October 31

Literacy Grant - from Jody Gale:
Any MH teacher or student can submit ideas here to spend the money we were awarded from the Dollar General...(I am asking in the Library during LL for ideas from students).

All ideas will be brought to the Board next month...please submit any ideas to the shared spreadsheet in Google sheets.

Schedule Ideas Committee
For anyone who would like to sit in on an initial schedule ideas meeting, we will meet next Tuesday during faculty meeting time.  Some people have asked me to include them in this committee.  I'll do that, but others are welcome.  The meeting will be in the board room. This meeting is simply a way for me to share a few ideas for consideration.

Missy or I will share the overall faculty meeting schedule for next Tuesday in the next few days.


P-Tech Academy going strong
I was recently talking with Trevor Sibley. His son Ryan is loving the P-Tech Academy.  Experiments can pay off for kids, and it's great to hear.  There is a short article about P-Tech on the latest BOCES Tribune. Click here for that story.

New PR Tip form

Rob just added our new public relations tip form to the staff button on the website.  It's also linked from the master file. It's already getting some use, which is good.

Thanks Rob!




News Links

I just made a new page for news at the top left of this blog.  If you have any you'd like me to add, please let me know.

Passport for Good
Todd Kurzweil sent me this link:  https://www.passportforgood.com/
If any teachers or teams would like to check it out, please do. Thanks Todd.

New Pictures Team Drive

Team drives in Google are fairly new, and they have several advantages over simple folders.  Under your "My Drive"link, click on the triangle next to your "Team Drives."  You all have contributor access to the Pictures drive.  If you're putting things in, please put them in the 2018-19 folder.  If you'd like to add sub folders (ex: Sports, Music, etc.), go ahead. If you have any questions, please let me know. 

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Articles
The Couple Who Helped De-code Dyslexia



Don't you love seeing progress in a kid's smile?  

Thanks for all you do!

October 24

Professional Improvement Plan (PIP) form
Please click the title for the form.  It's in staff share / prof development.  It's also linked from the appendix in the staff handbook.

Substitute Challenges
I had left a message with a dean at Ithaca College, and he very kindly called me back.  What he mentioned was pretty scary. He told me that colleges in the state are only training half the future teachers needed in the next five years.  In other words, sub issues across the state will get worse before they get better.  If you communicate with any former students, let them know that teaching might be worth considering.

Release of the Middle Level CTE Modules

In September 2017, the Board of Regents revised the CTE portion of Commissioner's Regulations 100.4(c).  Please see the page linked in the title for more information.


Mental Health Education Leadership Circle
Click the title for an opportunity from BOCES.

Ideas for the literacy grant from Dollar General
Jody just posted this file.  If you'd like to give some input on how the $50,000 gift is spent, please put your thoughts in the file linked above.

New Curriculum Resources Posted

The Office of Curriculum & Instruction recently published several resources to assist with the implementation of the Next Generation Learning Standards.  Resources include:

• NYS Next Generation English Language Arts Learning Standards

• Newly designed P-12 ELA Standards (updated format, no changes to the Next Generation ELA standards)

• Introduction to the Next Generation ELA Learning Standards
• Introduction to the Early Learning Standards
• NYS Next Generation ELA Standards
• NYS Next Generation Learning Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (6-12)

• At a Glance Documents (providing the progression of standards within grade bands)

• PK-2
• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12

• Professional Development Toolkits (instructional steps/guidelines to facilitate Next Generation Learning Standards PD) 
• Roadmap Spotlight (request for articles to communicate action steps towards Next Generation ELA and Mathematics Learning Standards implementation while supporting other districts on their journey through the roadmap)
• Please feel free to contact us with any questions or partnership opportunities at (518) 474-5922 or EMSCURRIC@nysed.gov.

BOCES news
There are some very good opportunities in each of these editions:
BOCES new for 10/16
BOCES news for 10/24


Next Gen Learning Standards
At the conference I just attended, there was a workshop by a Genesee BOCES curriculum specialist which covered next generation learning standards. He kindly sent me his presentation, and I made a copy that we could mark up.  Please take a look and suggest any additions.


NYSEG Electricity Education
Click the title for an opportunity for some free materials from NYSEG.


Articles
What Jimi Hendrix and Leonardo da Vinci Can Teach Us About Personalized Learning


Staff Mental Health Events
A big thanks to Christa for organizing all those "mental health" events.  They really do help, and the efforts are appreciated.

October 16

CTS coverage this week
Here's what we have so far (from Mike Pliss):
The CNYRIC is sending someone to be in Ovid 3 of the 4 days that we needed coverage.

• Lori is in Interlaken Monday - Thursday (Monday she is only in during the AM).  You can email Lori or you can do a help ticket. 
• Denny is on vacation Monday-Thursday and is expected back Friday 10/19.
• CNYRIC employee Chris Pedley will be here Monday 8-4. He can be contacted by email at CPedley@cnyric.org.
• There will NOT be any additional coverage on Tuesday 10/16. No one will be in CTS in Ovid on this day. Report any major issues to Helpdesk@Cnyric.Org or by calling 315-433-8345.
• CNYRIC employee Phil Doherty will be here Wednesday and Thursday 8-4.  He can be contacted by email at PDoherty@cnyric.org.
• So Tuesday is the only day remaining without coverage. 
• On Friday 10/19 Denny will be back.
• Mike will be back next Wednesday 10/24.

An Important Notice on Student Chromebooks

From Monday- Thursday, students with broken Chromebooks should be directed to check in with Tim H. or Missy first to request approval to check out (and if approved by Tim/Missy allowed to take home) a temp replacement Chromebook from the HS LIB. CTS will later collect the broken student Chromebooks received by the HS LIB and work to provide a permanent replacement Chromebook for each student.

October 10

October 19 BEDS training
Susan Kuck from CNYRIC will be here on October 19 to run people through their BEDS entry.  This will make things easy.  For those of you who will be at other events, we can arrange for Sue to come back.  Sue has done these trainings for years, which helps people to put in accurate info right away.

October 19 PD schedule
Please check your line and let me know of any issues.  GoGuardian training and links included.

Clarification on PD hours for the state
Missy spoke with Barry Derfel from BOCES. Keeping track of hours is everyone's personal responsibility.  At the end of your obligation time (3 or 5 years), you will get a message from the TEACH system asking if you have completed required hours.  You check yes, and just be prepared to prove it if audited. On our end of things, events will be in MLP.  I'm working on making that process work most efficiently.  If anyone needs help, please see me.

Go Guardian Web training on Oct. 19
I will share several links for self-training for October 19.  Rob went through the videos, and he tells me they are quite helpful.  We should be able to get this program up and running with good understanding.

Kim Connor from Castle Learning here on Oct. 19
Kim will be working with a single teacher until 10, and she can answer any questions until 10:30.  I'll have her in the library.

Substitute issues
Some folks have wondered how we're dealing with our substitute shortage.  Here is a plan that we have in place.  We'll continually update it as we're able to make improvements. I appreciate everyone's patience as we're doing the best we can considering the shortage.  Hopefully I'll be able to hire another 186 sub very soon and add to our substitute pool. No person is more frustrated than I am, so thanks for understanding.



Universal lock cores
Last week, I did not mention that the faculty lounge has a universal lock core.  That room was already done.  There is a problem with room 110's lock core, but Todd is working on it.

Here's the whole list. If I'm missing anything, please let me know.

• HS flex lab, room 100
• Board room, room 112
• HS computer labs
• MS computer lab
• Room 110 (next to Rob's room)
• Guidance conference room
• Falcons' Nest (senior lounge)
• Faculty lounge

Addition to Electronic Devices in the Code of Conduct
I just added some language to the Electronic Devices section.  See below or click the code link in the title.

Concerning the use of a device during a learning lab, please do not allow any use for students on restriction. This will hopefully put some friendly pressure on them to get off of restriction. If any teams would like this written into the code, please let me know.

Update on Kajeet Smartspots
For those of you who haven't heard, we have purchased some Kajeet Smartspots so that kids without Internet access at home can use their Chromebooks.  Today, Mike Pliss successfully configured and connected to a Kajeet with a laptop.  On Friday, he hopes to get a handle on restricting access to a single Chromebook.  So we're making some progress, and we hope they'll be in kids' hands shortly.


BOCES news from Barry Derfel

BOCES news for 10/9.
Barry has some great stuff for all teachers in this week's edition.
All newsletters linked here. 

Product Showcase

Project-Based Teaching: How to Create Rigorous and Engaging Learning Experiences