Be Patient with Yourself!

Dear Members:
 

• Don’t expect yourself to be an expert right away. Focus on one thing every day.  Just like the classroom. You almost have to think of this as the beginning of the school year.  I teach my procedures one at a time.  That’s how I’m looking at it.  Let's not overwhelm them every day.  Let’s not overwhelm yourselves either.   And if you’re unsure, ask your department, grade level, or one of the trainers for help. That’s what we tell our students to do.  Remember, it is hard to focus because it is an unsettled time.  Just one thing.  If you need more clarification on what the one thing is, watch Jack Palance as Curly in the movie Cityslickers on YouTube.  He’ll explain what the one thing is.
• Faith Romero converted the paper-based Grades 4-6 Wonders Vocab and Selection quizzes into a user-friendly digital format using Forms. They’re attached if you’re interested.  Teamwork!  Thanks Faith!
• On Friday, April 3, and for the next six weeks, you may work from home.  That’s a change.  Of course, you could also work from school.  Stay away from each other!
• So, click here for a better link to State Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond announcement that schools prepare for schools to close for the rest of the  year.  The State Superintendent of Schools is largely ceremonial.  As the leader of the Department of Education, he can only make recommendationsto the Governor and legislature on public schools.  He doesn’t have the power to close schools, unlike local school disricts or the Governor and the legislature.  Personally, Newsom has already said this, and I think coming from his office, Thurmond is providing support for that issue.  We shall see.
• Click here for a link that actually works for a video starring some of our very own MEA peeps!  Sorry for the techno foul up yesterday, but I am not only Microsoft Teams challenged, I am also Tik Tok challenged.  😊  Starring Members Kellyann Guevara, Chelsea Herrera, Rick Inderbitzin, Melanie Silva, Willie Herrera, Carolyn Johnson, Ken Johnson, Gina Alegre, and Lachysha Holloway.  Thanks to Member Melissa Snaer for donating the talents and time of her husband Demitrius Snaer rather than making him do the night’s dishes.  Special guest appearance by lead singer Joe Elliott of Def Leppard.  If you don’t get the reference, I am really, really devastated.
• Hopefully, I’ll be able to sign the new agreement and release the details today.  I know many of you are being told this and that by your admin.  There is a LOT of good language in that document that clarifies and correct things that you might be told now.  Many of you are asking about admin being added to your Teams.  We discussed that during negotiations today and had a lot of good give and take.  Bottom line, they can do it.  But, legally, we can negotiate the effects on your working conditions.  So, these “observations” are just like classroom walkthroughs.  They can’t be used for evaluations as evaluations are done for the year.  These walkthroughs cannot be punitive either.  They are meant to be supportive in case a student misbehaves or someone claims something happened.  That way, your admin will have access to your chat log and files.  If it turns punitive or evaluative, then let me know, and I will hold them to our language.