Garfield Re-2 News You Can Use

NO, not the critter.

October 23 between 6.02 am and 6:02pm is National Mole Day. It’s a basic chemistry algorithm, and not about those funny looking creatures called moles. It commemorates chemistry’s measuring unit called “Avogadro’s Number”. The day is celebrated as a means to bring awareness and create interest in the study of Chemistry. The day is celebrated by schools around the USA by doing mole and chemistry themed activities. In scientific terms, a mole is in relation to the molar mass of a given molecule. A mole is literally a unit of measurement to reflect an amount of a chemical substance.

Hello Garfield Re-2 Staff,

A HUGE thank you for everything that you do, every day to keep our schools open! Your efforts to encourage, nurture and challenge our students every day, support our in-person and online students in so many ways.

While you are busy working to keep our schools open, the Human Resources team as well the Finance team, Superintendent Grumley and Assistant Superintendent Lisa Pierce have been working around the clock to identify issues that need to be fixed.

We are aware of the issues surrounding pay, comp time, accruals, and payroll issues. A lot of these issues we would not be aware of if we did not hear from you! A big thank you to those of you that have already come forward to let us know some of the human resources and payroll issues you are experiencing.

Please know that if you have reached out and not heard back, it’s not that we are ignoring you, it’s that we are trying to identify the exact issues before we communicate back. As soon as we are able to get to you, we will be in touch as soon. We want you to know we are one team and we absolutely want to make things fair and right for all of you.

We are here for you. You are the reason we are taking these issues very seriously. Because of the complexity of these issues, it may take awhile for us to truly solve them for the long term. Now that we are getting all of our teams rebuilt and in place, you can expect more communication to start coming from the district office as we identify these issues, Superintendent Grumley, Assistant Superintendent Lisa Pierce, and myself are going to be popping into staff meetings throughout this year to communicate with you what we are working on.

You may even see members of the Human Resources and Finance team joining us. We will be holding virtual town hall meetings soon to talk about changes that will be coming in regards to fixing these issues. We look forward to connecting with all of you! Again thank you for all that you do everyday to focus on providing the best learning experience for our kids!

Wendy comes to us with an education and healthcare background. She taught English, Speech and Drama for 14 years and most recently worked at Valley View Hospital orienting new employees and training staff. She is delighted to be a part of the HR team at Garfield Re-2!

Wendy’s HR Duties include:

New Hires (Job Postings, Recruitment, Onboarding), PreSchool Background Checks (Trails), Exit Interviews, New Employee Orientation, Credits, Interviews, and assisting with benefits enrollment.

Gabby is a Pastor, happily married for 25 years, and with 4 beautiful kids. She came from Mexico 26 years ago when she married her husband,before that she was going to the University to become a Lawyer. Once in the USA she first started working as a salesperson in Walmart then she moved up to be a Manager for several areas and worked as HR Representative, later on, she went to work for Colorado Mountain College as a Preschool Sub Teacher and then became a Pastor in a Glenwood Springs Hispanic Church. She also worked for Valley View Hospital in the Insurance Verification Department and as a Patient Access Professional. Now she is here and she hopes to help you with your professional needs. Her heart is for the people, she believes a smile, positive feedback , being compassionate, and showing love to each other can make a big difference in this World.

Gabby’s HR Duties include:

FMLA, Workers Compensation, ID Badges, Volunteers, Transfers/Resignations, COVID pay, Certified Staff Licenses, Employee Portal, and Credits

I'm very enthusiastic and a go-getter. I enjoy the great outdoors and riding my ATV. I really enjoy reading and crocheting during my downtime in the evenings. I have served as a substitute teacher in the Garfield Re-2 School District as well so I bring a unique perspective to coordinating subs throughout the District!

Nan’s HR duties include:

Verifications of Employment “VOE’s”, Substitute Coordinator, LOC Room Coordinator, Invoices & Bills for HR

I am a former KSE Red Tail Hawk, Riverside Viking, and Coal Ridge Titan. I am so happy to be back in the District that helped shape me into who I am today and serving my community and all of you! I have a BBA with a concentration in Human Resources from Colorado Mesa University. I was that nerd that was president of the Human Resources club throughout my college days, as I said in my interview here, “I love HR.” Since then I have held a variety of different Human Resources positions that will help me bring a diverse range of knowledge to the Human Resources department here at Garfield Re-2. I live locally with my fiance and two dogs. I can’t wait to continue to meet all the great staff members that truly make Garfield Re-2 great and what it is today!

Kayla 'sHR Duties Include:

Employee Grievances, Disciplinary actions, Policy questions, Employment contracts, Job Descriptions, COVID Pay, Salary Schedules,Extra Pay, Virtual Work Requests, ADA Accommodations, Legal

If so, the Human Resources team is currently reviewing credits. We are actually reviewing all Certified Personnel in assurance that we did not miss anyone during the transition of departments! If the credits you submitted warrant a salary advancement, we will be issuing new contracts around November 1, 2020 for November 15th paycheck. Pay will be retroactive back to August. We will be contacting you directly to let you know where you sit.

Please see Personnel policy GCBA-R on what qualifies for salary advancement. Salary credit must be submitted prior to October 1st each year to be credited to that year’s contract salary. Have credit questions still? Reach out to Human Resources at hr@garfiledre2.net .

We all love extra pay!

Here are the steps to take to make sure that you get your extra pay stipends in the right amount and when you expect it.

1) Request an extra pay form (there is a photo of one below) from your building Finance Secretary;

2) Complete the extra pay form with the appropriate information;

3) Have your supervisor and/or your school Principal sign it;

3) Return to Human Resources either via Intradistrict mail or by scanning and sending it to hr@garfieldre2.net.

These are all required in order for Human Resources to process your extra pay request. By following these four steps, it will ensure that you receive the pay you are expecting it, in the time frame you are expecting it in.

Thank you!

Aspen Ski Co is offering Garfield Re-2 employees SEVEN days of skiing on their slopes for free. It is called the Gratitude Pack. This is essentially a complimentary Valley 7-Pack.

Here is how to get those AWESOME POWDER DAYS!

Download the PDF below, complete the information and email or provided it (i.e. stop by the DO, send it through intradistrict mail, physically hand it to) Nan Danielson at the District Office by NO LATER THAN NOVEMBER 12.

There was some confusion is the information that went out in the News You Can Use. The PDF form said to return to Aspen Ski Co. If you emailed Aspen Ski Co. PLEASE - send that information to Nan Danielson at ndanielson@garfieldre2.net.

We have revised the PDF to avoid any confusion.

You can also purchase a Premier Ski Pass and have it payroll deducted over 3 pay periods for $999.00.

These offers are good ONLY for Garfield Re-2 employees. There are blackout dates that apply.

Details on the blackout dates for Gratitude 7-Pack can be found here: https://www.aspensnowmass.com/plan-your-stay/tickets-and-passes/season-passes/valley-passes.

Thank you Aspen Ski Co. and THANK YOU to the entire Garfield Re-2 staff that is supporting our students in so many different ways EVERY DAY!

GRATITUDE PASS FORM

Over two days, Garfield Re-2 Health Services staff in partnership with Garfield County Public Health provided nearly 300 flu shots! Thank you to all who came and participated in the drive-thru clinics.

The Garfield Re-2 School Board will hold their regular meeting at the District Office on Monday, October 26, 2020. The workshop begins at 6:30 and the board meeting begins immediately following the workshop.

This meeting will include Spanish interpretation.

If you would like to participate in public comments you may do so in person, via zoom or via email. Please email us at publicaudience@garfieldre2.net to indicate which means you would like to participate. We can only have 25 people in the school board meeting room, so we ask that you please let us know in advance if you would like to come in person and/or comment in person. If you would like your comments read from an email, please limit your email to 350 words.

You can watch the meeting via zoom. Agendas are posted below.

When: Oct 26, 2020 06:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Topic: Garfield Re-2 School Board Meeting

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87646484090?pwd=L1BBY3ZNR2FQNmQ5bXZKTzQ1cTBEdz09

Passcode: 866450

Or iPhone one-tap :

US: +13462487799,,87646484090#,,,,,,0#,,866450# or +16699006833,,87646484090#,,,,,,0#,,866450#

Or Telephone:

Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

US: +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 436 2866 or +1 301 715 8592

Webinar ID: 876 4648 4090

Passcode: 866450

International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kDjuoBLE

For the 20-21 school year, Garfield Re-2 chose to delay the beginning of school by two weeks to better prepare our facilities and instructional capacity. We did this to improve safety for our students and staff and to provide the highest quality education possible.

You may recall in a previous newsletter that Garfield Re-2 has determined we can meet our statutory obligation for contact hours with the current schedule, however, this leaves no additional time to accommodate for weather events or other issues that may disrupt in-person learning.

During severe weather events, evaluation for school closure begins the evening prior and continues at about 4:00 a.m. with conversations between Colorado Department of Transportation, Garfield County Road and Bridge, the Director of Transportation, the Director of Communication, the Superintendent and an evaluation of current and future weather information.

In the event of a school closure or to observe a delayed start, the following resources will be used to let families know about the closure: An autodialer message will be sent to families as soon as possible. The practice is to make the call using the autodialer system by about 5:30 a.m.

In all situations, schools will pivot to online instruction immediately to allow students to access lessons provided by and supported by their regular teachers and allow students to continue their learning despite an inability to access school facilities.

Other emergencies that threaten the safety, health or welfare of students or staff members that will result in distance learning will be communicated to families as quickly as possible using the same communication channels listed above including: autodialer/autoemail, newspapers and radio stations.

The best way to help keep our schools open is to keep COVID-19 cases in Garfield County as low as possible.

Help us by making the following commitments:

I commit to:

WEAR a mask.

WASH my hands.

WALK, ride or play 6 feet away.

WORK together safely.

IF ILL – stay home

Our vision is to Encourage, Nurture and Challenge every student, every day.

Email: thamilton@garfieldre2.net
Website: www.garfieldre2.net
Location: 839 Whiteriver Avenue, Rifle, CO, USA
Phone: 970-665-7600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Garfieldre2/
Twitter: @GarfieldRe2