Staff Talk

A flexible spending account allows employees to pay for qualified medical expenses, or qualified dependent care (child care) expenses on a pre-tax basis.

Employees may choose to participate in one or both flex spending options: 1) Flex medical plan; 2) Flex dependent care plan. Under IRS guidelines, these accounts are subject to the “use it or lose it” rule which means that you must file receipts for these expenses by the end of the plan year or you “lose” the money you have set aside for the plan year.

You must re-enroll each year in order to participate in this program. New hires that recently enrolled Sept. 1, 2019 or October 1, 2019 must now re-enroll for the new plan year if they wish to continue beyond Oct. 31, 2019. This account does not "roll over" from one year to the next.

For the November 1, 2019 plan year, the annual medical spending account maximum will be $2,550 a year.

How do I enroll in the program?

The enrollment form and plan information is available on the District Intranet on the District’s Benefits webpage. Please remember to forward the completed enrollment form to the Human Resources Department; do not send the enrollment form to Allegiance directly. You also have an opportunity to learn more about this program at one of the following meetings with Allegiance Benefits and BSD Human Resources staff.

Section 125 Plan Information Meetings - 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. You are encouraged to attend if you have questions about this program:

• Tuesday, October 1, Highland Park Middle School, Media Center
• Wednesday, October 2, Conestoga Middle School, Media Center
• Tuesday, October 8, Administration Center, Conference Room 3

Enrollment forms must be received in the Human Resources Dept. no later than Monday, Oct. 14, 2019 to be eligible for the November 1, 2019 plan year.

Please do not send forms by fax; Allegiance requires original, signed enrollment forms.

For more information, please contact Debbie Johnson, Health Resource Supervisor, at 503-356-4459, or by email.

BSD Regence medical members may receive free flu shots at the BSD flu shot clinics listed below. They (and their eligible dependents) may also receive free flu shots at a Regence participating pharmacy if the pharmacy electronically bills Regence for the flu shot (e.g. getaflushot.com and Walgreens).

BSD Kaiser members may receive their free flu shot at their Kaiser medical clinic beginning in early October; Walk-in flu shot clinics: (visit the the Kaiser Permanente website for locations)

Dates: October 12 – 25

Hours: Saturday: October 12 and 19, from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Monday – Friday: October 14 through 25, from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

BSD Flu Shot Clinics: no pre-registration required, family members welcome, ages 11 to adult - cost: free (Regence Blue Cross members must bring their medical card for the free shot.) There is a $25 fee for non-Regence Blue Cross vaccinations.

• Wed. Oct. 09 - 3:00 – 5:30 p.m. - Administration Center - Conference Room 3
• Mon. Oct. 14 - 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. - Whitford MS - Media Center
  
• Tue. Oct. 15 - 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. - Conestoga MS - Media Center
  
• Wed. Oct. 16 - 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. - Sunset HS - Community Room
• Thurs. Oct. 17 - 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. - Aloha HS - Cafeteria
  
• Wed. Oct. 23 - 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. - Westview HS - Media Center
  
• Thurs. Oct. 24 - 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. - Beaverton HS - Lower Cafeteria

Additional dates with priority for Transportation staff:

• Thurs. Oct. 10, 9:15 - 10:45 a.m., TSC (1270 NW 167th Place)
  
• Thurs. Oct. 17, 9:15 – 10:45 a.m., 5th Street Transportation, 10550 SW 5th St.

For more information, please contact Debbie Johnson, Health Benefits Coordinator, at 503-356-4459.

Do you identify as LGBTQ+? Join our email list to stay in the loop on events relevant to our community. Also, come to our LGBTQ+ Staff Affinity Group meetings! Our next one will be a collaboration with BMEC (Beaverton Multicultural Educator Community) on November 21st. Email Gretchen Mollers gretchen_mollers@beaverton.k12.or.us if you're interested.

If you'd like more info about supporting LGBTQ+ students, email Gretchen Mollers gretchen_mollers@beaverton.k12.or.us. And take a look at the fabulous resources on TeacherSource!

Did you know you can listen live to the School Board Meetings now from the comfort of your own home?

We are livestreaming the audio on our District YouTube Channel. To help you better find the items you are interested in, here are timecodes to the audio livestream from the Monday, September 23 School Board Business Meeting:

• Pledge 1:14
• Discussion Item: Bond Refinance and Pers Side Account 2:00
• Public Participation 1:01:30
• Reports
• Superintendent Comments 1:31:02
• School Board Presentations

Scholls Heights ES 1:37:53
Mountain View MS 1:45:09

• Charter School Reports

Arco Iris Charter School 2:04:04
Hope Chinese Charter School 2:11:00

• BEF Report 2:19:45
• Financial Update 2:31:05
• Student Success Act 3:00:35
• Discussion Item: Aloha HS Seismic Roofing Upgrades 3:02:40

• Action Items

OSBA Legislative Policy Committee Nomination 3:07:40
OSBA Board Position 20 Nomination 3:08:20
Consent Agenda 3:09:44
Board Communication 3:10:06

If a parent has marked "No" under Digital Permission, this means no to technology. They cannot have a Google account, they will not be loaded to Clever, BookShelf, DreamBox, SeeSaw, etc. They cannot use iPads or ChromeBooks that require student login. There will be no email or student login for them. They cannot have access at home either.

Please be mindful of who has marked "no" and call or email parents explaining how you use technology. Teachers, please note ... you must provide alternative instructional materials for students who do not have digital permission.

Here is the District link about Digital Permission:

https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/information-technology/digital-resources

October is National Farm to School Month and celebrates food education, school gardens and lunch trays filled with healthy, local ingredients.

In the Beaverton School District, we are proud to serve Oregon grown products in our cafeterias.

Nutrition Services is committed to purchasing local food items from Oregon and Washington in an effort to ensure better overall food quality with increased nutritional benefits. Last school year, we spent $1,096,335.00 on local purchases.

We believe that our local purchases have helped to stimulate the local and regional economies, and have improved our student's health and nutrition by increasing the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables purchased from area farmers. The quality has been superb!

On October 3, Bonny Slope Elementary School students will celebrate Farm to School month with the “Big Apple Crunch”. At 2:00 p.m. every student and staff member will take a big bite of a fresh Hood River Organic apple!

Join the Human Resources Department to learn more about becoming a licensed teacher at the Pathways to Teaching Meeting on Tuesday, October 22, 2019 from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the Administration Office, 16550 SW Merlo Rd. in Conference Rooms 1-3.

Come and learn about the university partnerships that would help you transition into the world of teaching! If you are interested in pursuing a teaching career, this information session is for you!

Participating programs will describe opportunities in:

• Bilingual Education
• Elementary Education
• Science Education
• Special Education

For more information, please contact Carissa Marrs in Human Resources at x64483.

Between October 9-17, hundreds of BSD high school students, with support from community volunteers, will telephone Beaverton residents during the 21st Beaverton Education Foundation’s annual Phone-a-thon, requesting donations to fund critical classroom, after-school, and summer programs across our District. Programs funded by BEF include Safe and Sound for Student Success (S4), Camp Achieve, Innovation Exposition 19 (iX19), and Beaverton’s Choice, a crowdfunding platform to support BSD teacher innovation and hands-on academic programs for Beaverton students.

Last school year Beaverton Education Foundation’s 3000 donors helped fund 124 programs and activities that reached 27, 481 students at 51 BSD schools. Our goal this year is to fund 130 projects and reach 30,000 students in all 53 schools. The partnership between BEF and BSD is vital and ensures that thousands of students benefit from these important hands-on projects and programs, all created by fellow Beaverton educators, for Beaverton students.

Costs of our phone-a-thon are underwritten by our generous sponsors, so that donors’ tax-deductible donations can help more Beaverton kids. BEF thanks them for their support.

For additional information or to learn how to apply for Beaverton’s Choice funding, visit our website at www.beavertonEDfoundation.org

Congratulations to the following schools for registering and participating in this year’s International Walk + Roll to School Day on October 2:

This year, Highland Park Middle School leadership students will assist Fir Grove Elementary School with celebrating walking and rolling to school. We hope to see more partnerships between our feeder schools and elementary aged students during our other Walk + Roll events that happen throughout the year.

Additionally, we have schools participating this year that have 100% of their students bused. At Safe Routes to School we work hard to decrease the number of single car drivers to and from school. All BSD students have the opportunity to Walk + Roll: if students live in the walk zone, we encourage them to walk, bike, scoot or skate and if students are provided a bus, we encourage them to “roll” to school on their bus. Walking + Rolling is not only good for our students, it’s good for our community and our environment. Walk, Bike, Bus… It’s the Way to Go!

Interested in bringing Safe Routes to School programming to your school?

mailto:leah_biado-luis@beaverton.k12.or.us

The September 2019 Construction Updates are now available:

• ACMA (Arts & Communication Magnet Academy)
• Five Oaks Middle School
• William Walker Elementary School (final construction update)

Want to get to know your fellow BSD friends? Check out the WE Are BSD webpage where we have started a blog titled 20 Questions in 2 Minutes.

This month, get to know Joshua Gamez, Laurie Huntwork, Rick Puente, Aki Mori and Nancy Cogar.

Jenell Theobald, a Summa student at Whitford Middle School, led the Let’s Peer Up (LPU) team to 1st place in the Business Plan Competition at the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME) 2019 Youth Conference in August.

Competing with high school and college students, the LPU team was the only group comprised of mostly middle school students. Based on the non-profit project they are doing, Jenell and her team made a solid business plan. A panel of three business executives and professionals liked their presentation, which first brought attention to the issue that a noticeable percentage of students need help on social skills, then offered a simple, effective way to address the problem. The panel was also impressed by the team's idealism and passion for community service. One of the panelists, Herb Yamamoto, who is also the Vice President of OAME, met the team afterward, giving them much useful advice.

Let's Peer Up has also been selected to be part of the Capstone Program at Portland State University in the Fall. This program enables local businesses and non-profits chosen for their promising ideas and plans to receive expert guidance in marketing, business planning, and other needed areas.

Let's Peer Up (letspeerup.org) creates communities of both neurodiverse/introverted and neurotypical children united by a desire to improve their social skills and to help introverted kids who desperately need reaching hands. With these communities, initially in the form of school clubs, they seek to spread awareness of autism and other developmental conditions, and to remove the stigma of neurodiversity through education, outreach, and open-mindedness.

Let’s Peer Up is starting multiple school clubs in the Beaverton, Lake Oswego, and Portland school districts. Anyone who shares their vision is invited to join the team.

School supplies were collected by the staff at Sage.

Thank you for supporting Beaverton students and teachers. Your generosity is much appreciated.

Autri A. Das, a 7th grader at Stoller Middle School and Rishab Jain, a 9th grader at Sunset High School were each named one of 30 finalists in the 2019 Broadcom MASTERS competition.

Broadcom MASTERS is the nation’s premier Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) middle school competition. Broadcom MASTERS, a program founded and produced by the Society for Science & the Public, seeks to inspire young scientists, engineers and innovators who will solve the grand challenges of the future.

The finalists will travel to Washington, DC from October 25-30, 2019 where they will participate in a rigorous competition that leverages Project-based Learning to test and demonstrate their mastery of 21st Century skills of critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration in each of the STEM areas. The finalists will also meet with government officials and showcase their projects for the public during a free event at the University of the District of Columbia on October 26 from 1:00 - 3:30 p.m. Winners will be named during an awards ceremony on October 29 at the Shakespeare Theater Company Sidney Harman Hall.

Congratulations, Autri and Rishab, and good luck! Read about their projects on the

Broadcom MASTERS 2019 Finalists webpage.

School Board Fall Work Session

Tuesday, October 15, 2019
6:30 p.m.
Aloha-Huber Park K-8

5000 SW 173rd Ave.

Beaverton, 97078

Meeting Materials

School Board Business Meeting

Monday, October 28, 2019
6:30 p.m.
Administration Office
16550 SW Merlo Rd.
Beaverton, 97003
Meeting Materials

Speak Up 4 Student Success Community Conversations offered in English & Spanish:

Monday, October 7, 2019 at Stoller Middle School, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Monday, October 21, 2019 at Aloha High School, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

*These meetings are open to staff, students, and the public.

Published by: Communications & Community Involvement Dept. Read past issues of the Staff Talk Newsletter.

The district prohibits discrimination and harassment based on any basis protected by law, including but not limited to, an individual's actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national or ethnic origin, marital status, age, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, familial status, economic status, veteran status, or because of a perceived or actual association with any other persons within these protected classes.

Email: melissa_larson@beaverton.k12.or.us
Website: www.beaverton.k12.or.us
Location: 16550 SW Merlo Rd, Beaverton, OR, United States
Phone: 503-356-4360
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeavertonSchoolDistrict
Twitter: @beavertonSD