March 18, 2016

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday everyone - this weekend we officially kick off spring, which is SO AWESOME! This is the final staff newsletter for the month of March (and please note this Fast Friday Focus will cover the next two weeks), which is kind of crazy because the next edition will be published on Friday, April 1st... that's right, April is right around the corner! In the meantime, I hope everyone has a fun weekend planned - take some time to rest and relax! Felix and I are headed to Philadelphia for a mini reunion at Penn, which we are really looking forward to because oddly enough, we are missing the whole dissertation experience on some level (yes, clearly we are crazy)! 

Meanwhile, I know this is a hectic and busy time of year but I am going to challenge us, collectively, to flip tradition and instead of counting down the days until the end of the year, let's make every day with kids count. Let's make every single day with kids as awesome as possible. Let's try something new - take a risk and explore something; let's make time for some fun - take your kids outside to read during reading workshop (Karen recently did this); let's give kids even more opportunities to lead the learning - take a step back and relinquish control; let's break tradition and try something different - maybe try one week with NO WORKSHEETS; let's celebrate with kids - don't wait for a school-wide spirit day, have a class spirit day! Everything I share here is nothing new because my suggestions are based on the amazing things I see unfolding throughout our school and I just wanted to share them as possibilities so we can make every single day count between now and Friday, June 24th!

Finally, I want to wish you all the best of luck with your upcoming parent/teacher conferences - I know they will be amazing because our families are so lucky to be working with such dedicated, smart and passionate educators. If anything comes up that is concerning, please let me know. Also, if the conversation about placement about next year comes up, please explain to the families that we are not sure what next year will look like and that they should email me with any relevant information, questions or concerns about placement. 


#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Hanging with Jessica and her students while they were learning about taxation without representation. Jessica invited in to play the part of the King and I had a blast wearing the cape and crown (thanks Jen) and the kids seemed to have a blast too. They used candy to represent money and they experienced first hand how it felt to give up something that was important to them at the whim of a king because of the taxation of almost everything and anything. In the end, most of them ended up "bankrupt" and developed a good understanding of what colonists felt like early in our country's history. It was a lot of fun!

• Visiting with Janine's class and having one of her students share the Google Slide presentation he created (with his brother in Rosanna and Alex's class) about how to cook stir fry as part of the Try It Tuesday experience - it was AMAZING! He was so excited to share it and in the end, he created such an informative and effective presentation (with his brother) on the steps to cooking stir fry - AWESOMENESS!!! (Btw, you must check out the App Store Reviews Janine's kids have written outside of their classroom - WOW!!!)  

• Visiting Christine and Matt's class while the children were experiencing some of the resources from the mobile Maker Space (I have loved participating in this in Rosanna & Alex's room, Karen's room and others over the last week)! The best part of this work has been watching the children direct their own learning and being actively engaged and immersed in whatever they were making, building or creating! Each instance was a concrete example of the children developing 21st Century skills because they were collaborating, creating and thinking critically! Thank you all for trying out these resources in a way that works for your kids and you!  

Tech Tip of the Week...
Check out this link for 10 of the Best Google Docs Add Ons For Teachers! 

Blogs Worth Reading...
Better Communication, Better Learning by Adam Schoenbart

Energy and Calm: Change It Up and Calm It Down by Lori Desaultes

Can Schools Cultivate A Student's Ability To Think Differently by Luba Vangelova 


Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Lisa P. who shares an important reflection on the notion of reading levels and how we may want to reflect on how we use that information to define kids... 


My son Dean is a struggling reader. This is so hard for me, as you might imagine, as a reading teacher and a parent.  So, when Dean and his friend, Brenden, were sitting in the 3rd row of my minivan talking about books, I turned down the radio and listened carefully. It was a crushing conversation. Dean proudly announced, “I moved up to H and I! What are you Brenden?”  Brenden casually said, “Oh, I’m M and N.”  Dean processed this and seemed to move on with the conversation. When we got out of the minivan, the boys played for all of 5 minutes before Dean was practically beating-up Brenden.  Brenden went home. I apologized to his mom.  On the car ride home, Dean was upset.  After some time we spoke and of course, the root of the problem was the reading levels. Dean was upset that his friend was at a higher level. It’s that simple. And, I understood.

The conversation between Dean and Brenden is not uncommon. I wonder how his reading level was communicated to him, and it got me thinking about the message we are conveying to our students. His classroom teacher administered the F&P Benchmark Assessment. The only piece of the conversation Dean recalled about the testing session was his letter and that he went up.  In Dean’s classroom the library only has leveled book bins. Each book is clearly labeled with the letter on the cover, and Dean’s independent book baggie is see-through.  Everyone knows his level and he knows everybody else’s level. 

I have a love-hate relationship with student reading levels. I love that I get a snap-shot of a student’s reading abilities and can plan accordingly. This is the heart and soul of my job.  I love them and need them. The feelings of “hate” surface when students identify themselves by their letter. “I am ______.” (Fill in any letter of the alphabet.) I know this is a common feeling among many of us. I have spoken with educators and parents who feel the same way.

The A to Z guided reading level is a useful tool that teachers use to assess, instruct, and evaluate students. It provides important data for the teacher. It can be very useful when planning our teaching points and selecting books. But reading levels can easily be mishandled and misunderstood by our children, and even well-intentioned parents.  Our children may use them as a way to identify and compare themselves. It can create a divide between students or a pecking order, and that can play out on the field, the classroom, back of a minivan or anywhere.  It can be hurtful and damaging to their self-esteem.  

Our goal as teachers is to teach students to read and hopefully to love reading or as Pernille Ripp said, “To hate it a little less.” A reading level derived from reading assessments is meant to help the teacher plan lessons. The level, despite its value, does not help a child develop a love for reading. The levels never did and never will. This has been an age-old struggle. I still remember being in the Blue Jay reading group when I was in elementary school, and I certainly knew who was a Red Robin!  I wish I could talk to Dean’s teacher about his feelings, and the controversy and competition unintentionally created when schools identify students in this way. I would prefer if she talked to Dean about how to select a book that matches his abilities. What are the book characteristics that match him as a reader? How would he know if a book was too hard or too easy? So what if the book he selected did not have “his” letter labeled on it. If Dean knows the type of book that he can access yet focuses on his interest and purpose, doesn’t that trump the letter/level that it has been assigned?  In the words of JoEllen McCarthy, “Wantability trumps readability.” If a child wants to read a book then (s)he will figure out a way to access it! 

All of this has caused me to wonder: What are the conversations teachers are having with students? How are books organized and selected? Is privacy considered and protected? Can we modify our language and word choice to help foster a passion and purpose for reading rather than to foster competition and insecurity? All of this is just something for us to think about and perhaps discuss.

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, March 21
"B" Week
Report Cards Posted Online
Visitors in the building to observe Math in Focus

Tuesday, March 22 

FEO Cancelled
Suzy Kline visits with Gr. 2 in Library - Library Closed!
Parent/Teacher Conferences - PM

Wednesday, March 23

Parent/Teacher Conferences - NO SCHOOL for kids!

Thursday, March 24

School Closed

Friday, March 25

Happy TGIF & School Closed!

Monday, March 28
"A" Week

Tuesday, March 29 

POSITIVE POST-IT DAY! 
EdCamp FEO for teachers only at Jackson!
Gr. 3 is on Trip 
M.S. Counselors Visit 5th Grade 

Wednesday, March 30

Happy Wednesday

Thursday, March 31

CST @ 1:20pm

Friday, April 1
Happy April & TGIF!
Dan Gutman in the house! See the schedule from Michelle!

Reminders... 

• Don't forget to implement lessons from our Digital Citizenship Curriculum... access it here!
• April 12th FEO is cancelled to
• Our next whole staff FEO will be Tues. April 19th - featuring time to plan for Innovation Day & other logistics! 
• Innovation Day is coming on May 19th! Click here to check out the plan from last year... feel free to use the same plan or change it up! 

March 11, 2016

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday to everyone! Here is a to a great and relaxing weekend ahead. I am super excited to be celebrating my birthday with my family this weekend. We have the whole family coming over on Saturday night for some dinner and cake (should be interesting but fun). The birthday thing has taken on a new meaning for me over the last several years. Certainly, being a parent has shaped my feelings about the experience because watching Paul celebrate his birthday is a lot more fun for me than even celebrating my own. I also know that finding my own happiness and inner peace (I now understand that I am responsible for my happiness and that I can't look to others to make me happy) makes my birthday seem like another wonderful day. I am also incredibly fulfilled just by being surrounded by those who I love and respect, which includes our entire Cantiague family. So, thank you for making every day feel like my birthday and for bringing so much happiness into my world.

That whole notion of happiness and fulfillment seems deeply connected to our conversation at the FEO this past week where we talked about stress, expectations and perceptions. I do thank you all for hearing me out on Tuesday and for all the wonderful feedback after the meeting. I am hopeful that our conversation on Tuesday has helped us all get back to a good place where we are comfortable and confident in the work we do each day. I am also hopeful that the conversations don't stop here - let's keep the discussions going because we get better together. If you are stressed, share it with someone. If you are uncertain about something, ask someone. If you are frustrated by something, talk to someone. Together we are better! So, let's continue to build on this positive space so we can sustain and support each other when times get tough. Our work as educators is draining, challenging and difficult but the work is also incredibly rewarding, fulfilling and empowering if we can pause, take a step back and see all the positive we have accomplished. So, if you are having a tough time seeing the positive, ask a friend to help you see it because it is there! Remember, TOGETHER WE ARE BETTER! Let's continue to grow together! 


#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Loved watching Rande and Mandy's classes get together for buddy time to participate in the NOT A BOX activity - it was AWESOME! The children were incredibly engaged throughout the activity and the end results were impressive as the children created things like a computer, a bakery and an airplane - WOW!     

• Spending time in Meryl's classroom during reading workshop was great. It was so awesome to see all of the children actively engaged in some type of reading - some kids were reading independently, some kids were meeting independently in a book club while others were meeting with Meryl for their book club - it was like a beautiful orchestra - everyone was playing their part! AWESOMENESS!

• Melissa's kids were involved in book clubs where all the kids were leading and facilitating their own literacy experiences and it was impressive! All of the groups were discussing, reflecting and going back into the text to support their thinking with evidence. It was awesome to watch!  

Tech Tip of the Week...
Check out 7 Google Tricks To Try During Spring Break! 

Blogs Worth Reading...
Stop Letting Good Students Do Bad Presentations by Lisa Nielson

HW Is Wrecking Our Kids by Heather Shumaker

More Picture Books to Teach Theme by Pernille Ripp 


Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Harriet Mitchel with a perspective based on her experiences as a LC Instructor...

Ready or Not

As I think of “ready or not”, it brings many thoughts to my mind as a woman, a mother and a teacher.

When we are growing up we think, am I ready to date, to marry, and to have children? The answer to these questions depends on many factors. What are my parents going to say? Do I love this person? Am I going to be happy? When it comes to having children, there are always many questions most of us ask ourselves such as, are we financially ready for this? Are we emotionally ready to be responsible for another life?

 As a first time mother, I was shocked to think that I had to make a decision whether or not my son was “ready” to attend a three year old program in a private school.  When I called the school to inquire about their programs, the director of the school asked me if I wanted to retain my son because his birthday was at the end of November and the school cutoff is December 1st. I didn’t even know what she meant. How was I supposed know if he was ready at three to start kindergarten in two years? I let my son go to school and he achieved success even though he was the youngest because I guess he was “ready”. When do we let our children drive by themselves for the first time or take the train to the city by themselves? We just have to have confidence that they are ready. There are so many more examples, but I think you get the idea.

Now, as a teacher, I often experience students who have been taught a new concept and get frustrated because they don’t understand it. Sometimes we have to stop and say, Are they ready? There are so many reasons why they may not be ready that as teachers we have to be aware of.  Do they have the foundation to be able to grasp this? Did they transfer from a different school district where they of course do not have all the exceptional educational opportunities as the students in Jericho have?  Do they need to learn this concept in a different way than it was taught? Every child is unique and learns at his or own pace and in his or her own way. When I can stop and say, it’s all right that they are not “ready” for this, they just might need extra time, repetition or different methods to learn the concepts. At the moment when a student does get it and that light bulb goes on, it is the best feeling for both the student and the teacher.
        
So, I think it is important to realize that in life it’s OK to be “ready or not”, but we all get to where we need to be in our own time.  

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, March 14
"A" Week
Happy Monday!

Tuesday, March 15 

FEO - teachers only - district-wide grade level meetings
Yablon/Levine - DNA Lab Trip 

Wednesday, March 16

Cerullo/Siper- DNA Lab Trip 
Bus Drill

Thursday, March 17

Staff Appreciation Luncheon in the Gym
CST @ 1:20pm
Board Meeting @ 7:15pm
Happy St. Patrick's Day

Friday, March 18

Happy TGIF!
Spirit Day - wear your favorite sports gear!
End of the second marking period

Reminders... 

• Don't forget to implement lessons from our Digital Citizenship Curriculum... access it here!
• Our next whole staff FEO will be Tues. April 19th - featuring time to plan for Innovation Day & other logistics! 
• Innovation Day is coming on May 19th! Click here to check out the plan from last year... feel free to use the same plan or change it up! 
• Although conferences are a couple of weeks away, if you want me to read any and all report card comments, please share them with me as soon as you are done; and if you want me to attend any specific conferences, please let me know so I can put them on my calendar. 

March 4, 2016

Curriculum Connections...

TGIF! I hope everyone had an awesome first week of March... yes, MARCH! I hope everyone has an awesome weekend that includes some fun, relaxation and maybe some TV binge watching (my newest hobby)! I am definitely looking forward to this weekend because the last few weeks have been a bit hectic. For those of you who haven't heard, my co-author (Joe) and I just wrote a new book that is slated to come out in April... 40,000 words... 100 pages in a Google Doc over the course of week; needless to say, it was intense! The book, entitled Hacking Leadership, is part of a series and is about trying to solve problems that plague/impact education and educational leadership by offering 10 "hacks" to address and reframe the issues. Basically, we try to present problems as opportunities to try innovative and different solutions. I am super proud and excited about this particular work because a lot of reflects my own personal experiences in education, which are totally rooted in my time here at Cantiague. Thank you all for being such a huge inspiration for me each day! 

Meanwhile, it was a really busy and hectic week with lots of meetings and great conversations. A special thank you to Michelle for facilitating an exploration of our mobile MakerSpace and all the goodies the kids can try out there during our FEO this week. Please feel free to check out some of the stuff and use it in your classroom. I know I mentioned this at the meeting but I want to reiterate that I highly recommend some "Table Toy" time (thanks kindergarten for inspiring me) where the kids get 15 or 20 minutes at their tables to explore the resources, have some fun and do some making. I know there is a lot of academic content to be covered but there is a whole other skill set that is developed through play... kids can collaborate, think critically, communicate and ultimately create and that is pretty awesome. 

I know I have said this before but I am so proud of where we are as a school - we are a true student centered learning space that does what is in the best interest of children, even when it is not easy. We believe in engaging children where they are and we are less consumed with the pressures of what curriculum needs to be covered. Although we still mat self-impose stress when it comes to "covering the curriculum," the reality is, we are taking our kids way beyond the curriculum when we engage them in activities/experiences such as Genius Hour, Try It Tuesday, MakerSpace, etc. because we are focusing on life long skills not just content. We are focusing on developing inquiry and critical thinking skills where children have to work through solving problems and not just necessarily learning information from us. I was definitely inspired by one of the blogs below written by Ross Cooper about this idea of inquiry skills being foundational to everything else we do in school - let me know what you think!


#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Enjoyed visiting the science lab with Laurie. She was working with fourth graders and they were reviewing electricity. During the period the children had a chance to experience static electricity in a hands-on way (they loved getting shocked) and then also had a chance to build a circuit using different materials. The end result was that the children were highly engaged, really excited and clearly learning a lot based on what they were sharing as a whole group. REALLY COOL!   

• Spending time in Jill's classroom during writing workshop and the children are just beginning to explore the notion of writing reviews and they were so engaged throughout the mini lesson and then during the independent writing. Jill introduced them to reviews such as the one found on the app store and then the children went back and wrote their own. One boy wrote about Minecraft and it was engaging, he used voice and ended up being a well written review. AWESOMENESS!

• While walking around the building on Friday, it was awesome to talk to the kids about their first official Try It Tuesday experiences. The kids shared stories of organizing their bookcase or taking an online course or cooking a meal or trying a new gymnastics move - just to name a few. In the end, it was clear that most of the children were super excited to share and were proud of what they tried and ultimately, that is our goal. Again, it comes back to the notion of self-directed inquiry and building that skill set from a young age. Thank you for helping this become a reality!  

Tech Tip of the Week...
Check out this great blog post describing the many templates we can use in Google Docs... New Templates In Google Docs! This is a great resource because you can do brochures, newsletters, etc. in Google Docs using templates! There are also a bunch of new templates for Google Slides!

Blogs Worth Reading...
Inquiry Is King. Here's Why... by Ross Cooper 

The Day I Stopped Saying "Hurry Up" by Rachel Stafford (thank you Wendy Briller for sharing this piece)

4 Tips to Transform Your Students' Writing by Sean Tupa

Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Caitlin as the final part of our ENL series of blog posts (AWESOME way to end it)... 

Teaching With Mindfulness

In August, after talking to a friend about how stressed I had been feeling– moving back to New York after living in Israel for two years, job hunting, and other daily stressors – he asked me if I wanted to meditate with him. I said “really, right now?”  “why not?” he said. So I sat next to him on the floor with my legs crossed and closed my eyes. I was skeptical to say the least.  For the next 10 minutes, thoughts ran through my mind, mainly wondering if he was in fact staring at me and laughing while I was “meditating”.

Fast forward seven months to this past Monday. I have been fairly consistent with my mindfulness practice. On a good day I give myself 15-20 minutes. Some other days I take a few minutes for some deep breathing. However, I have realized  how hard it is to incorporate what I have been practicing while I am teaching. My mind is so focused on what I need to do and how to do it that I’m not paying attention to the present moment. I have so many expectations about how things should be and how the lesson should play out that I become attached to them, rather than noticing and accepting how things actually are.

Being present and in the moment is hard. Today I brought one of my 5th grade students into my class ready to start a new writing assignment when one of my fellow ENL teachers was in the room sitting in a circle with two of her students setting up Monopoly. Immediately, instead of going to the table where we usually sit, my student runs to the carpet and asks to play. My first reaction was to say "maybe after the scheduled lesson." But after taking a moment I remembered what my mindful friend once said, “why not?” After all, we already worked on reading and writing together earlier in the day. 

As we were setting up the game, the banker was handing out the money, the boys picking their game pieces, I found myself extremely anxious and uncomfortable wondering “was this a good choice?” This student can get extremely excited and overwhelmed quickly and I was nervous.  Once I was able to identify these feelings, I took a deep breath and looked around. There I saw three boys playing with each other, the interactions between them, the counting of the money, the bartering for cheaper real estate, and the laughter. I realized I felt happiness. This was learning that was happening naturally without planning, and it was all in English!

I often try to put myself into the shoes of my students. I imagine what it must feel like to move to a completely different country and attend a school where a different language is spoken. I remember how difficult it was for me to learn Hebrew in a classroom. It was when I gravitated to things I really enjoyed that I learned the most (buying fruit from local markets). By playing Monopoly, this student had gravitated toward something he enjoyed, and rather than discouraging him, it turned into a great learning experience for both of us. Of course, it is important to provide students with an organized foundation, but mindfulness has helped me attempt to make the best of each moment, and to create opportunity from potential chaos. It brings me a lot of joy and excitement to know that my students can teach me as much as I hope to teach them.  

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, March 7
"B" Week
Happy Monday!

Tuesday, March 8 

FEO - All Staff - Library @ 3PM - Gr. 4 kids will teach us about Adobe Voice
PTA Meeting at 8:45am in the Library
Gr. 2 Literacy Check-In Meeting 

Wednesday, March 9

Gr. 5 Articulation Meetings with MS; Faculty Room closed for the day

Thursday, March 10

Ice Cream Sale
CST @ 1:20pm
Board Meeting - Budget Review @ 7:15pm

Friday, March 11

Happy TGIF!

Reminders... 

• Don't forget to implement lessons from our Digital Citizenship Curriculum... access it here!
• Our next whole staff FEO (after Tues. Mar. 8) will be Tues. April 19th - featuring time to plan for Innovation Day & other logistics! 
• Innovation Day is coming on May 19th! Click here to check out the plan from last year... feel free to use the same plan or change it up! 
• Although conferences are a few weeks away, if you want me to read any and all report card comments, please share them with me as soon as you are done; and if you want me to attend any specific conferences, please let me know so I can put them on my calendar. 

February 26, 2016

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday to everyone as we head into the final weekend of February during this Leap Year. I hope everyone has an awesome weekend. We are excited because Paul will be with us for the weekend and he is finally feeling better. He had walking pneumonia before the break and missed 2 days of school and was sick for most of the break and then it came back even worse last weekend and he missed another 3 days of school this week. It has been a rough 3 weeks or so but he finally returned to school on Thursday after being fever free for 24 hours so we are excited about the upcoming weekend. We are in the midst of watching all of the Harry Potter movies - we have seen the first four and I expect we will be watching another one or two this weekend - I am so excited that Paul finally got into one of my favorite series! 

Meanwhile, I cannot believe that we are officially only a few weeks away from spring! Aside from the improving weather and the anticipation of the soon to begin end of year activities, the most powerful thing about spring time from my perspective is how visible the growth of our students is compared to where they were at the beginning of the year. Whether we are looking at a typically developing child (the majority of our students) or a classified student or an ELL, if they have been with us from the start of the year, this time of year is almost magical because everything seems to be clicking on all cylinders and the learning is at a maximum. It is especially evident in our primary classrooms - specifically in kindergarten and first grade - where the students' reading and writing skills have gone to another level and their ability to organize and express their thoughts is truly impressive. This is also a time where we can step back and see how much progress all of our students have made since day one. Although every child may not have made the same amounts of progress and we may still have concerns about some learners, the reality is that at least 95% of our students will have grown as a learner since the start of the year and that is an awesome thing. That is why we do the work we do each day as educators - that reward of seeing the learners in our school blossom and thrive! 

Of course, none of that would be possible without your daily efforts as the facilitators of learning. Each educator in our building genuinely puts the needs of the learners first and we will all stop at nothing to make sure that every learner has access to whatever they need regardless of their readiness levels. I think that is our reality because as educators, we value our own learning and make it a priority each and every day. Whether trying out a new tool or integrating a new resource, no two years have looked alike in our school; heck, no two days have looked alike at Cantiague and that is because of your willingness to take risks with your teaching and learning. Thank you for helping our children become the learners they are at today as they slowly blossom into the innovators they will be tomorrow. 

In other news, our families will be receiving an email from me sharing that our official start date for Try It Tuesday will be next Tuesday, March 1st. I will also share the Google Doc we created with the Try It Tuesday "menu" to give them some ideas. I do suggest each teacher follows up with their communication to parents about what Try It Tuesday might look like in your classrooms. Please let me know if you have any questions!  

Finally, since we never got to explore the Spheros at the February FEO, please take a few minutes between now and Tuesday to go to the app store and download a couple of the apps associated with the Sphero ball robots (click here for some app recommendations) because we will be playing with them at the FEO this coming Tuesday. There will be Spheros for EVERY classroom, which will be a great launch to our soon to be available Mobile Maker Space. Feel free to start Googling how different schools are using Spheros (here is one informative link) to enhance the educational experience.  


#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Enjoyed visiting Ally's room while their 5th grade buddies from Allison & Marissa's class were there to share their creations from the NOT A BOX activity. The children worked with their buddies to recreate an ordinary box into something different and the kids created everything from rockets to planes to dollhouses - the end results were great. The best part of the share was hearing the children reflect on what was challenging about the process - love the focus on problem solving!   

• Spending time in Janine's room during reading workshop and the experience was awesome. Every child was engaged in a meaningful reading activity whether they were reading independently, meeting with their book club or working with Janine or Terri in a small group! The book club was most impressive because they were working independently and were really holding each other accountable and discussing the book in meaningful and appropriate ways... BRAVO!

• While visiting Nancy and Carly's classroom, the children were engaged in a Digital Citizenship lesson and it was clear that the children had absorbed a lot as it relates to digital footprint and an online presence. They were specifically learning a lot about password security - how long they should be, what they should include, who they should share them with, etc. It was such an important conversation because it speaks to the importance of educating children so we can influence their behaviors in positive ways.  

Tech Tip of the Week...
Check out this great list... 16 Things Teachers Should Try in 2016! Lots of great tech based ideas - scroll past the infographic at the top for descriptions of each thing!

Blogs Worth Reading...
When We Harm Rather Than Help by Pernille Ripp

Creating the Conditions For Innovative Teaching and Learning by AJ Juliani

12 Things Happy Workplaces Have In Common by The Mojo Company

Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Julie as part of our ENL series of blog posts... 

ENL: Sometimes A Little is Enough

As I was sitting in a meeting today with my ENL team and Mary Ann Colucci discussing some of our new students, it occurred to me how we as teachers handle the news of hearing we are receiving a new ENL student.  Many of us have emotional reactions. The reason we have all these emotions is because of the unknown.  Will this new student have no background of English? Will they eventually require other services besides ENL in the future? Will they “mesh well” with the other kids in the class or will their language barrier hold them back from socializing in the beginning? These are the questions most of us ask ourselves when we hear the news.  A lot of the time, the transition is a very positive one, but all of the time, it requires a ton of patience and delicate timing. We talk about “the silent period” but what does that even mean? If we push too hard to get them to grasp concepts in the very beginning we may be stressing them out, if we give them too much leeway and independence to do their “own thing” they don’t feel connected to the classroom (and sometimes find trouble). If we expect them to do the same caliber of work as the rest of the class they are too challenged, however if we modify everything that is given to the class those are very high expectations to maintain. Unfortunately there isn’t one clear formula, as with lots of things in life, this too requires a balance. 

Today, Mary Ann, in the midst of me being way too emotional, told me I need to make things a little bit simpler for my kids in the beginning. She wasn’t the first to say it (thank you Christine). If all I have accomplished at the end of my period is to make my newcomers feel happy and safe, it has been a good day. This is the constant struggle for me, and we all have our own. I try to get too much done because I want my students to know what is going on throughout the day. I don’t want them to struggle, so I struggle trying to fit a lot of stuff into a 40 minute period so I can give them the best chance possible to feel confident. But am I helping them or hurting them? As teachers we put so much pressure on ourselves.  So much needs to get done, when it comes to our beginner ENL’s we all must take a breath – sit back and reevaluate what is working, what is not and what we can do collectively to make it better.  Sometimes it takes a village and that is a wonderful thing.  

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, February 29
"A" Week
Gr. 5 Open House - 8:45am
Gr. 4 Literacy Check-In Meeting @ 11:05am

Tuesday, March 1 

FEO - All Staff - Library @ 3PM - we will check out the Mobile MakerSpace & Spheros (please download the Sphero app)
Gr. 2 Literacy Check-In Meeting @ 9:30am
Gr. 5 Literacy Check-In Meeting @ 11:05am

Wednesday, March 2

Gr. 1 Literacy Check-In Meeting @ 11:05am
Shared Decision Making Team Mtg @ 3pm

Thursday, March 3

PTA Executive Board Meeting at 9am
CST @ 1:20pm
Likely Cultural Arts MAKE UP date

Friday, March 4

Happy TGIF!

Reminders... 

• Don't forget to implement lessons from our Digital Citizenship Curriculum... access it here!
• Our next whole staff FEO will be Tues. Mar. 8th - featuring student-led PD by students in Karen's class on how to use the app Adobe Voice! 
• Innovation Day is coming on May 19th! Click here to check out the plan from last year... feel free to use the same plan or change it up! We will devote the April 19th FEO to planning for this event.
• Although conferences are a few weeks away, if you want me to read any and all report card comments, please share them with me as soon as you are done; and if you want me to attend any specific conferences, please let me know so I can put them on my calendar. 

February 5, 2016

Curriculum Connections...

Happy TGIF to all... and to all a Happy February! That's right my friends... it is FEBRUARY (and please note this Fast Friday Focus will cover the next two weeks). That means that we are more than halfway thru the school year and we have accomplished so many awesome things this year! We have solidified our integration of Genius Hour so that it is becoming a more consistent K - 5 experience; we have successfully integrated the new TC Units of Study for Reading and Writing Workshop to help enhance our craft and challenge our students to explore different skills as readers and authors; we have made great use of our Chromebook cart in Grades 3, 4 & 5 so that Google Apps For Education (Google Docs, Slides, etc.) is becoming the norm; we are empowering our students even more through opportunities like facilitating their own fundraisers and leading professional development for us; we have embraced the EdCamp model for our professional and personal development and the results have been incredibly positive; our Shared Decision Making Team has provided a space to have conversations about how HW could look at Cantiague considering the research and our community; we had a blast during Global Play Day and there wasn't a device in sight; we have successfully integrated the F&P Benchmark Assessment as our main reading assessment; we have embedded translations into our video updates to give access to more of our families; we have expanded our ENL program and our team has done a commendable job supporting our over 30 ELLs; and the list could go on and on but overall, it has been an awesome half year point for us and I am excited about what the rest of the year will bring our way!

This will also be the final update before the February break so I want to wish you all a wonderful and restful break! It is definitely coming at a good time and it will give us an opportunity to re-energize before we tackle the second half of the year... before we know it, we will be dealing with the end of the year MADNESS! 

In other news, please be on the lookout for an email about a voluntary lunch gathering next week somewhere in the building to pick up and explore the Spheros that have been ordered for each classroom.

Also, I want to thank everyone for making my one day of teaching Kindergarten such a success on Monday... thank you Ginny, Ally, Risa & everyone else who checked in! It was a really fun day with a brilliant and adorable bunch of kids (awesome work Mandy) and although I loved every minute of it, I missed the rest of the kids and school... there was a tiny void. So, I guess the next time someone asks me if I miss the classroom, I know what my answer will be.

Finally, please note that Friday, March 4 will be the final day to submit a new referral to the IST/CST team. If a child has not presented as an issue thus far, then they are making the necessary progress, which is a wonderful thing. On the other hand, if a child is not making appropriate progress based on different data points, then please bring them up for a discussion with our amazing team! 
  

#EDUWINS for the week included...

• Global Play Day was an awesome experience at Cantiague this year - thank you all for participating! I had so much fun visiting the classrooms and seeing the children involved in so many fun, collaborative and "old school" games (Monopoly, Sorry, etc.) and there was not a device in sight! Thank you all for making time in your busy schedules to embrace this opportunity for some unstructured play time, which is critical for the development of 21st Century Skills and the overall development of our children!  

• Visiting the gym for the awesome Kindergarten Gym & Me Event! Thank you to Rob and Phil (and our awesome 5th grade helpers) for making this event so much fun and so incredibly engaging for our students and their families! There were so many skills that were worked on throughout the different stations but the one common theme was that everyone was having a BLAST! A special thanks to our K Team for supporting this event - awesome work all around!   

• Visiting the library and watching the fourth graders engrossed in the development of their book trailers/reviews! This was the first time they were working on creating an audio review for a book of choice and they were totally immersed in the experience and were excited to share the books they had selected and why they had made those selections. Thank you Michelle for giving our children a way to have a voice in the library experience... figuratively and literally!  

Tech Tip of the Week...
Check out this link for 10 of the Best Google Docs Add Ons For Teachers! 

Blogs Worth Reading...
Mindful Facilitation: Don't Do Something, Just Stand There by Laura Thomas

Peer Editing by Dana Johansen 

3 Reasons Students Should Own Your Twitter Account by Kayla Delzer


Staff Reflection/Blog...
Our latest post comes from Alayne who shares an important reflection on how to work with some of our more involved learners... 


Meet Juan* (not an actual student). Juan is an English Language Learner (ELL) who just arrived in our school from Mexico. Juan has had limited exposure to the English language since he is only 5 years of age and in Kindergarten. The mainstream teacher begins to fret and wonder, “How am I going to be able to teach Juan?” This is a common feeling amongst educators. Our role in teaching ENL at Cantiague is to create a supportive classroom for students like Juan. One in which he or any other student feels comfortable to take a “risk.” The classroom should be a place for student's cultures and traditions to be accepted and celebrated. The students that we work with are always excited to share information perhaps about where they or their families are from and what makes them unique. Not only does this support ELLs in the classroom, but it also teaches their peers about new cultures and diversity.

In teaching, we have found that the most effective way to reach our students and encourage their sense of inquiry and curiosity is to form a trusting and supportive relationship with them. This goal begins with the classroom environment created their first day of school. Allowing students to share their experiences and showing them that making mistakes is not only acceptable, but it is the way we learn, encourages them to engage in critical thinking and develops within each student an eagerness to learn, which in turn will facilitate language mastery. 

As in anything in life there are always struggles and times of frustration in teaching ELLs. Often times we begin to think, “Does Juan understand me?” We may even raise our voices to elicit a response when in reality student’s like Juan have nothing wrong with their hearing. As ENL instructors, we are even challenged to solve the “pieces of the puzzle” as to Juan’s educational background and life experiences. Many times parents are unable to communicate the child’s prior experiences, or are not upfront and do not share everything about their child’s previous educational experiences from their native country. An ELLs parents view and expectations about ENL may also be skewed in what they are expecting from their child learning a second language. Often times as an ENL teacher, we become curious and begin to question whether students like Juan are still going thru a “Silent Period” after so many months of being in an English speaking school or is there something else going on separate of the ENL component?

All of these challenges have crossed our minds at one time or another here at Cantiague. A student like Juan is not atypical and as teachers we know there is not a “one size fits all” lesson. Some students have more motivation than others while some get acclimated or comfortable in a shorter time. If we continue to modify assignments and utilize things such as technology and visuals in the classroom ultimately it will help ELLs achieve success. 

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, February 8
"A" Week
Mindful Monday as part of PTA Health Awareness Week - dress comfortably so we can do some stretching and mindful breathing!

Tuesday, February 9 

FEO Cancelled
Team Up Tuesday as part of PTA Health Awareness Week - wear your favorite team gear!

Wednesday, February 10

Workout Wednesday as part of PTA Health Awareness Week - wear your favorite workout gear for some school-wide exercise!

Thursday, February 11

CST @ 1:20pm
Cultural Arts!
Red Day as part of PTA Health Awareness Week - wear red for healthy heart awareness!

Friday, February 12

Happy TGIF & Happy February Break!
Jump-A-Thon Friday as part of PTA Health Awareness Week - dress comfortably and get ready to JUMP! Art and Music will be replaced with gym for the day and Lois and Clare will push in to the Gym to support the Jump-A-Thon! 

Check out the schedule here... 

8:40 - Gr. 4
9:25- Gr. 2
10:10- Gr. 5 
10:55- Gr. 3
1:20- Kindergarten 
2:00- Gr. 1

Monday, February 22
"B" Week
Welcome Back!

Tuesday, February 23 

FEO for teachers only - district-wide grade level/team meetings!
DNA In-House Visit for Grade 5

Wednesday, February 24

Gr. 1 Literacy Check-In Meeting at 11:05am

Thursday, February 25

CST @ 1:20pm
FINAL Cultural Arts!
Board of Education Meeting - 7:15pm MS Library

Friday, February 26
Happy TGIF!

Reminders... 

• Don't forget to implement lessons from our Digital Citizenship Curriculum... access it here!
• Our next whole staff FEO will be in March!
• Don't forget that PTA Health Awareness Week is next week... dress comfy each day!
• All F&P testing should be complete next week!
• Our mobile MakerSpace is almost up and running... info to come soon!
• Gr. 5 teachers... check your calendars because the CSE Meetings for MS begin this month!