Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. ~ Mahatma Gandhi
To Dos:
WEEKLY AVID TIP: The AVID tip of the week is found here. Thanks, as always, for setting aside time to dig into this resource and look for ways to implement it into your practice.
WEEKLY ELL TIP: The ELL tip of the week is found here. As you know, it is important that we all continue to shelter our instruction to best serve our English Language Learners.
NEXT CHAPTER: Travis Hanford has accepted a new position as Elk Meadows their lead custodian. His last day at HDMS will be Friday. Congrats Travis, you will be missed! Best wishes with this new chapter!
LEAD UPDATE: The LEAD Cohort is part of our district’s key strategies to support staff in promoting dialogue on equity and anti-racism, so that teachers can facilitate positive and safe critical conversations in all classrooms. We cannot wait for bias incidents to occur to communicate our values of inclusion and equity: we must be proactive and intentional in ongoing work, and in normalizing conversations about tough stuff before incidents occur-or better yet, to prevent them happening at all.
The resources on the LEAD website are constantly changing and being updated. (Coming soon: more video examples of the lessons, and specific Ethnic Studies, Language, Health, and other standards identified throughout the links and descriptions.) Check it out here, and consider bookmarking and returning to it regularly.
MEDIA CENTER UPDATE: Thank you so much for the opportunity to work in your library. We have really enjoyed your staff and students! You’ve probably noticed a few changes in your library, such as the lowered bookshelves that are now on rollers making them easy to move around when needed. This also helps the library feel more open. We’ve also moved the printers behind the circulation desk. This is not only great for confidentiality, but it will help your media manager, Chris, manage the printing flow. There are a few more changes to come – signage, removal of built-in counter, installation of a charging iPad bar for students. It’s going to look great when we’re finished!
SECONDARY INSTRUCTIONAL BLOG: Do you and your students get high anxiety this time of year due to end of the year summative assessments? If so, read on about ideas that can be used in your classroom to help reframe and reduce that anxiety.
Linda Adams, Mathematics TOSA, shares a personal story about how she helped her students excel when the pressure was high.
TAKING STUDENTS OUTSIDE: Taking your class to a different learning space? Use this updated Out of Classroom form. Quickly enter where you are going and when, then submit the form. It will automatically notify all the people who need to know.
SUPPORT FOR STAFF: As always, dial 7330 if you need any support in your classroom during the school day. Below are cell numbers for you to use as well. Please call or text any of us if you need support in your classroom or if we can help with anything else.
Wendy: 541.598.5993
Nole: 541.610.4861
Dave: 541.480.8786
High Desert Highlights:
Big congrats to Koop and theater students for an amazing performanceGetting trucks to honk their horns 🚛 Presented without context: Bedell trash digging 🤣
‘We can, whenever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us. We already know more than we need to do that. Whether or not we do it must finally depend on how we feel about that fact that we haven’t so far.’ ~Ron Edmonds (p.13 from Whatever It Takes)
To Dos:
EXIT TICKET: Here is the survey from Wednesday’s PD, please make sure your voice is heard.
CALENDAR: Make sure to check the HDMS calender of events. Update, we will have a staff meeting next Tuesday April 5th at 8.30 in Wendy’s WebEx room.
STAFFING UPDATE: For the rest of this year I’d like to welcome Chris and Bruno! Chris Ruff will be supporting the Media Center 8.30-1.40 (in the afternoons he supports Math and teaches French). The afternoons in the Media Center will be covered by Tracy Howk, Christie Boen and myself. Bruno Cappelletti will be supporting in the Den 8.30-noon daily. Welcome to HDMS!
PLAN FOR SPRING CONFERENCES: Staff voted in the fall to adjust the district conference schedule. Below is how conferences will look this spring. Conferences will be in person, drop in style. There will be a school-wide scavenger hunt to support families to become familiar with our building (⅔ of our families haven’t been in the building yet!). It may feel more like Open House. Spanish interpreters will be on site to support individual conversations. I strongly encourage you to set up student-led conferences as these are a great way for students to ‘own their learning’ as well as support teachers not having to be multiple places at the same time. It also shares the responsibility of the learning and knowledge, instead of the teacher being the only one who can share academic progress with parents. Several departments are having students do “take home” conferences as a way to have students share what they have learned with families prior to coming to the school.
Wed. April 13- SIW Individual work time (conf. prep)
Wed. April 13- Conference from 4:00-8:00 (4 hours conf. after work day ends…to get Friday off)
Fri. April 15- Teachers don’t report to work as they have worked 8 hours of trade time
This note is directly from our district office: As you know and you have probably communicated, our conferences will be in person with the parents having the option to request a virtual conference. I have had a couple teachers reach out about doing fully virtual conferences because of health concerns. An ADA accommodation will need to be requested in order for this to be approved. To initiate this, the teacher needs to email HR Benefits ([email protected]) with his or her request. It would also be helpful in this email to include any note from a doctor. They are probably going to ask for that anyway so this will just reduce the emails going back and forth.
GRADES: The end of the 3rd quarter is approaching. Make sure that you check grades on synergy and see that they match your grades on Canvas. Remember, you will be posting your grades and starting fresh for quarter 4. Any assignments with due dates for quarter 4 will only affect the 4th quarter grades.
Unless you teach quarterly classes, the only edit you’ll need to make is to change the previous weeks button so that it links to the ‘Previous Weeks Quarter 4’ page’.
Please reach out to your friendly neighborhood Canvas coach if you need any assistance. The end of 3rd quarter is April 14th and teachers will need to post grades by 4:30pm on April 15th.
WEEKLY AVID & ELL TIP: Although these tips are in the blog weekly, please don’t just scroll past them! Both teams work hard on putting these resources together, and we know that staff utilizing these strategies in their lessons supports positive student outcomes. The AVID tip of the week is found here and the ELL tip of the week is found here.
Bits and Bobs:
STATE TESTING OPT OUT FORMS: If a student brings one of these forms to you, please route to Karina.
FIELD TRIPS: This note is directly from our district office: We are actively looking for the best way to support teachers who are looking to take field trips during a time of limited subs and limited transportation. We keep working to find the way to make it as simple and effective that we can. Submitting a transportation request does not mean the field trip is approved. There are three steps to having a field trip approved
Teachers submit a field trip request form to their principal (approval pending)
Submit a transportation request to Transportation (approval pending)
TLC will cross reference with any substitute needs for that day via Absence Management System in Frontline
Level leads will meet once a week (Thursdays) to approve the field trip and communicate approval. (Approved!)
Transportation will need to begin routing buses at least 3 weeks ahead of time. We recommend that you get any transportation requests at least 4 weeks before the field trip. Please communicate to your teachers that they should anticipate a month lead time when requesting a field trip
RESPONDING TO BIAS INCIDENTS: (from the DEI Department): Thank you for the recent and ongoing conversation around bias incidents, and for ensuring that all staff in your building have access to the reporting tool.
Here are tips for managing the reporting logistics. (If submitting a district bias report, you must forward the automated email response to Wendy and Nole.)
Here are sentence frames staff can use to interrupt when bias happens. If you would like partnership on a quick training/calibration conversation at your upcoming staff meeting, please reach out.
Here is the DEI Department newsletter from a few weeks ago, with additional resources for having difficult conversations.
SECONDARY INSTRUCTIONAL BLOG: This week’s blog is from Culture of Care Coach (and former Bend High School Psychologist) Amy Yillik. She shares strategies to help us make the final push.
MAC SURVEY: will be the week of April 11th. Please complete the training by Friday April 8th, 2022. You can stop and restart the training if you do not complete it all at one time. You may have activities that you perform as part of your job that are claimable for reimbursement on MAC Survey Day, and if not, just by being a part of our trained employee base, your salary and benefits contribute to our reimbursement dollars dedicated to FAN. It will take approximately 22 minutes to complete. There is an optional MAC Training Video that will assist you with your MAC Training. You can minimize the MAC Training Video and listen to it in the background while clicking through your MAC Training slides. Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can help in any way. Thank you so much for completing your MAC Training and supporting the FAN program!
Reminders:
SUMMER SCHOOL:Programming for summer programs is off and rolling. Kevin Milner is taking the lead on this, with summer learning options looking similar to last year. Programming (Jump Start (Gr. 1-5) and Spark (Gr. 6-8) will target learning and enrichment opportunities for our district’s traditionally underserved student populations (gr.1-8) and help these students to get an early start on learning classroom/school routines, along with strategies that will help them to be successful learners in the year ahead. In addition, we will offer participating students with enrichment opportunities that they normally would not experience during their time when they are outside of school.
The process to select students for Jump Start and Spark will be coming up in April.
Dates: August 1-19, Monday-Friday
Times: SPARK 6-8 GRADES – (9:00-1:00) Day will include academic, with enrichment built into the schedule.
Middle School Sites:
Pilot Butte (Students from PBMS, Realms)
Cascade: (Students from Pacific Crest and Cascade)
Sky View: (Students from High Desert and Sky View)
LaPine Middle School
Postings for Spark Deans of Students will be coming out soon, with postings for classroom teachers, enrichment teachers, educational assistants, office managers, food service, nurses and other positions to follow in April. Kevin Milner is the lead contact if you have further questions.
‘The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.’ ~Elanor Roosevelt
To Dos:
STAFF PD SELECTION: We look forward to connecting as a whole staff for the professional development planned during SIW time on March 30, 2022. Our three SIW PDs will focus on the three areas we have been observed on over the course of the year using the Mini Observation Feedback Tool:
March 30- Productive Response to Student Needs
April- Education for All
May- High Quality Instruction
In our efforts to support staff choice/voice in what PD they attend, please rate your interest in each subtopic on this survey and we will do our best to honor your preference, while balancing each small group..
As you likely know, microaggressions are everyday actions, comments, and behaviors which are derogatory or hostile to any marginalized identity group. As a staff, we spent time on this topic last spring, covering this tool during an equity activity in a staff meeting and sharing this important document from the HDMS counseling team. Also, for your reference, here is the HDMS equity statement. Please dig into these documents and reflect on ways you can aim to ensure that your classroom is a microaggression-free environment.
EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION: Nominations are now being accepted for our Excellence in Education awards! This event is designed to honor district employees who have distinguished themselves during the 2021-22 school year with their leadership, innovation, outstanding professional practice, and positive contributions at work and in the community.
We are looking to honor one certified and one classified staff member from each school, and a staff member from as many departments as possible. The nomination form is linked here and due to Wendy by March 18
CONFERENCE PLANNING: Please consider how you may hold student-led conferences (or a scavenger style activity) as these are great alternatives to traditional conferences and a great way for students to ‘own their learning’ as well as support teachers not having to be in multiple places at the same time. It also shares the responsibility of the learning and knowledge, instead of having the teacher be the only one who can share academic progress with parents. Consider the resource below from the Secondary Instructional blog.
Authors Linda Adams and Colleen Behrens share their experiences with student led conferences as a way to increase student ownership of learning.
WEEKLY AVID & ELL TIP: When we return from spring break, please set aside time early in the week to review the weekly AVID and ELL tips and look for opportunities to embed them into your practice. The AVID tip of the week is found here and the ELL tip of the week is found here.
Bits and Bobs:
POSITIVE PARENT POSTCARDS UPDATE: Thank you for taking the time to write positive parent postcards! There are still some labels remaining in the staff lounge, so we’re hoping that you can check to see if there are any of your students remaining and write them a postcard. Thanks to Kerri who added these directions for future postcards to make sure that there is room for the postage.
Additionally, rather than having you give students the postcards that are unsendable as we originally planned, the office staff is going to take any undeliverable postcards, put them in an envelope, re-readdress them, and send them to the student’s family. (Thanks to the office staff for their work on this and to Manuel for the idea!)
FROM THE MALINOWSKI FAMILY: Former HDMS teacher Louise Malinowski passed away peacefully at home on Feb 22nd. Louise will be loved and missed by so many. If you would like to attend her service, details are listed below. Louise loved High Desert with all of her being. From the day it opened she bled PURPLE. Teaching 6th grade was truly her passion. She loved all athletics and did an amazing job as Athletic Director for so many years.
Service details:
Where: High Desert Middle School Gymnasium
Date: April 2nd
Time: 12:00-3:00
We will have a presentation then snacks and social time after. There will be many pictures and stories to share!
Reminders:
DI SPIRIT GEAR: Here is the flyer with ordering information. This online store will be open for orders through Friday, April 8th.
BIAS INCIDENT FORM: Be sure you have read and are following the directive sent out in an all staff email (linked here) on 3.14.22 regarding responding to bias incidents. If you hear offensive, hurtful and/or derogatory language (language with negative intent based on gender, race, sexual orientation, religion) please respond (send offending student to the office). Then, if the language was bias, please fill out this form (state reporting for bias incidents), once you submit this form you will get a confirmation email, you must forward it to Nole and Wendy, without this step we won’t have any details to take our next administrative step (we will transfer the information onto our internal form on your behalf).
High Desert Highlights:
AVID 8 kids wrote formal letters to alumni associations. Here is a sample that you may recognize.LA team, even Freeman’s guest teacher, repping the “Forever Plaid” look (except one didn’t get the memo)Analeigh and Isla
“Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” ~ Malcolm X
To Dos:
AVID TIP: The addition of the AVID wheel course for all 6th graders means that in the coming years all our students will have had the opportunity to be in an AVID class. That makes implementing AVID strategies that much more effective and easier in your class! The AVID tip of the week is found here.
ELL TIP: The ELL tip of the week is found here. We know that sheltering our instruction is vital for our ELL students and that it has a positive impact for all our students!
Bits and Bobs:
STAFFING UPDATE: Welcome to Mr. Crawford! Timmy will be in our SS wing beginning Monday, supporting Laurie’s classes in her absence for the remainder of the year.
EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION: Nominations are now being accepted for our Excellence in Education awards! This event is designed to honor district employees who have distinguished themselves during the 2021-22 school year with their leadership, innovation, outstanding professional practice, and positive contributions at work and in the community.
We are looking to honor one certified and one classified staff member from each school, and a staff member from as many departments as possible.
This year, the district is asking for one, collective nomination for each category (certified and classified), from each school. Once all the nomination forms have been submitted to Wendy, our ICCL team will meet and process the forms and make the final selection to represent HDMS. If you are interested in being a part of the review/selection process, please let Wendy know so you can be included.
As you work to nominate employees, please keep in mind that staff members recognized as Excellence in Education award winners will be considered for our Employee of the Year, announced at our Welcome Back event in August 2022. Then, the district will help support each of our Employee of the Year award winners with applications for state level recognition.
The district is continuing to work on logistics of how to safely celebrate staff members (please stay tuned for more details) but know that our goal is to bring back an in-person awards event in early May.
STAFF MEETING: Here is the link to the slideshow from Tuesday’s staff meeting.
SECONDARY BLOG POST: A tried and true instructional practice used by most teachers is the jigsaw. It is a great way to engage students in their learning while empowering speaking and listening through structured dialogue. The practice has a strong evidence base for improving student learning. This is especially true when a third step is added. In the final step, expert groups come back together and discuss what they learned while in mixed groups. For more detail, check out this week’s blog: Jigsaw Revisited and Revised
Summer School Update from Kevin Milner
Programming for summer programs is off and rolling. Kevin Milner is taking the lead on this, with summer learning options looking similar to last year. Programming (Jump Start (Gr. 1-5) and Spark (Gr. 6-8) will target learning and enrichment opportunities for our district’s traditionally underserved student populations (gr.1-8) and help these students to get an early start on learning classroom/school routines, along with strategies that will help them to be successful learners in the year ahead. In addition, we will offer participating students with enrichment opportunities that they normally would not experience during their time when they are outside of school.
The process to select students for Jump Start and Spark will be coming up in April.
Some details:
Summer School Dates: August 1-19, Monday-Friday
Times:
Jump Start – (8:00-3:30) Day will have two segments: a morning academic focus and an enrichment focus in the afternoon.
SPARK – (9:00-1:00) Day will include academic, with enrichment built into the schedule.
Elementary Sites:
Ensworth: Students from Juniper, Silver Rail and Ensworth.
Pine Ridge: Students from Elk Meadow, Miller, Jewell and Pine Ridge)
Buckingham: Bear Creek, Ponderosa and Buckingham
High Lakes: Students from High Lakes, Highland, North Star and Lava Ridge
Elementary LaPine Site:LaPine Elementary (Students from Rosland, Three Rivers and LPES)
Middle School Sites:
Pilot Butte (Students from PBMS, Realms,…)
Cascade: (Students from Pacific Crest and Cascade)
Sky View: (Students from High Desert and Sky View)
LaPine Middle School
Postings for Jump Start Students Services and Spark Deans of Students will be coming out soon, with postings for classroom teachers, enrichment teachers, educational assistants, office managers, food service, nurses and other positions to follow in April.
Reminders:
CALENDAR: Regularly check the HDMS calendar of events for new additions, adjustments and to ensure you are aware of all that is happening around HDMS. Recent addition: March’s fire drill is scheduled for 3/14 near the beginning of 5th period.
High Desert Highlights:
Students in advisory making Humane Society crafts to benefit out Sparrow
“The classroom, with all its limitations, remains a location of possibility. In the field of possibility we have the opportunity to labor for freedom, to demand of ourselves and our comrades, an openness of mind and heart that allows us to face reality even as we collectively imagine ways to move beyond boundaries, to transgress. This is education as the practice of freedom.”
~ bell hooks
To Dos:
CALENDAR: Regularly check the HDMS calendar of events for new additions, adjustments and to ensure you are aware of all that is happening around HDMS.
ELL TIP: The ELL tip of the week is found here. Please continue to take time to review each week’s tip and regularly look for opportunities to include them in your practice.
AVID TIP: The AVID tip of the week is found here. Thanks to the AVID team for putting this together each week. This week’s tip on “whip around,” which is a great tool for discussions, reviews, and summaries, is found starting at slide 30.
Bits and Bobs:
STAFFING UPDATE: District wide we are down enrollment by about 1200 students. As we all know, student numbers equal the number of staff in our buildings. Our district is anticipating having to reduce staff across all levels to match our dwindling enrollment numbers for the upcoming school year. I plan to receive HDMS staffing allocation by Spring Break, once I have these numbers I will have a better idea how our staffing plan will look for next school year and what these adjustments may mean. As always, I will keep folks looped in, as soon as I have anything to share.
CLASSIFIED APPRECIATION WEEK: Next week we will celebrate our amazing classified colleagues. We certainly couldn’t do what we do without these incredible and vital folks who go above and beyond to serve our students and staff daily. We will treat all our classified colleagues with coffee and donuts in the Media Center on Monday, lunch in the Staff Room on Wednesday and a mailbox treat on Friday.
MASKING: After March 12, masking will become strongly recommended, rather than required, for students and staff. This means our hallways, classrooms, gyms, libraries and other school spaces will likely include students and staff who are wearing masks and those who are not. While this will create visible differences, it is key that we continue to honor all students and staff and help them feel like part of a rich community of learners. There is an informational slide show that will be shared through advisory on Monday March 14th as well as sent home to our families, to support everyone having the same information and expectations.
VOLUNTEERS: Volunteers have been approved for field trips and after school activities beginning April 1: Volunteers must be cleared through our volunteer process AND staff must have a mitigation plan submitted and approved prior to the event. Kerri Green is able to support folks with this process.
CONGRATS: Dean Prud’homme is our Head Robotics Coach, Jennifer Williams and Evan Dickson are our new Assistant Track Coaches. Thanks for supporting our amazing Diamondbacks outside of the classroom as well!
DEI NEWSLETTER: Here is the spring Language, Culture, & Identity newsletter.
Topics:
How to talk about tough stuff (bias incidents, the Russia-Ukraine situation, and more)
Upcoming events and key dates to have on your radar (important religious holidays, LGBTQIA+ advocacy event, Women’s History Month info, etc)
How to laugh in different languages 🙂
SPED ENDORSEMENT: From Ryan Kelling, HR Director of Recruitment and Retention: Check out this flyer. Lewis & Clark is offering an added endorsement in Special Education to teachers in the High Desert Regional District at a special, discounted rate. Classes will be held online to make them more practical and accessible to working teachers. This 10-month program begins July 2022 and there is an information session on March 9 from 5:30 – 6:30 that will be held via Zoom. To register for the information session, please click this link.
SpEd teachers continue to be in short supply, and this is a good opportunity for already-endorsed certified staff to add a SpEd endorsement at a discounted rate. The Special Education Generalist endorsement gives candidates an extensive overview of special education as it pertains to students with high- and low-incidence disabilities. You will learn how to assess student knowledge, as well as to identify and implement evidence-based practices to increase the success of students with different academic and behavioral disabilities. Reach out to Ryan if you have questions.
FREE WORKSHOP: Free opportunity for the introductory training on Restorative Practices, open to community partners and educators in the region! Location Redmond Library, 9.30-2pm. Registration
4/1/22: Introduction to Restorative Practices
4/8/22: Using Circles Effectively
Reminders:
PBIS POSTCARDS: This project had a due date of Feb 28. If you are finishing up the 15 or so postcards to our students please do so and get them to Wendy for mailing ASAP.
High Desert Highlights:
Variel’s PE class picked up 8 bags of garbage from the front of the school and parking lot!
The strongest people are the ones who are still kind after the world tore them apart.
To Dos:
POSITIVE POSTCARDS: If every staff member writes about 15 postcards all our students will receive a kind note from an HDMS staff member. Please work to complete your part of this whole school effort.
ELL TIP: The ELL tip of the week is found here. Thanks to our amazing ELL specialists for providing these tips weekly and their amazing support of our ELL students and families. And thanks to all our teachers for working so diligently to continue to improve your practice by utilizing these weekly tips in your instruction.
AVID TIP: The AVID tip of the week is found here. Consider discussing with your grade level/content PLCs ways to embed this strategy into an upcoming lesson.
PARTNERING W/ FAMILIES TO SUPPORT BLACK GIRLS: Set aside some time to read and reflect on this article from Learning for Justice. See the end of the article for some reflection questions we can all spend some time considering to further our practice. SUPPORTING SECONDARY INSTRUCTION BLOG: Check out this week’s supporting secondary instruction blog and look for opportunities to include these valuable resources covering “Tribal History, Shared History” in an upcoming unit/lesson.
Bits and Bobs:
FEEDBACK: Through the staff survey, conversations with our BEA building reps and individuals swinging by the office, I am going to clarify a few items that have been themes:
SCHEDULE: Next year we will be running the same 7 period daily schedule with advisory four days a week. There is interest among middle school staff across our district to look into a block schedule. The district will only move forward with this if all middle schools are onboard. Currently there is a task force being created (BEA reps, middle school admin, teachers and counselors) to spend months looking at research, contract language, pros and cons etc. This team will then submit findings and a recommendation to the superintendent about this time next year for his consideration. If Dr Cook approves the move for all middle schools to move to a block schedule, this would go into effect for the 2023/2024 school year.
ATTENDANCE/ASSIGNMENTS: Best practice is that all learning activities are put on Canvas so students can access the information if they are absent or if they need a refresh of the lesson/activity. Sometimes when students are absent for unique circumstances it is best practice to exempt students from some of the assignments they have missed due to the absence. These circumstances are typically communicated to staff through our counseling department. Otherwise if students are absent and teachers ensure that the assignment/activity has been posted on Canvas then students are able to complete the work and turn it in. Obviously when a person is home sick the prior is getting better, not school work, so students will need extended time to complete assignments they have missed while absent. If ever a staff member is concerned or curious about a student’s absence, the first thing to do would be to check in with the grade level counselor to see if they have information and if not, then a plan can be created on who will be reaching out to check in with the student/family.
BEST PRACTICES: A key priority within our district’s equity efforts is to improve outcomes and experiences for our culturally- and linguistically-diverse students and families. We know that teachers who have specialized skills and training through an ESOL endorsement are better able to:
understand multilingualism,
identify strengths and assets of emergent bilingual students,
support language acquisition during teaching, and
partner with families through culturally-sustaining practices.
Want to obtain your ESOL endorsement for free?! Bend-La Pine Schools has partnered with OSU to provide a full scholarship to five certified teachers, to participate in the endorsement program. To learn more about this opportunity; understand the timeline, application, and selection process; and ask questions, please join BLS and OSU:
Here are additional details about this opportunity, and here is the application (due April 1, 2022).
Growing your toolbox of culturally- and linguistically-sustaining practices is incredibly valuable and relevant professional learning for educators, as our community grows and diversifies. If you are interested in learning about other PD opportunities related to this topic, please reach out to your building’s Language Specialist, or to one of our district’s multilingual department instructional coaches.
WATER FOUNTAINS: Clearance was given by the health department to have water fountains turned back on. Walt will coordinate with Tim, our building engineer on getting this done.
STATE TESTING DATES:
ELPA: March 7-March 18
ELA: April 25-May 6
Math: May 9-20
Science (8th grade only): May 23-27
Make ups: May 31- June 3
iPad ‘roll in’/clean up: June 6-10
VOLUNTEERS: Volunteers have been approved for field trips and after school activities beginning April 1: Volunteers must be cleared through our volunteer process AND staff must have a mitigation plan submitted and approved prior to the event. Keri Green is able to support folks with this process.
Reminders:
FIRE DRILL: Our rescheduled fire drill will occur Monday (2/28) during the beginning of 7th period.
RESTROOM USE: Please continue to remind students to use their passing periods wisely, it should be rarely that students are using instructional time to use the restroom. When students do leave your room to use the restroom, please reteach the procedure of how they check out of your room, so you are aware of which students are gone at what time.
“ Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful’ ~ Margaret Wheatley
To Dos:
AVID TIP: As an AVID school-wide community, students will likely have engaged in many of these strategies and tips in other classes. This helps the setup and implementation in your class easier and quicker allowing for even more meaningful engagement with the content. The AVID tip of the week is found here.
ELL TIP: SIOP strategies continue to be “look fors” in our classroom observations and are a high leverage teaching practice for all students. The ELL tip of the week is found here.
STAFF SURVEY: Please fill out this survey to ensure your voice is heard as we begin planning our Master Schedule for the school year 2022-2023. Please complete by Feb. 22, 2022.
HDMS CALENDAR: Make sure you check the calendar regularly so you stay up to date with any adjustments.
Bits and Bobs:
EQUITABLE GRADING PRACTICES (ODE): From Steven Duvall: This PLC opportunity from ODE is centered around the same book our district equitable grading committee examined in our work. If you have a school team interested in examining grading practices, I would recommend signing up.
Reminders:
DIAMONDBUCK BLITZ: Keep passing out Diamondbucks whenever you catch students doing the right thing! Watch out each week for the daily Blitz details from Dave.
POSITIVE FAMILY POSTCARDS: Please complete some positive family postcards to be sent to students’ families. The postcards, student address labels, and directions are in the upstairs staff lounge (between choir and art rooms).
PROPOSED STATE TESTING DATES:
ELPA: March 7-March 18
ELA: April 25-May 6
Math: May 9-20
Science (8th grade only): May 23-27
Make ups: May 31- June 3
iPad ‘roll in’/clean up: June 6-10
UPCOMING SAFETY DAY: Thursday (2/24) with a fire drill 7th period. See last week’s blog post for a link with more details.
‘The river never drinks its own water. The tree never tastes its own fruit. The field never consumes its own harvest. They selflessly strive for the well-being of all those around them. ~Mewari proverb, India
To Dos:
POSITIVE FAMILY POSTCARDS: Please complete some positive family postcards to be sent to students’ families. The postcards, student address labels, and directions are in the upstairs staff lounge (between choir and art rooms). To reach our goal of all HDMS students’ families receiving a postcard by the end of February, each staff person will need to complete an average of 15 postcards.
DIAMONDBUCK BLITZ: Keep passing out Diamondbucks whenever you catch students doing the right thing! Watch out each week for the daily Blitz details from Dave.
NAEP INFO: Here is the list of the 8th grade students that were selected to participate in NAEP. Half of the selected students will take the assessment at 10am the other half will take the assessment at 1pm. The assessment will take place in the Media Center. Testing passes will be delivered to classrooms to remind and release students to the Media Center at their designated time.
BLACK MINDS MATTER: Set aside some time to read and reflect on this article from Learning for Justice. Consider this quote: “Too often, I’ve met teachers who feel like it is the obligation of the student to change themselves, to bend and shift in order to show up in spaces that aren’t designed for them. Teachers [must] understand that it is our responsibility to do the work to make sure our classrooms and school communities are safe and inviting and supportive of and reflective of all of the parts of all of our students.” See the end of the article for five action items we can all engage in.
STAFF SURVEY: It is time for our annual survey to gather information on your intent for next school year and your interest in teaching assignments. Please fill out this survey to ensure your voice is heard as we begin planning our Master Schedule for school year 2022-2023. Please complete by Feb. 22, 2022.
ELL TIP: The ELL tip of the week is found here. As you know, of all the BLS middle schools, HDMS has the highest population of English language learners. Continuing to embed teaching strategies like these weekly ELL tips into our practice will have a profound impact on student learning.
Remember to apply course settings in each new course.
Enable nightly sync and sync every graded assignment. The intended outcome is that Canvas ALWAYS matches what is in Synergy. Parents and students should never wonder about their student’s grade.
Apply 50% for missing submissions
Assignment groups in Canvas match assignment categories in Synergy
Grading scales (Canvas scheme and Synergy Grade Type) must match
WEB CONNECTIONS: Tuesday, February 15th, 8th-grade WEB leaders will be excused from their advisory to join their 6th-grade webbies advisory.
WEB leaders will have all the supplies they need and come prepared to have fun and connect with their webbies. Thanks for everyone’s support with WEB. Please click here to view the list of WEB leaders and the advisories they will be joining.
COVID SICK DAYS: Updates from HR- Bend – La Pine Schools (BLS) and our Associations have signed a Memorandum Of Agreement (MOA) regarding the impacts of COVID-19 on the workplace. There is a provision for ten (10) paid COVID-19 hardship days and employees have the ability to request retroactive credit for absences that was applied against their sick leave. This provision extends to Confidential/BLAST employees as well. To determine if you are eligible for the retroactive credit, we’ve created a form for you to review and submit if one or more of the categories apply to past leave. The form is not necessary for leave that will be captured in the coming months as Office Managers have received instructions on how to code COVID-19 related leave moving forward. For staff submitting for retroactive COVID-19 credit, please do not send your school nurse the form for signature. The forms should be sent via district mail (not via email) to Tami Pike. Please include a copy of your submitted leave sheet.
BOOK STUDY OPPORTUNITY: The following is from Jeannie Bloom, Continuous Improvement Coach with the HDESD- COREN is currently reading Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity andhosting a virtual book study with teams from different schools in Central Oregon. One of the authors, Dr. John Krownapple, leads us through discussion and exercises one week and then we (COREN) hold breakout discussions with each team the next week. The book study is completed within a 2-month span. It has been interesting to hear teachers share their experiences with each other and to have them brainstorm ways to increase belonging in their school. We are thinking of starting a 2nd book study (likely this fall) and aiming to gauge interest. Note: There is a $700 stipend for participating and an opportunity to earn a graduate-level credit. *If interested, please let Nole know.
STAFF MEETING: Thanks to those who were able to attend the staff meeting this past Tuesday. For your reference, here is the slideshow we covered.
ELECTRICAL WORK: FYI: CEC will be doing electrical system inspections at our school. You may see them doing some work on or near your site but it shouldn’t disrupt any part of the school day. This work will begin in the next few weeks and will last for several months. The CEC contractor and employees will be inspecting power poles, transformers, meters and other equipment. They will be driving vehicles identifying them as CEC contractors and will be wearing identification.
SCIENCE SAFETY INFO: From our Secondary Science TOSA, Colleen Behrens- Scott Bojanowski, Marsha Baro and Colleen Behrens have been working to finalize science safety documents and procedures for the district. This information was reviewed with science teachers at the last Educator Network Day. These two documents support the management of science safety expectations in your schools. Science and Safety Update and Science and Chemistry Safety Library.
Science teachers must complete their Flinn training by June 4 2022. Here are the options:
Option 1: Day 190: Six hours Flinn Middle School Laboratory Safety Course. Email certificate of completion to Science TOSA
Paid Time: Six hours Flinn Middle School Laboratory Safety Course pays curriculum rate. Email certificate of completion to Science TOSA and she will email the timesheet.
Credit Option 2: Six hours Flinn Middle School Laboratory Safety Course and a project through Bend-LaPine Course Catalog- Spring Term. Credit through OSU, Cascade. Email certificate of completion AND project for credit to Science TOSA.
Science Safety Support Team Members: SHS Callie Pfister; BSHS Casie Bullock; MVHS Andy Young; Realms Heidi Dixon; BTA@ MHS Missy Wikler; CHS Kathleen Glogau/Laura Gemignani; LPHS Suzanne Jones
MENSTRUAL DIGNITY ACT (HB 3924, 2021): Last year about this time, Oregon passed the Menstrual Dignity Act designed to provide free menstrual products for all students. “Menstrual Dignity for Students means that all menstruating students, regardless of gender, age, ability, socioeconomic status have the opportunity for safe, dignified self-care. This program offers an antidote to the common narratives that say menstruation is something deserving of embarrassment and shame.” Starting next week Koop will be visiting sixth grade advisories to share this information and provide instruction on the Menstrual Dignity Act. Our goal is to share with students where they can find menstrual hygiene products at HDMS. You may have noticed the “Aunt Flow” machines are now installed in all of our “Girls” restrooms. Eventually ALL bathrooms will have menstrual hygiene products available to support ALL students. The “Aunt Flow” products are 100% cotton with no dyes or perfumes. The entire product is designed to be biodegradable. At HDMS we recognize this is a great start, as providing free menstrual products increases attendance for menstruators. With that will are also offering a variety of menstrual products that are available in both the Counseling and Main Offices. For a quick overview of the MDA read the ODE One Page Summary. Click here to view the google slide deck that will be used next week with the 6th grade advisories Click here to view the google slide deck that will be used with 7th/8th grade advisories
Reminders:
SECONDARY INSTRUCTIONAL BLOG:
Last week Science TOSA Colleen Behrens shared information about feedback. This week we continue the theme with more information about feedback. There are several types of feedback that helps student learning.
As you look at the types of feedback, think about which type you are giving and see if there is value in varying the type.
What:One day to review a variety of aspects of safety protocol with more depth and attention during the first 5-10 minutes of each class period.
Who: 1st-7th period teachers and all HDMS students.
When:TBD any Tuesday or Thursday in February and May 2022.
Why:To give all students and teachers equal opportunity to access and learn the 2021-22 safety protocols (given inconsistent presence in Advisory because of late buses etc.) and to ensure that we are allowing enough time to review safety protocol more in depth.
How:
Staff will access THIS SLIDESHOW to review each aspect of the 2021-22 HDMS Safety Protocols.
Each period will have a handful of aspects to review.
In addition to review of the safety protocols, Safety Day will include a planned fire drill.
There will be an opportunity to review the content and offer prizes another day. Advisors are strongly encouraged to use the Blooket unit linked on the last slides (coming soon) with their Advisory class the following day (2/25) and again the following week to combat the curve of forgetting.
VACCINE UPDATE: Are you ‘up to date’ on your vaccine? As we start to plan for making masks optional it is important that everyone reviews their vaccination status. The CDC is shifting away from the phrase “fully vaccinated” in favor of calling people “up to date” on their COVID-19 vaccines.
Up to date is defined as:
Ages 18 and older: Boosted or completed primary series of Pfizer or Moderna within the last 5 months or completed the primary series of J&J within last 2 months.
Ages 5-17: Completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines
Not up to date is defined as:
Unvaccinated OR
Has not completed the primary series of any COVID-19 vaccines OR
(For individuals ages 18 and older) completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna more than 5 months ago and is not boosted.
High Desert Highlights:
Congrats to Evan and Missy on their engagement!!!!
2022 HDMS Youth Equity Team founding membersHappy National School Counseling Week to our amazing counselors! Glen Hill, athletic director extraordinaire Twinning with a photobombMore twinning!! Positive family postcards in the upstairs staff loungeHDMS admin team in sync!! (not planned)
‘Together, we can encourage a generation to be unwilling to waste their time, ever dissatisfied with half measures and repetitive ‘light.’ We, as teachers, can challenge ourselves to deal instead in the ‘fire’ – in truth, there are no professionals better equipped for this job.’ ~Matt Kay
To Dos:
SEMESTER RESET: The start of the new semester on Monday creates a natural opportunity to reset for students and staff. Think about ways to embed in your practice opportunities for building meaningful relationships with students, reteaching classroom expectations, and fostering a positive classroom culture. While we know there are many demands on you as teachers, at the end of the day we know the most important component of being an effective educator is making positive connections with students!
AVID TIP: Check out the AVID tip of the week here and look for a an upcoming lesson where embedding this tip would benefit your students.
Bits and Bobs:
NATIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELING WEEK: National School Counseling Week, taking place February 7-11 and sponsored by ASCA, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. It is designed to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. We are SO grateful to Lynne, Joe and Brettney for their amazing work and support as our incredible counseling team!
SUMMER SCHOOL: From the district office- A number of you have reached out with questions about whether Bend-La Pine Schools will continue with summer programming for students this summer. The answer is “yes!” We are currently identifying an administrative lead for the program and hope to get out information soon about certified and classified positions available. The dates for this summer are August 1-19th, Monday through Friday. Both part-time and full-time positions will be available.
EQUITABLE GRADING PRACTICES: As everyone knows Bend-La Pine Schools has been moving through a process, in collaboration with BEA, to examine best practices in grading at the secondary level. OEA has also been exploring this topic of discussion and we wanted to ensure that all BEA members were aware of some available resources.
VACCINE AND QUARANTINE INFO: From Tami Pike: A friendly reminder that if you are not “up-to-date” with your COVID-19 vaccinations (for most, that means being boosted if your initial vaccines were not in the last 5 months), you will be required to follow the quarantine protocol if you are identified as a close contact to a positive case. You do not need to quarantine, if you have had a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis from a lab, health care provider, or health department in the last 19 days. Here is the most current vaccine information.
RECYCLING BINS: Please find the large blue recycling bin nearest to your room and empty your bin by each Tuesday. The large blue bins will then be rolled outside on Wednesday for collection and returned to your area by Friday. This will be the least disruptive way to collect recycling. Thank you!
WALK TO SCHOOL DAY: February 23 is Winter Walk to School Day! This event encourages students to walk to school all year round! Celebrate on by participating on February 23rd, 2022, or all winter long.
Reminders:
ON-DEMAND SPANISH INTERRUPTER: **updated email below** Continue to use Linguist Link for translations as well as pre-scheduled and on-demand interpreting services. If using the on-demand services, follow these directions; complete the form, scan it to your email, and submit it to the updated district point person [email protected] and Ley[email protected].
CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS: The coffee cart returns 2.11.22!! Join your colleagues starting at 8:00am outside the tech wing hall (to the left of the main entrance) for some coffee and community. Next staff meeting is 2.8.22 in Wendy’s WebEx at 8:30am.
STAFF APPRECIATION: You all are doing amazing work and having a massive impact on our students and community. The following quote from Dr. Cook’s most recent message hit home for us; we hope you’re able to receive it: “Believe the compliments, they are real. Those kind words from a student, the note or call from a parent, the text from a principal are TRUE. Let’s take the positive to heart and, as much as we can, try to let the words from our supporters hit harder than those from our critics.”
‘An alternative to the hierarchical model of school leadership is the relational model which views leadership not as residing in individuals, but in the spaces among individuals.’ ~Donaldson
To Dos:
ELL TIP: Review the ELL tip of the week here and consider how you could embed this practice in your daily work.
AVID TIP Review the AVID tip of the week here and consider how all our students would benefit if all adults added it into our daily practice.
GRADING: Review the email sent from our SpEd and ELL staff regarding grading and civil rights. Linked here for your reference.
Bits and Bobs:
DAY 6-10 STUDENTS: Link to list here as well as on the right hand side on the home page of the blog for easy access for your daily check.
INCLUSION EAs: Please spread the word! If you know anyone that would enjoy being a part of our Inclusive Community at HDMS please have them reach out to Nole or Wendy for details. We are looking for several full time Sp Ed EAs for the remainder of this school year. PS 108867
EQUITABLE GRADING PRACTICES: Thank you to our HDMS reps for sharing out information regarding the district’s equitable grading practices team. Click here for further details and connect with Lauren, Ingrid, Nishka, Dave, and Libbey with questions.
STATE TESTING: We have recently learned from the district office that yes, we will be doing state testing this year. As in years past we will begin these assessments after we return from spring break.
SECONDARY INSTRUCTIONAL BLOG: Here is the link. Last week’s topic was Fostering Executive Function Skills. This week they wanted to provide some resources to talk with your students about Black History Month. Christie Boen, District Librarian has curated a list of resources and text that may be helpful for your instruction or to share with students. Also included are things that all of us can do to celebrate Black History Month.
SUMMER WORKSHOP OPPORTUNITY: AVID Summer Institute is back and we are looking to get the band back together. It’s a great chance to develop some best practices to bring back in a way that partners you with other teachers from many other places. For those who have had the chance in the past, it is really an energizing and informative three days. As it stands now, there are four sessions we are considering: Seattle or Anaheim at the end of June. Please let me know if you are interested in this incredible opportunity. Registration begins Feb 8, and spots fill up pretty quickly. We also have limited spaces, so the sooner you can let me know of your interest, we can see about making this happen.
Reminders:
ADVISORY UPDATE: The month of February is Black History Month. The Counseling Department has put together a slide show celebrating important Black figures across many areas, both historical and contemporary. There is a wealth of information and activities in this slide deck, enough for the month and beyond. Please showcase as much as you can throughout the month.
The Black History Month slides and Character Strong/Project Wayfinder are the “must dos” for the month of February. Lisa Meredith’s advisory has also created a couple of videos to help the HDMS community celebrate the Lunar New Year, which begins February 1st.
Please continue to show HDMS Announcements on Mondays. The specialist drop-in schedule begins again February 8th and will be a tab at the bottom of the Advisory Plans Scope & Sequence.
FAMILY COMMUNICATION: Last year’s Youth Truth data from families made it clear that this is an area of growth for us at HDMS. We know that partnering with families proactively and in response to concerns (academic, behavioral, etc.) tightly correlates with positive student outcomes. Consider reviewing this slide show on this topic from October’s PD and reach out to the colleagues that shared parts of their practice with questions or if you need support.
