Everyone – As expected, we encountered some bumps in the road as we transition to UKG. This work has been a huge undertaking by the business office and by human resources and the staff in these departments are going above and beyond to address issues as they arise. There are several UKG updates in this week’s blog so please take the time to read them carefully and pass the information on as needed. Finally, we are relying on you to help out these departments as much as possible by approaching this transition to UKG with a positive attitude and a growth mindset. Everything is going to be just fine!
Updates, Reminders, and Department Info…
Language Arts Curricular Materials Viewing and Feedback Opportunities: The team met on Wednesday, March 8th and came to consensus to dive deeper into three curriculums: Expeditionary Learning, American Reading Company and Collaborative Classroom. Here is the schedule for viewing the materials and links to give feedback. Please share this document with your staff. Reach out with any questions.
Staffing Plans – April is working on the staffing plan template for each school. As soon as they are completed Tammy and I will review them and send them out. We are hoping that will happen in the next week.
Central Oregon Job Fair – Mark your calendars, March 23 is the Central Oregon Educator job fair. This year’s event will take place at Eagle Crest resort. It is expected that all building administrators participate. Look for information and details from Ryan Kelling in the coming days.
UKG Update from Paul
First Digital Submissions of Time/Leave – Please remember that all BLS employees regardless of whether or not someone has had any time off or has had supplemental or secondary hours/jobs within the 2/13 – 3/12 pay period must digitally submit their timesheet though UKG. Instructions on how to log and submit timesheets can be found (1) in UKG, under the Self-Service tab or (2) within the Staff Portal on the UKG Product Suite page.
Timesheet submission and approval timeline:
- All employees will have until 11:00pm Sunday night (March 12) to submit their timesheets.
- Office Managers/timekeepers will then have until 11:00 pm on Monday (March 13) to finish review & corrections then submit timesheets to supervisors.
- Supervisors will have until 11:00 pm Tuesday (March 14) to do final approval
- Payroll will be extracting data on Wednesday for processing.
Frontline Absence Management/Aesop Users – We’ve encountered some difficulties in transferring absence data from Frontline to UKG. For this reason, your UKG timesheet may not accurately reflect your time-off during this current pay period (2/13 – 3/12). We will not be attempting to transfer data from Frontline to UKG until further notice as we troubleshoot this problem. You can track our progress by viewing the UKG Implementation Page within the staff portal.
As you review your UKG timesheet in preparation for submitting it (on 3/13), you’ll need to seek assistance from your timekeeper/office manager to correct your timesheet for missing or incorrect time-off entries. You can do this by emailing your timekeeper/office manager with the list of time-off details (dates/times/absence reasons) that need to be corrected as only they have UKG permissions to make these changes (you do not). You still retain the ability to make UKG timesheet entries for additional hours worked for your secondary or supplemental jobs. We appreciate your support and patience as we continue to transition from paper to digital processing of time/leave entries. Leah and Jason in the Business Department
The Red Zone – Things to definitely read, do or share
From April re: UKG and Non-contract time – April Jorgenson sent an email out Wednesday re: UKG. As she stated, April’s been working with the UKG team regarding the issue of “non-contract” time not being available in the dropdown menu. This issue won’t be fixed until after this pay period ends, so any non-contract time that you’ve taken between 02/13/23 and 03/12/23 needs to be recorded on your Google calendar that you have been using so far this year. This is only for NON-CONTRACT time…all other leave (sick, bereavement, etc.) will need to be recorded in UKG.
From Julie Walker and Marci Adams re: Erin’s Law- Please see the following communication and plan for teaching the required Erin’s Law Child Sexual Abuse and Prevention lessons. If you have any questions or feedback please reach out.
Erin’s Law Clarification: Please let your teachers know two support sessions will be offered for understanding Erin’s Law and Child Sexual Abuse Prevention. These sessions will be available on the next two Wednesdays (March 15, 22nd) from 1:30-2:30. Sign up here . Julie will send the zoom link to those who sign up.
From Jennifer Hauth for your next family newsletter. Families – On May 11 you are invited to attend Hope, Help & Heal, a virtual event to support and connect families, parents and guardians with education, awareness and discussion around youth mental health in Deschutes County. Click here for a flier on this event. This event will be provided virtually with closed captioning and simultaneously translated into Spanish. If you need accommodations to make participation possible, please call Bethany Kuschel (541)322-7534 or send email to [email protected]. Registration is recommended, but not required.
Kindergarten Orientation Update: We have been working on a few things to better align the spring kindergarten orientation experiences for families and schools within our system. This year, the spring orientation will have a couple of opportunities for our families. The first will be a new district wide engagement activity for families on Saturday, April 22. That day is currently being planned by a group of kinder teachers, admins, and parents, and is being paid for by Title 1 funds, but will be for everyone to participate. More to come about that (but think about 9 bus stops around Bend, where families can stop by and register, learn about our district, get some cool “Class of 2036” swag, and get information on how to attend your building orientations!)
The second part is up to you! It is your building kindergarten orientation that you have each spring. In order to provide similar experiences for families and for staff to be fairly compensated in the same way their peers are throughout our district, we have created this one-page document with the parameters for your event. It is currently in draft form and we welcome your feedback through March 17, at which time it will be finalized. (comments are turned on) Please read the document carefully, to learn about the specifics you need to plan for. We know some of you are already starting to talk about your orientation event, so please use this guide. Bring on our new little friends!
Updated Field Trip/Activity Request Form – the updated form has been posted to the portal (form date 3/2023). Please have staff members begin using this form immediately. As a reminder, nursing staff must be provided notice about the trip, in writing, at least 2 weeks prior. There is an area on the updated form for the requestor to provide the nurse’s name and notification date and time. This section of the form must be completed in order for the trip to be approved.
The field trip form can be found in the Field Trips – Permission Forms folder
For any students requiring direct care nursing support, teachers must complete the Request for Direct Care Nursing Service Form. Thank you!
Calendar
- March 3 CEL work @ Silver Rail (cohort 2)
- March 8, 9 Skip out at Central Office Admin Training
- March 9, 10 Tammy and Julie out at TDG math conference
- March 13. Monthly Principal PD in the boardroom 3:00-4:30
- March 14 Horizontal Meeting—Ensworth 3:00-4:30
- March 15. Season 3 of Ted Lasso begins!
- March 21, 22, 23 – Skip out
- March 23–Central Oregon Educator job fair—new venue—Eaglecrest
- March 27-31–Spring Break!
- April 17 – tentative transfer interviews date – more info to come
And Finally…Looking for something to listen to on your drive to and from work? Sweat the Technique is a new podcast that Dave VanLoo recently discovered. It’s hosted by a group of pathbreaking educators who come together weekly to answer the question of how to get better faster. They apply lessons from the classroom to all areas of life — from parenting, to relationships, to sports, to hobbies and more.