CCS Staff In the Know
WASH YOUR HANDS and STAY HEALTHY!
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has great downloadable posters for children and teens. Please make sure you are encouraging hand washing at your school to prevent the spread of germs.
If parents and educators are looking for resources to help talk with children about this virus, the National Association of School Psychologists has a site providing resources and information.
Long Range Facility Master Plan Meetings

Thank you to all of the staff that participated in the Long Range Facility Planning Meetings. Your feedback is very helpful and will be presented by Dr. Doyle at the Board of Education Special Called Meeting on Tuesday, March 10th. No action will be taken at this meeting.
If you were unable to attend but are interested in learning more about this process please visit: https://www.cravenk12.org/Page/13629
FAQ 2020-2021 Innovative Year-Round Calendar

A FAQ page has been created based on questions that have been submitted to the district regarding the recent adoption of the new calendar. To review please visit: https://www.cravenk12.org/Page/13907
2020 TRANSFER REQUEST PROCESS

The employee transfer list is now open through June 15, 2020. Before placing your name on the transfer list using the link below, an employee MUST inform his/her present supervisor of the desire to transfer to another location/department. Principals/Supervisors will have immediate access to the transfer list and will make contact if interested in scheduling an interview. 

Any employee interested in transferring to another site/position should plan to attend the Employee Recruitment Fair at New Bern High School on April 25, 2020 from 9:30 to 12:00. All administrators and supervisors will be there to meet potential employees and discuss opportunities for next year. After June 15, 2020, transfers can only occur with consent of both administrators. Keep in mind, administrative transfers can occur at any point and there is a chance that we may transfer teachers based on changes in allotted positions.

After speaking with the principal/supervisor, an employee may add his/her name to the transfer list. All principal are able to view the transfer list at the following site:


Feel free to contact HR with questions regarding the transfer process.
( P roudly R ecognizing I ndividuals D emonstrating E xcellence)
NOMINATE A MAINTENANCE STAFF MEMBER AND/OR  A CUSTODIAN 
 
BY MARCH 18, 2020

It is the belief of the Craven County Board of Education the employees are worthy of and deserve recognition. The employee recognition program was created to create a culture of appreciation and honor district employees for the exemplary work they do. The PRIDE Employee Recognition Program is to support the goal work of the board in keeping all employees engaged and passionate about their work that supports the academic excellence for every child in Craven County Schools. The purpose of the program is to compliment other recognition programs/opportunities we have in place and to assist in fostering a culture of appreciation within Craven County Schools that honors and acknowledges district employees as an “essential piece” of the important work we do.
The PRIDE Employee Recognition Program recognizes classified employees who go far beyond the call of duty, doing more than others expect and demonstrating excellence in everything they do. The board of education is seeking to spotlight those employees that maintain the high standards, pay attention to the smallest details, and go the extra mile. Excellence means caring -- it means making an effort to do more. Celebrating excellence is an important part of the Board of Education's recognition of the contribution made by the employees of Craven County Schools.
We will be selecting an employee of the month from a classified employee group each month. Selecting a PRIDE Employee of the Month is intended to provide frequent and ongoing recognition of exemplary staff members throughout Craven County Schools. It is important to honor and recognize those who exhibit a commitment to exemplary performance, have an inherent tendency to serve beyond the call of duty, and who foster a positive learning and working environment for our staff and students.  
DURING MARCH WE WILL RECOGNIZE 
A MAINTENANCE STAFF MEMBER AS WELL AS A CUSTODIAN! 
TO NOMINATE A MAINTENANCE STAFF MEMBER AND/OR A CUSTODIAN, PLEASE GO TO THE FOLLOWING LINK:
ECP Corner:

Just a reminder the dates for the March EC Divisional Trainings are scheduled as follows:

Elementary Training -March 16, 2020 form 3:45-5:00
                      Location:   New Bern-TBD
                                        Havelock- GAB Media Center
                                        James Smith
Middle School Training -March 17, 2020 from 4:00-5:15
                      Locations:  New Bern area  - HJ MacDonald
                                        Western area - West Craven Middle Room 709
                                        Havelock area - Havelock Middle School Media Center
High School Training -  March 19, 2020 from 3:00-4:15
                      Locations:  New Bern area  - New Bern High School Data Room
                                        Western area - West Craven High School Room 401
                                        Havelock area - Havelock High School Room 218

Adaptive Programming update for Istation K-2:

DPI Istation memo:
In rare situations, especially with students on the Extended Content Standards, the IEP Team may determine the student is unable to be assessed using Istation. The IEP team should then determine an appropriate alternate assessment to be used to measure thestudent’s literacy skills. In this case, an IEP Team meeting will need to be held to address the alternate and any additional accommodations needed for the assessment.
In reference to students that are unable to take the Istation assessments, I conferenced with NCDPI and the IEP team can decide on the most appropriate assessment tool.  You are able to recommend Unique Learning System as an assessment tool. This is great news for our students. 
Please make sure you have given your students a documented opportunity to try the Istation assessments before you change IEPs. Also alternative district assessments do not need to be assumed from one grade to the next level. As students mature, they may have more success with accessing the Istation 
If you are going to use Unique scoring, we will need to develop some type of benchmark reporting system for the district review. You will need to note benchmark scores for your students once the reporting system is set up.
If you have any questions, please contact your EC Liaison or Lynn Hardison.

TECHNOLOGY UPDATES:
The SpeakUp Survey has only been open for a short time and our participation rates are amazing! There is still plenty of time to take the SpeakUp Survey, so let your voices be heard! Speakup.Tomorrow.org/D/M5SJ
  
The buzz about Microsoft Teams is growing…if you’d like to learn more about this communication and collaboration tool, check out our newly added webpage: https://www.cravenk12.org/Page/13887 .
Advanced Placement (AP) Classroom Resources

College Board has developed FREE resources for AP Science Teachers in collaboration with educators and based on best practices in schools across the country. The resources will include:
  • Unit Guides
  • Personal Progress Checks
  • Progress Dashboard
  • AP Question Bank
North Carolina Environmental Education Opportunities

2019-2020 AQ-IQ Air Quality Contest for Seventh Grade Students. 
The AQ-IQ Contest gives students a chance to create a project that highlights an air quality issue and provides a solution to that issue. The projects can be a poster, artistic project, video or game, and the students can work in groups as large as four. The project puts the student in the role of presenting the information, which is one of the most effective ways to learn. The contest is correlated with the NC Department of Public Instruction Essential Standards in Science, Technology, and Social Studies. Students can do projects on topic related to air and health, but special awards will be given for the best projects on: Climate Change, Transportation, Earthday and Air Quality, and Fire.
 
Projects are Due the week of March 23, 2020 
 

Cycle 5 of the Governor's Educator Discovery Award Deadline Extended to March 22nd
The Governor's Educator Discovery Award is a $1000 stipend provided to K-12 educators who are interested in pursuing a professional development opportunity of their choosing. The opportunity can include workshops, conferences, or additional certifications.

Educators must be able to connect the experience to work-based learning and detail how it will be integrated into their classroom curriculum and shared with their colleagues.

Cycle 5 of the award is now live and will close on March 22nd at 11:59 pm. Please share this information with educators in your network. If you have any questions contact Kiya Edwards at  kiya.edwards@nc.gov

Good Luck!
This announcement is being sent on behalf of Darrian Bertrand. If you need further assistance please contact Darrian at 919-513-7065 or email: dmbertra@ncsu.edu
Are you interested in interactive learning activities for your students? Have you or your students ever wondered how much rain fell during a recent thunderstorm? If so, an important volunteer weather observing program needs your help! The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow network, or CoCoRaHS, is looking for new volunteers across North Carolina. CoCoRaHS is a nationwide network of volunteers of all ages who take daily measurements of rain, hail, and snow in their backyard or community. Each citizen scientist is very important to the weather and climate community! Each measurement taken fills gaps where there may be no other weather stations nearby. These measurements are used for National Weather Service forecasts, local impacts information, weekly drought condition monitoring, and more.

Each year, we have a national recruitment competition called CoCoRaHS March Madness, in which each state competes to see who can recruit the most new volunteers. The winner receives the golden "CoCoRaHS Cup" but the real goal is to spread the word about this great program and gain new weather observers across the state. We have many teachers and schools across NC that have joined, and the kids really love the interactive activity of learning how to measure rainfall and snow and report the data each day. There is an entire page online dedicated to teacher resources, with lesson plans, videos, and FAQs. https://www.cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=CoCoRaHS_Schools

How does one become a CoCoRaHS observer? Go to https://www.cocorahs.org and click on the “Join CoCoRaHS” emblem on the upper right side of the main website. After registering, take the simple online training, order your 4-inch rain gauge (~$35-40 on Amazon or WeatherYourWay.com), and start reporting! If you'd like to learn more about the March Madness competition or want to keep up with the rankings, click here. https://www.cocorahs.org/

I am the NC CoCoRaHS State Co-coordinator and a climatologist at the State Climate Office of NC at NC State University, and I'm here to answer any questions and help you along the way. Please let me know if you're interested or have further questions. You can contact me directly at cocorahs@climate.ncsu.edu .
FRC-East

We are happy to announce the 2020 Robotic Engineering Summer Camp presented by the FRC East Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Affinity group being held this summer, 20-25 July, 2020 at the Broad Creek Middle School campus, targeting students 5 th  – 8 th  grade in Craven, Carteret and Onslow counties.  
 
The announcement details may be located in the attached and the application link is   https://form.jotform.com/rdpeeples/lego-robotics-summer-camp .
 
Application deadline is June 12 th  ~ OR ~ until all 32 student seats are filled.
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