From the Flight Deck
January 2018 Staff Newsletter
From Frank
Greetings to a new year!! I sincerely hope your time with family over the break was restful and relaxing. It was such a joy to see us all return after the break; well, actually one day after the break!! Speaking of that extra day, your flexibility with the interruption of your instruction or work schedule due to inclement weather decisions is very much appreciated. Please know, we take decisions about whether to delay, cancel or release early from school very seriously with much thought and attention. The safety of our students and staff are the highest priority when making these calls.
I wanted to provide an update to the staff about a topic I shared with you previously. As you know, we have been in the process of partnering with Children’s Hospital to provide access to students and families for mental health supports within our buildings. Mind Peace has facilitated our decision to partner with Children’s and we are moving forward with the implementation details. The first step will be bringing a Memorandum of Understanding to the Board of Education for approval in February. Concurrently, we will work with Children’s to identify therapists to work within the schools to provide these supports. We will also determine the first schools to begin our rolling phase-in of our supports. As I have shared, we will begin offering this access to our elementary schools first as it is my belief that early intervention is key.
To crystallize in a brief statement exactly what this means in our service to students, I offer the following points:
Children’s Hospital will provide therapists in our schools for students, in concert with families, access to mental health supports.
Therapists will work with the school and district to determine the referral process beginning with staff that could include initially counselors, school psychologists, and administrators.
Appropriate parental permission and confidentiality will be maintained.
Families will be able to bill their insurance companies for services rendered or work with Children’s to determine eligibility for financial support.
The Children’s staff will be able to conduct training for school staff on mental health issues; specifically, signs and signals of mental health issues.
There will be much more information coming as we work closely with Children’s Hospital to work through the details of these important supports. Our goal is to begin the rolling phase-in of our supports this spring and continue to open the 2018-19 school year. I certainly recognize that more and more children are coming to our classrooms struggling with mental health challenges. This effort is in direct response to these needs, to serve our students and support our whole staff as we all work to be successful with our kids.
Here’s hoping for some uninterrupted days of instruction through the next several weeks. Thank you for all you do for the students of our district.
January is School Board Recognition Month
As citizens who serve children and represent their communities, individual school board members face complex and demanding challenges. Yet, few people fully understand the scope and far-reaching implications of board members’ responsibilities. All Ohioans should recognize the vital contributions of these men and women and focus attention on the crucial role these elected public officials play in the education of our children. They make a difference for students.
Their job is to establish a vision for the education program, design a structure to achieve that vision, assure schools are accountable to the community and strongly advocate continuous improvement in student learning. That job entails an endless string of meetings and school functions to attend; reams of reports, agendas, proposals and other information to read and study; and a host of difficult decisions to make.
The time spent in board meetings represents just a small fraction of the hours school board members devote to leading their districts. They also work hard at seminars and training sessions to keep abreast of the latest trends in educational leadership, are deeply involved in community activities, and spend many hours in the schools and at extracurricular events.
I applaud and thank the Sycamore Board of Education for its commitment to student success and for serving the community.
Welcome New Staff
Christopher Zielinski
Sycamore High School, Campus Monitor
Joseph Heger
Blue Ash Elementary, Custodian
Kelsey Gash
District Office, Child Nutrition and Wellness Director
Lester Sanders
Transportation, Bus Driver
Fitbit Challenge
Up for a little friendly competition?
Get your 2018 off to a healthy start by joining the district-wide Fitbit Challenge.
See the email from Julie Ferron to all staff on 1/16/18 for details.
Deadline to sign up is January 30th!
Meet Kelsey Gash
We are excited to welcome Kelsey Gash as the new district Child Nutrition and Wellness Director. Kelsey, a University of Cincinnati graduate, previously worked at Lakota and Kings school districts before coming to Sycamore. Please welcome her and introduce yourself as she is out and about in your buildings this month. You can email Kelsey at gashk@sycamoreschools.org
Special Thank You!
On many occasions, these staff members will be clearing lots and sidewalks all night and extra early mornings to ensure Sycamore Schools are ready to open for a regular school day or host the many evening/weekend activities in our buildings.
We appreciate all you do!
Looking for something fun to do?
Jazz Concert
Sycamore High School
Wednesday, 1/24/2018
7-8:30 pm
Carnival
Friday, 1/26/2018
5:30 - 9 pm
Cultural Celebration
Friday, 1/26/2018
6 - 9 pm
Family Fun Night
Friday, 1/26/2018
7 - 9 pm
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Thursday 2/1/18 - Saturday 2/3/18
7:30 pm Tickets required
Carnival
Saturday, 2/3/18
11 am - 3 pm