Wildcat Weekly
August 24, 2020
Our Promise
Every student in Dallas School District is known by name, strength, and need, and graduates ready for career, college, and community.
Keeping you safe!
Good people, I am looking forward to being able to see you all and begin our work together. The work that we have been doing these past months has been made more difficult due to our distance. Our ability to be more efficient and able to be more supportive of kids and each other will be made easier by being in the same location. I am excited to have you back to see you all in person.
With that said, I worry. I worry that we will now be coming together as a family, with relationships that we have formed over the years and having not seen each other for such a time, that it will be difficult to adhere to safe practices, by wearing masks and distancing.
I really worry about just how each of us views risks differently and how that will impact our willingness to adhere to the safety guidelines. I worry about keeping each of you safe but more than anything I worry about everyone feeling safe.
I know some of us are viewing our return to work with more trepidation than excitement. For some, there are real potential consequences exposing loved ones to the virus and I worry that our need for comfort and want for normalcy in our lives will impact one of our own in a tragic way. I care about you all will do my part in keeping us all safe. I know it is hard to imagine a workplace that resembles a prison more than the happy go lucky place we left in March. I know we care about each other and ask that you keep this in mind upon our return.
We will be working with our custodial and maintenance staff to ensure our work environment is clean and sanitized to keep us safe. We will also encourage our teams to meet outside and in large well-ventilated areas as much as possible. I will work with our teams in trying to accommodate spacing and expect your cooperation and adherence to all guidelines required of us all.
Glad you're here!
The 34 person "Bubble" Riley actually has.
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▪️Be extra judicious as you evaluate your individual risk.
▪️Have honest conversations with your bubble/quaran-team/pod about what everyone’s risk looks like.
▪️One person’s compromise or exception can affect an entire community.
Coming Up On Your Calendar
Quick preview of the Inservice Week.
Monday 8/31: Team Building and PBL
AM - Welcome back Celebration
PM - Camp PBL -Jumanji!
Tuesday 9/1: Team Building and PBL
AM - Camp PBL Continues:
Wildcat Fiesta, Taco Truck on Taco Tuesday!
PM - TBA
Wednesday 9/2: Canvas
AM - TBA
PM - Canvas Training
Thursday 9/3: Canvas
AM - TBA
PM - TBA
Friday 9/4: Teacher/Team Work Time
AM - TBA
PM - TBA
*More specifics will be coming out later this week
**We encourage you to bring a camping chair to have on hand for outdoor activities, our first of which will be our welcome back on Monday morning.
Canvas Update From Kim
Hello,
We have been extremely busy working to add the Canvas learning management system as a tool for teachers to help navigate our new comprehensive distance learning system. This is an intuitive program that will hopefully guide you with ease through distance learning and serve as a great tool for your students.
Canvas has asked that we not add any more teachers right now to the account because they are getting ready to load data and other important structures into our online system.
If you want to learn more about Canvas, you could use the free online system to go through the training. Growing with Canvas is the main course you will use to learn about Canvas and it is free for your access now. You can use your school email address when you set up an account. This will not impact our Dallas system. While we can't add you to the Dallas account right now, this is an identical course that will give you all the basics of your Canvas account. Course link:
Canvas.net also has other free classes that might be useful to you, including Universal Design for Learning which is a best practices model according to ODE.
Please know that we are doing everything we can to make sure you have all the training and tools you need to be successful with this new program. Please reach out if you have any questions or need assistance.
My Best,
Kim
Latest District Update
Workplace Update from Andy
I hope you are well. Attached are two important employee documents as we head toward the beginning of the school year. Please note the first paragraph of the first document. Recall that I sent an email on August 6 asking that all employees work their regular hours, on site, during the 2020-21 school year. Since then I've received emails from a few folks and had conversations with others (including Association leadership) asking for flexibility with this expectation. After better understanding your childcare and other needs, I have changed the language which allows flexibility to work on site or from home, as needed, and following administrative approval.
Please read through both documents. They should be helpful as we prepare for the new year. The administrative team has reviewed them and can answer questions or will direct you to Dennis or me to do so.
I appreciate your willingness to share feedback to help us make the most informed decisions. It makes a difference. I also appreciate your continued understanding as we navigate this new world.
Andy
Protocol For Staff Entering the Building
Please follow these safety measure when entering the building👍
- You must enter through the main entrance. Please don't enter through any other door. You'll be met with hand sanitizer and a mask if you need one.
- Please check-in at the main office. Joelle is tracking the who, what, when, where, and why (a visitor sign-in sheet), which is required for contact tracing.
- You must wear your mask when entering the building and keep it on in all public/common areas. This includes hallways, staff lounges, commons, etc. Once in your classroom, your mask can be removed.
- At this time, only employees and/or families with appointments are allowed inside the building. No children and/or visitors, please.