Looking back and looking forward

Principal ponderings...

In the past, when I have worked with new hires and mentor programs in different school districts, I always do an end of the year reflection activity.  I'm not sure why I have only done this with new hires; I think it's a good activity for any teacher or specialist to do at the end of the year.  It's important to look back over the year and celebrate successes.  It's also important to look back and think about what did not go well, what you might do differently next year.  Here's a list of questions to help you start the reflection process.  I recommend you either sit with a colleague or maybe do this by yourself.  Read over the questions, think about them, you might even decide to write your answers down so that you have them handy when you start next year.  You definitely want to do this sort of reflection now while the school year is still fresh in your head.  Even if you jot a few notes now, you can always continue to think about your answers and revisit them often over the summer.

What are some things you accomplished this year that you are proud of?

What is something you tried in your classroom this year for the first time? How did it go?

What is something you found particularly frustrating this year?

Which student in your class do you think showed the most improvement? Why do you think this student did so well?

What is something you would change about this year if you could?

What is one way that you grew professionally this year?

What has caused you the most stress this year?

When was a time this year when you felt joyful and/or inspired about the work that you do?

What do you hope your students remember most about you as a teacher?

In what ways were you helpful to your colleagues this year?

What was the most valuable thing you learned this year?

What was the biggest mistake you made this year? How can you avoid making the same mistake in the future?

What is something you did this year that went better than you thought it would?

What part of the school day is your favorite? Why?

What were your biggest organizational challenges this year?

In what ways did you change the lives of your students this year?

Looking ahead, Grace and I have been talking about summer reading for our students.  Since we have worked on a new and improved look at reader's workshop, it only makes sense that we look at a new and improved process for summer reading.  Students have become invested this year in choosing what they will read during independent reading time.  If we simply give a list of book titles to parents, then we are basically going against what we have worked to create this year: students making their own choices about what they want to read.  Be on the lookout for more information about this, but the thought is that we would have student be involved in the process of generating a summer reading list that they have been able to create.  We are also looking at some ways for our students to use technology to rate, review and discuss books with other students as they read this summer.  We want to keep the good book discussions going all summer long!

Something else to think about for next year...

I would like for us to participate in the One School, One Book program.  That means we will select one book that every grade level will use as a read aloud.  The whole school will share in a common text that we will read, discuss, and enjoy together.  Here is the website that explains a little more about this program: http://readtothem.org/our-programs/one-school-one-book/  We will generate a list of choices and have all of the staff vote for one choice.  I will order the books this summer so that every classroom will have a copy.

Currently reading:
Been reading and discussing one of my favorite professional books for the moment: Comprehension From the Ground Up.  Thanks to Laura Taylor for leading some great discussions with kindergarten and 1st grade in her book study.  If you have not taken a look at this book, I have several copies that will be available for teachers to borrow and read.

 

I shared this beautiful book with the kindergarten team...All the World by Liz Garten Scanlon. (I did not buy the book because I liked the author's name!)  It is a wonderful book, with very few words, yet powerful message and beautiful illustrations.  It would be a great read aloud that I think would spark lots of discussion.  Let me know if anyone wants to borrow a copy.

Another book up for grabs in my office...Seeds of the Milkweed.  This is a Scholastic book that was written by 2nd graders from Arkansas.  Learn about how the milkweed fits into the monarch butterfly's life cycle.

Events this week:
Monday - Kindergarten field trip to Beaver Brook
Tuesday - Grade level literacy meetings: Grade 4 in the am, Grade 3 in the pm
Wednesday - Grade level literacy meetings: Grade 2 in the am, Kindergarten in the pm, 3rd grade chorus practice @ 2:25 in the gym, Staff meeting @ 3:30
Thursday - Grade level literacy meetings: Grade 1 in the am, Blood Farm Fund Walk-a-thon, K-2 at 1:30, 3-4 at 2:00
Friday - Grade 2 field trip to Drumlin Farm, 3rd grade chorus practice @ 2:25 in the gym

Great things I noticed last week:

• Mrs. Nissi was helping her students revise and edit some writing pieces as they published them in the computer lab.
  
  
  
  
• Mrs. Wilkins's 1st graders were getting into the minds the characters in their books, thinking about how they would feel if they were the character.  First they did this activity with the book Noisy Nora, then they were able to go off and try it with their independent books.  I listened in on some of them reading, and it was great to hear a student say "Pay attention to how I read this part of the text."  She wanted me to see that she was reading with expression and she knew how to do it and why it was important to help her understand what she was reading.  Awesome!
  
• Mrs. Hoke's 2nd graders were using their inquiry skills to determine how many marbles in a container as they weighed and compared their answers using a balance.
  
• Mrs. Guernsey's 3rd graders were doing a special art project to go along with some artist research they were doing.  I saw some very talented artists and their masterpieces!
  
  
  
  

Check it out:
If you have not checked out this website... http://www.donorschoose.org/...well, then you should ASAP!  This is a site created specifically for teachers.  You can create a page that explains any sort of project you have in your classroom.  You ask for donations and then...people send things to you!  It is basically an online charity site for teachers.  People donate money and the site orders the materials and ships them directly to you.  It could be anything from books to iPads to indoor recess games.  Don't believe how easy this is?  Just ask Laura Taylor.  I told her about this site and I think in a few days she already had $275 in donations for her classroom library!

A little motivation for May

Principal ponderings...
Even though last week was teacher appreciation day, hopefully you all know that you are appreciated just as much on all the other days!  Here are some motivational images and video clips to inspire you this week:
This is a short video of teachers reading letters they wrote to themselves on the first day of school.

I think I posted this before, but it's worth watching again!

There is a really great website called www.teach.org and it has lots of videos to inspire you.  Here is one that shows parents and teachers talking about how important special education teachers are to students.

Now...who is ready to have an amazing week?!

Currently reading:
I pulled out some picture books from my shelves at home to reread.  The first one is a beautiful poetry book called dear world by Takayo Noda.

All of the poems in the book are written in the form of a child's letter to the earth.  And each poem is accompanied by these amazing cut-paper collages.  It's a great book to do a poetry writing activity that is in letter form, and then you can combine it with an art activity to pair with it.  Here is the first poem in the book:

       dear world

       please tell me
       why and how
       you grow
       delicious berries
       and fruit in the trees

       please tell me
       why and how
       you give
       sweet smells
       to the flowers

       please tell me
       why and how
       you change
       the colors of leaves
       in the fall

       please tell me
       why and how
       you keep our earth
       so beautiful

       please tell me

Another book I read is a wonderful non fiction book called Panda Kindergarten.  Those of you who know my obsession with panda bears know that I have a lot of panda books that I have acquired over the years!

I also read Falling for Rapunzel.  Love how this fractured fairy tale starts: "Once upon a bad hair day, a prince rode up Rapunzel's way."  This is a book that will have kids laughing out loud when they hear about Rapunzel not hearing the prince correctly and instead of throwing down her hair, she throws down everything from underwear to dirty socks to pancake batter!

Events this week:
Monday - Flyers and pledge sheets will go home today about our walk-a-thon to raise money for the Blood Farm Fund
Tuesday - Spring pictures!
Wednesday - 4th grade math MCAS, Grade 3 chorus practice @ 2:25, School Council Meeting @3:30
Thursday - 4th grade math MCAS, Grade 3 Plimoth Plantation field trip, PTA meeting @7:30
Friday - Supply budget info due to Carol

Great things I noticed last week:

• The 4th grade was treated to an awesome assembly: Mad About Math!  It's so great to see someone celebrating how amazing math is, and it's even better to see kids get so excited about math!
  
• Our school-wide jump rope assembly was fabulous!  The energy in the room during the morning assembly was electric!  Even I got to get in some jumping action.  But in the afternoon, Mr. Crowley was the lucky one who got called up on stage.  I loved Peter's message that we can all become champions as long as we practice hard.  On Friday, it was great to see several of the 3rd graders practicing their jump rope skills on the playground.
  
• Some of us have been taking Laura Taylor's class that focuses on the book Comprehension from the Ground Up.  Here is a great visual that Laura has been trying out with her kindergarteners. Her students have been very good about deciding how they are doing with their reading stamina. Are you a superhero when it comes to reading stamina? ;)
  
• 4th graders in Mrs. Clark's class were using similes, metaphors and alliteration, oh my!  Using the chromebooks, they were creating poems for their mothers.
  
• Mrs. Potter's 4th graders were putting some muscle into their poetry project.  They were creating aged-looking holders for their poetry books using wax, paper folding, and an iron.
  

Check it out:

• I love the idea of creating a "bookish bucket list"!  Here is one that I discovered: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=3113&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kellees-bookish-bucket-list

Wow, that's a lot of students that you are impacting!

Tempus fugit

Principal ponderings...

**I am writing my post this week from Virginia Beach.  I came home to Virginia for the weekend to surprise my mother.  My siblings and I had planned a retirement party for her, inviting students, parents, and staff from over the years to come and celebrate with us.  She was certainly surprised!  So I am dedicating this week's post to my favorite teacher, my mother.  Here is the speech I gave at her retirement party; luckily, my sister had brought a box of tissues for both my mom and me.

Tempus fugit.  For all of the Latin scholars in the room, and there are many of you here, time really does fly.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  It was 1989. I was a sophomore at First Colonial.  Phil was a pre-law kindergartner.  And mom had just accepted a part time job as a high school Latin teacher at Cape Henry Collegiate.  There were a lot of tears that week.  She would come home, cry to me, and say I don't know if I can do this...it's too hard.  And now, in the last few weeks, as this amazing teacher prepares to retire, there will be a lot of tears.  And she has said to me once again, I don't know if I can do this...it's too hard.  25 years have passed in the blink of an eye, so much has changed, but the emotional impact of the job is still the same.

Tabula rasa.  It was a blank slate when Magistra Medley walked into her classroom at CHC all those years ago.  From nothing, she created everything.  It did not take long for students and the rest of the staff to learn...Latin is not dead!  Whether it was the little Caesar character painted on her wall or movie quotes such as 'frankly my dear I don't give a damn' in Latin or her hands on activities, students in her class knew that a class with Mrs. Medley was not like any other.  She pushed the limits for sure...some of you may remember back in the early days of foreign language week...she erupted Mt Vesuvius in the hallway complete with falling down columns, sounds effects, strobe lights and dry ice!  Yes, she did set the security alarm off.  Once Mrs. Medley settled into teaching, Latin became alive in the upper school.  And over the years, the Latin program kept growing.  It spread to the middle school.  But that wasn't enough.  There needed to be a lower school Latin program.  In fact, I don't know if my nephew William realizes that next month his Latin lessons will begin.  Every preschooler needs to know the Greek and Latin roots of words right?  I'm fairly certain that my siblings and I were conjugating before we could walk.  Of course it wasn't just Latin that you learned about in Mrs. Medley's class.  A class wasn't complete if Mrs. Medley didn't step up on her soapbox and wax philosophic about politics, sports, or the 60's.

Carpe Diem.  Forget about just seizing the day, mom has always seized every single second of every day.  Magistra Medley started her career at CHC by teaching Latin, but she has certainly done so much more than that.  Who better to sponsor the Spirit Club than this spunky lady?  Education comes from the Latin e duco, to lead forth...naturally mom created the Peer Leaders program and eventually the Junior Leaders.  No swim team at Cape Henry?  She fixed that problem...she started the team.  A little known CHC history tidbit.  Did you know that this lady was once an assistant coach to the varsity boys basketball team?  Those were the power house basketball days of Ben Dease, Mac Brown and Alan Haynesworth.  Hurricane Katrina happened hundreds of miles away from the world of Cape Henry.  And mom decided that she just had to figure out a way to reach out and help a school that needed so much.  And of course she decided that it was not enough to send supplies down there, no, she needed to take students there and get them involved in doing good.  There is a great children's book called Wonder, and there are several great quotes in that book that make me think of my mother.  There is a line that says, "If every person in this room made it a rule that whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary - the world really would be a better place." That is a lesson that you won't find in any textbook, but it's a lesson that we all continue to learn from my mother every day.  If you scan through her Facebook news feed and you don't immediately feel uplifted by her daily inspirational posts then you either don't have a soul or you are my father.  In some classrooms it's about bringing the world to the students.  For Mrs. Medley it was about bringing Cape Henry students out into the world as evidenced by her numerous trips with students all over Europe.    I have listed only some of Mrs. Medley's accomplishments and activities, but if I went through every single thing she has done from teaching Russian to sponsoring the Japanese animation club...well frankly we don't have the room rented for that long.  Even though she will no longer be physically present in the school, her charitable spirit will live on at CHC in the form of programs she has initiated, most recent of which is the food pantry.

So now it's time for Mrs. Medley to begin packing up her books, her pink flamingoes and her Trojan horses made out of Popsicle sticks.  It might even be time for the chalkboard to come down.  Yes, she is one of 5 teachers on the east coast who uses actual chalk on a chalkboard.  Over the years, I have tried to bring her to the dark side of whiteboards or smart boards, but I believe her exact words to me were always "but I love chalk, there's just something about being a teacher and writing on the chalkboard."  Clearly I lost that battle.  It has been interesting this year.  While I am finishing up my first year as a school principal, my mom is finishing her last year as a teacher.  While she might not be in the classroom any more, she will never stop teaching.  She was teaching all of us before she came to Cape Henry.  And she will continue to be an advocate for education long after her retirement.  She has certainly inspired me in my career, and I know our phone chats about teaching will still happen.  I speak for our whole family when I say that we are grateful for all of you.  The Cape Henry students, parents and staff have been a part of our family for a quarter of a century.  I lost count of how many cupcakes mom has made, how many spaghetti dinners she has hosted at our house, how many costumes she has sown.  We are so glad that we have been able to share our mom, our favorite teacher, with all of you.  She loves all of you.  But I must say we are very excited that now we won't need to share her; it's time for us to be a little selfish.  It's time for her to travel, to visit with her children, to play guitar more, to read even more books, time for her to spend more time with Will, time to welcome another grandchild soon, oh and maybe time to watch The Price is Right with dad.  I will finish with another quote from the book Wonder: "The things we do outlast our mortality.  The things we do are like monuments that people build to honor heroes after they've died.  They are like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honor the pharaohs.  Only instead of being made out of stone, they're made out of the memories people have of you."  This room is full of memories of Mrs. Medley.  I would like to raise my glass to you mom.  You are an amazing lady who has done amazing things.  We are proud of you.  We love you.  Here's to the next phase of your life.  It's  going to be great.  Bona fortuna!

My question to all of you...what amazing things are you doing for our students today that people will remember in your retirement speech?  What lasting impact will you have on your students?

This sign hangs in the kitchen where I grew up.  My mother loves all things 'Wizard of Oz',
and I do have to say after my visit...there's no place like home!

Currently reading:
I brought several books with me for my plane rides.  I have been rereading Reading in the Wild in preparation for doing a summer book chat.  I just love this book!  I am also still reading When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit.  Historical fiction is definitely a genre that I have to push myself to read; it's not usually my genre of choice, but I'm trying.  I am also still working my way through The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society.

Events this week:
Tuesday - 4th grade canoe trip
Wednesday - K chorus practice @ 9:30, 3rd grade math MCAS, 4th grade canoe trip, staff meeting @3:30 in the library
Thursday - 3rd grade math MCAS, 4th grade canoe trip, K-2 jump rope assembly @PAC @9:30, 3-4 jump rope assembly @ PAC @ 1:30
Friday - 4th grade Mad about Math

Great things I noticed last week:

• We had several students participate in the Special Olympics last week!  Even though the weather was certainly not spring weather, the students did a great job and enjoyed themselves.  They were welcomed back to school by Mrs. Potter's class.
  
• Kindergartners enjoyed a visit from teachers from the Eric Carle Museum.  The students were completely engaged in the story being read to them, and then they enjoyed creating some of their own designs.

  

  Blank pages before K students got their hands on them!

  

And after the K students started creating!

• A first grader from Mrs. Wilkins' class invited me to come hear her read with expression.  She did a great job!
  
• One of Mrs. Goddard's art students made me a very special piece of art work for my desk!
  
• The first graders were treated to a visit from Animal Adventures.  They learned lots of new facts and saw some interesting animals up close.  Here is a picture of them learning about the bearded lizard.  Did you know they use body language to communicate how they are feeling?
  

Check it out:
Check out the fun videos that you can make with the Chatterpix app:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJc2cejHlZA&feature=youtu.be
An interesting read: http://pernillesripp.com/2014/05/01/who-cares-about-reading-strategies/

And I found this quote on twitter.  Good for us to remember during these last few weeks...

Crossing the finish line

Principal ponderings...

Monday, April 21, 2014, was an emotional day for many of us in MA.  It was marathon Monday, probably the most important marathon Monday in the history of the marathon.  After the bombings last year, this was a true test of everyone's physical and emotional strength.  Last year, I had made plans to take my husband and step-son to cheer on the runners since neither of them had ever done that.  We spent some time at the halfway point in Wellesley with the intention of then going to the finish line.  I was trying to locate a good friend who was running for the Dana Farber team and who was wearing my mom's name on her bib.  I never found her and because we stayed longer than expected, we made the decision not to go on to the finish line.  Thankfully, when the bombs went off, we weren't there.

This year, it was very important for me to return to the halfway point to cheer on the runners.  I knew several people running this year, but there were two people in particular that I needed to support, Kim and Rachel.  Kim was the friend who I never made it to see last year.  She actually never completed the marathon; she was forced off of the course around mile 20.  When that happened, she also had to deal with the fact that her entire family was at the finish line, her three children and her husband, and she could not get in touch with them or even get close to find out if they were all ok.  My friend Rachel, who I met several years ago when we were placed as roommates at a creativity workshop in Italy, did not run the marathon last year, but she was at the finish line.  She also was Martin Richard's 2nd grade teacher.  This year, she was determined to run the marathon, her first ever, with Martin's spirit pushing her all the way.

I saw Rachel run by, and I shouted, "You rock Rachel!"  I was so proud of her for everything she had done this year leading up to the marathon.  The smile on her face and the thumbs up she gave me told me that she was absolutely going to cross the finish line for Martin and his family.  I waited to see Kim who I thought would be coming by pretty soon after Rachel.  I waited and waited and no Kim.  I decided that I would wait 5 more minutes before leaving for an appointment.  Then, over the hill, I saw Kim and her husband walking towards me.  I ran onto the road to give her a hug and she started to cry, saying that she was having a bad running day.  Kim has run several other marathons, but I know leading up to this one, she had been dealing with some medical issues.  I also knew that crossing the finish line this year was very important to her.  I hugged her again and thanked her for what she was doing; it didn't matter if she was having a bad running day.  I knew she was going to cross that finish line.  As I watched her walk away, I saw her start to run again.  And several hours later, Kim crossed the finish line.

Speaking of marathons...we are in the home stretch of our school year marathon.  Now I have never run an actual marathon, but I did complete a half marathon a few years ago.  And let me tell you, those last 2 miles were a killer!  So now we are racing to finish this school year, and I know that you will all cross the finish line in June.  It is important to finish strong.  Just like in those last 2 painful miles of my half marathon, you don't want to be counting down to the last day.  You have to continue with the pace you have set for yourself and your students.  You don't want to rush through these last few weeks.  Think back to the routines that you set in place with your students at the beginning of the year.  Make sure you are still following through with those routines that have allowed for students to learn and grow.  Like my friend Rachel, make sure to remind yourself why you teach everyday and who you are running this school year race for.  And like my friend Kim, remember that there will be bad teaching days, but don't let them stop you.  Keep going.  Make sure that in these last few weeks that you take care of yourself.  Runners need those water stops and snacks along the way; educators also need to make healthy choices for themselves so they can be their best for their students.  This past week has reminded me that I need to take my own advice and make smart choices in order to finish this race.  I could get only a few hours of sleep a night, not exercise and make poor eating choices, but then what kind of shape is that going to leave me in to do my job of supporting you and the students?  I could also let my time get swallowed up by meetings and paperwork, but I know I need to be interacting with all of you and with our students.  We all have to take each day one day at a time and not just focus on the finish line.  There is still so much that we need to do, so much learning that needs to happen with our students.  

I promise you that if you stay the course, you will cross that finish line.  I look forward to running and cheering alongside all of you these last few weeks, but most important, I look forward to celebrating a well-run race as we all cross the finish line together.  And that feeling at the finish line that you get when you know that you have helped each child in your class grow and the impact you have had on them...that makes the hard work and the struggles along the course of this school year so worth it!

Currently reading:
Over the break, I was busy reading lots of different books.  My Goodreads account reminds me of my lofty goal to read 200 books during 2014.  So far I am only up to 35...I need to keep reading!  A few picture books that I read during some quiet office hours:

And as I was organizing my home office and some of my bookshelves...I reread this book that our nieces gave us at our wedding reception.  They thought they were very creative for changing the character name to my name.  My husband was not too happy that his character was a lazy slug! ;)

Currently, I have too many chapter books going at once!  Need to focus on finishing one at a time.  Since Mrs' Potter's class is beginning an historical fiction unit of study, I started ready When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit.  

And since Mrs. Fournier's class will be doing biographies soon, and for something lighter, I am reading Who Was Elvis Presley?

Events this week:

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!  I am sure the PTA will be showing their appreciation of you all week.  Thank you for all you do for our students!
Monday - Welcome back!
Tuesday - Wendy Frank will be leading some poetry workshops in two 3rd grade classrooms in the morning.
Wednesday - Eric Carle program will be happening in kindergarten classrooms.  Roundtree, Mills and Coronis will be having MS transition meetings.  FR and SU lab teachers will be meeting with Joia.  School Committee Meeting @ 7:00 in the HS library.
Thursday - Curriculum half day of school, Wendy Frank will be leading some poetry workshops in two 3rd grade classrooms in the morning.
Friday - 2nd grade Eyes on Owls program

Check it out:
Here's a little motivational video clip to get you pumped up for the final stretch!



And in case anyone was wondering if my reading addiction runs in the family...here are 3 of my nieces enjoying some time at Barnes and Noble!  Love my little readers!

What did I learn at the MRA Conference?

Principal ponderings...

On Thursday, I attended the Massachusetts Reading Association Conference in Quincy.  The focus this year was on technology and literacy.  One thing I thought about while I was at the conference was that next year, I would like to have more opportunities for our staff to attend conferences and workshops.  I sat with a friend from another district who was there with a large group from her district.  They had received a grant that paid for all of their registrations.  I am hoping to apply for some grants so that we can send more people to conferences.  There is so much that we can learn from keynote speakers, panel discussions, presenters, and simply talking to people from other districts!

The keynote speaker on Thursday was Lucy Caulkins.  She was certainly my main motivation for attending this conference!  Lucy spoke to a packed crowd about teaching writing, in particular, teaching persuasive and informative writing.  Some key quotes from her that I took away:
"We need to be looking at student work, not to figure out which student is a good writer and which student is a bad writer.  We need to be looking at student work to figure out how we are doing as teachers."
"What is the promise that your district gives to the kids as writers?  We need whole schools to think about how to raise a writer, instead of classrooms working in isolation." (Once we have a stronger foundation in our building in regards to how we raise readers...our next step will be to look at how we are raising writers...needs to be a joint effort from each grade discussing and collaborating.)
"You don't need to wish your problems away; you can write your problems away."

Lucy shared several ideas and had us all practice at our tables talking about planning out our writing to get more details.  She shared with us samples of student writing from kindergarten up through 5th grade.

Some thoughts that I had while listening to her...

• Loved her idea of having a 'chew and chat' session during snack time.  This could be done at all levels.  Give the kids something to discuss.  In kindergarten or 1st grade, you could have placemats at kids' tables or desks and the placemats could have different quadrants that would guide an opinion discussion.  For example, you could have the different seasons represented and the kids talk about which one they like the best and why.  
• Or what about having kids bring in a collection of something from home, like maybe they have several action figures.  They could rank the items and talk and write about why one is the best one, why one is the worst one, etc.  
• Have students go on a walk around the school and identify issues or concerns and then they can write about things they notice and want to change.
• I thought it would be a good idea to think about kids writing up some quick persuasive pieces to read over morning announcements...there is a purpose and an audience that could be very motivating!

I wanted to share with you a site that Lucy Caulkins was encouraging educators to take a look at.  It's called testingtalk.org.  She is part of the committee that created this site for teachers to have a forum and share their thoughts about the various standardized tests, like PARCC, being piloted across the country.  I recommend you take a look and see what others are saying or even share your thoughts on the site.

I attended another speaker session that was led by Nancy Boyles.  She was a dynamic speaker who has written several professional books.  Surprisingly, I don't own any of her books, but I have borrowed them and read them.  Don't worry, I will probably be ordering her newest book! ;)

Nancy went through the anchor standards for ELA and shared ideas of how to address them using various picture books.  I got a handout from her with lots of titles that I will hopefully be able to purchase for our school library and our shared lit collection.  Several people in the audience also shared some great titles to use.  As Nancy said, "Start with a good book, and then you can do so many things with it."

Some of the break out sessions I attended focused on how different schools have been using technology to enhance their literacy instruction.  Everything from using Google docs to have kids collaborate on the revision process to using an app called BookCreator on the iPad to create nonfiction books full of different text features to having 1st graders blog in their classroom using KidBlog to kindergartners creating graphic organizers using an app called Popplet.  Lots of great ideas that I hope we will be able to try out with our students.

The closing speaker was an author named Laura Vaccaro Seeger.  She discussed the process she went through to write and create her award-winning picture books.  Here's a shot of some of her books:

She was amazing to listen to.  I found a clip of her explaining all of the thinking that went into creating her book, Bully.  It's a good reminder that you can get so much out of a picture book...even one that has very few words!  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU_lRytwREs

And here is a great video clip of kids talking about her books:

Currently reading:
I have not mentioned any picture books in a while so let me tell you about two great books that I borrowed from Mrs. Fulreader and read recently.  The first one is called Spoon.  It's an adorable book about a self conscious spoon who is jealous of forks and knives and all they get to do.   Love the picture of spoon's family!

The other book I read was called Zero.  In this book, Zero wants to be like the other numbers and tries to change himself.  But in the end, he realizes how valuable he really is!

Events this week:
A short week before vacation begins!
Monday - Passover begins
Wednesday - Safety drill today, 3rd grade chorus practice @ 2:25 in the gym, Staff meeting @ 3:30, Multi-age informational night from 6:30-7:30
Thursday - Early release day, parent conferences in the afternoon
Friday - Good Friday, No school
**Enjoy a well-deserved vacation week.  Get ready...it's full speed ahead to the end of the year when we return from break!  And something to look forward to when you return...Teacher Appreciation Week!

Great things I noticed last week:

• 3rd graders got to dress up in costume as they took a walk back in time to the American Revolution.
  
• 4th graders demonstrated their knowledge of simple machines by creating and presenting at the Invention Convention.  One student certainly had an appropriately timed invention that helps you dye eggs without getting your fingers stained.  And another student used her invention to make pouring your breakfast cereal a little easier.
  
• A student in Mrs. Guernsey's class used a chromebook to take a quick pre-assessment on measurement using Quia.
  
• A first grader in Mrs. Cragg's class was going back into a book he had already read, preparing for some partner work where he was going to direct a partner to act out an important part of the story.
  

Check it out:
One teacher who presented at the MRA Conference (and is also one of our parents) shared some information about how her class is following the Out of Eden Walk.  This is a 21,000 mile walk that one man is doing over seven years.  He is retracing 60,000 years of human migration.  The sites that have been set up to follow him on his journey were originally set up for middle and high school students, but there are many ways that you could share this with our elementary students.  This is one more way to bring the world to our students by connecting through technology.
http://outofedenwalk.nationalgeographic.com/
http://www.outofedenwalk.com/
Hmmm...are we underestimating the math abilities of our kindergartners? Here is an article to make you think: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/04/are-we-underestimating-the-math-powers-of-our-youngest-students/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29