Week 30

 

Great Things We Noticed: 

• Spring Break!  We hope you had a wonderful and restful week! 
• 7-12 students back to IP learning today! 
• 48 families deciding to switch to IP Learning for the 2021/22 school year! 
• Preschoolers returning to school today! 

Nuts and Bolts: 

• Week of March 29 - April 2
• All  IP Teachers on Campus 4 days a week 
• General Ed Cohort A and B on site Monday, Tuesday or Thursday, Friday
• Mod Severe Cohort Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday full day
• Mild Moderate Cohort Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday full day 
• Trimester Three Google Classroom Links add here
• Information will be given to you this week regarding the Elementary Summer Program.  I will provide you with a list of students to invite.  The Elementary Summer Program will be held at Hawthorne.  I need your help in cascading the information to your parents as they need to fill out the application online.
• It is very important that you sign in each day when you are on campus. This helps us with contract tracing and making sure we have accurate numbers. Here is the link in case you need it https://forms.gle/wXJeFGReFU3eKMgY6
• Check out the ILE site RUSD Engage for some great tips from fellow teachers on engagement! http://bit.ly/rusdengage

• Student Engagement Site:

• Try engaging your students with a virtual scavenger hunt. CLICK HERE to watch the short video on how to apply this engagement strategy to your classroom routine. This works well with all content areas and ages!
• Elementary Teacher Newsletter 
• Elementary Hybrid Resources - Use these resources to help you during Phase 2 and Phase 3.
• Elementary Music Band & Strings Schedules for Phase 2 & 3 As in-person students transition to on-campus learning, the Elementary Music Program will be providing additional sectional classes on alternate days for those students to attend on their asynchronous days. Band Phase2 Schedule | Band Phase 3 Schedule
• Kindergarten Early Numeracy Indicator
• The EOY Math District Assessment for Kindergarten will be the Early Numeracy Indicator. For more information, please refer to this document
• A fantastic opportunity has come our way... for the 2021-2022 school year Larissa Pineda will be leading a Book Study through Dr. Katie Novak's book "UDL Now!".  As many of  you know I had the opportunity in the Fall of 2019 to fly to Massachusetts and visit Dr. Novak's school district, I got to see UDL in action.  I can say, without a doubt, that using the UDL system to design and assess student learning is the way to face the challenges we will have over the next few years.  
• Here are the tentative details: 
• 1.  Book Study for "UDL Now!" by Dr. Kate Novak
• 2.  Combination of Synchronous and Asynchronous work 
• 3.  Starts in May with one session to introduce everyone and go over details4.  Asynchronous work in the RISE Platform over the summer 
• 5.  Synchronous sessions throughout the 2021-2022 school year (with drop ins by Dr. Novak!)
• 6.   Sessions are 1 hour in length and will tentatively start at 3:00
• 7.  Teachers will be compensated on a timecard for this learning opportunity
• I highly encourage you and your teammates to sign up and learn more about UDL and how it can impact student learning.  If  you are interested fill out this Google Form:  Universal Design for Learning Book Study.   If you have further questions let me know or contact Larissa Pineda at lapineda@riversideunified.org
• THIS is a great article on UDL and Equity work

• Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning

  The district has recently adopted March 31 of each year as Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning.  We encourage you to use some of the resources compiled for this new observance.

• Virtual & Home Based Job Descriptions

  The job descriptions for Virtual Teacher and Home Based Teacher have recently been created.  These have also been posted on the district website.   

  Basic information regarding the Virtual School for 2021-22 was also made available.  The hope is that this information will assist you in making a decision of whether or not you would like to put in for a voluntary transfer to one or both of these programs.

Upcoming Events: 

3/30 - RUSD Employee Check In - 8:00 and 3:30 

3/30 - Fire Drill 9:45 

4/1 - TENTATIVE - Optional Staff Meeting (Very Short) - 3:00-4:00

4/1 - School Board Meeting - 5:30

3/29-4/2 - Student of the Month Presentations 

Birthdays: 

3/31 - Erin Barnett - TK Teacher

Week 29

 

Great Things We Noticed: 

• General Education students returning to campus! 
• Our Noon Supervisors working to ensure a smooth arrival and dismissal! 
• Our office staff fielding questions and supporting all of us! 
• ALL OF OUR TEACHERS (Virtual and IP) doing the good work each and every day! 

Nuts and Bolts: 

• In-Person Timeline: 
• Week of March 15-19
• General Ed Cohort A and B on site Tuesday or Thursday
• Mod Severe Cohort one site Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 1/2 Day
• Mild Moderate Cohort on site Thursday and Friday full day (8:50-2:15)
• Week of March 29 - April 2
• All  IP Teachers on Campus 4 days a week 
• General Ed Cohort A and B on site Monday, Tuesday or Thursday, Friday
• Mod Severe Cohort Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday full day
• Mild Moderate Cohort Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday full day 
• The SAP Counselors and School Psychologists have created SEL lessons for your use in the coming weeks... Find them HERE
• Trimester Three Google Classroom Links add here
• It is very important that you sign in each day when you are on campus. This helps us with contract tracing and making sure we have accurate numbers. Here is the link in case you need it https://forms.gle/wXJeFGReFU3eKMgY6
• Check out the ILE site RUSD Engage for some great tips from fellow teachers on engagement! http://bit.ly/rusdengage

• Student Engagement Site:

  Try engaging your students with a virtual scavenger hunt. CLICK HERE to watch the short video on how to apply this engagement strategy to your classroom routine. This works well with all content areas and ages!

• If you or your team would like office hours with ILE sign up here:

  Jessie Gurbada

  Sharisa Chan

• Elementary Teacher Newsletter 
• Elementary Hybrid Resources - Use these resources to help you during Phase 2 and Phase 3.

• Elementary Music Band & Strings Schedules for Phase 2 & 3 As in-person students transition to on-campus learning, the Elementary Music Program will be providing additional sectional classes on alternate days for those students to attend on their asynchronous days. Band Phase2 Schedule | Band Phase 3 Schedule
• Please note a few minor adjustments in the District Assessment Calendar

• Spotlight: RUSD Teacher/Staff Arts Showcase: Calling all artists! Do you sing? Dance? Play an instrument? Perform spoken word? Paint? Write silly poems? RUSD Arts invites you to share your artistry for Spotlight, an RUSD Employee Arts Showcase. Submissions due Mon. Mar. 29, 4pm. More info.
• Together Journal Open to all RUSD students, staff, and families, the RUSD Arts and Wellness departments invite you to participate in the RUSD Together Journal, an online districtwide arts journal to share thoughts and experiences. The theme for February 8 - March 19 is “Triumphs and Tragedies.” Submissions are welcome in any art form: visual art, music, spoken word, dance, poetry, creative writing, theater, or mixed media, and a new theme will be announced every two months. Selected submissions will be included in an online journal at bit.ly/togetherjournal. Submissions due March 19. More info. | Flyer
• Cesar Chavez Activities
• Share this Resource for Cesar Chavez Day with teachers for lessons, resources, inspiration, and more.
• This flyer is an informational flyer for an upcoming Cohort of RCOE's Preliminary Administrative Services Credential Program for Assistant Principals and teachers in RUSD. 
• In honor of Earth Day, Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful (KRCB) invites you to participate in the Clean Campus Competition: Home Edition. In the past, this was a friendly competition organized by students and their schools where they beautified their campus in creative and environmentally friendly ways.  This year, however, we have made some changes to the competition so students can continue to expand their environmental awareness from home. Your students can participate in one to four categories that are designed to provide a hands-on approach to litter prevention, recycling, beautification, and water conservation. The competition will be from April 1st to April 30th, 2021. First, second, and third place winners will be chosen from elementary, middle, high school and private schools.
• Deadline to sign up is Friday, March 19, 2021. Additional instructions will be emailed upon receipt of your application. Clean Campus Competition Home Edition application can also be accessed on our website at www.krcb.com. Thank you for your participation. Please contact: Alex at (951) 683-7100 x 212 or arendon@riverside-chamber.com for questions. For application click here.
• MOY District Math Assessments
• Scores for 4th and 5th grade are due on 3-19-2021. For more information, please refer to the 4th Grade Directions and the 5th Grade Directions.
• Grade 2 and Grade 6 Math Assessment Data 
• Data from Elementary Math Assessments is available in site data catalogs in Google Drive. Site reports include data for Grade 2 Eureka and Grade 6 Number System Assessments. Additional reports are available through Illuminate. For assistance with data or Illuminate, including accessing student group reports or reports to assist with school or equity plans, feel free to contact Elizabeth Watanabe at ewatanabe@riversideunified.org.

Dr. Hansen's Call To Action: 

Common RUSD Goal:

To create inclusive and equitable learning environments for all

Our Call to Action:

1. Continue to reflect on your own mindset regarding race and privilege.

2. Begin to dismantle inequities for all students and staff (policies, practices, procedures).

3. Listen to the voices of students, families, and employees (what are their stories?).

4. Go out and ACT NOW!

Find Resources for Women's History Month at this Edutopia link: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/womens-history-month-lesson-plans-matt-davis

Upcoming Events:

• 3/15 - UCLA Drop in Meditation 12:30-1:00 
• 3/16 - 8:00 and 3:30 Employee Check-In 
• 3/17 - March Student of the Month Due
• 3/17 - St. Patrick's Day 
• 3/17 - Staff Meeting 3-4 (Trauma Informed Practices)
• 3/17 - 3:30 - Wellness Workshop: Filling Your Cup, Comprehensive Self Care Strategies
• 3/18 - 9:00 and 3:30 - Wellness Workshop:  Time and Energy Savings Hacks
• 3/18 - School Board Meeting - Study Session 5:30

Birthdays: 

• 3/17 - Morgan Little - Kindergarten Teachers
• 3/20 - Josefina Vega - Noon Supervisor 

Week 28

 

Great Things We Noticed! 

• YOU... Being back on campus!  
• Preparation by our Noon Supervisors! 
• Around 50 parents coming to out Parent Return to School Q&A's!
• Thoughtful and open conversations with our Virtual Teachers!
• Students being excited about returning to campus! 
• Arlington students reading for Read Across America! 
• Shout outs from our Preschool Team - check out the sign in the lounge! 

Nuts and Bolts: 

• The SAP Counselors and School Psychologists have created SEL lessons for your use in the coming weeks... Find them HERE
• Trimester Three Google Classroom Links add here
• It is very important that you sign in each day when you are on campus. This helps us with contract tracing and making sure we have accurate numbers. Here is the link in case you need it https://forms.gle/wXJeFGReFU3eKMgY6
• Check out the ILE site RUSD Engage for some great tips from fellow teachers on engagement! http://bit.ly/rusdengage

• Student Engagement Site:

  Try engaging your students with a virtual scavenger hunt. CLICK HERE to watch the short video on how to apply this engagement strategy to your classroom routine. This works well with all content areas and ages!

• If you or your team would like office hours with ILE sign up here:

  Jessie Gurbada

  Sharisa Chan

• Elementary Teacher Newsletter 
• Elementary Hybrid Resources - Use these resources to help you during Phase 2 and Phase 3.
• Elementary ELA/SLA -Writing PD offering The Elementary ELA/SLA team is excited to offer a Virtual Saturday Literacy Symposium: “Power Up Your Literacy: The Write Stuff” on March 13th. This flyer has been added to the Elementary Newsletter and will be emailed out to teachers.
• New! Riverside Art Museum "Live" Virtual Classes RUSD Arts is pleased to offer a limited number of "live" virtual art classes for any interested elementary classrooms this spring through the Riverside Art Museum. Classes take place during synchronous instruction so students can interact with RAM teaching artists. More info
• Elementary Music Band & Strings Schedules for Phase 2 & 3 As in-person students transition to on-campus learning, the Elementary Music Program will be providing additional sectional classes on alternate days for those students to attend on their asynchronous days. Band Phase2 Schedule | Band Phase 3 Schedule
• Please note a few minor adjustments in the District Assessment Calendar
• From the VAPA Department:
  • Coming Soon! Elementary/Middle/High School Visual Art Show The exhibit won’t actually happen until after spring break, but we wanted to give you a heads-up so that you can be on the lookout for student artwork that you or your students may want to submit. The submissions process will be easy! In late March, you will receive more information with a link where you can upload student work.
  • Questions? Contact bmosher@riversideunified.org / emorrow@riversideunified.org
• Spotlight: RUSD Teacher/Staff Arts Showcase: Calling all artists! Do you sing? Dance? Play an instrument? Perform spoken word? Paint? Write silly poems? RUSD Arts invites you to share your artistry for Spotlight, an RUSD Employee Arts Showcase. Submissions due Mon. Mar. 29, 4pm. More info.
• Together Journal Open to all RUSD students, staff, and families, the RUSD Arts and Wellness departments invite you to participate in the RUSD Together Journal, an online districtwide arts journal to share thoughts and experiences. The theme for February 8 - March 19 is “Triumphs and Tragedies.” Submissions are welcome in any art form: visual art, music, spoken word, dance, poetry, creative writing, theater, or mixed media, and a new theme will be announced every two months. Selected submissions will be included in an online journal at bit.ly/togetherjournal. Submissions due March 19. More info. | Flyer
• Summer School Application - Must be submitted by March 12, 2021
• The application window for this year’s summer school, ESY, and elementary summer camp sessions is now open.
• Please see attached flyer with additional details regarding summer session programs, dates, sites, requested classifications, etc.
• In keeping with Riverside Unified School District’s mantra of bringing innovation to education, a few years ago the Personnel Department made a change in practice in moving the entire application process online via a Google Form. The reason for the shift to an electronic application was to streamline the application process and allow for applicants to receive, via e-mail, an auto-generated receipt of application submission. The submission receipt (copy of application you submitted) was sent to the e-mail address provided at the time of application. For the 2021 summer employment cycle, the Personnel Department will continue with the online application process.
• When applying this year, you will want to ensure that you provide an accurate e-mail address with your application. The e-mail address can be your RUSD e-mail address or your personal e-mail address, but it should be something you have access to because your submission receipt will go to that e-mail address. By clicking the link below, applicants will be able to provide electronically all of the requested information. http://bit.ly/2021ClassifiedSummerEmployment. The online application should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Online applications must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 12, 2021. Notification of summer assignments will be April 30, 2021.*

• NOTE: No hardcopy of applications will be accepted.
• *Summer employment may be contingent upon your availability to work the entire time.
• Cesar Chavez Activities
• Share this Resource for Cesar Chavez Day with teachers for lessons, resources, inspiration, and more.
• This flyer is an informational flyer for an upcoming Cohort of RCOE's Preliminary Administrative Services Credential Program for Assistant Principals and teachers in RUSD. 
• In honor of Earth Day, Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful (KRCB) invites you to participate in the Clean Campus Competition: Home Edition. In the past, this was a friendly competition organized by students and their schools where they beautified their campus in creative and environmentally friendly ways.  This year, however, we have made some changes to the competition so students can continue to expand their environmental awareness from home. Your students can participate in one to four categories that are designed to provide a hands-on approach to litter prevention, recycling, beautification, and water conservation. The competition will be from April 1st to April 30th, 2021. First, second, and third place winners will be chosen from elementary, middle, high school and private schools.
• Deadline to sign up is Friday, March 19, 2021. Additional instructions will be emailed upon receipt of your application. Clean Campus Competition Home Edition application can also be accessed on our website at www.krcb.com. Thank you for your participation. Please contact: Alex at (951) 683-7100 x 212 or arendon@riverside-chamber.com for questions. For application click here.

Dr. Hansen's Call To Action: 

Common RUSD Goal:

To create inclusive and equitable learning environments for all

Our Call to Action:

1. Continue to reflect on your own mindset regarding race and privilege.

2. Begin to dismantle inequities for all students and staff (policies, practices, procedures).

3. Listen to the voices of students, families, and employees (what are their stories?).

4. Go out and ACT NOW!

Talking About Dr. Seuss and Read Across America

There has been a lot of discussion and controversy this week surrounding Dr. Seuss and his legacy as an icon for literacy. We even had people calling trying to bully us into selling our library copies of the books no longer being published! I found an article on Learning for Justice (formally Teaching Tolerance) that includes a very thoughtful reflection on Dr. Seuss and his books. I found this quote especially accurate:

"Dr. Seuss is a prolific children’s book author and global icon. And Dr. Seuss has a history of racial baggage that educators should understand when introducing his writing to their students."

Find the remainder of the article HERE: https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/its-time-to-talk-about-dr-seuss

Another take on Dr. Seuss and the decision of the NEA to move away from a Dr. Seuss centric Read Across America can be found here: https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=cat-hat-racist-read-across-america-shifts-away-dr-seuss-toward-diverse-books

Upcoming Events: 

• 3/8 - 3:30 - 21 Day District Wide Step Challenge #2 - FLYER
• 3/9 - IP Students Return to School Cohort A- Wear your "Comeback Shirts" (Or Hawthorne)
• 3/9 - RUSD Employee Check In - 3:30 and 8:00
• 3/9 - DAAPAC Meeting - 6:00-7:30
• 3/10 - 8:00 - 21 Day District Wide Step Challenge #2  - FLYER
• 3/10 - 10:30 - Hawthorne ELAC - Please share with your EL Parents 
• 3/11 - IP Students Return to School Cohort B - Wear your "Comeback Shirts" (Or Hawthorne)
• Shout Outs from the Preschool Team! 

Birthdays:

Gabby Vasquez - One on One Aide - M/M 1/2