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| BCSD Staff Newsletter |
February 2018 |
Superintendent Letter to Staff
February 2018
Dear Colleagues,
One of my greatest joys as a superintendent is visiting classrooms. It's where the 'rubber hits the road' in our business. I love watching students learn. I love watching the incredible efforts of teachers and staff who create the perfect conditions for learning.
It is thrilling to be in a classroom where students understand the learning: they can answer the questions below. It is thrilling to watch a teacher who provides the explicit instruction and reflection time so that his/her students can understand what is to be learned, why, and how.
We have been working hard on ensuring our students understand:
If our students can answer these questions, they can
own
their learning. (2018,
Engagement by Design, p. 54
) When students own their learning it creates the conditions for students to be actively engaged in their learning. I won't say it will make our job easier (there is no "easy" in this business), but it will make our job much more doable.
Having students who are actively engaged in their learning is a powerful tool in closing the achievement gap. Or as Dr. Quaglia would say, "While efforts to close the achievement gap are noble, we must question how much farther we will get without first closing the participation gap." (2014,
Student Voice: Instrument of Change
, p. 87)
Thank you for all your efforts to ensure EVERY student is engaged in learning.
With gratitude,
GwenCarol
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Communications
Supplemental Levy Information:
Blaine County staff, Board of Trustees and committee members cannot advocate for or against an election using public funds, resources or property. This applies to all Blaine County School District Board of Trustees, employees and committee members.
This does not prevent Board of Trustees, employees or committee members from speaking, contributing personal money or otherwise exercising their individual First Amendment right for political purposes, provided no public funds, resources or property are used. For example, individuals may support or oppose the levy when not on the job or acting as a committee member at a district meeting. Individuals should use their own private email and devices for communicating their personal position on the levy. Individuals should not use their position or title (i.e. BCSD employee job title or committee member) as a part of supporting or opposing the levy.
The Blaine County School District is allowed to distribute neutral and factual information explaining the purpose of the ballot measure. See the website for information on the Supplemental Levy.
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Teaching & Learning
"Teachers need to know the goals and success criteria of their lessons, know how well all students in their class are progressing, and know where to go next." (Hattie, Visible Learning) Watch this video (1.5 min) of a teacher explaining how do develop and set clear learning goals and success criteria before the students actually start a writing activity.
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Technology
This summer 2018, we will move all computers in the district to Windows Active Directory for login and authentication. For many years, BCSD has used the Novell network operating system. We are making this change to modernize our systems, prepare for Windows 10 and provide for better integration with other software programs. It will be faster and easier for all of us.
Access to files on building servers will be different. Affectionately known as the Y: drive and the S: drive for students, new servers will store these files. Instead of moving 20 years of storage, we plan to migrate files which are 5 years and newer to the new platform.
You can help by clearing out old files. It is like cleaning the garage; it feels great when completed. Start now by backing up files from the Y: drive AND the local computer's C: drive to Google Drive, external hard drive or USB drives. If this seems to be a daunting job, start small. Try setting aside a half hour this week to get started. Start by musing, "If this file was gone, I would cry."
Please reach out if you need help with this process. Call 208-578-5410 or email helpdesk@blaineschools.org
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The Buildings and Grounds Department is pleased to announce the addition of Pedro Garcia Vega to our crew. He carries a journeyman HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) credential and has worked with industrial systems similar to those utilized by the District. He will work closely with Jose Hernandez to maintain and schedule the 600 plus heat pumps, chillers, loop pumps, cooling towers etc. that provide comfortable learning environments for staff and students.
Guillermina Rios has also joined the department, taking the open custodial position vacated by Miranda Jones. Miranda moved to an administrative assistant position at the Wood River Middle School. Guillermina's afterschool shift will be split between Hemingway and Alturas. You may have seen her in the past, as she has been working as a custodial substitute for some time.
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Human Resources
PERSI Meetings:
A representative from PERSI is hosting two information sessions on Tuesday, March 13 at Wood River High School in the Distant Learning Lab.
At 3:30 PM we will be offering SET!.
This course is designed for those that are mid-career or late who are now starting to consider what retirement means to them and the benefits PERSI offers.
At 4:30 PM we will be offering GO!.
This course is great for employees who are close to retirement. This will assist them in understanding their options and the retirement process.
Employee Assistance Program:
Provides short-term, confidential counseling, family care giving, legal and financial services for you and your family members at no out-of-pocket expense.
Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including holidays.
Company Code: eapnow
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Finance
The Finance Handbook is complete and ready for your perusal. Please take some time to review this material as some of the procedures have changed, and may impact how you apply for reimbursements and travel. The procedures are the updated versions and are applicable as of 9/1/17.
You can access the Finance Handbook via the Employee Staff Portal
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Click Sign In on the top right hand corner and enter your user name and password
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Staff Portal
will appear on the blue menu bar at the top of the page once you are signed in. Click.
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You can now access the Guidelines to Finance document and related Finance Forms from this page
Finance Handbook Shortcut
Finance Forms Shortcut:
The following In-District Mileage Guidance information is taken from the Finance Handbook, and presented here for your reading enjoyment.
- It is recommended that mileage reimbursements are submitted on a monthly basis.
- In-District travel beyond 90 calendar days will not be reimbursed.
- Only miles that have been pre-approved by your administrator or supervisor are eligible for reimbursement.
- Mileage that is NOT reimbursable:
- Mileage to and from home
- Non-District/School related travel
- Reimbursement based upon gas receipts
- In-District travel related to any type of additional duty or stipend assignment
Interesting Trivia
Let's switch gears - It may be a month or so late given the release of the latest Star Wars movie, but here are a few trivia pieces for your reflection. (Editorial material from Bryan Fletcher - the latest Star Wars movie was a big disappointment.)
The Imperial officer's uniforms were patterned after the uniforms of Nazi officers to add to their "villainous" image. (Yeah - that one was a bit of a gimmie)
Harrison Ford asked that Han Solo die at the end of Empire during the carbon freezing process ... ...but his request was denied by George Lucas. (Thank goodness)
Luke's line in the first (original) Star Wars movie "I can't see a thing in this helmet" was not scripted. Mark Hamill said this to Harrison Ford when he thought the cameras had stopped rolling. But, the filmmakers decided to leave the line in.
Yoda actually has a first name! It was never revealed in the movies, because Lucas deliberately decided to leave him with just one name to enhance the air of mystery about him. His full name was going to be Minch Yoda. (I bet that you had not heard this one before)
May 4th has come to be known as Star Wars day - May the 4th be with you. (Non-fans I am sure cringe at this)
In early drafts of the script, R2-D2 could speak standard English, and he had a rather foul vocabulary. Although all of R2's English speech was removed, many of C-3PO's reactions to it were left in the movie.
Chewbacca was modeled after George Lucas's dog, Indiana. (as a side note - the character Indiana Jones was named after - yup Lucas's dog Indiana.)
Email Karen Hoffman and provide her the correct answer to the following questions you will be entered into a drawing for a $20 gift certificate for Amazon. - What is Yoda's first name claimed to be? What is longest number of days in which to submit a mileage reimbursement? Did you like the most recently released Star Wars movie The Last Jedi?
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