January 30, 2015

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday to everyone as we head into the final weekend of January... I cannot believe it is going to be Groundhog Day on Monday as we kick off February! So exciting to know that we are speeding towards the 100th Day of school - what an amazing year of learning it has been from the integration of Genius Hour to our experiences with coding to the continued development of reading and writing workshops... it has been an AWESOME year!

As some of you may have seen on Twitter, I am excited to share that I collaborated with two other administrators from NJ and Minnesota to develop a ConnectED Reading BINGO challenge! This such an exciting opportunity for our children to tackle various reading "challenges" as we kick off February, which is Love To Read Month! Click here for the details about the event and to access a PDF version of the BINGO board that can be printed out and used with the children... I think you will really love some of the challenges!

Finally, as you know the F.E.O. – Tuesday, Feb. 3rd – please note that our next full staff FEO will be happening on Tuesday and will feature APP presentations from students in Rande’s class. We will all gather in the Library to kick it off and then the students will work in small groups to present the following apps…

a. In Allison & Marissa’s room, there will be two presentations on the following apps… NearPod and Sticky Notes.

b. In Christina’s room, there will be two presentations on the following apps… Haiku Deck and Educreations.

c. In Rande’s room, there will be two presentations on the following apps… iMovie and BitMoji.

Based on the presentations you want to attend (about 35 minutes in total for both presentations in each room), you should probably download the apps in advance! I am really excited about this opportunity to have the children facilitate and lead our F.E.O. experience… we hope our teaching can reach them each day so it will be awesome to sit back and be the learners!

This week, as I walked around #Cantiague this week, I spotted the following #EduWins...

• I got to spend some time in Melanie's classroom during their Brazil project time and I was completely blown away by what the children were creating. Two kids took the information they learned about Brazilian food and created a Brazilian Food Truck with a menu and working radio-- AWESOME! Another group re-created the Amazon rain forest while yet another built a miniature soccer stadium including miniature players and goalie... WOW! I was really blown away by what they had learned and their attention to detail. In my mind, there is no need for a Brazil test - these were the perfect assessment points - AMAZING work! 

• Karen's class was working in small groups to research the 13 Colonies and they were doing such an awesome job collaborating. Each group had a device and they had each created a graphic organizer to help them gather relevant information in different categories. I was completely blown away by how engaged the children were throughout the experience and their discussions about what information to include was impressive - INCREDIBLE! 

• Dale, Diane and Clare did an amazing job preparing and presenting the Grade 5 Winter Concert. It was clear that the children worked so hard and have grown so much under their instruction - they really did beautiful job and they looked adorable on stage!

Please refer to this post (especially for the Schedule of the Week below) for the next couple of weeks! 

Tech Tip of the Week...
Looking for some great new apps to try out in your classroom, check out the 70 Best Apps for Teachers and Students!  

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, February 2

"B" Week
Happy Groundhog Day!

Tuesday, February 3

F.E.O. @ 3pm - Student Led Tech Workshops 
Special CST Meeting - 8:40am to 11am

Wednesday, February 4

Happy Wednesday!
Tony out of the building

Thursday, February 5
Happy Thursday!
Cultural Arts!
Tony is out of the building

Friday, February 6

Happy TGIF!
Grade 5 Bake Sale
Tony is out of the building (Paul is having surgery today assuming he gets over his illness... keep you posted)

Monday, February 9

"A" Week
PTA Health Awareness Week kicks off... Meditation Monday - please stop during the day and have the children breathe and be mindful!

Tuesday, February 10

NO F.E.O. 
Gr. 5 DNA Lab - in-house!
PTA Health Awareness Week kicks off... Team Up Tuesday - wear your favorite sports team jersey, shirt or gear!

Wednesday, February 11

Gr. 3 Author Visit - Library Closed!
PTA Health Awareness Week kicks off... Workout Wednesday - wear your favorite workout gear because we will be doing a couple of school-wide exercise breaks!

Thursday, February 12

CST at 1:20pm
Gr. 1 Open House... 8:45am
Bd. Of Ed. Meeting - 7:30pm
PTA Health Awareness Week kicks off... Wear RED for Healthy Heart Awareness!

Friday, February 13

Happy TGIF!
PTA Health Awareness Week kicks off... Jump-A-Thon today... dress down to participate!
Happy Winter Recess to all!

Kids' Korner
During lunch one day, I walked by a third grader who stopped me and said, "Mr. Sinanis, I am sexy and I know it!" LOL! Oh gosh... definitely not something I would have EVER said to my principal!

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 23, 2015

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday to the most amazing extended family ever!! I hope you all had a wonderful four-day week. By the time you all read this I will probably be on my way to Philly for another weekend of classes at Penn. After this weekend, I only have classes in February and March and then classes are officially DONE! Of course, there is still the little matter of my dissertation... but I am working on that too so I can be done on time for my May 2015 graduation date!

In other news, just an FYI, please review the procedures for a Stay Put Drill because it is very likely that we will be having one in the near future. The three biggest pieces we must remember is that the doors must be locked, the children should be out of sight and please call the Main Office to report that you have accounted for all of your children. 

This Thursday our Innovation Day Planning Committee got together for our first meeting and generated some great ideas for what our first ever Innovation Day (May 14th) might look like. Thank you Lisa, Ally, Jessica, Meryl, Jeanne, Donna and Marissa... your passion and insight were tremendous! More details will follow and there will be dedicated planning time during FEOs in March and April so be on the lookout for those opportunities. We are definitely trying to disrupt the norm here.. and have some FUN!

Finally, I would like to remind everyone that on Monday we will kick off our second annual NO WORKSHEET WEEK CHALLENGE for the week of January 26th! That's right... we did it last year so we can do it even better this year! A week without any worksheets... no worksheets in class... no worksheets for homework... NO WORKSHEETS!! Now, let's take a deep breath... I am not saying NO PAPER... just NO POINTLESS, THOUGHTLESS or MEANINGLESS WORKSHEETS! It is all about the content... not the paper! You know the ones... so join me on our annual NO WORKSHEET WEEK CHALLENGE during the week of January 26th! I AM SUPER EXCITED this year because I tweeted our NO WORKSHEET WEEK CHALLENGE out and it has gotten 100s of retweets so we are taking this event to a NATIONAL LEVEL! One of my Twitter friends, Aviva, actually blogged about and I think this piece is definitely worth a read - CLICK HERE!   


This week, as I walked around #Cantiague this week, I spotted the following #EduWins...

• I had a chance to be in the Art Room with Lois and a first grade class and I was totally blown away by the flowers the children were creating with paint. Lois modeled for them how to create the center and the petals and then the children quickly transitioned and got to work. There was such a positive buzz in the room and all the children were engaged. What impressed me most was how different each child's creation looked and how engaged they were in the process - Lois has fostered a lot of independence in that room - AWESOMENESS!

• Book Clubs are on FIRE here at Cantiague! This week alone I have seen book club discussions in every grade from first through fifth. The children are doing such great job of facilitating these conversations with a lot of independence and self-direction. I am also impressed that in most cases, the children were successfully able to find text evidence to support their thinking during the discussions. What an awesome way to not only ignite a passion for reading but also transfer responsibility for learning to the children - BRAVO!

• I was able to visit Janine's room during shared reading and the children were doing a close reading of a poem and they were doing an awesome job. They were labeling parts of the poem and thinking about the different text features as a way to enhance and deepen their comprehension - WOW!

Tech Tip of the Week...

I know many of our children enjoy creating Word Clouds so check out this link to 10 Word Cloud Generators!


SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, January 26

"A" Week
WRAP Testing
Kindergarten Gym & Me - 8:40am
Joint PTA Council - might be at Cantiague!

Tuesday, January 27

WRAP Testing
F.E.O. @ 3pm - Student Led Tech Workshops 
Kindergarten Gym & Me - 8:40am

Wednesday, January 28

Happy Wednesday!
WRAP Testing
Kindergarten Gym & Me - 8:40am
Gr. 5 Winter Concert - 1:20pm rehearsal & 
                                     7pm Parent Performance

Thursday, January 29

CST @ 1:20pm
Cultural Arts
WRAP Testing

Friday, January 30

Happy TGIF!
WRAP Testing... should be the final day!

Kids' Korner

While visiting Mandy's room they were celebrating the Star Student of the Week and giving her different compliments. Well, one of her classmates said, "She (the Star Student) is an active learner!" as a compliment... WOW!! How awesome is that for one kindergartner to say to another? I was blown away!         

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 16, 2015

Curriculum Connections...

Happy TGIF and here is to an awesome three-day weekend as we celebrate the efforts of the great Martin Luther King Jr. With that in mind, I highly recommend the movie Selma, which features King and tells the story of how blacks used peaceful protesting (didn't always end so peacefully) and incredible strategizing (and sacrifice) in Selma, Alabama to secure the right to vote. It was powerful, moving and sadly reflective of the lack of progress we have made as a nation as it relates to racism and segregation. I think it is a movie worth watching and am seriously considering taking Paul to see it too this weekend. Paul transitioned back to life with Kelly right before the New Year so this is our first weekend of 2015 and I am so excited to be spending time with him! 

As we all know, two of my favorite topics to discuss and reflect on are test prep and homework... well, throw the two of them together and it goes to a whole other level! Being that this time of year always seems to bring up questions about test prep, homework and the perfect storm of the two, I just wanted to share my position on both and open the door for future conversations - I would be more than happy to follow up in person. First off, I have spent hours over the last couple of days pouring over articles about the impact/importance/role of homework at the elementary level and the bottom line is this... at best, homework's positive impact on children's academic achievement and performance is questionable. Check out this article or this one to read about the fact that homework at the elementary level cannot be linked to any meaningfully positive outcomes. In fact, in one study I read, the children who are struggling academically in school, for those kids, homework actually has a negative impact. If we think about it... that makes sense! If a child can barely do it while they are at school without extensive scaffolding and support, how can we expect that they will meet with success when doing it at home where the level of support varies tremendously. So, when thinking about homework, please be thoughtful and keep it to a meaningful minimum - less is more in this instance. Make the homework matter; place value on the homework by checking it and giving the children feedback; and finally, try giving the children voice or choice in the development of homework assignments... I think the outcomes may surprise us. And, if we get push back from any families, we have research to support our thinking.

In regards to test prep, I have three things I must share because I think consistency in practice here is imperative to our collective success. First off I really believe that good instruction rooted in rich texts and resources that teaches children the skills they need to be good readers, writers and mathematicians is the bulk of the test prep that is needed. Embed test "preppy" questions into the shared reading or read aloud; embed reading responses that mirror the writing expected on the test in a limited but contextualized way. For example, I recently was in Meryl's room where she explained that once a week, the actual day of the week was up to the kids, the children had to write a reading response that they would share with her so she could get a sense of their thinking as readers. What an awesome idea... AWESOME way to embed test prep because Meryl could pose specific questions each week that mirror the language on the test and there is embedded test prep. Worksheets with pages of passages and multiple choice questions will not accomplish the same goal because I think that access lower level thinking. In fact, in this article on test prep, especially on page two, teaching to the test actually dumbs down teaching and learning! So, secondly, I am not saying that test prep should not occur (our kids need exposure to test taking skills, certain language, etc.) but make it as meaningful as possible and keep it at a minimum. I will support any decisions made in the classroom as they relate to test prep as long as we can all see the value in them and the positive impact it has on the children. Finally, the one thing I am not comfortable with and will have difficulty supporting is sending any test prep packets or worksheets or workbooks home for children to complete for homework. This type of work, if it is occurring at all, should be happening in school under our supervision - not at home for a child or family to complete for homework. From my vantage point, test prep, if it is to have any positive impact on our children, needs to be happening in school - not at home. So, please do not send any test prep home for homework and I ask that grade level teams are aligned in this practice because I do believe this is in the best interest of the children.

Thank you for taking the time to read my rantings from atop my little soap box and please know that my only goal and intent is to promote practices and approaches that are in the best interest of all children. On that note, I would like to announce our second annual NO WORKSHEET WEEK CHALLENGE for the week of January 26th! That's right... we did it last year so we can do it even better this year! A week without any worksheets... no worksheets in class... no worksheets for homework... NO WORKSHEETS!! Now, let's take a deep breath... I am not saying NO PAPER... just NO POINTLESS, THOUGHTLESS or MEANINGLESS WORKSHEETS! You know the ones... so join me on our annual NO WORKSHEET WEEK CHALLENGE during the week of January 26th!     


This week, as I walked around #Cantiague this week, I spotted the following #EduWins...

• I had a chance to be in Carly and Nancy's room while they were kicking off a revamped math lesson (thanks to the PD session from Jen and the other teachers at our F.E.O. on Tuesday) and was blown away by the fact that while the children were solving a basic division problem, Carly and Nancy walked around the room, took informal data and quickly met to discuss their data, compare notes and make some tweaks to the plan for the day. WOW... what an awesome site to observe because it showed the power of formative assessment data and how it can directly impact and guide instruction. AWESOMENESS!

• I spent some time in all three of our kindergarten classrooms this week during their centers time and I have to say KUDOS to them for remembering the developmental importance of creative play as part of the kindergarten experience! To see the children engrossed in building with blocks, creating with LEGOS and imagining in the Drama Center is a reminder that at Cantiague, we get it! The Common Core or high stakes testing is not going to deter us from meeting the needs of our children. BRAVO Team K!!

• Tali did a fun activity where her children created a STAMINA Ladder where each rung was an inspirational quote or idea that challenged the children to continue building their STAMINA for learning and getting better. The kids were so excited about the activity and after they analyzed the lyrics to the song The Climb, they generated their inspirational quotes and now their ladder is proudly displayed in the hallway by their classroom - definitely check it out!

Tech Tip of the Week...

One of my new favorite apps is Voxer! It is like a "walkie talkie" app that allows you to leave voice messages and text messages for people far and wide (you can have chats with one person or create groups... this might be a powerful tool for grade-wide and building-wide collaborations). I have used this resource to foster some really powerful and deep connections with members from my Personal Learning Network... people who started out as just Twitter friends, have now become real friends who I rely on daily for support, insight and perspective. Are you interested in learning more about this awesome tool? Click on this link for a Voxer tutorial by my friend and mentor, Dr. Joe Mazza. 


SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, January 19

"B" Week
Happy MLK Day... School Closed!

Tuesday, January 20

WRAP Testing
NO F.E.O.

Wednesday, January 21

Happy Wednesday!
Shared Decision Making Team Meeting - 3pm!

Thursday, January 22

CST @ 1:20pm
Cultural Arts
Board of Ed. Meeting - 7:45pm at Seaman
Innovation Day Planning Committee Meeting - 7:45am.

Friday, January 23

Happy TGIF!
Tony will be out at Penn... only two more trips to Philly!

Kids' Korner

While visiting Allison and Marissa's classroom, where Allison was randomly incorporating a spontaneous British accent during the shared reading text, I was told that I spontaneously use a southern accent and that I look like a wannabe rapper during the weekly video updates because of the way I use my hands... LOL! Good times! I will say this about our school community... smiles and laughter are easy to come by and for that, we are lucky!        

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 9, 2015

Curriculum Connections...

Happy TGIF and here is to an awesome weekend that will hopefully not be as brutally cold as the last couple of days! Happy New Year again to everyone - hard to believe that this is our first Fast Friday Focus for 2015. I wish everyone nothing but health and happiness in 2015. Let's remember to dream BIG this year and take risks with our own teaching but more importantly, with our own learning! 

Make it a goal to learn a little something new every single day. Maybe something you will use or maybe something you don't agree with or maybe something that aligns perfectly to your current practice... whatever the approach, resource or case, try and learn something new every single day. You know I have been preaching about the power of Twitter for years and I applaud so many of you for getting connected to share the amazing stories of your learning spaces but maybe the time has come to digger a little deeper into the Twitterverse and start using it as a tool for your personal and professional development. Use it to connect with like minded educators; use it to read the blogs as a way to push yourself out of your comfort zone; use it as a way to find resources and materials that could enhance your craft; or who knows... maybe start tweeting about your own ideas, passions and beliefs! Check out my Twitter Getting Started Guided if you are ready to take the next step! 

From my perspective, the bottom line in the world of education is that we should not be mainly focused on the teaching but instead we should mainly be focused on the learning of everyone in the community!

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, Maureen, Rob & Phil for standing outside in the frigid 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. With that in mind, I will say this... I will take cold weather over snow any day!   :)


This week, as I walked around #Cantiague this week, I spotted the following #EduWins...

• I saw several examples of peer tutoring where one child was helping another child work on a specific skill or address a specific issue. For example, from Adam's class I watched Rin work closely with Alan to help improve his English - whether it was working on his writing or reading, Rin supported him with patience and smile. I also watched Sara from fifth grade "tutor" Ivy from fourth grade because Ivy, who came here from China last year, is not progressing at the rate we would have hoped. Well, Sara was truly an amazing teacher both times I saw the girls together... she was a true Lead Learner - AWESOME!

• I spent some time in all three of our kindergarten classrooms this week during Writing Workshop and was blown away by how maturely the children handled getting ready to publish as part of the List and Label unit of study. They were looking through writing folders and examining their own pieces to decide what was worthy of being published - they are truly budding authors!

• Allison and Marissa have done an amazing job integrating Google Classroom into their instructional practices and their nonfiction writing unit has flourished online. The kids are doing such impressive and mature writing and the conversations between teachers and students during conferences have left me in awe. Yesterday, there was even a discussion about digitally publishing their work and making it accessible to the world... WOW! 

• In case you missed it, here is the national video our kids participated in where they shared their BIG dreams for 2015...

Tech Tip of the Week...

It seems that the integration of Google Classroom, Google Docs and other Google based educational resources are permeating many of our learning spaces. With that in mind, I offer the following resource: 5 Time Saving Ways Teachers Can Use Google Forms!


SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, January 12

"A" Week
Happy Monday.... Make it the BEST Monday of the week!
#NYedchat at 8:30pm to discuss PLCs... join or watch the discussion on Twitter!

Tuesday, January 13

Extended Faculty Enhancement Opportunity - teachers only!
See the email from Helene for details!

Wednesday, January 14

Happy Wednesday!
Grade 3 Earth Balloon

Thursday, January 15

CST @ 1:20pm
Cultural Arts

Friday, January 16

Happy TGIF!
Happy Three Day Weekend!

Kids' Korner

While walking around with my Jericho hat on Thursday someone commented that I looked GANGSTA...Yup... that's me, the 40 year old Greek Gangsta! 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