Tuesday Tidings
1.19.16
Restorative Practices in the school environment goes beyond the realm of alternatives to traditional discipline, although this is how many come to it. This approach can be used to encourage a culture of regular sharing and community building within an individual classroom, and indeed this is possibly where the most important, proactive work is done. Restorative Practices are not just about addressing harm. The practice of using personal talking pieces in a classroom circle, something that comes to us from traditional Native American culture, is a woerful opportunity to build relationships by allowing students to share with you and their classmates, and it's a solid way to start or end a week of learning.
There is much more to come on this topic as we maintain the momentum that was created by Duke last week. Our next stop is a group book study on The Little Book of Restorative Discipline for Schools, which is a short and easy introduction to the world of K-12 Restorative Practices. Interested? Sign up here, and I'll share information with you as soon as we set a date for the first group discussion. This is great PD for those 100 hours toward your 5-year re-certification, and you're more than welcome to jump in even if you didn't participate in the training! I look forward to continuing this conversation with all of you.
Calendar (AKA Where Will Tim Be This Week?)
Tuesday, Jan 19th:
- Admin Cabinet Meeting, HS LGI, 9:45 AM - 11:45 AM
- Math SATM, 2:15 PM, Room 111
- BOE Meeting, 6:30 PM, OWWMS LGI (Presentation: "The Middle School MakerSpace: Student-driven Creating in the Library")
Wednesday, Jan 20th:
- Joint HS/MS ITL Meeting, 2:30 PM, HS LGI
- Parent University, 6:30 PM, Harrison Ave. ES
Thursday, Jan 21st:
- Regional EdTech Leadership Meeting, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Queensbury HS
Other Important Upcoming Dates:
1/25- Marking Period 2 SchoolTool Unlock for Teachers
1/27- 8th Grade Transition Day @ the HS, 8:30 - 11:30 AM
**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. And yes, it has finally been updated for January.
Weekly Tech Tip
#OneNewThing (Yep, It's still here!)
What better way to ring in the New Year and shake off the dust of 2015 than by trying #ONENEWTHING in your classroom? I'd love to hear your stories as you try out these suggestions or other tools you may have found. We all learn from each other!
Thanks for sharing your #OneNewThing! Click here to share something on the #OneNewThing Google Form
New Things We Have Tried This Year: Pear Deck, Google Classroom, Kahoot, Poll Everywhere, TodaysMeet, Piktochart, Smore, Storybird