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| BCSD Staff Newsletter |
April 2019 |
Superintendent Letter to Staff
Our Learning Goes Together
April 2019
Dear Learners,
The amount of learning taking place among our staff is amazing. I am extremely grateful for your professionalism and the amount of effort that you give to improving your practice so that together, we can be the best we can be for our students.
In the pre-negotiations meeting with BCEA and the Board of Trustee's representatives, we introduced ourselves and what we do for the District. I introduced myself as the Superintendent and Chief Learner. This comment then led to a conversation between myself and one of the other team members where I shared my admiration for the work Roland Barth did while on the faculty at Harvard.
Dr. Barth stated in
Improving Schools from Within
that principals have to the the 'head learners' in their buildings. If students are to learn, then teachers must be learning, and if teachers are to learn, then principals must be learning. I would extend this line of thinking and say if principals are to learn, then superintendents must be learning.
We are in the business of education. That means we all must be learners. Dr. Barth continues to explore the connections between educator learning and student learning in
Learning by Heart
. He concludes,
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Ultimately there are two kind of schools: learning-enriched schools and learning-impoverished schools. I've yet to see a school where the learning curves of the youngsters are off the chart upward while the learning curves of the adults are off the chart downward, ....Teachers and students go hand in hand as learners -- or they don't go at all."
Here are some examples of the adult learning that happened last month:
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English Language Learning teachers becoming trainers in Thinking Maps,
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First Grade Teachers examining qualitative and quantitative first grade reading data,
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Science Teachers continuing to refine the science curriculum,
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Math teachers continuing to refine unit assessments,
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Language arts teachers continuing to unpack the standards,
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Professional Learning Communities s and/or teacher teams working across the district to use student data to guide their planning and instruction,
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Finance Department staff learning with their colleagues from across the state,
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Buildings and Grounds staff learning advanced locksmithing,
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A multitude of teachers using their Individual Professional Development Funds to participate in classes and conferences in their area of instruction.
I am sure this list is just the tip of the iceberg and that there was much more learning happening that I am not even aware of. Thank you for wanting the best for our students. Thank you for continuously working to improve your practice so that we can be the best for our students! I appreciate you.
With gratitude,
GwenCarol
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Teaching and Learning
Summer Learning and Other PD Opportunities
Do you need college credits to advance on the pay scale or for recertification?
Are you interested in learning and growing in your profession during the summer?
The list is updated as we get advertisements or staff recommendations. Registration deadlines are near for summer workshops.
If you are interested in learning opportunities for improving teaching/learning for students with disabilities, check out the following link at
Idaho Training Clearinghouse.
Contact Susie Reese (sreese@blaineschools.org) if you know of any PD opportunities for spring, summer or next year to share with your colleagues.
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Technology
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| Techies volunteering at Senior Center - Christmas 2018 |
Our long-time colleague and friend, Ruben Rivera, announced his retirement at the end of this school year. Ruben helps so many of us with the Skyward program on a daily basis. It just won't be the same in the Tech Dept without him. His shoes are hard to fill! If you know of anyone interested in becoming the Database Specialist, please share this information.
Incognito mode - Do you use your Google account on different computers? Share a computer with others? To protect your privacy, use Incognito! Otherwise, someone else may be able to open your email or browse as you. Ctrl Shift N is the golden key combo.
What's the difference between signing into Google and signing in to Chrome? Don't know? Confused? Google Tutorial. In two minutes, you'll make your life easier forever. Or check it out on the Technology Department home page.
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Buildings and Grounds
Winter has opted to not go gentle into that good night. We have blown off the WRHS track for a third time and have also completed the Carey and WRMS tracks. The tennis courts at the WRHS have also been cleared. We have started the process of sweeping the parking lots and may utilized the early morning hours to expedite the process.
Field use for sports will be determined by how quickly the turf dries out and can then be thatched and groomed. All of the gyms throughout the District are currently being utilized for practice by our spring sports teams including baseball, softball, track and lacrosse.
Flooding will be a concern over the next few months. Depending on how the snow comes off, and the associated need for sandbags, we may allow the students to again participate in a public service opportunity of filling and palletizing bags for public utilization. If needed, fill stations will be set up at the north end of the Wood River Middle School and north of the Aquatic Center adjacent to the Wood River High School.
Please note that as part of your recycle efforts only copy/printer and newspaper are suitable to be placed in the bins. No magazines or other paper is allowed. If the bundles of paper are contaminated, instead of receiving $65/ton, the county will receive no money, only an invoice for freight.
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Communications
 Do you have good news to share? Let us know! We would love to publicize your news. What is newsworthy? Student success focused on learning is the best kind of news to share with our community. Help us help you, share your news today!
How to share good news:
Are you social? Do you have a social media account for a team, club, or school? We have a lot to be proud of and we are thrilled that you want to be part of telling the BCSD story.
Employees who wish to create and maintain a social media site to promote events, student success stories, clubs, athletics and other programs related to the education of students K-12 should complete
this form
. By completing this form you acknowledge that you have reviewed the District Use of Electronic Communication and Social Media Policy.
Once you have completed this form you will receive an email confirming that you can proceed with your social media account. We will also share links to your site so that the public knows that you are providing a trusted site. We hope this will also increase your audience for the site you want to maintain. Thanks for your interest in promoting the success of BCSD students and staff!
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Finance
Happy start of spring to all.
Mileage and Reimbursement form
- This is heads up that the mileage reimbursement for travel has changed as guided by the IRS (yes those guys that are typically full of unwelcomed news provide something positive). The 2019 rate for mileage reimbursement has increase from .545 up to .58 per mile.
The second relevant aspect of this change is that reimbursement forms that were printed in 2018 (or earlier) and still around the District are no longer up to date by reflecting this new information. Please discard these old forms and use a current 2019 version which shows the .58 reimbursement rate.
Updated versions of the form can be found in 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
Important information
: Per a new policy that was implemented last 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. For all deductions there will be a $25 administrative fee applied. We do not want to apply the fee or even conduct the deduction we far prefer that all accounts are paid off by June 15th.
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.
Spending Black Out Period approaches
- At the end of April we will enter our purchasing blackout period. What is that you may ask? It is the time period where we transition from spending funds in the current 2018-19 fiscal year to spending funds in the next year of 2019-20.
We call it the blackout period because we suspend purchasing other than for operational and emergency purposes. Our goal is to provide enough time for invoices to be received in our office and processed preferably by the regularly scheduled June Board meeting.
PD reimbursements for this fiscal year such as travel or mileage are not a part of the blackout period, but please be sure to send those to us preferably by the end of the school year, but before the end of June.
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Human Resources
The hiring season is now upon us. Provided herein is guidance on how the HR Department will be moving through the hiring process as we have streamlined our processes.
Each Wednesday we will send out an email to all staff listing the current open positions across the District. To apply for any of these positions please go to Skyward / Employee Access / Fast Track Open Positions.
Once a position is listed in skyward it will remain available for a term of seven (7) calendar days after which it will close for review of internal candidates, or in the event that no applications are received will be opened to external candidates.
We have streamlined the process for applying for in-District vacancies. When doing so you will find four questions that will need to be answered. These questions have been referred to as a Letter of Interest, when in fact simply answering these questions will satisfy the requirement of expressing your interest as a candidate for the position.
Please note that while we have streamlined the process for applying for in-District vacancies we reserve the right to request additional material such as resumes, professional references, and questions to assist in the interviewing/decision process. If you are seeking a position materially different from the position you currently occupy please anticipate that we will request these items.
The following are the steps we will be following as it pertains to voluntary in-District vacancies.
The Master Agreement defines this process for certified staff.
- Staff who have been displaced who possess a continuing contract must be considered for an opening first. If there are two openings and one displaced cert staff with a continuing contract - the two principals with the openings must work together to determine who will accept the displaced cert. Staff returning from LOA fall into this category. We must provide them a place in District, not necessarily the place they held prior to their LOA.
- In building request for transfers. We are looking at this from the lens of in-house and possessing the credential for the position.
- Open the position District wide
Switching gears to classified: Essentially we are defining the steps in the same manner as above so we are consistent despite the fact there is no compelling Master Agreement which mandates it.
- Staff who have been displaced will be considered first for an open classified position. Principals will determine if the applicant fits the profile of the assignment, however are not required to hire any applicant in this category.
- In-building staff who have a work history of the same type of work should be considered for the position - but again there is no mandate to hire that applicant.
- Open up to in-building staff who do not have previous work experience in the position and staff across the District. Again there is no mandate to hire any of these applicants if the Principal does not feel the applicant is the proper fit for the assignment.
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BCSD Community Campus
April 5 - May 4 Special events at the Community Campus
- Monday, April 8 - Dorrance Dance and Tap Company workshop
- Tuesday, April 9 - ERC is hosting a weed & landscaping workshop
- Wednesday, April 10th - Kindergarten Registration for Alturas, Bellevue and Hailey Elementary Schools
- Friday & Saturday, April 12th & 13th - Fiddlers of Idaho State Championships
- Thursday - Saturday April 18 - 20 - Hailey Public Library Book Sale
- Wednesday & Thursday, April 17 & 18; 24 & 25 - BCEA and BCSD Negotiations
- Thursday, April 18 - ISU One Act Showcase performed by WRHS and SCHS students
- Thursday, April 25 - 5th Annual WRHS One Act Festival
- Friday, April 26 - CSI's Passports and Passages
- Friday & Saturday, April 26 & 27 - School of Music Honors Recitals
- Monday, April 29th - Max Brooks, American Actor & Author Lecture
- Friday, May 3 - SCHS All-School Prom
- Saturday, May 4 - SV Ballet Spring Dance Recital
Contact information for these events can be accessed by clicking on the Community Campus Calendar link
Community Campus Calendar
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Virtual Lip Sync Battle for Teacher, Staff and Admin
Please join us for our first annual virtual lip sync battle between the schools!
Submit one original video to BCEF with a completed registration form by May 15
Receive $200 per team per school just for signing up
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One Team per school in the Blaine County School District
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Eligible team members include teachers, faculty, administrations and staff.
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Each team can have from 1 to 10 participating members
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All team members name must be on the form and can only participate in 1 act.
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Props and dress up encouraged
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All songs must be the "clean" version
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All videos will be played throughout all schools in the valley and on BCEF web page and made public by May 20.
Winners will be announced on June 3rd.
Competition will be judged on these categories:
- Lip Sync abilities: How well the performer(s) lip-sync the lyrics of the song.
- Creativity: how original the song and the performance is. Props, choreography, costumes and/or any other ideas should be used to make your video stand out.
- Your video will be posted on the Blaine County Education Foundation social media pages and in district schools.
- Videos will be judged by students, parents, and community members Winner will be announced June 3
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