Harwood Staff Blog update, February 28, 2021

Team Harwood;

We want to name the fact that the board’s recent decision to reduce Harwood’s Middle School to one core team will impact our entire community as we move into setting up successful transitions for the next school year.   How we work together to care and support each other during this transition is now what we can control.   

We are grateful for your candor and partnership during this difficult time.

Laurie, Duane and Meg   

Weekly shout outs:

• School counselors for their tireless work to manage the needs of this year while registering and transitioning students for the 2021-2022 school year

• Chris Langevin for his strength and leadership during an incredibly difficult time

• Lisa Therrien for her incredible work with data analysis and action steps

• Jodie, Elizabeth Managan, Becky Busker, Stephanie AW and Jeannie for finding the additional time to start 9th grade transition meetings

Topics	Information/Links	Tasks/Point people
Staff questions	Very few staff have been joining the Monday afternoon Q&A session.  Thus, we are going to discontinue and encourage everyone to reach out with questions via email or drop by for a quick check in when something surfaces.
What will our 3/3 schedule look like - given that it’s the first day back from break?	Please sign students up for ELO in advance of break and ensure they are informed.   Prioritize students who would benefit from some pre-teaching or are in need of remediation or making up work as we return from break.     When planning to meet with students, please make sure they are rostered in Adaptive Scheduler.  This data is critical in the discussion of ELO use.

Topics 

Information/Links

Tasks/Point people 

Staff questions 

Very few staff have been joining the Monday afternoon Q&A session.  Thus, we are going to discontinue and encourage everyone to reach out with questions via email or drop by for a quick check in when something surfaces.  

What will our 3/3 schedule look like - given that it’s the first day back from break?

Please sign students up for ELO in advance of break and ensure they are informed.

 

Prioritize students who would benefit from some pre-teaching or are in need of remediation or making up work as we return from break.  

 

When planning to meet with students, please make sure they are rostered in Adaptive Scheduler.  This data is critical in the discussion of ELO use.

Caring 

Topics	Information/Links	Tasks/Point people
Teacher Advisory	Reflection-it isn’t a four letter word! We will begin to unpack the process for reflecting with our students for the end of the year. We will be sharing lots of information at the 3/3 staff meeting right after break. During the meeting we will be reading this very short article: Rediscovering the Power of Reflection. I thought I would add it to the blog in case you prefer to review it ahead of time. Here are a few quotes to inspire you… For the softer, more positive approach... “Reflective thinking turns experience into insights” -John Maxwell This one has a little bite to it! “Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences and failing to achieve anything useful” -Margaret Wheatley And for a classic… “We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.” -John Dewey 2021 MLK Activity Update! TAs should have received the final part of this activity with the heart hands. Please be sure to leave completed pieces in Rachael or Ellen’s mailbox. Bulletin Board construction will recommence right after break! Questions of the week: What is your current golden rule when it comes to living life? What thing from childhood do you still enjoy now? What is something interesting about you that few people know? What is one small thing that you recently noticed? What little thing instantly tells you that a person is good?	Ellen Berrings
Health Office Updates	Happy February Vacation!!!!! If you traveled...  Vermonters are advised against any non-essential travel, including within Vermont, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. There is a mandatory quarantine for anyone returning or traveling to Vermont. If you travel out of Vermont whether for a day trip or longer, you must quarantine in Vermont when you return for 14 days. You can end your quarantine early if you haven't had any symptoms of COVID-19, get a PCR test on or after Day 7, get a negative test result, still do not have symptoms, and continue to monitor yourself for symptoms for the full 14 days. If you are visiting outside Vermont for a longer period, and you will travel back to Vermont in a personal vehicle (including a rental vehicle or private plane), you may complete either a 14-day quarantine or if you have not had any symptoms of COVID-19, a 7-day quarantine followed by a negative PCR test in the state where you are visiting. Continue to quarantine from when you receive your test result until you travel to Vermont. You may then enter Vermont without further quarantine restrictions. You must continue to monitor yourself for symptoms for the full 14 days. Even if you have been vaccinated, recovered from COVID-19 or have gotten a positive antibody test, you must quarantine when you travel or return to Vermont under the current travel guidelines. Vermonters must follow travel restrictions and quarantine requirements for the states they plan to visit. Please monitor the Vermont Health Department web site https://www.healthvermont.gov/covid-19 for updates and changes to COVID-19 related guidance. Please let the administration know if you will need to quarantine after break. Be well Tracy and Amanda	Amanda & Tracy

Topics 

Information/Links

Tasks/Point people 

Teacher Advisory

Reflection-it isn’t a four letter word!

We will begin to unpack the process for reflecting with our students for the end of the year. We will be sharing lots of information at the 3/3 staff meeting right after break.

During the meeting we will be reading this very short article: Rediscovering the Power of Reflection.

I thought I would add it to the blog in case you prefer to review it ahead of time.

Here are a few quotes to inspire you…

For the softer, more positive approach...

“Reflective thinking turns experience into insights”

-John Maxwell

This one has a little bite to it!

“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences and failing to achieve anything useful”

-Margaret Wheatley

And for a classic…

“We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.”

-John Dewey

2021 MLK Activity Update!

TAs should have received the final part of this activity with the heart hands. Please be sure to leave completed pieces in Rachael or Ellen’s mailbox. Bulletin Board construction will recommence right after break!

Questions of the week:

1. What is your current golden rule when it comes to living life?

2. What thing from childhood do you still enjoy now?

3. What is something interesting about you that few people know?

4. What is one small thing that you recently noticed?

5. What little thing instantly tells you that a person is good?

Ellen Berrings 

Health Office Updates

Happy February Vacation!!!!!

If you traveled... 

Vermonters are advised against any non-essential travel, including within Vermont, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. There is a mandatory quarantine for anyone returning or traveling to Vermont.

If you travel out of Vermont whether for a day trip or longer, you must quarantine in Vermont when you return for 14 days. You can end your quarantine early if you haven't had any symptoms of COVID-19, get a PCR test on or after Day 7, get a negative test result, still do not have symptoms, and continue to monitor yourself for symptoms for the full 14 days.

If you are visiting outside Vermont for a longer period, and you will travel back to Vermont in a personal vehicle (including a rental vehicle or private plane), you may complete either a 14-day quarantine or if you have not had any symptoms of COVID-19, a 7-day quarantine followed by a negative PCR test in the state where you are visiting. Continue to quarantine from when you receive your test result until you travel to Vermont. You may then enter Vermont without further quarantine restrictions. You must continue to monitor yourself for symptoms for the full 14 days.

Even if you have been vaccinated, recovered from COVID-19 or have gotten a positive antibody test, you must quarantine when you travel or return to Vermont under the current travel guidelines. Vermonters must follow travel restrictions and quarantine requirements for the states they plan to visit.

Please monitor the Vermont Health Department web site https://www.healthvermont.gov/covid-19 for updates and changes to COVID-19 related guidance.

Please let the administration know if you will need to quarantine after break.

Be well

Tracy and Amanda

Amanda & Tracy

Connected 

Topics	Information/Links	Tasks/Point people
Attendance Reminder	Please remember that we are monitoring attendance to keep all students healthy and safe. We need everyone to take attendance to make the system work. It is important that everyone takes attendance during TA and in the first 10 minutes of each class. Remember to mark students: P - Present  UX - Unexcused absence TU -Tardy unexcused Adaptive Scheduler reminder for attendance for Flex and all ELO:  Choose the 2nd P (present) to mark appropriately.	HU safety committee
Upcoming Dates	DATES  2/22 - 3/2 - No School - Winter Break 03/04 - Black cohort day 03/05 - Gold cohort day Please note the cohort day switch when we return from February break!. March 23 - 9th virtual grade parent night Staff Meeting Calendar	Duane and Laurie, Meg
3/3  Staff Meeting 8-9 a.m.	Objective:  To identify the purpose of the EOY reflection process To clarify the EOY reflection process    Running Agenda Zoom Information:   Meeting ID: 858 1626 1603 Passcode: 9M1Hus	Meg, Duane and Laurie
Tech Updates	The IT techs need to take a physical inventory of all students devices by getting the barcode on the bottom of their devices. We have a list of the students in each TA and will be stopping by to confirm it with the students. It will be a s easy as asking Billy - what does your barcode say? This will be a 5 minute or less process but is a necessary one. Thank you for your cooperation with this task.	Taggert and Justin

Topics 

Information/Links

Tasks/Point people 

Attendance Reminder

Please remember that we are monitoring attendance to keep all students healthy and safe. We need everyone to take attendance to make the system work. It is important that everyone takes attendance during TA and in the first 10 minutes of each class. Remember to mark students:

P - Present 

UX - Unexcused absence

TU -Tardy unexcused

Adaptive Scheduler reminder for attendance for Flex and all ELO:  Choose the 2nd P (present) to mark appropriately.

HU safety committee

Upcoming Dates 

DATES 

• 2/22 - 3/2 - No School - Winter Break

• 03/04 - Black cohort day

• 03/05 - Gold cohort day

Please note the cohort day switch when we return from February break!.

• March 23 - 9th virtual grade parent night

• Staff Meeting Calendar

Duane and Laurie, Meg

3/3  Staff Meeting 8-9 a.m.

Objective: 

• To identify the purpose of the EOY reflection process

• To clarify the EOY reflection process 

 

Running Agenda

Zoom Information:  

Meeting ID: 858 1626 1603

Passcode: 9M1Hus

Meg, Duane and Laurie 

Tech Updates

The IT techs need to take a physical inventory of all students devices by getting the barcode on the bottom of their devices. We have a list of the students in each TA and will be stopping by to confirm it with the students.

It will be a s easy as asking Billy - what does your barcode say?

This will be a 5 minute or less process but is a necessary one.

Thank you for your cooperation with this task.

Taggert and Justin