Happy Friday, Educators!
Check-In:
We are four weeks in - it's time to check in on YOU! Please complete the survey below. It's designed around a 3-2-1 response. Please include 3 responses for the 3 question, 2 responses for the 2 questions, and 1 response for the 1 question. Please complete this by Wednesday, October 7. Thank you!
Assessments:
Thank you for the great learning work we had on Tuesday around formative assessment
using Catlin Tucker's course (click for slides and notes). As we know, this will be a great area of growth for us all - we are re-designing education! Please continue to build in those checks for understanding and formative assessments - it's critical we know if and where students' learning is at. If you need help with this, the coaches, Ann, or myself would love to help.
Just a reminder - we do not do a formal grading for quarter 1 (no report card). We will grade in quarters 2, 3, and 4.
Guest Blog -
I found this on a principal's blog and thought I'd share....
Office Hours Reinvented
In the spring, we suddenly had the added schedule item of "office hours." We tried to make ourselves available for our students and parents. And now, this year, as we begin the year remote, our "office hours" can at times feel like they are taking over our lives. I know I have spoken to some of you and you are making calls to parents late at night or you are answering tech questions and brainstorming over the phone throughout the day or you are up early responding to the never ending emails. During this new way of teaching, our jobs can easily become 24/7.
But that is not sustainable. That is certainly not an expectation, being available at every hour of the day. And it has the potential to very quickly burn us all out.
So I propose a new requirement. I am calling this new expectation "family hours." I expect that we all set aside some time each day designated to "family hours." During this part of our schedule, we cannot answer emails, we cannot call parents, we cannot plan lessons. This is a time to do something for yourself unrelated to work. This is a time to spend with your family. This is a time for you to fill your emotional cup back up.
I need to be the example. I need to model "family hours" for all of you. I recognize that I will have a mental breakdown if I continue to physically leave work, but mentally keep bringing it home with me. I plan on scheduling this time on my calendar so that I have a visual reminder to focus on self care every single day. I am thinking I may even add it to my email signature so everyone knows. I propose that you all do the same thing. Give yourself the time. I need you and our students need you this whole year, through the good, the bad and the ugly. Set some limits. Do not work 24/7. Schedule in "family hours."
You are the best staff around. I expect the best and want the best. You don't want or deserve what's left of me. So I don't want what's left of you. Time to reinvent our office hours. Family hours. Pencil it in. Schedule it into Google calendar. Turn off your notifications. Take care of you.
Hashtags & Twitter:
First, if you are still not on Twitter, now is the time! Not only is it a great way to share what you are doing, but it's an amazing professional development for educators. I learn something new every time I log on! If you tweet with something you are doing, please use the following hashtags:
#761distancelearning - to share things specific to our program.
#owatonnaproud - to share things, district-wide, you are proud of. Our social media company watches this hashtag and uses it for retweets and marketing.
If you do tweet, please make sure you are not showing students' last names.
Paper Copies:
Please watch the amount of paper copies you are making - at the copy machine and sending to Offset. With us being distance learning, there should not be large quantities of copies being made or sent away. When we end up doing a material pick up (more info coming soon), we will need to possibly send things home.
Upcoming Events:
Make sure you add the Distance Learning Calendar - this will be updated with events!
October 7- Lockdown Practice, 8:45am (know where you should go if a lockdown happens)
October 8 - Fire Drill, 12:30pm
October 9 - CCT Meeting, 7:25am
October 12- School Board Work Session, 5:30pm
October 13 - Save for Invite-Only Conferences
October 15 & 16- MEA Break, NO SCHOOL
October 19- PLCs, 2:40pm
October 21 & 22 - District Flu Clinic for staff
I hope you have a great weekend - go do something for YOU!
Justin
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