October 9, 2025

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

Time for a good laugh!

The Black Eyed Peas can sing us a tune, but the chick peas can only “hummus” one.

From Tammy and Karen

I saw that joke this week and laughed my head off. I hope it brought you the same chuckle it brought me!

Before we jump into the news of the week, we just wanted to take a moment and once again, wish you all a happy Principal Appreciation Month! We witness the amazing work you are all doing at your schools to bring clarity to what is taught, to build a sense of belonging for your staff, students, and families, and to share your belief in the positive impact that everyone is making on a daily basis with our students. We see you and appreciate you!

Leave sheets due: This is a friendly reminder to email Tammy, Karen, and April J your leave sheet no later than Monday, 10/13). If you are an AP, please have your principal sign before sending them our way. If you do not have any leave, we ask that you please email us to let us know you did not have any leave. If you don’t do that, we have no way of knowing who forgot to do their timesheet and who didn’t have any leave. You could also email a leave sheet with the words “no leave taken” across it if you would rather document no leave that way. Thank you!

Important Links

Notes from our Team:

From Julie in Curriculum and Instruction

Please take 5 minutes during a staff meeting for your staff to share a “nugget” they took away from Educator Network day.  We received great feedback and this is an opportunity for your staff to share what they learned with their colleagues.

It is has come to our attention that some of the center materials are defective or have broken already.  Amplify Desmos Math plans to warranty the materials for us. However, we need to know which items at which schools need replacement.  Please ask teachers to complete this form for items that are defective.

From Jennifer in Student Well Being

Educator Network Day Success for Counselors and Student Success:

We had a great turnout yesterday at HDMS. Here is the slide deck with outcomes for our trainings this year:

  • Formalize and implement a clear framework for Tier 2 & Tier 3 mental health/social emotional interventions. 
  • Establish a clear process to Identify, Match + Fit, Provide + Monitor, and Evaluate.

Waypoints open until Friday October 24th end of day. Thank you to all of you that have had your students complete the assessment. 

The K-2 formative assessment will be live for teachers on October 15th and will be open until November 21st. The assessment is only 3-4 priority standards and six questions.. For K-2, the custom Waypoints will appear in the teachers’ to-do lists on the dashboard when they log in (starting 10/15). They will be labeled Kinder Beginning of Year, 1st Beginning of Year, etc. Instructions.

Great job Summit (75%), La Pine Middle (84%), Westside Village (56%) and Buckingham (52%) for the highest completion rates for this week. Elementary will have lower completion rates as they do not have k-2 completing the assessments until October 15th.

Class of 2025 Results are in! From thousands of college applications to exciting post-grad plans, the Class of 2025 kept busy shaping their futures last year. Using SchooLinks data, we are excited to share a snapshot of their accomplishments and next steps. 💙 Check out the full story here by Jess Calbreath: secure.smore.com/n/f3z05

From Scott and Kayla in Safety: Please take a moment to review this document reminding you of the protocol for calling 8888.

From Tami Pike, Director of Health Services:

First Aid CPR Certification Required for Medication Administration

Per Administrative Policy JHCD-AP, staff who administer medication must hold current First Aid and CPR certification. Bend-La Pine Schools provides free CPR/First Aid certification and renewal training for all staff. The course includes a 4-hour online component followed by a 20-minute in-person skills check. Instructions for registering for the training can be found here.

For any questions regarding CPR/First Aid training, please contact nurse Oliver Tatom by phone at 541-355-6922 or email at [email protected]

From Kinsey – Office of Policy and Advocacy:

Dignity and Belonging: Community Engagement 

Here is the Bingo card from our leadership meeting.  Please keep a copy throughout the year that you cross out as you go.  

This spring, completed copies will go into our raffle for some great prizes!  We will share the number of leaders from each school/dept who completed the full Bingo, and celebrate the creative ways your team engaged with the community in this process.  

Community Visit #1: The Giving Plate sign-up.  The dates for this tour/visit are coming up, so sign up soon! Here is our home visit guidance.  Feel free to share with staff as applicable, and ask your Liaison or FAN Advocate if you can join their next visit.  

Election Season and Political Topics – Action Item: Please share this principal/supervisor message with your staff:

Dear staff — As election season approaches, this is a good time to revisit our expectations around political topics in our school and workplace. While this November may not bring the same intensity as a presidential election year, maintaining neutrality in our professional capacity remains essential.

Here is our policy around staff engaging in political activities.  This is a great tool outlining boundaries and appropriate use of district equipment, time, and resources in relation to election topics.  District leadership asks that each employee read the information in those links carefully. Let me know if you have any questions or need clarification.

In addition, we know students may initiate conversations about politics, candidates, or ballot measures. To help navigate these moments: Here are 10 steps for teachers to prepare, navigate, and respond to sensitive discourse.  Our district Advocacy Coaches are also available to support you in facilitating respectful and balanced discussions.

From Ryan in Human Resources

Quick Reminder: Check Your UKG To-Do List

Please take a moment this week to log into UKG and check your To-Do list.
Pending Personnel Actions (PAs) can hold up key processes like pay changes and assignment updates if they’re not approved in a timely manner.

Regularly reviewing your To-Do list,  even when you don’t expect anything pending, helps keep workflows moving smoothly and ensures your employees are set up for success without delay.

This should be done regularly, but is particularly important on and around the Payroll cutoff dates, which can be found on the Portal on the Payroll page. 

If you have any questions about what’s showing in your queue or how to clear an item, reach out to [email protected] for support.

Thank you for helping us keep things running efficiently.

Extra Duty Procedures for 2025–26

We have a number of new Extra Duty positions this year and want to make sure everyone understands the procedures for tracking, and maintaining these roles. The details below outline how schools should handle placements for the new positions, updates to existing roles, and ongoing expectations for managing extra duty assignments.

Newly Bargained Positions (Effective 25/26)
  • K–12 Green Team Advisor – Range F
  • Elementary Music Director – Range E
  • Elementary Yearbook Coordinator – Range E
  • Elementary Battle of the Books Coordinator – Range E
  • High School Link Crew
Placement Process for 25/26
  • If someone is already performing the duties of one of these new positions, please email [email protected] to have the stipend assigned no application needed this year.
    • If no one is currently performing the duties of these positions, they must be filled through a competitive process – posting, interviewing, and hiring.
  • Future changes will follow the standard extra duty process: the current person resigns, the school requests a posting, and HR processes the hire.
  • Each school is allocated 1 FTE per position.
Ongoing Procedures and Reminders
  • Start Date: All year-round extra duty positions begin on September 1; complete hires before this date to avoid prorating.
  • Automatic Roll-Forward: Positions continue year to year unless HR is notified that duties have ended.
  • Annual Verification: Each August, HR will request confirmation of who will continue in each role.
  • Step Advancement: Each year an employee holds the same position, they move one step on the extra duty salary schedule.
Google Docs Tracking
Updates to Existing Positions
  • High School Musical Directors: Formerly offered every other year, this stipend is now available annually when a musical is produced. Total FTE remains 2.0 per school.
  • HS/MS Band, Orchestra, Choir, and Drama: Stipends are no longer tied to certified FTE. Staff offering the full complement of after-hours performances receive the full 1.0 FTE stipend per school.

Questions? Reach out to [email protected]

From Triz in Human Resources

Thought I would take a moment to remind you that the due date for SLGG’s is quickly approaching.  (October 15, 2025)

Probationary and temporary certified staff and Contact staff ON & OFF the evaluation cycle should be completing this task. 

Goal Setting & Evaluation Tools:

Student Learning Growth Goals (SLGGs) (ONLY Teacher, SPED Teachers, and Teacher Librarians- all other specialists use alternate goal-setting plan):

Please let Jessica Lamay (HR Tech) and I know if you need any assistance with your evaluation google doc.  We are here to support you. Thank you!

From McScott in IT

Cyber October IT update- 

Just who is Bend-La Pine IT and what is the best way to get a hold of them? There are 30 people who work in the basement of the Education Center who represent our IT team. The document linked here shows you a little bit about what each person does and how best to reach them.

Action Items

  • Turn in Leave sheets on Friday, 10/10
  • Make time at a staff meeting for teachers to share a nugget from END
  • Check out the Tier 2 and 3 learning from counselors/SSCs and make sure your Waypoints assessments are completed on time
  • Review 8888 protocol document
  • Check to see that you meet CPR/First Aid qualifications
  • Play Bingo and Sign up for a community visit or home visit
  • Share the election message from you to your staff (pre-made in Kinsey’s section)
  • Check the UKG “To-do” section and do it
  • Read all about the Extra Duty positions. Make sure you follow the procedures for someone already in the role or hiring someone new
  • Complete SLGGs meetings by October 15.

Important Dates

  • October 12: Timesheets due
  • October 14: PLCs 1 and 2, 3:00-4:30 at (1 @ Rosland and Phly Like Canadians @ Lava Ridge)
  • October 15: SLGGs are due by today
  • October 16: TAG Admin ICCL 3:30 – 5:30 Education Center Board Room
  • October 21: PLCs 3 and 4, 3:00 – 4:30. (PL C3PO @ Silver Rail and We Are the Winners @ La Pine)
  • October 22: Elementary Safety Cadre 1:15 – 3:45 at Silver Rail Elementary
  • October 29: Teacher work day (8 hrs)   Conf. (4 hrs.) Admin will have a ½ day Amplify training on this date. (Half in the morning and half in afternoon–check your calendar invite)
  • October 30: Parent Teacher Conferences
  • October 31: No School and School Improvement Plans are due today.

And finally… Congratulations to our Next Duck Drawing winner Deborah Buduan, !

Deborah is in her third year with Bend-La Pine Schools, in the role of Principal of Rosland Elementary, one of the two elementary schools located in La Pine. If you want to see Deborah’s eyes light up, just start talking about data, as she loves meaningful and informative data that can be used to celebrate growth and identify next steps to progress the learning. The rockets are currently working through the book, Driven by Data 2.0 with some great success. Want to know more? Reach out to Deborah!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*