Weekly Teacher Download for September 28

ALL TEACHERS

Teacher Service Day: The first Teacher Service Day (no students) for 2020-2021 is today. September 28 is a district-based professional development day. Teachers are expected to report to work and participate in development. This is not deemed a compensation day. Refer to the HISD eLearning website for the course list and course numbers. Pre-registration is required for all courses. Courses are available for administrators and teachers throughout the day as full-day, half-day, or quarter-day sessions.

Mindfulness Activities: The American Psychology Association states, “Mindfulness meditation can improve both mental and physical health.” Please consider building your Mindfulness program with the following meditation activities and exercises. These mindfulness activities can help energize, renew, and fuel your body. Click here to watch the Understanding Mindfulness presentation from the Social Emotional Learning summer series webinar. Click here to access Mindfulness Exercise videos with an SEL department manager. Click here to access the Rethink Ed self-care series and lesson plans. Visit the Rethink Ed HISD page and the SEL Google site for more resources.

Communicable Disease Plan: In May 2020, HISD established a Communicable Disease Plan Task Force — a working group made up of key employees, educators, parents, community members, and healthcare officials. The 72-member task force was charged with reviewing guidance from local, state, and federal health and education officials, as well as feedback from HISD parent and teacher surveys, to identify ways HISD could return students and teachers to classrooms and employees to office workspaces while following public health guidelines and mitigating transmission of communicable diseases. Click here to review the plan’s recommendations, procedures, protocol, challenges, and needs.

HISD Connect: If you have not received training for the new gradebook system, register today using OneSource. If you have already received training, find additional resources in the HISD Solution Center, including Grade Book Solutions, the Teacher Quick Access Guide, Creating Assignments, Traditional Grade Calculations, Entering Grades/Scoring, and Modifying Grades. View additional information, including PD Plus (recommended courses from PowerSchool). Online recordings of the training sessions are located in OneSource and available 24/7 (Elementary-1443649, Secondary-1443411).

SECONDARY TEACHERS

CTE Professional Development Opportunities: The Career Readiness department is also offering professional development training to high school CTE teachers only on Sept. 28: “Expanding Learning Opportunities Through DiscoverU.” During this session, participants will receive an overview of DiscoverU and college-focused and career-focused educational experiences available to all HISD high school students. Upon completion of the course, educators will understand the process and have access to the resources necessary to connect students with high-quality, highly engaging Fantastic Learning Opportunities that align with academic goals and personal interests. CTE instructors, please register through OneSource Learning.

CTE Professional Development Opportunities: The Career Readiness department will also offer another session on Sept. 28: “A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience (ASPIRE),” hosted by the MD Anderson Department of Behavioral Science. You do not want to miss this session! This is a virtual bilingual autonomous curriculum program that teaches students about the dangers of traditional nicotine products and others, such as e-cigs, hookah, and marijuana. Discussions will center around the dangers of vaping and nicotine products, introduce ASPIRE, and outline the benefits of implementing the program for CTE teachers and their students. CTE instructors, please register through OneSource Learning.

CTE Virtual Employability Skills and 30-Second Commercial: Workforce Solutions worked and collaborated diligently to present CTE teachers with a remote presentation on the Definition of a Virtual Interview, Virtual Interview Tips, Career Pathways, 30-Second Commercial, CAR Statement, and Entitlement Creed. This presentation shows how a job interview leverages video technology to allow the discussion to take place remotely. Rather than meeting face-to-face, the hiring manager and candidate can connect online using video software. This information is for high school CTE teachers who teach employability skills to make high school students “employable,” able to apply skills to almost any job in any industry. View a completed 30-Second Commercial handout.

CTE Teacher Instructions for Updating Laptops/Adobe Creative Cloud Click here to learn how to update student laptops to prepare them to receive the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop application. Learn how to download the Creative Cloud Desktop App from the Software Center and how to perform a force update of a PowerUp Laptop’s Policies and Software Center. Once the Adobe Creative Cloud app is installed, students do not have to be on the district network to install other Adobe applications such as Photoshop, Premiere, InDesign, etc. Students can download and install any Adobe program from the Creative Cloud Desktop as long as they have access to the internet.

CTE GRAD Advising & Programming: GRAD advising and programming are available to anyone of any age interested in planning for college or career training, including one-on-one support, group workshops, and webinars. Click here to schedule a virtual appointment or visit our website for information. Grad advisors are available to answer questions and assist you with college planning. Services are entirely free. Schedule an online advising session today. Learn more about the upcoming virtual Petrochemical Industry Careers workshop, which is presented in partnership with the Shell College and Career Talent Development Program. Industry experts will be available to answer your questions.