Madison Middle School

By barsotti_p 　https://blogs.4j.lane.edu/madisonstaff/2021/10/29/october-29-2021/

Hi Madison Staff,

Here are this week’s updates:

MADISON INFORMATION         

• Staffing Update: We are so please to announce that we have hired Courtney Harshbarger to join us for 4 hours each day (9:15-1:15) to assist with Covid-related tasks such as contact tracing and supporting students who are being quarantined at home. The goal of this new position is two-fold; to best serve Madison students and families and to lighten the load of both teachers and office staff. We are hoping to have her start next week sometime.

• Conferences – Please Upload your zoom link and desired break times to the master spreadsheet for conferences!    I’ll be working on setting up your sign-up pages, with the goal of opening sign-ups on Tuesday afternoon. Conferences

DISTRICT INFORMATION                         

• Conferences Update: 
  • Teleworking Allowed: Principals have been given the flexibility to allow teachers to work from home for conferences, so please make whatever plans work best for you. Just send me an email if you’re planning to work from home for all or part of conferences.
  • Staff Not at Conferences: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday are regular work days for all staff who are not part of conferences and should work your regular hours at school. However, if you have accumulated agreed-upon trade time to not work any of these dates, please email Peter your plan ahead of time.
  • Conference Dates:
    • Nov. 9 (T), 4:30-8pm, Evening Conferences
    • Nov. 10 (W), 8am-12pm, All Day Conferences (No school for students)
    • Nov. 11(Th), Veterans’ Day – No School
    • Nov. 12 (F), Planning Day – No School
             
• COVID Protocol Updates & Reminders: 
  • What symptoms mean staff or students should stay home? Please stay home if you are experiencing any primary COVID symptoms due to an unknown illness which are:
    • Fever of 100.4F or higher
    • Chills
    • Cough (non-persistent, dry coughs are okay, but congested coughs are not)
    • Shortness of breath
    • Difficulty breathing
    • New loss of taste or smell
    • Diarrhea
    • Vomiting
  • Vaccine Booster Clinics: Boosters will now be available for those who are 6 months post their 2nd dose and meet other requirements such as persistent, institutional exposure to Covid or those at high risk of severe Covid-19.  To learn more and book an appointment if you’re interested, please visit this link. 
        
• Behavioral Safety Assessment Training Video: Sheri Hoyland, the 4J Behavioral Safety Assessment Coordinator (threats, suicide, safety, etc) asked principals to share with staff the linked Behavioral Safety Assessment Training Video. Linked here is her full email, which also includes a link to the Student Wellness & School Safety Department website, which is your “one stop shop” for all things Student Wellness & School Safety Department, and also the linked Age Appropriate Sexual Behavior in Children and Young People, which delineate which behaviors are age appropriate, concerning, or very concerning by age range (0-4, 5-9, 9-12, and 13-18). 
       
• Repeat: TalentEd for This Year: All non-probationary licensed staff have had their Talent Ed processes marked complete for this year. Barring any performance concerns, those staff members will not need to complete anything in Talent Ed this year. For probationary staff, you’ll still need to complete the goal setting and self-assessment documents. Rob Hess has provided a template for SEL goals and technology goals if you’d like to use those. Please reach out to Gina for support with completing TalentEd goals. Classified staff will still receive their evaluations this year. Friday would be a great day to complete the self-assessment in TalentEd.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND OTHER INFORMATION       

• Team Building Activities for Kids: We all know that a sense of community and belonging helps kids feel safe, take risks, and (hopefully) make better, kinder choices. This list from We Are Teachers offers a list of some ideas for helping students connect and cooperate with one another.

Next Week at a Glance:

Conferences are going to be fast and furious, but then Thanksgiving will be right around the corner. Have a great weekend!

Peter and Gina