{"id":605,"date":"2022-01-06T19:57:37","date_gmt":"2022-01-07T02:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/skip.offenhauser\/?p=605"},"modified":"2022-01-06T19:57:38","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T02:57:38","slug":"january-6-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/skip.offenhauser\/2022\/01\/06\/january-6-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"January 6, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A late Christmas Gift or Two or Three <\/strong>– First, we decided to cancel our formal site visits for January. Everything is changing day by day so to ask you to put in a ton of work to prepare for a meeting that might end up being canceled is not fair to you and your teachers.  This is at least one thing you can take off your plate for January (although ten things have probably been added).  Tammy, Julie and I might be doing some subbing over the next few weeks.  But when we are available we\u2019ll do some unannounced drop-ins to just just check in and lend some support.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second gift is the gift of putting our School Design follow up work on pause.  Instead of working on that in January, we will revisit in February when we get back to a healthier place for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third, we are canceling this coming  Monday meeting and some BRYT work we were going to roll out for the remainder of the month.  There may be a time we need to meet with you and will do a good ol\u2019 fashioned WebEx meeting instead.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hang in there.  We all thought things were supposed to be getting easier but this Omicron variant had other ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Collective Efficacy\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn order to address the challenges of inequity in education, teachers must perceive themselves to be both individually and collectively capable of delivering effective instruction to underperforming and\/or disadvantaged students in ways that will result in students\u2019 better performance and increased academic achievement.\u201d – <\/em>Stefani Arzonetti<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tammy and I recently had a letter shared with us that supports the quote above.  The letter was sent to the Deschutes Historical Museum by a woman who attended Reid School before it became the home of the museum. What she wrote is proof of the power of collective efficacy and how teachers make a difference in the lives of their students.  Here\u2019s the letter.<\/a>  Enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Updates, Reminders, Department Info and Rants\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Kinsey – <\/strong>Thank you for reading the winter edition of the Language, Culture, Identity newsletter.<\/a>  This newsletter is shared with administrators, ELL staff, and LEAD cohort members.  Feel free to share with your staff\/team, and if you have questions, concerns, or ideas regarding the content, reach out to Kinsey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Student masking issues<\/strong> – at our meeting on Monday there was a question about how to deal with students that are consistently not following masking protocols.  While this is a bigger problem at the secondary level than at the elementary level, the issue does exist.  There is a letter that can be sent home for our worst offenders but progressive steps of intervention\/discipline need to occur first and be documented.  Tammy and I have access to the letter.  If you think one needs to be sent you need to contact us first so we can discuss the situation with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Test kits – <\/strong>Each school has Covid test kits and should be using them.   If a staff member feels symptomatic, thinks they have been exposed, or needs some peace of mind let them test.  If we run out we will order more. Tami is trying to make sure that all schools are staying stocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a0The Red Zone – Things to Share or Do\u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Alandra:<\/span>\u00a0 <\/strong>Please see her email and share this with your families Serve Our Schools: Budget Committee<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tracking Safe Touch<\/span><\/strong> – Here is the document<\/a> to record your administration dates of the Safe Touch curriculum.\u00a0 We know it’s early but this is just a reminder that this needs to be done.\u00a0 Please send completed forms to April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YouthTruth Folder<\/strong><\/a> Added to Admin Resource Drive\u2013it has\u00a0 Info from Dave and our Friends at YouthTruth <\/span>– <\/strong>A friendly reminder that the YouthTruth Student, Staff, and Family survey window is officially open for four weeks, closing end-of-day Friday, January 28th<\/sup>!\u00a0 In the folder, you will also find a one-pager cheat sheet from Dave, with links to parent letters, including multilingual ones as well.\u00a0 Please check it out and continue to work to get families and staff to take the survey!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remote Learning Preparation<\/span><\/strong> – This information shared Monday but here it is again\u2026If you\u2019ve been following the national news you obviously have heard about school districts nationwide that have been reverting back to remote learning.\u00a0 Here in Bend-La Pine we are committed to in-person instruction and currently have no intention<\/span> of moving to this delivery model.\u00a0 However, with this new Omicron Covid strain spreading rapidly we need to be prepared. Here are resources to help prepare…<\/p>\n\n\n\n