April: Be a Leader
Superpowers Activate:
From you Media & Tech Team (Felicia Davis, Allison Long, Elizabeth Stapleton, Amy Wilson)
Be A Leader: Kathi Johnson
Kathi Johnson is certainly a great example of leadership here at MMS! She is our guidance secretary and testing guru. Kathi always goes above and beyond for both teachers and students. When asked about Kathi here at MMS people always had something positive to say about her. Mr. Haglan says that Kathi is one of a kind and is absolutely awesome! They don't get any better. Whatever is expected, she will do more. When the bar is set, she raises it. Always does more than expected and is always willing to help. We have a goldmine in Kathi!!! It's an honor to work with her. This was followed by fellow guidance counselor Mrs. Royal who concurred that Kathi is a dedicated work horse and friend! She is always willing to work extra hours, take on one more task, cover for one more class, and still finds time to ask me if I need anything. She is a reliable and trustworthy coworker and I am happy to know her! Kathi is one of those people who doesn't ask for recognition, but who is the glue that holds many of our critical functions together. I don't know what we would do without her! Mrs. Deyarmon describes Kathi as one who inspires people everyday. With her positive attitude and team player skills. Finally, several administrators shared their thoughts about Kathi and her leadership. Mrs. Baker says of Kathi that she is always willing to help out when needed. She has a positive attitude and goes above and beyond! I am very grateful for her knowledge of the testing world and what she has taught me. Plus, she fixes a mean pasta salad! This words are followed by Mrs. A Davis who describes Kathi as always willing to help out whenever possible and she has taught me a great deal about flexibility. Finally Dr. Tulbert stated, "Kathi is the epitome of hard work. I so appreciate all she does in leading by example. She inspires me to work harder on behalf of our students!!!!!!!!!. The Media & Tech team and everyone at MMS knows how hard Kathi works and the pride she takes in her work and the students at MMS. Thank you Kathi for your leadership by example.
Tech Tip
Being a Leader in a Digital Environment
1. Get Comfortable with Learning from Your Students
In the past, teachers have been expected to know everything about their subject and more. In today's digital learning environment, students should be given an opportunity to teach their peers AND their teachers. Teachers facilitate student learning and promote discovery and discussion. Teachers "coach" more and lecture less. When using new digital tools with your students, allow them the opportunity to teach you!
2. Classroom/Behavior Management is the Same in a Digital Environment
Handle students being off task with technology the same way you have handled them being off task before technology was in their hands. When students know you are paying attention to what is on their screen and you are walking around during activities, they know they will be able to get away with less off-task behavior. Make sure students close laptops for class discussion. Encourage appropriate use of phones and tablets in your class by monitoring students as they tweet a lesson or use an app for a lesson under your supervision.
3. Be a Model of Good Digital Citizenship
Show students how to cite sources by doing it yourself within your lessons and presentations. Don't use resources without being able to credit the author correctly. Show students that you follow guidelines of downloading legally. Promote discussions of proper use of Social Media and being safe online.
MMS Media Tips
From the Help Desk
QuickTips to Free Up Disk Space
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Restart!! - Yes, it seems a restart is the cure all - be all! ...but it really is! When we reboot it almost always will free up a little amount of disk space.
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Quit and Relaunch Apps your using - If you just can’t restart at that very moment, quitting apps will dump the temporary cache files and free up some space. Relaunch the ones you are actively using.
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Empty your Downloads Folder - It’s actually scary the amount of files that are in some people’s downloads folder.
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Empty the Trash in iPhoto - Just because you deleted that hideous picture doesn’t mean it’s gone!! The trash folder in iPhoto doesn’t delete until you tell it to delete!!
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Empty your Trash - Seems simple but sometimes we forget to empty the trash can!
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Delete Apps you don’t use - sometimes it is as simple as dragging the application to the trash - sometimes you have to uninstall.
Want to keep an eye on your disk space?
Open a Finder window > Go to the Finder menu bar > click on View > Show Status bar. This will show you how many files you have in a particular folder and how much disk space you have available.
From Cuz's Circulation Desk
Leadership Characteristics
PIcture Link: http://insta20.com/Post/leadership-quotes/
Eight Characteristic of Effective School Leaders
Picture Link: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/leadership
Ten Roles for Teacher Leaders
Evaluate what your leadership charateristics are. What are your strength and weaknesses using this ASCD article.
Picture Link: http://www.liatyale.com/lead/
Allison Long
Email: allisonlong@mgsd.k12.nc.us
Website: www.superpowersactivate.weebly.com
Location: 233 Kistler Farm Road, Mooresville, NC, United States
Phone: 704-658-2720
Facebook: facebook.com/MMSMediaCenter
Twitter: @mmsmediatips
Felicia Davis
Email: feliciadavis@mgsd.k12.nc.us
Website: www.superpowersactivate.weebly.com
Location: 233 Kistler Farm Road, Mooresville, NC, United States
Phone: 704-658-2720
Twitter: @MrsDavis66