 |
Hello Team Harwood; As our first day with students draws closer we want to reiterate, emphasize and reinforce the intention for the first 9 days of school. In order to support all of us in transitioning to being at school during COVID and starting this new hybrid reality we did not count the first 9 days of school in our quarter 1 day count in order to prioritize time to: *check in and create space to process and share how we’re feeling given our current reality and what we need from each other to feel safe. *foster strong and trusting relationships among staff and students *establish clear expectations based on COVID guidelines practice and normalize our new routines So, what does this look like? Here is one example. Below is an acronym to sum up the work we did today led by Mel, Tara and Laurie:
GRACE: G – Give yourself and others a chance to adapt R – Remember that everyone is trying his/her best A – Assume positive intentions C – Connect with your students and colleagues E – Expect changes
And, resources to use for brain breaks and relationship building: Would You Rather Questions; Tier One Circle Questions and Break Breaks: Online-InPerson Idea Catalog Last but not lease another example captured in norms identified by students in Kathy Cadwell’s class last year: The Golden Rule Treat others how you want to be treated. The “Hidden Value” Rule Look for the good in everyone. You may not see it immediately, but I promise, it’s there. Believe that everyone provides some kind of value, even if it’s not abundantly clear on the surface. Trust that the person standing in front of you has redeeming qualities that, if you knew more about them, would inspire, delight and enchant you. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt. The “Everyone Is Special” Rule Recognize that everyone comes from a different place, and they all bring vast amounts of experience and wisdom with them. Everyone knows something you don’t know. Everyone is capable of doing and being someone completely different from you and that is a worthwhile thing to respect. To support us in ensuring we create this time we have altered The Schedule for the first 9 days. Finally, we want to say thank you for the way you are leaning in AND for your laughter and good humor. Everyone is clearly doing their BEST and that is all we can expect of ourselves. With gratitude and in partnership, Laurie, Duane and Meg There is a prize! look carfully - hint something one finds at a track meet.. |
 |
TA Resources for Welcome Meetings Hello Everyone! It has been a whirlwind few days! Tomorrow we begin our welcome meetings with students and parents/guardians. I wanted to be sure to reshare the documents created to support this first meeting of a very unusual year. With all of the emails we have received recently, I thought it might be helpful to have the links in the blog as well. If you are like me, you have had a wide array of emotions over the past days of inservice. Perhaps for the first time in our careers, we are heading into a year that is impossible to plan for, based on experience. Imagine what our students might be feeling. These meetings provide an opportunity to really check in with our students and families while also providing a realistic picture of what the “new normal” will be at school. I hope these two documents are helpful tools for you as you conduct these meetings. Checklist for Advisory Welcome Meetings - this was shared by email late last week. There are embedded resources to help to answer questions that might arise about specific details related to these questions. Also embedded in this document is a summary PDF of the information from the COVID Operations Presentation from Monday’s inservice that is relevant to share with students regarding expectations for arrival, the flow of the school day, dismissal and safety protocols. The link to this document is below: PDF Copy of COVID Operations Presentation - Reviewing this document will help students understand what to expect when they arrive on Tuesday or Thursday. I know you have a lot on your plates this week. I appreciate the time and care I know you will all provide as you welcome your students. This early preparation should help students feel more prepared to start the school year well. If I can assist in any way, please reach out to me. |
 |
Harwood MS/HS Staff FAQ What is the status of our Air ventilation system? The Harwood HVAC system is a complex and interesting beast. Occasionally at night when no one is around (which is most of the time) I will dawn my headlamp and climb into the labyrinth above the ceiling. Funny what one finds there - past principals having tea or other beverages, deep duct creatures only found at the most remote air vents -with a black and gold tartan exterior, an occasional hurdle special - still wrapped and oddly warm. Anyway - where was I……. Oh yes-- the HVAC system. I am happy to report that all 9 HVAC systems are running at full capacity. All systems were inspected and repaired to the extent possible to provide for full operation/capacity by September 8. The system typically runs 8 hours a day - NOW we are running the system 24 hours a day. THUS, you will feel air circulating when you are in the building and notice a difference in temperature everywhere in the building. Because it's getting colder at night, it's going to be cool in the building in the a.m. It will get warmer as the building becomes occupied. It's kinda complicated, thermodynamics, boring stuff - things that I dream about when not dreaming about the blog. Goal is to keep the mass of the building as cold as possible at night to temper the increased heat load during the day (human mass, lights, computers, kitchen, (Scott’s Hawaiian Shirt heat press machine -BTW is that dress code approved? ) The beast (my nickname for the entire system) is bringing (“pumping” for the science community) in outside air at 100% (high dilution of outside air with inside air) MERV 8 filters are currently in use throughout the building for summer and early fall. We ordered and will utilize MERV 13 filters during the heating season when we cannot dilute the air with outside air as much for heating reasons. Basically - Late spring, summer, early fall - higher dilution less filtration, Late fall, Winter, and early spring - more filtration. (what is a MERV - its not Merv Griffin for you older folks - info here: Filters Please note that we have new Beast Tamer Named Rick - He has devoted much of his time and energy into making the system run as well as it now does … say thanks when you see him. Here is the break down of areas of the school: HU system 1 - Over the world lang area and middles school classroom - improvements to duct work completed - so air flow is both input and exhaust is working at 100%. System is running 24 hours a day. HU system 2 - The middle school gallery/gym. System is working and running 24 hours day. Noise may still be heard with the overhead unit - repair work is planned to replace the bearing - however there is not effect to the air flow. HU system 3 - The library, Math TPA and LRC, System is working and running 24 hours a day. Please keep the outside LRC door closed to ensure the best possible exchange of air in the LRC. HU system 4 - High School Wing - system is working and running 24 hours a day. Noise may be heard in some classrooms near the end of the hallway as the system will be continuously on. HU system 5 - Main office area, school counseling, stem and living room areas - System is working and running 24 hours a day. HU system 6 - South end of the building (in my journeys above of the ceiling - I think I met the ghost of Kerrigan here) System is working and running 24 hours a day. System was improved and repaired over the summer. HU system 7 - Auditorium area System is working and running 24 hours a day. Summer work supported a new HVAC system with air conditioning - yes that is right - no more heat filled early fall and spring performances…. HU system Gym 1 and 2 - The Gym as two systems. They are working and running 24 hours day. HU cafeteria - The kitchen areas has two systems that exchange air for the kitchen area. This system is working. The wall units in the cafeteria main need repair. These will be worked on during the 20-21 school year if funds are approved. These are heating units that typically do not need to run.
Who has lunch duty? Please see here for this year’s lunch coverage. What is the status of the water bottle filling stations around the building? The following fountains are working - others are still in the midst of being fixed. Thank you for your patience. Outside the cafe Near elevator (that is right we have one) at the south entrance Middle School South entrance If I don’t have a screen in my room will I get one? Screens have been ordered for all classrooms where they are missing. Thank your or your patience as they arrive and are installed. Please note that in some cases the frames that hold the screens need to be repaired - which may take a bit longer to replace. Can I use fan’s in my room? The guidance is clear that we are not allowed to use fans in our rooms this year How can TPA’s be used this year? Staff are welcome to use their TPA by department. You are asked to maintain 6 ft. distancing and masks. How will we monitor masks being consistently worn by students? Although our student support team will be in the hallway, we all must teach, model and reteach our ECHO information each day. Can I bring my students to school on online days? Employee children cannot come to school with them. Are we allowed to bring snacks or treats in for our students? We are asking the students bring in their own snacks. Snack items may be shared if they come sealed and packaged. Do not allow students to share food or place hands into any sort of bag or container. Unfortunately, homemade snacks are not permitted at this point. Guidelines due to COVID have clarified that we can not bring in and share food.
If I go into work on a day that is not an in-person school day (weekend off-site learning day, etc.) do I need to complete the screener? The Symptom Checker form needs to be completed each day an employee enters the building. Once inside, we need to keep track of our contact with other employees, especially if there is prolonged interaction (over 15 minutes) in case there is a COVID case and contact tracing is initiated by the VDH. The other obvious things are following hand washing and face covering requirements. Do I need to clock in and out using the timeclock? What about on remote days? On in-person learning days, hourly staff should clock in and out as they normally would when arriving and departing school using the time clock. On remote days employees will keep track of their hours using a timesheet. These timesheets will then be submitted to the Admin Assistant at the school. Admin Assistants will manually enter these hours into the TimeIPS system by the end of the day on Fridays.
How is my work time now different from the spring of 2020? Employees are required to work their contracted hours. If an employee doesn’t work their contracted hours in a week they will be required to use their leave time depending on if they were sick or personal time. All leave needs to be recorded on the new leave reports that were introduced at the beginning of the summer. There is no longer a COVID 19 code for employees who do not fulfill their contracted work hours in a day. This is a change from this spring. For more information, see this document on payroll procedures. Should teachers take special precautions when bringing home items from school? Paper-based materials such as mail, envelopes or completed paper assignments are not considered high risk for transmission and do not need additional cleaning or disinfection procedures. Frequently touched objects should be cleaned and disinfected at the end each day per the cleaning and disinfection Health and Safety guidance, meaning they will be disinfected right before a teacher would take them home. What is the plan for online students on the first day of school? In order to support the goal of our first 9 days of school students will: *have students watch the welcome video reviewing what some of the new routines will look like this year *provide resources for students to help with the processing and reflection of making this transition back into the building *TA will meet Wed. online - there will be NO ELO. This communication will come from us to students/families in the Newsletter going out Friday. What are our cohort names? *please not that there was some communication that went out that said through k - this is the accurate division of students between days. Tuesday - Black (A-L) Thursday - Gold (M-Z) What are the details of fully remote learning & will teachers be responsible for supporting fully remote students in any way? HUUSD will support an completed Remote, Online learning academy. School staff (not remote/online) so not have responsibilities for 100% remote/online students.
Can we use break out rooms with students - knowing there will be time they are not supervised? Zoom Meetings and student break out rooms? Students can utilize w/o supervision. It is reasonable to use with recording etc. We will do our best to handle situations as they arise. What are students doing on Tuesday or Thursday when they are not onsite? The cohort of students not onsite on Tuesday/Thursday will be completing their asynchronous learning. Please see here for additional details: Instructional expectations for teachers Harwood Student participation expectations. Should TA’s meet with students who have already identified as choosing the fully remote model for the year? No. Communication will be going out separately to these families in the next few days. Please find a list of fully remote students here.
Who should I communicate with if a family has reached out with one of the following needs - connectivity, food insecurity, transportation challenges, housing insecurity, safety concerns or mental health challenges? Melody Frank
Updated HUUSD guidelines and information for online meetings - for both staff and students. The state has still not voted on the number of school days we will have this year 175 or 170. Our school calendar is waiting to be finalized until then - stay tuned. |
 |
Curious |
 |
Connected |
 |
Caring |
No comments:
Post a Comment