TO DO:
Not sure if you’ve seen this article or not, but I was drawn to the headline: Gladstone band instruction evolves during distance learning. You might think that I read it because I was curious about what this HS is doing regarding teaching band during CDL (and you would be mostly correct). You might think I read it because I, as a former band student, was curious about what they are doing (you’d be not so correct). Actually, I am curious about how they are approaching the teaching of band during CDL, but mostly I read it because it is an article about my alma mater (go Gladiators!!). Now that I’ve read it and watched the linked storytime video (you’ve got to watch it – including the outtakes at the end!) I want to pass it on to you as an article that your music teachers (for sure!) will appreciate – as well as many of your other teachers I’m guessing. _________________________________________________________________________________
At our Horizontal meeting earlier this week I gave you a heads-up that I need you to do an inventory of needed and surplus seating in each of your classroom spaces for Hybrid. Here is a simple Google doc to document the extra seating that you have in your building. Please begin this inventory and have it completed by next Friday, Dec. 18. [Reminder, account for the number of seats you need for Hybrid, plus 25% to be safe – then complete the spreadsheet by communicating what you have beyond that.] _________________________________________________________________________________
Another follow-up from Horizontal that includes an action on your part… Becky and Laura have created a beautiful “cheat sheet” of the steps teachers need to take in both Synergy and Canvas in order to bring these grading systems up-to-date with the changes we’ve made this year (P/NG and “no zeros”). Here is that document – that I’d ask for you to share with your teachers. (Note: they may have already seen this document posted in Canvas.).
THIS and THAT:
Amy Tarnow and I circled back together to discuss students moving from “brick and mortar” schools (yours) to BLPSO at times other than semester breaks. (We also discussed this at Horizontal.) Here is where we landed: If a MS student wants to move from HDMS (for example) into BLPSO on Jan. 4, then we will first attempt to award final, first semester grades whenever possible. As Ryan pointed out at our meeting, some classes (e.g. Algebra or Spanish) may not be able to be issued final grades as there are potential HS credit implications. The steps in this process will be that if a student wants to make this move in January, then Tanya Everts will contact you to determine if final grades are appropriate (and you’ll work with your counselor/teachers as needed to decide). You will then hand off this transfer process to whomever normally handles these at your site. Let me know if you have any questions regarding this. _________________________________________________________________________________
And speaking of Amy, the following few items are some updates from her… Grade Guardian for Teachers: Teachers will have access to their own dashboards in Grade Guardian by Monday, December 14th. Aspire EDU will be hosting their first training for our teachers from 2-3 on Wednesday, December 16th. We will post a global announcement in Canvas on Tuesday letting staff know about this synchronous training opportunity. For those who are unable to attend, additional trainings will be offered after the holiday break. A recording of the December 16 training will be posted in the Canvas Grade Guardian 101 – Instructor Module. Teachers may self-register for this course through this link: https://bls.instructure.com/enroll/B4P3CF
Here is some bonus material (not from Amy, but Christie McCormick) regarding Grade Guardian that may be useful for you to know…
- The training (which is more like an overview of what GG does) is open to and intended for all middle and high school teachers. We encouraged your Canvas First Responders to attend so that they can be the site go-to help, if anybody needs clarification. Because individual teachers will have a much clearer view of their own students’ situation with the GG dashboard, I think it would be good for them all to have the basic understanding of how the tool can work for them. That being said, the self-paced GG module, which teachers can get here is probably enough.
- Supporting staff, like administrators and counselors, called “allies” in Grade Guardian, will be able to track students, regardless of how teachers use or do not use the tool. The collaborative awareness and support will be best, of course, when all users are on board.
WebEx Update: We still don’t have a definitive answer to what has been causing the increase in WebEx issues we have seen since Thanksgiving. However, through work with the company it has been determined that rolling back to a previous version of the app is helpful. As of this morning, this version will install automatically before you host your next WebEx meeting (you must start your meeting from the https://bls.webex.com/ website). It is our hope is that teachers and students will see some stability return to their WebEx meetings with the implementation of this change. If you continue to hear about problems with WebEx meetings after today, we would appreciate it if you would take a moment to describe them on this form.
How to check your WebEx Version:
- Start a Webex Meeting
- Go to “WebEx Meeting” in top menu bar by the apple
- Go to “About Webex Meeting”
- You should be on version 40.11.5.11
Tier 1 Training:
Our Instructional Tech team will be hosting a Tier 1 support meeting geared towards helping your Tier 1 staff support our middle and high school students with CDL. It will be a good chance for these staff to connect with our team, get a basic overview of Canvas and WebEx functions, and ask other questions. Roy Fuller has already sent the following information to these people on your staff. If you have others who are helping in this capacity and might not be on his list, please feel free to pass it on:
Tier One Support Session: Supporting Your CDL Role
When: Wednesday, December 16, 8:00 – 9:00 AM
Where: Christie McCormick’s room: https://bls.webex.com/meet/christie.mccormick
What:
- Overview of Canvas basics (the student experience)
- How to use WebEx to help students
- Q&A (what is working, what is not working, etc.)
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I used to try and at least skim, if not read the Marshall Memo each week it came out. To be honest, it has been months since I’ve done so. However, for some reason, I decided to take a breath, make myself pause, and see what Kim Marshall had to share this week. What I found is a great article that I think you may all be able to find a nugget (a reminder, an aha, a new idea) in. We all, at times, need to have difficult conversations – and Kim provides this article from a principal in Minnnesota to help us prepare for them. _________________________________________________________________________________
I’m learning to become more of a book reader. Growing up I was always outside and doing something active. I read when I had to, not out of enjoyment. Over the years I’ve worked at spending more time reading (and my sore muscles have thanked me for it). However, I’m still always up for a quick summary of a title I haven’t read yet (or have forgotten the premise of the book). Maybe that is why this comic hit different for me…
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As you likely have read/heard about, OSAA has moved back the start of HS competitions. Our district plan for MS athletics is that we’ll begin the first of our three seasons on Feb. 22, with the third season ending on June 11. Each of the seasons will run for five weeks. (Each will end on a Friday and the next will begin on the following Monday – no break between seasons.) We’ll see if this holds true, or will need to be adjusted again based on our pandemic situation in the coming months. ________________________________________________________________________________
REMINDERS:
Don’t forget that next Wednesday you have an opportunity to hear from our two Superintendent finalists in a Q & A style forum. There will be two sessions, one for each finalist, instead of both appearing together. The forums will each be an hour in length and will start at 9:30 and 10:45am. If you haven’t yet, please submit a question that you’d like our candidates to answer. If you are willing to ask this question yourself (I’d love to have MS represented in asking questions!) then please include your name with your question so I know who to circle back to. More to come on how to login to these virtual sessions will be coming. Please come in spite of the fact that I’ve been asked to facilitate these. 😁 _________________________________________________________________________________
Our last Horizontal before the New Year will be Tuesday at 2:00. Just in case you were wondering if we were going to meet over the break. 🤔😂