Our EME Focus

• Tier 1 Instruction
• Belonging
• Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School

Thoughts of the Week

If you have time, this is amazing video! And he truly is a kind soul!

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The Coming Week

• Monday
  • Committees 2:30-3:15
  • Principal Cohort 3:00-4:00

• Tuesday
  • Picture Retake Day
  • Lilly Paradis’ Birthday!
  • Elementary Admin Horizontal Meeting 3:00-5:00

• Wednesday
  • Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
  • SIW

• Thursday
  • Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15

• Friday
  • EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00

UPCOMING DATES:

• November 24th – Steve Miller’s Birthday!
• November 25th – Amanda Gylling’s Birthday!
• November 25th-29th – Thanksgiving Break
• December 2nd – Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
• December 3rd – Vision Screening
• December 3rd – EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
• December 4th-6th – Amanda Out for Law Conference
• December 4th – SIW 1:00-2:30
• December 5th – Sped Team Meeting 2:30-3:15
• December 6th – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00

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Updates from Downtown

Important Links

• November 6th Elementary TLC Update
• Topics of Interest/Problem of Practice–Have you helped out your colleague yet? Several more need some advice!
• TAG Folder of helpful things

Notes from our Team:

From Triz in HR

Certified Evaluation Information as of 10-31-24. We have edited all the certified profiles so that they don’t refer to specific dates in any of the instructions or notifications. The intent of this is to streamline editing from year to year and make successive launches more timely.

Within the sub profiles, goals, observations, self-reflections and the like, dates can be chosen to auto launch and populate the review. We have set the profiles to do the following:

Anchor Date: the date that the system will use for assigning evaluation profiles and sub profiles.

First Review: this date will assign a specified profile the first time.

Auto Assign: toggles whether to initiate the profile automatically. Uses the Anchor and First Review dates to determine what launches.

These allow us to set up an ongoing eval start date, but also have this year start on a later date, since it is a new build.

We have set the profiles to do the following:

Main Profile, this is just messaging that the evaluations are available and scheduled to Administrators; Anchor 8-20-2024; First 11-5-24 – Auto Assign.

Goals (Mini#1); Anchor; 9-7-24; First 11-5-24 – Auto Assign.

Formal 1; Anchor 11-1-24; First 11-5-24 – Auto Assign.

Formal 2; Anchor 1-15-25; First Same – Auto Assign

Mini #2; Anchor 7-1-24; First 2-15-25 – NON Auto Assign

Mini #3; Anchor 7-1-24; First 3-15-25 – NON Auto Assign

Mini#4; Anchor 7-1-24; First 4-15-25 – NON Auto Assign

Self Reflection; Anchor 4-1-25; First same – NON Auto Assign

Summative Eval; Anchor 5-1-25; First same – NON Auto Assign

Year End Goal; Anchor 5-1-25; First same – Auto Assign

Contract teachers don’t have formals or mini 4 in their profile, so only the first goal and year end goals will auto assign.

From Dave in TLC

OSAS Testing Annual Notices and Opt-Out Forms. The Bend-La Pine website has been updated with the 2024-25 fillable PDF annual notice and opt-out forms that we are required to share with families. There are separate notices and opt-out forms for ELA/Math testing (grades 3-8 & 11) and the SEED survey (grades 3-11). Please share these resources through your commonly used channels (e.g., School newsletters, parent emails) and have copies available for parents to pick up in the office by the applicable dates listed below.  Opt Out link here

ODE English Language Arts and Math State Testing. Consistent with the requirements of ORS 329.479, ODE has developed an annual notice (available through ODE’s Test Administration webpage) that describes these assessments, identifies the timeframe when the assessment will most likely be administered, and identifies an adult student’s or parent’s right to excuse the student from testing. Districts and public charter schools must provide parents with the ODE-developed annual notice at the beginning of each school year. In addition, districts and public charter schools must provide parents with separate notice at least 30 days prior to administering the statewide summative assessments in Math and ELA using the ODE-provided 30-day notice and opt-out form (also available through ODE’s Test Administration webpage), or a district-created form that exactly reproduces the language of the ODE-provided form. School districts and public charter schools must use the language of the 30-day notice and opt-out form provided by ODE to communicate with all parents about state testing requirements and their right to opt out for high school students by January 5, 2025, and for students in Grades 3-8 by March 2, 2025. 

ODE SEED Survey. Oregon law (House Bill 2656) requires each school district to make the SEED Survey available to students in grades 3-11. Parents or guardians may decline, either verbally or in writing, to have their student participate in the SEED Survey. Schools will provide parents with notice of administration and the process for declining participation at least 5 days prior to administering the SEED Survey. Students may also decline, at any time, either verbally or in writing to participate. Students may also decline to answer individual questions on the SEED survey. Please contact Dave with any questions.

YouthTruth Survey. This year we will be giving the YouthTruth survey to staff, families, and secondary students. The survey window is January 6 – January 31. Please find a few minutes to watch this short kick off webinar (you can watch it on 1.25 or 1.5 speed). Elissa, our YouthTruth representative will be emailing school on Monday, November 18 with instruction for accessing the Survey Implementation Guide. I will follow up with additional information and resources as we get closer to the survey window. Thank you. Watch the kick off webinar here.

From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, & Office of DEI:

Bias Incidents and Hate Speech: When does a student’s comment to a peer or text on a t-shirt invoke our policies around sexual harassment, bias, bullying or intimidation, and when is it something permissible or protected?  What if a student is using a hand gesture that is known to be a communication of hate or oppression?  How do you balance intent vs impact, political speech, and a culture of dignity and belonging focused on learning?  If you have a tricky situation, need some policy guidance, or just want a thought partner, please reach out!  If you’d be interested in a collaborative conversation with other building administrators on how to navigate these incidents right now, please email me so I can gauge interest and need.  

As a reminder, please respond promptly to any complaints or bias incidents reported, including circling back with the reporter at the conclusion of your response.  This is a powerful way to show your commitment to the wellbeing and dignity of each member of your school community.

Latino Family Night: Please drop by our 7^th annual district-wide Latino Family Night if you are able (invitation here–feel free to share).  The Woodburn High School mariachi band will perform (pictured here), and there will be dinner, partners, games, and fun!  

From McScott in IT: (Please share with your teaching staff right now please)

Synergy Mail Issue and Resolution. The latest update to our student information system included a change in Synergy Mail, which removed the ability for recipients (families) to reply directly to the sender (teacher). This change was intentional by the vendor but was not communicated to any IT teams or any of their 6,500 school customers nationwide. As a result, we were delayed in communicating the issue and providing a solution.

As of today, November 14th, our BLS IT team has implemented an in-house fix that restores the direct reply functionality for recipients of messages sent via Synergy Mail. We understand that this issue may have disrupted important communication between teachers and families. Please let me know if there is anything my team or I can do to support you in reestablishing communication.

Two things for family newsletters:

Science Night at Lonza: Here is a link you can include in your family newsletter about an awesome family science opportunity at Lonza. Check it out!

Boys and Girls Club has the following spots available for after school care. Please reach out to them if you are interested here at this link!

• 1 full time spot available for a kinder, 2/3rd grader, 3/4 grader, and 5th grader–downtown location
• 7 full time spots for 1/2 graders–downtown location
• 10 spots open at the east side location for 1st-5th grade

Important Dates

• November 19: Horizontal meeting, @ Bear Creek, hosted by BCE and Miller, 3:00-5:00
• November 25-29 Fall Holiday Break, (if you take time off, use non-contract for all days except Thanksgiving itself)
• December 10: Admin and ICCL Training—make sure your ICCL team knows! 3-5–location TBD
• December 11: All Admin Meeting at Perseverance Hall, 3:00-4:30
• December 19-20: Tammy is out–connect with Karen if you need anything
• December 23-January 3. Winter Break!

And finally…we can’t over look the power of connection, with families, each other, nature, pets, etc.

Our EME Focus

• Tier 1 Instruction
• Belonging
• Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School

Thoughts of the Week

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Today I want to share a short story with you about gratitude…
A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which read, “I am blind, please help.”

There were only a few coins in the hat – spare change from folks as they hurried past.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. Then he put the sign back in the boy’s hand so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon, the man who had changed the sign returned to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”

The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.”

I wrote, “Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it.”

Both signs spoke the truth. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind, while the second sign conveyed to everyone walking by how grateful they should be to see…

When your life seems full of troubles, it seems difficult to maintain an attitude of gratitude, doesn’t it? All we see are our problems, like a blackened storm cloud casting a dark shadow over our lives.

And the times when everything just seems to be going smoothly? We often take these precious moments for granted too, don’t we? Caught up in the bliss, comfort, and familiarity of it all, we can simply forget to be thankful.

So what, then, is gratitude?

Simply put, gratitude is a habit. It’s a way of looking at the world and all the good things in it with a feeling of appreciation, regardless of whether or not your current situation is to your liking.

Gratitude is a heart-centered approach to being at peace with yourself and with all you have. When you practice this feeling of gratitude, it attracts even MORE things into your life for which to be grateful.

Go ahead, try it out right now. What or who do you have in your life to be thankful for? 🙂

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The Coming Week

• Monday
  • Veterans Day – No School
  • National Psychology Week 11th-15th

• Tuesday
  • Care Teams Meeting 7:00-8:00

• Wednesday
  • Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
  • EA Meeting 1:00-1:30
  • SIW Teacher Prep 1:00-2:30
  • All Admin Meeting 3:00-4:30 

• Thursday
  • Ruby Bridges Day
  • 4th Grade Field Trip to High Desert 9:00-2:00
  • Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15

• Friday
  • Ben Out
  • Tori Eisenbeis’ Birthday!
  • EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00

UPCOMING DATES:

• November 18th – Committees 2:30-3:15
• November 18th – Principal Cohort 3:00-4:00
• November 19th – Picture Retake Day
• November 19th – Lilly Paradis’ Birthday!
• November 19th – Elementary Admin Horizontal Meeting 3:00-5:00
• November 20th – Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
• November 20th – SIW
• November 21st – Sped Team Meeting 2:30-3:15
• November 22nd – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
• November 24th – Steve Miller’s Birthday!
• November 25th – Amanda Gylling’s Birthday!
• November 25th-29th – Thanksgiving Break
• December 2nd – Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
• December 3rd – Vision Screening
• December 3rd – EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
• December 4th-6th – Amanda Out for Law Conference
• December 4th – SIW 1:00-2:30
• December 5th – Sped Team Meeting 2:30-3:15
• December 6th – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00

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Updates from Downtown

Did you know you can join the “Action for Happiness” movement? It’s a fun way to focus on the little things that bring you and others joy. Who doesn’t need a little happiness in their lives now and then? Check it out here!

Important Links

• November 6th Elementary TLC Update
• Topics of Interest/Problem of Practice–New Question–Please help a colleague!
• TAG Folder of helpful things

Notes from our Team:

From Jennifer in Social, Emotional, and Mental Well-being: I hope the 2024-2025 school year has started smoothly and successfully for your team and students. Patrick Cook-Deegan, Founder + CEO of Wayfinder who lives in Bend would be honored to spend some time at your school. His goal is to deepen his understanding of how the Wayfinder product and implementation is impacting your school community. 

He is eager to learn firsthand about what’s working well and where there may be areas for improvement. Patrick would welcome conversations with anyone on your team—whether a principal, counselor, teacher, or even a student—who can provide authentic insights on both the strengths and challenges of the Wayfinder experience.

Attached is a sign-up sheet for Patrick’s visit. Please select a date and time that works best with your school schedule. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Two things for family newsletters:

Science Night at Lonza: Here is a link you can include in your family newsletter about an awesome family science opportunity at Lonza. Check it out!

Boys and Girls Club has the following spots available for after school care. Please reach out to them if you are interested here at this link!

• 1 full time spot available for a kinder, 2/3rd grader, 3/4 grader, and 5th grader–downtown location
• 7 full time spots for 1/2 graders–downtown location
• 10 spots open at the east side location for 1st-5th grade

Important Dates

• November 11: Veteran’s Day–No School
• November 13: All Admin Meeting at Perseverance Hall, 3:00-4:30
• November 19: Horizontal meeting, @ Bear Creek, hosted by BCE and Miller, 3:00-5:00
• November 25-29 Fall Holiday Break, (if you take time off, use non-contract for all days except Thanksgiving itself)
• December 10: Admin and ICCL Training—make sure your ICCL team knows! 3-5–location TBD
• December 11: All Admin Meeting at Perseverance Hall, 3:00-4:30
• December 19-20: Tammy is out–connect with Karen if you need anything
• December 23-January 3. Winter Break!

And finally…we all need a little Ted Lasso pep-talk in our lives!

Our EME Focus

• Tier 1 Instruction
• Belonging
• Define what it means to be an Integrated Arts School

Thoughts of the Week

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The Coming Week

• Monday
  • November is Native American Heritage Month
  • Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
  • BAM Meeting 3:30-4:45

• Tuesday
  • Election Day
  • Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
  • Kindergarten Field Trip
  • ICCL Meeting 2:30-3:15

• Wednesday
  • Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
  • SIW 

• Thursday
  • Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15 

• Friday
  • EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
  • Safety Cadre Meeting 1:30-3:30

UPCOMING DATES:

• November 11th – Veterans Day – No School
• National Psychology Week 11th-15th
• November 12th – Care Teams Meeting 7:00-8:00
• November 13th – Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
• November 13th – EA Meeting 1:00-1:30
• November 13th – SIW Teacher Prep 1:00-2:30
• November 13th – All Admin Meeting 3:00-4:30
• November 14th – Ruby Bridges Day
• November 14th – 4th Grade Field Trip to High Desert 9:00-2:00
• November 14th – Sped Team Meeting – 2:30-3:15
• November 15th – Ben Out
• November 15th – Tori Eisenbeis’ Birthday!
• November 15th – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
• November 18th – Committees 2:30-3:15
• November 18th – Principal Cohort 3:00-4:00
• November 19th – Picture Retake Day
• November 19th – Lilly Paradis’ Birthday!
• November 19th – Elementary Admin Horizontal Meeting 3:00-5:00
• November 20th – Admin Meeting 7:00-7:30
• November 20th – SIW
• November 21st – Sped Team Meeting 2:30-3:15
• November 22nd – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00
• November 24th – Steve Miller’s Birthday!
• November 25th – Amanda Gylling’s Birthday!
• November 25th-29th – Thanksgiving Break
• December 2nd – Staff Meeting 2:30-3:15
• December 3rd – Vision Screening
• December 3rd – EME Safety Meeting 7:00-7:30
• December 4th-6th – Amanda Out for Law Conference
• December 4th – SIW 1:00-2:30
• December 5th – Sped Team Meeting 2:30-3:15
• December 6th – EET Weekly Meeting 8:00-9:00

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Updates from Downtown

Having fun this Halloween season!!

From Tammy and Karen

Important Links

• SLGGs—plug and play for the year
• October 23rd Elementary TLC Update
• Topics of Interest/Problem of Practice–New Question–Please help a colleague!

Notes from our Team:

From Kerry Morton, Math TOSA and Coach: Math Adoption Update!

To provide more time for teachers to view the math materials, they will remain at your schools a bit longer.  Work with your instructional coach to find a place and timeframe for teachers to look through the three Field Test materials over the next couple weeks.

From Scott and Becca in Communications: Did you see the latest Family Spotlight? The newsletter is solely devoted to safety and includes a message from Dr. Cook, resources for safe firearm storage, information about SafeOregon, crisis and care resources, details about our latest safety improvements and more. It can be a go-to resource when families have questions about safety in our district. Bookmark the October 30 Family Spotlight and have it at the ready!

From Paul in Operations: Building leaders are to pause any program expansion proposals (academic, athletic and extra duty, that include some form of physical building structure, building additions, or site modification) that will impact your site/facility until further notice.  We are in the process of creating internal procedures that will identify that necessary steps that will need to be taken in order to ensure compliance with regulations (i.e. Title IX, permitting, accounting), district policies, contracts and address departmental impacts.

From Kinsey in Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:

Post-Election Resources: As the presidential elections wrap up, we should anticipate and prepare to support the strong reactions, emotions, and conversations our staff, students, and families will experience.  As leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure our staff are informed, equipped, and supported regarding 1) the expectations for navigating this significant moment in time in a professional manner, 2) the resources available to them as employees, and 3) the strategies for supporting students through their own processing.

Holidays: Here is our policy on religion and holidays in schools.  Here is our “Do not schedule” dates document.  Here is a team reflection and guidance tool on holidays.  Consider reviewing these at an ICCL meeting, and/or sharing with all staff.  

From Scott and Kayla in Safety: We will be out of town next week, November 4^th through November 7^th at a conference. We will continue to monitor our emails, cell phones, and text messages to support as best as we can while out of the office. If you have any emergencies that require immediate attention, please reach out to our Chief Operations Officer, Paul Dean for immediate support.

We are happy to announce that we are now staffed with 8 School Resource Officers in the district. Our newest SRO is Officer James Ragland, who will be working out of Pilot Butte Middle School. Please use the updated SRO point of contact roster to see who your current SRO is for your school, and to reach out to any members of the SRO team for support.

Action Items

• Get going on the mini and formal observations if you are behind
• Keep Math Adoptions for a couple more weeks for staff to view
• Pause making any building modifications as a new policy is developed
• Share Kinsey’s message a.s.a.p, as Tuesday is election day!

Important Dates

• November 5: VOTE!!
• November 8: Safety Cadre Meets at the Ed Center Boardroom, 1:30-3:30
• November 11: Veteran’s Day–No School
• November 13: All Admin Meeting at Perseverance Hall, 3:00-4:30
• November 19: Horizontal meeting, @ Bear Creek, hosted by BCE and Miller, 3:00-5:00
• November 25-29 Fall Holiday Break, (if you take time off, use non-contract for all days except Thanksgiving itself)

And finally…Welcome Karen! We know you are going to feel right at home here in Bend-La Pine!