Which leadership team are these babies? Send your guess to Karen to be entered into a drawing for a giant Chocolate Bar prize to be awarded at Horizontal!
From Tammy and Karen
Happy Last Day of School!
This has always been both my favorite and my least favorite day of the school year. As a principal, I loved the celebrations, promotions, parties, outdoor activities, and the hugs from students. I also looked forward to the quiet that followed—a few days to catch my breath and sift through the stacks of papers that had accumulated on my desk throughout the year.
At the same time, it was my least favorite day because of all the goodbyes. We all have those students who are especially hard to see head out the door for the last time. They are the ones we think about all summer, hoping they return in the fall. Saying goodbye to our fifth graders can be particularly bittersweet. Some of them arrived with a mouthful of baby teeth, and before we know it, they are walking out our doors ready for their next adventure.
And then there are the colleagues. We grow accustomed to seeing one another every day, sharing challenges, celebrations, caffeine connections, and countless ordinary moments that become meaningful over time. Knowing that some will be moving on to other schools, new roles, or new adventures makes this season of transition especially poignant.
Goodbyes have never come easily to me because relationships are what I treasure most. They are the heart of this work and the reason so many moments stay with us long after the school year ends. As you reflect on these final days, what memory from this year still makes you smile, laugh, or feel grateful? Which student, colleague, or family has left a lasting imprint on you? What goodbye feels especially difficult?
Perhaps the gift of this day is that it reminds us that endings matter because relationships matter. While this school year is coming to a close, the impact we have had on one another does not end here. The encouragement we offered, the lessons we learned together, and the connections we built continue to ripple forward in ways we may never fully see.
As we head into summer, let’s carry with us gratitude for what was and hope for what is still to come. The people who have touched our lives this year become part of our story, and in many ways, the best parts of this year will continue growing long after the last bus leaves!
Important Links
- June 3rd Elementary TLC Update
- Special EDge! (June 11th 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 Julie, Curriculum and Instruction
Reminder from February 23rd: Budget Request
As you all wrap up your budgeting by Wednesday, Karen, Julie and I have one request. We are starting to see the hard work everyone is doing with the K-2 Literacy project, gaining some momentum and we are seeing changes in winter Dibels data like we have not seen in years. For example, as noted in the TLC blog last week, Kindergarten data is seeing double digit improvements at this time of the year compared to years past. Now is not the time to take our foot off the gas if we truly want to make a difference for our kids.
That is where your budget comes in. This coming year, the budget that has paid for the bulk of this work is no longer available for everything we are doing. So, before we even have momentum to carry us forward, we are at risk of losing some programming that got us here. We need you to add a line item in your budget for District K-2 Literacy Subs. Looking through all the SIF plans for this year, most of you budgeted subs for certified workdays, so since SIF funds are now wrapped up in your discretion (forgot that? Read the Blog, 2/5) we thought this would be a good place to set aside some of your funds for that work.
Plan to set aside the following depending on what cohort your school is in:
Budget $325 a day for subs. 2 days $1950, 1 day $975
Cohort 1: 2 days for one K, one 1st, one 2nd (PRE, HLD, ROS, LPE, PON, LRE, BUC)
Cohort 2: 2 days for one K, one 1st, one 2nd (NSE, SRE, EME, REJ, ENS, JUN, BCE)
Cohort 3: 1 day for one K, one 1st, one 2nd (TRE, HLE, WEM, ACE)
We know this is a big ask and don’t take this ask lightly. We also know that together we can make a difference and prioritizing our students’ learning to read is paramount to their future success.
Thanks for your help!
From Triz in Human Resources
Finalizing your Summative Evaluations? Please remember the following steps to assist HR.
To allow HR to have access to all of the required pieces of the evaluative process, files must be dropped into the HR provided Google folders, in addition to being linked into the workbook.
What happens if you don’t? Files are not accessible to HR and we have the potential of losing data.
If they are only shared in the spreadsheet without residing in the folders it is possible the files may get lost.
If you need technical assistance in accessing any of the documents or folders/workbook shared again, please reach out to Jessica Lamay.
Thank you all so much, for your continued help in making staff evaluations successful!
From Kinsey – Office of Policy & Advocacy
Formal Complaints: -Action required-
Please go into your Dashboard and ensure you have completed your investigations and communication about each complaint or bias incident in your Dashboard. Be sure to mark it as “Resolved By School” when you have included notes, links/attachments, and other documentation. Reach out if you need support.
CFEE:
We have a last-minute opening for the week-long CFEE (racial equity workshop that all of Cabinet and many of our leaders have attended). June 22-26 in Salem, expenses covered. If you’re interested or know someone who is, reach out asap—first come first served.
Community Engagement Bingo: -Action requested-
Time for prizes! Want to win a gift card ($25-$49.99) to places like El Sancho, Spork, downtown shops like Almadorada Coffee, and more?
If you attended any of the community visits and/or did a home visit this year, please note that here so we can celebrate your leadership and enter you into the raffle. For each Bingo square you completed, your chances of winning will go up! We’ll draw names at our June 15 admin lunch.
From Eric Powell- Student Services
As you continue to review your end-of-the-year discipline audits (based on previous guidance from IT), please do not hesitate to call or Email me with any Incidents that are being flagged as having errors. I plan to spend time next week reviewing audits district-wide and I can help correct any ‘issues’ to help you finish the year. I know you all have so many things going on right now, so please do not hesitate to reach out!! These audits must be completed before you check out for the year.
Action Items
- Upload all Safety Committee meeting minutes into google drive shared folder
- Send in your timesheets for the end of year (2 for June)
- Complete all Discipline audits before checking out for the summer.
- Title 1 schools- be sure to check in with Tammy before checking out for the summer.
- Resolve all investigations and complaints in the smartsheet system before checking out for the summer.
- Here is the sign about office hours over the summer.
Important Dates
- June 12. Last day for most staff—progress reports due by 3:15
- June 15: End of Year Administrator Celebration (and lunch!), High Desert Middle school 11:30-1:00
- June 16: End of year Elementary Leadership Literacy Review and Celebration 3:00 – 4:30 @ Crux Fermentation Project
- June 19: Juneteenth Holiday!
- August 11, 12, 13: Leadership Launch at Caldera
- August 18: Elementary Horizontal all day at the new Central Deschutes County Library
And finally… Congratulations to our LAST (but not least) Duck Drawing winner, Jessica Scott!
Jess Scott is our newly hired Principal of W.E. Miller Elementary! Jess has been a teacher, Student Services Coordinator, Assistant Principal at Juniper, and over the last year has been an Administrator sub across multiple schools. She has been the Interim Assistant Principal at Miller since this winter and the staff is absolutely thrilled that she will be continuing as the Principal starting in July! The mom of two girls, and a care provider for her parents, she stays busy traveling to water polo tournaments and getting ready to move into her new home. Jess is a native of Bend, but you should never follow her directions to a location because she is known for never taking the most direct route! Sounds like a great explorer to me! Congratulations Jess and let us know your drink of choice.
