Monday, November 19

Honor - High Honor Roll lists

Thanks for your work with kids. 

Thanks to Bev for organizing the feast!

The Real Cost of Vaping

Curriculum materials attached (from Scholastic and the FDA). 
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Here is a letter I will be sending to parents. 
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Important message from CTS

A South Seneca Faculty user recently received a fraudulent e-mail which looked very real, and prompted them to click on a link.  Although they were not expecting this message, and were suspicious, they were even more concerned that someone might be stealing their identity.  The link did contain a dangerous payload, which fortunately was recognized by antivirus software.  This will not always be the case.

The end user is the first line of defense against malicious software.  Please do not click links in e-mail if you are not very close to perfect certainty that you know the sender and intention.  The malicious senders use powerful psychology to get you to click.  Be stronger than that.

Here is advice from docusign.  https://www.docusign.com/trust/security/incident-reporting

Lists - you must be logged into Google to view

• HS failures and incompletes - first quarter
• Restricted list as of 11/19

Possible presenter?  Feel free to send me some input. 
http://www.chrispoulos.com/

Zucchini everywhere: 
School-grown produce teaches students to eat their veggies

Also - Ag in the Classroom


Thanks to Todd K for sharing. 
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Classroom of the week
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Robin Parzych!
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Nice job Robin!
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News

BOCES news Nov. 13

Focus on regional priorities - great reasons to read the BOCES news. 
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Attention teachers and students: New York is planning to extend an important testing moratorium

Nearly 1 in 5 Teens Seriously Considers Suicide. Can Schools Offer Relief?

Mineola among nation's 'most innovative school districts'

Updated Physical Activity Guidelines Are Out. But Most Teenagers Never Met the Old Ones

November 8, 2018

Schooltool Report for parent logins:
I have the ability to run a report that shows parent logins to Schooltool. If any teams would like that for your grade level(s), let me know.  I can check with my contact at CNYRIC to see if she can make me a similar export for student logins.

Sign up for the Thanksgiving luncheon:  
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0548ACA62BA4F49-2019 

Tech Check

Thanks to Rob for his weekly tech checks.  They are very helpful.  Older tech check docs are in the Staff Share folder under Tech. 


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Google "My Maps" tool
I really like the My Maps tool that Google has.  I made this short video for forum.  Feel free to check it out (it's handy).

It's not available from the "waffle" in your  Google tools.  I'm sure there are others that aren't either. If you have any cool tools to share, please send them to Rob.


New files linked from the master
Remember that the PTC and PR tip form are linked from the master file.

News

BOCES News
Another great set of opportunities from Barry Derfel.

State memo:
NYS History Month

Democrats win control of New York state legislature. What that means for education


Prerecorded webinars from District Administration
https://www.districtadministration.com/webseminars


Budgeting stuff from the business office

DCMO will be updating its online requisition website which is available November 1. The new site is formatted and will operate similarly to most online retail sites that you have already worked with. It will be more user friendly with pictures available and a Cart to put your order into. You can also hold items for later review. A link to training, if needed, will be provided in the next few weeks.

New log ins were required and created for each staff member.

DCMO is in production of the Online Reqs Welcome Memo that we will distribute to staff and teachers. The Memo addresses how to locate and log-on to the Online Reqs Shopping Cart
Requisitioning Program.  This Memo will be in your mailboxes at the end of the month. The memo will have each staff person's Name and Log-on with Password on the back of the folded memo.  The memos will be sorted by District location and by Name, to facilitate the distribution of the memos to all staff.

The new Online Reqs website will be officially opened on November 1, 2018. Do not attempt to go on the website before then as all information will not save and will be lost.

Naomi Zuckerman

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

Monday, September 24

PD schedule for Tuesday
Please click the title for the file. If you'd like any changes or have any questions, please let me or Missy know.
Please note:  The schedule goes until 3 on Tuesday.  We're taking advantage of our faculty meeting time to give you more time to meet in these groups. 

Important message from NYSED
Opioid letter to school personnel

Mental Health
If you're looking for the state's position on mental health education and some resources, please click on the link here:   http://www.nysed.gov/curriculum-instruction/mental-health


Alternative schedule linked from master

The alt schedule is now a separately linked file.  The link is in the contents. 

BOCES news
Here is the TST School Improvement Services Weekly Bulletin for 9.18.18.

Teaching All Students:  The Special Education Process for General Education Teachers.  It is a two day workshop on October 9th and 10th.  It is held here in Syracuse.  This is a one time offering for special educators and general educators to come together to understand roles and responsibilities for the special education process.

https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=15882&I=2844791



BEDS day(s)
No silly, not that kind of bed, it's basic educational data we're talking about! Although a Falcon bed race down Main Street might be fun.

This year's Beds Day is October 3, 2018.  That is the day that teacher's may start entering data in the electronic Personnel Master File (ePMF) system.  The cutoff date is December 14, 2018 for staff to enter their data.

Instructions for Teachers:

Where to find the ePMF form:

The teaching ePMF form is completed electronically and can be found after logging into the Teacher Access and Authorization (TAA) account at https://eservices.nysed.gov/taa.  (Note:  If the teacher logs in and doesn't see an ePMF form the ePMF form will not be visible in TAA until a valid Staff Snapshot record with Field 8 indicating "TEACHER" for 2018-19 is uploaded to Level 2.  Check with your Administrator.)

Editing data after entry:

You may only edit your assignment data.  If you "Save" the data, you can return to it at a later date.  You must finalize your form by clicking "Save and Submit," which will lock your form to editing except for administrators who can "Unsubmit" to fix errors and "Resubmit" to finalize the changes.

Assignment Code booklets will be available in hard copy in the office along with "Frequently Asked Questions" documentation. We can also have the Administration Manual available which is helpful as a user guide for other questions that arise.


From CTS:
SchoolTool mobile has been enabled for SouthSeneca.ORG domain.
I believe this is for parents/students; not for teachers to enter data.  Please check with CTS with any questions.

URL is same as usual:  https://southseneca.schooltool.cnyric.org/schooltoolweb/
Tested on Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mindex.schooltool&hl=en_US
Available for Cupertinoid:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/schooltool-mobile/id911564575?mt=8

To ALL Middle School Teachers and Staff:  

Team 7/8 is working on creating a stronger culture for our Middle School, including our overall theme for the year:  This is Me along with our monthly themes as well.  

Our goal is to incorporate multiple skills and perspectives into our planning as we have an eye on the overall development of the Middle School child.  

We wanted to be sure to communicate special events and plans as they are in the making... please look at the links included here and give input as needed on upcoming events/ plans.  We understand that not all of us get to sit at the team table, but we also know that everyone's input is valid and important to the big picture of Middle School.  

We are trying to also be mindful of too many class disruptions, however in order to include the Character Ed and "2nd Step" curriculum we realize that we all need to think out of the box as well.  Please feel free to email /contact any team member with ideas of how you can be involved in our planning and special focus days.  

We welcome you and any ideas you might have to incorporate into any of our upcoming planning.

  

Here are some of the things we have been discussing and planning as a 7/8 Team so far...

8th Grade Trip "Qualifiers" to be shared with parents at Sept. 20th Trip Meeting...

To earn the trip each student must be in both good Academic and Behavioral standing.  Final Trip participants will be determined by Admin. & Advisors for the trip.

Monthly Plans Overview for the year- MS Monthly- Assemblies / Half Days / Field Trips...

Sept. 25th plans / sessions - 9/25/18 Plans & Sessions

Oct. 2- Guest Assemblies- Brad Hurtig (MS & HS... schedule coming out from Tim)

Oct. 5 Field Trips and "in house plans" A work in progress- 10/5 /18 Plans & Sessions

Red Ribbon Week- Oct. 23-31- dress up days- focus on Theme- Life is Your Journey:  Travel Drug Free

November 20th field trips-  

7th to Women's Rights Park

8th to Museum of the Earth

Dec. 7 - A Christmas Carol- @ Hangar- Grades 6/7/8

Event notice: 
Inspiring a Passion for Computational Thinking 

Inspiring a Passion for Computational Thinking happens on Friday, September 28th from 8:30 - 11:30 AM at Cornell University, 700 Clark Hall. Diane Levitt, the Senior Director of K - 12 Education at the Cornell Tech Campus (https://tech.cornell.edu/people/diane-levitt/), will lead an important conversation about computational thinking. Diane works collaboratively with New York City Schools students to develop computational agency to build meaningful digital creations.

Please join us in building understanding of the WHY, WHAT and HOW of inspiring a passion for computational thinking. This is one way that our region continues the work of ensuring that every student has access and opportunity to play with, learn about, and create with the types of tools and thinking that are key to their success

Please sign up on Frontline/My Learning Plan. We are excited to bring this great opportunity to the region in partnership with the Ithaca City School District. Feel free to reach out with any questions. 

Thank you for considering, and please share with others! 

Justin 

Justin DiMatteo

Technology Integration Instructional Specialist

Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES

https://modernlearners.com/choosing-progressive-education-for-modern-learning/

https://nysed-prod.engageny.org/






Passes
Here are a couple of golden rules for passes:

• Give 'em a pass
• Don't accept kids without a pass. Maybe that will break kids out of the habit of showing up without your knowledge.