How Is Co-Teaching Working? Share Good News and Enter to Win a Bluetooth Soundbar, Play Finance Trivia, Read About Changes in Technology and Learn About PD Opportunities

BCSD Staff Newsletter

May 2018

Superintendent Letter to Staff

May 2018

Dear Colleagues,

Please allow me to highlight a group of teachers that are doing phenomenal work: our co-teachers! Most of our co-teachers are classroom and English Language Development teachers who, together, are ensuring our students are learning grade appropriate content while also developing the language needed for success. We also have Special Education teachers co-teaching with classroom teachers in a few situations as well.

The State of Idaho and the Blaine County School DIstrict expect all our students to master the Idaho Content Standards. These standards are rigorous and demand high level skills and thinking on the part of our students. The Idaho State Department of Education states:

All students graduating from Idaho public high schools must meet state adopted content standards. These standards are to be used as a minimum threshold by every school district in the state in order to establish some consistency in academic content statewide.

This level of rigor is demanding of both students and educators. It is even more demanding when the student is learning English and/or the academic language necessary to master the standards.

BCSD aspires to be the best and takes actions to achieve this. Our co-teachers provide the support our students need to master both the content and the language in order to demonstrate proficiency. Our students then rise to our expectations and achieve mastery.

This is hard work, but we are doing it. Our increasing participation and success rate in advanced opportunity classes (AP and dual credit) demonstrates that we can do it. I am extremely grateful to the teachers who day in and day out labor to ensure our students, regardless of language, achieve at the highest levels and demonstrate proficiency in the Idaho Content Standards from Kindergarten through grade 12. By ensuring our students achieve this mastery, you are opening up unlimited futures to them. This is sacred work. Thank you. Together we can make the difference.

With gratitude,

GwenCarol

End of the School Year and Retirement Celebration

HOST:

GwenCarol Holmes

WHEN:

Tuesday, May 29 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Help us celebrate the following staff who are retiring (as of Friday, May 4).

Bill	Brooks	Transportation	Mechanic-Transportation	DSS-Transportation
Mona	Brooks	Paraprofessional	Paraprofessional-Regular Ed	Bellevue
Brian	Clore	Custodial	Maintenance Custodian	Maintenance
Donna	Davis	Paraprofessional	Paraprofessional-Regular Ed	Bellevue
Robert	Dix	Teacher	Art Teacher (K-5)	Hailey
Anne	Elmore	Teacher	Reading Teacher (K-5)	Alturas
Laurie	Engel	Administrative Assistant	Counselor's Secretary	Wood River High School
Susan	Feldhusen	Teacher-Student Services	Special Ed Teacher	Wood River Middle School
Ronald	Martinez	Teacher	Elementary Teacher	Carey
Julio	Mitma	Custodial	Head Custodian-Building	Hailey
Kathryn	Parnes	Teacher	Elementary Teacher	Hemingway
Mary	Paterson	Paraprofessional	Paraprofessional-Regular Ed	Hailey
Paul	Ramm	Transportation	Bus Driver-Reg Route	DSS-Transportation
Tony	Randall	Teacher	Music Teacher	Wood River High School
Sandy	Scott	Teacher	Elementary Teacher	Hemingway
Douglas	Simmons	Custodial	Custodian-Building	Carey
Pedro	Terrazas	Custodial	Custodian-Building	Hailey
Mary Ann	Ward	Teacher	Technology Ed Teacher (K-5)	Alturas

Teaching & Learning

Are you needing credits for recertification?

Check out the BCSD Professional Development website in the Staff Portal!

There are multiple summer courses already available throughout Idaho and the surrounding area. If you want summer learning or need credits, check it out here . Each listing has a hotlink to get more information and to register.
Youth Mental Health First Aid -one day (8 hour) summer workshops available June 13 and August 15. Staff members get paid to attend: Certified pay is $150, Classified pay is regular hourly rate. This 8 hour workshop is eligible for inservice hours, not credit. Contact Susie Reese to register: sreese@blaineschools.org
BCSD Inservice Hours Certificates will be sent to those eligible the last week of school via district mail. HOLD ON to your certificate until you need it to recertify - the district does not keep a copy.

The BCSD invests in professional learning so we can grow and improve as individuals, schools and as a district organization. Over the years, PD has taken many forms. Click here for information on the BCSD 3-Prong System.

Technology

The district will be moving away from the Novell network operating system to Microsoft Windows over the next several months. We are making this change because our current servers are end-of-life and end-of-support. We have been running some of them for over 15 years! While the system has served us well, it is time to update to the latest technology. This will increase effectiveness and save resources.

What will change? Logging into a computer will look different. Zenworks will be removed and the computers will join the Windows domain BCSD61.net. Your userid and password for Windows will be the same as Novell but password resets may be needed.

There will be a new file share similar to the Y: drive. The Novell servers will be accessible for one school year in 2018-19 by launching a shortcut on the desktop. Each staff member will be responsible for copying files from the Novell server to the new Windows share. Copy only what you truly need. At the end of next school year, the Novell servers will be removed.

This change will not affect Google accounts or Google Drive. Printing will not change this year.

Before you leave for the summer, be sure to backup your files from your local computer (C: drive) and server (Y: drive aka DATA). Do not store personal files such as music, photos and videos on District servers. We cannot guarantee lost files can be recovered.

Thanks for spreading the word and helping everyone gain understanding.

Please send questions to helpdesk@blaineschools.org

Buildings and Grounds

The Buildings and Grounds crew has been busy cleaning up the sand and debris from the parking lots, servicing the cooling towers, and getting the turf areas ready to go. Earlier this month we had to deal with flooding from a quick run off, causing issues at Alturas, DSS/SCHS, and the Community Campus. The maintenance staff manned pumps, loaders, and filled pallet loads of sand bags to keep the water from entering each of these buildings. They stayed onsite at Alturas well after dark to make sure the site was secure.

I would like to reach out and thank our first responders in the valley. Last Thursday we had a small fan motor inside of a ceiling mounted heat pump at the WRMS fail, pushing smoke into the staff lounge and adjacent classrooms. Within minutes there were multiple fire engines, police, and medics onsite to make sure the building was clear, and to locate the source of the haze. Staff and student safety were always paramount.

The District Safety Committee should also be commended for its due diligence with regard to drilling, radio protocol, and conformance to ICS. The Wood River Middle School incident last week was a great validation for countless hours the group has invested to make sure the safety needs of the District are being met.

Communications

Who wants a chance to win a JBL soundbar with Bluetooth? It's as easy as sharing your good news with communications.

Help us celebrate the good news! What are your students learning? What do you want to celebrate as we finish the school year? Fill out the Google form between now and May 25 and you will be entered in a drawing to win a new soundbar for your home or classroom.

Thanks to Cox Communications for donating the soundbar.

Finance

Important information: Per a new policy that was implemented this year all employees who have an outstanding balance with the District will have said amount deducted from their June paycheck if it has not be paid by June 15th. Outstanding balances can be any amount owed to the District for any purpose/reason, but some of the more frequent balances stem from preschool tuition and meal purchases.

The notification of this new policy was provided in the start of the year Safe School material that each employee is required to review and sign each year. If you have any questions please feel free ask any Finance Team member.

As of the date of this newsletter we will be in our purchasing blackout period. What is that you may ask. It is the time period where we transition from spending funds in the 2017-18 fiscal year to spending funds in the next year of 2018-19.

We call it the blackout period because we suspend purchasing other than for operational and emergency purposes. Since we need all invoices in preferably by the regularly scheduled June Board meeting we close the spending window in May so that invoices on purchases will have enough time to reach our office and be processed.

If you have reimbursements for this fiscal year such as travel or mileage please be sure to send those to us preferably by the end of school, but before the end of June.

Because reimbursements have some rules applied to them that are new this year please see below for guidance so that you do not miss the opportunity to be reimbursed for your 2017-18 approved expenses. The following material is in our Finance Handbook which is provided on-line.

(1) Reimbursements will be made up to 90 days from the date of the purchase/transaction. After the expiration of this time period, the employee will forfeit their reimbursement from the District.

(2) All receipts must be legible.

(3) All receipts must be itemized by listing each individual item purchased with an individual charge associated with each line item. Auditor restrictions preclude our ability to accept any receipt that does not meet the criteria.

(4) Receipts that include reimbursable purchases that are comingled with personal purchases can no longer be processed for reimbursement. Please keep purchases that you intend to submit for reimbursement separate from purchases that are not reimbursable. The receipt that you submit to the Finance Department for reimbursement may only include items that will be reimbursed; no other purchases.

(5) Purchases from L.L. Greens may no longer be submitted for reimbursement. This is due to Idaho Statute that limits a Public Entities ability to transact business with a company who may have a conflict of interest (perceived or otherwise) due to a sitting Trustee.

As an adjunct to the reimbursement information we have received a couple of question on how PD reimbursements are to be submitted for payment. The following procedure is taken from the Finance Handbook:

(1) If PD funds are being used for Travel purposes, please see the "Travel Guidelines" section for procedures and guidance.

(2) If PD funds are being used for university credit payments or the purchase of textbooks, subscriptions, or items associated with university credits, please see the "Employee Reimbursements" section for procedures and guidance.

You can access the Finance Handbook via the Employee Staff Portal

Go to blaineschools.org
Click Sign In on the top right hand corner and enter your user name and password
Staff Portal will appear on the blue menu bar at the top of the page once you are signed in. Click.
Go to Guidelines to Finance on the left hand grey menu
You can now access the Guidelines to Finance document and related Finance Forms from this page

The Finance Forms are interactive PDF's - to access this feature, download the form to your computer and you are then able to complete electronically

Finance Handbook Shortcut

Finance Forms Shortcut:

Since May is the month of Mother's Day how about a little bit of trivia on the subject (of Mother's Day not May).

Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. (Guys did you get that????). Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia, who started Mother's Day celebrations, also filed a lawsuit in an effort to stop the over- commercialisation of Mother's Day. She lost her fight. In the vast majority of the world's languages, the word for "mother" begins with the letter M. Jayne Bleackley is the mother who holds the record for the shortest interval between two children born in separate confinements. She gave birth to Joseph Robert on September 3, 1999, and Annie Jessica Joyce on March 30, 2000. The babies were born 208 days apart.

24.8 is the median age of women when they give birth for the first time - meaning one-half are above this age and one-half are below. The median age has risen nearly three years since 1970.

Many of the sweaters worn by Mr. Rogers on the popular television show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, were actually knitted by his real mother.

(Q) What is the most popular month in which to have a baby, with more than 360,000 births taking place that month in 2001......(A) August, which makes sense as it is nine months after one of the coldest months of the year.

(Q) What is the most popular day of the week to have a baby..... (A) Tuesday

(Q) In France what do they call Mother's Day ......... (A) Mothers Day - they just say it in French so it sounds more eloquent than in English.

So.... Trivia questions time. Email Karen Hoffman and provide her the correct answer to each of the following questions and you will be entered into a drawing for a $20 Amazon gift certificate (or Starbucks if


	Elizabeth Young

you prefer).

What is the most popular day of the week to have a baby?
What do the French call Mother's Day? And, how many days do you have to file a reimbursement request from the date of the purchase?

The winner for last month is Elizabeth Young. Congratulations to her for providing the correct answers and being the lucky one selected from a random drawing of all selection. I emphasize random drawing and please be sure that our methods are above reproach as the entire process is overseen by our in house watchdog Karen Hoffman.

Community Campus

We are looking ahead to a busy May at the Community Campus. We host AP Testing for three weeks from May 7th through 25th. We have two dance performances one by Sun Valley Ballet the first weekend in May followed by Footlight Dance over Mother's Day Weekend. Primary Elections will take place on Tuesday, May 15th. On May 17th SCHS will hold their first Mentor and Community Partner Appreciation Luncheon in the Queen of the Hills Room

We have 3 music concerts May 21st WRMS & WRHS Orchestra Concert; May 22nd WRMS & WRHS Band Concert ; and May 23rd WRMS & WRHS Choir Concert all beginning at 7:00PM in the WRHS Performing Arts Theater. The Bob Shay Awards event is moving to the Community Campus this year on the evening of May 24th

Preparations for Senior Bash are underway and in early June the campus will be transformed for the event that is scheduled for Thursday, June 7th immediately following graduation at WRHS. All graduating seniors from any school in Blaine County are encouraged to attend.

College of Southern Idaho Summer Spanish Institute

Dear Blaine County School District,

We am writing to inform you about an exciting upcoming professional development opportunity for educators. This summer the College of Southern Idaho Blaine County Center will be offering the 11 th Annual Sun Valley Summer Spanish Institute in Hailey from June 11-15, 2018.

The Summer Spanish Institute is a dynamic weeklong language immersion program for adults and provides an excellent opportunity for educators to advance their Spanish comprehension and speaking abilities. Unique in the region, the Spanish Institute provides a significant opportunity to develop Spanish language skills for beginners, as well as students that are more advanced.

The Spanish Institute includes four levels of intensive morning academic classes with extensive interactive practice. The afternoons consist of different cultural and educational workshops. For example, specific workshops for educators have been created and include, "Bilingual Parent-Teacher Conferences" taught by CSI's Multicultural Coordinator, Alejandra Hernandez, M.A.. Another new workshop this year is titled, "La Escula," taught by CSI Spanish Professor, Raquel Arnez, M.A., which, will delve into Hispanic culture and offer suggestions to enrich instruction by tapping into the wealth of culture and experience present in the classroom.

The tuition for the Spanish Institute is $395 per person. This includes 15 hours of morning academic instruction and 17 hours of cultural and educational afternoon workshops. The workshops provide meaningful, fun language practice while also providing insights into a diversity and richness of Spanish-speaking cultures.

Highly qualified, experienced instructors with advanced degrees teach the morning classes and the afternoon workshops are taught by a diverse group of exceptional educators, many of whom come from Spanish speaking countries.

Registration is now open. Tuition for the week is $395. Two lower division credits are available through the College of Southern Idaho or two upper division credits are available from Idaho State University for an additional fee.

Here is a link to more information: http://offcampus.csi.edu/blaine/summer_spanish_institute/

Thank you,

CSI Blaine County Center Staff