Quote to consider:
We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope. ~Martin Luther King Jr
To Dos:
LEAVE: If you are taking leave of any kind, make sure you have reached out to Wendy and Nole so they are in the loop.
BUILDING PROTOCOLS UPDATE: Starting on Monday, we will be moving to a daily QR code contact tracing process for staff checking in/checking out of the building. Staff will scan the QR code in the main entrance and submit their info each time they enter/exit the building. Staff can save the QR code link for daily use if entering/exiting the building through a location other than the main entrance. Completing this process every day is of the utmost importance as this is the established way of knowing who interacts with whom if/when a positive case is found.
Reminders:
- wear a mask (no gators, buffs, or bandanas) while on campus unless alone in your classroom/office (only if it has a door)
- maintain a minimum of six feet distance from others
- do not come to the building if showing any COVID symptoms and contact the admin team
PLAN FOR ASYNCHRONOUS WEEKS: Refer back to this document for guidance around the next two asynchronous weeks.
MAC SURVEY: The winter MAC survey is Tuesday, January 26. Please plan to complete this survey that day.
Bits and Bobs:
HDMS SAFETY TOOLKIT: This toolkit will be shared with families (in English and Spanish) on Friday and with students during the asynchronous weeks via advisory Canvas modules. It will also be referred back to throughout orientation as well as during advisory activities during hybrid. The toolkit will be continually updated if/when new protocols are implemented. Additionally, tomorrow’s advisory activity will include a portion of the toolkit.
A huge shout out to Heather for her tireless work in creating and translating the slideshow, the safety team for their work in developing the info within it, and the ICCL team for diligently reviewing it.
WEEK OF JAN 25: Student attendance will not be taken this week. All students will have a VP attendance code.
The district is expecting that all staff return to the building for work starting on Monday (1/25). Certified staff hours are 8:30am-4:30pm.
This week is scheduled to be an asynchronous instruction week to provide time for meeting and training staff on the new safety systems and other processes that we’ll be implementing in hybrid. The amount of time for meetings/trainings is still to be determined.
Here are the items (and possible days/times) we’ll cover this week:
- In-person, small group (by wing) meetings w/ admin team and Nurse Megan (when available) to discuss classroom/wing safety protocols in depth- Monday (1/25) and Tuesday (1/26)
- Safety/COVID training from Nurse Megan via WebEx- Wednesday (1/27) afternoon
- All staff meeting via WebEx to cover Nuts & Bolts- Wednesday (1/27) afternoon
HDMS ORIENTATION SCHEDULE: As you know, students will attend orientation in person one day during the week of Feb. 1st. Here is the schedule for orientation days. Please note: the days each cohort is attending (based on grade/last name) is correct in this document- there had been differing info shared earlier. This updated info will be shared with students during advisory on Friday and with families in our weekly communication. During orientation, students will follow their semester two schedule.
HYBRID UPDATES:
A student who starts semester 2 in either BLPO or District CDL will be allowed to take classes within these programs and also take elective classes (e.g. Spanish, band, etc.) at their neighborhood school as long as there is room in the class they want to take. Transportation is the responsibility of the parent – it will not be provided by the district. Also, if the student wants to take more than one class and these classes are not back-to-back in the schedule, we are not able to find a place for this student to wait on campus based on the restraints placed on us due to this pandemic. Grade level counselors will be the point people for students/families in this situation; Gina will support in terms of class sizes given COVID max occupancy.
Secondly, we learned from the district that, as of now, in-person choir and band will not include singing/playing. There will be a meeting with a teacher representative, Paul, and other health professionals to discuss this further.
CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES: From MS director Jim Boen: Talking about tough topics is absolutely something that must be a part of a student’s educational experience. These should not be avoided – if done right. Here is a very helpful checklist for a teacher to consider. (All steps are not required, but are rather meant to be a support when planning, conducting, and reflecting on teaching/dialogue related to equity and anti-racism.) To set the stage for controversial conversations to be productive and not reactionary or isolated, the classroom climate must be developed intentionally over time–our LEAD Cohort’s website has tools for steadily building a climate of equity dialogue. We also have district Administrative Regulation (GBG-AR) regarding Staff Participation in Political Activities. I’d like to highlight the third and fourth paragraphs. In essence, I interpret these as saying that teachers can talk about politics in their classroom, but the keys are to make sure both sides of the issue/topic are presented/represented, and that the teacher’s own viewpoints need to be represented as personal and not that of an official district stance. Finally, this is a reminder to be aware of this BLS Election Guidance which was sent out earlier this fall. All of these documents should be seen as support for schools and teachers in how to prepare for and facilitate difficult conversations within the classroom learning environment.
BUILDING CLEANING: During hybrid, deep cleaning will occur nightly. Our custodial staff will be busy not only cleaning but also spraying down classrooms and offices so that each morning all surfaces have been disinfected. Please be aware that if you leave papers out, the next morning they will show signs of curling.
SECONDARY SUPPORT BLOG: During January and February, the Secondary Support Blog is focusing on access, on ways to increase student access whether in-person, WebEx, or Canvas. For this week’s post, we have focused on three extremely-user-friendly tools that would be useful in any of the above situations – most especially as tools for facilitating small groups (yes, even while in-person and maintaining social distance!)
Most staff members will be familiar with one or all of these tools, but all of them offer immediate and high levels of engagement for students, and are ones that every teacher in every subject area could utilize without lengthy training. Here’s the link: Increasing Student Access to Each Other AND Our Curriculum: Three Digital Tools that Will Help
SUSTAINABILITY UPDATE: From BLS sustainability coordinator Jackie W: HDMS has an opening for the school’s sustainability coordinator; email Wendy, Nole, and Heather if you’re interested. Here is a document with the goals for this position during the pandemic. Also, here is a document from Jackie regarding BLS’s HVAC systems.
Reminders:
HIPPA AND THE VACCINE: Please be mindful that some people may choose not to get the COVID-19 vaccine and may not want to discuss their reasoning for this with others.
1.19.21 STAFF MEETING SLIDESHOW: For your reference, here is the slideshow we shared during this staff meeting.
High Desert Highlights:
Congratulations to HDMS’s own Gina Samuel for being selected as our new counseling secretary!! We have no doubt she’ll be amazing in this new role. (Veronica will be training Gina over the next week; while we post and hire for a new curriculum secretary, Stacy, Gina, and Kerri will be doing the heavy lifting of supporting all the office roles.)
