Uplifting Urbandale

We invite you to read the Urbandale CSD bi-weekly newsletter, “Uplifting Urbandale,” which will be sent every other Friday. Newsletters will be archived on the Newsletter section of the district website. Please make note of the "View it in your browser" link at the top of this email which can be used to enlarge the text and/or translate this email. We look forward to #upliftingU!

During the November 30 Special School Board Meeting, the Board approved an extension of our current online learning waiver due to COVID-19 data in Polk County indicating that community spread is still at unacceptably high levels and concerns about the ability to adequately staff and support all functions in our buildings. The waiver includes all schools in our District.

The Iowa Department of Education approved our online waiver extension application which means students will continue learning all online from Friday, December 4 through Thursday, December 17, 2020.

Online Learning Waiver Extension Timeline:

• Our existing online learning waiver runs through Thursday, December 3 which means instruction is taking place remotely (all online) within our Required Continuous Learning Instructional Model through the end of day on Thursday, December 3.

• The Iowa Department of Education approved our online waiver extension application which means students will continue learning all online from Friday, December 4, 2020 through Thursday, December 17, 2020.

• All Activities remain suspended during the time of this extended waiver.

• During the December 14 School Board Meeting, the Board will receive an instructional model recommendation from District Administration for December 18, December 21, and December 22 which are the dates that fall beyond the waiver extension leading up to winter break (December 23, 2020 – January 1, 2021). (Note: Rolling Green winter break begins December 21.) District Administration will also provide a recommendation regarding the instructional model we will use when we return from winter break (first day back will be Monday, January 4, 2021).

Similar to our first semester, Urbandale CSD families can choose to have their child(ren) learn remotely (all online) for the second semester within the “Remote Classroom” instructional model. Families only need to complete the form if they wish to CHANGE the instructional delivery model in which their child(ren) will participate for the second semester (i.e. either opt-out or opt-in to Remote Classroom).

If you would like to CHANGE your child(ren)’s instructional delivery model for the second semester (spring 2021), please review the following information and then complete a survey form below.

• The spring semester begins on January 19, 2021and lasts until the end of the school year.

• Survey form responses are due by 11:59 p.m. Monday, December 7, 2020. The reason for this deadline is to provide Urbandale CSD staff the time needed to make necessary schedule changes, teacher assignments, transportation arrangements, and room assignments to accommodate requests from families.

• Your instructional delivery model decision will be in effect from January 19, 2021 through the remainder of the school year.

• We’d like to emphasize that 11:59 p.m. December 7 is a firm deadline. Requests made after this date may not be able to be accommodated.

• Please complete one form per child.

Remote Classroom Sign-Up Forms Due By December 7:

• Remote Classroom: 2nd Semester (English)
  Remotna/Udaljena Učionica: 2. Semestar (Bosnian)

• Aula Remota: 2do Semestre (Spanish)

• အဝေးမှသင်ယူခြင်း – ဒုတိယနှစ်ဝက် (Burmese)

• Inn in (online) sianginn kainak: Semester 2nd nak (Hakha Chin)

We’d like to provide an update regarding the dates and times our Nutrition Services Team will be providing meals for children beginning Monday, December 7 through Thursday, December 17, 2020.

Breakfast & Lunch 12/7/20 – 12/17/20:

• Meals are for all children 18 years and under; children do not need to be present when picking up meals.

• All meals are free (no charge).

• There is no sign-up required in order to pick up meals during this timeframe.

• Meals are for pick-up only and are not to be consumed on site.

• We are providing meals on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays at the following locations and times:

• Jensen & Valerius: 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

• Karen Acres & Bristol Ridge Apartments (behind Fareway on Meredith): 11:40 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

• Webster, Urbandale Middle School & Urbandale High School: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

• On Mondays, we will be providing 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches.

• On Wednesdays, we will be providing 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches.

• On Fridays, we will be providing 3 breakfasts and 3 lunches.

We welcome all students, families, staff, and community members to attend our virtual “Meet the Candidate Forums" taking place from 5:00 p.m. - 5:50 p.m. on December 16, 17, and/or 18 (depending on the number of finalist candidates). Each Forum will host one finalist candidate who is applying for the role of Urbandale CSD Superintendent of Schools. The Forums will be virtual via Zoom Webinar and will also be shared via the District's YouTube Channel. (Note: We will share the Zoom Webinar information closer to the time of the Forums.)

If you have an interview question(s) you'd like to submit for consideration as part of the set of questions that will be asked of each candidate, please complete a form below. Each candidate will respond to the same set of questions that will be asked by the facilitator during the Forum. Please make your question as concise as possible. The Forum will not be interactive, so if you have a question you'd like to pose to the prospective candidates, please submit your question by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, December 10, 2020.

• (English) Prospective Superintendent Interview Questions: Meet the Candidate Forums

• (Burmese) Superindentant-ကြီးကြပ်သူနှင့်တွေ့ဆုံမေးမြန်းခြင်းမေးခွန်းများ – လျှောက်ထားသူ Forumများနှင့်တွေ့ဆုံပါ

• (Hakha Chin) Superintendent kawlmi ca Interview Biahalnak pawl: A sawkmi pawl tonnak Forum

• (Bosnian) Intervju Pitanja za Potencijalnog Upravnika: Upoznajte Kandidate Foruma

• (Spanish) Preguntas para la entrevista al Posible Nuevo Superintendente: Conozca los Foros de los Candidatos

If your student encounters any technical issues with their Chromebook while learning from home, please review this Chromebook Help information for troubleshooting tips and helpline. Also, there’s a handy “Chromebook Help” button on the homepage of the district site which will also take you to the Chromebook Help Information.

Please note: Students are expected to be online for some of the time during their at-home learning days. If you do not have internet service, and need assistance, the district is able to provide support. Complete this form to let us know of your need.

Our priority is to ensure that we are supporting student learning in the safest way possible by being responsive to the status of district and public health as it relates to the spread of COVID-19. On a weekly basis we’ll be updating the current COVID-19 status page within the Return To Learn section of the site to keep our students, families, staff, and community informed about the status of the virus within our District.

We’d like to invite you to share your uplifting stories throughout the year. Uplifting stories could include a quick photo/video, a quick recap of a special moment, a shout out to someone in the district, a message of gratitude, a message of hope; anything that uplifts our human spirit. Please email your uplifting message to Dena Claire and your story will be included in an upcoming newsletter. Thank you!

Nicole Jespersen is always connecting with students who are struggling, whether they are not happy, or struggling to engage in the learning, she spends so much time contacting students, pursuing their interests and building relationships with them so she can bring learning to life.

~Joe Blazevich, UMS Dean of Students/Activities

I would like to give a shout out to Dania Wilson, Interim Principal at Rolling Green Elementary. Dania has done an amazing job being a positive leader in our building. She is always willing to help, listen, offer ideas and bring calm to a year of changes. She has implemented consistent and useful communication to staff and parents. The Rolling Green community is so thankful to have her!

~Denise Obrecht, Rolling Green Associate and UCSD Parent

A shout out to the UHS students and staff for donating a truckload of food for the Urbandale Food Pantry this November. The UHS Key Club and Leo Club combined to sponsor this drive which was cut short due to going virtual, but still a great amount of food collected to help out our community.

~ Melissa Gyure, UHS Spanish Teacher

Jennifer Silvay has been a consistent driving force of leadership for UMS, but especially during this pandemic. She supports and provides resources for all of our special education teachers, ensures families have access to the tools and information they need, and provides equipment and resources for associates to meet the needs of our students. We are thankful for Mrs. Silvay's leadership at UMS!

~ Your Biggest Fans

Jill Miller at Valerius has been an absolute ROCKSTAR with helping all of us with technology and making sure we have everything we need for virtual teaching!

~ Katelyn Martin, Valerius Kindergarten Teacher

Here are some bright and fun 2nd Grade Pop Up Vases from Rolling Green. I was just so impressed with their attention to detail. We were reviewing line, shape, pattern and adding in real and implied texture along with exploring with drawing, cutting, folding, oil pastel, sharpie, colored pencil, tissue paper, and paint!

~ Michel Schmida, UMS/Jensen/Rolling Green/Remote ART

Thank you to our elementary remote teachers who helped their elementary teacher colleagues prepare and feel confident as they transitioned to remote instruction.

~ Lara Justmann, Karen Acres Principal

Joe Blazevich is the point person for all operations, safety and mitigation at UMS. He has managed our nutrition and lunch processes, effectively communicates and ensures sub coverage is adequate and our substitutes have all of the information, resources and tools they need to support our students. Finally, he supports all of the clubs and activities at UMS, with their additional mitigation and safety protocols in place. We are thankful for Mr. Blazevich's leadership at UMS!

~ Your Biggest Fans

Our interpreters have gone above and beyond with their work trying to communicate and work with families to prepare for online learning. Thank you!

~ Laura Beth Chiston, Rolling Green ELL Teacher

Proud of Cayden McNabb for educating and sharing his story about diabetes to Webster Elementary 4th and 5th graders. Cayden shared information and answered questions from students. November was American Diabetes Month.

~ Zach Maertens, Webster 5th Grade Teacher

This was an exchange on GoGuardian between a teacher and student at UMS. Melted my heart.

~ Ashley Bartlett, UMS 8th Grade Language Arts Teacher

The Nutrition Services Staff at Webster is amazing! They have always been exceptional - feeding our students and staff delicious meals with smiles on their faces and a friendly, “Hello!”, but this year truly shows what a great team they are. They have seamlessly transitioned to serving lunch in the classrooms and handing out breakfasts in the hallway. And with our latest change in learning models, they patiently worked outside handing out breakfasts and lunches to families, even wearing a turkey hat to help bring a smile to the faces of those they serve. They are an excellent example of respectfulness, kindness, and being flexible enough to do whatever it takes to help our staff, students and families.

~ Brenda Briggs, Webster Building Secretary

This email is sent to Urbandale CSD parents/guardians and staff every other Friday. If someone you know would like to receive this weekly newsletter, please invite them to Opt-In here. Thank you!

Email: quistd@urbandaleschools.com
Website: www.urbandaleschools.com
Location: 11152 Aurora Avenue, Urbandale, IA, USA
Phone: 515-457-5000
Twitter: @UrbandaleCSD