December 6, 2022
From Our SEL Team
Free Self-Care Sessions for Staff — By Staff!
The EPS Social-Emotional Learning team will launch two self-care sessions in January, both of which are free and have been developed by our educators. These are not professional development courses, but rather opportunities for you to engage in fun wellness activities with your EPS colleagues.
Caring for You: Group Training
This class is an all-levels fitness class designed to inspire participants to focus on their physical health. Exercise is a great way to improve your mental well-being and gain confidence in your abilities. During the colder months this class will focus on all components of exercise including total body strength, muscle endurance and cardio segments. You will enjoy a variety of different workout styles such as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Circuit-style stations while utilizing a variety of equipment. As the weather gets warmer, this class will include outdoor activities such as walking.
Schedule: Every other Wednesday from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. on the following dates:
- January 4
- January 18
- February 1
- February 15
- March 1
- March 15
- March 29
- April 12
- April 26
- May 10
- May 24
- June 7
- June 21
Location: In person at Keverian School. (Sessions will be held indoors or outdoors, depending on the weather.
Limit: 20 participants
Caring for You: All Levels Yoga Flow
This all-level yoga class is designed to help participants release physical stress. During the hour-long sessions, we will stretch and strengthen your body and your mind, leaving you feeling stronger and more flexible as you dedicate time to the practice.
Schedule: Every other Wednesday from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. on the following dates:
- January 11
- January 25
- February 8
- March 8
- March 22
- April 5
- May 3
- May 17
- May 31
- June 14
Location: In person at the Keverian School
Limit: 20 participants
Professional Development
TCIS TRAINING
The SEL Department is pleased to announce that it has 18 openings for TCIS training. This is a great professional development opportunity for classroom teachers on trauma informed best practices. If you are interested, please reach out to SEL Director Brian Wallace as soon as possible. The sessions will be held in person at the Devens School.
Agenda
TCIS is a crisis intervention program specifically designed for schools. This program was created at and is administered by Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. This program came into existence in Ithaca during the early 1980’s and is now a program that is administered in many countries all around the world.
TCIS is an intervention system that has been proven to:
- Make staff members more confident in their ability to manage crisis situations
- Increase staff confidence as a team in handling crisis situations
- Create consistency in approaching children in crisis
- Reduce critical incidents
- Reduce instances of fighting, serious verbal abuse, restraints, and assaults
- Increase knowledge of crisis intervention
- Teach children new coping skills
Day 1: Wednesday, January 4, 2023, from 3 to 7 p.m.
Activity 1: Introduction to Course (40 minutes)
Activity 2: TCIS System (30 minutes)
Activity 3: The Classroom Milieu and Crisis Prevention (60 minutes)
Break (10 minutes)
Activity 4: Helping Students Feel Safe by Creating a Culture of Nonviolence (30 minutes)
Activity 5: The Importance of Emotional Competence (60 minutes)
Day 2: Monday, January 9, 2023, from 3 to 7 p.m.
Refocus (10 minutes)
Activity 6: The Stress Model of Crisis (60 minutes)
Activity 7: Assessing the Situation (40 minutes)
Activity 8: Knowing Ourselves (40 minutes)
Break (10 minutes)
Activity 9: Knowing the Student (60 minutes)
Activity 10: Managing the Environment (20 minutes)
Day 3: Wednesday, January 11, 2023, from 3 to 7 p.m.
Refocus (10 minutes)
Activity 11: Crisis Communication and Active Listening (60 minutes)
Activity 12: Identifying and Responding to Feelings (40 minutes)
Activity 13: Practicing Active Listening (40 minutes)
Break (10 minutes)
Activity 14: Behavior Support Techniques (40 minutes)
Activity 15: Practicing Behavior Support Techniques (40 minutes)
Day 4: Wednesday, January 18, 2023, from 3 to 7 p.m.
Refocus (10 minutes)
Activity 16: Emotional First Aid (60 minutes)
Activity 17: Giving Emotional First Aid (30 minutes)
Activity 18: The Power Struggle (30 minutes)
Break (10 minutes)
Activity 19: Managing Aggressive Behavior (40 minutes)
Activity 20: Nonverbal Communication (30 minutes)
Activity 22: Elements of a Potentially Violent Situation (30 minutes)
Day 5: Monday, January 23, 2023, from 3 to 7 p.m.
Refocus (10 minutes)
Activity 23: Help Me Help Myself – Crisis Co-Regulation (40 minutes)
Activity 24: The Life-Space Interview (30 minutes)
Activity 25: Practicing the LSI (45 minutes)
Break (10 minutes)
Activity 38: Safety Concerns and Documentation (30 minutes)
Activity 39: Developing the Individual Crisis Management Plan (30 minutes)
Activity 32: Crisis Intervention Role Plays (45 minutes)
Day 6: Wednesday, January 25, 2023, from 3 to 7 p.m.
Testing
Life Space Interview and Written Assessment
Closing Ceremony
Opportunities for Staff
STEM COUNCILThe EPS Science Department is seeking staff to join the STEM Council. Members will support the STEM Director in selecting and implementing district-wide science/STEM initiatives including curriculum exploration, field trips, projects and activities, and surveying teachers and students. The team will be composed of the K-8 STEM Director and educators from each of the K-8 schools and the Devens.
Click HERE for complete details.
INNOVATION PATHWAY OPENINGS
The EPS has been awarded the Innovation Pathways: Implementation and Support Grant to support a year-long project to develop the following guiding principles in Everett High School’s Innovation pathways: Computer Science, Cybersecurity, STEM Early Engineering Designation, Health Science, and Entrepreneurial Finance.To complete this essential work, we are seeking an Innovation Pathway Coordinator and Innovation Pathway teachers.
Please see below for details about these paid opportunities.
Coordinator
Teaching Positions
The EPS Community
JEANS DAY
The district will hold its next Jeans Day Fundraiser on Friday, December 9th. Proceeds will benefit an EPS family that recently suffered a tragic loss and can greatly benefit from the generosity of the EPS community. Please make your $5 to your building’s Administrative Assistant. All final collections should be forwarded to Webster Extension Head Teacher Jessyca Redler.
This Sunday!
POLAR PLUNGE TO BENEFIT SPECIAL OLYMPICS
The event will be held this Sunday, December 11th, at Everett Police Headquarters on 45 Elm Street. Registration and check in begins at 9 a.m. The Plunges begin at 11 a.m.
Click HERE for information on how to sign up and/or donate.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is sponsoring its first-ever “Name a Plow” Contest for K-8 students. It is asking classes to submit creative, funny names for the state’s snowplows. Winners will be chosen in two grade brackets (K-4) and (5-8) for each of the state’s six highway districts. Once a classroom decides upon a name, the teacher can enter it into MassDOT’s portal. Students are encouraged to be creative, and preference will be given to names that reflect Massachusetts’ unique character. Submissions must be made by people over age 18, and classroom submissions are encouraged unless a child is homeschooled.
JOIN AN MTEL COMMITTEE AND SUPPORT KEY UPDATES
The Department and Pearson’s Evaluation Systems Group are seeking licensed Massachusetts educators to participate in several upcoming Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) committees. Committees typically meet over the course of two to three days, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., in person. The Department is committed to centering voices of those who have been historically marginalized in public education and strongly encourage Black, Indigenous, LatinX, Asian, other educators of color, and members of other historically marginalized groups to apply. Anyone interested in serving on a committee is asked to please complete an application here. Please email any questions about this opportunity to Robyn Kaczowka at [email protected].
The meetings for each committee are as follows:
January 9-10: Qualifying score conferences for biology and chemistry
January 11-12: Qualifying score conferences for middle school mathematics/science, earth and space science, and physics
January 13: Item validation meeting for middle school mathematics/science
January 23-24: Early Childhood Item Review Committee and History/Social Science Item Review Committee
February 7: Bias Review Committee
February 8-9: Bilingual Education Item Review Committee
SHARE FEEDBACK ON INDUCTION AND MENTORING
The Department, alongside the Region 1 Comprehensive Center at the American Institutes for Research, is hosting a virtual, hour-long conversation about induction and mentoring in Massachusetts schools. Any educator involved in induction and mentoring as a coordinator, mentor, mentee, or in another role, is encouraged to have their voice heard. Participants will share how their district or school implements induction and mentoring, offer suggestions of needed supports, inform updates to the annual induction and mentoring report, and learn about state trends in induction and mentoring programming.Educators who are willing to join the conversation should click here to indicate their interest and confirm their ability to attend one virtual session at either 7:30-8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 10 or 4:00-5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 18. After expressing interest, watch for communications from Region 1 Comprehensive Center staff for further information. Please email questions about these sessions to [email protected].
IT’S YOUR NEWSLETTER!
Do you have anything that might be suitable for the EPS Staff Newsletter? Good news? Something cool? Something you would like to share with your colleagues? A photo? Please, send it our way for consideration.MAGAZINE STAND
Check it out.