Staff Weekly Update
Week of November 26th, 2018
And now that we've come back, we have just 20 quick school days before Winter break, four fast weeks! Let's continue to make the best of them!
With much respect,
Connie
Holiday Season Reminder
As we return back from Thanksgiving break, let's please be mindful of our classroom holiday decor. As professional educators in a public school, we must recognize all of our diverse learners and needs. Many (if not most) of our SGE families celebrate Christmas, but it is important to remember that not ALL of our families do. We need to be sure we don’t cause children to feel alienated under our roof or do something that causes a child to feel that there is something wrong with their family. We may enjoy things that come with the season and this time of year, but we need to be respectful of both our diverse student population and school board policy.
Simply, we need to be cautious of any signs and/or symbols that represent any specific religious holidays. Please refrain from Santa, Elf on the Shelf, trees, etc. Seasonal décor is fine and appropriate. There are many that find balance with gingerbread, snow, snowflakes, mittens, ice skates, snowmen, etc. Simply ask yourself if your plans and/or the decorations in your room could cause a child to question their own celebrations or make them feel uncomfortable.
As we all know, many people fought for the ideals of “separation of church and state” and as a government institution, we cannot promote one religion over the other. Our good intentions every year land us in difficult situations. Trying to balance teachings about Christian celebrations with other celebrations leaves some of our families wondering why we are promoting other religions to their children. We are in a tough spot and these are some of the parent conversations that have come to us, our colleagues throughout our district, and Dr. Robison.
I realize the hard work and a great deal of effort you all have put into your classroom climate each day to encourage respect, caring, and kindness. Please continue to make sure the environment is safe, especially emotionally safe, for ALL! Thank you! Please do not hesitate to talk with me, or Martha, if you have any questions and/or concerns about this message or board policy.
Calendar Items
Mon. Nov. 26th
- Happy birthday, Alicia Lewis!
- Janelle Drisko at SGE all day
- 8:30 - 10:30 - Melanie Bowlin at SGE
- 11:40 - HS Peer Mentors
- 2:00 - ACR for 2nd grader - Andries, Delp, Fure, Largent - conf. room
Tues. Nov. 27th
- Nurse Gorham out all day
- 9:30 - K-12 Counselor Mtg. - Wetzel - EE
- 11:30 - SPED Interview - Largent/Farley - Martha's office
- 1:00 - USS Team mtg w/ Dr. Slonaker + Largent/Farley/Wetzel - conf. room
- 2:00 - Parent Phone Calls w/ Largent, Wetzel, Farley, Slonaker - conf. room
- 2:45 - ACR for 3rd grader - Watson, Farley, Brizzolara - conf. room
- 2:45 - 504 for 3rd grader - Wetzel, Frobig - Jessica's office
- 4:00 - District Discussions mtg. - ESC
Wed. Nov. 28th
- Jen Evans out for FMLA (starts on 11/28 & returns on 1/7/19)
- Janelle Drisko at SGE all day
- 8:15 - 12:30 - Randee Kleeman at SGE
- 9:30 - Mtg. w/ Dr. Robison - Connie's office
- 11:00 - Largent in parent meeting - Connie's office
- 12:10 - 3rd Gr. Recee Group - Jessica's office
- 2:00 - ACR for 3rd grader - Watson, Lewis, Farley, Kleeman, Drisko - conf. room
- 2:30 - RtI Team Mtg - Tammy's room
- 3:30 - Connie/Martha in weekly mtg.
Thurs. Nov. 29th
- 8:30 - Largent in parent meeting - Connie's office
- 10:15 - 2:00 - Randee Kleeman at SGE
- 11:00 - Staffing for 1st grader - Largent, Rowe, Andries, Fure, Clare - conf. room
- 2:40 - Staffing Meeting - Media Center
- 2:45 - 504 for 3rd grader - Wetzel/Barth - Jessica's office
- 6:30 - 8:00 - Going Beyond Diversity w/ Cornelius Minor - Noblesville HS
Fri. Nov. 30th
- K-4th PLC Meetings - Largent/Farley - all day - conf. room
Upcoming Events . . .
DECEMBER:
- 3rd - Coaching Day w/ Jim McMillan from C.L.A.S.S.
- 13th - Staff Meeting
- 14th - PTO Dessert Dive
- 21st - End of Quarter 2
- 21st - PTO Winter Parties
- 24th - Jan. 4th - WINTER BREAK
JANUARY 2019:
- 7th - 25th - NWEA
- 7th - 31st - AIMSweb
- 9th - Law Enforcement Appreciation Day
- 9th - PTO Mtg - Evening time TBD - Parenting in the Digital Age Series w/ Dan Layton
- 11th - SBRC done by 8:00 AM
- 14th - March 1st - WIDA
- 17th - Martha out - personal day
- 18th - Martha out - personal day
- 21st - No school in honor of MLK
- 22nd - Martha out - personal day
- 25th - PTO Spirit Day - Crazy Socks
- 28th - Feb. 1st - Box Top Collection Week
ZTEP AND ZTEP PLUS REMINDERS!
ZTEP:
- A scheduled long observation (40 mins) happens this semester.
- An unannounced long observation occurs in 2nd semester.
- You will also see a secondary evaluator in your rooms for a short observation (20 mins)this year.
- Christine Squier is the district lead for ZTEP questions and would be happy to stop by and help anyone who has questions about SFS or anything else that you need. Please feel free to reach out via email or call/text her at 317-209-6187.
- You're also welcome to contact Connie/Martha, too.
- PLUS teachers will want to refer to the PLUS Checklist for details and due dates.
- Peer Observations and reflections need to occur by the end of December.
- Document your reflection on what was learned during peer observations as artifacts uploaded to SFS by the end of December.
- In SFS, the artifacts need to be named: Peer Observation #1 and Peer Observation #2.
- Please feel free to reach out to your primary evaluator with any questions. You can reach out to Kris Devereaux, the district lead for ZTEP PLUS, via email or call/text at 317-690-1438.
Please look this list over and let us know if we're missing your birthday. Email Connie, Martha, or Angie to get you added. We want to make sure that we have EVERYONE. Thank you!
Important Announcements & Reminders
Jen Evans - FMLA
- Team, this Wed. 11/28 Jen Evans will be starting her FMLA. For those of you that do not know, she will be taking this time off to care for Craig (her husband) as he undergoes heart surgery. I know we'll all be keeping her entire family in our thoughts! Her FMLA starts on Wed. 11/28 and she returns on Mon. 1/7/19. This means that Angie will be solo in the main office. Our entire team plans to pitch in when we can and PTO has also offered some volunteer hours. During this time, I ask that you all please be extra conscious of visiting the office to talk in order to minimize unnecessary interruptions. And, if you have a need that can be emailed, please ALL of us (Connie, Martha, Jessica, Hailey, Deputy Todd), so that one of us can take it off her plate, if applicable. Finally, PLEASE keep your recess radios on and nearby. This will minimize Angie from having to leave the office to head out to recess to get a student. Thanks, everyone, for your help and most of all of your understanding.
STAFF MEETING
- This Thurs. 11/29 will be our November Staff Meeting in the Media Center. Our topics will be on See Saw, FlipGrid, and E-days presented by Anne, Abby, Katie, Leslie, Tara, and Kyle.
Color Printer Reminder
- Our Color printer is going through ink VERY quickly. (1/2 of the toner is gone and it was put in two weeks ago. Yikes!) One reason is that there are black and white pages being sent to the color printer and not the Follow-Me Printer. It is imperative that you check to see which printer you are sending things to before you hit the print button.
- REMEMBER . . . PC1-Front Office = Color Printer
- Please be mindful as to how many color copies you are printing as this is a shared printer for everyone in the building.
Professional Development Requests
- If you would like to attend any type of professional development, please click here. Next week, this message will be moved to the "Links to Work Orders and *NEW* Google Form Links" section below and it will remain there for the rest of this year for easy access.
Please Join Our REMIND Group
- SGE (staff only) has an all-staff Remind text messaging group called: 18-19 SGE (all staff).
- To simply *receive-only* the text messages, please text the number 81010 and in your "message line" type in the code: @k29hfe.
- If you'd like to be able to text back and forth w/ me via REMIND, please download the app or create an online account.
- As a friendly reminder, please do not share this code with non-SGE staff members.
Above & Beyond Nomination Form
- On our ZCS website, any ZCS staff and/or community member can nominate the work of any ZCS employee that has done extraordinary work. If you've experienced professional support that is above & beyond, feel free to recognize them through this nomination! Please click here to nominate.
Leaving EARLY afterschool and you've gotten permission from Connie/Martha . . .
- If this is the case for you, please help us by always emailing the entire office team to let them know you've gotten permission and also leave your cell # in the email message, in case we need to contact you.
- Who is the "office team?" Connie, Martha, Angie, Jen, Jessica, Hailey
LINKS TO WORK ORDERS & *NEW* GOOGLE FORM LINKS
Technology Work Orders - Reminder from Dan Layton:
- Click here to access this link.
- It is always extremely helpful if you can submit actual technology work orders for any help you need. Please refrain from picking up the phone or emailing a question.
Marquis Work Orders:
Did your trash not get picked up? Does it seem the carpet didn't get vacuumed? Please help Angie & Jen out by filling out the Marquis work order on your own. Thanks!
1. Go to the Zionsville web site
2. Click on Teachers/Staff tab
3. Scroll down about halfway
4. Look for: Custodial Work Orders by Building
5. Click on Stonegate
Click here to access the Teachers/Staff tab
18-19 PTO Wish List - NEW GOOGLE FORM LINK!
- Click the NEW LINK HERE to access this Office 365 Form
Personal Business Leave Request - NEW GOOGLE FORM LINK!
- Please click the NEW LINK HERE to access this form and then don't forget to SAVE this page under your "favorites."
- Finally, as a friendly reminder of our ZCS Personal Business Leave + good information to know for our newest staff, I have copied/pasted the email about personal days sent by Becky Coffman on 5/8/16. This is per our CBA - Collective Bargaining Agreement
- A. Amount – Each employee shall be entitled to be absent from work three (3) days each school year for the transaction of personal business or the conduct of personal or civic affairs. Such leaves may be used in whole or half day increments. Requests for personal business leave should be made 48 hours in advance in writing to the building principal. In cases of emergency or other similar unforeseen circumstance, requests may be made orally to both the substitute coordinator and the building principal.
- B. Employees are discouraged from using personal business leave on staff development days or to extend a school vacation. If used on a staff development day then the employee remains totally responsible for securing the learning lost from their being absent during that activity.
- C. Accumulation – If an employee does not use all of the personal business leave in a given school year, the remaining personal business leave shall be accumulated for use in later school year, except that no more than a total of two (2) days may be accumulated from earlier school years for use as personal business leave, so that the maximum total personal business leave available in any one school year is three (3) days earned during the school year and up to two (2) days accumulated from earlier school years or a total of five (5) days.
- D. Conversion to Sick Leave – Any unused personal business leave not accumulated for use in later years as personal business leave shall be added to the employee’s accumulated sick leave.