To Do

From Paul, our COO:

Wildfire Season

Please share this information with your staff: As we enter wildfire season, it is the district’s responsibility to ensure the safety of our students, staff, and facilities. We will take both proactive and responsive actions when wildfires impact school grounds and operations.

At the district level, our Communications team will provide timely updates when wildfires impact school operations, including modifications to outdoor activities, changes to the school day, or other operational adjustments. Our goal is to ensure clear, consistent communication so that students, staff, and families can respond appropriately to changing wildfire conditions.  

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For staff, it is equally important to have a personal preparedness plan in place. We strongly encourage all staff to sign up for emergency alerts through Deschutes County and/or download the Watch Duty app, enabling notifications for areas surrounding your home. These tools provide early warnings, including “Be Ready” (Level 1) and “Be Set” (Level 2) notices, which are critical for preparation.

If a Level 3 (Go Now) evacuation is issued for your neighborhood during the workday, you should communicate directly with your supervisor or administrator. We are committed to supporting staff in these situations. As long as student safety and supervision are maintained, we will arrange coverage so you can return home as soon as possible. You may record leave on your timesheet in accordance with district procedures.

From Departments

From the BLPO Team:

Here is the information for Summer ☀️ School that you can share with high school students and families. The document includes two links, and I have also attached a separate PDF of each link for easy access.

All high school counselors have received this information and have both digital and paper copies of the summer class options and the summer agreement. High school principals have also been provided with this information.

Please let me know if you have any questions. We really appreciate you helping share this information. 🙌🏼 🏄🏻 

Best,
Lori Craft

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By April 17, Submit Sources of Strength Award Nominations

Nominations for the Sources of Strength Oregon awards will be accepted from now until April 17.  Anyone, including students, can submit a nomination. 

Consider submitting a nomination or encouraging others to submit nominations:

• Peer Leader Award Nomination Form – Ten Peer Leaders across the state will be selected to receive a $1,000 award for their leadership.
• Sources Team Award Nomination Form – Ten Sources teams across the state will be selected to receive a $1,000 award to support their continued suicide prevention and mental health promotion efforts.
• Adult Advisor Award Nomination Form – Ten winners are selected state-wide to receive a certificate and Sources prizes in recognition for their support of students.

Previous winners are not eligible to win again.

Winning nominations usually describe how a student, staff, or team have embodied or exemplified the Sources of Strength mission as an Agent of Change, Connector to Help, and/or centering “Hope, Help, and Strength.”

Sources of Strength nominations and awards are evidence of your school’s efforts towards student belonging, connection, inclusion, and help-seeking.

Reach out to your Healthy Schools Public Health Specialist, or Aimee, if you need help crafting a nomination.

Award winners will be celebrated in district/school newsletters in May and at Oregon’s virtual Sources of Strength Showcase on May 20th.  More details on the awards, nominations, or showcase can be found here.

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From Gabe in Activities and Athletics:

Here is the weekly agenda for Athletics and Activities. March 16th-20h, 2026

Calendar

March 19 and 20: Katie out of the office – available by cell

March 20: Excellence in Education Nominations DUE to HR

March 23-27 Spring Break: Katie and Stephen out of the office – available by cell

April 3: HS Principal Connection 8-10 @ SHS

April 7: Admin/ICCL 4:15 – 6:15 @ BSH

April 7: HS Admin WS 9-11 @ RHS

April 8: All Admin PD 3-5 @ BSH

April 14: HS Admin WS 9-11 @ MVHS

April 14: MS Walkthroughs @ PCMS

Where in the World

Congrats to Tim Broadbent for correctly identifying Chimney Rock in Nebraska!  Chimney Rock was an important landmark along the Oregon Trail.  

Here is the image for this week. Guess this image by the Monday after spring break, win the drawing, and Katie will bring you your school appropriate beverage of choice:

To Do

Staffing Plans are due next week – Please refer to Katie or Stephen’s email for deadlines

From Departments

March 18 SIW:  is a building directed SIW for HS and a teacher directed SIW for Elementary and Middle

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From Marta in the Superintendent’s Office:

The Frequently Called Number list has been updated in the Portal

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From Jennifer in Student Wellbeing

Please see below for an opportunity here in Bend for district administrators that are helping to lead this work.  Learn how to strengthen our Wayfinder implementation to help meet our strategic initiatives. I will be there and I think it would be great to have some of you join, especially those of you that have not attended any Wayfinder trainings in the past. 

From Patrick Cook-Deegan – CEO and Founder of Wayfinder:

I’d like to personally invite you to join us for the Oregon Community Workshop on Friday, April 17 at Tetherow Resort in Bend.

This will be a focused, working session with district leaders from across Oregon on how schools are implementing Wayfinder to:

• Meet Oregon’s mandated TSEL standards
• Align with SB3 requirements
• Strengthen instruction for the Oregon Health Education Standards

More than 115 Oregon districts are already bringing this work to life with us. During the workshop, we’ll share concrete implementation strategies, lessons learned, and practical tools you can take back to your district or school site immediately.

Event Details

8:30 AM – 2:30 PM (breakfast and lunch provided)
Tetherow Resort
61240 Skyline Ranch Rd
Bend, OR 97702

This will be interactive and collaborative—not a sit-and-get session. You’ll experience Wayfinder activities firsthand and connect with peers navigating similar priorities.

RSVP here.

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From Gabe Pagano:

Here is the weekly agenda for Athletics and Activities. March 9th-13th, 2026

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From Sara Young:

Here is this week’s (very short) Special EDge. Find information about:

• Plan for ESY – Links have started going out!
• Check out the Learning Labs
• Check out the incredible work of teams in Campus Kudos!
• Utilize the Student Services Launchpad
• Save the Date for upcoming events

Calendar

March 16: Staffing discussion HS Principals 3:00pm – Education Center – KT’s office

March 16,17,18: MS Staffing Plan Check Ins

March 17: HS Learning Walk – Language Arts 9-12 @ RHS and BTA

March 18: Building Directed SIW for HS

March 18-19: MS Spring Conferences

March 19: MS Staffing Plan version 1.0 due

March 20: Excellence in Education Nominations DUE to HR

March 19 and 20: Katie out of the office – available by cell

March 23-27 Spring Break: Katie and Stephen out of the office – available by cell

April 3: HS Principal Connection 8-10 @ SHS

April 7: Admin/ICCL 4:15 – 6:15 @ BSH

April 7: HS Admin WS 9-11 @ RHS

April 8: All Admin PD 3-5 @ BSH

April 14: HS Admin WS 9-11 @ MVHS

April 14: MS Walkthroughs @ PCMS

Where in the World?

Congratulations to  to Kristy Knoll who guessed the image from last week! 

The image is of Crater Lake National Park. This national park is located in the southern part of Oregon and is made of a gigantic crater.  If you haven’t made the time to see it, it is worth a visit!

Guess this location by Monday morning and we will bring you a school appropriate beverage of choice! Bonus points for adding its historical significance.

To Do

Leave sheets are DUE to Katie and Stephen by tomorrow!

Principals, let us know if you do not have leave or submit your leave sheet to Katie or Stephen. Assistant Principals, submit your leave to your Principal.

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To Do reminders from Kinsey:

Sign up for an LCA (Community Engagement Bingo) visit

Sign up and/or share about Taking It Up workshop

Sign up for a fundraising policy listening session

From Departments

March 18 SIW:  is a building directed SIW for HS and a teacher directed SIW for Elementary and Middle

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From Ryan in Human Resources:

Last week, I shared the forms to submit names of the Certified and Support Staff you’d like to recognize as part of our Excellence in Education program. Resharing the links here with a reminder that nominations are due by Friday March 20th. Timely submission allows the next portion of the process to move forward so that everything can be ready in advance of the recognition evening, May 13th.

• The Certified Staff Nomination form is here: https://forms.gle/uN8bDYzrRFFo65nH9
• The Support Staff Nomination form is here: https://forms.gle/ofLPgm3NoN5AmM4f7              

If you need the names of previous honorees from your site, please email me and I will share those with you

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From Kinsey – Office of Policy and Advocacy:

Community Engagement Visits:   -Action requested-

Don’t forget about the chance to win a gift card ($25-$49.99) to places like El Sancho, Spork, downtown shops, and more!  A little motivation and token of appreciation for getting outside your building/office and into the community we serve.  (Bingo card here.)    

Thanks to all who visited The Giving Plate and Bethlehem Inn!  (If you missed those, it’s not too late–reach out to me.)  Our next community partner visit is in April, to the Latino Community Association.  Sign up here to participate.  

While this time of year feels particularly busy, these visits (and/or the average home visit) last 30 minutes or less, and hopefully leave you re-energized and reminded of your ‘why.’  This visit is also a tangible action you can take to support your immigrant and Latino families right now.  

Also, for those of you who recently visisted the Kids’ Center with our awesome safety team: Use that as one of your “optional” spots on your Bingo card.  One step closer to your prize!  🙂

Fundraising Listening Sessions:  -Action needed-

Don’t forget to sign up to attend one of the Fundraising and Donations update sessions.  Your parent leaders, coaches, and community members will be getting this information the following week, so we want you to feel informed and be able to give any final input.  See email from Kinsey sent Feb 27 for details (one admin per building, AD, Activities, etc).    

Taking It Up:   -Action needed-

If you have not yet attended Taking It Up, please talk with your Level Leader about their expectation for your participation in this workshop (register here).  I can cover a sub for your admin duties those two days.  Please also include this invitation in your next staff communication, and encourage folks to represent your school/dept in attending.

Black History Month Door-Decorating Contest: 

Wow–we had great participation rates this year, with kindergarten through adult groups submitting entries!    Check out the submissions.  Tomorrow, winners will be contacted via email (we’ll copy building admin so you know if you have a winner in your building–they will also be featured on social media this month) to celebrate and get them their prizes.  

Family Nights:

Save the dates: Asian Family Night = Friday, May 1; Latino Family Night = Thursday, May 14.  (These are on our district Family Engagement calendar in Outlook.)  More information to follow!

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From Kayla in Safety:

Reminder that Wednesday, March 11 is our Safety Cadre Training #3

• Secondary- 8:00AM-9:30AM in the HDMS Library

We will be having an informational presentation from our Deputy District Attorney on the juvenile justice process followed by a tabletop exercise. Please prioritize the administrator who oversees safety in your building attend the session.

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From Gabe:

Here is the weekly agenda for Athletics and Activities. March 2nd-6th, 2026

Have a great 1^st Day of Spring Sports.

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From Jess:

Here is the counseling update.

Calendar

March 16: Staffing discussion HS Principals 2:30 Teams

March 17: HS Learning Walk – Language Arts 9-12 @ RHS and BTA

March 18: Building Directed SIW for HS

March 18-19: MS Spring Conferences

March 20: Excellence in Education Nominations DUE to HR

March 19 and 20: Katie out of the office – available by cell

March 23-27 Spring Break: Katie out of the office – available by cell

April 3: HS Principal Connection 8-10 @ SHS

April 7: HS Admin WS 9-11 @ RHS

April 14: HS Admin WS 9-11 @ MVHS

Where in the World?

Congratulations to Stephen for stumping all of us! Benjamin O. Davis was the image from last week and no one guessed correctly! O’Davis was among the first graduating class of Tuskegee airmen and integral in implementing the Air Force’s plan to desegregate.  Stephen gets the beverage of his choice!

Guess this location by Monday morning and we will bring you a school appropriate beverage of choice!