Quote to consider:
“The power of education extends beyond the development of skills we need for economic success. It can contribute to nation-building and reconciliation.” ~Nelson Mandela
To Dos:
CANVAS EXPECTATION: As shared in 4.9’s blog, we are still using Canvas as our district-wide Learning Management System (LMS).
The district recently shared the following: “One of the many reasons we went to a common LMS was so that students could have ‘one stop shopping’ for accessing materials. We need to make sure we are loading assignments and activities onto Canvas on a daily basis so quarantined students can still access their education.”
HALLWAY DUTY: Please prioritize hallway duty assignments; see the link on the blog’s sidebar for details.
MAC SURVEY: Mark your calendars for the spring MAC survey day on Tuesday, April 27th.
Bits and Bobs:
21/22 STAFFING UPDATE: As a result of the boundary change, our student enrollment has been reduced and this means we are having to make some reductions in our classified and certified hours. You will likely see two postings in the coming days for HDMS. These postings will be for less than 1.0 FTE each: Counseling (Cathy Tash retiring) and ELA (Sharlline Markwardt resigned). If our enrollment increases and the district gives us additional staffing we will work to bring both these positions back up to 1.0 FTE.
DAY OF SILENCE: The GLSEN Day of Silence is a national student-led demonstration where LGBTQ students and allies all around the country—and the world—take a vow of silence to protest the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ people in schools.
Started in the mid 90’s by two college students, the Day of Silence has expanded to reach hundreds of thousands of students each year. Every April, students go through the school day without speaking, ending the day with Breaking the Silence rallies and events to share their experiences during the protest and bring attention to ways their schools and communities can become more inclusive.
This year’s day of silence is taking place on Friday, April 23rd. Click here for a one-page specifically designed for the educational setting.
WEB UPDATE: Thank you to all HDMS staff for the continued support of the WEB program! See Elissa’s email (4/20) and/or connect with one of the WEB Coordinators (Elissa, Lynne, Brettney) if you have any questions about this awesome program.
Please use THIS GOOGLE SHEET to recommend current 7th grade students you see as potential WEB leaders by clicking the checkbox by their name. If there is already a check by a student you would like to recommend you can just leave it or add your name/comment. Students who are recommended will receive an email letting them know they were nominated by a staff member(s) and encouraging them to apply! The form will be open through Friday, April 23!
And for your viewing pleasure: HDMS WEB Promo Video
Go BIG, GO WEB!
WATER BOTTLES: We have bottled water in the admin office available if a student has forgotten their water bottle from home. Masking and water fountains spigots being unavailable has caused concern for student hydration. If a student needs a water bottle, they can stop at the admin office window during passing period or you can email the office staff to request one for them.
EQUITY: Consider this document when working to ‘interrupt’ conversations when you hear racially insensitive language, either with students or colleagues.
STUDENT SUPPORT REFERRAL FORMS: We are in the process of finalizing the revamping and improving upon our student referral forms. As always, staff may choose to simply email behavioral and/or counseling referrals to the admin team and grade level counselor (and case manager, if applicable). If you’d like to participate in the “soft opening” of our new referral forms, you can do so by clicking here for behavioral referrals (including FYIs) and here for counseling referrals. (These links have been updated on the sidebar of the blog.)
Reminders:
SAFETY DAY & FIRE DRILL: Safety review (slideshow) each period culminating in a fire drill 7th period will take place on 4/23. See previous blog post for more info. Safety team members have (or will) be connecting with wing point people to answer any questions.
STAGGERED RELEASE UPDATE: We are no longer doing staggered release times by grade level at the end of the day. (This was a to-do in last week’s blog but we are still seeing some classes released early. Thanks for making this adjustment to your daily routine.)
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 last week’s survey.
High Desert Highlights:
