Pursuant to a Presidential Proclamation, Gov. Jay Inslee has directed that Washington State and United States flags at all state agencies, including schools and district support buildings, be lowered to half-staff May 18-22 in solemn respect for those affected by the shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas.
Flags will remain at half-staff until close of business or sunset on Tuesday, May 22.
As a reminder, we post all flag lowering announcements on the district website and social media.
Thank you to all who continue to submit names of employees districtwide who have done something deserving of encouragement and praise. Remember to give a shout out to one of your colleagues at your school or support building and watch for it to appear in an upcoming Everyday Heroes blog post.
Here is our latest honoree:
Everyday Hero
Michelle Maurer, paraeducator, Garfield Elementary
“Our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated Paraeducator Michelle Maurer at Garfield Elementary — a constant on our Kindergarten Team for over 17 years. Michelle daily teaches the High level Small Group Reading students (achieving First-Grade level reading by May). She also supervises playground and lunch duties and works on Intervention. Michelle provides structure, stability and high expectations for our students. Her smile and compassion brighten our days!”
Submitted by Tara Otonicar-Mock
How to nominate an Everyday Hero
Did you know you can save even more for retirement with Deferred Compensation program (DCP)?
The Washington State Deferred Compensation Program (DCP) is a supplemental retirement savings program administered by the Department of Retirement Systems (DRS).
Why save with DCP?
You can learn more about DCP by visiting the DCP website at www.drs.wa.gov/DCP.
Ready to get started?
Complete the DCP Quick Enrollment Form, provide a copy to your payroll office and mail the form to DCP.
If you have funds in another tax-deferred account that you would like to roll into your DCP account, complete and mail in the Rollover-in Request Form.
Questions?
For more information, email the school district Payroll department at help-payroll@osd.wednet.edu.
This week, Wendy Couture, the district’s safety and risk reduction manager, shares information about coffee maker safety.
Brookhaven National Laboratory Fire Safety Engineering Group reports that there have been several coffee pot “meltdowns” over the years. All were due to the coffee maker being left plugged in, the coffee evaporating out, and the over-temperature sensor failing to limit the hotplate’s temperature. Fortunately, none of these meltdowns has resulted in significant fires. It is important that if we have a coffee maker in our workspace that we check it often.
Here is a summary of rules for safe electric coffee maker operation:
A scene from last year’s OSD Employee Recognition Awards night at Olympia High School. This year’s winners will be honored at the Monday, May 7, 2018 Olympia School Board meeting. All staff are invited to attend and support the winners!
Congratulations to each of the 2018 Olympia School District Employee Recognition Award winners, who will be honored at the May 7 Olympia School Board meeting.
This annual awards program is designed to recognize employees from throughout the district in several categories. All employees districtwide were invited to send in nominations, and a screening committee reviewed the entries and selected the winners.
The school board will recognize the winners at the start of the board meeting on Monday, May 7, 6:30 p.m. at Olympia Regional Learning Academy (ORLA), 2400 15th Ave. S.E., Olympia.
This year’s award winners include:
The Coach
“Supports Others” – Any staff member who plays a unique role in enabling others to excel.
The Champion of Differences
“Celebrates Diversity” – Any staff member who, by his or her actions, celebrates the values and differences of individual groups.
The Innovator
“Changes Making a Difference” – Any staff member who demonstrates innovative strategies that significantly improve the district mission.
The Unsung Hero
“Goes the Extra Mile” – Any staff member who continually gets results with little or no fanfare.
The Dream Team
“Above and Beyond” – Any group of staff members working together to help students succeed in or out of the classroom.
Teacher Appreciation Week is being celebrated throughout the Olympia School District Monday, May 7 through Friday, May 11.
Superintendent Patrick Murphy read a proclamation at the April 16 school board meeting designating the week as Teacher Appreciation Week. Murphy presented a copy of the proclamation to Olympia Education Association President Adam Brickell.
The proclamation states in part that teachers serve in partnership with parents to ensure the appropriate education for all children; provide opportunities for students to develop basic skills for success in life and work, connect with the world around them, and experience the realization of high expectations and the fulfillment of steps toward achievable goals; and inspire students to think strategically and to integrate experience and knowledge to form reasoned judgments.
All staff are welcome to attend the Olympia School District’s annual Ice Cream Social to help honor district retirees and celebrate advocates of the year and the Teacher of the Year selected by the Olympia Education Association.
The event is scheduled from 4-5:30 p.m. in the Olympia High School Commons, 1302 North St., Olympia.
Ice cream will be served at 4 p.m. with an awards ceremony to follow.
The Olympia School District Communications department was honored this past week with two “Best in Category” awards by the Washington School Public Relations Association (WSPRA). This award goes to the highest scoring district in Washington state.
Our communications team also came away with multiple “Awards of Excellence” and “Awards of Merit”. The judging for the awards was handled by the Ohio School Public Relations Association (OHSPRA) membership base. Here are the pieces which were recognized by WSPRA:
Best in Category
Award of Excellence
Award of Merit
The new Olympia School District website, which uses the SchoolMessenger website platform, not only received a “Best in Category” award from WSPRA, but was also the featured “award winning website” in SchoolMessenger’s April newsletter, which is distributed nationwide.
Communications and Community Relations Director Susan Gifford, Communications Coordinator Conor Schober and Communications Assistant Kim Doherty were present at the awards ceremony to accept the awards on behalf of the OSD. Schober also received recognition for his service the past three years as vice president of communications on the WSPRA Board.
WSPRA is a professional organization that works to promote communication in public school districts across Washington state. It strives to be Washington state’s leader in school-community relations.
National Board Certified Teachers honored at the March 12, 2018 Olympia School Board meeting.
Are you curious about National Board certification? Have you already committed to pursuing certification but are looking for support? Are you up for renewal of your certification?
We invite you to find out more about National Boards. We facilitate cohorts to support candidates working toward certification, as well as those working toward renewal. We will introduce our trained facilitators, talk about what kind of support we offer in our cohort and explain how the National Board process works. Our cohort is open to both Olympia School District and outside-of-district educators.
Bring your questions and come join us!
When: Thursday, May 10; 5 p.m.
Where: Olympia High School library
We look forward to meeting you!
Erica Kinsel, NBCT
Paul Rae, NBCT
Teresa Bond, NBCT
Thank you to all who continue to submit names of employees districtwide who have done something deserving of encouragement and praise. Remember to give a shout out to one of your colleagues at your school or support building and watch for it to appear in an upcoming Everyday Heroes blog post.
Here is our latest honoree:
Everyday Hero
Kristin Pence, paraeducator, ORLA
“Kristin Pence (ORLA), Performing Arts Initiative (PAI) finance and transportation manager: Has helped put over 10,000 students into event seats this year. Goes above and beyond as she navigates a very complex system. Always focused on the needs of students. Efficient and effective to the max. And about to become an OSD classroom teacher!”
Submitted by Bob Hodges
How to nominate an Everyday Hero
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