TO DO:

Here is something to be a part of if you are interested. (From Dan Curfew, a teacher at PCMS): My PCMS Design and Modeling students are wrapping up a design cycle to create a therapeutic toy that could be used by our Sparrow. Students designed something that will be fun, functional & creative, and meets the needs of our Sparrow.  Nancy Hitchcock, an occupational therapist, came in to speak with classes to help students hone their designs.  The week of June 3rd, student teams will be presenting their prototypes in ‘Shark Tank’ fashion. Sign Up

THIS and THAT:

 Here is a link to a document that is an overview of summer dates, events, and trainings.  Hopefully, it will help you keep your heads together and on top of what’s happening this summer. Pay special attention to the events on Aug 30th that are mandatory Day 189 trainings and please communicate those trainings to the appropriate staff.  Currently, the only mandatory trainings are for middle school math, science, and social studies. Call or email Skip if you have any questions or see something incorrect or missing.

This week Lora sent out publicity to all staff regarding this summer’s Taking It Up training (Aug. 13 & 14, 2019). While most of the work over the two days is focused on individual exploration and reflection, time is given Tuesday afternoon for school teams to talk and plan. I encourage you all to attend, if you haven’t before…AND to encourage both certified and classified staff to attend. Of course, certified staff could count their attendance as their Days 189 and 190. You might consider paying classified staff who are not on contract to show how much you value their attendance. If you have classified staff who don’t have access to a computer, you can send their names to Stephanie Bent and she will register them. Contact Chris Boyd or Lora if you have questions or need more information!

Would you consider passing on the following info to your school parent groups (PTO?) regarding an upcoming event they may be interested in: You are invited to explore community solutions to substance abuse through the viewing of local amateur photos by youth and other community members on the topics of alcohol, prescription drugs, and tobacco. Please join the Shared Future Coalition for a showcase of images, which describe local issues and community-based prevention efforts. This art installation gives a voice to local community members and youth who are acting as catalysts for change. By engaging with this art installation, we hope to encourage community members to reflect on what substance abuse looks like in our community, and be inspired to help prevent substance abuse in the future. Light refreshments will be provided at this open house style event held at the Deschutes Public Library in Downtown Bend on June 18 from 5:30pm to 8:00pm.  If you are planning on attending, please register for this event so we can plan accordingly.

Here is some information from Kerry regarding math by-pass process:

• If parents or teachers are recommending students by-pass a year of mathematics, students need to meet the minimum scores for EasyCBM and the written portion. Attached are the requirements.
• Administer the assessment in August and/or September. To help with student scheduling, it is recommended that you assess students in August before school starts. Parents and teachers probably know who would be interested in and capable of by-passing now. The few students who cannot make it to your August testing sessions, provide a time during the first week of school.
• If your school decides to administer EasyCBM to every student in September, please call it a universal screener and administer the paper-pencil assessment to students who have parent and/or teacher recommendations.  
• Please do not send a message to all families about by-passing a year of mathematics. It causes stress on students and families. Some don’t want this and they don’t want their child taking unnecessary assessments.
• If students wish to take online math to progress quicker, they must pass with at least a B. This is intended to ensure students are successful in future mathematics. This is a link with some information from Amy Tarnow.

A couple key language shifts regarding this process:

• EasyCBM a universal screener – we are using it for this purpose because it is easy to administer.
• This is by-passing, not challenging up. Students are skipping a year of mathematics.
• The requirements are intended to be rigorous so we can be sure students do not struggle unnecessarily in future mathematics.

The eighth-grade by-pass paper-pencil assessment is currently being revised. It was recommended it be more involved and challenging to ensure success of students in Algebra 1.

I recommend reviewing your data of your students who by-passed a grade level:

• Did each student achieve at least a B? If not, why?
  • Review the criteria and data used to by-pass that student, should the requirements be higher?

REMINDERS:

I think this is a reminder… but it has been a while for sure since this has been communicated. With the later school start time next year the question has come up about offering “early bird” classes that would end prior to our normal 8:45 start. There is some good rationale for this – but would defeat the the purpose of starting school later to allow adolescents more sleep in the morning. Therefore, early bird classes will not be an option for our secondary schools (at least 99.9% of the time) next year.