This and That:

• If you have any questions come your way regarding transfer students please refer those to Andrea Wilson.  There are a number of types and “rules” around student transfers and Andrea has become quite the expert at working through each situation.  Please pass this along to anyone else in your building that may have these questions come her/his way as well.
• There is a safety conference July 31 – August 3 that sounds outstanding if you are interested in learning more in this area.  It is sponsored by the Oregon School Resource Officer Association, with additional conference information located on their website.  Keynote speakers will be Kristina Anderson (student in Virginia Tech classroom when violence erupted), Karen Williams (focusing on Lincoln High in Walla Walla, she will be explaining the science behind why young people act the way they do), and Frank DeAngelis (retired Columbine High principal who served in that capacity from 1979 – 2014).  There is likely funds to help pay for three nights hotel, per diem, and registration.  That would only leave mileage for you to cover from your building.  If you are interested, please let me know.
• The spring time of the year is often a balance between wrapping up the current year and looking forward to next year.  This naturally brings about the opportunity to run your ideas/thoughts by your staff as you plan for the future.  In this vein of thought, I believe the short article “Questions Principals Might ask in the Hallway” is a worthy read.  The author also suggests using these questions with students in order to promote your school’s vision (or “story”), which I certainly could have been more explicit about with my students.
• Here is an update from our math adoption team:

On March 29th, the Materials Curriculum Review Team for Mathematics  (MCRT) examined and discussed two of the three sets of materials programs for adherence to the BLSD Core Beliefs: Connected Mathematics, edition 3 (CMP3), and College Preparatory Mathematics (CPM). We had the intention of reviewing Eureka/Engage NY (Eureka), but ran out time. Therefore, the MCRT will review it independently on their own time and bring the information back for a discussion on April 19th.

From April 4-13, teachers and community members can view the math materials at La Pine Middle School and Pilot Butte Middle School. If possible, please provide teachers an opportunity to travel to these locations. All the materials are available online as well. Here are the links for your teachers:

Eureka Math link: http://greatminds.net/

Username: bend123

password: bend123!

CPM link: http://textbooks.cpm.org/

Username: bendsd1#cpm

password: 951290

CMP3 link: http://dashweb.pearsoncmg.com/dash.html

Here is a feedback form that teachers can use: http://goo.gl/forms/YAsFOZSBIX. The MCRT will look at the complied data after April 14th. 

Concerns are arising over digital versus paper materials. We will purchase paper versions of all the materials and materials are available digitally as well. Depending on the program and purchase agreements, individual teachers and schools can make the choice of how much, if any, they want to utilize. 

Remember:

• Job Fair at the fairgrounds on Monday.  Be there as close to noon as you can.  You’ll begin interviews right at 1:00.  Thank you in advance for representing BLS well to these potential employees!
• If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign-up with Chris Huff for the Restorative Practices training on June 21 & 22.  If you have any questions about this training please address these to Sean Reinhart.
• Here are is an update for your current balance in SIF and School Discretionary funds as of March 31.  Remember, you are able to carry-over up to 10% of these funds if you have an approved (by me) plan for a big investment.  Things like paying for subs or stipends do not qualify for “big investments,” but replacing desktop computers in your lab does.