TECH TRAINING - WEEK OF MAY 25
5/23/2020
Please excuse duplicate postings. Feel free to share. Monday, May 25 – Memorial Day, no trainings. Have fun and be safe. Tuesday, May 26 Repeat sessions but presenting it again for the new team members. 10am – Symbaloo – Graphic curation/representation of multiple sites that can be imbedded into an LMS. Great for the little ones. 12pm – Using Mail Merge to personalize your classroom 2pm – Thinglink - Use Thinglink to create links attached to items in a photo. Provide to students for easy navigation or for students to use to present material Wednesday, May 27 10am – Power Automate - Guest Speaker - Chrystalle Doyle – Use Power Automate to create events that are triggered by other events. 12pm – NEW SESSION Creating animated GIFs in PowerPoint – Join the fun and create alongside the trainer (much easier than you thought!) 2pm – NEW SESSION - Simple game creation for youngsters - you will want to see this, and it’s free! Thursday, May 28 10am – Animation in PowerPoint – Learn to create motion and animation in your PP presentations. Create along with the trainer. 12pm – Interactivity in PowerPoint – Would you like to create an interactive book or choice board? This is it. Create along with the trainer. 2pm – NEW SESSION Fun with green screen - create instructional videos from "on location" Friday, May 29 10am – Community Share – Bring a site to share with your fellow teachers. 12pm – Creating a banner – If you haven’t attended this session, you should. Create along with the trainer. 2pm – Open Q & A – not a training, just a time to ask questions To view past videos, request to join “Lori’s Tech Team”. You will find the videos under the “Video Channel” on the left side. ------------------------------------------------------ For the following free trainings, you will need to register on the hyperlinked title registration page. Apple Education Learning Series Virtual Conferences Join Apple for a series of conferences led by Apple Professional Learning Specialists. Each virtual conference lasts about 45 minutes and provides an opportunity for educators to experience the Apple Education Learning Series topic video and engage in dialogue with the Apple Professional Learning team. Resources for Educators Join the Apple Professional Learning Specialists for one-hour remote learning opportunities for educators. One-to-One or Small Group Coaching Sessions Apple invites you to schedule a one-to-one coaching session. Our Apple Professional Learning Specialists are ready to assist you learn new skills and answer your questions about remote learning. To schedule a personal coaching session, email your request to AppleProfessionalLearning@apple.com
TECH TRAINING - WEEK OF MAY 25
5/22/2020
Office 365 Virtual Classes: Next week’s focus will be on working remotely and working without paper. These classes are open to anyone with any email address. http://wvde.us/office365 Monday, May 25, 2020 No Class Tuesday, May 26, 2020 9:00 a.m. - No Class 11:00 a.m. - Everything You Wanted to Know about Electronic Signatures 1:00 p.m. - Secure File Sharing Wednesday, May 27, 2020 9:00 a.m. - Introduction to Microsoft Flow (Part 1) 11:00 a.m. - Flow Continued (Part 2) 1:00 p.m. - Flow Continued (Part 3) Thursday, May 28, 2020 No Class Friday, May 29, 2020 9:00 a.m. - Everything You Wanted to Know about Electronic Signatures 11:00 a.m. - Paperless Teacher Observations (Combining Forms, Flow, and Staff Notebook) 1:00 p.m. - Using Yammer as a Virtual Conference
MARION COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL VIRTUAL GRADUATION
5/21/2020
Marion County Schools is proud to present the Class of 2020 in a streamed graduation video that can be viewed at the following links on Friday, May 22, 2020 at 7:00 P.M.: North Marion High School: https://www.facebook.com/nmhshuskies East Fairmont High School: https://www.facebook.com/efhsbees/ Fairmont Senior High School: https://www.facebook.com/FSHSBears/ The videos will also be available on-demand on each school's Facebook page after the virtual graduation airs at 7:00 P.M. May 22, 2020. Look for Senior Signs honoring our graduates this weekend on the campuses of Fairmont Senior High and North Marion High Schools! Signs for East Fairmont High will be on the Gateway Connector. Congratulations to the Class of 2020!
MICROSOFT TEAMS UPDATE - MAY 2020
5/20/2020
We’ve received a few updates to Microsoft Teams. https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/f52b078c-bb3a-47eb-9824-c31df89d1a9b (1:31) If you don’t see the upgrades, try logging out and back into Teams. If that doesn’t work, simply wait. The upgrades are coming.
PANDEMIC EBT - NUTRITION ASSISTANCE
5/18/2020
Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) was introduced in H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act as a solution that delivers nutrition assistance on an EBT card that can be used to purchase groceries for families with school children who qualify for free or reduced price school meals when school is out of session due to a pandemic. If your child already qualified for free or reduced-price meals, or your child attends a Community Eligible Provision (CEP) school where everyone eats at no cost, there is nothing you need to do. You will be notified when the program is implemented. Who would qualify? Families with children eligible for free or reduced price meals at schools that have closed due to a pandemic will receive PEBT benefits in the mail. Families will receive one card that is loaded with benefits for all eligible children in the household. If families are currently receiving SNAP benefits the PEBT benefits will be loaded onto their existing SNAP card. The amount loaded onto the card will be no less than the value of school lunch and breakfast, dependent on the amount of time their school will be closed and when free or reduced price benefits were established. If your child attends a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school or county, they are eligible to receive P-EBT. The federal legislation was designed that any student that would have had access to free meals if not for COVID-19 closures, are supposed to receive access to this benefit. Information provided by the West Virginia Department of Education.
TECH TRAINING - WEEK OF MAY 18
5/18/2020
Anything denoted with ** is being offered by a 3rd party provider and you must register on their site to attend. You will receive an email from them with connection links. Monday, May 18 10am: Excel for beginners 12pm: Schoology – Discussion and assessment questions – requested training 2pm: Quiver – Easy augmented reality Tuesday, May 19 10am: Cool things to do in PowerPoint 12pm: Banner creation – repeat session 2pm: QR Codes – final offering Wednesday, May20 10am: Schoology – Quizzes and tests – requested session 12pm: ** Using Keynote to Create a Personalized Movie – register on Apple site 2pm: Developing Rubrics for grading Thursday, May 21 10am: Google Classroom overview – Guest Speaker 12pm: SeeSaw – Guest Speaker 2pm: Schoology – Developing a landing page – requested training Friday, May 22 10am: Community Share – not a training, come with a site to share 12pm: Google Slides – Guest Speaker 12pm: **All About We—Celebrate Your Contributions Using Pages 2pm: Open Q & A – not a training, come with questions
OFFICE 365 CLASSES - WEEK OF MAY 18
5/17/2020
FREE ONLINE OFFICE 365 CLASSES
- OPEN TO EVERYONE, REGARDLESS OF EMAIL ADDRESS
- NO PRE-REGISTRATION NEEDED
- TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE WITH 3, JUST FOR FUN QUIZZES
FULL DETAILS AT: HTTP://WVDE.US/OFFICE365 Monday, May 18, 2020 9:00 a.m. - Introduction to PowerPoint 11:00 a.m. - PowerPoint Designer and Morph Transition 1:00 p.m. - NEW: PowerPoint Present Live (Present Live Over the Internet with Translation) Tuesday, May 19, 2020 9:00 a.m. - Introduction to Office 365 11:00 a.m. - OneDrive for Business 1:00 p.m. - Sway Wednesday, May 20, 2020 9:00 a.m. - Introduction to Excel 11:00 a.m. - Common Excel Functions (IF, Count, Sum, VLOOKUP, Etc...) 1:00 p.m. - Mapping in Excel Thursday, May 21, 2020 No class Friday, May 22, 2020 9:00 a.m. - Introduction to PowerPoint 11:00 a.m. - PowerPoint Designer and Morph Transition 1:00 p.m. - NEW: PowerPoint Present Live (Present Live Over the Internet with Translation)
SUMMER MEALS DISTRIBUTION SITES
5/14/2020
This is a message is from Marion County Schools, Marion County Schools is excited to partner with the Marion County Parks and Recreation Commission to continue the summer feeding program. Starting on Wednesday, June 3rd Marion County Parks and Recreation Commission will distribute meals, mid-day, from 11 designated sites throughout the county. Parents must register online at (marionboe.com) to pick up meals from one of these designated sites. 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon: East Marion Park – Police Reserve Parking Lot Montana Mines – Community Building 5th Street Park Windmill Park 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Monongah Elementary School Barrackville School – Playground 12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m. Farmington Town Hall Mannington Hough Park Fairview Elementary Grant Town Community Building Rivesville School Again, Parents are to please register their student for meals on or before May 20th indicating the number of meals needed and the site that they wish to receive their meals. The current meal bus delivery service will remain the same for May 20th and 27th. Any Questions please call 304-367-2106
PRE-K REGISTRATION UPDATE
5/13/2020
Due to health mandates aligned with COVID-19, it is not advisable to hold Pre-K registration, since it would be a gathering of a large group of our youngest population. We are asking that you simply return your completed packet to the Marion County Board of Education located at 1516 Mary Lou Retton Drive Fairmont. Parents will use a drive-thru drop off system that is observing social distancing guidelines on June 8th, 10th, and 12th from the hours of 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. You can drop your child's packet off in the black lock box located under the canopy by the doors of the Field House. Please ensure all of your documentation is secured in an envelope or stapled together. Due to medical offices being closed, if you do not have a current immunization record, well health check, or dental form completed you may turn these in at a later date to the school. Forms may be found online at https://www.marionboe.com/pre-kindergarten.html
REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (RFQ) - SUMMER FOOD SERVICE 2020
5/11/2020
MARION COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF CHILD NUTRITION LEGAL AD Request for quotation (RFQ) The Marion County Board of Education, Office of Child Nutrition is now accepting sealed Requests for Quotation (RFQ) for 5 day prepackaged meal boxes/bags, each containing 5 breakfasts/5 lunches for summer food service 2020. A RFQ document may be requested by calling 304-367-2106, Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or visiting the Child Nutrition Office at 500 11th St., Fairmont WV 26554. Marion County Board of Education reserves the right to reject any and all RFQ’s either in part or in its entirety. Questions on specifications may be directed to Child Nutrition by calling 304-367-2106.RFQ’s are due Monday, May 18th , by 11:00 a.m. Mail or hand deliver to Marion County Schools Child Nutrition, 500 11th Street, Fairmont WV 26554. Mark sealed envelopes “RFQ # 20-Summer ”. RFQ opening and review will be at 12:00 noon at the Child Nutrition Office. No late RFQ’s will be accepted.
FREE TECH TRAINING WEEK OF MAY 11-15
5/11/2020
Any training denoted with ** are being provided by Apple Professional Learning (APL) specifically for WV teachers and attendees need to register on Apple’s PD site. An additional list of nationwide APL Series trainings can be found here. Please note, all times are CDT, remember to convert to EST. You must register for all events separately.
Monday, May 11, 2020
10AM: Creating a personalized banner – Learn how to use some editing tools to create a banner for your classroom
12PM: Nearpod for beginners – repeat session - New to Nearpod? Come see what the hype is all about. Master Nearpoder? Come share your knowledge.
2PM: Simple video creation using Adobe Spark and Animoto – repeat session
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
10AM: Intro to Microsoft Forms – beginner level – repeat session
12PM: Schoology for those with Enterprise edition – requested training – Guest Speaker
2PM: Mail merge, the perfect marriage of Excel and Word to make your classroom life easier – repeat session
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
10AM: Schoology for the VERY beginner – requested training
12PM: **Mac focused session – Guest speaker – Apple Professional Learning - Discover new ways to bring your lessons to life with Apple products, whether you’re building basic skills or looking to enrich everyday activities with your Mac.
2PM: Creating a personalized banner – Repeat session
Thursday, May 14, 2020
10AM: Whiteboard.fi – Guest Speaker – Chrystalle Doyle
12PM: Schoology for the not so beginner but not the advanced learner either – requested training
2PM: Kahoot from a teacher’s perspective – Guest Speaker – Robert Sizemore
Friday, May 15, 2020
10AM: Community Share – Come with a few sites to share
12PM: Open LMS Q & A – Specific to LMSs and remote teaching
2PM: Open Q & A – no training, just your chance to ask questions
MARION COUNTY SCHOOLS UPDATE - MAY 8
5/8/2020
Marion County Schools has confirmed a change for meal service as of today. On Friday, May 1st the Marion County Office of Child Nutrition was made aware of an instate meal opportunity to assist during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proof of concept was implemented on May 5th in one other county with great success. Starting on Wednesday, May 20th, Marion County Schools will be delivering student meals purchased from Multitude Foods, a West Virginia company. We appreciate the input and support from our community and hope volunteers continue to help with the delivery in the future.
We are also excited to announce a summer partnership with Marion County Parks and Recreation (MCPARC), to provide for the distribution of the meals as we transition to the summer program. Starting on Wednesday, June 3rd through Wednesday, August 12th, MCPARC will distribute the meals for Marion County Schools. Thank you to Mr. Tony Michalski and the MCPARC employees for assisting us with this partnership. An update will come on this later naming distribution sites and times for pick-up for the summer meal service.
The plans for celebrating our seniors are coming along. We have had a nice response so far, to the donations for senior signs. We have reached 75% of our goal. We just need a little more help. Thank you to those who have already donated. The graduation videos are nearing completion and should be available by our original graduation date of May 22.
We are encouraging students to continue with remote learning provided by their teachers. We hope they are also reading for fun, enjoying learning games, helping with chores, getting some fresh air and taking every opportunity to learn from all of their experiences.
Schools are making the arrangements to complete the normal tasks for ending the school year. Students and parents are or will be receiving messaging from their schools, to alert them to their part in necessary tasks for ending the school year.
Be well, stay safe.
Superintendent Farley
FREE OFFICE 365 TRAINING - WEEK OF MAY 11
5/8/2020
- Try your luck at the Office 365 quiz to test your knowledge!
- These classes are open to anyone with any email address.
- No pre-registration required.
- The link to join the classes can be found on the website
PLEASE VISIT HTTP://WVDE.US/OFFICE365 FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Monday, May 11, 2020
- 9:00 a.m. - Introduction to Microsoft Forms (Starting from the beginning)
- 11:00 a.m. - Advanced Forms and Quizzes (Adding pictures and video equations)
- 1:00 p.m. - Adding Forms to Stream Videos for Added Interactivity (Pauses the video while students answer questions)
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
- 9:00 a.m. - Schedule a Teams Meeting (Setting meeting options)
- 11:00 a.m. - OneDrive (Storing and sharing files)
- 1:00 p.m. - Mapping in Excel (Making simple and interactive maps)
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
- 9:00 a.m. - PowerPoint Recording (Making videos with PowerPoint)
- 11:00 a.m. - Microsoft Stream
- 1:00 p.m. - Mail Merge in Microsoft Word (Take data from Excel and create a form letter)
Thursday, May 14, 2020
No Class
Friday, May 15, 2020
- 9:00 a.m. - Introduction to Microsoft Forms (Starting from the beginning)
- 11:00 a.m. - Advanced Forms and Quizzes (Adding pictures and video equations)
- 1:00 p.m. - Adding Forms to Stream Videos for Added Interactivity (Pauses the video while students answer questions
FINANCIAL AID WEBINAR - MAY 7
5/4/2020
Attention Juniors:
The West Virginia Department of Education, WV Higher Education Policy Commission, and the Community & Technical College System of WV are hosting a:
Financial Aid Webinar
Thursday, May 7, 2020
6:00 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://wvcolleges.zoom.us/j/92164626464
Join Brian Weingart, Senior Director of Financial Aid to learn about accessing financial aid for college, including THE FAFSA, FEDERAL AND STATE AID, and RESOURCES for applying.
See more information about financial aid in our Counselor's Corner
TECH TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 4-8
5/3/2020
**Any session designated with asterisks are being hosted by Apple via their WebEx account. You must register via their site for each session to gain access. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the session information almost immediately. If you do not see the email, check your junk and spam folders. These are two new session titles.
Monday, May 4
10AM: Better searching with Google – Repeat session
Learn to harness the power of Google to get better search results.
12PM: Using Microsoft forms in your classroom for beginners – Repeat Session
Great for the teacher that would like to collect data
2PM: Using MS Forms - Advanced - Branching
Learn about branching to easily combine similar forms
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Tuesday, May 5
10AM: Kahoot - Repeat session
Great formative assessment tool. Engaging!
12PM: Schoology - Beginner's Guide - Per user request
Beginner’s guide to Schoology – this was a user request, will answer questions
2PM: Schoology - more advanced features - Per request
Advanced topics in Schoology – this was a user request, will answer questions
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Wednesday, May 6
10AM: Comics - Working with comic strips
Using comics strip makers
12PM: Creating interactive stories/Choice boards with PowerPoint - Repeat session
Using hyperlinks in PPT to enhance user engagement
2PM: QR codes - Repeat Session
Easy way to share links and other data
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Thursday, May 7
10AM: Creating a personalized banner
12PM: **Accessibility: Improve Reading Fluency - Guest Speaker - Apple APLs
Powerful assistive features are built into iPad to support your vision, hearing, motor skills, learning, and literacy. In this video, you’ll learn how features such as Speak Screen, Safari Reader, and Speech Controller enable reading fluency, comprehension, and composition for every learning style.
2PM: Word Clouds - Strategies for classroom use
We will look at some word cloud generators and talk about classroom strategies.
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Friday, May 8
10AM: Community Share - Cool sites for teachers
Bring a cool site to share!! The community is what makes these sessions great!
12PM: **Prepare Resources for Remote Learning - Guest Speaker - Apple APLs
This session will help educators learn how to get up and running for remote learning with iPad. We’ll explore ways to access school resources and find Apps that support remote learning. Tips include using built-in iPad features to scan documents and stay organized, using Markup to annotate teacher materials and student work, and getting set up with voice memos, and more.
2PM: Open Q & A
Have a question? Stop by and ask. This is not a full training, just a question and answer session.
Video recordings of prior session can be found on the “Lori’s Tech Training” Team. Email me and I will add you. Open to all.
UPDATE ON MEAL DELIVERY - MAY 2, 2020
5/2/2020
To: Local Media Sources
From: Randall Farley, Superintendent, Marion County Schools
Marion County Schools has been working hard to address many issues as a result of the emergency situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic. We appreciate all of the efforts our employees are making in light of the situation. We, along with all school systems in the country have struggled with change that comes at a moment’s notice to continue services to our students in new and different ways. One of the most important services recognized by Governor Justice, the West Virginia Department of Education and Marion County Schools was to provide food to our students.
I am participating in the loading and delivery of meals going out to our students. The volunteers from our community and employees showing up to make this happen each week are to be commended for their service. We have not had complaints from those receiving the food. There have been more each week asking to be added to the list. The students are happy to see the familiar faces of the employees when they meet them to receive the meals. If a student needs meals that has not signed up yet, please call (304) 367-2100 or go to www.marionboe.com scroll to the bottom of the front page and put your request in on the “Contact Form”.
March 13, 2020, governor Justice declared a state of emergency and closed all West Virginia public schools to reduce the spread of COVID-19. County school systems were instructed to continue providing school meals (breakfast and lunch) to students through non-congregate feeding practices.
We immediately began the process of our employees preparing meals that could be delivered by our buses or picked up at drive-through locations. As we were working to continue preparing the volume of meals needed we planned more food orders. Supplies were not readily available for these options. This process was working very smoothly until Governor Justice put the Stay-at-Home Order in place.
When that happened it became clear after a short time that some alternative choices would need to be available in order to sustain a longer term solution for feeding students. Originally, the Stay-at-Home/Closure Orders for the state and public schools had an approximate two-week window. Public health experts and state officials ascertained that a longer order would be necessary due to the crisis. We implemented plans for working remotely as much as possible. Some services cannot be performed remotely. The preparation and delivery of food is one of them.
The State Department of Tourism was tasked by the Governor with issuing a call to action to take information from State Parks and restaurants that were interested in being a part of the mass feeding efforts. Tourism received inquiries from approximately 250 restaurants statewide. It was ascertained that the restaurants who had expressed interest in helping schools, could not meet the meal pattern components within the federal meal rates.
Marion County Schools reached out to the West Virginia Department of Education on March 25 for information regarding known vendors that would be options for counties. Due to labor and product limitations within our county and one of the vendor’s already being at capacity at that time, the most viable option was to use Kilmer’s Farm in order for our county to continue the task of feeding students during the pandemic. We were blessed to find Kilmer’s Farm as an option. They are a locally owned WV company and we have been trying to support the WV economy.
There are waivers around meal pattern requirements because of the shortages nationwide in obtaining shelf stable food. The pandemic has affected supply and demand in many areas across the globe, our state and here locally in Marion County. The local vendors of food supplies are limiting what you can purchase. Local food pantries, food banks, soup kitchens and restaurants have their issues with this same effect of supply and demand. The change in employment has caused an increase in the number of families utilizing various options providing food. We have talked with our vendor Kilmer’s Farm concerning variety and product supply and they have worked with us to change up the meals and add additional products based upon available supplies. The county is providing milk in addition to the meals received and the milk vendor is our local United Dairy. They are gracious enough to help us with a refrigerated truck. Also, American Fence helps us with a forklift to get the pallets off of the delivery truck and into a refrigerated truck for safe keeping overnight.
While federal reimbursement is based upon rates times meals served, there are operational costs that districts or a vendor would have that are not always captured to include labor and equipment. The most cost effective way to serve our students quality meals is with our child nutrition staff preparing and serving the meals; however, this crisis did not allow this practice to continue to occur in our county. All of the factors I have talked about in this situation makes it even more important for Marion County Schools to continue our food service to students, which we are more than happy to do.
VIRTUAL OFFICE 365 CLASS SCHEDULE - MAY 1 THROUGH MAY 8
5/1/2020
Virtual Office 365 Class Schedulehttp://wvde.us/office365
- Class are free of charge and open to anyone with any email address.
- Visit http://wvde.us/office365 for the Roster, the recorded tutorials or to join the class
Friday May 1, 2020
9:00 a.m. - The Office.com Front Page
11:00 a.m. - Microsoft Todo
1:00 p.m. - Putting it all Together
Monday, May 4, 2020
9:00 a.m. - Introduction to Microsoft Office Teams
11:00 a.m. - Sharing Screens and Files During a Team Meeting
1:00 p.m. - Holding a Teams Live Meeting and Setting Meeting Options
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
9:00 a.m. - OneNote versus Class Notebook
11:00 a.m. - Assignment in Class Teams versus Assignments in Class Notebook
1:00 p.m. - One Drive
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
9:00 a.m. - Sharing Files Safely
11:00 a.m. - Making Videos with PowerPoint
1:00 p.m. - Assignments in Class Teams versus Assignments in Class Notebook
Thursday, May 7, 2020
No Class
Friday, May 8, 2020
No Class
TEAMS TRAINING SESSION RECORDING
5/1/2020
Sharing a Teams meeting recording:
https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/05deb2bf-dba0-4e34-b880-c269cede3fb8
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE CLASS OF 2020
5/1/2020
ADOPT A SIGN IN THEIR HONOR
The Marion County Chamber of Commerce, along with the Marion County Board of Education, and All Three High Schools will honor our 2020 grads with special photo signs to be placed throughout each attendance area.
Approximate cost of each sign will be $15.00. If you would like to make a donation to honor these graduates, please send your check made out to MCCC to the following address.
MCCC
110 Adams Street
Fairmont, WV 26554
Arrangements can be made to pay by credit card by calling 304.363.0442 or emailing tms@marionchamber.com.
Please note if the donation is for a specific graduate.
Special thanks to Superintendent Farley; high school principals; senior class advisors; and Nick Fantasia, chair of MCCC Governmental Affairs Committee.