Weekly Update for Week of 3/20/23

 Team, 

What a wild week this was at QUEST. Again, thank you for coming together to work as a team. You are all phenomenal professionals. 

Emergency Responses

Below are some general Q and A related to our evacuation yesterday. In addition, at the bottom of the post is a link for a feedback form if you would like to share additional ideas. 

Why did we go to the front of the school? 

We went to the front of the school with anticipation of jumping on buses. In a typical evacuation, please continue to go to your designated spot. If that plan has to change, it will be communicated. 

Why did we not use Navigate?

We never use Navigate for evacuations, we have only drilled using it for lockdowns. Because Navigate is not required on cellphones, because there are service issues, and because it is most efficient to have kids line up by class for attendance (as drilled), Navigate is not the best method for our evacuations. In the future, we will continue to not use Navigate for evacuations…only for lockdowns so that we can communicate with you and do a head count  if you are locked in a hall or classroom area. 

How would it be different if it was just our school that evacuated and needed to go home? 

If we needed to leave QUEST, we would head over to Village Elementary to occupy their gym… and would prepare to send kids home from there. Or, if it made more sense, we would dismiss like we did yesterday. It really will depend on the scenario and no two scenarios are the same. The key is to default to your training…take attendance, wait patiently for further directions. And as we modeled yesterday, keep kids calm by modeling calm. 

What are some next steps?

In the event that technology does not work, we have created folders to bring outside with us. This labels a pick-up area, has all emergency contact printed out, and has additional class rosters (outside of the rosters listed on our emergency green and red cards). 

What would have happened if it had rained? 

If it was raining or poor conditions, we would have still gone outside. We would have definitely gotten wet, but we would still make sure kids got on buses safely. 

More ideas on how to improve?

Please take the time, if you wish, to share any feedback that we can use to grow. 

CLICK HERE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK! 

CIA Tuesday

When: March 28th at 7:50

Go directly to your assigned circle location: 

28-Mar	Facilitator	Facilitator	Facilitator	Facilitator
	Derek	Liz Thornton	Julie Forgione	Kristy Shafer
	Location	Location	Location	Location
	Cafe	Library	greg Booth's room	Gym
	Staff Members	Staff Members	Staff Members	Staff Members
	Julie Blandford;	Ashley Slaby	Nicole DiBattisto	Alicia Francesca
	Annie Yensan Kelsey Reese	Kelsey Rising	Ashley Pierri	Amy Firkins
	Emily Tracey	Katie PJ	Karen Velyk	LaDonna Howell
	Paige Langswager	Carol Jones	Barb Jones	Mary Elias
	Kennedy Johannes	Emma Monfiletto	Danielle Duffy	Dave Moore
	Loni Butlin	Brenda Carpenter	Nate Gibbs	Brenna Healey
	John Weingart	Anna Kingdollar	Heidi Lancia	Shalyn Pestilli
	Jessica Pignato	Jim DePrez	Jacob Farrell	Shana Kohler
	Cathy Lippincott	Judy Fuller	Greg Booth	Rebecca Bauman
	Elizabeth Hardie	Valerie McCormick	Lance Trott	Sayra Ford
		Jennifer Donovan	Candace Henry	Sarah Butler

Feedback 

Below is a link where I cut and pasted from messages I received. I had several calls and parents at morning band also saying thanks to our team. Just wanted to share the appreciation that is out there for you should you be interested in reading it. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aKkbJVhoUxia8Om5zVj4vZllkowg1EXK8zTo6tYTaIw/edit?usp=sharing

Weekly Updates for Week of 3/13/23

 Team, 

Walking? Challenge Coming Up!

In the spirit of fun and health, as provided by our health committee, I found 8 ways to increase your daily steps. The amount of steps we take in a day has a direct connection with overall health and wellbeing. Consider how you can add more steps to your day...every little step counts! 

Taken from: https://www.patientfirst.com/blog/8-ways-to-increase-your-daily-step-count

1. Utilize Your Lunch Break

Most jobs provide a thirty minute to hour lunch break, but there are many Americans who do not utilize their break. Try grabbing your lunch and walking to a more scenic location to eat. Even if you need to eat at your desk due to scheduling constraints, find another time during the day when you can take your break and step away for a quick walk. Twenty minutes of brisk walking will knock out a fifth of your daily recommended steps.

2. Take the Stairs

Elevators and escalators are great inventions to help us reach high-level floors and transport heavy items floor to floor. But these modern marvels don’t do much for your daily step count! Instead, take the stairs when possible. On average, you can add 270 steps to your day with each minute spent climbing stairs.

3. Pace Around

Pacing may seem like an awkward habit, but your steps quickly add up! Think of all the daily tasks you do while standing still and resolve to move around instead. In the two minutes it takes to brush your teeth, you can add up to 240 steps on average. You can also pace while you wait for the elevator, your lunch order, while your food microwaves – the options are endless!

4. Go the Distance

How often do you drive around the parking lot looking for a premium spot? Next time you go to the store, or arrive at your office, save some gas and park farther away! Pick the farthest space from the door that you can find, maybe on the opposite side of the building. If you happen to live close by your destination, walk there rather than driving. Just don’t forget to wear your mask!

5. Take Calls on the Move

If you have a work cellphone, this small change of habit can easily be a huge step towards your 10,000 step goal. Even if your business calls are restrained to the desk, you can pace in place at your desk and take personal calls on-the-go. Even if you just have time to make it around the block once, you’ll add about 200 steps on average.

6. Take the Long Way

Heading down the hall to refill your coffee cup or to the copy machine? On the way to the restroom? Take the long way, or choose the farthest coffee station or restroom from your desk. This will allow you to get in extra steps a few times a day during your usual routine. Bonus points if you are home and can incorporate your staircase!

7. Set an Alarm

Set an alarm on your phone or watch to remind you to get up and get active at least once during your workday. Walk from one end of the building to the other and back again. Even if it is to just take a quick lap around your work area, you’ll rack up the steps by the end of the day.

8. Walk it out

If you have a dog, or even a walking buddy, take a walk together every day! Whether it’s a nightly after-dinner activity, or a brisk way to start your morning, you’ll both enjoy the fresh air, and you’ll surely add up steps in no time!

Bonus idea: 

Walk 5 minutes 6 times a day. 5 minutes when you wake up. 5 minutes when you arrive at work. 5 minutes on your lunch. 5 minutes before you go home. 5 minutes after dinner. These little short bursts add up to a 30 minute daily walk. That will be an additional 1.5-2 miles of walking at an average pace! 

Office of Instruction--Communication Tools

Exploration of Communication Apps

Over the course of the 22-23 school year, we have been in conversation around our methods for communication between district employees and students and their families. As a District, we encourage consistent communication between school and home to support our students in a variety of ways. Currently, the district provides staff with a number of communication tools to maintain home to school contact: classroom phones, district email, in person meetings, Infinite Campus, and Google Classroom. However, we understand that many staff members seek alternate forms of efficient communication.

As a district, we want to be able to provide our staff members with a safe and secure way to communicate with students or their families. Our goal is to provide all staff members access to a paid communication tool to utilize for any direct staff to student or staff to family communication by August 1, 2023.

The rationale for using one communication platform as a district includes:

• Providing a safe, secure communication tool for staff to use in communication with students and families
• EdLaw 2D compliant
• Record keeping capability to protect staff and students
• Road to Recovery alignment
• Can be used for announcements, updates, information sharing, communication needed outside District email, IC, Google Classroom, and phone calls
• Streamlining the communication tools for parents/guardians, which has been a request in recent surveys of the community
• Avoiding using personal cell phone numbers or private communication between staff and students, staff and families

While this tool will be available to all staff, staff members will have the choice whether or not to use the platform. However, outside of the chosen platform, the only acceptable modes of communication will be classroom phones, district email, in person meetings, Infinite Campus, and Google Classroom. Use of personal cell phone numbers and/or social media messaging from personal accounts will not be permitted between staff and students.

To determine the specific platform, we’ve researched seven different platforms to narrow the choices down to three. During the months of April and May, staff members from a variety of positions (teachers, coaches, club advisors, nurses, administration, and counselors) will be piloting platforms to provide the district with feedback. A decision on the platform is projected to be made by the end of the school year in June of 2023. Implementation of the platform will begin August 1st to ensure our fall coaches will be ready for their seasons, which begin prior to the start of the school year.

More information will be forthcoming this spring.

From our Tech. Friends

Weekly Update for Week of 3/6/23

 Team,

YOU are a Lead Learner

Please place this sticker on your laptop, a favorite water bottle, or at your workspace to remind yourself that YOU are a lead learner at QUEST. It takes ALL of us to model and lead the learning for our students. 

You will find the sticker in your mailbox. If you need an extra, don't hesitate to ask! 

Wellness=Happiness; Consider Joining

Good Morning QUEST!

 

Let's plan to kick off the Spring season with a Spring Fitness Challenge for staff members!  For this challenge, we will join as teams (based on location/pole) and track our steps. Winning team members will get an Amazon gift card! The challenge will begin on the first day of Spring (March, 20^th). 

 

If you'd like to participate, please fill in your name under your team on the attached google spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ks3ojTNuk4M2E5rdlAWiyxd2mtnnlVDa811vhp-PASk/edit?usp=sharing) by Friday, March 10th. If you are not located within a "pole", you can sign up under the "QUEST" team. Contact Tatiana Cross or Lance Trott ASAP if you need a step-tracking device (smartphones or watches can also be used to track your steps). The final spreadsheet will be released on 3/17 and it will include each participant's assigned step-tracking dates. Every participant will be given one to two dates to track their total steps and will fill in their total step count next to that date in the spreadsheet. You will only have to track your steps for 1-2 assigned days and not for each day of the challenge. The total number of steps for each team will be calculated at the end of the challenge. 

 

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to your building Fitness and Wellness Committee representatives (Tatiana Cross and Lance Trott). We hope that you look forward to a friendly team-based competition with our wellness challenge! 

 

Cheers,

Tatiana Cross

Quest Representative of the HCSD District Fitness & Wellness Committee

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ks3ojTNuk4M2E5rdlAWiyxd2mtnnlVDa811vhp-PASk/edit?usp=sharing

From the Office of Instruction

Good afternoon, 

 

As was shared during staff meetings this winter, the Hilton School District will be transitioning to Computer Based Testing for all 3-8 state assessments and the NYSITELL/NYSESLAT assessments in Spring 2024. 

 

In preparation for this shift, we are seeking input regarding staff and student needs to ensure a smooth transition to CBT. To gather your feedback, we're using a tool called Thought Exchange. Participation in the Thought Exchange is both anonymous and voluntary. We hope that you will take a few moments to share your thoughts and suggestions with us so we can develop a transition plan considerate of a wide range of roles and perspectives. 

 

If you choose to participate in the Thought Exchange, you'll be asked to respond to one open-ended question and will have the opportunity to view and rate the comments/suggestions of other participants. Your thoughts and stars (ratings) are confidential. You can come back as often as you'd like to participate and, in fact, we ask that you return to star some of the new ideas shared since you first participated. The ratings will help us understand the most important areas on which to focus. The Thought Exchange will close on March 17, 2023.

 

To access the Thought Exchange, please use one of the options below:

• Click on the Link: https://tejoin.com/scroll/199172138 OR
• Mobile Text the 9-digit code 199-172-138 to the phone number 728-55 to get a link to participate in this Exchange OR
• Scan the QR Code below

 

From B and G 

Hilton Central School District

 

New York State Fire & Safety Regulations for Public Schools

 

1.       Emergency rescue paths to windows and doors must be free of obstructions.

 

2.       Corridor doors cannot be propped or held open with rocks, bungee cords, door wedges, etc.

 

3.       Access to fire extinguishers, fire pull stations, fire strobes, and electrical panel boxes must not be obstructed.

 

4.       The display of artwork and teaching materials cannot exceed 20% of any corridor wall or 50% of any classroom wall area. Artwork or teaching materials should not be displayed within 5 feet of a classroom door to the corridor. Decorations cannot be hung from ceilings or lights in any location. 3D decorations are not permitted.

 

5.       Artwork or teaching materials should not be attached to classroom or corridor doors as this practice impacts the fire rating of the door.

 

6.       Extension cords must be UL rated and used only as a temporary source of electricity.

 

7.       In no case should an extension cord or multi plug strip be daisy chained together (note multi-plug adapters are not allowed under any circumstance).

 

8.       Electrical equipment visibly damaged or non-functioning must be immediately removed from service.

 

9.       Entranceways, corridors, and stairwells must be free of furniture and materials, which impede egress.

 

10.   Storage in classrooms must provide 24” of clearance from ceilings. 

 

11.  Decorative lighting (Christmas lights, Lava lamps, mood lighting, etc.) cannot be utilized as permanent lighting. When approved for temporary use by your building Custodian, a visible UL tag must be attached.

 

12.   Curtains, drapes, and other fabric style decorations must be approved for use by your building Custodian, requires a “Class 1” fire rating certification, and should not be hung in a manner that would prevent visibility of emergency exits, emergency lighting, fire strobes, fire pull stations, and fire extinguishers.

 

13.  Portable electric heaters, air plug-ins, purifiers are not permitted.

 

14.  Only district-approved chemicals shall be used. Chemicals shall be stored as described in the district hazard communications plan. Flammables shall be kept in an approved flammable storage cabinet.

 

Weekly update for week of 2.27.23

 Lead Learners,

Principal Feedback Summary of Results

Thank you so much for all that took the time to provide me with feedback. I recognize that providing your principal with feedback is not always a past-time that we enjoy, however, your feedback allows me to reflect on who I am as a leader. Before I share the feedback, I spent time over break reflecting on it. 

My decided upon next steps: 

• I am going to find ways to add parent voice to our school a bit more. Although I do think our communication is a strength, I want to be sure parents feel trust with our school. I'm looking to add office hours, more school-wide volunteer opportunities, or collecting more parent feedback (like we did for the information night). 
• I am going to carve out 20 minutes one time per week where I will go around and just listen to kids. I'll ask questions about how we can make QUEST better for them. I'll ask how I can be a better principal. I'll ask what we can do with our environment to make school even better. I'll ask about our values. My goal is to have a 20 minute listening tour (hallways, lunch times, recesses, etc). 
• I'm going to focus on continued visibility. It appears like there is appreciation for that, and I want nothing more than for all of you to feel like I'm in this with you. Each spring it gets harder given the work load and meetings I get called to, but I'm going to try to keep this as a priority. 
• I'm going to organize payday community connection time (coffee again?). I don't want us to lose that sense of family, but we need to intentionally make time for one another outside of the constraints of our busy jobs. 
• I'm going to keep working alongside Mr. Booth to focus on teams, but will try to find ways to make the concept of teams larger than for those who have a meeting to attend weekly (lead learners=all; WE are QUEST with emphasis on capitalized WE). 

Here is the feedback summarized: 

Save the Date: Ride by through QUEST

Suicide Prevention Training Staff Meeting

When: 5/23 @ 7:50 am (staff meeting)

  During building staff meetings in the months of April and May, members of the District’s mental health team will be presenting an important training titled Suicide Safety for Teachers and School Staff.  This training has been developed by the Suicide Prevention Center of New York (SPC-NY) and is being delivered in accordance with newly updated Board of Education Policy 7590 Suicide Prevention and Intervention, which requires annual professional development on suicide and crisis intervention.  The training is intended to build basic understanding for all school staff with an emphasis on recognizing warning signs of youth suicide, understanding how and where to get support for students, and making a warm handoff of at risk-students to a mental health team member in the District.  With this knowledge, school staff will be able to contribute to a welcoming and affirming environment by helping students feel safe.  This training is not intended to teach school staff to provide mental health support or counseling to students.  Staff who may have difficulty attending a presentation related to suicide should communicate with their building principal or direct supervisor to discuss accommodations.   

From the Office of Instruction: District-Wide MTSS Update

As you may recall, a number of teachers attended a five-day MTSS training last year with Jim Wright to kick off the District’s work creating a Multi-Tier System of Support for students. At the conclusion of the 21-22 school year, members of Leadership Council conducted a self-assessment of Hilton’s current MTSS practices. Based on the results from the self-assessment, the Leadership Council has been working during the 22-23 school year on generating a multi-year plan to transition the district to full implementation of a Multi-Tier System of Support. We provided an overview of MTSS to all teaching staff during the afternoon of Superintendent’s Conference Day in October.

Below is a graphic to capture the major tenants of the plan for MTSS implementation. More information will be forthcoming throughout the spring.

LC – abbreviation for Leadership Council (Program Coordinators, IB Coordinators, Admin, Content Leaders and Liaisons)

LC subgroup – a subgroup of Leadership Council members and other volunteers

How are the commitments going? 

Weekly Update for week of 2/13/23

 Team, 

YOU are a Lead Learner...literally (now start labeling one another this!)

This summer, the content leaders and I were meeting and trying to think of a term we could use for everyone that works at QUEST. There feels like too much of divide when we label someone by job title, per the contract, only. We ALL have a chance to make a huge difference. We ALL have the power to model what learning looks like. We ALL have to work together if QUEST is going to be its best self. We ALL have to live the IB Profiles and AtL's. 

With that, one member recently read in a book on Inquiry (Curious Classroom) the idea of a Lead Learner. Given that we all are learners first, and our charge is to model learning no matter our job, this fits beautifully.

Call to action:
So join me in calling one another lead learners. Let's be radical and different. No more teacher, TA, custodian, secretary, principal, librarian. No, we are all lead learners at QUEST Elementary. 

Have a great day, Lead Learners! 

Inquiry

Please take a moment to explore slides 3 and 4 from SIT's Inquiry slideshow. 

click here to view slides 3 and 4! (images below)

Unannounced Walkthroughs

The original goal was to complete all unannounced walkthroughs by February break--not a chance! My hope is to complete all walkthroughs by the end of March. If you have not had one yet, thanks for your patience.  

Staff Meeting (CIA) 

We have a staff meeting at 7:50 on the Tuesday after break (2/28). Bring a marker! We will be creating some data worth looking at. 

Dr. K will be joining us. 

Three schools, One Book

Welcome to this year’s Three Schools, One Book project! We are very excited to announce that our text will be Masterpiece, By Elise Broach! All three elementary schools will be participating in reading this text together. We hope that our book is enjoyed by you and your student’s families as we go on this adventure with Marvin! The kickoff event, where we will share our book with the students will take place on Wednesday March 1^st in place of the Wednesday Morning Meeting.  We will be doing a “Sweet Time” style event, where students will choose an available room to sign up for that morning to watch a short introductory video, listen to that staff member read aloud the first chapter, and color a bookmark to go along with the text.  All supplies will be brought down to each classroom prior to the kickoff and a link will be sent out to share the introductory video.  We have included the link below to have staff members and students sign up for a location to read and complete the activities. Remember, the book is a secret until the reveal!

What we need from you:

-By Monday morning (2/27), please sign up, using the link below to host a spot to read and have students come to you for the kickoff. Any room with a working smartboard/promethean/projector will be able to be used! We are encouraging all staff to participate if you are able!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/141CHcceG4xTKfTcMwJDeUvnfT8sOzSrgmSC2qZOvjiI/edit?usp=sharing

-On Monday and Tuesday (2/27 & 2/28) please have students sign up for a location to go to on Wednesday morning.

           Books will be delivered to you with a list of students who will be receiving them for their family. As we have done in the past, books will be going to the youngest family member in the building.  Please hand these out Wednesday afternoon, before dismissal. 

-On Wednesday (3/1) An announcement will be made at 8:52ish for students to move to their assigned Kickoff location. Please have students bring a small number of coloring supplies with them to color their bookmark.  At 9:15 an announcement will be made to end our kickoff event and transition back to the respective classrooms. *Intermediate students can head right to specials if they have them. 

-On Thursday evening (3/2) families will officially begin reading the text. We will have daily chapter responses for students to complete and turn in for raffles.  Students may complete these and turn them in to the library.

-The book is longer so we will be reading it all month long ending on (3/29).

 

***FYI*** We have the very exciting opportunity to skype with the author, Elise Broach!!!!! Tentatively we are planning on March 24^th in the afternoon.  More details to come soon!

 

Any questions, please feel free to reach out!! We are looking forward to making this year’s project a success!!

 

Sincerely,

TSOB Committee

NYS Testing Dates

 NYS Testing dates for Spring 2023

 

ELA Test:           Wednesday, April 19th and Thursday, April 20th 

                             Make-Ups Monday, April 24 – Friday, April 28

 

Math Test:        Tuesday, May 2nd and Wednesday, May 3rd

                            Make-Ups Friday, May 5 – Thursday, May 11

Surplus Process for PTSO

 

Team,

 

Our PTSO has around 14k (now that I have your attention, please keep reading) in surplus that they are hoping to spend using their surplus expenditure process.

 

What is it?

The QUEST PTSO only wants to have 6-8k in surplus in their account. When they have more than that, they want to give it back to purchases that benefit the most students and the school at large. This does not occur each year, and the last time we had this process library furniture and ukuleles were purchased for our school.

 

What do I need to do?

If you, or a group of you,  are interested in submitting a proposal, review the Surplus Process Overview form found in the link below. Once you review that, you would  submit the Surplus Expenditure) Form (also in the link below) to your building principal for approval. Approved submissions will be sent to the PTSO where they will vote.

 

After I submit the form, does that mean I get whatever was requested?

No. Also in the link below, you will see the rubric used by the PTSO to decide. They only have a certain amount (this year, around 14k), so they aim to be thoughtful in their choices. Again, the goal is for the purchase to have a positive impact on the largest  amount of students.

 

When is this due:

Submissions are due to Derek by March 23^rd. They will be reviewing at the April meeting.

 

The long awaited link: click here

 

Weekly update for week of 2/6/23

Team,

Being Intentional

At the start of the year, our theme was to be intentional. How are you doing with that? On Tuesday, I noticed:

• People in the hallway greeting kids. That's intentional. 
• Students practicing their reading skills while walking to group (as shown on the right). That's intentional. 
• Learners having daily check-ins to support their SEL. That's intentional. 
• An IB team considering how we can intentionally add spanish to the day for our staff. That's intentional. 

I could go on and on and on. 

Our work matters. And although we do not always see the fruits of our work, our intentional choices have a great impact on our students' learning. 

Keep being intentional. WE are QUEST. 

From the Data Office

Beginning Monday, February 27, 2023, students will use Single Sign-On (SSO) with their Google account when accessing eDoctrina (orange button shown below). Staff will continue to use “Login with eDoctrina credentials (Admin only)”.

 

Quick To-Do Item

Please click on the link below and tell me: 

How would you know if you have a positive connection with a student? Later this month, we will be creating data and considering the connections our students have with all of us. But before we do that, we need to determine some success criteria for a connection. 

CLICK HERE

 

State Test Dates

ELA Test: Wednesday, April 19th; Thursday, April 20th 

Math Test: Tuesday, May 2nd and Wednesday, May 3rd 

GO QUEST MUSIC