Staff Notes
April 15, 2020
Key Notes from the MDUSD MOU with MDEA (acronym soup)
- You will not be charged sick leave or dock pay during this closure time (unless the leave began before March 13th and was already scheduled to continue past that date)
- During the closure, if office hours cannot be kept from home, teachers may be required to report to a district site that has met safety conditions. If a teacher does not have internet or technology access at home, please contact your VP asap so that we can troubleshoot and if needed, assign the reporting site.
- Teachers will continue to be provided flexibility on the hours and locations from which work continues, including grading, lesson planning and delivery.
- Teachers should be checking email at least twice a day.
- Teachers will continue to connect with students remotely via online, distance, and home learning opportunities. PD and resources are available to all MDUSD MDEA members (and are outlined below)
- Virtual office hours must be communicated to admin, and every effort should be made to keep these consistent. Please communicate changes to your published office hours to Craig Bocks, and please avoid midday office hours to allow students and families to access food pick up opportunities.
- Change: Staff should provide work, engagement opportunities, practice, connection time and instruction of a recommended 3 hours weekly per content area for students.
- Assignments may be accepted to enhance the 3rd quarter grade up to April 30th. Revised 3rd quarter grades will be due by May 8, 2020.
- 4th quarter and 2nd semester- students are to be "held harmless" for work being done during that time. They cannot receive a lesser grade or lesser credit than when closure began. Students who were passing with a C or better cannot receive no credit regardless if they did not engage during the closure. (Note- this document does not clarify the apparent discrepancy between not being held harmless and a D possibly not receiving credit. District and Board will need to clarify, and perhaps define "Credit" as being at 60% or better or 70% or better)
- Students who received a D or F will receive in writing, by certified mail, a warning that they are in danger of receiving no credit for the semester.
- Teachers will continue to have professional autonomy in how lessons and curriculum are being delivered, at a pace that they deem suitable for their courses and student needs.
- District will provide equipment needed to teachers. If a teacher needs a device, please contact your VP.
- Timeline for involuntary and voluntary transfers, as well as job assignments, have been revised. These will be communicated in a separate memo attached below.
- Evaluations, unless completed by May 4, will be postponed to the 2020-21 year, unless both evaluator and evaluatee agree to postponing to the following cycle year of 2021-22. We will follow up on this at a later date with our evaluatees.
- District will pay MDEA members a one time $75 stipend for increased internet and data charges.
- Prior to return to work at sites, district will ensure that all work areas have been sanitized, including every desk, door and work surface, and all sinks will be stocked with soap and paper towels. (lots more on this point in the MOU)
Professional Development for Distance Learning
If you are interested in providing a tutorial or training on any of the platforms you are using, please let us know! Flipgrid, ExplainEverything, PearDeck, etc. We welcome this, and we are sure that other sites and teachers would appreciate your wisdom and experience! Feel free to screencast a tutorial, and we can add it to our staff resources HERE- https://sites.google.com/mdusd.net/nhsremotelearning/home
Department Meetings with your VP
Per the MOU, we likely will continue to have one all staff meeting a month, and we hope that all staff make the effort to attend- we will announce these meetings with at least 72 hours notice. Our next all staff meeting will be May 6th, 2pm.
All Staff Meeting via Zoom
Kelly Cooper is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: NHS All Staff Meeting
Time: May 6, 2020 02:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://mdusd.zoom.us/j/99314654359?pwd=bW4wMmhPVXduNlRZT1BwS25nV2hHdz09
Meeting ID: 993 1465 4359
Password: 2iUbiv
Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 993 1465 4359
Password: 164253
Find your local number: https://mdusd.zoom.us/u/abd6AkbFSV
Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 02:00 PM
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Some Notes from our Students
Recently some students noted difficulty around due dates and prioritizing. They expressed that they are having a hard time knowing what to do when from some of their teachers. They are claiming they may receive a block of work at the beginning of the week, but they are not sure when it is due exactly, so they feel stressed.
While due dates should be fluid, and late work absolutely accepted during this time, perhaps a target date would help many of our students plan and prioritize for their work for all classes.
Another issue that arose was the use of the quizzing apps that have time limits for each question. While these are a fine resource to use, please offer an alternative for students who have extra time as an accommodation, as processing and attention delays will greatly affect their ability to achieve on these quizzes, and we want to be mindful of that and the stress this could cause.
Be A Star- for our Broncos.
********************
Please take a SHORT (10-30 seconds) video of yourself sending best wishes to all Northgate students and answering ONE of the following questions (or make 3 separate videos if you want to respond to all)
What is one activity I have been doing more of during the Shelter-In-Place?
What show have I binge watched during the Shelter-In-Place?
What’s one movie would I recommend you watch during the Shelter-In-Place?
Directions for your VIDEO:
1) Start with a greeting (“Hi Northgate Students”, “Hey Broncos”, etc.) and state your name.
2) State aloud the QUESTION you are going to answer (from above)
3) Give your authentic answer to the question (remember to keep it relatively short)
4) Smile and have fun!
5) Upload your video here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bo211b7qhY5YevGQpP5idEQjjTIXESC9
Schedule for Live Classes
Closed Campus
In general, Michael will be on campus Tues-Thurs from 9-12. Craig and Kelly will fill in most other days around the same hours. Please feel free to contact us if you need to come by and we can confirm if the building will be unarmed.
Thank you!
Rula puts together the SIP Edition- Northgate Reads- Check it Out!
This week at NHS
- We continue to contact students and families who have not yet engaged during this time with their classes, to check in and see if any needs can be met through our resources. If you have any concerns about students, please email us with their names.
- We continue to provide chromebooks to students who need them. Let us know if one reaches out to you for this.
- We are working on a distribution plan for Caps and Gowns for our seniors, and a virtual ceremony plan as well. Look for more information coming soon.
- Departments should have discussions about department awards this week- please plan on providing those names to Kelly and Rebecca by next week.
- If you need to get in the building for any reason, please text Kelly or Craig so that we can arrange to open up for you.
Successes and Celebrations!
- To our wrestling team, for gathering supplies and donating food and non-perishables to the Monument Crisis Center!
- To our PFC for purchasing EVERY SENIOR a yard sign to celebrate their graduation!
Wrestlers collaborate to donate
Seniors get some love from PFC!
Mr. Campbell says HELLO! and he misses everyone
Dept Budgets
From the UC System
A Note from Lyndee- School Voice Mail
I wanted to send instructions on how to check your voice mails from home.
Call the school - 925-938-0900
When you hear the greeting, enter 9+your extension. It will then ask for your passcode.
I hope you're all doing well and staying safe and healthy. Hope to see you soon!
From Rula - Database Access
Dear All,
I know that Craig posted the attached instructions on the new NHS Distant Learning site under "Content." If you are using Google Classroom or any other distant learning portal, do you mind uploading and adding these slides to the platform so students have the login information and can access ALL our databases?
Thank you - and please let me know if you'd rather I just shared the file with you directly to your .net account.
-Rula
Emailing from Aeries
AP Exam Info
As you are aware, the administration of the AP exams have been modified and will be taken online due to COVID-19. Please review the bulleted information below:
*New Exam Dates: May 11th-24th
https://apcoronavirusupdates.collegeboard.org/students/taking-ap-exams/ap-exam-schedule
NOTE: If you were given an alternate test date for Psychology and/or US History, you are highly encouraged to take the test on the regular test date. (Psych: Tuesday, May 19th and US History: Friday, May 15th) Make-up dates should be reserved for students that have a mishap like loss of power, battery dies, or something that disrupts their at-home digital testing experience.
*New Make-up Exam Dates: June 1st- 5th
https://apcoronavirusupdates.collegeboard.org/students/taking-ap-exams/ap-exam-schedule#makeup
NOTE: There is only ONE make-up date for each exam.
Total Registration has also listed the exam schedule in Pacific Standard Time https://www.totalregistration.net/AP-Exam-Registration-Service/AP-Exam-Schedule.php?timezone=America%2FLos_Angeles
*Don’t Have Internet or a Device? College Board Wants to Help:
Please complete this form by April 24th if you are in need of a device or internet access https://collegeboard.tfaforms.net/74
*Exam Cancelations:
If you wish to cancel your AP exam and receive a refund, you will need to cancel by the end of the day on May 1, 2020. (11:59 PM) College Board has agreed to waive the fee of $40.00 for any cancellation. You can request a cancellation by logging into your account on TotalRegistration.net . Please note that due to school closures there may be a delay in processing cancellation requests.
*No Shows:
If you do not cancel your exam and do not take the exam for some reason, you will be counted as a "No Show" and a refund is not guaranteed.
*College Board info:
An “At-Home AP Testing Guide” will be released by College Board in late April.
College Board's update for Students can be found here. https://apcoronavirusupdates.collegeboard.org/students
2020-21 Academic Calendar
Northgate High School
Email: cooperk@mdusd.org
Website: http://northgatehighschool.org
Location: 425 Castle Rock Road, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Phone: 925-938-0900
Twitter: @northgatehs