Bearcat Team,

Across our entire country, teachers and school staff are experiencing stress, constant change, and increased conflict within their communities. These difficulties are taking their toll on all of us. 

I want to say thank you to each of you for everything you do to serve our children every day - preparing lessons and grading student work, sponsoring clubs and tutoring after school, working extra during the week and throughout the weekend, responding to crises at school, giving generously to food drives, fundraisers, and the United Way, calming kids in distress, watching out for our elementary-aged “runners” and bringing them safely back to school, and listening and responding patiently during difficult discussions. There is no way to account for everything we do. Our district culture is to do whatever it takes and give freely without keeping a list. Our dedication is best described in our district vision: Excellence: Everyone. Everywhere. Everyway, and is what Building Bearcats is all about.

There is no doubt that the challenges we continue to face are real, but what I know about our team is that we have the resilience to overcome these challenges. At this year’s back to school professional development week, Abigail Hill of Grayson Child Advocacy Center provided Trauma Training and we learned about how traumatic events can affect our wellbeing. As a result of feedback from our team, and so that we can put this learning into action and support each other, we are launching the Bearcat Wellness Initiative.

Our next steps will include convening a district wellness team consisting of staff members from every campus and department. Then, we will work together to identify specific wellness challenges we are facing and incorporate new supports that reduce stress and promote positive physical, emotional, and mental health. If you are interested in participating in this team as a wellness ambassador, please let me know.

Thank you to our team members who will continue working on Friday and over the weekend. For those who have completed professional learning in the summer and have Friday off, enjoy your well-deserved break.

Thank you for all you do!

David

The Sherman ISD Technology Department will perform a scheduled upgrade to the Single Sign-On system (SSO - https://sso.shermanisd.net) on Friday, Oct. 8 between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

During this time, students and staff will have limited or no access to the following services: Email (Office 365), Google, Canvas, Adobe CC and Cisco Webex.

Please keep this in mind when planning professional technology usage during the Student Holiday/Staff Comp Day. 

Here's a great funding opportunity for classes and organizations!

Our local Walmart store manager is seeking community grant applications and reached out to specifically to Sherman ISD. The store has a significant amount of funds to award before the end of the year but has received only a few applications.

Topics of particular interest include band, FFA, automotive, CTE and Fine Arts, but funds could be awarded for any educational project.

Teachers are encouraged to take time during Monday's workday to submit an application.

Sherman ISD's annual campaign to support the United Way of Grayson County runs from Oct. 1 to Oct. 29. Katie Baker (ext. 2012) and Julie Kerr (ext. 2005) are the liaisons for the district.

Our campus coordinators are:

Your campus coordinator will be collecting donations and organizing fundraising opportunities at your campus.

The SISD Communications Department notifies families via email when an individual on their campus reports a positive case of COVID-19. These emails direct parents to the SISD COVID Dashboard for further information about cases on a certain campus.

If you receive questions about a notification from parents or students, please direct them to the SISD COVID Dashboard for further information.

The tabs at the bottom of the dashboard will open a campus-specific spreadsheet that gives additional information on each case. At the elementary level, cases are identified by positive test date, student/staff, grade and homeroom. At the secondary level, cases are identified by positive test date, student/staff, grade and extracurricular activities/clubs.

Due to privacy laws, we cannot release further information regarding individual cases.

If you test positive for COVID-19, please complete the SISD Employee Reporting Form. Once the form has been completed, the Human Resources Department will contact you with further instructions.

We would love the opportunity to feature honors and recognitions received by SISD employees. Please send accomplishments and news to Arena Blake at ablake@shermanisd.net.