Staff Kudos September 2017
Recognitions & Accomplishments of staff doing great things
Custodians "Rock It" at Vose Elementary School
"This is just one example of the collaboration that will drive us to excellence as we open three BRAND NEW SCHOOLS! With teammates like this, we will succeed. Thank you all," says Sheri Stanley, Administrator for Facilities Development.
Online Enrollment Verification a Success!
We recognize this was a significant change in practice, but there are a number of reasons we made this shift. Most importantly, completing the process before the start of school gives the District a better idea about enrollment numbers and allows us to adjust staffing as needed. Additionally, moving away from paper is more environmentally friendly and saves countless staff hours.
Those parents who were unable to complete OLV by September 8 will need to complete the paper process. The OLV forms will either be mailed or sent home with students from their school.
Thank you again for your patience as we launched this new system.
Merlo HS students team up with students in Singapore
Students at Merlo Station High School collaborated with students from Nanyang Girls’ High School in Singapore to create a video using Out of Eden Learn's curriculum.
An initiative of Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Out of Eden Learn is a free online program for students aged 3-19. On Out of Eden Learn’s custom built, social media platform, students of similar ages from diverse geographical and socioeconomic settings come together for collective learning experiences.
Out of Eden Learn developed a collaborative and experiential visual storytelling workshop for two groups of high school youth participating in Out of Eden Learn’s specialized curriculum, Stories of Human Migration.
The workshop emphasized the necessity of building bridges between and among cultures, that youth voice and story-sharing are integral to building these bridges, and that we must approach digesting and producing media with a certain critical awareness. Using a mix of visual storytelling techniques, Project Zero thinking routines, and critical media pedagogy, the workshop provided students tools to film and share their experiences as they participate together in Out of Eden Learn.
Two months after the workshop, the student-created film was in a form ready to share. Oliver Brown, a Social Studies teacher at Merlo Station High School, and Sandra Teng, a teacher at Nanyang Girls’ High School in Singapore both organized community screenings of the film and invited family and community members to view, share and reflect. At both screenings, the youth filmmakers spoke about the experience.
Watch the final video: Traversing Worlds:
BSD students shine in Broadcom MASTERS science competition
The Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars) rewards sixth, seventh and eighth grade students who follow their personal passions in science or engineering at 300 regional and state science fairs and inspires them to continue their studies in math and science throughout high school. As students engage in inquiry and engineering, they learn the 21st-century skills of critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity.
The 30 Broadcom MASTERS Finalists will be announced on September 20, 2017. Finalists receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC from October 20 – 25 to showcase their science fair projects at Union Station and compete in a four-day STEM competition for more than $100,000 in awards and prizes, including the coveted $25,000 Samueli Prize. Other top awards include the $20,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award for Health Advancement, the $10,000 Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation and the $7,500 Lemelson Award for Invention.
*Grades listed are 2016-2017 grade level
Lucas Braun, Grade 8
Whitford Middle School
Project: An Examination of Nucleation through Video Analysis
Vedanth Iyer, Grade 8
Stoller Middle School
Project: Using Li2O Based Glass to Create Solid State Electrolytes for Safer use in Li-ion Batteries
Mithra Karamchedu, Grade 7
Stoller Middle School
Project: Remote Sensing the Ablation or Accumulation of a Glacier by Using Fractal Analysis on Glacier Images
Ian Rundle, Grade 8
Meadow Park Middle School
Project: Ternary Relay Computer
Nishant Sane, Grade 8
Meadow Park Middle School
Project: Ternary Relay Computer
Vicky Siah, Grade 8
Stoller Middle School
Project: Creating an Effective Water Filter with Ocimum Basilicum
Pratik Vangal, Grade 7
Stoller Middle School
Project: A Milli-Watt Energy-Harvesting Light Bulb Based on Thermo-Electric Generation
Congratulations, and good luck in October!
WE Expect Excellence - Collaboration Facilitators
Beginning this school year, the Beaverton School District is implementing a 90-minute Early Release to provide time for teacher collaboration. To support this work, teachers will have the help of Collaboration Facilitators.
At elementary schools, each grade level team has a Collaboration Facilitator. Facilitators were nominated by team members to support their collective work and to ensure that the collaboration time is effective and efficient.
The facilitator role can be broken down into three main functions: communicate, support and share out. He or she is responsible for making sure everyone is clear about agreed upon agendas and resources needed for collaboration. In addition, the facilitator will act as a link between the team, the building principal and the Teaching & Learning (T&L) Department about their work and any needed support.
Each facilitator will support the team by gathering necessary resources, reaching out for help, organizing the collective work and being knowledgeable about Week3 professional development opportunities.
When teams design units, assessments, and resources that exemplify best practices that could benefit other teachers and schools, the facilitator can share them with the T&L Department who will collect, organize and post them online for all to access. “We are such a large district, and now we are finally working together and teaching in similar ways, using best practices,” says Jen Burkart, Elementary Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA). “Many of us are moving in the same direction and we hope to begin working together across the District working smarter, not harder.”
Jennie Hausman, 2nd-grade teacher and Collaboration Facilitator at Fir Grove Elementary School, says, “I believe student success depends on how effective we are as teachers. The collaboration time allows us to be more consistent in our expectations for students and strengthen our teaching practices as we share our expertise with each other. I've been teaching for 24 years and I have a lot to share, but I learn new things from my teammates every day. I really believe in this work and this role helps me support this professional development opportunity. The Collaboration Facilitator's role is just to help their team be ready each week so we can improve our effectiveness and keep student success at the forefront.”
At the secondary level, Collaboration Facilitators have the same role but are not necessarily tied to a specific grade level or content area team. The facilitators assist teachers and support staff in finding the best fit for a collaboration team, facilitate a team or a professional development course if necessary, and act as a liaison between the building principal and the T&L Department to share the work of the collaboration teams.
Collaboration Facilitators participated in professional development to learn about team dynamics, the expectations of the role, what supports and resources are available and how to share out the good work their teams are doing.
“Research is clear that collective efficacy makes a big difference in student achievement. Collective efficacy means that groups of teachers truly believe that if they put their minds and hearts together, they can make a positive impact on student achievement,” says Burkart. “That is what we believe here in the Beaverton School District and that is why we are supporting teachers in knowing that they can do this important work and to make sure that it is fully supported systemwide.”
WE Appreciate YOU!
Doing good...being noticed!
From Janet Avery in Maintenance Services: "Ed is so calm and professional in all of his interactions both on the phone and in person, I wish I could bottle this and use it myself. I have never met a more friendly person than Serinah, she is always willing to go that extra mile for people. We are lucky to have both of them working for us!"
Communications & Community Involvement Department
Email: melissa_larson@beaverton.k12.or.us
Website: www.beaverton.k12.or.us
Location: 16550 SW Merlo Rd., Beaverton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeavertonSchoolDistrict
Twitter: @beavertonSD