Highland Updates

Highland Norms:  Linked here is a draft of Highland Norms.  If you have any concerns or questions regarding these norms, please make an appointment with me to share your concerns.

YouthTruth Survey:  YouthTruth is a national nonprofit organization that gathers student, staff, and parent/guardian feedback to help make schools stronger. They have surveyed staff, parents, and over 1.8 million students across 39 states and 5 countries. YouthTruth’s surveys have been rigorously tested for validity and reliability and are grounded in research about what matters most for student success.  The survey is open to all school staff, classified and certified.  The survey window closes on 1/27.  The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete.  Use the following link to access;   ytsurvey.org/hldstaff23

From Kinsey re: Elementary Certified Workshop for Equity Dialogue in Health Instruction –  This is the workshop we discussed at the Riverbend Parks and Rec horizontal meeting in December.  Please share this blurb with your K-5 classroom teachers (administrators are welcome, too).  

EA changes:  As I mentioned on Wednesday, Shelly is now officially an Inclusion EA.  We are running a posting for a temporary 3.75 EA for the remainder of the year.  We are utilizing our current staffing to cover the necessities and then we hire the replacement there will be some more changes to ensure we are covering everything even more comfortably.  

Shelly and team will be sharing the office with ELD to help with skills training for a student. We have taken down the “room sign-up” for that office for the time being. Please use the book room, room 14, or the library (on Mondays or when the library isn’t in session) if you are looking for extra spaces for small groups. We have sign up’s near the doors on the book room and room 14. We can make one for the library if needed as well. Thanks for your understanding and support as we work to meet the needs of all of our students. 

Report Card Guidance: Please be sure to read your updates from TLC and look for the report guidance and support.   Workshop with Kaelynn – Thursday 1/26, 2:30 Library.  Deadline for grades will be Wednesday, 2/8.

TAG Update: Linked is the updated list for both potentially or already identified students for TAG. Scroll down to see the key for the colors. Reminder: Heidi Thomas is now the TAG coordinator. Please be patient as she learns the ropes! 

Winter (March 2023) Culmination: Please use this link to put in details for your Winter culmination requests.

Magnet School Info Nights and Tours:

• Informational Presentations: Wednesday 3/1, 2:00-3:00pm and 5:30-6:30pm.
• Tours: Unfortunately we are no longer permitted to provide the tours during the school day, so we will need to either incorporate them into the information sessions or possibly skip them all-together.  If you have any input on this topic, please come talk to me and let me know your thoughts.

A Friendly Reminder from Heidi and the recess coaches: We are seeing more kids coming in the building during recesses because they are cold! Please remind your students that if they are coming in the building to use the restroom to use the cafeteria door, take care of business and head back outside. Thank you!

February 2nd Work Day/Inservice Day Update  Thursday, February 2,  was originally scheduled as an additional workday for all staff to prepare for a districtwide systems performance review. However, that process has been delayed. The district decided to keep this as a non-student contact day; however, it remains a paid day for ALL STAFF, certified and classified. For certified staff, the day will be divided into half site-directed inservice and half work time.  Our final schedule for the inservice time on the 2nd will be shared later, but one part I want to communicate now is we will move the Culture of Care Workshop originally planned for January 25th to February 2nd and we will hand the 25th SIW over to the Storyline team to add an afternoon SIW to work on the All School Storyline.

From Heidi Thomas and Highland’s Culture of Care Team: Here is the link to our 22/23 Highland Culture of Care Folder. This is where our school expectations posters and videos will live. I have also made a copy of all of the Classroom 180 SIW slide decks and added them to the file. 

• Here is our assembly plan and sign-up. Thanks, Sadie and class for making this month’s video! 
• November:
  • Character Trait: Persistence/Mindset 
  • SEL Focus: Self Awareness
  • Discussion  Question: I am challenged by…

Key Links:

Shout Outs 

COVID Reporting Form 

Highland Literacy Resources 

2022-2023 Staff Meetings – Agendas & Notes

2022-2023 Master Schedule   

FYI Ticket   

SEL Concerns

Bias Incident Report

How’s It Going 

Piper Posts

Recess Rules

Week Preview: PLC Week – PLC Form – ICCLs please use this during your PLC meetings this week.

• Monday 1/9
  • PTO-Sponsored Unplugged Week Starts
• Tuesday 1/10
• Wednesday 1/11
  • **1:00-1:30** Staff Meeting – **Please note the time change to allow for ample travel time to Miller.**
  • 2:00-3:15 Educator Network Series
• Thursday 1/12
• Friday 1/13
  • 5:30-8:00 Family Movie Night in the Gym

Winter Dibels Day = Monday 1/30/23

Highland Staff Calendar 

Special Schedule for Friday 12/16 – PJ Day

Highland Norms:  Linked here is a draft of Highland Norms.  Our leadership team spent several meetings combing through the survey input as well as examining other examples of professional norms.  It’s time to share this staff-wide and we will go through an exercise in January (possibly February) to increase our congruence with these norms for behavior.

Report Card Guidance: Please be sure to read your updates from TLC and look for the report guidance and support.  Ashley will send a survey to you on the deadline possibilities.  Kaelynn Adams will also provide a workshop on Thursday 2/26 at 2:30 to provide support with report cards as well.

Winter (March 2023) Culmination: Please use this link to put in details for your Winter culmination requests.

Magnet School Info Nights and Tours:

• Informational Presentations: Wednesday 3/1, 2:00-3:00pm and 5:30-6:30pm.
• Tours: Thursday 3/2, 1:15pm and Tuesday 3/7, 1:15pm

A Friendly Reminder from Heidi and the recess coaches: Please do not send your students out to recess early. It makes it tough on our recess coaches. Thank you for understanding!

From Heidi Thomas and Highland’s Culture of Care Team: Here is the link to our 22/23 Highland Culture of Care Folder. This is where our school expectations posters and videos will live. I have also made a copy of all of the Classroom 180 SIW slide decks and added them to the file. 

• Here is our assembly plan and sign up. 
• December:
  • Character Trait: Generosity 
  • SEL Focus: Relationship Skills
  • Discussion  Question: I contributed by…

Key Links:

Shout Outs 

COVID Reporting Form 

Highland Literacy Resources 

2022-2023 Staff Meetings – Agendas & Notes

2022-2023 Master Schedule   

FYI Ticket   

SEL Concerns

Bias Incident Report

How’s It Going 

Piper Posts

Recess Rules

Week Preview:

• Monday 1/2
  • No School
• Tuesday 1/3
  • 2:30-3:30 Leadership
• Wednesday 1/4
  • 1:15-1:45 Staff Meeting
  • 1:45-3:15 SIW – Storyline
• Thursday 1/5
  • 2:30-3:15 Safety Team Meeting
• Friday 1/6
  • Kindergarten Forest Day
  • 1:30 Assembly

• Monday 1/9
  • PTO-Sponsored Unplugged Week Starts
• Tuesday 1/10
• Wednesday 1/11
  • 1:15-1:45 Staff Meeting
  • Educator Network Series
• Thursday 1/12
• Friday 1/13

Highland Staff Calendar 

From the mouths of Kindergartners;

“before the 90’s …before there was paper”

“before the Jurassic there was the zombie popaclyps”

Culminations: Please know I received a lot of positive feedback from our parents regarding our culminations.  The work of you and your students is very much appreciated.

Student Posters:  As of today, I removed almost all the student’s posters regarding Gifts Galore (if I missed any please take them down).  For future reference, all posted signs/posters that are not directly related to school assignments, projects, storyline incidents, etc. must be submitted to the principal for approval before they are posted.  Posting areas should be limited (typically to a community board). It is not appropriate to post items all over the building.  All of you have the authority to remove any such items if you believe they have not been approved by me and/or if you feel it disrupts your class in any way.  Please bring them to me if you would like me to follow up with the student(s).  Moving forward we support student voice so long as it is not disruptive to our school environment and follows the guidelines in the policies listed below.  

• KJA-AR: Materials Distribution
• IGDA-AR: Students Organizations
• IGDB-AR: Student Publications

Gender Support: Just a reminder about our protocol for supporting gender-nonconforming individuals.  A few resources are linked below—please reach out to Kinsey if you could use support for considering supports and options for a transgender or nonbinary student’s inclusive experience in your school.  

• Administrative Expectation here
• Gender Support Protocol (with links to support and guidance docs) here
• Name Change form here

Religion: Now is a great time of year to review this document and our environment with an eye for empathy, inclusion, and belonging: With the decorations currently displayed in your building, what message are you sending your Jewish, Jehovah’s Witness, Muslim, or other students/families/staff, with regarding to inclusion, belonging, and representation?  

From Steve Herron and Leah Bibeau re: UKG New Trainings & Go Live Postponement Reminder –

All Staff Trainings

• How to Add Time on Timesheets (2 min 42 seconds)
• How to Submit Monthly Timesheets (1 min 30 seconds)
• How to Request a Timesheet Change  (1 min 8 seconds)

Gifts Galore & Craft Day

Please use the following link for the special schedule revisions for Thursday 12/15 and Friday 12/16 for Gifts Galore and Craft Day.  

Some key changes;

• Thursday – revised afternoon recess schedule (each recess is a K-5 recess) which will facilitate some participation for some students in Gifts Galore.
• Thursday – upstairs ⅔ group is switched with ⅘ group for PE/music in the afternoon – please note the start and stop times.
• Friday – no Music/PE for downstairs ⅔, K or 1st grade.
• Friday – all school recess with teacher supervision from 9:00-9:15.
• Lunch and Lunch Recess remain on same schedule for everyone.

A Friendly Reminder from Heidi and the recess coaches: Please do not send your students out to recess early. It makes it tough on our recess coaches. Thank you for understanding!

SLGGs Reminder – Friendly reminder that SLGGs are now past due.

SLGGs Instructions

SLGGs Form

• SLGGs submitted so far;
  • Paper/Pencil
    • Marieka
    • Heidi E.
    • Scott
    • Amber
  • Electronic
    • Jenn
    • Becky
    • JJ
    • Cami
    • Kathy
    • Aimee
    • Sadie
    • Cameron
    • Marci
    • Deanna
    • Michelle
    • Ukiah

From Heidi Thomas and Highland’s Culture of Care Team: Here is the link to our 22/23 Highland Culture of Care Folder. This is where our school expectations posters and videos will live. I have also made a copy of all of the Classroom 180 SIW slide decks and added them to the file. 

• Here is our assembly plan and sign up. 
• December:
  • Character Trait: Generosity 
  • SEL Focus: Relationship Skills
  • Discussion  Question: I contributed by…

Key Links:

Shout Outs 

COVID Reporting Form 

Highland Literacy Resources 

2022-2023 Staff Meetings – Agendas & Notes

2022-2023 Master Schedule   

FYI Ticket   

SEL Concerns

Bias Incident Report

How’s It Going 

Piper Posts

Week Preview: PLC Week – PLC Form – ICCLs please use this during your PLC meetings this week.

• Monday 12/12
• Tuesday 12/13
• Wednesday 12/14
  • 1:15-1:45 Staff Meeting
  • Teacher Prep Day
• Thursday 12/15
  • Special Schedule
  • 1:15-5:15 Gifts Galore
• Friday 12/16
  • Special Schedule
  • Craft Day Details

Highland Staff Calendar 

Volunteers – new rules! – last year when we began letting volunteers back in our schools we limited our volunteers to one per class per day.  We did this because of lingering covid concerns and because of the number of volunteers we could process per week under the new system.  These two limitations are no longer a concern so as of today you can have more than one volunteer per classroom per day.  There are no limitations other than having people complete the new volunteer background check process.

Lexia and Dreambox during break – We are being asked to include the following message for families (Spanish translation has been requested and is in process).

Families – While students are enjoying time away from school during winter break they can keep up on their reading and math by logging into Lexia Core5 and Dreambox Math.  Both of these programs can be accessed at home and are a wonderful way to keep up on their reading and math skills. Both of these programs are accessed via Clever.  Here’s how:

• visit https://clever.com/in/bls  from any internet browser. 
• select “Log in with Active Directory”
• username – student’s first and last name, no spaces. example: joejohnson
• password – the special 6-digit code that’s used for all sorts of logins for students in Bend-La Pine
• From Clever, students can access Lexia Core5, DreamBox, Newsela, and more

Note about accessing Lexia from home:

• If families are using a mobile device (tablet/iPad) they will need to install the free Lexia Core5 app in order for Lexia to work, even when they access Lexia from inside Clever
• Lexia Core5 will not work on a small device like a smartphone, iPhone, etc.
• If students are using a computer or laptop, they won’t need to install a Lexia app. They can log into Clever, and then select the Lexia Core5 icon.
• As a reminder, please refrain from helping your student when they are working on Lexia Core5 (or DreamBox) programs away from school. These programs tailor delivery of concepts and skills based on student answers.
• For each of these programs about 20-30 minutes per day is a sufficient amount of time for practice.

Don’t have a device at home?  No problem.  Families can request that their school iPad be sent home during break.  Just reach out to your teacher to make arrangements.  

SLGGs Reminder – Friendly reminder that SLGGs are due to me by Friday 12/2.  When you open the form it will prompt you to make a copy.  Please rename your copy with your name and year; “Kissell2022-23”.  You can complete it electronically and then share it with me OR you are welcome to print and complete as a paper/pencil copy. 

SLGGs Instructions

SLGGs Form

• SLGGs submitted so far;
  • Paper/Pencil
    • Marieka
    • Heidi E.
    • Scott
    • Amber
  • Electronic
    • Jenn
    • Becky
    • JJ
    • Cami
    • Kathy
    • Aimee
    • Sadie
    • Cameron
    • Deanna
    • Marci
    • Michelle

Lottery Date Changes

Below are the changes to lottery dates for kinders and for potential 1^st – 8^th graders for the upcoming year (and Area Change Requests ACRs):

o   Kindergarten Choice Options and Kindergarten Dual Immersion Submission Period:

o   Start Date: Tuesday, January 3, 2023

o   End Date: Friday, March 24 @ 3 p.m.

o   Grades 1-8 Schools Submission Period:

o   Start Date: Tuesday, January 3, 2023

o   End Date: Friday, January 20 @ 3 p.m.

From Heidi Thomas and Highland’s Culture of Care Team: Here is the link to our 22/23 Highland Culture of Care Folder. This is where our school expectations posters and videos will live. I have also made a copy of all of the Classroom 180 SIW slide decks and added them to the file. 

As a friendly reminder, if you are looking for resources related to our monthly SEL, Character Trait and Discussion questions, here are some helpful resources linked in the assembly plan.  As always, please reach out if you want more!

• Here is our assembly plan and sign up. 
• November’s discussion sentence starter is:  My physical, emotional, well being… It’s pretty open ended but can be a good place to start with what make’s kids feel healthy and balanced. In otherwords, what helps them be in a regulated space. I would start by giving an example from your own life. Mine might sounds like, my physical, emotional well being is at it’s best when I get good sleep, eat well and get exercise in nature.
  • Character Trait: Courage/Passion
  • SEL Focus: Self Awareness and Self Management

Key Links:

Shout Outs 

COVID Reporting Form 

Highland Literacy Resources 

2022-2023 Staff Meetings – Agendas & Notes

2022-2023 Master Schedule   

FYI Ticket   

SEL Concerns

How’s It Going 

Week Preview:

• Monday 12/5
  • 2:30-3:15 Storyline Team Meeting 
• Tuesday 12/6
• Kindergarten Forest Day
  • Admin/ICCL Workshop (Highland is Hosting)
  • 5:00 Howard Culmination
  • 5:30 Glogau Culmination
• Wednesday 12/7
  • 1:15-1:45 Staff Meeting
  • 1:45-3:15 Culture of Care
  • 5:00 Sacamano Culmination
  • 5:30 Greene Culmination
• Thursday 12/8
• Friday 12/9
  • 5:30 Harju Culmination

Highland Staff Calendar 

From Jackie Mueller – Sustainability Update:

MTSS Update

• Tier 1: If you have unfinished business with the first round, please use your PLC time to revisit this work and complete it.
• Tier 2: While I know it’s difficult to have so many subs in the building at once, completing the first cycle for all grade levels in one day is significant, so thank you to everyone for your flexibility and willingness to make it work.  If you have any input on possible schedule tweaks or meeting process to improve our productiveness please let me know.
• Just for future reference here are Decision Rules:
  • Intervention cycle is 32-34 sessions (attendance tracked)
  • 3 data points below the 4^th of 5^th pathway in area of need…make an instructional, environment or curricular change…document that change and implement another round of 32-34 sessions of intervention
  • If after the second set of interventions a student is still not making adequate growth consider moving to an individual problem solving process where you are analyzing more deeply..

SLGGs Reminder – Friendly reminder that SLGGs are due to me by Friday 12/2.  When you open the form it will prompt you to make a copy.  Please rename your copy with your name and year; “Kissell2022-23”.  You can complete it electronically and then share it with me OR you are welcome to print and complete as a paper/pencil copy. 

SLGGs Instructions

SLGGs Form

• SLGGs submitted so far;
  • Paper/Pencil
    • Marieka
    • Heidi E.
  • Electronic
    • Jenn
    • Becky
    • JJ

From Heidi Thomas and Highland’s Culture of Care Team: Here is the link to our 22/23 Highland Culture of Care Folder. This is where our school expectations posters and videos will live. I have also made a copy of all of the Classroom 180 SIW slide decks and added them to the file. 

As a friendly reminder, if you are looking for resources related to our monthly SEL, Character Trait and Discussion questions, here are some helpful resources linked in the assembly plan.  As always, please reach out if you want more!

• Here is our assembly plan and sign up. 
• November’s discussion sentence starter is:  My physical, emotional, well being… It’s pretty open ended but can be a good place to start with what make’s kids feel healthy and balanced. In otherwords, what helps them be in a regulated space. I would start by giving an example from your own life. Mine might sounds like, my physical, emotional well being is at it’s best when I get good sleep, eat well and get exercise in nature.
  • Character Trait: Courage/Passion
  • SEL Focus: Self Awareness and Self Management

Key Links:

Shout Outs 

COVID Reporting Form 

Highland Literacy Resources 

2022-2023 Staff Meetings – Agendas & Notes

2022-2023 Master Schedule   

FYI Ticket   

SEL Concerns

How’s It Going 

Week Preview: PLC Week – PLC Form – ICCLs please use this during your PLC meetings this week.

• Monday 11/28
• Tuesday 11/29
  • 2:30-3:30 Leadership
• Wednesday 11/30
  • Picture Day Make Up
  • 1:15-1:45 Staff Meeting
  • 1:45-3:15 Storyline SIW
• Thursday 12/1
  • Skip’s Visit
  • 2:30-3:15 Safety Team Meeting
• Friday 12/2
  • 1:30 Assembly

Highland Staff Calendar 

If anyone found the photo posted earlier offensive, I do apologize. My intention was to celebrate a collective effort put into helping a dysregulated child get into a really positive place.

Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day On November 14th, students can recognize and celebrate the legacy of Ruby Bridges by walking to school on November 14th.  Bear Creek and Juniper Elementary Families can meet at Juniper Park and walk to school with Commute Options to show support for social justice, equity, inclusion, and sustainability in BLS schools. Any student walking to school that day can download a bingo card English/Spanish and snap a photo of it completed to Commute Options. http://commuteoptions.org/RBWTSD

“My message is really that racism has no place in the hearts and minds of our children” Ruby Bridges

Educator Network Day Plan: 

For some reason, the image will not transfer so please use the following link to see the plan; 11/16 Plan

Craft Day & Gifts Galore – Thank you all for your participation and voices during that conversation.  I know that is not easy for a variety of reasons so thank you for your courage and honesty.  My hope is to have something ready to share with everyone by the end of next week.

MTSS Update

• Tier 1: Thank you for your participation in the Tier 1 meetings and thank you to our ICCLs for leading these with such little prep.  It’s a lot to process and it’s even more difficult to lead.  These will continue to evolve as our understanding and skills build around these conversations.  One thing to keep in mind is we are looking for the small incremental changes to improve instruction for all students.  It takes some practice to use data to identify those needed changes.  Those small changes accumulated over time can have a larger sustainable impact.
• Tier 2: On Tuesday 11/15 we will hold our Tier 2 MTSS meetings.  Subs will be brought in to cover your classes for a little over an hour.  You can see the schedule here to see your exact time for coverage.  Punctuality will be necessary to ensure your team gets the most of your time, so please make sure you are on the stage, in your seat and ready to go at your start time.
• The format for each of these meetings will be very similar to our MTSS meetings from last year with some slight tweaks and changes (upgrades).  I will work on these slides on Friday 11/10 and share these as soon as I have them (mostly) ready to go.

SLGGs Reminder – Friendly reminder that SLGGs are due to me by Friday 12/2.  When you open the form it will prompt you to make a copy.  Please rename your copy with your name and year; “Kissell2022-23”.  You can complete it electronically and then share it with me OR you are welcome to print and complete as a paper/pencil copy. 

SLGGs Instructions

SLGGs Form

• SLGGs submitted so far;
  • Paper/Pencil
    • Marieka
    • Heidi E.
  • Electronic
    • Jenn
    • Becky

From Heidi Thomas and Highland’s Culture of Care Team: Here is the link to our 22/23 Highland Culture of Care Folder. This is where our school expectations posters and videos will live. I have also made a copy of all of the Classroom 180 SIW slide decks and added them to the file. 

As a friendly reminder, if you are looking for resources related to our monthly SEL, Character Trait and Discussion questions, here are some helpful resources linked in the assembly plan.  As always, please reach out if you want more!

• Here is our assembly plan and sign up. 
• November’s discussion sentence starter is:  My physical, emotional, well being… It’s pretty open ended but can be a good place to start with what make’s kids feel healthy and balanced. In otherwords, what helps them be in a regulated space. I would start by giving an example from your own life. Mine might sounds like, my physical, emotional well being is at it’s best when I get good sleep, eat well and get exercise in nature.
  • Character Trait: Courage/Passion
  • SEL Focus: Self Awareness and Self Management

Key Links:

Shout Outs 

COVID Reporting Form 

Highland Literacy Resources 

2022-2023 Staff Meetings – Agendas & Notes

2022-2023 Master Schedule   

FYI Ticket   

SEL Concerns

How’s It Going 

Week Preview: PLC Week – PLC Form – ICCLs please use this during your PLC meetings this week.

• Monday 11/14
  • Fire Drill
  • 2:30-3:15 Storyline Team Meeting
• Tuesday 11/15
  • MTSS Tier 2 Day – see schedule for your meeting time
  • 5:00 1st Grade Culmination
  • 7:00 Highland Harmony performs @ Bend High
• Wednesday 11/16
  • No Staff Meeting Today
  • Educator Network Series – High Lakes – see Notes above
  • 4:30 Kindergarten Culmination
• Thursday 11/17
  • 4:30 Yeager-Woock Culmination
  • 5:30 Green Culmination
  • 5:30 Vickery Culmination
• Friday 11/18
  • College & Career Day
  • Thanksgiving Break!!!

Highland Staff Calendar 

From Kinsey Martin –

Religion and the Holidays:

• You might remember that religious tolerance and inclusive practices were an area that the majority of our staff rated as very low (i.e. poor experiences with this, as employees in our organization) on our DEI staff survey last year.  
• To improve our practices in this area, please review this information (reflection questions on page 1, guidance and resources on page 2) regarding how we can ensure inclusion and belonging for students, families, and staff of all religious and non-religious backgrounds.  
• Please review this with your ICCL, share with your whole staff, introduce with your PTO, and/or otherwise ensure your school/team is familiar with this guidance.  If you would like to discuss this further or conduct a shared review of your practices, please reach out to Kinsey or to the LEAD Coaches team.  

Snow and Ice Removal:

• Please remember that the stairs on the west side of the gym are not considered a primary entrance/exit to our building.  Those stairs cannot be kept clear of snow and ice while it is actively snowing or while there is any snow on the roof (please know we have tried).  Ice melt cannot be used on the concrete per our district policy AND it makes the problem worse.  When conditions are icy please use alternate routes to access the building.  I will remind Kids, Inc staff they should do the same.
• Also, be aware of the falling snow from both buildings.  The new roof is designed to sluff the snow off the building (to avoid build up).  Getting hit with the snow can be quite the shock as Zach can confirm, so we would like you to avoid such a chilly, shocking experience.

MTSS Update

• Tier 1: Part of your SIW on Wendesday 11/9 will be devoted to a Tier 1 MTSS meeting led by our ICCLs.  
• Tier 2: On Tuesday 11/15 we will hold our Tier 2 MTSS meetings.  Subs will be brought in to cover your classes for a little over an hour.  You can see the schedule here to see your exact time for coverage.
• The format for each of these meetings will be very similar to our MTSS meetings from last year with some slight tweaks and changes (upgrades).

First Aid/CPR Training:  Our building needs current card holders for First Aid/CPR training. The district is currently 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 three (3) hours with the skills assessment to follow with a first aid/CPR trainer that will take about 20 minutes.  The online 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. Sign up for the class in Performance Matters
2. Michelle Spetic will send you a link from HSI/Medic to get started ([email protected]).   
3. Please check your Junk Mail if it does not appear in your regular inbox.  
4. After each section of the online session, there will be a one or two question quiz.
5. When scheduled, the hands-on skills assessment schedule will be emailed to you to register if you have completed the online portion.  You can only do the in-person skills assessment after you have completed the online portion of the class.  
6. The in-person skills assessment will be done in 30-minute increments. 
7. First Aid cards will not be sent out until both portions of the class are completed.  

Please reach out to Michelle Spetic if you have any questions. 

From Heidi Thomas and Highland’s Culture of Care Team: Here is the link to our 22/23 Highland Culture of Care Folder. This is where our school expectations posters and videos will live. I have also made a copy of all of the Classroom 180 SIW slide decks and added them to the file. 

Our next assembly is coming up on November 4th at 1:30. We will NOT have a spirit day that day as we will have just had costume day. One more reminder that Carreer and College day is Nov. 18th. That seems like plenty of dressing up for one month :). Thanks for your flexibility! 

• Staff Shout Outs are back! Please fill out this form and we will announce them once a month at our staff meetings! 
• Here is our assembly plan and sign up. 
• October’s discussion sentence starter is:  I aspire to be…
  • Character Trait: Courage/Passion
  • SEL Focus: Self Awareness

HDESD Culture of Care Survey: As mentioned earlier, the following survey is a tool to help the HDESD Culture of Care team learn how to best support our school moving forward.  Survey from Amy Yilik;

https://forms.gle/SQLTRsW7dQXiwM74A

Key Links:

Shout Outs 

COVID Reporting Form 

Highland Literacy Resources 

2022-2023 Staff Meetings – Agendas & Notes

2022-2023 Master Schedule   

FYI Ticket   

SEL Concerns

How’s It Going 

 PLC Week – PLC Form – ICCLs please use this during your PLC meetings this week.

Week Preview:

• Monday 11/7
• Tuesday 11/8
  • 2:30-3:30 Leadership
• Wednesday 11/9
  • 1:15-2:10 Staff Meeting
  • 2:15-3:15 Tier 2 MTSS Meetings
  • 6:00 Speaker Series
• Thursday 11/10
  • 2:30-3:15 Safety Team Meeting
• Friday 11/11
  • Veteran’s Day – No School
  • Blood Drive Highland Gym

Highland Staff Calendar 

FYI – I am not utilizing the comments module for this site. Please come see me, use the “How’s it Going” survey or send an email if you have a question.

Quote of the Day:  “Learning is happening here…to the greatest extent possible.”  – a great teacher borrowing a pandemic phrase.

2022-23 Inclement Weather Guidelines: It’s the time of year to think about snow again!  For the 2022-23 Inclement Weather Guidelines please use this Link.

Lead Coaches Introduction:  I hope to invite one or some of our Lead Coaches to join us at a meeting soon, but for now here’s a Link to provide a brief intro.  You might recognize one of our former Highland parents!

SLGGs: Here is a more user-friendly version for the 2022-2023 SLGGs process and forms.  When you open the form it will prompt you to make a copy.  Please rename your copy with your name and year; “Kissell2022-23”.  You can complete it electronically and then share it with me or you are welcome to print and complete as a paper/pencil copy.  The due date for these will now be Friday 12/2.

SLGGs Instructions

SLGGs Form

A reminder from Stephen Duval – November 18th is College and Career Day in Bend-La Pine Schools.  This year we are looking to draw attention to the multitude of pathways available to students after they graduate high school.  Here are a few things you could do at your site to make the day a success.

• Dress as a professional
  • Encourage students and staff to dress up as someone from a career they are interested in.  Remember there are a lot of great careers out there!
• Wear college colors
  • Encourage students to wear the colors of a favorite college.  Remember, college can mean community college, trade school, 4-year university, etc.  Be careful with wording here as college-brand clothing can be expensive and prevent students from feeling like they can participate.  Colors are more inclusionary.  As much as we know about the Ducks and Beavers, let’s expand our students’ awareness of what’s out there.
• Consider incorporating videos or lessons bringing awareness to careers and colleges. 
  • Here is a great resource from the State of Oregon on Career Journeys.  There are videos, lesson plans and other activities.
  • Here is a great resource full of college videos.  Students could scroll through and watch short videos on all kinds of colleges. 
• Consider inviting parents from the community in to talk about their careers.  
  • This could be done in a variety of ways from assemblies, to advisory, to lunch.  You could also ask parents to submit a short video of them talking about their jobs and stitch them together for students.  Remember our visitor and volunteer requirements if you decide to invite parents in.

If you do decide to take it up a notch with college and career activities, please be sure to let Stephen and Alandra know.

UKG Project Update – UKG Weekly Training: This week’s training  How To Submit a Leave Request in UKG.mp4 (3 minutes).  We will try to set aside time in staff meetings to view these.  Please remind them that:

• All current and past UKG materials may be found in the Staff Portal>Human Resources>UKG or via this link
• Leave accruals within UKG are NOT accurate as we are still in the UKG testing platform
• Employees should enter a BLS Help Desk Ticket if they encounters a problem logging in

Upcoming trainings will be: 

• Timekeeper/Admin approval/deny/change of employee leave requests (November 4th)
• Staff member submission of extra time worked (November 11)
• Staff member submission of monthly leave/time sheets (November 11)
• Timekeeper/Admin approval/denial/change to monthly leave/time sheets  (November 18)

From Tami Pike – Please inform your staff of the importance of letting their school nurse know at least 2 weeks in advance of a scheduled field trip. This is for student safety. This time allows for the school nurse to assess and prepare for the medical needs of the students attending the trip, and train staff who may need to administer medication. If the nurse is given short notice they end up scrambling to gather the needed student medical information as well as train a staff person to safely administer medication. This practice is not safe for students or staff. To avoid unnecessary field trip delays or cancellations, please develop a practice that will help ensure that school nurses are notified (at least 2 weeks in advance) of a scheduled field trip.

From Tami Pike (again) – STOP THE BLEED TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BLS EMPLOYEES

Bend Fire and Rescue

Wednesday, November 2 3-4pm  Mountain View High School Auditorium

Wednesday, November 8 430-530pm  Bend High School  Black Box Theatre Room

Maximum number 75.  Staff must sign up on Performance Matters to reserve a spot. Can’t make any of these dates? We will send out future training information when the details are set.

From Heidi Thomas and Highland’s Culture of Care Team: Here is the link to our 22/23 Highland Culture of Care Folder. This is where our school expectations posters and videos will live. I have also made a copy of all of the Classroom 180 SIW slide decks and added them to the file. 

Our next assembly is coming up on November 4th at 1:30. We will NOT have a spirit day that day as we will have just had costume day. One more reminder that Carreer and College day is Nov. 18th. That seems like plenty of dressing up for one month :). Thanks for your flexibility! 

• Staff Shout Outs are back! Please fill out this form and we will announce them once a month at our staff meetings! 
• Here is our assembly plan and sign up. 
• October’s discussion sentence starter is:  I aspire to be…
  • Character Trait: Courage/Passion
  • SEL Focus: Self Awareness

HDESD Culture of Care Survey: As mentioned earlier, the following survey is a tool to help the HDESD Culture of Care team learn how to best support our school moving forward.  Survey from Amy Yilik;

https://forms.gle/SQLTRsW7dQXiwM74A

Key Links:

Shout Outs 

COVID Reporting Form 

Highland Literacy Resources 

2022-2023 Staff Meetings – Agendas & Notes

2022-2023 Master Schedule   

FYI Ticket   

SEL Concerns

How’s It Going 

Something to read… Tammy & Skip shared this with us, so I wanted to pass it along.  We came across this page that talks about the power of student voice.  

PLCs – this is not a PLC week, but please remember the use the form to help structure your conversations around improving instruction for all students.  The forms are a necessity for your leadership team to analyze and use for school-wide improvement.

Week Preview:

• Monday 10/31
  • Just pretend it’s not Halloween…the kids will be fine.  (Fold in the cheese)
• Tuesday 11/1
  • Brian @ CEL Workshop for the day (sorry, not my plan)
  • 2:30-3:30 Leadership
• Wednesday 11/2
  • 1:15-1:45 Staff Meeting
  • 1:45-3:15 Teacher Prep
• Thursday 11/3
  • 2:30-3:15 Culture of Care Team 
• Friday 11/4
  • Kindergarten Forest Day
  • Time TDB – Secure Drill  – please check your SRP poster for instructions.
  • 1:30 Assembly

Highland Staff Calendar 

Conferences: Thank you very much for the thoughtful effort and time you put into preparing for your conferences.  Great work, now go get some well-deserved R&R!

PTO Update:  If you have any PTO board members in your classes, be sure to show them some appreciation for taking care of us in regards to all the food.  A lot of communication and effort was put into providing a variety of snacks and meals to make these long days easier.  Taelor Little deserves a huge shout out as she was instrumental in coordinating everything – there were a lot of contributors, but she was definitely the backbone.

SRP Staff Training: The 27th does not work, so we are looking for an alternative date for this – stay tuned.

Staff Absences: In order to help communicate who has a sub or possibly a lack of a substitute, we brought back the whiteboard in the office. It is located near the staff mailboxes and will have who is gone and who is subbing for them. 

Highland Norms:  Our leadership team started the process of re-establishing some building-wide norms.  While we did not see 100% participation in the survey there is more than enough to start the process and you are still welcome to provide input.  Our goal is to use strengths-based language to develop the norms we will bring back to the whole staff.  It’s important to remember this always a process, so it’s never truly finished, and the process is as important as the product.  The following link is still active;  Input

Fall Culminations: Your culmination times and locations should all be displayed on the google calendar and we added your set up info into our “SchoolDude” app.   If anything changes regarding your set up needs, please be sure to communicate those ahead of time so we can accurately reflect them.

SLGGs: I still don’t have the more user-friendly forms for you, but I am trying.  Hang in there.

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs):  Are you interested in connecting with colleagues who can relate to your identity and experiences?  Looking for an opportunity to build community, network, develop recommendations for more inclusive workplaces, and seek joy and fun with colleagues who share similar experiences and identities?  

In Bend-La Pine Schools, we value and honor diverse staff perspectives, which enrich our collective work and help us best serve all students and families.  It is our goal that each staff member feels safe, supported, and proud to share our authentic selves in the workplace, in a way that upholds the mission and values of our district.  

As one of many efforts to create a more inclusive workplace climate, Bend-La Pine Schools invites you to join an Employee Resource Group!  Learn more, check out the groups currently offered, and sign up here.

Jennifer Hauth–Social Emotional & Mental Well-Being – Check out this awesome short video on teaching students active listening.    

The Harmony Meet Up or Buddy Up is an opportunity for students to practice active listening. During your morning meeting consider having specific students share and giving every student a chance to share during the week at meet up on different days. When only a few students share aloud you will have time to have students learn to practice active listening with their classmates. Here are the response prompts from Harmony to help students learn to respond to fellow classmates.

From Heidi Thomas and Highland’s Culture of Care Team: This week’s SIW is brought to you by the Culture of Care Team! We will be focusing on Classroom 180 so please bring your book with you to the library. 

Our next assembly is coming up on November 4th at 1:30. We will NOT have a spirit day that day as we will have just had costume day. I am also assuming the district will have college/career day in Novemember as well. Thanks for your flexibility! 

• Staff Shout Outs are back! Please fill out this form and we will announce them once a month at our staff meetings! 
• Here is our assembly plan and sign up. 
• October’s discussion sentence starter is:  I aspire to be…
  • Character Trait: Courage/Passion
  • SEL Focus: Self Awareness

Key Links:

Shout Outs 

COVID Reporting Form 

Highland Literacy Resources 

2022-2023 Staff Meetings – Agendas & Notes

2022-2023 Master Schedule   

FYI Ticket   

SEL Concerns

How’s It Going 

Week Preview: PLC Week – PLC Form – ICCLs please use this during your PLC meetings this week.

• Monday 10/24
  • 11:45-2:00 Green’s class to BSS
• Tuesday 10/25
  • 11:45-2:00 Vickery’s class to BSS
• Wednesday 10/26
  • 1:15-1:45 Staff Meeting
  • 1:45-3:15 Culture of Care
• Thursday 10/27
• Friday 10/28
  • 4:00-6:00 PTO Trunk or Treat – Please plan on clearing out the parking lot as soon as possible.  It will be a great day to start your weekend at 3:15 on the dot!  (=

Highland Staff Calendar 

Conferences: If you would like Heidi or me to join you at a conference please let us know and we will get it on the calendar.  I plan on making one of the mini-observations with a conference with everyone either in the fall or spring, so if I could join several of you this time it will help manage the numbers.  If we don’t do one this time around, please plan on me joining you in the spring conferences.

PTO Update:  

• As of today, we are about 80% toward the giving campaign goal with a little over 40K! 
• Book Fair is happening on Monday 11/7 from 7:30-7:00pm.  
• Trunk or Treat has around 38 cars participating so far.  
• Parents are hyped to bring you food for conferences.

SRP Staff Training: This is tentatively rescheduled for 10/27 at 2:30.

Follow-up survey: Please use the following link to provide input on the Highland Norms.  Input

Follow-up from Lindsley: Kudos to Lindsley for taking the time to help us on our foundational skills journey!   Below is a message she asked me to share;

Here are the slides I shared. There are some links to resources BUT Kaelynn is your most valuable resource BY FAR!

I never mentioned Lexia, but those are definitely resources they can use in pulling small groups, too. So many resources, it is just a matter of matching the right ones with the right teaching style and kids’ needs (that is Kaelynn’s superpower)!

Here is the spelling inventory (if folks use the Words Their Ways version, no worries, just want to get people consistent down the pike). Spelling inventories can really tell the story of each classroom’s kids and help the teacher see that foundational skills is for “my kids” too. Even if they are not quite sure how to teach into it yet, that is ok, but just recognizing the need can be empowering!

From Heidi Thomas and Highland’s Culture of Care Team: 

• Staff Shout Outs are back! Please fill out this form and we will announce them once a month at our staff meetings! 
• Here is our assembly plan and sign up. We are looking for a class or grade level to sign up for our November Assembly Video (Responsibility).
• October’s discussion sentence starter is:  I aspire to be…
  • Character Trait: Courage/Passion
  • SEL Focus: Self Awareness

Key Links:

Shout Outs 

COVID Reporting Form 

Highland Literacy Resources 

2022-2023 Staff Meetings – Agendas & Notes

2022-2023 Master Schedule   

FYI Ticket   

SEL Concerns

How’s It Going 

Week Preview:

• Monday 10/17
  • 2:30-3:15 Storyline Team Meeting
• Tuesday 10/18
  • 1:45-2:00 Earthquake Drill – No evacuation
  • 2:30-3:30 Leadership
• Wednesday 10/19
  • Conference Prep
  • Conferences 
• Thursday 10/20
  • Conferences
• Friday 10/21

Highland Staff Calendar