This and That:
Care Solace (From Jennifer Hauth): Happy Holidays! The holiday season is a time for togetherness and joy, but it can sometimes bring unwelcome guests, 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.
- **Note from Kelle – you can also connect with Mary Dean or Luree Hayes for support getting connected to Care Solace**
Religion (From Kinsey Martin): Now is a great time of year to review this document and look at your front entrance, hallways, and classrooms 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 regard to inclusion, belonging, and representation?
December Generosity: As usual, during December, Elk Meadow will be hosting a couple of different giving campaigns:
- Snack Drive: Thank you, fourth grade, for making this happen! A lot of snacks have been coming in and will make a big difference for our kids that need them. Please see last week’s newsletter if you need more details about the drive.
- Giving Tree: The donated tree is now in the lobby and has snowflakes with specific needed items on it. Donations for the giving tree are being collected in the office.
- Adopt a Student: Thank you to everyone who is participating in our adopt-a-student! I am excited that we can grant some of their wishes! Please bring these wrapped items to Kelle’s office (make sure they are clearly labeled so I know who they go to).
Indoor Recess This Week?: The temperatures are looking quite cold this week; please be prepared for some indoor recess. Frank will send out a reminder of our indoor recess plan on Monday.
December Fire Drill: Currently, Monday is looking like the best day for our December fire drill. We will keep a close watch and adjust as needed, but we need to complete a drill this week.
Office Visits: We have had an inordinate number of students sent to the office (usually during recess time). While many of these visits are needed, we need your help with limiting the visits. All head injuries and injuries that truly need to be assessed should come to the office. Most injuries can be handled with some sympathy and/ or a bandaid (please see Chris or Nicole if you need more bandaids for your fanny pack – we are happy to keep you stocked). We are also having many students show up at the office without a pass or call; these students will be returned to their expected location. Thanks for your help.
SIW: This Wednesday will be a “C” week for our specialist schedule. Our SIW this week will be “teacher prep time.”
Monday Staff Meeting Agenda:Â Our Student Experience Team (formerly known as the PBIS team) will share our updated matrixes, so we are ready after the break with strong reteaching of our school expectations.
Focus on Excellence and Equity:
Gender Support (From Kinsey Martin): 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
TLC Update: Here is a link to the 11/30 TLC Update. This is the same update as last week. Please reach out to your elementary support staff for any needs or support.
Safety Related Information:
EME Safety Concern Form: Link here. You can use this form to report any safety concerns – big or small. Please use this form or talk directly with Frank or Kelle.
To Do:
Parent Volunteers: Before a volunteer can begin, you will need to get official confirmation from Cindy or Chris that the parent has passed the background check. Once they say yes, you will need to add them to this weekly google document letting us know who to expect each day.
Important Dates:
- Monday: Spirit Week- Cozy Winter Wear, fire drill, Staff meeting = Student Experience Team/ PBIS
- Tuesday: Spirit Week- Color Combo Day, Gr. 4 to High Desert Museum,
- Wednesday:Â Spirit Week- Holiday Head Gear Day, QPS/ IPS (you know if you have a student that we will be meeting about), SIW= prep time, Connection Cafe
- Thursday: Spirit Week- “Ugly” Sweater Day
- Friday: Spirit Week- Lazy Day, Assembly
SIW Schedule:
- 12/14 Teacher prep
- 12/21 Winter Break
- 12/28 Winter Break
- 1/4 Grade-level team time
- 1/11 Educator Network Day
- 1/18 Teacher Prep
- 1/25 Grade-level team time