The Channel

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the variety of Halloween gatherings that were held this past week. The costumes were epic! Winners of the costume contest were:

Check out a recap of all the costumes and have a few laughs! A special thank you to Tiffany Schmitt and Phil Hendricks for their efforts to pull the contest together as well as decorate Central Perk.

Wondering where internal postings for open agency job vacancies can be found? Look no further than the Infinite Visions portal. Once you log in, check out the top half of the home page for any current vacancies. Questions? Contact Robin Billerbeck.

Central Rivers AEA has recently unveiled an MTSS structure to meet the social, emotional, behavioral and mental health needs of students. This MTSS structure provides districts with research-based information on the necessary components to have universal, targeted and intensive supports in place. This powerpoint has been shared with superintendents and regional administrators to share the structure with others in their respective regions. Please watch for additional information or ask your regional administrator if you have questions.

Many thanks to Sarah Nelson for developing these easy-to-use instructions for creating a polished, branded email signature. Please take five minutes out of your day to follow the steps to update your signature!

Signature example:

To support a timely staff replacement selection process and assist in budget planning, the Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors have directed that an incentive be provided for Certified, NUSS or Administrative Staff who provide early notification of their intent to resign or retire at the end of the 2017-18 work year.

Commitments of separation by resignation or retirement at the end of the 2017-2018 work year submitted by Certified, NUSS, or Administrative Staff, and received in the Human Resources Office between October 2, 2017 and December 1, 2017, and accepted by the board no later than the regular meeting on December 6, 2017, will receive an early notification incentive payment of $1,500 to be payable June 30, 2018 subject to the employee fulfilling their individual employment contract obligations for the 2017-2018 work year. Retirees that separate prior to the end of the Central River’s AEA 2017-2018 calendar year, are not eligible for the early notification incentive. This incentive is not offered to Classified staff.

Now through December 31, eligible VSP® members get an extra $40 to spend on bebe®, Calvin Klein, Columbia, Dragon®, and Flexon® frames. No extra paperwork, no hassle, just incredible frames for VSP members with applicable plan benefits.

The Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors met Wednesday, November 1st in Marshalltown. The Board was very complimentary and appreciative of all the hard work that went into the renovations for the Marshalltown AEA office. Kudos to all involved! Official minutes of the meeting will be posted following approval on December 6.

To support a timely staff replacement selection process and assist in budget planning, the Central Rivers AEA Board of Directors have directed that an incentive be provided for Certified, NUSS or Administrative Staff who provide early notification of their intent to resign or retire at the end of the 2017-18 work year. The proposed incentive would be administered as follows:

Commitments of separation by resignation or retirement at the end of the 2017-2018 work year submitted by Certified, NUSS, or Administrative Staff, and received in the Human Resources Office between October 2, 2017 and December 1, 2017, and

accepted by the board no later than the regular meeting on December 6, 2017, will receive an early notification incentive payment of $1,500 to be payable June 30, 2018 subject to the employee fulfilling their individual employment contract obligations for the 2017-2018 work year. Retirees that separate prior to the end of the Central River’s

AEA 2017-2018 calendar year, are not eligible for the early notification incentive. This incentive is not offered to Classified staff.

By Sarah Nelson, Technology Services Coordinator

Google Voice is a free service that provides you with a phone number you can use to make and receive calls, send text messages, customize your voicemail, read voicemail text transcripts, and more.

Why should I use Google Voice?

You may prefer not to give out your personal phone number to LEAs, parents, or colleagues. Instead, you can use your Google Voice number to protect the privacy of your real phone number. When people call your Google Voice number, the call will get forwarded to you, thus keeping your real number private. You can decide which one of your phones rings, or does not ring, whenever anyone calls that number. For example, when a parent calls, you may only want your office phone to ring. However, if a colleague calls, you may want your cell phone and office phone to ring.

What happens if someone calls my Google Voice number and leaves me a voicemail? Whenever you receive a voicemail, the message goes directly to your Gmail inbox. Even better, the voicemail will be transcribed into text.

What happens to my Google Voice number if I change cell phone provider?

Since your Google Voice number is not attached to a SIM card on your cell phone, it remains yours, even if you switch providers, move states, or change your home phone number.

Are there any additional Google Voice features I should know about?

(1) You can set up your Google Voice account so incoming text messages go to your Gmail inbox as an email message, in addition to being sent to your phone. When you reply to the email text message, it will convert back to a text message and send to your correspondent. (2) You can hold conference calls with more than two participants on Google Voice. (3) Google Voice can ring up to six phones at a time.

How do I get started using Google Voice?

To get started, go to: https://voice.google.com/u/0/about. If you need assistance, please contact Cari Teske (Marshalltown), Kay Schmalen (Clear Lake), or Sarah Nelson (Cedar Falls).

Do you need business cards? Check out the ordering form available on the staff website! The new form makes ordering quick and easy.