Week At A Glance 2/1 - 2/5

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February 1-
Day 5
Jump For Heart Event Grade 3
Report Cards Distributed
Fire Drill 1:00 pm
Out Of Building- Murray (Half Day PM)


February 2-
Day 6
Groundhog Day
Data Meeting K-1 8:00-8:45 am
Out Of Building- None

February 3-
Day 1
Elem Career Day
Data Meeting 4-5 8:00-8:45 am
Out Of Building- Smith (9:00 am - 12:00 pm @EC)

February 4-
Day 2
Author's Fair Meeting - LGI 8:00-8:45 am
School Board Meeting @ EC  7 P.M.
Out Of Building- Smith (All Day @ JH)

February 5-
Day 3
Pride Day Faculty Meeting - LGI 8:00-8:45 am
CV Movie Night @ 6 P.M.
Out Of Building-Godfrey (All Day); Mellinger (Half Day PM)

Bits & Bytes

How to Check Spelling in a Google Sheet

PLC in Print

(courtesy of the Marshall Memo)

Maximizing Wonder and Creativity

(Originally titled “The Wonder Years”)

In this Education Update article, Kathy Checkley suggests ways to spark students’ curiosity and creativity in the classroom:

• Have students maintain a Wonder Journal. Students jot down a question a day about things that intrigue them, and then select one to investigate further, writing a short essay or poem and sharing it with classmates.

• Set up a Wonder Counter in the classroom. Have students bring in objects that pique their curiosity, and then follow up with a Wonder Form – students bounce ideas about what an object suggests to them.

• Help students develop good questioning techniques. For example, with a visiting police officer, asking “thick” questions that elicit a detailed and thoughtful response – “What did you have to learn to become a police officer?”

• Tap students to become experts on a topic of their choice. Have students choose a particular area of the curriculum that intrigues them, study about it in depth, and make a presentation to the class.

• Allow students to be curious together. Curiosity is contagious, so it’s a good idea to pair shy students with those who are more vocal with their curiosity.



“The Wonder Years” by Kathy Checkley in Education Update, January 2016 (Vol. 58, #1, p. 1, 4-5), available for purchase at http://bit.ly/1lIK2ca

Week Ahead 1/25-1/29

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January 25-
No School (Snow Day)

January 26-
No School (Snow Day)

January 27-
No School (Snow Day)

January 28-
Day 3 - 2-Hour Delay (schedule)
**Please be sure to submit your report cards to the shared folder by 3:45 pm.  Thanks!
Out Of Building- 

January 29-
Day 4

Out Of Building-Mellinger (Half Day PM)

Bits & Bytes

I invite all of you to celebrate Digital Learning Day on February 17th.

Click here to learn more.

PLC in Print

(courtesy of the Marshall Memo)

     Findings from a recent study show that some fourth graders produced better essays writing by hand than using a computer. But on closer analysis, the biggest barrier to those who were less successful using computers was most students’ extremely slow typing speed – students hunting and pecking as slowly as four words a minute. The average fourth grader was writing 12 words a minute. At these speeds, working memory is overtaxed and the quality of the writing is going to suffer.

     The study did find that some high-poverty students produced better essays working by hand. But most U.S. schools are not moving in that direction – and word processing has tremendous advantages for every writer. Steve Graham of Arizona State University has an idea: Every school should devote a chunk of time (probably at middle school) to teaching keyboarding and basic word-processing, perhaps motivating all middle-school students to work toward a specific per-minute typing speed, and giving students constant practice composing and editing on a computer. Getting students proficient with the mundane business of keyboarding and word processing is one of the best ways to liberate the higher-order thinking and creativity of all students.

typingclub.com

typing.com

learninggamesforkids.com/keyboarding_games.html

Week At A Glance 1/18-1/22

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January 18-
Professional Development at the Senior High...schedule.
No School (Possible Inclement Weather Make- Up Day)
Martin Luther King Day

January 19-
Professional Development Day (Grade Processing)
No School For Students
Out Of Building- Smith (LJM 7:45-3:45)


January 20-
Day 6
End of Marking Period 2
PLC Meeting K-2 (8-8:45)
PTO Meeting (6 PM)
Out Of Building-Godfrey (WM All Day)

January 21-
Day 1
Begin of Marking Period 3
Data Meetings (8-8:45)
School Board Meeting @ EC (7:30 P.M.)
Out Of Building- Smith (JH All Day)

January 22-
Day 2
Data Meetings Grade 2 (8-8:45)
Out Of Building-None

Bits & Bytes
4 Things You Can Do Right Now to Create a Perfectly Organized Google Drive via the Gooru

Everyone organizes their Google Drive differently. Shockingly, many Google Apps users don’t organize them at all. I have found that, by using a few best practices, there is a system for making Google Drive much more organized and easier to navigate.

Proper folder structure, naming conventions, color coding, and keeping track of what is shared with you can go a long way when used properly. These 4 tips show the best way to organize your Google Drive for faster navigation so you never lose track of a document again.

Click here to read more.

PLC in Print

This is a fascinating look at what motivates us.  Daniel Pink's book, Drive: the surprising truth about what motivates us, is one of my favorites.  The premise of the book is highlighted here in this RSAnimate video, which is approximately 11 minutes long.  Check it out.

Pink discuss 3 things that motivate us...mastery, autonomy, and purpose.  I found and interesting article below about teacher autonomy.  Enjoy!

How Much Autonomy Should Teachers Have in Their Classrooms?

            In this Education Gadfly article, Robert Pondiscio reports on the National Center for Education Statistic’s School and Staffing Survey (SASS). The researchers looked at teachers’ sense of professional control in their classrooms, which is “positively associated with teachers’ job satisfaction and teacher retention.” Teachers who say they have less autonomy are “more likely to leave their positions, either by moving from one school to another or leaving the professional altogether.”  Read more here.

Week At A Glance 1/11/16-1/15/16

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January 11

Day 1-
PLC Meeting Grades 3-5 (8-8:45)
LS Team Meeting W/ Sarah Hoffnagle (2:15-3:15)


Out Of Building-McIntyre (Full Day), Burrell (Half Day PM)

January 12

Day 2-
Pride Committee Meeting  (8:00)
Jump Rope Masters Assembly (1:30-2:15)
Jump Rope For Heart Intro Assembly (2:15-2:45)
Wear RED for the assembly per Mrs. Eppley

Out Of Building-Smith (@ JH 9:00-11:00 am), Champaign (Full Day)

January 13

Day 3-
Boots Day
PLC Meeting Grade 6 (8-8:45)

Out Of Building-Smith (@ MG 12:30-3:30 pm), Godfrey (WM all day)

January 14

Day 4-


Out Of Building-Smith ( @ JH All Day), Groff (Full Day), Champaign (Full Day)

January 15

Day 5-


Out Of Building-Smith (Full Day)



Bits & Bytes



This video from The Teaching Channel shows California middle-school teacher Leah Alcala demonstrating her new method of grading tests. She highlights each student’s errors, doesn’t give a grade, and has students look over their tests and talk through each mistake with classmates and with her. Only later can students check their grade online. They can re-take the test, using a different version. Alcala says this approach gets students focused on the mathematics rather than grades. One goal, she says, is to “normalize the process of making mistakes.”

PLC in Print

So this one is a little risky for the former secondary teacher/administrator to put out there...but it certainly is an interesting read.

Are Traffic-Light Behavior Charts Effective? (courtesy of The Marshall Memo)

In this Education Week Teacher article, former teacher Heather Bleakley Chang (now at Temple University) raises concerns about the commonly used discipline system that has misbehaving students move their name, usually on a clip or clothespin, from Green to Yellow or Red. Read more here.