TO DO:
This is something to take OFF your calendar! I mentioned to you earlier this week that BRYT would be with us – at our Horizontal – on May 25 (and that we’d meet for an extra 30 minutes). I just learned that the BRYT team will be instead be spending their time in schools that morning and I will be helping with interviews at PBMS… so please remove this meeting (our regular Horizontal and the extra 30 min. with BRYT) from your calendar for May 25. _________________________________________________________________________________
Below is an update/adjustment regarding pay for both classified and certified employees who work in our district summer learning program. Please share this with your entire staff and encourage any interested to apply.
Certified (teachers and student services/deans) will get a stipend of $5500 for 3 weeks of summer school and 3 days of training. This is 120 hours of expected work.
Classified will get a $3500 stipend for 3 weeks of summer school and 2 days of training. This is 112 hours of expected work.
Classified hired in the afternoon will work half days for $1750.
HR has edited the current job postings to include the new stipend. Postings will be up for another 10 days. _________________________________________________________________________________
I hope you will not need this information, but please update your contact list or make a note of this temporary change to our county’s Crisis Response Team:
Nita’s last day as the Tri-County School Response Team Coordinator will be this Friday, April 30th. If you are needing these services this week, please contact Nita as you normally would.
Starting May 1st to September 30th, our temporary Coordinator will be Dave Holmberg.
As of May 1st, if you are needing the Tri-County School Response Team, please call Dave Holmberg at 541-362-1548. (NOTE: This phone number will remain the same once a permanent coordinator/team leader is hired.) _________________________________________________________________________________
I’ve created a Google folder to share your Questions from 5th Graders Videos. Here is a link to that folder.
This communication from Wendy is a repeat of an email you received from her last Friday… and I thought worth repeating here as it also includes an ask:
When looking at current 8th graders I am interested in schools thinking of 50 current 8th graders who would benefit from Base Camp (2 weeks in Aug) as an orientation to high school. These 8th graders may not have lagging academic skills, but instead may be showing more concern with anxiety, stress about entering high school, lagging social skills etc. So the criteria for current 8th graders to be invited to Base Camp may look different than the criteria we are using for our current 6 and 7 graders to attend Sparks. _________________________________________________________________________________
Please share the following message – or this content in your own words – to your parent community: In the best interest of student learning, next week will be the last week to change from one district educational placement to another (e.g. home school to D CDL or BLPO to home school). Beginning May 10, students will not be allowed to transfer out of their current learning program into a different one within the district. [There may be exceptions to this … so reach out to me if you have a situation that needs to be reviewed.]
THIS and THAT:
As a follow up to Lora’s message last week about continued Canvas use, here is a support document that can help you communicate key to-do’s to your staff regarding the Canvas LMS system. It is very important that teachers continue the 3 minimum requirements of posting weekly agendas, creating assignments and providing feedback in Canvas. It is also very important that they continue to regularly sync Canvas and Synergy. Updated information in both Canvas and Synergy not only allows access for our students who are quarantined at home, but also allows your counselors and staff to accurately track and monitor student progress. _________________________________________________________________________________
A question regarding OAKS testing and BLPO students was asked during our Horizontal this week. Specifically, what will be the school’s (brick and mortal) responsibility for communicating or working with their resident students who are learning via BLPO this year. The answer is that BLPO (just like D CDL) will be communicating with and testing (or collecting opt-out forms for) their students. You do not need to track or account for these kids as both of these programs will be taking care of this. (If you happen to receive an opt-out form from a student in one of these programs, please send that form to the appropriate administrator (BLPO = Amy T.; D CDL = Wendy McC). _________________________________________________________________________________
Here is an important update from HR related to posting requests:
When you are requesting to post a position, please use Templates instead of “New” or “copy from existing”. Here are the instructions.
Depending on whether you are planning any end of the year activities (e.g. 8th grade celebration), please read and ask questions regarding during or after school time events…
Events/Activities/Celebrations During School Hours (Follow RSSL)
We have received many questions surrounding the type of activities that are allowed during school hours. RSSL requirements must be adhered to for these events. Some things to prioritize in your planning:
Location: Outside is preferred to inside
Audience: Parents are not permitted as they don’t qualify as ‘essential visitors’. This applies to outdoor events too. Student audiences are allowed.
Occupancy: No limit to the number people in a given space but you must adhere to physical distancing requirements
Physical distancing: Students can be 3 ft apart. Students-to-adult and adult-to-adult are to be 6 ft apart (to the maximum extent possible)
Food: Onsite eating should align with normal school meals/snack time
Performing Arts: At this time, we are not allowing indoor theatre arts, band or choir performances with audiences. When the county case rate is below 200 cases/100K, we will revisit the possibility for indoor performances. Outdoor performances are permitted with student audiences.
Masking: Masks must be worn at all times except when seated and eating at a designated meal/snack time.
Collaboration: Run your plans through your school safety team for their input.
Coordination: Your school should have an events/athletics calendar that identifies what spaces will be used on specific days and times to ensure no overlapping event
Custodians/Nurses: Keep custodians and nurses informed of events/activities
Level Leaders: Keep your level leader in the loop during special event planning
COVID Czar: Identify the person in charge of maintaining all safety practices for your event
Community Gatherings After Hours On Our Campuses
When events occur outside of the instructional day, RSSL is no longer applicable.
County Risk Sector: You must adhere to the risk sector guidance at the time of the event so you’ll need to create multiple scenarios to adapt to the possible changing levels with our county. Confirm Deschutes County Risk Level here.
County Guidance: County Risk Sector Guidance changes at the governor’s discretion so you’ll need to check back regularly for updates. The chart is a big picture overview, and if you want to dig deeper based upon a specific activity, there is a helpful interactive Oregon Coronavirus site.
Location: BLS recommends that events be planned for outdoors and then moved indoors or cancelled should the weather require it.
Occupancy:
For indoor limits Refer to the County Risk Sector categories of Indoor Recreation and Fitness Establishments (for a physically active event) or Indoor Entertainment Establishments (for an entertainment event)
For outdoor limits Refer to the County Risk Sector categories of Outdoor Recreation and Fitness Establishments (for a physically active event) or Outdoor Entertainment Establishments (for an entertainment event)Outdoor Recreation and Outdoor Fitness Establishments (K-12 Sports)
Audience: Parents are permitted but designate a ratio per student that ensures you don’t exceed maximum occupancy limits.
Physical distancing: All must be 6 ft apart (to the maximum extent possible)
Food: No onsite eating is allowed (this is a BLS COVID Core Team decision)
Performing Arts: At this time, BLS is not allowing indoor theatre arts, band or choir performances with audiences. This may be reconsidered if county case rates drop below 200/100K.
Masking: Masks must be worn at all times by all
Collaboration: Run your plans through your school safety team for their input (or with Dave Williams if it is associated with athletic programs).
Coordination: Your school should have a events/athletics calendar that identifies what spaces will be used on specific days and times to ensure no overlapping events
Custodians/Nurses: Keep custodians and nurses informed of events/activities
Level Leaders: Keep your level leader in the loop during special event planning
COVID Czar: Identify the person in charge of maintaining all safety practices for the event. _________________________________________________________________________________
From Alandra regarding Teacher Appreciation Week (next week!):
This year we are doing things a little differently for Teacher Appreciation Week. We are inviting families to submit a note of appreciation for a staff member and we will print those on postcards and send internally to the person. Please help us spread the word to families, as we hope to fill staff mailboxes with notes of gratitude and appreciation. Share the following with families (Or share our post on Facebook):
Has a teacher or other staff member made a positive difference for your family this year? We would love your help saying ‘THANK YOU’ to help recognize all that our teachers, counselors, school nurses and other certified staff have contributed this year. When you fill out this form, we will send a personalized thank you card directly to the staff member. We will also share these highlights from your stories throughout the week.
Please have submissions in by May 5, 2021. Here are three unique “thank you” images that you can feel free to use: Gracias, Thank You 1, and Thank you 2.
Visit the following link to share some appreciation, https://bls.fyi/staffappreciation! _________________________________________________________________________________
This was mentioned at our Horizontal meeting this week – but thought it was worth noting again:
MS students will be able to take MS-level BLPO classes free of charge to the family this summer. This will be another option for students to participate in summer learning. What you (and ultimately families) need to be aware of is that any courses taken through BLPO are self-paced and are not connected to a teacher (they are fully asynchronous).
You are free to share this information with your families as needed/requested. Note that this option is not ideal for students who are behind or struggling academically, but better suited for those who missed instruction (due to COVID) and are self-motivated and able to navigate their learning independently. _________________________________________________________________________________
REMINDERS:
If you are able to join me Monday morning at 7:30 in my Webex, I’d love to have your input. _________________________________________________________________________________
Our Tuesday morning Horizontal will be our second-to-last PD with Dave and Dean. See you at 8:00! _________________________________________________________________________________
Please check your calendar for May to make sure you and I have a meeting scheduled. (I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job of scheduling a time to meet with you at the end of our April visit.) Again, I’ll be touching base with you on your goals for this year when I come visit you in May.