December 11, 2015

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday to all... it is hard to believe that Christmas (Happy Hanukkah to everyone celebrating right now) is only two weeks away... AHHH!!! I have not even started shopping yet! Can someone say gift cards??   :)

A special thank you to Sunshine for organizing a wonderful Holiday Fiesta on Wednesday! It was such a great evening to just kick back, chat and enjoy some delicious food. Our school community is really an amazing one and that was highlighted for me watching the many interactions during the gathering where most of them involved laughter, smiles and good times. Happy Holidays to all!

In light of our new tradition started last year, we will be celebrating the 8 DAYS OF HOLIDAYS this year starting Monday, December 14th. The plan is as follows...

Monday - Dec. 14 - Manic Monday - No HW for all students & a dress down day for the staff!

Tuesday - Dec. 15 - Tasty Tuesday - Special candy treat for the staff from our PTA!

Wednesday - Dec. 16 - Warm-up Wednesday - there will be some coffee available in the office from a parent!

Thursday - Dec. 17 - Thank You Thursday - leave a HANDWRITTEN Thank You note for someone on staff (and dress down so you are comfy while writing that note)! 

Friday - Dec. 18 - Fuzzy/Flannel Friday - wear your favorite flannel/fuzzy PJs, shirt or pants & be comfy today!

Monday - Dec. 21 - Manga Monday - join me as I host my annual THANK YOU Holiday Luncheon in the Faculty Room (and dress down with comfy pants so you can eat as much as you want)!


Tuesday - Dec. 22 - Team Cantiague Tuesday - wear your favorite Cantiague or Jericho gear!

Wednesday - Dec. 23 - Workout Wednesday - wear your favorite workout/training/exercise gear!

#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Ilene had the second graders working towards mastery of identifying major body parts by using Mr. Potato Head on the SMARTBoard. She had different students come up and label the parts of the body, which they did successfully. It was so much fun to watch because the children were so excited to participate!

• Reading workshop in Ally's room was so great to watch because the children were accessing their "reading super powers" while also practicing their see-saw partner reading. The children were incredibly engaged and working so beautifully together and they were READING... A LOT! 

• Rob and Phil were engaging the children in the primary grades in some awesome collaborative stations that challenged them to access different skills to accomplish various goals. Whether they were trying to keep a beach ball in the air or toss a beanbag and hit the target, the children were developing specific skills while having a blast!  

Tech Tip of the Week...
Check out this great resource: The Teacher's Guide to Using YouTube in the Classroom!

Blogs Worth Reading...
20 Creative Ways To Check for Understanding by Angela Stockman

Positive Brains Are Smarter Brains by Donna Wilson

Hope Is Not A Wish by Paul Erickson 

Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Christine who shares a personal (and incredibly powerful) reflection about the notion of fair vs. equal! This is a wonderful compliment to Matt's post from last week...


People say that things happen for a reason.  I truly believe this phrase in many areas of my life.  I would like to share how this saying applies to both my career and personal life.  Thirteen years ago, I was blessed with my first beautiful baby boy.  He was a typical baby and toddler.  He met most milestones at the right time, was verbal, social and just a good boy.  Upon entering school, learning to read and write were very difficult for him.  After a couple of years of struggling, he was diagnosed with a visual motor delay.  This made school difficult for him in all areas.  As a result of the struggles he faced, a Generalized Anxiety Disorder surfaced.  I thank goodness every day that he had an IEP in school because without it, school would have been almost impossible for him to navigate.  As he grew older, the IEP was changed to a 504 plan because the academic issues were no longer present, however the anxiety he has impacts his ability to learn and be successful on tests.  He receives testing in a separate location as well as extended time.  Both of which he uses in order to combat the anxiety he feels.

Next came my second baby boy.  Although quite smart and adorable, he has been difficult from the day he was born.  Starting with refusing the bottle, sometimes only drinking 3 ounces a day.  As any mom can relate, this was something that was enough to send me over the edge!!  He was full of energy as a toddler, cranky and had many temper tantrums.  He too had difficulty reading and writing in school as well as with paying attention and staying in his seat.  In the summer between second and third grade, he was diagnosed with ADHD and we made the decision to put him on medication.  Although very difficult, this proved to be the best decision we could make for him.  His reading went up 5 levels within six months, he was able to pay attention in class and was not getting into trouble.  His IEP allowed him to receive learning center 5x per week which enabled him to catch up on everything he missed in school before.  He also receives testing accommodations which are significant for his success in school.

Four years ago, I was lucky enough to be teamed up with my partner DM in our co-teaching class and have learned so much from her.  Her experience as a Special Education teacher has helped me to understand how to meet the needs of every student in our class;  not only the special needs kids, but also the “typical” and “gifted”.  A co-teaching classroom is like nothing a teacher has ever experienced before.  The amount of behavior plans and academic interventions is inordinate and at many times overwhelming.  Trying to remediate and enrich on a minute to minute basis can be very difficult and frustrating but imperative to the success of our children. This is what we strive to do every day because that is what our children deserve. This is what our children need. This is what I would want for my own children. In the end, this is one of the most rewarding aspects of the profession - removing “fair” from the equation so that all children have equal access to learning. 

So…. all in all, I was meant to have these two beautiful, yet challenging children and meant to be part of a co-teaching team because these experiences have played a part in truly changing what I think about fair vs. equal.  

Accommodations do not give special education children an unfair advantage over others, they do not give special treatment because they earn prizes for behaving the way children “should” behave.  These accommodations give children an equal field to play on.  Would parents of these children choose the difficult paths that their wonderful babies have to face?  I don’t think so.  Do I sometimes wish that my older son could walk into a testing situation confident and secure instead of wrought with anxiety? Yes! Believe me, because he gets to take a test in a testing center with extended time and may get an extra day to study, he still will not be the all-star student or probably even get an A.  He does not have an advantage over others.  He receives what he needs to be on an equal plain.  Do I wish that my middle guy did not have to take medication in order to learn like all the other children and be able to focus in school? Yes! But, this medication enables him to be on an equal plain as his peers and to feel the success in school of which he deserves.  
          This notion of fair vs. equal is one that all of us have to consider as educators and some of us have to consider as parents too. Although it may be challenging for us to understand, this has nothing to do with us as the adults - this is all about giving our children what they need to access learning; this is all about giving our children what they need to meet with some success; this is all about helping our “atypical” children grow and develop so they can be happy in life. So, the next time you have a right handed kid playing first base, don’t give them a left handed glove because everyone else on the  team is left handed… that may be equal but it is not fair!      

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, December 14
"B" Week
Literacy Check In with Grade 5

Tuesday, December 15

FEO at 3pm for all staff - learn to use the Chromebooks with Alex & Rosanna's kids!
Gr. 2 Night Sky Lab in the auditorium

Wednesday, December 16

Shared Decision Making Team Meeting at 3pm

Thursday, December 17

CST @ 1:20pm
Ice Cream Sale - Indoor Lunch Schedule
Cultural Arts!

Friday, December 18

Happy TGIF!
Literacy Forum in the Library & Computer Labs - both closed! Lots of visitors in the building!

Reminders... 

• Let's keep our kids CODING!
• Feel free to dress comfortably over the upcoming 8 days as we get ready for the holiday break!
• Planbooks to be submitted this coming week; remember, there are alternatives - ask me about them!
• Be on the lookout for F&P testing dates as we will be starting in mid-January.