Harwood Staff Blog - September 1, 2022

 9/1/22

“Inclusion is engagement within a community where the equal worth and  inherent dignity of each person is honored. An inclusive community promotes and  sustains a sense of belonging; it affirms the talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of living of its members.”

Team - 

What a beautiful week to bring our Harwood community back together. There was such positive energy as students rejoined their classrooms, hallways, lunch room and assemblies. It was apparent from all your actions that we believe in creating a place of belonging for all. As we move through the year let's continue to remind each other what it looks like when students feel a sense of belonging. Our greatest success will be demonstrated through an inclusive community where all students are ready to engage. This is not an easy task but we are already well on our way and each step will bring us closer.

Becoming requires equal parts patience and equal parts patience and rigor. Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there’s more growing to be done. Michelle Obama

In ongoing partnership,

Laurie, Meg and Duane

Calendar:

Harwood Union HIGH SCHOOL Bell Schedule WEEK 2 9/5-9/9 2022 

• 10/13 - 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. Open House *more details to come

• 11/9 & 11/15 - 3:30 - 7p.m.  Family Conferences 

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Appreciations:

Staff Member	Appreciations
Heather, Kristi and Team Terra & Agua	For thoughtfully planned Smart Starts that supported our 7th & 9th graders in making a smooth transition to Harwood.
Molly	For an amazing 1st assembly full of Harwood spirit.
Christina	For jumping in quickly to be a positive voice in supporting students and families.
New Harwood Staff	For rolling with the unexpected and getting up on stage during our 1st assembly.

Safe - seen, heard, respected & understood:

Topics	Information/Links
Health Office Updates	The omicron-specific COVID-19 booster may be available to Vermonters as soon as Sept. 7. The vaccine will be available to anyone 12 and older who has completed their primary COVID-19 vaccine series. The Health Department will be scheduling clinics with EMS partners and our Local Health offices. Vaccines will also be available through pharmacies and doctors' offices. Talk to your provider about the right time to get vaccinated. Information will be updated when it becomes available.               https://www.healthvermont.gov/covid-19/vaccine We still have rapid tests available to students and staff on a case by case basis.
Student Support Leadership Updates and News..	Student Support Leadership Update Here are some of the links from our recent staff meeting:  Log Entry Information  Safety Plans 22-23sy  Non - Negotiables (title under review) 22 -23sy  Updates and Tasks completed: Follow up with powerschool app for log entries (work in progress - pilot will run within the next two weeks)  Follow up with posters without the use of non-negotiables (work in progress - available within the week)  Follow up with posters for classroom entrances (work in progress - available within the week)  Follow up to verify ordering of pouches for cell phones  (ordered and on the way)  Follow up for dates for drills (due date 9/9)  Follow up for power outage information (due date 9/9  Follow up for second drill in Sept - Secure the Building Drill  (the second drill will be a “clear the halls” drill Follow up for supports necessary for Fire Drills - Green and Red papers etc. (work in progress)  Follow up to make sure nurses are marked on Fire Drill Map (completed  Follow up on safety posters for those who need them (come and get them from Duane’s office or email him for delivery)   Follow up on non-negotiable name change with Student Support Leadership (will be on our next agenda)  Thanks to the Student Support Leadership Team and the Student Support Specialist Team for their dedication, thoughtfulness and student centered approach.
	Old Blogs can be found on the Harwood website under the staff section.  See here if you’re looking for something that has been sent out historically.
TA update	The first week is in the books! This month our theme is Community and Belonging. One of the strategies to create a foundation for this is the introduction of regular circle conversations. Today was our first circle conversation (except for senior TAs). I’d love to know how this first round went for all of you. Please email me any feedback you have about what worked and suggestions for improvement, so we can evaluate and improve as we move forward.  The lead TAs will be meeting next week to plan the next weeks of advisory activities. On September 19th we will be holding a college fair organized by our amazing counseling department. Grades 10, 11 and 12 will be attending at designated times. There will be preparation activities in advisory for these students. Stay tuned for the updates in your TA slideshow!  Slideshows: Middle School Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12 TA Reassignment Process: We have had inquiries about students changing TA groups. Please note that we have a clearly defined process for this. If a student asks you if they can move into your TA; please don’t agree to this. TA groups have been carefully designed to be diverse; intentionally bringing together students who might not get to know one another. In this way we have an opportunity to build community. If you or a student in your TA is struggling in any way; please contact Ellen Berrings right away. We employ a variety of strategies to repair the relationship if it is possible before considering a change. Additionally, in general, students are not able to choose which TA they can move into. Any reassignment decision is at the administrator level, should a change need to happen. Please let me know if I can support you in any way!
	This summer the school district received updated guidance from the Vermont Agency on Education pursuant to state-mandated drills including fire drills (school evacuations) and intruder drills. The safety and security of our students and staff is of the utmost importance. For this reason, our school conducts various drills to familiarize students and staff with procedures to follow in the event of an emergency. Fire drills (school evacuations) and intruder drills are conducted on a regular basis.  Listed below is a monthly schedule of the drills that will be conducted during the 2022-2023 school year. The purpose of many of the drills we conduct is to help to develop decision-making skills in our students to be used in the event of an actual emergency. Students are reminded to utilize three strategies if a serious event does occur. *Please note - dates for these drills will be on our calendar by 09/09. Month Egress Drill Options Based* September Required Egress Required October Required Egress Only November Required December Either Egress or Relocation January Required February Either Egress or Relocation March April Either Egress or Relocation May June Either Egress or Relocation

Rigorous & Robust Academic Program:

Topics	Information/Links
Staff Meeting	Objectives: To complete mandatory trainings from our health office and confirm HHB responsibilities as a staff member.   Where:  MS Gallery When: 3:30 - 4:30  Staff Meeting Calendar
ELO Questions? Reach out to Jess Deane!	Our first day of student- and teacher-booked ELOs will be Friday 9/9!  Here are a few things to keep in mind: Teachers will use Adaptive Scheduler to pre-book students. Teachers must pre-book at least 5 students for each course block; no pre-booking necessary for bonus options. Pre-booking should happen by the end of the day Wednesday. Students will book themselves (if they aren’t already pre-booked) for ELO F1 and ELO F2 in TA on Thursday. Use this slideshow to give an overview of Adaptive Scheduler and ELO. This student handout can also be helpful in explaining how ELO will work this year. Student PowerSchool IDs and passwords (which they will need for logging into Adaptive Scheduler) were on the handout given to all TAs on the first day of school, that also included student ID numbers for lunches. TAs will double-check their students to ensure each student is booked every block. If a student is not booked, the TA should book them somewhere (even if they are absent) Seniors will have the option to book to “UpTime” if they do not have anywhere else they need to go Quick note on ELO next Thursday: If you’re looking at the schedule, you’re seeing it correctly - next Thursday 9/8, we have block 3 class (with lunch 1 or 2) followed by ELO with our full block 3 class. That is almost two hours of block 3 in one day. There was no way I could see to avoid this when working to line up the full-class ELOs for both middle school and high school, but I am very sorry that this is the way that it worked out. If you teach a block 3 class, think about how you might strategically use breaks throughout the class and ELO, how you might use a variety of learning activities, or how you might treat the ELO time totally differently from the class before it. If you don’t teach a block 3 class, consider reaching out to a colleague to see how you can support them during that long stretch of time!
Adaptive Scheduler and JumpRope - HELP!
Plan for Academic Recovery (PARs)	As extra curricular kick off - please see the following as a reminder of our Academic Obligations and Co-Curricular Eligibility.

Positive school climate and culture:

Topics	Information/Links
Facilities Support	Given our limited facilities staff it would be incredibly helpful if we all worked together to do the following in our individual spaces:  empty recycling in the larger toters in the halls and just tie up their trash. keep food out of the classrooms to avoid spills and messes. Please Note:   If  you need a vacuum or broom, there is a vacuum in the MS office and in the facilities office.  If anyone sees trash on the floor and it's just a piece of paper, please pick it up and dispose of it. We appreciate everyone's willingness to help during this time. We are interviewing people and hope to have a few people working at least part time. We have not received any applications for full time work. If anyone knows of someone willing to work the second shift, please send them to Ray Daigle. Starting pay with no experience is $20/hour
	Note from the Library:   Harwood has a school wide subscription to the New York Times, this is available to all teachers and students over the age of 13 with an huusd email account. To create a free NYTimes.com account. Visit nytimes.com/passes.   You may share this access with your students.
	A reminder to please complete all tasks for the start of the year!  Start of Year Checklist PLEASE NOTE - after our Department Head meeting yesterday morning it became clear that more time was needed for Emergency sub plans  and that 3 days was not necessary at this time.  Emergency sub plans are now due by 10/03.  In the meantime Departments will work together to provide support if needed or a study hall will be held in an emergent situation.     Mandatory Trainings are due by December 15th.
Suggestion Box	Sometimes the little things we need have the biggest impact on our mindset.  So, while there is much outside our locus of control we will do our best to address that which we can!   PLEASE NOTE:  In response to an ask from our Suggestion box.  We recognize that some of our clocks are not reporting the right time.  Given our facilities staff crisis please take inaccurate clocks down for now until we have the staff to support.