Sunday, December 6, 2020

Week of 11/30 - 12/4

Hey Panda Family,


Week 16 is beginning to look very festive! I hope you and your family are enjoying the holiday cheer that this season brings 🔔⛄ Thank you for your hard work while I am absent. My return date is this Friday, December 11 (barring no changes). It is such a blessing to know the school and our students are well taken care of no matter what the situation! I can't thank each of you enough, and thank you to everyone who has assumed additional duties as we tackle the obstacles of this virus together. You rock! 

 

PGE Covid Update 12/6/2020: This evening the PGE community (parents & staff) will be receiving communication regarding a positive Covid-19 test that has occurred from one of our staff members. Please know, that if you were in close contact with the individual you have already been informed. We will be following all cleaning protocols and communication expectations provided to us by the district. 


Working Remotely: Before this past week I had allowed a few individuals to work remotely when they had family emergencies arise (in an effort to be flexible). Unfortunately, all principals were told this past week in our principal meeting that this is not allowed. We can only approve individuals working remotely if it is COVID related. If you are not able to come in to work you must take sick, personal, or annual leave. 


Schedule Change: Please adjust your schedule for the following change. To accommodate our Boosterthon team, we will be adjusting our Staff Meeting date for January. Our January staff meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 26 @ 3:30 via Zoom. The main focus of this staff meeting will be the Boosterthon team preparing the staff for the fundraiser. SCC & Wellness will be moved to Tuesday, January 19. Thank you for making this adjustment. 


Update from Iris (School Psychologist): As you all know, this holiday season is very different than previous years, both for staff and families. I know many of us have lost a loved one or have other challenges that have to be dealt with right now. A fellow school psychologist wrote a Blog Post with resources that you may find helpful for yourselves and to share with families. The blog, also has many other resources (COVID and otherwise) you may find useful. I am thinking about all of you throughout the season. I am so proud of how hard you have all worked over the past 9 months to support families, students, and each other. Please remember to take some time to support yourselves as well.


Flex Spending Changes (from district): We are excited to inform you of changes made to the current and future Flexible Spending Account Plans. Please review this link. If you have questions, please contact Director of Benefits, Teresa Brown, tabrown@wsfcs.k12.nc.us. 


Winter Weather Notifications (from district): We have updated district guidance, timelines, and guidelines related to weather delays/closures/move to remote learning. Please share this with staff, the district will share it with students via Peachjar. 


Bus Attestation Forms (PreK - 5th): Please work on getting 3rd quarter bus attestation forms returned prior to winter break.  If you need copies, please ask Mrs. Landreth or Mrs. Gardner. 


December Drills: Weather permitting, our community lockdown and fire drill will take place Monday, December 14th at 8:30 or right after car riders is completed. We will start with community lockdown. 


PBIS Spirit Week: We have made some adjustments to spirit week to have similar ideas as kindergarten and first grades. The list to share with your students/parents will be sent out by mid-week.


CARES Team Update (from Ms. Ceglowski): 
  • We have compiled a list of all student names provided by teachers to us as completing less than 50% of work in the most recent engagement survey. We broke it down into three categories including EC, ELL, and others.  The other category was our focus this week and we divided the list among us to give phone calls/make contact and see if we can help identify barriers and work on mitigating those barriers.  There were very few names we had not yet discussed but we are focusing on those new names to see what we can learn.  
  • We anxiously await hearing from K/1/EC teachers to give us some direction on how CARES should look as students return to the building. 
  • Several families have already been provided holiday financial support.  Mrs. Landreth is amazing at soliciting donations and keeping track of where they go.  Let us know if you think a family may be in need this Christmas.  I'll do the reach out!

Lend a Hand!: Our PreK, Kindergarten, and 1st Grade staff are doing an amazing job with our in-person students. Managing a concurrent classroom, the cleaning protocols, and the added instruction is no small task. If you are willing, sign up below to lend a hand to one of these classrooms! Cover their recess for a day or two, watch their kids during lunch, or just drop in for 5 minutes so they can use the bathroom :) Any little bit goes a long way! 

Instructions: If you are willing to help, click this link, and place your name beside one of the classrooms. Then reach out to that teacher to compare schedules to see when you could help them out. Multiple people can sign up for the same class. More hands make it easier to help!



Tech Tip from Tim: In this month's edition of Timothy's Technology Corner newsletter, I have provided you with several resources that I believe will be valuable to you and your students. In the season of giving, I wanted to share as many things as possible.

Here are the headlines in this month's edition:
  • Learning Canvas: Providing Comments in Speedgrader
  • New from WeVideo (New Collaborate & Edit in Realtime Feature)
  • Brain Break Resources
  • Christmas Fun
  • Save the Date: Intro to Canvas for Teacher Assistants
  • Where is Timothy? (December Calendar)

Grades 2-5 Teachers: In addition, to the contents included in this month's newsletter, make sure you schedule a time for us to make sure you are ready for concurrent instruction once students return to the building. To book a time with me in 15-minute increments, click on the following link: https://tdyounts.youcanbook.me. Remember, I am at Piney Grove on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so make sure you schedule accordingly. 


COVID Protocols: Due to the increased number in positive Covid cases across the county, the school district is requiring some additional safety steps. If you have been exposed to someone that tests positive you must let me know and quarantine for 14 days (these individuals will work remotely). Remember, exposure is defined by:

  • You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more
  • You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19
  • You had direct physical contact with the person (hugged or kissed them)
  • You shared eating or drinking utensils
  • They sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you
Exposure has to be reported to Human Resources for contact tracing in case you should test positive. As a school, we are only required to communicate if we have a positive test from a staff member or student. At this time, we have not had any positive tests from staff members or from students that have been in-person. Remember the 3 W's - Wear your mask, Wash your hands, and Wait 6 feet. This will help us stay safe and healthy! 


PGE Health & Safety Cheat Sheet: It was asked if we would create a document that would highlight the important health and safety protocols for Plan B. We have created a two page "Health & Safety Cheat Sheet" for you to reference during Plan B for each part of the day. A hard copy of this cheat sheet will be placed in each staff member's box. Here is the link to the Google doc if you would like to have access to the electronic version https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H8p_0GlaX-5tZRfxsRD_fjBvQvf1b-Lf6KAwYig84ko/edit?usp=sharing


Reopening Q & A: We have created a Google doc for you to drop your questions. I have already started answering some of them. Here is the Google doc if you would like to add any questions or see the answers: Reopening Q & A


Packet Materials: I encourage each of you to continue sending out tangible packet materials for your students as needed (novels, worksheets, manipulatives, etc.). Please coordinate the pickup with your families. Every parent that I have talked with mentions how helpful it is to have a combination of tangible and virtual assignments. If the office can support you with this please let us know. 


Morning Announcements: Here are the YouTube links for this week's Morning Announcements. Please include them on your Canvas page. 


Staff Spotlight: From Ms. Ceglowski - Abuse, suicide ideation, and general mental health issues are starting to really ramp up as usual around the holidays.  It's definitely going to look different this year and likely be more pronounced.  It may also be harder to detect.  Shout out to the 3 teachers who reached out with concern over their students on Friday.  Please do not hesitate to reach out and follow your gut!!!  If a student tells you something, you see something, or something just doesn't seem right, trust your instincts!    Love you, mean it!  


IF Updates

Growth Monitoring: Don't forget to have your class complete the iReady Growth Monitoring in iReady.  Jayne will assign them all on Monday morning unless you tell her otherwise.  :)  

iReady Data Analysis PD:  Don’t forget to register for the iReady session that your grade level decided to attend.  (The date you chose is in your PLT notes.)  Here is a list of the offered sessions.  


Upcoming Dates:
 
December 8 - SIT @ 3:30
December 9 - Testing Team Meeting @ 3:40
December 14 - Drills @ 8:30 (Fire & Community Lockdown)
December 15 - Staff Meeting @ 3:30
December 21 - Teacher Workday (RS)
December 22 - January 6 - Winter Break for Staff
January 7 - Teacher Workday (RC)
January 8 - Teacher Workday (RS)
January 11 - 2nd & 3rd Grade Students Return In-Person
January 12 - SIT @ 3:30
January 18 - No School (MLK Day)
January 19 - 4th & 5th Cohort A Return
January 19 - SCC & Wellness Committees @ 3:30
January 20 - End of 2nd Quarter
January 21 - 4th & 5th Cohort B Return
January 22 - Teacher Workday
January 26 - Staff Meeting @ 3:30 (Boosterthon)

If this doesn't make you laugh...🤣




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