Cool Cat News
Principal Brief
February 26-March 2
Cool Cats,
I really enjoyed spending the morning with you on Monday. I LOVE seeing your One Word outside your classrooms. One Word creates powerful relationships. When those closest to you know your One Word, you can count on them sharpening , challenging, and stretching you to new heights. I hope you share it your inner circle- family and friends. The power of One Word is found in its narrow focus and broad impact. Less really turns out to be best. Simple is powerful. One Word can really make a difference!
College Week will be February 26-March 2! We are asking that each classroom decorate their door for college week. You may get your students and parents to help you with this. I will have participation prizes as well as prizes for first and second place! A few of you have yours finished and they look awesome! It is also Read Across America week in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday. If you would like for me to read to your class let me know!
Thanks,
Shawna #proudprincipal #hartmanpride #nbrs2017
Upcoming Dates:
2/26 Wylie Way College Week, Chris Barton, Author's Visit, McDonalds Night 5-7pm, Read Across America Week!
2/27 3/4 District Reading Checkpoint
2/28 3/4 District Math Checkpoint, RTI Team meeting
3/1 "Get Your Game On" Kinder family game night 5:30-7:30pm, Students and staff may wear a college hat
3/2 Students/staff dress up as their college mascot or in their college colors, Chase Oaks will provide a popcorn bar. We are celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss! Staff is welcome to where college attire or a Dr. Suess shirt/costume.
Pre-k read-aloud with Mrs. Ballast at 8am - Cafeteria
PPCD read-aloud with Mrs. Ballast at 9am - Cafeteria
First Grade read-aloud with Mrs. Ballast 10:30am - Cafeteria
If you would like for me to read a Dr. Seuss book to your class let me know! I would be happy too!
Great Article about using games to check for student understanding! Brandy can help you with tech games! She can model or help you design something engaging for your students!
Using Games to Check for Student Understanding
(Originally titled “Playing Games with Formative Assessment”)
In this Educational Leadership article, California school curriculum director Jonathan Cassie sings the praises of “gamified” assessments that provide low-stakes, engaging ways for teachers to measure student learning in real time. “[I]t is not uncommon for students to feel confident that they have mastered a body of knowledge and skills before they go into an assessment,” says Cassie, “only to be dismayed by a poor performance revealing that their sense of control over content and skills was much weaker than they realized… A well-designed game or gamified lesson is a customizable, persistence-reinforcing, socially stimulating, democratic, meritocratic, playful, and flow-aligned experience.” The trick is creating a “magic circle” where students enjoy a metaphorical separation between the real world and the game space.
Cassie distinguishes between game-based learning – for example, a third-grade teacher getting students playing Machi Koro and building an ideal community by “buying” items like a family restaurant and a convenience store – and gamified learning – for example,
students playing the game 7 Wonders and taking on the role of leaders of ancient civilizations building one of the seven wonders of the world. Well-designed games are effective when they empower students to own their learning, are at the Goldilocks level of difficulty, help students persist when confronted with new obstacles, and encourage them to see mistakes and failures as feedback for improvement.
Cassie recommends that teachers look for games in online communities like Board Game Geek and Game Level Learn, matching games to classroom needs. He suggests the following:
- Codenames – A board game in which teams try to make contacts with their “secret agents” through word clues, suitable for any subject where recognizing patterns is key;
- Letters from Whitechapel – Students take on the role of Scotland Yard detectives tracking and arresting Jack the Ripper; the game measures and reinforces skills like collaboration and communication;
- Zendo – Can be used to tap students’ critical thinking capacity;
- Socrative (free and paid options) – Provides games and other activities and collects granular data on student learning;
- Kahoot! (free and paid options) – Allows teachers to construct homework assignments almost as though they were video game-type quests;
- Quizlet www.quizlet.com – Allows teachers to convert data-gathering into a gamified form to check for student mastery;
- Quizizz– Lets teachers monitor the results of students’ work as they do it;
- Quizalize (free and paid options) – Provides the same kinds of quizzes and assessments as other tools, but also lets teachers track the work of individual students;
- Plickers – Students hold up QR codes, orienting them to four different answer choices, which are then read by the teacher’s smartphone.
Schedule for Chris Barton - Author Visit on 2/26
Schedule For the Day
7:35-8:35 - Book Signing- Students that have a Chris Barton book can get it signed.
8:40-9:40 Third and Fourth Grade
9:45-10:45 - Kinder
10:50-12:15 Author's Lunch
12:20-1:20 First and Second Grade
R- Time Every Wednesday!
Rtime for Better Relationships! 10 minutes every Wednesday!
- Show good manners and respect at all times.
- Care for everyone and everything.
- Follow instructions with thought and care.