January 8, 2016

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday to all... the first Friday 0f 2016... such an awesome and powerful thing! It means a blank calendar. It means a fresh start. It means a new year. I equate it to an amazing opportunity! It’s the perfect time to evaluate where we’ve been, where we’re now, and where we’re going tomorrow and beyond. It’s a time for us to bring back that September enthusiasm, relentless joy, and excitement for what we get to do as members of the #Cantiague community... the best school on the planet!

This month, I encourage you to look at what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what your heart truly desires in this moment. Maybe you’ve been skimping on self-care and establishing a new routine that encourages you to think of you is what you need (Felix, Paul & I have started walking together). Maybe you’ve been so wrapped up in work that you've forgotten how important what you do really is to everyone around you. Call a friend you haven’t checked in with for a while. Write a note to a family member to remind them how much you care. Evaluate what you’ve accomplished this year so far, and how you want to feel by the time the clock strikes the end of this school year in June.

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 that may or may not impact your practice. You know I have been preaching about the power of Twitter for years (almost 4 years now) and I applaud so many of us for getting connected to share the amazing stories of our learning spaces (every learning space has a Twitter presence and that is AWESOME) 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, needs, passions and beliefs!

As we know, there will be challenges in the coming months, of course, and the stress of this semester will bring all kinds of highs and lows. But if we shift our perspective to refocus our minds (thank you MaryAnn and Milissa for reminding us about the importance of being mindful), refresh our hearts, and renew our commitments, there’s no telling what kind of miracles the rest of this year has in store. I hope you will join me in establishing (and maintaining) the following focal points for the rest of the year... purpose & positivity.


#EDUWINS for the week included...

• While in Rande's room I listened to an amazing conversation about research and how to present information in writing based on research conducted. The children were discussing (and understanding) ideas like a thesis statement and the difference between a site and cite! Kudos to the entire 5th grade team for tackling the whole idea of research while still letting kids research things they are passionate about - AWESOMENESS! 

• In Jessica's room the kids were working in small collaborative groups to create Educreations to show their understandings of Simple Machines and the end results were pretty impressive. All of the children were actively engaged in this alternative form of assessment - an activity that was fun and informative!

• Jen's kids were working hard in the computer lab checking out the comments their parents left them on the letters they shared via Google Docs - it was so awesome to watch! Not only were they learning how to write letters but they also learned how to use Google Docs to receive and respond to comments - talk about writing for an audience and purpose - WOW!  

Tech Tip of the Week...
Check out this interesting article about what we can learn from Minecraft... What Minecraft Can Teach You About Pedagogy. 

Blogs Worth Reading...
Be A Change Agent by George Couros

I Still Read To My 10 Year Old Son by Starr Sackstein 

20 Ways To Ditch Those Worksheets by Matt Miller

Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Tali, who shares something new she is trying in her classroom this year called Try It Tuesday, which replaces the traditional HW assignment on Tuesday nights (make sure you check out the video featuring the kids at the end). I think it is an awesome idea and a conversation we must have as a staff... look for more reflections on HW next week!

Through the years, I’ve noticed that for students to become lifelong learners, they need more opportunities to think about their thinking and more opportunities to teach, rather than just to listen or engage in a teacher-directed activity. As you know, it can often be a challenge to keep kids interested and engaged when doing nightly homework. So how do we keep them focused, excited and inspired? This year I tried something new called Try it Tuesdays!  Every Tuesday night instead of traditional homework, the children have to try something new. It’s kind of like Genius Hour at home with no limits! I have found that the kids are motivated and engaged to experiment, imagine, plan, create and improve their “designs,” whatever that may look like to them. I started this Try It Tuesday ritual and have found that it encourages appreciation and happiness in my classroom!

I wanted to know how my kids felt about Try it Tuesdays, so I asked them!  One of my techy kids videotaped our chat.  

Click below to find out what the kids think!

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, January 11
"B" Week
Gr. 4 Literacy Check In @11am

Tuesday, January 12 

Gr. 5 Author Visit - Library Closed
#EdCampFEO at 3pm for all staff - double meeting

Wednesday, January 13

Gr. 3 Earth Balloon - 1/2 Gym Closed
Shared Decision Making Team Meeting - 3pm

Thursday, January 14

CST @ 1:20pm
PTA Executive Board at 9am
Cultural Arts!

Friday, January 15

Happy TGIF!

Reminders... 

• Don't stop CODING... the kids love it so let's maintain it as a presence in our school!
• Don't forget to implement lessons from our Digital Citizenship Curriculum... access it here!
• There is NO FEO on Tuesday, Jan. 19!
• Don't forget... F&P testing starts next week.