In the Know
An Internal Newsletter from the SISD Communications Dept.

Digital Citizenship Week is October 14-18.
As we integrate more technology in our classrooms, it is important to teach and model good digital citizenship for our students. We should be intentional in helping them understand what appropriate online behavior is, how to recognize inappropriate online behavior, and how to stay safe while online. Commonsense Media, in partnership with Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has designed and developed lessons that give students the skills they need to successfully navigate the online environment. The resources include lesson plans, videos, customizable resources, and learning games to help our students become good online citizens for all grade levels. The K-12 curriculum covers topics such as:
- media balance and well-being
- privacy and security
- student digital footprint and identity
- relationships and communication
- cyberbullying, digital drama, and hate speech
- news and media literacy
Click here to visit the Commonsense Media website and digital citizenship classroom resources.

Students at Neblett Elementary are learning about being a good digital citizen. With the help of websites like https://www.netsmartzkids.org/ and Google’s Be Internet Awesome and the Interland Game, students are learning about the 4 Rules of Internet Safety and how important it is to only use the internet when you have a trusted adult around to help. Third and fourth-grade students are talking about being safe online by not using their real picture in a profile. They are using a Google Slide activity to create an Avatar. Then they are using the built-in Snip tool to capture the Avatar and save as a .png file to upload back into their Google classroom profile picture! For additional resources, please visit the links listed above and view the digital citizenship video below.
Sherman ISD Celebrates National Principal Month

Health Services
Wal-Mart Staff Immunization Clinics
Wal-Mart Pharmacy will hold staff immunization clinics on all campuses throughout the month of October. All vaccines are free with Sherman ISD insurance. Please bring your insurance card and click here to access the forms you are required to submit before receiving any immunization. The campus immunization dates and times are listed below.
Thursday, October 10
Neblett Elementary: 7:30am-8:30am
PinerMiddle School: 11:00am-12:45pm
Washington Elementary: 1:00pm-1:30p
Friday, October 11
Crutchfield Elementary: 7:30am-9:30am
Dillingham Intermediate: 11:30am-1:00pm
Tuesday: October 15
Wakefield Elementary: 7:30am-8:30am
Jefferson Elementary: 11:00am-12:00pm
Fred Douglas ECC: 12:15pm-1:15pm
Exchange Day-October 14, 2019
October 14 is scheduled as an Exchange Day (Comp Day) for some SISD employees. Staff members may comp out of this day by completing staff development training, including required trainings, and summer/weekend staff development. They essentially “exchange” this day of work done outside their normal calendar/schedule for the October 14 workday. Principals/directors will need to keep documentation (six-hour certificate) of the training(s) done for this exchange day. Certificates housed in Eduphoria is acceptable. When secretaries enter time for this day, they will need to enter nothing for professional employees and will need to enter an absence for the paraprofessional employees and code the absence as staff development.
If you have a recent hire, please inform your new hire of this day and encourage him/her to fulfill the exchange day requirement by completing the online required trainings (outside of the workday/schedule) and to submit a certificate. The expectation is for campuses to be closed on October 14.
If you have questions, please call Jill O’Neal at extension 2021
October 14 is not a scheduled workday for our cafeteria monitors, cooks, cafeteria managers/assistant managers, crossing guards, bus drivers, or bus assistants. This does not pertain to these workers.
Employees who work 197, 207, or 226 days may complete a training outside of their work schedule, or may take a personal business day, use comp time (if available), or take a flex day (if available).
Professional Development
Each school year staff members are required to complete a series of online compliance trainings. These trainings are located online through Region 10 ESC at the link below:
What does each staff member need to do?
1. Each individual will need to log into the Region 10 online learning site and complete the training by the specified due dates.
2. Provide a copy of the Region 10 Certificate of Completion to the campus administrator or designee for compliance documentation to be retained on campus for the current school year.
3. Staff Professional Development Portfolio: Upon completion of each module, staff should register in Eduphoria for each course and complete the Eduphoria survey.
Click here for the Region 10 required training portal.
Certified Employees Certificate Updates
If you are a certified employee, you will receive emails from the HR department when your certificate is about to expire. These emails are generated automatically. Once you have updated your certification, please let the HR department know you have updated your certificate. You can call extension 2020 or email hr@shermanisd.net and the expiration date on your certificate will be updated in TEAMS. You will continue to receive emails about your certification until you notify HR of the update.
Retirement Information & Dates
Dates for Retirement: As you are aware, SISD pays you for a portion of unused local leave at retirement. This is in accordance to Board Policy DEC(Local) and we want to make sure you are all aware of the timelines set out in this policy. It is not our intent to encourage anyone to retire, we simply do not want any employee to miss out on this opportunity.
If a professional contracted employee intends to retire at the end of 2020, he or she must submit a letter of resignation to Human Resources no later than 4:00pm on the date listed below:
187 Day Contract Employee- Thursday, February 27, 2019
207 Day Contract Employee- Tuesday, March 3, 2019
226 Day Contract Employee- Thursday, March 26, 2019
If a non-contracted employee intends to retire and desires payment for local sick leave, then he or she must submit a letter of resignation to Human Resources no later than two weeks prior to the last day of employment. If a retiring SISD employee does not meet this requirement, he or she will not be paid for any local sick leave upon retirement as determined by SISD Board Policy. If you have any questions about this, please email Human Resources Executive Director Jill O'Neal.
Sherman High School Needs Your Support!

Upcoming District Events
Oct. 10-Drive for Your School at SHS @2pm-6:30pm
Oct. 14- Staff Comp Professional Development Day (No School)
Oct. 15-Parent-Teacher Conference Day and Planning Day (No school)
Oct. 15 - SISD Board Meeting @5pm
Oct. 15 SHS Cross Country District Meet at Meyers Park @8am
Oct. 18- SHS Football at Texas High @7pm
Oct. 18- SHS Volleyball vs Wylie East @5:30/6:30
Oct. 21-25 - National School Bus Safety and National Safe Schools Week
Nominate a Teacher for Katy Country’s 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year Program!
Here’s all you need to do to nominate YOUR favorite teacher:
Fill out the official online nomination form at the link below. This form may be completed by administrators, other teachers, parents and students. The more information received about the nominee, the better opportunity the nominee has to be chosen as the Katy Country Teacher of the Month by our judges.
Winners will be chosen once per month, September 2019 through May 2020.
Each month, judges will choose the winning teacher among the nominees and that teacher will receive a plaque and a check for $750.
Each month’s winning teacher is invited to the Katy Country studios for an interview where they are presented their award.
CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE A TEACHER TODAY!






