaboration time for professional staff to increase collective teacher efficacy and student achievement;
• Maintain or decrease class size: Class size remains a concern, and shouldn’t be significantly impacted by this schedule change.

We welcome your ideas and suggestions at this link. Please take a moment while you're there to review and rank the thoughts of others. We appreciate your time and support!

The school calendar for the coming school year has been approved.

School will start after the Labor Day weekend: kindergartners and students in grades 6 and 9 will return to classes on Wednesday, September 6, while students in all other grades will start school the following day, Thursday, September 7.

Other notable dates:

• Parent-Teacher Conferences: November 20–22

• Thanksgiving Break: November 23–24

• Winter Break: December 18–January 2

• Spring Break: March 25–29

• Last Day of School: Thursday, June 13

The school board approved the school calendar at its March 15 meeting. Thank you for your input as we finalized the calendar for the coming school year.

There's a brand-new space online dedicated to supporting local parents.

Our district has joined with the Oregon Healing Collective to launch ParentPlace.Care, a free website that will be continually updated and moderated by mental health professionals who offer new resources, topic areas for discussion, a newsletter and events calendar. The mission of ParentPlace.Care is to ensure that no parent feels alone by providing an online community that focuses on hope, help and healing through a platform that is safe, supportive and trauma-informed.

The platform is not monitored 24/7. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 or text TALK to 741741.

Eugene School District 4J held a parent education session on suicide prevention on Tuesday, March 7, where parents and family members learned how to talk with their child about suicide, what warning signs to look out for and where to get help.

Dr. Kerry Frazee, 4J’s prevention services administrator; Angi Meyer, 4J’s suicide prevention specialist; and Maryanne Mueller and Lauren Hval, family therapists at Oregon Healing Collective, made presentations at the session.

If you were unable to attend the session, the latest in a series of community events the district has held to address youth mental health issues, you can watch the video recording of the session by clicking below.

Let’s get to know each other! If your child will turn 5 on or before September 1, it’s time to register for kindergarten. Registering now will help your child and their school best prepare for the fall.

In-person kindergarten orientation event are underway at each 4J elementary school, with the last one scheduled on March 22. You’ll learn about your school’s kindergarten program and enrollment process, meet teachers and staff, and have an opportunity to ask questions. Don't miss out!

It is almost time to say goodbye to the current home of the Highlanders.

North Eugene High School will hold a celebration for the existing school building on May 11, ahead of students and staff moving to the brand-new school building located next door starting in the fall.

The celebration's planning committee is encouraging all North Eugene High School alumni and staff, both past and present, to fill on a short online survey so they can keep updated on event details as they're finalized. The committee also is looking for individuals interested in assisting with the celebration planning or who have ideas for the event.

Please spread the word. Let's make it a celebration to remember!

Is your child starting kindergarten this fall? Help them get ready with Kids In Transition to School's free summer program.

KITS is an evidence-based school readiness program that builds children’s academic, self-regulation, and social skills, plus helps parents develop positive strategies to support learning at home and school. The two-hour classes are held Tuesdays through Thursdays from June 27–August 17 at three 4J locations. Enrollment is based on lottery system.

Learn more & apply by April 14: bit.ly/40aooBJ (English) • bit.ly/3YzY0Qq (español). For questions or assistance, please contact (541) 790-5929.

The 2023 ACE (A Champion in Education) Awards nomination season is in full swing. The deadline to submit nominations is March 31.

Nominating a valued educator for the ACE Awards is a wonderful way to honor the incredible talent and dedication of our amazing teachers, classified staff, administrators and volunteers. We're thrilled to announce that the 2023 ACE Awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 4, 5–7 p.m., at South Eugene High School—the first in-person celebration since 2019!

Every nominee will be recognized, and one nominee in each category will be named ACE Champion and receive a $250 grant for a school or program of their choosing from Eugene Education Foundation. One nominee also may be recognized with a special lifetime achievement award.

• Book Behemoths: Six 4J elementary and middle school teams to compete for state titles at Oregon Battle of the Books event in April

• Pantry Partners: 4J high schoolers work with local organizations to stock school-based food pantries

• Special Guests: UO student-athletes visit Spring Creek students and families to celebrate National Read Across America Day

• Fantastical Beasts & Where to Find Them: Students learn about the rich folk art and culture of Oaxaca, Mexico

Special Education Teacher at Gilham Elementary School

“It really helps me every day to think about how far the students have come
and how much independence they’re building on a daily basis. Sometimes you don’t see it every day, but long-term when you look back at where they started to where they are now
you see a huge leap of progress."

MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF LOCAL STUDENTS. JOIN TEAM EUGENE!

Accounting & Business Systems Specialist • Bus Aides • Bus Drivers • Business Information Systems Analyst • Classification & Compensation Specialist • Coaches • Database Administrator • Educational Assistants • Elementary School Principals • General Education Teachers • High School Principal • Human Resources Director • HVAC Registration Technician • Mental Health Specialist • Plumber Specialist • Registered Nurses • Safe Routes to School Program Coordinator • School Psychologist • Special Education Teachers • Teachers • and more!

3/16 No School: Middle & High Only (Grading Day)

3/17 No School: Staff Workload Relief Day

3/20 Budget Committee Meeting

3/27–31 No School: Spring Break

4/3 No School: Professional Development/Planning Day

4/17 Budget Committee Meeting

4/19 School Board Meeting

5/3 School Board Meeting

5/4 ACE Awards Celebration

5/5 No School: Middle & High Only (Progress Reports/Professional Development)

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