October 24, 2014

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday to everyone on this final weekend of October - that's right - November will be upon us next week! I am looking forward to this weekend because I can get ready for my trip to Iowa... everyone wants to go to Iowa, right? LOL! Don't be too jealous - maybe I can bring everyone some corn or wheat or whatever they grow in Iowa!  :)

In other, more important news, I am happy to announce that Janine and her hubby are expecting Baby Maione #2!! We haven't shared with the children and families yet but Janine wanted to share with her Cantiague family that she and Rick are expecting in April! Also, Dr. Liz (our awesome PT) is also expecting! CONGRATS to both the Maione and Rudzewick families! 

Now that everyone is doing with their WRAP testing and everyone is entrenched in independent reading conferences, the focus needs to shift to small group reading experiences - both guided reading groups and strategy groups. For this week, I will focus on Guided Reading. As a brief refresher, guided reading is an instructional approach that involves a teacher working with a small group of students who demonstrate similar reading behaviors and can all read similar levels of texts. The text is easy enough for students to read with your skillful support. The text offers challenges and opportunities for problem solving, but is easy enough for students to read with some fluency. You choose selections that help students
expand their strategies and become better independent readers - readers who are passionate and excited about books because we can impart that upon them. With that in mind, please ensure that over the next few weeks small group reading instruction is a focal point in each classroom. The goal should be to get to at least one group on a daily basis (of course, things come up) but this small group instruction is all about proximity - the closer we are to kids, the better we can teach them! 

I would like to set up a visit to each classroom in the coming weeks to visit during a small group reading experience (I will reach out). If you feel like you need a refresher on small group instruction, please ask a colleague - Lisa P, Donna, Christine, Karina, Mandy, Jen, Jeanne, Carly, Nancy and Adam just to name a few who have met with success in regularly implementing small group reading experiences!


This week, as I walked around the building, I spotted these #EDUWINS...

• Melanie tried a BYOD Day and after working through some kinks, the children had an awesome day. They were particularly engaged using Quizlet to prepare a review for the social studies experience - it was impressive to watch! 

• Being in Mandy's room during Reading Workshop was literally a tranquil, peaceful and amazing experience. After reviewing the skills in the Reading Toolbox (pointing to the words & reading from left to right) the children either got ready to book shop or became immersed in their independent reading and the sight was literally beautiful! I didn't want to leave that space... a love for books and reading has already permeated that room!

• The consistency in the writing workshop experience from K through fifth grade is really awesome! This vertical alignment became crystal clear this week when most classes were either immersed in editing, revising or publishing and the maturity and dedication many of our children showed throughout this process was mind blowing. Kudos to each of you!!  

Tech Tip of the Week...

In going with our Guided Reading theme, check out this blog post with some great tips and resources - Guided Reading Galore!

Also, here is a Guided Reading Resource Guide from Scholastic!

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, October 27 

"A" Week
Happy PARP Week!
Tony is in Iowa

Tuesday, October 28

F.E.O. at 3pm for all teachers - Tony will SKYPE in!
SEPTA Meeting - 7pm
Tony in Iowa

Wednesday, October 29

Kindergarten is on a trip!
BYOD Literacy Day - plan for some fun literacy activities!
Tony in Iowa

Thursday, October 30 

PARP Assemblies - 10:15am & 1:15pm (see email for schedule)
CST Meeting at 1:20pm

Friday, October 31

Happy Halloween!
Dress Up Day
PARB - Parents As Reading Buddies - (see email for schedule)

Kids' Korner

During one of my many classroom visits a kid came up to me and said, "Don't you have anything else to do besides walk around all day?" LOL!

Pics of the Week...

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

WEEK IN TWEETS

October 10, 2014

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday to everyone as we head into a much needed and welcomed three-day weekend! I am really excited because I will be spending the weekend with Paul - three days of bonding time with my little man is definitely worth putting away all the homework and work in general! Last weekend was so busy with dissertation work and the completion of the manuscript for our second book (yup, we wrote another book) that I am definitely looking forward to some down time this weekend! I hope each of you has something special (or relaxing planned for the weekend). We always benefit from some R&R time with family and friends!

Thank you to all of your for making our FEO this last Tuesday a really powerful one as we discussed the things we believe in and the things we stand for here at Cantiague. It was clear to me once again that this is an incredible space for kids - thank you for making it so awesome! In case you wanted to check out the google doc with our shared BELIEVE IN and STAND FOR statements, check it out here...

SHARED DOCUMENT 

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

• I spent the entire day in Rande's room as the sub on Tuesday and I was blown away! The children exhibited such a high level of independence and worked diligently throughout every activity to get their work done thoroughly and accurately. I was really impressed by their collective abilities and the fact that they could let loose and have fun too - what an awesome group Rande - you've done great work!

• Nancy and Carly did an incredible job introducing the concept of a CONSEQUENCE within their social studies curriculum and as part of their study of government and civics. The children shared some great insights and the teachers facilitated three meaningful stations to reinforce the concept. At the end of one station, the children got to work as a group to create a presentation using an app to convince the class that their rewards and consequences were the best for the class. Love the amount of student voice in this process! 

• Rosanna and Alex did a fun lesson where the children used cake and different snacks (Twizzlers, Skittles, etc.) to create a 3D edible map of New York State. Not only was this a great way to get kids collaborating and moving, but it served as an excellent formative assessment because the children had to label land forms, bodies of water and major cities - AWESOME!

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

Tech Tip of the Week...

October is Connected Educator Month! It is an opportunity to take your experiences to another level this month when it comes to a digital platform... maybe you can participate in a Twitter chat; maybe you can join a Google Community; or maybe you can participate in a Mystery Skype! Whatever the case, let's take a chance this month and trying something new... digitally! To get more information, check out this article... 

Resources for Connected Educator Month

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, October 13

"A" Week
School Closed!

Tuesday, October 14

NO F.E.O.
Grade 4 Trip - Have Fun!

Wednesday, October 15

Happy Wednesday!

Thursday, October 16

CST at 1:20pm
Tony is in DC - Out of the Building

Friday, October 17

Happy TGIF!
Grade 1 Trip - Have Fun!
Tony is in DC - Out of the Building

Monday, October 20

"B" Week
Math Parent Academy - 7pm MS

Tuesday, October 21

F.E.O. for all staff - 3pm
Grade 4 Teachers - Math In Focus PD
Grade 5 Author Visit at the Jericho Public Library

Wednesday, October 22

Happy Wednesday!

Thursday, October 23

CST at 1:20pm
Ralph's Ices Sale
Bd. Of Ed. Meeting - 7:30pm

Friday, October 24

Happy TGIF!
PTA Fall Festival - Saturday (tomorrow)!

Kids' Korner

A 3rd Grader said to me today, "Mr. Sinanis, my mom and I agree that your new haircut makes you look younger, which is good cause you are just getting older, right?" Ummm.... yea... thanks... I think!   :)

Pics of the Week...

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

WEEK IN TWEETS

October 3, 2014

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday to everyone on this first weekend of October. I am looking forward to this weekend because I will finally have some time to work on my dissertation... I know - sounds like a FUN weekend, huh?  :)  I hope everyone else has some fun plans for the weekend - maybe some apple picking or foliage observation or football watching! 

On another note, a special thank you to Laura, Elaine and Debbie for holding down the Main Office while Pam has been out. Pam sends her love - she misses her Cantiague family! Finally, a special thank you to Brittany for successfully overseeing the dismissal process with the support of all the aides and the teachers on duty - you all rock! 

As an FYI, if you have not already done so, please enter your goals on OASYS at this point because that is where they need to be submitted. Let me know if you have any questions about entering your goals. Finally, please be aware that I have begun conducting formal observations, which will be both announced and unannounced depending on the situation. So far, I have been really lucky with the observations as I have observed some great stuff with MaryAnn, Jessica, Jen, Jeanne, Donna, Christine, Ally, Marissa and Allison - AWESOMENESS! 


This week, as I walked around the building, I spotted these #EDUWINS...

• Allison and Marissa had the children work in small groups to create an EduCreations video tutorial explaining a math concept that would be presented on their upcoming test. What an innovative way to have kids review concepts for test - by using technology to teach it to others - WOW! 

• Christine and Donna did an amazing job during reading workshop with the skill of visualizing! After doing the mini-lesson, Christine facilitated a book club (the kids were doing a lot of work independently) while Donna ran a guided reading group (amazing integration of technology) and the rest of the children read independently. The experience was AWESOME and one could almost hear a pin drop in the room!

• Ally did a great job introducing the idea of independent reading during reading workshop. The children took in a lot of information and then successfully transitioned from the rug to their independent reading spots and quietly read for about five minutes - it was impressive for so early in the year! 

Tech Tip of the Week...

Check out this great article filled with tips on what to do with iPads in the classroom... starting from the first five hours to the first five days and so on... The First 5s with iPads!

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, October 6 

"B" Week
Happy Monday!

Tuesday, October 7

F.E.O. at 3pm for all staff
Book Fair Preview - 7pm at Cantiague
PTA Meeting - 7:30pm

Wednesday, October 8

Happy Wednesday!
Book Fair - please be on time!

Thursday, October 9 

Book Fair - please be on time!

Friday, October 10

Happy TGIF!

Kids' Korner

In a 3rd Grade classroom, where they were correcting the Morning Message, one of the children saw this line, "We have computer lab during second period." and suggested that they erase the word period and replace it with one. LOL! #GoodTimes 

Pics of the Week...

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

WEEK IN TWEETS

September 24, 2014

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Wednesday to everyone on this kick-off to the four-day weekend - WOOOO HOOOO!! Happy Holidays to anyone celebrating this weekend - Happy New Year! Hope it is a healthy and happy celebration. For all of us not celebrating, enjoying the time for some R&R! I am excited about this upcoming weekend because I get to spend time with Paul and then on Saturday afternoon I head to DC for the Bammy Awards. Aside from being nominated this year, I am also co-hosting the Red Carpet Pre-Party, which is going to be a blast! It such an incredible opportunity to connect with some of the most awesome educators in our profession. I cannot wait to share some stories.

As we reach this final week of September the idea of HW begins to become a more pressing matter - especially for the families. How much are you giving? How often? What are the non-negotiables? What are the most important? What can be cut away? I challenge you to consider and reconsider all those questions and even discuss them as a grade level. I am a firm believer in the idea that if we are going to give HW, it must be meaningful, manageable and important to the students... and finally, we must be checking it and giving feedback! 

Here is a great short article that argues both the reasons FOR and AGAINST HW... click here! 

In an effort to respect the idea that LESS is MORE, I will try and keep the Fast Friday Focus brief, specific and positive! This week, as I walked around the building, I spotted these #EDUWINS...

• MaryAnn engaged the fifth graders in a whole lesson about the nervous system as it related to the brain and being mindful! It was great to watch Mare incorporate a School House Rock video about the "telegram system" (aka nervous system) and then challenge the students to think about neurons and dendrites. Awesome to see almost every child in our school has done some work with the brain and mindfulness. 

• Rande's class did exit slips in the form of paper tweets as part of reading workshop. The children did an excellent job generating ideas and supporting them with evidence!

• I had the pleasure of sitting in on the Grade 3 lunch planning meeting on Tuesday with Christine, Meryl, Donna, Melanie and Carolyn and needless to say, it was awesome! To listen to the flow of information, exchange of ideas and genuine enthusiasm about upcoming activities definitely served as an inspiration for me - THANK YOU! I am particularly excited to hear that they are planning on launching student led book clubs (with support) next week... AWESOME!!

Tech Tip of the Week...

As a follow up to our conversation yesterday about empathy at the faculty meeting, here is a short video (less than 3 minutes) featuring Barak Obama speaking about the importance of empathy...

http://youtu.be/Ft_M5tXRx28 

SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, September 29 

"A" Week
Happy Monday!

Tuesday, September 30

NO F.E.O.
Photo Day - the Gym will be CLOSED for the day for pictures!
SEPTA Meeting - 7pm at the MS

Wednesday, October 1

Happy Wednesday!
Gr. 2 Trip - Queens County Farm

Thursday, October 2 

PTA Executive Board - 9:30am
Carvel Pre-Order Sale!

Friday, October 3

Happy TGIF!
EMERGENCY EVACUATION DRILL - Early Dismissal

Kids' Korner

While visiting a fourth grade classroom I heard the following exchange between two boys...
Kid 1: "Hey, what are you doing?"
Kid 2: "My math work. You?"
Kid 1: "I am busy pinching my nipples..."
Alrighty then! LOL!

Pics of the Week...

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

WEEK IN TWEETS

September 12, 2014

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday to everyone as we head into the last few days of summer! I hope everyone had a wonderful week. It was a busy week that featured our annual Meet The Teacher Night last night and our New Family Breakfast and PTA Meeting earlier in the week. It was so great to have the families in the building because they are all so excited about the school year! Thank you for creating that positive buzz and nurturing a space that makes our kids happy and inspires them each day. I received so much positive feedback from our families this week because of your work so THANK YOU! 

A special thank you to MaryAnn for sharing all that important information with us at the F.E.O. on Tuesday about some of our classified kids and their needs. It is so important that we have that type of information because it helps us best meet the needs of our children. Of course, Mare just touched on a portion of the students who have special circumstances because we also have a bunch of unclassified students who have backstories that we should be aware of moving forward. If you know one of those backstories from last year because you had the student, please share it with the current classroom teacher because it could make a huge difference. Thank you in advance for your support in doing what is in the best interest of our children.

By the way, if you did not get a chance to read MaryAnn's latest post, click on the following link because it is an incredible read that could be helpful to all of us... Getting Your Kids To Talk

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

• Tali read the book Fireboat and facilitated an amazing conversation about September 11th! The conversation wasn't only informative as it related to the historical facts, but Tali seamlessly connected the day's events to the importance of being a HERO. #PowerfulReadAloud

• Jessica leading a conversation in her 5th grade class about author's tone and slant. One child asked for clarification about what the word slant meant and instead of defining it for her, Jessica asked the children to turn and talk to their partners to decipher the meaning. In the end, the children did a great job coming up with a collective definition with some support from Jessica!

• Laurie did an awesome activity in the Science Lab with the fourth grade where she used a cupcake baked with different color cake to teach the children about the earth's geology - it was AMAZING!

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

Tech Tip of the Week...

As I mentioned in an email yesterday, there is an awesome LiveBinder that focuses on Genius Hour that is worth exploring if you want to try implementing it at some point this year. Although there is a lot to explore in that virtual binder, definitely check out this link to one post in the elementary tab that would be most helpful to getting started (there are also tabs in the binder separated by grade level)... 5 Ways To Help Students Think Creatively.


SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, September 15

"A" Week

Tuesday, September 16

NO F.E.O.

Wednesday, September 17

Happy Wednesday!
Constitution Day - try celebrating during the day!

Thursday, September 18

CST at 1:20pm
Bd. Of Ed. Meeting - 7pm

Friday, September 19

Happy TGIF!
PTA buys Pizza for Kindergarten
Tony is at PENN - out for the day!

Monday, September 22

"B" Week
Kindergarten Hot Lunch Begins 

Tuesday, September 23

F.E.O. for all staff - 3pm

Wednesday, September 24

Happy Wednesday!
Happy Holidays to anyone celebrating... have a great 4-day weekend!

Kids' Korner

During one of my classroom visits, on a particularly hot and humid day, one of the kids turned to me and said, "Wow- it is hot in here and I am sweating in some really private places!" I nearly fell out of my chair laughing!! 

Pics of the Week...

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

CANTIAGUE WEEK IN TWEETS

September 5, 2014

Curriculum Connections...

Happy Friday to everyone after an awesome first week of school - it feels like we never left (in a great way)! I hope we all had a wonderful short week and that everyone has some great plans for the upcoming weekend (maybe stopping by the Gr. 5 Car Wash??). The start of the school year is such an exciting and invigorating time - a whole other fresh start to try new things, learn from failures and have fun! This is our year to incorporate more things like project/passion based learning, explore the possibilities of a Genius Hour, maybe consider a school-wide Innovation Day or Week (not something we really discussed but something to consider because we have the resources to make it happen) and allow for deeper connections between reading and writing workshop as we look to solidify an actual literacy block! Bottom line - it is going to be an AWESOME year!  :) 

First off, thank you for being the most amazing educators and individuals that I have ever worked with in my career. Thank you for making our school such a fun and positive place no matter what we are dealing with on any given day. Whether it was the intense heat over the last few days or some tech issues or moving spaces at the last minute, there was never an issue because we always kept positive energy flowing through our building and joy consistently filled the space - THANK YOU!! Also, thank you all for making the first couple of days of school so successful and powerful for all of our students - new and returning. We started everything off on the right note on Wednesday with all specialists and support staff members joining me in front of our school as the munchkins came off the buses - from my vantage point, it was the BEST start of the school year EVER!

Additionally, I want to welcome all the Cantiague newbies one more time... Ally, Jessica, Grace, Sara, Christina, Kerry, Maureen and Kelly (and anyone I missed) - our team is now complete! We are so lucky to have each of you on our team because you have all helped make Cantiague an even better place!

In an effort to respect the idea that LESS is MORE, I will try and keep the Fast Friday Focus brief, specific and positive! This week, as I walked around the building, I spotted these #EDUWINS...

• Marissa and Allison challenging their students to work in pairs to figure out how they could stand on the same piece of newspaper without being able to physically make contact - it was incredibly challenging!

• Grade 1 students reacting to their first day after reading the First Day Jitters book... fortunately, very few of them actually had the jitters! Many of them were happy, excited and joyful!

• Grade 2 and 3 students writing about how they could be Bucket Fillers! Thank you to everyone who incorporated these types of activities to remind the children about the importance of being a Bucket Filler... it is a way of life here at #Cantiague!

Tech Tip of the Week...

I know I have mentioned this before, but if you have not done so yet, you should create a Diigo account (something I reminded everyone of during our summer in-service) where you can save your favorite websites to the "cloud" and access them from any and all computers. The best part of Diigo and it's new features is that you can create "GROUPS" and theoretically grade levels can be part of the same group and everyone has access to each other's awesome sites! Here is a Diigo Tutorial to help launch the Diigo experience!


SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, September 8 

"B" Week
Gr. 1 - 5 Playdates Begin

Tuesday, September 9

Faculty Enhancement Opportunity (F.E.O.) - 3pm 
PTA Meeting & New Family Breakfast - 9am

Wednesday, September 10

Happy Wednesday!

Thursday, September 11 

Meet The Teacher Night...
Gr. 3 - 5 at 6:30pm
Gr. K - 2 at 7:30pm

Friday, September 12

Happy TGIF!
PTA MOVIE NIGHT 
Homecoming Weekend activities!

Kids' Korner

During lunch one of our kindergarten students told me that lunch at Cantiague was the best because it was loud and noisy! LOL! Ain't that the truth?!

Pics of the Week...

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

WEEK IN TWEETS

June 20, 2014

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 fifth year together as a collective team. The start of the next school year, which will be my seventh year at Cantiague, marks a special time in my professional journey because if everything goes well, I will be graduating from Penn in May! I am so excited that this milestone is happening here at Cantiague because there is no other place that I would rather mark such a highlight in my career. 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 Common Core and high stakes testing - every school should just model themselves after our school and not only will children be college and career ready but we will begin to close the achievement gap and help shape happy and productive individuals. 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 affects the tone of the rest of the building. Well, it is clear to me that our Main Office is a happy place where people feel supported and children/families feel valued, which can be seen in every one of our classrooms too. Additionally, I want to thank Joey, Joe, Edwin, Omar, Cliff, Michael 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 dirty 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, Olga, Diane and Mary 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 Linda and Mary on their retirements - we will miss you! To everyone moving on to a new job 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! 

As you know, an #eduwin may not be something I observed but it happened in our building and I heard about it (or saw it) and I want to spotlight here! This edition will be the #eduwins for the year...

• Meryl successfully piloted and implemented a 1:1 iPad program and the results were AWESOME! Her willingness to try different approaches and empower the students to take control of their learning in a totally different way was beyond impressive!

• MaryAnn successfully moved the MindUp experience to second grade with regularly scheduled lessons and activities that challenged the students to learn about the parts of their brain and how they could be more mindful in an attempt to be optimistic, flexible and calm - AWESOMENESS. 

• We were all able to watch and be connected to the amazing transition Adam made back into the classroom - like he was meant to teach second grade his whole life! We are so lucky to have him join the #Cantiague team and share his passion and instructional expertise with us!

• Over half of our classrooms and specialists are now actively tweeting from their spaces and sharing the amazing learning happening - I have no words to express how much this means to me!

• Our reorganization process was SUPER smooth (for the most part) thanks to each of you!

• In case you missed them, here are the latest Video Updates of the Week featuring kids from Gr. 5 & K - please show them to your class...

Tech Tip of the Week...

Check out this blog post with 5 really cool End of Year Activities to do with kids (even though it is geared towards HS)... 5 Reflective End of Year Activities!


SCHEDULE OF THE WEEK... 

Monday, June 23

"A" Week

Tuesday, June 24

F.E.O. at 3pm in the Library. 
Gr. 5 Moving Up at 9am!
Gr. 5 Moving Up Party - 6pm

Wednesday, June 25

Students dismissed at 11:45am

Thursday, June 26

Students dismissed at 11:45am

Friday, June 27

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

Kids' Korner

During #GuysDay on Monday one of the dads pulled me aside and said, "I don't know how you all do it here at Cantiague but my son is literally excited every morning when he wakes up because he cannot wait to go to school!" Thank YOU to all of you for making Cantiague such an amazing, warm and inviting place for kids!        

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