What a great week! A relatively small group of folks and I have been coming to work at a mostly empty school for several months now. Some days there is a productive energy that comes with a mostly quiet work place, and our office and custodial crew is quite a fun group. On the other hand, the building’s energy changes instantly when staff are buzzing in the classrooms and when kids walk through our doors. Thank you for the preparation that went into receiving our kids this week and welcoming them back.

You may have noticed that some of our students looked a little weary. It is critical that we acknowledge and respond to these mixed emotions and recognize that we have a critical opportunity to shape where student mindsets go from here. Let’s help one another and hold each other accountable for fostering positivity and making sure that whatever else students have faced or are facing, that our school and classrooms will be a place of refuge and hope.

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Calendar Items:

• Monday, 2/8 (A-K)
  • Start of balanced-hybrid model
  • Start of 2nd semester
• Tuesday, 2/9 (L-Z)
• Wednesday, 2/10
  • WebEx meetings (AM)
  • SIW – 2:30 in Stancliff’s WebEx initially (SLGGs/EBISS)
• Thursday, 2/11 (A-K)
• Friday, 2/12 (L-Z Via WebEx on a Wednesday schedule 9:45-12:00 w/support, if needed, afterward until 1:00)

To do’s . . .

• Please make a point of previewing advisory slides in the morning before students get here so you can be familiar with the information and seek out any clarifications ahead of time. Thanks to Mary and Stacy for getting these dialed in!
• Remind students in Tuesday classes and again in the WebEx classes on Wednesday that Friday’s L-Z cohort will follow a required WebEx schedule that will follow Wed. stop and start times. A-K will be asynchronous as usual.

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On the Radar . . .

• As you continue to plan for this first three week rotation, many of you will be celebrating Black History Month. If you didn’t already know, our BLS libraries page did a blog post full of resources that celebrate achievements and elevate voices from the Black community.
• With Brett Brunner headed over to PE and Kristina McCann headed to La Pine middle school, our SPED team will be stretched thin initially. Please be patient and supportive as we work with our counterparts downtown to fill these positions.
• Here is a link to a page on our Hybrid site with district language around addressing positive cases within our schools.
• State guidance for RSSL requires districts in counties that have in person instruction while still in high to extreme risks levels to develop systems to provide on-site testing. BLS is on schedule to have these options by March 1. Stay tuned for more details.
• In accordance with the recent BLS/BEA MOU, we have posted copies of the PBMS COVID-19 safety checklist in work/break rooms.

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Shout outs . . .

As we pivot out of CDL it’s worth remembering that many of our students were thoroughly engaged and some great work. Check out Jayden’s presentation for an info-writing project in Mr. Macomber’s class!

Thanks again to all for your preparation for orientation and your warm reception of our students this week!

Have a great weekend GIANTS!

Good Sunday Evening . . . I hope that everyone has had an enjoyable weekend. I know that the upcoming week comes with mixed emotions for everyone. Wherever we are on that continuum, I have no doubt about our commitment to kids and our collective desire to make the most of each opportunity we have to work with them. This new model will no doubt bring challenges, but I know that we will collectively and individually leverage the lessons and experience it brings to learn and grow as professionals.

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Calendar Items:

• Mon 2/1
  • Orientation 6th grade (A-K) 10:50 – 1:00
  • Asynchronous instruction
• Tuesday 2/2
  • Orientation 6th grade (L-Z) 10:50 – 1:00
  • Asynchronous instruction
• Wednesday 2/3
  • Orientation 7th/8th grade (L-Z) 10:50 – 1:00
  • SIW 2:30 – 4:00 (Stancliff’s WebEx)
• Thursday
  • Orientation 7th/8th grade (A-K) 10:50 – 1:00
• Friday 2/5
  • Last day of term
  • Grades entered by 4:00 PM
• Monday 2/8
  • First day of “balanced-hybrid model”

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To do’s:

• Please fill out this survey if you have an appointment in the next couple weeks that we would likely need to cover
• Teachers, please fill out this survey if you are willing to help fill-in for your peers during the three week session in which your prep period falls
• Teachers, make sure to have grades in by 4:00 PM on Friday
• Please follow safety protocols including the following:Wear masks at all times on campus (indoors and out) unless you are in a private enclosed work space by yourself
  • Avoid extensive (longer than 15 min.) in-person meetings unless necessary, and default to WebEx when possible
  • If meeting in person, please maximize the physical space of meeting locations for distancing
  • Use the check-in/out QR code every day
• Familiarize yourself with the new Balanced-Hybrid Learning site

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On the radar . . .

• Teachers, sounds like there is a forthcoming version of the certified MOU that is more “official” than the summary I was referring to in out meeting on Friday, but should be the same substantively. Maybe you’ve already got it.
• Here is a link to our daily schedules with the new Wednesday times. Reminder teachers: if your assignment does not require you to work with students on Wednesdays, you may work from home. Also, because of orientation this will apply when students are actually back for hybrid classes.
• Please feel free to spread the word on activity fees being waived for the remainder of the year.

Please consider these CDC quarantine recommendations if your family has plans for either domestic or international travel in the months to come. 

Bottom line for both – Individuals who have traveled out of state (domestic or international) are recommended to:

• Get tested 3-5 days after travel AND stay home for 7 days after travel. 
  • Even if you test negative, stay home for the full 7 days.
  • If your test is positive, isolate yourself to protect others from getting infected.
• If you don’t get tested, it’s safest to stay home for 10 days after travel.
• Avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness for 14 days, whether you get tested or not.

Also, take these actions for 14 days after you return from travel to protect others from getting COVID-19:

• Stay at least 6 feet/2 meters (about 2 arm lengths) from anyone who did not travel with you, particularly in crowded areas. It’s important to do this everywhere — both indoors and outdoors.
• Wear a mask to keep your nose and mouth covered when you are in shared spaces outside of your home, including when using public transportation.
• If there are people in the household who did not travel with you, wear a mask and ask everyone in the household to wear masks in shared spaces inside your home.
• Wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
• Avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness.
• Watch your health: Look for symptoms of COVID-19, and take your temperature if you feel sick.
• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html
• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/after-travel-precautions.html
• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/map-and-travel-notices.html.

Shout outs . . .

. . . To everyone who came together last week to prepare for having students back in our midst!

Good evening staff . . .

I hope you have had a good weekend. I suspect many of you included a trip to the fairgrounds for a vaccine. If that applies to you, I hope everything went well, and that you did not have to wait pout in the cold very long.

I seem to be caught in a loop of information flowing and changing headed into weekends, which makes it hard to make a post without wondering about an eventual retraction of some sort. In what follows, I hope to give everyone a sense of how the week may flow, but would also ask for some flexibility on your part, to the extent that we will likely still continue to update information in real time in a variety of formats.

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Calendar Items

• Monday 1/25
  • All staff report to building (follow CDL contract hours)
  • Teachers in rooms
  • Start of asynchronous instruction
• Tuesday 1/26
  • CANVAS coaching
    • 10:00 in Valerie’s WebEx (for folks who did not cross-list classes) and 11:00 (for folks who cross-listed classes)
  • Small group building walk throughs focused on safety and logistics at the following times (check in with Mary or me for an alternate time if you have something scheduled):
    • 8:15 (SPED/Auxiliary Staff w/Steve and Mary)
    • 12:30 (LL w/Steve & Design w/Mary)
    • 1:00 (IS w/Steve & Arts w/Mary)
    • 1:30 (PE w/Steve & Science w/Mary)
    • 3:00 (LA w/Steve & Math w/Mary)
• Wednesday 1/27
  • SIW (1:00-2:30)
  • Hybrid planning (2:30-3:30)
• Thursday 1/28
  • Grade Level Meetings
• Friday 1/29
  • PLC meetings (PLCs please choose an hour slot when it would work for you )
  • All-staff check-in at 3:00
• Mon – Thurs 2/1-2/4
  • Second week of asynchronous instruction
  • Orientations (See link below for details)
• Friday 2/5
  • Last day of term
  • Grades entered by 4:00 PM

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To do’s:

Everyone:

• Please familiarize yourself with the staff toolkit
• Unless you are applying for an UPLOA or FMLA leave, please report to the building in person for work from 8AM to 4PM. (Check in with Mary, Heather, or me if you have step out or flex hours)
• Please follow safety protocols including the following:
  • Wear masks at all times on campus (indoors and out) unless you are in a private enclosed work space by yourself
  • Avoid extensive (longer than 15 min.) in-person meetings unless necessary, and default to WebEx when possible
  • If meeting in person, please maximize the physical space of meeting locations for distancing
  • Use the check-in/out QR code every day
  • Err on the side of staying home if you begin to experience symptoms and check in with Tennille
  • Read Lora’s email about vaccine side effects
• Respect your colleagues’ privacy related to vaccination status
• Familiarize yourself with the new Balanced-Hybrid Learning site (Even thought it is designed for the community, you can also use it as a quick reference for much of you would find in the back-to-school docs folder)
• Refer to last weeks blog post below also for a list of useful docs if needed

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On the Radar . . .

• Staff quarantine time after exposure to a positive case is 10 days, and please check in with Tennille if you are questioning your exposure status

Shout outs . . .

• . . . to Mary and Bruce Koike for designing and fabricating 34 upper classroom window opener/closer devices!
• . . . to our web kids for continuing to be awesome and willing to help with planning and carrying out orientation

Happiest of birthdays this week to Debi Alayan on 1/29