November 4, 2009
The 2009 Summit results and review
McNary High School's auditorium filled up as more than 300 people came to the fourth annual School Talk Summit held by Salem-Keizer Public Schools on October 21. Superintendent Sandy Husk shared her State of the District address that updated audience members on district progress towards student achievement and on construction bond projects.
“This event allowed me to highlight just some of our successes and also some of our challenges in the upcoming years,” said Husk. “I have a great appreciation for all of you who took the time to come, to learn, and to interact with us.”
This minute-long video was shown during Sandy's presentation. Listen to Lauren from McNary High School share her story about education.
This is just one of our 40,000 students. If we took the time to watch a video of each one of our students talking for one minute, the video would run nonstop for 28 days!
After the State of the District address, audience members provided feedback about Salem-Keizer schools and the quality of education in a live feedback session. Sixteen questions were asked of the audience and they used remote clickers to provide instant, anonymous answers. Internet users also provided feedback through an online survey.
The final portion of the evening included an open-mic session where Husk and School Board Chairperson Steve Chambers fielded questions from the audience.
View and download survey results [101KB PDF]
Here is one more student interview. Listen to Jose from North Salem High School share his story about education and his goals for the future.
November 12 - Crystal Apple Awards Ceremony
Fifty-five local educators have been nominated for a Crystal Apple Award, an annual honor celebrating educational excellence in Salem-Keizer.
The 2009 list of nominees includes teachers, counselors, instructional assistants, office managers and administrators, all the professionals who help make a school tick. Of the 55 nominees, 50 are employees of the Salem-Keizer School District and five are from area private schools.
Between now and the event, a Crystal Apple delegation will visit each nominee’s work place to present a nomination certificate and crate of school supplies.
Tickets are on sale now for $15 per person. They can be purchased at the Elsinore Box Office, by phone with a credit card at (503) 375-3574, online at www.ticketwest.com, and at all Tickets West locations. All seating is reserved.
The 13th annual event is set for November 12 at Salem’s historic Elsinore Theater.
Click Here [167 KB PDF] to view and download the list of this year's nominees.
Employee Self Service is now live
Through the district's commitment to provide you with the best customer service, you now have access to an automated Employee Self Service program. This tool will allow you access to your payroll/human resource information online.
While using this program, you can view your name, address, phone number, dependent information as well as your pay history, leave accruals, leave balances, and much more.
ESS is a web based tool that is only accessible through the use of a district computer. You will not be able to access this information from your personal home computer.
Instructions can be found in the QAM form directory.
A link for MSS/ESS is available on the district Web site home page. Select Staff, then Employee Self Service.
http://ess/mss/
We hope you will find this information useful and look forward to hearing feedback on how ESS works for you.
Direct deposit statement through e-mail
The district prints over 5,000 direct deposit earnings statements (advices) every month. If these could be e-mailed to each employee, there would be major savings in paper and ink, as well as time spent stuffing, sealing and delivering these advices to employees. We plan to start this process with the November 30, 2009 paycheck.
If you would like to participate, download this authorization form, fill it out electronically, print and then sign and send to the Payroll department. You can e-mail your signed enrollment form saved as a PDF copy to Terri Unck (unck_terri@salkeiz.k12.or.us) in Business Services. You may also fax it 503-399-3407 or send it in via in-district mail. You can sign up at any time, but the form needs to be into the Payroll department by the 15th of the month for the e-mail to be available for the that month.
The e-mail will contain a password protected PDF file which can be accessed using the last four digits of your social security number. The direct deposit advice does not contain your social security number, just your employee ID. So, even if someone found out your password and opened the e-mail, they would not get your full social security number through this process.
During a pilot of this process, we found out that you will receive this e-mail as soon as we process direct deposits. This processing is done several days in advance of payday to give us lead time to deliver the advices and checks to the school. Please understand that just receiving the e-mail does not mean that you have the direct deposit in your bank account. The funds will not be available until the payroll check date – usually the last day of the month unless it is a weekend or holiday. The e-mail that you get will state the actual payroll date when funds are available.
The direct deposit e-mail you will receive is more detailed than what you will see on Employee Self Service. However, ESS has the ability for you to look at your checks going back to July 30, 2008, when the district started using MUNIS payroll. It has other options such as being able to view your leave balances, view your name, address, phone number, and dependent information.
Please note the direct deposit advice e-mail will come to your district e-mail address. This cannot be changed to your personal e-mail address. However, you can always forward this e-mail to your home e-mail address if you would like.
If you have any questions, please contact the payroll department 503-399-3016.
Children's author Helen Ketteman visits Harritt
Helen Ketteman, picture-book author, visited several Salem-Keizer elementary schools during the last week of October. At Harritt Elementary School, she shared her books, experiences, and tips on writing with hundreds of students.
"Everybody has stories in them, and everyone can tell them well," said Ketteman after reading one of her books to a group of students. "Your imagination is like anything else; the more you use it, the better you get at it."
The children's author projected images from her books on a large screen while she read her books. She also shared writing examples of her work, complete with revision notes.
"You can do anything you set your mind to," said Ketteman. "Just work hard and don't give up!"
District offers flu reminders
We are experiencing higher than normal absentee rates at some schools on some days. We know that a number are reported to be due to flu-like symptoms. Health officials have told us that H1N1 is the most prevalent flu so far this season. There are some steps you can take to reduce the spread of flu regardless of which strain it might be:
- Remind your student to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol based hand rub.
- Remind your student not to share personal items like drinks, food, or unwashed utensils, and to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues. Covering up their coughs or sneezes using the elbow, arm or sleeve instead of the hand when a tissue is unavailable.
- Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit, 37.8 degrees Celsius or greater), cough, sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea. They should not treat flu like symptoms with aspirin or aspirin-containing products due to the risk of Reye syndrome.
- Keep sick students at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have fever or do not have signs of fever, without using fever-reducing drugs. Keeping students with a fever at home will reduce the number of people who may get infected.
- Do not send students to school if they are sick. Any students who are determined to be sick while at school will be sent home.
Also, if your student is ill, regardless of whether he or she is at higher risk of complications from the flu, watch for the following and seek medical care right away from his or her doctor if he or she has:
- Fast breathing or trouble breathing
- Bluish or gray skin color
- Not drinking enough fluids
- Severe or persistent vomiting
- Not waking up or not interacting
- Increasing irritability
- Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough.
If your student is at higher risk of complications from flu, he or she should be medically evaluated as soon as possible. Children under the age of 5 years, pregnant women, people of any age with chronic medical conditions (such as pulmonary disease, including asthma, diabetes, neuromuscular disorders or heart disease), and people age 65 years and older are more likely to get complications from the flu.
If you have questions, please contact your health care provider or our Nurse Help line at 503-399-3376.
Poll: Did you get more sleep due to daylight saving time?
Caption This!
MUNIS: The Abridged Version
Jason Swank, Microcomputer Support @ Technology and Information Services
Oh! I'm looking forward to a little light reading before my next class!
Anna Hunter, LRC Teacher @ Lake Labish & Keizer Elementary
Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Mrs. Ubershire listens intently as Sponge Bob translates the MUNIS manual to her.
Denise Quinn-Nanke, Senior Secretary @ Facilities and Planning
Now what page did she say the Easy Button instructions were on?
Nancy Dickerman, School Office Specialist @ Houck Middle School
And then, the big bad MUNIS huffed, and puffed, and blew the house down!
Mona Kanner, Teacher @ Waldo Middle School
Next time on Caption This!
Going the Distance
En Uk
Custodian 1
Daryl Calfee
Custodian 2
Yoshikai Elementary School
The staff at Yoshikai Elementary would like to recognize En Uk and Daryl Calfee with the Going the Distance Award! Here are some words from Yoshikai staff about their custodians.
En and Daryl are amazing! They are the hardest workers in our building. Whenever I need anything they are there to do it. I don't know how they are able to accommodate everyone, but they do! I feel so lucky to work in a building where even our custodians are putting kids first and doing whatever they can to make sure learning is happening.
Daryl and En always go above and beyond what they have to do. They are always willing to help with any situation no matter how big or small. They keep our school clean, orderly, and running smoothly.
Each person who enters our building comments that it looks like new. We have to reply that it's not new, but Daryl and En keep it looking that way with all their care and diligent work. At the beginning of every school year they are there to help us reorganize our rooms if needed! Daryl and En makes working here better and easier!
Submitted by: Yoshikai Elementary School staff
Laura Espinoza
Instructional Assistant
Hallman Elementary School
We proudly nominate Laura Espinoza for the Going the Distance award. Ms. Espinoza is a valued staff member in the Hallman community. She is an inspiration to all of us. Laura is respected by students, parents and staff. She is a natural teacher and leader by heart. Her enthusiasm and love for learning motivates students to work to their potential. Her deep commitment to student achievement is apparent in all of the activities she is involved in such as: providing childcare for parents so that they can attend school functions, being an instructor for Enrichment Academy, teaching Spanish literacy to a small group of students, and improving her education by taking evening classes. Laura is always there whenever you need her. It is with great pleasure that we nominate Laura Espinoza for the Going the Distance award. Thank you Laura for all that you do!
Submitted by: Angelica Gloria, Aline Bouhey, Jessica Hoffmeister, Shirley Certain, and Teresa Hartlerode