Preparing Our Students for the WI Forward Assessment

FOR TEACHERS OF 3rd-8th GRADES & 10th GRADE
The Text Dependent Analysis (TDA) portion of the Forward Exam tends to be an area of difficulty for students. To help provide clarification for students, teachers are encouraged to:

1. Provide students with instructional opportunities throughout the school year where the expectation is to read a text, reflect on the text to develop an idea, and write a constructed response in a single setting for roughly 30-60 minutes. The benefit is having students learn how to manage time to complete all three portions of this task (read, reflect, respond) within a single time period. 
2. Provide students with background on how to create a quality constructed response. The key features to highlight with students include stating your opinion/topic sentence, identifying your text evidence, and providing rationale for how that text evidence supports your topic sentence.
3. Schedule time for students to try the Forward Exam Practice Test and Sample Items, specifically the Online Training Tools. Once in the Online Training Tools, have students go to the Item Sampler and try grade level appropriate ELA Item Sampler, specifically Session 1 for the TDA. This provides students with an experience of this test platform before the actual assessment to provide concept of task and navigation.

Open Positions in the District

FOR ALL STAFF
There are currently a few open positions on WECAN within the district:

• Administrative Assistant to Principal at East High School
• Part-time 2nd Shift Custodians
• Student Services Coordinator at Badger 
• Special Ed Aide - High School
• Special Ed Aide - Silverbrook
• Classroom Aide - Green Tree
• Classroom Aide - Head Start 
• Various Coaching Positions at East and West High School 

To view these postings, please visit WECAN

Update on HR Building Hours

FOR ALL STAFF
HR will be cancelling building hours for the rest of the school year due to multiple upcoming leaves within the department. If you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, please always feel free to reach out to anyone in the HR department. Lenny Hanson, the HR director, has been at each site numerous times this year and will try to make even more visits throughout the spring. Never hesitate to stop him if you have a question, idea, or just want to chat. Thank you!

Supplemental Life Insurance Open Enrollment

FOR ALL STAFF 
On Monday, February 3, letters were sent through interoffice mail to all staff who are eligible to make changes to their supplemental life insurance coverage.

Please review the information in the letter for details about your coverage options. All eligible employees need to complete the enrollment form and submit back to HR by February 15, 2020, even if you are not electing to change any of your coverage. 

Please reach out to one of these individuals if you have any questions:

• Katie Gourdine:  kgourdine@wbsd-schools.org   extension 51513
• Nicole Gruenewald:  ngruenewald@wbsd-schools.org     extension 51547.

Summer School Program Approved, Check Out What's New!

FOR ALL STAFF

The planning for the 2020 Summer School program is well under way. Offerings will continue to include summer school classes, specialty camps, and Jump Start opportunities in August.

4K-7th Grade
Like in years past, the summer school classes from 4K-7 will include reading, math, and enrichment opportunities. New this year: The reading and math classes are open to all students and a teacher recommendation is no longer required. Efforts have been made to increase course offerings to engage more students in summer school. New course proposals have included three STEM/coding classes, classes that focus on healthy and happy lifestyle, and social/emotional skills and strategies.

8th-12th Grade
Summer school classes for 8-12th grade students will continue to include classes for credit advancement such as phy-ed and personal finance. Retake classes will be offered based on teacher availability and student need.

This year, all high school classes earning credits will be five weeks long to insure the instructional minute requirement from the WI DPI is met. 

Registration opens March 2 for 8th-12th grade March 9 for 4K-7th grade.

How to Find IEP Information

FOR ALL CLASSROOM TEACHERSBelow is a guide to help locate IEP information for special education students in your classroom. Important Note IEPs that have not been locked will not be available. You can only view the forms. You can not change them. If you have questions please connect with the student’s IEP coordinator.

Teacher Fellowship Opportunity

FOR MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is offering a teacher fellowship. Click HERE for more details.

February is Black History Month

FOR ALL STAFF

As you know, February is recognized as Black History Month. Within classrooms there are many opportunities to celebrate the diversity of black cultures as well as to recognize the accomplishments of black Americans in our daily lives. Two places you can easily find resources for your discussions during Black History Month are www.teachtolerance.org and the Undefeated 44. Two opportunities for celebration in our schools are at Badger Middle School on February 21, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. and at the Silver Lining Arts Center and Gallery on February 28, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. This event will highlight student art and performance.

Items below this post are from previous editions of the Highlighter

Rolfs Teaching Award Nominations

FOR ALL STAFF
This is the 49th year the Rolfs Educational Foundation Award will honor exceptional teaching ability in the West Bend School District. The Rolfs Award is granted to qualifying teachers in the West Bend School District.

The Rolfs Educational Foundation gives four awards of $1,000 each to a teacher in each of the four categories: elementary school, middle school, high school, and special services educators. Review the website for the criteria for the award.

Eligible teachers with at least one nomination will be notified and asked for their consent to be considered. Contributions to the present 2019-20 school year will be given priority; however, the committee could consider contributions of past years.

Nominations must be submitted on or before March 6, 2020.  Nominations are property of the West Bend School District and will not be shared on the basis of anonymity.

Go to the website to access the nomination form and a list of previous winners.

Support Staff Awards

FOR ALL STAFF
This year the district will once again recognize some of our support staff with the "Support Staff Member of the Year Award." The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding contributions to the district. This year there could be up to five awards given.

Review the website to see the nomination criteria. 

Recognition of the award winners will be made at a regular monthly school board meeting.  Each recipient will receive a $300 award.   All award winners for a given year will be invited to attend the Recognition Program held in spring in May.

Nominations must be submitted on or before March 6, 2020.  Nominations are property of the West Bend School District and will not be shared on the basis of anonymity.

Go to the website to access nomination forms and a list of previous winners.

W-2s Coming Soon

FOR ALL STAFF
All W-2s will be available to dowload from Skyward. Please follow the instructions below by the end

of day Friday, January 24. The W-2s will be processed on Saturday, January 25.

1. Log in to Skyward Finance
2. Go to the Employee Information tab
3. Click on W2 Information
4. Go to Options for Receiving My 2019 W2 Electronically
5. Click on the top button that you will receive your W2 electronically and press Save.

Skyward Finance Password Updates

FOR ALL STAFF
In previous editions of The Highlighter we have shared the importance of having secure online systems. One way that each employee can help is to have a strong and secure password that is changed at certain intervals. This past fall we asked staff to change their network/Google passwords to make sure they are strong and updated. At this time we will be increasing our minimum password requirements for Skyward Finance beginning Friday, January 31.

The new minimum requirements for this system will be a minimum of 14 characters that includes at least 3 numerals and 2 special characters. On or after January 31, if you log in and your password does not meet those requirements or your password has not been changed recently you will be required to change your password. Moving forward your Skyward Finance password will need to be changed a minimum of once a year.

As a reminder, the secure storage of your usernames and passwords are important and having unique passwords for different systems helps to keep our systems secure. To securely store passwords the Technology Department recommends using LastPass. If you need help setting up your LastPass account please submit a technology ticket and a team member will help you.

Celebrate our Staff!

National School Counseling Week is February 3-7. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to recognize our incredible school counseling team. Our counselors problem solve some of the most unpredictable and challenging issues and help provide the foundation of emotional and social safety that underlies all other success students have in school. Thank you school counselors!

Also, let's celebrate our colleagues for milestones in their years of service to the district this month!

Celebrating 5 Years in January

• Jessica Guerrero - McLane

Celebrating 15 Years in January

• Jenny Taylor - Fair Park
• Wendi Hess - Rolfs

STAR Results will be Shared with Parents

FOR STAR USERS
As a system we have completed the Winter STAR administration. In the January 29 edition of the West Bend School District Update, parents will be notified that scores are available, reminded how to access the student results, and provided information to support the interpretation of their child’s STAR Results.

Outdoor Learning Experiences and Professional Growth Opportunity

FOR…ALL TEACHERS
The WBSD is fortunate to have an outdoor classroom which is a 36-acre registered school forest. It is located near the corner of E. Decorah Road and N. River Road, just east of the high schools. To support access to learning at the outdoor classroom and to enhance your opportunities to lead students in natural study in the school yard, LEAF and KEEP will be providing a workshop at our outdoor classroom. West Bend teachers who attend will not only receive free resources, they will attend free of charge. (Special thanks to Rachel Feerick, scientist in residence, for arranging this wonderful opportunity.)

More details including registration are below.

Forest Health and the Energy Connection: Leveraging Your School Site to Save Energy
Join LEAF and KEEP to explore the intersection between energy conservation and forest health. Your urban forest is a powerful tool improving your community’s air and water quality, reducing heating and cooling needs, and curbing greenhouse gas emissions. We’ll demonstrate how to conduct tree inventories on your school grounds then apply the ecosystem benefits derived to evaluate your school building’s energy management opportunities. You’ll become connected to two online civic science tools for the classroom, the Wisconsin Community Tree Map from the WDNR, and PLT’s Teaching with i-Tree, as well as receive training using professional forestry and energy tools available for loan to your school. The workshop will include time for school site assessment and lesson planning, and a variety of ready-to-use activities and tools will be supplied so educators can integrate relevant lessons right away. Recommended for educators of grades 5-12. (Source DPI)

The workshop will be held on Saturday, February 1, 2020 From 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. in West Bend, WI, West Bend School District Outdoor Classroom Instructor: Kate Flick
Fee for NON-WBSD Educator: $35.00
https://wcee.asapconnected.com/ClassDetail.aspx?pk=1557532 
WBSD teachers will register for this workshop at no cost. Simply select “pay later” when prompted while registering.

Teacher Observations

FOR TEACHERS
As usual, principals have begun conducting teacher observations as part of the Educator Effectiveness process. Observations take place during a teacher's summative evaluation year. There are a number of differences between a walk-through and an observation. Also, an observation requires the teacher to complete the "Pre-Observation" form in My Learning Plan. The district has put together this short document with tips and information to help teachers through the observation process. We encourage you to check it out prior to having an observation. Please see your building administrator if you have questions about the observation process.

West Bend Students Place in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Art Contest

FOR ALL STAFF
The 36th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration was held on Sunday, January 19 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee. The program highlighted youth from Milwaukee Public Schools, Wauwatosa Public Schools, and West Bend Public Schools who interpreted Dr. King’s works through visual art, speech, and writing contests. This is the first year West Bend Schools participated in the contest. With more than 5,000 students entering, West Bend had two students place in the art contest. Placing second in the K-2 grades art contest is Imahdi Simond, a student at McLane Elementary. Placing third in the 9-12 grades art contest is Sa'maia Evans, a freshman at West High School. Congratulations to our students and their teachers.

Window Closing on the Wellbeing Survey

FOR ALL STAFF
Just a reminder that the Wellbeing Survey is currently open for all staff to complete. If you haven't already completed the survey, we encourage you to take the time to provide feedback. The deadline to submit is Friday, January 24. See more information below.

Wellbeing Survey
Your wellbeing is important to your health and happiness as well as the district’s success. The district’s goal is to provide wellness and insurance programs that are best aligned to you and your family’s needs.

The district would like to learn a little bit about you, and how we can provide a positive health and wellness experience to our staff. The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. It will be anonymous and all answers are confidential.

ALL STAFF ARE INVITED to participate in the survey.

You can find the survey at this link.

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback!

Get $100 for using Smart Choice MRI

FOR EMPLOYEES ON THE DISTRICT HEALTH PLAN
Beginning with MRI service dates after January 1, 2020, the district has increased the incentive to utilize Smart Choice for each MRI. The incentive will now be $100 for each MRI completed at a Smart Choice location. Not only does utilizing Smart Choice for your MRI needs earn you incentive, you are also experiencing an approximate 18% savings based on average costs per MRI service.


Review the MRI flyer and a Smart Choice MRI wallet card on the HR Intranet under the Health & Prescription Drug Insurance page for more information.

Please note: Incentives will be paid out on a quarterly basis based on service dates. When the incentive is paid, you will be notified via email.