ENSC Family Notes
September 1, 2014
Exciting News on an ENHS Graduate
For those of you who remember Stephen Warrener (2006), he has been working for Google for the past year as a private independent contractor. He was one of the main "behind the scenes engineers and flight" people for the project highlighted in the below video and has been in Australia for the past several weeks. He has not been allowed to say anything about his work until now. The links below will give you an update of his work. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRTNvWcx9Oo
Introducing Project Wing - YouTube
Project Wing is a Google[x] project that is developing a delivery system that uses self-flying vehicles.
Inside Google’s Secret Drone-Delivery Program - The Atlantic
After two years of development, the Silicon Valley company reveals to The Atlantic that it has substantial research effort into building flying robots than can deliver products across a city in a minute or two.
Last Weekend of Summer
Labor Day weekend was the final hurrah of the summer season. Friday evening everyone drove in from Muncie and surrounding areas and filled the lake with laughter and noise of anticipation for the weekend activities that brought everyone together. Saturday around noon, the "men" would dig a deep fire pit and place a hog on a rotisserie to be turned several times each hour throughout the night. There were a few poker games going on during the turning of the hog. I think they cooked the hog as an excuse to stay up and play cards. There was always a burger fry for Saturday dinner followed by a big bingo game at night. The kids all played hoping to win the extra large Hershey Bar prize. Late Sunday afternoon, after lots of kid games of baseball, kickball, and tug of war, everyone would come together for a carry in dinner and the serving of the pig!
That last hurrah would end with Monday as the day to close up the cottage, air out the water pump, empty the fridge, pull out the pier, and pull out the raft. Tuesday meant the start of serious school! "Serious school" didn't allow for any more trips to the lake.
Unfortunately, my family sold the cottage when Zack and Kelli were pretty small. They didn't get to experience much of the fun or create the same memories that I have. When they reached about second and third grade, our Labor Day weekends became filled with soccer tournaments. Hopefully, they have good memories of playing games, swimming, and enjoying spending time with the many soccer families and coaches who became our close friends.
I am sure you, too, have many wonderful memories of the end of summer and the beginning of serious school.
School Board Elections
- Allen Township - Incumbent Carol Schellenberg, Elizabeth Payne, Brent Durbin, and David Carteaux
- Kendallville - Incumbent Barb Babcock, Tom Foster
- At Large - Incumbent John Wicker only
- Wayne Township - Dave Desper only
The role of the School Board is very important to the continued success of our district. Your vote makes a difference for our students.
September 10 - Next School Board Meeting
ENMS Update
As always, if you have any questions about the MS/HS projects that will be on the November ballot, please let me know. If you know someone that I can talk with or give a tour, please let me know! (Ann Linson: alinson@eastnoble.net or 260-347-2502)
A Few Good Links.....
- 9 Fun Activities for Learning (at home or school) - http://tinyurl.com/FunLearningActivities
- Principles for Problem Solving - http://www.brilliant-insane.com/2014/08/5-principles-for-a-problem-solving-classroom.html
- Five Lessons Labron James taught Children - http://www.brilliant-insane.com/2014/07/lessons-lebron-james-taught-kids-in-his-return-to-cleveland.html
ENSC All-Star of the Week
This week’s All-Star is Beth Spaw. Beth is a reading teacher here at North Side and works amazingly hard all day long to help an enormous amount of children improve their reading skills. She works with students kindergarten through fourth grade who have, for whatever reason, fallen behind on their reading ability. Her highly effective program keeps her busy all day long throughout the school day, but that is not the only way she helps kids. She is often the first smiling face kids see when they arrive (she is greeting students outside in the morning) and usually helps with dismissal as well. On top of all this Mrs. Spaw puts together bags of books for students to practice in the evening and even over the summer. Her challenge seems daunting, help every student read, but she meets the challenge daily with a positive attitude and a set of skills that are tough to match. The children of North Side Elementary are lucky to have her and we are so proud to call her one of our own. Congratulations! You have earned this week’s honor. Beth Spaw is a true All-Star!
Building and Curriculum Notes
Curriculum Notes
To help students do this, they must be armed with evidence prompts and transitions that signal them to draw facts and details from their reading. By teaching explicit lessons on the use of the sentence starters below and posting these in all classrooms, we can help students remember to SHOW THE EVIDENCE.
- Because…
- For instance…
- For example…
- The author stated…
- According to the text…
- On page ___, it said…
- From the reading, I know that…
- Based on what I read…
North Side Elementary
This week at North Side was exciting. Staff at North Side Elementary made a point to practice the mantra “Play is serious learning!” In tech Mr. Linson and Ms. Valenti teamed up to teach students basic computer programming skills using the layout of the library as a work space. Students had to begin figuring out solutions to different challenges and think through them as if they were writing computer code. This represents the beginning steps in the long journey to learning computer science. The goal is to have students learning how to “code” (write computer programs) by the time they enter the middle school.
In several classrooms throughout the school students were playing math games to practice computation skills, playing timed games to learn the 50 states, and playing trivia games on websites such as Kahoot.it to review a wide variety of skills. Research shows that play is not only fun, but it is a key component to learning and happiness. Students are more engaged and more eager to learn when play is involved. At NSE we do not believe we have to choose between fun and learning, but instead fun can inspire and encourage learning.
Rome City Elementary
Another week of getting ready for college at Rome City. One student from each classroom was selected to help write a school wide student pledge with Mrs. Green. Students were extremely eager and excited to form a pledge they will be honoring throughout the school year. Roman City staff have already written a pledge, parents will be writing a pledge and students have now created their pledge in hopes to commit themselves to paving a successful path to college.
Roman students also practiced bus safety this week. Students were able to evacuate the bus in record time. It is great seeing the older students being role models an eager to help lead others to a safe location.
As Romans eagerly await their iPads, they are learning about digital citizenship. Mr. Cary, has been teaching second graders how to properly take care of their iPads. The student have some great ideas as they learn technology responsibility. Older students are learning digital citizenship through playing quiz games with Mr. Yoder.
South Side Elementary
South Side held our first Trailblazer University Celebration of the school year this week! Miss Bentz, school counselor, introduced herself to students and discussed ways they can demonstrate good character. Every grade level shouted out their graduation cheer, and individual students were rewarded for specific choices they made during August that modeled the Six Pillars. The top Dojo point earner in every class was also recognized, and their name was submitted for the Pizza with the Principal drawing. A student from every grade level was drawn to have Pizza with Mrs. Smith during the month of September!
Fourth graders began dabbling in data this week as they collected and disaggregated household data. They then headed to the playground to make a human bar graph to demonstrate their final results. Mr. Holbrook also got involved and took a picture of the graph from the rooftop!
Sixth graders at South Side have been working to meet both academic and character challenges. Students have created expectations for themselves and set the bar high regarding demonstrating good character as the role models in our school.
Sixth grade students have started their first novel - Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. They are not only reading the novel, but also learning about biomes and climate in science that our character, Brian, faces as he learns to survive in the Canadian wilderness. Students are practicing reading comprehension and vocabulary strategies to help them dig deeper into the novel and enhance their skills. As their reading skills develop, so do their writing skills. This week's challenge was creating visual poetry by crafting Mr. Paulsen's words within the pages of Hatchet into original poems that focus on the use of alliteration and assonance.
Wayne Center Elementary
Alternative Learning Center
The ALC earned it's 20th credit this week. The student's hard work is paying off and for many graduation is within reach. The staff has started discussing future goals and plans after graduation with the students. The options for secondary education is being explored. They have also implemented "College Spirit Wear Day" each week on Fridays and everyone is encouraged to wear college gear.
Avilla Elementary
This past week ended on a high note for students and staff with OUR first Character Counts Convo of the 2014-2015 school year. Students that have been rewarded for showing good character throughout August had the opportunity to win prizes. Three students from each grade level are selected to receive a prize of some sort. One student from each classroom receives a Character Counts Certificate from Mr. Ogle. Those students then have the opportunity to win a Character Counts T-Shirt! A few students in the audience “catch” an Avilla Panther stuffed toy during the convocation as well.
The Fall Fundraising campaign is currently happening at Avilla. Students are selling Christmas items and candy items. All fundraising order forms are due this Friday, September 5. Thank you families for selling these items so that all of OUR students benefit from your efforts.
This Thursday, September 4, is Picture Day! Students brought home order forms last week. Please remember to have criminal history reports updated as soon as possible. Anyone that is interested in helping OUR school must have one on file prior to any visits or field trips. Thank you to everyone that has already taken care of this.
East Noble High School
Knight Mentors are an invaluable resource to ENHS. Knight Mentors are 11th and 12th grade students who serve as role models and mentors to 9th grade students. Knight mentors are often recommended by teachers, complete an application, and are selected after an interview process. Knight Mentors then complete an intensive summer training program learning how to lead small group activities, facilitate conversation among peers and use micro skills. Knight Mentors help 9th graders adjust to the transition of high school. Items they discuss are time management, stress management, relationships, asking for help, getting involved in school and the community. Knight Mentors are also responsible for leading students at 9th grade orientation, tutoring and helping with students who are new to EN. Kudos to Mrs. Benedict and Ms. Salway who supervise the mentors daily.
In other high school news, ENHS issued over 2000 college credits to the Class of 2014 as part of our dual credit programs with IPFW, Ivy Tech, Indiana Tech, and Vincennes. What a great opportunity provided to our students!
East Noble Middle School
This week at East Noble Middle School, we had our sister school visiting us from China. The guest students followed their buddies around to classes and got to see what American education is like at ENMS. The students from China were able to participate in extra-curricular activities like a Tincaps game, gym class, and basketball at the complex. Our students recognized that even though they live miles away, they share many similarities!
Seventh grade art is finishing up Patterns/Positive /Negative Name Fish.
Our 7th and 8th grade football teams started off the year with BIG wins over Angola! They play rival, DeKalb on Wednesday. Volleyball and cross country begins action the week of the 8th! Go Knights!
East Noble School Corporation
Email: alinson@eastnoble.net
Website: eastnoble.net
Location: 126 West Rush Street, Kendallville, IN, United States
Phone: 260-347-2502
Facebook: facebook.com/eastnoble
Twitter: @ENobleSchCorp