From Tammy and Karen
March, the month that sometimes can’t make up it’s mind. 63 degrees and flip flops one day and snow the next. The bridge between the winter doldrums and a renewed spring. May you embrace each day whatever it may bring and celebrate that our daylight will be lasting longer into the evening. Yes, that’s your reminder to “spring forward” this Sunday!
Don’t forget: All-Staff Meeting with Dr. Cook this next Thursday; Please remember to remind your staff about this optional districtwide virtual staff meeting. Links will come soon. The two time options are:
- 3:05 to 3:35 p.m. (best for elementary schedules)
- 3:50 to 4:20 p.m. (best for secondary schedules)
Youth Truth by April 30: You heard Lisa talk about this date as being the day by which we would like your sharing of Youth Truth data with your staff and families to be done. The blog 2 weeks ago had this slide deck to help guide you if you needed, as well as an email shared by Dave VanLoo this week. We are happy to help brainstorm ideas and can talk more at our site visits about this if you need.
Important Links
- State Testing Folder
- March 5th Elementary TLC Update
- Topics of Interest/Problem of Practice-Got something you want some collaboration with?
- FAQs for Special Education Inclusion Topics—Keep checking in here! BEA and BLS supported
Notes from our Team:
From Information and Instructional Technology – Scott McDonald and Karen Rush: We are forming an Instructional Technology Stakeholder group comprised of teachers, parents, students, administrators, and community members. We have great representation from district staff and community members, but are hoping to have parents from across the district and grade levels join the group. We have shared this information in the Family Spotlight but would love to see more applications! Will you please send out this notice to your school community members? Thank you! Parent Newsletter IT Stakeholder (English and Spanish)
Also from Instructional Technology, Tracy Howk and Robbie Faith: Students in grades K-8 will now find a new icon on their iPad home screen directing them to the research databases hosted on our media center websites. Utilizing carefully curated research databases, instead of generic search engines, is crucial for fostering responsible information-seeking in the vast sea of online resources. Check out Quick Access to Safe and Reliable Research for more information. If you’d like support with research projects in your classrooms, please reach out to your instructional coach or our instructional technology team, Robbie Faith and Tracy Howk.
From Social Emotional Wellness – Jennifer Hauth
What fun celebrations of teachers and schools this week with Wayfinder. Kudos to Silver Rail, who was the elementary school with the highest Wayfinder usage as a school, and Juniper’s second grade, for the highest usage as an elementary grade level team. Hearing the teachers talk about the difference it has made in their classrooms and students was really inspiring. If you are struggling with Wayfinder implementation, please reach out!
Potential Inspiring School Visit: Is your school and/or PTO interested in having a Challenged Athletes Ambassador and a Paralympic Gold Medalist speak to students about inclusivity and perseverance on Friday, May 9th? motivational speaker Rudy Garcia-Tolson is available for an uplifting talk. Contact Mark Dean, [email protected], to schedule the speaker. Rudy’s visit is partially subsidized by the Challenges Athlete’s Foundation so he would ask for a donation of their choice from the schools he speaks at.
From Sean Reinhart in Student Services, Re: High Needs Funds When you received your school’s 25/26 discretionary funds dashboard last week, you may have noticed that the line item called “High needs” is no longer in your budget. Several years ago, the Student Services department transferred funds from our discretionary budget and placed them directly into each school’s discretionary budget. The intent was to allow you to procure 70 hours of substitute EA time quickly and without having to go through our office. For next year, we have decided to hold those funds in our discretionary budget. When the need arises and you need extra staffing support due to new student move-ins, etc., please reach out to Student Services Admin and we will collaborate with your team to provide support. Please reach out with any questions.
Action Items
- Don’t forget Dr. Cook’s districtwide staff meeting, 3:05 or 3:50
- Start planning when and how you are going to be sharing Youth Truth information with your staff and families.
- Share the request with families to have representation on the Technology stakeholder team
Important Dates
- March 11: Horizontal Meeting 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at Pine Ridge hosted by PRE and NSE
- March 13: 3:05 or 3:50—Take 30 minutes to participate in the All Staff Update with Dr. Cook
- March 19: Elementary Safety Cadre, 1:30-3:30–Silver Rail Library
- March 24-28: The long awaited Spring Break!
And finally…
