From Julie Richards
Welcome Back!! As we begin implementing Expeditionary Learning curriculum in our classrooms please be reminded that we are learning something new and with that we need to remember a few key things to help us thrive and be successful:
- Give yourself grace
- Go slow, to go fast (just start)
- We are here to support you, reach out!!!
Reminder: We know that we have some missing curriculum in schools. We are working with the company to get this resolved. If you are missing an item, reach out to Julie Richards (formerly Walker) or your instructional coach and we can make sure we have your missing item on our list and help to problem solve what to do until the materials arrive.
If you are missing any curriculum from Really Great Reading, Bridges or print shop please fill the Elementary Curriculum Order Form.
Literacy Happenings
Exciting news for K-2 Teachers – Really Great Reading has published decodable readers in the form of a book for Countdown, Blast and HD Word. These are the same decodables we have in paper form but now they exist in book form. Six sets of each decodable have been purchased for all K-2 teachers.
Kindergarten teachers – Countdown decodables have arrived and will be shipped to your schools by the end of the week.
First Grade teachers – BLAST decodables have been sent to your schools.
Second Grade teachers – HD Word decodables are currently on backorder. As soon as they arrive, we will get them out to you.
Math Happenings
DreamBox Launch Pad – Launch Pad is turned on and ready to go! The first time students log into Launch Pad, it will assess them.
New to Dreambox – Learning Specialists, School Psychs, and School Admin can now create special groups! Check out the directions here.
Dreambox Engagement Restrictions – Engagement Restrictions for DreamBox will be turned off, this includes The Arcade and My House (K-2) and The Collections and Personalization (3+). Many teachers used these as incentives to meet weekly goals on Dreambox, a few alternatives to use as an incentive instead are:
- Bridges Work Places
- Card Games
- Board Games
- YouCubed Games and activities – printed
- Bridges Concept Quest (gr 2-5)
- Math at Home activities – printed
Math Curriculum Review Team – The Math Curriculum Review team along with a few additional guests will field test three math programs this year: Amplify Math with Desmos October 7-November 8, StemScopes Math November 12-December 18, and Experience Math January 6-February 5. You will have time to view the materials throughout the 2024-2025 school year. The Educator Network Day on April 23rd will be reserved for a publisher overview of the board approved math program.
Forefront – Your students are not loaded yet. You will see an updated list when Bend-LaPine shares rosters with Forefront.
Oregon ODE – The Oregon Department of Education created this document linking the Oregon Transformative SEL Standards to Math Instruction including the Oregon Mathematical Practice Standards.
2021 Oregon Standards are the standards you should be teaching. As you learned last year, there are some changes from CCSS. Here is a correlation document to Bridges.
Technology in the Classroom
Seesaw – Class rosters are loaded into Synergy and ready to go! If you would like to connect parents and guardians to your class at Open House this week, follow these easy steps
- Log in to Seesaw via Clever
- Click “+Families” at the bottom right of the page
- Click “Print Invites” at the top of the page
That’s it! Many parents will already be connected to their student and your class if they used Seesaw last year. You’ll be able to see all connected family members on the “print invites” page. If you have any questions, please reach out to Robbie Faith.
Magic School AI – Exciting news! This fall, BLS is providing full featured MagicSchool AI accounts to all staff. MagicSchool is an AI platform designed for educators, with a large suite of tools that help with building lesson plans, writing IEPs, differentiation, ideating more engaging lessons, communicating with families, and more! BLS is currently piloting MagicSchool but funds have been earmarked to purchase for any staff who would like to continue with their full featured ‘Enterprise’ account after October, which offers much more than the free version. Getting setup is simple using MagicSchool login instructions. Please contact Robbie Faith and Tracy Howk for questions and support.