Hello fellow thermo riders,
We tried to keep this blog short but there is too much to share. We are in this together and we can celebrate the opportunities that are presented. My advise while on this wave of change, don’t forget to constantly adjust your feet and weight!
To Do
Meal Plan Expectations
Reminder that we are asking schools to share their school meal plans on their website before the first day of school. Please call the document “Meal Plans” and post it to your School Information page. Deby Bryon can assist if folks run into challenges.
COVID Updates: (there is information here that only pertains to HS but I wanted to have it and Katie and I want to ensure we have consistency 6-12)
Field Trips: Currently, we are not allowing field trips with buses. Walking field trips are allowed as long as masks are worn at all times and socially distancing is maintained. We will revisit this on October 1.
Volunteers and Visitors: We are not allowing most of these groups in our schools currently. The exception is student teachers and their supervisors. OSU Cascades requires vaccinations. We are checking on George Fox candidates. In regards to other volunteers and visitors, including guest speakers and our ASPIRE/Future Center volunteers, they are not currently approved. Once HR has a process in place to verify vaccinations, we will consider allowing these folks and others into the building. We are legally required to verify vaccinations prior to letting anyone in the building by mid-October.
We will allow booster club members/concession stand workers into the building AFTER school hours. We will provide more guidance as we get closer to October.
Concerts and Drama Performances: Schools are highly encouraged to schedule concerts and performances outside whenever possible. Masks are required. When scheduled inside, masks are required, and socially distancing should be maintained to the greatest extent possible. At this time, there are no capacity requirements.
Locker Rooms: Students can access locker rooms. They must be masked at all times and should not be in the locker rooms for more than 15 minutes.
From Tami Pike re: Contact tracing– Please let your teachers know that if there is a positive case in their class, middle and high schools will be receiving an email from a contact tracer or nurse requesting information about whether masks were worn consistently during the class and they will be requesting a seating chart to identify any close contacts. The expectation is that teachers will respond to emails asap (we understand that they are teaching classes) – ideally before 5pm on the same day. If we do not receive a reply by 10am the next day, we will assume that students consistently wore masks and were at least 3 feet apart. We do not have the capacity to track teachers down to get this information.
*Elementary schools will be a bit different and we will more than likely be doing in-person interviews.
From Lora Nordquist
ORS 339.875 Procurement, display and salute of flags.
(1) Each district school board shall:
(b) Provide students with the opportunity to salute the United States flag at least once each week of the school year by reciting: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
(2) Students who do not participate in the salute provided for by this section must maintain a respectful silence during the salute. [Formerly 332.100 and then 336.045 and then 336.630; 1999 c.137 §1]
More from Lora Nordquist
Essential Volunteers*
As you know, the district is restricting volunteers in our schools during the school day while Covid-19 transmission rates remain high. However, there are a few organizations whose services have been deemed “essential.” These are listed below:
OSU-Cascades interns and supervisors
George Fox interns and supervisors
Friends of the Children mentors and supervisors
Camp Tamarack/ODS staff
The district will work with these organizations to assure all volunteers meet our vaccination mandate on or before October 18, 2021. We will notify schools if any staff from these groups does NOT comply.
*Staff from Bend Police, Deschutes County, etc. are not considered volunteers: they are contracting partners and should be allowed in schools whenever necessary.
This & That
From Kinsey Martin
Family Liaison Team:
We have an amazing team of Family Liaisons to support both our staff and our culturally- and lingustically-diverse community. Although hiring is not quite complete, I want to share the information I do have at this time: – What do Liaisons do:
See some examples here.
– Which Liaison supports me:Please see this list for the Family Liaison who will support your school community. We will put out a family-facing communication about our team soon–for now, this list is just to support your office team. (Disclaimer: I tried to minimize changes, but it was not possible everywhere…and there could be small tweaks in the upcoming weeks.)– When will they be in my building:Next week they will flood support for Transportation and grades K, 6, and 9. Regular weekly schedules in your buildings will begin Sept 13–more info coming soon.
Civil Rights Training:
Here are the slides for the abbreviated version of the training we are required to cover with all staff.
Remember, there are talking points in the Notes section under each slide. If you would like additional support, contact Kinsey and/or Steve Herron–we’re happy to co-facilitate with you.
Here is the Trivia Sheet referenced in the training, and (new!) here is a poster/handout you can print and make available for easy reference for reporting (and/or, bookmark the form link).
From Julianne Repman
There are just a few more spaces available for the STAS Training with John Van Dreal on September 23 and 24 at the High Desert ESD.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1aVJ6wDVItk2K8kfi7JiyGtXDtmVeZ2O4s3UyPHp0Q3s/edit
There is a tentative date for Threat Assessment Training in Salem on November 30 and December 1 at Willamette University.
https://willamette.edu/events/tat/index.html
From Jennifer Hauth
From Alandra Johnson
Care & Connection Week
The first full week of school – Sept. 13-17 — we are going to celebrate Care & Connection week, in conjunction with this ODE initiative. We want to celebrate all the wonderful ways our schools and staff are building relationships, connecting with students and families and helping support students’ mental and emotional health. At the district level – we will be showcasing programs and staff that connect with this theme – including sharing a family version of the video we created for the Welcome Back. We know your plates are full; participation is optional. If you’re interested, you can join in by: Highlighting staff members whose roles focus on care and connection (share in newsletter, web or social), sharing district resources about the week, planning an activity related to the Care & Connection (my guess is many of you are already doing things that would connect with this theme). Please let Alandra know if you’ve got something in mind, she’s creating a list of participating schools, activities and ideas. Thanks everyone!
From Dean Richards
From Dean Richards – Last week’s Innovative Teaching Conference was a huge success. Thanks to all of the teachers and administrators who came to engage in lifelong learning. Here is the Google Folder that participants can access information from the presenters. ITC Participant Folder
Reminders
From Cate Hill, Title III Coordinator
This is a reminder to not send student identification information through our regular email server, which isn’t secure. We are noticing that it is happening again, already this year. Please advise your staffs to either share documents via Google Drive or BLsend.
iPad Insurance and AUP
Here is the English version of the iPad insurance form and the AUP. We submitted both for translation but as of today we haven’t received them back. As soon as those come in we will send them out in a separate email. Please remember, purchasing iPad insurance is not mandatory for a child to receive an iPad. However, if a family doesn’t want to pay the high cost of iPad repair due to damage or loss, purchasing the Bend-La Pine Schools’ iPad insurance will be in their best interest. The AUP should be distributed to 3rd grade, 6th grade, and 9th grade students as well as new students to your school. Cross your fingers that we have a digital solution for the AUP next year. This is a priority for the department.
Here is the document, FAQs Return to School document, that I shared earlier in our principal’s meeting. FAQs Return to School
PPE & Ordering
Please have your office manager order PPE & hand sanitizer through your school nurse. Also, attempt to make one time orders once a week.
From Alandra Johnson
As the start of school approaches, we are seeing an uptick in media attention. Quick reminders about media. Media can film your school from the public sidewalk or street. They should not come onto campus (in your parking lot, etc.) without permission. All media requests usually come through Alandra and Julianne. If we expect media to come to a school, we will let you know. Please reach out if you get a media inquiry or have media members show up unexpectedly, we are happy to help. Alandra’s cell: 541-255-9112
BRYT Admin Lead As part of our BRYT program launch, we would like to have one administrator identified at each site that we can collaborate/support and train in terms of supporting the Student Success/BRYT implementation. If you could please identify that person and add it to this document here, that would be great. If you have added you person, thank you, only verify. Thank you!
Calendar
- September 6 – Holiday
- September 8 – First day with 6th graders
- September 9–First day with all middle schoolers. Yay!!
- September 8-10 – Drop in visits from the Ed Center
- September 20 – Horizontal Meeting , Cascade Middle School@7:30 am
- September 22 – District leadership training, location TBD
And for you obsessive compulsive people – we are currently targeting June 20 and 21, 2022 for our Leadership Training Academy
Fish On…
Have a great weekend! Remember to take some time for yourself!!