Sunday, October 25

Happy Sunday!

Holy Cow! I cannot believe it is the 25th of October already. I also cannot believe our dreams of having students in their seats is coming true so soon! 

This is a picture from Magic School Bus when the bus landed on Mars and is particularly fitting right now. The reason I say that is because we need to think of the school these children are coming back to as if it were a school on Mars. It is a completely different school than any school anyone has been to before. We have to keep this in mind as we welcome the students back. No matter what grade, they will need to be taught rituals and routines as though it is their first year of school ever. 

I must admit, personally I feel better as we learn the processes and procedures that will be put in place. I think it is because it makes me feel like I know where we are headed versus existing in the unknown. As always, there is more information coming this week. I will keep the updates coming your way. 

I will continue to remind you to focus on what you can control versus what you cannot. We have already spent a lot of time stressing about things that changed or never happened. 

I love this quote:

“I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them have never happened,” renowned American author Mark Twain.

That being said, we are experiencing a lot of troubles we could have never imagined!! But within that, there is room to worry about even more. Focus on what we can control. 

Now for the information! Otherwise known as 'Updates and Changes.'

Schedule: I have only received votes for the Schedule B that I proposed. I would like to move forward with that schedule. You can view it here: Recess Schedule

I will be sharing a document next week for you to work out a duty schedule. You will only be covering the AM recesses. I will work to get the afternoon recesses covered.

Information about teacher changes: The district is meeting on Monday to create a timeline for the release of information. I will share that information with you as soon as I get it. I know you want to share the information and parents want to know, but it is what it is. We just have to roll with it! 

November 2nd, Staff Meeting: Speaking of updates and changes... school sites are not allowed to meet in person on November 2nd. We have breakfast for you and then will have our meeting on Zoom.

As we move forward, please be mindful when your PLC's meet. And by mindful, I mean either meet socially distanced with masks, or on Zoom. When students come back into the classroom, each of our exposure increases. If one teacher is unknowingly exposed and then meets in their PLC, all teachers in that PLC will have to quarantine. That puts us in an extremely difficult position of trying to find multiple subs, not to mention many other issues! 

Wednesday, Oct. 28-Meeting: As of right now, I am going to keep in a PLC Leadership meeting. If I decide to change it to a Staff Meeting, I will let you know!

Question Document: I know there are a lot of questions and I will work to get you answers. 

Please put your questions on this document: School Opening Question Document

Data Discussions: I will be sending invites to your PLC's for days that I will be joining your PLC to look at data together. After report cards are done, it is a great time to update your original data sheets and take a look at student progress. 

Have a great week!

And a much needed funny!

Sunday, Oct. 18

 Happy Sunday!

I was hoping you could stop and remember this image right now. 

How are you feeling? 

I know we all have a lot to take in and process. We are all witnesses to the crazy normal of things changing so quickly! At this moment, we are processing having the kids in our classrooms five days a week for 5 hours. 

First of all, this is what we have wanted: Our students in our classrooms, learning and growing. From what I have heard, many are worried about some of the details, like engaging the kids for 5 hours, not having lunch, and more. I have spoken to people in neighboring districts from El Dorado County to Placer County. I want you to know that every educator I spoke to felt excited, concerned, and honestly overwhelmed with stepping back onto campus with students.

I ask that you picture yourself with a "Can Do" attitude. A positive attitude allows us to design what we want something to be. For example, having our students with us, in-person, for five hours is a gift. What does that look like if we design it? 

Other feedback I have received from educators back in schools that the students' behavior has been amazing and they are so highly engaged. Students are so thankful to be with teachers and friends and do not want to compromise their chance of being in-person. How can we capitalize on their positive energy? With five hours, what fun activities to build community can your PLC's plan for your classrooms?

Try to think of not having lunch on campus as a gift. Lunches in classrooms and the multi-purpose room with masks off, shared MDS staff floating between rooms can potentially spread the virus and add quite a bit of cleaning to students and staff. Having worked in other districts, it is not unusual for kids to have a long time span without lunch. I have also witnessed students at our site eat their entire lunch at recess, and not uncommon for students to have 6 minutes to eat lunch in the lunchroom. 

I recognize that this is a significant change from our traditional model, but we will work together to get you breaks during the day, and you will have much more time after the students go home. 

Educators are planners and over-thinkers. It is why we are good at our craft. Today I remind you of a quote from Theodore Roosevelt:

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

Together we will stay safe and be successful. We need to take our planning one day at a time.

With the news, come some updates:

1) I will be sharing our schedule soon! We may move our start time up so kids can get home sooner. 

2) There will be two- 15min snack break/recesses a day. I will create a schedule and guidelines for recess that will be shared soon. I am working to get extra hands on deck to help with recess so I can give more of you a break. At a minimum, my goal is that each of you have one of the 15 minute breaks completely off. 

Request: 

In your PLC's, please create school supply list for each student in the classroom. They will have a set at school and a set at home. 

Also, determine what sort of caddy you would like the students to have for their things and let me know what it is. Please find one at the Dollar Tree. We will be getting them for you and would like to order as soon as possible. 

iReady News:

Your iReady rosters will be updated with new students on Nov. 4th. They have moved the next diagnostic window to Jan. 5-29. That way, students are taking it at school (without help) and it is with any new students you may have. 

CAASPP Window:

For planning purposes, the CAASPP window is from March 15- May 21. (I know, we don't even want to think about that right now!) 

Meeting Changes:

Wednesday, 10/21: Staff Meeting @ 2:30pm

Wednesday, 10/28: PLC Leadership Meeting @ 2:30pm

Sunday, October 11

 Happy Sunday!

If this image doesn't capture what we are working through, I don't know what does. This image comes up when you search for 'The calm before the storm." In my opinion, we are definitely living in 'the calm before the storm,' but I also feel like we are walking a path between two worlds. Which side is which? I will leave that up to you, but I am going to guess that it waffles back and forth between the two.  

Input Needed:

Carrie Vincent has requested that you add comments about students that are going into Champions. This is not necessary for every student, but those that struggle or may have an interesting situation. Your comment can be as simple as 'reach out to teacher.' The student's Champions teacher will be then reach out to you. Many of our Stoneridge students will have one of our teachers, but some will not. 

Please add you comments for Champions students here:

Teachers-Stoneridge: Hybrid Placement 2020-2021

Speaking of AM/PM placement, we are just about set. We will be making some final changes Monday morning and then will be sharing with Eich. 

Staff Meeting Change:

As I mentioned at our last staff meeting, I would like to schedule staff meetings sooner than usual so I can share updates. I have a leadership meeting both this Tuesday and next, and the board meeting is this Thursday. I am going to schedule a staff meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 2:30pm. Fingers crossed it is full of updates, information and all the answers we have been waiting for!! 

Report Card Information and PD:

I highly suggest attending the report card PD this Monday. 

Here is the document with Monday PD Zoom links: Monday PD

Please make your nominations for the TOMMY APOSTOLOS FUND:

Nomination Form

We need your help! Teachers and staff, it is time to nominate any Kindergarten through 5^th grade child you feel would benefit from the Tommy Apostolos Shopping experience. Nominate any underprivileged, low income, or struggling child you feel needs that boost of self-esteem.

The Tommy Apostolos Fund (TAF) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise funds to purchase clothing and other necessities for children in Roseville. TAF was established in 1988 in memory of Tommy Apostolos, a lifelong Roseville resident whose passion was helping children. Based on available funds, TAF coordinates the shopping event directly with the parent/guardian. Our goal is to never leave a child without adequate clothing. 

 

PLEASE CHECK ADDRESSES CAREFULLY. These are used to send applications to the families. The nomination deadline is Monday, October 19^th. Late nominations will only be accepted if space is available.

 

THESE REFERRALS ARE CONFIDENTIAL. PLEASE DO NOT DISCUSS WITH FAMILIES OR STUDENTS! Invitations are sent directly to the families.

 

Due to COVID, this year our shopping will be a bit different.  The applications going to nominees are very detailed.  Volunteers will be given a child’s application to make selections for that child. Final decisions on child involvement are being determined now. However, we will still be able to help hundreds of families have a better holiday.

 

If you would like to help, please sign up online at TommyAFund.com to shop at Kohl’s on Saturday, December 5^th or 12^th, starting at 6:00 a.m. and going throughout the day. More details will be available by November 1, 2020.

 

If you have any questions about the nomination process, feel free to contact Tommyafund@gmail.com

Tommy Apostolos Fund Nomination Form

Coming up this week:

PBIS Team Meeting: Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 2:30pm. 

I think that is all for now. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 

Sunday, Oct. 4

 Happy Sunday!

Thank you for all you are doing. I don't think there is anyway I can possibly express how much I appreciate all you are doing. I am hoping you have gotten to a point where you can finally breath, I know there was not a lot of that happening for quite awhile. The parents and students are also so thankful for all of your work. If you haven't watched the Friday edition of Timberwolf TV yet, please do. I received our first two videos of students thanking their teachers and they were so awesome! The girls sharing are new to our school and I think it is so great how they are jumping right in. So cute! 

PLC this Monday:

I will be dropping into PLC's again this Monday via Zoom. Please share your link with me. We will take a look at the data sheets you worked on last week. I will also be sharing our new data tracking sheet. 

You can take a peek at the data sheet here: Stoneridge Data Wall

I am SO excited about this!! When you enter the scores, it automatically color codes according to their performance. This makes our data so easy to see and discuss. 

Meeting Changes:

I changed a few of the upcoming meetings. Things have gotten a bit out of whack and I tried to line things up again. The new dates are:

10/7 - Staff meeting at 2:30pm

10/14 - PBIS Meeting at 2:30pm

10/21 - PLC Leadership at 2:30pm

10/28 - Staff Meeting at 2:30pm

Brainstorming Staff Morale Ideas:

I imagine you already are, but please start thinking of ideas to share to support our staff culture. Maybe you have seen things done at other sites, maybe you have some unique ideas-- Please share them with your PLC Lead. Also, if there is anything that is bothering you and you think to yourself, 'This particular thing would be better if....' I want to know what the 'If' is! Please share. Let's work together to find solutions. 

AM/PM Lists

We are working on creating rosters for AM and PM. We will pull you in for your feedback when we get it all cleaned up. 

Thank you for all you are doing! Please let me know what I can do to support you. 

Sunday, September 27

 Happy Sunday! 

In case you haven't noticed, I have been reusing things in both the family blog and the staff blog. It is all about efficiency right now, isn't it? 

Staffing for Champions: I will get our updated numbers from Jerry next week. That will tell me how many teachers will need to teach Champions. For example, if there are 22 students that chose Champions in first grade, I will need one teacher to teach those students in Champions. This is how the staffing is determined:

Priority 1) Does anyone have a medical note that states they need to teach Champions?

Priority 2) Does anyone want to volunteer to teach Champions? (If more than one, based on seniority.)

Priority 3) If there is not a teacher after the first two steps, I will be placing the teacher in the grade level with the lowest seniority- district-wide. 

After staffing comes the determination of AM/PM Groups:

On Friday, I shared the spreadsheet with what parents chose in the survey. If they said they preferred AM, their child is in the AM section. As we all saw, the AM/PM requests were very unbalanced. In the next couple weeks, we will be placing kids in AM or PM to make balanced groups. I will be working with each of you to do this. There is no guarantee parents will get what they requested and we have been very open about that from the beginning. 

The balancing process will look like this:

1) We have to spread out the students from the dissolved class among the other classes. 

2) The combo class kids will be grouped and set. Then, siblings of the combo kids get placed in the same group.

3) Next, we have to look at RSP and Speech kiddos. We will have to place these kids at a time that works for scheduling Learning Center time. Then, siblings of these kids get placed in the same group. 

4) We will look at parent requests for a specific need and see if we can accommodate. Then, their siblings.

5) I will look at the lists you provided and place kids. 

6) We will work together to look at the lists and see if they work. If not, we make changes! 

See, easy peasy!! Hahaha! Oh, and then we have to work with Eich. 

PLC Meeting this Monday:

Because it is the first PLC meeting after progress reports, you should all have data to discuss. Please use this form in your PLC's to guide your discussions (It was shared at PLC Leadership). I will popping into each grade level PLC, so please share the Zoom Link with me. 

Stoneridge PLC Data Analysis Form 

Moving Onward and Upward:

As I shared with the PLC Leadership, we are going to work together to make Stoneridge the best it can be. It will be a process, but it is so important we all do it together. Please watch this video that shares my vision for our future and how we will get there. 

I think that is all for now. Quite honestly, we are in a bit of a holding pattern until we see how Placer County fares in regard to Covid case status. We will find out if we officially move into orange, the week of October 5th. If we move into orange, everything changes once again!! #usepencil #procrastinatorswinin2020

Have a great week! 

Sunday, September 20

 Hello All! 

Fall officially starts on Tuesday. Personally, I am READY for fall. I am hoping for a cold and wet fall and winter! 

There are many changes coming. And once we get settled, there is always the possibility of more changes. We need to be flexible and get ready. The best news is that we are planning to have students in their seats on November 4th. It will be a gift to have students back in our classrooms! In the meantime, we have a lot to do to plan and get ready. 

If you are interested in being part of the team that walks the campus and figures out potential issues and comes up with solutions, let me know! 

As far as numbers go, we did receive a preliminary count but it is far from final. They are working to get us the updated numbers this week. I will share information with you as I know more. 

Please fill out the Trouble Shooting Form that I shared last week and share it with me. The purpose for the form is to provide something to the parents that walks them through what they should do before they notify anyone they are having a problem. It also helps the office now where and how to find things in each class when they are helping parents. Thank you! 

This week is focused on getting progress reports ready. Monday PLC time is dedicated to working on your progress reports. I think this will lead you to the recorded PD about Progress Reports. If not, you can find it on the Educator Blog. 

Finally, please find the time to listen to this Podcast with Brené Brown. It really hit home with me and I think it is a very helpful message to hear, especially right now. 

Brené with Scott Sonenshein on Stretching and Chasing

Schedule change: This Wednesday will be a PLC Leadership meeting at 2:30pm. 

Have a great week!! 

Sunday, Sept. 13

Happy Sunday!

We have some pretty excited kids in my house. They were literally counting the hours until kick off this morning. I was asked to make football potatoes and they let me know they would be on the couch, if I needed them. It is fun to have a bit of distraction. 

Meeting Change: As you all now, there have been many district updates. We are going to switch PLC Leadership and our staff meeting. This Wednesday, 9/16, will be a staff meeting and next Wednesday, 9/23, will be PLC Leadership. 

Progress Reports: I know there are many questions about progress reports. I would highly suggest you attend the PD this Monday.

Monday PD

Every Monday the Educational Services Team will be providing optional Professional Development.  All PD will be recorded.  You can find the Zoom link, presentation guides, and recordings after the PD is done on the document below.  

Monday PD Document

Progress Reports

A reminder, Elementary Progress Reports need to go home by September 25th.

There are two minimum expectations from the District when it comes to Progress Reports 1st Trimester:

1. Any student that might receive a Limited on any domain on the Trimester 1 Report Card receives communication regarding progress from their teacher during progress report time.  This includes both academic domains, and the academic behavior and college readiness standards.  

2. PLCs are on the same page in regards to what information they send home and when they send that home.

IMPORTANT-PLC Work:

Zoom Link: Everyone needs to pin their Zoom link to the class board. I know there has been a lot of different instructions as to where and how to pin your links but this is ultimately where they need to be pinned. Let me know if you need help.

Troubleshooting Document: Please look at this document and decide if you want to have the same instructions for your whole PLC or if you want to fill it out individually. I am fine with either. After it is filled out, it should be shared with your families and with us, in the office. This will help to cut down the amount of parents trying to get help from you while you are teaching.

Please make a copy of this document and fill it out: Troubleshooting Document

Also, if you have a 'Where are things located in Otus' document, please share with us, in the office.

Our goal is to support you and cut down on parent emails and interruptions.

Parent Survey: The parent survey is available from Sept. 14-17. If they do not fill it out, their option will default to hybrid. It is ok to tell parents that the odds of keeping the same teacher is much higher if they choose hybrid. That being said, there are NO guarantees! Our hybrid program will be 4 days a week, AM or PM. They do not get to choose AM or PM. We have to navigate too many things to be able to offer an option. Please do not email this to parents, it is information for you, if they ask.

Finally, Jamey shared this video and article in the Educator Blog this week. I am sharing again because they are excellent and they really align with my beliefs. If you haven't watched/read them, I highly recommend you do! We are responsible for ensuring all of the students in our class are meeting standards. This is our non-negotiable. I will be sharing some documents to support your data collection and discussions in your PLC's. I will also be participating in these discussions in your PLC's. Thank you!

 This is Equity 7-minute video

Culturally Responsive Teaching: 4 Misconceptions- Cult of Pedagogy

Have a great week!