Friday Memo - December 11, 2020

Important dates

December 18 - installation date for fillable water station in 8th grade hallway

December 21 to January 3 - Winter Break (THANK YOU DR. SIMPSON!)

January 4 - Records Day & Hixson/Steger staff surprise...shhhhhhh!

January 11 - Faculty Meeting with Alive and Well, 3:45 pm to 4:45 pm

January 20 - Picture retake day

Hixson Educator Award
Congratulations again to Leslie Creath for being awarded the Hixson Educator Award. Click HERE to read all about the amazing contributions that Leslie makes to the Hixson community. Leslie, we are grateful for you!

Summer School
Summer school planning will be under way when we return from winter break. Please email me if you are interested in teaching summer school, working as support staff, or if you are interested in being an administrative intern.

Question to ponder

There are technology refreshes on the horizon for Hixson and Steger. We are not quite there yet, but I would like to start getting feedback from staff on the following question:

• If budget were not an issue, what type of technology would you want for your classroom or for use in your role at Hixson? Click HERE to submit your feedback! Please note, the survey is optional. (I am very serious about this question!)

Requesting time off
Please make sure that you read and understand the district policies regarding leave/personal time. Those policies are included below. Please submit requests for time off in a timely fashion, when possible. This puts us in the best position possible to cover your class.

Policy GCBDA: PROFESSIONAL STAFF SHORT-TERM LEAVES

Policy GDBDA: SUPPORT STAFF LEAVES

PRE-APPROVED ABSENCES FORM

DOMAIN 1: HIXSON & COVID-19

Tech Tip
From Adam Vorel - "*Archaic tech tip* Did you know you can wash your whiteboard expo erasers instead of buying new ones?! Soap, water, and a little scrubbing in the sink - then BAM - good as new! Wild!"

Water bottles, disinfectant wipes, and fillable water station
If you have a student who needs a water bottle, please contact the office and we will have one delivered to the student. If you are in need of disinfectant wipes, please come pick some up from the office. We have more containers of wipes coming from Central Office. We will be getting another fillable water station installed at Hixson on December 18 at 7:00 am. It will be installed in the 8th grade hallway. The plan is to get more of these throughout the building. It will be a slow process since they continue to be on back order.

Protocol for teaching remotely 
Click HERE to access the protocol for teaching remotely.

Protocol for substitute teachers who will cover virtual classes
Please read the information below regarding how we will handle/support substitute teachers who need to cover virtual classes. 

IF we have a sub who needs to teach via Zoom:

1. The classroom teacher must add Sarah Magruder as a co-host to the Zoom so that she can start the Zoom classes, if necessary.

2. Sarah Magruder will assign a hixsonsub1(through10)@wgcloud.org to the primary teacher.

3. The primary teacher needs to then make the hixsonsub(NUMBER ASSIGNED)@wgcloud the cohost on Zoom.

4. Sarah Magruder then assigns the sub covering for the virtual class the sub wgcloud email address

5. and password to login to Zoom with. The sub will log into Zoom using the hixsonsub(NUMBER)@wgcloud.org assigned to them by Sarah Magruder.

1. https://zoom.us/signin

1. example: username: hixsonsub1@wgcloud.org password WGSD2021!

6. IF more than one sub will be teaching via Zoom for the primary teacher then the primary teacher will

7. need to add the appropriate hixsonsub(number)@wgcloud.org as cohost to their Zoom sessions.

We have a total of 10 Sub accounts setup in wgcloud to use. 

DOMAIN 2: HIXSON & EQUITY

Alive and Well

The Webster Groves School District is requiring all schools to consult with Alive and Well, which is an organization that provides consulting services and professional development to schools regarding trauma informed care. Originally, the Alive and Well consultants assigned to Hixson were going to present to our staff on November 9, but with our return to school, that presentation has been moved to January 11. 

Alive and Well is also collecting baseline data from all Webster schools regarding trauma informed care. Please take a moment to take this anonymous SURVEY. It will be due by the end of the day on January 4th.

DOMAIN 3: HIXSON & STEGER

Transition Task Force Updates
On Monday evening, I presented to the district Curriculum Coordinating Council regarding new elective course offerings for Hixson next year. The information was very well received by the group. The presentation that I delivered on Monday can be found HERE. Please review it and let me know if you have any questions.

Equity - The Equity group of the Transition Task Force is seeking your feedback on the current state of equity at Hixson. Please complete the anonymous survey by December 18, 2020. The Equity work group will use the information to help inform plans for the 2021-2022 school year.

Rebranding & Campus Beautification - This group has launched a Hixson Logo Re-design contest as part of our rebranding efforts. This new logo will go on our letterhead, spirit wear, the new gym floor, signage and more! Please visit the Hixson website for more information.