October 2, 2015

Curriculum Connections...

Happy TGIF! I hope all is well and that everyone had a wonderful first FULL week of school. I don't know about all of you but I am totally ready for Friday!  :) 

Although it was a long week and I came back from LA congested and under the weather, it was one of the best weeks I have ever had here at Cantiague. The highlight for me was the opportunity to sit with every grade level and have these important conversations about literacy. The thoughtfulness, consideration and passion that went into every one of these conversations (and the decisions we made) was really inspiring to me and I am already looking forward to our next conversations later this month! Thank you for allowing me to participate in this journey of refining and enhancing our literacy instruction here at #Cantiague!


#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Thank you to Julie and Alayne who did an awesome job with the ESL/ENL/ELL presentation during our FEO this past week. The one thing that really resonated with me is the importance of us developing our cultural literacy so that we can make informed choices to engage our English Language Learners. Let's not forget that our ENL team of teachers are an amazing resource we can access for all of our students - THANK YOU!

• Alex and Rosanna were having such important literacy conversations with students. Each of them was meeting with a child and were doing a "book talk" to try and find the "just right" book to hook each child. The thoughtfulness and enthusiasm that they projected was awesome to watch and each of them successfully paired the children with a book. This really speaks to the importance of "book talks" with kids - if talk about a book and make it sound awesome, there is a greater chance our students will enthusiastically engage in reading that text. 

• Genius Hour in Melissa's room was so much fun. The children were so incredibly engaged and they were working on such diverse topics - from making jewelry to exploring origami to figuring out how to make glow in the dark goo - and each child was excited to share what they were working on and what they wanted to accomplish. It definitely reinforced the idea that it is imperative that we let our children pursue passion projects. 

Tech Tip of the Week...

Check out this blog post about using voice dictation within Google Docs - Google Docs Now Lets You Type Without Typing At All!



Blogs Worth Reading...
Resources for Connected Educator Month 2015 by Edutopia

What Makes a Master Teacher by George Couros

The Curse by Tony Sinanis

Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Team Levlons about the power of creating a HAPPY classroom...


Perhaps Winnie the Pooh said it best when he stated, “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Dr. Sinanis has declared the 2015-1016 school year, #yearofhappy. We have been thinking a lot about this phenomenon and realized some important things about what motivates our students, what motivates us, and about our classroom environment in general. It is really quite simple. Kids perform better when they are happy. If they look forward to coming to school, have positive learning experiences while they are here, feel connected to their teachers and peers, and leave each day with a smile, they WILL be more successful. They are more open to learning, they are motivated to succeed, and their confidence soars. After all, don’t you perform better when you are happy? So now that we know happiness promotes success, how do we make it happen? Let’s begin with our morning meeting. The Levlon morning meeting has been compared to the Kelly and Michael show (LOL). We bring humor to the meeting, engage our audience, and make sure student voice is heard and valued. Each day our students look forward to this casual and comfortable experience. A benefit to co-teaching is that we are able to model positive social interactions all day every day. The Levlons take this opportunity to model compassion, kindness, and humor. We are constantly laughing at ourselves, and WITH each other and our students. We create a safe and happy environment for our kids. We often refer to math instruction in our classroom as “group therapy”, which lets our students know that we are “all in it together”. They feel comfortable making mistakes, and this motivates them to try harder, and enables them to be more successful than they knew they were capable of. Our students really enjoy our daily read aloud. After lunch is a sacred time in our classroom where we read books to our kids strictly for enjoyment. There is no mini lesson attached or hidden agenda. We simply read to read! We choose relevant books that we know the kids will relate to, connect with, and enjoy hearing. During these read alouds, we laugh together, cry together, and definitely grow together. Another happy time in room 26 is Genius Hour. This is a time each week, where the kids can explore their passions and interests. It enables EVERY child to be successful and feel good about what they’re working on. We all look forward to this special weekly experience. Most importantly, throughout each day we talk to our students. Not just about what we are learning in Social Studies or Reading Workshop, but about what’s going on in their lives. We make connections with them and follow up with them about how things are going. We’ll ask how a new soccer team is working out, or if they received that special robot for their birthday. We also share information about our lives; our kids and our weekends. It’s not a surprise when our students follow up and ask us about what’s going on in our lives as well. We care about each other and respect each other as individuals. So, if you ask us what makes our kids so happy, we can list a whole bunch of activities and experiences that occur in our classroom on a daily basis. We believe it really boils down to the way we treat our kids. We make every decision with their best interest at heart (and they know it!). We listen to them and empower them. We hug them and love them. The best part is that in return, our kids love us back and add so much joy to our lives. We come to work HAPPY every day and we are motivated to be the BEST we can be for “our kids”.

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, October 5
"B" Week
Happy Book Fair Week (hopefully we avoided the hurricane)!

Tuesday, October 6 

Book Fair Preview Night @ 7pm
FEO @ 3pm for all teachers - Auditorium

Wednesday, October 7

Book Fair

Thursday, October 8

CST @ 1:20pm
Book Fair

Friday, October 9

Happy TGIF!
Tony will be out of the building at LIASCD

Reminders... 

• Book Fair is NEXT week so please make sure you fill out YOUR TEACHER WISH LISTS early in the week!
• Keep spreading the HAPPY around your room!
• Next FEO on 10/6 - Teachers ONLY to Discuss EdCamp (watch this short 2 min video)
• Let's try and avoid HW on the weekends
• Please let Lisa P. know if you need to replenish your classroom library!

September 25, 2015

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday - I hope everyone had a great four-day week! Fortunately the weather has improved and it seems the heat has finally broken, which has allowed our children (and us) to stay active, alert and engaged throughout the day. Although I hate to see summer go, I do love the weather in the fall - there is nothing better than a cool/crisp morning. With that in mind, I hope everyone has some fun plans for the first weekend of fall. I am flying out to LA on Friday afternoon to host the Bammy Awards on Saturday... then I am taking the red-eye back on Saturday night so I can spend Sunday with Paul... good times! 

In other news, I had to share the following piece generated by my dear friend and principal colleague Amber Teamann, who is an incredible educator in the great state of Texas (still love her evn though she is a Cowboys fan). Check out what Amber shared with her staff about meaningful technology integration, which I think is something we are ready to consider based on how successfully we have started integrated technology thus far at Cantiague...

Let's talk SAMR!

Let's not add technology to our classrooms just for the sake of adding technology. That doesn't necessarily IMPACT or REDEFINE student learning, which is our goal! To take it to the next step, we genuinely want to TRANSFORM what we are asking our students to do...if we look at this SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification & Redefinition) model list below, our goal should be to move along this scale - at whatever pace makes the most sense for us and our learners. The purpose is to best meet the learning needs of our children and as such technology is only a means to an end, and not the end itself.

To help clarify even further, check out this great Prezi about what SAMR can look like in school - some amazing stuff to consider!

Substitution
In a substitution level, teachers or students are only using new technology tools to replace old ones, for instance, using Google Docs to replace Microsoft Word. The task ( writing) is the same but the tools are different.

Augmentation
Though it is a different level, we are still in the substitution mentality but this time with added functionalities. Again using the example of Google docs, instead of only writing a document and having to manually save it and share it with others, Google Docs provides extra services like auto saving, auto syncing, and auto sharing in the cloud.

Modification
This is the level where technology is being used more effectively not to do the same task using different tools but to redesign new parts of the task and transform students learning. An example of this is using the commenting service in Google Docs, for instance, to collaborate and share feedback on a given task task.

Redefinition
If you are to place this level in Blooms revised taxonomy pyramid, it would probably correspond to synthesis and evaluation as being the highest order thinking skills.Redefinition means that students use technology to create imperceptibly new tasks. An example of redefinition is when students connect to a classroom across the world where they would each write a narrative of the same historical event using the chat and comment section to discuss the differences, and they use the voice comments to discuss the differences they noticed and then embed this in the class website.

#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Melanie had her children singing the Fight Song in an effort to build stamina and perseverance as readers, which is critical. The children had such a blast singing the song but more importantly they got the message was that sometimes they have to "fight" through a book to finish it as they build stamina.

• Laurie did an awesome activity in the Science lab with fourth graders where she used a slinky to simulate how an earthquake moves, looks and feels. The kids were literally in awe as they watched and based on the activity they completed afterwards, they learned a lot too. 

• Our PTA Meeting was an awesome success because we had students from each kindergarten class and fifth grade class come down and kick off the meeting by sharing what it is that they love most about Cantiague. The kids were amazing and they shared things like they make new friends at Cantiague, we are a bully free school and we push kids to think and be creative with things like Genius Hour. 

Tech Tip of the Week...

Check out this blog post that features 10 Ways Google Classroom Will Make Learning Better!



Blogs Worth Reading...
Parenting, Not For The Moment But For The Long Haul by Jessica Lahey

On Public Shaming and Our Classrooms by Pernille Ripp

Where Do ELLs Fit Into The EdTech Revolution by Jeffrey Knuston

Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Melissa Cerullo who shares her very personal journey with the whole teacher evaluation system in NYS. Thank you Melissa for being so candid and sharing such an important perspective...

This week I wanted to blog about my NYS teacher rating from the 2014-2015 school year.  As many of you know, I had a beautiful baby girl on August 23, 2014.  As a result, I took a maternity leave from September-April of last year.  I returned to work the week before the state tests and basically contributed nothing to the preparation of the students.  Christina Garrison did an amazing job and the kids did really well on the tests.  When I returned to work, I was observed twice, as I expected.  The maximum amount of "points" that I could have received for last year (due to my maternity leave) was 60.  I received 59/60 points and was rated ineffective.  I think it is funny because it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to have attained an effective rating, being that I was only here for 11 weeks.  Wouldn't it have been more "effective" for the state to not have rated me at all?

That's how broken this system is.  I don't really care about the score anymore as I have been rated ineffective, highly effective, effective, etc. with drastic changes each year (when I didn't drastically change my methods of delivering instruction...another indicator of a broken system), but I almost feel like I'm being punished by New York State for having a child...a child that will one day be part of this system that employs and empowers non-educators to make decisions about education.

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, September 28
"A" Week
Happy Monday... final one of September!

Tuesday, September 29 

Picture Day - follow schedule & be on time!
FEO @ 3pm for all staff - Library

Wednesday, September 30

Happy Wednesday!

Thursday, October 1

CST @ 1:20pm
PTA Executive Board Meeting
Gr. 2 Trip

Friday, October 2 

Happy TGIF!

Reminders... 

• Can YouTube videos be used as part of an informational text study? Something to consider... especially with Gr. 3, 4 & 5! 
• Keep spreading the HAPPY around your room!
• Next FEO on 10/6 - Teachers ONLY to Discuss EdCamp (watch this short 2 min video)
• Let's try and avoid HW on the weekends

September 18, 2015

Curriculum Connections...

Happy TGIF - hope we all enjoyed the lovely 3 day week - I know I did! It is also great to know that next week is a 4-day week - the Wednesday off will be a nice way to break up the week, especially since the heat is finally supposed to be dissipating. I have been enjoying the days off - watching the Mets and Jets and finally getting into this whole "binge watching" TV craze. All I can say is, the show Empire is AWESOME! Next up is House of Cards... all suggestions are welcome. Clearly I am enjoying life after the doctorate! 

Meanwhile, thank you all for your flexibility and support in making our revamped lunch program work - it is not perfect yet but I think we are moving in the right direction. Special thanks to Debbie, Diane, Melinda, Robyn, Linda and and Ines who are working hard to keep things running smoothly in the lunchroom. And to our amazing teacher aides who have been doing both lunch and recess - YOU ROCK! I would love any feedback - anything we could do better, are we getting used to it, how are the kids coming back from recess, etc.   


#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Alex and Rosanna had their children sharing their favorite apps, which was their own version of a SMACKDOWN - a quick share of great tech resources! The children were clearly excited and highly engaged throughout the session.

• Jessica's class ended the week by doing their "Exit Tweets" as a way to reflect on what they learned during the week! What a great way to challenge the children to self-reflect on their learning in a concise way. 

• Watching Michelle in the library work with different classes (Meryl's class, the Levlons, etc.) to set up and personalize the iPads! The children were capitalizing on the collaborative new furniture in the library to have fun and engage with their iPads and explore Kahoot. 

Tech Tip of the Week...

Check out this blog post that features 12 Great Way To Start Using Google Classroom!



Blogs Worth Reading...
What The Heck is Project Based Learning? By Heather Gawron

7 Skills Students Will Always Need by Jennifer Nichols

10 Things Mater Teachers Do by Annette Breaux

Staff Reflection/Blog...
The first ever post comes from students in Jessica Rouse's 4th Grade class followed by a share from Jessica directly! She shared her students' great reflection in a Google Doc...

Welcome Back!

This week of 4th grade has been a blast. We used a lot of different ways to make new friends.

This week we did all different team challenges like Saving Fred the (gummy worm) from drowning. Then, we built cup towers and made towers out of  a marshmallow and spaghetti sticks. We started to do brain breaks like koo koo kangaroo and cookie boogie. We also do doodle breaks after we work really hard. We did really cool projects like “figure me out” and we even made our own superhero masks. We also learned about cool apps and websites like our classroom website.  Cantiague is the best school ever!

By: Austin Reiss and Yashwin Sajja (4th grade bloggers of the month)

........................................................................................................

During the first week of school like the class bloggers mentioned, I tried a different team challenge each day. I also wanted to try an activity where the kids know that: we all learn in different ways, we need different things to help us be the best learners we can be and that our classroom is an environment where this all takes place!  Thanks to pinterest, I had each student share a story aloud where they discussed a time they got hurt. Once they were done sharing, I placed a band aid on their knee (regardless of where they actually got hurt) and said something along the lines of "ouch that must have really hurt your hand" etc. The kids started to realize they were all getting a band aid in the same place and they got a few laughs out of it. Then one student said, "but you're not putting the band aid where we needed it?!" After the last student shared their story, we discussed that we all learn differently and in different ways.  I explained that if I tried to help them all in the same way this year, it wouldn't be the best for every student! The kids rocked their band aids until they sweat them off that day (which was relatively quick.) Definitely something to try in upper grades, I wonder how this lesson would go in the younger grades? Fun times in 4th!

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, September 21
"B" Week
Kindergarten Hot Lunch Begins

Tuesday, September 22 

PTA Meeting & New Family Breakfast at 8:45am
Emergency Evacuation Drill - early dismissal
NO FEO this week

Wednesday, September 23

SCHOOL CLOSED

Thursday, September 24

CST @ 1:20pm
BOE Meeting at 7:15pm

Friday, September 25 

Happy TGIF!
PD with JoEllen for teachers who missed the summer

Reminders... 

• Think about ways you are going to amplify student voice this year!
• Keep spreading the HAPPY around your room!
• Next FEO on 9/29 - ESL Presentation
• Let's try and avoid HW on the weekends
• No HW over extended vacations!

September 4, 2015

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday to everyone after an awesome first week of school - a feeling of happiness totally permeated our building! I hope we all have some great plans for the upcoming three-day weekend. Thank you all for your hard work in making our first week of school such an amazing success. Clearly the families are happy with the way things started because there was not one concern about teacher placement this year (that is a first) and I have been getting really amazing emails, tweets and FB comments about how happy our kids are in school and that is all thanks to each of you! THANK YOU for being you and for making the #YearOfHappy a collective goal for #Cantiague! 

In other news, I am excited to share that I am going to try changing things up a little bit with our Fast Friday Focus... 

1. I am eliminating the Kids Korner & Pics because I think you all have plenty of those on your own! 

2. Also, in our Tech Tip area, I am going to try and focus on Google Apps for Education (i.e. Google Classroom, Google Docs, etc.) as much as possible so that we can all figure out ways to incorporate this resource into every learning space throughout the building. I feel like a concentrated focus makes sense for us at this point. 

3. I will also incorporate a Reminders section with a bulleted list of some important reminders. 

4. I will share links to blogs that I think are worth reading... this is where the PD comes to you.

4. Finally, I would like to incorporate Staff Reflection/Blog section where each week a different member of our staff (or a pair, grade level, etc.) openly reflects and shares on something that is relevant or important to them - it could be something you tried in your classroom that failed, something you are proud of, a personal anecdote, an open reflection on the current landscape of public education, etc. It can really be anything but the goal is to get everyone comfortable with openly reflecting because research shows that reflection is at the core of professional and personal growth and development! So, here is my open call for volunteer number 1 for our mini staff blog... remember, only we can see whatever is shared here!  

By the way, because the next two weeks are short, this Fast Friday Focus will cover the next two weeks!

#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Melissa doing the Skittles ice breaker with her class where the children worked in pairs or small groups (even I got to participate) and randomly picked a Skittle and depending on the color had to share something specific about themselves. I learned so much about two of her kids during this activity!

• Adam's class singing One Moment In Time by Whitney Houston. They were too cute, they sounded amazing and they were happy during the entire experience!

• Watching Mandy's class consider how a marshmallow and pretzel sound different as a way to help the children better understand when they should sound like a marshmallow (like being really quiet in the hallway) or a pretzel (like being loud and noisy at recess). The kids even tried eating one of each so they could "feel" the different sound level - it was AWESOME!

Tech Tip of the Week...

Check out this blogpost about getting started with Google Classroom!



Blogs Worth Reading...
But How Do You Really Teach With Picture Books - by Pernille Ripp

Tips for Creating WOW Worthy Learning Spaces - by Todd Finley

Creating Safe, Strength Based Classrooms - by Lori Desautels


SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Tuesday, September 8 

"B" Week
PTA Room Rep. Orientation
NO FEO this week!

Wednesday, September 9

Bus Drill #1

Thursday, September 10

Meet The Teacher Night...

• Gr. K - 2 at 6:30pm
• Gr. 3 - 5 at 7:30pm

Friday, September 11 

Happy TGIF & Happy 4-Day Weekend!
F&P Testing

Wednesday, September 16

"A" Week
F&P Testing
Playdates begin!

Thursday, September 17

CST Meeting at 1:20pm
F&P Testing
Constitution Day 

Friday, September 18 

Happy TGIF!
F&P Testing
PTA Pizza Lunch for Kindergarten
Gr. 5 Car Wash tomorrow (Sat. from 10am to 12pm)

Reminders... 

• Make positive contact with every family before Meet The Teacher Night
• Sign up for F&P Testing
• Don't forget to do some sort of Constitution based activity on Sept. 17
• Think about ways you are going to amplify student voice this year!
• Spread the HAPPY around your room!

June 12, 2015

Curriculum Connections... 

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 seventh year together as a collective team... a team that is dedicated to doing what is in the best interest of ALL children. It is hard to believe that over the last 10 months we have made #GeniusHour the norm, we were named a 2015 Model School and thanks to your support and patience, I was able to successfully complete my dissertation. If that wasn't enough, you all made this year incredibly positive for me as I experienced several major transitions in my personal life - THANK YOU! 

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 about test scores and educator evaluations - every school should just model themselves after our school and not only will children be college and career ready but will be LIFE ready because they are happy, secure and feel incredibly valued. 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 impacts the climate of the rest of the building. Well, it is clear to me that our Main Office is a positive and joyful place where people feel supported and children/families feel welcomed, which can be seen in every one of our classrooms too. Laura - you have held down the fort in Pam's absence and Pam - we miss you and cannot wait for you to come back! Special thanks to Elaine and Debbie for helping out too!

Additionally, I want to thank Joey, Joe, Edwin, Omar, Marcel 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 nasty 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, Diane and Melinda 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!

Congratulations again to Ginny, Lorraine, Diane and Janet on their retirements - we will miss you! To everyone moving on to a new job, grade level or phase in their lives - best of luck! And to everyone getting married or having a baby or any other life changing event - I wish you the best! For me, this summer will mark a huge change because I am moving to Pelham Manor with Felix and starting a new chapter in my life that I cannot wait to share with Paul. 

So, please know that all of the above will mark our #EduWins for this week - it seems fitting as we close out the year. Please note this Fast Friday Focus will cover the last two weeks of school so please hold on to it! 

Finally, I hope that EVERYONE will leave a comment this week to share their HIGHLIGHT of the 2014-2015 school year. It is easy to do and will only take a couple of minutes... do it from a desktop computer - it will be easier!

Tech Tip of the Week...

Take this summer to try something new... explore a new blog; try out a new app or find a passion to explore! This will be a great way to prepare for the 2015-2016 school year. 

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, June 15

"A" Week
I will be meeting with teachers over the next two weeks for our End of Year Evaluations!

Tuesday, June 16

F.E.O. at 3pm in the Library. 
SEPTA Awards Night - 7pm MS Library
(I will be out of the building this morning because Paul is graduating from 5th Grade)

Wednesday, June 17

Happy Wednesday... the last FULL Wednesday of the year!

Thursday, June 18

Jericho Public Library Summer Reading presentations - 2nd Computer Lab throughout the morning (see the email for the schedule)
Pre-Paid Ice Cream Sale
Final Board of Ed Meeting Honoring Retirees! 

Friday, June 19

Happy Friday!
Kindergarten Open House - 8:45am
Guys Do Recess
End of Year Staff Party - Carolyn's House

Monday, June 22

"B" Week
Gr. 5 Moving Up at 9am!
Gr. 5 Moving Up Party - 6pm

Tuesday, June 23

F.E.O. at 3pm in the Library
LAST FULL DAY OF SCHOOL

Wednesday, June 24

Students dismissed at 11:45am

Thursday, June 25

Students dismissed at 11:45am

Friday, June 26

Happy LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!! 
Zoom and Zip into SUMMER!!!

Kids' Korner

During the PTA Picnic Around the World a mom pulled me aside and said, "Dr. Sinanis, Cantiague is really a special place that creates such a positive and warm feeling - that is why I come to every event here because that is missing in many other parts of the world!" BOOM! That says it all!        

Pics of the Week...

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

WEEK IN TWEETS

June 5, 2015

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday on this first Friday of June! I want to begin by thanking Rob, Phil and all the specialists who helped out on Field Day - it was the most awesome Field Day EVER and the kids had a blast, which is the most important thing! I am so glad the weather held up and that #Cantiague spirit permeated our building from start to finish! I want to thank our Shared Decision Making Team members - Ally, Matt, Allison, Tali, Sarah and Jessica and of course our two student representatives (Alli Pearlman and Rebecca Cho) who were instrumental in enhancing the Field Day experience this year... from making sure each class had a color to adding two colors to the experience to integrating a more robust Apache Relay - these people (in collaboration with Rob and Phil) were instrumental in enacting change and that has been a powerful theme this year at Cantiague!

Enacting change... we have dedicated a lot of time to that notion this year. We literally pushed ourselves out of our collective comfort zones this year on so many levels. Every classroom has a Twitter account this year to share all the amazing stories unfolding in their space... that has been a HUGE CHANGE! Every child has experienced Genius Hour this year... that has been a HUGE CHANGE! We all came together to plan and execute our first ever Innovation Day.... that has been a HUGE CHANGE! We are shifting from the WRAP assessment to the F&P Benchmark assessment... that has been a HUGE CHANGE! We embraced and integrated the notion of coding and computer science in every room this year... that has been a HUGE CHANGE! We tackled the notion of digital publications by accessing resources such as Google Classroom and QR Codes and Touchcast... that has been a HUGE CHANGE! We basically eliminated test prep this year... that has been a HUGE CHANGE! We amplified student voice this year by having them lead FEOs and PTA Meetings... that has been a HUGE CHANGE! The list can go on and on and the reasons are pretty simple... we have readily availed ourselves to new ideas, we all got more comfortable with pushing ourselves outside of our collective comfort zone (not an easy one), we know the value and importance of collaboration, and, the thing that I believe makes the Cantiague staff so unique and amazing is never wanting to disappoint... we don't want to disappoint our colleagues... we don't want to disappoint our families... we don't want to disappoint ourselves... and most importantly we don't want to disappoint our kids and that is what has allowed us to enact so much change and reiterate the fact that we are the best school on the planet!   


Over the last two weeks, as I walked around #Cantiague, I witnessed the following #EduWins...

• I had the chance to spend some time in Jessica's classroom during writing workshop and I was blown away by how engaged and immersed her students were during the drafting stage in the process. They were all reading over their work, making revisions, drafting and they were all so focused on their work that I could literally hear a pin drop. It is clear that a lot of work has been done this year putting the structures in place for a successful workshop - both in reading and writing - and that was clear during my visit (in the last month of school) based on how dedicated the children were in successfully drafting their pieces!  

• The children in Katie's and Nancy/Carly's classes did an amazing job with the celebration of the fractured fairy tale unit. Not only did they put on two adorable plays, but they also shared the books they created with their families and everyone was blown away. The changes from last year's performances were great too - loved the way each classroom personalized the experience for their children - BRAVO!

• Although the whole Field Day experience was AWESOME, the Apache Relay must be recognized as a really special event that challenged the children to collaborate and think critically in order to win - it was all about strategy and skill, which are important 21st Century Skills! Thank you Rob and Matt for executing this special event that really challenged our children to access the skills they need to be successful in life!

Tech Tip of the Week...

Going with this notion of enacting change, I wanted to share this great article about creativity and why it is more important now than ever to integrate in the classroom. Check it out... Why Creativity in the Classroom Matters More Than Ever! 


SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, June 8

"B" Week
Gr. 5 Sailing Trip - Siper, Malone & 1/2 of Levlons

Tuesday, June 9

Gr. 5 Sailing Trip - Cerullo & 1/2 of Levlons
Gr. 1 Waterfront Trip
FEO Cancelled 
Tony out of the building

Wednesday, June 10

Senior H.S. Reunion - 7:45am in the Library
Tony out of the building

Thursday, June 11

CST @ 1:20pm
Extra Extra Assemblies in the AM - check email for schedule
PTA Meeting - 9:30am
PTA Picnic Around The World - 5pm to 7pm
JTA Retirement Dinner

Friday, June 12

Happy TGIF!
Reorganization - Gr. 3 & 4

Kids' Korner

During lunch on Field Day, I explained to the Kindergarten students that they would be able to have an ice after finishing their pizza when one of them got up and said to me, "Thank you Mr. Sinanis - this is the best day ever because I will get dessert twice - don't tell my mom!" LOL!! Love it!!         

Pics of the Week...

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WEEK IN TWEETS