The Fish Basket

Team,

Before we come to your school on our rounds of classroom observations, please share the below doc with your teachers. This way they know the tool by which we will use to conduct our observations. No teacher names are assigned or used. We are looking for patterns and trends in instruction and environment. This info is non-evaluative. We are collecting another data point in the “state of middle schools” tour.

Also, share the attached QR code with the staff. I will be randomly selecting some students to fill it out during our classroom visits.

We are totally looking forward to seeing your schools!

Here is the BLS MS Instructional Rubric

Here is the QR Code

Have a great weekend!~Juan

To Do

From Paul Dean, HR

UKG Go Live Updates For Admin

• Please check and approve/reject UKG My Mailbox requests at least once a day
• Use help desk tickets to track errors 

• UKG Go Live Updates For StaffPlease check our UKG Implementation and Training website within the staff portal regularly for important information.  We will update it frequently (hourly if needed) during the first few days of the launch.  The site includes:Daily bullet points regarding digital tasksKnown Issues LogOpen and Closed fixesUKG Support PlanInstructions on what to do if you are encountering problemsUpdated how-to training videos and documentsThe newest one is “How current employees apply for another BLS job“
• COVID Sick DaysBend – La Pine Schools (BLS) and our Associations have agreed to a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) regarding the impacts of COVID-19 on the workplace. There is a provision for five (5) 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 2022/23 leave taken prior to Monday, February 13, 2023. The form is NOT to be used for COVID-19 related leave beginning on February 13 as staff will be able to designate “COVID” when they submit Frontline Absence Management/Aesop substitute requests or within UKG for non-Frontline/Aesop users.

From Ryan Kelling, HR

Please save the date for the Central Oregon Educator Job Fair. It will be held on Thursday, March 23rd at Eagle Crest. As like past years, all administrators will be excepted to attend to meet with potential candidates. More details to come from Ryan Kelling.

From Stephen Duval

BLS Fly Up Day! Check out this link. You will be able to reference his email.

This and That

From Scott McDonald

KnowB4 Training-

Since February 1^st, 1,230 staff members have now completed their KnowB4 cyber-security training.  That is nearly a participation record for Bend La Pine Schools! Reminder messages will be sent to any staff member who has yet to complete the training until the first week of March.  Thank You for your commitment to internet security!

Phishing Report Tool-

IT wants to remind all staff that there is a very effective “phishing Reporting Tool” built into our email system.  If you suspect an email message addressed to you is a scam or in  anyway “phishy”, it is 100% okay to report the message using this tool.  Use it as much as you want!  Getting to the phishing tool can look a little different depending on the email client that you use.  Just know that you can always find it in the “meatball” menu (…) that is clearly visible near the top of your email tool bar.  

Finally, please try to resist the temptation of sending potentially fraudulent emails to our technology staff.  Forwarding these messages can have a multiplier effect on the reach of the scam.

From OHSU

Please this opportunity with your teachers. I think this workshop topics are timely.

OHSU Teacher Workshop

2023 TW Flyer

Missing your token for the educator survey? 

Bree Bender from ODE has advised us to have principals contact their helpdesk at [email protected] if you are missing the email that contains your token. They will be able to assist. If you have any problems after reaching out to them, please let me know and I will help troubleshoot. 

Calendar

February 15: Educator Network Day

February 16: Cascade Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation (Cancelled-reschedule)

February 21: High Desert Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation

February 22: MS Principal Meeting only @8:00-9:00 @Ed Center Wall Street Lab

February 23: MS Work Session Cancelled

February 23-24: Juan is out of office attending NABE Conference

February 27: Assistant Principals and Deans PD 7:30-8:30 @ Ed Center; room 314

March 2: BLS Fly Up Day (Stephen’s Email)

March 8: Pacific Crest Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation

March 14: Sky View Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation

Fish On…

I am dedicating this “Fish” to Julie Stroinski this week!!

Team,

It was great to see all of you yesterday! I always miss seeing kids with teachers in action in the classroom. Thank you to Chad and Brian for going first with our observations. I look forward to the other ones to come.

Please ensure you read the “To Do” list this week. I apologize up front that this week’s blog is long.

I am placing Monday’s Principal PD Session on 2/13  at the top of this message. We’ll start in the boardroom at 3:00 and you can find the agenda here. 

To Do

From Dr. Cook

Dear Principals,

A revamped statewide survey of licensed educators opens next Wednesday, and I’m asking for your help in promoting a high level of participation among your eligible staff. The feedback from the anonymous Oregon Statewide Educator Survey (formerly the TELL Oregon Survey) will provide us new insights into the teaching and learning environments in our schools. It covers professional development, educator and school leadership, instructional practices, use of time, and behavior management.

I can’t emphasize enough how valuable this input could be for us as at this time. We have heard from some instructional staff this year, directly and indirectly, with concerns about current conditions and big changes we are pursuing across our district. It’s critical that we hear from a greater share of our certified staff, and we want to be able to compare our results to statewide results. 

The Educator Survey, suspended for the past three years due to COVID, has been redesigned with improved data collection and reporting to be responsive to local and regional needs. This survey comes from the Educator Advancement Council, in partnership with the Oregon Department of Education and Oregon Education Association.

The survey is intended for certified, school-based educators, including principals, assistant principals, head teachers, instructional coordinators and supervisors, psychologists, teachers (including those on special assignment), library/media specialists, guidance counselors, nurses, special education teachers, and social workers. Please include any licensed, ESD-employed educators working regularly with your students to the extent that they have a sense of the conditions for teaching and learning in your school. Educators who serve multiple school buildings in the district are encouraged to take the survey for each building they serve. 

The survey will open Wednesday, February 15, and remain open through March 3. It can be completed in about 15 minutes.

In addition to this message to you, I am sending the attached letter to all certified staff in our district later today.

Here’s what we are asking of you:

On Monday, February 13, you will be emailed tokens (codes) to access the survey from the Center for Optimal Learning Environments. The email will come from [email protected]. In addition to the access token for educators in your building, you will receive a separate token to participate in the administrator version of the survey.

On Monday or Tuesday, please notify all of your licensed educators about the opening of the survey window on Wednesday. Below is a sample message you may use in your communications.

Disseminate the access tokens: Make a plan to distribute your school’s access token for the survey to certified educators on the morning of Wednesday, February 15. This can be done via email and during a staff meeting. Please remind them to review my email (sent to them today) about the purpose of this survey and the value we place on their participation. You also may refer them to the survey FAQ page at eac.ode.state.or.us/page/osei. I encourage you to review these FAQs to help you answer any questions from staff.

In addition to sharing the access token, please indicate that the link to the survey can be found at eac.ode.state.or.us/page/osei.

To honor the confidential nature of this survey, please refrain from tracking or logging who has started or completed it. Just make sure to communicate clearly with all eligible survey respondents to boost the level of participation.

Encourage them to complete the survey as soon as possible, from ANY location (school, home, their phone). The survey should take 15 minutes and can be completed in multiple sittings; it will save your progress.

If possible, schedule a designated date/time for staff to take the survey between February 15 and March 3.

All educators at a school will receive the same access token to ensure anonymity. Results from the survey will only be shared at the school level if there is a 40% completion rate and a minimum of five respondents.

If you have questions or concerns, know that we will set aside time at our principals’ meeting Monday to address them. If you need information before then, consult your level directors. I’m also happy to address any questions you may have.

OSAS Survey Info Doc

From Dave Vanloo (read)

This Google doc contains essential information and resources for OSAS state testing in ELA, Math, and Science. Contact Dave VanLoo or Stephanie Bent with any questions. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16zLgX_iT2H0aAPRKa6mR_aGPCLZ0Gv1SsPSRr-iZ1Ks/edit?usp=sharing

From Dean Richards

The Secondary Instructional Coaches will be visiting schools to solicit qualitative feedback from teachers on the process and product of draft standards work this week.  This is in addition to the time spent during the Educator Network Day on February 15^th.  

TO Dos:

1. If there is a conflict with this date, please let Dean know ASAP.
2. Please have a space for the Instructional Coaches to be available for teachers (i.e. library, future center, other common meeting spot)
3. Please communicate with staff that they will be coming ahead of time
4. Please give an all call that they are available on the date of their visit

8:00-8:30 at each site

Thursday, February 23(Dean will schedule BTA)	Team #1: Monica                  Coleen                  Julie Team #2: Torie                  Linda                 Michele	MVHS Summit
Tuesday, February 28	Team #1: Michele                   Coleen                  Julie Team #2: Torie                  Linda                 Monica	Caldera Realms HS/MS
Thursday, March 2	Team #1: Michele                   Coleen                  Julie Team #2: Torie                  Linda                 Monica	LPH/LPM BSH
Tuesday, March 7	Team #1: Michele                   Monica                  Julie Team #2: Torie                  Linda                 Coleen	HDM CMS
Thursday, March 9	Team #1: Michele                   Coleen                  Julie Team #2: Torie                  Monica	SVMS PCMS
Tuesday, March 14	Team #1: Michele                   Coleen                  Julie Team #2: Torie                  Linda                 Monica	3R PBMS

From Stephen Duval

Could you please let me know two pieces of information regarding subs and our fly up day on March 2nd.  Feel free to pass this on to another on your team if needed.

IF you are requesting subs:

1. How many are you requesting?
2. Who are the teachers you are requesting for?
   1. If you plan on moving the sub around to cover multiple teachers, just let me know the name of one staff member who will be covered.

It would be great to have this piece of information in the next couple of days.

When putting a sub request in AESOP, you can select Bill to ESD CTE Perkins.

2023 KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training

Please remind your staff to complete their security awareness training by February 28th. If you have any questions, please contact your site tech, or call the help desk at extension 1200.

This and That

Jennifer Hauth

Nominate A Care Hero

From High Desert Museum

Free Family Saturdays at High Desert Museum

From Nole Kennedy

Resource sharing: Incident form

From Julie Stroiniski

Support Matrix

From Kinsey

Principal PD Session:

Agenda here.  We’ll start at 3:00pm on Monday in the board room!

Menstrual Dignity Act:

We are continuing the phased installation and implementation of hardware and products in all bathrooms, in accordance with state expectations and timelines.  More soon on next steps in that roll-out.  

In the meantime, here is the updated Toolkit the state released a couple months ago.  Section IV: Education has relevant tools for K-12 classroom conversations and instruction.  

Please take a moment to review that section with relevant staff (ICCL, counseling, athletics, nursing, multilingual staff, educators who teach health topics, and/or front-office staff).  Your building is welcome to teach lessons on the topic if you’re ready to dive in, but the only ask for the moment is that you review and discuss the toolkit with staff, to raise awareness and familiarity with the topic and resources.  Doing this now will help your staff feel more informed and comfortable when we take next steps with implementation over the upcoming months.  If you have questions, please reach out to Kinsey or a LEAD/Equity Coach.  

FREE ESOL Endorsement:

Principals, please share this with your certified staff.  Kinsey can support any questions:

Certified teachers: Interested in getting your ESOL endorsement for free?  

Bend-La Pine Schools has a partnership with OSU to cover all tuition and costs associated with ESOL certification.  Our goal is to increase the number of classroom teachers who are highly-trained in supporting culturally- and linguistically-diverse learners and families.  We have had several cohorts of teachers selected for this opportunity in prior years, who have earned their ESOL endorsement with no cost, moved over on the pay scale, and are better equipped to serve our students and families!

If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, you must apply by April 3.  Additional details here.  

Calendar

February 13: Principal Professional Development @Board Room at 3:00-4:30

February 15: Educator Network Day

February 16: Cascade Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation

February 21: High Desert Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation

February 23: MS Work Session Cancelled

February 22-24: Juan is out of office attending NABE Conference

February 27: Assistant Principals and Deans PD 7:30-8:30 @ Ed Center; room 314

March 8: Pacific Crest Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation

March 14: Sky View Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation

Fish On…

Team,

Starting next week, I want to change up our horizontal meetings a little bit. I want to place a “problem of practice” protocol as a standing agenda item at our meetings. I think this experience will be valuable for the second half of the school year. I can see many valuable lessons coming from this work, but I think one of the most salient ones will be our ability to calibrate our day to day operations at the middle level.

Here is my ask of you. Please take a look at the following link. Which one, or which two do we want to take on as a “problem of practice first, at our next meeting next week? Also, I am going to assign each school to write-up a scenario. If you really want to do one please reach out to your colleague and trade.

BTW, read the caption on this week’s photo. Despite all the challenges you may face, you are not alone. Look the pic and you will see what I mean! ~Juan

To Do

UKG Site Maintenance

In preparation for our anticipated Go Live date of February 13, staff will not be able to access UKG features starting on February 2nd.  This will allow our implementation team to perform site maintenance and users (except a select few) won’t have access to any UKG functionality.  Attempts to login between February 2nd and the 13th, will receive the following message.

UKG Recruitment Trainings

Thank you to North Star and Mountain View for hosting our first two trainings.  We are still editing the powerpoint to reflect administrator feedback.  Prior to February 13th, we will share the powerpoint with all admin and office managers.  Admin/Supervisor In Person Sign Up Link

Tue 2/7 – In Person Recruiting/HRIS

• 9:30 – 11 am @ Silver Rail
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm @HDMS 

Fri 2/10 – In Person Recruiting/HRIS

• 9:30 – 11 am @ LPHS
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm Virtual (Paul’s Webex Room)

Fri 2/17 – In Person Recruiting/HRIS

• 9:30 – 11 am @ Ensworth
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm @ Caldera

Job Postings During Frontline To UKG Transition

We are attempting to close as many job postings as possible by February 10th so you can screen, interview and hire candidates through Frontline.  Positions that are open past February 10th will need to be screened, interviewed and hired through UKG.  During the weekend of February 11th/12th, our UKG implementation team will transition open positions to UKG (you don’t need to do anything) and we’ll copy applicant data over to UKG so that those who applied through Frontline will now have their data within UKG.

Time and Leave FAQs

Here is a document that we will update as new questions arise.

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 2022-23 will be less than 80 days.  HR will be editing temporary job postings to reflect this as the less than 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 position.

Classified Evaluations

In a few weeks you’ll be receiving information from HR identifying the classified employees who need to be evaluated this year.  As a reminder, we rotate staff so that they are only required to be evaluated every other year (after their first year probationary period).  Temporary employees are not required to be evaluated.  

This and That

From Jennifer Hauth

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gsglQmblzQfkRIlqcmu5kxj6qaSBUwmWbhXHb4M8DyY/edit?usp=sharing

Calendar

February 9: La Pine Middle School Classroom/Environment Observation

February 9: MS Work Session @Cascade Middle School at 3:00-4:30

February 13: Principal Professional Development @Board Room at 3:00-4:30

February 15: Educator Network Day

February 16: Cascade Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation

February 21: High Desert Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation

February 23: MS Work Session Cancelled

February 22-24: Juan is out of office attending NABE Conference

February 27: Assistant Principals and Deans PD 7:30-8:30 @ Ed Center; room 314

March 8: Pacific Crest Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation

Fish On…

Team,

Hope you had a productive week.

Please take a look at the calendar below. I have some schools calendared for the classroom/environmental observations, but now all. Reach out to Denise so that she can place this date on mine and Eric’s calendar. I am really looking forward to this part of our listening tour.

Remember, don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions you might have.

With appreciation ~Juan

To Do

From Dave: 

The YouthTruth survey has been extended through February 3.  You can check your schools’ progress for all three surveys and find an FAQ at this link. Our goal is 95% participation for staff and students and 50% for families! Please help us reach these goals at YOUR school!

http://www.ytsurvey.org/Bendprogress23

This and That

From Kinsey:

Principal partnership and communication for DEI events and activities: Your role in supporting communication for our DEI events is so helpful and critical to the success of the events and to staff awareness and engagement with them.  We never want staff to feel unaware or uninformed about opportunities to participate in events that support our schools.  Thank you for double-checking that each of these messages is familiar and accessible to your building/dept staff.  

Translator/interpreter levels of support: We have a growing number of translation and interpretation resources to support a variety of needs.  Using these correctly avoids budget expenses for your building/dept, increases family engagement and school culture goals, and upholds civil rights.  Please ensure your staff (particularly front-office, counseling, athletics, and other family-facing teams) are clearly aware of this information and how to access these levels of support.  If you have questions, contact your Language Specialist or Kinsey if you’d like to brainstorm processes to meet your building needs! 

Here are details on upcoming events and activities.  Please pass this information on to staff members and please consider signing for an event.

Flip the Script—Black Family Night—5:30, Feb 1, 2023 @ Pacific Crest.  We would like to see an administrator for every HS at this event. 

From Jennifer Hauth and Aimee Snyder

Need more info about Bend-La Pine School’s Sources of Strength program?

One-Pager with new info session time and adult advisor training

• Virtual Q& A on February 2^nd from 2 pm to 3 pm: https://bls.webex.com/meet/jennifer.hauth
• Virtual Q& A on April 18^th from 4 pm to 5 pm: https://bls.webex.com/meet/jennifer.hauth
• Required Adult Advisor Training on May 23^rd from 8 am to 4 pm
• Registration Link

Informational PPT shared with Admin

Is your school ready to commit to starting Sources of Strength next year?

School Checklist for your school to use to prepare to start Sources of Strength at your school

Online form to submit to Matchstick Consulting when your school is ready to commit to starting Sources of Strength. This is a PDF version of the form that can be used to collect the info before you’re ready to submit the online form. Submitting this online form is how you get your $1,000 start-up funds and Sources of Strength materials from Matchstick.

You can consider the May 23^rd as your Adult Advisor training and we can make plans for when your Fall 2023 Teen Leader training will be done at the May 23^rd Adult Advisor training.

Schools that are ready to start Sources of Strength sooner than the beginning of next school year can proceed on their own with submitting the online form to Matchstick (see the link below) and can set up their own Adult Advisor and Teen Leader trainings directly with Matchstick. Your school’s Public Health Specialist can help. Otherwise, schools can wait until May 23^rd, attend the Adult Advisor/Teacher training, and make plans for their school’s 23-24 rollout of the program at the May 23^rd Adult Advisor/Teacher training.

Contact your school’s Public Health Specialist or Aimee Snyder ([email protected]) if you have questions.

Who’s my Public Health Specialist this year?

Bend Senior High, Pilot Butte Middle, Bend Tech Academy: Lindsay ([email protected])

La Pine High and Middle: Amanda ([email protected])

Mountain View High, Sky View Middle: Lani ([email protected])

Summit High, Pacific Crest Middle, and Cascade Middle: Emily ([email protected])   

Caldera High, High Desert Middle, Three Rivers, Realms: Aimee ([email protected])

From Aimee Snyder

Below are links to a family letter (in English and Spanish) about student vaping and a short-newsletter announcement with a link to the letters. Share these letters however you communicate with your families. We’re aiming for schools to share these letters between January 23-30. 

·       Newsletter announcement (includes both English and Spanish announcements; links to generic letters) 

·       Generic ENGLISH family letter about vaping

·       Generic SPANISH family letter on vaping

How to use this letter: 

Easy Option: Share the Generic Letter (linked above):

1.   Copy and paste the Newsletter blurb into your family newsletter, email, or social media (however you communicate with your families).

2.   Make sure the link to the generic letter transfers and works.

3.   Publish, send, or post.

Recommended Option: Make a Copy and Tailor it to be from your School: 

1.     “Make a Copy” of the letters into a new Google Doc

·       Add your school logo to the letter.

·       Use your school’s name in place of the general text about middle/high schools or BLS.

·       Check the links in the Table of Contents to make sure they go to the subsections in your letter. They should work but it’s good to check just to make sure. 

2.   Copy and paste the newsletter announcement into your family newsletter, email, or social media and change the hyperlink in the announcement to your school’s version of the letter. Be sure the link goes to a view or published copy of your school’s letter, not an editable copy. 

Your school’s Public Health Specialist can make a copy of the letter for your school and will include their contact info so they can field questions.  If you don’t know who your Public Health Specialist is, see the list below:

·       Bend Senior High, Pilot Butte Middle, Bend Tech Academy: Lindsay ([email protected])

·       La Pine High and Middle: Amanda ([email protected])

·       Mountain View High, Sky View Middle: Lani ([email protected])

·       Summit High, Pacific Crest Middle, and Cascade Middle: Emily ([email protected])   

·       Caldera High, High Desert Middle, Three Rivers, Realms: Aimee ([email protected]) 

From Alandra: 

We are trying to share more positive events, activities and stories from our schools. If you have anything happening in your school during the month of February, please send it to Alandra. Thanks!

Work Session this week: 

Thank you to Leah and Nick from the Business Office for helping to facilitated a training for our principals, athletic directors, activities directors and accounting techs Tuesday. Here is the link to the slides from that training. Please continue to reach out to them with questions.

Calendar

January 26: MS Work Session Cancelled

January 26 & 27: Juan is out of office attending COSA Winter Conference

January 30: Listening Session High Desert Middle School @8:05

February 1: Flip the Script (Black Family Night) 5:30-7:00 @ PCMS

February 2: High Desert Middle School ICCL listening session

February 2: No students; 1/2 day Site Based Training and 1/2 day work day

February 3: Teacher work day 8-4. Staff work at their schools.

February 3: All Admin Center for Educational Leadership @Bend SHS in Perseverance Hall 8-2 pm

February 9: La Pine Middle School Classroom/Environment Observation

February 9: MS Work Session @Cascade Middle School at 3:00-4:30

February 13: Principal Professional Development @Board Room at 3:00-4:30

February 15: Educator Network Day

February 16: Cascade Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation

February 21: High Desert Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation

February 23: MS Work Session Cancelled

February 22-24: Juan is out of office attending NABE Conference

February 27: Assistant Principals and Deans PD 7:30-8:30 @ Ed Center; room 314

March 2: Pacific Crest Middle School Classroom/Environmental Observation

Fish On…

Team,

I appreciate your work and effort that you do for your staff, students and families. My visits with Eric and with your ICCLs have been so informative. We are looking forward to the next steps; visiting classrooms, noticing instruction and observing school environments. Let me and Denise know if you are not scheduled for these walk-throughs in February.

Keep soaring~Juan

To Do

From Aimee Snyder

Please clic on this link. In this link you will find a doc to share with families (English & español) about student vaping.

From Eric Powell

Hello Secondary Principals!

When you have a free moment, would you please review this document to provide any adjustments/changes you’d want made as we look toward this being a visible document for parents/students/community for the 23-24 school year.

LINK to BLS Cell Phones/Electronics

The goal of this document is to be simple/structured enough for all schools to put in place, but also with some areas for schools to implement according to what works at your specific sites. The language around “Support Plans” would give you the freedom to create a strict ‘support plan’ (ie: Phone required to be turned in daily) while also accounting for a ‘support plan’ that is thoughtful of a unique student situation (IEP).

Finally: For lunch and passing, it seems like there may be some difference between what Middle Schools and High Schools want (and we’d want to be thoughtful of REALMS as well).

For Middle School Principals: Are you currently allowing (or not allowing) cell phones or devices during Passing/Lunch; Do you want to align next year and have NO electronics allowed during passing/lunch?

For High School Principals: Are electronics allowed during passing/lunch? Do you want this to continue for next year?

Erin’s Law

Principals please check-in with your Health/PE teachers. Please know that some middle school PE/Health teachers did not request Safety Matters (curriculum), but that does not mean that they are not in complying with Erin’s Law. The check-in is to know how they are complying with the law. Here is a google form for you to complete this request.

UKG Update

IMPORTANT: Job Postings

Due to the transition from Frontline’s recruiting system to UKG, we will not have any jobs closing from Monday, February 13 – Thursday, February 16 to give us time to confirm that the open postings due to close after the 16^th and all applicant data has sucessfully been moved from one system to the other.  Our [email protected] team will work with you to have a closing date before or after this window.  

You WILL be able to screen applicants and request to hire for postings that close prior to February 12^th through Frontline (all data in Frontline will be retained until June 30th).  There will be a transitionary period when you may be using both Frontline and UKG to complete the hiring process.

To learn more about this and how UKG’s recruiting system functions, don’t forget to sign up for one of the trainings below.

Admin/Supervisor In Person Sign Up Link

Tue 1/31 – In Person Recruiting/HRIS/T&L trainings

• 9:30 – 11 am @ Northstar
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm @ MVHS

Tue 2/7 – In Person Recruiting/HRIS/T&L trainings

• 9:30 – 11 am @ Silver Rail
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm @HDMS 

Fri 2/10 – In Person Recruiting/HRIS/T&L trainings

• 9:30 – 11 am @ LPHS
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm Virtual (Paul’s Webex Room)

Fri 2/17 – In Person Recruiting/HRIS/T&L trainings

• 9:30 – 11 am @ Ensworth
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm @ Caldera

This and That

From Dean Richards

February 7th- ICCL/Admin Collaboration

In order to create space for ICCL team time and collaboration, we will not be hosting a district ICCL team training on February 7th.  We are asking you to reserve two hours with your ICCL team between now and our next meeting on April 4th.  We will be asking ICCL teams to collaboratively share a promising practice or an effort that they are proud of and would like to showcase (aka “Braggy Show and Tell Moment”) around Tier One MTSS Culture and Climate or a Tier One Instructional practice (specifically foundational skills for elementary).  Please communicate with your ICCLs regarding the change in calendar.  

April 4th prep:

Please prepare a 10 minute presentation on a promising practice or an effort that the ICCL team  is proud of including the linkages below.  

Linkages:

• Tier 1 culture and climate or Tier 1 instructional practices.  
• Collaborative inquiry cycle – describe how the team went through the cycle or what data sources were used to make the decision
• If possible, link to school design plan
• Provide archival documents etc. to share with other schools
• Elem – link to tier 1 core effectiveness meetings (perhaps link to the data question that drove the inquiry cycle)

In collaboration with the Bend Downtown Association our students will have the 2^nd annual Youth Art Takeover in Downtown Bend.  Our celebration of artists and gallery walk will correspond with First Friday Event, on April 7th. This event is how we will be honoring our students who have won awards for the Scholastic Art competition, senior portfolios, etc., as well as honoring teacher choice artists. We are also hoping to have some student musical and theatrical performances as well!

The ask: Please allow art teachers to head downtown to hang student work on Wednesday April 5^th during SIW time. If this is a hardship for the SIW plans that you have in place for April 5^th, please connect with your Art teacher ahead of time so that they can make adjustments to their plans.

Scholastic Dates

From Renita Cuevas, Marketing Manager, Central Oregon Community College

My name is Renita Cuevas, marketing manager at Central Oregon Community College. I would like to share with you some upcoming youth programs that may be of interest to your middle school parents: 

• Applications are now being accepted for COCC’s inaugural “My Summer in China” Chinese language day camp, a free youth program funded by the prestigious National Security Applications Agency’s STARTALK grant. COCC is one of only a few community colleges nationwide to be awarded the STARTALK grant this cycle. COCC will offer “My Summer in China” to Central Oregon students in grades 7 to 12, including those who home-school. Space is limited and the application deadline is March 15. Visit cocc.edu/mysummerinchina for complete details.
• Safe Sitter CPR classes are coming up for 6-9^th graders with multiple locations and times available. 
• There are quite a few youth camps for ages 10-14 currently open. Most of these are offered online. My Summer in China
• COCC program managers are currently working on our in-person traditional summer youth camp line up so please look for this soon.

All COCC youth programs can be viewed at cocc.edu/youth and click on ‘Browse & Register for Youth Programs’ button. We’d love help in getting this information to your middle school parents.

Calendar

January 23: Dean/VP PD in Boardroom 7:30-8:30

January 23: District Safety Meeting 9:00-10:00 Ed Center

January 25: Asian American Family Night at Pacific Crest MS @5:00 pm

January 26: MS Work Session Cancelled

January 26 & 27: Juan is out of office attending COSA Winter Conference

January 30: Listening Session High Desert Middle School @8:05

February 3: All Admin Center for Educational Leadership @Bend SHS in Perseverance Hall 8-2 pm

Fish On…

Team,

I hope you all had a productive week.

Please know that I posted Dr. Cook’s presentation on the Board Goals and strategies in the Fish Basket under School Board Goals and Policies’ tab for future reference. You will also notice on the home page that I created new page for Eric’s restorative practices resources.

Also, the answer is yes students need a parent permission slip for the CTE Fly-up day for 8th graders.

In admiration, ~Juan

To Do

From Alandra

Budget Committee Opening

Principals please share the following bilingual message with families about an opening on our Budget Committee. Applications are due Jan. 20. 

Budget Committee

From Andrea Wilson in HR

Here is an updated link to our employee benefits webpage.  We want to draw your attention to the wellness resources that everyone has access to as well.  Our goal is to update this quarterly and that you are able to share it in your staff newsletter.  Thank you!

This and That

From Scott McDonald

T will be making some changes to our student web filtering services on Tuesday, January 17^th.  We do not anticipate a noticeable impact on access or performance.  That said, please reach out to the IT help desk if our changes restrict access to websites that are necessary for instruction.  The changes are limited to student iPad devices only. 

From Andrea Wilson, Human Resources

January Wellness Resource

From Jennifer Hauth & Monica Desmond, Deschutes County

Digital Safety & Response: Empowering Parents & Our Community to Keep Youth Safe Online.

Dear Community Partners, 

We are pleased to present two events for the Central Oregon community during Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month.  Both of the trainings listed below are free and open to the whole community.  Please share with your professional and personal networks.  See below and attached flyers for further information and registration links.  Thank you for your work and support in educating our community to keep youth safe!

Digital Safety & Response… Understanding & Addressing Sex Trafficking…

———-

Digital Safety & Response: Empowering Parents & Our Community to Keep Youth Safe Online 

January 24, 2023 | 6:00 – 7:30pm 

High Desert Music Hall 

818 SW Forest Ave, Redmond

Presented by: at:project, Bend Police Department, Redmond Police Department, FBI, and KIDS Center 

Register Here

Parents and community members are invited to learn more about how to protect and support youth in the digital age. Local professionals will share insight on online safety, how to engage youth in conversations, local perspectives and real-world examples of online risk and exploitation. Leave with the knowledge and tools to help youth stay safe online.

———-

Understanding & Addressing Sex Trafficking in Our Community

January 26th | 6:00-7:00pm 

East Bend Deschutes Public Library – Community Meeting Room

Register Here 

Join local experts for a free 1-hour training to expand your knowledge of sex trafficking, indicators, myths vs. reality, and how you can help respond.

For questions, please contact us at: 541-647-0658 or [email protected]

Reminder

From Amber McGill 

Just a reminder we still have a few spots left for next week’s Introduction to Restorative Practices! 

Winter 2023 PD

Introduction to Restorative Practices (Tier I/II) *Please Register by 1/12/23

• Description: Overview of fundamental theory and practices, including the Continuum, Social Discipline Window and Circle Planning & Facilitation. Open to Bend La Pine Schools Leadership & Student Support, RJE & Partners who have not attended yet.
• Texts Provided: Restorative Practices Handbook & Restorative Circles in Schools
• Schedule: A 2 part series, participants to attend both sessions.
• Tuesday, January 17th, 8:30am-12:30pm (Part 1) at the Environmental Center
• Thursday, January 19th, 8:30am-12:30pm (part 2) at the Brooks (Trinity)

Restorative Conferencing (Tier III) *Please Register by 2/13/23

• Description: A responsive process to engage with those who cause and experience harm, along with related community to bring about healing, facilitate reentry and repair relationships. Open to Bend La Pine Schools Leadership & Student Support, RJE & partners that have completed the introductory session. 
• Texts Provided: Restorative Justice Conferencing
• Schedule: Thursday, February 16th, 9am-1pm at the Bend Ed Center, Board Room (#314)

Leadership Solution Circle (Tier I/II/III)

• Description: A monthly drop-in opportunity for district and building leaders to bring a
• challenge and get ideas/support from peers in a restorative setting.
• Schedule: 1:00pm-2:00pm on 2/9/23, 3/9/23, 4/13/23, 5/11/23, 6/8/23 (will start as virtual for first meeting)

Register for all opportunities here!

Schedule a call or virtual meeting with:  Amber McGill  or Culture of Care Team

Calendar

January 16: No School-Martin Luther King Jr Day

January 17: Listening Session Pacific Crest Middle School 8:15 am

January 17: Latino Family Night at Mountain View HS @5:00 pm

January 23: Dean/VP PD in Boardroom 7:30-8:30

January 23: District Safety Meeting 9:00-10:00 Ed Center

January 25: Asian American Family Night at Pacific Crest MS @5:00 pm

January 26: MS Work Session Cancelled

January 26 & 27: Juan is out of office attending COSA Winter Conference

January 30: Listening Session High Desert Middle School @8:05

February 3: All Admin Center for Educational Leadership @Bend SHS in Perseverance Hall 8-2 pm

Fish On…

Team,

Happy New Year! It was great to see most of you this week. Have a wonderful weekend.

~Juan

To D0

From Lora Nordquist

Some of you have reached out asking if staff can work from home on the end-of-term workday February 3^rd. For a number of reasons, it’s the district’s expectation that all staff report to their sites on all workdays (with the exception of the last workday in June this year): 1) This time is designed for teachers to not only complete grading, but plan for the weeks and months ahead, if they have time-they may want to confer with colleagues as a part of that work; 2) If there are glitches with anything related to report cards and/or grading, it’s easy to find staff; and 3) This day provides great opportunities for staff connections (NOT REQUIRED FOR STAFF) such as bagels for breakfast, a PTO-provided lunch, a staff potluck, etc.

From Alandra Johnson

We have some key info for principals to share – please feel free to change/adjust the following message as it fits for your level. 

Key Dates 

Principals, timelines for applying for ACRs and Choice Option schools have changed significantly this year and we need your help making sure families receive this communication. We are asking every school to share the following info with families: 

Applications Now Open for Choice Options, Attendance Area Change Requests for the 2023-24 School Year 

Applications are now open for families to submit an Attendance Area Change Request or to apply for a choice option school for the 2023-24 school year. Interested families have until 3 p.m. Jan. 20 to submit a request or application for students in grades 1-12 (deadlines for incoming kindergarten students vary and are listed below.) 

• Submit an ACR request – deadline is 3 p.m. Jan. 20 for grades 1-12; deadline is 3 p.m. May 1 for incoming kindergarteners. 
• Apply for a Choice Option school – deadline is 3 p.m. Jan 20 for grades 1-12; deadline is 3 p.m. March 24 for incoming kindergarteners. 

See details

Solicitudes ahora abiertas para opciones de elección, solicitudes de cambio de área de asistencia para el año escolar 2023-24 

Las solicitudes ya están abiertas para que las familias envíen una Solicitud de cambio de área de asistencia o soliciten una escuela de opción de elección para el año escolar 2023-24. Las familias interesadas tienen hasta las 3 p.m. el 20 de enero para enviar una solicitud o solicitud para estudiantes en los grados 1-12 (los plazos para los estudiantes que ingresan al Kinder el siguiente año escolar varían y se enumeran a continuación). 

• Presente una solicitud de ACR – la fecha límite es a las 3 p.m. el 20 de enero para los grados 1-12; la fecha límite es a las 3 p.m. el 1 de mayo para quienes ingresan al kínder el siguiente año escolar. 
• Solicite una escuela de opción de elección – la fecha límite es a las 3 p.m. el 20 de enero para los grados 1-12; la fecha límite es a las 3 p.m. el 24 de marzo quienes ingresan al kínder el siguiente año escolar. 

mas

If it makes sense for your school – please also share additional details found in the larger messaging (for instance, middle schools should share information about the High school choice options in their communication as well.)

Reach out if you have questions and thanks!!

February 2nd Work Day/Inservice Day Update 

Thursday, February 2,  was originally scheduled as an additional workday for all staff to prepare for a districtwide systems performance review. However, that process has been delayed. The district decided to keep this as a non-student contact day; however, it remains a paid day for ALL STAFF, certified and classified. For certified staff, the day will be divided into half site-directed inservice and half work time.  Some classified staff will be required to attend inservice on that day. For other classified staff, it will be a building-directed work time. 

What might this half day of site-directed inservice look like?  First, reserve 30 minutes for a cyber security training (see Scott Mc Donald’s info in the blog today). The focus of the rest of your site-directed inservice would be working around your school goals.

Feb 2^nd Plan for Classified

Principals, please share this message with anyone in your building in one of the classified roles highlighted YELLOW here.  If some of these folks don’t have easy access to email, be sure to share with them in an accessible manner to ensure they receive this information.  Thank you!

From Scott McDonald–Cybersecurity Training to add to your Feb 2 PD

Since the beginning of this school year, 31 school districts across the country have experienced large scale ransomware attacks.  In each case, the attackers are seeking to steal the personal information of every student and staff member.  This type of attack can easily be prevented by informed and vigilant end users.

On Thursday, February 2nd, we will be pushing out a 30 minute Cyber Security training called,  KnowBe4 Cybersecurity Awareness Training. All staff can expect a link in their email.  They will need to be given 30 minutes during your building PD time that day to complete this training. 

We last offered a similar training over two years ago. The training is informative, engaging and will only take 30 minutes of your time.  Additional information will be made available prior to February 2^nd.  Thank you in advance for your participation and support.

This and That

From Kinsey Martin

Here is the DOC for your review. I am limiting the length of the blog.

Paul Dean-UKG Update

Plans for the Business Department’s Time & Leave module and HR’s Recruitment/HRIS module remain on track for a February 13th go-live launch.   Below are the communication and training plans for January and February.  

Mon 1/9 – Leadership Team Meeting: 

• Overview of Recruiting & HRIS Implementation
• Time and Leave FAQs

Wed 1/18 – Office Managers Meeting

• Overview of Recruiting & HRIS Implementation
• Time and Leave FAQs

Fri 1/20 – Go Live Vote for T&L, Recruiting and HRIS modules

Mon 1/23 – Video trainings for T&L

Tue 1/24 – Video trainings for Recruiting and HRIS

Admin/Supervisor In Person Sign Up Link

Tue 1/31 – In Person Recruiting/HRIS/T&L trainings

• 9:30 – 11 am @ Northstar
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm @ MVHS

Tue 2/7 – In Person Recruiting/HRIS/T&L trainings

• 9:30 – 11 am @ Silver Rail
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm @HDMS 

Fri 2/10 – In Person Recruiting/HRIS/T&L trainings

• 9:30 – 11 am @ LPHS
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm Virtual (Paul’s Webex Room)

Fri 2/17 – In Person Recruiting/HRIS/T&L trainings

• 9:30 – 11 am @ Ensworth
• 2 pm – 3:30 pm @ Caldera

UKG Testing Volunteers Sought

We are looking for a handful of administrators/supervisors to spend a couple of hours with the HR team to do some testing of UKG’s Recruiting and HRIS modules during early to mid January.  Shoot an email to [email protected] if this appeals to you.  We are happy to schedule it during or after work hours (with meals provided).

From Dean Richards

Teachers who are participating in the Priority Standards Trainings on February 7, 8, March 21, 22, and May 17, 18 get substitutes early.  TOSAs have been recruiting and talking with teachers about this as well.  The sub code for the Priority Standards work is #2 2240 73 685.  Please share this with office managers.

Calendar

January 3: Classes resume

January 5: La Pine MS ICCL listening Session

January 6: Cascade MS ICCL Listening Session

January 9: Principal PD @3:00-4:30 at Ed Center in Board Room

January 11: Educator Network Day

January 12: MS Work Session 3:00-4:30 (New start time) Sky View Middle School

January 16: High Desert MS ICCL Listening Session

January 23: Dean/VP PD in Boardroom 7:30-8:30

January 23: District Safety Meeting 9:00-10:00 Ed Center

January 26: MS Work Session Cancelled

January 26 & 27: Juan is out of office attending COSA Winter Conference

February 3: All Admin Center for Educational Leadership @Bend SHS in Perseverance Hall 8-2 pm

Fish On…

Team,

I hope you find time to rejuvenate your batteries over the holiday break! Here is your prompt to reflect on: What is one or more ritual, or tradition or ceremony that you practice during this time of year that you are looking forward to? Have a well deserved break!

In appreciation,

~Juan

To Do

From Sean Reinhart

We are seeking to help create more accessible outdoor and indoor spaces for students that experience disabilities by purchasing equipment and/or supplies with some grant money. We are limited, in that, we can’t fund any facilities improvements or construction. Think about equipment and supplies that would increase access to recess or other indoor spaces in your school that is not permanent and portable. Please complete this collaboratively as a School Admin/SPED team.  We will review all submissions and be in contact with any questions or project ideas.  Thanks

Survey Link

This and That

From Lora Nordquist

February 2^nd Work Day/Inservice Day

Thursday, February 2,  was originally scheduled as an additional workday for all staff to prepare for a districtwide systems performance review. However, that process has been delayed. The district decided to keep this as a non-student contact day; however, it remains a paid day for ALL STAFF, certified and classified. For certified staff, the day will be divided into half site-directed inservice and half worktime.  Some classified staff will be required to attend inservice on that day (more details to follow shortly after the break). For other classified staff, it will be a building-directed worktime. 

June 20^th Teacher Work Day

The last day for students has been moved from Thursday, 6/15, to Friday, 6/16. The district needed to push back the teacher workday to Tuesday, June 20^th, because of Juneteenth. Certified staff who have completed check out do not need to report on the 20^th. This is consistent with past practice when we have had to extend the school year due to unexpected circumstances (i.e. snowmaggedon).

From Alandra: Choice Option Brochures: 

We are ordering brochures for all of our 8^th grade students to talk about our choice options for high school. I am ordering the same amount as we did last year, but feel free to change your order – take a look at this spreadsheet and update accordingly. Any updates made by Monday, Dec. 19 will work. Expect to see these arriving at your school soon after we return from winter break.

From Eric Powell:

Hello All! Moving forward we will be linking all helpful documents & resources for discipline, restorative practices, and student conduct at this Google Site Link: BLS Restorative Practices Resource Guide

You can delete your prior bookmark for the one-page Restorative Practices ‘sheet’ that most of us have been using up until now. Thank you!

From Culture of Care

Happy Friday! 

Here are the latest Restorative Practices professional development offerings from Culture of Care for Bend La Pine Schools & partners:

Winter 2023 PD

Introduction to Restorative Practices (Tier I/II)

• Description: Overview of fundamental theory and practices, including the Continuum, Social Discipline Window and Circle Planning & Facilitation. Open to Bend La Pine Schools Leadership & Student Support, RJE & Partners who have not attended yet.
• Texts Provided: Restorative Practices Handbook & Restorative Circles in Schools
• Schedule: A 2 part series, participants to attend both sessions.
• Tuesday, January 17th, 8:30am-12:30pm (Part 1) at the Environmental Center
• Thursday, January 19th, 8:30am-12:30pm (part 2) at the Brooks (Trinity)

Restorative Conferencing (Tier III)

• Description: A responsive process to engage with those who cause and experience harm, along with related community to bring about healing, facilitate reentry and repair relationships. Open to Bend La Pine Schools Leadership & Student Support, RJE & partners that have completed the introductory session. 
• Texts Provided: Restorative Justice Conferencing
• Schedule: Thursday, February 16th, 9am-1pm at the Bend Ed Center, Board Room (#314)

Leadership Solution Circle (Tier I/II/III)

• Description: A monthly drop-in opportunity for district and building leaders to bring a
• challenge and get ideas/support from peers in a restorative setting.
• Schedule: 1:00pm-2:00pm on 2/9/23, 3/9/23, 4/13/23, 5/11/23, 6/8/23 (will start as virtual for first meeting)

Register for all opportunities here!

From Dean and our secondary TOSA’s:

Timeline and plan for Priority Standards development: At our meeting this week, our secondary TOSA team shared the timeline and plan for this important work beginning February 7. We agreed to set aside the March 15th SIW for TOSA’s to work with the LA, Math, Science, Social Science and World Language teachers in the high school buildings. These meetings will be virtual. Reach out to Dean with questions.

Calendar

December 19-January 2: Winter Break—Wahoo!

January 3: Classes resume

January 5: La Pine MS ICCL listening Session

January 6: Cascade MS ICCL Listening Session

January 9: Principal PD @3:00-4:30 at Ed Center in Board Room

January 11: Educator Network Day

January 12: MS Work Session 3:00-4:30 (New start time) Sky View Middle School

January 16: High Desert MS ICCL Listening Session

January 23: Dean/VP PD in Boardroom 7:30-8:30

January 23: District Safety Meeting 9:00-10:00 Ed Center

January 24: Pacific Crest MS ICCL Listening Session

Update your Calendars for this change: CEL embedded session date has changed from March 7 and 8 to March 2nd and 3rd

Fish On…

I came across this video on how John Wooden defines success and I thought it relevant to our own leadership!

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxgmbQ5pX5pJYcHLmCqu_4D9cIiVnbhfCP

Team,

It was great to see all of you yesterday at our horizontal meeting. I hope you had a productive week. Sounds like the weekend is going cold and snowy. Stay warm, cozy or get out and enjoy the winter wonderland!

~Juan

To Do

From Dave VanLoo

The window for student, family, and staff YouthTruth surveys is January 3 – January 27. Here is a link to a “cheat sheet” to help school administrators with the logistics of YouthTruth survey administration. There is additional important information in the District Survey Implementation Guide on the survey website. 

YT Admin Cheat Sheet January 2023

From Paul Dean, Human Resources

UKG New Trainings & Go Live Postponement Reminder

All Staff Trainings

• How to Add Time on Timesheets (2 min 42 seconds)
• How to Submit Monthly Timesheets (1 min 30 seconds)
• How to Request a Timesheet Change  (1 min 8 seconds)

Upcoming Training For Office Managers and Administrators/Supervisors

·        How to review/approve monthly timesheets

·        How to process UKG leave requests

·        How to view reports

Go Live Postponement Announcement Sent on 12/2

BLS All Staff –

This is a brief update on implementation of the UKG Product Suite we’ve been communicating with you about over the past couple of months.

You may have noticed fewer communications recently — that is because we have been focusing on the beta testing phase prior to rollout and have not moved forward with additional training. As such, and in order to ensure the smoothest implementation possible, we’ve decided to push Go Live of UKG Time & Leave Management out from Monday, December 5^th to Monday, February 13^th. 

As we move through December and into the new year, we will pivot back to completing training on the use of Time & Leave Management, as well as other modules for those staff that use them (e.g., Recruit & Hire for Administrators and Supervisors). We again thank you in advance for your patience with the inevitable growing pains this process entails (such as pushing out Go Live dates!) but continue looking forward to working together in implementing this exciting work process improvement tool.

Warmly – Steve & Leah

Steven E. Herron (he/him)                                Leah Bibeau (she/her)

Chief Human Resources Officer                            Finance Director

From Jennifer: Please share this message with your families: 

Happy Holidays! The holiday season is a time for togetherness and joy, but it can sometimes bring unwelcome guest, like stress and grief. Some of us may be experiencing the holidays without a loved one. Some of us may be balancing endless to-do lists and hosting family and friends. While we each celebrate this season’s joys, it’s important to stay mindful, acknowledge our feelings, and reach out for help if needed.

Bend-La Pine schools partnered with Care Solace to support the well-being of our community. If you or your family member are looking for help with mental health or substance use, Care Solace can help you quickly find treatment options matched to your needs, regardless of the circumstance. This is a complimentary and confidential care coordination service provided by Bend-La Pine schools.  

If you would like to use Care Solace to help you find a mental health care provider:

• Call 888-515-0595. Support is available 24/7/365 in over 200 languages.
• Visit www.caresolace.com/bls and either search on your own or click “Book Appointment” for assistance by video chat, email, or phone. 

This and That

From Josh Marks

504 Coordinators, we have arranged for a training by the Oregon Department of Education. This training will take place on January 18^th from 8-12, at the Education Center Room 314 (Board Room). Please know that this training is for any administrator, or counselor that is currently involved in 504. If you are new to 504 I would consider this training to be required. If you are a veteran I would strongly encourage you to attend. This is an opportunity for you to learn and ask questions about 504 from our partners at ODE. Please go into performance matters and sign up, so we have an accurate count of attendees.”

From Alandra

ACR/Choice Option Deadline Changes: 

Principals, please share the following information in your next communication to families (English and Spanish below). Let me know if you have any questions or need additional information. 

NEW: Lottery process and Area Change Request deadline now Jan. 20 

Deadlines to apply for Bend-La Pine Schools’ Choice Option schools and to submit an Attendance Area Change Request (ACR) are shifting this year.

• Applications open: Jan. 3, 2023
• Application deadline (ACRs and Choice Option applications for grades 1-12): Jan. 20, 2023 at 3 p.m.
• Application deadline (ACRs and Choice Option applications for incoming kindergartners): March 24, 2023 at 3 p.m.

Learn more about our choice option schools

Learn more about the ACR process

Cambio de plazos para lotería, ACR

Los plazos para aplicar a las escuelas de opción de elección de las Escuelas de Bend-La Pine y para entregar una solicitud de cambio de área de asistencia (ACR, por sus siglas en inglés) cambiarán este año.Apertura de recepción de solicitudes: 3 de enero de 2023Fecha límite para la entrega de solicitudes (solicitudes ACR y de opción de elección para los grados 1-12): 20 de enero de 2023 a las 3 p.m.Fecha límite para la entrega de solicitudes (solicitudes ACR y de opción de elección para niños/niñas que ingresan al kindergarten el año escolar entrante): 24 de marzo de 2023 a las 3 p.m.Obtenga más información sobre nuestras Escuelas de Opción de ElecciónObtenga más información sobre el proceso ACR

More from Alandra

Share giving efforts

We would like to showcase all the ways our schools and departments give back during this time of year. Please share news about any events or activities related to giving (examples: choir singing at nursing home; food drive; clothing drive etc.). I would love news about anything from Thanksgiving through end of December (bonus if you include a photo!). Email information by December 13 to [email protected]

From Kinsey Martin

Policy/Guidance moment:

Title III/Multilingual Education: 

Please review our newly-approved AR on Title III/Multilingual Education here.  Pay special attention to the 2^nd and 3^rd sections: Where do you feel your school is strong, and where could you use more partnership or energy?  Feel free to share this with your staff, and please reach out to Kinsey if you would like to discuss your building’s services or staffing as it relates to these requirements.   Gender Support:
Just a reminder about our protocol for supporting gender-nonconforming individuals.  A few resources are linked below—please reach out to Kinsey if you could use support for considering supports and options for a transgender or nonbinary student’s inclusive experience in your school.  
Administrative Expectation here

Gender Support Protocol (with links to support and guidance docs) here

Name Change form here

Religion: 

Now is a great time of year to review this document and ask your team to walk through your front entrance with an eye for empathy, inclusion, and belonging: With the decorations currently displayed in your building, what message are you sending your Jewish, Jehovah’s Witness, Muslim, or other students/families/staff, with regarding to inclusion, belonging, and representation?  

From Ryan in HR re:  Subs  

BLS contracts with the ESD for subs and are expecting them to meet their end of the contract by filling our vacant jobs. HR’s current role is to monitor the sub situation so that we can have an understanding on fill rate and plan to continue this “watch and monitor” approach unless and until a decision is made to allocate non-teaching district-level staff towards sub shortages. At such a time, your level leader will share information on the details of that plan. 

Calendar

December 9: State Assessment Notifications and Opt Out Forms sent to families by this date!

December 12: Juan subbing at Silver Rail Elementary

December 14: Office Manager meeting, Location TBD

December 19-January 2: Winter Break—Wahoo!

January 3: Classes resume

January 9: Principal PD @3:00-4:30 at Ed Center in Board Room

January 12: District Safety Meeting 8:00-9:00 Ed Center

January 12: MS Work Session 3:00-4:30 (New start time) REALMS Middle School

Update your Calendars for this change: CEL embedded session date has changed from March 7 and 8 to March 2nd and 3rd

Fish On…

Team,

I hope you all had a productive week. Here is the weekly blog. Sorry for delay. Please do not hesitate email or text. Have a great weekend!

~Juan

To Do

To Do:

Important Reminder: State Assessment Notifications and Opt Outs sent by December 9. Refer to the November 18 BLOG for specifics including the letters.

Is your team on track with evaluation processes? To be “up to date” on evaluations, observations and SLGGS by winter break, your building leadership team should have completed:

*two mini observations for every teacher

*one formal observation cycle** for each temporary and probationary teacher (the second formal observation should be completed by the middle of February, unless you have a serious concern about that staff member. If that is the case, you should finish the second formal by the end of January and contact Steve Herron)

*met with to review and digitally signed off every teacher on their initial SLGGSs.

If you have a concern about a staff member, contact Steve Herron.

**a formal observation cycle is defined as a pre observation meeting to determine instructional “look fors” and the date for the full period observation, a full period observation and a post observation debrief with the teacher aligned with the evaluation rubric.

This and That

From Dean: ICCL-Administrator Professional Development Session: Our next session is NEXT week. HERE is the plan for that work.

From Dean: This week’s secondary blog is 5 great strategies for supporting the learning of multilingual students written by Liza Digiglio Huet.  Multilingual students bring a wealth of world knowledge and experience to our classrooms, yet may not always be able to express it in ways that other students can.

These instructional strategies are not one more thing, but rather a way to revive our patterns of interactions between students and our content. Strategies That Work

STAS Update from Eric Powell:  For all sites: If you have any Administrators, Counselors, or School Psychologists who are needing to be trained in the STAS Level 1 (threat assessment) protocol, would you please Email me with the names of those needing/requesting training? I can use this information to request a formal training from Misty Groom and the High Desert ESD.

504 Information from Josh:  504 Coordinators, we have arranged for a training by the Oregon Department of Education. This training will take place on January 18^th from 8-12, at the Education Center Room 314 (Board Room). Please know that this training is for any administrator, or counselor that is currently involved in 504. If you are new to 504 I would consider this training to be required. If you are a veteran I would strongly encourage you to attend. This is an opportunity for you to learn and ask questions about 504 from our partners at ODE. Please go into performance matters and sign up, so we have an accurate count of attendees. Link to Sign Up

A reminder from the Business Office – We have a very short turnaround for payroll this month, please get these to us on time by Monday!

Just  a reminder that Timesheets (Red Folder) and Leave Sheets (Blue Folder) are due to Payroll  on Monday, December 5th for the period covering Monday, November 7th through Sunday, December 4th.

Any Timesheets or Leave Sheets that are for Workers Comp or FMLA (Purple Folder) are due to HR by Monday, December 5th as well.

Please make sure they are in our office on Monday. If you miss the mail pick up for your building please scan them to us so they are here on Monday. Please do not email them and mail them, just send one copy.

Volunteers – new rules! – last year when we began letting volunteers back in our schools we limited our volunteers to one per class per day.  We did this  because of lingering covid concerns and because of the number of volunteers we could process per week under the new system.  These two limitations are no longer a concern so as of today you can have more than one volunteer per classroom per day.  There are no limitations other than having people complete the new volunteer background check process.

From Stephanie Bent – I have updated all documents and processes in TalentEd for the 22-23 school year including self-reflections and summative evaluations.  You should now have the ability to assign to your staff.  Please assign the appropriate processes to all probationary and temporary staff and tenured staff that is on an evaluation cycle. 

If you need help adding the processes, please give me a call and I will walk you through the process.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

Calendar

December 6: Administrators/ICCL training

December 8: Middle School Work Session Time:3:00-4:30pm (New start time) @Pilot Butte Middle School

December 9: State Assessment Notifications and Opt Out Forms sent to families by this date!

December 14: Office Manager meeting, Location TBD

December 15 and 16: Katie out of the office

December 19-January 3: Winter Break—Wahoo!

Fish On…