It’s almost time!
As we head into the shortest weekend of the year, I want to again share my excitement for the year ahead. We have such an amazing responsibility ahead of us to welcome students and staff alike in shaping a community that is inspiring, caring, and full of learning.
I’m going to try to keep this short, as we’ll see each other soon, but there are a few need-to-knows and a few to-dos on the docket for y’all (at bottom).
Bell Schedules
We’re going to try something new with the bells this year in hopes of reducing tardies and allowing teachers the full 45 minutes of instruction each period. Schools across the country have increasingly been doing this in recent years, and share that the result is a positive boost to school culture (I particularly love the quote that opens the second graf).
Class dismissal bells will not sound; bells will sound 1-minute before each class starts to let students know it’s just about time to be in class.
A bell will also sound at 9:10 to let students know that school starts in 5 minutes (doors will open at 9:05), and another bell will sound at 12:50 to signal the end of lunch.
Class Schedules are (Almost) Live
The class schedules will go live in Synergy sometime between right this very second and Monday morning. The Synergy deities are in charge of that and we don’t know exactly when publishing will occur. Thanks to the amazing work of Sarah Girard and Renee McCoy, we have a master schedule. Please know that it is not yet final and may change between now and September 8 and that I will communicate any necessary changes ahead of time with you.
For everything that makes you happy about your (tentative) schedule, please take a moment to thank Sarah Girard and Renee McCoy for all of their hard work and dedication. For anything that makes you unhappy about your schedule, please take a moment to come talk with me.
Coming to Work When Ill
We’ll go over this in more detail this week and yet I still want to use this space to tell you not to come to work if you’re ill. Educators are classically martyrs and can fight the sniffles or the flu and it’s easier to suffer than to build good sub plans, but we need to take our health and the health of those around us more seriously than ever before.
Bottom line, we need to stay safe to stay open.
OEBB Open Enrollment Deadline is September 15
OEBB Open Enrollment for the 2021-22 plan year (October 1, 2021 – September 30, 2022) has started! Enrollment is mandatory for ALL benefit eligible employees…even if you would like to continue with the same plans, you must log in and complete Open Enrollment by September 15. Bend-La Pine Schools’ Benefits Team has designed an interactive benefits page to help review plans, compare plan costs with online rate calculators, and provide additional resources to help you make your benefit selections.
Drop-in Enrollment Help Sessions (if possible, please bring your own laptop)
- 8/25/2021 @ 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. / Education Center, room 314 (520 NW Wall Street)
- 9/1/2021 @ 3:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. / Education Center, room 314 (520 NW Wall Street)
- 9/2/2021 @ 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. / La Pine High School, Library (51633 Coach Road)
- 9/10/2021 @ 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. / BLS Transportation Dept. (only transportation staff )
- 9/13/2021 @ 3:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. / Education Center, room 314 (520 NW Wall Street)
Helpful Links
- Bell Schedules
- www.OEBBenroll.com – OEBB Online Enrollment
- OEBBinfo.com – Main OEBB informational website
- OEBBwellness.com – Wellness resources available to OEBB members
- OEBBplandocs.com – plan comparison summaries, handbooks and spreadsheets
- Open Enrollment Guide Booklet
- BLS Staff Portal Benefit Information
Wrapping Up/To-Do’s
I need you to complete some Google Forms ahead of Tuesday’s Launch:
- Please complete this form that will allow us to have some fun while we get to know each other next week.
- Please complete this ANONYMOUS form for any questions you have about the coming school year that you would like answered during our launch.
- If you’ve not already done so, please complete this form to tell us what you’re planning for Day 189.
- If you’ve not already done so, please complete this form to tell us what you’re planning for Day 190.
See you soon!