11.8.2020

This and That:

Metrics: Unfortunately, I am pretty certain that we won’t meet the metrics when released on November 9th. Lora will be sharing a document later this week that explains how our phased-in transition will work (once we actually meet the metrics!!)

EME Master Schedules: As you all know, we have been working on being ready with master schedules for a variety of situations. With rules around COVID constantly changing, so do the master schedules, so none of these schedules are “FINAL” (are they ever, though??). However, here is a link to the working version of the schedules. Your questions and feedback are always welcome! Additionally, I have updated the link on the Eagles Essential blog page with the correct link as well.

MAC Survey:  Our first MAC survey of the year will be on Monday, November 9th. Heidi will send a link on Monday. Remember, anything we do on MAC day with connecting our students to medical, mental health, dental, vision, or OHP health insurance can be claimable and result in reimbursement that directly funds our FAN advocates. Please work with Heidi if you have any questions regarding claimable actions.

Distribution: As the weather is starting to become wetter, windier, and colder, we are going to have to modify our distribution practices so the materials you send home don’t get wet and blown all over the parking lot, but we still need to follow the required COVID 19 guidelines around distribution. There is room in the foyer for one grade level at a time (Frank is working on getting it set up for you all this week), but we are also working on a plan to be able to have up to two grade levels on one day (more information on that soon!) It is VERY important that you check with the office about dates BEFORE you email your families to ensure that the date is available.

Timeliness: Please work on arriving to Webex meetings (and other meetings!) a few minutes early instead of a few minutes late. Please anticipate that you may run into some technical difficulties, so logging in a few minutes early is a good practice in order to be on time. Thank you for your attention to this.

LEAD Cohort Follow-up (From Kinsey Martin): As Kinsey mentioned during her presentation, the LEAD Cohort has a helpful website coming out soon. In the meantime, here are some resources that Kinsey mentioned at our staff meeting last week:

World Kindness Day (From Alandra Johnson): We know the world, and even our community, can feel awfully stressful and hostile right now. BLP is hoping to make the discourse in our community more positive and is launching a kindness campaign with regional partners to elevate stories of kindness – with a special focus on World Kindness Day, Nov. 13. If you are interested in learning more and supporting this effort, here is a list of ideas on joining both in and out of school. We are hoping these resources will make it easy to join. Additionally, we know many schools are ALREADY doing a lot around kindness. Please consider sharing with Alandra the great work you are already doing. Thank you. And if you haven’t yet watched the kindness launch video featuring our 8th graders, be sure to do so. (PS… you will recognize some Elk Meadow graduates!)

Substitutes: Sue worked this past week on updating our substitute preference list. She called around 30 previous subs and only five returned our call and said they are still planning to sub this year. Please let us know ASAP if you know of other substitutes we should add to the list (bonus points if you check with them first to ensure they are still planning to sub this year – let Sue know if you connected with them). Below are our current lists:

Classified:
Karima Bourque

Certified:
Megan Bakken (Classroom and ELL) Currently is available on Thursday & Friday’s
Sedonia Darling
Heidi Farner
Jacquelyn Koury
Ginger Larsen (Classroom and ELL)

WebEx Security Updates (From Amy Tarnow): On Monday, November 30th, our WebEx instance will receive another security upgrade. As of that date, students who are logged in to the WebEx platform will go directly into their teacher’s meeting room, whereas those who are not logged in will need to be let in from the “waiting room.” More about this change can be found in our blog entry. Our Instructional Technology team recommends that all students log in to WebEx independent of their scheduled meetings to facilitate the process; logins can happen any time so long as they are done before November 30th.

Apple iOS 14.1 (From Amy Tarnow): On Wednesday, November 11th, the newest iPad operating system will be available for students to download. Students will not have to upgrade immediately but will be prompted at some point that the update is available. When new updates come out, we may start to see some challenges with the behavior of other apps. At this point, we have determined that all of our curriculum apps and frequently used tools are ready for this update, so glitches might be the result of students NOT having updated their devices. Running the iOS update from “Settings” is a great problem-solving step if new app glitches show up.

iCloud Logins (From Amy Tarnow): We are also recommending that all students login to their school Apple ID to utilize upgraded iCloud storage. This message has already been pushed out to many staff members and students; more information on how to do it can be found in this blog entry.

COVID/ Safety related information:

Questions/Concerns about COVID-19 related matters?: Please follow this flowchart. If in doubt about what to do, you can always check with Frank or Kelle. Frank is our Safety Team Lead, and Ann Hollenberg is our School Nurse. You can find our School Safety Checklist here.

To Do:

Important Dates: