Keowee's Flash Forward
News from Your Assistant Principal, Rhonda Grant
FRIDAY PONDERINGS...
What an exciting week at Keowee! STEAM Night was a HUGE success--kids and adults are still raving about it. Then last night's "Keep Calm and Shamrock On" talent show proved to be a fun event of student (and teacher) skill and flair! Tomorrow will wrap-up the busy week with our team of students showcasing their mathematical prowess at the SDOC's Math Madness at Walhalla High School. A BIG thanks to all of you who serve on the committees that coordinated these events and to those who attended!
Finally, don't forget that MAP begins Monday. Josh and I began individual student MAP conferences with 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders, and will finish them up before each class's scheduled test session. Thanks for encouraging all of our students to work hard towards their year-end goals.
7 Ways to Implement Music as Part of Your Classroom Culture
As I shared last week, March is Music In Our Schools Month. Ever thought about using music as a means for executing effective classroom management? Teacher and co-author of Conscious Classroom Management, Rick Smith, has rich advice related to managing classroom expectations and making it fun for teachers and students. One strategy is using music to promote efficient transitions. Whatever grade and subject-level you teach, this practical and effective strategy can be immediately implemented in your classroom.
- Before school: play music as a welcome for students to enter the room. This can set the tone for the day and also serve as a signal for when it is okay for students to enter the room.
- To start school: choose an upbeat theme song for your classroom with simple motions to get students moving around (e.g., high fiving their peers).
- During transitions: choose a 10-second, 30-second, and 1-minute clip of different songs so students can time themselves during transitions.
- Setting the tone: choose music that will set the tone for particular class activities like reading, discussions, or group work.
- Challenging students: teach songs to students that have cultural, historical, or thematic relation to new content.
- As lessons: to challenge readers, teach new vocabulary, or to illustrate a principle from class, use a song!
- End of day: in addition to a song for beginning class, one to end will provide closure for the day’s lesson, and help students end on a high note (literally).
Core Essentials Trait for March is...
HOPE--Believing that something good can come out of something bad
Word of the Week...
The WOW for March 21-24 is ornate. On Friday, we will have two students from Ms. Crumpton's 3rd grade class on the news to share their original sentences using the WOW.
John Collins FCAs for March
K Different first word in sentences (style)
1 Write a complete paragraph (mechanics)
2 Alliteration (style)
3 Simile & metaphor (style)
4 Sentence variety (style)
5 Precise words & sensory detail (style)
FRIDAY AT THE MOVIES...
You will have to login and override the district filter to view this week's video via Youtube.
Saturday, March 19 Math Madness
March 21-24 MAP
Thursday, March 24 SST @ 12:00 PM
Thursday, March 24 PBIS March Madness (details TBA)
Friday, March 25 Weather Make-Up Day (if needed)
March 28-April 1 Spring Break
Monday, April 4 Weather Make-Up Day (if needed)
April 5-8 MAP
April 11-15 MAP
April 18-22 MAP