TechBytes

• August 31 - October 2:
• STEMscopes beginning of year assessment, grades 2-5
• Science beginning of year assessment, grades 9-12
• September 22-29: Fat Bear Week! Information Classroom Resources
• September 28-October 23: Epic Reading Challenge! (Elementary)
• September 28-October 30: Kindergarten Beginning of Year Diagnostic
• September 30: Student Account Storage Limits enforced
• October 13 - November 13: Middle School Science Benchmark 1

When is the last time you logged in to the Webex portal to view your recordings from online teaching, circa 2020? It's probably been awhile, right? ITS needs your help with clearing out those old Webex recordings!

Here's how you can help delete your recordings:

1. Navigate to pusd.webex.com and sign in with your PUSD credentials

2. Click on the Recordings tab along the left side of the page

3. Click on the column "Date Created" so your recordings are sorted with the oldest being first.

4. Select the box next to any recordings you want to delete and click the box labeled 🗑️ Delete at the top right of your page.

Do you have recordings you want to download?

1. Navigate to pusd.webex.com and sign in with your PUSD credentials

2. Click on the Recordings tab along the left side of the page

3. Select the box next to the recordings you want to save and click ↓ Download at the top right of your page.

4. Once you've downloaded the files, you can upload them to your Google Drive to keep long-term.

If you need support, please submit a Help Desk ticket.

Due to a current issue with Hapara classes not dropping students after they have changed sections/periods, we will be changing our rostering method with Hapara. As a result, any customizations and groups created will be cleared out and teachers will need to set those groups up again. We apologize for the inconvenience, but believe this is the best choice moving forward to ensure your Hapara classes are updated in a timely and accurate manner.

Elementary Classroom Application:

Asking first or second graders to manually "share" a Google Doc with you can take up 15 minutes of instructional time. The Google Drive feature allows you to see all of their recent documents in one place, so you can check their writing progress instantly without relying on them finding the Share button.

Secondary Classroom Application:

Streamline your formative feedback. Access student essays or lab reports directly through Hāpara without waiting for them to submit the final link. You can leave comments on their Google Docs in real-time while they are drafting.

Resources

▶️ Teacher Dashboard Guide

📖 Viewing student Google Drives from Highlights article

If a student still can't sign in after a password reset, their account may be locked due to multiple unsuccessful password attempts.

Office Managers and Librarians can unlock the account:

1. Locate the student's account.

2. Select the three-dot (⋮) menu.

3. Select Unlock Account.

4. Have the student try signing in with their new password.

Tip: If the account is locked, unlock it first and try the current password. If it still doesn't work, reset the password.

When a teacher takes attendance, Aeries shows an "Attendance submitted" message but still flags the class as missing attendance. In period-based schools the class stays on the Missing Attendance report even though attendance was taken; in daily schools the "missing" warning remains on screen after submitting. Aeries is aware of the issue and is working on resolving it.

Student account storage limits are now 10GB for middle/high school and 5GB for elementary. Accounts over 10GB after September 30th will be locked from saving, editing, or adding new files and receiving larger attachments, though existing files remain accessible. If a student is unable to save files in Google Drive, check for a storage warning banner at the top of their Drive screen to confirm they have exceeded their limit.

Join Cat Ninja’s October Reading Challenge from September 28 through October 23, open to all elementary classes using Epic School Plus! To participate, aim for 80% or more of your class to read for 20 minutes each school day to log Qualifying Days and unlock weekly class perks. The class with the most Qualifying Days at the end of the four weeks will win an exclusive in-person visit from Cat Ninja on October 30, along with student and teacher prize packs. Track your daily progress directly on your Educator Dashboard to help build a strong daily reading habit!

Amira headphones are dedicated instructional materials and must only be used for Amira-related instruction and assessments, ideally within small-group settings. Class sets are no longer provided due to limited supply, making small-group administration the recommended approach. If headphones stop working or become damaged, do not discard them—return them to your MTSS Coach or Main Office for warranty processing and potential replacement.

The STEMscopes Beginning of Year (BOY) Assessment window is currently open for grades 2–5 through October 2nd, while grades K–1 will test from November 16th to December 18th. Please note that the assessment does not appear automatically and must be manually assigned to students within STEMscopes. For step-by-step administration directions, please refer to the linked Smore guide.