Having fun this Halloween season!!
From Tammy and Karen
Thank you! Your engagement, collaboration, and genuine inquiry in yesterday’s EL training was noticed and appreciated. There was a lot to dive into and hopefully you have a better understanding of the ins and outs of what your staff are doing on a daily basis. I think we walked away with a greater appreciation and understanding of the importance of protocols, the structure of a module, and the teacher being the lead facilitator (which is so hard!). Also appreciation for all the coaches who were there to support us in this new learning. As you got to witness first hand, they are a wealth of knowledge and here to support!
Mini and Formal Observations: Please make these a priority as we head into November! Formals are due before Thanksgiving break and first minis are right there as well! Giving meaningful and timely feedback is an important part of improving student outcomes. See the email from Triz De La Rosa.
Important Links
- SLGGs—plug and play for the year
- October 23rd Elementary TLC Update
- Topics of Interest/Problem of Practice–New Question–Please help a colleague!
- TAG Folder of helpful things
Notes from our Team:
From Kerry Morton, Math TOSA and Coach: Math Adoption Update!
To provide more time for teachers to view the math materials, they will remain at your schools a bit longer. Work with your instructional coach to find a place and timeframe for teachers to look through the three Field Test materials over the next couple weeks.
From Life and Career Readiness (Jenny White). Principal’s here is a simple activity you can do as a connection before a staff meeting or SIW. Link to Slide along with directions on how to find this activity in Wayfinder
From Scott and Becca in Communications: Did you see the latest Family Spotlight? The newsletter is solely devoted to safety and includes a message from Dr. Cook, resources for safe firearm storage, information about SafeOregon, crisis and care resources, details about our latest safety improvements and more. It can be a go-to resource when families have questions about safety in our district. Bookmark the October 30 Family Spotlight and have it at the ready!
From Paul in Operations: Building leaders are to pause any program expansion proposals (academic, athletic and extra duty, that include some form of physical building structure, building additions, or site modification) that will impact your site/facility until further notice. We are in the process of creating internal procedures that will identify that necessary steps that will need to be taken in order to ensure compliance with regulations (i.e. Title IX, permitting, accounting), district policies, contracts and address departmental impacts.
From Kinsey in Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:
Post-Election Resources: As the presidential elections wrap up, we should anticipate and prepare to support the strong reactions, emotions, and conversations our staff, students, and families will experience. As leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure our staff are informed, equipped, and supported regarding 1) the expectations for navigating this significant moment in time in a professional manner, 2) the resources available to them as employees, and 3) the strategies for supporting students through their own processing.
Here is a message for staff—I highly recommended you send this to your staff soon. You are welcome to copy and paste this message verbatim, modify it to reflect your voice/style, or send something else. Just don’t be silent on this topic!
Equity Stance Brochures: I am going to re-print the brochure versions of our district Equity Stance. (You received one at our August administrator launch.) If you would like some for your school (ICCL team? PTA? A stack for the staff lounge?), please let me know by Nov 8th how many you need.
Holidays: Here is our policy on religion and holidays in schools. Here is our “Do not schedule” dates document. Here is a team reflection and guidance tool on holidays. Consider reviewing these at an ICCL meeting, and/or sharing with all staff.
From Scott and Kayla in Safety: We will be out of town next week, November 4th through November 7th at a conference. We will continue to monitor our emails, cell phones, and text messages to support as best as we can while out of the office. If you have any emergencies that require immediate attention, please reach out to our Chief Operations Officer, Paul Dean for immediate support.
We are happy to announce that we are now staffed with 8 School Resource Officers in the district. Our newest SRO is Officer James Ragland, who will be working out of Pilot Butte Middle School. Please use the updated SRO point of contact roster to see who your current SRO is for your school, and to reach out to any members of the SRO team for support.
Action Items
- Get going on the mini and formal observations if you are behind
- Keep Math Adoptions for a couple more weeks for staff to view
- Pause making any building modifications as a new policy is developed
- Share Kinsey’s message a.s.a.p, as Tuesday is election day!
Important Dates
- November 5: VOTE!!
- November 8: Safety Cadre Meets at the Ed Center Boardroom, 1:30-3:30
- November 11: Veteran’s Day–No School
- November 13: All Admin Meeting at Perseverance Hall, 3:00-4:30
- November 19: Horizontal meeting, @ Bear Creek, hosted by BCE and Miller, 3:00-5:00
- November 25-29 Fall Holiday Break, (if you take time off, use non-contract for all days except Thanksgiving itself)
And finally…Welcome Karen! We know you are going to feel right at home here in Bend-La Pine!
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