Transition Plus
Be thankful for what you have Be fearless for what you want!
Thanksgiving Wishes!
Primarily among them is our amazing staff. Thank you for the work you do to make Transition Plus great and help our students succeed. Without your commitment, creativity, and high standards, we would not be as great as we are. I wish you a Thanksgiving filled with abundance and bright moments.
Please take this time to rest, rejuvenate, and do what you need to to fill your bucket!
Staffing Update
Linda Henn is on a leave and is not scheduled to be back until February. I know so many of us depend on her expertise and skills, but I want to ask you to refrain from contacting her about school related issues during this time. I know many of you have personal relationships with her and feel free to continue to have that connection on a personal level.
While Linda is out, we have Angela to depend on for daily treatment of students. For due process needs Janelle Holmvig will be covering this when she is here on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
If there are other needs that neither Angela nor Nell are able to address please let me know and I will reach out to the nursing DPF- Health Coordinator for assistance.
Parenting Course
The Parenting course at Wellstone, taught by Angela Makepeace, is now officially scheduled in Discovery so TPlus students can earn credit. The course happens during 2nd hour M/W. If you have interested students, please let me know!
Term 2 Course Requests Due tomorrow!
Please remember term 2 course requests are due tomorrow (Tuesday). As you are completing the forms with students, please make sure they are making enough selections (at least 10 top choices and 5 alternatives). Let me know if you need any support with this process. For those who are curious, the purpose of tomorrow's due date is to leave enough time for schedules to be entered. Schedules must be entered individually in Discovery, which often takes 20-30 minutes per student.
5Essentials Survey Open
Last Tuesday all licensed staff received an email with a link to the 5Essentials survey. Please be sure to take the survey by December 15th (though completing it asap is recommended). It takes about 10-20 minutes to complete.
We are still waiting for some information from the district before developing a plan for administering the survey to students. That information will be shared as soon as it is available.
Many of us took part in a Compassion Fatigue and Self-Care session as a part of Professional Development training recently. How are YOU taking care of yourself?
Tip for the week:
Look for the positive and hang on to it to help you when you need it:
· Keep a folder of kind notes or feedback from students and families
· Keep a notebook of inspirational quotes
· Record something positive each day in a journal
Options for 2nd and 3rd Observation activities for Tenured Teachers:
Licensed staff- remember that you should be making a selection for your 2nd and 3rd observation activities in eCompass.
When you click into your observation plan, you’ll see instructions on how to do this, when you click into the 2nd Observation tab or the 3rd observation tab.
Peer Coaching
The classes are two sessions that are three hours each – so participants will get 6 hours of learning about Peer Coaching. Here are the dates for 2017-18:
- 12/6 and 12/13 (Wednesdays, 5pm – 8pm Location: MFT)
- 1/11 and 1/18 (Thursdays, 5pm – 8pm Location TBD)
- 1/20 and 1/27 (Saturdays, Time and Location TBD)
- 2/1 and 2/8 (Thursdays, 5pm – 8pm Location TBD)
- 2/21 and 2/28 (Wednesdays, 5pm – 8pm Location TBD)
- 3/7 and 3/14 (Wednesdays, 5pm – 8pm Location TBD)
- 3/12 and 3/10 (Mondays, 5pm – 8pm Location TBD)
Attendance/ Cadre Request
If you are an SEA working 1:1 with a student and you are planning on being out- Please fill out this request. This means the district will work on getting us a district sub on this day.
Message from Jill Rentmeester Disher
Dear Teachers,
There is an upcoming course for students who use alternative and augmentative communication systems (e.g., picture boards or devices) on November 28th at Field School. This course focuses on CORE vocabulary & Aided Language Input as two instructional strategies to increase students' communication skills across their school day. This course is facilitated by the speech-language pathologists on MPS' ATC Team.
During this course, you will see many examples of CORE boards, view videos of teachers using CORE and ALI, and discuss any questions you might have about CORE in classrooms.
This course will apply to any Birth-21 student. All staff are welcome! We hope to see you there!
Staff can register in eCompass:
- Course # 91544
- Courses dates: 11/28/2017
- Location: Field Media Center
Payroll
Please spread the word for those who may not always check email
Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday we will finalize payroll on Tuesday, November 21st one day earlier than usual. Please have your time entered by Tuesday, 11/14/2017 to ensure you are paid Friday, 11/24/2017. The Davis Center will be closed 11/23 and 11/24. Enjoy the Holiday Break!
Payroll Deadline to enter hours for 11/24/2017 Pay Day: Tuesday, November 14, 2017.
- Please record hours for period 10/29/2017 – 11/11/2017
Extended Time: When entering extended time hours you are required to enter the following:
- Cost Center
- Fund
- Internal Order #
- Functional Area
Note: Your Time Approver will only approve Ext. Time related to their School or Dept. Funding Codes. If the funding is from another Site or Dept., the provider of those Funding Codes is responsible for contacting your approver in writing to approve the Ext. Time.
* Payroll Cannot Approve Time*
Direct Deposit: If you're receiving a Paper Check, please consider Direct Deposit. If you don't want the hassle of opening an account with a Bank, discover the benefits of having a U.S. Bank Focus Card provided by U.S. Bank. Contact Payroll for more information.
Approvers:
Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday we will finalize payroll on Tuesday, November 21st one day earlier than usual.
All time will be Approved by Monday, 11/20/2017 to ensure employees are paid Friday, 11/24/2017.
The Davis Center will be closed 11/23 and 11/24. Enjoy the Holiday Break!
- Approving Extended Time: If an employee enters extended time hours using Funding Codes I am not responsible for I should get written permission to approve the hours. The employee should contact the person that provided the Funding Codes and ask them to email me permission to approve the hours.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Current Employees: Late Time Entry for 11/24/2017 Pay Day will be processed on 12/1/2017 by request only. Your payment will be based on your current payment method.
If you are interested in the Swedish exchange program with Uppsula please check out the application Here
There is a meeting this week Tuesday. If interested you can email Vanita Miller with your interest.
Come see Elliot perform!
Elliot's performing in a comedy show Saturday 12/16.
Come show your support!