JANUARY 2021 NEWSLETTER
SCHOOL NEWS
Happy New Year! I’m certain that most of you celebrated the end of 2020. I’m hopeful that 2021 will bring all of us closure to the pandemic and a return to a more normal world. There were some silver linings in the last year, and I remind myself to be grateful for the family time, the support of friends and colleagues, and new learning that 2020, while challenging, brought to me.
January is School Board Appreciation Month. I want to thank all those who serve as board members, whether at the EUPISD or our local school districts around the EUP. The decisions faced over the last year by our school boards have been daunting and stressful. Thank you for serving our communities, our schools, and our students. You are appreciated!
As we transition into this new year, take some time to reflect on the past year and plan for this new year. We are so fortunate in our region to have phenomenal staff impacting our students daily. As an ISD, we will continue to find ways to support the teaching and learning at our schools. I look forward to the time we can do this in person. Attack 2021 with vigor and bring your best to our students every day!
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
The MICIP Platform is now live! Once districts have signed their MICIP Opt-In Agreement and MDE has manually generated access (should happen sometime this week), administrators will receive set-up/login instructions from MDE. Visit this ISD-developed MICIP resource site for process supports, and contact Lindsay Brindley (brindley@eupschools.org) with questions.
GENERAL EDUCATION
LITERACY
K-5 Literacy Essentials: Activities that Build Phonological Awareness
January 21st 3:30-4:30
Register in Wisdomwhere
Coffee w/Coaches
For more information, please contact Tammy Bell (tbell2@eupschools.org) or Alicia Johnson (ajohnson2@eupschools.org).
SOCIAL STUDIES
This year’s Regional History Day will take place virtually on March 12, 2021. The theme is Communication in History: The Key to Understanding; students grades K-12 are encouraged to participate. EUP-specific information will be released throughout the month of January. For general support, please visit the Michigan History Day or the National History Day website(s), and/or contact Lindsay Brindley (brindley@eupschools.org).
CTE
Adult CTE offerings will begin January 23, 2021. Rudyard will be offering Woodworking, Newberry - Construction, and the Sault Area Career Center will be offering Welding, CNA, Microsoft, and Manufacturing. Call Randy for more information: 906-259-3289.
EUP STEM REGION
UPCOMING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
- Foundations of Math PLC - 1/11/21, 2/8/21, 3/8/21
- STEM Integrated Learning Team - 1/28/21, 3/10/21
- Math Recovery Fractions – 1/14/21 through 4/8/21
STUDENT CONNECTIONS
- Tomorrow’s Talent Series – Virtual Job Shadowing with UP Businesses!
- Aquaculture Challenge
- Registration due on January 11
- For more information contact Elliot Nelson (elliotne@msu.edu)
- FIRST Robotics in Michigan
Click here for the EUPISD Math Instruction Newsletter!
REGIONAL DATA SYSTEMS/INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY
DATA MANAGEMENT TEAM MEETING
The next Data Management Team will be this Friday, January 8, 2021. Part of the day will be with Skyward and the rest will be collaboration. Register in Wisdomwhere.
SPECIAL EDUCATION
FACE MASKS AND COMMUNICATION
COVID-19 responses, such as social distancing and face masks are essential to stop the spread of the virus. However, it is important to keep in mind the influence this has on communication and speech intelligibility. Face masks provide a filtering effect that can impact audibility and clarity of speech. Masks also hide facial expressions and cues important for speech comprehension. When you do not see lip movements and sounds are filtered, it makes it harder to recognize low frequency sounds, like the sound /p/. Social distancing also impacts speech intelligibility. According to the inverse-square law, sounds diminish by 6 decibels for each doubling distance. With reduced volume and visual cues, quality of communication is reduced, which can contribute to misunderstandings and mishearing in an academic setting, especially for student’s with hearing loss. The speech intelligibility is further degraded by sound reverberation, and competition with ambient environmental noise levels. Click here to read more from the SLP Newsletter!
SURROGATE PARENTS
Surrogate parents are individuals appointed to act in the place of a parent to participate in making special education decisions for a child when no parent is available. The EUPISD provides training for surrogate parents and makes appointments when a surrogate parent is needed. To learn more about Surrogate Parents, check out the updated Surrogate Parent FAQ.
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION SUPPORTS (PBIS)
Tier 1 Schoolwide Positive Behavior Intervention Supports are the building block of a schoolwide PBIS System. Click here to read the January 2021 PBIS Newsletter
Click HERE to read the January Special Education Newsletter
Click HERE to read the January 2021 School Social Work Newsletter!
UPCOMING VIRTUAL TRAININGS:
SDI Math 1/13/21
The Behavior Code Companion 1/14/21
New SE Provider Training (EUP processes and forms) 1/28/21
New SE Provider Training (Illuminate) 2/4/21
Please visit Wisdomwhere for a full description and to register for above trainings.
EUPISD LEARNING CENTER
Click here for the EUPISD Learning Center Newsletter!
EARLY CHILDHOOD
The EUP Great Start Collaborative, along with local preschool centers, are pleased to have distributed 500 “Talking is Teaching” family literacy kits to preschoolers across the EUP. The materials in the kit were provided by the EUP Great Start Collaborative and funded with a grant from the Michigan Department of Education. We are happy to support parents in talking, reading, and signing together every day!
Maren can be seen below enjoying “An Elephant & Piggie Biggie!” book by Mo Willems.
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Please write or call with your comments, suggestions, and/or concerns.
Angie McArthur, Superintendent – angiem@eupschools.org
