TO DO:

• Change of date!  In announcing the dates next fall for Take It Up training I provided you the an incorrect date.  The REAL dates are: August 13 & 14, 2018.  Sorry for any confusion.
• You should have all received an email from me either today or yesterday regarding the Oregon Student Wellness Survey.  This is the one we agreed to participate in every other year.  The window for administration is Feb. 1 – April 6, but you need to allow parents the opportunity to opt out their (grade 6 or 8) child prior to providing this survey.  You should have all the information you need in the email I passed along to you, but feel free to ask questions if you have any!

THIS AND THAT:

• Teri did a wonderful job of representing MS at this month’s district safety meeting.  She brought up the question/concern around communication with schools who are not in the midst of an event (that warrants staff, student and/or parent communication), but is still connected (e.g. feeder school) and seems like should know more details of what is occurring.  This will be a topic of further conversation that Teri or I will keep you posted on.  Three other items also came up at this meeting that Teri asked me to pass along:
  • Raptor (visitor management system) is operation in all of our elementary schools and a couple of our middle schools now.  The plan is that beginning next fall this system will be up and running in all of our schools K-12.  If you would like to move towards implementation prior to September please contact Scott Bojanowski regarding this.
  • It is likely that you have a building team/committee that meets periodically to discuss safety issues/concerns.  What may not be occurring as often is that there are minutes created and saved from these meetings.  This bullet is to notify you that meeting minutes from these discussions may be asked to be saved in a Google Doc in the coming month(s).  Nothing to do now, just a heads-up… unless of course you’ve never met with a team of folks in your building regarding safety – then you should start doing that!
  • And another reminder… If you or any of your staff (new to the district since March, 2017) should have attended a Standard Response Protocol (SRP) Training.  Contact Scott Bojanowski if you or another staff member needs this training so you can learn when the next offering will be.
• This is the time of year when it takes a conscious effort to stay (persistently) positive and upbeat.  It is likely also the time when your students, staff and parents need this modeled to them the most.  Following is a short article I read out of Marshall Memo earlier this fall that I thought was worth passing along to you now: What Leaders Can Say to Spark Effort and Courage  “Skillful leaders use encouraging language every day,” says Dan Rothwell in this Leadership Freak article. Here are his suggestions for opening lines to spark effective effort in others, each followed by specific actions:
  • I appreciate…
  • I notice…
  • You’re great at…
  • Thank you for…
  • I’m impressed with..
  • You help us get where we want to go when you…
  • You’re making progress on…
  • You encourage others when…
  • Great effort when you…
  • Congratulations on…
  • You’re making a difference for…
  • I’m encouraged when you…

  And here are Rothwell’s suggestions for inspiring courage:

  • Let’s give it a try.
  • What’s the next imperfect step you could take?
  • What would you like to try?
  • What are you learning?
  • If you weren’t nervous, what would you do next?
  • I’ve seen you rise to challenges in the past.
  • You’re on the right track.

   

  “12 Sentence Starters That Inspire Courage” by Dan Rothwell in Leadership Freak, August 7, 2017, http://bit.ly/2b30btd

• And speaking of being aware of our words, here is a 10 minute animated video with Carol Dweck talking in the background regarding research data around fixed and growth mindsets – and how our words can help or hinder student success.  When watching this video it reminded me of not only the child in the classroom learning, but also the one sitting in your office due to misbehavior and how this might be applied (and how you might respond) to a child in this situation.

REMINDERS:

• This is likely a reminder, but could also be new info for you… This year’s Central Oregon PBIS conference will be held on Monday, April 23 at the Riverhouse.  The keynote is none other than Dr. Anita Archer and my guess is that she will draw a crowd. If you are considering attending – or having others from your building attend – I’d suggest you register sooner rather than later to make sure you reserve your spot(s).
• We will have our next district Leadership meeting on Monday, Feb. 5 @ 3:15pm.