WEEKLY BULLETIN for Week Beginning 10.19.20

  

CALL TO ACTION

Every week, I will share with you a ‘Call To Action’ around our school goals that will help drive our work for that week.

 

Call To Action #1

Get to know the students that you teach, counsel or interact with – when you show this care and take the time to get to know your students.  This time and energy will pay off - when they are in crisis, they will trust you enough to confide in you and you will be able to help them.

 

Call To Action #2

If you see a student in crisis or not doing what they are supposed to be doing, make sure you fill out a referral using the Data Dashboard, but also reach out to the students’ family with a call.

 

 

 

 

POSITIVE COVID TEST – NEXT STEPS

I hope you received a message that one member of our school community has tested positive for COVID-19.  The school community member was tested during our random COVID testing that took place this past Tuesday.  At this time, this is the only confirmed case at the school. We are quickly taking all appropriate action and following rigorous protocols developed by the NYC Test + Trace Corps, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health), and the New York City Department of Education (DOE).  I know we all were dreading this news, but it was probably inevitable considering the increased cases around NYC.

Out of an abundance of caution, here is what will happen next to safeguard the health of our school community: 

□ All students and teachers in the affected class(es) with the individual who tested positive are considered “close contacts,” and have been notified of the need to quarantine for 14 days since the last contact with the person who tested positive.  These students and teachers will transition to fully remote teaching and learning for this period.

The NYC Test + Trace Corps and NYC Health will complete their investigation to identify and notify any other close contacts in the building, who will also need to quarantine for 14 days.

□ Anyone with a positive COVID-19 test will not return to the school and will be safely separated, until they are no longer infectious. In order to protect the privacy of the individual who has tested positive, we cannot share additional details about the case.

□ We will share physical and mental health and wellness resources for you and your child. COVID-19 can be stressful for you and your loved ones. It is natural to feel overwhelmed, sad, anxious and afraid. We want to ensure you can access helpful resources for coping and reducing stress.

While New Yorkers have done an outstanding job fighting the virus, leading to extremely low infection rates citywide, COVID-19 is still active in our city, state and our country. There will be cases of COVID-19 this school year; we know this, and all of our protocols have been in service of fighting this virus. Our job is to swiftly and effectively handle any cases that appear and be transparent every step of the way. That is what we are doing today.

We know a lot more than we did in March about how to protect each other from the virus and it’s critical that we continue to act to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our schools. All of us must remember to follow these important “Core Four” actions to prevent COVID-19 transmission: 

□ Stay home if sick: Monitor your and your child’s health and stay home if you are sick or keep them home if they are sick, except for getting essential medical care (including COVID-19 testing) and other essential needs.

□ Physical distancing: Stay at least 6 feet away from people who are not members of your household.

□ Wear a face covering: Protect those around you. Wearing a face covering helps reduce the spread of COVID-19, especially if you are sick and don’t have symptoms. For more information about face coverings, visit nyc.gov/health/coronavirus and look for "FAQ About Face Coverings."

□ Practice healthy hand hygiene: Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available; clean frequently touched surfaces regularly; avoid touching your face with unwashed hands; and cover your cough or sneeze with your arm, not your hands.

We will continue to closely follow directions from public health experts and proactively update you on any measures we are taking.  The health and safety of our students and staff and everyone in the DOE family across the city, is our top priority. We are committed to ensuring you have the information you need on COVID-19 as we continue to navigate this public health emergency together.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions. For additional information on COVID-19, visit schools.nyc.gov/coronavirus or call 311. Finally, to ensure we can rapidly reach you via text and email, please set up a New York City Schools Account (NYCSA) as soon as possible by visiting schools.nyc.gov/nycsa.

Thank you for your cooperation. Health and safety will always come first at HSFI and in all New York City public schools, no matter what.

 

 

 

GUIDANCE VIRTUAL WEBSITE

Please take a look at the Guidance Virtual Website created by Ms. Padron where students can look up important information and make appointment with their counselors. Teachers should free to post this on their Google Classrooms to raise student awareness of this valuable resource:

www.tinyurl.com/hsfiguidancehome

 

 

 

COLLEGE LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

This is Letter of Recommendation season!

Here's the training SCOIR College Recommendations video: https://vimeo.com/415356548/b536589846

 

 

 

HSFI’s RACE & EQUITY WORK CONTINUES…

HSFI CULTURAL CONNECTIONS CLASSROOM

We would like to introduce you to the HSFI Cultural Connections Classroom!  On this page you will find resources to guide your culturally responsive teaching practices.  These resources are a small piece of our overall work and mission to be more cognizant in our planning as it relates to students and their experiences.  We know many of you also have great resources and this is a great forum to share those with our HSFI community. 

 

The materials currently uploaded are aligned to the NYS Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education (CR-SE) framework which helps educators create student-centered learning environments that: affirm racial, linguistic and cultural identities; develop student' abilities to connect across lines of difference; elevate historically marginalized voices; prepare students for rigor and independent learning; and empower students as agents of social change.

The New York State guidelines for culturally responsive-sustaining education are rooted in a vision of an education system that fosters:

-Students who experience academic success

-Students who are socio-politically conscious and socio-culturally responsive

-Students who have a critical lens through which they challenge inequitable systems of access, power, and privilege.

 

 

 

OCTOBER WELLNESS WORKSHOPS FROM TEEN CHOICE

We are excited to announce a series of four grade-level workshops focused on issues of wellness for adolescents.  These workshops are intended to help students develop new skills related to their personal, academic, and social well-being.  The workshops will be led by our Teen Choice Site Coordinator, Ed Reyes.  All students are welcome to attend their grade-level workshop. 

Topics that will be discussed include suicide awareness and prevention, bullying prevention (Respect for All), LGBTQ allies and support, domestic violence, and breast cancer awareness. 

 

Students will have an opportunity to engage in brief discussions and activities that highlight awareness around these important issues in our society.  The Teen Choice team will also have an activity table set up nearby where you can play games and win prizes. 

 

The schedule for the wellness workshops: 

□ Tuesday, October 20 is open to all 9th grade students.  The workshop will take place in the Cafeteria during Period 4 (lunch) from 12:45pm to 1: 30pm.  This is an IN-PERSON event.

□ Tuesday, October 27 is open to all 11th and 12th grade students.  The workshop will take place in the Auditorium during Period 4 (lunch) from 12:45pm to 1: 30pm.  This is an IN-PERSON event.

□ Wednesday, Oct 28 is open to all students.  This is a VIRTUAL event.  Details for this event will be announced shortly.

□ Friday, October 30 is open to all 10th grade students.  The workshop will be held in the Gymnasium (Room 301) during Period 4 (lunch) from 12:45pm to 1: 30pm.  This is an IN-PERSON event

 

 

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING SUPPORTS

We hope that you are doing well and having a great beginning to the school year. We know that this year has been full of challenges to say the least. The Social Emotional Learning team wanted to supply you with some resources to hopefully make the transition a smoother one. Please as always, feel free to reach out to us for any questions or support you may need throughout the year. We will keep passing along any tools that you may find helpful. Wish you all the best! 

 

https://www.rulerapproach.org/2020_backtoschool/

 

http://www.rulerapproach.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Cultivating-Resilience-V2-1.pdf?mc_cid=6459a9ded9&mc_eid=[UNIQID]

 

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-08-03-why-self-compassion-and-emotion-regulation-are-key-to-coping-with-covid-19?mc_cid=422fd635fd&mc_eid=728f018796

 

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-08-19-schools-will-never-return-to-business-as-usual-here-s-how-they-can-make-the-most-of-our-new-reality?mc_cid=422fd635fd&mc_eid=728f018796

 

Also, remember that you have access to the Yale Ruler Learning Platform. If you did not participate in the professional development a few years ago, you will sign up using your HSFI email.

https://ruler.online/register

Registration Code: 7wpzk3

When signing up please select staff. 

 

HSFI SEL Team

Ms. Molloy, Ms. Parisse, Ms. Stambouly & Ms. Rochford

 

 

 

CONTINUATION OF OFFICE HOURS THIS WEDNESDAY

We will continue Office Hours for students this Wednesday, October 21^st in addition to all 12^th graders having a Mandatory College Access Seminar from 10:30 am to 11:15.

Programming our classes for Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday has been challenging enough – we need more time to make Wednesdays work.

 

Here is this Wednesday’s schedule:

Time	Activity
9:00 am - 10:00am	MATH Office Hours
10:00 am - 11:00 am	SCIENCE Office Hours (Science)
10:30 am – 11:15 am	MANDATORY COLLEGE ACCESS SEMINAR for all 12th Graders
11:00 am – Noon	PHYSICAL EDUCATION, HEALTH & FOREIGN LANGUAGE Office Hours
Noon – 1:00 pm	ENGLISH Office Hours
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm	GLOBAL & UNITED STATES HISTORY Office Hours
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm	CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATION MAJORS Office Hours

 

 

NEXT WEEK’S CALENDAR:

 

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
OCTOBER 19   *Regular Bell Schedule	20   *Regular Bell Schedule   10th Grade Assembly (Period 4)	21   *Office Hours Schedule	22   *Regular Bell Schedule   11th Grade Assembly (Period 4)	23   *Regular Bell Schedule   Staff Town Hall (Period 4)

 

NEXT WEEK’S CALENDAR:

 

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
OCTOBER 26   *Regular Bell Schedule	27   *Regular Bell Schedule	28   *Office Hours Schedule	29   *Regular Bell Schedule	30   *Regular Bell Schedule   End of First Marking Period

 

 

GOOGLE MEETS & ZOOM

□ If teachers log into Google Meet through their schools.nyc.gov account, you can invite students through their hsfi.us. This version of Google Meets allows for Breakout Rooms! The only downside is they'd have to turn off the Google Meet link generated in their banner and instead put the new link in the stream. The other downside is Google Meet doesn't seem to allow for a co-host, so one teacher would have to control movement of the co-teacher to join different groups.

□ Teachers can also log into Zoom through the DOE account and share the link with students through Google Classroom. This is already set to allow for a co-host. Teachers should change the authentication in Settings to require students to log in through hsfi.us. This prevents Zoom bombing issues.

 

 

 

IDENTIFYING STUDENTS WITH IEPs

We wanted to provide you with some information regarding how IEP meetings will be hosted this year and how to identify your students with IEP's. Thank you to those who have already participated in meetings this school year. We plan to host IEP meetings on Wednesday, unless parents request another day, via Google Meet with participants receiving calendar invitations the week before the meeting. For the start of the year we have distributed the Beginning of the Year Form which requests information about your course expectations and what students should be able to accomplish by the end of the year. By November you will receive a new form which contains questions which are student specific and skills based. The teacher form is the foundation of an IEP and clearly outlines students’ strengths and areas in need of additional support, especially this school year. Please complete these forms as you receive them. You can easily determine which students in your class have IEP's by reviewing your class roster. Students who are placed in ICT classes have the letter at the end of their official (ex-45P) and our Self-contained students will continue to have the letter at the beginning of their official class. In addition, when logging onto the Dashboard, students with an IEP' have a blue icon alongside their name Students within our D75 Inclusion Program will have an L as the first letter of their official class and at this time will not appear when you log-in to SESIS. We are working to gain access for those who need it and in the interim you are invited to email me or Ms. Smith-Brown to receive a copy of an IEP As always, feel free to reach out to Ms. McGuinness with any questions you may have regarding Special Education and services

 

 

 

 

DATA DASHBOARD CORNER

Mr. Stampone has done it again to support all of us at HSFI – he redesigned the Data Dashboard – here is the new link - https://hsfi-datadashboard-v3.herokuapp.com

Thank you Mr. Stampone – the Data Dashboard is a game changer for our community.

 

 

 

 

OPERATIONAL NEED TO KNOW

 

● CHECK YOUR DOE & HSFI EMAILS EVERYDAY

The expectation is that ALL STAFF check your DOE emails daily – not your HSFI email - responsible for follow-up items sent to your email

BEST PRACTICE: Forward your HSFI emails to your DOE email

 

● SUPPLY REQUESTS

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKQ2M7fZ3XNtCJB6FRxLTR-Y8-Snw2jgUFqVKGzpxhupmZZA/viewform

 

● TECHNOLOGY REQUESTS

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2WT0fizVk9Ttdn9MPeocvT-0K7qDL5NHRKva3dcLQsjl1HA/viewform

Spreadsheet that shows the Status of Technology Requests

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JMJrDp1Ig7CMiRh1gEOWD2rD6PzlmGdEgKWlmBBWIwo/edit#gid=1833053321

Reviewed means that the Technology dept. is aware of the situation / looked at the ticket.

In Progress means the Technology dept. working on it

On hold means that the Technology dept. is either waiting for the NYC Department of Education or currently no solution

Done is for closed tickets

Any red status bar means that the Technology dept. had not seen this ticket yet.

 

● CUSTODIAN REQUESTS

https://goo.gl/forms/sQGqPAoqGeI86H132

Depending on the severity of the request.  Expect a one to two days before fixing or notification of the issue.

Spreadsheet that shows the Status of Custodian Requests

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xWhZel2F2yaXRZF8z0N_GX-hBzjWxuoRBq3ZcA1W7FQ/edit?usp=sharing

 

● EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

Here are the links to the Emergency Preparedness videos.  This series of safety videos are useful tools that demonstrate how Building Response Teams operate, and how school buildings use the General Response Protocols during an emergency. Please take the time to watch the following videos to ensure that you are well equipped in the event of an emergency.

 

Full Safety Preparedness video: Vimeo.com/nycschools/safetypreparedness

 

Assembly Card video: Vimeo.com/nycschools/assemblycard

 

Lock Down video: Vimeo.com/nycschools/lockdown

 

Evacuate video: Vimeo.com/nycschools/evacuate

 

Shelter In video: Vimeo.com/nycschools/shelterin

 

 

● PROTOCOLS FOR RESPONDING TO CLASSROOM INCIDENTS

In the event of an incident in your classroom that creates disruption (student is defiant and / or uncooperative) but is NOT A THREAT to student and/or staff safety, the following protocol should be followed:

□ Classroom management, i.e., using your skills as an educator to move on from the situation, followed by

□ A phone call to your Supervisor informing them of the incident and the steps you have taken to address the matter, followed by

□ A referral to the Peace Center and/or the Guidance Department via Google Docs., followed by

□ Outreach to parents, informing them of their child’s misbehavior, and request for family support to correct the matter.  

 

In the event of an incident in your classroom that involves an immediate THREAT to student and/or staff safety, the following protocol should be followed:

□ A phone call to the Peace Center (x1491 or x1431) informing available staff of the incident and requesting assistance, followed by

□ A phone call to School Safety (x1341) informing them of the location and nature of the incident and requesting assistance, followed by

□ A call to your Supervisor informing them of the incident and the steps you have taken to address it.

 

 

 

 

STAFF MEMBERS WHO SOARR

Here are some SOARRing staff that are going beyond the call of duty for HSFI!

 

Thank you to MS. WEISS, MS. CARTER, MR. SIA, MR. JONES, MS. TROTTA, MR. RASCHILLA & MR. RODRIGUES for jumping on a meeting on Saturday to discuss our positive COVID case and then reaching out to the HSFI students who needed to be quarantined.

 

Thank you to MS. ADAMCZYK, MR. KEARNS, MR. WIEDA & MS. McKEON for working hard to get each of our seniors to submit a CUNY application.

 

Thank you to MS. JOHNSON AND MS. KASLOW FROM RAPP & PARTNERSHIP WITH CHILDREN for running an informative Domestic Violence Awareness event for our students this past week.  We are thrilled to have you as part of the HSFI community.

 

Thank you to MR. REYES & THE TEEN CHOICE STAFF for organizing a series of Wellness Workshops for our community.

 

Thank you to MS. SIOSON, MR. DAWSON & MS. BARNABEE for reaching out to our high need students for make-up work.

 

Thank you to MS. RICCI & MS. CARTER for setting up multiple upcoming industry experiences for students this week.

 

Thank you to MS. WEINREB for sharing her brilliant way of using breakout groups as a way to both create community and student comfort in her classroom.

 

Thank you to MS. YOUNKMAN & MS. ROCHFORD for creating the CTE book club calendar.

 

Thank you to MS. ARCAMAY for using her magical video editing power to create an intro video for the HSFI Advisory Board.

 

Thank you to MS. VACCARO for working with the Virtual Enterprise organization to ensure we get the VE program started with great success this year.

 

Thank you to MS. BATTS for supporting the CTE teachers up for tenure this year.

 

Thank you to MS. DYE for working with a student to access their school Gmail account.

 

Thank you to MS. LEVENSTEIN for reaching out to teachers to support a family in accessing the various digital platforms.

 

Thank you to MR. CLANCY, MS. DYE, MS. GARCIA, MS. HUSTED, MS. INCE, MR. KALISCH, MS. KANG, MR. LACHOK, MS. O’BRIEN, MR. ROBINSON, MS. SMITH & MS. VARRICHIO for hosting IEP meetings.

 

Thank you to MS. SIOSON, MR. BOHNER, MS. MANEVICH, MR. JONES, MS. McGOLDRICK, MS. MOLLOY, MS. MOKIM, MS. LEVENSTEIN, MR. DIXON, MS. FESCKO, MR. CENTENO, MS. STAMBOULY & MS. SILVA for participating in IEP meetings.

 

 

 

ADDITIONS TO THE BLOG

If you are interested in adding something to the Weekly Bulletin Blog, please email Angela Ianniello – AIanniello@schools.nyc.gov – by Wednesday of that week.  Submissions emailed after this deadline will be placed in the following week’s Blog.