June 10, 2016

Final Fast Friday Focus... 

Well, it is hard to believe that we are reaching the end of another successful school year here at Cantiague - for many of us, our eighth (and final) year together as a collective team... a team that has been dedicated to doing what is in the best interest of ALL children even when it wasn't easy. It is also hard to believe that this is the last Fast Friday Focus I will be writing as your principal. I would be lying if I said this was fun or easy to write; in fact, the tears haven't stopped since I typed the first few words here. This journey over the last 8 years has been truly awesome on so many levels!  

Being a Lead Learner of this incredible school has been such a gift for me because literally not a day went by where I didn't learn something new or saw something that blew me away or experienced something that made an impression on me. Our school is the model for what every elementary school should look like - forget about test scores and APPR or SLOs or whatever else the state threw at us - every school should just model themselves after our school and not only will children be college and career ready but they will also be LIFE ready because they are academically, socially and emotionally prepared to tackle anything. Thank you all for an awesome eight years filled with critical thinking, engaged learning and happy kids (and staff) who genuinely love coming to school!

Of course, we wouldn't be able to do the things we do in our classrooms if it weren't for certain support structures that are in place that help facilitate learning. First and foremost, thank you to Laura and Pam (and Debbie) for all of their hard work each and every day. Many people would argue that the tone of the Main Office directly impacts the climate of the rest of the building. Well, it is clear to me that our Main Office is a positive and joyful place where people feel supported and children/families feel welcomed, which can be seen in every one of our classrooms too. Pam and Laura are a dynamic duo and because of them, I know Cantiague will continue moving in the right direction - they will definitely keep the new principal in line!

Then of course there is MaryAnn, who somehow manages to take care of each child and adult in our building. Her open ear (without judgement), patience, compassion, kindness, empathy and wisdom have literally impacted every person in the Cantiague community. She juggles so much each day and does it with grace, dignity and a smile. Thank you MaryAnn for being such an important presence and for reminding us each day that no matter what is going on, it is all going to be fine!

Additionally, I want to thank Joey, Joe, Edwin, Omar, Marcel and Eduardo (our incredible custodial crew) for keeping our building clean, beautiful and safe. Without this dedicated team, who approach their work with pride and thoroughness, none of us would want to be in this space (trust me, I have seen some nasty schools) and our children wouldn't be as available to learning! Finally, I want to thank our amazing part-time aides who do so much to support the smooth running of our school. Thank you Debbie, Robyn, Linda, Melinda, Diane, Ines & Elijah (you have done so much Elijah to move our tech integration forward) for all that you do each day for our staff and kids - your jobs are not easy ones but we appreciate and value your daily efforts in keeping the students safe and supporting different spaces in the building! Cantiague is a special place because every member of the community plays a critical role - THANK YOU!

Congratulations again to everyone moving on to a new job, grade level or phase in their lives - best of luck! And to everyone getting married or having a baby or any other life changing event - I wish you the best! 

It is hard to believe that 8 years have come and gone and that so much has happened during that time. We have laughed (a LOT), cried, discussed, deliberated, partied (we do have the best parties), sang, danced, learned, played games, taught, supported each other, turned gay (sorry - I couldn't help it), celebrated, grieved, blogged, tweeted and everything in between and the best part is that we have done it together. The tremendous amount of love and respect that I feel towards each and every one of you cannot accurately be captured here but know that you all hold a special place in my heart (and in my family's hearts) and that I leave Cantiague a better educator; a better father; a better partner; a better son; a better leader; and a better person. Thank you all for contributing to my journey and growth over the last eight years - I will not cry because it is over but instead I will smile because it happened. I love you all and I wish everyone the best moving forward.       

Finally, I hope that EVERYONE will leave a comment this week to share their HIGHLIGHT of the 2015-2016 school year. It is easy to do and will only take a couple of minutes... do it from a desktop computer - it will be easier!

Tech Tip of the Week...

Take this summer to try something new... explore a new blog; try out a new app or find a passion to explore! This will be a great way to prepare for the 2016-2017 school year. 

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, June 13

"A" Week
Gr. 5 Trip to Crestwood

Tuesday, June 14

F.E.O. at 3pm in the Library 
Final PTA Meeting - 9am to 11am
Literacy Planning Day Gr. 4 & 2
SEPTA Awards Night - 7pm MS Library

Wednesday, June 15

Happy Wednesday... the last FULL Wednesday of the year!
Literacy Planning Day Gr. 3 & 5
STAFF PARTY

Thursday, June 16

Literacy Planning Day Gr. K & 1
Pre-Paid Ice Cream Sale
Final Board of Ed Meeting Honoring Retirees! 

Friday, June 17

Happy Friday!
Kindergarten Open House - 8:45am
PTA Sponsors an Ice Cream Party During Recess

Monday, June 20

"B" Week
Gr. 5 Moving Up at 9am!
Gr. 5 Moving Up Party - 6pm
I will be meeting with teachers over the next 2 days in 10 minute slots for end of the year evals

Tuesday, June 21

F.E.O. at 3pm in the Library
LAST FULL DAY OF SCHOOL

Wednesday, June 22

Students dismissed at 11:45am

Thursday, June 23

Students dismissed at 11:45am

Friday, June 24

Happy LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!! 
Zoom and Zip into SUMMER!!!

June 3, 2016

Curriculum Connections...

Happy TGIF  and Happy June to everyone! I hope everyone has some wonderful plans for the weekend - or at least some time to relax. Felix, Paul and I are going to see our first Broadway show together - School of Rock! Paul is excited because he loves music, I am psyched because I loved the movie and Felix is happy because he loves Broadway so we are definitely looking forward to Saturday night. Of course, there are a million work related things that need to get done too but family time is important for some "emotional deposits" around this time of year .

Meanwhile, I hope you all had a wonderful four-day week as we kick off the final month of school... YES... June is HERE! Although the next few weeks will be hectic ones with all the end of year activities, I hope we can all make some time to enjoy the many important moments too because so much awesomeness has happened this year and we shouldn't pass up the opportunity to recognize the growth in our children! We see where our readers have developed certain skills they didn't have at the beginning of the year; we see where our writers have tried different genres that they never considered before; we see where our mathematicians are building fluency with their facts. The list can go on and on but so often we focus on the deficits that exist - the things that certain kids cannot do or haven't accomplished yet - but we should reframe that perspective and focus on the successes because there are MANY more of those. So, as the fast and hectic pace of the end of the school year unfolds, lets slow it down each day to recognize and acknowledge our collective successes especially as we close out the #YearOfHappy!   

#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Watching the kids in Mandy's room work on their end of year memory book - it was truly amazing. The children were basically reflecting on the year and to watch them write and generate such thoughtful ideas was impressive, to say the least. But that wasn't the best part - the best part was watching the peer conferences that were happening - kids helping each other spell by reading the room or kids talking about ideas to figure out what to write. It was truly an awesome site!     

• Spending time in the computer lab with Melissa and her kids during writing workshop. The children were working on their fantasy pieces using Google Docs and when I walked in, Melissa was engaged in a powerful and meaningful conference with one of her students - discussing specific strengths in the piece while also reviewing areas that needed revision. The student was open to the feedback, which is reflective of the trust that exists between teacher and student - another awesome byproduct of 1:1 conferencing!

• Spending time in Adam's room during independent writing time where the children were free writing in their notebooks. Were there a couple of kids who were having some trouble generating ideas? Yes. But, for the most part, the majority of the children were excited to be writing what they wanted to write - some kids were writing stories while others were sketching. One girl excitedly held up her notebook to me and said... "Look, Dr. Sinanis, I have written 3 pages already and I have so much more to write!" Spoken like a true author! No matter what they were actually generating, the point was that they were engaged in self-directed learning and were excited to generate a piece that was important to them. An important reminder of the fact that we need to give students independent reading and writing time each day!   

Tech Tip of the Week...
Check out this post that spotlights 40 of the Best Learning Apps for Elementary Students! 

And for fun, watch this...

Blogs Worth Reading...
6 Things Teachers Need To Try This Summer by EdTechAfterDark

Take the Time by Pernille Ripp

17 Ways To Help Students with ADHD Concentrate by Edutopia 

Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from our 5th Graders from Shared Decision Making who wrote about their experience...  

Shared Decision Making Team 
By: Madison and Isabella 


     The shared decision making team was a great experience for us. We really liked having a say in what happens in our school, and being treated like adults. We will tell you why the shared decision making team was such a great experience.

     We really enjoyed being on the shared decision making team because we liked having a say in the changes in our school that affect us. For example, we got to be in charge of the Quote of the Week. Also, we got to have a say in the field day colors and t-shirts. We also helped limit the amount of homework that students receive, like making Try it Tuesday school-wide.

     Another reason why we enjoyed being on the shared decision making team is we weren't treated like kids, we felt grown up. For example, the adults trusted us to make decisions to change things in the school. Also, the adults made sure that our opinions mattered, and we liked all of the ideas. 

     Being on the shared decision making team was really amazing.We got to help make decisions to make our school better, and it was awesome to feel an adult. The shared decision making team was one of the best parts of our 5th grade year!

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, June 6
"B" Week
Gr. 4 Science State Test - Written Portion - in the AM

Tuesday, June 7 

FEO for all staff this week - 3pm in the Library! 
HS Senior Reunion - 7:45am
Gr. 5 is on a trip today
Reorganization Meetings for Gr. K, 1 & 2 in Tony's Office (see email for schedule)

Wednesday, June 8

Kindergarten is on a trip today
Gr. 4 Open House - Alites & Kupferman 

Thursday, June 9

PTA Picnic Around the World - 5pm
CST @ 1:20pm
Gr. 4 Open House - Moses & Rouse 

Friday, June 10

Happy TGIF!
Guys Do Recess 
PTA Executive Board @ 9am

Reminders... 

• Don't forget to finish implementing lessons from our Digital Citizenship Curriculum... access it here!
• We will be looking at class lists during next week's FEO to get input from specialists!
• If you have not done so, please enter students in the services recommendation form in the Google Doc that was emailed a while back - this is for Gr. K - 4 teachers only!

May 20, 2016

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday everyone - I don't about you but I am definitely for a fun weekend with Paul and Felix! We are doing dinner with my parents, seeing the Angry Birds movie (not my choice) and Paul is having a couple of playdates - it should be a nice weekend. Meanwhile, this is the final staff newsletter for the month of May (and please note this Fast Friday Focus will cover the next two weeks), which is kind of crazy because the next edition will be published on Friday, June 3rd... that's right, June is right around the corner... deep breaths though because we are going to get everything done and still have an amazing close to the year (maybe I just need to take deep breaths)!  :)

In other news, thank you so much for making our new Cantiague tradition an experience that kids love! That's right, I am talking about... Innovation Day! This experience was truly AWESOME! Again, each grade level experienced something slightly different - whether kids rotated through stations or worked independently throughout the entire day - but there were some critical common threads: enthusiasm... high levels of engagement... and a sense of pride and passion about the work they were experiencing. 


If I could envision what a school of the future would look like, each day would include features of Innovation Day. We heard kids truly collaborating around something they were excited about; we saw children creating and building; and we watched children accessing their critical thinking skills in ways I have never seen! Those are the LIFE skills we want our children to possess when they leave school and enter life. We want them to learn how to take an idea from their mind and make it come to life - that is what they did today over and over again! Thank you all for embracing this Innovation Day idea and supporting it in a way that continues to exceed each and every one of my expectations. We are changing the narrative of education here at Cantiague and today was the perfect example of a true educational experience that was child-centered and took into consideration student choice and student voice. BRAVO TEAM CANTIAGUE!!!

Finally, congratulations to Jessica Rouse who will be granted tenure at tonight's Board of Education Meeting. We are so lucky to have you as a member of the Cantiague family Jess because of your positive attitude, your willingness to go above and beyond and your ability to show love and compassion for each and every child. We are better because of you!


#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Hanging with Ally's kids during centers time! Two of her boys asked me to come back during centers time so I could play in the building/block/LEGO area with them and I had such an amazing time. Not only were the children (and I) working collaboratively but their critical thinking skills and creativity were off the charts (21st Century Skills)! For example, they used blocks to build a "parking garage" for the ships we built out of LEGOS and then they put these gears outside of the garage and as they turned them, they explained they were powering the space. WOW!!! HOLY MOLY! I was blown away!

• Visiting the library while Michelle explained Wikipedia to the children in detail was not only incredibly well presented but it was so informative that I left the space knowing a lot more about Wikipedia than ever before. For example, she explained how certain documents are locked and, based on the color of the lock, one could tell how locked they were and the more secure the lock, the more likely accurate the information was on that page. WOW! I never knew that. And that was only one of the things I learned. It is so awesome to know our kids are being empowered with information that will help them for years to come!  

• Visiting Karen's kids while they were in the computer lab where they were using templates within Google Docs to create their Feature Articles about the animals they had researched. The kids were working hard and using all their research to create an informative article - you could almost hear a pin drop because they were so engaged. It was awesome to see the class taking advantage of the templates Google Docs offered to create these feature articles that, in the end, could be shared with the world... talk about being inspired by a potential audience - WOW!  

Tech Tip of the Week...
Check out this link for 28 Innovative Apps Suggested for Teachers by Teachers! 

Blogs Worth Reading...
Stop, Drop & Roll With It: Teacher Burnout Prevention by Nicholas Provenzano 

Reboot: 5 Resources for Teacher Inspiration by Monica Burns

20 Tips To Help De-escalate Interactions with Anxious or Defiant Students by Katrina Schwartz  


Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Callie who shares an important reflection on the notion of taking risks, both personally and professionally, and the impact they have! Thank you Callie for this honest and personal reflection... 

The Risk of Not Taking a Risk

I wouldn’t call myself a risk taker, by any means.  Skydiving is not in my future and moving across the country alone, isn’t on my list of things to do, either.  I suppose I’m a creature of habit, but every now and then I do something out of the norm…and I never regret it.  I find myself going through long stretches of “the same old,” until I am usually forced to change something by some sort of outside factor.  I suppose it’s the unknown I fear or the fear of missing what I once felt so comfortable doing.  I try to set a mini-goal for myself every now and then to help myself branch out or try something totally new, whether it be trying out a new class at a new gym or heading for dinner in a different town or part of the city.

Just like anyone, I’ve had a vision for myself both professionally and personally.  Last year, I decided to leave the school I had been teaching at for over five years.   I left the routine I knew so well, the students that I had grown to love, the coworkers that became more like extended family…I totally left my comfort zone.  There were a few factors that went into leaving. Financially, working at a private school was unsustainable, but professionally, I knew that my experience at the school had reached the end of its road.  I was no longer challenged and I didn’t see much opportunity for growth.  My experience had served its purpose.  Even though it got me out into the teaching world, gave me great classroom experience, and taught me how to work with all types of personalities- I knew that there was much more out there.   I definitely left with a push from the people that care about me most- the people who knew my potential. And I definitely considered staying...that internal debate happened for over two years. I remember finally speaking to my principal and letting her know my decision to leave and the need to explore other professional opportunities.  As I said it, I didn’t even believe myself.  I had no finalized position at the time, but I just knew that another year there was not an option.

Thankfully my risk brought me to Cantiague.  I can wholeheartedly say that I have learned more in these past 10 months than I did in those five years. I have met some of the most inspiring and passionate people that I have been given this awesome opportunity to work with and learn from.  It has overall been a win-win decision!! While it took me a while to adjust, I have watched teachers implement practices that I once would have considered “way too risky” to attempt in the classroom and have incorporated them into my everyday norm.  I’m able to relinquish the “control” and take a seat, while our students thrive and learn from one another.  My decision to leave and seek a different experience has given me a sense of empowerment and while I realize risks and change should be  well thought out and may not work out as great as this risk has; I’m no longer scared about taking risks…I now worry about the risks I do not take. 

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, May 23
"B" Week
Gr. 2 Literacy Check-In Meeting @ 2:10pm

Tuesday, May 24 

FIELD DAY... see the email for the schedule & info
Extended FEO for all teachers... Canvas training!
Aides meet with Tony at 3pm in the Library 

Wednesday, May 25

Gr. 1 is on a trip - have fun & be safe!
Winnick Open House @ 8:45am
PTA Ladies Night... Paint Night!

Thursday, May 26

Field Day Raindate 

Friday, May 27

Happy TGIF 
Payday
Minecraft Recess Club

Monday, May 30
"A" Week
School Closed... Happy Memorial Day & unofficial start of summer!

Tuesday, May 31 

FEO cancelled
Planbooks due to Tony this week by Friday 
5th Grade AIDS Presentation from HS students @ 10am 

Wednesday, June 1

Gr. 4 Science Test - Hands-on portion for IEP students
Reorganization Meetings...
Gr. 3 to 4
Gr. 4 to 5
Korrow Open House @ 8:45am

Thursday, June 2

CST @ 1:20pm
Gr. 4 Hands-On Science Test - see email for schedule

Friday, June 3
Happy TGIF!
Marsen Open House @ 8:45am

Reminders... 

• Don't forget to implement lessons from our Digital Citizenship Curriculum... access it here!
• Our next whole staff FEO will be Tues. June 7th! 
• Don't forget to review the End of The Year Procedures Memo... access it here! 

May 13, 2016

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday the 13th... I am totally avoiding black cats and walking under ladders and whatever other superstitious things are out there today! It was such a busy and hectic week between Kindergarten Orientation, a bunch of Annual Reviews and the Spring concerts - I felt like a chicken without a head! I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who helped make everything a success - Mandy, Ally and Risa for overseeing kindergarten orientation; Dale, Clare and Aimee for making the concerts so awesome - our children never cease to amaze me; and Anne & MaryAnn for facilitating all the annual reviews - you rock! 

As you know, this week was also a bittersweet one for me as I was officially appointed to the position of Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction in Plainedge. Paul and Felix joined me on Tuesday night at the Board Meeting and it was great to have them by my side. Ivy Sherman and Denise Nash were also there to support me and Wayne (one of our Cantiague dads) was there and actually spoke at the Board Meeting and sang my praises, which was really nice (and embarrassing). Just so everyone knows, my last official day at Cantiague (but I will be around throughout the summer if and when I am needed) will be Tuesday, June 28th and my first official day in Plainedge is Tuesday, July 5th. Needless to say, the next few weeks are going to be nuts but I am excited to soak up every minute of time with our Cantiague family and making it count... #BestEndOfYearEver!  

This last week was an important one at Cantiague because we welcomed back both Donna and Melanie - welcome back ladies, we have missed you terribly! Please give Lia and Piper hugs from us and thank them for sharing their mommies with us for the next few weeks. Also have to extend a huge thank you to Matt and Callie who both did an amazing job filling in for Donna and Melanie - the transitions were seamless and the kids continued to thrive, learn and love school - thank you for making that a reality. Finally, a special thank you to Ed for filling in for Matt in Jessica's room - we appreciate all of your hard work. 


#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Participating in the Grade 4 Orchestra rehearsals this week with Aimee was really impressive. Her ability to keep every child engaged in a fun way while also pushing them to be "professional" was amazing. From simply getting into position to play to actually playing, we all had a really positive experience. The student musicians (including myself) have clearly grown a lot this year - BRAVO!    

• Spending time in the library with Michelle, Tali and Tali's class was pretty awesome. The children made great use of the space as they spread out and were immersed in their animal research. While the children worked (independently, in pairs and in groups), Michelle and Tali were checking in with the children to ensure they were successfully using online resources to research their animals. The room was buzzing because the children were clearly highly engaged in this process and were excited to be learning about the different animals. It was an amazing use of the library! 

• Spending time in the ESL Room with Caitlin while she was working on vocabulary words from Wordly Wise with some 4th graders was really impressive. Caitlin had the words written in English, phonetically sounded out and also in the children's native language so they could not only learn how to spell them but to also pronounce them and then understand them - it was an awesome sight to behold!  

Tech Tip of the Week...
Check out this resource - 12 Free Add-Ons That Take Google Docs To The Next Level - love some of the free resources!



And for fun, watch this...

Blogs Worth Reading...

How Being a Mom Changed My Teaching by Starr Sackstein 

Design Thinking In The Primary Grades by Krissy Venosdale 

7 Strategies for Deescalting Disruptive Students by Lani Aquino 

Staff Reflection/Blog...

***We have no staff blog post for this week***

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, May 16
"A" Week
Gr. 5 is going to Blue Man Group today!

Tuesday, May 17 

Full staff FEO to start in the Library at 3pm - will feature Innovation Day planning time! 
Budget Vote Day
PTA Meeting at 8:45am
Minecraft Recess Club
Gr. 5 Author Visit at the JPL

Wednesday, May 18

Incoming Kindergarten Orientation all morning! The children will be working in the Library

Thursday, May 19

INNOVATION DAY is here!!
ABC Countdown Kicks off today
Board of Education Meeting at 7:15pm in the MS Library

Friday, May 20

Happy TGIF!
Gr. 2 & 5 are on trips today!

Reminders... 

• Don't forget to implement lessons from our Digital Citizenship Curriculum... access it here!
• Our next whole staff FEO will be Tues. May 17th - featuring time to plan for Innovation Day! 
• Innovation Day is coming on May 19th! Click here to check out the plan from last year... feel free to use the same plan or change it up! 

May 6, 2016

Curriculum Connections...

Happy TGIF to everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful week back after the spring break - I know the week just zoomed by (even for me and my first ever experience with pink eye - it stinks) and before we know it, we will be kicking off our ABC Countdown! Before that happens though, I would like to begin by wishing everyone who is celebrating a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY on Sunday! I hope each of our Cantiague moms (and moms to be) has an awesome day and weekend because you all deserve to be celebrated and honored for all that you do each and every day—both here at school and at home. I am seriously in awe of each of you because somehow you manage to fill the roles of teacher, parent, psychologist, caregiver and advocate all day at school and then go home to your own children/families and fill these roles (& more) with grace and patience—you are all an incredible inspiration. As a single dad I have even more respect for all that you do for our kids and your kids. Thank you for sharing so much of yourselves each and every day! 

It seems rather appropriate that Teacher Appreciation Week leads up to Mother's Day! I hope everyone enjoyed the week and the mini celebrations that unfolded throughout the week. Feel free to send a thank you note to our PTA because I know they really enjoyed celebrating each of you. I know I have said this before but it bares repeating... It is an honor and privilege to learn from and work with each of you on a daily basis. Your dedication, incredible work ethic and positivity makes this a space where all learners - children and adults - can thrive and prosper. 

Finally, I want to thank you all for your love, kindness, support and understanding over the last couple of weeks with this upcoming change in positions. Making the decision to even consider another job was an incredibly difficult one for me because I have never been happier on a professional (or personal) level yet I knew I had nothing to lose by engaging in some discussions about a new job... after all, what were the chances that I would even be the right fit for the job? Well, I can assure you that this decision became nearly impossible when the job was tentatively offered to me. On one hand I couldn't even fathom leaving Cantiague (my home) while on the other hand, I couldn't imagine passing up this incredible opportunity to learn, grow and further develop my skills. Although it was a difficult decision that involved some sleepless nights, emotional drives to and from work, and a lot of conversations with Felix, my dad and a couple of close friends, in the end, I felt it was the right time to take this next step in my professional journey. The possibility to impact an entire district of children and use my passions and skills to enhance their educational experience seemed like the logical thing to do at this point in my journey. 

Clearly, I would not have been ready to even take this next step if it wasn't for each of you and our amazing Cantiague kids and community. I have learned so much over the last 8 years from you and have loved watching us become even better versions of ourselves many times along the way. We took risks, we tried new things, we abandoned things that weren't best for our kids, we successfully navigated some difficult times in education and all along the way, we kept it positive, productive and had a whole lot of fun. Well, the only reason that was even possible is because of the culture that exists in our building and community. It is a culture of yes! It is a culture of love! It is a culture of support! It is a culture of camaraderie! It is a culture of learning! It is a culture of putting kids first! The culture in this building is deep rooted in the foundation and anchored in powerful beliefs, norms and traditions. The culture of this building is sustainable and that is the other reason I knew I could move on to a new position. Nothing will change here at Cantiague because of the culture that we have all solidified together over the last 8 years. Your strength, passion and perseverance will maintain and nurture that culture no matter who is sitting in the principal's office because it is only a matter of time before they understand and embrace the culture too. Thank you for letting me be part of this amazing journey and for supporting me in what was the most difficult professional decision I have ever made. I love you all from the depths of my heart and soul and will always be a proud member of the #Cantiague family.     


#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Watching the kids in Ally's room preview and prepare their shared reading poem and in that time the children were able to identify so many words in the poem. It was impressive to watch them come up to the SMARTBoard and point to the words they recognized or words they noticed were repeating and do it with such confidence and certainty - WOW! Their growth from September is pretty impressive.    

• Spending time in Callie's room while the children were discussing how to construct the "story mountain" for their own stories was impressive! They identified the problem at the base of the mountain and then climbed up the mountain by outlining how the character in the story would attempt to solve the problem and came down the other side of the mountain during the solution. It was so awesome to watch!

• Spending time in Allison and Marissa's room while they introduced the fantasy novel and facilitated a conversation about what the children might encounter in a fantasy book. It was such a powerful share because the children were clearly ready to tackle any fantasy book because they had a clear understanding of the themes that generally present themselves in all fantasy books. It was impressive to listen to the class discussion!  

Tech Tip of the Week...
Check out this site that features a bunch of different Digital "Puzzles" and challenges - seems interesting... DigiPuzzle!

And for fun, watch this...

Blogs Worth Reading...
My Biggest Fear As a Teacher by A.J. Juliani 

The Real Fight To Learn by Krissy Venosdale 

5 Reasons to Read for Reluctant Readers by Edutopia 

Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Jessica & her kids about their initial experiences with the Mindful Life resources...  

How has Mindful Life Impacted Us...

“Mindfulness means paying attention... to the present... with kindness”

In the past I taught a self-contained class of students with Autism.  I worked to improve their social skills during a period we would call “Social Smarties”.  Some of these social skills worked on improving their peer to peer interactions, reciprocating questions during conversations, empathy and identifying feelings.  I have since learned that these are skills that most kids need to practice regardless of their intellectual ability or age.  I continue to have a period of Social Smarties with my class each week. We sit together and students share, discuss and practice how they can improve social skills in their everyday lives.  

Recently, MaryAnn shared a program with me called Mindful Life.  Mindful Life has been embedded into my Social Smarties period seamlessly.  Mindful Life has taught me daily classroom routines that I am finding very calming for my students, especially after a hectic recess or a long vacation.  Each morning and every day when the class returns from recess we practice mindful listening (1 minute), mindful breathing (1 minute) and one activity that gets the kids bodies moving (2 minutes). The purpose of these brief routines are to “calm down our amygdalas and get our prefrontal cortex’s ready for learning” (all things I learned from the program).

These are routines that I would facilitate, however I have now incorporated choosing students who are showing me that they take Mindful Life seriously, to run these routines each day.  This has been so amazing to see and it makes them feel very special.  In addition to these new routines, I teach a Mindful Life lesson twice a week about being mindful that doesn't take longer than 10 minutes.  

Some of the lessons I have enjoyed teaching the most were called “Seeds of Peace” where the class visualized seeds that represented both positive and negative feelings in their minds.  Then we discussed what happens when we nurture the positive feelings like we would any garden and would happen if we let those negative feelings grow...they would be weeds that could take over our positive and happy thoughts!  Also, I’m sure we can all agree that kids have trouble with the skill of empathy.  With their noses often buried in their devices, many kids have trouble identifying feelings of others and sometimes even themselves.  During the lesson on “identifying feelings” we discussed and shared how meaningful eye contact is and how we can “read” body language in order to be more empathetic to our peers.

If you would like to come in and see how any of these routines have been incorporated into our classroom, feel free to pop in and see how Mindful Life has impacted us! Do the students sometimes get silly and laugh when we practice the exercises suggested? OF COURSE, but I feel that the overall routines we have incorporated into our daily practices and the discussions we have has a class that come from each lesson, has been very meaningful!   

Below I asked the students to share their thoughts about the Mindful Life program in one sentence…

Brandon: What I learned is that mindful breathing can help me to relax when I’m feeling angry.

Oliver: Mindful life is very helpful in many ways. In the morning I am very annoyed that I have to wake up at 7:00 but mindful life helps me get through the day with a smile on my face. 

Sarah: Mindful Life has helped me so far in the beginning of the day to calm down and get all my jitters out for the day.

Jack: Mindful breathing has helped me when I am scared, it calms me down.

Max: Mindful life makes me relaxed.

John: Mindful life helps me to relax and focus if I’m angry or out of control.

Lucas: Mindful life has had an impact on me by helping me concentrate when I have a lot of things on my mind.

Avani: Mindful life helped me to concentrate during the state test because I got worried about it until I took a few deep breaths and I felt less worried.

Abigail:  Mindful Life has helped me feel relaxed and it is a very fun way to concentrate on  being mindful, like when we had the State Test  It really calmed me and I didn’t  feel nervous anymore!

Anagha: Recently, we started Mindful Life.  It help me when I am stressed or nervous. It calms me.

Dylan: In mindful life we become more relaxed.

Austin: Recently, we started Mindful Life. Mindful life has helped me in sports, going to sleep, and in school.

Ari: Mindful life calms you down when you are having a hard time.

Elana: Mindful life has helped me calm down outside of school too. For example, at dance competitions and at soccer games when we lose. 

Taliyah: Mindful life has been helpful because it helps me through hard times!

Anica: Mindful life has helped me when I am nervous or stressed.  I can calm down and then I do better with mindful breathing. 

Aahana: In mindful life we learned how to be better at “reading” our friends body language with an activity called mirroring.  Mirroring is when one person does something and the other person copies what they are doing!

Ashka: In mindful life we learned how to gather our thoughts and just breathe so we can focus better. For example, during the state test I was a little stressed out ( especially the last day of the ELA ) Mrs. Rouse told the class to use mindful breathing during the test if we were feeling frustrated and not to worry!

Ava: Mindful life is something we recently started doing in the classroom. Mindful life means paying attention to the present with kindness and has helped me to focus and pay attention.

Allie: Mindful life has helped me get relaxed so I can go to sleep.  Last night I couldn't go to sleep and I took some deep breaths and I fell asleep. 

James: Mindful life can help me calm down if I’m feeling mad.

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, May 9
"B" Week
Happy Monday!

Tuesday, May 10 

No FEO this week! 
Gr. 5 Literacy Check-In Meeting @ 11am
Gr. 4 Literacy Check-In Meeting @ 2:10pm

Wednesday, May 11

Incoming Kindergarten Orientation all morning! The children will be working in Mandy's classroom
Gr. 3 Literacy Check-In Meeting @ 2:10pm
Shared Decision Making Team Meeting @ 3pm

Thursday, May 12

Ice Cream Sale
CST @ 1:20pm
Minecraft Recess Club
Spring Concerts (see Clare for in-school performance schedule)- Evening performance schedule...

• Gr. 3 at 6pm
• Gr. 4 at 6:45pm
• Gr. 5 at 8pm

Friday, May 13

Happy TGIF!
Gr. K & 3 are on trips today!

Reminders... 

• Don't forget to implement lessons from our Digital Citizenship Curriculum... access it here!
• Our next whole staff FEO will be Tues. May 17th - featuring time to plan for Innovation Day! 
• Innovation Day is coming on May 19th! Click here to check out the plan from last year... feel free to use the same plan or change it up!