November 12, 2020 RCSD Educator Blog

Message from Jamey Schrey

Thank you for the foundation that you have put into place for children for the second trimester. If it is online as a Champions teacher meeting new students or supporting Edgenuity, to staff on campuses juggling multiple tasks to keep students safe, each one of you is leading. You are probably taking on challenges that you could never have dreamed of leading while sitting in your credential program, learning about lesson plans, reading foundational skills, and Madelyn Hunter. I certainly would not have imagined taking a Pandemic Contact Tracing course online to understand COVID-19 scenarios better. Nope, I did not see that course coming...and I have been around a long time!

As I shared before, we have to be brave. Lifting our heads, putting on a mask, or opening our computers to greet students each day because educating our students is vital to our country’s future. We all know that we will continue to travel through differing color tiers until a vaccine is readily available. Yet, our students’ education can’t stay stagnant, and Roseville has you to thank for bringing your best each day. You are all “essential” to our children.

Each of you leads children by being brave, leading during this transition, developing new ideas and routines, and supporting colleagues who have to take their teaching home during a quarantine period. Leaders don’t just live in district offices, principals’ offices, or at the City Council. Leaders are found throughout our work and in our classrooms. 

I thank you for leading our students, both in-person and online! Enjoy this clip from Jimmy Fallon on four skill sets we all can grow, improve, and be aware of as leaders.

Jimmy Fallon and Brene Brown on Leadership last night

If you watch the Fallon clip, what are your songs? 

Here are my five songs:

1. Jordan Unga - Imagine

2. Elton John - Your Song

3. Billy Joel - Piano Man

4. Norah Jones - Come Away With Me

5. Mavis Staples - Amazing Grace

________________________________________________________________________

 Otus

Updates to Otus

To Do List
Student/Family users can see their assigned Lessons, due dates, and their number of completed activities
Teacher users can see their assigned Lessons, due dates, and the number of students who have not started, are in progress, or have completed the Lesson.  There is currently not an Assessment to do list but that will be coming in an upcoming update.

Article on To Do List- Students
Article on To Do List- Teachers

Otus Road Map

Click below to see upcoming updates for Otus.
Otus Road Map for 2020-2021

How Grading for Each Trimester Works
Assessment grades for Tri 2 will not pull previous assessments or lessons unless the due date was set within the Trimester 2 grading window.  If there is no due date, Otus uses the submitted date. If there is no submitted date, Otus uses the graded date. Meaning Trimester 2 grades do start fresh but if there was no due date on an assignment it could show up when the student submits the work. 

________________________________________________________________________

Monday PD and Reminders

Optional Monday PD

A reminder you can find the Monday PD Zoom links and descriptions on this document.

We have a session specific to elementary on assigning assessments and how to use the grade book.  We know more and more elementary teachers are keeping track of data in Otus and want to show best practices when it comes to using the grade book.  

The other session shows how teachers can see data from their assessments, whether they are simple, advanced or rubric assessments.  See the images below to get an idea of what you can see using the Assessments 1.0 tool in Otus.  You can get a breakdown of each question on an assessment, or see what students scored on a rubric assessment.  Assessments 1.0 is a very valuable tool for teachers and PLCs.

A teacher's assessment broken down by grade level.  If you click on the level you can see which students scored at that level.

As an admin you can see how students scored for your site

Any assessment given in Otus has a breakdown of what students answered for each question.

Both sessions are 3:30pm-4:15pm and will be recorded in case you cannot be there.

Reminder to give feedback on what PD you would like to see

We want to make sure as an Ed Services Team we are meeting the needs of teachers and staff.  If you would like a specific session for Optional Monday PD, please put your suggestion on the form below and we will do our best to have sessions that meet your needs.  Or if you are a teacher that would like to present during an Optional Monday PD, please put the session idea on the form and indicate that you are willing to teach the class.  You will be compensated for your time of preparing your session, and presenting.

Optional Monday PD Input Form

How to Copy URL
A reminder you can copy a URL from a Google doc simply by clicking on the copy icon, see below.

________________________________________________________________________

Elementary Info

Math Essential Standards and Resources

Here is the link, RCSD K-5 Math Table of Contents (Essential Standard Resources), that will take you to the math essential standard resources.   All resources can also be found on the RCSD Learning Site under curriculum resources.

 

Elementary Assessments in Otus Update

Coordinators are continuing to build assessments in Otus.  We are finishing up the next round of Math Unit Assessments and Benchmark Assessments.  Continue to look in your “Shared With Me” folder to access these assessments.  Remember, you assign these assessments straight from your “Shared With Me” folder. 

Assigning Assessments Guide