{"id":9852,"date":"2021-10-08T10:45:45","date_gmt":"2021-10-08T14:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/?p=9852"},"modified":"2021-10-08T10:45:45","modified_gmt":"2021-10-08T14:45:45","slug":"more-stories-from-the-week-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/more-stories-from-the-week-7\/","title":{"rendered":"More Stories from the Week"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_79_2 counter-flat ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\"><p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">More Stories from the Week:<\/p>\n<\/div><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/more-stories-from-the-week-7\/#calendar-reminder-for-oct-11\" >Calendar Reminder for Oct. 11<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/more-stories-from-the-week-7\/#updated-frequently-asked-questions-faq-and-the-acps-helpline\" >Updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and the ACPS Helpline<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/more-stories-from-the-week-7\/#national-bullying-prevention-month\" >National Bullying Prevention Month<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/more-stories-from-the-week-7\/#sign-up-for-new-tiggbee-career-video-series\" >Sign Up for New Tiggbee Career Video Series<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/more-stories-from-the-week-7\/#reminder-human-resources-annual-reclassification-process\" >Reminder: Human Resources Annual Reclassification Process<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"calendar-reminder-for-oct-11\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"calendar-reminder-for-oct-11\"><\/span>Calendar Reminder for Oct. 11<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Monday, Oct. 11, 2021 there will be no school for students. ACPS schools and offices will be closed, although it remains a staff work day for Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School, which operates on a modified school year calendar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">October 11 was initially a professional learning day for staff. Superintendent Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr. sensed the need for staff to take a recovery pause as we continue into the fall season. He redesignated the day as a paid non-work day for ACPS staff to take care of themselves to recover and re-energize and practice self-care.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please keep in mind that our essential workers may still be required to work, as directed by your immediate supervisor only if absolutely necessary. Compensatory time for essential workers will be considered at the immediate supervisory level. Also, please note that staff at Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School will enjoy their self-care day on the modified calendar&#8217;s professional learning day scheduled for Nov. 2, 2021. The end of the first quarter (Oct. 8) on the modified calendar necessitates that October 11 remain a staff work day at Tucker.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Hutchings hopes that staff will take this opportunity to do something for themselves that supports their self-care and mindfulness on Monday. Also, please consider using our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/Page\/530\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employee Assistance Program (EAP)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> resources for yourself and family if needed. We need everyone to be safe and healthy for the work ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"updated-frequently-asked-quest\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"updated-frequently-asked-questions-faq-and-the-acps-helpline\"><\/span>Updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and the ACPS Helpline<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, ACPS families have been able to use the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/Page\/3740#\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the ACPS website for answers to their questions. The section is regularly updated to include the return to five-days a week of in-person learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring information on a variety of issues and questions that we hear from families and staff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are also FAQs from the Health and Safety Town Hall with the Alexandria City Health Department. Questions regarding Virtual Virginia parameters, support services and meal service have also been addressed and can be <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/Page\/3740\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">accessed on the ACPS website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Staff may view <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/acps.instructure.com\/courses\/10921\/modules\/items\/3730575\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">staff specific FAQs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Canvas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have a question we have not answered, there are many ways to contact ACPS. Asking questions and sharing feedback are signs of engaged families and staff and great schools! There are a variety of ways you can connect with ACPS to share your comments, get information or ask a question:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"ask-acps\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask ACPS<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To share a concern or comment with ACPS leadership or to ask a question about division-wide issues, community members can write to <\/span><a href=\"mailto:ask@acps.k12.va.us\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ask@acps.k12.va.us<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/ask\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAsk ACPS\u201d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is part of a new system to make it easier for families to submit questions and comments and get a timely response.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please keep in mind that the <\/span><a href=\"mailto:ask@acps.k12.va.us\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ask@acps.k12.va.us<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> email is not for school-specific questions or communications concerning your student. No confidential student information should be sent to this email address. Please continue to contact your child\u2019s teacher or front office staff for issues related to a specific school and your student.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"acps-helpline:-have-a-question\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ACPS Helpline: Have a Question Related to COVID-19?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now that we are well into the school year, ACPS is narrowing the focus of its multilingual Helpline from general school information to questions about school processes and protocols related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Some examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My child has a runny nose. Should I send them to school?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I made a mistake on the Daily Symptom Checklist. Does my child need to stay home today?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My child has to be quarantined. How will they receive school meals?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Families can text or call the ACPS COVID-19 Information Helpline at 703-844-1763 on school days from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Families will be connected directly with a bilingual representative or placed on a brief hold to add an interpreter to the call.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For English, text or call 703-844-1763<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Spanish, text or call 703-844-3424<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Amharic, text or call 703-927-6866<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Arabic, text or call 703-927-7095<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For general information about COVID-19, the Alexandria Health Department (AHD) urges everyone to follow credible sources of information such as the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alexandriava.gov\/Coronavirus\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">City&#8217;s COVID-19 data dashboards and news releases<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, daily updates from the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virginia Department of Health (VDH)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and data from the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The Alexandria COVID-19 Hotline is also available at 703-746-4988, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"school-newsletters-and-social-\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">School Newsletters and Social Media<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Families can get school-specific communications as well. Get news and updates from your student\u2019s school by <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/bxJ88T\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">signing up for school newsletters<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/socialmedia\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">following your school on social media<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"national-bullying-prevention-m\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"national-bullying-prevention-month\"><\/span>National Bullying Prevention Month<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17874\" src=\"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/boy-student-drawing.jpg\" alt=\"Boy student drawing in school\" width=\"512\" height=\"342\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBully free starts with me\u201d is more than just a catchy slogan. At ACPS, it is a matter of knowing what bullying is and how to report it. The Code of Virginia defines bullying as unwanted, aggressive behavior that is meant to intimidate or humiliate the targeted person. ACPS does not tolerate bullying, harassment and intimidation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are different types of bullying that are typically repeated over time and can cause severe emotional trauma, including the following:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Verbal bullying<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> includes name calling, making threats, insults and intimidation. It also refers to other forms of verbal abuse, from remarks regarding race, gender or religion to comments concerning sexual orientation to physical abilities or characteristics.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Physical bullying <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">involves hitting, kicking, tripping, spitting, pinching, pushing or damaging someone&#8217;s property.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Social bullying<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is designed to hurt someone&#8217;s reputation or relationships. It includes: spreading rumors, embarrassing or humiliating someone publicly and excluding or encouraging others to exclude someone.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cyberbullying<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is taunting or humiliation through the use of electronic devices such as cell phones, computers, tablets and communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat and websites. This online bullying includes mean text messages and emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites and posting embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake online profiles.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ACPS investigates<\/span><b> all<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reports of bullying. Students should be made aware that reporting a bullying incident is not \u201ctattling.\u201d Students or families of students who have been bullied or witness bullying should immediately report such incidents to the school principal or assistant principal. Instances of bullying can also be reported online to ACPS via the Tip Line on the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/mobile\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ACPS mobile app<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"sign-up-for-new-tiggbee-career\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"sign-up-for-new-tiggbee-career-video-series\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sign Up for New Tiggbee Career Video Series<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s never too early for students to look toward the future and explore career options that pique their interest. Tiggbee offers a way to introduce students to potential career pathways. The free, weekly online software platform is available to all K-12 students as a way to get them excited about choosing a career path. It also gives them the opportunity to correlate their studies to their future career choices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These short immersive videos feature individuals who are passionate about their industry and career opportunities while sharing their skills and education requirements. The videos also provide the opportunity for teachers to lead discussions about careers with students.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A weekly pilot video for students to view is now available. Starting on Oct. 18, \u201cMeet My Business Mondays\u201d will begin with a new Tiggbee video available every Monday. Students will hear from successful role models, business owners and operators who have a vested interest in the success of the next generation of workers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Students will have the opportunity to submit questions. Middle and high school students can generate questions (with teacher review) and elementary school teachers can submit student questions by 3 p.m. every Friday. A video response to their questions will be available the following week, Wednesday through Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To access Tiggbee videos:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Administrators and Teachers sign in at <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/tiggbee.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tiggbee.com<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or via Clever using the District TIGGID: <\/span><b>1E9Y<\/b><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Students (grades 6-12) sign in at <a href=\"http:\/\/tiggbee.com\">tiggbee.com<\/a> or via Clever using the Student TIGGID: <strong>HUUN<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"reminder:-human-resources-annu\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"reminder-human-resources-annual-reclassification-process\"><\/span>Reminder: Human Resources Annual Reclassification Process<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supervisors and employees are reminded that the annual reclassification application process closes on Oct. 31, 2021. For more details, please see the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acps.k12.va.us\/Page\/2119\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Department of Human Resources webpage<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Calendar Reminder for Oct. 11 \u2022 Updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and the ACPS Helpline \u2022 National Bullying Prevention Month \u2022 Sign Up for New Tiggbee Career Video Series \u2022 Reminder: Human Resources Annual Reclassification Process<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":9667,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acps"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-21 17:52:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9852"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9852\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9856,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9852\/revisions\/9856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}