Monday Message
10.12.15
Things I Loved Last Week
- Laura Rozell sending me an email inquiring about how to do something on Google, and then following up with an email dubbing herself "The Hacker" when she figured it out on her own - That's definitely going to stick!
- Gathering at Camp Chingachgook with 80 middle and high schools students and the Community Coalition to talk about leadership, consensus, and problem solving
- Participating in a joint resource room class led by Mo Miller and Laura Rozell where Kahoot was used as a review tool for an upcoming science assessment
- Watching your reactions at this month's faculty meeting as Jerilyn Hogan discussed the powerful things that Google can help you do in and out of the classroom
- Receiving an email from a nervous 6th grade parent that ended with "Everyone in this district is so great and helpful! We are very lucky!"
- Practical and straightforward discussions about setting data targets that will address student achievement
- Honest and open conversations about tough topics (Yes - This is something to be loved)
Calendar (AKA Where Will Tim Be This Week?)
Tuesday, Oct. 13:
- Jerilyn Hogan - Individual Google Training, All Day, Library
- Admin Cabinet Meeting, HS LGI, 9:45 AM
- IST Meeting, Main Ofc. Conf. Room, 12:00 PM
- Science SATM/6th Grade ELA SATM
- BOE Meeting, Tanglewood ES, 6:30 PM
Wednesday, Oct. 14:
- HSA Magazine/Cookie Dough Fundraiser Kick-off (see schedule below)
- TCIS Training, Moreau ES, 8:00 - 3:00 (Tim gone all day)
- Parent University: Talk About It To Stop Bullying, Tanglewood ES, 6:30 PM
Thursday, Oct. 15:
- Regional Ed Tech Summit Meeting #2, Makerspace, 9:00 AM
- BLT Meeting #1, Main Ofc. Conf. Room, 2:15 PM
Friday, Oct. 16:
- Teen Town
Other Important Upcoming Dates:
10/29 - Parent to School Day
11/2 - SchoolTool Unlock for end of Quarter 1
11/6 - Quarter 1 Ends
**If you're looking for me, don't forget to check the big calendar hanging on the wall outside of my office. This is the best I can do until someone forcibly implants a GPS device in my forearm.
QSP Fundraiser Schedule
Wednesday, 10/14, in the LGI:
All grades will be called down over the PA
8:15 - 8:45 - 8th Grade
9:00 - 9:30 - 7th Grade
9:45 - 10:15 - 6th Grade
Links that Spoke to Me This Week:
- Let's Be Four Again - Elementary building leader in Virginia and prolific blogger Jon Harper (@Jonharper70bd) writes about modeling through silliness, failure, and sometimes a combination of both
- On Listening - A concept that is easy to describe, often hard to do well, and so important as we continue to build relationships with our students
- Tech Tip: Be a connected educator - Some small tips from ASCD to get you started on a road towards being connected (Yes I will continue to beat this drum over and over and over....)
YouTube Videos in the Classroom
Some of you have asked about looking at how we approach YouTube access for students in the district, especially as a result of using Google Classroom. Hopefully you had an opportunity to read our tech team's Google Doc about the new video approval process that has been put into place, but in case you didn't here it is again:
Character Ed Theme
Don't forget about our Act With Respect Always Padlet. There are great ideas about continuing with a theme for the year being tossed around. Add your voice!
#OneNewThing
Please continue to add to our #OneNewThing Google Form. Look at the list below, and if you see anything that you might want to try or that would work in your classroom, I will hook you up with the person who submitted it.
Click here for the #OneNewThing Google Form
New Things We Have Tried So Far:
- Pear Deck - For interactive presentations with Chromebooks
- Google Classroom - For feedback on student writing, For sharing resources with students like videos and documents
- Integrating YouTube Artist Videos into Art Lessons
- Linking the broader idea of risk taking and decision making in life to PE lessons
- Microscope Exploration with 6th Graders
- Kahoot for science review
Keep it up!!