Announcer (00:01): Highlighting the amazing stories from inside the North Clackamas School district. This is the Proud To Be NCSD podcast, hosted by longtime principal and current community relations director. Curtis Long

Curtis Long (00:21): It's just about eight 30 on a Friday morning at Spring Mountain Elementary. And no, you don't need to be slipped into sweatpants, laboring, and leg warmers, or even have a headband haloed around your head. This is not morning aerobics. This is actually a whole school assembly organized to recognize the accomplishments of the school's. 300 plus students during the past week celebrating their continued resolve in reading Moxie in Math and willpower in writing.

Assembly (00:58): Here we go.

Curtis Long (00:58): But the voice leading these spirited students as they slide hop and chacha all across the gym floor isn't their regular principal who wasn't able to be at school on this day. Instead, these happy hawks got a substitute principal on this Friday. Me. Now you might be thinking, wait, don't you need to hold an official administrative license to serve as even a substitute principal in North Clackamas? The answer is yes, and I do. In fact, before starting this podcast and taking over as the district's community relations director more than two years ago, I was very proud to serve as principal of three different North Clackamas schools, including right here at Spring Mountain Elementary for seven years. So you might say, this isn't my first time having too much fun dancing at a morning assembly, but it is the first time an NCSD administrator has gone through an entire school day all miked. You got chocolate milk over your cereal? Yeah. Does it taste good that way? Yeah. Ever wondered what happens in a day in the life of an elementary school principal? Hi guys. Have a great day today. Today on the Proud to Be NCSD podcast Tag along with me through a frenetic Friday that not only captures the sounds of a magical morning assembly,

Curtis Long (02:16): But also run-ins at recess. Do you guys follow the rules? Yeah. In are good sports?

Students at recess (02:21): Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

Curtis Long (02:22): Glad to hear that. And squabbles on the school bus. Do you feel safe going on the bus now?

Spring Mountain Student (02:27): I'm definitely gonna sit with my friends, do the upper front.

Curtis Long (02:31): Okay. All while observing an amazement. As teachers and other staff members work their magic in engaging and inspiring their students every minute of the day,

Brynn Swearingen (02:40): That's the title age. Alright, gimme a thumbs up when you find an S blend word. Here we go. Finger underneath.

Curtis Long (02:45): We've got every minute covered from a day in the life of an NCSD elementary school. So grab your coat, check the lunch menu, and make sure your backpack is packed. The first bell is set to ring right now and welcome in to this miked up edition of the Proud To Be NCSD podcast where we'll have microphones Follow me around as the guest principal for an entire day here at Spring Mountain Elementary School. And here's how this will work. Since even our most loyal listeners aren't going to listen to an entire six hour elementary school day. Each time you hear a little snippet from our favorite assembly dance you heard earlier...

Song snippet (03:26): Slide to the left,

Curtis Long (03:27): We'll skip ahead to a different part of the day. But first we need to...

Song snippet (03:32): Reverse, reverse, reverse

Curtis Long (03:34): Back to before students arrived on this fun-filled Friday and the microphones first started rolling as I checked in with the school's front office professional administrative assistant, Tina Prins. Alright, Mrs. Prins, it is 7 27 on a Friday morning. The kids come in in what is 18 minutes or so? Is that right? Three minutes. Oh, three minutes. Oh gosh. I gotta get ready and get out there. So I noticed on the board, 'cause you guys keep a board back there, there are quite a few staff members out today. Maybe some paraeducators who are out that falls into your territory. What do you do on these mornings when you need to get some bodies in here to help watch these kids?

Tina Prins (04:07): I start waking people up at six 30 in the morning looking for some subs.

Curtis Long (04:12): Alright, I think we've got some subs in the building. I'll help out where I can. What type of day do you think it's gonna be here on a Friday at Spring Mountain?

Tina Prins (04:18): I think it's gonna be a great day.

Curtis Long (04:19): It is gonna be a great day. What's the best part for you being up here in in the front off.

Tina Prins (04:23): I get to see all the smiling faces here at Spring Mountain.

Curtis Long (04:26): Alright, we're gonna see lots of smiling faces today. You ready? Ready? Here we go.

Song snippet (04:31): Slide to the left.

Curtis Long (04:32): Okay, so it is 7 29. We have about one minute before we go in. We're joined by a bunch of kids. Eager to come in to a school day today. It's Friday. Are you guys excited for the day? Yeah. Yeah.

SME Student (04:45): I'm actually, I'm actually allowed to go in right now. That's normal.

Curtis Long (04:48): You're allowed to go in right now?

SME Student (04:50): Yeah, they get a head

Curtis Long (04:51): Start. Okay. So he gets a head start. I'm glad everyone's being honest about that. Do you guys know that we have today and then it's a three day weekend. There's no school on Monday. Yeah. Do you guys, do you guys know why there's no school on Monday? Why?

SME Student (05:03): No,

Curtis Long (05:03): It's Veterans Day. We're celebrating Veterans Day.

SME Student (05:06): Veterans Day.

Curtis Long (05:06): Yeah. So no school on Monday. Are you guys gonna be sad and have to cry and get tissues because there's no school on Monday?

SME Student (05:13): No. No. You'll be okay. Well I'll because I love school.

Curtis Long (05:17): Do you guys know we

SME Student (05:20): Love school?

Curtis Long (05:20): Me too. Oh, I'm so glad to hear that. Do you guys know that there's an assembly today?

SME Student (05:23): Yeah. I'm really excited for that. Why? I'm wearing, that's why I'm wearing...

Curtis Long (05:27): Yeah, the microphone works for an assembly for sure. I'll meet you guys down there. Have never led an assembly with you guys before.

SME Student (05:33): It's Stuffy day today.

Curtis Long (05:34): And what classroom is it Stuffy day today?

SME Student (05:35): Mrss Shaver

Curtis Long (05:37): In Mrs Shaver's kindergarten room. It's stuffy day today. So you have your stuffing in your backpack. How exciting. Okay, well we'll listen closely for the bell to ring and it'll be time to go in. And it didn't take long after that for hundreds of smiling students and families to greet me at the front door. And as you'll hear some of the kindergarten students think I sound eerily similar to the mysterious superhero who visits their classrooms every 10 days named Zero the Hero.

Song snippet (06:01): Slide to the right.

Curtis Long (06:03): There's the bell. Good morning everyone.

Song snippet (06:10): I

Curtis Long (06:11): Remember ready for an exciting day.

Curtis Long (06:14): Yep. I'm back again today. Yeah,

Curtis Long (06:21): Make sure you're walking.

SME Student (06:24): Thought you were a zero the hero.

Curtis Long (06:26): I'm not. Zero the hero. Good morning everyone. Have a great day today. We'll see you in the gym for the assembly.

Curtis Long (06:39): Morning everybody.

SME Student (06:41): Are you still afraid of the slide?

Curtis Long (06:43): Yeah, I'm not going down that slide. That's way too scary.

Song snippet (06:45): Are you Zero the Hero?

Curtis Long (06:46): No, I am not Zero. The hero are sure. He's got giant muscles and glasses and big hair. I don't have any of that.

SME Student (06:53): He's wearing a wig.

Curtis Long (06:54): No way. That's his real hair.

SME Student (06:56): He's wearing big glasses because this glasses.

Curtis Long (07:01): Good morning everyone. Hi guys. Have a great day today.

Song snippet (07:08): Slide to the left.

Curtis Long (07:09): Just after greeting kids at the front doors. It's down the hall to the school's cafeteria where a handful of students are taking advantage of our district's. No-cost breakfast and lunch option. Ever pour chocolate milk on your morning cereal? Well I hadn't either, but it does look pretty tasty. And paraprofessional. Laura Schuermyer gets a big smile from third grader Marlowe who came back to the cafeteria to find her backpack being jokingly worn by the friendly cafeteria helper. Okay, so the bell just rang, right? So you're eating your breakfast. What do you got today? So that's like tricks that looks yummy with chocolate milk. Yeah. So you got chocolate milk over your cereal? Yeah. Does it tastes good that way? Yeah. Okay. You gotta get wrapped up though, right? And get to class. All right, have a good day.

Curtis Long (07:52): You guys getting your last bites in?

Laura Schuermyer (07:55): Do you know Marlo? It's Marlo's. Marlo. Okay. It's really cute. I might keep it.

Curtis Long (08:00): I think you should keep that backpack.

Laura Schuermyer (08:03): Wait, how does it look guys?

Curtis Long (08:03): Looks pretty good.

Laura Schuermyer (08:05): I was gonna keep it Marlowe.

Curtis Long (08:08): Oh it's yours, Marlowe. All right. Marlowe. Marlow'es got her backpack.

Song snippet (08:13): Slide to the right.

Curtis Long (08:15): Now we skip ahead past the exciting assembly you heard earlier, meaning all Spring Mountain students are now back in their classrooms listening closely to their teachers morning lessons. Pretty impressive considering they were just jumping around the gym less than 10 minutes ago. Especially for first graders who I found quietly reading and following Teacher Brynn Swearingen's lesson routines in their corner classroom. Did you know NCSD daily reading instruction calls for teachers to differentiate their lessons based on the reading levels of all their students and teachers? Listen to each student read aloud nearly every day. Mrs. Swearingen was leading a group of five first grade readers at her back table and they didn't even look up when I sat next to them. So it's 8:51 AM I'm now visiting Mrs. Swearing's first grade room. They've come back from the assembly, they're all academic focused and they're getting ready for a reading group. What do we got going on here guys? What are we doing?

SME Student (09:03): We all, we all visit, we all doing teacher time? We all going to read the book?

Curtis Long (09:12): So you're gonna read with the teacher, so you all, you guys rotate back and it's your turn to be with Mrs. Swearingen back in the back. Okay. Do you mind if I listen in a little bit? Okay. I want to hear all the great stuff you're doing.

Brynn Swearingen (09:23): Alright friends, we're gonna do another S Blend book today. Could jump into down, okay. Finger at the top. We're gonna start our title. Here we go. My My Skin. Skin

Brynn Swearingen (09:38): Skin Skills. My skin's got skills. Ooh, interesting. I wonder what this is going to be about. Alright, go ahead and turn up to page two.

Students (09:45): My skin's got skills.

Brynn Swearingen (09:47): That's the title page. All right, gimme a thumbs up when you find an S blend word. My skin's got skills. Here we go. Finger underneath

Students (09:57): My

Brynn Swearingen (09:58): Skin's

Students (09:59): Got

Brynn Swearingen (09:59): Skills. What skills? Lots of skills. What does that talk bubble say? Wow. What are skills? What does skills mean?

Students (10:11): It means like, like it, like you can do things really well. Like, like that's her skill.

Brynn Swearingen (10:20): Something that you can do really well. Is she jumping? What do you think skin could do really well? She

Students (10:27): Jumping or is she falling?

Brynn Swearingen (10:28): What does it look like? Falling. So face looks excited to me. She looks like she's jumping.

Students (10:36): She's jumping. She's a side.

Brynn Swearingen (10:39): All right, page three. Here we go. Finger and write the words. Skin is on all

Students (10:46): Me.

Brynn Swearingen (10:47): Turn the page. Wow, sure is finger underneath the words show you body. Here we go. I sag skin and it will rip out A big cut. What does snag mean? Good morning. What does

Students (11:11): Snag it means? Means you're having like a

Brynn Swearingen (11:12): Cut. Yeah, like the skin got opened somehow, which is why it's a big ouch. Read that talk bubble right there. Ouch. Ouch. Okay, let's read this next part.

Curtis Long (11:22): Okay, Mrs. Swearingen, summarize for me a little bit about the lesson you were doing here in the back of the room That I got to observe my skin's got skills. Kind of a strange title for a book. What are you looking for with that?

Brynn Swearingen (11:32): Every week we have a particular phonics skill that we are focusing on and this particular day we were working on blends. And so students get an opportunity to read a book that is at their skill level. And this was the second time we had looked at this book. And so friends had an opportunity to look through the book and then we were identifying the S blend words. And then after we read the book, we were able to write them out and create some new words to practice writing as well.

Curtis Long (11:59): So what do you mean by S blends? What are kids looking for?

Brynn Swearingen (12:02): So S blends in phonics is a word that starts with a letter S and then has another letter to follow it. Okay. So we were looking for SP blends, SL blends, sw, anything like that. That is just the next step in our phonics work. After we do simple CVC words, we start working on CCVC words.

Curtis Long (12:21): Okay, so you were mentioning CVC and C, CVC. Now we know the C stands for consonant. The V stands for vowel. Tell us about some of the words your first graders are identifying.

Brynn Swearingen (12:30): Some of the words that they were identifying and working on with today's lesson were words like stem, swim, slam, sled, slap, stop spin swing, words like that.

Curtis Long (12:40): And a lot of times you are stopping them or you're reading just a little piece at a time and you've got a whiteboard back here. What are you doing with your whiteboard the entire time?

Brynn Swearingen (12:48): We are writing down the words that students are finding in the book on the whiteboard. And then some of the time we're just doing a listening activity where the kids get an opportunity. I have these really neat scratch sticks and scratch pads that are rainbow underneath when kids write on them. And so they get an opportunity to write down some of the words that they found in the book that maybe we didn't discuss altogether.

Curtis Long (13:07): Now it is November. So the kids have been in school for a little over two months now. What kind of progress are you seeing with your first graders as far as reading goes?

Brynn Swearingen (13:14): There have been significant gains since September. It's really one of the most fun things about teaching first grade is getting to see all the growth that these kids make. And some of 'em are coming in and they're working through those consonant v consonant words that they maybe started to practice at the end of kindergarten. And then at this point in the year, the kids are able to put those sounds together really smoothly and we're able to have fluency in our reading, which is really exciting and it lends itself to some great conversations as well.

Curtis Long (13:40): How rewarding is it for you to get these kids that come into school, maybe not fluent readers at all, maybe having trouble identifying letters and then by the end of the year, after a year in your class you see them reading their own books and pursuing books to read even more? Really finding a joy for reading.

Brynn Swearingen (13:55): Doing the small group reading groups is my absolute favorite time of the day. It's an opportunity to connect with kids exactly at their level to give them what they need. And I love getting the opportunity to see that aha light bulb moment where it all comes together for the kids and you can see the joy in their face that just exudes and it keeps me excited about coming to work and teaching every single day.

Curtis Long (14:17): And that excitement rubs off as I saw here in the classroom. Really fun to visit Mrs. Swearing's room. Thanks so much for visiting with me. Thank you.

Song snippet (14:24): Slide to the left.

Curtis Long (14:26): Imagine learning to read or learning any subject for that matter when all of your instruction is in English, but you speak an entirely different language at home. That's the case for thousands of students district wide who are part of NCSD's English Language Development program or ELD. But we know students of all language proficiencies learn best when they learn alongside their classmates. That's why in our district, ELD teachers often co-teach lessons right alongside classroom teachers. That's exactly what I found when I dropped in to visit Darcy Rey's third grade classroom of students who were learning about the importance of exact measurements when conducting science experiments. But it's not Rey, you'll hear teaching the lesson. It's ELD teacher Kaylee Crispin, who's very deliberately making sure all students understand the science terms she's using.

Kaylie Crispen (15:09): We are trying to make this investigation happen in the classroom so we can connect it to the real world. So we started with the same size cups, the same size lids, the same size, paper towels. But what was the variable? What was different from each side? There was something different on each side. Anna one

Kaylie Crispen (15:34): Didn't, one had a lid, one didn't. We also added what to each cup, how much water? 20, 20 milliliters. So we added the same things to each side. And on Wednesday, can you show me with your hands what did um, our balance look like? Can you show me with your arm? Did it look like this, like a slope? No, it looked like this because everything was the same. It was equal on both sides. Now we've let this sit for two days. One has a cup or one has a lid, one does not. What has changed? Won't you?

Students (16:18): Uh uh. Now this way instead this way.

Kaylie Crispen (16:22): It's created a slope. And what does that tell us? Who can add on? What does that tell us?

Students (16:28): That the one without the water

Kaylie Crispen (16:30): One maybe turned into water vapor and one didn't. What else does it tell us? Can someone add on Walt?

Students (16:38): The water could probably been in there because I see that this one is mostly still wet, but this one is dry.

Kaylie Crispen (16:50): You think this one's drier than this

Students (16:52): One? Yeah, because that one's wet. This one's dry. Hmm.

Kaylie Crispen (16:56): Let, let's compare. So look at the color of both of these wa uh, paper towels compared to this paper towel. Do you think that they are dry or still wet?

Students (17:05): Still wet and pretty sure dry. And they're both wet. Wet.

Kaylie Crispen (17:11): Do

Students (17:11): You see any wet? A little bit

Kaylie Crispen (17:13): Of water. Water.

Students (17:14): I see water in both. I see water. It's a little bit darker

Kaylie Crispen (17:21): Color. Is there water still left in the cup?

Students (17:24): Yeah. In either touch. What do we

Kaylie Crispen (17:27): Think

Students (17:27): The one the the one without would just have water.

Kaylie Crispen (17:31): There's no remaining water in the bottom that we can see. Not too

Students (17:35): Much. The left one is like the,

Kaylie Crispen (17:38): This one still has a puddle in

Students (17:41): There. Do you want me to take some this to

Kaylie Crispen (17:44): The back? Sure.

Students (17:45): That would be great. Okay. As they come you guys can see

Speaker 12 (17:49): Up close a little bit.

Kaylie Crispen (17:50): And so when these were in our balance, it looked like this. I can see what does that tell us about the weight of each of these?

Curtis Long (17:59): Some pretty heavy thinking by those third grade scientists still to come. How does the school's one ELD specialist find time to plan such engaging activities with every grade level teacher?

Kayle Crispen (18:10): We co-plan usually a biweekly and discuss how the lessons are going to be implemented, who's doing what role.

Curtis Long (18:18): And as our day in the life of an elementary school continues, what happens when the principal tries to reason with a crabby kindergartner who'd rather be anywhere but back in class? Were you following teacher's directions? Kind of. Kind of. Okay, well how can we get it back from kind of to Yes, I was, what do we need to be doing down there? What you need to be doing is sticking around the second half of the proud to be NCSD podcast Principal for a day edition continues right after this.

Commercial Announcer (18:47): Are you looking for a job right now? Looking to work in a fun and supportive environment with great pay and a rewarding career? The North Clackamas School district is hiring. We're currently filling full and part-time positions. You can work and make a difference in young lives and education as a classroom assistant or a substitute teacher apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire before and after school caretakers, custodians, and bus drivers in North Clackamas. We promise it won't take you long to learn why our employees say they're proud to be an NCSD Apply today on the North Clackamas school district website or call 5 0 3 3 5 3 6,000. That's 5 0 3 3 5 3 6,000.

Curtis Long (19:41): And Kaylee Crispin joins me now after teaching that lesson in Mrs. Schray's room. Now I went in to visit third grade and thought I would see Mrs. Schray their regular classroom teacher teaching. But it was you up front. How does all that work in this co-teaching model in ELD?

Kayle Crispen (19:56): Well, I co-teach. I go in and co um, co-teach with grades K through five classroom teachers during social studies and science daily for 30 minutes.

Curtis Long (20:05): And how do you prepare for all that you, so that means you have kids from every grade level and lots of different subjects. Is it primarily science that we do the co-teaching in science

Kayle Crispen (20:14): And social studies? Yes. Okay.

Curtis Long (20:15): So does that take a lot of work on your part? Are you working with the different teachers about what kinds of things you want to cover? Both

Kayle Crispen (20:21): Mm-Hmm? <affirmative>. So we co-plan usually biweekly and discuss how the lessons are going to be implemented, who's doing what role, uh, what the outcomes we are hoping for with students and uh, what type of language scaffolds we'll be providing each day as well.

Curtis Long (20:38): And you work with a lot of the students who speak a different language or speak another language in this school. How do you see this co-teaching model working for them?

Kayle Crispen (20:45): They're getting to learn among all of their peers. So they're hearing language at different proficiency levels, but mostly proficient English native English speakers

Curtis Long (20:54): And you get to work in all different grades. I don't know if I should ask this, but do you have a specific grade that you seem to like more than the others? What do you enjoy teaching most when you have kindergartners all the way up to fifth graders?

Kayle Crispen (21:05): Third grade is probably my favorite because they've had some years in practice with the FOSS program and the routines. And I think also because of their language development and just their age, they're able to do a little bit more with the investigations and go further with the materials.

Curtis Long (21:22): Are you finding yourself becoming more knowledgeable about science and social studies when you concentrate on those subjects All the time?

Kayle Crispen (21:28): Absolutely. <laugh>. Everyone thinks I'm a science teacher here at school.

Curtis Long (21:32): I sure did when I walked in. It was fun to watch you teach that lesson about measurement and you are looking at scales and why is the weight different on each one? Thank you so much for taking time to visit with me.

Kayle Crispen (21:41): Yes, of course.

Song snippet (21:42): Slide to the right.

Curtis Long (21:44): Speaking of slides, it's now about 9:30 AM right in the middle of Spring Mountain's morning recess rotation. I found myself out with the kindergarten and first grade students who explained a fun recess game called Gaga Ball to me and just wouldn't let up until they saw their guest principal go down their playground's. Curly slide. Looks like these kids are playing gaga ball out on the playground. What do you guys like about Gaga ball?

SME Student (22:08): We really like to watch.

Curtis Long (22:10): You like to run. Yeah. Yeah, you get to run in this game for sure and

SME Student (22:13): We get to hit the ball.

Curtis Long (22:14): You get to hit the ball. Do you guys follow the rules? Yeah. And are good sports? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Gad to hear that

SME Student (22:22): Are you going to go down the slide?

Curtis Long (22:23): No way. The slide's too scary. I'm not doing the slide. You do? I really have to go up to the slide. No, the slide's too scary. Isn't it wet too? No.

SME Student (22:34): Yes, I

Song snippet (22:36): Too,

Curtis Long (22:45): Nope, I'm not going down that slide Just once. I should go down it. Should I try it? I don't know if I can even fit. All right, let's see if I can fit. This is way too scary. Well, I just toweled it off just so you know. By the way my pants looked after giving in and going down that slide, I might as well have just sat in a puddle

Song snippet (23:24): Slide to the left

Curtis Long (23:26): With the morning recess block now completed. I found myself back in classrooms this time in a different third grade classroom observing writing instruction. In recent years, NCSD has invested heavily in writing instruction at the elementary level, both with curriculum and in professional development. It doesn't take me long to see that professional development paying off in Carol Cottinghams third grade classroom where the teacher is skillfully guiding one of her students trying to edit his informational essay about spiders.

Carol Cottingham (23:52): So are we writing about ticks or writing about spiders?

Students (23:55): No. I just wanna get a fun fact.

Carol Cottingham (23:57): Okay. I want you to stay kind of like let's, this are right. This is writing. Have you ever seen a fence? Have you seen a fence around a yard before? Mm-Hmm? <affirmative>. Okay. And let's say I painted my fence. Gray, gray, gray, gray. These are all the wood boards and then I painted one green

Carol Cottingham (24:22): And then I painted the rest. Gray, gray, gray. The gray part represents all the parts that are about spiders. That's what we're writing about. Spiders, spiders, spider spiders, spiders. Oh, there's something about ticks in there. Now I wanna keep it all together, all about spiders. Okay? So we're gonna just keep going with spiders. Does that make sense? Yeah. This is our rough drop so we can, we are sharing our writing together on this together. Okay? Okay, so, so we've got first spiders eat males. Male, some male, some males. Be careful. Males. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. That's a fun little way to kind of make, make a fun thing in your writing. Okay? What's next?

Students (24:56): I was just gonna, I just was gonna use spider.

Carol Cottingham (24:59): But what does have eight legs?

Students (25:03): Well, ticks and other things.

Carol Cottingham (25:04): What are we writing about? Spiders. Yeah. So let's write spiders right there. That way you don't have to, you can still keep that information. How are you doing?

Carol Cottingham (25:18): Right in there. Do you want feeding you got so far? Yeah,

Students (25:20): I will after he's done. Okay.

Carol Cottingham (25:22): Very polite. Thanks. Alright, so we got spiders have eight

Students (25:30): Lakes. Next.

Carol Cottingham (25:32): I love this transition word that tells your reader that they're done talking about legs. And we're moving on to the next thing. So next

Students (25:38): 2025 kinds of sp poisonous spiders. I was gonna, I didn't,

Carol Cottingham (25:47): So tell me more about 25 kinds of poisonous spiders. So like, there's

Students (25:51): Like black widow and is like a, it's like a brown one.

Carol Cottingham (25:58): Okay.

Students (25:58): It's one of, there's like four really dangerous ones in America.

Carol Cottingham (26:01): Okay, so when you read about spiders, you found that there's over 25 different kinds that

Students (26:06): Are No just 25.

Carol Cottingham (26:07): Just 25

Students (26:08): I think like it's 25 or over.

Carol Cottingham (26:11): Okay. 25 kinds. 25 or more kinds of poisonous spiders. Next we're missing a word of one or two words right here. So if I said next 25 kinds of poisonous spiders. Next, what can I add here to make it so there next their 25 kinds of spiders. Next their

Students (26:37): Are, yeah.

Carol Cottingham (26:38): Now one strategy that happens, you can't really fit all that in here. So what I do is I put a little star right here and then I put a star down here and then I write there arehere. That way when I do my final draft, I know I can pop it right into there, okay? Okay. Alright. That way we don't have to race everything, it takes too much time. We don't wanna waste your energy <laugh>

Song snippet (26:57): Slide to the right.

Curtis Long (26:59): Speaking of energy, it's now just about noon on this day in the life of an elementary school principal. And you know what that means?

Cafeteria Helper (27:08): Sit down until I say line up with me.

Curtis Long (27:10): That's the sound of hundreds of hungry eaters in the cafeteria where I met some friendly fourth graders chomping on chicken and waffles. Okay, so I'm here in the cafeteria. It is about 1230 with Ms. Street's fourth graders. You guys have been waiting for lunch for quite a while now. You guys are the last lunch, aren't you? Yeah. You're the last ones? Yeah. Do they ever run out of food in the cafeteria? Yes. What they do? Yeah. When has that happened? Before what

SME Student (27:37): Time? Always, uh, was uh, trying to get a waffle but they ran outta waffles and she had to get something else.

Curtis Long (27:43): So the two choices today are chicken and waffles or mozzarella sticks. What did you guys choose?

SME Student (27:47): Chicken and mozzarella.

Curtis Long (27:49): And you got mozzarella sticks. Which one do you like? Chicken and waffles. Do they have that very often? They don't have that very often.

SME Student (27:57): They have these a lot.

Curtis Long (27:59): How are things going today in Ms. Street's room? Fun. You having a good day? Yeah.

SME Student (28:04): Can we stay Friday, right? We did fun Friday right before recess.

Curtis Long (28:07): What do you do during fun? Friday?

SME Student (28:08): We get to choose what we do.

Curtis Long (28:10): You get to choose what you do

SME Student (28:11): And uh, and me and Braley made us sleepover plan.

Curtis Long (28:16): Nice. After lunch today then what do you guys do?

SME Student (28:20): We go back to class and I think we do writing. Writing science.

Curtis Long (28:23): Oh, you're gonna do writing and science. What are you guys writing about?

SME Student (28:26): We, uh, we write our, uh, our list articles and science. We clean up and go home.

Curtis Long (28:31): Okay, so you got science and then clean up and go home. No more playground today? No, no more assemblies. Do you think we should have another assembly? Yes.

Song snippet (28:40): Slide to the left.

Curtis Long (28:42): My cafeteria connections had to be cut a little short though. When I learned a kindergarten student had been sent to the office, it seems the young 6-year-old was having some trouble following directions in class. So how does a substitute principal help out? Let's listen in. This kindergartner just got sent to me. He's not doing what he's supposed to be doing in class. What's going on down there? Did someone make you mad? Did someone upset you? Hmm? Is there anything you can tell me that I should know?

Kindergarten Student (29:07): I was getting mad.

Curtis Long (29:08): You were getting mad? What were you getting mad about?

Kindergarten Student (29:11): I was getting mad that I wish I didn't have anything to play with in my classroom.

Curtis Long (29:17): Oh, you didn't think you had anything to play with in your classroom?

Kindergarten Student (29:21): I didn't want any toys so I could play with

Curtis Long (29:23): Oh, you didn't want to play with any of them? Yeah,

Kindergarten Student (29:25): It was just myself telling myself.

Curtis Long (29:27): Just yourself telling you that. So you were getting mad. Were you hurting other kids in your class? Oh, that's good news. So no hurting other people. Were you following teacher's directions? Kind of. Kind of. Okay, well how can we get it back from kind of to Yes, I was, what do we need to be doing down there? I don't know. What do you usually do when things don't go your way in kindergarten? You take some deep breaths. You take a break here in the office.

Kindergarten Student (29:51): One time I, I went to go see Mr. Dunn.

Curtis Long (29:54): Yeah. And I'm filling in for Mr. Dunn today. Did he help you with his problem?

Kindergarten Student (29:58): The first time I saw the principal? Yeah. Mr. Dunn, I scratched the girl. Oh,

Curtis Long (30:03): Okay. But you didn't do that today. You didn't scratch someone today? Yeah. Okay. So we're just trying to be safe down in kindergarten. So maybe you just need to take a break here. Should we walk back to kindergarten in a few minutes?

Kindergarten Student (30:12): Well, those little fish, I, I saw them while, while with Mr. Dun.

Curtis Long (30:19): He does have some fish here in his office.

Kindergarten Student (30:21): Look at the little fish.

Curtis Long (30:23): I see that you can look at the fish for a few minutes if you look for the look at the fish for a few minutes. So you're gonna be ready to go back to class with me and follow teacher's directions? Yeah. Okay, we'll do that then.

Song snippet (30:32): Slide to the right.

Curtis Long (30:34): Turns out we didn't walk back to class. However, by the time I finished talking with my new kindergarten friend, his classmates had already made their way down to the gym for pe. Ever wondered how one PE teacher keeps kindergartners moving and grooving for 30 minutes at a time. Listen to the fun I found in the gym led by teacher Grant Watts. Alright, it is now 1238. We are in the gym and it's time for kindergarten pe. Let's take a listen. Hey, these are, we

Grant Watts (31:00): Got two days on deck. We're gonna do a little basketball. Who in this class ever play basketball?

Song snippet (31:19): Well, we're gonna do a little basketball

Grant Watts (31:21): And then we're gonna go outside to finish. We're gonna play a

Song snippet (31:24): Little tag on the, and

Curtis Long (31:30): Off they go. They are running around the gym. It is a large group of kindergartners all circling the gym. Whoa. How'd they know to freeze right then?

Curtis Long (31:48): Music stops. They all freeze. Good job. Kindergarten

Song snippet (31:51): Slide to the left.

Curtis Long (31:53): But an elementary school principal's day never freezes. Now, in the last hour of the school day, a concern from the school counselor rises that one student feels a little nervous about boarding the buses for home. Rather than potentially embarrassed the student by calling her out of class and down to the office, I decided to meet in a less crowded space just down the hallway from her classroom. Did something happen on the bus? Yes. Tell me about it. What happened on the bus?

Students (32:15): So there is this kid and she's been bullying me. Oh. With his little brother.

Curtis Long (32:22): Okay. So you go to this school too? Yes. Okay.

Students (32:25): And so me and my friends were talking

Curtis Long (32:28): Yeah. That problem was solved, right? Didn't Dr. Webster and Mrs. Seaberg help with that problem? Yeah. So has there been anything that's happened since? Are you getting blamed for anything or are you

Students (32:38): Like, I feel like some people are not hanging out with me as much because I did it.

Curtis Long (32:43): No. Do you feel safe going on the bus now?

Students (32:46): I'm definitely gonna sit with my friends. Okay. In the upper front.

Curtis Long (32:50): Okay. So you feel safe on the bus? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Uh, is there anything I can do today to help you? Should I go on the bus and yell at everyone? No. <laugh>? No. That probably wouldn't be a good idea.

Students (32:59): No, because last time that happened because I accidentally got like to my friends in trouble. Oh. And I felt really bad because I was only trying to get two people.

Curtis Long (33:10): You were reporting what you thought you saw was unsafe, right? Yeah. Okay. And there's not any more things going on on the bus that I need to know about? No. Okay. So you feel safe getting on the bus? Yes. Good to hear. Okay. Are you ready to have a good rest of the day? Yes. Less than an hour together. Okay. Thanks for talking to me.

Students (33:25): Slide to the right

Curtis Long (33:27): By the way, I made sure to check in with that student again out in the bus lane at the very end of the day, which is where I found myself just after the dismissal bell at two o'clock in a sea of smiling students ready for a fun-filled three day weekend. And believe it or not, I officially made it through my one day substitute principal job. As we often say here on the podcast, the purpose of these episodes are to give you our loyal listeners, the inside track on things you won't hear anywhere else, whether it's interviewing our superintendent to featuring outstanding staff members, making a difference in the lives of students around them. To today's unique episode, designed to take you on a journey through an elementary principal's day from a welcoming assembly to just after the final dismissal, bell with Bustles full of smiling students waving goodbye. I'm just glad I made it, and I thank you for taking this journey with me. Bye-Bye guys. Have a great weekend. Three days off. Bye, Lola.

Curtis Long (34:19): Where'd you get that? Cool. Have a great weekend. Bye guys.

Students (34:29): Back in three days.

Curtis Long (34:31): Three days. Yep. Hi, have a great weekend. It's good to see all of you again. Hope I get to come back soon. Thanks for listening to The Proud To Be NCSD podcast in North Clackamas. We know that education is a community effort and we're so thankful that you and your family are a part of our community. Until next time, remember, there are always great things to see wherever you go in NCSD.