Celebrations, Gratitude, and Feedback

As this school year winds down, the events of the last ten weeks still feel a bit surreal.  When people have the chance to step back and reflect on all of this in the future, I believe what will shine will be the efforts on the part of educators to provide reassurance, schooling, comfort, food, a listening ear, and as much 'normalcy' as possible to students and families.  You also found creative ways to honor the traditions and milestones as students move from one grade level to the next, and wished a farewell to the senior class that celebrated their resilience and accomplishments.  This has been a very challenging time, and it showed a glimpse of what educators will do to support their students. 

Below is the video that the HS staff created as a send-off for their seniors.

And here is a site that honors members of the Class of 2020 with a variety of awards.


SEP Senior Awards

As this school year wraps up, we want to thank everyone for their flexibility and support as we moved to virtual learning. Our hope for the 2020-2021 school year is to provide education in a face to face format.  However, with the unpredictability of the pandemic, we want to take time to prepare for a variety of formats, including continuous virtual learning, face to face learning, or a mix of these 2 models. As we make these plans, we want to hear from students, parents, and teachers to learn more about this experience from your perspective, and to get your input on how to make improvements for the future.  

Please take the time to complete the survey below (only 3 questions!) We also be sending this to parents and students.

Virtual Learning at Southeast Polk Survey

This school year will certainly be memorable, and we are very grateful for all of the work, collaboration, and support on the part of all staff at Southeast Polk. We are #SEPolkProud.

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Elementary Continuous Learning and Return to Learn Resources

Today's blog is for elementary teachers.  It includes resources and updates for Continuous Learning as well as for the Return to Learn plan.

• Learning Packets for the week of May 18th
• Return to Learn Presentation
• Curriculum Revision documents for Grades PK-5

Learning Packets

Below are links to the learning packets for the week of May 18th.  There will be no learning packets during the week of May 25th due to the Memorial Day holiday.  A summer learning packet that goes through the month of June will be available at Grab and Go sites on June 1st.  It will also be available online and at Fareway and HyVee stores in Altoona and Pleasant Hill.

PreSchool

Kindergarten

1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

4th Grade

5th Grade

Return to Learn

Below are links to our presentation from last week as well as the curriculum revision documents for each grade level.

Return to Learn: Elementary Overview

Curriculum Revision Documents

Kindergarten to Grade 1

Grade 1 to Grade 2

Grade 2 to Grade 3

Grade 3 to Grade 4

Grade 4 to Grade 5

TIME Day Hours--Final Submission Timeline and Pay

Based on feedback from the Southeast Polk Professional Development Committee, an option was created for teachers to participate in additional hours of professional learning throughout the school year (TIME-Teacher Initiated Meaningful Engagement). Certified teachers may receive up to 8 hours of additional per diem pay for collaborative work completed outside their regular contract time during the 2019-2020 school year.  Initial hours that were submitted were paid in November.  The second payment was to be in May, but that was extended to June due to offices being closed.  The deadline for submitting hours for the second round is May 22.  

The criteria for these hours is below:

• Hours are beyond the contract day
• Extension of the District/Building PD Plan
• Supportive of Building CSIP
• Responds to one of the 4 PLC Questions
• What do we want students to learn?
• How will we know when they have learned it?
• What will we do if they do not learn?
• What will we do if they have already learned it?

To receive payment for this work, please submit the form below. This form may also be found on the mySEP page under "Teaching and Learning Resources." 

Please review your collaborative plan with your building 

principal prior to beginning this work.

TIME Hours 2019-2020

Please let me know if you have any questions about teacher quality funding. Your commitment to building and extending your professional learning is very much appreciated! 

Teacher Appreciation Week

Throughout our years as educators, we have seen schools respond to all types of social issues and challenges. But none have compared to these past 6 weeks.  Words cannot completely capture the amazing resilience and commitment of teachers during this pandemic closure, but we tried.  Your unwavering support of students is inspiring. 

With Gratitude and Appreciation

Southeast Polk 2020