“No academic goal is worth the soul of a child.” – Carol Ann Tomlinson 

SEL/Culture of Care: First of all, I want to acknowledge all the HARD work you are all putting into creating a culture of care during CDL. I know that this is really difficult but your students feel safe and loved by you and that is what is important. I am going to start giving little tips and tricks to creating a culture of care. Some of it you may already be doing and some may be something you want to consider trying. Tip number one: Set and stick to a routine schedule. Students do best when they know what to expect. If you can, send out your schedule weekly. 

We had our first Culture of Care (formally Thriving Citizens, formally PBIS) team meeting. We came up with some fantastic ideas that I cannot wait to implement! One of them is this staff shout out form! If you see or hear something wonderful that any of our staff members are doing, please let us know by filling out the form.  We want to recognize all the hard work that is happening at our school during our staff meetings. 

One more thing, I need you to send me three interesting and unique things about you for a little staff quiz. There may even be prizes involved! Please send your three amazing things about you to me by Monday, October 19th. I know, that’s soon! Thank you so much!!! 3 Unique Things

Link to SEL menus are here!

Lexia Update –  As a whole school, we are doing a great job on usage and there’s a lot to celebrate. Our school-wide usage is about 76%, with every grade level well over 50%.  Your usage as a staff member is being tracked as well and we have several of you showing weekly usage which is the expectation.  

Data coaching is our next step, so to support this process we will adjust our meeting schedule just a bit.  Wednesday 10/28 will be dedicated  to strengthening our use with this tool.  Please mark your calendars with the times below.  This will take the place of our instructional team meeting for that day.

11:30-12:15 All staff Lexia

12:15-1 Kinder

1-1:15 break

1:15-2 1st

2-2:45 2/3

2:45-3:30 4/5

Knee Surgery – I currently have a knee replacement surgery scheduled for Monday 11/16 (We’ll call this my birthday gift for turning 50!).  I will actually go out on the 9th as I will have to self-isolate for a COVID test as a pre-op requirement.  I will work from home that week.  Regardless of whether we are in CDL or Hybrid I intend to get everything set up so that you will hardly even know I am missing.  Heidi Thomas will be able to manage things in my absence and we’ll have an administrator (most likely Paul Dean) on site or on call if needed.  I know this is not the ideal timing and I am sorry for that, but it’s something I’ve put off for too long and I really need to get it done.

Meeting Schedule – Hopefully you’ve had a chance to check this out. If you notice anything problematic, please let me know.  

Family Connections Team – The first thing to acknowledge is the great job you all do to make this one of our easiest meetings.  So many of our families are connected and thriving even in these difficult times and that’s huge testament to your work behind and in front of the scenes.  For the future this team will be ready to brainstorm ways to support our families struggling to stay connected with whatever model exists.  Although our over all attendance is great, we realize there might be some other types of attendance concerns we might want to address.  For example, a student who signs in but rarely contributes video or audio to a webex meeting or maybe signs in to start and disappears part way into the meeting.  For these, we will likely want to encourage stronger engagement.  We will soon roll out a Social and Emotional Learning Concerns Help Ticket and I’d like you to use this tool to ask for help with these students.  

Tech

• Webex Tip
  Are you sharing videos from your laptop during your Webex meetings? Be sure to optimize your sharing for Motion & Video. View the attached screenshot to see how.
  
• Supplemental Science Lessons
  We now have a district trial for Mystery Science thanks to your requests! This trial is good for the entire year and can be used to supplement our Amplify science curriculum. Mystery Science has made some of their activities “distance learning friendly” and can easily be assigned in Seesaw or Google Classroom. To get set up with our trial license, click here. This link works for both existing and new users of Mystery Science. Here’s a quick tutorial video on assigning mini-lessons to your students for both Seesaw and Google Classroom.
  
• Archived Tech in Two
  For those who are interested, we’ve archived all Tech in Two emails/tips here.

Questions/Concerns about COVID-19 related matters?…  Please see this flowchart.

First Aid

Due to COVID-19 we will again be offering a blended model for the First Aid/CPR class.  The class will be done online with a hands-on skills assessment to follow.  The online portion of the class should take about four (4) hours with the skills assessment to follow with a first aid/CPR trainer that will take about 20 minutes.  Each section of the course can be done to fit your schedule.  Your First Aid/CPR card will not be issued until all portions of class are completed.

The process will be as follows:

1 . You will sign up for the class in Performance Matters

2.     Stephanie Bent will send you a link to get started.   This does not happen instantaneously!

Please check your Junk Mail if it does not appear in your regular inbox. 

3.      You will have until Monday, October 26th  to complete the online portion.

4.  After each section of the online session, there will be a one or two question quiz.

5.  If you have completed the online portion,  Friday, October 23^rd  the hands-on skills assessment schedule will be emailed to you to register.  You can only do the in-person skills assessment when you have completed to online portion of the class. 

6.     The in-person skills assessment will be done in 30-minute increments with 1 to 4 person ratio.          

20 minutes for the class and 10 minutes to clean and sanitize equipment.

The class currently in Performance Matters opens today, 10/9/2020 with a completion date of 10/26/2020.  If interested, please sign up now. 

Developing and Fine-Tuning Empathy

            In this New York Times article, Emma Pattee interviews five people on ways we can improve our ability to empathize – that is, care for others by trying to understand and share their perspectives, feelings, and experiences from their point of view versus our own. Pattee contrasts empathy with sympathy, which is caring about others by feeling sorry for or concerned about them.

            • Roman Krznaric, Australian philosopher, author of The Good Ancestor: How to Think Long Term in a Short-Term World – “We are facing a chronic and growing empathy deficit,” he says. The best way to develop empathy, he believes, is by talking with people we otherwise might not interact with and being curious about what makes them tick. Have a conversation with a stranger once a week, urges Krznaric. 

            • Leslie Jamison, author of The Empathy Exams – “Empathy isn’t just something that happens to us,” she says, “– a meteor shower of synapse firing across the brain – it’s also a choice we make to pay attention, to extend ourselves. It’s made of exertion, that dowdier cousin of impulse. Sometimes we care for another because we know we should, or because it’s asked for, but this doesn’t make our caring hollow.” 

            • Brené Brown, University of Houston professor and author of Daring Greatly – She cautions against taking on another’s burdens and trauma. “What’s the use of both of us being in that dark place?” she asks. “There’s no help there.” Better to communicate that they are not alone and you are with them as they wrestle with the problem. And know that we won’t get it right all the time: “Circling back and cleaning up an empathic miss is as powerful, if not more powerful, than getting it right the first time,” says Brown.

            • Karamo Brown, former social worker, one of the Fab Five on the Netflix makeover show, Queer Eye – “Working in social services,” he says, “you learn to remove yourself, and learn to say: ‘You’re not the same as the last child who was in here. You have your own story.’” He quotes his grandmother: “You have two ears and one mouth, so you can listen twice as much as you speak.” 

            • Nedra Tawwab, a therapist and the voice behind a popular Instagram account – “People have a full story,” she says, “and just because they did something bad or unfavorable, they probably have also done so many kind and good things in their life, too… Like if your grandfather grew up in 1937, he may be using language that is appropriate for when he grew up. Is it serving him now? Absolutely not. Can you set boundaries? Yes.” But you can understand.

“How to Improve Your Ability to Empathize with Others” by Emma Pattee in The New York Times, October 5, 2020

 Carol Ann Tomlinson on Working with Students Experiencing Trauma

(Originally titled “Learning from Kids Who Hurt”)

            In this article in Educational Leadership, Carol Ann Tomlinson (University of Virginia) says that as a K-12 teacher, she had a number of students who were dealing with abuse, the death of a parent, war-related incidents, bullying, or other forms of trauma. “Those were the stressors I know existed and could label,” says Tomlinson. “There were doubtless others my students faced that never surfaced but were no less real and damaging.” She describes three particularly vivid stories, and what she learned:

            • Reading a story to her primary-grade class, Tomlinson walked around the room, paused briefly behind four-year-old Franklin, and rested her arm on the back of his chair. Suddenly he started screaming and running around the room, arms flailing. Tomlinson left the class in the care of her teaching assistant and took the boy outside, and he gradually calmed down and took her hand. Back in the classroom, she got students working on a free-choice activity and made a point of checking in with each child. A four-year-old girl looked her in the eye and said, “Ms. T, you shoulda figured out by now, ya can’t sneak up on Franklin!” That was his trigger.

            • The mother of an eighth grader about to enroll in Tomlinson’s class described how every summer the boy put on plays to the delight of audiences in their neighborhood, doing casting, costumes, and directing. But he had a serious learning disability, constantly failed spelling and writing in school, and felt worthless. One more year of failure, said his mother, and he would be lost. “Trauma often accompanies long struggles with disabilities,” says Tomlinson. Determined to avoid setting him up for failure with conventional spelling instruction and tests, she told herself, “No academic goal is worth the soul of a child.” She worked around his disability, got other students to help him with spelling, and gave him opportunities to create stories and cartoons with advanced vocabulary. The class was transformational for him, and years later the student earned a master’s degree.

            • One morning Tomlinson found a note on her desk that one of her best-behaved and highest-achieving students had left on her desk the afternoon before: I wanted you to know I won’t be in class tomorrow. I thought you might worry. As Tomlinson read the note, she looked up and saw a police officer standing in the door. It turned out the girl had run away from home; her mother was in the hospital with a terminal illness, and her father was abusing her every night. “I should have known more than I did,” says Tomlinson, “or should at least have been more watchful than I was.”The girl was located, spent time with a foster family, and returned to the class. Soon afterward Tomlinson found her in the hallway in tears; she had learned by chance (not from her estranged father) that her mother had died.

            Thinking back on these three students, and others with different forms of trauma, Tomlinson wishes that as a young teacher she’d had professional development and done more reading on trauma. As it was, she learned on the job, with students her most important teachers. “Here’s the most powerful lesson I took from them,” she says: “Empathy is the great healer. To the degree that we were able, together, to take steps forward, empathy was the reason.” Her other takeaways:

–   There’s wide variation in how young people respond to trauma, “from almost complete withdrawal to atomic explosion.”

–   Teachers need to know more about kids than their grades and attendance records. 

–   A teacher can’t always figure out how to make things better, but should be able to avoid making them worse.

–   There’s almost always someone who can help – perhaps last year’s teacher, a counselor, a family member – and a teacher should never try to deal with a crisis alone.

–   Students need to know that their worth as humans is not tied up in academic skills and grades.

“Don’t ever assume that a student’s behavior is about you,” Tomlinson concludes. “As long as that’s your frame, a student’s worth is somehow an indication of your own worth.”

 “Learning from Kids Who Hurt” by Carol Ann Tomlinson in Educational Leadership, October 2020 (Vol. 78, #2, pp. 28-33); Tomlinson can be reached at [email protected].

A note from Heidi T.: Here is the link to the SEL Menus. Remember, you don’t have to do it all! Pick and choose what works for you and your class. Also, don’t hesitate to reach out if you want more or something specific. I have a lot of SEL and Mindfulness resources that I would love to share. 

As of today, I now have access to Highland’s social media accounts (Facebook and now Instagram). I want to keep this space as positive and informative as possible. I would LOVE to share some Storyline successes in this space. So… if you have pictures of artwork or your freeze that you’re willing to share with me, that would be fantastic. Thank you so much!

Try this…

I find a lot of our conversations starting out with this..”What do they expect…” or “What’s the district’s expectation…”  When I find myself saying or thinking this way, I am now trying to turn this around and look at the problem at hand and then ask myself, “What do I expect of myself and my staff in this situation?”  So I am going to suggest we all start our sentences out with “What do I expect” or “What do we expect”…when we encounter problem x?  Approaching our common problems with this attitude can give us a little more sense of control and make better use of our time.  If we get guidance that tells us to do something differently then we can incorporate it into our own plan.

Observations and Evaluations…  I included the material from Skip in the last update and I just wanted to circle back with my own thoughts on this.  I know these are more challenging times to teach and they will be equally challenging times to observe and provide meaningful feedback.  The evaluation process is still under discussion at the district level, but for our purposes, let’s keep these in a low stress, low stakes environment.  More than ever teachers (and principals) need support in all sorts of areas, so the purpose for observations should be perceived as a support strategy. (At the very least, just an opportunity to talk.)   We’ll talk about your plans for instruction, reflect on how things are going, and maybe identify something that can be provided to help you.  The only expectations we will address are your own for now.  Sound good?  I hope so. 

Now, I need your help in making this happen.  Without classrooms to wander in and out of, I really need your help to know a good time to drop in and talk OR if you want me to watch a webex.  If you could send me a few ideal times for any scenario that works for you, I’d appreciate it.  

Welcome Ashley Chally! – Ashley is getting started in the office and she is thrilled to be a part of the team.  If you have not already met or re-met her, please stop by to say “hi” and get acquainted.  

EA position – FYI – I posted for a temporary 3-hour EA position.  As I look forward to facilitating a hybrid and all-in school day, this position can help with quite a bit of coverage for recess, lunch, PE and music.  My goal is to make sure we get this person hired just prior to kids coming back into the building.  

EA Training

Please see link below for EA training listed by topic!

https://learnathome.hdesd.org/project/paraeducator-training-by-topic/

Paraeducator Training Opportunities by Topic | HDESD Learn at HomeWhy These Opportunities. The Culture of Care team has compiled these links for your browsing. Opportunities found on this guide will focus around the three main components of a Culture of Care: Trauma-Sensitive, Restorative, and Equitable Practices that systematically promote wellness, safety, and community support for all. We appreciate the work of our care coaches, and Erin Taylor …learnathome.hdesd.org

Conferences – October conferences are canceled and these days will be instructional days.  Communication to families will go out soon.

Meeting Schedule – I finally came up with a meeting schedule for our different teams for the year.  The chances of this meeting schedule changing are high, but we’ll give it a go.  We’ll get these on the google calendar soon.

EBISS – 

We should begin our first round of EBISS meetings prior to Thanksgiving break.

The goals include the following;

• Examine the progress of the whole group and the small groups.
• Identify how to organize and plan instruction to make sure all students are receiving appropriate instruction.  
• Identify the needed materials and resources to design instruction for the next cycle.

Master Schedule

Now that we have some time, I’ve been “playing” a little with the master schedule to see if there are tweaks that can cause improvement.  I am at a point where I need to share with a team of you for input.

Safety Team

Our meeting notes are posted on the board in the staff room.  One message this team would really like you to hear is this, “Please clean up after yourself in the staff room.”  (This group has also sanctioned some public-shaming strategies to make sure you don’t leave your dirty dishes or food in the sink – consider this a fair warning.  (= )

Staff Room Guidelines

• Clean up your own mess.
• There is no disposal in our sink.  Throw all food out in trash and use a paper towel to mop out any food you drop in the sink.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Rinse all dishes and place in dishwasher.  We do not recommend air-drying dishes on the rack.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Use a paper towel to wipe out the microwave after each use.  Cover things with a paper towel when heating to minimize splatter.
• Clean up your own mess.
• If you use the tables, then please spray and wipe them down.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Oh yeah….Clean up your own mess.  

TLC – Here is the link to TLC Happenings for October 9th, 2020. 

Here are a couple of tech tips that will hopefully take less than two minutes to read…

• Are you getting ready to start Wonders? If so, remember that students need to complete the one-time steps below to allow pop-ups to access Wonders books and other materials.
  • On their iPads, students will need to visit Settings > Safari > Turn off “Block Pop-ups” 
  • Also, here is a video for students about logging into Wonders through Clever for the first time. The “allow” pop-ups steps are at the end of the video as well.
    
• Did you know you can change your Webex background while hosting a meeting? 
  • Start a meeting
  • Audio & Video (top toolbar)
  • Change Virtual Background 

Information from Paul…

Questions/Concerns about COVID-19 related matters?…  Please see this flowchart.

Staying Clean…Many thanks to the dynamic duo of Nole Kennedy and HDMS lead custodian, Tim Bennett, for creating this “How To” video instructing staff on daily cleaning routines of desks/tables.  

Inventerprise Contest

Hello Inventerprise aficionados, What a strange year this has been so far!  With all the uncertainty and challenges around us, we hope we can still find a way to encourage the next generation of scientists in our community to put their problem solving skills to the test.  This year’s annual Inventerprise contest will look a bit different as we will employ a virtual format with the contest culminating in January 2021. All details are included on our website https://or-inventerprise.zfairs.com/.  Inventerprise is an annual science contest sponsored by Lonza (formerly Bend Research, Inc) with help from Bend-La Pine School District and Central Oregon Community College. The contest is open to all K-12 students in Central Oregon. Prizes will be awarded at all grade levels and include cash prizes at the high school level. Elementary school teachers with more than 50% classroom participation are also eligible for gift cards to purchase classroom supplies. Best wishes, Dory Koehler-KingInventerprise Contest Director

Quick Symptom Training with Angelina

I’ve set up 3 training times with grade level teams with Angeline shown below.  All other staff should plan to join one of these groups, but let’s keep the group size to 10 or less.  If you want to email me your preference of time; it’s a first come, first serve basis.

Wednesday 10/7 – In-person, in the library.

K/1 @ 10:30 – Scott, Danielle, Nicole

2/3  @ 11:15 – Shawna,

4/5 @ 12:00 – Heidi, E, Heidi T, Jay and JJ

From the district:

Childcare… We’ve been working with Bend Park and Recreation Department to provide both a 2- and 3-day option during balanced/hybrid instruction, beginning October 26th (or later, if the district has not yet transitioned to balanced/hybrid instruction by that date). These options will be significantly less expensive than the full program.. BPRD hopes to be able to provide care for kindergarten students as well, if they are children of staff members or siblings of other program participants. Look for a survey coming out early next week to gauge staff interest in this option. I am still waiting to hear back from Park and Rec on the form I created.

Observations and Evaluations… I mentioned briefly during Horizontal that a work group will be coming together to provide guidance on 20-21 observations and evaluations.  We should have information to share from that group soon.  Until then, don’t think you can’t start your mini-observation process.  One thing you could do would be to sit in on a team planning meeting.  Look at their schedule.  Compare it to the recommended schedule from our standards of practice. Engage in a conversation around what is working well and what challenges still exist. 

Something to pass on to staff… Each fall, SELCO awards grants of up to $1,000 to K-12 educators at accredited schools throughout Oregon. If you have a creative classroom idea we can help with, we’d love to hear it. To accommodate educator’s needs, this year’s application period is now open and runs through October 31. Visit selco.org/SPARK to learn more.

Conferences…  there have been lots of inquiries about conferences. I know they are coming up soon.  Stay tuned for more information their status.

Ready Set Learn – This document is one that I’d suggest you print, save on your desktop, and share with your entire staff. It provides important communication regarding Covid and outlines step-by-step processes to many of the questions/scenarios you are likely receiving or wondering about.

New OHA document… this OHA document is one that I had not seen before, but found to be one that provides nice details around requirements for in-person instruction. (Remember, test positivity rates has temporarily been removed as a metric due to Oregon wildfires.). 

Stuff from TLC

Weekly update…  Julie has been sending out a weekly update to certified elementary staff.  However, we realized that this email list does not include admin.   We want to make sure you are seeing this information so you have been added to her distribution list. Something that is in the TLC note this week is this survey.  To promote collaboration we want teachers to share the cool things that are doing.  If you know of a teacher, or a better yet, a team that is doing something great please encourage them to fill out the survey.

New Webex features… If you didn’t hear, some new WebEx features were recently released. The biggest feature was the addition of breakout rooms – this is a great way to engage students in classroom discussions. Make sure your staff knows about this link.  This page is a great place to learn about WebEx – lots of resources and tutorials.  Additionally, if you are interested in offering an optional training for your staff please reach out to an instructional technology coach. 

Dreambox and Lexia… Some teachers have heard from parents that they are doing something different than Dreambox and Lexia.  While this isn’t necessarily bad we want to make sure those other supplemental programs are done in addition to Dreambox and Lexia not in place of.  There are very important reasons we picked those Lexia and Dreambox that parents might not be aware of.  The analytics from these systems help teachers make instructional decisions and personalize instruction.  If questioned by parents here is something teachers could say or send:

There are a ton of great supplemental reading and math programs out there and many of them were considered by the district.  However the supplemental programs we adopted, Lexia and Dreambox, complement our core reading and math programs well and provide us with valuable information to provide instruction in a more personalized and strategic manner.  The reports from these systems provide teachers with detailed information which allows them to identify each student’s strengths, learning gaps, and skills to focus on. It’s ok If other supplemental math and reading programs are used. However, these programs should be in addition to the recommended minutes for Lexia and Dreambox not in place of.

YouTube Information… In the TLC update John Craft included information on YouTube and using video during instruction.  I am including it in my blog so you see what was communicated to teachers.  YouTube has become so common that we sometimes forget that we need to venture carefully when using this site.

Teachers,

We are all discovering the real power of videos during distance learning! Videos have become a medium that is crucial in the delivery of instruction as well as a learning resource for both students and teachers. The use of videos has its own set of caveats, however. Here are a few clarification points as well as some suggestions surrounding the use of YouTube videos for instructional purposes with students. 

• You can use YouTube, but there is no guarantee that the videos will be viewable by students. Even our Google Administrator cannot say, for certain, which videos will make it through and which will be blocked. Use at your own risk. There are no guarantees, unfortunately.
• We should not be using any “YouTube rippers,” sites or applications that allow you to download YouTube videos or give links that take out advertisements. This gets into copyright issues that we need to avoid. If you would like to remove the side videos that appear, use the following URL modifier so the video opens in a window all by itself:
  • To force YouTube videos to open in their own single window, full screen, without suggested videos off to the side, without ads, etc. try this: When looking at a YouTube link, they all have the same general look such as: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOru6L22zoM
  • To force the video to play in a single screen, modify the url just slightly…
  • Add _popup directly BEFORE each question mark, like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=HOru6L22zoM
  • This tip does NOT allow blocked videos through our filters though.
• Other sources for content and instructional videos are:
  • Discovery Streaming. Staff and students have access to Discovery content through this link: bls.discoveryeducation.com. Teachers can even set up classes in Discovery and assign videos for students to watch when they log in.
  • PBS LearningMedia. Another free resources that even allows some videos to be downloaded and shared. Here’s a great post from our Teaching and Learning Blog showing how to use this resource.

Information from Paul…

New mask/shield language…The following language has been adopted by our district and will be shared in an All BLS Staff email on Tuesday from Katie.  See the CDC website for information that supports this decision

New Mask Requirement…A cloth, paper, or disposable face mask that covers the nose and the mouth is the requirement for all BLS students and staff with some exceptions. When exceptions apply, a face shield is permissible, but other safety practices should be implemented, such as more than 6 feet of social distancing and/or added ventilation of fresh air. The exceptions are described below:

1. For provisions applicable to staff/students protected by ADA or IDEA (details from RSSL referenced below).

2. For safety reasons, such as a bus driver whose glasses are fogging up when attempting to wear a mask under specific weather conditions;

3. For specific and time-limited instructional needs such as speech and language, LIPS reading group, ELL lessons or other examples when viewing a teacher’s or student’s mouth is essential to that portion of the lesson. As soon as possible within the lesson, masks should replace the shields;

4. For younger children moving into in-person education who exhibit severe emotional dysregulation when wearing a mask, staff should employ strategies to transition them from shields into mask wearing: mindfulness exercises, increase in the frequency of outdoor mask breaks, and other trauma-informed best practices.

5. People who are deaf or hard of hearing, or those who care for or interact with a person who is hearing impaired.

6. Other time-limited exceptions of short durations may be made with administrative knowledge.

A clear mask is an acceptable option, as is the use of a shield over a mask for added protection

Visitors – New policy

Only BLS staff and essential visitors are allowed to enter buildings beyond the lobby.  Examples of essential visitors are DHS, child protective services, law enforcement, student teachers and their supervisors, CASA advocates, Friends of Children mentors, cadet teachers and ESD service providers.  When in doubt whether a visitor is ‘essential’, consult with your Level Leader.

Band, Music/Choir, PE Standards of Practice – Juan Cuadros will be coordinating with elementary music, PE teachers and interventionists to develop learning instructional practices that include safety measures aligned with the ODE blueprint.  He will then do the same with MS/HS band, choir, PE teachers and interventionists.  

Questions/Concerns about COVID-19 related matters?…  Please share this flowchart with your staff.

Staying Clean…Many thanks to the dynamic duo of Nole Kennedy and HDMS lead custodian, Tim Bennett, for creating this “How To” video instructing staff on daily cleaning routines of desks/tables.  

SEL menu link: Week 3 and here is the link to the folder with all of the SEL menus so far. 

Feedback – A word to the wise

As we settle into CDL listen and watch for feedback.  Always move slowly when it comes to making changes as a result of the feedback.  There will be a full spectrum of perceptions of how things are going and feeling out there, so it’s important to control the reflexive response and dig deeper before changing anything for all your families.  I am not saying a squeaky wheel does not deserve attention, but it’s important to provide the attention without allowing the squeaky wheel to steer you off course.  If you need any help with this, please call or see me.  Don’t struggle with this alone.

EBISS 2020/2021

Julie Walker shared some documents with us this past week to provide some guidance on EBISS moving into this year.  We will be sharing these in more detail soon, but I want to bring up a few points for everyone’s consideration;

1. Deficit language – I am already hearing a lot of “low”, “struggling” and “behind” as well as other references to students in terms of a deficit.  This practice heavily contributes to racism.  Before you get defensive, please remember the video from Jay Smoothly, this is an attempt to pick at that racism in our teeth.  This language is partly a result of the tools we use and the system, but we have to own the language used to identify students.  We should be using language that identifies the instruction needed, not simply using terms such as “low” because that label gets inappropriately applied to their overall cognitive ability.  When you use that label you provide lower expectations and cause lower level learning as a result.  The impact of this thinking and attitude hurts underserved students most.  Words matter as they convey our attitude and beliefs about a student.  Even if they don’t hear you call them low, they will feel it in the way you treat them.
2. Exclusion and tracking – If you examine our notes from EBISS documents for the past 5 years there is a pretty clear record of tracking kids.  The same kids continue to be identified for support, but the support we provide excludes them from their peers.  It excludes them from much of the needed background knowledge that comes from being in class with peers.  It excludes them from an environment that places high expectations.  And it reduces their exposure to other peers thinking and problem solving.  We no longer have the option of sending kids to the small rooms, so this is a great opportunity to design instruction to support these students alongside their peers.  Inclusion practices have been proven to be more effective for students affected by severe disabilities, so surely we can provide inclusive practices to support students who need a little more instruction with reading skills.

So what now, Brian!?  This is where Heidi Evans can provide some support.  As we talked about in the meeting last week with each of your teams, Heidi can help you leverage Lexia to get the best information to inform your instruction.   Together we can work on classroom strategies that support all students with their reading progress and allow them to remain a part of their classroom community. 

Library Class Time

We will not be scheduling library time the same way as in previous years.  The library is one of the few common spaces we have left to utilize as a staff.  Cycling all the students through the same room within the week would cause Debbie to exceed her cohort contacts.  I think we can all recognize the potential problems with every child visiting the same space and touching multiple books and items.  Students can continue to check books out via Destiny and we’ll figure out a way to create a system for the younger students but we just won’t be able to count on that half-hour a week of dropping the kids off at the library.

Quick Symptom Training with Angelina

I’ve set up 3 training times with grade-level teams with Angelina shown below.  All other staff should plan to join one of these groups, but let’s keep the group size to 10 or less.  If you want to email me your preference of time; it’s a first come, first serve basis. These are in-person trainings in the library.

Wednesday 10/7 –

K/1 @ 10:30

2/3  @ 11:15

4/5 @ 12:00

Safety Team Meeting – link to meeting notes

Custodial Duties –  Click here 

Kindness – I needed to remind myself of this concept so I am sharing it with you.  I have had the good fortune to witness a few different leaders I admire respond to some intense hostility with kindness that clearly powered over the anger and I hope to have that strength when it’s needed.

Retirement – Although we still do not have an official notice from HR yet, I wanted to let you know that Brad did reach out last week to let me know he is retiring.  After 37 years he has decided to hang up that hoodie and focus on his property management.  Please join me in congratulating him.

Staff Meeting – Wednesday 9/30 2:30-2:59 – WebEx – I will do a webex from my office.  This will need to be a quick meeting since my principles meeting is now moved to 3 this day.

Safety Team Meeting – Friday 10/2 2:45-3:30 – In-Person in the Library – Please send any concerns/questions to me if you would like this team to examine or address them.

From Walt …  The focus of Walt’s team is to make the schools safe, clean, and sanitary to protect the well-being of our students, staff, and patrons. They have put protocols, tools, and processes in place to help do this to the best of their abilities, However,  it will take all of us working together to assure that we are successful.  Click here for a copy of the custodial duties Walt and his team have put together.  Any staff help will be highly appreciated because anything they can do will provide more time for the sanitizing at night.  And as a reminder, custodial staff at your school will be really busy so they cannot have any other extra duties such as crossing guard or recess supervision.

Limited In Person Instruction (LIPI) – this term keeps getting thrown around and the document linked here is a good one-pager to provide some clarification.  Basically this concept is intended for students who really struggled with barriers to CDL in the spring.

Master Schedule – obviously we can push this back a little while, but I will still work on getting this squared away for when we return, hopefully on the 26th.  Please be sure to review this and provide questions or comments. I am still working on EA assignments and supervision.

Message form Heidi E.

I am sure you saw the TLC update from Julie W. on Friday.  I went ahead and put the new templates and videos into the Highland Literacy Resources file.  

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rZ_bcU5RHQ36RNKOI8IQokuO74RGt0i6?usp=sharing

Here are few updates from the Teaching and Learning Center for this week

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LqmMK6dnmgvoDe0Pd67yPkfCeYuKPtWVKMBpvgYOVtU/edit?usp=sharing

A note from Heidi T.- Thank you so much for the positive feedback about the SEL menu! I am glad some of you were able to use it with your classes and/or groups. I know you are doing a lot right now and it is so appreciated. Thanks again for doing this important work with our students! Here is the link to the second set: Link to SEL Activity Menu (Set 2) Oh and don’t forget to do something for yourselves this weekend!!!

Staff Meeting – Wednesday 9/30 2:30-3:30 – WebEx – I will do a webex from my office.

BrainPOP – our subscription is now activated and all staff and students have accounts.  We have our ticket into the district to get this pushed out to Clever – I would give until the end of next week.

Cohorts

• Classroom Cohorts – range from 5-15
• Recess Cohorts – range from 20-35
  • Kindergarten
  • 1st grade
  • Park, Greene, Reisinger
  • Howard, Glogau, Therrian
  • Martinson, Vickery (for when 4/5s return)
  • Green, Yeager-Woock (for when 4/5s return)
• Bus Cohorts – Unknown
• Social Group Cohorts – TBD
• Pull-Out Small Group Instruction Cohorts – TBD  (groups to support students with IEPs)

Music/PE during Hybrid

• Mostly same as last week with one more feature; Rob and Scott will rotate on a weekly basis for both the at home and in person instruction.  This significantly reduced the cohorts they contact.
• Students will need iPads for music and PE.  Music and PE instruction have a lot of limitations, but the iPads provide some solutions to these limitations.  I know there will be some hesitation to younger students carrying these back and forth, but we need to move past this.  It is necessary.
• Week 1- 
  • PE = Kinder and Greene, Resinger, & Park group
  • Music = 1st grade and Howard, Therrian, & Glogau group
• Week 2 –
  • PE = 1st grade and Howard, Therrian, & Glogau group
  • Music = Kinder and Greene, Resinger, & Park group

Breakfast and Lunch during Hybrid

• Still working on a system to collect breakfast and lunch numbers ahead of time.
• Also, still working on the who and when for delivering these to your rooms.

Recess

• Two zones will be established and there will be a weekly rotation for the different groups to utilize the different zones.
• Cleaning of equipment is something that will happen daily, however I am still working on the best timing for this.

Master Schedule 

• Here is a link to a proposed master schedule.  I’ve done my best to to utilize our time well, reduce transitions, provide breaks, etc.    You all should have commenting rights, so you can use those to ask questions or simply email me.
• I am also including the 4th/5th grade schedule to do my best to be prepared for their eventual return to campus.  
• Wednesdays are not shown, but the plan for that day is simple with an all class morning meeting first thing in the day and the remainder of the school day is your planning and prep time.  I don’t anticipate asking you to attend a principal or district-directed SIW for quite some time.  
• Unless I hear some different feedback I will use the 2:30-3:30 time slot on Wednesdays for any staff meetings as needed.

Alternate Master Schedule shown below:

Math and Literacy Coaches Update:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YHeRaLKXh7Dd0QROdMCCLsgxRP5sPHLGDZz0EYFh8Ko/edit?usp=sharing

Staff Meeting – Wednesday 9/30 2:30-3:30 – WebEx – I will do a webex from my office.

Masks – More details on masks.

• Face masks do NOT include bandanas and buffs.  Those are not allowed. 
• The district will provide face masks to students or staff that forget theirs or if they become soiled or wet
• We do not have a mask for every student/staff- every day
• The district is looking into providing a cloth mask (just one) to each staff member
• The district is looking into purchasing child size masks But for now the Kn95 is a size that can be used for our smallest students
• If a student refuses to keep a mask on , the student requires reteaching and support. 
• Masks should be worn at recess.  
• Face Shields are allowed with masks. They are not recommended to be worn without a mask.  The purpose is more of an eye covering that it is a mask.  We can NOT require the mask with the face shield if the staff or student is refusing to wear the mask with the face shield.  This point is definitely being re-examined, but for now this is what we have in writing until we hear othewise.

Music/PE during Hybrid  (always subject to some tweaks)

• Rob and Scott will continue with the 4/5 lessons in CDL at the same time.
• Rob and Scott will provide in-person* lessons for K-3 during the hybrid days M, T, Th, and F. 
  • Rob and Scott live stream simultaneously from one room to other grade level rooms with EAs supervising.
  • Combine outside or possibly in gym with class cohorts remaining distanced in separate zones.
• I am still working on these times, but the really positive thing is the creation of common prep time for grade levels.
• Rob and Scott will push out pre-recorded assignments for the K-3 students at home on their off days.
• Both music and PE must be low-exertion activities while in person.  

Breakfast and Lunch during Hybrid

• All school-provided food is going to be a grab and go.
• Both Breakfast and lunch are free to all families until December 31st.  
• Breakfast and lunch will happen in the classrooms.  Cafeterias are not to be used.
• I just learned today that all lunch will be served from 11:00-11:30.  We will work on a system to carry these up to classrooms. (This also just forced me to go back to the drawing board on the master schedule)
• Eating outside picnic-style is supported, encouraged weather-permitting.  It would be a good idea to establish some consistent locations to keep groups spread out. 

Team Up (Parks and Rec Day Care) during Hybrid

• This will continue however the numbers will be reduced when some kids are attending in person.
• I will likely relocate this program to the cafeteria to free up the gym for our use.

Prep Time and Breaks

• I am working on this and I am getting close to solving many of the issues and conflicts.  
• You will get your prep time and you will get breaks.  
• There may be times when you have to leave your room to make this happen.

Recess

• I am trying to use our previous master schedule to meet all our needs including recess.  If all goes well we will have the same number or recess for every grade level.
• We we will be combining some class cohorts to create some larger recess cohorts – I would love to keep class cohorts all day long, but it’s just not practical.   Also outside activity is supported more for the larger groups.
• I am looking toward creating assigned zones to prevent class cohorts from mixing yet still being outside together.

Arrival

This area still needs a lot of work, but I just wanted you to know that I am working on it and soliciting some input to make it happen.

Here is the thinking so far;

• Parents will be instructed to walk their children to their assigned line up area.  These will be spread around the campus depending upon the nearest doors to your classroom.
• You will go out to pick up your students between 7:50-7:55.
• You will visually screen your kids for symptoms. 
• You will walk your kids into the classrooms.
• Breakfast will be deliverd to your classrooms.
• Then the day will go merrily along, birds sining, rainbows shooting trhough the sky and pixies dancing.

Dismissal

Similar idea as above however in reverse.  

Start and End times

• Our bell time is 8:00 to 2:30 (One thing that is not changing!!!  Whoop, whoop)
• Bus drop is 8:00am (this means kids riding the bus will likely be late every day)
• Load departure is 2:23. (this means kids riding the bus will need to leave early every day)

Safety Team

Brian, Becky E, Marina, Jay, Scott, Tim, Angelina, Asha, Megan

Meeting Schedule: 9/18/20, 10/2/20, 11/6/20, 12/4/20, 1/8/21, 2/5/21, 3/5/21, 4/2/21, 5/7/21, 6/4/21 Fridays 2:45-3:30.

Instructional Team (CDL, Hybrid, Storyline In-person, Outer space, Underground, and Underwater – wherever instruction is occurring – this is the team!)

Brian, Misha, JJ, Heidi E, Deanna, Amber, Alicia, Becky H, Marci

Meeting Schedule: TBD

Culture of Care Team

Brian, Heidi T, Marieka, Michelle, Anna, Nicole K, Ukiah, Jennifer, Rob, Shelly

Meeting Schedule: TBD

Family Connections Team

Brian, Shawna, Cam, Cami, Megan, Danielle, Barb, Eilean

Meeting Schedule: TBD

Math Kits

Unfortunately, the delivery of the math manipulative kits has been delayed again.   

The new expected delivery dates are:

K-2. 10/12

3-5.  10/19

K-1 iPads – they are here!!!!   HUGE THANK YOUS, KUDOS, AND VIRTUAL HUGS TO DEBBIE, ROB AND SHELLY!!!!  They are busy getting these ready to plug and go for your kiddos!

“Tech in Two”

Here are this week’s tips:

• Adding an icon to links in Clever (perhaps your Webex meeting rooms)
• We have updated our Webex support page! Check it out here!

Math and Literacy Coaches Update:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YHeRaLKXh7Dd0QROdMCCLsgxRP5sPHLGDZz0EYFh8Ko/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you for your patience in waiting for these! 

Here is the link for K-5 projects, which includes videos on how to push them out in either Seesaw for K-2 or Google Classroom for 3-5. 

Below is a potential schedule you could use K-5 (even though it says K-3).

Anna Schmitt

Instructional Coach for Bend La Pine School District

Teaching and Learning Center (TLC)

[email protected]

Digital Learning Tools

The Way Assignments Are Presented to Students Makes a Difference

“There is so much to adapt to support students’ at-home learning that it can feel overwhelming, and there’s so much that feels out of our control,” say consultants Katie Novak and Mike Anderson in this article in Edutopia. “Language is a simple and powerful thing we can control.” A potentially engaging lesson or project can feel to students like an act of compliance if it’s presented in the wrong way.

Here’s an example from a social studies unit on the impact of geography on civilization. Two teachers have worked hard to incorporate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, giving students multiple ways of accessing the content and showing their understanding: attending a live Zoom presentation, watching the recording, reading or listening to an online article, viewing a documentary, reading a textbook, etc. Note the difference in tone as these teachers present the assignment to students:

– Teacher A: “OK, everyone. I’ve got several choices for you to learn about how geography affects where people decide to live and the way they live. I expect you to choose at least two different resources to explore for me, and I want you to also pick one activity to try. To get full credit on the assessment, you will need to cite the resources you used.”

– Teacher B: “OK, everyone. You have several choices for how you get to learn about how geography affects where people decide to live and the way they live. Don’t forget to use at least two different resources, and then pick an activity to try. You can do more than one if you want! Remember to cite resources to give credit to other authors and organizations and boost the credibility of your work.”

The first teacher’s tone was compliance-oriented and used teacher-centric language – I want… I expect… I’ve got… – and used extrinsic motivation. The second teacher offered invitations and suggestions and spoke in the second person. Their language conveyed whether or not they expected students to do the assignment.

Novak and Anderson suggest that teachers make an audiotape or record a video of them giving directions to students to focus on maximizing positive, intrinsically oriented instructions:

– Your next challenge is… (versus I expect you all to…)

– What’s a goal you have… (versus I want you to…)

– Here are three things to try as you… (versus Here are three things you need to do…)

– You have several choices to consider… (versus I’ve created some choices for you…)

– Here’s how to do high-quality work… (versus Here’s how to get a good grade).

“How to Choose Words That Motivate Students During Online Learning” by Katie Novak and Mike Anderson “How to Choose Words That Motivate Students During Online Learning” by Katie Novak and Mike Anderson in Edutopia, September 15, 2020

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future.” – Earl Nightingale

CDL to Hybrid – 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bdESUxMrtVFTwfNu9wosh8NRpr3g7PDsipOD0ZYpNXY/edit?usp=sharing

Recommendations Leading Up to HybridRecommendations Leading up to Hybrid Model in K-3 Teachers, First, thank you for all of the time and effort you have put into making comprehensive distance learning the best that it can be. We know you have been working incredibly hard and are so appreciative of each and every one of you. As we…docs.google.com

Safety Team Meeting – first meeting will be in the library at 2:30 today, Friday 9/18.  We will be completing some documentation for our move into Hybrid.

New (Not New) Nurse: after rotating through 3 nurses this summer we landed back with Angelina!  Angelina will be our assigned nurse and she is joining our safety team meeting this afternoon.

K-1 iPads – these should be arriving to the district by 9/21.  I think we can plan to send them out on Friday the 25th.  It will be great to set these up ahead of time, so let me help you with that.

POD teachers and communication – our legal department weighed in on this topic and said that we should not include them on any classroom distribution lists (Synergy or any other).  All communication should go through parents first then they can forward.

SIWs and Meetings: We do need to meet as a team, but we [you] really need your time right now.  This is tough thing to balance, but I cannot ask you to be in a meeting until I have more information and guidance to make it worth your time.  Send your questions and I will keep the updates focused on getting you what you need.  Things will level off and we’ll find some time to meet soon.

Math and Literacy Coaches Update:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YHeRaLKXh7Dd0QROdMCCLsgxRP5sPHLGDZz0EYFh8Ko/edit?usp=sharing

Instructional Tech Support

Clarifying how students access Dreambox and Lexia: 

1. Clever is used to access Dreambox and Lexia.
2. TLC shared a slideshow on how to access Dreambox in their last communication. The steps to access Lexia are the same.
3. Here is a modified version of that slideshow, to include Lexia and to provide concise steps for families. How students can log into Lexia and Dreambox. 
4. Videos with the same info are here too: English and Spanish  

Do you still need access to Lexia as an educator? 

Please complete this form.

Self Support 

• Tools for CDL has many updates, including new links to tutorials. The titles of our CDL page are now aligned with the current Standards of Practice. You will find lots of tutorials, especially in the Instructional Logistics and Engaging Students with Curriculum sections. For reference, the Tools for CDL link can always be found in my email signature.
  
• Your Instructional Technology Team now has a YouTube channel. This channel has many student tutorials. More will be added in the near future. http://bit.ly/BLSsupport 

Building Support 

• Depending on your school, your tier 1 technology support is the assistant principal and/or the media manager.  (Marina, Me, Debbie)

District Support 

• Your Instructional Technology Coach – that’s me, Brenna Frost! 
• Important Phone Numbers for you and your families 
  • 541-355-1200 – Help Desk for STAFF 
  • 541-355-8700 – Share this number with your families. Families should call this number for tech support during the school day, 8am-4pm
    

Final Notes

• Educators working with K-2 students.  Do you see your current students in Clever and Seesaw? Contact your Instructional Tech Coach with questions.
  
• Educators working with 2-5 students.  Archive your old Google Classroom classes.
  
• Remember Dreambox and Lexia apps need to be installed on all devices in order for them to work in Clever. When K-2 school iPads arrive, they will have those apps preinstalled.
  
• I’m here to help.  I’ll be checking email periodically this weekend, so please don’t hesitate to email me anytime. I now have a district phone number too, so you can call me at x1041 beginning Monday morning.  – Brenna Frost

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

Maya Angelou

Office Visits – This new office set up is making social distancing virtually impossible so I need to ask everyone to use some different methods of dropping in to talk with me.  Instead of coming to the office, please call ext 1902, text or call my cell phone (760-500-4847) and I will come to you.  I promise to be as responsive as possible but please know I try really hard not to check messages or take calls while I am talking to somebody in person (I believe this is from some mindfulness training that suggests that the person in front of you is the most important person in that moment and deserves your undivided attention).  I will also only try to be in my office when on a webex, phone call or in-person meeting.  I may move myself into a more central location for the typical laptop work, however that may simply be the hallway.  I will also be better at walking “rounds” and checking in with each of you in your rooms a few times each day.  

Check-In/Check-Out QR Codes – I am sorry for the extra task each day – I know it’s an inconvenience.  Let’s hope we never have to use these, but know that if we use these with fidelity we can help identify anyone who might have been exposed when we learn of somebody testing positive.  There are some easy ways to make this easier and faster, so ask me and I’ll show you.

Pick a Team, any team..

Please respond to the survey below asap.  I will focus first on getting the Safety Team meeting up and running.  The rest will come later on dates TBD.

• School Safety Team
  • Safety meetings will focus on reviewing inspection and accident records, and reviewing, investigating, and providing recommendations to any safety concern reports from school employees. 
• CDL/Storyline Team – School Curriculum/Instruction Team
  • Planning and development, Sharing
  • Equity
  • Integration
  • Feedback and Design Cycle
• Culture of Care/SEL Team (Think “PBIS”)
  • Self Care
  • School-Wide Trauma-Informed Practice and Refinement
• Family Connections Team
  • Equity and Access
  • Attendance/Participation Concerns and Follow Up
  • Identifying and addressing potential homelife concerns

Team choice survey

SIWs and Meetings: I will not schedule any SIW PD or meetings (with the exception of the Safety Team) until September 30th at the earliest.  The downside is you need to keep up to date with these updates.  The upside is you have some time to adjust to this interesting start to the year.

Lexia –  There has been a little confusion about the placement test, so here is the final word:  ALL STUDENTS WILL TAKE THE PLACEMENT TEST.  Julie will reset the students as of today and every child will be prompted to take the placement test.  You do not need to worry about past data – just let it go.  (We will get the data from the company but it will take a few weeks.)

Here is some verbiage you can share with families;

Lexia is new and up-to-date with additional levels for the 20-21 year.  You may review some work that you’ve seen before in Core5 – this is to make sure you are strong and confident with these reading skills. The extra practice may help you move faster through the levels as you work through the program!  

Learning Kits – Whiteboards are now listed among the many things that are in short supply all across the US.  These will likely not show up until the math kids come on the 21st at the earliest.  You may want to consider sending home ones we already have here and then replenish when the new supply arrives.

CDL to Hybrid – Our principal meetings will start to shift our conversations toward the Hybrid model and what that will look like.  Julie Walker is interviewing teachers across the district to gather information about the shape this model should take.  There are a lot of ideas floating around about what that looks like, but please be patient and wait for the final description to come from the district.  A couple rumors regarding our transition time that have popped up;

• Rumor – “We are going to skip Hybrid and go all in K-3.” 
• Response – This is not true, we will transition to All In with a hybrid model first.
• Rumor – “We are going to move into Hybrid sooner than October 26th” – 
• Response – There are meetings and conversations discussing this possibility, weighing the pros and cons, however as of today we are not moving into a Hybrid Model until October 26th at the earliest.

Subs during CDL – there is still no good answer with how to deal with extended absence during this period.  There is work being done to prep subs for this kind of work, but it’s challenging.

Attendance – Attendance Info – live document, check for updates.

PE/Music – technically we do not have to take attendance for PE/Music, however I would like our community to take this stance;  

Our intention is to maintain connection with everyone in our community.  Mr. Pettis and Mr. Clements will be working hard to provide meaningful learning experiences for our students and their priority is maintaining connection with all our students.  We expect our students to engage with the PE/Music work daily.  

If and when parents ask if these are optional, the answer is “no”.  We still want to maintain our relationships with our entire team and students.  (In reality they do not have to attend every session at the exact time, but we will be advocating for them to complete the assigned work.)

The end goal of this stance is to maintain the relationships and connections for students to grow in all content areas, including our music and PE teacher.  If students learn to be musically inclined and more physically literate along the way then we hit the jackpot.

Bend Parks & Rec Childcare – I will be meeting with our lead person on Monday or Tuesday. There will be a short training provided for Shelly and Danielle prior to starting.  The first look at enrollment for this program is pretty low, but I anticipate that changing.

Instructional Tech Support

Apple Pencils – Thanks to our PTO board we are going to get some Apple Pencils to enhance your iPad instructional strategies. I already talked to a few of you about your interest level in these, but if I didn’t get a chance to talk to you and you are interested, please let me know. We’ll start by sharing these at first and if the demand to use these grows we can consider requesting more.

BrainPOP is back, baby! PTO is going to fund this again for us, which is fantastic! We’ll get our subscription up and running soon!

Quick Video Share Tip – Christie asked me to pass this information about making a video in a smaller file size along; Making a Video Easily Viewable by Changing the File Size 

This is a link to the district remote learning site: CDL Tools

SOP document and schedules (Updated):

·         K-5 Master Schedule

·         K-1 Schedule

·         2-3 Schedule

·         4-5 Schedule

·         Standards of Practice

Check-In/Check-Out QR Codes – Thanks to Shawna for troubleshooting these!  These are up and running again.  Check in and check out are both required.  The cohorts are now there for you to indicate who you have contact with for more than 15 minutes.  These are not set in stone and we can modify as necessary to make tracking easier, but it’s a starting point.  We also have paper & pencil sheets ready as a backup in each space.  If you need me to make another video, just say the word…(=

Pick a Team, any team… – please click on the survey below and indicate your 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th choice for a team to serve on.  As part of our Blueprint for re-entry to schools and continuing operation we need to have these teams up and running.  (While this is a check-boxing kind of action, my intention is to use these teams for our own constant improvement and acknowledgement.)  Ideally we can divide the workload with these teams and provide the support needed for students and you.

• School Safety Team
  • Safety meetings will focus on reviewing inspection and accident records, and reviewing, investigating, and providing recommendations to any safety concern reports from school employees. 
• CDL/Storyline Team – School Curriculum/Instruction Team
  • Planning and development, Sharing
  • Equity
  • Integration
  • Feedback and Design Cycle
• Culture of Care/SEL Team (Think “PBIS”)
  • Self Care
  • School-Wide Trauma-Informed Practice and Refinement
• Family Connections Team
  • Equity and Access
  • Attendance/Participation Concerns and Follow Up
  • Identifying and addressing potential homelife concerns

Team choice survey

Family Communication and POD teachers – Any information specific to a student, such as grades, reading levels, etc. must go through the parents.  POD teachers cannot be the point of contact for student information.  They are permitted to have access to anything that is general about the class activities, just keep the individual student information confidential with the family.

One Teacher’s Trash is another Teacher’s Treasure –  Tables are full of treasures –  Anything left over after Friday 9/11 will be discarded.  Please be sure to wash your hands often during this entire process.

Attendance – Attendance Info – live document, check for updates.

Mandatory COVID Staff Training: 20-minute video– click here to access the directions.  Deadline = Friday 9/11

Startup Week(s) Plan;

• Thursday 9/10 (Day #192) – Teacher Work Day
  • Phase One Moving Deadline – Thanks for your patience, contribution and all efforts around this task.  My hope is that by the end of today everyone can be reasonably settled and ready to start CDL on Monday.  I will continue to coordinate the big furniture moves between now and Hybrid time.  (Ideally I can coordinate these to photo bomb your webexs!)
  • 8:30-10:00 – Screen Casting Workshop presented by Christie Boen – 
    • RSVP for Attending: Amber, Debbie, Michelle, Marina, Heidi E, Cami, Ukiah, Alicia
  • 10:30-11:30 – Google Classroom Workshop
    • Heidi E, Jay, Nicole
• Friday 9/11(Day #193) – Teacher Work Day
  • 2/3 and 1st Grade Materials Distribution
    • 11:00-1:00
      • Becky E – Newport bus stop.
      • Becky H –  courtyard between building and gym.
      • Jennifer – room 1 window
    • 1:00-3:00
      • Anna- Newport
      • JJ- Harmon
      • Cam-Nashville
      • Marina- parking lot
      • Marieka & Misha – home visits

Instructional Tech Support

2nd grade iPads – Yeah for Debbie!  Our 2nd grade ipads will be ready to go this week.

SeeSaw Stuff

• Logging in: Teachers and students can use Clever to log into Seesaw, both on computers and iPads. If on an iPad users are directed to the app from there. The app is going to be automatically installed on K-2 iPads. Teachers will want to download the Seesaw Class app from Self Service.
• Rostering: Student rosters will be complete by Friday this week. Specialists will see their K-2 classes automatically rostered. 
  • Please do not add students manually. This can create issues and confusion when the roster syncing happens.
  • There is no need to generate or send home learning codes because our students are automatically rostered.
  • If there are changes in your roster, please allow 24-48 hours for the data to make it from Synergy to Clever to Seesaw. Do not manually add new students.
• Specialists (PE, Music) Rostering: You will not need to do anything here! It’s going to be auto-magically done for you.
• ELL, LIfeSkills, Title I Reading/Math: Your students will ALL show in one class. How these learning groups are set up is likely to be different at each school. I’m happy to work with you and your school to find a method that works best for you.

Here are a few support resources to help you get started:

• Creating an Activity
• Announcements and Messages
• What’s new in Seesaw

More resources will be added to our Comprehensive Distance Learning Support site under the Seesaw link in the next few days.

Meal Service will start September 14^th it will be  grab and go from 11:30a-12:45p breakfast and lunch, all kids 18 and under qualify for meals at no cost and meals can be picked up from any of the following sites regardless of attendance area: 

Bear Creek 

Bend High

Buckingham

Elk Meadow

Ensworth

High Lakes

Highland

Jewell

PBMS (for Juniper Childcare)

Lava Ridge

La Pine High (delivery to childcares at the elementary schools)

Miller

Mountain View High

Pine Ridge

Ponderosa

Silver Rail

North Star

Three Rivers

Westside Village

Mobile Routes:

Route 1

The Pines West 11:30a-11:45a

The Pines East 12:00p-12:15p

Route 2

Country Sunset 11:30a-11:45a

Parrell Mobile Home park 12:00p-12:00p

Route 3 

Cleveland Apt  11:30a-11:45a

Eagle Landing Apt 12:00p-12:15p

Route 4 

Thurston Apt 11:30a-11:45a

Native Sun Apt 12:00p-12:15p

Route 5 La Pine

Preble Way @Riley Dr 11:30a-11:45a

Route 6 La Pine

Corner Store 11:30am-11:45a

SOP document and schedules (Updated):

·         K-5 Master Schedule

·         K-1 Schedule

·         2-3 Schedule

·         4-5 Schedule

·         Standards of Practice