Conferences- Please tell Jody M. what dates and times you will need interpreters for conferences. It will help if she knows by October 6. Thank you.
Gallup- Please remember that Gallup student poll has opened and will remain open until October 27. Please be sure this gets completed. Thank you.
Staffing Plans- Please be sure that your staffing plan is completely up to date. Lots of different departments use our staffing plans for a variety of reasons and it helps when they are accurate. Thank you!
Principal for the Day- Some of you have received requests to participate in the Ed Foundation’s Principal for the Day in November. If you didn’t receive this it’s because they’ve decided to only do half the schools each year. If you did, it’s a great opportunity to showcase the amazing things we do for our students and community every day. Thank you for participating.
COSA- The district does not have a designated number of spots at COSA fall conference and there is no expectation that you attend. That being said, you are welcome to attend or bring a team to COSA if you feel like the topics are of value and will help your school move forward in the areas you’ve decided to pursue.
Kemple Dental- Please schedule a time for the Kemple Clinic to visit your school and conduct dental screenings for k-2 students. You will notice two times on several dates. Please attempt, if at all possible, to schedule with a school somewhat close to you if you are scheduling on a double day. Kemple says they can screen about 100 students an hour and/or it takes approximately 2 1/2 hours to do a school. Please leave afternoons for smaller schools. If you are having trouble scheduling, please give me a call. The Kemple screening will fulfill state requirements around collecting data on whether or not students have received screening. Once the sign up sheet is completed, we will get parent letters to schools. Call if you have any questions.
DHS Visits- Please continue to use the same protocol that we have used the past several years around DHS/ Law enforcement requesting to interview a child at your school. DHS personnel may share with you that they no longer need parent permission, but until further notice please continue with the same practice we have been using. Call if you have any questions.
Abbreviated Days- Please let me know of any students who are not on IEP’s who are on abbreviated day schedules. Sean sent some information out yesterday and I want to follow up to be sure we are doing everything we are required to do. If you have students on IEP’s on abbreviated days, be sure you are working with special programs.
Board Adopted Schools- Here is a list of schools board members have adopted for this school year. Please make an effort to reach out to your board member, welcome him/her and maybe even invite them to some happenings at your school. This is a great opportunity to show off some of the great things you are doing. Also know that they may be dropping in to visit your school throughout the year. Thank you.
Visibility-One of the best pieces of advice I ever received as a principal was to be visible. It is amazing the power of visibility with students, staff and parents. Be visible at drop off, at recesses, at lunch, in classrooms (and not just for minis), in hallways, at events, at pick up time, at any time possible! Besides the tangible benefits of getting to know your students, staff and parents much better, there is an even more intangible power to being seen around your building and not getting stuck in your office. Hope you feel able to put a off a few ‘tasks’ and make some time to be visible.
Leadership- Remember that we have leadership on Monday at 3:15 at Ed. Center. Please remember the following:
- Bring your laptop as you will need to access Google drive
- Please sit with your school visit team. I did exchange Miller and La Pine Elementary to meet the requests of a couple schools. Those teams now include the following: Group 4- Elk Meadow, Lava Ridge and La Pine (the teal roof group) and Group 6- Buckingham, Miller, and Ponderosa
- Please be sure to think about and be prepared to discuss a challenge you are having in your school design work. It may be around measurable goals, upstream measures, communication, involving your whole staff, etc.
Have a great weekend. Thank you for making our schools such great places for our community’s kids. See you Monday!