Weekly Forecast for January 3rd-7th

 Monday the 3rd

Review Classroom Expectations w/ Students

Tuesday the 4th

NO STAFF MEETING

Wednesday the 5th

Vaccination Clinic @ HP 3:30-7:00

Garden for Group 1

Thursday the 6th

SEGC Session 6-9

Friday the 7th

Lunch Service- Swan, Huff, Manley Schulze

I hope that you all had a restful break. The first week was a flurry of getting ready for the holidays and catching up around the house on projects. The second week was a whole lot of nothing. COVID definitely put a damper on many of our usual traditions...no trip to the beach, no New Years party, but alas we stayed warm and safe. Now the duldrums begin. The weather is nasty, there is not a lot going on and life just slows down. 

The few months are the "meat" of the school year. Make every moment count and continue to support and push students to greatness. 

COVID UPDATES

It became clear by the middle of the first week of break that the Omicron variant was going to put another spin on our COVID journey. While I was largely able to unplug during the break, concerns about our safe return have been on my mind. I want you to know I reached out to several district folks last week to ask about shifts in protocols, proactive plans for staff shortages etc. I did not get any communications back. Administrators did receive an email at 9:30 this morning letting us know to have staff put in absences in ASEOP and they would be monitoring things. 

I know we can do better than this. In my opinion at the very least we would have tomorrow for teachers to prepare and to get some solid plans in place for our return. I am FULLY expecting tomorrow to be a flurry of activity...in other words chaotic.  There is no guidance from the district, so we will do our best to prepare as well as we can. Classroom teachers please focus on resetting community in your classrooms tomorrow. Social emotional check ins, a soft start and time to review expectations should be the priority. For all other staff, we ask that you go in to tomorrow with an open mind and mentally prepare to be flexible. 

• If you are not feeling well and have any potential COVID symptoms please let Emily, Monica or me know ASAP so we can fill out an STT form. If you have reason to believe it may be COVID please arrange for testing. As before, we are able to test staff members who are in the building with symptoms, but we ask you do not come to the building if you are not feeling well. 
• MESD and the district have not changed quarantine guidelines yet. The CDC shortened the timeline, but this has not yet been shifted for us. In the event someone has tested positive we fill out the STT and then wait for guidance from MESD/County on return dates.
• If you are out (we already have a few staff members who will be) because of COVID please have your positive test information available (a picture, email, documentation of some kind). Shannon will work with you to submit this to the district. Staff has to have documentation of a positive test, booster shot (if you are out for that), etc. in order for quarantine leave to kick in.
• Please ensure you have up to date seating charts. Now would be a good time to review your seating arrangements and ensure students are three feet apart (or more) nose to nose. When you get in tomorrow make sure you have sanitizer, extra masks, etc. If you need additional supplies please email Shannon. PLEASE NOTE it may take some time to dispatch these items.
• 3rd-5th grade teachers we still have not had conversations around sending devices home with students. I have a draft I will share out tomorrow, or later today, for input on expectations, etc. for devices. Please make sure each device is assigned to a specific student. I want to make sure we are able to distribute these in the event a student is out or we end up going remote (it could happen). 
• K-2 teachers please try to get an idea of which students may have access to devices at home. We can talk more about this in PLCs this week. 
•  A reminder to all staff who are pushing into rooms or visiting other classrooms. If you are in a space for longer than 15 minutes please use the sheet outside that classroom to document your visit. Also note district's contact tracers begin in earnest tomorrow and you may be contacted by tracers as opposed to me. 
• Finally, please stay vigilant with our COVID safety protocols. They have worked. With the exception of a case in early September, we have been fortunate not to have seen community spread at Harrison Park. What we are doing has worked. I am aware Omicron is much more transmissible, but we have to ensure we are doing everything we can to stay safe. You have all done a FANTASTIC job with this. Keep it up. 
• As of right now we are down at least seven staff members that I am aware of. Please note this is for a variety of reasons. I am anticipating a sub shortage tomorrow. Our first priority will be to fill classroom positions. Subs can refuse to shift positions and for this reason we will have to try and figure things out in the moment. In the event we are exceptionally short, we may need to ask staff to fill in. I will triage this as best as we can. 

Other Updates

• We will be without a Campus Security Agent at this time. Holly has left the district. We appreciate her service. I will be meeting with Security Services tomorrow to determine next steps.
• Tavares will begin his new role as our Middle School TIC. He will be moving offices as well. We will communicate out to the middle school team what his role will be and how he will help support middle school students.
• Danelle will be our K-5 TIC. She will be working with several of the students that Tavares was working with as well some of the students she supported in her former position. Her space will remain the same. We will communicate to K-5 staff on support in this area. 
• We do have someone lined up for Danelle's former position. This is in the works...the district MOVES SLOWLY.
• Tami will most likely be out this week. As of right now we have coverage for her tomorrow, but this may change. Please note with staffing shortages this may make it difficult for us to send support to classrooms. We will do our best, but please utilize your classroom interventions. If there is an issue that needs to be addressed, but is not an immediate student safety concern, an email may be the best route to take. We will make an effort to address things as quickly as we can. Calls to the office should be those around safety. 
• Emily and I were able to wrap up our probationary evaluations before the break. We begin our second round of evaluations next week. 

Be prepared for a Late Edition of the news...I know I forgot something and there may be shifts throughout the day.