Week of December 7, 2020

This has been an awesome week back! It is so nice to see everyone after some time to take a breath and relax, even if it was just for a bit. If you haven’t checked out Amy’s e-mail message, HERE is a link that she included. It is a great reminder that you don’t always get to see your impact and this year, that is even more apparent. You continue to be the “Ms. Patty” for our students and families even when you feel like you are teaching to the void. YOU are making THE difference.

Two new Golden Eagle “Mr. Pattys” are Martin Mendoza Nunez and Scott McDonald! Martin is joining our Golden Eagle team as our Latino Liaison. Please feel free to reach out anytime that Martin may be able to help you connect with our latino families. Additionally, Laura Clark is going to focus completely with Canvas so moving forward, Scott McDonald will be our “go-to” person for any tech issues that are coming up. Please send a welcome message their way!

This week we will resume our morning check-ins and we will have a staff meeting at 12:30 on Wednesday. During this time we will get access to a new tool to help with Advisory communication as well as have some time to make some grading changes described below in the blog. Additionally, on Wednesday at 1:45, 8th grade will have EBISS in my webex room. Science and Humanities teachers also are working with Teacher’s College on Monday. More calendar items are listed on the “Calendar” page while some grading articles are included on our “Professional Resources” page (above text and below mountains 🙂).

Grading “No Zero” Change: Moving forward, all secondary grading will be changed. The district’s administrative regulation on grades and credits was amended on November 30th, requiring that teachers not assign zeros on a 100-point grading scale: Grades and Credit IKA-AR. In order to create a more defensible and equitable grading system, all grades that are less than 50% will default to 50%. In a traditional 100 pt grading system, an F grade represents 59 points within a system whereas any other grade mark represents a 10 point span. The move toward No Zeros, allows for the grade of F (this year known as NG) to represent the same point spread as any other marking. Please read THIS LETTER to understand this change better.

Grades assigned after December 1, 2020, should reflect this new policy. We welcome teachers to make this practice retroactive, but it is a mandate only moving forward. Our ICCL team put together a “How To” guide in order to help PCMS teachers do this most efficiently. We will use the latter half of our staff meeting on Wednesday to make these changes. Feel free to get started now if you’d like and let me know if you need support or would like to talk more.

Mary will be sending a couple of surveys from BEA sometime today to all members. One of the surveys is intended to receive feedback regarding the above changes to grading practices. Please take some time to understand the theoretical framework that is foundational to these practices in order to give your informed input. There are several documents included in Jim’s letter above and please feel free to ask Amy, Mary, or me if you have any questions.

Pear Deck: Thursday morning was a wonderful time for a Pear Deck training. If you were unable to attend, HERE is a recording of the presentation. Please let me know if you have any difficulty accessing your account and you can reach out to Heather Marr for quick tips and tricks when you hit a snag. This tool is a great way for you to see student engagement despite cameras not coming on. Amber also asked if you would take 2 minutes and complete this FEEDBACK FORM for her. You can also access HELP VIDEOS and a TEMPLATES LIBRARY if you need them.

Monday Advisory Information: Monday Advisories have been full of new information. Moving forward, the advisory team asks that you check THIS PAGE and add the information in the form of a Canvas Announcement for your Advisory on Mondays. Please see Mandy with any additions or questions.

Wrestling Posting: Unfortunately, our fantastic wrestling coach Dustin took another path this year and consequently will not be leading our Golden Eagle wrestlers. If you or someone you know are interested in this position, please see Lisa or Brooke and apply using THIS LINK. This position is contingent on a wrestling season taking place.

Weekly Yearbook Theme for Advisory: This week’s yearbook theme is Sustainable Mask Fashion & Being Green. Students will take a quick survey and upload photo(s) to HJ eShare with description of either “Mask” or “Green” and include the first and last name of who is in the picture. Questions? Email Julia.

Facility / Building Closure Update: Until Deschutes County leaves the “Red Zone” in terms of COVID-19 spread, our building will remain closed to the public. The office will be minimally staffed and we are asking that staff work from home if possible. Teachers, you may come into the building if it is a better system for your teaching day. Please make sure to continue to sign in and out and wear a mask. Curbside pickups will continue.

Curbside Pick-ups Update: We are now designating pick-ups for Monday – Friday, from 9:00am – 3:00pm. We have many items just waiting to be claimed so continue to communicate to your students to follow the instructions below when picking up and/or dropping off items.