Staff Weekly Update
Week of November 12th & 19th
Thank you all so much for another wonderful Veterans Day program! It is such a privilege to be able to honor our Veterans and also shower them with our gratitude. Their sacrifice is tremendous. Also, you never know how our program can impact the lives of others! See the picture below with the caption.
We have one full week and two very quick days the following week before we start our Thanksgiving break and also the start to our holiday season. Let's make these next seven days spectacular!
With much respect,
Connie
Holiday Season Reminder
I ask that 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. 12th
- PTO Food Drive - 11/12 - 11/16
- Janelle Drisko at SGE all day
- Largent out - 1/2 day AM sick day (dr. appt)
- 8:30 - Meeting - Farley
- 8:45 - Counseling Lesson - Wetzel/Benefiel
- 11:15 - Counseling Lesson - Wetzel/Shaw
- 11:40 - HS Peer Mentors
- 12:15 - 1:15 - ALEKS Math - Largent/Mastin - MC Lab
- 1:30 - Parent Mtg. - Largent/Wetzel - Connie's office
- 1:45 - Counseling Lesson - Brown/Wetzel
- 3:00 - Skype w/ Butler Students - Largent/office
- 3:00 - ACR for 4th grader - Watson, Farley, Milam - conf. rooom
- 6:00 - School Board Meeting - ESC
Tues. Nov. 13th
- Happy birthday, Hailey Gorham!
- PTO Food Drive - 11/12 - 11/16
- Rooney/Dyslexia Training - Largent/Andries - ESC
- 9:15 - Counseling Lesson - Wetzel/Luchenbill
- 2:00 - ACR for 3rd grader - Watson, Farley, Lewis - TBD
- 2:45 - Speech ACR - Fure, Clare, Wetzel - conf. room
Wed. Nov. 14th
- PTO Food Drive - 11/12 - 11/16
- Janelle Drisko at SGE all day
- Rooney/Dyslexia Training - Largent/Andries - ESC
- 8:15 - 12:30 - Randee Kleeman at SGE
- 8:30 - Counseling Lesson - Wetzel/Bourff
- 10:30 - Counseling Lesson - Wetzel/McDaniel
- 12:10 - 3rd Gr. Recess Group w/ Wetzel - Jessica's office
- 2:00 - 5:00 - Steele Insurance Benefits - conf. room
- 2:45 - Parent meeting - Wetzel - Jessica's office
- 6:00 - ZEF/SGE Family Book Club
Thurs. Nov. 15th
- PTO Food Drive - 11/12 - 11/16
- Rooney/Dyslexia Training - Largent/Andries - ESC
- ISCA Conference - Wetzel - Indianapolis
- 10:15 - 2:00 - Randee Kleeman at SGE
- 9:30 - Reunification Drill - to be led by Martha
- 2:40 - Staff Meeting - Media Center
Fri. Nov. 16th
- Happy birthday, Liz Lauer-Jones!
- NO RtI PLC Meetings today
- PTO Food Drive - 11/12 - 11/16
- PTO Spirit Day - Ts Dress Like Ss/Ss Dress Like Ts!
- Rooney/Dyslexia Training - Largent/Andries - ESC
- ISCA Conference - Wetzel - Indianapolis
- 1:30 - KDG Sing - Cafe
- 2:45 - Speech ACR - Fure, Farley, Frobig - conf. room
- 7:00 - 10:00 - SGE Social at Wine & Canvas - 5151 E. 82nd St. Suite 700, Indianapolis, IN 46250
Mon. Nov. 19th
- Happy birthday, Jessica Wetzel!
- Drama Club - AM/PM practice & evening performance
- Chaucie's Place K-4th gr. presentations - read details/schedule below
- 7:00 - Elem. Principals Mtg. - Largent - PVE
- 8:30 - Elem. LT Mtg. - Largent/Farley - PVE
- 11:40 - HS Peer Mentors
- 1:00 - PTO Budget Mtg. - Largent/Farley - conf.r oom
- 2:30 - Bi-Weekly Gr. Level Mtgs.
- 2:45 - Speech ACR for 3rd grader - Fure, Largent, Brizzolara - conf. room
Tues. Nov. 20th
- Largent out all day - personal day
- 9:30 - LT Mtg. - Farley - ESC
- 11:35 - ZeekSquad w/ Kyle Beimfohr - MC Lab
- 2:40 - 3:30 - Gr. Level Collaboration w/ Kyle - KDG & 1st Gr.
Wed. Nov. 21st - Fri. Nov. 23
- Thanksgiving Break! Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!
Upcoming Events . . .
DECEMBER:
- 3rd - Coaching Day w/ Jim McMillan from C.L.A.S.S. (click here to sign up!)
- 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
Chaucie's Place - New Body Safety Law
The law changed last year and now, schools are required to teach body safety to students in grades K-12. Sylvia’s Place has partnered with Chaucie’s Place to provide body safety programming for ZCS. Think First and Stay Safe™ is being presented in Zionsville Schools due to the generous funding from the Community Foundation of Boone County.
Think First and Stay Safe™ is a comprehensive body safety education program that teaches children in grades K-12 ways to keep their bodies safe. The children will learn appropriate ways to prevent, respond to, and report situations such as bullying, cyber-bullying, and all forms of abuse or neglect.
This program will be presented at SGE November 19th and 20th. (schedule below) Each presentation will be given in individual classrooms at the elementary level and will last approximately 45 minutes. Although not required, each child's attendance in the program is strongly recommended. Opt Out letters, not permission slips, have been sent home. If you receive any back please send those to the office or put them in Jessica Wetzel’s mailbox. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
SGE Chaucie’s Place Schedule is below.
OPEN ENROLLMENT - IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM HR:
REMINDER #1:
- Some of you have not received the Open Enrollment newsletters or they are going to your Clutter Box and/or Spam folder. These communications contain important information about the benefit changes for 2019 plan year, login instructions for the benefits enrollment site and when to expect the Steele Enrollers at each building.
- Below are the Open Enrollment newsletters starting with the most recent:
- Live https://www.smore.com/vzyxb
- How To Enroll https://www.smore.com/s7v1z
- Meeting Reminder https://www.smore.com/zckdp
- Overview https://www.smore.com/hpec4
- Need to Know https://www.smore.com/nm85f
- Announcement https://www.smore.com/h2cmp
- Open Enrollment ends Friday, November 16th. If you have completed your enrollment, I thank you.
REMINDER 2:
- Open Enrollment is LIVE now through Friday, November 16th. Every benefit eligible employee MUST make an active election even if there is no intention to change any benefits. The coverage start date for benefits elected during Open Enrollment is January 1, 2019. To actively enroll, please visit https://awd.benselect.com, Employee Number is full Social Security Number, and PIN is the last four digits of SSN then two digit birth year (e.g. born 3/1/1980 and SSN is 988-78-9999; PIN is 999980).
- ALL BENEFIT ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES MUST PARTICIPATE IN OPEN ENROLLMENT OR YOU WILL NOT HAVE COVERAGE FOR 2019.
- As a reminder, medical and/or dependent care flexible spending account(s) will NOT rollover year to year. You need to make a new dollar amount election for the January 1 - December 31, 2019 plan year.
- Enrolling can be done completely online! There will also be an Enroller from Steele Benefits on-site in each building during the last week of Open Enrollment (November 12-16) to provide assistance. No appointments are necessary.
- Contact Stephanie Ford with any questions at sford@zcs.k12.in.us or 317-873-2858 x11330.
*ESC CLOSED TO PUBLIC ON MON. 11/12 DUE TO MINOR FLOODING*
Important Announcements & Reminders
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.