CSHS Weekly Bulletin
February 11-16, 2019
Never Too Old to Learn Something New
Dear Cougar Family,
When is the last time you learned something new? Was the learning process easy, hard, or somewhere in between? How much time did it take you to achieve mastery? Are you still refining and honing your skills through applied practice? Does your knowledge transfer to other situations?
I learned something new this weekend. I have been thinking about learning how to sew and quilt for a while now. I bought a couple quilt kits online and cut one out, and then I set about looking for a good beginner machine. When I got home last Wednesday night, my kids excitedly greeted me at the back door and asked me to follow them upstairs where they excitedly showed me a new sewing machine in a box, draped in a roll of heart shaped paper with flowers and a card on top. (My husband accidentally mentioned what he was giving me in front of our kids, so he knew there was no point in keeping it a secret for the next week--they'd never make it that long.) I have made pillows and curtains with my mom on her old Singer, but that was several years ago, so when I looked at this modern machine, it felt a lot like moving from a Hyundai to a Porsche.
Over the last few days, I have watched videos on everything from how to thread the needle in the machine to an overview of all of its features. Once I felt like I had some idea how to use the machine without ruining it, I started sewing the pieces of a quilt top I had already cut out. I followed the directions on placement and order. When I pieced my first row of the blocks, I sewed two in the wrong direction, so then I got to learn how to use the seam ripper and start again. One may think I learned my lesson, but a couple of blocks later, I did it again.
Walt came by and wisely said, "Mama, when you mess up, sometimes you just have to try again." I smiled at him and continued.
By the end of the night, I had 4 beautiful (to me) rows of quilt blocks ready to be pieced together with the sashing. That's when I realized my fabric wasn't wide enough to use one long sashing strip to piece the rows together. I went back to the handy, dandy YouTube to learn more about the process of quilting, and it came to me: I could just piece my sashing and make it look like I meant it that way. Genius! (Or cheap--whatever.)
Now I have an almost finished quilt top, but I have looked ahead at what comes next--the basting, actual quilting, and the binding. I know where I am in my learning (basic sewing machine functions mastered, basic quilt piecing= C-), and I know what lies ahead. Walt may be 12 by the time his blanket is finished, but his Mama is learning something new.
As with anything in my life, my mind end ups wandering back to school, and this experience of learning how to use my sewing machine reminded me of several things I have read recently about learning, specifically about planning for learning. In The New Art and Science of Teaching, Marzano purports that there are basically 3 types of lessons: direct instruction, practice and deepening, and knowledge application. In my sewing experience, my videos were the direct instruction, I practiced on scrap fabric before touching my nice fabric, and then I applied that knowledge on piecing the quilt top. The practice and application piece was actually quite cyclical--just as it is in our classrooms at CSHS. Marzano advocates for ensuring adequate time for each lesson type in every unit of instruction, which then caused my mind to wander to Understanding by Design, the curriculum development framework we have adopted in CSISD.
Marzano's instructional framework pairs nicely with Understanding by Design, so we will take a closer look at both during our morning session of professional learning on Monday, February 18th (one week away!). UbD is something new for all of us, so please take a moment to scan this WhitePaper on UbD (especially pages 12 and 13). I want the unit design time we'll have Monday morning to be very productive and having this fresh in mind will help enable us to use the time well.
In addition, the overview of the schedule for next Monday's professional learning may be found here. Please be sure to register for the session on Eduphoria in order to receive credit upon completion of the sessions:
https://collegestation.schoolobjects.com//wshop/default.aspx?cid=6219 .
May you all have a marvelous week!
As always, COUGAR PRIDE!
Tiffany
P.S. Teachers who volunteer at Welcome to the Pride may wear jeans with Cougar spirit gear on Tuesday.
Taste of Aggieland Picture
Sending SPARKS! Celebrating our students and staff!
- Student Recognition: Cougar Hero Award nomination form
- Staff Recognition: Excellence in Action Award nomination form
If you would like to be part of the announcements at 3rd period to share news about your club/activity/sport, please email your announcement to Parkerson and Hester.
Grade Due Dates
Duty Schedule
If you did not have duty in the fall, you have duty this spring. Check the full schedule here and mark the dates in your calendar.
Please be sure to see the full duty schedule on the Teacher Resource Guide. Direct any questions regarding duty to Mr. Davis.
Morning Duty
Afternoon Duty
Upcoming Events
2/18 4th Six Weeks Grades Due
2/18 Staff Development Day
3/11-15 Spring Break
3/18 5th Six Weeks Progress Report Grades Due
4/5 Last Day of 5th Six Weeks
4/8 5th Six Weeks Grades Due
4/19 Staff/Student Holiday
4/22 Staff Comp Day
4/29 5th Six Weeks Progress Report Grades Due
5/24 Last Day of School & Graduation
5/25 Staff Development Day