Quote to consider:

Kids aren’t known for being great liseners, but they are known for being great imitators. Be worthy of imitating. ~Krista Ward

---

To Dos:

TAs: Last year, students were required to have a “golden ticket”, which was signed by teacher and parent, to be scheduled as a TA for the 2020-21 school year.  We had to reschedule all the TA’s for 1st semester because we were in CDL.  Since we are going to hybrid, we are not rescheduling TA’s that were scheduled for 2nd semester.  If you would like to opt out of having a TA, please email Gina by Friday, Jan. 29th so we can reschedule these students.

---

ADMIN TEAM ADJUSTMENTS: As you know (unless you were unable to attend yesterday’s 2pm WebEx meeting), Wendy has been reassigned to be the administrator for the newly created district CDL learning option for the rest of this year. Nole will serve as interim principal and Heather will serve as interim assistant principal (the district is not hiring for the vacant dean position). This adjustment is for the remainder of this school year only; the admin team will revert to their previous roles on July 1st.

Wendy will still serve in a supervisory support role remotely for HDMS during this time. Please continue to email Wendy, Nole, and Heather whenever there is a need to contact anyone on the admin team. This ensures we are able to support staff most efficiently.

---

STAFF MEETING: Please mark your calendars for an all staff meeting in Nole’s WebEx room on Tuesday (1/19) at 8:00am. (Note: any standing meetings that used to meet in Wendy’s WebEx room will now be held in Nole’s.)

---

Bits and Bobs:

HDMS HYBRID SCHEDULE: Here is the first draft of the HDMS hybrid schedule. This is still in draft form and therefore not public facing yet. Lunch specifics are still being developed, but as it stands now students who have a class downstairs during 1st period/5th period will have lunch the first part of the period while students who have a class upstairs during 1st period/5th period will have lunch the last part of the period. For your reference, here is the latest district MS Schedule the HDMS schedule was based on.

---

WEDNESDAYS DURING HYBRID: We are still waiting for more information from the district on what Wednesdays will look like as there is still apparently discussions between the district and the association. We are hearing that there *may* be live WebEx classes scheduled where cohorts A and B both attend virtually for a shortened period of time. We’ll pass on more details as soon as they become available.

---

TWO WEEKS ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING: As Lora’s reopening email stated, the weeks of Jan. 25th (transition week) and Feb. 1st (orientation week) will be asynchronous learning. Jim Boen, Dean Richards, some MS teachers (including our own Stephanie Morrison!), and the Office of School Support has put together this guidance for these two weeks.

---

GRADING INFO: Please see and follow the guidelines on this end of the term grading checklist from our Canvas coaches. (*Note: the document has many hyperlinks within it.)

Reminder that gradebooks should not have zeros for any assignment from December 1st on. Gina will making these grading protocols adjustments for the school and we need to ensure that everyone’s gradebook is setup for this shift. The deadline for staff to have this is completed on your end by Thursday, Jan. 21st.

---

ROVING DISTRICT SUBS: Here is a message from HR: eventually there will be 10 hired floating temp “sub” teachers with BLPSD.  At this time we don’t have anyone hired for this quite yet.  If you have current certified staff that will need a sub coming up in the next couple of weeks, please continue to use HDESD for subs. At some point, once our float teachers are hired, we will put out to Admin who will be in charge of this task from the District level.  Those details are also still being worked out.

---

Reminders:

YOUTH TRUTH: If you haven’t done so already, please to complete the HDMS staff Youth Truth survey by 1.21.2021. ytsurvey.org/hdmsstaff21

Thanks for having students complete this survey during advisory today. We shared info with families as well as the link to the family survey during last Friday’s weekly communication.

---

REPORTING BACK TO THE BUILDING: Staff (certified and classified) need to report back to HDMS no later than Monday, Jan. 25th. This is the first day of asynchronous teaching and two weeks before Hybrid starts.

---

SPANISH INTERPRETER: Consider utilizing our Spanish interpreter system this Wednesday from 1:30-4:00pm to make connections with our Spanish speaking families. These connections can be setup ahead of time and/or cold calls. Use the link on the sidebar of the blog to sign up by Tuesdays at 9:00am.

---

SAFE SCHOOLS: Reminder that all Safe Schools training were to be completed by 12/31/20. If you haven’t completed these trainings yet, please do so ASAP.

---

Quote to consider:

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. ~ Samuel Beckett

---

To Dos:

HYBRID: Certified staff hours are 8.30-4.30. Staff please plan on being in the building beginning on Jan 25.

---

EVALUATIONS and SLGGs: Nole and I have been popping into WebEx classes when invited by a teacher, we have not been showing up unannounced. We were planning on beginning mini observations this week, however with the change of the landscape and with hybrid beginning soon, we are now planning on beginning formal and/or mini-observations when in person instruction resumes. If you would like us to join to watch you in action during CDL, please reach out and let us know.

You are now able to log into Talent Ed and enter your two SLGGs. Please see last weeks blog post for samples and which strands we will be using to have reflective conversations with this year.

---

Bits and Bobs:

HYBRID INFO:

Here is a link to the district’s generic MS hybrid schedule. There will be a HDMS specific schedule coming soon that will likely include some adjustments (eg: lunch period). The following components will remain:

• school start/end time
• each class period is 65 min (this includes Advisory)
• four periods per day
• daily, school-wide teacher prep period to start the day
• a block for “live support” for students learning from home that day
• students attend school twice per week
  • Cohort A on Mon & Thurs
  • Cohort B on Tues & Fri
• two week schedule rotation
  • week A = advisory, 1st, 2nd, 3rd
  • week B = 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th periods

We know that many staff have questions about our return to hybrid. Given that there is often question overlap and that answers may not be immediately available, we’d like to reinstitute the use of this HDMS Staff FAQ document. We will do our best to swiftly answer questions (when we have answers) submitted on this document. Questions emailed to us will likely be copied and pasted into this document and answered there.

• Orchestra:  Students are able to play, following all guidelines (students 6 ft apart, reduced students in each class, masks on etc)
• Choir:  Students are able to sing, following all guideline (students are 6ft apart, masks worn, reduced students in each class etc)
• Band:  At this time the district is not allowing students to play instruments.  So band will need to look a bit different.  It could be theory, history of music, percussion etc.
• PE: Students will not dress down (no access to locker rooms). No use of shared equipment. Masks worn, 6 ft apart.

---

CANVAS REMINDERS:

• Please make sure to leave the “End Date” for your assignments blank, enabling students to access all assignments.
• Please sync your Canvas grades with Synergy at least once per week, AND compare those grades with the grades you have in Canvas. Accuracy will become increasingly important as we near the end of the semester.
• If your grades are not syncing properly, please do a “Grade Remaster,” which usually fixes the issue. DIRECTIONS: Go to whatever class you are syncing, then click on “Grade Sync” near the bottom of left-hand menu. Once there, go to Settings and click on “Remaster Grade Passback.”
• As always, if you have any questions regarding Canvas, please contact your friendly Canvas Coach.

---

YOUTH TRUTH SURVEY: The district will be using a group called YouthTruth to conduct student, family and staff surveys this winter/spring.

The 10-15 minute, online, anonymous survey will ask all staff members – both instructional and non-instructional alike – for feedback on topics like: culture, relationships, engagement, professional development & support, and school safety.

Please be thinking about what type of feedback you would like to share – both positive feedback and constructive criticism is useful and valued. Please use the link below. Deadline 1.21.2021. ytsurvey.org/hdmsstaff21

---

FROM TLC: Welcome back to a year that does not quit surprising us!  We know you, like us, continue waiting for the return of our pre-Covid work lives and, in the Teaching and Learning Center, we are spending most of our time trying to provide support in a variety of creative ways.  One way is through our weekly blog.  Every 1-2 weeks, we are organizing a post around a central topic, providing a variety of resources to support your own pedagogy, reflection, and expansion.  

To learn more about a second way, visit the blog.  There, you’ll find a brief video and post encouraging you to observe a colleague sometime during the remainder of this school year.  

We know there are three different possibilities for delivering instruction you may want to observe, and we want to support all of them:

As always, THANK YOU for all that you do.  EVERY day.

---

Reminders:

SPANISH INTERPRETER: Consider utilizing our Spanish interpreter system this Wednesday from 1:30-4:00pm to make connections with our Spanish speaking families. These connections can be setup ahead of time and/or cold calls. Use the link on the sidebar of the blog to sign up by Tuesdays at 9:00am.

---

Quote to consider:

‘Students who are loved at home come to school to learn, and students who aren’t, come to school to be loved’. ~ Nicholas A Ferroni

---

To Dos:

ANNOUNCEMENT COMING: As I am sure you know by now Gov. Brown, just before Christmas, announced that Oregon public schools will continue to be held to Ready Schools Safe Learners Guidelines, but the timing of reopening schools to students will be moved from a state (meeting local metrics) decision to a local (school board/superintendent) one. I am being told that our district will be releasing an announcement in response to this adjustment and next steps for us, later on this week.

---

SPANISH INTERPRETER: Consider utilizing our Spanish interpreter system this Wednesday from 1:30-4:00pm to make connections with our Spanish speaking families to celebrate their students’ success during CDL in 2020 and encourage their continued engagement with school in the new year. Use the link on the sidebar of the blog to sign up by Tuesdays at 9:00am.

---

CONTENT TEAM MEETINGS IN 2021: Mark your calendars as we are returning to our every other week content meeting schedule (same day/time/WebEx room as 2020). This week we’ll meet with PE/health, science, and math. Next week we’ll meet with ELL, LA, and SS.

---

Bits and Bobs:

MIINI-OBSERVATIONS: Certified staff, please see this document. The SLGGs, observations, and evaluation process this year has been modified to better accommodate distance learning. I will connect soon with our Probationary staff to discuss scheduling the two formal observations.

---

COVID DOCUMENTS: Here are a couple of documents that may be nice to review as we inch closer to bringing students (in larger numbers) back into our buildings. Both of these relate to physical distancing requirements in schools. This one is a one-page FAQ document from Ready Schools, Safe Learners guidance. And this one pulls a few aspects of social distancing requirements from this same document and comes complete with a photo!

I believe you have all seen this – but it may have been a while, so I’m sharing it with you again as it may become more relevant as we draw nearer to the reopening of schools to our students. This chart was designed as a tool for navigating who decides (or who needs to be asked) Covid-related questions.

---

INCLEMENT WEATHER DURING CDL: Please read over this one-pager that gives more information re: weather closures during CDL.

---

MLK is a holiday (non contract). The district is not making any adjustments to the CDL schedule for holidays (we didn’t adjust for Veterans Day either).  Students also do not have school on Friday the 5th (as that is a grading day) so the total days balance out in the end.

Two options folks could consider:

1. Make Tuesday the 19th and Thursday the 4th an extra day with an activity that doesn’t interfere with your timeline.  This would allow you to keep your current cadence.
2. Make Tuesday the 19th the first day of the week and Monday the 25th the last.  You would only have to be off in schedule for two weeks as you would “catch up on Thursday the 4th.

---

HIPAA/FERPA INFO (from Nurse Megan):

• Inform the family that staff cannot share private health information with others unless given signed permission from the family. If families want the information shared with other staff (ex: all their teachers), staff can assist by providing 2 recommendations:
  • Provide contact information to the family for all the staff members that the family would like to notify. Encourage the family to contact those staff and provide any details they would like to share.
  • Alternatively, if the family shares that they would like all teachers to be updated, the staff member can offer to send an email to the parent with all the teacher’s emails. The family can simply reply all to that email and share whatever they would like. 
• If staff members are concerned about a student, please email the school nurse with the student’s ID number and basic details of the concern. This includes COVID-19 positive cases and exposures (especially if the student is attending or scheduled to begin attending any LIPI support classes).
• General emails with generic information can be sent to groups. (For example, if a teacher hears of a health concern, they may email other teachers that the student is dealing with a health concern at home and may not be able to attend all classes for the next week.)

---

LANGUAGE/ELL NEWSLETTER: Check it out January’s newsletter here.

---

Reminders:

CDL ATTENDANCE: Students should NOT be marked NPV if they only attend half the WebEx, don’t have their video on, etc.

Below are the attendance guidelines during CDL (these have not changed since their implementation in the fall).

– Participating in a video class
– Communication from the student to the teacher via chat, text message or email
– A phone call with the student
– Posting completed coursework to a learning management system or web-based platform or via email
– Turning in completed coursework on a given day

---

HEALTH REMINDER: If you are coming into the building, please remember to always maintain a minimum of six feet distance from others whenever possible and continue to wear a face covering. If you have any cold or flu like symptoms (even if just the “sniffles”), please do not come into the building. Please click here to read a letter for staff from the district nursing team. Please email our nurse, Megan Barrett, if you have specific questions.

---

High Desert Highlights:

Quote to consider:

‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you have imagined.’ ~ Henry David Thoreau

---

To Dos:

ADVISOR FAMILY OUTREACH: Below are two links to templates to use for our advisory communication with our families. Please copy the document, make adjustments to the blanks to make these templates ‘yours’ and send out to your Advisory families. Be sure to adjust the sharing settings to ‘anyone with the link’ can view.

English: click here

Spanish: click here

---

Bits and Bobs:

GRADING IN CANVAS AND SYNERGY: The district’s tech department created a “cheat sheet” of the steps teachers need to take in both Synergy and Canvas in order to bring these grading systems up-to-date with the changes we’ve made this year (P/NG and “no zeros”). Here is that document. (Note: you may have already seen this document posted in Canvas.)

---

GRADE GUARDIAN UPDATE: The Equity Grading (no-zeros) adjustment has been applied in the district’s Grade Guardian account so that any assignment with a Missing Status will be included in the missing category and be applied correctly to the student risk calculation.

Teachers now have access to their own dashboards in Grade Guardian as of Monday, December 14th. As you know, Aspire EDU held a training for teachers this past Wednesday. For those who were unable to attend, additional trainings will be offered after the holiday break. A recording of the training will also be posted in the Canvas Grade Guardian 101 – Instructor Module. Teachers may self-register for this course through this link:  https://bls.instructure.com/enroll/B4P3CF

---

WEBEX UPDATE:  District techs still don’t have a definitive answer to what has been causing the increase in WebEx issues we have seen since Thanksgiving.  However, through work with the company it has been determined that rolling back to a previous version of the app is helpful.  As of Friday (12/11), this version will install automatically before you host your next WebEx meeting (you must start your meeting from the https://bls.webex.com/ website).  It is our hope that teachers and students will see some stability return to their WebEx meetings with the implementation of this change.  If you continue to experience problems with WebEx after this update, the district techs would appreciate it if you described them on this form. 

How to check your WebEx Version:

1. Start a Webex Meeting
2. Go to “WebEx Meeting” in top menu bar by the apple
3. Go to “About Webex Meeting”
4. You should be on version 40.11.5.11

---

ATHLETICS: As you may have read/heard about, OSAA has moved back the start of HS competitions. Our district plan for MS athletics is that we’ll begin the first of our three seasons on Feb. 22, with the third season ending on June 11. Each of the seasons will run for five weeks. Each will end on a Friday and the next will begin on the following Monday – no break between seasons. We’ll see if this holds true or will need to be adjusted again based on our pandemic situation in the coming months. Glen, HDMS’s athletic director, also shared that “sports seasons could be practices and inter-squad competition and look more like a camp.”

---

SUPPORTING SECONDARY INSTRUCTION: This week’s post (Can We Live Without Zeros?) contains a session cut from Mountain View.  Joel Clements, long-time English teacher and BEA rep at MVHS has used a no-zero grading policy for many years.  He hosted two sessions to help educate and support field staff questions and support making the change.  We have the best ten minutes of that session on the blog.  Also, an annotated chart showing the different grade outcomes in a variety of scenarios.  And finally, a couple of supplemental resources for those wanting more.

---

GIFT OF GRATITUDE: We’ve completed front porch deliveries this week for staff that selected this option. Everyone else’s gift is available for pickup from your desk at school; there is no rush to pick it up.

---

WINTER BREAK BUILDING SCHEDULE: The first week of winter break (Dec 21 – 25) is pretty straight forward. Michelle and Tim will be working a 6am to 2:30pm schedule Monday through Wednesday – off Thursday and Friday). The contractor will be taking care of the alarm during those days at roughly 4pm, but may set the alarm anytime after 2:30.

The second week of winter break (Dec 28 – Jan 1st) is where things get very uncertain. During this week they will be shutting down the existing boiler to do additional work for the new boiler to come online. The contractor himself is not certain of the exact day this will happen due to shipping of parts and things of that nature. Tim suggests to staff that they not come to the building during that week just to avoid freezing conditions. When the work is being done the building will have no heat. Michelle and Tim will be here working on Monday through Wednesday from 6am till 2:30pm (off Thursday and Friday), but when the heat is shut down, we may take a day of leave due to the cold work conditions. * * Again – The contractor will be taking care of the alarm during those days at roughly 4pm, but may set the alarm anytime after 2:30.

If staff enters the building during any of the times when there are no others here – they will have to assume alarm responsibility. Please see Wendy’s blog for a “hotlink” to the alarm operating procedures.

---

Reminders:

SEMESTER END DATE: The end of first semester is Feb. 4th; the is no school on Feb. 5th as this is a grading day.

---

High Desert Highlights:

Quote to consider:

‘I have been continually impressed by and grateful for the HDMS teachers and staff (even though I’ve yet to meet many face to face). An example of this was the professionalism teachers exhibited by attending, engaging, and collaborating in a lengthy IEP meeting recently.’ ~ Megan Logan, HDMS SRC teacher

---

To Dos:

ADJUST GRADES:

1. Grades must be adjusted adhering the the district policy beginning Dec 1 2020. This was communicated to our families in my weekly message home last Friday.
2. I support and will always defer to professionals on how they set up their grade book.  When staff have valid reasons for having ‘excused’ in their grade books for specific students and situations, I support them keeping those as ‘excused’ and not adjusting to 50%. (ex: student or family was ill for an extended period of time, student didn’t receive a HotSpot until mid Oct., student didn’t have access to adequate space to complete the lab assignment, etc)
3. Using ‘excused’ is still allowed for staff moving forward.

Click here for a letter from MS director Jim Boen regarding the district grading policy for middle and high schools. Here are helpful hints and instructions on how make these adjustments.

In order to support staff having extra time during work hours to make these gradebook adjustments, department meetings have been canceled for this week and next week.

---

Bits and Bobs:

GRADE GUARDIAN: Canvas Coaches, ICCL, SpEd, ELL, counselors and admin have been or will be trained with this tool. What I know of Grade Guardian is that this tool pulls from Canvas and allows folks who aren’t content teachers to access student grades and also allows us to pull data identifying students who are struggling without having to go into each individual student’s Canvas. There is a self-paced GG module, which all content teachers can access here to gain an overview of this tool.

---

SUPPORTING SECONDARY INSTRUCTION: Here is a one pager from Michele C. that outlines WebEx best practices. Here is a link to their blog that they update regularly.

---

Reminders:

SICK LEAVE: Please continue to proactively communicate with Wendy if you have appointments that are scheduled during the work day. Here is the message regarding “sick leave” for staff. It has been jointly crafted by BEA (Sarah) and HR (Jon) and hopefully provides some clarity around expectations/process regarding sick leave during remote teaching. Bottom line – communication is key.

---

DATE CHANGED: We are having an all staff meeting in Wendy’s WebEx Room on THURSDAY 12.17.20 at 3:00pm. We’re looking forward to coming together virtually as a community to share, laugh, and connect before the break. Wear your ugliest sweater!!!

---

SPANISH INTERPRETER: We continue to hear from our Spanish speaking families how grateful they are for these connections. Please continue to utilize our system of having a Spanish interpreter on Wednesdays from 1:30-4:00pm. Use the link on the sidebar of the blog to sign up by Tuesdays at 9:00am.

---

CONTACTING THE ADMIN TEAM: Please continue to email Wendy, Nole, and Heather P when contacting the admin team with student concerns, school-wide/systems questions, etc. This helps the admin team all be in the loop and respond in a timely manner. An example of the why behind this system is that Nole has grand jury duty the next four week and will therefore be less responsive to urgent items than typical.

---

STAFF GIFT OF GRATITUDE: Wendy and Nole have a small gift of gratitude for each of our staff members. Please use this link (by 12/14 at 4:00pm) to share with us how you’d like us to get your gift to you.

---

WEDNESDAY ATTENDANCE: The Wednesday attendance link will continue to be available to students via a global announcement in Canvas at 12:01pm on Wednesdays. The announcement link in Canvas and the Google attendance form will be open for students to complete from then until Thursday at 8:00am.

Some students have reported not being able to access the link. Here are some potential solutions you could consider sharing with these students.

• Show your students where this announcement appears in Canvas
• Reminding them of the 12:01pm on Wednesdays through 8:00am on Thursdays timeframe
• If students were working in Canvas before 12:01pm on Wednesday, they may need to refresh their Canvas page

---

Quote to consider:

‘Connection doesn’t happen on its own. You have to design your gatherings for the kinds of connections you want to create.’ ~ Priya Parker

To Dos:

GRADING UPDATE: Click here for a letter from MS director Jim Boen regarding an update the district is making to grading for middle and high schools. Here are helpful hints and instructions on how to do this.

Given the extra time it will take time to make these gradebook adjustments, we will cancel meeting as content teams over the next two weeks in order to support staff having this extra time to make these adjustments.

---

STAFF GIFT OF GRATITUDE: Wendy and Nole have a small gift of gratitude for each of our staff members. Please use this link to share with us how you’d like us to get your gift to you.

---

CANVAS EXPECTATION: Please make sure you have your WebEx link or Button on your Canvas home page.

Bits and Bobs:

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: We are having an all staff meeting in Wendy’s WebEx Room on 12.18.20 at 3:00pm. We’re looking forward to coming together virtually as a school to connect before the break.

Reminders:

WEDNESDAY ATTENDANCE: The Wednesday attendance link will be available to students via a global announcement in Canvas at 12:01pm on Wednesdays. The survey will be open for students to complete from then until Thursday at 8:00am.

Advisors, continue to remind students of the Wednesday attendance process. Also, please continue to reminder students to login to WebEx with their student credentials given the district’s new security measures.

---

WEDNESDAY INTERPRETER: We’ve heard great things about how well our weekly interpreter system is working and how grateful our Spanish speaking families are for these connections. Please continue to utilize our system of having a Spanish interpreter on Wednesdays from 1:30-4:00pm. Use the link on the sidebar of the blog to sign up by Tuesdays at 9:00am. This resource can be utilized in a variety of ways including: pre-planned parent conferences, cold calls to celebrate success, and/or cold calls to discuss attendance or grades. Even leaving a message for a family/student is a nice way to build bridges and make connections.

---

NURSE REMINDER: If you are coming into the building, please remember to always maintain a minimum of six feet distance from others whenever possible and continue to wear a face covering. If you have any cold or flu like symptoms (even if just the “sniffles”), please do not come into the building. Please click here to read a letter for staff from the district nursing team. Please email our nurse, Megan Barrett, if you have specific questions.

---

BOND TECHNOLOGY CLASSROOM UPDATE: Review the details of this topic in the Bits and Bobs section of the 11.18.20 blog post; sign up (by Dec. 9th) on this document if you’d like to utilize either of the additional technology options.

---

STUDENT SUPPORT TEAM: Continue to follow this student support flowchart when support students and families. Our Student Support Referral Form is live and available for use.

---

HOLIDAY BAZAAR TRADITION: updated link Staff who have been at HDMS a while will remember the annual HDMS holiday bazaar that Marcy Monte hosted. The tradition continues this year virtually!

---

Quote to consider:

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” – C.S. Lewis

---

To Dos:

WEEKLY INTERPRETER AVAILABLE: Please continue to utilize our system of having a Spanish interpreter on standby Wednesdays from 1:30-4:00pm. Use the link on the sidebar of the blog to sign up by Tuesday at 9:00am. This resource can be utilized in a variety of ways including: pre-planned parent conferences, cold calls to celebrate success, cold calls to discuss attendance or grades, and/or a way for advisors to complete attendance family contacts.

---

WEBEX SECURITY UPDATE: As you know, WebEx has been upgraded to be more secure on Monday, November 30th.  At that time, students who are logged in will be able to go directly to their teacher’s WebEx room, whereas those who are not logged in will be in the waiting room until they are let in by their teacher.  We are hopeful that students completed this update during advisory activities the week before break.

We are thankful for the new Webex changes, but please continue to be vigilant and cautious about allowing “guest” students into WebEx sessions. In addition, please encourage any student who isn’t already, to be logged in with their BLS credentials. For a refresher: students click on the Webex app, and the sign in button is in the lower right. 

For added security to our Webex sessions, the master list of links will no longer be available to students. Please add a link to your Webex sessions to your homepage in Canvas by this Friday. 

Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jmj1zVPGhsjKREDuh2LymLawOheBrQrd/view?usp=sharing

Click the link for button options one, two, three, four, and five provided by our Canvas Coaches.

---

Bits and Bobs:

DISTRICT TECH TRAININGS: Information regarding a few technology trainings for staff called “After School Specialis can be found via this link.”

---

STUDENT CAMERAS ON WEBEX: I’ve been a part of a few conversations around students not having cameras on during Webex instruction. As you know, this is not a mandate (that all students have cameras on) – and also can be very frustrating to the teacher. Here is an article found in the Marshall Memo that had what I thought was both good philosophy and ideas regarding better student engagement in this area. It is a one-page read, so I hope you all take a few minutes to check it out!

---

CLASSIFIED STAFF OPPORTUNITY: Our awesome classified staff members bring diverse talents, background, and expertise to our district! If you’re interested in becoming a certified educator in a hard-to-fill role, we recommend you consider attending an Info Session coming up next week.  See this flyer for details.

---

LIPI UPDATE: As part of the Governor’s “two week pause,” we are not adding additional students to LIPI at this time. We are, however, continuing to offer LIPI to those students who have been participating. Schools can continue to work on lists and processes for adding additional students so we are ready to go when LIPI expansion is once again given the green light.

---

FIRE ALARM TESTING: Tomco Electric is doing fire alarm testing on Monday (11/30) starting at 8am. During that time there may be a brief alarm sounding, but they will attempt to make it silent.

---

ELL NEWSLETTER: Please take a moment to read December’s ELL newsletter.

---

Reminders:

BOND TECHNOLOGY CLASSROOM UPDATE: See the previous blog post for more info and sign up (by Dec. 9th) on this document if you’d like to utilize either of the options shared.

---

CULTURE OF CARE OPPORTUNITIES: Don’t forget about the many opportunities to connect with your colleagues offered by the HDMS Culture of Care Team- link in sidebar of blog.

---

HDMS Highlights:

Quote to consider:

Some of you are unaware of just how amazing you really are. The way you make people laugh, lift others up and spread extra love. You do this even though you may be struggling too and I think that it makes you such a strong, inspiring and beautiful human being.

---

To Dos:

WEBEX SECURITY UPDATE: As you know, WebEx will be updated on Monday, November 30th.  Students who are logged in to the WebEx platform will go directly into their teacher’s meeting room, whereas those who are not logged in will need to be let in from the “waiting room.”  More about this change can be found in our blog entry. Please review this update with your students during advisory on Thursday. Communication about this is being sent to families as well.

---

CANVAS UPDATE: Continue to reach out and partner with your Canvas coach to ensure that your Canvas is set up to meet the school-wide universal expectations. Additionally, check out, and consider providing your students with, The Student’s Guide to Canvas Submissions document created by our Canvas coaches. As always, refer to the Canvas Corner link on the side blog for Canvas Best Practices.

---

ADVISOR FAMILY OUTREACH: Click here for the updated attendance records sorted by advisory teacher. Advisors need to check this list and make contacts home via phone to students who are highlighted NPV for the three most recent weeks or are highlighted for having attendance rate below 80% overall for the month of November. Be sure to click on the November tab at the bottom. Please update the notes as needed.

Below are two links to templates to use for our every other week communication with our families. Please copy the document, make adjustments to the blanks to make these templates ‘yours’ and send out to your Advisory families. Be sure to adjust the sharing settings to ‘anyone with the link’ can view.

English: click here

Spanish: click here

---

Bits and Bobs:

GRADING: For the 2020-21 school year all middle schools are making an adjustment to our grading system. Students who demonstrate learning at the A, B, or C (including “+” and “-“) level will be issued that letter grade; percentage cut offs for each letter grade remains unchanged. Students who demonstrate knowledge below this level (traditionally earning a D or F grade) will be issued a P (Pass) in place of a D or NG (No Grade) in place of an F. We are aware of the potential challenges we all face with distance learning and the unprecedented situation families are facing related to COVID-19. This temporary option is in response to our current reality and will be in place through the end of the 2020-21 school year.

Note: If a student, in any class, has already been issued a final first quarter grade of a D or F, these will be changed (by Gina) to a P or NG in the coming weeks.

---

SNOW DAYS: The snow this week has brought up some questions regarding how we are viewing “snow days” this year. The answer may be complicated – based on whether we are talking about CDL or Hybrid. The district is working on updating our snow day/school closure language. Checking of roads and communicating of closures will occur as they have in the past. What is different, obviously, is that instruction will continue in CDL, whether facilities are closed or not. Teachers will teach in CDL, students will engage and learn in CDL regardless of whether schools are closed. If a weather-related closure is called for, then transportation will not run and schools will be closed to students and families (e.g. no LIPI or grab and go lunches served).

---

RETURN TO SCHOOL: Last week this was shared with elementary folks. As you will see, secondary schools will move to hybrid after “demonstrated evidence of safe elementary transition.” It is not defined how long it will take to demonstrate this safety, but we do know MS/HS will come shortly after elementary makes this transition. Here is a link to the Hybrid Schedule that was approved by our district and BEA Tuesday afternoon. We still have many details to work out, but I wanted to make you aware of the overall structure so that folks can begin to plan.

---

SUPPORTING SECONDARY INSTRUCTION: This week’s blog post is in recognition of two things: the major push towards improving the ‘F” data and the desire to bring our synchronous time more in line with ODE requirements.  A practice of recording district instruction has the potential to guide improvement in BOTH areas.  Making videos for students not only counts towards the ODE guideline, but it also empowers students because they are able to access the learning on their schedules, according to their needs.  

---

COLLEGE DAY: Just a reminder that the annual, district-wide Career and College Day is this Friday, Nov. 20. Don’t let the ‘freeze’ or CDL slow our fun – dress up wherever you are working from. Be sure to encourage students to do the same. Bonus points for creativity!

We look forward to seeing your fun ‘at-work’, CDL, and/or LIPI Career and College Day photos on social media. You can also send them to [email protected] for the next district newsletter.

---

STATEWIDE ASSESSMENTS: At this time we are assuming that there will be statewide assessments this spring. We will communicate this with our families, as well as the Opt Out procedures, in this weeks family message. The information has also been added to our school webpage.

---

BOND TECHNOLOGY CLASSROOM UPDATE: After discussion and approval by the ICCL team, we are sharing our new classroom technology standards. Each classroom will have a ceiling mounted projector and Apple TV! This standard setup will allow wireless projecting from staff computers and staff/student iPads. This update removes the need for technology carts and the old school doc cams (as the iPad can be used as a doc cam). In addition to this new classroom standard, we are providing staff with two additional options:

• Option #1: iPad as doc cam with iPad stand (click here for an example)
• Option #2: Continue to use old school doc cam using a 15ft hardwired cable from the doc cam into the classroom wall’s HDMI port. Note: Doc cam may not be supported by IT in the future.

Sign up (by Dec. 9th) on this document if you’d like to utilize either of these options. Reach out to Nole and/or any ICCL team member to discuss these options further.

---

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY WEDNESDAY PD: From Amy Tarnow: The district is excited to start hosting “After School Specials” on Wednesdays from 2-3pm each week (excluding vacations).  These sessions will focus on instructional and technology tools including Canvas, Webex and other tools and engagement strategies pertinent to our current learning situation.  We will share topics through your site’s “First Responders” weekly. 

---

NURSE COMMUNICATION: Please see this important nurse newsletter for staff. Also, just so you are aware, we will be including newsletters from Nurse Megan in our weekly communication with families.

---

HOLIDAY BAZAAR TRADITION: Staff who have been at HDMS a while will remember the annual HDMS holiday bazaar that Marcy Monte hosted. The tradition continues this year virtually! Click here for more details.

---

Reminders:

ADMIN OFFICE HOURS: Admin office hours on Thursday (11/19) will be held in Nole’s WebEx room from 8:00-8:30am. The admin team continues to be available to answer questions and offer support during our twice weekly admin office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays mornings. Unless specified otherwise, these are held in Wendy’s WebEx Room.

---

WEEKLY INTERPRETER AVAILABLE: Please continue to utilize our system of having a Spanish interpreter on standby Wednesdays from 1:30-4:00pm. Use the link on the sidebar of the blog to sign up by Tuesdays at 9:00am.

---

ODE GUIDELINES: Continue to be flexible with deadlines and allow multiple opportunities for students to submit work. See the previous blog post for specific ways to meet these requirements in Canvas.

---

STUDENT SUPPORT TEAM: Continue to follow this student support flowchart when support students and families. Our Student Support Referral Form is live and available for use.

---

ELECTRONIC POWER DOWN: From Terry Cashman: As always, especially prior to breaks, please remember to power down wherever possible. Examples: shut down electronics, turn off lights, etc. The dollars we save by conserving energy are dollars that can be used to support the mission of “Educating Thriving Citizens.”

---

HDMS Highlights:

Quote to consider: “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” ― Maya Angelou

---

To Dos:

ODE STANDARDS UPDATE: Please be aware of the adjustments that ODE made to the standards. It seems obvious that no teacher will be able to teach all that they have taught “in a normal year.” Therefore, the idea of “power standards” take on a whole new meaning – and reality. What are those standards that a student truly must learn in order to be successful in the next sequences course? This is not easy work! Please discuss as a content team how you plan to synthesize the information in this document into your scope and sequence for the year and the next steps you’ll take as a team.

---

Bits and Bobs:

HYBRID UPDATE: The MS hybrid schedule will be a 4×4 rotator framework; this is where students have only four classes for 2 to 3 weeks and then their other four courses for the same period of time.  While there are still a lot of details to be worked out (lunches, Wednesdays, length class times, etc.), we have a structure for making these decisions going forward. 

---

ALL STAFF EMAILS: To reduce the number of emails in staff’s inbox, we only send all staff emails on items that need to be shared quickly; all other info is included in the weekly blog post. Please honor this system; send info you’d like shared with all staff to Wendy and Nole by Wednesdays at 4:00pm to be included in that week’s blog post (which are usually posted on Thursdays).

---

VIMEO BLOCKED: The video service Vimeo is blocked for students district-wide. Check out previous blogs posts on 10.29.20 and 10.9.20 to review some YouTube information.

---

NO CDL SCHEDULE ADJUSTMENT : In efforts to squash any rumors folks may have heard, I want to set the record straight that MS is NOT planning to add synchronous teaching/learning to Wednesday CDL schedule.

---

LIPI PHASE TWO FYI: The district has approved moving into LIPI phase two for middle schools for some students. The priority for LIPI consideration will be determined based on this HDMS intervention checklist and this guidance from the district. Our student support specialists (ELL, SRC, and counselors) are currently building lists of students they may consider inviting in this next phase.

---

SUPPORTING SECONDARY INSTRUCTION: Michele Clements and Dean Richards have put together this blog that aims at supporting secondary instruction. This week’s post includes items staff could consider doing to increase the effectiveness and minimize the clunkiness of their WebEx sessions.  

---

TECH UPDATES:

WebEx Security Updates: On Monday, November 30th WebEx will receive another security upgrade.  As of that date, students who are logged in to the WebEx platform will go directly into their teacher’s meeting room, whereas those who are not logged in will need to be let in from the “waiting room”.  More about this change can be found in our blog entry.  Our Instructional Technology team recommends that all students log in to WebEx independent of their scheduled meetings to facilitate the process; logins can happen any time so long as they are done before November 30th.  There will be info for students shared during advisory next week and sent home to families on Friday (11/20).

Apple iOS 14.1: On Wednesday, November 11th, the newest iPad operating system was available for students to download.  Students will not have to upgrade immediately, but will be prompted at some point that the update is available.  When new updates come out, it is possible that we will start to see some challenges with the behavior of other apps.  At this point we have determined that all of our curriculum apps and frequently used tools are ready for this update, so glitches might be the result of students NOT having updated their devices.  Running the iOS update from “Settings” is a great problem-solving step if new app glitches show up. There will be info for students shared during advisory on Friday and sent home to families.

iCloud Logins: We are also recommending that all students login to their school Apple ID to utilize upgraded iCloud storage.  This message has already been pushed out to many staff members and students, more information on how to do it can be found in this blog entry.

---

WORLD KINDNESS DAY: Here is a message from Alandra (please note that any involvement is voluntary!): We know the world, and even our community, can feel awfully stressful and hostile right now. We are hoping to make the discourse in our community more positive and are launching a kindness campaign with regional partners to elevate stories of kindness – with a special focus on World Kindness Day, Nov. 13. If you are interested in learning more and supporting this effort: Here is a list of ideas of how to join both in and out of school. We are hoping these resources will make it easy to join: Writing prompts, for instance; topics for advisory or freshmen foundations; a contest at the high school level; books to read at the elementary level. Additionally, we know many schools are ALREADY doing a lot around kindness. Please consider sharing with Alandra the great work you are already doing. Thank you. And if you haven’t yet watched the kindness launch video featuring our 8^th graders, be sure to do so.

---

Reminders:

WEEKLY INTERPRETER AVAILABLE: HDMS will have a Spanish interpreter on standby available to interpret phone calls or WebEx meetings on Wednesdays from 1:30-4:00pm. Sign up for your 15 minute time slot using the hot link on the sidebar of the blog. Be sure to sign up on the correct date using the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet. The spreadsheet has directions for making 3-way calls and the interpreters phone and email contacts.

Connecting with families ahead of time to setup the meeting is ideal. Here are two possible ways to do that:
1. The spreadsheet has directions on how to text families and a brief Spanish translation message to send them.
2. Send an email to Liz, Heather P, and Veronica asking them to email/call the families to setup a time for the Wednesday interpreter connection.  

That said, calling families with the interpreter without prior notice on Wednesday is acceptable too.  If they don’t answer, you can leave a message sharing that you’re hoping to setup a time that does work.  Then use the remaining time slot with the interpreter to attempt to connect with other Spanish speaking families. 

---

ODE GUIDELINES: Continue to be flexible with deadlines and allow multiple opportunities for students to submit work. In order to provide access and equity for all students, setup your Canvas with the following in place:

• Leave the “Available Until” date on your assignments BLANK.
• Allow students “Unlimited” attempts at assignments.
• Do not delete past Modules in your courses. When you do this, students no longer have access to these assignments. Plus, you’ll want to hang on to all of that hard work for future use!

---

WEDNESDAY ATTENDANCE: Use this spreadsheet (which is also linked on the blog’s sidebar) every week to take advisory attendance for Wednesday. The form will be available to students as a global announcement in Canvas Wednesdays from noon until Thursdays at 8am. The form the students complete and the spreadsheet it populates are meant to be helpful tools for teachers, students, and families to streamline Wednesday attendance school wide. That said, feel free to adjust for student/family needs on a case-by-case basis.  For example, a student could just email you on Wednesday and that could certainly count for their attendance. 

The district scans the attendance data at 10am to create the list of families that will receive the absence robo-call for the previous day.  Teachers should have their attendance completed before then each day to avoid unnecessary robo-calls to families.  But teachers have the ability to edit their attendance in Synergy even after the roco-calls go out.    

---

STUDENT SUPPORT TEAM: Thanks for following this student support flowchart when determining how to best move forward supporting students and families. Also, our new and improved Student Support Referral Form is live and available for use; a link to this form will remain on the sidebar of the blog.

---

HDMS Highlights:

Quote to consider:

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” ―Nelson Mandela

---

To Dos:

SPED/ELL STUDENT GRADING: As the end of the quarter approaches and we look at grade books, we’d like you to be aware that if a student identified as SPED/ELL has an F in class, you will need to have taken the following steps:

• Show evidence of:
  • differentiation (CDL examples found here)
  • scaffolding
  • other opportunities provided for the student to be successful
  • communication with the family (email, phone calls, etc.) in the home language
  • prior partnering with the SRC/ELD teacher

If a teacher has shown evidence of the previous items and still does not have enough information to accurately assign a grade, consider the following: assign a C- or D and add appropriate report card comments (eg: 000: absences affect grade, 040: grade modified to skill level, 070: missing/incomplete assignments). We strongly encourage teachers to connect with students’ grade level counselor and/or case manager (SRC/ELL) prior to submitting an F for a final grade.

This is a Civil Rights issue that we need to be aware of. Additionally, the district is in discussion about pass/no pass being a potential option in the future for students/families during CDL; more to come as we learn about it.

---

WEEKLY INTERPRETER AVAILABLE: As an additional way to support advisors and content teachers making connections with families, HDMS will have a Spanish interpreter on standby available to interpret phone calls or WebEx meetings on Wednesdays from 1:30-4:00pm. Sign up for your 15 minute time slot using this link (which will continue to be a hot link on the sidebar of the blog). Consider looking at the document to see which students are already on the list that you also plan to connect with and “piggy backing” on that time slot. Be sure to sign up on the correct date using the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet.

This opportunity is intended to augment (not replace) teachers setting up their own interpreters for parent contact whenever needed; please continue to use Linguist Link to set up interpreters whenever needed.

From October’s ELL newsletter, this is a helpful resource that highlights 11 tips for success when working with an interpreter.

---

SAFETY TEAM: All staff must be aware of all the items on this staff safety checklist document, which has been updated to reflect new items from ODE’s recent update; please review and become familiar with its contents. Continue to check the Safety Team folder linked on the blog for the most up-to-date safety information and team notes.

FYI: Your HDMS Safety Team is hard at work updating our Safety/COVID Overview HDMS 20/21 to create version 2.0 to meet new requirements from ODE. Touch base with Nurse Megan, Wendy, Nole, Lauren, or any safety team member with questions.

---

Bits and Bobs:

END OF THE QUARTER: The end of the first quarter is Friday, 11/6. This will only affect staff and students involved in a quarter rotation. Grades for classes that are not on a quarter rotation, will show a student’s current grade as “progress” reporting.

---

Reminders:

WEDNESDAY ATTENDANCE REMINDER: Use this spreadsheet (which is also linked on the blog’s sidebar) every week to take advisory attendance for Wednesday. Scroll horizontally along tabs at the bottom to find your name; your sheet will have your advisory attendance data. The data on the spreadsheet will be wiped early in the week and then repopulated with the new week’s Wednesday attendance by students submitting the form on their end. The form will only be available for students to complete from Wednesdays at noon through Thursday morning. Although we’d prefer students to share what they worked on in each class through the survey, any level of completing the form will be sufficient for their attendance.

Sorting tip: wait until you’re ready to enter your final attendance in Synergy (to allow students to still fill in the form until the last minute), highlight and copy the last name column’s data on your tab’s sheet, paste it in a blank spreadsheet, and then sort A-Z.  The spreadsheet is intentionally locked to avoid data being inadvertently adjusted.

---

STUDENT OBSERVATION/INCIDENT REFERRALS: Feel free to begin to use our new SST Referral Form (which is currently in beta). It can be used for any concerning student observation/incident including providing an FYI to the SST team, one-time incidents, and/or on-going student concerns. Our hope is that staff will use the referral form when a student concern arises as it also serves as a data collection tool to identify students that need more intensive interventions. When entering a referral form, please include only facts about the observation/incident as these are often shared directly with families. Staff still have the option of emailing observations/incidents to: admin team (Petersen, Kennedy, McCulloch), grade level counselor, and case manager (if applicable); a SST member will then enter a referral form on their behalf.

---

VETERANS DAY: There is no school on Wednesday, 11/11 in observation of Veterans Day.

---

HDMS Highlights: Amazing examples of our Canvas universal expectations!!