High School Staff Newsletter
Staff Newsletter: November 4, 2019
STRONGER TOGETHER
Our Vision of Learning
In full support of our district mission and vision, we at SCC High School are committed to...
Creating a learning experience built on creativity, choice, efficiency, and engagement, resulting in high-achieving and creative problem-solvers who take intellectual risks to discover the world around them and maximize their potential.
**WE PUT STUDENTS FIRST**
We Have the Power to...
- SERVE others
- show EMPATHY
- LIFT others UP
This Week
MORNING GREETERS: PEAM
Monday, November 4
9:30 am - 10:00 am - Main Office Meeting
11:30 am - 2:30 pm - St. Croix County Courthouse - Buckel
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm - Wage and Benefits Meeting - HS Lecture Room
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm - Winter Athletic Code Meeting - Commons
6:30 pm - 9:30 pm - Board of Education Meeting
Tuesday, November 5
7:30 am - 7:55 am - BLT Meeting
7:35 am - 7:55 am - Faculty Meeting (paras are welcome to attend) - Lecture Room
Thursday, November 7
7:15 am - 7:55 am - Mandatory Open Enrollment Meeting - TEACHERS
in the lecture room - please be prompt
DETAILS PROVIDED BELOW
Friday, November 8
10:30 am - 1:00 pm - SOS at Elementary School
Something to Consider
What does "students first" mean?
- We stand in the gap between what is and what could be.
- We find solutions - we don't blame kids.
- We circle around them in support - always.
- We freely give what they need.
- We recognize their poor choices and guide them to make better choices.
- We do things that are inconvenient for the adults because it's what's best for the students.
- We try the next thing because we never let them run out of chances.
- We provide physical, mental, and emotional safety - no matter what.
- We model what we expect.
- We love all of them.
If not us then who?
2019 Electronic W2 & 1095 Information
For calendar year 2019, you will again have the option of receiving your Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement electronically. Please log into your Employee Access account to make your selection. The page “Options for Receiving My 2019 W-2” will pop up after you log in. Read the disclosure notices and make your selection. You will be able to choose from the following options:
· I do not need a printed copy of my 2019 W2 from my employer. I will print my own W2 from Employee Access.
· I want to receive a printed copy of my 2019 W2 from my employer.
· Ask me again later.
You will also have the option to receive your 2019 Form 1095 Statement of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage electronically. The Page "Options for Receiving My 2019 Form 1095" will pop up when you log in to Employee Access. The same selections that are available for your W2 election are available for your Form 1095 election.
You have from today, October 29, 2019, through Friday, November 22, 2019, to make your selection. Please note that this is only for electronic access to your Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement and Form 1095 Statement of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage. If you do not make an election, you will receive a paper copy.
Mandatory Open Enrollment Meeting
It’s that time of year again. The health insurance open enrollment period will begin Monday, October 28th and ends Friday, November 22nd.
The District will continue to have two high deductible health insurance plans.
Plan Year 2020
$2,000/$4,000 Non-Embedded HDHP
$3,500/$7,000 Embedded HDHP
· As required every year, the 2020 Health Savings Account Form will need to be completed by every employee enrolled in the District health insurance plan. There is no exception. The link to the HSA form is attached here. The HSA forms will also be available at all open enrollment meetings.
· If you are planning to change plans, you will need to complete a new HealthPartners Change Form. If you are planning to join the District’s Health Plan for the first time you will need to complete the HealthPartners Enrollment Form. The enrollment and change forms will also be available at all open enrollment meetings.
- PREFERRED DEDUCTIBLE DIFFERENTIAL: Employees and spouses on the District health plan must complete a health assessment, annual physical exam, and one wellness activity beginning 1/1/2020 through 9/30/2020 to earn a benefit differential of $500/single coverage or $1,000/family coverage. NOTE: Earning the Preferred Benefit guarantees that you’re deductible will be $500/$1,000 family less than the deductible of a member who chooses not to fulfill the Health & Well-Being plan requirements. It does not mean that your deductible will be less than it is today.
- ·NEW THIS YEAR: All 9-month employees may apply for Dental Coverage. The cost for Single coverage is: $30.41/pay period and Family coverage is $78.71/pay period. Forms are available at the open enrollment meetings. This is a one-time chance to join the dental plan without pre-existing condition exclusions. If you decide to join at a later day, pre-existing conditions will have a 12 month waiting period. Attached is a Brochure of Dental Benefits.
- ·WE ARE CHANGING VISION PROVIDERS: We have a new vision provider, VSP, Reliance Standard. This provider offers a much larger selection of providers and the coverage and benefits you will receive are much better. More information will be available at the Open Enrollment meetings. Attached is a Brochure that more thoroughly explains our new plan. (VSP, Reliance Standard Website)
Every employee will be required to complete a VSP Enrollment form. The form asks for the Social Security Number of each dependent you are enrolling in the plan. Attached is the VSP Enrollment form which you can complete and bring to the meeting, or just remember to bring the Social Security Numbers to the Open Enrollment meetings.
Anyone is welcome at any meeting. The support staff meetings will be discussing dental insurance so we wanted teachers to have an opportunity to make the best use of their time.
High School Teachers
November 7th
7:15 am
Lecture Room
- If you do not carry the District’s Health Insurance, you are still required to come to the beginning of the Open Enrollment meetings to hear about the Vision Insurance changes (Teachers) and Vision and Dental changes (Support Staff Only).
- Please see the attached Benefit Decision Guide for specific information.
GREAT ADVICE - True Story
This 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coiffed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home yesterday. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room …. just wait.”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life.”
She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.”
And with a smile, she added: “Remember the six simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less,
6. And enjoy every moment."
Thank you for your outstanding effort, kindness, excellence, and selflessness.
SHOUTOUTS & CELEBRATIONS
Thank you for your outstanding effort, kindness, excellence, and selflessness.
Logan Kimberly - Another successful and organized blood drive
Denver Garfield and Vicki Dresang-Talapa - Organized the flu shot clinic here--so convenient!!!
Cami Stansbury - Hi, Bestest Friend. Thank you for letting me borrow your room for the day.
Tovah Carson - She let me know about an opportunity to win a class set of one of my favorite books! Thank you for thinking of me!!
Sandy Weitgenant - Planning and making our gnome hats and beards and just being awesome!
Duane Jourdeans - You are always finding fun facts and sharing awesome, relevant resources. Thank you for being awesome!
Courtney Hawkins - For letting me use her kitchen for a food unit. Du bist ausgezeichnet!
Carolyn Lent - Organizing and creating most of the math/science Halloween costumes. You rock!
Carolyn Lent - For coordinating and making costumes for the STEAM departments.
Rachel Hanson - Shared her amazing soup!
Heather Jourdeans, Travis Madigan, Tracy Klein, Rachel Everson-Fink, Jenna Scheithauer, and Pat Basche - Attended a re-evaluation/IEP meeting with words and actions of support and encouragement. Well done! Thank you!
Rachel Hanson - Your coffee bizness is AMAZING. Thank you for fueling teachers across the building!
Lori Cress - Organized adults on a crazy Friday -- no easy task!
Carolyn Lent - Taking the lead and organizing the staff Halloween costumes.
Emily Wech - Seriously unbelievable how hard she is working to help her ELL students. If you don't know all she is doing to help them be successful, just ask. It's amazing.
Vicki Dresang-Talapa - Supports physical and mental health of our students with serious Mom-love.
Amy Hueg - Always a good sport to take Green Screen photo's! Thanks Amy!
Travis and Tracy - These two support the adults and students in this joint in ways I can't even fathom. I don't know how you do what you do on the daily, but I sure am grateful!
Jenna Scheithauer - Congrats on officially getting more letters after your name! You're the best School Psych around!
The Jerry Wold - Thanks for cleaning up our FIESTA messes!!
Carolyn Lent - Made all the scrabble pieces for our costumes.
Carolyn Lent - Organizing our costumes this year
Sandy Weitgenant - Made awesome Halloween Costumes for the SPED Department!!
Heather Jourdeans, Jen Staidl, Tracy Klein, Travis Madigan, Rachel Everson Fink, and Pat Basche - Supporting a student at a meeting while spending extra time highlighting her strengths!
Teaching Staff, Counselors, & Amy Hueg - Thanks for helping out subbing, sometimes with very little notice. Very much appreciated!
Sean Conway, Ryan Wood, and Jen Staidl - Thank you for being so flexible and letting me get testing done!
Autumn Voigt - Thank you for always being willing to listen to me :)
Travis Madigan - "I have to leave 10th hour by 5 to see Celine Dion with my mom!" What a good son!
Jerry Wold - Thank you for getting the heat turned on in my classroom! The students and I are thankful for your hard work!!
Tovah Carson - Adding one more thing to her busy "To Do" list, just to help me!
Autumn Voigt - Rocking it by finishing her ENTIRE To Do list! When does that ever happen?!
Rachel Hanson - Creating amazing experiences for her students - loved the reverse trick or treat!
Cami Stansbury - Going above and beyond.
Sandy Weitgenant - For making everyone in our department the most amazing gnome costumes! You're the best!
Office Staff - Great job managing all the extra work they have to do because of our successes! #10thhourcan'tcomesoonenough #bringontheextrahourofsleep
All staff members involved in Fall sports - Great job leading the way through the season whether you supervised an event, scheduled officials and game workers, printed programs, counted the cash boxes, organized concessions, coached a team, supported our students, chaperoned a bus, etc. Great job this season and good luck to all in the Winter season! Go Panthers!
Carole Scheder & Chris Buckel - Thank you for answering all my questions about Veteran's Day =)
Rachel Hanson - For working with our ID students, reverse trick or treating, and continuing to be an innovative leader in her department.