To Do
Share info with World Language teachers: On November 17th from 8-11:30 we will examining our middle school and high school credit offerings. This conversation is optional, but World Language teachers are encouraged to attend. If interested, please arrange a half day sub and use the note “MS/HS World Language Alignment per April Jorgenson”
From Departments
From Scott in IT:
Synergy Mail Delivery Issue-
It has come to our attention that on occasion, certain Synergy (ParentVUE) messages are currently being marked as “spam” and are not able to be viewed by families with a TDS email address. We have already engaged both Synergy support and TDS to identify the cause and resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
In the meantime, please be aware that teachers using Synergy mail may occasionally receive a “bounce back” message from families who are unable to view their message. We will provide an update as soon as normal delivery is restored.
Looking for a few administrator iPads-
As we transition students over the next two years to the iPad 11, we will be lean on older device inventory. If you are an administrator and you rarely use your iPad for your position. We hope you will “volunteer” to turn in your iPad to your IT Client Service representative. Thank you in advance for your help.
From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, and Equity:
Advisory lessons:
As discussed in August, we have an Advisory Lesson on the new cell phone policy coming your way soon. The lesson will be included in the blog on Nov 13, and all high schools will need to teach the lesson before winter break.
Additionally, we have a student-facing Advisory Lesson on school-based health centers as well. While it has great information for students at all high schools (and middle schools!), it is particularly important for CHS, SHS, BTA, and Realms, because it includes details on the expanded access options for your students to get to the BSHS or MVHS health centers during the school day. That lesson will be shared with you in blogs Oct 23, to be taught as soon as you can, before winter break.
Student organizing: clubs, petitions, etc:
Students have the right to gather and organize–examples include forming new clubs, circulating petitions, etc. However, we can put certain limitations on these activities, when done thoughtfully.
Here is the relevant policy with guidance for you. A couple reminders: No new student clubs should be forming without principal approval. If you believe a club, petition, or other student-organized activity is going to cause a disruption and should be prohibited, please contact me so we can discuss specific considerations.
Please remind staff about this policy and ask that they contact you if they are hearing about clubs or other student organizing that would require procedural considerations under this policy.
Family engagement calendar:
We now have an Outlook calendar to communicate and coordinate district-wide family engagement events and key dates! It includes district-wide events where families are the audience, such as Financial Aid night or Latino Family Night, as well as the “do not schedule” dates for religious observances.
This is a staff-facing tool, for awareness, access, and coordination of school, district, and program-specific family events. Please work with your office staff to add this calendar to your school Outlook calendar—instructions here.
If you are planning a district-wide event and would like it added to this calendar, please contact Dalia Juárez or email [email protected].
From Triz in HR:
Calendar for the Certified Evaluation Process
| Contract – On Cycle | Probationary/Temp | |
| October | Goal Setting form sent to certified staff (upload due by Oct 15)Your in-person goal-setting meeting counts as Mini #1 | |
| November | Formal Observation #1 Cycle completed (due Nov 15)Last chance to begin Focused Performance Review (Nov 1) | |
| December | Administrator informs HR of contract non-extension | Last chance to begin Support Strategies (Dec 5) |
| January 15 | Submit 1st Mini Observation | Formal Observation #2 cycle completed (Jan 15) |
| January 30 | Notify the certified staff member of contract non-extension | Notify the certified staff member of non-renewal |
| April 15 | Please initiate Self-Evaluations for your staff. Since all certified staff are required to provide an update to their goals, staff on a non-evaluation cycle need only to log their goal update at the bottom of the self-reflection form and are not required to submit ratings. (Due May 15) | |
| May 15 | All Mini-Observations Are Due | |
| June 15 | Summative Evaluations are complete and all documentation have been submitted to the HR provided folders/spreadsheet. | |
From TLC:
As a reminder, with grades now managed in Synergy, Grade Guardian will no longer be purchased at the district level. Individual schools may continue their subscriptions this year (at their own expense); however, once assignments and grades are fully transitioned into our standards-based system, many of Grade Guardian’s features will become obsolete.
From Dave in TLC
OSAS Testing Annual Notices and Opt-Out Forms
The Bend-La Pine website has been updated with the 2025-26 fillable PDF annual notice and opt-out forms that we are required to share with families. There are separate notices and opt-out forms for ELA/Math testing (grades 3-8 & 11) and the SEED survey (grades 3-11). Please share our website with links to the required forms using whatever methods you typically communicate with families and have copies available for parents to pick up in the office by ODE’s dates and timelines below.
Bend-La Pine Schools :: Oregon Department of Education Resources
ODE English Language Arts and Math State Testing
Consistent with the requirements of ORS 329.479, ODE has developed an annual notice (available through ODE’s Test Administration webpage) that describes these assessments, identifies the timeframe when the assessment will most likely be administered, and identifies an adult student’s or parent’s right to excuse the student from testing. Districts and public charter schools must provide parents with the ODE-developed annual notice at the beginning of each school year. In addition, districts and public charter schools must provide parents with separate notice at least 30 days prior to administering the statewide summative assessments in Math and ELA using the ODE-provided 30-day notice and opt-out form (also available through ODE’s Test Administrationwebpage), or a district-created form that exactly reproduces the language of the ODE-provided form. School districts and public charter schools must use the language of the 30-day notice and opt-out form provided by ODE to communicate with all parents about state testing requirements and their right to opt out for high school students by January 4, 2026, and for students in Grades 3-8 by March 1, 2026.
ODE SEED Survey
Oregon law (House Bill 2656) requires each school district to make the SEED Survey available to students in grades 3-11. Parents or guardians may decline, either verbally or in writing, to have their student participate in the SEED Survey. Schools will provide parents with notice of administration and the process for declining participation at least 5 days prior to administering the SEED Survey. Students may also decline, at any time, either verbally or in writing to participate. Students may also decline to answer individual questions on the SEED survey.
Please contact Dave with any questions.
From Sean Reinhart, Jennifer Hauth, and Jamie Gunter
The Student Services Team is reaching out with a yearly reminder of protocols and procedures around suicide risk and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), as required by Adi’s Act (Senate Bill 52). We will be providing a series of updates to ensure that administrators are informed on updated protocols.
Reminder: Postvention
Please review the updated protocols in the BLS Sudden Death Response Procedures For Building Admin & Staff. We will review this information at the December 3, 2025, Safety Cadre.
Action Item:
- View the updated sudden death response procedures.
- Review with all of your building staff on these procedures.
- Ask all staff to contact their building administrator if they become aware of any information on the death of a staff member, student, or parent in your school community.
- If a Staff member reaches out to an administrator:
- Thank the reporter and ask that they don’t contact other individuals and share the news they have heard. Oftentimes the information is inaccurate or incomplete and unknowingly propagating rumors can cause harm.
- The building administrator reaches out to Sean, Jennifer, Scott, or their Level Leader (in that order until the first person is reached).
- Student Services will walk you through next steps.
Best-practice postvention around notification helps to prevent further harm or contagion, ensures accuracy and consistency, protects and respects the family, supports emotional safety, and lays the foundation for healing and recovery. If you have questions or concerns around this process, please reach out.
From Lillah in Safety:
All STAS/SIRC Teams:
After completing a Level 1 STAS or SIRC assessment, please upload the 2 page Outcome and Safety Plan into Synergy>Student>Documents tab>STAS/SIRC is a new Doc Category tab. The Doc Comment will be Outcome and Safety Plan.
The following people will have access to this document:
- Principals and Assistant Principals
- Counselors
- Student Success
- Athletic Directors
- SPED specialist such as Pych’s
- District Directors/Executive Directors
Please call Lillah Lehner in Safety with questions: 541-355-8854
From Tracy in Ed Tech:
From Educational Technology
We have technology tools for iPad behavior management! There are simple ways to monitor student screens, limit access to only the apps and websites needed, and give parents control of iPads outside of school hours. Check out Five Technology Tools for iPad Behavior Management. If you’re interested in a quick 10-minute tour of these tools during an SIW or drop-in time, please reach out to [email protected]
From Jennifer in Student Services
3- 12 Waypoints open until Friday October 24th end of day. Thank you to all of you that have had your students complete the assessment. School-wide student data will be ready for review on Monday, October 27th.
Some of you have staff in your Featured Content view in Wayfinder Usage Data that do not teach at your school. We are working on that issue with Synergy/Clever. For now, please use these instructions if you want to clean up your dashboard: How to Edit User Data on Admin Dashboards
From Gabe, Director of Activities and Athletics
Here is the weekly agenda.
From Jess Calbreath, Lead Counselor
MS ONLY
Please make sure you have communicated the fall conference schedule with families and the structure you intend to use for signing up. Additionally, please create a system to collect information on how many families attend.
Calendar
October 21: HS Administrator work session 9-11 @ MVHS
October 22: First District Safety Cadre Meeting 8-9:30 @ PBMS
October 23: MS Horizontal – 3-5 pm @ LPMS
October 29: HS ONLY END Session 3-4, K-8 is in parent conferences
October 29-30: MS Fall Conferences
Weeks of October 26-November 3: HS Fall Conferences
Where in the world?
Congratulations to our winner from last week: Kelly Beaudry (AP at BSH). The image is The Mapparium, which is a three-story, stained-glass globe located in Mary Baker Eddy Library in Boston, Massachusetts. It is designed to showcase the world as it was in 1935 for the purpose of providing a unique, inside- out perspective of Earth, promoting global awareness.
We’re back with Where in the World. Check out this week’s image below. Any admin who correctly identifies this image by Monday morning will be entered in a drawing for coffee/tea or morning beverage of choice to be delivered by Katie or Stephen. Note: This contest will be limited to MS and HS admin.
