QPR Next Week at SIW
As part of the district requirement that all secondary sites undergo suicide prevention training every three years, we will be hosting a team from Deschutes County Health during next week’s SIW for a QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training.
The QPR Gatekeeper course is taught in a clear, concise format using the latest in educational technology and practices. The course takes approximately one hour to complete.
Key components covered in training:
- -How to Question, Persuade and Refer someone who may be suicidal
- -How to get help for yourself or learn more about preventing suicide
- -The common causes of suicidal behavior
- -The warning signs of suicide
- -How to get help for someone in crisis
I know this is an area that can be particularly sensitive for some and I want to provide you with space to share that ahead of Wednesday’s training, so please come see me if you would like to discuss any hesitancy you might have in regards to attending this training. This is an all (full-time) staff training.
Advisory
Our Advisory model is a Tier-1 resource for students, meaning all students receive the instruction that happens within Advisory. The Advisory team works hard to create lessons for students and it is where a lot of our school-wide learning happens so that we can minimize the disruption of content classes.
Recently, students have reported that they are experiencing Advisory differently from their peers and that their teacher is not doing the same thing as their friends’ Advisory. Please know that the content (i.e., slideshow) is required and that we are sharing with our families that their students are experiencing these teachings. If you have an issue that is keeping you from implementing these lessons with fidelity, please come see me so we might brainstorm solutions.
Next Year’s Planning
I’ve had a lot of questions this week about scheduling and staffing for next year, so I want to share a clearer timeline of what you can expect in regards to getting information about what you might (or might not) be teaching next year.
Typically, schools receive their FTE allocation at projected student enrollment for the following year right before Spring Break. Then, schools look at that allocation and build very rough drafts of what a master schedule will need to look like in order to educate that projected student enrollment, which is called a “staffing plan”. The staffing plan, once completed, gets submitted to the level leader (Juan, in our case) for review and approval. Then, the updates come to those staff impacted in terms of assignment shift will be told. Then, we’ll post any applicable job openings for the following year and begin that process.
Sean, Anne-Marie, and I will be working together on these steps.
So, all that to say, there is still a lot of unknown information and a bit of time before we will know that information. If you would like to talk about your role next year – what you’re hoping for, what you’re hoping against, whatever – please make an appointment with Deb to talk with me or send me an email. I will be as transparent as possible and will remind you that I can make no promises at this time.
Field Study Updates
We will now allow field trips if transportation is available and volunteers are not needed. Staff must submit a mitigation page/plan to me and Anne-Marie, who then submit it to Juan for review and approval. We are currently not allowing parents to transport. Check in with me if you are interested in a field trip. There is ONE bus for field study opportunities across the entire district, so if you have an idea for a field study, please see me so that we can get ahead of any rush that may happen.
Transition Reminder
For those of you unable to make Wednesday’s stand-up meeting, here are the details of the transition of duties for the remainder of the year:
I will remain the Principal at PCMS until school is out in June. However, starting February 22nd, I will also be working part-time in my new role. To help support PCMS during the next four months, Dan Curfew, will be serving part-time at the school as the Dean of Students, alongside Anne-Marie.
Business as usual in nearly all aspects, except I’m asking you to please include Anne-Marie on any communication that you might typically only include me on (personal days, schedule issues, etc)and to include Dan Curfew on any student-oriented communication you might typically reserve for Anne-Marie.
Amazing Opportunity from Teaching and Learning:
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.
Do you 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 8th 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 an incredibly valuable and relevant professional learning for educators, particularly 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 (Ami), or to one of our district’s multilingual department instructional coaches!
Covid Update 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.
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
ODE Equitable Grading Practices PLC
The Oregon Department of Education is inviting school teams to sign up and participate in the Equitable Grading Practices Professional Learning Community (PLC) this Spring. The PLC will explore these three driving questions from a micro (classroom) and macro (district, school) level:
- What is our purpose for grades and grading?
- How do we ensure both are equitable for the learners we serve?
- Do our current grading practices and policies align with our beliefs about teaching, learning, and equity?
If you are interested in participating, see this link for more information.
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