Galloping Gazette
A Newsletter for the Faculty and Staff at CFES
February 5-9, 2018
Put Students First • Seek Growth • Be Open to Change
Do Great Work Together • Value Differences
Shout Outs!
Thank you Al Doss for letting a student borrow some Legos when our space wasn't available. You assisted in helping a student have a great afternoon! -Anne B.
I appreciate Mrs. Fantano for making phone calls to parents who only speak Spanish when there is a medical issue needing to be addressed!! I can always count on her to get in touch with the parent! Thank you! - Jill
Thanks Al for helping me with my computer. This computer illiterate person appreciates you making it look so easy!!! - Jill
Thank you Sara Nichols for organizing and promoting our Lucky Oyster Night to raise money to buy food for our Beach Bags. It was a successful night!
Annual Mandatory Training is Due for ALL STAFF February 16th!
School Counseling Week
Schoology Overview
Recently, staff received an email from the Department of School Leadership regarding the availability of a Schoology Overview course. During the 2017-2018 school year, Anchor Schools have been using Schoology, which provides a unified access point for curriculum, digital content, assessment, and more. In partnership with Anchor Schools, school division staff has worked closely with Schoology to tailor the program to meet division needs.
At this time, the overview course is available for all teachers, specialists, and any assistants who support instruction. In order to move toward implementing Schoology across the division in the next year or two, all instructional staff are being asked to complete the overview course.
This course will take you about one-hour to complete, and you do not have to complete it all at the same time. You may go back and view any or all parts of the course anytime. At the end of the course, you will be asked to answer a few short questions regarding your impressions of Schoology as well as your preference for full implementation.
Please complete the Schoology Overview course and the questions, no later than March 4.
To access Schoology and this course, please do the following:
- Access Schoology at https://vbschools.schoology.com/ . If you are on the school division network, you will be logged into Schoology. If you are not on the school division network, you will be asked for your user name and network password. If you are using a Chromebook on the network you will need to enter your user name and password.
- Click on Courses at the top of the screen.
- Click on Join and enter this access code: 8GW7V-BZPJC
Thank you in advance for your time in this important next step with Schoology implementation. Your feedback will help determine our next steps of implementation.
If you need assistance gaining access to Schoology or the overview course, please see Al Doss.
Responding to Student Needs - Six Ways to Reach Your Students
Educational Leadership December 2017/January 2018 edition "Responding with Care to Students Facing Trauma" by Kristen Souers
The last two weeks we highlighted:
1. Identify what need a behavior is expressing.
2. See the worth in each student and build from his or her strengths.
3. Remember, kids can't learn if they don't feel safe.
4. Work from a team perspective.
Six Ways to Reach Your Students (cont.)
5. Consider whether a basic need isn't being met.
Sometimes kids are acting out not because of the effects of trauma, but from a more immediate need. Before you move to intervention, "HALT," and ask yourself whether this child might need something relatively simple and easily provided. People can't learn or focus if they're hungry, anxious, lonely, or tired. When we slow down and look at the bigger picture, we might discover that a student just needs a snack, a break, or a hug and relational reassurance.
6. Give students grace.
We all need a little grace. Sometimes the need to be right or to prove that a wrong occurred is less important—and effective—than extending grace. By grace I mean forgiveness, a second chance, or a "free pass," quite possibly unwarranted.
Sometimes adults believe that giving grace means allowing misbehavior and letting a student avoid accountability. But I've seen countless times when a teacher's need to hold a student accountable proved more harmful than forgiveness would have been. We don't always know what our students and their families are experiencing. There are times when plates are full and patience and careful thought are hard to access. By giving grace, we acknowledge that life is messy, that there are situations when it's OK to "let this one go." When you find yourself in a situation that involves a strained relationship or a power struggle with a student over an infraction, ask yourself, would this be a good opportunity for grace? Will giving a "free pass" get me farther in the long run?
Career Teacher Applications
Every teacher requesting consideration for a Career Teacher allowance needs to:
• Complete the 2018 Career Teacher Allowance Application;
• Collect supporting documentation as directed by the building principal to verify actions in each of the four categories of the form (teachers should keep all of the supporting documentation with a copy of the completed application for their records);
• Request the signature of the building principal on the cover sheet between Feb. 1, 2018, and the last day of school, June 18, 2018; and
• If applicable, include a copy of the National Board Certification if not already on file in the Licensure Office.
All applications must be scanned by a designated school office member into LaserFiche using the LaserFiche Document Drop folder and the Career Teacher Application template. Once the application is successfully scanned, teachers should retain the original documents for their records.
Applicants will be notified by email upon receipt of their application. Once the Career Teacher Allowance Application is reviewed and processed, the teacher will receive another email indicating approval or denial of the application.
Teachers with questions about the allowance application, or needing assistance with the completion of the application, may contact John Ogden, human resources specialist, at 263-1133 or John.Ogden@vbschools.com.
Transfer Meet and Greet
- Teachers who have been designated as priority transfers and those who are eligible for consideration for voluntary transfers may attend.
- Classified employees who have been designated as priority transfers and those who are eligible for consideration for voluntary transfers or promotions may also attend the Meet and Greet.
- Only teachers who will be on continuing contract during 2018-2019 (currently P3, PC, or C) and who are not on Performance Improvement Plans are eligible for voluntary teacher transfers.
- A teacher who receives a voluntary transfer must spend three years in that assignment before being eligible for another voluntary transfer. (A teacher accepting a voluntary transfer for the 2018-2019 school year will be eligible for a transfer in fall 2021.)