Congratulations to Mr. Dan Cyboron, who was the August ABC Bluejay Staff Member of the Month!

Nominees this month include:

Teresa Zinnel: I would like to nominate Teresa Zinnel.  She has been a blessing helping me with my exploratory science students.  She took time out for me to talk about each one of her students in my class and how to best reach them with content.  She helps me get the students caught up when they are behind from being gone.  She allows me to come talk to her when I have a concern about one of her students.

Paige Havranek: I would love to nominate Paige Havranek for the ABC Bluejay Staff Member of the Month! She has gone above and beyond to help all the new teachers, but particularly the English Department. She checks in on us to answer questions, gets together with us once a week, and helps out in any way she can. She is always full of energy, helpful suggestions, and positive support. I really appreciate her!

Todd VanWinkle: Todd VanWinkle, because he is willing to do anything you ask of him in a quick and efficient way. He does things you don't even ask him to do. For the volleyball team, he is loading our bus with snacks and drinks for an away game, on his own. He says it's part of the Boosters, buuuuttttt, it's also just because he's a great man. NOTHING seems to be an inconvenience for him and he is always working his hardest. He is up here at school every day (weekends included) of the week doing SOMETHING to benefit our school and make it the best it can be. 

We continue to work on our behavior expectations:

• Arrive to class prepared and on time

• Use work time appropriately

• Complete assigned task on time and with proficiency

• Demonstrate respect for people and property

• Respond appropriately to staff directives

So far this year we have had 52 referrals.  The expectation that has the highest number of referrals (37) is "Respond appropriately to staff directives".  The classroom items most cited are "Failure to follow directions" and "Not in Learning Position".    This is to be expected as it is the beginning of the year and we have really focused on LEARNING our new behavior expectations.  It is important to note that the vast majority of these have been teacher managed, I have only had 7 office referrals.  

The rest of the referrals are as follows:

Arrive to class prepared and on time - 4

Use work time appropriately- 8

Complete task on time and with proficiency- 5

Demonstrate respect for people and property- 18

The teacher interventions most often used are "Reteaching" and "Problem Solving with the Student" (77%)

Another focus for staff this year is the use of Behavior Specific Praise and maintaining a 3:1 positive to negative feedback ratio.  Mrs. Cron and I have done classroom observations, the data is as follows:

Currently we are at a 4:1 ratio.

It is considered negative feedback anytime you address a behavior you don't want, even when it is being addressed in a positive way.  For this reason we distinguish between negative feedback and corrective feedback.  

Examples of Feedback

Corrective Feedback - “Mary, I’d like to see you in whole body listening please”

Negative Feedback - “Mary sit up and pay attention”

Behavior Specific Praise - “I love the way John is sitting in whole body listening, his eyes are on me, his

                                      hands are on his desk, his feet are on the floor, well done John.

1.  Facility Audit Proposal from BVH-Future budget planning of expenditures for building maintenance, improvement, and repair.  (Bid for audit services by BVH is attached.)

2.  FLSA-Pat and I are working through the impending changes in the Fair Labor Standards Act.  This may require adjusting contract language and contracted salary amounts for some employees.  Any contract adjustments will be brought to the Board of Education with a rationale for adjustment and for approval prior to any contract amendment.

3.  Negotiations Conference-September 8th

• FLSA Changes-Potential changes, as previously mentioned.
• "Health Insurance Marketplace Notifications" from IRS for penalty (tax) assessments-We have not received any yet.
• Negotiating withing the 98%-102% statutory boundaries, and maintaining no more than a 2.5% increase in total compensation to correspond with annual certified budget authority increase.  There are school boards in the Pender area, attempting to "band" together and hold the line on a 2.5% or less increase.
• Transgender Update-Attorneys are advising that based on legal clarifications and discussions this summer, that students can be required to use the restroom consistent with their biological gender.  If they want to use another restroom, schools are encouraged to use the "gender identification protocol" established by NSAA prior to allowing that student to use a different restroom.

4.  Negotiations Ground Rules (See Attachement), Negotiations Timeline (See Attachment), & Current 2016-17 Negotiated Agreement (See Attachment)-Last year, our first negotiations meeting was held in conjunction with our regular October 12th Board Meeting.  Does the board wish to send a copy of the "Negotiations Ground Rules" to the REA Members and to schedule that first meeting at this point?  Are there any suggestions or revisions the board would like to make to the "Negotiations Ground Rules," with the understanding that these ground rules serve as a guide and are "non-binding"?  Any other information or concerns you would like for me to address as we begin the negotiations process this year?  If you have items pertaining to negotiations that you would like to see negotiated this year, please make me aware of them.

5.  Calendar Clarification-We will be hosting district one-act play competition.  Monday, November 28th, will be a non-contract day for staff and a non-student day because of the hosting of the competition.  This will add one day to the Thanksgiving Break, making the Thanksgiving Break from Wednesday, November 23rd (noon dismissal), through Monday, November 28th.

6.  Sparq Data Solutions (New Name for NASB Data Services) is offering school districts the opportunity to be "beta testers" for their new EMeetings Software.  I've signed up to be a tester.  So, we may have a meeting in the future using this new software in order to demo it for the board and see how they like it and have any suggestions.

7. Conference Membership Update-Two school were invited to apply for membership to the LouPlatte Conference, Amherst and Central City.  Amherst has declined, indicating that they don't feel like they have the numbers to make them larger enough to be viable members of the conference.  Central City's Superintendent attended the September 7th Fall LouPlatte Conference Meeting and indicated they are interested in joining the conference and will be taking corresponding board action this fall to make application for membership.

Congratulations to Marilyn Bohn for being elected to the ESU 10 Board!  She will represent Ravenna and ESU 10 well.  -Ken Schroeder

Congratulations to Larry Behrendt on receiving his Level 3 Nebraska Association of School Board Award.  The award represents his commitment as a board member and his commitment to continuing his education and growth as a board member.  -Ken Schroeder

The Elementary and Secondary Principal Reports were very well done and contained valuable information.  Great job!  -Marilyn Bohn

Thanks to the office staff and to the administration for completing the work associated with the state auditor's follow up.  -Misti Fiddelke

Thanks to Mrs. Jarzynka and to Darius Flessner & Sam Wetzel for coming to the board meeting to share their "Bluejay Celebration of Success" and demonstrate the wonderful and engaging activities they are doing in science class.  Mrs. J does a great job and her students' enthusiasm for science show it!  -Larry Behrendt