Team,
Inquiry at QUEST
Our QUEST learning community is diving deep, thanks to our School Improvement Team, into the topic of Inquiry.
When it comes to school-wide goals, the blog is one communication tool that our school uses to eschew confusion and to teach. For those that were not able to join us at the staff meeting, please check out the contents by clicking here!
Celebrations @ QUEST!
As an IB, PYP school, our charge is to have a culture, and to develop a culture, of international mindedness. What does this mean for how we approach celebrations?
QUESTions to chew on:
-In your learning space, do you discuss how celebrations look different around the world?
-What we see from a celebration is just the top of the iceberg (traditions, food, dances, songs...). How do we help students to see that values underpin each celebration?
-Do we only point out celebrations that we hold? Or do we help students connect, compare, and process the connection between one's cultural celebrations with those of others?
As we approach this holiday season, I am proud of the fact that I have witnessed some of these conversations. We have a charge to help our students to be internationally minded, and this starts with helping our learners see how people around the world celebrate at various times, and the role those celebrations play in their life.
TPT Update
At this time, access to the
website Teachers Pay Teachers is
still suspended by the District following an attempted ransomware
attack through a download from the website. At this time, other districts
in Monroe County as well as districts in surrounding counties and BOCES regions
have also suspended use of the site.
As we have researched this
situation, it is important to note that the following was found in the Teachers
Pay Teachers Terms of Service under Item 8 "Limitation of Liability and
Warranty." The direct quote from this document is below, with underline
formatting added to the area relative to ransomware:
"We make no
guarantees respecting the availability of the services, the security
of the services at any particular time or from any particular location, the
correction of any defects or errors, existence of any viruses or other
harmful materials, or any other guarantees."
As shared in prior
communications, we do not have a Data Privacy Agreement as required by New York
Ed Law 2D on file with Teachers Pay Teachers. Staff and students were logging
in to the site, sharing data while doing so. In addition, Teachers Pay Teachers
also works with third party services, which may result in data shared to those
services as well.
If you completed the form
indicating you would like assistance in extracting your files, you will be
contacted by email from a Technology Department staff member to set up a time
(taken into account the availability you shared) to complete this process. We
anticipate the process from start to finish can be completed within a half
hour. Our goal through this process is to support impacted staff members
by implementing a secure, safe process to help users retrieve saved files
that are currently in
individual Teachers Pay Teachers accounts.
Kristy Shafer
Walkthroughs, Unannounced
Those teachers that have Derek as a supervisor, and are tenured, will receive an unannounced walkthrough sometime between January and March. I will be starting these after the break with the goal to complete all walkthroughs by the end of March.
QUEST Playbook, Mid-Year Review: How are we doing?
We have made great strides this year on our actions, as outlined on our QUEST Playbook. We will be hitting some more of the items as we move into 2023.
Some coming attractions:
- Culture based principal challenges will be back in 2023!
- Our MTSS team will be looking at school-wide data after the January assessments!
- SIT's Tier 1 focus is Inquiry. We will continue to hit inquiry from different angles as a school community.
- Teams will continue to have some time for team development and unpacking the profiles, through a continuum approach, at level meetings!
Phone Voicemail
Subject: Voicemail Change over notice – Action Required
To All Employees with a Voicemail Box,
Our current Voicemail system is no longer supported by the
vendor. As a result, and to continue receiving support, we need to migrate to
another supported solution.
Relcom (our phone provider) is performing all work
necessary for this migration.
On Thursday, December 22nd, the district will be moving over
to a new voicemail system.
Any new or saved messages you have in your current mailbox
will NOT be moved over to the new voicemail system. You will also be
required to setup your voice mailbox prior to cut over on the 22nd of December.
Prior to Thursday before break, please document all
important new or saved messages. This should be done by 4 pm on Thursday,
December 22nd.
Starting on Monday, December 5th, your new voice
mailbox will be available to set up. A temporary password is used to access
your mailbox initially, this temporary password is the same as your mailbox
number.
You will then have to follow all the steps to properly set
up your new voicemailbox.
A training document is attached that provides step by step
instructions in setting up your new voicemail.
If you are in a room with a shared phone and mailboxes, you
will receive a separate email with additional instructions.
