I appreciated reading the thoughts shared in the Padlet around the D\u2019s and F\u2019s article. If you didn\u2019t get a chance to read it or read the comments from your colleagues here is the link again – https:\/\/padlet.com\/skipoffenhauser\/qfiddh4mruswr2id<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For me it\u2019s pretty obvious, pandemic or no pandemic, that we need to re-examine and change our grading practices to be more equitable and reflective of student knowledge. Katie Legace recently took on this topic and is working with a group on some proposed changes to make grading more equitable.<\/a> In a recent review of middle and high school grades the current number of D\u2019s and F\u2019s in Synergy was just unacceptable – especially for our historically underserved kids. While the grading conversation is primarily a secondary topic, I want to make sure you are in the loop so you know what is being discussed. Even though we don\u2019t give letter grades, there\u2019s probably work in this area that we need to do also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Department News\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From Nurse Tami<\/strong> – Please remind your staff to STAY HOME if they are not feeling well \u2013 even if they have the sniffles. The nursing team is facing some challenging situations related to folks NOT doing this, then testing positive after symptoms develop. I know staying if you are bit under the weather seems extreme, but in our current scenario it is necessary to protect others around you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n From Tina at Transportation – <\/strong>Emergency evacuation drills are an important part of ensuring the safety of our students when traveling on district school buses. Due to COVID restrictions, we will be unable to conduct school wide evacuation training in person as we have done in the past. To meet ODE requirements that all students are trained in emergency bus evacuation procedures, we ask that you instruct your teaching staff to view the video, The Safest Way Out<\/em>, with their students in the next two weeks. During this training, students will be provided with a visual understanding of how to exit a school bus under various circumstances. Students who are currently riding will receive additional instruction from their driver. Please complete this form <\/strong><\/a>and return to the Transportation Admin Office or send as an email attachment to: transportation@bend.k12.or.us after all students have had the opportunity to view the video. You may access the video by following this link<\/strong><\/a>. Thank you for taking the time to provide this instruction to your students <\/p>\n\n\n\n From Alandra –<\/strong> Thank you to all of our schools who are using social media to help keep families informed and connected. Your efforts are incredibly valuable right now. Please share this flier<\/strong><\/a> with anyone on your staff who uses social media in an official school capacity to make sure they are following best practices and feel free to reach out with questions to Alandra Johnson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From Amy in Instructional Technology…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n WebEx Security Updates<\/strong> – Just a reminder that our WebEx instance will be upgraded to be more secure on Monday, November 30th. At that time, students who are logged in will be able to go directly to their teacher\u2019s WebEx room, whereas those who are not logged in will be in the waiting room until they are let in by their teacher. We are recommending that teachers have all students login to WebEx before that date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hot Spots <\/strong>– Leaders, we have passed out more than 1000 hot spots for internet access and have once again run out of inventory. Of the 1000 devices that have been distributed, about 200 have never been used or are not currently active. Could you please help us get those back so they can be distributed to families who need them? A note in your parent communication would be great. Something to the effect of \u201cIf your family has a wireless hot spot that is not being used, please return it to our school office so we can redistribute it to families in need. It has become increasingly hard to get these devices and our inventory is limited so your help with this is appreciated!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One more reminder about hot spots: Please know that these are NOT intended for staff, as staff can work on site. If they have been distributed to staff members we appreciate your getting them back so they can go to students and families in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Updates, Reminders, Info and Rants\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n How to find STAS documents on a student in Synergy – <\/strong>As you may recall, our district, due to what we believe are privacy issues, do not place a copy of STAS documents in a student’s permanent record (unlike some other districts). However, we do upload and keep a record of these documents hidden (accessible by admin and whomever enters discipline incidents at the building) within Synergy. This video linked here<\/a> is of Amy Stafford describing (and showing) how an admin can access STAS documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Report Cards<\/strong> – many teachers, and some of you, have reached out with questions about report cards. Julie Walker, Kerry Morton, Becky Rehwalt and I have been working on this and are going to have a draft to share soon. The goal is to make things easier for teachers while still being to report on priority standards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Observations and Evaluations –<\/strong> one meeting down, two more to go. Katie Legace and Jon Lindsey are leading a team of administrators and teachers on this work. We hope to have something to share very soon. So far I think you\u2019re going to like what the group is coming up with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n YouthTruth Reminder <\/strong>– we have contracted with YouthTruth to conduct student surveys with us. There is some \u201cpre-work\u201d that needs to begin occurring \u2013 prior to the survey window of Jan. 4 \u2013 22, 2021. First, here is a 20-minute kick-off Webinar <\/a>to watch. This Webinar contains important information regarding these student, staff, and family surveys. This needs to be viewed no later than Nov. 20th. Second, here is a survey timeline<\/a> that has been developed between YouthTruth and BLS. Please read over and become familiar with this. Third, on Nov. 23 you will receive an email from Whitney Ivie, from YouthTruth, regarding how to access the Student Implementation Guide, so you\u2019ll have time to prepare for this survey before the window opens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Modeling current tech tools<\/strong> – I thought I would share an activity that Steve and Brooke did to engage their staff at Ponderosa.\u00a0 They used Jamboard at a staff meeting to gather staff thoughts and feedback on a couple of serious topics.\u00a0 They could have just asked the serious questions and left it at that but they also mixed in a few non-serious questions. Doing so probably eased the tension and engaged staff a bit more. Here is their Jamboard<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And Finally\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Have a happy Thanksgiving but remember to be like Bigfoot and practice social distancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Focus on Excellence and Equity\u2026 I appreciated reading the thoughts shared in the Padlet around the D\u2019s and F\u2019s article. If you didn\u2019t get a chance to read it or read the comments from your colleagues here is the link Continue reading November 20, 2020<\/span>
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