Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School
Thought of the Week
Giga-waabamin minawaa…
Alright, so a little explanation might be needed. Giga-waabamin minawaa is Ojibwe or Anishinaabe for “I’ll see you again.” There is actually not a word in the Ojibwe language for goodbye. Rather, the standard phrase is Giga-waabamin minawaa or I’ll see you again. So it does seem fitting to end my last blog post with this.
As the time comes for me to say giga-waabamin minawaa, I want to share how deeply grateful I am to have worked with each of you. This team isn’t just a group of colleagues, you’ve become a true family to me, and leaving is bittersweet.
Thank you for your hard work, your creativity, and the kindness you’ve shown me and each other every day. Together, we’ve faced challenges, celebrated wins, and grown in ways I’ll always remember. Your dedication has inspired me more than words can say.
I leave with a heart full of appreciation for the friendships I’ve found and the times we’ve shared. I believe in every one of you and the meaningful work you do! Keep supporting each other and remember; don’t ask anybody to do something you are not willing to do yourself, everybody does everything, culture is what you allow and always put your family first…
Though I’m moving on, I’ll carry these memories and the spirit of this Elk Meadow with me. I wish you all the very best, and I hope our paths cross again someday.
With warmest thanks and all my best,
So… I this is a quote I have always loved
Don’t be sad it is ending… be happy we lived it.
THE COMING WEEK:
Monday
Meet with Peter 2:30
Tuesday
ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
5th Grade Move Up/Music Performance
Wednesday
Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
SIW Teacher Prep 1:00-2:30
Thursday
The Last Day of School!
Friday
Finish Up
UPCOMING DATES:
June 15 – Father’s Day!
June 17 – Nicole Garroutte Birthday!
Updates from Downtown
From Tammy and Karen
Thank You! Thank you does not seem enough for all the hard decisions, conversations, and support you are providing your staffs right now. Know that we appreciate you all so much. These are not fun times, but working with an amazing elementary leadership group like you makes it a little more tolerable. You’re the best and we wish you all a fun and smooth last week of the school year!
Save the Date! Last week we indicated that there would be a training later this month in lieu of the All Admin SIW that was canceled this week. The day for that official training is Monday, June 23. It will be a 4 hour training, but which half of the day you attend depends on who has and has not read the book, ” Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity”, so block out the whole day to be safe! Look for more to come on this from Lisa. If there is a problem with you attending this day, please reach out to your level leader to let them know.
We are excited to share that the start dates for the 2025-26 school year are now available and posted on the Portal here. Complete work calendars for all classified employees are nearly finalized and will be uploaded to the Portal as soon as they are ready; we appreciate your patience as we put the finishing touches on them.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected]. Thank you for your continued support and dedication – wishing you an enjoyable wrap-up to the end of the school year!
Check out the above trainings with the Culture of Care this August. You can register here. (Just remember that our Elementary Admin Welcome Back will be August 11).
Action Items
Save the Date–June 23! For an All Admin PD
Check out the classified calendar for the 25-26 year. Stay tuned for the rest
Check out and sign up for any of the Culture of Care trainings in August you (or your team) may be interested in attending.
and…All the many things you do to make the end of the year joyful and memorable for your staff and students!
Important Dates
June 12: Last Day students—half day
June 13: Last Day staff
June 23: Belonging Training—half day, but stay tuned to which half you need!
And finally…Caption this…text Tammy with your caption to be entered into a drawing for something fun!
Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School
Thought of the Week
Just the Memories…
If there is one thought I really want to leave you with, it is this truth…
One day your job as a teacher is going to come to an end and the only thing that you and your students are going to have left are the memories. But here’s the facts, and here’s what nobody’s going to tell you. Your students, they’re going to forget the content that you taught them.They might forget how to add two fractions together. They might forget how to do long division. They might even forget how to write in cursive. But here’s what they’re not going to forget. They’re never going to forget the way they felt every day walking into your classrooms. They’re never going to forget what you said to them when they made a poor choice or weren’t at their best. They won’t forget the advice you gave. They won’t forget the laughs you made and they won’t forget the way you made them feel when they experienced loss or sadness. One day they might even come back and say thank you, and I promise they’re not going to thank you for the lessons. They’re not going to thank you for the worksheets and they are not going to thank you for the tests. They’re going to thank you because you touched their heart and changed their lives forever.
THE COMING WEEK:
Monday
Dibels
Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
Tuesday
EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
Elementary Admin Meeting 3:00-5:00
Wednesday
Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
SIW Art in the Meadow Prep 1:00-2:30
Admin PD 3:00-4:30
Thursday
Counselor Celebration at District Office 7:30-9:30
Fire Drill 8:15
Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
Friday
EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
Author Visit for 4th and 5th grade 9:45-10:45
Field Day
Art in the Meadow 5:30-7:00
UPCOMING DATES:
June 9 – Meet with Peter 2:30
June 10 – Care Teams 7:00-8:00
June 10 – ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
June 10 – 5th Grade Move Up/Music Performance
June 11 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 11 – SIW Teacher Prep 1:00-2:30
June 12 – The Last Day of School!
June 12 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
June 13 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
June 15 – Father’s Day!
June 17 – Nicole Garroutte Birthday!
June 17 – Admin EOY Celebration
June 19 – Holiday
Updates from Downtown
From Tammy and Karen
As we turn the corner into June next week, it’s hard to believe there are only a handful of days left with our students and staff. This time of year is often packed with activities, deadlines, and final events—but in the midst of the busyness, don’t forget to pause and soak in the moments that make it all worthwhile. From heartfelt goodbyes to joyful celebrations, these are the memories that stay with us. Let’s finish strong—and take time to truly enjoy the journey.
From Julie Richards, Curriculum and Instruction: Please share with your classified staff
Are you interested in helping to check-in, unpack and organize our new Elementary Mathematics Curriculum? If so, we are hiring internal classified employees to work for 2+ weeks from August 6th-the 19th. If you would like to apply to be a part of this team follow these steps:
login to UKG
Go to 3 bars at top
click on my info
click on my career
click on search for jobs
search for “Elementary Mathematics Materials Distribution”
click on Apply Now
Please reach out to Julie Richards with any questions you have.
From Eric Powell – Student Support
Hello School Leaders!
As you all plan for your annual end-of-the-year activities on campus (carnivals, field days, etc.), we wanted to encourage school teams to be thinking about our students who tend to struggle during unstructured activities and events.
Please work with your various teams on campus to identify students who may need extra scaffolding and/or supports to participate in these fun end-of-the-year events.
Thank you all for your continued leadership and enjoy these last few weeks of school.
From Ryan Kelling – Human Resources
Secondary Assistant Principal Pool Now Open
We’ve officially opened our recruitment process for the Secondary Assistant Principal Pool, with separate tracks for Middle School and High School roles. While this pool currently reflects just one confirmed vacancy (resulting from Mary Thomas’ exciting move to Realms as Principal), we are still determining where the resulting opening will ultimately land.
If you’re currently in an elementary role and are interested in exploring a move to secondary – or if you’re in a secondary AP role and considering a shift – please connect with Ryan before applying to talk through how this process works and what possibilities might emerge.
Stay tuned for more updates as things evolve.
BLAST Classification and Title Change
We’re excited to share a small but meaningful update to the titles used on our BLAST salary schedule. Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, we will be eliminating the Dean of Students title from the schedule and moving to a single title of Assistant Principal for all staff in these leadership roles.
What’s changing? Only the title. The calendar days and salary schedule remain the same. This update is simply a move toward consistency and clarity across our school leadership structure.
Why the change? The work our Deans of Students do every day is already aligned with that of Assistant Principals, and in many ways indistinguishable in terms of impact, leadership, and responsibility. This adjustment brings greater alignment to the title and the role, something we believe better reflects the incredible contributions of these team members.
We’re grateful for the leadership of all our school administrators and are excited to continue supporting this important work under a shared title. If you have any questions about the change, feel free to reach out to Ryan.
From Kerry Morton in Teaching and Learning
It’s that time! Bridges & Number Corner Recycling and Disposal!
In the email, it indicates the custodians should check with admin about where the containers should be placed
Please share this flyer with your teachers about the process for recycling the materials. Miller, High Lakes, and Pine Ridge will only receive the bin for binders since you are donating materials.
Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School
Thought of the Week
Charity wrapped in dignity…
A lady approached a street vendor at the market and asked, “How much are your eggs?” The old man replied softly, “50 cents an egg, madam.” The woman, eyeing the modest stall, said, “I’ll take six for $2.50, or I’ll walk away. ”The vendor replied, “take them at the price you want, madam. This is a good start for me. It’s been a slow day, and I haven’t sold a single egg yet. I need this to live.” She bought her eggs at the bargain price and left feeling that she had won..
Later that day she went to a fancy restaurant with her friend. She and her friend ordered what they wanted. They ate a little and left a lot of what they had ordered untouched. The bill came to $150. They gave the owner of the fancy restaurant $200 and told him to keep the change as a tip. This story might seem normal to the fancy restaurant owner but quite unfair to the egg seller.
So here’s the question:
Why do we need to show we have power when buying from those who need our support the most… yet are generous to those who do not even need our generosity?
I once read a story about a man who bought trinkets and small goods from poor vendors. He often paid more than the asking price. One day, his son asked, “Dad, why do you overpay for things you don’t even need?” The father smiled and replied, “It’s charity, wrapped in dignity.”
Let’s be better. Let’s value people over profit. Let’s give where it matters. Not to feel superior but to lift others with grace. After all, real generosity isn’t about how much you give… but how you give it.
THE COMING WEEK:
Monday
Josh Hayden Birthday!
Memorial Day!
Tuesday
Care Teams 7:00-8:00
Forest Kindergarten 9:30-1:30
Wednesday
Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
SIW 1:00-2:30
Thursday
Brooke Vossler Birthday!
Counselor Share Out at District Office 10:30-12:30
Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
Friday
EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
Saturday
Cassie Polanco Birthday!
UPCOMING DATES:
June 2 – Dibels
June 2 – Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
June 3 – EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 3 – Elementary Admin Meeting 3:00-5:00
June 4 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 4 – SIW Art in the Meadow Prep 1:00-2:30
June 4 – Admin PD 3:00-4:30
June 5 – Counselor Celebration at District Office 7:30-9:30
June 5 – Fire Drill 9:30
June 5 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
June 6 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
June 6 – Field Day
June 6 – Art in the Meadow 5:30-7:00
June 9 – Meet with Peter 2:30
June 10 – Care Teams 7:00-8:00
June 10 – ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
June 10 – 5th Grade Move Up/Music Performance
June 11 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 11 – SIW Teacher Prep 1:00-2:30
June 12 – The Last Day of School!
June 12 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
June 13 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
June 15 – Father’s Day!
June 17 – Nicole Garroutte Birthday!
June 17 – Admin EOY Celebration
June 19 – Holiday
Updates from Downtown
“To the world you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world.” It’s so easy this time of year to set sights on summer break and put the year behind you. But, never forget the impact you are all making in the lives of students on a daily basis. Love them hard, as in a few weeks, you will miss that daily smile, high 5, kind hello, and admit it, even the occasional stink eye. .
Classroom Guidance from Maintenance & Custodial Departments
While there is no board-adopted policy that explicitly governs classroom furniture or decorations, our BLS operational practice has been to guide schools as follows:
District-Purchased Furniture: Bend-La Pine Schools assumes responsibility for the cleaning, movement, and maintenance of furniture that has been purchased by the district.
Staff-Purchased Furniture or Items: Any furniture or furnishings that are brought in by staff members are considered the responsibility of the staff and/or school site. This includes maintenance, movement between rooms, and cleaning as needed.
Regarding classroom decorations and wall attachments, there are fire code restrictions that must be followed. These include limits on how much and the type of material that can be affixed to walls and ceilings, as well as requirements to maintain adequate clearances and pathways for emergency egress. Decorations/furniture should not obstruct exits or create fire hazards that would impede safe evacuation in the event of an emergency.
Additionally, per OSHA safety requirements, any shelving units or storage furniture that exceed a certain height (typically 5 feet or higher) must be properly secured to walls to prevent tipping hazards. This applies to both district-owned and staff-supplied furniture and is an important consideration for student and staff safety during daily use or seismic activity.
Lastly, we ask staff to be mindful of classroom lighting. Excessive use of supplemental lighting (e.g., lamps or string lights) should be minimized, as the district is actively pursuing sustainability initiatives to reduce energy consumption and meet long-term environmental goals. Use of natural light and district-installed lighting should generally meet classroom needs.
From Sean Reinhart in Student Services:
You all have done an amazing job of getting your staff trained in CPI verbal intervention and CPI full course.
CPI training by the numbers THIS YEAR! ⚡
🎉 453 staff members have been trained in CPI verbal intervention or the full CPI course
🛺 Including 65 staff members from transportation
📚There were more than 25 training opportunities
✨ We now have 581 TOTAL staff members trained in CPI strategies
🛟 Every school has AT LEAST a 50:1 student to staff ratio of trained staff
We will offer a full course training for new staff during the August in-service week, so be on the look-out for that date.
Important Dates
May 26: Memorial Day, No School
May 27: June Horizontal (Changed from June 3rd) at Highland – HLD and Three Rivers host
May 27: Dr. Cook’s State of the District at 3:05 and again at 3:50
June 5: Counseling Celebration in the board room, 7:30-9:30
Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School
Thought of the Week
You gotta be who you are in this world…
I read the story below and it reminded me of this scene in “The Equalizer“ with Denzel. It talks about the old man, Captain Ahab, and the fish, Moby Dick. I love this scene because it shows how you need to be who are in this world and I think it ties into the following story:
A man saw a snake being burned to death and decided to take it out of the fire. When he did, the snake bit him causing excruciating pain. The man dropped the snake, and the reptile fell right back into the fire. So, the man grabbed a metal pole, took the snake out of the fire, and saved its life.”
Someone who was watching approached the man and said “that snake bit you. Why are you still trying to save it?”. The man replied” “the nature of the snake is to bite, but that’s not gonna change my nature, which is to help. Do not change your nature simply because someone harms you. Do not lose your good heart, only learn to take precautions.
The events in this story remind me of something that is extremely important to me, which are intentions. And I feel like that word is synonymous with the concept of “nature” in this story. The snake’s intention was to protect itself, not to hurt. The man realizes that and decides not to punish the snake for its actions, and follow through on his own intentions, which was to help.
The observable world is one thing, and many events can be misconstrued into the wrong interpretation. The purest form of behavior is behavioral intent, and seeing through the action into that intent will help you decide how to act.
Gain clarity on your own intentions, and don’t compromise them just because it appears that a situation doesn’t call for them. It’s not in your nature.
THE COMING WEEK:
Monday
Committee Meetings 2:30-3:15
Tuesday
ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
Wednesday
Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
SIW 1:00-2:30
Screenager Event at Elk Meadow 5:30-7:30
Thursday
Tonya Myers Birthday!
1st Grade Field Trip 9:30-11:30
Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
Kindergarten Open House 5:30-6:30
Friday
EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
Sunday
Chris’ Birthday!
UPCOMING DATES:
May 26 – Josh Hayden Birthday!
May 26 – Memorial Day!
May 27 – Care Teams 7:00-8:00
May 27 – Forest Kindergarten 9:30-1:30
May 28 – SIW 1:00-2:30
May 29 – Brooke Vossler Birthday!
May 29 – Counselor Share Out at District Office 10:30-12:30
May 29 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 30 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 31 – Cassie Polanco Birthday!
June 2 – Dibels
June 2 – Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
June 3 – EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 3 – Elementary Admin Meeting 3:00-5:00
June 4 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 4 – SIW Art in the Meadow Prep 1:00-2:30
June 4 – Admin PD 3:00-4:30
June 5 – Counselor Celebration at District Office 7:30-9:30
Extra Duty Rosters: HR would like you to review the current and projected vacancies for any Extra Duty positions at your site. To the extent possible, it would be extremely beneficial for all involved – employees, admin, HR, Payroll – to have all year-round and fall Extra Duty positions filled before the end of the current school year. Please remember that all Extra Duty positions must be filled through a competitive hiring process.
SafeSchools Update. Thank you SO MUCH for the quick response to the SafeSchools trainings that were outstanding or unaccounted for. It was incredible to see the quickness with which that list got smaller. The list will be updated every Monday, so please check back.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Canopy, the district’s Employee Assistance Plan provider, is available to ALL employees. Canopy has free, confidential resources designed to help employees thrive and includes these kinds of services:
✔ 24/7 Confidential Counseling – provides access to professional, real time, support anytime, anywhere. ✔ Personalized Coaching – offers one-on-one guidance to help you set goals and find balance. ✔ On-Demand Learning – includes webinars, tip sheets, and resources to support your mental wellness.
Check out this flyer to learn more and find out how to access Canopy’s services.
From Kinsey – Office of Policy, Advocacy, and Equity:
Summer groceries/food access: Can you please share this in your next school newsletters (for families and for staff)?
Need help with buying groceries for your family? The state of Oregon offers a program that can help families with school-age children who need help with access to food while school is out for summer. For details and to apply, see flyer:
¿Necesita ayuda con alimentos para su familia? El estado de Oregón ofrece un programa que ayuda a las familias con niños de edad escolar a comprar alimentos durante las vacaciones de verano. Para más detalles y para aplicar, véase este volante:
Grounds and Athletic Fields Like other departments, Maintenance is responding to budget constraints and limited staffing. Our Outside Services Team, therefore, is adjusting our fertilization schedule to better manage available resources and align with sustainability initiatives.
Instead of applying fertilizer during early spring (spring break), we will now fertilize in late June or early July, with an additional application for athletic fields in the fall. This change—along with scaling back from the previous 3–4 applications per year—will save the district thousands of dollars and significantly reduce water usage, which aligns with conservation efforts encouraged by both the City of Bend and the BLS.
These adjustments will also allow our crews to focus on other critical turf maintenance tasks, such as edging and weed control, which we can better manage as the grass growth slows. Rest assured, playing surfaces will remain safe and the turf healthy.
We’re also prioritizing aeration this year—something we haven’t done consistently in the past. This will have a major positive impact on the overall condition of our fields. Finally, we are in the process of organizing a dedicated field maintenance crew and hope to bring on summer help soon to accelerate this work.
Thank you for your patience and support as we implement these changes.
Important Dates
May 26: Memorial Day, No School
May 27: June Horizontal (Changed from June 3rd) at Highland – HLD and Three Rivers host
June 4: All Admin PD at Aspen Hall, 3:00-4:30
June 5: Counseling Celebration in the board room, 7:30-9:30
June 5: TAG Team meeting, 3:45 in the boardroom
June 12: Last Day students—half day
June 13: Last Day staff
And finally…May 16th is National Classic Movie Day! What is your favorite? Let me know and I will give it a go! I am old enough that my favorite movie is now considered a classic!
Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School
Thought of the Week
State Testing Thought…
Now that the State Tests have started for our Elk Meadow students. I know this can make you feel nervous for your students to do well. But… please remember, among the students who will be testing there’s an artist, who doesn’t need to understand math perfectly. There is an entrepreneur, who doesn’t truly care about SEED or Expeditionary Learning. There’s a musician, whose science scores won’t matter and there’s an athlete whose physical fitness is more important than physics. If your kids nail the test, that’s Awesome! But if they don’t, please continue to reinforce their self-confidence and help them keep their dignity intact. Tell them it’s okay, it’s just a test and they are cut out for much bigger things in life! Tell them, no matter what they score, you still care about them and will be there for them!
THE COMING WEEK:
Monday
Ben out for Admin Meeting 7:30-12:30
Meet with Peter 2:30
Tuesday
Care Teams 7:00-8:00
Train Your Brain 8:00-9:00
Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
Wednesday
Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
ELL Ice Cream Event 11:00-12:15
EA Meeting 1:00
SIW Teacher Prep 1:00-2:30
Admin PD 3:00-4:30
Thursday
Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
Friday
EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
2nd Grade Field Trip 9:30-1:30
UPCOMING DATES:
May 19 – Committee Meetings 2:30-3:15
May 20 – ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
May 21 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
May 21 – SIW 1:00-2:30
May 21 – Screenager Event at Elk Meadow 5:30-7:30
May 22 – Tonya Myers Birthday!
May 22 – 1st Grade Field Trip 9:30-11:30
May 22 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 22 – Kindergarten Open House 5:30-6:30
May 23 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 25 – Chris Hill Birthday!
May 26 – Josh Hayden Birthday!
May 26 – Memorial Day!
May 27 – Care Teams 7:00-8:00
May 27 – Forest Kindergarten 9:30-1:30
May 28 – SIW 1:00-2:30
May 29 – Brooke Vossler Birthday!
May 29 – Counselor Share Out at District Office 10:30-12:30
May 29 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 30 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 31 – Cassie Polanco Birthday!
June 2 – Dibels
June 2 – Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
June 3 – EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 3 – Elementary Admin Meeting 3:00-5:00
June 4 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 4 – SIW Art in the Meadow Prep 1:00-2:30
June 4 – Admin PD 3:00-4:30
June 5 – Counselor Celebration at District Office 7:30-9:30
The Wayfinder Waypoint Summative Assessment is now active! If your school has completed the Fall Summative Assessment, please ensure that both teachers and students participate in the End of the Year assessment. This assessment will measure student growth in Life and Career Readiness skills.
· Students can access the assessment in the Wayfinder app on their iPad under the To Do List.
The assessment will remain open until June 12th and is expected to take approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete. Please note that it may take longer for educators to observe students in grades K-2.
After your school has finished the assessment, feel free to schedule a meeting with Jennifer to review your data dashboard and discuss goals for the upcoming year.
Check out this upcoming training on Change, put on by Dr. Amy Yillik, with the Culture of Care.
Dealing with Change If you’ve been to any of my trainings on wellness, you’ve probably heard me quote Dr. Bruce Perry with “Change activates our stress response.” As I navigate this season of my life in the world we live in, I am 100% confident that change is the one thing I can count on. Whether we are navigating the failing health of a loved one, worried about the state of education in the United States or managing the day to day surprises that pop up, we are in change-so our nervous systems are in stress! SCRR in conjunction with Oregon Well-Being Trust is facilitating a virtual process space “Steadying Ourselves in Uncertain Times” on Monday May 12 3:30-4:30.
I hope you will find it helpful. -Dr Amy
Social Emotional and Well Being–Jennifer and Jess
From Tammy and Karen: Reminder, it is an expectation that all schools with counselors send at least one administrator to this celebration on June 5, from 7:30-9:30. (Note the date change)
Important Dates
May 6: Horizontal meeting 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at Silver Rail, SRE and Rosland host
May 14: All Admin PD at Sky View Middle school, 3:00-4:30 Read Chapter 4!
May 26: Memorial Day, No School
May 27: June Horizontal (Changed from June 3rd) at Highland – HLD and Three Rivers host
June 4: All Admin PD at Aspen Hall, 3:00-4:30
June 5: Counseling Celebration in the board room, 7:30-9:30
June 5: TAG Team meeting, 3:45 in the boardroom
June 12: Last Day students—half day
June 13: Last Day staff
June 17: Elementary End of Year Celebration! 2:00 Somewhere!
And finally…Today is National Coconut Cream Pie Day! In honor of that special day, here is a recipe in case you are now drooling!
Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School
Thought of the Week
The story of the empty boat is an important Daoist parable. It’s about how we can avoid getting angry at the world and how we can live more peacefully with others.
It goes like this:
Imagine you are on a river , rowing your boat. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the day is lovely indeed. Suddenly, you jolt forward. Another boat has collided with yours.
You turn around to face the offending vessel. You’re ready to scream, shout, and be furious, but you find only an empty boat, pushed by the river, which happens to bump into yours.
The story is about why we get angry. It’s not so much the misfortune or accident that upsets us, but rather the belief that someone intended to harm us. We often get more upset about someone’s intentions than about what they actually did. The lesson of the empty boat is to stop imagining people are out to get us and recognize that, often, we’re all just muddling along.
THE COMING WEEK:
Monday
May 5-9 Teacher Appreciation Week!
Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15 Ryan will be here
Tuesday
EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
Elementary Admin Meeting 3:00-5:00
Wednesday
5th at Camp Tamarack
National School Nurse Day!
Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
SIW Extra Time for EL 1:00-2:30
Safety Cadre Meeting 2:00-3:30
2nd Grade Family Dance 5:30-6:30
Thursday
5th at Camp Tamarack
Field Trip 2nd Grade
Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
Ben Meeting with Julie 12:15-12:45
Fire Drill – 1:30
Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
K, 1, 2 Team Meeting with Julie – 2:30-3:15
Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
Friday
5th at Camp Tamarack
Olivia Variel Birthday!
EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
Ruby Garcia Tolson Assembly 12:00-2:00
Happy Mother’s Day!
UPCOMING DATES:
May 12 – Ben out for Admin Meeting 7:30-12:30
May 12. – Meet with Peter 2:30
May 13 – Care Teams 7:00-8:00
May 13 – Train Your Brain 8:00-9:00
May 14 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
May 14 – ELL Ice Cream Event 11:00-12:15
May 14 – EA Meeting 1:00
May 14 – SIW Teacher Prep 1:00-2:30
May 14 – Admin PD 3:00-4:30
May 15 – Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
May 15 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 16 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 16 – 2nd Grade Field Trip 9:30-1:30
May 19 – Committee Meetings 2:30-3:15
May 19 – Admin ICCL Training – 3:00-5:00
May 20 – ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
May 21 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
May 21 – SIW 1:00-2:30
May 21 – Screenager Event at Elk Meadow 5:30-7:30
May 22 – Tonya Myers Birthday!
May 22 – 1st Grade Field Trip 9:30-11:30
May 22 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 22 – Kindergarten Open House 5:30-6:30
May 23 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 25 – Chris Hill Birthday!
May 26 – Josh Hayden Birthday!
May 26 – Memorial Day!
May 27 – Care Teams 7:00-8:00
May 27 – Forest Kindergarten 9:30-1:30
May 28 – SIW 1:00-2:30
May 29 – Brooke Vossler Birthday!
May 29 – Counselor Share Out at District Office 10:30-12:30
May 29 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 30 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 31 – Cassie Polanco Birthday!
June 2 – Dibels
June 2 – Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
June 3 – EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 3 – Elementary Admin Meeting 3:00-5:00
June 4 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 4 – SIW Art in the Meadow Prep 1:00-2:30
June 4 – Admin PD 3:00-4:30
June 5 – Counselor Celebration at District Office 7:30-9:30
*Note: TLC and Instructional Coaches will begin preparing for summer professional learning beginning the week of May 5th. Instructional Coaches will only be in buildings: Tuesday, Wednesday PM and Thursday.
Admin: Share this with teachers in your newsletters
Teachers below are the activity highlights for the week.
Kindergarten: Secret Spyglass – Students practice thinking about the future and share their hopes with each other.
1st grade: Big Mistake – Students listen to the story Regina’s Big Mistake, by Marissa Moss, and identify and celebrate areas of learning where they might make mistakes.
2nd grade: Cars that Can’t See – Students explore trusting someone while navigating uncertainty through an embodied partner activity.
3rd grade: Someone I Trust – Students engage in a visualization about the experience of feeling safe in a classroom.
4th grade: A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words – Students recreate a simple drawing with their eyes closed, relying solely on the descriptions and directions of a partner.
5th grade: I Can’t Believe My Eyes – Students practice paying attention and problem solving by looking at optical illusions.
This document links EL Module 1, 2, 3 and 4 with Wayfinder’s 20 Minute lessons that teach the skills students need and Collections that go with the unit.
Technology – Scott McDonald
iPad Roll-In is Coming! As many of you know, all students will be turning in their iPads before the last day of school. Since we are transitioning to keyboard-equipped devices at all high schools, every student will receive a new or different device for the 2025–26 school year.
This will be a massive undertaking—the first time in 12 years that we are either replacing or swapping all 17,000+ student devices in a single summer. To make this a success, we need your help:
Communicate early – Remind students to back up their work, update their devices, and locate their charging bricks and cords.
Create a school-specific plan – Connect with your IT Client Services representative to understand the process and build a plan to collect student iPads before the end of the year.
Recruit help – This is not a job for media/library staff alone. Plan to involve available staff, students, or volunteers to support the roll-in process.
I’ll be sending more detailed instructions, tips, and ideas for iPad roll-in over the coming weeks. Please also check out this link for information.
Thank you in advance for your support!
From Ryan Kelling–Human Resources
SafeSchools Training Update: Next week, we will be sharing a list of employees who have not yet completed their required SafeSchools trainings with supervisors via email.
These trainings are a critical component of our ongoing commitment to maintaining a safe environment for all students and staff. They also serve to establish a shared understanding of protocols and expectations that can be applied consistently in any situation. Supervisors will be responsible for ensuring that all employees they supervise complete the trainings as soon as possible. These trainings may be completed during work hours. Certified employees are already compensated for this time, and Classified employees may be provided paid release time if necessary.
Looking ahead, we recognize the need to improve communication around training deadlines and will work to establish clearer expectations next year, including potential accountability measures for non-completion. Thank you for your attention to this important matter and for helping reinforce our collective responsibility for school safety.
BLAST Vacancies: The recruitment for two more vacant BLAST positions has commenced.
We are currently recruiting for an Athletic Director/Assistant Principal at La Pine High School and for the Principal vacancy at Elk Meadow Elementary School.
The AD/AP vacancy is a result of the MOA moving these positions to the BLAST schedule.
The Elk Meadow vacancy is due to Ben Johnston’s resignation.
If you’d like to learn more about either vacancy, please connect with Ryan.
From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:
Weekend Snack Bags: The Giving Plate is resuming their weekend snack bag program! As a reminder, this program provides extra snacks for students in need, to supplement food access over the weekend. Please note:
Families must complete a form to qualify and begin receiving this resource.
FAN Advocates continue to be the point of contact for family qualification/permission forms and for snack bag distribution to students.
If your school’s parent volunteer network has stepped in to organize snack bags during the Giving Plate’s pause in service, please let them know this program is resuming and they can phase out their coordination. Better yet, if this is an issue your Booster Club/PTA cares about, they can volunteer with the Giving Plate as individuals or a group–that effort will directly benefit food access for students in your schools.
Do Not Schedule dates: As you start to schedule dates and events for next year, don’t forget to schedule around these dates.
Get the “do not schedule” dates in your calendars now, so in your planning, you avoid school events on these days.
Prepare for the iPad rollover at the end of the year
Important Dates
May 1: National School Principal’s Day
May 5-9: Teacher Appreciation Week
May 6: Horizontal meeting 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at Silver Rail, SRE and Rosland host
May 7: National Association of School Nurses National School Nurse Day (Proclamation here.)
May 7: Safety Cadre Meeting, 2:00-3:30, location TBA
May 14: All Admin PD at Perseverance Hall, 3:00-4:30 Read Chapter 4!
May 26: Memorial Day, No School
May 27: June Horizontal (Changed from June 3rd) at Highland – HLD and Three Rivers host
May 30: Counselor Celebrations, 7:30-9:30 in the board room
June 4: All Admin PD at Perseverance Hall, 3:00-4:30
June 12: Last Day students—half day
June 13: Last Day staff
June 17: Elementary End of Year Celebration! 2:00 Somewhere!
And finally….It’s May 1 and time to break out the Meaningful May daily calendar from Action for Happiness! Visit the site at https://actionforhappiness.org/calendar
Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School
Thought of the Week
I recently read “The Beautiful Ones” a novel written by Prince. It is a semi-autobiographical glimpse into the life of the iconic musician. It starts with his childhood and follows his rise to fame, and creative process. His personal reflections, anecdotes, and insights into his artistry were an interesting peek into his mind, and also gave some insight into his relationships, struggles, and inspirations.
The book talked about love of music and shined a light on his unique perspective on life and fame. The title refers to the people and experiences that influenced him, showcasing his appreciation for beauty in all forms.
In “The Beautiful Ones,” Prince reflects on his childhood in Minneapolis, highlighting how his family’s musical background fueled his passion for music and creativity through interactions with local artists. He details the evolution of his unique sound, emphasizing his innovative experimentation in the studio that pushed genre boundaries. Significant relationships, both friendships and romantic, deeply influenced his songwriting, adding emotional layers to his lyrics. He talks about behind-the-scenes anecdotes from his iconic performances, showcasing the creativity involved in crafting unforgettable shows. He also shares the struggles he faced with fame and the music industry, emphasizing his commitment to artistic integrity and creative control. If you are looking for a journey into the world of Prince and the profound impact he had on music and culture, I cannot recommend the book enough!
THE COMING WEEK:
Monday
Committees Meeting 2:30-3:15
Tuesday
Forest Kindergarten 9:30-1:30
Wednesday
Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
SIW Ed Network Follow Up 1:00-2:30
Thursday
Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
Friday
EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
UPCOMING DATES:
May 5-9 Teacher Appreciation Week!
May 5 – Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
May 6 – EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
May 6 – Elementary Admin Meeting 3:00-5:00
May 7 – 9th Camp Tamarack
May 7 – National School Nurse Day!
May 7 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
May 7 – SIW Extra Time for EL 1:00-2:30
May 7 – Safety Cadre Meeting 2:00-3:30
May 7 – 2nd Grade Family Dance 5:30-6:30
May 8 – Field Trip 2nd Grade
May 8 – Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
May 8 – Ben Meeting with Julie 12:15-12:45
May 8 – Fire Drill – 1:30
May 8 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 8 – K, 1, 2 Team Meeting with Julie – 2:30-3:15
May 9 – Olivia Variel Birthday!
May 9 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 9 – Ruby Garcia Tolson Assembly 12:00-2:00
May 11 – Mother’s Day
May 12 – Ben out for Admin Meeting 7:30-12:30
May 12. – Meet with Peter 2:30
May 13 – Care Teams 7:00-8:00
May 13 – Train Your Brain 8:00-9:00
May 14 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
May 14 – ELL Ice Cream Event 11:00-12:15
May 14 – EA Meeting 1:00
May 14 – SIW Teacher Prep 1:00-2:30
May 14 – Admin PD 3:00-4:30
May 15 – Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
May 15 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 16 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 16 – 2nd Grade Field Trip 9:30-1:30
May 19 – Committee Meetings 2:30-3:15
May 19 – Admin ICCL Training – 3:00-5:00
May 20 – ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
May 21 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
May 21 – SIW 1:00-2:30
May 21 – Screenager Event at Elk Meadow 5:30-7:30
May 22 – Tonya Myers Birthday!
May 22 – 1st Grade Field Trip 9:30-11:30
May 22 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 22 – Kindergarten Open House 5:30-6:30
May 23 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 25 – Chris Hill Birthday!
May 26 – Josh Hayden Birthday!
May 26 – Memorial Day!
May 27 – Care Teams 7:00-8:00
May 27 – Forest Kindergarten 9:30-1:30
May 28 – SIW 1:00-2:30
May 29 – Brooke Vossler Birthday!
May 29 – Counselor Share Out at District Office 10:30-12:30
May 29 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 30 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 31 – Cassie Polanco Birthday!
June 2 – Dibels
June 2 – Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
June 3 – EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 3 – Elementary Admin Meeting 3:00-5:00
June 4 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 4 – SIW Art in the Meadow Prep 1:00-2:30
June 4 – Admin PD 3:00-4:30
June 5 – Counselor Celebration at District Office 7:30-9:30
NATIONAL SCHOOL NURSE DAY , Wednesday, May 7, 2025
National School Nurse Day recognizes school nurses who work to improve the health and learning of students. – Oregon School Boards Association
View the National Association of School Nurses National School Nurse Day Proclamation here.
Be sure to let your school nurse know how much you appreciate them!!
Curriculum and Instruction-Julie Richards
The School Improvement Wednesday on April 30th is dedicated to looking deeper at Amplify Desmos Math. Here is the slide deck that will be shared with teachers next week. You will notice there is a section for Classroom Teachers, Learning Specialists & Interventionists, and Administrators & Other Leaders so everyone can explore Amplify Desmos Math!
Student Services–Sean Reinhart
The Nest Program will be expanding and relocating next fall!
The Nest program will have a new home this fall! The Nest is our self-contained program (run by the HDESD) for elementary students who experience dysregulation and need a highly specialized environment to develop skills. The goal is that they learn skills and eventually fully join their peers at their neighborhood school. Students attend The Nest for half the day and then go to their neighborhood school for the other half of the day.
Also, The Nest will be expanding next year by adding an additional classroom. Currently, there is only capacity to host 6-8 students per half-day session. This expansion will double the capacity at The Nest, while also offering some full day slots (which is not currently available). The current location, the Tamarack building, is not a suitable location for expansion. As a result, the decision was made to relocate The Nest to a BLS facility.
Several sites were considered, and Summit HS was ultimately selected because of the unique features that the site offers. The wing that will host The Nest was originally built for an ECSE kindergarten and has many of the desired features. It is mostly separate from the rest of the building, has the right amount of space, and allows the program to expand to two classrooms. Many other sites were considered, and after weighing out the pros and cons, Summit was hands down the best decision. The team believes that placing the program at a high school will offer more of a boundary between the program and the school. Moreover, there is a possibility for synergistic programming in the future (think high school mentors) that could benefit both The Nest and Summit HS.
The Nest has its own teachers and administrators and will be administered in an independent manner. There is currently a planning committee that will be working with various stakeholders to ensure the transition runs as smoothly as possible.
Last CPI Training of the year!
Student Services are offering one final Full CPI training this year. As a place to start, please have any regular inclusion EAs that has not been trained register for this training. Further, encourage any temporary inclusion EAs that intend to apply for a regular position for next school year to register for this training. After that, look at your buildings support team and identify untrained folks that you would want trained and have them register as well.
Training details:
What: CPI Training
Date: May 6, 2025
Time: 8-4
Location: Pacific Crest Cornice
Sign up in UKG
From Ryan Kelling–Human Resources
This note is coming to you a bit later than planned, but please join me in welcoming Sarah Westling to Human Resources. Sarah is serving as our Certified Specialist II, supporting HR tasks and bringing valuable experience from her time in the Eugene 4J HR office. We are thrilled she chose to join us and are grateful for the contributions she’s already made to our team. If you haven’t already, please stop by the large HR office next time you’re at the Ed Center to introduce yourself and welcome Sarah to BLS.
The recruitment for three vacant BLAST positions has commenced. We are currently recruiting for a Director of Student Services, an Athletic Director/Assistant Principal position at Summit High School, and for the Principal vacancy at Cascade Middle School. If you’d like to learn more about any of the vacancies, please connect with Ryan.
This Director of Student Services position comes in response to the growing scope of the department, particularly the integration of the Occupational Therapist classification that had formerly existed as a part of our local service plan with the High Desert ESD, which brings added responsibilities and oversight needs. Additionally, this position will supervise the daily operation of the Transition Co-Op program and manage the mentoring and training program for all Student Services staff.
The Athletic Director/Assistant Principal position is a result of the latest MOA between BLS and BEA that moved the high school Athletic Driectors to the BLAST schedule prosepectively. I’m confident that this role will help us align our co-curriculars at the secondary level with our overall vision of the student experience we’re working to provide for all students, regardless of their school.
The Cascade Middle School Principal is to fill the vacancy created by Gabe Pagano, who accepted the offer to be the Director of District Activities and Athletics beginning July 1
From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:
Student Voice Council:
We’ll be honoring the departing senior representatives of the SVC at the May 13th board meeting, in case you’d like to join (not critical, but you’re welcome) or otherwise recognize them: BSHS: Iris M, Quincy B, Taylor W; MVHS: Lindsay L; Realms: Elliot D; SHS: Alaina T, Finnegan H.
And, we are launching our recruitmentfor the 25-26 Student Voice Council! Most of your schools have current members who will return to continue their term next year, but ALL of your schools will have open spaces for new representatives. We will be promoting in a variety of ways (materials coming soon), and would love you to talk it up in your school as well (school-wide announcements, advisory, family newsletters, etc). As you know, these students have quite the audience with our school board and public community, and have a lot to say about your schools—ensuring diverse and strong representative of your school on the SVC is critical in the positive impact this group can have. Once we have applicants for your school, we’d love your partnership in interviewing and selecting your reps. More to follow—for now, please help promote this with students, staff, and families.
Do Not Schedule dates: As you start to schedule dates and events for next year, don’t forget to schedule around these dates. Please share this with athletics, activities, counselors, office managers, parent groups, etc. Thanks!
Interpreter requests: As you submit requests for interpreters for end-of-year requests, please follow these tips (and share these with relevant staff):
Submit in advance!
Be sure to note the event format. Interpreters deserve to know in advance if they’re showing up to speak in front of hundreds of families!
Attach or paste links in Linguist Link any agendas, handouts, slides, or other materials that may be helpful for the interpreter to adequately prepare.
If you need help thinking through efficient models of bilingual communication during a family event, please contact your Family Liaison, Language Specialist, or me.
Action Items
On next SIW (4/30), you are expected to do the administrator portion of the Amplify Desmos training
Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School
Thought of the Week
Don’t Let Your Mistakes Define You!
When milk gets bad it becomes yogurt. Yogurt is more valuable than milk. If it gets even worse it turns to cheese. Cheese is more valuable than both yogurt and milk. If grape juice turns sour it transforms into wine. Wine is even more expensive than grape juice. You’re not bad because you made mistakes. Mistakes are the experiences that make you more valuable as a person. Alexander Fleming’s mistake led him to invent penicillin. Don’t let your mistakes get you down. It is not practice that makes perfect, it is the mistakes we learn from that make perfect. Just keep going!
Never underestimate yourself, you’re more valuable than you think. Your mistakes don’t make you weak, they make you wiser. it’s not about perfection, it’s about growth and the journey!
THE COMING WEEK:
Monday
Ben Out
Lexia Meeting 2:30-3:15
Tuesday
Ben Out
Earth Day
Care Teams Meeting 7:00-8:00
Admin ICCL Training – 3:00-5:00
Camp Tamarack Parent Meeting 5:30-6:30
Wednesday
Ben Out
Administrative Professionals Day!
Spring Picture Day
Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
SIW Ed Network Day – Elementary Amplify Desmos Math Kick Off with Fawn Nguyen 1:45-3:15
Safety Cadre Meeting 1:30-3:30
Thursday
Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
ELL Field Trip 10:00-12:30
Lock Down Drill 1:00
Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
Friday
Stephanie Julia-Suriano Birthday!
EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
UPCOMING DATES:
April 27 – Laura G Birthday!
April 28-May 2 – Volunteer Appreciation Week!
April 28 – Committee Meetings
April 29 – Forest Kindergarten 9:30-1:30
April 29 – ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
April 30 – Field Trip 1st Grade
April 30 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
April 30 – SIW Ed Network Follow Up 1:00-2:30
May 1 – Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
May 1 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 2 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 5-9 Teacher Appreciation Week!
May 5 – Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
May 6 – EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
May 6 – Elementary Admin Meeting 3:00-5:00
May 7 – 9th Camp Tamarack
May 7 – National School Nurse Day!
May 7 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
May 7 – SIW Extra Time for EL 1:00-2:30
May 7 – Safety Cadre Meeting 2:00-3:30
May 7 – 2nd Grade Family Dance 5:30-6:30
May 8 – Field Trip 2nd Grade
May 8 – Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
May 8 – Ben Meeting with Julie 12:15-12:45
May 8 – Fire Drill – 1:30
May 8 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 8 – K, 1, 2 Team Meeting with Julie – 2:30-3:15
May 9 – Olivia Variel Birthday!
May 9 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 9 – Ruby Garcia Tolson Assembly 12:00-2:00
May 11 – Mother’s Day
May 12 – Ben out for Admin Meeting 7:30-12:30
May 12. – Meet with Peter 2:30
May 13 – Care Teams 7:00-8:00
May 13 – Train Your Brain 8:00-9:00
May 14 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
May 14 – ELL Ice Cream Event 11:00-12:15
May 14 – EA Meeting 1:00
May 14 – SIW Teacher Prep 1:00-2:30
May 14 – Admin PD 3:00-4:30
May 15 – Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
May 15 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 16 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 16 – 2nd Grade Field Trip 9:30-1:30
May 19 – Committee Meetings 2:30-3:15
May 19 – Admin ICCL Training – 3:00-5:00
May 20 – ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
May 21 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
May 21 – SIW 1:00-2:30
May 21 – Screenager Event at Elk Meadow 5:30-7:30
May 22 – Tonya Myers Birthday!
May 22 – 1st Grade Field Trip 9:30-11:30
May 22 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 22 – Kindergarten Open House 5:30-6:30
May 23 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 25 – Chris Hill Birthday!
May 26 – Josh Hayden Birthday!
May 26 – Memorial Day!
May 27 – Care Teams 7:00-8:00
May 27 – Forest Kindergarten 9:30-1:30
May 28 – SIW 1:00-2:30
May 29 – Brooke Vossler Birthday!
May 29 – Counselor Share Out at District Office 10:30-12:30
May 29 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
May 30 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
May 31 – Cassie Polanco Birthday!
June 2 – Dibels
June 2 – Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
June 3 – EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 3 – Elementary Admin Meeting 3:00-5:00
June 4 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 4 – SIW Art in the Meadow Prep 1:00-2:30
June 4 – Admin PD 3:00-4:30
June 5 – Counselor Celebration at District Office 7:30-9:30
June 5 – Fire Drill 9:30
June 5 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
June 6 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
June 6 – Field Day
June 6 – Art in the Meadow 5:30-7:00
June 9 – Meet with Peter 2:30
June 10 – Care Teams 7:00-8:00
June 10 – ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15
June 10 – 5th Grade Move Up/Music Performance
June 11 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
June 11 – EA Meeting 1:00
June 11 – SIW Teacher Prep 1:00-2:30
June 12 – The Last Day of School!
June 12 – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
June 13 – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
June 15 – Father’s Day!
June 17 – Nicole Garroutte Birthday!
June 17 – Admin EOY Celebration
June 19 – Holiday
Updates from Downtown
“If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.” — Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace
From Tammy and Karen
This morning, during one of our Breakfast and Belonging conversations, I was reminded of the research that validates the importance of caring for ourselves and seeking our own happiness. The time we spend being there for ourselves pays off in so many ways, including supporting and helping others to be happier! This is complicated research, but here is a 5 minute read from Harvard Medicine on the Contagion of Happiness that I hope you will take some time to review! It would make me really happy if you did that (teehee)!
Middle School Transition and Math Bypass Testing for 5th grade: An assessment needs to be given for some 5th grade students who could potentially skip 6th grade math if they meet the requirements. This assessment will only be given to 5th grade students whose teacher nominates them based on their math proficiency being exceptional, parents request their child take the test, or students who nominate themselves. This assessment will use iReady and takes approximately 45 minutes to complete on the iPad.
Schedule this assessment for some time in May and pull the identified students to a space and administer the assessment before the end of the year.
ICCL Update: The Admin ICCL Team meeting is at RE Jewell on Tuesday, April 25, from 3:00-5:00. We will be focusing on your school design work for the year and planning ahead for next year.
On our way to brand new websites for Bend-La Pine Schools
A team from District Communications and IT have started the process of converting all our websites to a new platform for the 2025-26 school year. We have partnered with Finalsite, a leading provider of websites for schools. We are beginning this month with design for a new District site and will follow that with a new school template. We will work through the spring and summer with the goal of launching the new sites before school begins in September. If we run into issues or need to change the timeline, we can continue to use our existing sites as long as needed.
We have been talking about this change for a couple of years now, and we’re excited to be underway. The benefits include greater online security, cost savings, cleaning up and better organizing our web content, improved features for those visiting our sites, better mobile functionality, a much-improved content management system (for web editors), visual appeal, and improved accessibility for people with disabilities.
Starting next week, Scott Maben will begin reaching out to each school admin team to ask you questions about your existing website, your thoughts on your new website, and who will be your primary school website content manager in the 2025-26 school year. We also will share details on project timelines and staff training as we solidify those details.
Feel free to ask questions now or hold them for when we connect in the coming weeks.
Local meteorologist offers to help students learn about weather, forecasts
KTVZ chief meteorologist John Carroll is a familiar face both from his local TV reports and his time in classrooms helping young students learn about weather and forecasting in Central Oregon. He has written three children’s books about the weather, and he welcomes students to join him on air for weather reports as part of the KTVZ Junior Forecaster program.
John has been invited to speak with classes in several of our schools, and he let us know he’s available for more school visits and would love to make it to all elementary schools in our district. In his long career as a meteorologist John has developed presentations suitable for young elementary students (K-2) and older ones (3-5). He asks you to reach out if interested in scheduling a visit: [email protected] or 860-729-1814.
Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School
Thought of the Week
I was 17 years old when Forrest Gump came out. There are so many lessons in the movie, but one I think that is overlooked the most is Forests’ kindness. In the middle of the movie He’s sitting on this park bench waiting for the bus to go see Jenny for the first time in many years and then the lady on the bench says,“oh, you’re just trying to go there, you can go there right now.”
Forest stands up and runs over to Jenny’s place and there’s Jenny. There’s no bitterness with him. This is the love of his life and she literally left him and in a brutal way. He looks over and sees Jenny’s son watching Sesame Street and he says, “you got a son.” And she says, “yeah, yeah, that’s my son, his name is Forest.” Forest says, “that’s my name?”, and she says, “I know, I named him after his daddy.” There’s this moment where he looks at little Forest and he puts together that this is his son and for the first time in the movie you really start to see Forest break down and cry.
It makes me emotional every single time I even talk about it. Then he looks at her and he goes, “is he like me?” He’s afraid, and in that moment we realise as an audience that we have just sat through him being ridiculed and berated and made fun of and insulted for hours, and him just seemingly oblivious to it…but in that moment, we realize oh, no, no, no, he’s known all along. He knows exactly who he is and he’s known exactly why everybody treats him like garbage and he loves them anyway. I couldn’t stop crying because I wanted him to be real. I wanted there to be an example of such a wonderful human being.
True strength is loving others even when they hurt you. it’s recognizing the pain of ridicule, carrying the weight of it, and choosing kindness anyway. The deepest love is the kind that is forgives, not because it’s easy, but because it knows the value of compassion.
THE COMING WEEK:
Monday
Meet with Peter
Tuesday
Admin Meeting 3:00-5:00
Wednesday
Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
Conferences
Thursday
Conferences
Friday
No School
UPCOMING DATES:
April 21 – Ben out for meeting 7:30-12:30
April 21 – Committees Meeting 2:30-3:15
April 22 – Earth Day
April 22 – Care Teams Meeting 7:00-8:00
April 22 – Admin Training – 3:00-5:00
April 23 – Administrative Professionals Day!
April 23 – Spring Picture Day
April 23 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
April 23 – SIW Ed Network Day 1:00-2:30
April 23 – Safety Cadre Meeting 1:30-3:30
April 24 – Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
Bridges Math Disposal – Please do not dispose of any Bridges materials, yet. It will cause additional work for your custodial staff and cost extra money.Your office manager should have shared this survey with teachers to help the Custodial Department determine how many recycle bins and dumpsters are needed at your school for the disposal of the Bridges Math materials. Please resend the survey to your staff so the Custodial Department can make a plan. We only have about 50% of teacher responses. Thank you!
Action Items
Got some poets? Share the contest with your school!
Important Dates
April 15: Horizontal meeting 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at Ponderosa Elementary–PON and Jewell host
April 19: On the Road to Kindergarten Event 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at various parks
April 22: Admin ICCL 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
May 5-9: Teacher Appreciation Week
May 6: Horizontal meeting 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at Silver Rail, SRE and Rosland host
May 7: Safety Cadre Meeting, 2:00-3:30, location TBA
May 14: All Admin PD at Perseverance Hall, 3:00-4:30 Read Chapter 4!
May 26: Memorial Day, No School
May 30: Counselor Celebrations, 7:30-9:30 in the board room, at least one admin is required to attend, but both are encouraged!
June 3: Horizontal meeting 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at Highland, Highland and Three Rivers host
June 4: All Admin PD at Perseverance Hall, 3:00-4:30
June 12: Last Day students—half day
June 13: Last Day staff
And finally…Friday April 11 is National Pet Day! Give a hug to the favorite pets in your life! Here’s Charlie Girl!
Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School
Thought of the Week
A Wise Lesson in Empathy: With billions of us humans on earth it’s incredible to see how we are all connected and similar in many ways. At the same time we are all individuals with our own opinions, thoughts and values. At times, we can feel so strongly about something that it could blind us from seeing the bigger picture or taking into account that there’s more than one way to approach the situation. Perhaps if we took a moment to step into the other person’s shoes we will see where that person is coming from and by doing so it will make all the difference.
THE COMING WEEK:
Monday
Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
Tuesday
Care Teams Meeting 7:00-8:00
Wednesday
Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
SIW – Teacher Prep 1:00-2:30
Admin Meeting 3:00-4:30
Thursday
Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
Fire Drill 1:30
Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
Friday
EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
April 13 – Emily McLarty’s Birthday!
UPCOMING DATES:
April 14 – Meet with Peter
April 15 – Admin Meeting 3:00-5:00
April 16 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
April 16 – Conferences
April 17 – Conferences
April 18 – No School
April 21 – Ben out for meeting 7:30-12:30
April 21 – Committees Meeting 2:30-3:15
April 22 – Earth Day
April 22 – Care Teams Meeting 7:00-8:00
April 22 – Admin Training – 3:00-5:00
April 23 – Administrative Professionals Day!
April 23 – Spring Picture Day
April 23 – Office Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
April 23 – SIW Ed Network Day 1:00-2:30
April 23 – Safety Cadre Meeting 1:30-3:30
April 24 – Smart Reading (Kindergarten) 9:45-10:45
It looks like the weather is going to cooperate over the next few weeks for us to amp up our mindfulness throughout ACTIVE APRIL Month! I hope you will join me in this challenge to get moving more as a way to alleviate stress and build wellness!
Spring Conferences Schedule Reminder: For Spring conferences, the work days are as follows: Wednesday, April 16, from 7:15-3:15 (first 8 hours if your day is slightly different) is work time–no conferences during this time and 3:15-7:15 is conference time. Thursday, April 17, 7:15-7:15 are conferences. Friday, April 18, is a day off to trade.
Bargaining Updates: This spring we are sharing our bargaining updates on our Staff Portal. Our first update, covering last night’s first session with the BEA and District teams, is available HERE.
Bargaining dates:
BEA-BLS: April 2, 16 and 30; May 12 and 19; June 2 and 3
OSEA-BLS: April 10 and 24; May 8, 22 and 29; June 4
Bridges Math Disposal – Please do not dispose of any Bridges materials, yet. It will cause additional work for your custodial staff and cost extra money.Your office manager should have shared this survey with teachers to help the Custodial Department determine how many recycle bins and dumpsters are needed at your school for the disposal of the Bridges Math materials. Please resend the survey to your staff so the Custodial Department can make a plan. We only have about 50% of teacher responses. Thank you!
From Kinsey in Policy, Advocacy, and Office of DEI
Emergency contacts: We’ve learned from other districts across the country who have experienced immigration raids, or smaller-scale detention/deportation actions in their community, the importance of having up-to-date emergency contacts in Synergy for each student. If parents/guardians suddenly become unavailable, we rely on emergency contacts–outdated information adds stress to an already traumatic situation.
With conferences coming up, please encourage families (all families, not just those to whom the above situation might apply) to update their emergency contacts. This might look like a station in your lobby with iPads and instructions (I’m working on getting some we can provide you), a reminder by classroom teachers, etc.
Day of Silence: The 2025 Day of Silence is coming up (student-led advocacy day to support the LGBTQ community). I have asked your DEI-ICCL rep and/or GSA advisor to send a message to staff about this day, so staff are aware and know how to navigate.
If you haven’t seen that message come out to your staff, or if you’d like to re-send it in your staff memos, please reach out to your DEI-ICCL rep. Teachers should plan for nonverbal or written means of participation in class that day, if possible.
From Ryan Kelling in Human Resources
Contract letters for licensed employees were sent to all licensed employees via UKG and must be returned no later than April 15.mIf you have not yet completed yours, please log in to UKG to review and submit your response as soon as possible.
Administrators, please ensure your staff are aware of this deadline and follow up as needed – and don’t forget to return yours too! If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to Candy Gelatt or [email protected]
From Julie Richards in Elementary Curriculum and Instruction
Educator Network Day– April 23 will be dedicated to learning about Amplify Desmos Math. This will be virtual and facilitated by Fawn Nguyen from Amplify Desmos Math. The staff will need to be in one location (library) and the administrator’s role is to open the link on their computer and manage the chat and be the communication liaison between Fawn Nguyen and your staff. The zoom link will be sent to you on the day of the training.
Dyslexia Training OpportunityCentral Oregon Dyslexia Conference – May 3, 9am – 3:30pm
Location: Ridgeview High School
This conference is designed with educators, administrators, and parents in mind, bringing you resources and tools from the International Dyslexia Association and specialists in our community. You’ll walk away with a clear understanding of what Dyslexia is, experience a simulation putting you in the seat of a child with learning disabilities and take a deeper dive into understanding how to best support these students. Learn why children struggle with reading and what you can do in the classroom to help!
Teachers – Earn 5.5 Professional Development Units for FREE. No additional paperwork necessary – certificates will be distributed after the event.
Join us if you are just learning about dyslexia or you are ready for a deeper dive into strategies and tools for working with children with dyslexia. Together, we can help our struggling readers!
