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Featured Professional Development:
Maintaining Academic Integrity on Assessment in Virtual Learning

February 15: Inspiring Educators Virtual Workshop

More Free Face Masks Arriving Next Year

SHESC Holiday Break Dates

Look at All Professional Development and the Newsletter Archive

New Logo Signs Installation Nearly Completed

Gleason & Son completed installation of a new roof sign with updated logo on November 30 at our Crawford Street location in Salina. 

At the same time, they installed new marquee panels to hold custom messages in the location's tower sign next to the curb.

Meanwhile at our Hays location, Carver Brown installed new door vinyls made by the student-run "Cardinal Creations" business at Plainville High School.

This completes the essential portions of the new signage project, although SHESC staff and administration are also considering a few additional locations for the new logo that would also look great. 

Click either image at right to see our Facebook photo gallery of the process from announcement of the new logo in July 2020 through today.

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Featured PD: "Maintaining Academic Integrity on Assessment in Virtual Learning"

By Melissa Fast, SHESC Education Consultant

Teachers continue to contact me with concerns about how to prevent students from cheating on assignments and assessments in the virtual classroom.

In order for grades to have meaning to students, teachers need precise information on the content students have learned and what they are still struggling to learn. How can we as educators help students to realize the importance of integrity on the work they are completing in order to provide us accurate data around their understanding?

The first step in this process is identifying the reasons why students are motivated to cheat. Research suggests it is not because they are lazy or unmotivated. Rather, the primary reason students cheat on assessments is because of the consequences associated with their performance. Basically, they fear what might happen if they do not do well on the assessment.

When assessments do not align with what teachers emphasize during instruction or what is given as homework, preparing for assessments becomes a guessing game for students. This ambiguity often leads to the question that teachers dread but students frequently ask: “Will this be on the test?”

There are many actions teachers can take to help discourage cheating on assessments. Join me on December 29 to examine the reasons students are motivated to cheat, discuss possible ways to address academic integrity on assignments and assessments in virtual learning environments, and explore several technology platforms to aid in assessment delivery.

Details and registration are at link.smokyhill.org/academic-integrity.

(Photo: "Cheating.jpg" by Hariadhi is licensed under CC BY 2.5.)

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Volume Purchasing: Lumber and Cafeteria Supply Catalog Price Reductions

The bids are in, and suppliers have been selected to provide products for our next lumber and cafeteria supply catalogs. These will both go live on January 1, 2021.

Before the changeover, we want to let you know that most prices have come in identical to the previous six months on these catalogs, with only about two dozen coming in with modest increases.

Otherwise, we are happy to share with you that these 22 items are coming in with a lower bid price (or are returning to the catalogs after being absent from the previous ones), as follows below: 

Cafeteria Supply

• Clorox Bleach (now in larger 121 oz. containers): 14.5% less.
• Eco-San liquid machine sanitizing disinfectant: RETURNING!
• Foil potato wraps (9 x 10 3/4" sheets): RETURNING!
• Infrared thermometer, appropriate for food service: RETURNING!

Lumber

• Titebond III total exterior water resistant wood glue: 0.6% less. 
• 120G 9 x 11" dry sanding sheets: 1.1% less.
• White Appalachian oak, rough, F1F: 1.3% less.
• Natural color birch, S2S, select: 3.7% less! 
• Natural color birch, rough, select: 3.8% less! 
• Cypress, rough, #1 common and better: 4.5% less! 
• 80G 5" PSA solid stick-on disc sandpaper: 4.7% less! 
• Cherry, S2S, select: 4.8% less!
• White birch, S2S, select: 4.8% less! 
• White birch, rough, select: 4.9% less! 
• Cherry, rough, select: 4.9% less! 
• Ash, S2S: 5.4% less!
• Ash, rough: 5.5% less! 
• Red Appalachian oak, S2S, 2 F1F: 6.9% less!
• Natural color birch, S2S, #1 common: 9.8% less! 
• Natural color birch, rough, #1 common: 10% less! 
• Cherry plywood: 12.2% less!
• 10" drawer slides: RETURNING!

We highly recommend that for items you don't see on this "decreasing price" list, you consider placing an order as soon as possible before the end of the year to ensure you receive the best price on your orders.

To make sure you receive timely updates about volume purchasing and to receive a printable pdf version of every volume purchasing catalog as soon as it is ready, sign up for our volume purchasing mailing list using the form at right.

We will never sell your information and we work to limit communication to avoid overwhelming your inbox; the sole intention is to help you save money.

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Inspiring Educators Virtual Conference Planned for February 15

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Multiple Online-Based Book Studies Kick Off in January

More Free Face Masks for Schools on the Way

Smoky Hill ESC Going on Holiday Break Soon

View Full Calendar on escWorks 

'SHESC Messenger' Archive

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