SEL Concerns Ticket Please use this if you have concerns with a student’s lagging SEL skills and you would like to do some collaboration with us (Heidi T. and/or Brian) to problem solve. Thanks!
FYI Ticket Please use this if you have an incident or recurring incidents with a student. This helps us with follow through, communication and data. Thank you!!!!!
YouthTruth Survey – The YouthTruth survey is open until 1/28. Here’s the link to the staff survey.
Highland Culture of Care: Our character trait for the month of January is kindness. Thank you to the kindergarten team for signing up to make a video for the January assembly on the 28th Here is the link to our year long assembly plan with a few kindness resources. I also have some great books on kindness in my office.
As a team, we are continuing to read Classroom 180. Our next SIW will be on February 2nd and we plan on discussing domains 2 and 3. We also want to hear from YOU! The plan is to hold another “Fishbowl” to discuss regulation and using the language of trauma. You can also bring your wonderings and problems that need solving! Thanks! ~Heidi Thomas
SEL Lessons: Reminder, I (Heidi) am ALWAYS happy to come in and teach what I call an anchor SEL lesson! I also love helping teachers brainstorm ways to integrate SEL into their day. I have a lot of resources to share with you, just let me know what you need. This is the time of year when we start to see behaviors showing up more frequently and at higher rates. Class meetings, restorative circles and targeted lessons are just a few ways we can help mitigate them.
Attendance: FYI – We changed the way we are coding covid cases and quarantine cases in attendance to help with 10 days drops. – see Ashley with any questions. If you notice a student showing up to the classroom who has a C19 already in their attendance, please let the office know and we’ll look into it. Thank you for your patience with this evolving system.
SafeTouch: As of 1/20/22 we are putting all SafeTouch lessons on hold district-wide. There is work being done to provide updated material and new format for next year.
State Testing: SBAC is happening this spring, so please put this on your radar. We’ll target the weeks of May 16-20 and May 23-27 as our primary testing window.
From Kinsey – Just a reminder about some upcoming months and some resources for each. Look for more resources from Christie Boen.
Ordering supplies – in hopes of making this a little more accessible, here is the form for providing your orders for Ashley. Be sure to make a copy each time you use it and that will keep the original ready for next time. Ordering Form
Storyline Design Course: Save the date June 27-July 1. We may have an opportunity to provide the storyline design course in Bend this summer. More details later.
SEL Concerns Ticket Please use this if you have concerns with a student’s lagging SEL skills and you would like to do some collaboration with us (Heidi T. and/or Brian) to problem solve. Thanks!
FYI Ticket Please use this if you have an incident or recurring incidents with a student. This helps us with follow through, communication and data. Thank you!!!!!
YouthTruth Survey – The YouthTruth survey is open until 1/28. Here’s the link to the staff survey.
Highland Culture of Care: Our character trait for the month of January is kindness. Thank you to the kindergarten team for signing up to make a video for the January assembly on the 28th Here is the link to our year long assembly plan with a few kindness resources. I also have some great books on kindness in my office.
As a team, we are continuing to read Classroom 180. Our next SIW will be on February 2nd and we plan on discussing domains 2 and 3. We also want to hear from YOU! The plan is to hold another “Fishbowl” to discuss regulation and using the language of trauma. You can also bring your wonderings and problems that need solving! Thanks! ~Heidi Thomas
SEL Lessons: Reminder, I (Heidi) am ALWAYS happy to come in and teach what I call an anchor SEL lesson! I also love helping teachers brainstorm ways to integrate SEL into their day. I have a lot of resources to share with you, just let me know what you need. This is the time of year when we start to see behaviors showing up more frequently and at higher rates. Class meetings, restorative circles and targeted lessons are just a few ways we can help mitigate them.
Inside Lunch: While our temps are still so low, please assume we are eating inside unless we announce otherwise. When we do make a last minute change, we will do our best to get the word around, but even with email and PA announcements it seems like somebody always misses it – so we apologize up front. Thanks for your flexibility.
Plumbing Construction: So far so good. The problem areas were identified and fixed. Unfortunately we won’t be able to repave the areas for a while as the winter weather is not ideal for paving. We may have to deal with a gravel patch for several weeks before that can be fixed, but we should not have to deal with the flooding into the basement any longer.
Remote Learning Preparation – The following is the gist of what I attempted to share on Wednesday last week – this is just keeping the information fresh and available – nothing has changed since last week, except we are covering the staff absences at a much better rate than those first couple days;
Here in Bend-La Pine we are committed to in-person instruction and currently have no intention of moving to this delivery model. However, with this new Omicron Covid strain spreading rapidly we need to be prepared. Here are resources to help prepare…
Targeted Remote Learning (Ready, Set, Go) document in case a specific class had to be quarantined. This document has helpful information that should be reviewed. Focus . It would be a good idea to review this document again and specifically focus on these things…
Remote Learning Schedules – These are schedules teachers can use or if last year’s schedule worked well for them and their students they can resurrect those.
iPads – how would you deploy these and send them home with kids [if they are already kept at school]?
Hot Spots – if you have a family who needs access to these, please let Brian/Ashley know – we will take it from there.
SeeSaw, Google classroom, Google Docs, Gmail, and WebEx – Are your teachers and your students familiar with these systems and programs?
Again, we don’t have any intention of transitioning to remote learning. But if we’re using the “Ready, Set, Go” model this is our time to review our “Ready” status. As Steve Austin said, “If it looks like it might rain, you’d bring your umbrella with you.” Find your umbrella.
5-day return – be sure to check out the district update from January 13th to see information regarding new quarantine rules for staff. This should help tremendously with staffing shortages across the district.
Just another follow up/reminder on some topics from Alandra and Tami that were sent our way later in the day yesterday. Please communicate these things to your staff in your newsletters.
From Skip: All staff received the Staff COVID-19 Response & Recovery Update email. This is a new regular communication to help keep staff members up-to-date about COVID-19 in Bend-La Pine Schools and address frequently asked questions. You can find a copy of the message sent here: https://bls.fyi/covidjan13 .
As a reminder, all staff should be advised to contact their supervisor for any COVID related questions/concerns outside of school hours. It is important for nurses and contact tracers to have personal time during non-school hours. When supervisors/administrators are contacted by school staff, administrators should refer to the Staff COVID-19 Response and Recovery Newsletter to help answer questions. After reviewing the Staff COVID-19 Response and Recovery Newsletter, if principals/administrators still have questions and it is an urgent matter, please reach out to nurse Michelle Spetic AND Tami Pike via email.
SEL Concerns Ticket Please use this if you have concerns with a student’s lagging SEL skills and you would like to do some collaboration with us (Heidi T. and/or Brian) to problem solve. Thanks!
FYI Ticket Please use this if you have an incident or recurring incidents with a student. This helps us with follow through, communication and data. Thank you!!!!!
YouthTruth Survey – The YouthTruth survey is open until 1/28. Here’s the link to the staff survey.
Highland Culture of Care: Our character trait for the month of January is kindness. Thank you to the kindergarten team for signing up to make a video for the January assembly on the 28th Here is the link to our year long assembly plan with a few kindness resources. I also have some great books on kindness in my office.
As a team, we are continuing to read Classroom 180. Our next SIW will be on February 2nd and we plan on discussing domains 2 and 3. We also want to hear from YOU! The plan is to hold another “Fishbowl” to discuss regulation and using the language of trauma. You can also bring your wonderings and problems that need solving!
Recess: In response to some concerns expressed on Wednesday, our Culture of Care team will brainstorm some ideas on how to help push out some recess reminders. Until then, if you would like Brian or myself to come in and do a group or class problem solving activity with any of your students experiencing some issues at recess, we are happy to do so! Just reach out!!! More on this later.
SEL Lessons: Reminder, I am ALWAYS happy to come in and teach what I call an anchor SEL lesson! I also love helping teachers brainstorm ways to integrate SEL into their day. I have a lot of resources to share with you, just let me know what you need. This is the time of year when we start to see behaviors showing up more frequently and at higher rates. Class meetings, restorative circles and targeted lessons are just a few ways we can help mitigate them.
PTO Update: As of this date, the giving campaign is just under $50,000, which is about $5,000 shy of the original goal. My feeling is this is really amazing considering we were unable to hold any of the in-person community-building events that help with giving campaign momentum. I am feeling really appreciative and grateful, so I hope you all join me in these sentiments. The five-thousand dollar shortfall will likely be negated with the line items we cannot do due to the pandemic (Field trips, Bend Sci Center, etc.), so I think we can expect to fund just about everything else at a full or nearly full level.
Plumbing Construction: It looks like we will continue to have some minor construction working on fixing the plumbing issue that was causing the leaking into the basement rooms. The broken pipe was located and removed (behind the bike racks) however there is a blockage further down the line (somewhere in the middle of the playground) that will need to be replaced to allow the water to flow to the city storm drain system. Right now there is a pump removing the runoff as it builds up to keep it out of the basement. I hope to hear soon when we can expect to see the other blockage fixed, however this will cause us to lose a part of the playground for some time while the work is being completed. Hopefully this can be completed over a weekend, but I think we all know that’s wishful thinking. PS – the foundation is fine.
Educator Network Day (Julie)
January 12th is the next Educator Network Professional Learning Date.
Please check to see what you signed up for in Performance Matters or sign up for a session in Performance Matters
K-1 teachers and Reading Specialists will attend the Foundational Skills training in your building. Time: 1:30-3:00. Your administrator will facilitate this session.
SEL Concerns Ticket Please use this if you have concerns with a student’s lagging SEL skills and you would like to do some collaboration with us (Heidi T. and/or Brian) to problem solve. Thanks!
FYI Ticket Please use this if you have an incident or recurring incidents with a student. This helps us with follow through, communication and data. Thank you!!!!! New and improved: You can now check more than one teacher for each FYI! Please use this function when more than one student is involved (including the victim if there is one).
YouthTruth Survey – The YouthTruth survey will be opening on January 3rd to families and staff.
Highland Culture of Care: Our character trait for the month of January is kindness. Thank you to the kindergarten team for signing up to make a video for the January assembly on the 21st. Here is the link to our year long assembly plan with a few kindness resources. I also have some great books on kindness in my office.
As a team, we are continuing to read Classroom 180. Our next SIW will be on February 2nd and we plan on discussing domains 2 and 3. We also want to hear from YOU! The plan is to hold another “Fishbowl” to discuss regulation and using the language of trauma. You can also bring your wonderings and problems that need solving!
SLGGs – Listed below are the forms I have submitted so far, if you are not yet on the list please get these to me before you leave for break. See previous post if you need some guidance on these or feel free to talk to me.
Kinder – All
1st Grade – All
2/3 – All
4/5 – All
Heidi Evans
Storyline Release Days – I met with Skip about the need for Storyline planning and development. We are still not able to use subs for PD as this is a district-wide issue, however he agreed to a “next-best-step”. If you would like to be compensated at the curriculum rate for time outside contract hours, then we can start to access those funds for storyline planning time. This is a bit of a gray area of concern but we can revisit the reasons for this at a later date.
Moving forward;
Talk with your team and come up with your plan for using this time, for example, 2-hour blocks on weekday evenings (after contract hours) OR maybe 4 to 8 hour blocks on the weekend.
The PTO budget line item supports approximately 24 total hours per teacher.
Typically we expected at least 16 of those hours to be used as a team, with 8 hours allowed for individuals when necessary. My advice is to team as much as possible to share the workload and provide creative support (work smarter, not harder).
In addition to the typical planning and preparation, it’s important to bring an equity lens to this work as well. Every effort should be made to increase representation of diverse groups, voices and perspectives.
When you have some solid dates planned, please share these with Ashley. Be sure to complete your time-sheet within the appropriate pay-period.
We will work on PTO reimbursing the district for these hours.
Email or talk to me with any questions.
Building Access and Snow – Just some friendly reminders;
Our clearest, most reliable access to the main building is via the room 14 door. The ramp, landing area and stairs are heated and cleared. Zach will do his best to get the sidewalk cleared from the parking lot to the ramp.
Please avoid the other staircases if you can so we can get those cleared before the snow gets packed down.
The west side staircase on the gym is unfortunately very difficult to keep clear, so use this at your own risk. No matter how much we try, we simply cannot get to it before people walk on it AND the roof drops incredibly stubborn icy cement right back on it.
When walking along the gym, always keep an eye on the roof; it’s designed to slough off the snow so be aware so you don’t become an avalanche victim.
Windows and Indoor Temps – we’ll need to categorize this under the “darned-if-you-do, darned-if-you-don’t” category [and read this with a smile on your face and a chuckle in your heart]…I’ve had a few inquiries from parents about the cold temperatures of the classrooms due to the open windows, wondering if there is a policy about this. My response is the following; “There is no specific school policy around open windows and room temperatures, however there was quite a bit of “guidance” about keeping windows open to allow for increased ventilation to mitigate the spread of COVID. Teachers are doing their best to keep everyone safe from the virus.” Every response was supportive and understanding. My advice moving forward is to just be aware of when the room temperature is getting cold enough to make it difficult to learn or participate in the learning activities. It’s reasonable to expect kids to dress in layers, but if they are feeling the need to put their snow gear on while inside, then it’s probably a good time to open the windows a little less. [Also, the district message is this; we have robust filtration systems that circulate and filter the air at more efficient rate when windows are closed. This is also more energy and cost efficient.]
From Julie- DIBELS Training – We have a training for educational assistant or interventionist that may need to refresh their DIBELS administration skills, a training course will be offered on January 5th from 8:30-12:30 at Trinity Church. Please see me if you are interested.
From Quinn Daily – I am planning to offer a course for teachers on differentiated instruction starting in January and I am wondering if you would add a post on your blog to help me advertise the class? Teachers can register on performance matters. Here is the direct link. This course will support you in providing differentiated instruction both in a virtual and face-to-face classroom settings. Participants will come away with a better understanding of what differentiated instruction is and will have created a differentiated instruction lesson to be implemented in the classroom this year. This course is run completely through Canvas, with a group share on the last day of the course. The dates of the class are from January 18th – February 22nd.
From Jackie Wilson re: Sustainability Update – Thanks to everyone who reminded their staff about the Holiday SOP over Thanksgiving. Facilities checked in on 5 schools and they all looked great in terms of energy conservation, overall the buildings were shut down. Please remind staff of the importance of conservation strategies over the two-week break and specifically to make sure all mini-fridges are emptied and unplugged.
SEL Concerns Ticket Please use this if you have concerns with a student’s lagging SEL skills and you would like to do some collaboration with us (Heidi T. and/or Brian) to problem solve. Thanks!
FYI Ticket Please use this if you have an incident or recurring incidents with a student. This helps us with follow through, communication and data. Thank you!!!!! New and improved: You can now check more than one teacher for each FYI! Please use this function when more than one student is involved (including the victim if there is one).
Staff Shout Outs are BACK! Please fill out when you see/hear about the great things our staff is doing. I keep forgetting to make the time to share these, so I might come up with an alternative to share these great deeds and compliments!
Highland Culture of Care is looking for teachers and/or grade levels to sign up for assembly videos! You can do that here. We still need someone for December (Generosity), thank you!!!
Our character trait for November is Gratitude! Here is a link to some gratitude ideas from The Greater Good.
Holiday Party – Thank you to Ashley and Sam for hosting our holiday gathering! Looking forward to it!
Lexia Fishbowl Activity – Thank you to everyone for your participation and especially your humor with the Lexia Fishbowl Activity yesterday. I really appreciate our “voluneteered” inner circle participants putting themselves out there as well as the questions, feedback and contributions of our outer circle. My hope is everyone came away with something positive from the experience AND I hope to make using Lexia easier and easier for you with every opportunity we get.
Indoor Lunch – next week is looking like we may have our first full week of indoor lunch given the report as it reads right now. If you have not done so, please take some time to update your seating charts. If you get a call from a contact tracer, this will make things easier to communicate.
Release Days for Storyline Planning – although the substitute situation is improving dramatically week by week, we are not yet approved to use subs for planned PD.
Craft Day $$ – If you are planning on providing some form of your own craft day next week, there is a line item in the PTO budget under the Priority 3 expenses for supplies that comes to $50 per classroom. The original intention of this line item is/was to allow for parents [based on pre-pandemic experience with parent volunteers] to submit for reimbursement for up to $50 for supplies when they bought and volunteered in the classrooms. Since volunteers won’t be able to contribute this year, we felt this could be utilized to mitigate use of your classroom fund balance. If you did or will be buying some supplies specifically for a craft day experience, then these will be a separate reimbursement request to PTO as these are not part of your classroom storyline funds we now manage in our Student Body Account. If you bring these to me, I can work on getting them processed. It should be noted that we have not met the giving campaign goal yet, so technically not all the priority 3 items will be funded if we do not reach that goal, but that will simply cause the board to make some budget cuts to other line items.
“Test to Stay” – just as an FYI for everyone, I will be attending a webex at 1:30 Friday regarding the new Test to Stay process recently released by the state. From what I’ve read so far, this has some potential to add quite a bit to the office activity, as well as some more confusion regarding quartines, etc.
Nutrition Service Announcement:
In response to new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules, Bend-La Pine Schools will no longer offer “grab and go after school snack/supper” for all students in the new year. Instead, as of January 3, 2022, “snack/supper” will be available only to students enrolled in after school academic programs, such as Kids Inc.. Breakfast and lunch will continue to be provided for all students at no cost for the remainder of the 2021-2022 school year.
SLGG Form– Here is a link to the SLGG form – If you or your team have questions about these and you would like to meet, please let me know. Let’s have these submitted by Friday 12/17.
LEXIA SLGGs –Here is a screencast video explaining this process. Your goal could be written similar to this; “Students working in below grade level material will make ambitious growth [5 levels or better]. Students working at or above grade level material will make typical growth [4 levels].” This goal is more directed and beneficial to students as it promotes more intentional use, completing the required units rather than just time on the program.
If you use Dreambox then here is a recommended goal; “During this school year, 100% of students will meet usage recommendations* and will make at least one year’s growth in Dreambox.” [*>5 lessons per week] The Dreambox Impact Report shows the progress from the start of the year.
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 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. Stephanie Bent will send you a link from HSI/Medic to get started ([email protected]).
Please check your Junk Mail if it does not appear in your regular inbox.
3. After each section of the online session, there will be a one or two question quiz.
4. 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.
5. The in-person skills assessment will be done in 30-minute increments with 1 to 6 person ratio (20 minutes for the class and 10 minutes to clean and sanitize equipment).
6. First Aid cards will not be sent out until both portions of the class are completed.
The class currently in Performance Matters opens 12/3/2021 with a completion date by 1/28/2022.
SEL Concerns Ticket Please use this if you have concerns with a student’s lagging SEL skills and you would like to do some collaboration with us (Heidi T. and/or Brian) to problem solve. Thanks!
FYI Ticket Please use this if you have an incident or recurring incidents with a student. This helps us with follow through, communication and data. Thank you!!!!! New and improved: You can now check more than one teacher for each FYI! Please use this function when more than one student is involved (including the victim if there is one).
Staff Shout Outs are BACK! Please fill out when you see/hear about the great things our staff is doing.
Highland Culture of Care is looking for teachers and/or grade levels to sign up for assembly videos! You can do that here. Our character trait for December is Generosity!
Lexia Celebrations:
We have a lot to celebrate when examining our Lexia progress as a K-5 school.
Highland is leading the charge in our use of Lexia to address unfinished learning for our students due to the pandemic. When you examine the graphic above, where usage is high we have a high percentage of students on track to be proficient or better with their grade level material. When students are well-informed of the importance and necessity of completing their units, their usage and performance goes up [this falls under the high-leverage teaching practices of Clear learning intentions and success criteria as well as and building student ownership of their learning.]
The graphic above shows our growth from the start of the year to now with the percentage of students moving into grade level content or higher. Although I know there are reservations about the use of iPads, it’s really difficult to argue against such highly individualized learning for all students at all levels. This program provides such varied opportunities for learning that are just not humanly possible to provide in a normal classroom school day. Again, the goal/intention is not to constantly advocate for more Lexia or more Dreambox, we are advocating for the “just-right” amount for each child.
Dreambox Celebrations:
The graphic above shows a nice contrast between the group of students completing the usage goal of 5 or more lessons per week versus two other groups. Students completing 5 or more lessons are progressing at almost twice the rate as students completing between 2 and 5 lessons per week.
Above you can see our percentage of students moving into the “on-track” category for being proficient or better with grade level content. 86% of our students are currently on track with being proficient with their grade level content as of the end of November.
Hiring Update: We are planning on doing our interviews for the secretary position on Wednesday 12/8 in the late afternoon.
Storyline Classroom Funds: Ashley is working on these for you this week. Thanks for your patience.
HB 3294 – The dispensers in the bathroom will be filled in the coming weeks. The advice we are given is to keep the only partially filled at first, as there have been some issues with them being stuffed in the toilet, causing blockages.
SLGG Form– Here is a link to the SLGG form – If you or your team have questions about these and you would like to meet, please let me know.
LEXIA SLGGs – For those of you interested in using Lexia as one of your SLGGs goals, Jenn Montoya made a screen cast for how to use your Lexia data to set your baseline and determine the goals for your students for typical growth and ambitious growth. Here is a screencast video explaining this process. This is a very straightforward and relevant way to both complete your SLGG and impact your students’ learning with this program.
Week Preview:
PLC Week: PLC Form– every other week you will see this prompt for our designated PLC weeks. Your team is always permitted to meet more frequently, but for the purposes of these PLCs we are only requiring the form for these designated weeks.
SEL Concerns Ticket Please use this if you have concerns with a student’s lagging SEL skills and you would like to do some collaboration with us (Heidi T. and/or Brian) to problem solve. Thanks!
FYI Ticket Please use this if you have an incident or recurring incidents with a student. This helps us with follow through, communication and data. Thank you!!!!! New and improved: You can now check more than one teacher for each FYI! Please use this function when more than one student is involved (including the victim if there is one).
Staff Shout Outs are BACK! Please fill out when you see/hear about the great things our staff is doing.
Office Manager Update – Be sure to congratulate Ashley Chally, as she is now our official new Office Manager! I cannot share enough kudos to Ashley for stepping up and taking on the added responsibility! The secretary position will be posted soon; hoping to get that position filled during the time period between Thanksgiving Break and Winter Break.
Highland Culture of Care is looking for teachers and/or grade levels to sign up for assembly videos! You can do that here. We still need someone for December (Generosity), thank you!!!
Our character trait for November is Gratitude! Here is a link to some gratitude ideas from The Greater Good.
In case you didn’t see this last week… This article from Edutopia popped into my inbox recently and relates really well to the SIW we did on trauma informed practices and the book, Classroom 180. How to Maslow Before Bloom, All Day Long.
Student Success Support This is something Megan and I (Heidi T.) put together in order to help with understanding of what it looks like to get support from our SST (Student Success Team) which will start to encompass what was formerly known as IPS. Because of this, we will likely be adding to this form shortly.
21-22 MTSS/EBISS Recommendations – this provides some concrete recommendations of the adult actions and resources needed in the different Tiers.
MTSS/EBISS meetings – We got through most of K-3 of these meetings. The shift is happening but we still have work to do. Continuing to develop the PLCs to impact instruction for all students will be crucial to smoothing the future MTSS/EBISS meetings. The more we can learn to focus conversation on instruction, the better we can serve all our students. Some key overarching questions that might help with the mind and cultural shift are the following;
What are the barriers for these students in question that might be limiting their access to learning?
What can you do to remove those barriers?
SafeTouch: This year Brian and Heidi will be splitting up the classes to teach SafeTouch. Heidi will teach 4th/5th and 1st grades, Brian will teach 2nd/3rd and Kindergarten. We will reach out to you about scheduling your classes.
HB 3294 Toolkit – ODE shared some information on the Menstrual Dignity for Students linked here; At A Glance I believe our district health committee is still working on some more specific guidance for us, but this “at-a-glance” document is useful and you can explore the more thorough toolkit if you are interested.
SEL Steering Committee – Are you currently using social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum or strategies in your classroom or school building? Please take a moment to apply to be on our SEL steering committee by Friday, December 3rd. We are looking for certified, classified and administrators to serve on the team. Student and family input will be part of the process as well. We will meet monthly beginning in mid-December.
This reminds me of when the kids I was babysitting locked me out of the house. 🙂 – Jenn
“No, Cam, you may not leave your desk and go play until you write 100 times ‘I will not dip Aimee’s hair in the inkwell’!” – JJ
From Jackie Wilson – Here are the Standard Operating Procedures for Holiday Shutdowns. Please see that these can be done before you break for the week okk. In addition, here is a monthly update.
Holiday shut down – As the Thanksgiving break is upon us, please help remind staff that they are responsible for shutting down all classroom electronics at the power strip to prevent unnecessary energy use over the holiday and to empty and unplug any mini-fridges. The Standard Operating Procedure (Holiday SOP) is attached to review.
Sustainability updates – Compost is back at Miller elementary school, West Side Village, and at the Bend High Commissary Kitchen. It is a great step in reducing our impact.
Energy updates – Caldera High school is just starting to gather billing data but is performing pretty great in terms of energy. Here is September billing data for some comparisons.
Caldera – 32,800 kWh
Summit – 95,100 kWh
Bend High- 106,011 kWh
Mountain View -97,203 kWh
REALMS -32,040 kWh
LPHS -68,644 kWh
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Our School District offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to help staff navigate life stressors and/or manage life changing events. The EAP program is administered by Reliant Behavioral Health (RBH). The services they offer at no cost to Bend La-Pine School district staff members (minus substitute teachers) are outlined below.
Counseling Resources
24- hour Crisis Help
In-Person Counseling
Telephonic Counseling
Online Consultations
Work-Life Resources
Childcare Resources
Adult/Eldercare Resources
Financial Services
Legal Services
Mediation Services
Online Legal Forms
Home Ownership Programs
Identity Theft Services
The counseling resources come with three visits in a rolling calendar year with the possibility of additional visits on a case-by-case situation as determined by a RBH. The goal is to offer counseling services for single focused short term mental health.
To find out more about your EAP, schedule a counseling appointment, or access services call RHB at 866-750-1327 or visit MyRBH.com to find out more. Access Code is OEBB. You can also access EAP information on the portal as well as this flyer about EAP services. Thanks, the HR Benefits Team ([email protected])
Shout out to my Dad, Peter Kissell, for his service!
SEL Concerns Ticket Please use this if you have concerns with a student’s lagging SEL skills and you would like to do some collaboration with us (Heidi T. and/or Brian) to problem solve. Thanks!
FYI Ticket Please use this if you have an incident or recurring incidents with a student. This helps us with follow through, communication and data. Thank you!!!!! New and improved: You can now check more than one teacher for each FYI! Please use this function when more than one student is involved (including the victim if there is one).
Staff Shout Outs are BACK! Please fill out when you see/hear about the great things our staff is doing.
Highland Culture of Care is looking for teachers and/or grade levels to sign up for assembly videos! You can do that here. We still need someone for December, thank you!!!
Our character trait for November is Gratitude! Here is a link to some gratitude ideas from The Greater Good. The next assembly will be on November 19th at 1:30 and our spirit day will fall in line with the district college and career day if it is happening.
This article from Edutopia popped into my inbox recently and relates really well to the SIW we did on trauma informed practices and the book, Classroom 180. How to Maslow Before Bloom, All Day Long.
Recess Reminders from our amazing recess coaches (EA’s but a kindergartener called them coaches and we kinda love it): Snack is tricky to monitor. If your class is eating snack during recess, please remind them to sit and eat on one of the lunch dots. They are seeing a lot of kids walking and running around while eating and this makes them feel uncomfortable.
Another reminder for your classes is, if you need to go back in the building for any reason during recess, please let a recess teacher (coach!) know. It is also helpful if they check back in with the adult when they return to the playground.
One last thing- it might be helpful to replay the recess expectations when students return after Thanksgiving Break. Our EA’s feel like recess is going relatively well but are also seeing some disrespectful responses to redirection on the playground.
Thank you “recess coaches” for being so amazing, we appreciate you!!!!
Student Success Support This is something Megan and I (Heidi T.) put together in order to help with understanding of what it looks like to get support from our SST (Student Success Team) which will start to encompass what was formerly known as IPS. Because of this, we will likely be adding to this form shortly.
Masking – Please keep your mask on your face covering your nose and mouth. Pulling the mask away from your face defeats the purpose. If you find yourself doing this often, it’s time to try a different mask. Thanks for keeping your colleagues and students comfortable and safe.
SEL Concerns Ticket Please use this if you have concerns with a student’s lagging SEL skills and you would like to do some collaboration with us (Heidi T. and/or Brian) to problem solve. Thanks!
FYI Ticket Please use this if you have an incident or recurring incidents with a student. This helps us with follow through, communication and data. Thank you!!!!! New and improved: You can now check more than one teacher for each FYI! Please use this function when more than one student is involved (including the victim if there is one).
Staff Shout Outs are BACK! Please fill out when you see/hear about the great things our staff is doing.
Highland Culture of Care is looking for teachers and/or grade levels to sign up for assembly videos! You can do that here. Thank you!!!
Our character trait for November is Gratitude! Look for books coming soon in the library as well as some ideas linked to the assembly calendar. The next assembly will be on November 19th at 1:30 and our spirit day will fall in line with the district college and career day if it is happening.
Your Culture of Care team will be leading the SIW on Nov. 3rd. If you have a copy of Classroom 180, please bring it to the SIW. Don’t have it? Have no fear, we can fix that!
Student Success Support Please look over this document before the November 3rd SIW. It is something Megan and I (Heidi T.) put together in order to help with understanding of what it looks like to get support from our SST (Student Success Team).
Flu Shots – Friendly reminder to protect your health and get those flu shots.
PTO Update – The PTO board met last night to discuss a variety of things including some requests for funding. Since the Giving Campaign is about one-third fulfilled I suggested they consider releasing approximately half of the Storyline Class Funds line item. Once we receive the check we can distribute this to teachers, so within the next week you can expect to have $400 ready to use for storyline items (in addition to any supply funds you still have from the $450 you received in August). These funds can be used for your own storyline needs or your grade level needs and you do not need to send the request to PTO; these purchases go through Ashley. Please see me if you have any questions.
Equity Team – You are invited to join our building E-team on Wednesday 11/17 for the first meeting. One overarching purpose is to coordinate opportunities to check our current practices against our collective values, rights, and responsibilities.
Masking – Please keep your mask on your face covering your nose and mouth. Pulling the mask away from your face defeats the purpose. If you find yourself doing this often, it’s time to try a different mask. Thanks for keeping your colleagues and students comfortable and safe.
SIW update – based on your input here’s the proposed plan for the upcoming SIWs up to winter break;
11/10 – Staff Meeting & PLC Workshop
11/17 – Teacher Prep & Optional Equity Team
12/1 – Storyline
12/8 – Staff Meeting & Storyline
12/15 – Teacher Prep & Optional Storyline
SRP Training – The following dates are being provided for any new hires this past year and anyone interested in a refresher training on the Standard Response Protocol. Please sign up in PD place.
WHEN: Choose one of the following dates: 11/10, 12/8, 1/12, 2/9, 3/9, 4/6, 5/11
WHEN: 3:00-4:00, one hour in-person
WHERE: Ed Center room 314
TLC Announcement – The decision has been made to split our language arts adoption between 2 years. This school year we will be running a foundational skills adoption. This means we will have a steering committee that meets regularly throughout the year to adopt core beliefs, practices, and materials around Tier 1 and Tier 2 foundational skills (phonemic awareness, phonics, print concepts, and fluency). Implementation of our newly adopted beliefs, practices and instructional materials will begin starting in June of 2022. The second part of the adoption will be language arts which will be more specific to building knowledge of the world, vocabulary building and a building a deeper understanding of what we are reading. Writing instruction will be included in this part of the adoption. Implementation of Part 2 will begin June of 2023. Here is the timeline:
“True support is embedded within instruction.” Mary Ehernworth
Thank you for the time and effort you put into preparing for your conferences. I know there is so much to think about with a lot of diverse perspectives and approaches to conferences, so it’s not an easy task to be ready to address each different family. I hope you will walk away from these conferences feeling confident and inspired by your contact with families. If you were unfortunate enough to experience any negativity, please do not let it dominate your experience.
SEL Concerns Ticket Please use this if you have concerns with a student’s lagging SEL skills and you would like to do some collaboration with us (Heidi T. and/or Brian) to problem solve. Thanks!
FYI Ticket Please use this if you have an incident or recurring incidents with a student. This helps us with follow through, communication and data. Thank you!!!!! New and improved: You can now check more than one teacher for each FYI! Please use this function when more than one student is involved (including the victim if there is one).
Staff Shout Outs are BACK! Please fill out when you see/hear about the great things our staff is doing.
Highland Culture of Care is looking for teachers and/or grade levels to sign up for assembly videos! You can do that here. Thank you!!!
Our character trait for November is Gratitude! Look for books coming soon in the library as well as some ideas linked to the assembly calendar. The next assembly will be on November 19th at 1:30 and our spirit day will fall in line with the district college and career day if it is happening.
Your Culture of Care team will be leading the SIW on Nov. 3rd. If you have a copy of Classroom 180, please bring it to the SIW. Don’t have it? Have no fear, we can fix that!
Student Success Support Please look over this document before the November 3rd SIW. It is something Megan and I (Heidi T.) put together in order to help with understanding of what it looks like to get support from our SST (Student Success Team).
Office Manager Position Update
Ashley will officially be filling this position in a temporary status until we can complete the hiring process. We put a request in for a sub for her secretary position which will help things run during this transition if we can find a sub. The Office Manager position is posted as a temporary position for the remainder of the year.
The following was shared from Oregon Department of Education and I felt it would useful;
How Can Schools Support Intersex Students?
• Use inclusive language in school mission statements, such as a commitment to a safe and supportive campus for all students.
• Affirm students’ right to be free from all forms of sex discrimination at school.
• Adopt policies that respect all students’ gender identities and, where relevant, accurately reflect the diversity of human bodies.
• Advance gender-neutral practices (e.g., have students line up alphabetically).
• Maintain confidentiality about a student’s medical information, except in the limited circumstances where disclosure is legally required.
• Facilitate opportunities for students to find support from peers, teachers, faculty, and staff, such as student-led organizations, and identify or provide supportive resources.
• Provide professional development opportunities for educators on supportive treatment of intersex students.
Equity Team
Our LEAD Cohort members, Erik & Marieka will be reaching out soon to form an Equity Team for our site. One overarching purpose is to coordinate opportunities to check our current practices against our collective values, rights, and responsibilities.
Week Preview:
Monday 11/1
Tuesday 11/2
Safety Team Meeting 2:30-3:15
Wednesday 11/3
Culture of Care SIW 1:45-3:15
Thursday 11/4
Leadership Team Meeting 2:30-3:15
Friday 11/5
From Skip and Tammy:
Evaluation and SLGG Requirement Updates – Here is the link to the Certified Evaluation Update (cliff-notes version below)
# of observations are reduced to 3 per staff member on evaluation cycle and 2 for staff members not on evaluation cycle.
2 of the 3 observations need to be formal for any temp or prob staff.
Reduced # of Domains and standards for evaluation.
SLGGs can still be done using the paper method as used in previous years.
To see some specific guidance and examples of SLGGs click here.
A friendly but serious reminder – if we have suspected symptoms or have tested positive for COVID we must notify our school nurse. Additionally, all staff must be wearing approved masks correctly at all times.
Safe Schools/ Vector Training Deadline – We used to have December 31 as our date to finish Safe Schools aka Vector training. The new date is October 31. In between passing out candy keep your slide moving! Please remind your staff.
