The Fish Basket

Tribal History/Shared History

March 14, Middle School Horizontal Meeting @REALMS MS @7:30-9:00 am
March 29, Youth Truth Data Debrief-Principals only 8-9:30 zoom Here is link: https://zoom.us/my/youthtruthjimmy
April 4th-Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools-Principals only 3:30-5:00 location TBD
Aril 25th-Middle School Horizontal Meeting @La Pine MS@7:30-9:00 am
May 9th-Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools– Principals only 3:30-5:00 location TBD
~~June 20th & June 21 Leadership Training Academy~~ These dates are no longer on the books. The training will happen in August. The dates will be decided soon! So, there is no Leadership Training happening in June!

Fish On

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2.25.2022

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Juan Cuadros

I hope you all had great week. Remember, Spring Break 2022 is just around the corner. We can do this!! ~Juan

To Do (Red Zone-sorry red is not working on my blog today)

March sign-ups and visits by Juan

Look for an email from April Jorgenson. She is sending an invite, where the visit best fits your schedule.

(From Last weeks Reminder)

Principals and Learning Leadership Council,

As you know, we are hosting three networking/professional learning/district information sessions for all of you this spring. One component of each session will be dedicated time for small group discussions of Unconscious Bias in Schools. Here’s the reading schedule:

Monday, February 28^th*: Chapters 1-3

Monday, April 4^th: Chapters 4-6

Monday, May 9^th: Chapters 7-10

This and That

Volunteers

More information is forthcoming on volunteers. I will share more information at our Tuesday, morning meeting.

Masking

By now, you may have heard that when we come back from spring break, masking will be optional. That is moved up from March 31 being the end. It is now March 19, in businesses as well as schools. More information and communication will be coming soon.

Spring Conferences

At this time, the plan is to have schools offer in-person and virtual spring conferences. That way we accommodate families who want to come in person and those who are still not yet comfortable doing it.

Form Austin James

A few bugs were found in the process that analyzes Synergy and Canvas Gradebook setups. Data sent since 2/7 are affected by these bugs and invalid, so please disregard those reports. Data sent next week will be up to date, more valid, and actionable. We apologize for the inconvenience.

From Human Resources

Please don’t forget that our School District offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to help staff navigate life stressors and/or manage life changing events. The EAP program is administered by UpriseHealth. The services they offer at no cost to Bend La-Pine School district staff members (minus substitute teachers) are outlined below.

Counseling Resources

· Short-Term Counseling

· 24-hour Crisis Help

· Tess Chatbot

· Online Peer Support

Work-Life Resources

Childcare Resources
Adult/Eldercare Resources
Financial Services
Legal Services
Mediation Services
Online Legal Forms
Home Ownership Programs
Identity Theft Services

Digitally Enabled EAP

· Wellbeing Assessment

· Self-Guided Mental Health

· Skills Training

· Coaching

To find out more about your EAP, schedule a counseling appointment, or access services call UpriseHealth at 866-750-1327 or visit uprisehealth.com/members to find out more. Access Code is OEBB.

From Dean Richards~Secondary Blog

This week’s post reminds us all of those who lived on this continent before Europeans arrived. Oregon has nine federally recognized tribes which many Oregonians know little about. In 2017, the introduction of the Tribal History/Shared history legislation was a first step to increase knowledge of those who have been here since time immemorial.

A note from Ryan Kelling, our Director of Recruitment and Retention

I’m hoping you can pass this flyer and the information below (in italics) information along to your staff.

Lewis & Clark is offering an added endorsement in Special Education to teachers in the High Desert Regional District at a special, discounted rate. Classes will be held online to make them more practical and accessible to working teachers. This 10-month program begins July 2022 and there is an information session on March 9 from 5:30 – 6:30 that will be held via Zoom. To register for the information session, please click this link.

SpEd teachers continue to be in short supply, and this is a good opportunity for already-endorsed certified staff to add a SpEd endorsement at a discounted rate. The Special Education Generalist endorsement gives candidates an extensive overview of special education as it pertains to students with high- and low-incidence disabilities. You will learn how to assess student knowledge, as well as to identify and implement evidence-based practices to increase the success of students with different academic and behavioral disabilities. Reach out to Ryan if you have questions.

From Instructional Tech

Digital Citizenship Made Simple For the month of March, you will be seeing several posts here on the topic of Digital Citizenship. This is a topic that we all know is important, yet many of us have a hard time finding time to fit it in. Here is a quick video showing you how easy it is to sign into Common Sense Media and how to access their quick activities. Their material is fantastic and will offer opportunities for rich discussions.

Lauren Mallett, of the Oregon Poetry Association, sent this information about the 2022 Cascadia Student Poetry Contest.

Please forward this email to your Language Arts teachers, who may incorporate the contest into their lesson plans (e.g., for April’s National Poetry Month).

Cascadia, the Oregon Student Poetry Contest, serves to nurture the talent of young Oregon poets by providing an opportunity for their poems to be widely shared, published, and celebrated.

Please contact Lauren Mallett, Cascadia Student Contest Chair, Oregon Poetry Association, MFA in Creative Writing – Poetry, laurenmallett.com with questions.

Calendar

February 28 – Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools–Principals only. 3:30-5:00 Board Room
March 1st-Bias Incident & District Equity Stance 8:00-9:00 Location: Board Room
March 14, Middle School Horizontal Meeting @REALMS MS @7:30-9:00 am
March 29, Youth Truth Data Debrief-Principals only 8-9:30 zoom Here is link: https://zoom.us/my/youthtruthjimmy
April 4th-Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools-Principals only 3:30-5:00 location TBD
Aril 25th-Middle School Horizontal Meeting @La Pine MS@7:30-9:00 am
May 9th-Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools– Principals only 3:30-5:00 location TBD

Fish On…

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2.18.2022

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Juan Cuadros

Wave riders,

As a level we hit some choppy water in the last two weeks. I appreciate each of you for staying strong and committed to these challenges. I came across a quote from Michael Jordan, (you will read it at the bottom of this post) the mistakes we make are what leads us to success (Juan’s interpretation). The waves are rough right now but I know we can make it through together as a team.

I hope you get out this weekend and find time for yourself. Have nice three day weekend.~Juan

To Do

From Lora

We heard great disappointment from many administrators about the training with the Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) scheduled for June 27^th and 28^th, primarily because many of you will have completed your contractual days by those dates. SO, we are postponing the first two days of the training until the week of August 8^th. We will share the exact dates of those trainings, as well as the schedule for the entire school year’s work with CEL, as soon as they confirm the dates.

From Dave VanLoo

Please see Dave’s email earlier this week titled “Important!! OSAS Security Training and Testing for 2021-22” it was dated 2/15. It has important and timely information regarding state testing and training.

Something to share in your staff newsletters From Kinsey

Dear certified teacher, A key priority within our district’s equity efforts is to improve outcomes and experiences for our culturally- and linguistically-diverse students and families. We know that teachers who have specialized skills and training through an ESOL endorsement are better able to:

understand multilingualism,
identify strengths and assets of emergent bilingual students,
support language acquisition during teaching, and
partner with families through culturally-sustaining practices.

Want to obtain your ESOL endorsement for free?! Bend-La Pine Schools has partnered with OSU to provide a full scholarship to five certified teachers, to participate in the endorsement program. To learn more about this opportunity; understand the timeline, application, and selection process; and ask questions, please join BLS and OSU:

Informational session and Q-and-A
Tues, March 8^th 4:30-5:15pm
WebEx meeting: join here
Here are additional details about this opportunity, and here is the application (due April 1, 2022).

Growing your toolbox of culturally- and linguistically-sustaining practices is incredibly valuable and relevant professional learning for educators, as our community grows and diversifies. If you are interested in learning about other PD opportunities related to this topic, please reach out to your building’s Language Specialist, or to one of our district’s multilingual department instructional coaches Thanks!

From HR: Classified Evaluations

It is that time of year again when HR sends out the list of classified employees who need to be evaluated this year. As a reminder, our classified staff are evaluated at least once every two years. COVID and the craziness of last year have resulted in quite a few evaluations getting bumped by a year or two, so some of you might see that your list is much bigger than usual.

Here are the three items you will need to complete the process:

The Classified Evaluation Rubric
A Classified goal setting form
1. Using this form is your choice (optional)
2. Please do not return the goal setting form to HR. Those are for your files only
21/22 list of Classified employees who need evaluations from your site/department

We are making a change to the process of how you will submit your completed evaluations to HR.

We will be utilizing our Frontline software to capture the completed evaluations this year. Please do not send the hard copies to HR. Instead, watch this quick training video for instructions on how to upload your paperwork. We would like to have all evaluations completed and uploaded in Frontline by May 13, 2022.

After review of the attached staff list, please let us know if you see any errors or have any questions.

Thank you, Your HR Classified Team {Jessica Lamay (x1118) & Kelly Marty (x1115)}

[email protected]

This and That

Learn more about Project Wayfinder

We are excited to share with you our pilot of Wayfinder SEL + Beyond Curriculum. By filling out the Interest Form you will gain access to the Wayfinder App and receive a 30-45 minute orientation.

The Wayfinder program is designed specifically with middle and high school students in mind. The focus of the program is to help students build connection and belonging so they can discover their purpose and live a life of meaning. Check out their website if you’re interested in more information. Or take a look at the 10 Lesson Scope + Sequence.

From Nick in the Business office

Here is a handy link explaining the different budgets that you work with. This may be helpful as we start to get ready to head into another budgeting season. (side note from Tammy–this does not include Title 1A).

Updates from our COVID Team

FYI From Terry Cashman

Water fountains are being turned back on. Clearance was given by the health department. Walt will coordinate with your building engineer on getting this done.

YES to volunteers for field trips and after school activities beginning April 1: Volunteers must be cleared through our volunteer process AND staff must have a mitigation plan submitted and approved prior to the event.

Math Pathways

This information about mathematics “pathways” in middle and high school is being shared with our fifth grade staff AND fifth grade families.

Reminders

From Lora (from last week’s Blog)

Principals and Learning Leadership Council,

Monday, February 28^th*: Chapters 1-3

Monday, April 4^th: Chapters 4-6

Monday, May 9^th: Chapters 7-10

*All sessions will be in the board room from 3:30-5:00 PM. SNACKS WILL BE PROVIDED! 😊

Calendar

February 28 – Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools–Principals only. 3:30-5:00 location TBD
March 1st-Bias Incident & District Equity Stance 8:00-9:00 Location: Board Room
March 14, Middle School Horizontal Meeting @REALMS MS @7:30-9:00 am
March 29, Youth Truth Data Debrief-Principals only 8-9:30 zoom Here is link: https://zoom.us/my/youthtruthjimmy
April 4th-Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools-Principals only 3:30-5:00 location TBD
Aril 25th-Middle School Horizontal Meeting @La Pine MS@7:30-9:00 am
May 9th-Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools– Principals only 3:30-5:00 location TBD

Fish On…

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2.11.2022

Posted on February 12, 2022 by Juan Cuadros

Team,

I hope you all had a good week. Enjoy the weekend, and if you are a skier, I know this is not your type of weather. Let’s hope winter returns; and for those of you who don’t mind warm sunny days, you are doing the happy dance! Best~Juan

To Do

From Lora

As you know, we are hosting three networking/professional learning/district information sessions for principals this spring. One component of each session will be dedicated time for small group discussions of Unconscious Bias in Schools. Here’s the reading schedule:

Monday, February 28^th*: Chapters 1-3
Monday, April 4^th: Chapters 4-6
Monday, May 9^th: Chapters 7-10

Reminder: It is still expected that all school leaders read the book, but the above sessions are for the building Principals only. If you didn’t get a copy of the book, last Friday, let us know and we will send you one.

*All sessions will be in the board room from 3:30-5:00 PM. SNACKS WILL BE PROVIDED! 😊

This and That

Classified Subs

It appears (knock on wood) that the Omicron surge is dwindling and on the way out. We still might experience some shortages but things are looking as they were before the surge. This means that we will not be filling all your classified openings you have each day. Please hold off on reaching out for help until you are at a tipping point. This means that you need to try to cover duties within first before calling Scott Bojanowski for support.

Culture of Care

Just a reminder that Culture of Care offers more than just PD! When it comes to our mission of building Trauma-Responsive, Restorative and Equity-Centered educational cultures, we are available for things like:

Confidential consultation on leadership and culture challenges.
Development support for school’s MTSS model (data review, service delivery & tiered supports)
Thought partnering and brainstorming around Culture of Care related resources, action plans, staff support, and culture building.
Coaching on classroom management & PBIS.
Support with Restorative Practices implementation and Equity work.
Building staff community and addressing team dynamics.
Providing non-evaluative observations and feedback.
Trauma-Informed & Equity-Centered policy review and guidance.
Creation of needed resources (i.e. Classroom Check in Guide)

And as always, you can find a wealth of resources and opportunities on our Culture of Care website, such as the latest Drop-in Community Circles and Care Read Along.

You can use our team scheduling link to set up a 15, 30 or 60 minute zoom call with the HDESD team, or meet with one of the coaches individually:

Vaccine Update

Are you ‘up to date’ on your vaccine? As we start to plan for making masks optional it is important that everyone reviews their vaccination status. The CDC is shifting away from the phrase “fully vaccinated” in favor of calling people “up to date” on their COVID-19 vaccines.

Up to date is defined as:

Ages 18 and older: Boosted or completed primary series of Pfizer or Moderna within the last 5 months or completed the primary series of J&J within last 2 months.
Ages 5-17: Completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines

Not up to date is defined as:

Unvaccinated OR
Has not completed the primary series of any COVID-19 vaccines OR
(For individuals ages 18 and older) completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna more than 5 months ago and is not boosted

Assembly Update

Beginning March 1, you can schedule indoor assemblies. Large schools must limit the number of students considering your space. Let me know if you have questions.

Field Trip Update

We will allow field trips if transportation is available and volunteers are not needed. Staff must submit a mitigation page/plan to level leaders. Requests from Realms HS /MS and CTE will be given priority. We are currently not allowing parents to transport. Check in with me if you are interested in a field trip. All trips need to be approved through level leaders. We may be able to accommodate/approve 1 trip a day, between all grade levels. Plan ahead.

Calendar

2021-22 Canvas and Synergy Grade Setup

February 15th– Middle School Principals Meeting @Pacific Crest MS
February 17th-Middle School Principals (only) Breakfast@7:30 OG Pancake House West Bend
February 28 – Preparing to Lead Equitable Schools–Principals only. 3:30-5:00 location TBD
June 20th & 21, 2022 Leadership Training Academy

Fish On…

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1.4.2022

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Juan Cuadros

Happy Friday,

It was great to collaborate with you today! I appreciate all of you leaning into the work today and I am excited to continue our work as a middle level team. Have a great weekend!

~Juan

To Do

Equitable Grading Work:

As we continue to support our secondary teachers to implement equitable grading practices, your leadership voice is imperative in messaging clear expectations.

As you have seen, our Canvas and Synergy teams are responsive and willing to dig in with your teams to support a problem. You are not alone in leading this work! The week of February 14, our Canvas team will resume sending school reports detailing grade book setup issues between Synergy and Canvas.

Here is a reminder of the expectations we have been pushing out this year. As several schools begin semester 2, this is a good time to reinforce these with your teachers:

Bend La Pine Canvas Expectations. Of special note here is that a course syllabus is required beginning semester 2 using the template selected by your school.

NEW TERM COURSE SHELLS: Remember to apply course settings in each new course.

*Enable nightly sync and synch every graded assignment. The intended outcome is that Canvas ALWAYS matches what is in Synergy. Parents and students should never wonder about their student’s grade.

*Apply 50% for missing submissions

*Assignment groups in Canvas match assignment categories in Synergy

*Grading scales (Canvas scheme and Synergy Grade Type) must match

From Tami Pike:

Please share with your staff as soon as possible. For staff submitting for retroactive COVID-19 credit, please do not send your school nurse the form for signature. The forms should be sent via district mail (not via email) to Tami Pike. Please include a copy of your submitted leave sheet.

Another From Tami Pike:

A friendly reminder that if you are not “up-to-date” with your COVID-19 vaccinations (for most, that means being boosted if your initial vaccines were not in the last 5 months), you will be required to follow the quarantine protocol if you are identified as a close contact to a positive case. You do not need to quarantine, if you have had a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis from a lab, health care provider, or health department in the last 19 days. Here is the most current vaccine information.

Science Safety information from our Secondary Science TOSA, Colleen Behrens:

Scott Bojanowski, Marsha Baro and Colleen Behrens have been working to finalize science safety documents and procedures for the district. This information was reviewed with science teachers at the last Educator Network Day.

Please read through these two documents so you can support the management of science safety expectations in your schools. Science and Safety Update and Science and Chemistry Safety Library.

Science teachers must complete their Flinn training by June 4 2022. Here are their options:

Flinn Safety Training

Choose 1 Option

Day 190: Six hours Flinn Middle School Laboratory Safety Course. Email certificate of completion to Science TOSA

Paid Time: Six hours Flinn Middle School Laboratory Safety Course pays curriculum rate. Email certificate of completion to Science TOSA and she will email the timesheet.

Credit Option: Six hours Flinn Middle School Laboratory Safety Course and a project through Bend-LaPine Course Catalog- Spring Term. Credit through OSU, Cascade. Email certificate of completion AND project for credit to Science TOSA.

Science Safety Support Team Members: SHS Callie Pfister; BSHS Casie Bullock; MVHS Andy Young; Realms Heidi Dixon; BTA@ MHS Missy Wikler; CHS Kathleen Glogau/Laura Gemignani; LPHS Suzanne Jones

This and That

From Tammy and Skip: Classified Subs – it appears (knock on wood) that the Omicron surge is dwindling and on the way out. We still might experience some shortages but things are looking as they were before the surge. This means that we will not be filling all your classified openings you have each day. Please hold off on reaching out for help until you are at a tipping point. This means that you need to try to cover duties within first before calling Scott Bojanowski for support.

From Dean:

I wanted to let you know about the continuation of the optional Educator Network Day on February 9^th. The intent of these collaboration spaces is for you to meet with other teachers to discuss and plan the issues important to you. These planning spaces are predominately run by teacher leaders and District ICCLs.

Teachers who attend the Educator Networks will be time sheeted for lost prep time. Again, these are voluntary meeting times with the agendas being set by BLS teachers.

Agenda and schedules can be found here.

Updates from HR:

Bend – La Pine Schools (BLS) and our Associations have signed a Memorandum Of Agreement (MOA) regarding the impacts of COVID-19 on the workplace. There is a provision for ten (10) paid COVID-19 hardship days and employees have the ability to request retroactive credit for absences that was applied against their sick leave. This provision extends to Confidential/BLAST employees as well.

To determine if you are eligible for the retroactive credit, we’ve created a form for you to review and submit if one or more of the categories apply to past leave.

The form is not necessary for leave that will be captured in the coming months as Office Managers have received instructions on how to code COVID-19 related leave moving forward

For staff submitting for retroactive COVID-19 credit, please do not send your school nurse the form for signature. The forms should be sent via district mail (not via email) to Tami Pike. Please include a copy of your submitted leave sheet.

From Dean and our Secondary TOSA’s:

As most of us move into a new semester and spend our time with report cards, it is also a time to think about all that students have worked on this year. Students have done analyzing, synthesizing, and processing. As teachers, you have done the same thing with all of their evidence of learning.

As we move the second half of the year, Science TOSA Colleen Behrens shares some ways to think about ways to think about how we provide students information beyond grades and what feedback is most beneficial for students. Feedback vs Feed Forward

Calendar

February 7th-Begins 2nd Semester
February 14th- Middle School Principals Meeting @Pacific Crest MS
February 17th-Middle School Principals (only) Breakfast@7:30 OG Pancake House West Bend
June 20th & 21, 2022 Leadership Training Academy

Fish On…

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1.28.2022

Posted on January 29, 2022 by Juan Cuadros

Team,

We are almost halfway through our school year. The last few weeks have really challenging and I want to thank you all for your flexibility with all of our teacher absences. My hope is that it continues to improve and we can see some light on the other end. Level leaders are vigilant monitoring absences and will support you where needed.

Principals, don’t forget to sign-up for your one-on-one SLGG conference meeting with me.

Have a great weekend. ~Juan

To Do

The Removal of Appendix A and the new return to school policy

As you all know the school board voted to remove Appendix A per the recommendation of Dr. Cook. What does this mean for you? It means we have some flexibility when it comes to using our cafeterias and other areas for meals. It doesn’t mean that we stop continuing practicing safe distancing during meal times when masks are off. It does mean that we can relax on the number of students per table. For example, if in your current plane you have 2 kids per table, you can now have 4 kids per table. This does not mean you can put kids shoulder to shoulder and use the maximum seating at a table. You may have kids eat out doors per weather permitting. Also, ensure you create a space for students who return from isolation after 5 days. I know many of you are currently creating systems to track the 6-10 kids, and are continuing to use all health and safety protocols. Appendix A does provide for some more decision making at the building level. If you have any questions or wonderings about something you may want to do, please reach out to Juan.

Attend the State of Schools Retreat–February 4, from 9:00-12:00

The middle and the high school teams will be meeting at Bend Senior H S. The format will be similar to the work from last year: meet in groups with facilitators, WebEx to all rooms/locations, have breakout activities to do together, etc. Please be sure to bring your leadership notebook to this meeting as there will be a few opportunities to reflect and write down your thinking, as well as your computer to look up information. You will be leaving with a boxed lunch to take with you and enjoy. Room assignments will be sent later or possibly posted in the lobby that day. For more information on future sessions, long term vision, plan and please refer to Lora’s email she sent earlier this week.

This and That

From Jennifer Hauth

National School Counseling Week 2022 is Feb. 7-11, to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. National School Counseling Week is always celebrated the first full week in February.

I have had posters and certificates made for each school counselor in your building, serving in a traditional school counseling role. Please take a moment on February 4^th-7^th to present the certificates and posters to your school counselors, thanking them for all that they do.

SSC Positions – Be sure to read Jennifer Hauth’s email to all principals re: hiring of SSC. she sent it early Thursday morning.

Note from Jackie Wilson

Regarding sustainability efforts in your schools and the district. Check out the most recent information here. Hey Title schools–there is a great idea for a family engagement activity you could develop for your school!

From HR

Classified Job Postings and Hiring Update for Temporary Positions. We are closely approaching the date when some temporary classified new hires will not be eligible for benefits and be excluded from the bargaining unit because their employment in 2021-22 will be less than 80 days. HR will be editing temporary job postings to reflect when the 80-day employment window ensues (see this link for the impacted jobs and dates). It is very important for administrators/supervisors involved in offering jobs to new temporary hires after these dates that these prospective employees are aware of the non-benefited status of their position before they accept the offer of employment.

Summer School – A number of you have reached out with questions about whether Bend-La Pine Schools will continue with summer programming for students this summer. The answer is “yes”! We are currently identifying an administrative lead for the program and hope to get out information soon about certified and classified positions available. The dates for this summer are August 1-19, Monday through Friday. Both part-time and full-time positions will be available.

FROM BEA (Sarah Barclay)

Equitable Grading Practices: As everyone knows Bend-La Pine Schools has been moving through a process, in collaboration with BEA, to examine best practices in grading at the secondary level. OEA has also been exploring this topic of discussion and we wanted to ensure that all BEA members were aware of some available resources.

Grading for Equity Book Study Flier: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J7d4MjAPOPuPsrQJRAvVc8ZfuIPzHMnj/view?usp=sharing(This is the same book the BLS Equitable Grading Think Tank has been using to guide their work!)

Rethinking Grading Webinar Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl3_0SNHqpE

Calendar

MS/HS School Forecasting Timeline 22/23

February 2nd-On going Canvas/Synergy Clean up and Sync
February 4th-No school-This is a teacher work day for grading and completion of grades. Teachers may work from home. Please review Dr. Cook’s email from earlier from last week.
February 4 – Required all district and building leadership training 9-12. Location Bend SHS
February 7th-Begins 2nd Semester
February 14th- Middle School Principals Meeting @Pacific Crest MS
February 17th-Middle School Principals (only) Breakfast@7:30 OG Pancake House West Bend
June 20th & 21, 2022 Leadership Training Academy

Fish On…

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1.21.2022

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Juan Cuadros

Team,

Every time I’m in schools, I leave impressed each time by your work, and the commitment from your staff and faculty. Thank you to each every one of you for your flexibility and willingness to shift on the fly. Time is flying as we can see the end of the 1st half of the school year and the beginning of the 2nd.

I look forward to seeing you on Monday at Sky View MS. Please forward any agenda items my way for our meeting. Here is the Lighting Round AGENDA

Have a great weekend~Juan

To Do

Thank you for continuing to ensure that all students and staff take our YouthTruth Survey!

We have scheduled an all admin training on Friday, February 4 9-12 to review our YouthTruth data together.

I appreciate that you are ensuring teachers have completed the required Canvas/Synergy Synch requirements prior to the end of the semester.

Choice Option High School Communication 2022

Week of Jan. 17: Videos shared in Family Newsletter

Week of Jan. 24-28: Brochures in ENG and SPAN sent to all middle schools and high school counseling – here’s the link to the spreadsheet showing # each school will receive

Link to video, highlighting two choice option high schools shared with schools (Two versions, one with ENG captions, one with SPAN captions)

Suggested script developed for teachers/other staff to go over when they present video/brochure to students

Videos shared on social media (BLS accounts) announcing open house dates Week of Jan. 31:

Middle schools share info w/ students, including dates of info nights

BTA and Realms post on social media, website, etc with dates/videos

Press Release featuring all choice option schools K-12 and ACR date

This and That

Here is the email from Dr. Steve to teachers regarding the February 4, Certified Work Day Expectations: In light of the continuing surge of COVID-19 cases in our community, we are looking for ways to limit spread that do not have a negative impact on instructional time for students. Based on this, we are offering some flexibility on Feb. 4, a non-student contact day, for you to complete grading. You (teachers) may complete your full workday at school or from home.

Schools and offices will remain open and staffed for calls or walk-ins on Feb. 4 and there will be no change for extracurricular and club activities. The only change to this contracted work day is the flexibility for teacher grading to take place from school or home.

Thank you all for your continued professionalism and care for our students during this challenging time.

From Kinsey

Just a reminder about some upcoming months and some resources for each. Look for more resources from Christie Boen.

1. Black History Month: February. Resources here.

2. Women’s History Month: March. Resources here.

Secondary Blog post from TLC:

This week’s post comes from guest writer Tara Butler, Cascade Middle School Math Teacher and winner of the 2021 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. She has some great advice for teaching students executive functioning skills such as self-control and flexible thinking, something most students can use during these difficult times. Fostering Executive Function Skills

Reminders

From Julianne

re: masks – A quick reminder that our nursing and office manager teams may order PPE from Distribution, as needed. Here is the form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSccLCgyWa4kvGvT6sJGzdMbJnfUTCkD-gMnOJBmRFxhzXjjXg/viewform Please have your school nurse place the weekly PPE order to avoid any confusion.

You are encouraged to make 3-ply and KN95 masks available to students and staff via self serve. The KN95s with black printing on the outside of the mask are smaller than the newer all white masks. Those with black imprints may be better suited for youth faces. When you order additional KN95s you will receive the new, larger version.

And remember, in an effort to extend the life of PPE during the pandemic, staff are reminded that KN95 masks can be reused when appropriate handling and storage is followed by following some simple storage and handling rules. Click here.

Calendar

January 24th-Middle School Principal Meeting, Sky View Middle School@7:30-9:00 am
February 2nd-On going Canvas/Synergy Clean up and Sync
February 4th-No school-This is a teacher work day for grading and completion of grades. Teachers may work from home. Please review Dr. Cook’s email from earlier this week.
February 4 – Required all district and building leadership training 9-12. Location TBD
February 7th-Begins 2nd Semester
June 20th & 21, 2022 Leadership Training Academy

Fish On…

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1.14.2022

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Juan Cuadros

Happy Friday,

I hope you all had a productive week. I got my sea legs back working at High Desert this week. It was great being around students, staff and families. I am humbled by all of the wonderful work you do for our level. I hope you find time for yourself this weekend. ~Juan

To Do

From Tammi Pike

All staff should be advised to contact their supervisor for any COVID related questions/concerns outside of school hours. It is important for nurses and contact tracers to have personal time during non-school hours. When supervisors/administrators are contacted by school staff, administrators should refer to the Staff COVID-19 Response and Recovery Newsletter to help answer questions. After reviewing the Staff COVID-19 Response and Recovery Newsletter, if principals/administrators still have questions and it is an urgent matter, please reach out to nurse Michelle Spetic AND Tami Pike via email.

*At this time, 1/10/22: If a fully vaccinated staff person is exposed to a positive case and they currently have no symptoms, they can work on site. (Fully vaccinated – received 2^nd dose of 2 dose vaccine series less than 6 months ago or has received the COVID-19 booster.) Tami highly encourages fully vaccinated, exposed individuals to test on day 5 and work remotely (if possible).

Read the TLC Blog, This week we want to highlight the second section about who to have your teachers turn to for tech support. Currently, they are often going directly to Brenna and Tracy before going through the building support team. When Brenna and Tracy are at the top of everyone’s list, they can’t keep up with the demand in a timely manner. Please put your building support team down in your next building newsletter, so your staff knows all the options they have to get help. Thanks!

Read the email from Julieanne again that discusses the ability for staff to come back on Day 6 of a quarantine. Pay particular attention to the type of mask to be worn and lunch protocols. No need to take temperature on those that return.

This and That

From Transportation

Just an FYI.. we are getting really close to the edge for staffing in transportation. Kim Crabtree knows that any trips outside of home to school are okay to cancel. That would include trips into the community that require our driver (Realms). At least for the next few weeks. In short, we are holding on no field trips right now.

From Dave Williams

From Dave Williams (This is the response from our question: “let’s push wrestling season back.”)

MS ADs are are looking at possible alterations to the MS wrestling schedule, but no-one expressed a pause to the season. I will share more information as I know it.

Reminders

Complete your work calendars. If you need assistance please contact April Jorgenson.

Calendar

January 17th-Martin Luther King Jr. Day
January 20th-Middle School Principal Breakfast, Original Pancake House (West Bend)
January 24th-Middle School Principal Meeting, Sky View Middle School@7:30-9:00 am
February 2nd-On going Canvas/Synergy Clean up and Synch
February 4th-No school-This is a teacher work day for grading and completion of grades. Teachers will be expected to work in the building. Teachers with young children may bring them to work under parent supervision and adhering to COVID protocols.
February 7th-Begins 2nd Semester
June 20th & 21, 2022 Leadership Training Academy

Fish On…

How many of you are feeling this way?

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1.7.2022

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Juan Cuadros

Hello Team,

As things are ever changing and moving fast with COVID/OMICRON, my formal site visits will be suspended for the month of January. As this pandemic continues to impact our schools, students, and staff, all of the directors, and coaches at the Ed Center are clearing calendars to be ready and available to help cover schools when teaching jobs go unfilled by subs. So, I will be doing some subbing for next few weeks. Please do not hesitate in contacting me when you need support. I will do drop-in visits and by requested appointments. I appreciate all of you and your commitment to our school district.

Have a restful weekend~Juan

To Do

From Dr. Cook (Please Read

YouthTruth Survey

Let’s ensure we get a high participation rate on this survey. Here is the cheat sheet again from Tuesday’s meeting.

Canvas Cleanup

Continue to ensure every teacher has completed Canvas and Synergy set up so their grades are accurate!

Please share this schedule with your teachers:

January 12, next Wednesday, is the Educator Network Day in which teachers meet with content alike teams. Here is the schedule which has been created by the teachers (District ICCLs) leading each team. Admin will not be assigned to Educator Network Teams this time.

From Alandra:

Please see her email and share this with your families Serve Our Schools: Budget Committee

This and That

From Lora

I know you’re all aware of the tremendous pressure our staff is feeling at this point (and you, as well!). While negotiations with BEA over a memorandum of understanding are not complete, it is VERY likely that we will reserve a number of additional SIW times for teacher-directed work times. We will continue to include some high-priority professional learning opportunities on the February and April EN days, but these will be voluntary for staff. Here is the link to the updated calendar:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/literacymatters-in-aldine-isd-chapter-2-tickets -182734342337

From Kinsey

Regarding our dates for upcoming forecasting, ACR, and orientation events:
Please ensure that you have interpreters secured in advance for all family events. Since we already know these dates, you can submit your requests now (Linguist Link here).
Ensure all invitations and flyers regarding your family events have been translated prior to sending out.

More from Kinsey – Thank you for reading the winter edition of the Language, Culture, Identity newsletter . This newsletter is shared with administrators, ELL staff, and LEAD cohort members. Feel free to share with your staff/team, and if you have questions, concerns, or ideas regarding the content, reach out to Kinsey.

Literacy Matters: Chapter 2 (FREE, Feb. 5)

This first one, hosted by Aldine ISD in Houston, Tx. is totally free and is on a Saturday so teachers could easily attend. The speakers and organizations presenting have a strong track record of excellent and thought provoking work. Last year’s conference drew thousands of attendees from across the country. This would be a good opportunity for principals to share with their teaching staffs. I do not know if these sessions will be recorded for later viewing.

Student masking issues

Prior to break, a few of you shared that a handful of students are not consistently following masking protocols after repeated reminders and conversations with the students and their parents. We worked with Greg Colvin to develop a letter that can be sent home for our worst offenders and that could result in moving the repeat offenders to BLPO at the semester. Progressive steps of intervention/discipline need to occur first and be documented. If you think this letter needs to be sent to any of your families, contact Juan first so I can discuss the situation with you.

Test kits

Each school has Covid test kits and should be using them. If a staff member feels symptomatic, thinks they have been exposed, or needs some peace of mind let them test. If we run out we will order more. Tami is trying to make sure that all schools are staying stocked.

From your TLC and DEI Colleagues

For yourself and/or your staff, here are great local opportunities for learning and connection:

Our state is offering an amazing opportunity for racially/linguistically/ethnically-diverse educators to participate in a racial justice institute fellowship. Details here. Applications are due very soon, so act quickly (and share with teachers/colleagues asap)!
The Father’s Group (a local collective sponsored by our regional partner Better Together through the ESD) has a wonderful film event in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Details here.
COCC and partners are hosting book groups in advance of their Season of Nonviolence indigenous author event. Groups and event details here.

Now might not feel like a natural time to engage in deep personal learning, as we grow tired of reacting to Covid. If an opportunity to learn and reflect in community would fill your bucket, rather than deplete it, these might be for you. If that’s not for you at the moment, you may know a teacher or student who would like to take advantage.

Reminders

From Human Resources team

New Request-To-Hire Procedure For Administrators/Supervisors:

We are discontinuing the practice of asking administrators to upload interview packets into google drive. Instead, you will upload Interview Packets directly into Frontline Recruit & Hire.
To do that, you will print the packets (Certified Interview Packet; Classified/Extra Duty Interview Packet) like normal, fill them out during the interview process and then scan them to your email.
Then, we’ve created this short 1.5 minute video on how to upload the scanned packet into Frontline. Here is a step-by-step guide shown in the video. Open Frontline Recruit/HireLocate the forms module on the left-hand side of your screen Click on “Fill Out a New Form”Under the category “Applicant Screening”, click the Interview Packet box On the bottom-right hand corner of your screen, click “Continue With Selected Forms” It will ask you to type in the specific job and applicant’s name. *Please make sure these match your hiring request* You will upload your Interview Packet to the form, answer the questions, and submit
Important: You will need to upload the interview packet BEFORE you make a Recommendation-to-Hire. New hires won’t be approved until the uploaded documents can be reviewed by HR.

The Crown Act

Went into effect as of January 1, 2022. HERE is a quick overview of what you need to know about this important law. Please reach out to Kinsey or me if you have questions.

Calendar

January 7th-SIF Budgets are due
January 12th-Educator Network Day Schedule
January 17th-Martin Luther King Jr. Day
January 20-Middle School Principal Breakfast, Original Pancake House (West Bend)
January 24-Middle School Principal Meeting, Sky View Middle School@7:30-9:00 am
June 20th & 21, 2022 Leadership Training Academy

Fish On…

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12.17.2021

Posted on December 18, 2021 by Juan Cuadros

Dear Thermo-riders,

With the tik-tok threats and social media blunders we were forced to shift and adjust today! I wasn’t able to get out to see all of you today but I am confident that you all took today’s wave in stride! Please know that I appreciate each and every one of you. You are wonderful Leaders! Please make sure to read all the way to bottom. There is a little surprise. We had a little fun last night to connect, socialize and chill for just a moment. We laughed a lot and we behaved a little bit like middle schoolers, but we had the most fun with the following. We held a circle and the prompt went like this: You get to replace your birth name with a city name, any city name in the world, what is your city name?

Juan Cuadros aka Rio De Janeiro, Jake Slodki aka Baku, Stephen DuVal aka Chicago, Heather Peterson aka Memphis, Julie Stoinski aka Green Bay, Dean Richards aka Eugene, Matt Montgomery aka Dallas, Ryan Kelling aka San Juan, Nole Kennedy aka Hollywood, Anne Marie aka Santa Anna When you see us next time ask why we chose these names!

Lastly, enjoy these next couple of weeks to be with family and friends and take a moment for yourself. It is well deserved. Happy Holidays!!

To Do

Parent notification about YouthTruth should be pushed out by today. Our YouthTruth survey window runs Jan 3-28 and we are required to notify parents of the survey prior to implementation. Here is some language Dave pulled from YouthTruth’s passive consent form: schools can use to notify/communicate with parents about YouthTruth student surveys. I chose not to modify this at all because it is translated into Spanish (and Russian). Schools have access to the forms this came from. Check out last week’s BLOG for the text in Spanish and English.

SIW Equitable Grading 30 min training for MS/HS: Please set aside 30 minutes in January or February for your equitable grading team member(s) to update your staff on the team’s work. They will have a presentation to cover and provide avenues for staff to provide feedback. If your building does not have a rep, please reach out to Stephen DuVal to discuss a method for communicating with staff.

This and That

From Scott Bojanoswki

We now have a “Safety” quick links tab on the right-hand side of the staff portal homepage.
Inside of the Safety page of the staff portal: https://portal.bend.k12.or.us/search/node/safety
There are resources/documents like:

the monthly district safety meeting minutes (categorized by school year)
our district hazard communication plan
our safety hazard notification flow chart (how to address safety concerns/hazards)
Alarm Codes for buildings, SRP posters, hand-held radio order form
Safety Training & Drills Guide, Drill & Emergency Evaluation form
District Safety Committee Organization Chart
District Safety Data Sheets Database
School Science Lab Safety Checklist
Visitor/Volunteer Information
Student Threat Assessment Documents
Chemical Safety/Spill Information

And other safety related documents.
We are just trying to house all those resources in one location so it’s easier for our staff to find.

From Paul – Human Resources is very excited to be expanding our use of Frontline products Recruit/Hire and Central. By increasing our digital automation of job postings, hiring and document management processes, we will be able to expedite approvals in a more timely manner and reduce redundancies in our practices.

Some of these changes will include more self-service options giving greater autonomy to BLS staff members when undertaking a variety of HR-related tasks. Here are some of the changes that we are instituting to the new hire process at the start of 2022:

When a candidate accepts a job offer from an administrator, instead of asking them to physically show up in HR, please instruct them to call HR right away @541-355-1101 in order to coordinate drug testing and onboarding paperwork. Third party drug testing needs to occur within 24 hours of the offer.
New hires will be provided digital paperwork instead of hard copies to complete during the onboarding process
New hires will spend significantly less time in our office filling out paperwork
Frontline Central will be the digital repository of applicant documents and their new hire paperwork.

****New Request-To-Hire Procedure For Administrators/Supervisors! – On January 3rd, we will be discontinuing the practice of asking administrators to upload interview packets into google drive. Instead, you will upload Interview Packets directly into Frontline Recruit & Hire.

To do that, you will print the packets (Certified Interview Packet; Classified/Extra Duty Interview Packet) like normal, fill them out during the interview process and then scan them to your email. We’ve created this short 1.5 minute video on how to upload the scanned packet into Frontline. Here is a step-by-step guide shown in the video.

Open Frontline Recruit/Hire
Locate the forms module on the left-hand side of your screen
Click on “Fill Out a New Form”
Under the category “Applicant Screening”, click the Interview Packet box
On the bottom-right hand corner of your screen, click “Continue With Selected Forms”
It will ask you to type in the specific job and applicant’s name. *Please make sure these match your hiring request*
You will upload your Interview Packet to the form, answer the questions, and submit

Important: You will need to upload the interview packet BEFORE you make a Recommendation-to-Hire. New hires won’t be approved until the uploaded documents can be reviewed by HR.

From Jackie Wilson re: Sustainability Update – Thanks to everyone who reminded their staff about the Holiday SOP over Thanksgiving. Facilities checked in on 5 schools and they all looked great in terms of energy conservation, overall the buildings were shut down. Please remind staff of the importance of conservation strategies over the two-week break and specifically to make sure all mini-fridges are emptied and unplugged.

Composting has been successful this fall at Miller Elementary and the BSH commissary kitchen. Although a small impact, keeping food waste out of landfill has proven to be successful this fall. We hope to see growth in this program in the coming years. “It is much easier than I thought and the system is working great.” Custodian Glen Carey. Students are composting food and stacking boats in the attached container keeping their waste to 6-yards weekly. The district on average generates 445 yards of trash weekly, at a cost of $28,000 a month. Small changes can make a big impact. THANK YOU. Happy holidays.

Check out this course offered by Quinn Daly on Differentiated Instruction: This course will support you in providing differentiated instruction both in a virtual and face-to-face classroom settings. As a result of this class, you will come away with a better understanding of what differentiated instruction is and you will have created a differentiated instruction lesson you will be able to implement directly into your classroom this year. This course is run completely through Canvas, with a group share on the last day of the course. The dates of the class are from January 18th – February 22nd.

Teachers can register on performance matters. Here is the direct link:https://bend.truenorthlogic.com/ia/empari/learning2/course/viewCourse?courseId=10283&month=0&year=2022&whence=calendar&backUrl=%2Fcal%2FmonthTeaserV2%3Fyear%3D2022%26month%3D0

Reminders

Mandatory Canvas/Synergy Clean up: We are seeing progress in the required clean up. This needs to be done by the end of January so student grades are ACCURATE on Canvas and Synergy. Here is the link to the slides from our work session last week. Let us know if you need support as you work with your teachers on this priority project. You goal is to check off that every teacher has completed these tasks by January 20. It is imperative that Synergy and Canvas are in synch.

Calendar

SIW Schedule