Be Positive, Be Grateful, Be Involved, Be Flexible

• I attended the Rural Alliance meeting this past Sunday and Monday. We had several presentations ranging from opportunities for Teletherapy to how to better use our special program dollars in a blended/braided format.
  
  
• The budget advisory team met on Thursday and started work on a community survey for the purpose of allowing stakeholders to share their thoughts and opinions on school priorities to help guide our future planning.

• Today marks one day short of one year since I sent out the email notification to all staff that direction had come from Governor Inslee to close all schools in Washington state. At that moment, we didn’t know what lay ahead; we just planned day-to-day. As time went on, the whole education scene started to look surreal: schools shut their doors, parents and child care providers were looking for ways to keep students engaged, and education staff were scrambling to retain a sense of normality for learners in an environment where all normal had been removed. Education never stopped but took on another look.
  
  As I reflect back on those months, I am in awe of the amazing things that went on within our school community. I saw staff members pulling together and supporting each other across classifications no matter what the job. If a task needed to be done, someone was there to jump in and help. You truly were and continue to be essential workers! Thank you TSD staff for your dedication and passion for what you do for our students and for your fellow staff members. Your efforts are noticed and appreciated.
  

• This week has been Classified Employee Week. Thank you to all of our classified staff for the great work you do throughout the district. I hope you all feel valued in your positions and enjoy what you do. I want you to know that your work is vital to our school district and very much appreciated. The board members and I enjoyed visiting with each of you on Thursday.

• Our Tonasket FFA has entered a national BBQ cook-off. The students must cook five different items. Dessert, steak, hamburger, chicken thighs, and ribs. The student teams of five turn in the different items at specific times throughout the day to a judging panel of HS Staff. They have been practicing hard and I am sure the HS staff have been enjoying the benefits!
  
  
• Elementary students have started their experience with Sphero Robots. Students in grades K through 5 are gaining different levels of experience with the robots. At this point, all students have learned some basic operating procedures such as connecting with Bluetooth, changing the LED colors, adjusting the speed, aiming, driving, and learning a variety of app features. Students in grades 3 through 5 are learning coding basics.

There were 36 logged on when I had to leave, and 9 staff members there in support. I think there was another school district there to observe how great Tonasket meetings are! Thank you, staff, for giving your precious home time to join. These numbers (parents and staff) are pretty impressive given the fact that there were so many sports events happening that evening.

Thank you to the parents! We had parents logging in from the sports game to listen while they watched their older child compete, and we had a parent logging in from California! What dedication! It was fantastic to see the ENGAGEMENT of parents WITH their children doing fun learning activities. This will only help our children and parents to feel at ease with math.

To Lisa, Kate, and Gaby for the planning and execution of the activities, and to Tyler for using the chat box to suggest HOW and WHEN families could continue to “play” these games with their children…wow! I especially loved the parent tips at the beginning and the demonstration video of the stair game. I am attaching a couple of screenshots. Linda McKay and I were texting back and forth about how the children were proud, parents were having fun; and if you look at “Galaxy Tab A7” different older kids/adults kept creeping in to peek. Incredible! Thank you for letting me be a part of it. I can’t wait for another one!

• A Covid vaccine clinic is being held Saturday, March 20, at the Oroville High School from 10 AM to 4 PM. This will be a walk-in clinic and no appointment is necessary.
  
  
• Don’t forget you can watch our athletes virtually on our Eye of the Tiger live stream.

1. Positive COVID cases in our school community since starting school - 29
2. New members of our school community (students and/or staff) reporting as a new positive - 0
3. New Cohorts required to return to remote only learning (Contact or lack of staffing) - 0
4. New Classrooms required to return to remote only learning (Contact or lack of staffing) - 0
5. New Grade levels required to return to remote only learning (Contact or lack of staffing) - 0
6. New Schools required to return to remote only learning (Contact or lack of staffing) - 0
7. Staff with at least first vaccine - 74