Thank you for attending our Horizontal meeting on Wednesday. We hope you found it worthwhile. The purpose of the meeting was not only to give you time to collaborate with your colleagues but to also practice two different meeting protocols. You may want to consider using the fishbowl and the un-conference formats for an upcoming meeting.
Department News, Updates, Reminders, Info and Rants…
From Alandra – Holiday/Thankfulness: If your school is engaged in an activity around gratitude, thankfulness or giving, please let us know (examples: student art or writing about what they are thankful for, canned food drive for the holidays, etc.). We will be sharing art, photos and stories during Thanksgiving break and would love to include efforts from as many schools as possible. Email Alandra details and a photo.
From Julianne – re: C19 Code Synergy and Attendance Reminder
When a student is quarantined, the office will place a C19 on the school days that fall during a quarantine. The C19 code is an excused absence. If the quarantine extends past 10 days, the student will need to be inactivated.
HOWEVER…
If the student attends class virtually, the attendance office may enter PVQ. Present Virtual Quarantine (PVQ) is a School Activity code that does not generate an all-day value. This code may be used before 10 consecutive absent days. Teachers will not have access to C19 or PVQ. Only the office staff will have the ability to enter these codes.
A suggestion from Rachel Mavis: If a student would like to attend class(es) virtually, a counselor or teacher may call the student and parent to arrange a plan for the student to attend virtually. The student and parent need to know the expectations regarding virtual attendance. Then the counselor or teacher may work with the office staff on the dates for the PVQ code.
Another from Julianne – re: BinaxNOW Testing Kits. As a reminder, you may continue to use the BinaxNOW Testing Kits until your supply runs out. If more tests are needed anytime, please send a request to: [email protected]. On 10/12/21, all registered schools received the following message regarding BinaxNOW testing kits expiration update:
Dear School Testing Administrator,
The current Delta surge has depleted the federal supply of Abbott BinaxNOW tests, and regular distribution has not yet resumed. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services allows for temporary use of expired pandemic testing supplies when the supply chain is disrupted until non-expired supplies become available. The Oregon Health Authority is temporarily allowing the use of expired Abbott BinaxNOW test kits if individual test kit quality controls remain functional. Because each Abbott BinaxNOW test includes a quality control process, these expired supplies are anticipated to continue to provide accurate test results. Any test without an appropriate quality control check should be discarded.
These tests have been distributed to schools statewide and this guidance applies to all public and private schools participating in the K-12 diagnostic testing program. The Oregon Health Authority will notify schools via email once the Abbott BinaxNOW supply chain has been restored and the temporary use of expired supplies ends.
From Sean – Our Student Services leadership team has finished the K-5 Social & Emotional Intervention Support Continuum. This document details the various levels of support offered to K-5 students and includes embedded resources (e.g. Top 10 trauma responsive practices, data collection forms, The Nest entry/exit criteria and process). Please share with your teams that support students
From Brad – Yard Signs Our agreement with Bend South and Bend North little leagues allows them to place a yard sign at the front entrance of our schools each year for a short period of time. I believe they are the only non-District group that actually has permission to do this, and it is in the MOA.
This year, I gave permission for them to place a sign for two weeks between Thanksgiving and the holiday break. In addition they can place a sign from Jan 20 – Feb 28. One sign at each school. The City may be changing or enforcing their sign ordinance beginning Jan 1, so this could change. But I wanted to let you know about these two groups and their signs.
Culture of Care – Culture of Care is offering Free Virtual Drop-In Wellness Circles for all educators and helping professionals across the region to reduce stress, bolster resilience and build connections on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month (3:45-4:15 pm). All are welcome! The Zoom link will be sent after you register with your email. For specific questions, email Dr Amy at [email protected].
Sessions begin Nov 15, 2021 & Dec 6, 2021 (3:45-4:15pm); then the 1st & 3rd Monday (3:45-4:15pm) thereafter.”
This just in: HB 3294 Toolkit – With the passing of the Menstrual Dignity Act by the 2021 Oregon Legislature and Governor Brown, Oregon is the first state to have legislation requiring free menstrual products in every student bathroom in all schools. In order to honor the needs of all menstruating students and the districts who serve them, ODE has created this toolkit which provides information on the requirements of this law, equity-centric recommendations, and resources to consider when building district and school-wide implementation plans, teams, and when purchasing physical dispensers and products. Ideally this toolkit would have arrived prior to the installation of the dispensers at your school – very unfortunate. We will be discussing the use of the toolkit and make some recommendations for how to use it. For now please do not send the letters linked within.
Math Game Websites – we have been fielding some inquiries about math game sites that kids are accessing and if they can be blocked because they are causing a distraction. The answer is yes, they can be blocked however this is a whack-a-mole approach. Because as soon as one is blocked another is discovered. A better approach is to revisit iPad management in the classroom and the effective use of Apple Classroom. And a friendly reminder – teachers should not be directing students to these websites. Dreambox is our supplemental math program and time should be set aside for its use, not these math game sites.
Things In Red to Share or Do…
From Jackie Wilson – Here are the Standard Operating Procedures for Holiday Shutdowns. Please see that these can be done before you break for the week okk. In addition, here is a monthly update.
- Holiday shut down – As the Thanksgiving break is upon us, please help remind staff that they are responsible for shutting down all classroom electronics at the power strip to prevent unnecessary energy use over the holiday and to empty and unplug any mini-fridges. The Standard Operating Procedure (Holiday SOP) is attached to review.
- Sustainability updates – Compost is back at Miller elementary school, West Side Village, and at the Bend High Commissary Kitchen. It is a great step in reducing our impact.
- Energy updates – Caldera High school is just starting to gather billing data but is performing pretty great in terms of energy. Here is September billing data for some comparisons.
- Caldera – 32,800 kWh
- Summit – 95,100 kWh
- Bend High- 106,011 kWh
- Mountain View -97,203 kWh
- REALMS -32,040 kWh
- LPHS -68,644 kWh
From Jennifer – Please share this information with your staff. You can copy and paste.
Are you currently using social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum or strategies in your classroom or school building? Please take a moment to apply to be on our SEL steering committee by Friday, December 3rd. We are looking for certified, classified and administrators to serve on the team. Student and family input will be part of the process as well. We will meet monthly beginning in mid-December.
Technology Support–from Brenna The instructional technology department has created this easy one-page document, complete with hyperlinks, outlining where to find specific support around technology questions. Please share it with your staff.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Please share this with your staff. Our School District offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to help staff navigate life stressors and/or manage life changing events. The EAP program is administered by Reliant Behavioral Health (RBH). The services they offer at no cost to Bend La-Pine School district staff members (minus substitute teachers) are outlined below.
Counseling Resources
- 24- hour Crisis Help
- In-Person Counseling
- Telephonic Counseling
- Online Consultations
Work-Life Resources
- Childcare Resources
- Adult/Eldercare Resources
- Financial Services
- Legal Services
- Mediation Services
- Online Legal Forms
- Home Ownership Programs
- Identity Theft Services
The counseling resources come with three visits in a rolling calendar year with the possibility of additional visits on a case-by-case situation as determined by a RBH. The goal is to offer counseling services for single focused short term mental health.
To find out more about your EAP, schedule a counseling appointment, or access services call RHB at 866-750-1327 or visit MyRBH.com to find out more. Access Code is OEBB. You can also access EAP information on the portal as well as this flyer about EAP services. Thanks, the HR Benefits Team ([email protected])
Calendar
- SIW schedule
- Horizontal Meeting Schedule
- Tammy and Skip visitation schedule
- Monthly checklist
- November 18, 19 – Skip is out
- November 19 – College and Career Day
- November 22-26–Thanksgiving Break, No school
- December 13 – Horizontal meeting – location TBD
- December 15 – Horizontal leadership – Critical Friends protocol for Design plans with Lora – 1:30 – 3:30, location TBD
- January 1st – SLGG’s due
And Finally…
Tammy and I hope these next two days are smooth and that next week is very relaxing. We are very thankful for all the hard work you are doing and appreciate the leadership you bring to your buildings. If you need anything over break don’t hesitate to reach out via phone, text, or email. However, unless it’s an emergency we highly recommend you power down. Enjoy your time off!