Administrivia

Week of Monday, March 1 - Friday, March 5

In this Week's Administrivia:

COVID-19 Status for Orange County
OCSA employees can now secure vaccine appointments!
To student camera or not to student camera?
Staff IDs are on campus and ready for pickup
School Calendar for 2021-2022 approved
Academic/Elective Staff Meeting & book study continues this Friday, March 5
Be Sure to RSVP for the Thursday, March 18th Professional Development Day

Inspirational Quote for the Week

Amplifications!

Leon Metoyer recognized for his hard work!

Last week, The El Dorado Charter SELPA hosted a 2021 Virtual Inspiration to Action Symposium to assist educators throughout California refocus on our personal and professional inspiration and the impact of our work in supporting students with disabilities. OCSA’s Learning Specialist, Leon Metoyer was recognized at the symposium for his significant work in management of the on-campus cohort of students with special needs, leadership on with the Coalition of Antiracism and Inclusion, and coordinating the implementation of the Beyond SST student information system. Way to go Leon!

Chefs Mattos and Grover doing the hard work!

Did you know that the Culinary Arts students receive weekly ingredient packs to complete their work at home? Chefs Daniel Mattos and Michael Grover work diligently each week to prepare the packs with the help of parent volunteers, and then distribute each Friday through the Humanities Tower. Thank you for continuing to support student learning!

MT Lip Sync is a crowd pleaser!

On Saturday, Musical Theatre Director Lauren Jackson and Assistant Director Karen Rymar led the MT conservatory as they performed their 8th annual Lip Sync show, complete with "American Idol" style commentary from former MT Director Scott Barnhardt, alumni Adam Levy, and Broadway stars David Burnham and Jessica Vosk. Hilarity ensued, and entertained the masses. Great job Lauren and Karen!

Weekly Humor

Important Reminders from the Administrative Team

COVID-19 Status for Orange County

ArcGIS Dashboards

ochca.maps.arcgis.com

America’s COVID warning system

America’s COVID warning system. All 50 states. 3,000+ counties.

covidactnow.org

OCSA employees can now secure vaccine appointments!

As communicated over the weekend by Jena Duca, OCS employees can now secure COVID-19 vaccine appointments at ANY location where an appointment is available and you are able to produce proof of employment via a paystub.

To access OCDE's education-POD specific registration information, please click here.

To student camera or not to student camera?

As we have experienced this year, many students have been reluctant to turn on their cameras while you are conducting your instruction. In a perfect world, students always have their cameras on, but we are not living in a perfect world right now. Some key things to be mindful:

Students are experiencing distance learning in vastly different ways. In some cases (and as it has been established in student 504 and IEP plans), students have been given permission to not have their cameras on when you are teaching.
The goal is to engage students, and engagement can be determined in multiple ways. If students are completing your assignments, responding in the chats, and completing their assessments, then they are engaged in your class, even if you do not see their face live in front of you.
Points should not be deducted from students for not having their camera on in your class. When this happens, you are creating a negative feedback loop in your class. If the student is otherwise participating in class despite the camera status, is that sufficient? If not, why not?
Focus on student learning, not compliance. Whether intentional or not, that is how you are being viewed if you insist on the camera issue.

Have more questions? Reach out to your supervisor. Thank you for being student-minded!

Staff IDs are on campus and ready for pickup

In preparation for the return to in-person learning, staff IDs for the 2020-2021 school year at the Humanities Tower receptionist desk. Please pick it up at your earliest convenience and begin wearing it on campus. Having your ID will also serve as another way to support verification of employment when obtaining a COVID vaccine at an education-specific POD.

Still need to submit a photo for a staff ID? Please click here and contact Leslie Brooks if you have additional questions.

School Calendar for 2021-2022 approved

During their meeting on Wednesday, February 24, the OCSA Board of Trustees approved the school calendar for the 2021-2022 school year. The first day of academic classes will be Wednesday, August 11. Please click here to view the approved 2021-2022 school calendar.

Please note: While we do not expect there to be a change to the start/end date of the school year or to major school holiday breaks, some schoolwide events that are still in the process of being scheduled may result in minor adjustments to non-school days. We will continue to keep all families informed if the 2021-2022 school calendar is adjusted.

Academic/Elective Staff Meeting & Not Light, But Fire study continues this Friday, March 5

This Friday, March 5, Academic and Elective teachers will participate in discussions around Chapter 6 in Matthew Kay's Not Light, But Fire. Please come prepared and ready to contribute!

Please click here to view the agenda

2:00 PM

Meeting ID: 267 027 5436

Passcode: OCSA

Be Sure to RSVP for the Thursday, March 18th Professional Development Day

On Thursday, March 18th, OCSA will host Matthew R. Kay, author of Not Light, But Fire, for a special Professional Development presentation tailored for OCSA and CSArts-SGV Conservatory and Academic teachers. This will be the first event which will combine staff from both schools and teachers will have opportunities to interact, so don't miss it!

Due to the large number of anticipated participants, an RSVP is required. Please complete THIS form no later March 12th.

For academic teachers who are not able to participate in the event on March 18th, a video recording of the presentation will be available on Friday, March 19th. For conservatory teachers who are unable to attend, the video presentation will be available through Actively Learn on the 2020 Professional Development Google Classroom. Conservatory teachers will be compensated for watching it through Friday March 26th.

Reminder: There are NO CONSERVATORY CLASSES for students on Thursday, March 18th due to the professional development session.

Teacher Norms for Spring 2021

On-Campus Cohort Students

Academic and Elective Teacher Resources

Conservatory Teacher Resources

OCSA Staff Resources

OCSA Tech Tips

Distance Learning Resource Padlet