January 31, 2014

Curriculum Connections...

Happy TGIF to the entire Cantiague community! HOLY MOLY - tomorrow is February... where did January go? I am not a fan of this whole time zooming by so fast thing - let's slow it down! LOL! I want to begin by thanking you all for your support and words of encouragement as they relate to Paul. Everything went well with his pre-op testing this week - he was so tough and for the first time ever, did not cry during the whole blood work experience! We actually had a chance to walk through Time Square during a break between two of the appointments and there is a lot of cool stuff happening related to the Super Bowl - if you have any free time this weekend and want something to do- check it out! I also want to thank you all for your support with this whole dissertation proposal process - it was such a relief to successfully defend it but it meant even more to me to get your emails and texts with encouragement - you are the best!

As was announced at the Faculty Meeting on Tuesday, Katie Quinn will be taking over for Jill while she is out on her maternity leave. We are so excited to have Katie taking over this class - not only does she know the children from her work with them last year but she has also successfully taught 2nd and 3rd grade in previous years. 

Thinking about student progress and the upcoming conferences and stuff, February is a great time to reconnect with parents about the progress of their children. We have all finished re-WRAPping the students, we have seen their development in writing and have a strong sense of their mathematical computation and conceptual understandings. Maybe try and touch base with two parents each day to share the children's progress - good and bad - every parent wants to know how their child is doing in school. If you can't get to all the parents, definitely touch base with the families of children who concern you - do not blindside them at a Parent/Teacher Conference. Use the data you have and share it with the families.  

Over the last week or so, as I walked around the building, I spotted these awesome things...

• It was an awesome week in the gym with Rob, Phil and our entire Kindergarten team with the fun Gym & Me Events! The kids had such a blast shooting hoops, doing some bowling and participating in scooter races. The best part of the whole experience was that the children did everything on their own - loved the level of independence - BRAVO! 

• The 5th Graders put on an incredible Winter Concert on Tuesday night - the band played beautifully, the orchestra was exquisite and the chorus was really awesome at the end - everyone in the auditorium was smiling. Congratulations and thank you to Dale, Diane and Clare for making this event so wonderful and special for our kids and their families - BRAVA!   

• The entire Grade 3 team of teachers met with Lisa D. to discuss a writing rubric, which they then tested out by reviewing student work. The conversations around the table about the differences between a 3 and a 4 and what each student did well and needed to improve upon were extremely valuable and powerful! This is definitely something I suggest each grade level participates in during a common prep and something we will explore at an upcoming Faculty Enhancement Opportunity.  

• In case you missed it, here is the Video Update of the Week featuring Risa's students - please show it to your class...

Tech Tip of the Week...

Check out this great piece that offers 13 suggestions on how technology can help improve student writing - it is from the Edudemic site! Click here... 13 Ways... 


SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, February 3

"A" Week
Happy First Monday of the Week!  :)

Tuesday, February 4

Faculty Enhancement Opportunity - 3PM in the Library!
Gr. 5 DNA Lab In-School Presentation

Wednesday, February 5

Happy Wednesday!
Today is Digital Learning Day - maybe do something fun with technology or do a lesson on Digital Citizenship!
Check out this funny video about HUMP DAY...

Thursday, February 6

CST @ 1:20pm
Cultural Arts is happening today
Budget Workshop 7:30pm

Friday, February 7

Happy TGIF!
Tony is out of the Building today - Paul is having surgery!

Kids' Korner

So, I have nothing this week... first person that posts a comment with a funny, silly or interesting thing said by an anonymous student will get a treat!      

Pics of the Week...

Check out Cantiague's Week in Tweets - click on the following link to see our Pics of the Week...

WEEK IN TWEETS - JANUARY 31

January 17, 2014

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday to everyone as we prepare for a wonderful three day weekend - I am definitely looking forward to that extra day because I have plenty of HW to do! I am thrilled to share that on Thursday night I turned in the final draft of my dissertation proposal - 45 pages of blood, sweat and definitely some tears! Thank you all for asking about it and checking in with me. I will be "defending" my proposal NEXT Friday and I will definitely let you all know how that goes when it's over. 

On another note, I am happy to share we were able to complete our first unannounced Stay Put Drill with only some minor glitches and issues. There was a quick response and our children's safety was ensured! Moving forward, as per a decision at a recent District-Wide Health & Safety Meeting, all doors should remain locked at all times. Doors do not have to remain closed but they should be locked. Please keep this in mind moving forward.   

Please note that this Fast Friday Focus will cover the next two weeks so please hold on to it for the schedule of the weeks!  

 
Over the last week, as I walked around the building, I spotted these awesome things...

• Jen & Joe's kids launched a personal narrative study within writer's workshop! The children were having difficulty generating small moments so they were encouraged to create a Small Story Map as a way to help them generate ideas for future entries. This graphic organizer helped the children generate some potentially powerful ideas - nice work!  

• During visits to both Mandy and Tali/Marissa's class this week, the children were working on story maps to help them better understand what was happening. In kindergarten the story map was intended to reiterate the concepts of beginning, middle and end while in fourth grade the children were discussing story elements such as climax and resolution. It was a wonderful way to see similar concepts taught to a different depth.  

• Risa gave her children an opportunity to free write in their writer's notebooks during their snack time - love the idea of a working snack sometimes! As Chris Lehman pointed out our efforts to ensure that kids are reading every day and writing as often as possible are important!

• In case you missed it, here is the Video Update of the Week featuring Adam's students - please show it to your class...

Tech Tip of the Week...

As an alternative to the typical tech tip, this week I want to share a video that I think is worth watching featuring a TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson. This video is about 20 minutes long and you don't have to watch it - just listen to it! It is funny but important - it inspired me and I hope it does the same for others...

  


SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, January 20

"A" Week
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Tuesday, January 21

R&D Information Session- 3PM in the Library for any teachers who are interested!
Visitors will be in the building from NJ!

Wednesday, January 22

Happy Wednesday! 

Thursday, January 23

CST at 1:20pm
Phil Bildner Visits Grade 5 - Library CLOSED!
Cultural Arts

Friday, January 24

Happy TGIF!
Tony out of the building - time to defend the dissertation proposal!

Monday, January 27

"B" Week
Kindergarten - Gym & Me Event at 8:40am

Planbooks due for ALL TEACHERS - please submit by Thurs! 

Tuesday, January 28

Kindergarten - Gym & Me Event at 8:40am
Faculty Enhancement Opportunity - Exploration of Student Work!

Wednesday, January 29

Happy Wednesday!
Tony will be out of the building - Paul has Pre-Op Testing!

Thursday, January 30

Kindergarten - Gym & Me Event at 8:40am
CST at 1:20pm

Cultural Arts

Bake Sale

Friday, January 31

Happy TGIF!

Kids' Korner

While in the computer lab, a 3rd Grader asked, "Mr. Sinanis, did you shower today?" I immediately responded yes and asked why and he said, "Cause you smell like soap!" Phew... that could have gone a lot of different ways! LOL!     

Pics of the Week...

Check out Cantiague's Week in Tweets - click on the following link to see our Pics of the Week...

CANTIAGUE WEEK IN TWEETS - JANUARY 17

January 10, 2014

Curriculum Connections...

Happy TGIF and here is to an awesome weekend! Unfortunately, I will be stuck in class all weekend so please think of me as you are doing something fun! I am happy to say that I am in the home stretch with my dissertation proposal... I am defending it in two weeks. - January 24th! Then I will have a little down time before the actual study begins... good times!

Meanwhile, I am so glad we all survived one of the coldest weeks ever. Thank you to Joey, Joe and the crew for keeping everything running smoothly! Thank you to Kim, Lorraine, Lois, Lisa, Lisa, Rob & Phil for standing outside in the freezing cold weather this week to make sure our kids got in safely - you braved the cold weather with a smile on your faces - THANK YOU! Hopefully the worst is behind us in terms of the cold weather.

Finally, as I mentioned, Chris Lehman is coming to Cantiague on Monday and I am super excited about his visit. We will be walking around the building in the morning on Monday through about noon. I really cannot wait to hear his take on how things are going and in what areas we can grown and enhance our practice... free PD is the best!   :)
     

Over the last week or so, as I walked around the building, I spotted these awesome things...

• I had a blast with Milissa during Spanish class in Tali and Marissa's room! I had the opportunity to work with a student who speaks Spanish fluently yet is normally so quiet around me. Not only did I get to practice my spanish skills but I got to hang out with this awesome little girl who made my day and taught me so much! The rest of the students were really engaged too as they prepared for their skits for next week - I cannot wait to go back next week to perform our dialogue skit! MUY BIEN! 

• Meryl's class working in small groups and immersed in powerful conversations about whether certain ideas were representative of themes in the book they had just completed. The kids were seriously debating concepts like persarverance and trying to decide if there were enough actions or events in the text to qualify that as a theme in the text - POWERFUL STUFF!   

• Jill's kids were working on Writing Workshop as they neared the end of their FUNctional Writing unit and the children were creating advertisements/fliers! Needless to say, I was so impressed by the way the children laid out their advertisements and the information they included to make their objects more appealing. They took nonfiction writing in a whole other direction and it was awesome! TAKE THAT COMMON CORE! 

• In case you missed it, here is the Video Update of the Week featuring Carolyn's students - please show it to your class...

Tech Tip of the Week...

The idea of teaching our children the skills necessary to be good digital citizens is important. I came across this link a while ago and thought it was worth sharing again - The Path to Digital Citizenship! There is a section specific to elementary kids- check it out!


SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, January 13

"B" Week
Chris Lehman in the HOUSE!

Tuesday, January 14

Faculty Enhancement Opportunity - 3PM in the Library!
Gr. 5 DNA Lab In-School Presentation

Wednesday, January 15

Happy Wednesday!
Grade 3 Earth Balloon

Thursday, January 16

CST @ 1:20pm

Friday, January 17

Happy TGIF!
Happy Three Day Weekend!

Kids' Korner

While in the lunchroom a first grade student ran up to hug me and accidentally hit me where it hurt and when I cringed in pain, he said, "Sorry- I do that to my dad all the time and I have to remember where my hand should go!" Um... YEA! LOL!       

Pics of the Week...

Check out Cantiague's Week in Tweets - click on the following link to see our Pics of the Week...

WEEK IN TWEETS - JANUARY 10

January 5, 2014

Curriculum Connections...

HAPPY NEW YEAR to the entire Cantiague Family! I hope you all had a wonderful break and that everyone enjoyed the three-day weekend thanks to our snow day on Friday. Although I have enjoyed the down time (especially since I have had so much work for Penn), I am ready to get back into the swing of things - I miss being in your classrooms and spending time with the kids! 

Please note that this week's update will be a quick and short one without all the bells and whistles because we only had one day of school last week (I don't really have much to write). So, this will get us through the next few days! 

First off, in case you didn't see it on Twitter, here is a new video featuring our kids (near the end) where kids from New Jersey, Minnesota and Cantiague share what they hope to see in schools in 2014 - their vision for schools. Check it out - it is really cute...

Tech Tip of the Week...

If you have not downloaded Toontastic on your classroom iPads yes, you must do so ASAP!! It is a wonderful story telling app that lets students record their own voices telling a story using the pre-loaded characters that are available through the app. It helps teach kids about story arc, story elements and mood just to name a few. Paul LOVES it!  


SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, January 6

"A" Week
Happy first Monday of 2014!

Tuesday, January 7

Kindergarten Registration - AM
Faculty Enhancement Opportunity - 3pm in the Library for all staff!

Wednesday, January 8

Kindergarten Registration - AM!
Rubinberg - Open House
Shared Decision Making Committee Meeting - 3pm

Thursday, January 9

Kindergarten Registration - AM!
CST at 1:20pm
PTA Executive Board Meeting
Grade 3 Teachers - Math in Focus PD
Cultural Arts

Friday, January 10

Happy TGIF!
Kindergarten Registration - AM!
Team M&M & Maione Open House
Tony goes to Penn!

Pics of the Week...

Check out Cantiague's Week in Tweets from right before the break - click on the following link to see our Pics of the Week...

WEEK IN TWEETS - BEFORE THE BREAK