9/16 Q&A: What'd Ya Miss?

Hey, Cedar Park! Miss the 9/16 zoom session with Cedar Park admins? No worries. We got you. Consider this a supplement to Dr. A’s session on 9/8.

Here’s a rundown of what you missed.

Schedule Adjustment (6th Grade)

Due to some confusion regarding lunch and access to lunch sites, 6th grade advisory will now be from 12:10-12:45pm.

*** All families should know that there is enough time allotted to access the lunch sites. 7th grade elective teachers know that some students may use the asynchronous portion of this period to access lunch sites on Tuesday/Thursday. More info regarding lunch pickup can be found HERE.

Attendance

Attendance is taken for every class, every day, INCLUDING ADVISORY. Please call the Attendance line (503-356-2561) or email the Attendance Secretary (jennifer_adishian@beaverton.k12.or.us) when your child is sick or unable to “attend” class that day.

Going forward, teachers will be posting videos of any new instruction that is giving during class. This will be accessible for any student who is unable to access via Zoom or drop-in during the designated class time.

Advisory

ODE actually REQUIRES schools to provide socio-emotional learning. Advisory is not optional, but is considered just as important as the other classes. Please have your student chat with their advisory teacher if they are unable to attend daily.

Zoom: Authorized User Debacle

Oh good grief, anyone else tearing their hair out at the dreaded “This meeting is for authorized attendees only” message? Infuritating!

Many students are/were having some tough times logging into zoom. Here were Dr. A’s talking points re: zoom security.

Sharing any class zoom links/passcodes/info publicly to social media is considered a violation of the student handbook and there will be disciplinary consequences.
Teachers haven’t been publishing passwords in order to maintain the security of the zoom sessions.
Students MUST be logged into their BSD account in order to access zoom (therein creating an even more secure session). This means students can’t just use their parents’ zoom account to get into class.
Think of Canvas as the classroom door. Have your student start there, using those published links, and that should help alleviate some problems.

Other tips & tricks?

Restart the Chromebook every morning
Close all unnecessary tabs and consider turning off video if zoom is lagging/freezing
Watch Ms. Hitsmann’s handy SSO (single sign-on) video, which can help you get around some of those techy glitches.
Email the shd@beaverton.k12.or.us with tech issues (NOT teachers). If the queue for the help desk is too long, you can have your student call the school.

STILL DYING?? If there’s a specific class/teacher that your student is consistently having trouble getting into, email Megan_Clifford@beaverton.k12.or.us, and she will ensure that the teacher’s settings are correct.

Parent Expectations

The fact that this slide had to be added to the presentation is a bit mortifying, but sounds like we’ll need to go over a few PARENT expectations for zooms.

Though tempting to sit-in and act like the class was meant for parents, the truth is, it’s not. These zoom sessions need to be respected as if it was an in-person class. Parents should not:

Interrupt the teacher
Participate in the class
Record the class
Interact with other students

If you are working as your child’s IT specialist, be muted and get out of dodge once they are ready to go. Finally recognize that teachers are NOT set-up to deal with connectivity issues. Email the Student Help Desk (shd@beaverton.k12.or.us) with those questions.

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Other Juicy Items/Feedback from Parents

Always feel free to email teachers/admins with specific questions. Additionally, the office staff is at the school from 8am-4pm. Give them a call at 503.356.2560.
Parentvue has an app— and it’s decent! Look for it in your device’s App Store.
This fall has been a HUGE change from the spring— thank you teachers!
Inbox exploding? Manage your Canvas notifications by watching this nifty video.
Video is not required by teachers to be on, as everyone has their own personal situation, but they are most definitely encouraged. However, feel free to throw Dr. A and Ms. Clifford under the bus by telling your student that it’s required. They won’t mind.
So.. the breakout rooms are quiet and awkward. Should we be worried? Ms. Clifford is confidant that with time, the middle schoolers will get back to their chatty ways. New school years often start like this, but the kids loosen up.
The PTC is working to create a cohort directory to help foster friendships/lunch groups outside of school. Stay tuned :)
After school club info will be coming in late Oct/early November. If you have an idea/topic that you’d like to share with students, email Melissa_ackerman@beaverton.k12.or.us and she can work with pairing you with a BSD staff member to form a new club.
Cedar Park has a half-time social worker this year and they are planning various parent ed evenings. Email megan_clifford@beaverton.k12.or.us with topic ideas.
Each grade has a counselor, so feel free to reach out and ask for guidance/ideas: Callie Mcauliffe (6th), George Mcmurtry (7th) and Rebecca Pearson (8th).