Harwood Staff Blog update, May 16, 2021

The COVID year.....

Team Harwood;

We have 4 weeks to go!

Our priorities in these 4 weeks are:

• Keeping our students safe 
• And making it to June 11th (with a smile and some fun).
• Reminder: please continue to keep accurate seating charts and make sure students are following safety procedures.  

To that end please remember when going outside to:

• Call Nancy to let her know your outside location - if outside for more than 5 min.
• Grab a radio - if outside for more than 5 min.
• Keep students together when outside
• Bring your swipe card *Nancy has much to do and can’t continue to open the door for all
• Close door tightly after you exit *Doors should NEVER be propped open

Gratitudes from the week:

• Stefanie for her amazing work in bringing the Harwood Musical live this year in the midst of COVID.
• Mari for her never ending partnership and leaning in to all she is asked to do.
• To the amazing use of the outdoor activities sprinkled throughout our property.  Such healthy and beautiful relationship building time that reflects the Harwood culture we seek.
• Erin, Sally and Lisa for their amazing scheduling work well under way.
• Shannon and Nancy for all your coordination of Graduation and Prom to bring our class of 2021 a much needed celebratory end of their High School career!
• Jess and Chelsea for your continued candor and partnership in helping us strengthen our systems
• Jon P., Nic G., Angela s., Meg M., Elizabeth M. ,Jen D., for an amazing incoming 7th grade transition evening! 

Curious  

Topics	Information/Links	Tasks/Point people
Staff Daily Safety Checklist drafted by your colleagues:	Beginning of class Take attendance in the first 10 minutes For any student absent, check attendance list from Nancy and call Nancy for any student missing but not marked absent Throughout class Only one student out of the room at a time (unless on a whole-class break) For any student leaving the room, make sure they have a pass Wipe down tables at the end of each class Going outside (if more than a quick 5 minute break) Call or email Nancy first  Bring a radio Bring your ID BADGE WITH YOU! Other things to remember Seating charts for all classes, including Flex, ELO, and outside if closer than 6 feet apart Make sure TA students are booked for ELOs on Tues/Fri
Have a question - need an answer?	Add it to the Q&A.	Laurie, Meg and Duane
Hiring Update	We are hiring for a total of 20 staff at Harwood for 21-22’.  Thank you all for your patience and support during this process.   New Hires this week: Vicki Hummer as our SPED coordinator  HCLC Stem teacher    Positions Posted this week: Nurse Special Educator Paraeducator Connected Learning teacher   This week: Initial History interview meetings  Initial Math interview meetings   SPED coordinator interviews Innovation teacher interviews    Next week: Social Worker/Home School coordinator onsite interview Initial History interviews Initial Math interviews  Coming Soon: Student Support Specialist for HUMS 21-22sy	Meg and Laurie

Topics 

Information/Links

Tasks/Point people 

Staff Daily Safety Checklist drafted by your colleagues:

Beginning of class

• Take attendance in the first 10 minutes

• For any student absent, check attendance list from Nancy and call Nancy for any student missing but not marked absent

Throughout class

• Only one student out of the room at a time (unless on a whole-class break)

• For any student leaving the room, make sure they have a pass

• Wipe down tables at the end of each class

Going outside (if more than a quick 5 minute break)

• Call or email Nancy first 

• Bring a radio

• Bring your ID BADGE WITH YOU!

Other things to remember

• Seating charts for all classes, including Flex, ELO, and outside if closer than 6 feet apart

• Make sure TA students are booked for ELOs on Tues/Fri

Have a question - need an answer?

Add it to the Q&A.

Laurie, Meg and Duane  

Hiring Update

We are hiring for a total of 20 staff at Harwood for 21-22’.  Thank you all for your patience and support during this process.

 

New Hires this week:

• Vicki Hummer as our SPED coordinator 

• HCLC Stem teacher 

 

Positions Posted this week:

• Nurse

• Special Educator

• Paraeducator

• Connected Learning teacher

 

This week:

• Initial History interview meetings 

• Initial Math interview meetings  

• SPED coordinator interviews

• Innovation teacher interviews 

 

Next week:

• Social Worker/Home School coordinator onsite interview

• Initial History interviews

• Initial Math interviews 

Coming Soon:

• Student Support Specialist for HUMS 21-22sy

Meg and Laurie 

Caring 

Topics	Information/Links	Tasks/Point people
Reminders from the Nurses’ office	As the weather outside continues to improve, please keep in mind the current guidelines for gatherings:  How many people can be at a gathering or event?   Vermont has limits on social gatherings and events based on whether you are fully vaccinated or not. You are fully vaccinated 14 days after your final shot. Since children under age 16 cannot get vaccinated at this time, they are considered unvaccinated. As of May 1, the following limits apply to both social gatherings at a private residence and events at a venue. If you don’t know if someone is fully vaccinated, then assume everyone is unvaccinated and follow that guidance. Find out when the limits will change again. For indoor gatherings: There can be one unvaccinated person per 100 square feet up to 150 unvaccinated people (whichever is less), plus any number of fully vaccinated people. 100 square feet is about the area covered by a big sports utility vehicle (SUV). If only fully vaccinated people are at the gathering, no one needs to wear a mask or stay 6 feet apart. If anyone at the gathering is unvaccinated, at higher risk of severe COVID-19, or lives with someone who is at higher risk, then everyone needs to wear a mask and stay 6 feet apart. For outdoor gatherings: There can be 300 unvaccinated people, plus any number of fully vaccinated people. When you’re outdoors, masks are only required when you’re in a crowd or with multiple other households where you can’t maintain a 6-foot distance. Follow this guidance whether you are vaccinated or not. If you are a visitor traveling to Vermont and staying at a lodging establishment, short-term rental, or with friends and family, must follow these gathering restrictions. Staying with another household is considered a social gathering and you must follow the rules listed above. Check the current mask requirements. Find tips from the CDC about hosting gatherings or cook-outs and attending an event or gathering.	Tracy and Amanda
Teacher Advisory	Here are this week’s offering of  CASEL’s 3 signature Practices Playbook: Welcoming/Inclusion Activities Engaging Strategies Optimistic Closing Welcoming/Inclusion Strategies: Mix and Mingle   Steps: 1. On a card or half-sheet of paper, ask participants to write down a response to a prompt you give related to the topic at hand. (Begin with a low-vulnerability prompt such as, “What did you do for fun yesterday?” or “What have you read or watched recently that you enjoyed?” or something connected to upcoming work like “What’s one thing you know already about [insert your content]?”)  2. When you announce, "Mix and mingle!" and turn on music, participants move around.  3. When the music stops, participants find a partner near them. Help with pairing if needed.  4. Partners share their responses, listen actively to each other, and ask follow-up questions.  5. Start the music again and repeat the sequence with another partner or two, as your time permits. 6. As a full group, provide an opportunity for students to share their answers with the full group (voluntarily).   Debrief: What did you appreciate about this activity? What was challenging? Engaging Strategies: Shake it out! This is a great activity to get the blood flowing at a low energy moment. Stand in a circle.  Round 1 In unison begin shaking out your right hand, counting aloud to 8. The pace should be slow and deliberate.  Repeat with left hand, right foot, left food. Round 2 Repeat above pattern counting to seven with a slightly increased pace. Remaining rounds Continue the pattern decreasing one number of repetitions each time with a continued increase in pace. By the last round you should be moving really fast.  Optimistic Closing: Suit Yourself Pass out a playing card to each participant. The suit the participant gets describes the category of their response as follows: Hearts: generate conversations about something from the heart—how you felt, what it meant to you, etc. Clubs: describe things that grow—new ideas, new thoughts, a new point of view.  Diamonds: are gems that last forever. What are some of the gems of wisdom gathered from people or content? Spades: used to dig in the garden, so generate conversation about planting new ideas or things participants dug up during class. 2. Provide 1-2 minutes of quiet time for each participant to jot down (or think about) their answer, then use one of the following three options: Ask for one volunteer from each ‘suit’ to stand and share their response. Do not comment between sharing.   Ask participants to turn to a neighbor and share their response.  Offer space for sharing with the full group. End of Year Reflection (EOYR) We are continuing the process of engaging in the reflection with our students. Here is a link to the slideshow from our staff meeting should you need the questions. These questions are intended to support your work with your TA groups and you are encouraged to adapt your process to meet your students’ needs.  As a reminder this document (shared in our March faculty meeting) contains the full outline of the process.  A BIG thank you to Rachael Wells who shared her approach to this reflection with advisory. Check out her guiding slideshow. Rachael completed one with her responses to the prompts.  As a reminder of another way to personalize this reflection process here is the  link to the document Alex shared with me.  The dates for the conferences are May 25 and 27th. Next week: Monitor your google doc sign ups. Be prepared to call any parent/caregiver who has not signed up during the week of May 17th.  As always...please let me know if I can support you in any way!	Ellen Berrings

Topics 

Information/Links

Tasks/Point people 

Reminders from the Nurses’ office

As the weather outside continues to improve, please keep in mind the current guidelines for gatherings: 

How many people can be at a gathering or event?  

Vermont has limits on social gatherings and events based on whether you are fully vaccinated or not. You are fully vaccinated 14 days after your final shot. Since children under age 16 cannot get vaccinated at this time, they are considered unvaccinated.

As of May 1, the following limits apply to both social gatherings at a private residence and events at a venue. If you don’t know if someone is fully vaccinated, then assume everyone is unvaccinated and follow that guidance. Find out when the limits will change again.

For indoor gatherings:

There can be one unvaccinated person per 100 square feet up to 150 unvaccinated people (whichever is less), plus any number of fully vaccinated people. 100 square feet is about the area covered by a big sports utility vehicle (SUV).

• If only fully vaccinated people are at the gathering, no one needs to wear a mask or stay 6 feet apart.

• If anyone at the gathering is unvaccinated, at higher risk of severe COVID-19, or lives with someone who is at higher risk, then everyone needs to wear a mask and stay 6 feet apart.

For outdoor gatherings:

There can be 300 unvaccinated people, plus any number of fully vaccinated people.

• When you’re outdoors, masks are only required when you’re in a crowd or with multiple other households where you can’t maintain a 6-foot distance. Follow this guidance whether you are vaccinated or not.

If you are a visitor traveling to Vermont and staying at a lodging establishment, short-term rental, or with friends and family, must follow these gathering restrictions. Staying with another household is considered a social gathering and you must follow the rules listed above.

Check the current mask requirements.

Find tips from the CDC about hosting gatherings or cook-outs and attending an event or gathering.

Tracy and Amanda 

Teacher Advisory

Here are this week’s offering of 

CASEL’s 3 signature Practices Playbook:

1. Welcoming/Inclusion Activities

2. Engaging Strategies

3. Optimistic Closing

Welcoming/Inclusion Strategies:

Mix and Mingle

 

Steps: 1. On a card or half-sheet of paper, ask participants to write down a response to a prompt you give related to the topic at hand. (Begin with a low-vulnerability prompt such as, “What did you do for fun yesterday?” or “What have you read or watched recently that you enjoyed?” or something connected to upcoming work like “What’s one thing you know already about [insert your content]?”) 

2. When you announce, "Mix and mingle!" and turn on music, participants move around. 

3. When the music stops, participants find a partner near them. Help with pairing if needed. 

4. Partners share their responses, listen actively to each other, and ask follow-up questions. 

5. Start the music again and repeat the sequence with another partner or two, as your time permits.

6. As a full group, provide an opportunity for students to share their answers with the full group (voluntarily).

 

Debrief:

What did you appreciate about this activity?

What was challenging?

Engaging Strategies:

Shake it out!

This is a great activity to get the blood flowing at a low energy moment.

Stand in a circle. 

Round 1

In unison begin shaking out your right hand, counting aloud to 8. The pace should be slow and deliberate. 

Repeat with left hand, right foot, left food.

Round 2

Repeat above pattern counting to seven with a slightly increased pace.

Remaining rounds

Continue the pattern decreasing one number of repetitions each time with a continued increase in pace. By the last round you should be moving really fast. 

Optimistic Closing:

Suit Yourself

Pass out a playing card to each participant. The suit the participant gets describes the category of their response as follows:

Hearts: generate conversations about something from the heart—how you felt, what it meant to you, etc.

Clubs: describe things that grow—new ideas, new thoughts, a new point of view.  Diamonds: are gems that last forever. What are some of the gems of wisdom gathered from people or content?

Spades: used to dig in the garden, so generate conversation about planting new ideas or things participants dug up during class.

2. Provide 1-2 minutes of quiet time for each participant to jot down (or think about) their answer, then use one of the following three options:

Ask for one volunteer from each ‘suit’ to stand and share their response. Do not comment between sharing.  

Ask participants to turn to a neighbor and share their response. 

Offer space for sharing with the full group.

End of Year Reflection (EOYR)

We are continuing the process of engaging in the reflection with our students. Here is a link to the slideshow from our staff meeting should you need the questions. These questions are intended to support your work with your TA groups and you are encouraged to adapt your process to meet your students’ needs. 

As a reminder this document (shared in our March faculty meeting) contains the full outline of the process. 

A BIG thank you to Rachael Wells who shared her approach to this reflection with advisory. Check out her guiding slideshow. Rachael completed one with her responses to the prompts. 

As a reminder of another way to personalize this reflection process here is the  link to the document Alex shared with me. 

The dates for the conferences are May 25 and 27th.

Next week: Monitor your google doc sign ups. Be prepared to call any parent/caregiver who has not signed up during the week of May 17th. 

As always...please let me know if I can support you in any way!

Ellen Berrings 

Connected 

Topics	Information/Links	Tasks/Point people
ELO / FLEX	Use of Adaptive Scheduler - includes teacher screen casts for how-tos and the link to the updated student demo Flex - happens during block 4 on Monday and Thursday If you are missing a student from your roster OR you have a student present who is not on your roster, please call Nancy to let her know. ELO - happens during block 4 on Tuesday and Friday Please make sure ALL your students are signed up before leaving TA on Tuesday and Friday.	Lisa T
Student Support Team Update	Bernadette, John, Eric, Melody, Laurie, Meg, Duane -  Check out our new listserv so you can reach the entire team at the same time!  huhs-student-support@huusd.org Highlights from The Week: A Prescription for the Outdoors? It is well researched and documented that outdoors, you are more likely to move, and physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for poor health. One size does not fit all, but getting outside, even for 10minutes, makes a difference.  Friendly reminder: Please do not use the area directly in front of the school as the wear and tear on the grass causes damage that is almost impossible to repair. We are working hard to stop the area from becoming a mud pit. Experts recommend 20 minutes of nature experiences, totalling two hours per week! WHY?  Time in nature decreases anxiety and negative thinking, and lowers levels of depression and stress Outdoor activity improves both mental and physical activity MORE than indoor activity Time in nature helps to decrease high blood pressure TIme in nature is associated with better cognitive development in schoolchildren **The closer you are to green space, the less you suffer from cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, mental health, respiratory, neurological, and digestive diseases!!!!! THANK YOU ALL for taking the time in the day to bring yourself and your classes outside. It makes a difference in their lives! New Updates:  Log Entries:  May: 10 - High School; ZERO - Middle School. Please reach out to Melody if you need any guidance with completing a log entry. Student Support Wellness Plans (SSWP): We have 5 SSWPs that were developed by the Student Support Team in the last two weeks, for students who have been struggling for a while. One other plan exists from earlier this year - for a total of 6. All teaching teams have been updated and included in this process. Please feel free to reach out with questions or thoughts. NOTE: We are developing SSWPs for a small population of students who are struggling and need additional structure. Right now, there are a few coming all at the same time - due to the shift to 4-day schedule and needs. The number of these tier 2 plans are being monitored and will not significantly increase. There will always be a small percentage of students needing increased supervision and structure to support safety and academic engagement and success. We are working to standardize these plans so that for that group - it’s the same approach and set of expectations. Co-Curricular Students: We are continuing to work with holding our student-athletes and co-curricular students accountable. They are missing practices and/or games for cutting, repeated tardies, unexcused absences, and behaviors.  Please feel free to write a log entry; and connect with Joh, Bernadette, or Melody if there is a student you would like to discuss. Also - feel free to also connect with Chris Langevin, as he will follow up with you.  Thank you for your ongoing support as we work to hold high expectations and support our students in meeting those.  Special note for Flex Block: We realize that you do not have full PowerSchool access for all students on your Flex rosters.  During this time only, please use the following email (huhs-student-support@huusd.org) to report any behavior concerns. Log Entries For Class Cut or Behavior: Please complete a log entry for any:  Class cuts (leaving after class has begun, without permission; or absent for an unacceptable amount of time) Behaviors Student Support will connect with students, and with staff. If appropriate, teachers should follow up with parent/caregiver Melody will be setting up a time when we return from break for any new or returning staff to review how to complete a log entry on PowerSchool Log Entries are our documentation and allows the Support team to make sure we are closing the follow up loop with students and teachers. **If you have not received follow up from a Log Entry or call to Nancy, please let a member of the Student Support team know. We are working hard to follow up on all student support needs as they arise. Attendance: Important Reminders For Staff If a student is tardy or not present in your class within the first 10 minutes (unexcused) and was noted as being present earlier in the day, please immediately call Nancy (who will connect with student support) If a student leaves your class without permission (Class cut), please immediately call Nancy If a student is out for an unusual amount of time, please immediately call Nancy Cell Phones As students are adjusting and acclimating, we may see increased use of cell phones. As a non-negotiable, the first time we address it is a reminder, the second we remove the phone for the block, and the third is removed for the day. Feel free to have a Student Support Team member hold on to the phone for the day. If you need additional support with cell phones, don’t hesitate to reach out to John or Bernadette.  Here is a Script to encourage students in advance of class starting, if they are struggling with expectations: Script: Hey “Student,” I’ve noticed that you have been struggling with the phone in the class lately. I’m wondering if you think it would be helpful for me to hold your phone for the block so it’s not an issue? I’ll give it back at the end of class. I know it’s been hard for many students so you are not alone, and want to support you, Just a reminder that if I have to address it again, I will ask Student Support to keep it for the day. I really don’t want that for you. What do you think? Do you think that would be helpful? What do you think you can manage for today?	Melody
Upcoming Dates	05/22 - Sr. Prom 05/25 & 5/27 - Parent/TA conferences  06/07 - 06/11 - Spirit week 06/04 - All Summatives for S2/Q4 need to be complete  06/09 - JumpRope finalized for the year with a printed copy of course scores delivered to Susan by 8 am 06/10. 06/11 - Last day of school 06/12 - Harwood Graduation 10 a.m.  *more details forthcoming Staff Meeting Calendar	Duane and Laurie, Meg
5/19 Staff	Objective: Department time needed to end this year strong and begin next year well.   *Stand by for link from your Dep’t head.	Laurie, Meg and Duane
Tech Updates	To continue to meet the tech support needs at HU moving forward (and to support Justin with any increased demands for his assistance), please submit all tech-related requests through our new "ticket" system. Technicians from across the district access all requests and will be able to support as needed.  The link to the site is: https://huusd.freshdesk.com/support/home	Justin

Topics 

Information/Links

Tasks/Point people 

ELO / FLEX

Use of Adaptive Scheduler - includes teacher screen casts for how-tos and the link to the updated student demo

Flex - happens during block 4 on Monday and Thursday

If you are missing a student from your roster OR you have a student present who is not on your roster, please call Nancy to let her know.

ELO - happens during block 4 on Tuesday and Friday

Please make sure ALL your students are signed up before leaving TA on Tuesday and Friday.

Lisa T

Student Support Team Update

Bernadette, John, Eric, Melody, Laurie, Meg, Duane - 

Check out our new listserv so you can reach the entire team at the same time!  huhs-student-support@huusd.org

Highlights from The Week: A Prescription for the Outdoors? It is well researched and documented that outdoors, you are more likely to move, and physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for poor health. One size does not fit all, but getting outside, even for 10minutes, makes a difference. 

Friendly reminder: Please do not use the area directly in front of the school as the wear and tear on the grass causes damage that is almost impossible to repair. We are working hard to stop the area from becoming a mud pit.

• Experts recommend 20 minutes of nature experiences, totalling two hours per week!

WHY? 

• Time in nature decreases anxiety and negative thinking, and lowers levels of depression and stress

• Outdoor activity improves both mental and physical activity MORE than indoor activity

• Time in nature helps to decrease high blood pressure

• TIme in nature is associated with better cognitive development in schoolchildren

**The closer you are to green space, the less you suffer from cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, mental health, respiratory, neurological, and digestive diseases!!!!!

THANK YOU ALL for taking the time in the day to bring yourself and your classes outside. It makes a difference in their lives!

New Updates: 

Log Entries:  May: 10 - High School; ZERO - Middle School. Please reach out to Melody if you need any guidance with completing a log entry.

Student Support Wellness Plans (SSWP): We have 5 SSWPs that were developed by the Student Support Team in the last two weeks, for students who have been struggling for a while. One other plan exists from earlier this year - for a total of 6. All teaching teams have been updated and included in this process. Please feel free to reach out with questions or thoughts.

NOTE: We are developing SSWPs for a small population of students who are struggling and need additional structure. Right now, there are a few coming all at the same time - due to the shift to 4-day schedule and needs. The number of these tier 2 plans are being monitored and will not significantly increase. There will always be a small percentage of students needing increased supervision and structure to support safety and academic engagement and success. We are working to standardize these plans so that for that group - it’s the same approach and set of expectations.

Co-Curricular Students: We are continuing to work with holding our student-athletes and co-curricular students accountable. They are missing practices and/or games for cutting, repeated tardies, unexcused absences, and behaviors. 

Please feel free to write a log entry; and connect with Joh, Bernadette, or Melody if there is a student you would like to discuss. Also - feel free to also connect with Chris Langevin, as he will follow up with you. 

Thank you for your ongoing support as we work to hold high expectations and support our students in meeting those. 

Special note for Flex Block:

We realize that you do not have full PowerSchool access for all students on your Flex rosters.  During this time only, please use the following email (huhs-student-support@huusd.org) to report any behavior concerns.

Log Entries For Class Cut or Behavior:

1. Please complete a log entry for any: 

1. Class cuts (leaving after class has begun, without permission; or absent for an unacceptable amount of time)

2. Behaviors

2. Student Support will connect with students, and with staff. If appropriate, teachers should follow up with parent/caregiver

3. Melody will be setting up a time when we return from break for any new or returning staff to review how to complete a log entry on PowerSchool

1. Log Entries are our documentation and allows the Support team to make sure we are closing the follow up loop with students and teachers.

**If you have not received follow up from a Log Entry or call to Nancy, please let a member of the Student Support team know. We are working hard to follow up on all student support needs as they arise.

Attendance: Important Reminders For Staff

1. If a student is tardy or not present in your class within the first 10 minutes (unexcused) and was noted as being present earlier in the day, please immediately call Nancy (who will connect with student support)

2. If a student leaves your class without permission (Class cut), please immediately call Nancy

3. If a student is out for an unusual amount of time, please immediately call Nancy

Cell Phones

As students are adjusting and acclimating, we may see increased use of cell phones. As a non-negotiable, the first time we address it is a reminder, the second we remove the phone for the block, and the third is removed for the day. Feel free to have a Student Support Team member hold on to the phone for the day. If you need additional support with cell phones, don’t hesitate to reach out to John or Bernadette. 

Here is a Script to encourage students in advance of class starting, if they are struggling with expectations:

Script: Hey “Student,” I’ve noticed that you have been struggling with the phone in the class lately. I’m wondering if you think it would be helpful for me to hold your phone for the block so it’s not an issue? I’ll give it back at the end of class. I know it’s been hard for many students so you are not alone, and want to support you, Just a reminder that if I have to address it again, I will ask Student Support to keep it for the day. I really don’t want that for you. What do you think? Do you think that would be helpful? What do you think you can manage for today?

Melody

Upcoming Dates 

• 05/22 - Sr. Prom

• 05/25 & 5/27 - Parent/TA conferences 

• 06/07 - 06/11 - Spirit week

• 06/04 - All Summatives for S2/Q4 need to be complete 

• 06/09 - JumpRope finalized for the year with a printed copy of course scores delivered to Susan by 8 am 06/10.

• 06/11 - Last day of school

• 06/12 - Harwood Graduation 10 a.m. 

*more details forthcoming

Staff Meeting Calendar

Duane and Laurie, Meg

5/19 Staff 

Objective: Department time needed to end this year strong and begin next year well.

 

*Stand by for link from your Dep’t head. 

Laurie, Meg and Duane

Tech Updates

To continue to meet the tech support needs at HU moving forward (and to support Justin with any increased demands for his assistance), please submit all tech-related requests through our new "ticket" system. Technicians from across the district access all requests and will be able to support as needed.  The link to the site is: https://huusd.freshdesk.com/support/home

Justin