Quote to consider:
“Real education should consist of drawing the goodness and the best out of our own students. What better books can there be than the book of humanity.“ ~Cesar Chavez
To Dos:
FINISH STRONG: Counting Wednesdays, we have nineteen days left of school (but who’s counting, right?!). I know you all agree that this school year has been harder than ever. And, while we’re all looking forward to summer and some much needed deep rest, we still have the opportunity to positively impact our students’ lives this school year.
We have been compassionate, flexible, supportive, and student focused all year long; let’s finish what we started! 💪🏼 💜
Bits and Bobs:
CATHY TASH RETIREMENT:
Over the years, Cathy Tash has supported students, families, and staff alike with a calm, steady and gracious heart. Please join us in celebrating her retirement.
- Wednesday, June 9th
- 2:30pm
- High Desert Middle School Patio
- Salads and desert will be served.
To help us prepare, please RSVP here by Wednesday, May 26th.
If you would like to contribute to Cathy’s retirement gift from the HDMS Family, Lynne will be collecting cash donations, or Venmo @Lynne-Tat. We will also be compiling messages of appreciation and best wishes in a greeting card project. More information on that coming soon.
21/22 STAFFING UPDATES: We are excited to announce the following staffing updates for next school year:
- Brettney Bryant – School Counselor
- Brettney is overjoyed to “have the opportunity to continue to serve and support students at HDMS. And, she’s thrilled that she’ll be able to continue this work in a role that best fits her educational background and passion- school counseling.”
- Martin Wardle – 0.33 Computer Science elective teacher
- Martin will be (1.0 FTE!) teaching the 6th grade pre-AVID rotator, the 7th grade AVID elective, and the new 7/8th grade computer science elective
- Martin stated that he is “excited to develop HDMS’s computer science elective from the ground up! And he’s looking forward to beginning the work of preparing all students for college readiness and success by teaching AVID to all HDMS 6th graders and to 7th grades who selected the AVID elective”
- Beau Variel – Student Success Coordinator (ie: BRYT & Diamondback Den support)
- Beau is ecstatic we were able to honor his request for a position that utilizes his “love of working with strong-willed and spirited individuals who may have lagging skill sets.”
- As part of this new role, Beau will also teach some section(s) of alt. PE and/or electives
- Jill Anderson – Student Success Educational Assistant (eg: BRYT & Diamondback Den support)
- Jill shared that she is “thrilled to shift her focus away from supporting technology and to supporting the growth and development of students, especially those that may need extra support.”
- Evan Dickson – English Language Arts
- Evan comes to us from Capitola, CA with 14+ years of experience including having taught 5th grade and, most recently, 6-8th grade humanities. He is trained and well versed in AVID, PBIS, and WEB.
- When being offered this position, Evan stated that he “is pumped to be a Diamondback staff member!”
- James St. Amant – Learning Specialist (ie: special education teacher)
- This was a Special Programs hire, so we don’t have much background info to share yet except to say that Special Programs was VERY excited about James’ fit at HDMS.
- Congrats to Honza V, who is excited to be joining Three Rivers K-8 as their new Student Success Coordinator starting next year!
CLASSROOM ADJUSTMENTS: The following room adjustments will be in place for next school year:
- Maria will be joining the language arts wing
- Manuel will be joining the social studies wing
- Martin will be moving to R1
- Jane will be moving to R5
- Beau and Jill will utilize G1 on an as needed basis to support the BRYT work when a more traditional classroom is needed.
21/22 ICCL OPENING: If you are interested in applying for an ICCL position (which is a two year commitment), please submit an essay to Carly Brooks in Human Resources stating your interest in the position and what best qualifies you for the position by 6/3. You will also need to request that a colleague complete the recommendation form and have them submit it directly to Human Resources. Please click here (or search ICCL on the BLS staff portal) for a job description, application directions, and a colleague recommendation form.
CANVAS INFO: On Tuesday, a Canvas update disrupted Canvas Grade Passback for Synergy users resulting in inaccurate assignment grade data in Synergy gradebooks. The update has been rolled back until the bugs can be worked out. We advise teachers who have run a sync this week to:
- Review recent grade sync history for errors.
- Cross-check recent syncs in Canvas and Synergy.
- Run a Remaster to fix any anomalies.
- Check Synergy for accuracy.
- Contact Laura or Christie if additional help is needed to resolve discrepancies or duplications.
SPED OPPORTUNITY: Are you interested in getting your special education endorsement or know someone that is interested? Do you need professional development hours? Starting this summer Bend-La Pine Schools is partnering with Lewis and Clark College to offer an endorsement program for special education. The program is completely remote starting this summer. If you are a current BLP certified employee you most likely qualify for tuition reimbursement. During the school year classes will be held Wednesday evenings. If interested, see these fliers: Info Flier #1, Session Flier #2. Informational session on 5/26/21 at 4:30 PM. Feel free to reach out to Colleen Funderburg or Josh Marks if you have any questions by email, or phone at 541-355-1060.
ARTICLE TO CONSIDER: Click this link for a great article (that can also be played as a podcast) by Jennifer Gonzalez on Revitalizing Classrooms After the Pandemic. Here is a brief overview with some highlights:
As schools reopen, she suggests that we resolve, “No more easy button.” That doesn’t mean putting in more hours – just using them differently.
- Lesson Design:
- More active, hands-on, project-based learning, and venturing out of the classroom more frequently.
- Increasing the amount of collaboration among students, and teaching the important life skills of working harmoniously and productively with others.
- Assessment:
- More feedback, fewer grades – “A letter grade will never help a student grow the way specific, timely feedback will,” says Gonzalez.
- Multiple opportunities to improve through an iterative, mastery-based process that allows students to re-do work and gradually hone their products.
- Inclusivity:
- Introvert-friendly options for participation – Remote learning revealed new ways for quieter students to participate; we can carry those practices forward, giving those students greater voice in the classroom.
- More-representative classroom materials – Students should see their culture, history, and circumstances in all parts of the curriculum.
- Relationships:
- Building connections – It’s been harder to get to know kids teaching through the Zoom keyhole, says Gonzalez; “As we regain the privilege of being in the same room together, let’s not waste it.”
- More fun – Make time for joy and laughter, every day.
END OF YEAR ACTIVITIES: A group of staff (made up of reps from counseling, ICCL, and safety teams) are working on developing plans for end of the year activities, including how we celebrate our 8th graders. If you are interested in contributing to this team’s planning, please contact Elissa Freeman.
Reminders:
SUMMATIVE EVALUATION MEETINGS: Thanks to staff who have already had their summative meeting with Heather and me; we appreciate your time, partnership, and self reflection!
If you are on the first tab of this document and haven’t yet signed up for a summative meeting date/time, please do so by Monday at noon and make sure to have completed your self evaluation in Talent Ed- link near the bottom of this page. (See last week’s blog post for more details.)
Two logistical items for this process:
- Bring your laptop to our summative meetings and be logged into your self evaluation in Talent Ed
- Summative meetings will be Nole’s office, unless you indicate on the sign up document that you’d prefer to meet in your WebEx room
SPARKS JOBS REOPENING: If you are interested in SPARKS summer school opportunities, please consider applying by checking the BLS HR job postings. See the blog post on 4/29 and this flyer for more details. Wendy is looking for staff who are motivated and excited about supporting students; so, if this describes you, don’t hesitate to consider applying even if you’re a non-core teacher.
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.
UPCOMING SIW: 5/26- staff meeting in Kennedy’s WebEx room (2:30-3:30pm) **only if needed**
High Desert Highlights:
Congrats new WEB Leaders!!! And thanks WEB Coordinators for the continued hard work and creativity in supporting this important program through distance learning, hybrid, and all-in!
From Honza: “Below is HDMS’s new greenhouse, which has just been completed. We still have to furnish the inside with shelves, planters, etc., but the main structure is up. We are growing a bunch of seedlings in our classroom currently, and we hope to transition them into the greenhouse soon.
This was possible due to the grant from the Environmental Center that Trish Havlin and I worked on. Covid, of course, put everything on hold for more than a year, but we are now moving forward and near to the finish. Our students have participated in clearing the site, foundation/platform building, and building the structure itself. They are excited to GROW!”
Jennifer Williams’ advisory has been working on creating hand sewn cloth shopping bags to use instead of plastic. Here are some pics of them in action:
