Mighty Mustang Staff
COVID-19 Updates
Thank you, thank you staff!!
Monday Message
Mustang Family,
Words could never express my great admiration for what you have been able to accomplish in the last two weeks...it is incredible! I know you do it because of the great love you have for your students and because you are just good, good people. Thank you!!
I think the announcement that students won't be back till at least May 1st, made the reality of our new situation seem very real. I have heard many of you express sadness as you grapple with not being with your students..I feel the same way! Initially, I think the novelty of the situation made everything feel okay and maybe even a bit exciting because we all had the time to actually use the restroom and enjoy our lunch:) However, as this virus has begun to impact all of us personally—whether by family members losing jobs, the fear of losing jobs, family members becoming sick, or just the uncertainty of the future— it has created a great deal of anxiety, fear, and sadness for many. As this increases, we are going to find parent and student frustration rise! Let's continue to do everything we can to help our students, parents, and colleagues get through this difficult situation and even enjoy the journey the best we can.
I think one of the best ways we can do this is to stay focused on the big rocks, keep things as simple as possible, provide "minimal but meaningful" work, and be attentive to student and parents needs. Please keep a pulse on how your students and their parents are feeling. Remember Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs...when our basic needs aren't being met, it makes school work feel not very important. So, remember as more people lose their jobs, or get sick, be as empathetic as you can to your students and their families. We all just have to believe that people are doing the best they can...that might mean they aren't doing everything you assign them, but that's okay. If we become too strict with things, people will shut down—Doing some work will be better than not doing anything at all. Just keep cheering on your students and their parents.
Thank you all for the funny pictures, videos, messages from students...I think laughter is important right now!
You are all Nebo Heroes! I sure love you guys...We've got this!!
Heather
Updates from our superintendent
The original guidelines from the Utah County Health Department (UCHD) seem to be in alignment with Governor Herbert’s “Stay Safe, Stay Home” Directive and continue to be applicable to us as best practices:
Protocols for Nebo School District:
o Implement social distancing (six feet) measures in all areas, especially communal areas of the establishment.
o Where feasible, employers should encourage their employees to work remotely from home. Some “key staff” may be required to work in buildings as long as the building is not in actual “closure” status – which status would prohibit anyone from being in the building. Additionally, some work opportunities may require the employee to be present in the building.
o Employers should encourage employees who are sick to stay at home.
o Management shall and must ensure on a daily basis that no employee that presents symptoms of illness (e.g., cough, fever, shortness of breath) will be permitted to work.
o Members, guests, patrons, or customers who present symptoms of illness shall be excluded from the establishment.
o Employees do not have to stay out of the buildings, unless a building is in “closure” status. Anyone in District buildings is required to follow UCHD and other health and governmental guidelines when in the buildings.
o Observe “no contact delivery” if going to homes [and if accepting packet deliveries from homes]. This means [employees] cannot have person to person contact. Additionally, in light of “Stay Safe, Stay Home,” packet delivery/receiving should only be done in situations where no other legitimate alternative exists. As always, all employees of such services must not engage in any delivery [or receiving] services if they present any symptoms of illness.
o Through May 1, no employees will need to enter any sick leave, personal leave, or any other type of leave; nor do they need to “clock in” or “clock out.” (Note: this does not apply to those who are already out on FMLA leave.) In short, everyone should respect the professional honor system in doing their best to work an “honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.” Our Payroll Department will automatically enter an employee’s regular weekly hours to ensure that employees are compensated.
o We expect our employees to work in assignments that best support teaching and learning, or participate in other value-added assignments as assigned by a supervisor.
o In some rare instances, we may have employees who are not concerned about receiving compensation during “dismissal” and Choose Not to work. These employees will give notice to their immediate supervisor using the District’s “Non-Compensation” form and will not be required to provide services to the School/District during “dismissal.” These employees will retain their employment in their current position with the School/District and return to work once “dismissal” status is removed AND the position assignment begins again.
o Nebo District will be closed for Spring Break (District Office, Maintenance, Warehouse, schools).
We are so thankful for the tremendous efforts given by all of our employees to ensure that student learning, parental support, and community resilience have remained strong and viable during these challenging times. We sincerely hope that these guidelines allow every employee to feel of our support and enable them to make decisions that are best for them and their families, while also fulfilling our professional responsibilities to care for children and for each other.
The result of these directives at MB
- The school is open from 8-3:00.
- We have given out 300 chrome books and still have a few more. Let us know if you have families asking for them.
- Grade levels please do all you can to allow your technicians to work from home. This will not always be possible, but do the best you can.
- In an effort to have more people working from home, our office staff will be staggering when they are at the school. I will be at the school from 8-1 and then work from home after that. Sarah will work from home in the morning and will then work from the school from 10:30-3:00. Our secretaries and ESL techs are working out similar schedules. With more people working from home, we all need to stay committed to checking email and being available on Google Hangout (if you don't have that app on your phone, you might want to download it).
- Our superintendent has stressed that everyone should respect the professional honor system in doing their best to work an “honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. Technicians, if you are struggling to have enough work to do, we have professional development books in the office you can check out and read during your work time. I would recommend everyone starts with "The Behavior Code." This is a great resource for all of us to learn to better handle difficult behaviors.
- Keep working together as teams to provide instruction! This not only makes it easier on you, but on students that are reaching out for help during "online office hours."
- Do everything you can to limit screen time by providing other activities.
- Stay up-to-date with Katie Bern's e-mails. Our digital coaches are creating some awesome ideas and activities for our students.
Upcoming Events Info
* April 6th-10th: Spring Break
* Wednesday, April 15th: Car Parade through neighborhood @12:00 (decorate your cars if you want, or make posters, wear your MB Shirts!....my boss has canceled these until the 13th, so hopefully we will still be able to make this happen. Please don't advertise yet.)
* Monday, May 4th: Hopefully, return to school!
* Friday, May 22nd: Last day of school
To do:
- Get term 3 report cards out (send out through e-mail)
- Teachers Vote here on when to finish CMI training
- ALL STAFF please fill out this survey... I want to make sure everyone is doing okay:)
- iPad Grants for those interested: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tsui-QfSA6EFnjpH4brWFfOrO89zi9ZGReqV2z7iJwI/copy
- Sign up for ONE summer iCampus Training (this is required for all teachers) AND Give your input for the best summer CMI training day
For those interested:
This week at a glance...
We are here to help!!
Email: heather.balli@nebo.edu
Website: Meadowbrook.nebo.edu
Phone: 801-489-2897