Happy Friday to everyone and Happy Father's Day to everyone who is celebrating this weekend! Being a father is definitely the highlight of my life so I cannot wait to kick back and hang out with Kelly and Paul!
Well, it is hard to believe that we have reached the end of another successful school year here at Cantiague - for most of us, our fifth year together as a collective team. The start of the next school year, which will be my sixth year at Cantiague, marks a special time in my career - it will be the longest stretch of time where I have been in the same school! I am so excited that this milestone is happening here at Cantiague because there is no other place that I would rather mark such a highlight in my career. Being the Lead Learner of this school is such a gift for me because literally not a day goes by where I don't learn something new or see something that impresses me or experience something that makes an impression on me. Our school is the model for what every elementary school should look like - forget what Dr. King says or what APPR expects - every school should just model themselves after our school and not only will children be college and career ready but we will begin to close the achievement gap. Thank you all for another incredible year filled with critical thinking, engaged learning and happy kids 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 for all of their hard work each and every day. Many people would argue that the tone of the Main Office directly affects the tone of the rest of the building. Well, it is clear to me that our Main Office is a happy place where people feel supported and children/families feel valued, which can be seen in every one of our classrooms too. Additionally, I want to thank Joey, Joe, Lisa, Edwin, Omar 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 dirty 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 Janet, Debbie, Elaine, Chris, Olga, Diane and Mary 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!
Finally, although I typically reflect on the things that I have observed while walking around the building, as a way to wrap up the year, I want to spotlight some of our collective successes and accomplishments this year...
- We were named a 2012 National Blue Ribbon School and that is a HUGE accomplishment!
- We refined both the reading and writing workshops to ensure that they were more closely aligned with the Common Core Standards!
- Book Clubs caught fire in our building and were featured in almost every classroom at Cantiague! Our kids were given the opportunity to take control of their learning as it relates to reading and they were given a chance to independently collaborate and deliberate - the end results were AWESOME!
- We finally got iPads in every classroom - that is a HUGE step forward!
- Seamless technology integration is at its highest levels within different learning experiences (BYOD days, kids using Prezi/Glogster/Edmodo/Animoto/PowerPoint, kids navigating the iPads independently, classes creating their own blogs, enhanced home/school communication, etc.).
- Shared Reading has been implemented, on some levels, in every classroom! Kudos to our Grades 2 & 3 teams for their thorough and dedicated integration of this sound instructional approach that allowed them to easily address many of the Common Core Standards.
- Successful integration of the Math in Focus resource in Grades K, 1 and 2. Although there were some bumps in the road, especially in Grades 1 & 2, the overall feedback has been positive in regards to our students' development of problem solving skills - get ready Grade 3!
- The successful expansion of our Co-Teaching program from Grades 1 through 5! Thank you to our amazing teams for working so hard to refine and enhance your craft to meet the needs of a diverse group of students!
- We have active Tweeters - this is AWESOME! Thanks to Allison, Mandy, Ally, Team Sanderly, Lesley, Carolyn, Team Marsen, Team Montonelli, Janine, Lorraine, Jeanne, Kim, Team Leverman, Lisa P. and Rande just to name a few! We are using social media as a way to enhance the home/school connection and that is critical!
- We handled both Hurricane Sandy and the Sandy Hook tragedy with the utmost levels of professionalism and made sure that our kids were fine in the end... we always maintain our primary focus on doing what is best for kids and that means the world to me!
Tech Tip of the Week...
One of the coolest new web tools around is called EduClipper! It is a quickly growing resource for teachers to explore, share and contribute educational resources. Best part is, it was created by a fellow Long Islander - Adam Bellow - who is active on Twitter and is a great resource. Check it out!
Schedule of the Week...
Monday, June 17
"B" Week
Grade 5 Moving Up Ceremony - 9am
VIDEO DAY
Grade 5 Moving Up Ceremony - 9am
VIDEO DAY
Tuesday, June 18
Kindergarten Farewell Celebration!
End of Year Staff Party at Linda Schiffer's House
WATER BALLOON DAY
End of Year Staff Party at Linda Schiffer's House
WATER BALLOON DAY
Wednesday, June 19
11:45am Dismissal
X Marks The Spot Day - Sidewalk Chalk Fun
Faculty Meeting at 1:15pm
X Marks The Spot Day - Sidewalk Chalk Fun
Faculty Meeting at 1:15pm
Thursday, June 20
11:45am Dismissal
Yearbook Day
Faculty Meeting at 1:15pm
Yearbook Day
Faculty Meeting at 1:15pm
Friday, June 21
Happy End of the Year!
9:45am Dismissal - Tony is out!
9:45am Dismissal - Tony is out!
Kids' Korner
One of the students asked if I were during the summer and when I said yes, he said, "WOW - you are really dedicated because if I were you, I would take the summer off!" LOL!
Pics of the Week...
Check out Cantiague's Week in Tweets - click on the following link to see our Pics of the Week...
