Category Archives: Uncategorized

October 2, 2025

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From Tammy and Karen

Optimism is important in our work because it helps us see challenges as opportunities rather than roadblocks. When we approach problems with a hopeful mindset, we stay open to creative solutions, build resilience in the face of setbacks, and inspire confidence in those around us. Optimism doesn’t mean ignoring difficulties—it means choosing to focus on possibilities and progress, which creates the energy and motivation needed to move forward together. We encourage you to print the October Optimism Challenge and use it as a simple way to inject some optimism into every day!

Conference Information:

With conferences quickly approaching, we have several topics to go over concerning this time of the year.  

Conference Length Expectations:  In past partnership with the BEA, we landed on the following information.  If a teacher has 25 or less students, their conferences need to be between 25-30 minutes to accommodate for transition times as needed (25 min gives time for a quick restroom break, time in case one goes longer, etc.).  If a teacher has 26 or more students, their conferences can be 20 minutes, giving the teacher the ability to have a few longer ones as well as including transition times if needed.  

How we conference:  The following link to staff is a mutually developed message from Bend-La Pine and BEA that needs to be copied and pasted into your staff newsletter regarding the parameters around “how” we conference.  Following the letter to staff is a link for a family letter you can use to send to your families explaining what may happen if they choose to go on a vacation during conference times. 

Link to message for teaching staff

Letter to Families re: leaving during conferences.  Using this letter is at your discretion.  

Interpreters: Principals, work with your office team to submit your requests for interpreters ASAP via Linguist Link (do not rely on CAFE members at this point–they should be used for back-up only).  Language Specialists and Family Liaisons can help coordinate languages and appointments.  On conference nights, a front-office staff member needs to be available to support interpreters (direct them to their assignment location, clarify scheduling or meeting access info, etc).  

School supply message to share at conferences: We’ll discuss this further at some point, but for now: Ahead of conferences, feel free to share this message with your families via your upcoming school communications and/or with your PTO/PTA.  

Reminder: Teachers have been registering for the October 8th Educator Network Day.  You can see where your teachers are signing up for here. Please ask your teachers to register if they haven’t yet even if they plan to stay at their school site. Please review last week’s blog for information about locations and tasks for your school. If you have any questions please let us know!

Important Links

Notes from our Team:

From Lisa Birk, Deputy Superintendent

  • Yearly Evaluation Notification: All staff members should be notified annually as to what evaluation cycle they are on and what they can expect to experience regarding eval process. We believe most of you, as site administrators, already have this practice in place but if you don’t and you need some templates, please feel free to use the e-mail templates listed below. This is also a good time to notify the member if you plan to address any standard that is not part of the abbreviated list in their End-of-Year evaluation. Questions on your list of staff? Reach out to Triz and Jessica Lamay- they have been coming to sites to walk admin through the tools as needed. Annual Evaluation Notification Templates
  • Admin ALL PD: Take a moment and complete the feedback form for our Admin PD yesterday. Go ahead and list me ([email protected]) as the facilitator and call it Admin ALL PD 10/1.

From Kinsey in the 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.  

From Human Resources

We are excited to announce the first iteration of mid-year orientation and onboarding for new hires, beginning Thursday, October 23 and continuing every other Thursday for the remainder of the year.

These sessions are designed to ensure our new employees enter their roles feeling confident, connected, and supported. Each orientation will include:

  • Payroll, Human Resources, and Policy: An overview of organizational practices and role-specific information.
  • IT Support: Small group time to set up single sign-on and other key systems.
  • Union Introductions: Opportunities to hear from OSEA or BEA, if their position is represented.
  • Role-Specific Training: A half-day dedicated to job-specific skills and expectations.
    • For school-based staff, Level Leaders will take the lead on this portion.
    • For non-school-based staff, HR has collaborated with Directors, Assistant Directors, and Supervisors to develop tailored plans.

Important Note: All candidates who accept a position after Friday, October 10 will not be permitted to start work until they have attended one of these orientations.

This new process reflects our shared goal of ensuring that every employee starts their journey with Bend-La Pine Schools on strong footing, well-prepared to contribute and thrive. Thank you for supporting this important step in welcoming our newest colleagues. Please connect with Ryan with any questions.

Evaluation Rosters

As we keep cruising through staffing updates, your Evaluation Rosters might not be perfectly up to date yet. If you spot anyone who shouldn’t be on your site list—or someone who’s missing—please email Jessica Lamay with the names to remove/add. Thank you!

What “ON-cycle” means

Contract staff marked ON-cycle were flagged because either:

  • we do NOT have a finalized summative in UKG from last year (24-25), or
  • they’re returning to the regular schedule from the 2023–24 cycle.

If something looks off, it’s often because last year’s steps weren’t fully finalized and the item is still pending in the system.

Quick checklist (2 minutes!)

  1. Open UKG → To Do and complete/submit any evaluation steps sitting at your stage.
  2. If an assignment still looks incorrect, reach out to Jessica Lamay and Triz so we can verify and update as appropriate. We appreciate you helping us keep everything clean and current—your attention here makes the whole process smoother for staff and students. 🙌

Linking Files:

Once you’ve dropped your files into the shared site folders  

Please be sure to link them into the correct column of your workbook. 

See steps in the samples below:

  1. Click to select the file you are attaching in the workbook.
  2. Click the ‘chain link’ icon to copy the link to that file -OR- Ctrl/Command+C.
  1. Click on the ‘File Chip’ in the corresponding row and column for that employee/eval piece. Ctrl/Command+V -OR- Right mouse click, then click Paste, to attach the file.
  2. Tab -OR- click on the file name pop-up (as above) to complete the attachment.
  3. File is attached.

.

From Julie Richards, Curriculum and Instruction

This year the decision has been made to adjust progress monitoring requirements.  Please review 25-26 Progress Monitoring Guidelines and share with staff members. You will receive an email with a spreadsheet that lists who/what to progress monitor.  Click on your school tab.  Students who score 0-10th percentile are monitored 2x per month and 11-20th are monitored 1x per month using acadience progress monitoring materials.  If the spreadsheet indicates “NONE” that means you do not have any students in that grade level below the 20th percentile.  A school can choose to monitor additional students. ROAR is given as a benchmark: September, January and June.  It can be given as a progress monitor in November and March.  More information on when that window will open as we get closer to the date.  

You will also receive a the spreadsheet that indicates students who will need an SB1003 (aka Dyslexia screener) parent letter to be given at conferences.  Please share this with the classroom teachers and anyone that supports making the copies and filling out the letters.

From Educational Technology

Upcoming Change: Grade-Level Data Access in Core Applications

Next week, teachers will begin seeing new grade-level “all students” classes in Clever and our core instructional applications. These classes were created with input from instructional coaches to give teachers quick access to grade-level data for collaboration and planning.

For administrators, the key impact is that this update also unlocks student-level data in Amplify – something not yet available within the platform itself. This provides a short-term solution until Amplify rolls out their own data-access features later this year.

This change will go live on Wednesday, October 8th, so that teachers have access to this new class and data in time for Educator Network Day that afternoon. The message below will be shared with teachers in the TLC blog that morning.

Teacher Message – shared October 8th in TLC Update

Starting October 8, you’ll have access to grade-level data for all students in your grade,not just your homeroom. This change was developed with input from instructional coaches and in response to teacher requests, making it easier to review scores and plan during grade-level meetings.

In addition to your homeroom, a new class will appear in Clever and other core applications that includes all students at your grade level across the school. For example, if you teach 4th grade at Juniper, you’ll see a class titled Juniper – All 4th Grade Students.

Both your homeroom and grade-level classes will appear in each application, including Acadience, RGR, DreamBox, Amplify, Lexia, and ILC — with Forefront to follow. When creating assignments or assigning other digital content, be sure to select your homeroom class so materials go only to your students. Each application makes it easy to switch between classes when needed.

From Facility Operations

Annual school fire inspections start next week. Bend Fire & Rescue will begin its annual fire inspections October 9 for all schools in the city’s coverage area – everything but our Sunriver and La Pine schools. The Bend city fire inspections are scheduled to run through November 7. Jim Scott, Building Services Manager for Bend-La Pine Schools, will notify each school’s principal and office manager of its inspection date the week prior.

There is also an Open House on October that you may want to share with families! Click HERE for the flyer!

From Eric Powell, Student Support

If an Administrator at your site does not have Synergy discipline access (to enter Minor or Major incidents into the discipline module), would you please Email Eric Powell to let them know who needs access to the discipline module in Synergy? 

We are working with IT to schedule a discipline module training for any administrator who needs this access and want to determine whom to invite to this potential training.

If you don’t know what the “discipline module” in Synergy is, then you probably need this!

From Informational Technology: It is Cyber October once again!

Beginning next week look for tech info, tips and tricks both in the blog and in your email as we recognize Cyber October.

We will also be bringing back the “Phishing Derby” with some even bigger prizes for reporting suspicious emails.  

Action Items

  • Review and share information about conferences with teachers and families
  • Remind your teachers to sign up for their Educator Network Day class!
  • Check your evaluation roster for accuracy and follow the steps from Triz to complete last year!
  • Send information about Evaluation Cycles to teachers
  • Take a moment and complete the feedback form for our Admin PD yesterday.
  • Let Eric Powell know if an admin at your site needs access to the discipline module in Synergy.

Important Dates

  • October 1-2: Yom Kippur–no evening activities
  • October 7: Elementary Leadership Meeting, 3:00 – 4:30 at Education Center Board Room
  • October 8: First Educator Network Day: See the information above on 9/25 Blog
  • 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, Laci Fisher!

Laci is the Assistant Principal at Lava Ridge. Laci always has a smile on her face and brings a lot of joy and energy to any space she enters! She is a busy mom of active kids and is going all the time! We wonder how she does it all– caffeine maybe? Laci, let us know your drink of choice and we will deliver this next week!

September 24, 2025

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Staff are having fun and connecting with families in all sorts of different ways, whether you are the Silver Rail PE and Music teachers directing morning traffic, or the High Lakes SRO being attacked by a herd of kittens while reminding families of our pet policy on campus, families love to see staff enjoying what they do. Thank you!!

Reminder, if you are out and about this Saturday and are looking for something to do, or are fascinated with the history of Old Bend, stop by the Ed Center’s 100th Birthday party this weekend! You are sure to learn something you didn’t already know about this old lovable building (plus there are treats and great music by our own students and staff!)

From Tammy and Karen

Our next round of site visits start this coming week! We are looking forward to seeing you all as we will be coming together this time (Karen, Tammy, and Julie when available). Here is our agenda:

The first Educator Network Day is quickly approaching (October 8). As you can see in this list of available topics, most of your schools will be hosting a session (or 2) that staff can choose to attend. (Deborah, please head over to LPE to support that session with Megan. Tim (and Lorin unless you are doing secondary), please head over to Pine Ridge to support one of the two sessions there. Trevor and Carl please head to Jewell and support one of the two sessions there.) Thanks for your help and support that day. Here is what we need you all (Principals and Assistant Principals) to do:

  • Arrive on time to the session
  • Support the people teaching the session at your site. You can see who they are here.
  • Make sure all staff get signed in and accounted for.
  • Actively participate the entire time of the session (we are modeling what we expect of the staff and will learn along the way as well). Thank you!

Important Links

Notes from our Team:

Reminders from Kayla and Scott B in Safety

CALL FOR RAPTOR PHOTOS & SUCCESS STORIES

The Safety Team has been asked to present at a national conference on best practices for visitor management. If you have any success stories of using Raptor (custom alerts, large events, etc), please share them with us. We would really appreciate the opportunity to highlight our schools’ amazing work. So far, we have only had two schools share with us! 

STAS & SIRC Training 

  • All new admin and counselors have been asked to attend one of the 8-hour sessions. REGISTER HERE. 
  • Training dates are:
    • Thursday, October 2 -Mountain View High School 
    • Monday, October 6- Pacific Crest Middle School

If you have any questions reach out to Lillah Lehner ([email protected]) 

From Kinsey in the Office of Policy and Advocacy:

Religion and Holidays: -Action Items

Please share this policy with your staff.  I recommend asking your staff to review and following up in particular with your Music teachers and those planning holiday events.

Here is the “Do Not Schedule” document of cultural and holidays, updated with 25-26, 26-27, and now the 27-28 dates.  Be sure your office staff and those who plan events and activities have this updated version.  

Here (scroll down to October) are student-facing materials on Halloween and costumes.  

From Transportation. Reminder: Please share with your staff—Transportation staff are allowed to enter the building to use the bathroom, if they are wearing their BLP id. They are not required to walk around to the front of the building and “check in”.  Please direct them to the nearest staff bathroom by the bus entrance.  Thank you!!

From Maintenance: We’d ask that schools submit work order for keys, locks or any other maintenance issues at a school.  You can find a link to it on the Staff Portal>right hand column> toward the bottom>Hero HQ.

The benefit to the person who submits the request (it can be any staff member), is that they get to see the updates as maintenance staff addresses it.  In addition, it allows our maintenance department to track and analyze the work being performed by our staff.

As an FYI, here is our Maintenance Department Structure and staff responsibilities. Enjoy!

From Jennifer in Student Well Being

Please see the updated Outside Behavioral Health Memo that discusses our approved behavioral health and case management providers, as well as, attendance codes.

Great job Pacific Crest, Bend High, Highland and Three Rivers for the highest completion rates so far!! 

If you want to see the classroom/advisory completion rates for your school, you can follow these steps to view Waypoints completions rates by class:

  1. Switch to your School Admin role (see How to Change Your Role). If you do not see a System Admin role, please email Austin James to have this setup for you.
  2. Click on “Waypoints” from the left-hand navigation menu
  3. On the Waypoints page, select “Summative” on the left-hand side
  4. In the Completion Rate box, you can view the overall completion percentage across the whole school
  5. To view the completion percentage by class, click on the “View Details” button in the Completion Rate box

Action Items

  • Need something to do Saturday? Ed Center has a 100th birthday party!
  • Remind your teachers to sign up for their Educator Network Day class starting Friday
  • Got a Raptor Success story? Share with Kayla Martin in Safety
  • Are you new and need STAS/SIRC training? Sign up!
  • Share the policies on religion and holidays with your staff, esp with the holidays on the horizon
  • Make sure staff know to let transportation staff in the building to use the restroom without having to go up front and sign in (only if they are wearing their id)
  • Remember if you need something from maintenance, you need to submit work orders.
  • Share attendance codes with office staff

Important Dates

  • October 1: All Admin PD 3:00- 4:30 at Perseverance Hall
  • October 1-2: Yom Kippur–no evening activities
  • October 7: Elementary Leadership Meeting, 3:00 – 4:30 at Education Center Board Room
  • October 8: First Educator Network Day: See the information above on 9/25 Blog
  • 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, Kate Donegan!

Kate is the Principal at Ensworth and this is her second year in Bend-La Pine Schools. Prior to that, Kate worked in the West Linn-Wilsonville SD for many years where she held several different positions. Her background in Special Education brings a focus and belief that all students, regardless of their circumstances can achieve and grow when given the opportunities to do so. You can also catch her running the trails around Bend and loving on her family, including a (not so shy anymore) Aussie dog. Kate, let us know your drink of choice and we will deliver this next week!

September 18, 2025

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The above quote comes from Ann Morriss and you can hear it in it’s context in this quick (11 min) and inspiring TED talk. Thank you Michelle Wilson for passing on this gem of wisdom and opportunity to take a different perspective on solving problems one step at a time.

From Tammy and Karen

A quick shout out and thank you to PLCs 1 and 2 this week. We had a great time facilitating your groups and watching you start to come together as a PLC, connect as colleagues to bounce around ideas, and grow into friends to share the ups and downs with. PLCs 3 and 4 will be meeting this next Tuesday and we look forward to doing it all again with you!

We will soon be sending out the next round of site visit sign ups and this time we will be coming to visit you together. When you get the link, please put it on the urgent and important quadrant of priorities, as they start on September 29!

Important Links

Notes from our Team:

From Andrea in Human Resources

Certified Personal Leave Request Process Change

Human Resources is making a change to how certified employee personal leave requests are processed for the 2025-26 school year. 

Historically, HR has been responsible for approval / denial of all certified employee personal leave requests. This created an unnecessary step for both sites and HR, especially since the BEA collective bargaining agreement does not require it.  

Beginning this school year, HR review will only be required when a certified employee personal leave request falls within the restricted time frames outlined in the BEA contract. 

Approval or denial of all personal leave requests that are outside of the restricted timeperiods will be the responsibility of building principals. Please familiarize yourself with the criteria outlined in Article 7.8 regarding Personal Leave and ensure these guidelines are followed when processing requests. 

  1. Personal Leave

7.8.1      The District recognizes that a Certified Employee may need time off for personal reasons. Two (2) working days paid leave of absence may be used as personal leave. If a bargaining unit Certified Employee works less than ninety-five (95) workdays (not including unpaid leave), the District shall provide only one (1) day of personal leave. Personal leave may be used for personal reasons if a qualified substitute is available. Personal leave may also be used for the employee’s illness/injury and the illness/injury of the employee’s immediate family. Personal leave shall be used in increments of at least four (4) hours when a substitute is required by the district. If a substitute is not required by the district or if the district approves internal coverage, personal leave shall be used in increments of one (1) hour. Certified employees scheduled for less than eight (8) hours in a particular workday will not have personal leave deducted more than the number of hours scheduled.

7.8.2      No more than five percent (5%) of the bargaining unit Certified Employees in a school or two (2) bargaining unit Certified Employees, whichever is greater, may take personal leave on a given day. The Superintendent or their designee may make exceptions due to unusual or highly extenuating circumstances. Exceptions made by the Superintendent, or their designee will not be revoked.

7.8.3      Leave shall not be taken during the first week of the students’ school year, the last week of the semester/trimester or the last two weeks of the school year. Leave shall not be taken during parent conference days. The Superintendent or their designee may make exceptions due to unusual or highly extenuating circumstances. Exceptions made by the Superintendent, or their designee will not be revoked.

7.8.4      The District will not rescind personal leave once approved by the Human Resources Department or Superintendent/designee.

7.8.5      The District will allow the following options for the use of personal leave:

7.8.5.1   Certified employees will be allowed to bank up to two (2) days of unused personal leave for future use, but no more than four (4) days of personal leave (two current year personal leave and two banked personal leave) will be available in any given year.

7.8.5.2   Reimburse Certified employees for unused personal leave up to two (2) days at the daily sub rate of pay. The District shall provide Certified employees payment within thirty (30) days of the last workday of the contract year.

We shared this information with Office Managers on Friday, September 5, along with some more detailed instructions. Please reach out with any questions. We hope this change will help make the process easier and more efficient for everyone!

Reminders from Kayla in Safety

STAS & SIRC Training 

This week, an invitation to attend a training about Student Threat Assessment went to all new hires who are likely to be involved in this process at your site (Admin, Counselors, Psychs, etc.). Participants can choose one of two training days (October 2 or October 6). Training will be from 8-4 and lunch will be provided. If you yourself, or you have a staff member who you believe should participate, please simply sign up using THIS LINK. Questions? Contact Scott or Kayla in Safety.  

  • All new admin and counselors have been asked to attend one of the 8-hour sessions. REGISTER HERE.
  • Training dates are:
    • Thursday, October 2 -location TBD 
    • Monday, October 6- Pacific Crest Middle School 

Safety Cadre Invites have been sent out. Reach out if you have been missed. 

  • Dates are October 22, December 3, March 11, April 29 
  • Secondary will be 8:00-9:30am, Elementary will be 1:30pm-3:00pm

*8888 Extension Reminder 

  • When schools have an incident, we want to send a friendly reminder to use the *8888 voicemail. See handout attached you can share with any admin and front office staff. Handout here. 

From Kinsey in the Office of Policy and Advocacy:

Complaints: Recommended action item: 

Please go into your Complaints Dashboard and ensure you have either resolved the incidents submitted to date or are actively working on them.  (Looking for your Dashboard?  See my email titled “Complaints” sent Aug 14.)   

Take time with your admin team to notice trends so far: what is and isn’t showing up in your dashboard?  How is complaint response going for your team?  What feedback or opportunities are showing up there?  If you have questions about complaint process, timelines, etc, reach out.

From Lisa our Deputy Superintendent

Action Needed: Tier I Start-of-Year Check-In

Please take some time with your ICCL team to complete the survey below before the end of the day on October 3rd. The survey should be done together as a team (one survey per school) and will help the Task Force understand the roll-out of Tier I processes across the district. The Task Force will use this information in our first meeting together to recognize bright spots across the district, share trends back to our educator groups, understand consistency, and identify areas that may need more support as we move forward. You can access the survey using THIS LINK.

Amplify Math Update:

A few weeks ago Kerry Morton forwarded an email to be shared with kindergarten teachers regarding missing items from their Center Kits.  Amplify Desmos Math had a delay in their production, so we will not receive those for another 7-10 days.  Please alert your kindergarten teachers that items are delayed. If they need the items immediately, they can find the pdfs in the Unit Prep Packet (log into Amplify before clicking on the link). 

From Sara in the Student Services Department:

Questions regarding this? Please reach out to Sara Young, who can answer your question or help facilitate a team to problem-solve.

From Jennifer in Student Well Being

The required Waypoints summative assessment is now open for 3-12! The K-2 teacher observed will be ready October 1st. 

o    3-5 Implementation Guide

o    Admin Tutorial Video

Please review the help documents, from blog #2.

Please make sure that all teachers understand the “Why” behind the assessment and that the student results will help us to identify intervention skill building groups. Teachers need to read the instructions from the implementation guides to the students. This will ensure that we get quality data to inform interventions. Wayfinder will also recommend additional skill building activities based on what students in their specific classroom need.

Guest Speakers in the school: If your school is considering an outside speaker or organization for a classroom presentation or assembly, please submit a Guest Speaker Application at least three weeks before the event (instructions, application) . If you have any questions about the application process, please reach out to Dean Richards. All outside speakers and organizations must be vetted by district leadership to ensure they align with our curriculum and support programs.

Through Adi’s Act, the district has significantly invested in our Sources of Strength Peer Leader programs at our secondary schools, including funding for extended contract stipends and a site budget for activities.

To plan school-wide assemblies and activities that promote a positive school climate and culture, please collaborate with your Sources of Strength adult advisors, public health specialist, or district advocacy coach. (elementary counselors are our Sources contacts)

You can also partner with your public health specialist and/or district advocacy coach to review data from your School Health Improvement Process (SHIP) and Youth Truth surveys that are tied to student needs.Additional resources, such as the belonging curriculum and activity library in Wayfinder or materials from our advocacy coaches, are also available for planning ideas.

Action Items

  • Have you completed your Safe Schools yet? Has your staff? There was another one that just showed up, so double check if you think you are done. Due October 31 
  • Did you catch the new change with personal leave?
  • All signed up for safety cadre dates if your are the appointed admin at your school?
  • Are you new and need STAS/SIRC training?
  • Check your Dashboard for any complaints you need to resolve or update–check even if you don’t think you have any…just in case! (Kinsey’s Aug 14 email for directions)
  • Alert your K teachers about the Amplify Center Kits delay.
  • Calendar time for your ICCL team to take the survey shared by Lisa by the end of the day on Oct 3.
  • Make sure that your staff give the Waypoints assessments within the assessment window

Important Dates

  • September 23: PLCs 3 and 4, 3:00-4:30 (PLC 3 @ Ponderosa and PLC 4 at Elk Meadow)
  • September 22-24: Rosh Hashanah–no scheduling of evening events on these days.
  • October 1: All Admin PD 3:00- 4:30 at Perseverance Hall
  • October 7: Elementary Leadership Meeting, 3:00 – 4:30 at Education Center Board Room
  • October 14: PLCs 1 and 2, 3:00-4:30 at (1 @ Rosland and 2 @ Lava Ridge)
  • October 16: TAG Admin ICCL 3:30 – 5:30 Education Center Board Room
  • October 21: PLCs 3 and 4, 3:00 – 4:30
  • 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.
  • October 30: Parent Teacher Conferences
  • October 31: No School

And finally… Congratulations to our Next Duck Drawing winner, Dan Wolnick!

Dan is the Principal at Juniper. He has held several positions at BLS at the elementary and middle levels and is a resident expert on creating and maintaining a positive school culture and technology integration. You can also catch him riding the trails on his bike, hiking the PCT, or summiting the Dolomites in Italy! Dan, let us know your drink of choice and we will deliver this next week!

September 11, 2025

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Take a moment and notice: your dignity is never something you have to prove. It doesn’t hinge on what others think of you, the roles you hold, or your achievements — your worth is built in. How might you honor that dignity in your own life today? Perhaps by speaking truthfully in a hard conversation, setting a boundary that reflects your values, or simply resting when you need rest, knowing you deserve it.

From Tammy and Karen

We have been enjoying our site visits and have been impressed with how well the school year is starting at each of your schools! Great learning happening in classrooms, and lots of smiles all around! Hooray!

We are getting a jump start on SLGGs (Student Learning Growth Goals) this year, in an effort to have them turned in by October 15.  Chat GPT has made us a quick reference guide for what is required in the state of Oregon:Two SLG goals are required.  Of these two:

  • One goal must address the whole class or course load of students.
  • One goal must focus on a subgroup of students who have historically been underserved or who need additional support (e.g., students with disabilities, English learners, students below grade level, students from specific demographic groups, etc.).
  • Both must still meet the other parameters: standards-based, measurable, based on baseline data, rigorous but attainable, with clear growth targets and progress monitoring.

This is explicitly stated in Oregon Department of Education guidance and is part of the Oregon Framework for Educator Evaluation and Support Systems (aligned to OAR 581-022-2410).

Here is the SLGG form that your teachers and you will use to fill out your SLGGs as well as a list of plug and play SLGGs for everyone in your building.  Some of them are open-ended for your specialists who will design goals specific to their content.  Please be aware that you may have some SLPs who do not need to do SLGGs because of their licensing.  In addition, counselors and Student Success Clinicians do not do SLGGs either, but Jennifer Hauth does require them to do goal setting, which is also linked on the document.  

SLGGs are due by October 15.  The pre-arranged conversation you have with each staff member about their goals counts as one of the mini observations you are required to do for the year. 

Reminder: Time sheets are due on Monday. Please use the electronic time sheet that was sent to you by Jessica Houser. You simply enter any time off in the 25-26 tab and it will autopopulate the time sheet for September. Simply print it, sign it, and send it to April Jorgenson! Thanks!

Important Links

Notes from our Team:

From Educational Technology

We have something exciting to share!  Please pass this onto your staff. 

New Resource: Swank 🎥

Swank is our district’s new streaming service for feature films, offering a library of 215 titles, with the option to request additional films when needed. It provides a simple, legal way for teachers and administrators to use movies in the classroom and for school events, while replacing personal streaming services and hardwiring devices. Learn more in our Introducing Swank blog post.

From Paul Dean – Chief Operations Officer

We are initiating a districtwide enrollment forecasting study in partnership with FLO Analytics, a firm specializing in K–12 demographic and facility planning. Their work will support our ongoing efforts to align resources, programs, and facilities with student needs.

FLO will be analyzing:

  • Historical and current enrollment trends
  • Housing development and land use data
  • Grade progression and demographic patterns
  • Heat maps identifying where students live, what school they attend and how this is expected to change in the next 10 years

The forecast will be completed in the first quarter of 2026  and is designed to inform future planning conversations. We will share the findings in a way that supports transparency and collaboration as next steps emerge.  Please direct any questions about the process to me

From Transportation: Thank you for your patience as we continue to work through our backlog of requests from families.  If you have an immediate need don’t email [email protected].  Instead, please contact our office directly via phone.

From Kinsey – Policy, Advocacy, and Equity:

1. Student Anti-Bias Lessons:

The 25-26 anti-bias student lessons are here!  As a reminder, this is an annual lesson for all students K-12, required to be completed before Oct 31.  While there is a sequence of suggested lessons, there is only one required lesson.  For self-contained classes or longer advisory periods, you can fit it into one session; for shorter periods, plan on two sessions to complete it.

The lessons have been refreshed with improved slides, updated content, and new activities.  For 6th-12th grades, there is a new video featuring the voices and experiences of our very own students!  (Fun fact: it was filmed and produced by a recent BLS graduate.)  

Principals, please be sure to:

  1. review the materials yourself (watch the student video!),
  2. consider adding in your own message to personalize the lesson (see Slide #3 on the HS slide show for an example of a principal’s message to the school)
  3. share all lesson materials with your teachers asap,
  4. ideally, provide planning time for teachers to review the updated materials,
  5. make a copy of the Family Letter, hyperlink your level’s slides, edit any of the message as you see fit, and send to your families at least a few days before the lesson is taught,
  6. contact the Advocacy Coaches if you’d like prep or co-teaching support for your teachers,
  7. be in classes and participate in the lesson with students if possible,
  8. send any feedback from your teachers or families afterward, if applicable.

2. Policy notes: 

Distribution and display of materials:  If you have local community partners or external groups requesting to share information with families or students, please direct them to the Community Bulletin Boards in your lobby area.  Some select partners and organizations can distribute materials more directly, but those are limited:  

Here is policy guidance on those levels of distribution, and here is a reference chart.  Principal or designee needs to approve, and all materials should support our values.  Related: Here is our Advertising policy on what businesses or groups can be displayed for donation/advertising-related purposes–you might share this policy with your PTA groups.  

Animal visitors: Thanks for the conversation on this this week.  As a reminder, any animals on your campus must be approved by you.  Policy here.  Quick reference: 

  • If service animal for staff: direct them to Benefits.  
  • If service animal for student: contact Student Services.  
  • Therapy animal, classroom pets, or other visitors: request form here, principal approves/denies. 
  • If parent bringing animal at pick-up or school activities: No.  Comms will send a reminder to families via Spotlight.  

Immigration guidance: At your request, here is that guidance again. Let me know if you have questions!  

From Ryan Kelling, Executive Director of Human Resources

We have gotten some questions on the application of Article 15.4 of the BEA/BLS CBA should apply to itinerant staff – that is, those employees who work at more than one site – and are asking for some input on current practice. The contract language outlines expectations for Certified Employees to attend a set number of after-school/evening events each year. For itinerant staff, however, the application of this requirement is less clear and may require collaboration between sites.

To help us determine a standard practice moving forward, we’ve created a short Google Form with background information and a request for feedback. Please take a few minutes to review the form and share your perspective.

https://forms.gle/4yqAkmMwbYLSMqKNA

Only administrators who currently supervise itinerant staff need to respond. Your input will be important as we work to establish clear and consistent expectations for these situations. Please fill this out by Wednesday, September 17, so that we can review and offer guidance.

Let Ryan know if you have any questions.

From Dave VanLoo – Director of School Improvement

Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (ROAR) Updates

  • ROAR is available for use. Our focus is on the English version of the four core measures (Letter, Phoneme, Word, Sentence). Other optional reading or math tests should become available for staff to use soon. Be aware that these other measures are not as far along in the research and development process and reports are likely to contain less information.
  • These previously shared resources are full of helpful information ROAR Training ROAR-Teacher Scripts and Logistics.pdf
  • Please share the following information about ROAR to share with families via newsletters or other communication methods. (Note that opting out of ROAR applies only to research happening at Stanford University. This does not opt the student out of taking ROAR at their school.) Feel free to edit this text to meet your school’s needs. 

Our school is using a new tool to help meet students’ learning needs. The Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (ROAR) is a set of student-friendly, game-like activities that assesses important reading skills and provides valuable information to teachers. More detailed information and resources for families are available at this link ROAR Family Guide.pdf. 

ROAR comes from Stanford University and results are used in research to improve teaching, learning, and assessment in schools. If you wish to have your child’s performance on ROAR excluded from this research, complete the form linked in this letter ROAR Research Information Sheet – English and Spanish.pdf. Submitting this form does not exclude your child from participating in our school’s universal screening assessment systems. It simply means that their results will not be included in Stanford’s research studies.  

2025-26 District Assessment, Testing, & Surveys

Here are two updated documents summarizing common standardized tests and surveys for the current school year. One is a schedule showing when different assessment activities occur. The other is a general overview of the purpose and logistics of these assessments. Both of these documents will continue to be updated throughout the year as is beneficial. Please reach out with any questions.

BLP Testing Schedule 2025-26

Major Tests & Surveys 2025-26 Bend-La Pine

2024-25 OSAS Local TAG Percentiles

Here are local percentiles from OSAS last spring.  

2425 OSAS Local Norms Table TAG

Action Items

  • Have you completed your Safe Schools yet? Has your staff? Due October 31 
  • Complete Ryan’s feedback form: https://forms.gle/4yqAkmMwbYLSMqKNA
  • Complete your time sheet on the electronic tracker, print, and send September time sheet to April J.
  • Share ROAR information with families
  • Share info about SWANK with your teachers (this can also be used at evening events!)
  • Review Anti-Bias lesson and complete the 8 steps in Kinsey’s section.

Important Dates

  • September 16: PLCs 1 and 2, 3:00-4:30
  • September 23: PLCs 3 and 4, 3:00-4:30
  • September 22-24: Rosh Hashanah–no scheduling of evening events on these days.
  • October 1: All Admin PD 3:00- 4:30 at Perseverence Hall
  • October 7: Elementary Leadership Meeting, 3:0 – 4:30 at Education Center Board Room
  • October 14: PLCs 1 and 2, 3:00-4:30
  • October 16: TAG Admin ICCL 3:30 – 5:30 Education Center Board Room
  • October 21: PLCs 3 and 4, 3:00 – 4:30
  • 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.
  • October 30: Parent Teacher Conferences
  • October 31: No School

And finally… Congratulations to our First Duck Drawing winner! Erich Brocker from RE Jewell

Erich is the Assistant Principal at RE Jewell. He has held several positions at BLS and is a resident expert on Creating a Culture of Belonging through Dignity. You can also catch him mentoring assistant principals at the BAM group! Erich, let us know your drink of choice and we will deliver this week!

September 4, 2025

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Just taking a moment to highlight Ensworth Elementary and how they incorporated the 6 Wayfinder core skills into their 3 schoolwide expectations. Pretty clever Coyotes–Aawwoooo!

From Tammy and Karen

Thank you for an incredible first day and a strong start to the year! We are so grateful for the way you and your staff leaned in with positivity, flexibility, and grace as you navigated both the expected and unexpected changes that always come with a new year. Each of you set a welcoming tone that helped students feel safe, excited, and ready to learn. The energy across our schools was uplifting, and that’s because of your leadership and the dedication of your teams. What a great way to launch the year—as we stay rooted in purposed and steady in growth!

Thank you to Robi Cole for putting together this amazing calendar of special dates throughout the year in which you can recognize the different groups that make up a staff. We’ll keep it in the important links below throughout the year.

Once again, we will share any fun field trips that come our way that you can connect to EL, math, Science, etc. This week, here is a flyer for Schillings Garden and their fall field trip experiences for our primary students. As a friendly reminder, we should not be asking families for money for field trips. You can do a fundraiser for things, but we do not charge families for an opportunity that is part of the school day.

Important Links

Notes from our Team:

From Jennifer Hauth–Director of Student Wellness.

Waypoints Assessment for grades 3-12:  This required assessment opens September 18th and closes October 25th for grades 3-12. Student results will  become available for all admin/counselors on the Wayfinder MTSS dashboard once all schools have completed the assessment, or October 27th. If all schools are done before October 24th, I will close the assessment so the data is available sooner. End of the year assessment is scheduled for: April 28th – May  30th

The assessment takes 15 to 20 minutes and can be completed on a student’s Ipad, using Clever and then selecting Wayfinder. Here are instructions for how it will appear in Student View. 

For students in grades 3–5: When they log in to the Wayfinder platform, the Waypoints assessment will be clearly visible at the top of their dashboard. It will appear as a box containing the assessment’s name with a “Start” button next to it. Students can leave and return to the assessment at any time, as their progress is automatically saved. 

Please make sure that all teachers understand the “Why” behind the assessment and that the student results will help to identify students in need of additional skill building groups. They need to read the instructions to the students so that we get quality data to inform interventions. Wayfinder will also recommend additional skill building activities based on what students in their specific classroom need.

Finally, we don’t need to get parent permission for Waypoints. However, there is a letter that you can make a copy of to use for your newsletter if you would like.

This was information was shared with all school counselors:

For the 2025–26 school year, we recommend not completing a school-wide needs assessment by school counselors. Between Synergy’s Early Warning System (EWS), Wayfinder’s Waypoints Assessment, and your school’s Request for Assistance (RFA) process, we should have sufficient data to identify students who may need additional targeted support. If, after consultation with your administrative team, you determine that an additional needs assessment is still necessary, please connect with Jennifer Hauth and Jess Calbreath before moving forward.

If your school chooses to administer a needs assessment, please follow the guidelines and best practices listed on this document.

From Julie Richards- Director of Elementary Curriculum & Instructional Supports

Forefront is for math and LITERACY! Here’s a help doc for leaders — it’s a friendly reminder and how-to regarding monitoring that teachers are getting in that expected data!

This is being shared with teachers on Wednesday, September 10th – mClass Beginning-of-the-Year math assessment – Here is a video about how to assign the assessment. Here is a helpful checklist to get ready for mClass. To get deeper into administering, here is a full document. Here is a description of the Benchmark Goals. There will be more professional learning about how to use the data as the year progresses.

From Sara Young-Director of Student Services

Here is the pdf of the above graphic. Please pay close attention to #4, as it is required to keep the correct ratio of CPI trained staff. If you need to have a training, please reach out to your student services support for information on how you can schedule one.

From Kinsey – Policy and Advocacy:

Cell phone policy: As of Sept 9th, you’ll find here the updated policy draft related to cell phone use in schools.  This is going out for community feedback on Sept 9; feedback will be incorporated as applicable into the final version for adoption October 14.  Much of this language derives from state legislation and as such cannot be significantly modified.  Secondary admin have also provided great input already.  However, if you, your staff, or your students and families have feedback on these drafts, please share (see feedback form available on the webpage linked above).  Engagement in our policy process is always valued and appreciated.

Office team trainings: All Office Managers and Registrars will be out of your building for required trainings during afternoon SIW on the dates below.  Please plan accordingly for alternative coverage or office closure on these afternoons.  Thank you!

Sept 17, Oct 22, Dec 3, Jan 14, March 11, April 29, May 27

From Ryan Kelling, Executive Director of Human Resources

UKG To-Do’s. You may have outstanding Personnel Action (PA) items in your To-Do section in UKG that require your approval for employees, whether they are new hires or returning staff. Please take a few moments this week to review and approve these items. Timely approval ensures that employees are correctly rolled over in the system, properly credited for their service, and paid without delay.

If you have any questions or need assistance with the process, please reach out to HR-Tech ([email protected])

Action Items

  • Update student enrollment numbers daily
  • Drop main schedule — live document into this folder
  • Clean up your UKG actions
  • Mark the dates office staff will be out for trainings and you need to cover or close the office
  • Check Your CPI percentages—are you compliant?
  • Have you completed your Safe Schools yet? Has your staff? Due October 31 

Important Dates

  • September 9: Elementary Leadership Meeting, 3:00-4:30 at the Ensworth Media Center
  • September 16: PLCs 1 and 2, 3:00-4:30
  • September 23: PLCs 3 and 4, 3:00-4:30
  • September 22-24: Rosh Hashanah–no scheduling of evening events on these days.

And finally… How did you feel at the end of your first day?

August 28th, 2025

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From Tammy and Karen

There’s nothing quite like the start of a new school year! Seeing students walk through the doors again brings so much joy—those big hugs, noticing how much they’ve grown, and realizing just how much we missed them. The hallways come alive with laughter and energy, and you can’t help but feel the excitement and hope that a new year always brings. Our administrators play such an important role in all of this, creating schools where kids and families feel welcome, safe, and ready to thrive from the very first day.

We have really enjoyed visiting your schools this week and having the chance to see you working with your staff to get ready for a great year! Congratulations on all your success so far and cheers to an exciting year to come

Important Links

Notes from our Team:

From Jennifer Hauth–Director of Student Wellness

BLS School Counseling Program Updates for 2025-26

As we start the 2025-26 school year, we want to share important updates regarding our Comprehensive School Counseling Program (CSCP) and how you, as administrators, can be a support to the implementation of CSCP at your school. On August 27, BLS School Counselors gathered for a productive day of planning and collaboration. You can view their slide deck here to see the impressive work being done.

We are pleased to introduce the BLS School Counseling Handbook, a comprehensive resource designed for school counselors, administrators, and educational leaders. Inside, you’ll find:

  • The mission, vision, and beliefs of our program
  • District priorities and goals
  • Roles of counselors and administrators
  • Program design, implementation, policy and aligned practices
  • Tools, templates, and practices for effective support

Here are the key expectations for this year:

  • Complete School-Level CSCP Planning Template – due May 2026, outlining:
    • Annual Calendar – due Oct. 2025
    • Administrator Yearly Planning Conference – held by Oct. 2025
    • Student Outcome Goals (Tier 1 & 2) – due Nov. 2025 (these can be used as SLGGs)
    • Use of Time Study – by Apr. 2026
    • Tiered Program Supports (by domain & tier) – by Apr. 2026
    • Annual Data Review – by May 2026
    • End of Year Results Presentation – May/June 2026

Additionally, counselors will now track student interactions using Synergy’s MTSS Activity Tracker Module, moving away from Student Conference, to enhance access to school counseling data as we continue to develop our MTSS dashboard.

For your reference: School Counselors Professional Learning Calendar with Shared SIW and END Dates.

Wayfinder Updates:

​​We are hopeful to have the Wayfinder admin dashboards have more accurate data but Synergy is currently sending too much data through Clever to Wayfinder. I have put in a help desk ticket but in the meantime, you can edit your teacher list using the following steps:

Here is the helpdesk overview on How to Edit User Data on Admin Dashboards. 

  • If you select “unclick content views” and only have “content completions,” then make sure to assign the workbooks or a collection as the featured content. 
  • For counselors and support staff, please mark them as “content views,” not “content completion.”
  • If there are people in the app that do NOT use Wayfinder, unclick both “content views” and “content collections.”

Other Resources:

Student Success Intervention Updates

Student Success Coordinators/Instructors(Not Clinicians) will now track student interactions using Synergy’s MTSS Activity Tracker Module, moving away from the Synergy Intervention tab to enhance access in all interventions that students are receiving in one place as we continue to develop our MTSS dashboard. Here are the training slides from their PD day on the 27th.

We are excited to be moving forward with our Student Success Clinicians embarking on the Medicaid Billing endeavor! They were all trained on the SEAS Medicaid billing platform and here are the slides from yesterday. As a result of documenting the important clinical work that they are doing, our district can be eligible to be reimbursed for most of the vital services that they are providing.  

In light of these changes, it is essential that our Student Success Coordinators and Clinicians are receiving their weekly prep andcase management time to ensure that they can engage in their documentation and provide care coordination for their students and families that they work with.  

For Full-time Elementary Student Success Certified Staff

  • Case Management Minutes:  An elementary specialist has a scheduled total of no fewer than 215 minutes per week for case management responsibilities. This time is set aside in blocks of no less than 30 minutes for these responsibilities.
  • Prep Time: An elementary Student Success Clinician is scheduled for a minimum of 385 minutes of preparation time per week. This time includes a period of at least 30 minutes per day, uninterrupted, within the student day for grades K-5.

For your reference: Student Success PD Calendars 25/26 with Shared SIW and END Dates.

From Julie Richards- Director of Elementary Curriculum

Here is the 1st draft of the Fall DIBELS schedule.  Note:  we are testing all of K-2 and only testing students in 3-5 who have not met benchmark in the last three benchmarking windows and new students. Please see email from Julie for a list of students in 3-5 who should be tested. ALL students K-5 will take ROAR (Rapid Online Assessment of Reading). Please reach out with any questions. 

ICCL Reminder from Human Resources

We still have several schools who have not completed their ICCL hires for 2025-26. 

  • Please take a look at the ICCL Master List and verify the employees listed for your site are correct. 
  • If you need to hire, please follow the ICCL posting and hiring process (check-out line 281 on the ICCL Master List with ICCL Instructions).
  • Any ICCL questions should be directed to Candy Gelatt in Human Resources: [email protected] or x1116.

From TLC Coaches

Welcome back to a new school year! The Elementary TLC Update is a short newsletter designed to share resources, announcements, materials, and news from our coaching and curriculum teams. You’ll see it in your inbox every other Wednesday.

We’re excited to kick things off and look forward to supporting you throughout the year!

August 27th Elementary TLC Update

This week’s update includes:

  • Beginning-of-year assessments update
  • Math housing documents and print-shop-ready files
  • DreamBox and Forefront information
  • Expeditionary Learning in Forefront
  • and lots more!

From Kayla Martin – Safety

Please let Kayla and Scott know who your safety cadre member is and please complete the survey  if you have not yet done so!

From Paul Dean – Chief Operations Officer

Animals on school grounds: We want to take a moment to remind school about our district practices with regards to animals on school grounds.  We do not have any district policy that prohibits dogs outside of school hours on our property.  ING-AR: Animal Visitors under Owner Responsibility reads:

  • Owners walking animals on school grounds must follow city or county ordinances regarding leashing and sanitation. 
  • Principals and their designees have the authority to exclude persons and their animals from play fields when he/she determines that there are associated health and/or safety concerns. 
  • Last year, we created and distributed signs to your school.

Building leaders have the authority to temporarily close school playgrounds in accordance with Facility, Playgrounds, Fields & Property Community Use Guidelines [here is a Spanish Version].   We have created this Community Use Violation Notice [and here is a Spanish Version] that you may copy, edit, print, laminate and zip tie to your gate(s) when you are restricting public access by locking your gates.  

If you would like to order additional signs ($65 each), please submit a work order request along with a budget code.  Maintenance will collaborate with you regarding where to place your additional signs.  Please reach out to Dan Dummitt for further assistance with signs. 

Action Items

  • Update student enrollment numbers daily
  • Drop main schedule — live document into this folder
  • Share Educators Night Out flier with staff
  • Review the BLS School Counseling Handbook
  • Please take a look at the ICCL Master List and verify the employees listed for your site are correct. 

Important Dates

  • September 2: Optional Teacher Work Day
  • September 3: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
  • September 9: Elementary Leadership Meeting, 3:00-4:30 at the Ensworth Media Center
  • September 16: PLCs 1 and 2, 3:00-4:30
  • September 23: PLCs 3 and 4, 3:00-4:30
  • September 22-24: Rosh Hashanah–no scheduling of evening events on these days.

And finally… Bear Creek shared this video from their 20 second spotlight! Enjoy it here! And, if you happen to have video from your spotlight, please send it our way!

August 21, 2025

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Need a fun idea for back to school with your staff? How about a grade level/department walk up song video! Thanks Heidi for sharing this fun idea!

From Tammy and Karen

We are excited for you all, as you are gearing up to welcome back your staffs and kick off the 25-26 school year. We feel your energy, ideas and enthusiasm! We are looking forward to getting out next week and spending some time at each of your schools during inservice. Our goal in coming is to be visible and present with your staffs, show our unwavering support of the work that you all do, and cheer you on as you engage the important work of setting the tone and leading with heart in all your schools.

For this coming week, we need you to be updating your staffing plan daily, with actual numbers and how many in each class, as we are having to make some hard decisions concerning moves and need updated information. Thank you so much!

Please drop your main schedule in this folder. The folder is in your Admin Resources Drive in the Schedules folder, 25-26. We would like access to your live document as viewers, as we need to stay up on any changes that you make in real time. A pdf does not do that. Thank you so much–we look forward to being out in the schools and seeing the magic of teaching and learning all year.

The High Desert Museum has shared the flier for Educator Night Out, on September 18! Please make sure you share this with your staff. Don’t forget, you can come too–it’s a fun night to be had by all!

Important Links

Notes from our Team:

From Lisa Birk, the Deputy Superintendent: Please be on the look out tomorrow (Friday) for the new BLAST leave tool (non-contract, sick, FMLA, etc. recording tool). It is almost ready! There will be directions on how to fill it out, but please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Level Leaders if you need help with it.

From Rachel Mavis, IT Project Manager: NEW Attendance Features!

L10 – New late (Tardy) code for Teachers and Office staff will use for students who arrive 10 minutes + after class start time.  In the past teachers have been required to use Absence Unverified. By using a super late code, the student will be marked in class – but super late.

ParentVUE Attendance – Parents will have the option to submit attendance through ParentVUE.  The attendance request will go into a queue, where the office staff will Accept or Deny. More details and information will be released soon.

From Eric Powell, Director of Student Services: 10-Day Inactivation Process to Attendance Staff

On August 27, your secretarial staff who input/track daily attendance will receive the following information regarding changes to our 10-Day Inactivation process. 

Here is a link to that information: 10-Day Inactivations

The key highlights for you to know about are:

*Synergy will auto-send attendance letters to families after a student has missed 6 consecutive school days (Unexcused or Unverified ONLY)

*Synergy will auto-send attendance letters to families after a student has been 10-day Inactivated

*Both of these letters request families to connect with the school to schedule a meeting focused on supporting the student return to school

*At days 3, 6, and 9, school teams are asked to designate a staff member to reach out to the family to check on the student

*If a student is 10-day inactivated, your school team can fill out a Request for Assistance to ask the District’s Tier 3 Attendance team for support with a Home Visit or family outreach

From Julie Richards and Jennifer Hauth–collaborating on Wayfinder

Grades 3-5 should administer the Waypoints Summative Assessment in Wayfinder during the window of September 18 to October 25. You could set a culture and climate goal based on this data.

Several of you have asked about using Waypoints at the K-2 level to set goals. We are not going to be using Waypoints K-2 as a summative assessment. Because it it educator observed, it is currently too time consuming. Instead, we will be building our own modified assessment that is much less time consuming and tied to the priority standards. So we would like you to push pause on goal setting K-2 until further notice.

From Robbie Faith, Instructional Tech Coach

AI Training Reminder. All materials for the Artificial Intelligence PD are available on the AI in BLS website, including the full slide deck for your staff session (approx. 90 minutes). Please note that the slides are view-only. Using the provided link ensures your staff has the most current version, as updates are made regularly. 

Following the training, you are encouraged to share the AI in BLS website with staff. The site contains the same content as the slides, along with the syllabus statement and acceptable use scale. For questions, please contact [email protected].

From Kerry Morton, Math Coach

There has been approximately 230 teachers who have participated in the Amplify Desmos Math professional learning! The teachers all seem very excited about Amplify Desmos Math and a new school year.

You can check the attendance here. There is one more chance for teachers to attend on August 27th! Here is the list of registrants, as of 8/18, for August 27th.  If someone needs to sign-up still, here are the directions. If you have a new hire that does not have access to UKG, please send me their name, grade level, and personal email. Thank you!

From Ryan Kelling, Exec Dire HR

Updated Requirement: Interviews for All Vacancies

In the past, Administrators and Supervisors were not required to conduct interviews when the number of applicants matched the number of vacancies. While this may have streamlined the hiring process, we have since identified it as a poor practice because it removes the opportunity to evaluate the applicant’s skills, knowledge, and ability to meet the demands of the role. This approach does not align with our commitment to selecting the most qualified candidates through a fair and thorough process.

Effective immediately, all candidates must participate in an interview before being considered for hire, regardless of the number of applicants or vacancies.

This ensures that:

  • Each candidate demonstrates proficiency and readiness for the role.
  • We maintain a consistent, equitable hiring process across the organization.
  • Hiring decisions are based on observable qualifications and competencies.

This shift strengthens the integrity of our selection process and supports our goal of bringing the most capable talent into every position. Please plan accordingly when scheduling your hiring process. If you have questions about this change, please call me. Thank you!

Action Items

  • Update staffing numbers daily
  • Drop main schedule — live document into this folder
  • Share Educators Night Out flier with staff
  • Share attendance and Inactivation process with office staff
  • Find out which staff did not take the Amplify Desmos training and make sure they are signed up for Wednesday the 27th
  • Want to hire someone? Please make sure you go through the complete interview process
  • How are you doing on your priority matrix? Got those important and urgent things done? Have you had to add more?

Important Dates

  • August 25 – 29: Inservice Week
  • August 26: Welcome Back Kick Off – Virtual 8:30 a.m – 10:00 a.m.
  • September 2: Optional Teacher Work Day
  • September 3: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
  • September 9: Elementary Leadership Meeting, 3:00-4:30 at the Ensworth Media Center
  • September 16: PLCs 1 and 2, 3:00-4:30
  • September 23: PLCs 3 and 4, 3:00-4:30
  • September 22-24: Rosh Hashanah–no scheduling of evening events on these days.

And finally…

August 14, 2025

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From Tammy and Karen

What an incredible day we had at the High Desert Museum! Thank you all for bringing your attention, insight, and wonderful sense of fun to our meeting. From engaging presentations and a lively round of Jeopardy to delicious food, cool air conditioning, and the adventurous GooseChase, it was a day packed with energy and connection. We let our adventurous sides shine and made memories that will last—especially during the High Desert Hijinks! Click the photo above to watch the one-minute video reveal of our winning team. This was truly an event to remember, and it wouldn’t have been the same without each of you.

Next week will be very busy as you prepare to welcome staff and students! Please review the Priority Matrix to ensure that all of the Urgent and Important Items are complete! Please also update your staffing plans (with numbers, sections, and certified staff) on Friday (8/15), and Tuesday and Thursday next week.

IMPORTANT FOLLOW UP FROM MONDAY
Slides from Monday, 8/11: This link will take you to a copy of the slides from Monday with links to the trainings you will need to do during Inservice Week. We have also linked them below:

TIER 1 Slide Deck

  • The Tier 1 slide deck has been amended with most requests. (We changed the language to “appropriate staff” and we added a slide about the code of conduct and students with disabilities. We also added a slide saying elementary will skip slides 25-28–staff will not be loading discipline incidents into Synergy, so you can delete those slides when you make a copy. 
  • The Code of Conduct review team which met to review the code and update it for this year and included an elementary admin rep, worked on a definition for “respect”. The definition is in the glossary and the concept of respect has slightly expanded to include “kindness” to the concept of Respect.  So now it reads:
    • Respect:  Treating everyone with consideration, dignity and kindness, just as you would like to be treated. 
  • It is still something we want to teach and hope kids adhere to, but when narrowing our expectations to a few, was something that could get misused and the original team opted to eliminate it. 
  • It is important you read through the Tier 1 slides and read the presenter notes at the bottom before you present to your staff.  That is where the details are as far as what you need to do and when, what staff needs to access, like the actual Code of Conduct.
  • Tuesday, 8/19 at Highland in the library from 10-11, we will be meeting to go through the Synergy Student Support form for all of you interested in practicing with it in real time.  If you come, please make sure at least one class has been loaded into Synergy for your school so that you can access a class.  

Commitments to Learning 3.0 

Things That Come in Threes

ROAR Training

Area Change Requests:  Area Change Requests are closed for the start of the 25-26 school year.  If you get families calling you or your office staff, please let them know that they are closed.  Please, under no circumstances let a family know that you have or do not have room in a grade.  We get multiple families each year upset because they say the  called the school and were told there was room, when we may need to deny them for various reasons.  

Karen will be out on FMLA leave on Monday Aug. 18th through Wednesday Aug 20th. If you need any support, please start by contacting Tammy. I will be checking email but have many appointments scheduled so won’t be immediately available. Thank you all for your patience and kindness as I support my parents in Minnesota.

Important Links

Notes from our Team:

From Ryan Kelling – Human Resources

Our New Certified Employee Orientation will be held on Thursday, August 21 at North Star.

  • Breakfast: 7:00 AM – Bend Breakfast Burrito will be catering; enjoy a burrito, muffin, coffee, and connection time with our new hires.
  • Program Start: 8:00 AM

Any school or department that hired a new Certified employee is required to send a representative so that you can connect with that person/people, but all are welcome to attend, and we encourage you to join us in welcoming our new staff. If you’re unsure whether your school needs to send a representative, please email me directly.

From Kim Crabtree -Transportation

Reminder that all students that will ride the bus must register. If you have a newsletter from you school going out shortly, can you please push out this information to your families. You can copy and paste the message that was sent to you last Friday that Becca put together. We are still about 2500 students short from last years numbers.   Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

From Kinsey Martin – Policy, Advocacy, & Equity:

Policy Notes:

Updated Attendance policy (updated per conversations and feedback throughout last year).  Please be familiar with the changes to procedures and responsibilities, share with your office and MTSS staff, and bring any questions to the September horizontal admin meeting.  Related: Employee Attendance policy–good reminders for all of us!

Updated Grades and Credits policy final version.  Feel free to share this directly with your teachers and counselors (secondary in particular), if helpful.  

Here are the reference slides from the policy training last April.  Topics/Guidance includes:

  -Law enforcement, student searches, DHS,

  -ICE (here’s additional ICE guidance),

  -controversial subjects (share the policy with your teachers),

  -parent requests for teachers, etc.  

Please share those reference slides with applicable staff, print, and/or bookmark as needed–you don’t want to be looking for these in a time-sensitive situation. 

Updated transportation policy: We updated the series of policies related to transportation.  One important change for you (and ADs/coaches):

Either we provide the bus, or students/families need to coordinate their own rides—employees, including coaches, should not coordinate groups of students with drivers of private vehicles.  Parent volunteers or team parents are welcome to coordinate with other volunteers, but district employees are not involved in non-district transportation arrangements. 

Related: field trip permission forms have been updated (all languages available on the Portal): please share with teachers and office staff.  

Have a recommendation regarding a policy issue?  Please use this form to suggest updates, request changes, identify gaps in policy language, etc. 

Looking for the policy that covers a particular topic?  Need help interpreting a policy for a particular situation?  Contact me!  

From Kayla Martin, Safety

As mentioned in Leadership Launch, we are asking you to tell us what you need from Safety/how you feel about Safety concerns. Link here. The survey is condensed (only 6 questions)- please fill this out so we can tailor our PD to what you need. As soon as we get responses, we will send your safety designee(s) a calendar invite.  Thank you all for your partnership.

Please be sure to note these dates for trainings and designate your safety lead: October 22, 2025, December 3, 2025, March 11, 2026, and April 29, 2026

Elementary – 1:45 – 3:15 PM

From Education and Information Technology.

Our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for student device use was updated during the 24-25 school year.  The new version is what our families are receiving in their enrollment materials.  I have linked the updated AUP here.  Sections that you may want to be familiar with include:

  • Grade 6-12  Insurance Device Damage and Loss Guidelines
  •   Device Use
  •   The Student Pledge

AI training Everything you need for the Artificial Intelligence PD is on the new AI in BLS website, including the full slide deck for your upcoming staff training. The training takes about 90 minutes.  Just open the deck and guide your staff through it. The goal is to share accurate, useful, and timely information as we navigate the meaningful use of AI across the district. Questions? Reach out anytime: [email protected]

Clever Sub Badge Training: We want to make sure every teacher has the opportunity to participate in Clever Sub Badge training. This 25-minute session walks your staff through creating a dedicated resource page for substitutes in Clever and how to generate a badge that gives substitutes secure access to teaching resources.

We know time is limited at the start of the school year, but if you have not scheduled this training for your staff, please reach out to Robbie Faith as soon as possible to get your training on the calendar. 

From Sean Reinhart – Student Services

As we look ahead to the 2025–2026 school year, we want to share several important updates regarding staffing, program developments, and service delivery within the Student Services Department. These updates reflect both the evolving needs of our student population and our ongoing efforts to align resources strategically in support of schools and teams. The information below includes changes to our administrative and coaching structure, updates to special education staffing and allocation models, expansions of key programs such as The Nest and Occupational Therapy, and refinements to how we deliver speech-language and school psychology services. We encourage you to review the details carefully. Click the link below.

25-26 Student Services Overview and Update

We have also planned information sessions and Q and A for Aug. 15 from 10-11 – Teams meeting for Elementary Principals (calendar invite sent)

Action Items

  • Review your priority matrix and complete the important and urgent items now if they are not done already
  • Assign Featured Content in Wayfinder (check in with Jennifer Hauth with any questions)
  • Get rid of old OOPS/FYI system paperwork and processes
  • Update Staffing Plan sheets with numbers of students and staff assignments every other day (beginning Friday August 15). Please be sure to indicate students would be in each class on the first page.
  • If you have a new certified employee in any department, send a representative to orientation on 8/21
  • Encourage families to register so that their child can be added to a bus route.
  • Complete Safety Survey
  • OPTIONAL: Student Services Update Teams Meeting on 8/15 at 10:00 (calendar invite has link)
  • OPTIONAL: Student Synergy Form Practice on 8/19 at 10:00 at Highland Magnet School

Important Dates

  • August 15: Student Services Update (Teams Meeting) 10-11
  • August 18: Title 1 Kick Off for all Title Schools 8-10 @ Elk Meadow
  • August 19:: Optional Synergy Student Form practice 10:00- 11:00 @Highland
  • August 21: Optional Wayfinder Training for Admin, 2:30-3:30 at North Star
  • August 25 – 29: Inservice Week
  • August 26: Welcome Back Kick Off – Virtual 8:30 a.m – 10:00 a.m.
  • September 2: Optional Teacher Work Day
  • September 3: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
  • September 9: Elementary Leadership Meeting, 3:00-4:30 at the Ensworth Media Center
  • September 16: PLCs 1 and 2, 3:00-4:30 (you will learn about these on August 11)
  • September 23: PLCs 3 and 4, 3:00-4:30 (you will learn about these on August 11)
  • September 22-24: Rosh Hashanah–no scheduling of evening events on these days.

AND FINALLY! CONGRATULATE OUR WINNERS! PLC Team 4 looking ready for business in their Posse Portrait.

August 7, 2025

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Who is going to wake up everyday this year rooted in our purpose and ready to lead with dignity? We are! Who is going to be a steward, a learner, and a nurturing leader? We are! Who is going to see that students have effective teachers, a strong curriculum, and the time they need to learn? We are! Who is proud to be a part of Bend-La Pine schools? We are, of course!

Thank you all so much for a fantastic start to the year, as we spent the first two days, solidifying our why, learning the 10 elements of dignity, and committing to the belief that, with an effective teacher, a strong curriculum and enough time, all students can learn. We are looking forward to our time together on Monday, August 11 at the High Desert Museum, from 9:00-5:00, as we continue to collaborate, learn, and plan for a wonderful year. For those of you who are out healing or caring for ailing family, know that you were missed and we look forward to the day you can be with us again.

From Tammy and Karen

Here are links to the slides we had access to from our leadership launch these past two days. We know there are more, and as we get them (or you remind us what else you need) we’ll add them here.

Elementary Commitments to Learning, Day 1

Life and Career Readiness Presentation

Elementary Prioritizing and To-Dos, Day 2

Teaching Smarter: Science Driven Techniques. (Dave and Liza’s presentation)

Prioritizing Tools from Robi

We forgot to add one important tab to the bottom of our “teams” document, and that is for the admin who is the rep on the safety cadre. There will be more in the blog next week about the days and times, but for now, if you could please add your admin name to this list, that would be amazing! Thank you.

Important Links

Notes from our Team:

From Tami Pike, Director of Health Services

To ensure a safe and successful field trip experience, review the Field Trip Checklist in advance. It is essential to notify your school nurse at least two weeks prior to any field trip. If a student requires direct nursing support during the trip, please complete the updated Request for Direct Care Nursing Services form at least two weeks prior to any field trip. Thank you!

From Kim Crabtree, Director of Transportation Services

Your school principal may receive an invite from Commute Options to meet.  Commute Options partners with us to help deliver education regarding safe walking/rolling to school. Commute Options has a great bike safety program (they provide the bikes/helmets).  We work closely with them to create safe walking paths to schools for our non-bus riders. Our department has hired an Active Transportation Coordinator (Michelle Rhoads) through a 2 year grant. The grant is very specific on where Michelle’s work must be directed (5 Title 1 schools). 

We hope to build a robust program district wide to support those that do not ride a bus. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me. If you are looking for education for your students- Commute Options is your go-to at this time (we are happy to coordinate that for you also through them).  Have a great safe start to the year!

From Tracy Howk, Instructional Technology. AI PD & Resources in One Place

Everything you need for the Artificial Intelligence PD is on the new AI in BLS website, including the full slide deck for your upcoming staff training.

The training takes about 90 minutes. We’ve scheduled it during August in-service so staff can explore AI early, with the hope that leveraging it can help lighten their workload as the year gets rolling. 

There’s no need to be an AI expert. Just open the deck and guide your staff through it. The goal is to share accurate, useful, and timely information as we navigate the meaningful use of AI across the district. Questions? Reach out anytime: [email protected]

Action Items

  • Review your priority matrix and complete the important and urgent items now if they are not done already
  • review field trip checklist with your office staff and be ready when field trips arise
  • Meet with Commute Options if/when they call
  • Check out the AI training link and email the IT help email for Robbie and Tracy if you have questions
  • Come ready to enjoy the day Monday (inside and out) at the High Desert Museum, 9-5.

Important Dates

  • August 11: Elementary Horizontal at High Desert Museum from 9:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m.
  • August 18: Title 1 Kick Off for all Title Schools 8-10 @ ELK Meadow
  • August 21: Optional Wayfinder Training for Admin, 2:30-3:30 at North Star
  • August 25 – 29: Inservice Week
  • August 26: Welcome Back Kick Off – Virtual 8:30 a.m – 10:00 a.m.
  • September 2: Optional Teacher Work Day
  • September 3: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
  • September 9: Elementary Leadership Meeting, 3:00-4:30 at the Ensworth Media Center
  • September 16: PLCs 1 and 2, 3:00-4:30 (you will learn about these on August 11)
  • September 23: PLCs 3 and 4, 3:00-4:30 (you will learn about these on August 11)
  • September 22-24: Rosh Hashanah–no scheduling of evening events on these days.

And finally….zoom in and check out how we are showing up this year, rooted in our purpose and steady in growth.

July 31, 2025

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From Tammy and Karen

Welcome back! We hope you had a restful and joyful summer. As we step into this new school year, we’re filled with excitement and deep purpose for the work ahead.

Our theme this year—Thriving Forward: Rooted in Purpose, Steady in Growth—reflects both who we are and who we aspire to be. In a world of constant change, it’s grounding to know that at Bend-La Pine Schools, we remain unwavering in our commitment to students.

BLS Promise: Every student will be known by name, strengths, and needs, and will graduate prepared for college, career, community engagement, and life.

This promise is at the heart of everything we do. It’s what connects us, drives us, and inspires us to grow—together.

Upcoming Events

We’re thrilled to kick off the year with our Leadership Launch events:

  • August 6–7 at Caldera High School
  • August 11 at High Desert Museum. (please note the time from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.)

These gatherings will be a time to reconnect, build shared vision and goals, and walk through the calendar for the year. We can’t wait to see your faces, hear your voices, and begin this journey together. Thank you for the heart, energy, and care you bring to our schools and students. Let’s make this year one of meaningful growth—rooted in purpose, and steady in our collective strength.

Important Links

Notes from our Team:

From Deputy Superintendent – Lisa Birk

As we approach the start of the school year, we wanted to clarify how the flexible workday is used for certified employees on a 191-day contract. We believe that this is needed based on the experience payroll had last year. Because several staff had confusion about this day, many staff members sent timesheets to payroll without realizing that this is a contract day for which they do not need to submit anything. Please help us communicate the following points below to your staff if or when they have confusion around this topic. Key points to support your staff:

  • Certified staff have one paid flex day built into their 191-day contract. A returning certified staff member may choose to complete that flex day on August 21, August 22, or September 2. A NEW certified staff member must attend August 21, and this will take care of day 191 for them.
    • Elementary- there is a caveat on 8/27 (for math training completed this summer)
  • If an employee completes one of those flex day options, no timesheet is needed—they are already paid for that day.
  • If you approve of an employee working more than one of the flex day options, they should submit a timesheet for the additional day(s) – this would come from your site’s discretionary fund.
  • New hire certified staff who are less than 1.0 FTE and attend the full 8-hour orientation will be given a pre-completed timesheet at orientation to sign for the portion that exceeds their FTE. 

The Inservice Week Calendar may help to answer other lingering questions too. When in doubt, reach out! We’re here to help! 

From Educational Technology – Robbie Faith

Clever Sub Badge Rollout – Reach out to Robbie to Schedule Your Training!

Since piloting Clever Sub Badges at High Lakes and Ponderosa in January, we’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both classroom and substitute teachers. Several additional schools joined the rollout in the spring, including La Pine, R.E. Jewell, Bear Creek, Silver Rail, and Highland.

During this 25-minute training, teachers will learn about Clever Sub Badges, create a dedicated resource page for substitutes in Clever, and be guided through the steps to generate a badge that gives substitutes secure access to the tools and curriculum they use daily. 

We recognize that back-to-school training time is limited, but we’d like to bring all teachers on board as soon as possible. If your staff has not received this training, please reach out to Robbie Faith ([email protected]) to schedule a session.

From Policy, Advocacy, and Equity- Kinsey Martin:

Hi Office Managers, I hope you are enjoying the sun and heat!  ☀️

Can you please share here the contact information for your school’s parent organization(s)?  

I would like to be sure your school’s parent/family perspectives are included in work like the re-design of fundraising policies, the development of a district family engagement calendar, and any trainings or activities they might want to participate in.  I don’t intend to spam them with lots of messages, and I’ll copy a member of your team in any messages I send, so you’re looped in.

Feel free to forward this to colleagues who have relevant info to provide for your school as well.  Let me know what questions you have. Thanks!

From Human Resources – Ryan Kelling:

Following up from a previous blog entry in the Spring, please know that we will require that all requests to hire use the documents provided in the new hiring guide on July 1, 2025 and thereafter. We prefer that you start using these new documents immediately. This guide can be found by looking in your “Recruitment” tab in UKG. It is labeled Administrator Hiring Guide 

From Custodial – Rob Johnson:

I am reaching out to ask for your participation in the School Operations & Collaboration Survey, an important effort by Custodial Operations to gather feedback from both school administrators and custodial staff. Please fill out the survey by August 8th.

The goal of this survey is to better understand what’s working well, what isn’t, where we can improve day-to-day operations in our schools and how we can better support our Custodial team. Your input is vital to helping us strengthen communication, improve efficiency, and support a cleaner, safer, and more effective learning environment for students and staff.

I encourage you to respond honestly and candidly as your feedback will be reviewed collectively, not linked to individual names or schools.

✅ Click here to take the Custodial survey: Custodial Survey

✅ Click here to take the Administrator survey: Administrator Survey

Your voice matters. By sharing your experiences and suggestions, you’ll help us make meaningful improvements in how we support our custodial staff and school communities.

Action Items

  • August 4th – Make up session for administrators who did not attend Leading with Dignity session in June – Please RSVP.
  • See you at Leadership Launch on August 6 and 7 at Caldera
  • Check out the new Administrator Hiring Guide 
  • Schedule Sub Badge Training with Robbie

Important Dates

  • August 4: Leading with Dignity make up session 12:00- 4:00 p.m. in the Board Room
  • August 6: Leadership Launch at Caldera High School
  • August 7: Leadership Launch at Caldera High School
  • August 11: Elementary Horizontal at High Desert Museum from 9:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m.
  • August 18: Title 1 Kick Off for all Title Schools 8-10 @ ELK Meadow
  • August 25 – 29: Inservice Week
  • August 26: Welcome Back Kick Off – Virtual 8:30 a.m – 10:00 a.m.
  • September 2: Optional Teacher Work Day
  • September 3: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

And Finally...I love the start of each school year because while much of it is predictable, there are always surprises! I try each day to appreciate the surprises, for whatever they bring me!