In this issue:
On the cover: Students at Adams Hill Elementary School are excited about the 100th day, which falls on Jan. 23. The 100th day of school is a fun, symbolic milestone, celebrating 100 days of learning with activities focused on the number 100.
Action Required: Verify your course listings for TIA success
As we move forward with Northside’s Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) plan, the district needs to ensure that every teacher’s assigned course listing is completely accurate.
To initiate this process, we are requesting that all classroom teachers complete a brief verification. Beginning Jan. 16, specific instructions will be sent to all classroom teachers on how to review their roster and report any discrepancies. Once teacher verifications are in, each campus principal will conduct a final review to confirm everything is correct for their school.
This is a critical step in ensuring the TIA process is successful for everyone, so please prioritize this once the instructions arrive.
Thank you for your time and for everything you do.
HELPFUL RESOURCES
Supporting our digital district: a look at your Help Desk team
Technology Services is the essential backbone for every classroom and office across Northside, providing everything from Wi-Fi access to necessary devices.
Behind the scenes, a small but dedicated team works tirelessly to clear digital hurdles, enabling learning to proceed uninterrupted. The heart of this support is our Technology Help Desk, staffed by a focused team of five agents and one team lead. This powerful, small group is responsible for supporting the entire district's community, comprising both staff and students.
On the team’s busiest days, the team fields an average of 300 calls with a focus on First Call Resolution- solving the issue with the customer the first time. Of course, in some more complex cases, they act as your primary advocate, engaging specialized teams or initiating escalation to ensure your issue or request is resolved by the right experts.
The Technology Services Helpdesk handles a wide range of technical needs, including but not limited to:
- Access & Security: Password resets and Google Authenticator/MFA troubleshooting.
- Device Maintenance: Remote software and application installations or coordinating device reimaging.
- Hardware & Connectivity: Troubleshooting computers, desk phones, internet connectivity issues, and classroom technology like mirroring and projectors.
Your feedback drives our progress
We value your feedback! After your work order is closed, please use the link in the Work Order Completion email to share your experience with the Helpdesk team. Your input is crucial for us to continually improve our service, as it helps Technology Services identify trends, recognize agents' successes, and refine our processes for the benefit of the entire district.
Connect with us
Need technical assistance? We are ready to help through any of the following channels:
Notebook LM: the AI Research Assistant that knows your content
Notebook LM is an AI-powered research assistant that doesn’t just pull from the internet, but learns specifically from the materials you provide. It’s designed to help you quickly and accurately make sense of complex information through chat, mind-maps, and AI-generated audio or video overviews.
What can you do with Notebook LM?
- Centralize Your Research: Upload PDFs, websites, YouTube videos, Audio files, Google Docs, or slides to create a focused digital library.
- Lesson Planning and Curriculum Development: Analyze a set of learning standards and create outlines, summaries, quizzes, and assessments.
- Professional Development: Quickly grasp key concepts from articles and training resources.
- Summarize feedback: Upload documents with feedback and summarize them to identify key concepts.
This is available for staff members and can be accessed on your MyPortal. For more information, please visit nisd.tech/Google.
Preparing grades in Schoology
With progress reports coming soon, the Bulk Edit page in Schoology can be a useful tool in preparing grades. Using Bulk Edit, you can review your assignment categories, due dates, marking period, and sync status in the Schoology Gradebook. For instructions, click here. This resource is also available on the Schoology Support site, accessible through the HUB - Instructional Systems Support. For a listing of previous Schoology articles, click here.
CELEBRATIONS
Clark Senior helps put NISD Water Polo on the map
Olivia Salazar, a senior at Clark High School, is among the first NISD female water polo athletes to be recruited at the collegiate level. She will continue her career at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
Her achievement marks a milestone for girls’ athletics in San Antonio. Recently sanctioned by UIL, water polo is still gaining visibility in Texas, and athletes like Olivia are helping pave the way for the sport’s future in local high schools.
AROUND THE DISTRICT
SeaWorld San Antonio offers free season passes for teachers, preschoolers
SeaWorld San Antonio is once again offering a free season pass for teachers valid until January 15, 2027. Add-ons include $39 for access to Aquatica for the entire season and $89 for a parking pass. Verification is conducted through ID.me.
The amusement park is also offering free preschool passes for children ages 5 and under. Add unlimited visits to Aquatica for only $39. Aquatica visitation is valid through the 2026 season
PERK OF THE WEEK
Leap into savings at Altitude Trampoline Park!
Altitude Trampoline Park says "Thank You" to all NISD staff with an exclusive 20% discount. Click here to purchase passes. At Checkout, select “Redeem now,” “Discount code,” and use code NISD20 to save on active family fun!
GRANT OF THE WEEK
Rolling skating rink grants
The Roller Skating Foundation is proud to offer grants to deserving schools, educators, and volunteers to support educational, STEM field trips, and/or physical education lessons at local RSA roller skating rinks. Click here to apply or contact the Grants Dept. at 210-397-8563.
UPCOMING EVENTS
mentoring month
marshall hs anniversary
board appreciation month
