NEWS & UPDATES

January 2007 News and Updates

Happy New Year to one and all! Peaceful and quiet or exuberant and rowdy, we hope your winter break was everything you wished. We had a little bit of both at our houses, but we are ready to start back to work, noses to the grindstone and after all that celebratory feasting are even cheerfully resigned to facing a month of salads (okay, maybe we’re not all that cheerful about the salads – let’s just say we’re working on our attitude). Please take a look at the school district calendar for January and note that there is no school on Monday January 15 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and no school on Monday January 29 for a non-student, teacher non-compulsory day. The Substitute Office will be closed on January 15.

Teaching substitutes can expect January to be a relatively quiet month for assignments. Classified substitutes can expect the usual high demand for your services. Remember that you are welcome to accept classified assignments at a classified pay rate if you feel able to perform the work.

We know we that subs are amazing people, and that your work often goes unrecognized, but you folks really shine. Last month our community was deeply saddened by the tragic death of Rogers High School teacher Teresa Kim and her husband Richard. The Spokane Public Schools Crisis Team asked us to send extra teaching subs out to Rogers to give staff and student support. You guys were terrific. Subs came in to help in all sorts of classrooms, basically helping where and whenever they were sent, regardless of grade level or subject. You wanted to be there. We were touched by your compassion for our kids and our staff. We thank you. Colleagues of Richard and Teresa Kim have established The Richard & Teresa Kim Memorial Fund at Spokane Teachers Credit Union (STCU). People wishing to donate can do so at any STCU location with cash or checks made out to The Richard and Teresa Kim Memorial Fund.

Sometimes the more SubFinder tries to clarify information, the more confusing it seems. Case in point: Have you ever heard a job described as “per employees schedule” and wondered, “what the heck is that about?” "Per Employee Schedule" simply means that the job is according to the regularly scheduled hours of that particular employee. Another message you might hear (particularly on a multiple day job) is "Same Times Every Day" which indicates that an assignment that starts at noon on Wednesday and ends at 3:30 on Friday is three half days. The assignment that is "per employee schedule" which begins at noon Wednesday and ends at 3:30 on Friday would indicate a half day on Wednesday afternoon and a full day for both Thursday and Friday.

If you’re one of the happy people who call themselves “snowbirds” because you head out in search of balmier climates while the rest of us wander around town with icicles forming on the tips of our extremities, please take the time to mark your calendar noting unavailable dates. Just remember to come back to us in time to substitute during the busy spring months! We won’t hold a grudge against anybody who shows up in March with a golden suntan, even if we are recovering from frostbite!

Bring your map and compass when you come downtown in search of our wandering HR department. The time has come for the long anticipated remodel on our side of the second floor. You can find most of our staff in their temporary quarters in the boardrooms of the first floor. They’ll be back upstairs in their shining new cubicles in March. The Substitute Office is staying right where it is, thank you very much, we like our “antique” furniture and our cozy home next to the lunch room.

Orientations for new substitutes are held approximately twice a month. These are by invitation only for new hires, but if you’ve been on the sub list for a while and are looking for a refresher, please feel free to drop in.

Coming up in February; exciting tales of daring and adventure in the world of Substitute teaching, thrilling news from our friends in HR and advice for the lovelorn! We’ll see you then … and we’ll try to make it just as intriguing as we can.

• May 2008
• March 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007
• July 2007
• June 2007
• May 2007
• April 2007
• March 2007
• February 2007
• January 2007
• December 2006
• November 2006
• October 2006
• September 2006
• August 2006
• July 2006
• June 2006
• May 2006
• March 2006
• February 2006
• January 2006