Things I observed this week happening in our district ... DISTRICT - Transporting students on bus #72 (with Rita Engle) and bus #79 with Ken Gregones
ELEMENTARY - Third graders using PTLW (Project Lead the Way) Vex kits to build, experiment and learn about simple machines.
- Kindergartners in art class learning about mixing colors and painting scenes from the storybook Mouse Paint.
- iLab students building KEVA contraptions.
- 3rd graders involved in a narrative nonfiction expository writing unit.
- Winter Benchmarking taking place in our elementary buildings with our literacy tutors. This is a key assessment to measure progress which in turn helps drive literacy instruction moving forward.
- CVC (consonant vowel consonant) word patterns in Kindergarten.
- 1st graders working on opinion writing.
- A Winter Olympics choice board unit in media class.
- Learning about variables and programming with Sphero Bolts in iLab at Heritage.
MIDDLE SCHOOL - SMS students working on exponential equations
- Peer editing in 7th grade English class
- Intervals and trimester techniques in SMS band class
- Building toolboxes in Woods class at SMS
- A lesson in genetics in middle school science
- Using Photoshop to edit an MLK Jr. Day activity in Multimedia
HIGH SCHOOL - Students working in the EDGE (student store connected with the SHS Marketing Class) to sell merchandise.
- Students on set with the latest version of SHS Today
- Coding in AP Computer Science class.
- Building Voltmeters in Electronics class.
News and Notes Click HERE for the News and Notes for additional events and activities happening in the Saline Area Schools. Safety and Security - Meeting Recap A small, but important, group of community members joined SAS, Pittsfield and City of Saline officials to talk about safety and security in our school buildings. Topics covered included: - The jurisdictional agreement with Pittsfield, City of Saline and SAS regarding more seamless communication and action steps while engaged in crisis or emergency situations.
- How Students Resource Officers (SRO) help keep our schools safer.
- SAS safety and security plan overview (same presentation from the December 14th BOE meeting, but still very relevant)
SAS will continue to update and enhance our safety plans which includes ALICE training for all SAS staff. SAS COVID-19 Testing Updates Health Insurance companies are now required to cover the costs of at-home Covid tests https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/01/10/biden-harris-administration-requires-insurance-companies-group-health-plans-to-cover-cost-at-home-covid-19-tests-increasing-access-free-tests.html Access to free Covid tests can be found below: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/us/politics/government-website-covid-tests.html COVID-19 Phase: High Transmission As of January 21st, Washtenaw County is currently in the "HIGH" phase of COVID-19 transmission. We encourage you to continue to monitor your student for symptoms. We will be requiring and enforcing mask wearing for all students and staff in all grades in this “high” phase of COVID-19 transmission. With the more contagious variant, the current recommendation is to double mask, wear a surgical mask or a KN95 type of mask. We will continue to provide masks for students who do not bring them on their own. Please reference the CDC COVID-19 Data Tracker for more details. Although we continue to experience a high number of covid cases in our schools, the number has decreased significantly from our return from Winter Break on January 3rd. Therefore, we believe we are moving in a downward trend of cases which will translate to more students and staff returning to in-person instruction. HERE is the link to the daily updated Covid-19 Dashboard which includes the number of new cases per school building and the number of staff/students in isolation. To see daily numbers in comparison to previous days, THIS dashboard captures Archived Daily Covid Data. Upcoming Events January 25 - Board of Education Meeting 6:30 PM at Liberty School in the BOE Room| Livestream Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxfiOkGDnSQ
Stephen D. Laatsch, PhD Superintendent Saline Area Schools, The Pursuit of Excellence 7265 Saline-Ann Arbor Road, Saline, Michigan 48176 Voice: (734) 401-4001 Email: laatschs@salineschools.org Twitter: @educatesaline |