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Rocket Roundup
May 8, 2024
School Perceptions Staff Survey Closes Today
All NJSD staff members should have received an email on Wednesday, April 24 from "School Perceptions" for our 2023-24 NJSD staff survey. All employees are urged to complete the short survey by May 8. The email contains a unique code for each individual employee to complete the survey. The survey is being conducted by a third party in order to ensure anonymity. Any staff members who did not receive a survey should contact Jim Strick.
Certified Staff Contracts Available in Skyward
Certified staff contracts are available in the "contract letters" tab in Skyward. Go to the top of the page and change the year date to 2024-2025 and it will appear. To see your contract click the button that looks like a forward arrow. Then the arrow down has the sign contract option. Click the "sign" button twice and a verification will appear that the contract was signed. Please contact the HR office with questions.
Employee/Team of the Year Nominations Close Friday
It's time to recognize colleagues across our District who have done outstanding work over the past year. We have so many deserving candidates that we encourage you to take a few minutes to submit as many of these worthy individuals as you'd like. There are categories for all employee classifications, as well as groups of individuals for "Team of the Year." The nominations are due on May 10. Recipients will be announced at the back-to-school convocation in late August.
Grammarly Access on Student Devices to Be Discontinued
In a significant update aimed at ensuring the ethical use of AI tools in educational environments, the decision has been made to discontinue the use of Grammarly on student devices. Starting May 7, 2024, Grammarly, a popular writing and grammar checking tool, will no longer be available as an approved extension for students, nor will they have access to Grammarly’s app and website through school devices.
This measure comes in response to a noticeable increase in unethical AI usage among students, facilitated by Grammarly's offer of 100 free AI prompts each month. The challenges of ensuring that AI tools comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) have led to a reevaluation of the tools approved for student use. Given the lack of a formal contract with Grammarly, the decision to remove it from student devices was deemed necessary to maintain the integrity and security of student and staff data.
The decision to phase out Grammarly access does not reflect an outright opposition to AI tools in educational settings. However, the emphasis remains on ensuring any such tools utilized in the future meet stringent compliance standards with respect to student data protection laws. The district is in the process of identifying and vetting alternative AI solutions that fulfill these requirements.
Grammarly will still be accessible to staff on their accounts and devices. Educators and staff members with questions or who wish to participate in future discussions about the use of AI tools in education are encouraged to reach out to your Tech Coach. The district values your input and looks forward to collaborating on effective and compliant technology solutions for our students.
Google Workspace is in, Zoom is Out
Our current Zoom contract is ending this summer. The special pricing we received during the Covid era has expired, and Zoom's new price is prohibitive. This summer, we're excited to be transitioning from free Google Workspace to Google Workspace's Education Plus. This paid version of Google Workspace brings many advantages, such as access to the full functionality of Google Meet, electronic signatures, advanced security features, in-domain plagiarism checking, and more!
It's important to note that this switch won't affect our use of Canvas as our learning management system. We'll continue using Canvas as usual. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Rocco Marchionda.
Non-Certified Staff Evaluations Due May 10
Evaluation forms are now available in FileMaker Pro for non-certified staff. Staff members need to add a reflection on their performance in the "employee comments" section of the document by May 10. The file may accessed in ClassLink by clicking the "NJSD SSAPE (Web)" icon.
For assistance accessing your document, please contact your Tech Department liaison or put in a help ticket
Board of Education Meeting Recap - May 7
Officers were elected for the upcoming year and a communications plan was reviewed by the Neenah Joint School District Board of Education at its May 7 meeting. Click here to read more
Internal Certified Vacancies and Transfers - Updated!
Certified job vacancies due to retirements, resignations or changed assignments that are ready to post are in the link below. If you are interested in making a change for next year, please complete the form and press "submit," so that we can note your interest. Be sure to indicate the specific job that interests you by checking the box next to each listing. Shortly after this internal posting goes live, the vacancies will be posted on WECAN.
Some things you should take into consideration if you are seeking a transfer:
1. You will only be considered for a transfer for the amount of time a job remains listed on our form, usually just a week.
2. You need to inform your current principal/supervisor that you are considering a transfer.
3. You will only be considered for transfer two times for a given school year.
4. Employees with an in-progress improvement plan on file are not eligible for transfer.
Click here to show your interest in a transfer. Please continue to check back as more jobs are added. If you have questions, please contact the HR Office.
Personal Leave Update
Please note that there is a limit of 15 people that may exercise personal leave on the same day. The District has reached the limit already on certain dates and is approaching this cap on others.
Days that are now closed for the use of personal time are: Friday, May 10; Friday, May 17; and Monday, May 13,
Days that are close to the cap are: Thursday, May 16 and Monday, May 20.
Please remember that no personal leave can be exercised during the students' final 5 days of contact, which covers Friday, May 24 through Friday, May 31. (Remember that Memorial Day falls in there!). Fridays and Mondays are generally challenging days for finding substitute teachers. On all the dates above, it will be more difficult than normal to ensure that classrooms are staffed. Buildings may need to alter other teachers' schedules or cancel certain classes in order to accommodate for labor shortages. Please be patient as the spring unfolds!
With the Skyward transition, Valerie Erickson is organizing by date/time when you have tried to submit a personal day request to ensure that we keep our first-come/first-serve approach to these days off.
Remember that there are cash incentives available for not using personal leave!
Cultural Heritage and Religious Holiday Calendar Posted
Slides Available for AAPI/Hmong American Day
A slide deck is available for teachers to use to recognize some of our Hmong and Asian American Pacific Islander individuals. SEA Club helped put together the slides. Included are some slides of a digital library at the end for read-aloud books.
Health and Wellness Center Offers Skin Screenings
From Prevea Nurse Practitioner Sarah Bleier, APNP, FNP-C
May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Skin cancer is America’s most common cancer, with 5 million cases diagnosed yearly. The good news is that skin cancer is largely preventable, and if identified early it tends to be treatable and even curable. Click here to read more
Daily Practices to Boost Mental Health Webinar Offered
May is Mental Health Awareness month. Mental health affects every aspect of life – how we think, feel, act, function at work and relate to others. While some factors affecting mental health are beyond our control, there are daily habits we can choose that will improve our mental health and overall quality of life. A webinar on Tuesday, May 14 at noon offered by our EAP provider, LifeMatters, will help you discover some of those daily practices that you can begin immediately.
Click here to join the training session. The session password is: 4SSx3y3fJUk
This Week in NJSD Activities
Wednesday, May 8
Softball - Home vs. Appleton West, 5 p.m.
Boys Lacrosse - Home vs. DeForest, 7:30 p.m. (NHS Rocket Stadium)
Thursday, May 9
Boys Tennis - Home vs. Appleton West, 4 p.m. (Middle School Courts)
Softball - Home vs. Kaukauna, 4:30 p.m.
Suzuki Concert, 6 p.m. (NHS Performing Arts Center)
Girls Soccer - Home vs. Fond du Lac, 7 p.m. (NMS Kelderman Field)
Girls Lacrosse - Home vs. Green Bay Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. (NHS Rocket Stadium)
Friday, May 10
Baseball - Home vs. Appleton West, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 11
Show Choir "Finale" Concert, 7:30 p.m. (Pickard Auditorium)
Monday, May 13
Boys Golf - Home vs. Kimberly, 2:45 p.m.
Baseball - Home vs. Oshkosh West, 4:30 p.m.
Middle School Grade 5/Grade 6 Magnet Concert, 6 p.m. (Pickard Auditorium)
Middle School Grades 7/8 Concert, 7:30 p.m. (Pickard Auditorium)
Tuesday, May 14
Baseball - Home vs. Kaukauna, 4:30 p.m.
Softball - Home vs. Appleton North, 5 p.m.
Fifth Grade Band and Strings Concert, 6 p.m.
High School Choir Concert, 7:30 p.m. (NHS Performing Arts Center)