Quote to consider:
“When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr.
To Dos:
SUPPORT: For many staff, myself included, it has been a heavy week. Please practice self-care and know that there are supports available for staff. In addition to our counselors being willing and available to process with any staff that need it, our district has an Employee Assistance Program that you could consider accessing.
Resources and how to access our school counselors will be shared again in Friday’s family communication and shared to students during Monday and Tuesday advisory lessons.
MARCH FIRE DRILLS: Please mark your calendars for our March fire drills: 3/18 (cohort A) and 3/19 (cohort B). Both drills will take place during the last half of advisory.
FORECASTING: Students will be forecasting in their advisory classes next week. PLEASE ENSURE that you are using the Advisory modules set up for you in Canvas by the ICCL team for this activity (and beyond) as this is our current mode of schoolwide communication with students.
Current 6th and 8th graders will go through forecasting activities Monday and Tuesday. Current 7th graders (and 8th graders who need to finish the process) will forecast on Thursday and Friday. Inside the Advisory Canvas module there will be a specific grade level link that staff will click on to open the appropriate slideshow with step by step directions of what to do. Although students will also have access to this link, please go through this together as a class to ensure that all students are forecasting appropriately.
Bits and Bobs:
RSSL UPDATE COMING: As you may have heard, ODE’s RSSL document is scheduled to be updated on 3/19, and this update will likely bring more changes for our schools. District folks are anticipating what these changes may be and are working on details for how we might adjust to fit these new guidelines. If these changes allow us to bring more students back into the building, the district is interested in doing so as soon as possible.
Regardless of what, if anything, changes with this update, know that we will get through it together and remain focused on serving our students and families.
ELL UPDATE: Highlight from the most recent ELL Department newsletter:
Returning to In-Person: How to Support Multilingual Students
Focus on building on to strengths and assets, rather than compensating for deficiencies or barriers. During CDL, some ELL students do not appear to connect, participate, submit work, and/or master the skills being taught.
Here is what some of our ELL students are doing, though:
- Babysit or tutor younger family members (Leadership and educator experience)
- Caretaker for a family member with an illness or disability (Science and healthcare connections)
- Hold a full- or part-time job, or support a parent’s job (Finance management, career-technical skills)
- Cook meals, complete household chores (Measurement, chemistry, native language development)
NUTRITION STAFF UPDATE: Debbie will be serving at Buckingham for the remainder of this school year with the plan that she’ll return to HDMS in the fall. Please join me in welcoming Jamie to the HDMS nutrition team! (We are so grateful for ALL our amazing nutrition staff, including Flo and Shelby, for their hard work and flexibility in serving our students during hybrid).
CDC V. RSSL GUIDELINES UPDATE: Please click here for a message from the district on expectations for schools when the CDC releases guidance that may not directly align with ODE’s RSSL guidelines. Bottom line: we will not change any practices within our school without first receiving communication from the district.
TEACHER CANDIDATE OPPORTUNITY: OSU Cascades is once again looking for Cooperating Teachers for their incoming cohorts for 2021-2022. Please email Wendy, Nole, and Heather if you are interested in hosting a teacher candidate next school year.
EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION: The district will be reinstating the Excellence in Education program. Each school has the opportunity to recognize two exceptional staff members- one certified and one classified staff. Be thinking about who you might nominate ahead of the district officially rolling out this process to schools.
Reminders:
QUARTER CELEBRATION: As you know, we are going forward with this purple/grey week calendar which will include school-wide quarter celebration days and classroom conference prep time on April 12, 13, 14. A team of staff will be having a planning meeting on Friday 3/12 at 8:30 in T3; feel free to join if you are interested. Please connect with Lynne Tat with questions.
DIAMONDBUCKS: Please continue to utilize our new COVID-friendly Diamondbucks to reinforce positive student behaviors whenever you catch students doing the right thing in the halls, classroom, etc.
SUMMER SCHOOL STAFFING: Here is a link to a very short survey for the district to gather feedback by Monday, March 29 on staff interested in working this summer. Because we do not know yet all of the structure of this summer programming, we are interested in hearing what interest there is from all staff. We only want staff who are interested in working at summer school (Aug. 2 – 19) to complete this survey.
This opportunity is for both certified and classified staff.
PHOTO/VIDEO SHARING: From the district: “When sharing photos or videos of students – whether on social media, newsletter to families, video montage, etc. – be sure to follow our guidelines for Social Media Best Practices. We are continuing to see a few photos of students or staff without masks pop up. Even if the photo is taken during a time, such as lunch, when masks may not be required, please do not share those photos. If you have questions, reach out to Alandra – [email protected].”
RELEASE TIME ADJUSTMENT: Adjust the end of the day staggered release times to: 4:06 (6th grade), 4:08 (7th grade), and 4:10 (8th grade). Please support students in quickly and safely exiting the building by being in the halls after you release your students at the end of the day.
SAFETY FEEDBACK: Here is this week’s optional safety survey for staff to provide feedback to the safety team. And here are the results from our first week’s survey.
High Desert Highlights:
