From the Flight Deck
April 2018 Staff Newsletter
From Frank
Hello Staff
Spring is finally here!!! As we approach the final month of our school year, please know how much I appreciate all you, the outstanding professionals in our district, do in support of students. I fully realize that as our students see the finish line of another school year, the challenges of maintaining their engagement in your classrooms, on your buses, in your cafeterias or any other environments can be challenging. Your work to keep our students highly engaged is noticed and appreciated.
I wanted to provide a quick update on our master facility planning process. As you receive this, we will have nearly completed both parts of Phase II of our process. We have held nearly 20 engagement sessions with students, staff, parents, community members, business leaders and organization leaders over the past three months to get feedback on the current conditions of our facilities. We have gathered much data in these sessions which we will begin to analyze this summer.
The Educational Visioning Team completed its work this week and focused on essential skills we aspire all students to acquire, guiding values of what future learning environments should hold in order to deliver these skills and issues of pause that we need to consider moving forward in our planning.
We will take all the data gathered in these numerous sessions, analyze it this summer and begin to formulate facility plan options. Once formulated, we come back out to the community this fall and concept test these options. Please remember that no decisions have been made to this point and that this is a Master Facility Plan process; meaning we are examining all facets of our facilities. I encourage you to check out our website for more details at http://goav.es/masterfacilityplanning
As May arrives, I am reminded of the 400+ seniors at SHS who are fast approaching their graduation. Those students were positively impacted from the minute they stepped foot into our schools, some at age 3, by so many caring adults who are committed to serving students. Please know, that as those graduates walk across the stage at Cintas Center to receive their diploma, they are there due in large part to your amazing efforts. For that and so much more, THANK YOU!!
Payroll Update - Change for 2018-19
What is the change?
Beginning with the 2018-19 school year, your salary will be paid in 24 installments instead of 26. Paydays are scheduled on the 5th and 20th of each month instead of every other Friday. If these dates fall on a weekend or holiday, payday will occur the Friday before. For example, October 20, 2018, is a Saturday, so payday will be Friday, October 19.
What is the impact on my paycheck?
By paying your annual salary in 24 installments instead of 26, the amount of each pay before deductions will be larger.
For example:
Annual Salary: $48,000.00
Per Pay Amount (24 pays) $2,000.00
Per Pay Amount (26 pays) $1,846.15
However, there will no longer be two months each year that have a third payday.
When does this change happen?
It depends on your job classification. You will receive your final payment of 2017-18 wages per the old schedule. The new schedule will begin with payment of wages for 2018-19.
Why is this change occurring?
With a 26 pay schedule, the district has to adjust the payroll cycle every few years resulting in a 3-week gap between paydays. This will not occur with the 24 pay schedule. This change is included in the SEA and OAPSE collective bargaining agreements.
What about overtime, extra pay and leave?
Overtime and payment for extra hours/duties will continue to be included in each paycheck. Overtime pay will continue to be calculated in weekly increments from Monday to Sunday. The majority of paychecks will include two weeks of overtime and extra pay, but four times per year there will be payment for three weeks. Use of sick and personal leave, as well as vacation, will continue to be reflected for a two-week period of time for most pay dates, but four times per year it will reflect a three-week time period. The Treasurer’s office will work with staff charged with payroll reporting to ensure that the schedule for overtime, extra pay and leave is implemented correctly.
Do I need to do anything?
There are a few things to consider. First, if you have loan payments aligned with payday, you may need to change your payment schedule with your bank or mortgage company. Since many of our employees have accounts with Cincinnati Police Federal Credit Union, we informed them of the change so they can better assist you.
Second, a change to your 403b deduction may be needed. We will continue to deduct the same amount each pay. If you have an annual contribution goal, you will need to adjust the amount deducted each pay, since there will be two fewer contributions each year. More information will be sent to employees with 403b accounts, including a form to adjust your deduction if needed.
Finally, the change in the pay schedule will not impact flexible spending accounts (FSA) for medical or dependent care, health savings accounts (HSA) or voluntary insurance plans through American Fidelity.
Questions?
If you have questions, please e-mail payroll@sycamoreschools.org.
2018 Celebrate Excellence Educator of the Year
Sycamore Community Schools is proud to announce Sycamore Transition Coordinator Esther Adams as the district’s 2017-2018 Celebrate Excellence Educator of the Year.
Adams was selected out of 114 nominations submitted by parents, students, and colleagues. The award honors educators who demonstrate a high level of commitment toward student achievement, challenging students at all levels, and extending him or herself to make a positive difference.
Since 2014, Adams has overseen Sycamore High School’s Transition Program which prepares students with disabilities for community-based, competitive employment upon graduation. The program currently helps more than 60 students ages 15-21 gain both volunteer and paid work experience within their community.
Adams will be honored during the Hamilton County Education Foundation’s 12th Annual Celebrate Excellence Breakfast on May 11 at the Sharonville Convention Center.
District Office - Staffing Updates
Please welcome Haley Rust as the district's Payroll Supervisor. Haley comes to us from Plattenburg & Associates CPA where she focused on governmental audits and financial reporting.
You can reach Kathy at ext. 5014 and Haley at ext. 5010 or via email.
Steam Showcase
Sycamore Community Schools' STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) Team is excited to announce the 1st Annual Sycamore STEAM Showcase on May 12th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at E.H. Greene Intermediate School. The purpose of the event is to spotlight district-wide STEAM learning and local STEAM companies. The showcase will consist of project-based learning activities, booths, demonstrations, and presentations throughout the day.
We have so many exciting STEAM opportunities going on in our school district and our community! We are seeking STEAM-related classroom projects, businesses and organizations to participate in this event. Please fill out this brief form to express your interest in being a part of the STEAM Showcase and tell us a little about your classroom project/company/organization. We welcome you to showcase your STEAM-related work through a number of ways: poster displays, booths, live demonstrations, design challenges, hands-on activities, etc.
Please help us create a day of STEAM fun by “showing off” the many exciting STEAM opportunities for our students.
While teachers presence is encouraged at this event, attendance is not mandatory. Our district "pony" will pick-up materials and transport them to EHG for Friday's set-up. Teachers are simply asked to query their students to see if they would like to "show off" their work and to help them organize their materials for the pony pick-up.
For questions, please contact:
Brad Williams, K-12 S.T.E.A.M Supervisor
Engineering Instructor
(513) 686-1770 ext:3133
Cell:(513) 253-1082
Retirement Celebration
Retirees to be honored
(have or will retire at the end of the 17-18 school year)
Cynthia Carey
Heather Chaney
Marcella Vilardo
Catherine Wenger
Ruth Craven
Catherine Ashton
Judy Ackley
Charles "Tony" Bishop
Carol Combs
Robin Wells-Kamp
Michael Forlines
Lisa Hilling
Laura Fricke
Patti Gardner
School Bus Driver Appreciation Day
THANK YOU!!!
Fitbit Challenge
We finished up our last Fitbit Challenge for this school year on Monday, April 23rd. We had 88 participants challenged to get 10,000 or more steps per day for a solid 2 weeks.
In the Butler Health Fitbit Challenge, we were consistently in the top 3! As of this writing, we were coming in second behind Ross Local Schools and in front of Fairfield City Schools in the third and final challenge with 10,140 average steps, 15 flights of stairs and 44 active minutes average per day.
Thanks to all that participated!
Carnival
Maple Dale
April 275:30 p.m.
Jazz Concert
April 30
7:00 p.m.
Choir Concert
May 3
6:00 p.m.