Congratulations to La Pine MS for being honored as a Wayfinder North Star School!
To Do:
From The Business Office: Friendly Reminder: Report Year-to-Date Non-Contract Time by May 11
Administrators: As we approach the end of the fiscal year, all administrators are asked to ensure that their non-contract time—from July through the current pay period—is fully reported in the system no later than May 11, the Time and Leave cutoff.
Missing or outdated entries may lead to an inaccurate display of leave balances, which can create confusion when trying to understand remaining entitlement for the year.
If you have leave to report from any prior month, not just the current pay period, please complete a leave sheet with the accurate dates of the absence. We will process prior leave entries using the same approach as current-month reporting.
To review your leave usage and remaining balances, log into Employee Online and view the bottom section of your most recent pay stub.
Thank you for your attention to this important task and for helping ensure accurate records as we close out the fiscal year.
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School Improvement Funds: April has calculated each school’s SIF funds for this year and has added the allocations to the SIF tab on the staffing plans. We will be reviewing your school improvement plans in the fall. Reach out to Katie, Stephen or April if you have any questions.
From Departments
Reminder about Tutoring Services and companies: We do not vet or promote them.
It has come to our attention over the last couple of months that a few people are inquiring about a tutor list. We wanted to provide a refresher about the district’s practice regarding the referral of students and families to paid tutoring services.
Currently, and for the last few years, we do not maintain or update a list of tutors. We are unable to vet tutors or companies, nor should we refer families to specific paid services like tutoring.
This approach is rooted in liability concerns, as directed by the district years ago, to avoid promoting individual tutors or specific companies. Our aim is to prevent any potential complications regarding liability for both the tutoring staff and families. Additionally, we do not want to refer families to paid services due to unmet educational needs that could and should be addressed by intervention programs at our schools.
For families looking for tutoring options on their own, we encourage them to explore alternatives through online searches or by discussing with others in the community. Local tutors and companies are welcome to share their information/flier on the school’s designated public bulletin board; however, please note that we do not and should not be actively promoting their services specifically.
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BLS staff members working as private tutors or consultants outside of their work day:
BLP staff members who work as private tutors or consultants may not advertise their services or share any contact information with families or students during the school day or use district devices to do so (ie: iPad or laptop). This includes sharing with families or students that you provide these services
Similar to any private tutor who is not a staff member, BLS staff members who work as private tutors or consultants are welcome to share their information/flier on the school’s designated public bulletin board. Again, no staff member should be actively promoting their services specifically during the work day or using district devices.
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Administrator PD in May and June: We will be meeting at Sky View MS for our May meeting and at Aspen Hall for our June meeting. Please make a note of the change.
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From Jennifer:
Wayfinder’s Waypoint Summative Assessment Announcement
The Wayfinder Waypoint Summative Assessment is now active! If your school has completed the Fall Summative Assessment, please ensure that both teachers and students participate in the End of the Year assessment. This assessment will measure student growth in Life and Career Readiness skills.
· Students can access the assessment in the Wayfinder app on their iPad under the To Do List.
The assessment will remain open until June 12th and is expected to take approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete. Please note that it may take longer for educators to observe students in grades K-2.
After your school has finished the assessment, feel free to schedule a meeting with Jennifer to review your data dashboard and discuss goals for the upcoming year.
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The End of the Year Celebration is fast approaching. We ask that the principal (for HS) and one admin that oversees counseling attend. The counselors have worked hard on their Flashlight Presentations😊
Yes, the Excellence in Education celebration is the same day at 4:30 at MVHS!
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As we approach the end of the year, we would like to highlight the importance of school counselors having a retreat/planning day as part of our Comprehensive School Counseling Program (CSPC). This practice fosters collaboration, reflection, data analysis and strategic planning for the upcoming year.
We know many of you already do this, but here are some best practices for your planning day:
- Environment: Take time away from the school building to foster review, reflection, and planning. Work with your admin to determine the when, where and how long based on the needs of your program.
- Involvement: Invite administrators or stakeholders to join part of the session for insights and support (Admin lead of counseling, STC, Grad Coach, SSC, etc.).
- Agenda: Establish a structured agenda to ensure efficient use of time and cover all necessary topics. Think about roles and norms like facilitator, note taker, etc.
- Calendar Review: Examine the existing annual calendar for opportunities to integrate CSCP goals and activities
- Please use the ASCA Calendar Template
- Example: Secondary & Elementary
- Program Agreements: Assess how and where the BLS CSCP program agreements can be integrated into your school counseling programming
- MS Program Agreements (Visual for Families)
- HS Program Agreements (Visual for Families)
- EPP
- ES Program Agreements (in progress)
- Data Analysis: Analyze relevant data from the current academic year to inform our goal setting and program enhancements.
- Student Conference
- Pre/Post
- Attendance, Behavior, Credit
- SchooLinks
- Course Planner
- Activities
- College Application Manager
- Senior Survey
- Wayfinder
- YouthTruth
- Goal Setting: Set clear and achievable goals for the upcoming year based on your data analysis and program priorities. Similar to this year, school counseling programs will be expected to submit tier 1 and 2 goals next year based on data needs.
- Planning: Develop a plan for the beginning of the school year, including orientation activities, student outreach initiatives, and staff training sessions.
- Task Distribution: Distribute program tasks among team members for equitable workload and maximum efficiency.
Thank you once again for your dedication and commitment to our students and your comprehensive school counseling program.
High School only
Val and Sal Announcement: Will be made by high school principals to students and their families on Friday, May 23. Please be sure to send a photo of each student and a few sentences highlighting them to Becca and Scott Maben by May 20. Here is what the graduation edition of the family spotlight looked like last year.
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Distracted Driving education: May 31 is the deadline by which Distracted Driving assembly or advisory lesson must be completed!
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Process for changing diploma types:
If there is a request for a student to change their diploma type, the process happens at the school Tier 3 meeting using the Standard Diploma Consent Form that was developed last year. Steps are:
- Transcript review
- Review of Course Plan Progression/credit check for both diploma types
- Parents/guardians, administrators, student must agree with the change and sign the form
- Changes occur before the second semester of the senior year.
Calendar
- May 14: All Admin PD at Sky View Middle School, 3:00-4:30 Read Chapter 4!
- May 20: Val/Sal pictures and a quick blurb about each student due to Becca and Scott M
- May 20: HS Counselor Celebrations 1:00-4:00 @ Wall Street Lab (Principals and admin who oversees counseling required to attend)
- May 20: Excellence in Education Event 4:30 @ Mountain View HS Auditorium
- May 20, June 10 and June 17: Mandatory AI training. Sign up for one session! Mandatory AI Training
- May 22: MS Horizontal – 3:00 @ Pilot Butte
- May 23: High Schools announce Val and Sal today!
- May 26: Memorial Day, No School
- May 27: HS Principal work session 8:00-10:00 @ Summit HS
- May 28: Perseverance Awards Ceremony 5:30 @ The Loft on Bond Street
- May 28: Dual Immersion Graduation Ceremony 5:30 @ Aspen Hall
- May 29: MS Counselor Celebrations 8:00-11:00 @ PBMS (Principals and admin who oversees counseling required to attend)
- May 31: HS only: Deadline by which Distracted Driving assembly or advisory lesson is completed
- June 4: All Admin PD at Aspen Hall, 3:00-4:30
- June 10: HS Principal work session 8:00-10:00 @ Caldera HS
- June 12: Last Day students—half day
- June 13: Last Day staff work day
- June 17: MS and HS Administrator End of the Year wrap up. SBG focus! 8:00-11:00 @ Mountain View HS
Where in the World?
We are highlighting Monica Freeman, Interim Assistant Principal at Realms MS/HS, this week. Monica shares that “finding time to spend with my girl, Lucy.” 💙 is what brings her joy!
