North High School
Staff Bulletin - Shutdown Edition - March 21, 2020
COVID-19 Information
Sioux City Community School District Information
Iowa Department of Education Main Page for COVID-19
Information for Schools
Current Guidance from Iowa Department of Education - This is the main guidance being used to make decisions.
Center for Disease Control School Guidance - This information is the source of the IDPH resource above.
INFORMATION FROM DR. GAUSMAN with commentary from Ryan
ALL STAFF:
- Remain patient and provide a sense of calm. While we are in uncharted territory, our community is looking to us for guidance and reassurance. Please remain calm and know that we will weather this storm together.
Ryan: This has been an unusual challenge. I have been happy hearing, from our school community, how teachers and staff have engaged with students and families. I have had many people reach out to support.
- The Governor has signed legislation that waives the requirement to make up school days that were missed through April 12 because of the Coronavirus. Currently, our last day of school with students is scheduled for June 2.
Ryan: We are hoping for the best and planning for the worst. We must await any decisions by the Governor's Office and the Department of Education.
- We are still awaiting guidance from the Department of Education concerning statewide testing. Once a decision has been made, we will let you know as soon as possible.
Ryan: Guidance will be coming as the US Department of Education has suspended the assessment requirements. This is still a state decision we must wait for at this time.
- Breakfast and lunch is provided on a grab and go basis at 24 sites Monday through Friday to children ages 1-18.
Ryan: On the first day, we served nearly 50 students at North High. Please promote this. If you have children who qualify, consider utilizing this resource.
- We are in the process of cleaning and disinfecting our buildings, so please do not go to your building until directed to do so.
Ryan: Our OM staff are currently cleaning hard surfaces. I last saw them wiping down all lockers.
- There are administrators in the buildings daily.
Ryan: We are still going in daily. There is more information below.
TEACHERS:
- Beginning Monday, March 23rd, teachers will work from home to support students and families, your responsibilities are outlined below.
- Contact students. Sixth-12th grade teachers will contact all students in your advisory. All teachers should reach out to your students/families via email, Canvas or phone no later than Thursday, March 26th by 3:00pm. Some teachers may choose to call parents to check in periodically during the time we are closed. That would be fantastic!!
Ryan: Our first task is to simply "check in" and make sure everyone is doing alright. Once you have completed this task, complete this form: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=IMeQnOaQ_UaJi3jlVNe31JCVR-td_XhOiySwkKWaFLhUNVhRSkRVUFlITzRRWFFQVkZBM0JZQzM3UC4u
- If you need contact information for your class (TK-5) or advisory (6-12), you can access the information through Infinite Campus. You can access Infinite Campus from home. You can get there by going to the District website, staff tab, Infinite Campus or directly to the link: https://campus.siouxcityschools.org/campus/siouxcity.jsp. If you do not have internet access at home or have difficulty accessing the students’ contact information, contact your principal and they will assist in providing you the information.
Ryan: If you do not have internet connectivity at home, please email me.
- Check your e-mail daily and respond to messages from staff and/or students.
- Check in with students (either electronically or via phone) on a regular basis.
Ryan: "Regularly" is consistent and follows a pattern. We will define that as weekly at this point. Each day, you should be connecting with those reaching out to you. We are looking into "Online Office Hours" to help define that. We encourage you to hold a consistent office hour for students to have access if desired.
- Work collaboratively with colleagues via teleconferencing or e-mail (lesson planning, data analysis, curriculum work, etc.). Please connect with your grade level/department colleagues and engage in professional learning (i.e. collaboration with colleagues, enroll in online classes, reading professional materials, and watching professional videos). Meetings may be held face-to-face as long as there are 10 or fewer participants.
Ryan: Online Office Hours can also be a great time to collaborate with peers. We hate missing this time, however, it is a great opportunity to create content and develop solid lesson plans. Our Consulting Teachers are available for that support as well.
- Team leaders and department chairs: Reach out to your teams no later than Wednesday, March 25th to ensure they are connecting with students. Keep notes of your conversations and share the notes with your building administrators.
Ryan: Department Heads, I will send an email this week. I am looking at holding a department head meeting sometime this week over Zoom.
- Update grades. Grades through March 13 should be entered into the electronic gradebook. This should be completed by April 3.
Ryan: This is a priority area. Make sure everything gets graded and updated. Right now, we aren't pressing on students to complete work. If they ask about it, encourage them.
PARAEDUCATORS, LIBRARY ASSISTANTS, ESL TUTORS, 10 MONTH SECRETARIES, BUILDING ADMIN SUPPORT, ATTENDANCE SPECIALISTS, BEHAVIOR TECHNICIANS, GEAR UP STAFF, iJAG, EQUITY LIAISONS AND OTHER ASSORTED HOURLY POSITIONS:
- Do not report to buildings, until directed. Must be available as needed. Your supervisors will provide guidance about on-site duties and off-site duties.
Ryan: Information is available below
- Please contact your building principal between 8:00am and 3:00pm each Monday for staffing assignments.
Ryan: Information is available below
12 MONTH SECRETARIES AND REGISTRARS:
- Beginning Monday, March 23rd, supervisors will provide guidance about on-site duties and off-site duties.
- Please contact your building principal between 8:00am and 3:00pm each Monday for staffing assignments.
Ryan: Kathy has been in each day. We are working on some projects to streamline some office items.
BSTs AND 28TH ST. O&M STAFF:
- Report to work from 7:00am-3:30pm Monday through Friday until further notice.
Ryan: They are working "business as usual". They are working days.
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Principal Contact and Hours
Phone: 712-294-4917
(M, T, W - Office; R, F - Home)
Brant Bemus
Phone: 712-898-6044
(T,R,F - Office; M,W - Home)
Chris Koch
Phone: 712-899-1415
(M,W,R - Office; T, F - Home)
Joni Swenson
Phone: 712-899-3624
(T, R, F - Office; M, W - Home)
Contact Pointers:
- We are working 8:00-3:00 PM each day. Regardless of whether we are in the office or at home.
- If you text, be sure to say who you are. We don't have everyone's number. That helps us.
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Hourly Employee Information
Ryan Dumkrieger - 712-294-4917
1:00 - Denene Nutt
1:15 - Lacy Terrazas
1:30 - Raquel Valladolid
1:45 - Teresa Verdin
2:00 - Susan Nguyen
2:15 - Ruth Torres
Brant Bemus - 712-898-6044
1:00 - Tim Hess
1:15 - Marge Crayne
1:30 - Teodora Quinonez
1:45 - Heidi Ruhrer
2:00 - Dave Sage
2:15 - Terri Frank
Chris Koch - 712-899-1415
1:00 - Brittany Brewer
1:15 - Breanna Watkins
1:30 - Erv Whitehead
1:45 - Jessica Gonzalez
2:00 - Abdier Marrero
2:15 - Kristina Moos
Joni Swenson - 712-899-3624
1:00 - Kathy Fickett
1:15 - Michael McBride
1:30 - Samantha Schoenherr
1:45 - Melody Bentson
2:00 - Elvira Camberos
2:15 - Juliana Benitez
2:30 - Lisa Franco
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Teacher Information
Message from Dr. Buryanek (edited) with commentary from Ryan:
We now have an opportunity to provide support to students and families that is less traditional. When you contact students in the next week, we would like to give you some suggestions for your conversations.
The primary objective of the contact with students is not because of our concern with the loss of learning. In your initial communication with students, don’t worry about holding students accountable for the completion of activities, homework packets or online assessments while school is closed. Actually, according to state guidance we can’t hold students accountable while school isn’t in session.
College courses are different. All college courses will continue and students have been contacted to ensure they know that the college courses in which they are enrolled have resumed.
Share positive, encouraging feedback to students and their families. Remind yourself that this is a stressful time for students and their families and that everyone is trying their best. The contact that you make with students this week should be focused on their health and well-being. Try to determine if the students and their family:
- Have enough to eat. The District provides breakfast and lunch daily at 24 sites.
- Need any other supplies as they manage city-wide shutdowns. The District has a Bright Futures social media presence that can be activated to provide assistance to families.
- Need financial support. The District Equity Office has lists of resources throughout the community to assist families.
If students or families ask you questions that you cannot answer, let them know that you will get an answer for them. Please e-mail the questions to Erin Bourne, Dr. Buryanek's administrative assistant. Her e-mail address is: bournee@live.siouxcityschools.com. She will keep track of the questions and provide answers or refer the question to others within the organization or community. The most common questions will be answered through the District’s Communications Department in a weekly communication.
What we need to be sure happens at North High School:
Grading and Assignments:
- Complete grading and update gradebooks by 3:05 pm on April 2, 2020 at 3:05 PM
- Be sure that any assignments after March 13, 2020 are not counted against the students. If you have your Gradebook setup to implement a “Late Policy”, any assignment you had will automatically turn to zero. Be sure that students are not impacted by work they haven't been here to complete or turn in.
- Students can submit missing work and they should be encouraged to do so.
- Open any assignments that are missing and update information so that students can complete away from school
Update Assignments with Additional Information and target any assignment that students can makeup. Include the following in the assignment:
- Name of the Assignment
- Description of the Assignment
- Original Due Date
- Link to any additional information (PDF of a Document, Video, Website Link, Pointers)
Resources:
- If students need to access the textbook, be sure to provide information on how to access the textbook
Access:
Be sure to keep reaching out to students as outlined above. We are looking at how to hold staff meetings, office hours, etc to keep connected.
Remember, this is our first communication. We are focusing on needs, the intent is to address information outlined in Dr. Buryanek's email on 3/20. It is a time we, as a school, can advertise the opportunity for students to connect with their teachers.
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Online Office Hours Tools
For those of you interested in starting online office hours, here are some resources that we currently have access to through Canvas and Microsoft. If you are holding these, let me know what you are using, how it works, and suggestions you may have for others.
Canvas provides a suite of online tools to supplement face-to-face courses. The following Canvas tools can be used to help facilitate virtual office hours and other online communication with students.
Real-time office hours
- Conferences: A place to upload files (.ppt, .doc, .pdf, etc.), access a digital whiteboard, broadcast real-time audio and video, or demonstrate applications and online resources.
- Chat: A useful tool for hosting real-time office hours. This tool can store written chat so that students can review the conversation asynchronously after it has ended.
Asynchronous office hours
- Discussions: Discussions support ongoing dialog within different topic threads, the most important of which can be “pinned” to the top for all to see. Discussions can be especially useful for posting FAQ’s in large courses as a way of cutting down on repeat question-and-answer emails.
Online Office Hour Scheduling
If you prefer scheduling appointments during your office hours, rather than using them as a drop-in option, Canvas’ Scheduler tool can help. Part of the Calendar feature, Scheduler allows teachers to create blocks of time for which students can sign up — making it easier to manage online meetings.
Additional tools
Other tools available to support communication between instructors and students include:
- Zoom: offers video conferencing and group messaging in one, with the option to screen share, record, and chat. They have removed their 40-minute limit during the school shutdown.
- Microsoft Skype for Business: Skype for Business is the district's subscription to Skype for Business Online, a Microsoft O365 services
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Last Week's Average Daily Attendance: 0% (-88.85 from last week)
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Quarantine Professional Development
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Reminders and Checklists
All Staff:
- Safe School Training is released. Here is the link: https://siouxcityschools-ia.safeschools.com/ There are five training's on this year's module. Total time indicated is 129 minutes. Due dates are varied.
- All New Course - ACES
Certified Staff:
- Sign up for duties with Chris. If you sign up now, you will have a choice. If you wait, you will be assigned to an open duty.