Bronco Notes

Welcome- We would like to introduce our new office manager, Lisa Cameron. She will be joining us Monday! Becky will be able to spend some time here to help with the transition and train Lisa, but will soon be transitioning fully to her new position. Please welcome Lisa to Buckingham and extend some grace and patience as she learns a very important and challenging new role.

STEM Night- Great STEM night. It was great to see so many families and students learning, interacting, and having fun together. Thanks to all who worked so hard planning and thanks to everyone for all of their efforts setting up and cleaning after a long day. Certainly means a lot to be able to have events and build community again.

Class Lists- Next week’s SIW has been set aside for building next year’s class list. We will meet in the library to start and then you can break into your grade levels to create next year’s lists.

Staffing- No new news to report regarding hiring. Still waiting for green light to interview/hire any open positions. Principals have a meeting Monday and there may be some information shared at that meeting.

Character Awards- Please submit your May ‘Dependable’ nominees by the end of the month. We are not having a May character trait assembly, but winners will be announced on morning announcements and will have a picture for the newsletter.

Testing- Testing continues for third through fifth graders until June 2.

Talent show- This is the tentative schedule for talent show auditions:

• 2^nd grade: Tuesday, 5/30, 11:20 – 11:40
• 4^th grade: Tuesday, 5/30, 11:45 – 12:05
• Kindergarten: Wednesday, 5/31, 11:20 – 11:40
• 5^th grade: Wednesday, 5/31, 11:45 – 12:05
• 3^rd grade: Friday, 6/2, 11:20 – 11:40
• 1^st grade: Friday, 6/2, 11:45 – 12:05

Last Week of School- The last week of school is fast approaching. Here is a rundown of what we know for the last week’s events. On Friday, June 9 (technically, not the last week of school), all students will win ice cream. We will deliver the last part of the day. You can eat in your room or take your kids outside. Your choice. On Monday, June 12, we will have our talent show. Tentative start time is 12:45. Wednesday, June 14, will be our field day. Ryan will be creating a schedule that will be shared as soon as it is complete as well as other field day needs/directions. That Wednesday is a regular 2:15 dismissal. Friday, June 16, we will hold our 5th grade promotion that will begin at 9:15. Finally, we will have our last staff meeting right after buses leave at 1:00. Most likely, there will be food…can’t promise anything else.

Upcoming Events

May 22- June 2- State testing continues for grades 3-5

May 23- Kindergarten Orientation- 5:30-6:30

May 24- Obstacle-a-thon- During Pusic

May 24- SIW- Class lists

May 26- Hawaiian Day

May 29- Memorial Day- No School

May 31- SIW- Report Card Prep

June 1- Fire Drill- 12:55

June 7- The annual speech students’ ice cream sundae party will be Wednesday June 7 over the lunch period (kids eat lunch then report to the corral for ice cream).

June 7- SIW- Teacher Prep

June 12- Talent Show

June 14- Field Day- During Pusic- 2:15 dismissal

June 16- 5th Grade Promotion Assembly- For parents

June 16- Last day of school- 12:45 dismissal

Congratulations- Congratulations to Rebecca Morales and Teresa Duvalle for being our certified and classified employees of the year. Both Rebecca and Teresa consistently and genuinely exhibit a positive, caring attitude. They look to help wherever there is a need and put the needs of others before their own. They are humble, dedicated, hard working, caring, selfless and very skilled in what they do. They treat colleagues, students and families with respect and dignity and focus on the good of others rather than finding fault. They build up others rather than tear them down. Needless to say, these are well deserved awards for both Teresa and Rebecca and we genuinely thank them for doing their part to make Buckingham a better place.

Staffing- The Sped department informed Tami Otis this past week that she has been transferred to Highland Elementary. She has already shared the news with her fantastic Sped team. We thank Tami for her many years of valuable and dedicated service to the students, families and staff of Buckingham. Buckingham will miss her, but we have no doubt she will do a fantastic job in her new placement. We have not been given any information regarding a replacement.

We are still waiting on final clearance for our new office manager.

We have no new staffing updates or timelines to share regarding an other hiring at this time.

STEM- STEM night info. Summer STEM Trainings.

More STEM Night Info- Teachers be on the lookout from an email from Rebecca that will outline your Life Science STEM Design challenge to be completed sometime next week (ideally on Monday/Tuesday so we can get photos into a slideshow to share on hallway TV during STEM Night.)

Staff breakfast will be Thursday AM.

Classified staff, please let us know if you are able/willing to help us out Wednesday STEM night from 5:15-7:15.  We will time sheet you for your time.

Spring Dibels- Spring Dibels is next Tuesday. Katie has already shared the schedule with you along with directions. Thanks to Katie for all of her work setting this up for us. Please be flexible as the testing can move more quickly or slowly depending on the number of testers available as well as their experience. Thank you in advance.

Talent show- This is the tentative schedule for talent show auditions:

• 2^nd grade: Tuesday, 5/30, 11:20 – 11:40
• 4^th grade: Tuesday, 5/30, 11:45 – 12:05
• Kindergarten: Wednesday, 5/31, 11:20 – 11:40
• 5^th grade: Wednesday, 5/31, 11:45 – 12:05
• 3^rd grade: Friday, 6/2, 11:20 – 11:40
• 1^st grade: Friday, 6/2, 11:45 – 12:05

Please let Jason know if you see a conflict.

Last Week of School- The last week of school is fast approaching. Here is a rundown of what we know for the last week’s events. On Friday, June 9 (technically, not the last week of school), all students will win ice cream. We will deliver the last part of the day. You can eat in your room or take your kids outside. Your choice. On Monday, June 12, we will have our talent show. Tentative start time is 12:45. We will finalize soon. Wednesday, June 14, will be our field day. Ryan will be creating a schedule that will be shared as soon as it is complete as well as other field day needs/directions. That Wednesday is a regular 2:15 dismissal. Friday, June 16, we will hold our 5th grade promotion that will begin at 9:15. Finally, we will have our last staff meeting right after buses leave at 1:00. Most likely, there will be food…can’t promise anything else.

From Ryan Kelling re: Professional Development Opportunities for Licensed Staff–  Lewis & Clark University is hosting information sessions for already-licensed staff interested in learning more about adding either a Special Education endorsement or a Principal License to their license.

• An online informational session for L&C’s Special Education Generalist added endorsement program will be Wednesday, May 17^th. Tuition is discounted from the typical Lewis & Clark rate, classes are held fully online, and the 18-credit program can be completed in 10 months. Here is a link to register for the information night. 
• An in-person information session for their Principal License cohort will be held at the High Desert ESD’s office in Redmond on Wednesday, May 31^st from 4:00 -6:00 pm. This is a 2-year program that consists of 27 units at a discounted rate. 

Both of these programs would be eligible for 50% tuition reimbursement for Certified staff. More information about the tuition reimbursement program, including an application, on the staff portal.

Upcoming Events- This time of year brings a multitude of events. While we will try to keep the upcoming events in notes updated, please be on the look out for mid-week, oddly timed announcements as things come up.

Upcoming Events

May 15- June 2- State testing continues for grades 3-5

May 15- Staff Meeting- 2:30- Library

May 16- Spring Dibels

May 17- SIW- STEM Night prep

May 17- STEM Night- 5:30 PM- 7:00 PM

May 18- Kindergarten MTSS (last MTSS of 22-23)

May 19- Think Wild Assembly- K-2- 8:00-8:45. Grades 3-5- 9:00-9:45.

May 23- Kindergarten Orientation- 5:30-6:30

May 24- Obstacle-a-thon- During Pusic

May 24- SIW- Class lists

May 29- Memorial Day- No School

May 31- SIW- Report Card Prep

June 1- Fire Drill- 12:55

June 7- SIW- Teacher Prep

June 12- Talent Show

June 14- Field Day- During Pusic- 2:15 dismissal

June 16- 5th Grade Promotion Assembly- For parents

June 16- Last day of school- 12:45 dismissal

Staffing Updates- We are still waiting for the go ahead to hire. The state will have another budget announcement on May 17. We don’t anticipate hearing anything before that time. Administrators have a mandatory meeting on May 22 for Dr. Cook to share budget info and possible impacts on schools. We will keep you posted as we learn more.

Some other staffing announcements- We have offered the office manager position to the interview team’s top choice. She has accepted the position and is now in the process of being cleared by HR. As soon as we are given the green light, we will be able to announce. Our hopeful start date is Monday, May 22.

Kelly Sproba has shared with us that she is resigning from Bend La Pine Schools effective the end of this year.

Deborah Buckman will be taking a one year leave of absence during the 23-24 school year.

Thanks to both Kelly and Deborah for all of their contributions to the Buckingham community and best wishes for their future ( and temporary) pursuits. 🙂

Our staffing plan that needs to be reviewed and approved by elementary directors has been updated to reflect these vacancies. As mentioned in previous notes, whether or not we are able to interview and hire to fill these positions depends on whether or not another school has too many staff and there has to be a transfer. In addition, it is looking like the state’s budgeting numbers will also play a role.

May 10- May 10 is National School Nurse Day. Thanks to Sarah for all she does and has done for our school and students! We appreciate it all!

Testing- Testing will begin next week and ends on Friday, June 2.

• Accommodations and Designated Supports have been entered into the TIDE system. You may want to check this accommodations chart so that you are aware of accommodations. If you would like to check in with me to double check designated supports, I’m happy to do this.
• Snacks are in the office. Thanks to Becky for securing all of those for us.
• You should have a bright neon ‘TESTING DO NO DISTURB” sign for your door.
• Cones with signs will be strategically placed in the halls to remind others to be quiet.
• Students with 504’s who need a separate testing location will go with me in the conference room. I will check in with you to find out when you are testing. I will do my best to provide them a spot at the same time you are testing in your class. If I am unable to do so because I have a duty or dealing with an office situation, those students can stay in class and work on an alternative.
• Testing window ends Friday, June 2.
• Please review and follow the testing environment requirements that you read about in test security training. I also put a hard copy in each of your boxes.
• Lots of questions about multiplication tables. These are only allowable as an accommodation for 4th and 5th graders who have an IEP (or listed as an accommodation in a 504- none here at Buckingham with table as an accommodation in a 504). The table used must be the one in the osas portal (I have a copy). In all likelihood these students will be tested in a separate setting with Kelly W. so there should be no need for multiplication tables in classrooms. If you have an exception to this, please let me know.
• Let me know if you have any other questions.

STEM Info- Next week’s SIW is a teacher prep. May 17 SIW is STEM night prep. Link to STEM night info.

Summer STEM trainings flier

Talent show- This is the tentative schedule for talent show auditions:

• 2^nd grade: Tuesday, 5/30, 11:20 – 11:40
• 4^th grade: Tuesday, 5/30, 11:45 – 12:05
• Kindergarten: Wednesday, 5/31, 11:20 – 11:40
• 5^th grade: Wednesday, 5/31, 11:45 – 12:05
• 3^rd grade: Friday, 6/2, 11:20 – 11:40
• 1^st grade: Friday, 6/2, 11:45 – 12:05

Please let Jason know if you see a schedule conflict or other issue for your grade level.

Upcoming Events

May 10- National School Nurse Day!

May 10- Fire Drill- 9:25

May 10- SIW- Teacher Prep

May 11- 1st Grade MTSS

May 16- Spring Dibels

May 17- SIW- STEM Night prep

May 17- STEM Night- 5:00 PM- 7:00 PM

May 18- Kindergarten MTSS

May 19- Think Wild Assembly- K-2- 8:00-8:45. Grades 3-5- 9:00-9:45.

May 23- Kindergarten Orientation- 5:30-6:30

May 24- SIW- Class lists

May 29- Memorial Day- No School

June 1- Fire Drill- 12:55

STEM Night- Below is an outline of the STEM night/week activities. We will review at an upcoming staff meeting.

• STEM night/week link in Bronco Bulletin.
• STEM Night- Wednesday, May 17, 5:30-7:00 PM
• Complete the google slide with your grade level’s STEM activity for the evening and any support you need.
• We are in need of greeters, table assistance, a photographer, and other support roles. If you are willing to do one of these or have a parent who is willing, please sign up.
• Shane is in need of 1 and 2 liter or 20 oz. plastic bottles for a rocket launch activity.
• STEM team members will be preparing and sharing a STEM challenge that all classes can work on during STEM week. They will present this when completed. There will be a padlet (info to come with the challenge) so that students/classes can display their work.
• We will have an assembly on Friday, May 19. k-2 will be 8:00-8:45. 3-5 will be 9:00-9:45. (most likely as early as we can start). The presentation is titled “Think Wild.” Following the assembly, our guests will set up C-1 with displays of their materials. We will send a sign up sheet for you to schedule a 10-15 minute time for your class to walk through C-1. That sign up will come out by the end of April, most likely in the blog.
• Thursday morning, the day following our STEM night, we’ll have a staff celebration breakfast.
• All of this information will be reviewed at an upcoming staff meeting.

Coaching Corner: News from Marci– Before we turn the corner on April, a few important “To Do’s” to put on your list before the end of the year:

Foundational Skills Assessments

• EOP: Please plan to administer the EOP (End of Program) assessment in Playgrounds sometime in May. This will help inform decisions about what program and what unit each building/grade level will use next year in Really Great Reading. Should take 30ish minutes… unlock in Playgrounds.
• Spelling Inventory: It is also strongly encouraged that you administer the LETRS spelling inventory (Basic for K-2; Advanced for 3-5). Here is a link to these resources. I would be more than happy to help you with inputting your data in a spreadsheet– email me and send me a copy of the inventories and I will do that:). 

Reflecting on FS Instruction

I would love to schedule 30 minutes with each team to reflect on what has worked and what has been clunky about the foundational skills instruction at your grade level (1^st Grade, done!). In the coming weeks, the coaches will be making plans for how to support your instruction next year, and your feedback is critical to this process! What resources we focus on developing, purchasing, and allocating and what professional development we plan will come from these discussions. 

Print your Performance Matters Transcript!

If you’re like me, the email that let us know Performance Matters is going away might have gone to your junk folder. Now that we’ve had our last Educator Network Day of the year, don’t forget to  log into Performance Matters to print your transcript prior to June 30^th. Your Performance Matters transcript can be helpful in the license renewal process when you’re trying to remember what PDUs you’ve earned.

Coaching In May/June

As the year rolls to a close, summer & fall professional development & curriculum development projects will be ramping up. Instructional coaches will be spending more time on summer PD, long-term projects, etc. in May & June, which means you will see less of me for in-building support; however, I will still make time to support your needs… email or text me with questions or requests and I will schedule time with you.

State Testing- Third through fifth graders will be starting state testing shortly. Testing will be happening at various days and times through Friday, June 2. Please be cognizant of this and diligent in reminding your students to be quiet and respectful when traveling through hallways. We have structured testing so that few if any small group sped or Title instruction will be interrupted.

Upcoming Events

May 3- SIW- STEM Week overview- library 1:45

May 4- 2nd grade MTSS

May 10- Fire Drill- 9:25

May 10- SIW- Teacher Prep

May 11- 1st Grade MTSS

May 16- Spring Dibels

May 17- SIW- STEM Night prep

May 17- STEM Night- 5:00 PM- 7:00 PM

May 18- Kindergarten MTSS

May 19- Think Wild Assembly- K-2- 8:00-8:45. Grades 3-5- 9:00-9:45.

May 23- Kindergarten Orientation- 5:30-6:30

May 24- SIW- Class lists

May 29- Memorial Day- No School

June 1- Fire Drill- 12:55

Self Reflection- This is a reminder to submit your self reflection (in talent ed) by May 1.

STEM Night- Below is an outline of the STEM night/week activities. We will review at an upcoming staff meeting.

• STEM night/week link in Bronco Bulletin.
• STEM Night- Wednesday, May 17, 5:30-7:00 PM
• Complete the google slide with your grade level’s STEM activity for the evening and any support you need.
• We are in need of greeters, table assistance, a photographer, and other support roles. If you are willing to do one of these or have a parent who is willing, please sign up.
• Shane is in need of 1 and 2 liter or 20 oz. plastic bottles for a rocket launch activity.
• STEM team members will be preparing and sharing a STEM challenge that all classes can work on during STEM week. They will present this when completed. There will be a padlet (info to come with the challenge) so that students/classes can display their work.
• We will have an assembly on Friday, May 19. k-2 will be 8:00-8:45. 3-5 will be 9:00-9:45. (most likely as early as we can start). The presentation is titled “Think Wild.” Following the assembly, our guests will set up C-1 with displays of their materials. We will send a sign up sheet for you to schedule a 10-15 minute time for your class to walk through C-1. That sign up will come out by the end of April, most likely in the blog.
• Thursday morning, the day following our STEM night, we’ll have a staff celebration breakfast.
• All of this information will be reviewed at an upcoming staff meeting.

April 26 SIW- Next week’s SIW is on our district mandated suicide prevention training. We will begin in the library at 1:45 sharp. This is an important and impactful training. Please let us know ahead of time if you have questions and/or concerns.

Class Lists- We have set aside the May 24 SIW to work on class lists for next year. We will have a spreadsheet much like last year for your teams to complete. Our hope is to get that to you well ahead of 5/24 so you can begin working a bit ahead of time if you choose.

Character Ed Assembly- April’s character ed assembly will be next Thursday at 12:15. Please submit your character education nominees to Becky by today…or Monday at the latest, so she has time to complete certificates.

Purchasing- Becky asks that any purchases you want to make out of this year’s budget be submitted by the end of May. Becky will send out your account balances soon so you know how much you have left.

Office Manager Update- We had a team interview four candidates for our office manager position. We are in the process of doing reference and background checks and are hopeful to land someone from our interviews. We will update everyone when we have more news. Thanks to the following staff members for taking the time to help during the interview process: Margaret, Becky, Jessi Hayes, Tami Otis, Katie Chamberland, and Bridget Wise. We appreciate the late evening and time they contributed.

From Julie re: digital tool survey:  We were asked to share the below link with our staff.  They are reviewing digital tools like:  Lexia, Dreambox, Discovery Learning and Seesaw and their use.  

Important Digital Tool Survey

From Jennifer Hauth:  Please share the following information in your staff newsletter, along with this link to a one-pager of information about the program.

Master of School Counseling tuition-free and with a monthly stipend from OSU Cascades.

• Informational Open House May 8^th from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. Registration Link
• Candidates must apply for admission to the School Counseling program by May 25, 2023
• If accepted into the program, then candidates may apply (very short process) for entry into the PATH-SC cohort (grant funded tuition-free and monthly stipend)
• Classes for this new cohort (both those in the PATH-SC cohort and those who are not) will begin in late June 2023.
• Anyone with a Bachelor’s Degree can apply for the PATH-SC cohort, regardless if they are currently working in the district or not.
• The focus of this grant (PATH-SC cohort) is to engage individuals who represent your community, represent an underserved and diverse population, and must be placed and willing to work in a high-needs school.

From Scott Maben, Director of Communications, ext. 1006:  The May 16^th Special District Election is in four weeks, and included on the ballot are contested races for four of the seven seats on the School Board for Bend-La Pine Schools. In previous elections we have shared election guidance for employees, addressing expectations of conduct in the workplace as we strive to keep our schools neutral political zones. District policy and state statute guide and protect us in these efforts.

On a related note, candidates should not be actively campaigning, distributing campaign literature, or fundraising in our facilities during staff work hours. If a candidate for office contacts you or a member of your staff seeking to visit with district employees about their candidacy or campaign, please direct them to Scott Maben, [email protected], or 541-668-5523.

Upcoming Events

April 26- SIW- Suicide prevention training

April 27- 3rd Grade MTSS

April 28- Character Ed Assembly- 12:15

May 3- SIW- NGSS standards training

May 4- 2nd grade MTSS

May 10- Fire Drill- 9:25

May 10- SIW- Teacher Prep

May 11- 1st Grade MTSS

May 16- Spring Dibels

May 17- SIW- STEM Night prep

May 17- STEM Night- 5:00 PM- 7:00 PM

May 18- Kindergarten MTSS

May 19- Think Wild Assembly- K-2- 8:00-8:45. Grades 3-5- 9:00-9:45.

May 23- Kindergarten Orientation- 5:30-6:30

May 24- SIW- Class lists

May 29- Memorial Day- No School

June 1- Fire Drill- 12:55

Thank you- A huge thanks to Becky and Margaret for the amazing taco bar and to the PTA for the tasty Jimmy John’s sandwiches. Any free food is always great, but it’s a special treat when it is so delicious and made with such care! THANK YOU!

Staffing Update- Below is an update on the certified staffing plan that we are submitting for approval. We must get approval and jobs need to be posted before any interviews and hiring can be completed. HR posts full time elementary teaching openings. Schools post specialist openings. There may also be circumstances that require a teacher to be transferred from another school. TBD indicates an opening we have to be filled either by transfer or hire.

Kindergarten– Kristine Hable, TBD, TBD, TBD (Kim Aplin is resigning effective the end of the year. Emily Phillips is temporary hire).

First- Kristine Beiderman, Katie Chamberland, Cadi Brown (still waiting approval for her .5 leave request. If granted, we will post and hire the other .5), (Katy Wyant is temporary hire)

Second- Challey Becker, Claire Dickey, Margy Tucker

Third- Alisha Clawson, Jessi Hayes, Shane Knapp

Fourth- Jesse Andrews, Tara Sullivan

Four/Five Blend- Deborah Buckman

Fifth- Sadie Rossi, TBD (Heather Light is a temporary hire)

PE- Ryan Douglass

Music- Jason Herzog

Sped- Tami Otis, Kelly Weiler

SST- .5 Kelly Sproba, .5 to be posted

Title I- We are still waiting for our allocation. We do not yet know how much we will be allocated and won’t be able to post or hire until that is known.

Counselor- .5- We are waiting to find out whether this will be hired at the ed center and assigned here or we will hire on site.

Vice Principal- TBD. It’s time for me to turn the page and start the next chapter. I don’t know exactly what that looks like, but I have notified the district I will be retiring from education at the end of June. Our understanding is that the position will be hired by the district as a part of a pool of VP’s they hire in early May and place next year. We will share any more information if/when we get it.

We will most likely wait on filling the fourth kindergarten and let the new principal do that so that it can be used in the spot of highest need. If kindergarten numbers come in low, then it would be able to be used to reduce class sizes in another grade.

Office Manager- We will be interviewing office manager candidates next Thursday afternoon. We know we won’t be able to replace Becky and all she does for our school, but we are hopeful that we find someone who will be an asset to Buckingham. We are looking for volunteers to help with this process as it will include more than just an interview. Please let Jon know if you are willing to help.

STEM Night- Below is an outline of the STEM night/week activities. We will review at an upcoming staff meeting.

• STEM night/week link in Bronco Bulletin.
• STEM Night- Wednesday, May 17, 5:30-7:00 PM
• Complete the google slide with your grade level’s STEM activity for the evening and any support you need.
• We are in need of greeters, table assistance, a photographer, and other support roles. If you are willing to do one of these or have a parent who is willing, please sign up.
• Shane is in need of 1 and 2 liter or 20 oz. plastic bottles for a rocket launch activity.
• STEM team members will be preparing and sharing a STEM challenge that all classes can work on during STEM week. They will present this when completed. There will be a padlet (info to come with the challenge) so that students/classes can display their work.
• We will have an assembly on Friday, May 19, exact time TBD (most likely as early as we can start). The presentation is titled “Think Wild.” Following the assembly, our guests will set up C-1 with displays of their materials. We will send a sign up sheet for you to schedule a 10-15 minute time for your class to walk through C-1. That sign up will come out by the end of April, most likely in the blog.
• Thursday morning, the day following our STEM night, we’ll have a staff celebration breakfast.
• All of this information will be reviewed at an upcoming staff meeting.

Character Trait Assembly- We will hold our April character trait assembly at 12:15 on Thursday, April 27. Please review expectations with your students before the assembly and be active and vigilant enforcing those expectations. It is really difficult to address individuals not following expectations from the front of the gym while running the assembly. When there are nearly 400 students we need all hands on deck holding students accountable and addressing it with students who are not meeting expectations. Thank you ahead of time.

Educator Network SIW- Please take a minute if you haven’t already to sign up for the April 19^th Educator Network sessions from 2:00-3:15.  

Here is the list of sessions.  Please sign up on Performance Matters.

Upcoming Events

April 19- SIW- Educator Network Day

April 20- 4th Grade MTSS

April 26- SIW- QRT Suicide prevention training

April 27- 3rd Grade MTSS

May 3- SIW- NGSS standards training

May 4- 2nd grade MTSS

May 10- Fire Drill- 9:25

May 10- SIW- Teacher Prep

May 11- 1st Grade MTSS

May 16- Spring Dibels

May 17- SIW- STEM Night prep

May 17- STEM Night- 5:00 PM- 7:00 PM

May 18- Kindergarten MTSS

May 19- Think Wild Assembly

May 23- Kindergarten Orientation- 5:30-6:30

May 29- Memorial Day- No School

June 1- Fire Drill- 12:55

Conferences- Guidelines and Timelines. Please be sure your schedule is up to date and you have indicated if you want admin or other staff support at a conference. It is important to be sure your schedule is up to date as the front office gets many calls asking about their conference times. Margaret has to frequently refer to the schedule to tell parents when their conferences are, and if your schedule is not up to date it makes it very difficult.

Dinner will be provided. Sandwiches on Wednesday. Taco bar on Thursday.

Book Fair- Bridget will be having a book fair during conferences. It will be open for parnets during conferences only- Wednesday evening and all day Thursday. Staff may shop early. Bridget will have a way for you to indicate books you would like for your classroom library so that parents may buy and donate to each of your classes.

Staffing- Today is the last day to submit your staffing input form. Please give a hard copy to Jon or Gary before heading out for the weekend.

Last Week’s Events- Jon is working on planning/scheduling events for the last week of school. A schedule of these will be shared soon.

State Testing- We will have a state testing training meeting for all those involved in state testing (grade 3-5 teachers, specialists and EA’s) on Monday, April 17, following a short staff meeting. As stated in March 10 notes, we will cover the following: Required test security reading materials, accommodations, schedules.

From Ryan re: Transfer Interviews – Certified Staff and Elementary Principals – Monday, April 17^th is the day we will be holding transfer interviews for all regular, contract teachers who are licensed and endorsed to teach elementary grades. These interviews are for current teachers who are interested in transferring to another elementary school for the 23-24 school year.

Transfer interviews will be held at Bear Creek Elementary beginning at 3:15 PM on Monday the 17^th of April. This event applies to classroom teaching positions, but does not apply to specialist positions such as PE, music, ELL, SPED or other specialists. Postings for open specialist positions will be posted as school-specific openings. 

Please note that probationary one, probationary two, and temporary contractstatus teachers are not eligible to participate in this transfer interview event.

To participate in the transfer interviews you must apply in UKG. For internal-only postings, please follow these directions and complete the application before April 11th.

Applicants will be sent an email on April 14th with their interview times.

Upcoming Events

April 11- Fire Drill- 8:55

April 12- Teacher Prep- 7:30-3:30- No School

April 12 & 13- Conferences- No School

April 14- No School

April 19- SIW- Educator Network Day

April 20- 4th Grade MTSS

April 26- SIW- QRT Suicide prevention training

April 27- 3rd Grade MTSS

May 3- SIW- NGSS standards training

May 4- 2nd grade MTSS

May 10- Fire Drill- 9:25

May 10- SIW- Teacher Prep

May 11- 1st Grade MTSS

May 16- Spring Dibels

May 17- SIW- STEM Night prep

May 17- STEM Night- 5:00 PM- 7:00 PM

May 18- Kindergarten MTSS

May 23- Kindergarten Orientation- 5:30-6:30

May 29- Memorial Day- No School

June 1- Fire Drill- 12:55

Staffing Plans- We have received our staffing allocations for next year. Very similar to last year. Please complete this staff input form and return a printed version to Jon or Gary by Wednesday, April 7. Once we receive all of your input forms we will complete and submit our staffing plans for next year. We will connect with people who may need to change grades/ roles due to a change in staffing allocation. If we do not connect with you, you can feel confident that we are not planning on moving you. As always, things in August can and do change.

Self Evals- This is a reminder to log into talent ed and complete your self-eval before May 1. If you are marking a ‘4’ please be ready to provide evidence.

Conferences- Guidelines and Timelines

Educator Network Day – April 19th from 2:00-3:15- please sign up to facilitate a session

Regional Dyslexia Conference – Information for regional dyslexia conference if you are interested.

Erin’s Law- When you are finished teaching Erin’s law lessons, please provide dates to Gary. In addition, please let us know with as much notice as possible if you have any students who are being opted out so that we may be prepared and have a place for them to be.

From Scott Mc Donald –During Spring Break week (March 27-31), IT will be making some changes to the “electronic” web help desk ticket system (https://bls.fyi/help). The most significant changes will be to the category layout used for creating new tickets. Our hope is that the enhanced ticket system will be clear and intuitive for everyone.  If you wish to provide any feedback or have questions about the changes, please reach out to our “human” Help Desk at extension 1200.

Upcoming Events

March 27-31- Spring Break- No School

April 5- SIW- Teacher work time

April 6- 5th Grade MTSS

April 12- Teacher Prep- 7:30-3:30- No School

April 12 & 13- Conferences- No School

April 14- No School

April 20- 4th Grade MTSS

May 16- Spring Dibels

Thanks- Thanks to Victoria for doing such a great job filling in for Sadie. This is Victoria’s last day and we wish her the best while looking forward to Sadie’s return.

Thanks- Thanks to Blake Lowrey-Evans for playing some guitar music for us at lunch Wednesday. Blake is the father of Torbin in Ms. Clawson’s class and Django in Ms. Rossi’s class. He reached out and asked if he could give it a try to see how it goes, and we now have him scheduled for next week as well.

Assembly- We will be changing our monthly character ed assembly from Thursday, March 23 to Friday, March 24 @ 8:45 . Jon and I are required to attend the Central Oregon Job Fair on the afternoon of March 23 that begins at noon. March fairness awards will be given at the assembly. February self control awards will be given to students by Jon prior to the assembly. You only need invite March fairness winner parents to the assembly.

STEM Night- Thank you for reaching out to your parents via the letter you were given by STEM team to see if anyone would like to be a guest on STEM night. We are starting to get volunteers for our STEM night, but are still in need of more. Please resend the letter to parents, and we are also asking that you reach out individually to any parents you know who work in the STEM field and give them a personal invite.

Conferences- Conference guidelines/timelines. You should send home conference times to parents on Monday.

Staffing Plans- We are hopeful to be getting our staffing allocations for the 2023-2024 school year sometime before spring break. Once we get our allocations, we begin building our staffing plans. Please complete this staff input form and return a printed version to Jon or Gary by Wednesday, April 7. We will connect with people who may need to change grades/ roles due to a change in staffing allocation. If we do not connect with you, you can feel confident that we are not planning on moving you. As always, things in August can and do change.

Erin’s Law- We will be sending a district provided letter to all parents before spring break informing them that we will be teaching Erin’s Law lessons to students during the month of April. It might be a good idea for you to inform parents of exact dates AFTER we send that letter as we won’t include exact dates for every grade level in the letter. Parents have every right opt their child out of the lessons. If you have a parent who wishes for them to not participate, please tell us who they are and the dates. We will provide a space for them to come to the office. Send them with their ipads and they can work on Lexia and Dreambox.

Updated Field Trip/Activity Request Form – the updated form has been posted to the portal (form date 3/2023). Please have staff members begin using this form immediately. As a reminder, nursing staff must be provided notice about the trip, in writing, at least 2 weeks prior. There is an area on the updated form for the requestor to provide the nurse’s name and notification date and time. This section of the form must be completed in order for the trip to be approved. 

The field trip form can be found in the  Field Trips – Permission Forms folder

For any students requiring direct care nursing support, teachers must complete the Request for Direct Care Nursing Service Form. Thank you!

Upcoming Events

March 20- Staff Meeting- 2:30- library

March 20- Send home conference times

March 22- SIW- Writing PLC

March 23- Kindergarten MTSS

March 24- Character Education Assembly

March 27-31- Spring Break- No School

April 5- SIW- Teacher work time

April 12- Teacher Prep- 7:30-3:30- No School

April 12 & 13- Conferences

April 14- No School

SIW 3/15- Wednesday’s SIW will be on Erin’s Law. You will have time to review materials, plan and schedule lesson delivery dates/ times. We are not currently planning to meet in the library before the work begins unless something else comes up between now and then that requires we meet together. Use this outline when you meet. We will send this out to everyone again on Wednesday before the meeting. We will attempt to come around to each grade level between 1:45-3:15 in case you have any questions. This date was originally set aside for Marci to provide an update on the reading adoption, but that is in a holding pattern right now so we will do Erin’s law.

SIW 3/22- This is a writing PLC. You should work with your grade level to discuss one of the four PLC questions around writing.

Conferences- Conference guidelines. Parent input forms should have gone home yesterday. We will meet at 2:30 in the library on Tuesday to schedule siblings.

UKG- UKG time sheets are due today. Please complete if you haven’t already.

State Testing- Grades 3-5 and specialists/EA’s who will be involved in testing please put on your radar that we will be meeting shortly after spring break to go over all of the test security materials you are required to read. We will also discuss accommodations and schedules. I will share a date/time/place when it has been decided.

Upcoming Events

March 14- Sibling conference scheduling- 2:30- library

March 15- SIW- Erin’s Law Prep

March 16- 1st Grade MTSS

March 20- Staff Meeting- 2:30- library

March 20- Send home conference times

March 22- SIW- Writing PLC

March 23- Character Ed Assembly- Time TBD

March 23- Kindergarten MTSS

March 27-31- Spring Break- No School

April 5- SIW- Teacher work time

April 12 & 13- Conferences

April 14- No School