Month: June 2018

Celebration of Life planned June 25 for Dave Forrester

/ susangifford
Field of colorful flowers against blue skyA Celebration of Life is planned on Monday, June 25 for Dave Forrester, an Olympia High School counselor who passed away on June 5, 2018. A brief reception will begin at 6:15 p.m. in the Olympia High School Commons, followed by a program at 6:45 p.m. in the school’s Performing Arts Center. The school is located at 1302 North St., Olympia.
If you would like to help with providing snacks/desserts and/or event set-up (at 5:30 p.m.), please contact Wendy Rae, administrative assistant to the OHS Principal, at wrae@osd.wednet.edu.
Contributions to The Rio and Maya Forrester Educational Fund may be made at any Key Bank location or in a collection box at the Celebration of Life on June 25.

All employees asked to complete technology self-inventory

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Man typing on laptop computerThe OSD Technology department is asking that all staff complete a Technology Self-Inventory.

This year Technology is testing out a new self-inventory process for staff who are assigned technology equipment.  Please follow this link: https://selfinventory-dot-osd-schoolsites.appspot.com/, log in with your district Google account, and complete the inventory process.  It should only take a couple of minutes.

Please note, this does not include classroom technology such as Document Cameras, Projectors and Audio Systems.  It also does not include Desktop Labs and COWs.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Help Desk at x6172 or helpdesk@osd.wednet.edu.

NASA summer camp open to grades 9-12

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Infinity and Beyond flier for 2018 Summer Camp at OHS, shows photos of rockets and person in space suit and information about three summer campsDo you know students who love science, want to learn about NASA and could benefit from a FREE opportunity to earn .5 lab science credit this summer? Refer them to the “To Infinity and Beyond” 2018 Summer Camp!

This is an amazing opportunity for students to earn a .5 High School Lab Science Credit* through Summer School. The camp is open to all students entering grades 9-12.

Olympia High School teachers have received a grant to work in collaboration with the Northwest Earth and Space Science Pipeline to host three NASA Summer Camps at Olympia High School during the month of July. Each NASA Camp is a four-day experience that provides students the opportunity to start exploring Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers through experiments, hands-on activities and interactive exploration of science and technology.

The camps are FREE to attend, provide a light lunch, and can offer transportation assistance if necessary. The grant is targeted to reach students that are underrepresented in STEM fields, but applications are open to all students.

Camp Dates:

  • Camp 1: July 16-19 (Rockets and Exploration of the Solar System)
  • Camp 2: July 26 (Environmental Sciences and Remote Sensing)
  • Camp 3: July 30-Aug 3 (Robotics and Surface Exploration)

Camp Schedule: Monday – Thursday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Ages: 14-18
Location: Olympia High School, 1302 North St. SE, Olympia, WA 98501

More info is available at the Olympia High counseling center office or on a NASA camp page on the Olympia High website.  Registrations can be turned in online or at the counseling center office.

* The class will be labeled on transcripts “Principles of Technology” and will be a .17 science credit per week (.51 if student attends all 3 weeks) lab science credit. The camps and credits are FREE of charge.

Important before leaving for summer: Preserve security of tests and quizzes in Schoology

/ susangifford

Two people work on desktop computer screens

The following is a message from the OSD Technology Department:

To preserve the security of your tests and quizzes in Schoology, it is critical that you change the visibility or publication of these material types at the end of the year/testing window in both current and archived courses. Students are able to view their archived courses and thus could potentially view and share your test questions with students in subsequent class period or years.

To hide contents of tests and quizzes from students after the end of the school year, you have two options:

  1. In each test for each class, change the visibility setting to NO.
  2. Unpublish all tests and quizzes in each of your courses.

View step-by-step procedures for both options

See screencast for changing the visibility settting

See screencast for unpublishing Schoology tests and quizzes in each of your courses

Olympia School Board approves Pride Month resolution

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DSC_0033The Olympia School Board unanimously agreed on June 11 to declare June 2018 as Pride Month.

In the two-page resolution, the school board declares its support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) students, families and staff.

The resolution also contains historical milestones in LGBTQ+ history, mentions current statistical information, and concludes by encouraging support for LGBTQ+ in our schools.

View the two-page resolution in full

Protecting student data on social media

/ susangifford

Social media icons on a cell phone held in a hand

Protecting student data on social media

As the end of the year approaches there are a million exciting events taking place in buildings throughout our district — many of which involve students saying their goodbyes to teachers as they move on to a new grade level, or new building. As is generally the case in our social media driven world, many of these interactions get posted to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. It’s second nature! What we want district staff to be aware of is how to properly post this information on social media.

It is extremely important that student photos, names or identifying information are not posted on a personal social media account. This information is only to be posted using school or district social media. For instance, if the school which you work has a social media account, you would want to pass the information along to the owner of the account so they can post it on a verified school account. You could also email it to the Communications Department (communications@osd.wednet.edu) to be posted on district social media.

When you post this information on your own personal social media accounts, you are accepting responsibility and liability should there be any issue with student information being disseminated improperly or violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This is extremely important as our students’ privacy is tantamount.

So, the next time you want to share photos or details about some of the amazing things happening in your classroom, make sure they go through the right channels. If you have any questions about whether or not your school has a social media account, who may administer it, or why this policy is in place, call our Communications Department at (360) 596-6103. They can get you any of the information you are looking for.

The district would also love to push your news out via its social media and get as many eyes on it as possible, so please email your news to communications@osd.wednet.edu.

Thank you for your understanding, we really appreciate your support as we do what is necessary to lift our students up while supporting their privacy.