From Tammy and Karen
May is here and from this point on it will feel like so much to do and so little time to get it done! I took a peek at the weather forecast and we are in for a beautiful change with at least 10 days of sunshine and high 70s! As a great mindfulness exercise, take a moment each day during arrival, recess duty, dismissal, or any other time to enjoy the feeling of warm sun on your face, the smell of blooming flowers, and the sounds of children playing! So much joy in the world!
We believe it is important to update you on upcoming certified staffing changes within the TLC department due to budget cuts. At this time, we have reduced our elementary instructional coaching staff by one position and our district mentoring staff by 1.5 positions. This represents a loss of over 20%. Like many of you, we are feeling the weight of these reductions and are doing our best to adapt for the coming year.
Consequently, our current instructional coaching and mentoring models will need to be reimagined. We are currently developing a plan to navigate these changes and will communicate exactly what support will look like for your schools next year. This plan will be shared with you before you leave for summer break.
As we finalize our strategy, we are carefully prioritizing several factors, including K-2 Early Literacy, Math GEN, and blended classroom support. If you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to reach out to Julie.
Important Links
- April 22nd Elementary TLC Update
- Special EDge (April 30 Edition)
- BLS School Libraries Newsletters!
- 1-Page Student Management guide
- Dates to recognize groups
- CPI Trained Staff List (let Sara Young know if you see staff who are not at your school)
Notes from our Team:
From Scott and the team in Information Technology:
We wanted to share a quick note about web filtering and content blocking. Our system does a strong job of protecting students from the less appropriate parts of the internet. That said, no system is perfect—some content (especially games) may occasionally get through. When that happens, staff play an important role in helping us respond quickly.
If you come across a site that should be blocked, please copy the URL and submit it through a Web Help Desk ticket. Select “Software and Services” and then “Website Filtering.”
There are two reporting options available—please reserve “High Risk” for situations involving student safety.
Alternatively, you can work with your building’s Client Services representative or contact the Help Desk at x1200.
From the Educational Technology Team:
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, introduced a new version of their product, designed specifically for educators, and it is now available to all BLS staff by request. It includes expanded capabilities, higher usage limits, and protections for professional use in education, going beyond what is available in a standard free ChatGPT account. You can find details about access, best practices for use, and how it fits alongside MagicSchool in our EdTech blog post: ChatGPT for Teachers. Please feel free to share with your staff.
From Eric Powell, Student Support
For ALL Administrators: Please take a moment to review the “Incident Approval Queue” in Synergy for your school (you can access this via a Quick Launch search).
We currently have 485 incidents waiting to be approved via this queue (district-wide) with some occurring all the way back in September – And our Administrators are the ones who need to approve/deny these incidents.
If you are unfamiliar with the Incident Approval Queue, please call Eric Powell (4810) and he can help you out.
From Jennifer Hauth, Student Wellbeing
Please remind your teams about implementing the Waypoints Core Skills assessment for the end of the year summative😊 K-5 closes May 22nd and Secondary closes May 28th!
From Robi Cole:
From Tami Pike, Director of School Health
Action Items
- Check out the incident approval queue in Synergy
- Plan for Middle School Bypass Assessment for identified students
- Identify which admin will attend the Karen Mapp training on May 21, from 8-12
- Correct school discipline audit data–if you do it now, you have less to do at the end!
Important Dates
- May 1: Asian Family Night
- May 4 – 8: Teacher (Staff) Appreciation Week
- May 11: Phly Like Canadians at Lava Ridge 3:30 to 4:30
- May 12: Horizontal Meeting, 3:00-4:30 at Pine Ridge Elementary
- May 13: All Admin PD at Mt. View High School from 3:00-4:30, (note the change of venue due to the next event)
- May 13: Excellence in Education—plan on attending to honor your two staff—at Mt. View
- May 14: Latino Family Night and KínderFiesta
- May 19: PLC1 Meeting at Westside Village 3:00 to 4:30
- May 25: Memorial Day Holiday, no School
- May 26: PLC3PO at Silver Rail and We are the Winners at Bear Creek 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
- May 28: School Design Plan Showcase 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
- June 15: End of Year Administrator Celebration
And finally… Congratulations to our Next Duck Drawing winner Marc Zollinger!
Marc is the Principal at Bear Creek Elementary! He began his career as a high school Spanish teacher, and his fluency in Spanish continues to be a tremendous asset—especially in supporting Bear Creek’s Dual Immersion program and building meaningful connections with students and families. Marc brings a strong equity lens to his work, consistently advocating for students at his school and beyond. Marc joined Bend-La Pine Schools after serving as an administrator in the Reynolds School District, so he is a fairly recent transplant to Central Oregon. As a dad of two young sons who attend elementary school in BLS, and the husband of a BLS science teacher, Marc is a busy guy who is always on the go and shows a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm for learning! Marc, let us know your beverage of choice and we will deliver!
