Faculty Focus
May 30, 2020
Can we still be the Shamrocks if everything is maroon?
The O'Maley sign has been refurbished and will be remounted on the building any time now. The repainting of the sign, unfinished concrete, and the outside wall (a while ago) completes the conversion to maroon as the school color. Are we now truly The Innovators instead of the Shamrocks?
The Weekly Overview for June 1-5 will be sent out Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. Please be sure to get your links in by 7:40 a.m. at the latest.
Wednesday Staff Meeting will be Vertical Teams
If I have any official updates that need to be shared in person, I will send an invitation to a whole staff Meet and let you know. Otherwise plan to be with you subject or job alike groups. Send links to Jeff, Dennis, and me so we can circulate among groups.
Locker Clean-Out Plans
A plan for returning student belongings has been shared with Dr. Safier for approval. We are planning on pre-packing belongings (minus school-owned items) and arranging for curbside pick-up on June 12th. Families will be asked to return school-owned items they have at home at the same time. Details will follow once the plan is approved. P.S. We are not collecting Chromebooks back at this time unless a student will not return to GPS.
Faculty Entry for Items and Room Cleaning
We will be coordinating times for you to come into the building to do your pre-summer clean-up and grab any items you might need. Safety guidelines will need to be followed including wearing masks and maintaining a 6-foot distance from others, and sanitizing will follow the visits. Please complete the form below so that I know
- Who needs to come in
- Whether you just need to pick-up items or need a longer time to organize
Given that we will be getting items back from kids in a haphazard manner, we will not, at least at this time, complete obligation lists.
Last Day Celebrations June 17th
As discussed at grade level meetings Friday, EoY virtual celebrations are planned for June 17, with 8th Grade being the only grade holding any kind of physical gathering. The plan is with Dr. Safier awaiting final approval, but all teachers will be invited to join 11:00-12:00 and cheer on the DJ-accompanied parade of families by car. Teachers will stand 6-feet apart and families will not depart vehicles. A request for RSVPs from staff will be sent next week so that we can mark out spots the day of the event. Once again, plans are awaiting approval.
Enjoy the weekend!
Best,
Lynne
Instructional Leadership Team Update - Recap
The ILT provided a lot of information to you on Wednesday about the work that has been done over the course of the year, even through school closure. I want to say a huge thank you to the team members for their dedication. We plan to continue through the week after school ends to get our plan together. Our intention is for it to merge with whatever we have coming at us for the fall, not to add to or diverge from the learning model that is in place, whether that is in the building, 100% remote, or a hybrid. We will keep you posted.
An important point that came up in response to a question asked bears repeating: What should we focus on as the main point of information? While the entire process to date is documented in the Slides from Wednesday's faculty meeting and in the ILT to Staff Running Record linked on the info Hub, Slide 11 captures where we landed. The statements articulate the team's agreed upon findings from all of the data collected, and as we move forward to determine the root cause and how we can take cation to remedy these challenges, these are the statements on which we will focus. See below.
Remote Learning Advisory Committee Update Meeting #1
We are looking for your thoughts on topics for focus as well as specific items that fall under those topics. At this time, we have identified the following topics, in no particular order:
- Technology
- Schedule
- Social Emotional
- Pedagogy
- Communication
- Building Use
If you have questions, thoughts to share, items you want included, etc., please do one of two things, or both:
- Add your questions/thoughts, etc. to Padlet so that colleagues may see, comment, have their thinking prompted. Link to Padlet Here.
- Speak with a member of the committee: Amy Donnelly, Dave Brown, Austin Sousa, Adrienne Marden, Theresa Dannaher, Kathy Interrante, Pat Hand, Ardis Francoeur, Leslie Sellers, Amy Natola, and Allison Alves.
The full committee will meet each Monday afternoon, and will be working individually or in subgroups over the course of each week. Work will continue over the summer as well.
Full agenda and notes from the 5/28 meeting can be found here, and linked from the Info Hub.
Stipend Positions for 2020-2021 Are Still Available!
Thank you to those of you who have put your names in for positions. Please see the attached list as a reminder of the positions: Stipend Positions 2020-2021. I have more takers than needed for some positions, and am still seeking teachers for: Math Program Leader, Teacher Leadership Advisory (Grade 8, Specialist), Math Olympiad (6) and Mathletics (7/8) and Extended Day (ELA/SS).
Please notify me by June 1 if you are interested in a stipend position next year. I will confirm positions after that time.
Please note: If we continue with remote instruction or a hybrid, we will explore how we might provide opportunities like Homework Club, Extended Day, etc. as well as some of the others.
Purchasing for 2020-2021
Purchase Orders - Due to Christine by June 15th
Over the next few weeks, please finalize orders for next year. If you submitted a wish list in December when I was preparing an estimated budget, please review it to be sure your requests remain the same. You cannot go over the amount you requested, but can change items on your list. Quotes must be included, and must include shipping costs.
Please Make a Copy and use the PO Request Form (also on the Info Hub) to submit your actual request. These must be complete and submitted to Christine before June 15th.
Reimbursement for Purchases - IMPORTANT
GPS will no longer reimburse for purchases of any kind. Please make sure you plan ahead for necessary purchases with approved vendors so that a PO can be approved and issued in time for the purchase to be made. If a company is not a vendor, Christine can assist with getting them on the vendor list...as long as they comply with necessary paperwork to do that.
Coming Up Next Week
Lynne's Regular Office Hours:
Monday - Friday 8:00-9:00 a.m. This is a recurring event; bookmark this link for future use: https://meet.google.com/ -srcp-fom
No Office Hours Tuesday June 2nd!
We will convene in Vertical/Job-Alike teams Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.
Archives
Contact Information
Email: lbeattie@gloucesterschools.com
Website: http://omaley.gloucesterschools.com/
Location: 32 Cherry Street, Gloucester, MA, USA
Phone: 978-281-9850
Twitter: @omaleyprincipal